Brady loves life on the Chesapeake Bay with his friends J.T. and Digger. But developers and rich families are moving into the area, and while Brady befriends some of them, like the DiAngelos, his parents and friends are bitter about the changes. Tragedy strikes when the DiAngelos’ kayak overturns in the bay, and Brady wonders if it was more than an accident. Soon, Brady discovers the terrible truth behind the kayak’s sinking, and it will change the lives of those he loves forever. Priscilla Cummings deftly weaves a suspenseful tale of three teenagers caught in a wicked web of deception. “Cummings has created a multifaceted story that is as much about the families and life in the Chesapeake as it is about a prank gone awry. Brady’s bighearted cousin Carl, his supportive father, and the anguished Mrs. DiAngelo are particularly well-developed characters who are pivotal in Brady’s understanding of the path he must choose. This well-crafted story will have broad appeal.”— School Library Journal Priscilla Cummings lives in Annapolis, Maryland. We did not waste time. Crack of dawn the next morning we made our way down to the creek, where a thick mist rose above the still, dark waters. A great blue heron squawked at us for making too much noise and, indignant, took off from a nearby bank as we boarded my father’s boat. Miss Amanda’s deck was slick with dew. We stepped carefully so’s not to slip as we settled the gear on board. “Easy now. Remember, this ain’t no hot rod!” Dad warned, handing me the key. Hot rod. Only my dad would say something like that. “I’ll be careful!” I called back over my shoulder as I went up front to turn the key in the ignition. Once the engine was running, I adjusted the radar controls on board the boat while my father reached over to the dock and cast off the lines. “Go ahead!” Dad hollered as he tossed the last line into the boat. Leaning into the front window, I looked hard to port to be sure I was clearing the last piling as we pulled out. Dad went to work getting the grapnel hook ready. He didn’t think it was necessary to use the oyster dredger. I was glad, because it would have taken most of a day and a half to get the contraption hooked up. Dad said that if the kayak was still there, we could snare it with the grapnel hook, which was actually an extra anchor he kept on board. It had several pointy flukes on it, so if it caught hold, we could wrap the lines around the machine that acts like a high–powered winch to pull in crab pots and hoist it up that way. I hadn’t slept much, but I was alert and pumped full of adrenaline. Finding the kayak and getting the truth out once and for all was my mission. It didn’t matter what kids at school thought or what happened afterward. It was something I had to do. The motor hummed as we moved out, the only boat on the creek. Heavy, gray clouds obscured the sunrise, and a few raindrops already warned us it wasn’t going to be a beautiful day. But I didn’t care. We needed the rain. It was long overdue, I thought, lifting my eyebrows, just as what I was doing was long overdue. When Dad came forward and took over steering, I went back to sit on the engine box. We entered the Corsica and then went directly to the opposite bank and the opening off the river where I had discovered Ben and where I’d spotted the sunken kayak last April. As soon as I saw the rotten pilings jutting out of the water, the events of last April tumbled forward in my mind and my stomach lurched. Backing off on the throttle, Dad carefully maneuvered the boat through the narrow channel along the sandbar. Then he threw the boat in neutral and came back toward me. I stood at the side, staring into the water near the tip of the sandbar. “Right there,” I said glumly, pointing and already disappointed. “That’s where I saw the kayak last April.” We both leaned over the edge, trying to get a better look. Although it was starting to sprinkle, the water was clear and shallow enough that we could see the sandy bottom. But there was no sign of the kayak, nor any part of it. The feeling in my stomach got worse. I’d always known there was a good possibility we wouldn’t find it. “You’re sure it was here?” Dad asked. “Positive,” I replied. The scowl on my forehead deepened. “Why didn’t you say somethin’ about it last spring?” Dad asked. I shook my head. “I didn’t think it mattered then.” My father didn’t ask why it mattered now. He walked forward to a second set of gearshifts in the back of the boat and moved her up a few feet. Again, both of us peered into the river. But the water was deeper—and darker, too. We couldn’t see a thing. Plus the rain came harder, churning the surface. “Not the best day to be doin’ this,” Dad commented. “Please. Can we look just a little longer?” I begged. Dad sighed. Then he put a foot up on the railing and studied the water. “Brady, isn’t this the old fishin’ hole where you and J.T. and Digger used to come? Place was right smart of fish if I ’member correct