“What about hair?” Mr. Trouble asked.
“We thought the possibility was remote so we didn’t take a sample,” Uncle Colin said. He took a step toward Eric. “We could do that now.”
Eric edged backward.
Uncle Carl reached out and put a hand on his brother. “Hair analysis won’t tell us for sure, either. The only real way to know is a deep scan.”
“That’s true, that’s true,” Uncle Colin agreed, his head bobbing up and down.
“We can have him in and out in twenty minutes,” Uncle Carl said.
“No way,” Eric said. “We can’t stay another twenty minutes.”
“He’s right,” Mr. Trouble agreed. “There’s not enough time now. Run your tests again to double-check your numbers. We’ll set up a scan for later.”
“Of course, of course,” Uncle Colin said. He tried to smile. “Eric, friend of Eric, it was a pleasure to meet you.”
Maggie said, “My name is—”
“Let’s go!” Mr. Trouble announced, cutting her off.
He grabbed Eric and Maggie by the arms and ushered them quickly to the sedan.
Much to Eric’s surprise, they pulled up in front of his house by 9:01.
“Home as promised,” Mr. Trouble said.
“Thanks.” Eric reached for the door but hesitated opening it. “You don’t think those other guys are still around, do you?”
“Who?”
“You know, the ones we ran from in front of Maggie’s house.”
“First of all, we didn’t run from anyone. It was just easier to have a conversation somewhere they were not. And no, they won’t still be around. That would be very, very unusual.”
Eric felt there was something Mr. Trouble wasn’t telling him. Well, there were probably a ton of things Mr. Trouble wasn’t telling him, but his mind was so full of everything that had happened that evening that he didn’t even know what to ask. He opened his door.
“I’ll walk from here,” Maggie said, also opening her door.
As Eric started to climb out, Mr. Trouble touched him on the arm.
“Quick question,” Mr. Trouble said in a whisper. “The phone-book incident? Do you still have the page you tore out?”
It took Eric a second to figure out what he meant, then he nodded. “Yeah. It’s in my bag.”
“Could I possibly get that from you?”
“Right now?”
“Now would be good. We may forget later.”
Eric pulled the page out of his bag and handed it to Mr. Trouble.
“Thank you. Thank you so much.” Mr. Trouble folded it and put it in his shirt pocket. “Now, I don’t want you worrying about anything. Soon your Maker problems will be all gone.”
Eric stopped as he was about to shut his door. “Maker problems? What do you mean?”
“What?”
“You said Maker problems?”
“I’m sure I didn’t.”
“I’m sure you did. What’s a Maker?”
Mr. Trouble shrugged his shoulders. “That’s an excellent question. Okay, you have a nice—”
“You did say it.”
“No, I didn’t.”
“I’m sure you did.”
“Did what?” Mr. Trouble asked.
“Say it.”
Mr. Trouble laughed. “Oh, you
“What was that all about?” Maggie asked.
“I have no idea.” They stood there silently for another few seconds, then Eric said, “Thanks for coming with me.”
“Somebody has to watch out for you. Now, I suggest you forget about everything that happened tonight. Whoever these people are, they’re crazy. I don’t trust them.”
He nodded but said nothing.
“I’m completely serious,” she told him.
“I know you are.” He paused. “You want me to walk you home? Peter might still be around.”
She rolled her eyes. “Peter has never bothered me. I’ll be fine.” She took a few steps then turned back. “And don’t worry.
“Oh, Maggie. The report. I’m sorry. I’ll—”
“Don’t say anything. It’s fine.”
As she walked off, he knew it wasn’t really fine but what was he going to do?
And what she had said about the Trouble family? He knew she was just trying to be a good friend. But if they could help him find his mom and make all the other weirdness go away, he had to trust them.
He took a deep breath and headed up the pathway to his front door. As he reached the porch, that odd thing Mr. Trouble said right before he drove away played through his mind.
He paused. It hadn’t been his imagination. He’d definitely heard it.
So, what, exactly, was a Maker?
TROUBLE FAMILY SERVICES
INTRODUCTION
Welcome to Trouble Family Services! We understand you might be a little confused and perhaps even upset. This is perfectly natural. If you’re reading this, then your life has recently been turned upside down and has yet to return to normal.
By now, even the strongest, most levelheaded person would be questioning why all this was happening to them. Again, it’s only natural. So is wondering: will this ever end?
The good news is that it will!
Because you have taken the big step that will make sure it does — calling Trouble Family Services. However you came across our number (we realize the ways this can happen are also unusual), we are glad you called. We have been serving people in situations just like yours for generations, and we take our company motto very seriously:
You gotta problem. We gotta help.
We know you have many questions. Hopefully this booklet will answer most if not all of them. So take a few minutes, relax, and enjoy the read.
And thanks again for calling!
Sincerely,
Ronan Trouble/Mr. Trouble
CEO
Trouble Family Services
TROUBLE FAMILY SERVICES
TFS HISTORY
From the very beginning, TFS has been a family-run business. Started in 1762 by Thomas Leatherwood, TFS has been passed down from father to son all the way to the current chief executive officer of TFS, Ronan Trouble
