Chapter Three
'I nearly dropped my teeth' was always just a funny expression to me, until Hannah really started getting into her new detective kit. When she asked us the question, Steve and I both very nearly dropped our teeth.
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June 30, 1988
I love my new detective kit! So far, I've fingerprinted James and all three of my sisters. I didn't do my own fingerprints because I know what I've been up to. I used the close-up magnifier on Jenna and Crystal's prints, and there isn't any difference. They really are identical. I've never had trouble telling them apart. Now I am saving up my allowance to buy a tape recorder, so I can hear what goes on when I'm not around. I should have enough soon! I can't wait!
August 11, 1988
I think Mom and Dad are mad at me. I left my tape recorder running under the sofa last night, and they were already talking when they went in there, but on the tape I heard Mom say "Even you have to admit that sometimes it sucks to be bionic." Dad told her that it still had its advantages, and then she must have left the room, because Dad called to her to not walk away That's all that was on the tape.
So this morning, dummy-me asked Mom during our lessons what the word 'bionic' meant. You would think I'd asked her about sex! She got all nervous and finally said something about 'someday, when you're older'. Then she changed the subject and looked at me like I'd better not ask again. Tonight, she and Dad both sat down with me in the den and asked me where I had heard that word. I was honest and told them what I did. Dad sort of laughed, until Mom slugged him. Then they told me that listening to people when they don't know you're listening is bad and can even be dangerous. They said if I did it again, I would get grounded.
Diary, I still don't know what bionic means.
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I should've guessed that Hannah would be the first of our kids to stumble on the word 'bionic'. By this time, Lauren and James had already discovered that Steve and I were government operatives (Lauren loved the words 'secret agent'), and Hannah was aware that her brother and sister knew something she didn't. I think that was why she wanted a detective kit. We should've known it was only a matter or time...
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September, 21, 1988
Uncle Oscar took Dad with him today, and I almost got James to tell me what was happening. Right after they left, I went in and sat down on his bed and told him how happy I was that Mom had finally told me the truth. He asked me what I meant and I told him "You know, that stuff we aren't supposed to talk about, with Dad, Mom and Uncle Oscar."
He said "Really? And you're not scared?" He looked at me kind of funny. Then he started to say something about when they told her they were working, and that's where he stopped. He said "I don't believe you." Then he threw a pillow at me, and wouldn't talk anymore.
Ok. So it isn't a weird vacation trip that they go on. I kind of knew that anyway. They work with Uncle Oscar, or they work for him. I WILL find out! I'm a detective now, and Watson and me are on the case!
September 23,1988
I've been not talking to James for two days now, and today he finally noticed. He got sort of weird, jumping up and down in front of me and making faces. Then he got mad and went stomping off, but before he went into the house he told me that wasn't a very nice way to treat the person who'd once saved my life.
There's sure a lot of stuff I don't understand lately. I'm going to ask Mom and Dad, when Dad gets home tonight.
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When James told Hannah he'd once saved her life, Steve and I had a really tough time explaining that one to her. She was about 18 months old when it happened. We'd gone to the park for the afternoon – James, Lauren, and I – and we took Hannah along in her stroller. An extremist group decided the best way to get me off my guard was to grab one of the kids, and they tried to snatch Hannah. It was the closest any of my kids ever came to true danger because of the lives Steve and I lead.
I pushed the stroller out of the way and headed in the opposite direction, to lead the men away from the kids. James grabbed Hannah's stroller and he and Lauren ran home to get Steve. They were true heroes that day, saving my life, too, when they were able to describe the men's van and give a plate number.
The trouble is, how do you explain that to an over-intelligent, much-too-curious eight year old? We ended up telling her the partial truth: it had been a kidnapping attempt, and James had grabbed her and run home. It seemed to satisfy her – for the time being. That night, after we'd tucked her in, we knew for certain that Hannah and her search for answers would be taking all of us on a very bumpy ride.
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