Back Before Dark (16 page)

H
iro watched Coop leave Frank’n Stein’s. He dropped his half-full monster shake into the trash can, which proved he wasn’t himself. He wasn’t thinking straight. He normally downed every bit of it—working his straw around the bottom of the cup like a wet vac, slurping up every last drop of his beloved chocolate shake.

Cooper kept going, right past the green-skinned Frankenstein mascot and straight out the door. He was making a mistake—and she couldn’t stop him. Not in the frame of mind he was in. It was like he wouldn’t even consider the reality of the situation. Nearly forty-eight hours and no ransom call? Gordy was a statistic now. Coop had to keep from becoming one himself.

But if she pressed any harder, she’d push him away. Stubborn. Reckless. And wonderful friend that he was.

She was sure he wouldn’t break his promise, but that didn’t mean spying on a guy like VanHorton wouldn’t lead to trouble. A good cop expects the unexpected, and Hiro was sure Coop was going to do something stupid. And he didn’t want her along, which bothered her a little. Okay, it bothered her a lot. Cooper wasn’t taking calculated risks here. He was just taking risks.

And he’d do the same for her. And the truth was, she’d do anything to find Coop if he were missing. In a heartbeat.

She hated the helpless, aching way Coop made her feel. And he seemed oblivious to it all. He didn’t look back. And he didn’t stop until he got to the base of the sign where Frank and Lunk were putting up the reward notice.

A $30,000 reward ought to get some local attention.
Maybe even the school bus driver would hand out flyers now.

Hiro used a clean napkin to give the table a quick wipe and hurried to the parking lot.

She looked at Coop. He was talking to Lunk—who apparently had no regard for the law. She wished she didn’t have to leave. The thought of Lunk and Coop together wasn’t very reassuring. Coop shifted his weight from one foot to the other like he was in a hurry to get moving.

She approached Lunk and Coop, just as Frank put the last letter up on the message board. “I’ll get back as soon as I can. I think the door-to-door approach is our best bet.” She said it with confidence, hoping Coop would have second thoughts about his plan.

“
Best
approach?” Lunk wiped his hands on the thighs of his camouflage cargo shorts. “You mean the
safest
approach.”

Hiro glared at him. If he kept talking like that, Coop would never change his mind. But Coop didn’t even appear to be listening. He left the two of them and jogged toward the bike rack.

“You can’t always play it safe, Hiro.” Lunk brushed past her and followed Coop.

Hiro followed him, trying to keep up with his strides. “I’m not talking about staying
safe.
”

Lunk didn’t stop. Didn’t turn.

She hustled to get beside him. “You’re off the map in that department. I’m talking about being
sane.
”

Lunk stopped abruptly and stared at her.

Hiro checked to make sure Coop wasn’t within earshot. She was more than safe, though. Coop headed toward his bike at the entrance to Frank’n Stein’s looking like a zombie. Totally sleep-deprived or deep in thought. Probably both. “It’s crazy,” she said. “And you know it.”

Lunk put his hands on his hips and leaned toward her. “Look.
Crazy
is some psycho who kidnapped Gordy. Don’t pin the crazy label on Coop.”

“That’s not what I mean and you know it, Mr. Lunquist.” She lowered her voice. “We have to stop Coop. For his own good. He’s not thinking straight.”

Lunk picked his bike off the grass. “Coop would do anything for a friend—even if it’s risky. I like the way he thinks.”

She might as well be talking to the Frankenstein mascot inside the diner. She was definitely not getting through.

Coop had his bike unlocked and out of the rack by the time Lunk and Hiro got there. Coop was obviously in a hurry to get going. “Ready?”

And that was it. He didn’t say another word on the ride to her house. Not because he was trying to be rude. She knew the look on his face. He was thinking. Lunk seemed to be lost in thought, too. He lagged a good thirty feet behind them and didn’t seem to make any effort to close the gap.

A half-block away from her house she broke the silence. “Coop, listen.” She struggled to come up with something that would convince him to change his mind. But the moment he looked at her, his eyes stopped her. Haunted. Hurting.

Did he know the chances of finding Gordy alive were almost non-existent? Was this his last-ditch effort to do something that could save him? And could he live with himself if he didn’t try? The guilt was killing him. And guilt made a powerful motivator.

In that instant she knew he
had
to do this—whether she liked it or not. “Just be careful, okay?”

Coop nodded. “I have my phone. I’ll call you if I get a lead.”

Hiro nodded. “I’ll get back as soon as I can.”

Great. Perfect. Can’t wait until you do. I hate doing this without you.
Any one of those responses from Coop would have made Hiro feel a whole lot better right now. But he didn’t say a thing.

“And be careful,” she said.

Coop didn’t react. Back in his own world somewhere. Reminding him to be careful was pointless. Coop was going to do whatever it took to find Gordy. He’d already taken some real chances, and if anything, every hour that passed made him more desperate.

Hiro dropped back, coasting until Lunk pulled alongside her.

“Lunk,” Hiro said. “Better keep your concrete bat handy.”

He raised his eyebrows. “Oh,
now
you think it’s a good idea?”

“Not at all. But if something happens to Coop, you’re going to need it to keep me from putting
you
in Northwest Community Hospital.”

L
unk watched Hiro disappear inside her house. She was a real piece of work. A pistol. Sometimes fearless, sometimes frail. And fiercely loyal.

Coop glanced his way. “I did
not
like that guy.”

“I told you. He’s bad. Really bad.”

“Bad enough to kidnap?”

Lunk thought about that for a moment. “Definitely.”

Coop nodded. “Even Fudge knew there was something wrong with that guy. I’ve never seen her that vicious.”

Which didn’t make Lunk feel any easier around Coop’s dog. “I just don’t get why Hiro doesn’t see it,” Coop said.

And Lunk wasn’t about to tell him his little theory about Hiro. That deep down she knew VanHorton could have grabbed Gordy, but that she figured it was too late to save him. What she was really trying to do was protect Coop.

Watching out for Coop was Lunk’s job now. If God was really up there, he wasn’t batting a thousand. Maybe God needed somebody else to step up to the plate. Someone with a concrete-filled bat.

“If he’s the guy who took Gordy …” Lunk wanted to choose his words carefully. “Do you really think he’d have Gordy at his house?”

Cooper shrugged. “Do you figure he took Gordy somewhere else? Has him locked up in a another location?”

Not exactly what Lunk was thinking. But clearly Coop wasn’t ready for Lunk’s honest opinion—that Gordy was gone. “It seems suicidal to have him at his own house, that’s all.”

“But that’s what makes it the perfect spot. Nobody would think he’d try a stunt like that.” Coop stared off into space like he could see right into VanHorton’s house. “Until that place has been searched, I can’t give up.”

“So what’s the plan?”

Cooper shrugged. “Find a place to watch the house. See if we find something suspicious enough to convince the cops to do a search.”

Lunk let that sink in. What were the chances that would just happen? They could spend all afternoon there and not see a single thing. “What if we could find a way to get the cops to search?”

Coop nodded. “I was thinking the same thing. But how? Hiro was right about one thing. The police will need some solid evidence.”

“Agreed,” Lunk said.

Coop started pedaling, and Lunk rode alongside.

“I feel like VanHorton enjoyed bullying us,” Coop said. “Like the whole thing was a game to him.”

Game.
Coop was right. To VanHorton this whole thing was a sick game. Maybe it was time for the two of them to play a game of their own. An idea started to form in Lunk’s mind. A simple idea. So simple, it just might work. He worked out a few more details in his head, his excitement growing. “I got it.” Lunk stopped pedaling. “Oh, yeah. He wants to play a game? I got one for him.”

Coop braked to a stop and put a foot down. “Spill.”

Lunk hesitated. Would Coop go for the plan though? It would mean lying—something Coop wouldn’t want to do. Not after the whole code of silence fiasco. “There’s a way to get the police to search VanHorton’s—I think.”

Coop eyed him. “Legally?”

“The
search
would be legal,” Lunk said. “But I don’t want to say any more about it. Not yet.” He didn’t want Coop’s conscience to get in the way of his plans. “But we’re going to need something of Gordy’s—like a T-shirt.”

“A T-shirt?”

“Yeah, the same kind he was wearing when the guy grabbed him.”

Coop looked down the block and then back. “Planting evidence? Is that your idea?”

“Yes—but no. Not
exactly.
We won’t get into trouble on this. Trust me.”

Coop seemed to be considering the idea.

“Just get me the T-shirt.”

Coop stared at the ground.

Lunk figured Coop could go either way. “VanHorton is a total creep. One way or another you have to know if he’s the guy who took Gordy.”

Coop looked up. “Would Hiro go for it?”

Lunk laughed. “She’d hate it. But you’ll get a
legal
search. By
police.
And if the house is clean, we can go door-to-door like Hiro wants—or whatever you want.”

Coop nodded. “Okay. I’ll do it. Gives me a chance to touch base at home while I’m at it.”

“I’ll meet you in the parking lot at Taco Bell,” Lunk said. “I need to work out some details.”

“Why don’t you tell me what you’ve got so far?”

“It’s better you didn’t know.”

Coop studied him for a moment. “Right now I don’t care how we do it. We just have to make sure that house is checked—and good. I’ll be at the parking lot in ten—with a T-shirt.”

Coop spun his bike around and pedaled hard. Time wasn’t on their side. Every hour that passed made the chances of finding Gordy slimmer—if he was still alive.

C
ooper found Lunk in the parking lot next to Taco Bell. His bike lay on the ground, and Lunk paced a tight pattern beside it like he was deep in thought. He didn’t seem to notice Cooper until he was almost on top of him.

“Got the shirt?”

Cooper pulled it out of the bulging pocket of his cargo shorts. A faded red T-shirt with a crew neck—slightly stretched from Gordy’s habit of pulling it up to wipe his mouth after he took a drink from the water cooler at school. A dead ringer for the one Gordy wore Tuesday.

“Perfect.” Lunk took the shirt and shook it open. He grabbed it with both hands. Ripped it from the bottom hem right up through the collar.

“So I guess I won’t be returning the shirt,” Cooper said. Now he had a pretty good idea of what Lunk planned to do. “We plant the shirt at VanHorton’s and call the police?”

Lunk didn’t answer. “Any news about Gordy?”

“Nothing.” Cooper didn’t even have to ask his mom or Aunt Cris when he saw them. Their faces reflected the bad news. Mom was at Aunt Cris’s house more than their own. Both of them were
totally consumed. They hadn’t even noticed when he went to Gordy’s room for the T-shirt.

“Let’s do this,” Cooper said. They were burning up too many minutes before dark. And there wasn’t much chance they’d be doing any searching after the sun went down.

Cooper set a fast pace even though his legs were burning from the ride home. “So how does this plan of yours work?”

“Tell you when we get there.”

That was it. Cooper glanced over at him. Lunk kept his mouth shut like there was nothing more to say. Maybe he didn’t have a plan worked out after all. Maybe he was going to get there and pretty much wing it.

Lunk pedaled harder and took the lead.

Four houses from VanHorton’s, Lunk slowed to a stop, and Cooper did the same.

“Okay.” Lunk scanned the houses across the street from VanHorton’s. All of them looked quiet except for one. A girl—maybe Hiro’s age, knelt down in front of the porch, planting flowers.

A boy—slightly younger than the girl, swung a wiffle-ball bat back and forth, knocking the heads off dandelions in the front yard. Cooper glanced at his own bat strapped to his bike frame, wondering what the boy would think if he tried to swing it with its concrete core. What he
really
wondered was if the people living there knew what kind of man lived across the street.

“Ready to play a game?” Lunk handed him the T-shirt. “Think you can sneak this onto VanHorton’s front porch?”

Cooper eyed VanHorton’s house. “Easy.”

“Okay,” Lunk said. “Do it and meet back here. Then we’re going across the street—to that house.” He pointed at the house with the kids.

That was the part of the plan that seemed a little sketchy to Coop. But Lunk seemed to have it worked out in his head, so there was no point in pressing the issue. “I’ll go on foot.”

Lunk nodded.

Cooper walked across three front yards, staying close to each house. VanHorton was nowhere to be seen, which suited Cooper just fine. Cooper looked back once. Lunk was still straddled over his bike, watching.

Cooper strode across the narrow strip of grass separating him from VanHorton’s. Wood decking made up the guy’s front porch, with a simple wood railing around it.

Heart beating faster now, Cooper wadded the T-shirt in a ball and stepped up to the rail. He launched the T-shirt close to the front door, spun around, and beelined it for the bike.

“Perfect,” Lunk said. “Now. I’m not going to ask you to lie or anything. Just follow my lead.” He took a deep breath and let it out. “Ready?”

Alarms were going off in Cooper’s head. But he nodded anyway, and Lunk took off. Veering into the street, Lunk picked up the pace, with Cooper closing the gap fast.

Lunk rode right down the middle of the street, but just as he approached the house with the kids out front, he jerked the handlebars hard to the left. His front tire slammed into the concrete curb, sending Lunk and his bike flying in separate directions.

Cooper skidded to a stop, rolled his bike to the curb and dumped it on the grass. “Are you okay?”

Lunk lay on his back, rolling back and forth clutching his ankle. “Owww, ow, ow, ow, owww!”

The girl stood, rushed to the front door, and called to someone inside. The boy hustled up with his baseball bat, wide-eyed, but with a slight grin on his face. “You hit
hard.
”

Cooper knelt down beside Lunk. “Let me see that ankle.”

“No.” Lunk shook his head. “Just help me to my feet.”

Cooper grabbed Lunk’s wrist and helped him up. Lunk stood on one leg, keeping the other leg in the air.

“Help me to the porch.” Lunk motioned toward the house. He threw an arm around Cooper’s shoulder and hopped on one foot
across the front yard. Cooper wasn’t sure if his ankle was really hurt, but Lunk definitely leaned hard enough to make it appear real.

The front door opened and a woman holding a stack of mail came out with the girl. “I was looking out the window and saw your fall. Sit down on the front porch. How bad is that ankle?”

Lunk sat down on the front step, still keeping his foot in the air. “Doesn’t look like I’ll be riding my bike home.”

“If you need a ride, I can take you. Where do you live?”

Lunk held up his hands. “I’m sorry, ma’am. I really appreciate that. And I don’t mean any offense, but if I took a ride from a stranger—even one as kind-looking as you, my mom would have my hide.”

The woman turned to her daughter. “Brae, honey, run inside and fill a plastic bag with ice.”

The girl nodded and ran inside. Her brother followed.

Lunk shifted and winced. “Maybe I can just try to walk it off.”

“I’m not so sure that’s a good idea. You sure I can’t give you a ride?”

Lunk nodded.

He could definitely be convincing. A natural.

The woman looked concerned. “Anything else I can do for you?”

Lunk shrugged. “Do you have a cordless phone? I’ll just call my mom and see if she can pick me up.”

The woman tilted her head to the side just a bit. “I thought all teenagers carried cell phones.”

“If I had the money, I wouldn’t be riding that bike.” Lunk smiled.

The woman returned the smile. “Be right back.”

As soon as the woman disappeared through the doorway, Lunk motioned for Coop to come closer. “If she hangs around after she gives me the phone, you need to draw her away. Distract her.”

Coop nodded just as the woman came out of the house. She handed Lunk the cordless.

“Can I ask what your address is, ma’am?” Lunk said. “And your name?”

“Tonya Aiello.” She fished a catalog from the stack of mail, pointed at the address label, and handed it to Lunk. She looked
back toward the open doorway. “Excuse me. I’m going to see what’s taking so long with that ice.”

Lunk wasted no time dialing 9-1-1. He grinned at Cooper. “Wait until you hear this.”

A moment later the 9-1-1 dispatcher must have picked up.

“Hi, my name is Neal. I’m visiting my aunt, Tonya Aiello,” He read the address from the catalog and gave Cooper a thumbs up sign. “I was outside playing ball with my younger cousins when I saw something at the house across the street. I think somebody is in real trouble there.”

Brilliant, Lunk.
Cooper’s heart beat faster. The 9-1-1 dispatcher could verify the address, to be sure the information Lunk gave matched the caller ID on the phone.

“The front door opened and a boy tried to get out, but some man grabbed his T-shirt to pull him back inside. The man was big—like a bodybuilder. He had a black T-shirt—no sleeves on it.”

There was a slight pause.

“No, ma’am. I don’t think it could have been the boy’s dad. The man pressed something up against the boy, and the kid dropped fast and started convulsing. It almost looked like he tasered him or something. The man pulled him back inside—dragged him by his shirt—and ripped it right off. I got a real bad feeling and grabbed my aunt’s phone to call you.”

Another pause.

“The boy looked to be maybe fourteen. Tall. Red T-shirt and khaki cargo shorts. He looked really scared.”

Obviously Lunk could really be convincing when he wanted to. Cooper glanced at the doorway to make sure Mrs. Aiello wasn’t back yet. He motioned to Lunk, pointing at his wrist.

Lunk nodded. “And ma’am. Please send the police fast. That boy, he looked like, well, it seemed to me I’d seen his face before.”

Another slight pause.

“On some posters I saw on some light poles in town—of a missing boy.”