Bumgarner/The Intersection/119
system throughout the entire ordeal; from the grisly killings, to the juvenile facility, to the trial, and eventual sentencing. By the time it was over, Billy turned nine years of age and was settled in with the Harold and Monica Anderson. The Andersons were a middle-aged couple with no children, two big dogs and lots of savvy about how to deal with children; they had fostered close to twenty foster children; and had one of the best records in the state in terms of the children’s success after leaving them. For the first time in his life, Billy felt accepted, even loved. By his eleventh year, he had been regularly attending school for two years. Monica Anderson, a teacher, worked closely with him and his teachers, and Billy felt good about school; and though he still had a slight “dragging” of one leg, he ran and jumped on the playground, and made more friends than he ever thought possible. The summer following his sixth grade year the Andersons planned a trip to visit distant family in Lake Stevens, a small community north of Seattle. Since Billy had never been on the western side of the state, Mrs. Anderson