A couple of hours after the meeting I received a text from Maverick. He had added Victoria, Knox, Asher and I to a group chat titled Band of Meddling Kids.

Band of Meddling Kids:
Maverick: My parents say we can use the shed so yay
Knox: yusss
Victoria: what time are we meeting there
Maverick: 6:30, come to Grant's Skating Rink in Humbard outside of town
Me: I know where that is. It's like 10 mins from where I live
Asher: we gonna watch you play hockey or something?
Maverick: Yeah, you might have to. #27 (Falk) is me.

I smiled at the messages popping up on my phone. The moment I learned that Maverick liked hockey, I had wanted to see him play and tomorrow I would get the chance. I found interest in most sports except soccer, so hopefully this would be fun and not turn into a disaster.

    The rink was cold when I stepped in, though refreshing. My legs ached slightly from the walk there because my parents would not let me use their car and insisted rudely that I "needed the exercise". Obviously they were right. I never had time for any physical activities save for walking to and from places because school ruled my life with an iron fist, but was I going to admit that? No.

With a sudden feeling of indignation, I trudged up the steps to the highest row of bleachers, sitting next to a short, pale and familiar-looking girl with bright red hair. She sighed happily, her chin resting on the palm of her hand as she stared down at the rink.

I searched the ice for a jersey gracing the number twenty-seven on its back and found it after only a few seconds. Maverick was skating across the center of the red line in the middle of the rink, checking an opponent out of the way as he passed the puck to his teammate. The girl sighed again, this time more loudly. "Is your boyfriend on the ice?" I asked her.

She perked up immediately as if she were waiting for me to say that the entire time. "Sort of, yeah. I really can't stand hockey but he's so hot."

I nodded, not sure how to respond, and turned my attention back to the game. He had the puck and the goal was growing nearer and nearer. He was going to hit it in! Maverick swung his stick and was cross-checked by a player from the opposing team as the other forward on his team checked that player from behind. They all fell down like dominoes and the puck sailed past the goal and hit the wall with a bang.

"I think that's enough for today. Bryant and Keely, you both got minor penalties in that play- work on that. Falk, you good?"

Maverick gave him a thumbs up, pulled himself from the ice, and skated off the rink. When he removed his helmet I could see from the farthest seat in the stands that his face was bright red and his hair was wet with sweat.

Asher, Victoria and Knox all took seats next to me. "Did he go into the locker room?" Asked Victoria. I nodded in response, getting up and grabbing my jacket.

"Let's go wait in the lobby for him," I muttered, hoping the others would hear me.

"I'll go with you," said the red-haired girl. "Who are you meeting?"

"Number twenty-seven."

The color from her face drained and she started down the steps quickly, not saying a word. We followed her to the lobby and sat down on a bench by the locker room, waiting patiently until Maverick walked out, his duffel bag in hand.

The girl rose from her seat and rushed to him, throwing her arms around his neck. "Hi," Maverick said, laughing. "How's life, Lacey?"

I too felt all the color drain from my face now.

"Nothing's changed since we spoke yesterday," she said, smiling.

"Figures. Well, Lacey, I've really got to be somewhere, but thanks for visiting me. I'll see you at school Monday, okay?"

She nodded, giving him one last hug before waltzing out the door and into the dark parking lot. "Sorry about that, guys. Now, who here came by car?"

Everybody but me rose their hand. "Taren, you can ride with me," he resolved. "Let's get going."

       "Hockey is tough," Maverick blurted once they got on the road.

"It looks hard. You got cross-checked and, even if it was a normal body check from the side or front, it wasn't legal. He had a high stick."

Maverick stared at me in awe for a moment before responding. "I didn't know that you knew anything about hockey."

"Well it's not exactly a boring sport," I defended.

"We should see a game some time. Besides my team you're the only person I can talk hockey with."

"What about Thomas?"

"He was-"

"Is," I interjected.

"-more of a football fan. I watch football, but he doesn't really understand my lingo."

A few minutes after our conversation had ended, we pulled up to Maverick's driveway. I hopped out of the truck, trying to conceal my smile as we headed to the shed. Maverick wanted to take me to a hockey game!

Knox, Victoria and Asher had arrived only a few minutes after us, so the meeting started almost immediately. "Alright. As you guys know, you can never win with parents. There is always a 'but' in the situation. So, before we start we have to clean out the shed."

"Small price to pay if we solve the case," said Knox happily.

"Plus," Victoria added. "I love cleaning!"

The shed was filled with murmurs of disagreement and then laughter. We all began to clean, starting on different corners of the shed, Maverick working in the middle.

I couldn't explain why I was so relieved. We hadn't even made any progress in the case yet, but somehow the town felt more relaxed. It was in temporary sleep until the right person woke it back up again. That's when more people would go missing. That's when suspicions would rise.