Where Things Come Back Chapter 7

Neighbors

• Aunt Julia and Cullen's mom are starting to give the Woodpecker haircut at the hair salon, which is basically a Mohawk with red tips. Cullen thinks it's pretty dumb, but it's popular with the middle school crowd and is bringing in some extra money.
• Cullen's lost all hope that his brother will be found alive, but his mom is still cheerful and pretending like everything's just fine. His dad is on the phone all day long with the police, trying to get people to look for Gabriel.
• For whatever reason, Lucas has come up with the theory that Fulton Dumas is responsible for Gabriel's disappearance. He drags Cullen next door and they interrogate Fulton, which goes awkwardly because Fulton starts to cry and says that he knows nothing about Gabe's disappearance, and that he really liked the guy.
• It's pretty clear that he has nothing to do with Gabriel's disappearance, but Lucas isn't deterred—his next suspect is John Barling.
• Four weeks after Gabriel's disappearance, there is still no sign of him or of the mythical Lazarus woodpecker.
• One day, John Barling comes in and asks him if he's the kid whose brother went missing. He tells Cullen that he hopes his brother will show up soon, and Cullen sarcastically retorts that he hopes John's bird will show up soon.