The Black Cadillac (7 page)

The two of them headed out the door and made a right toward the school. They still had a half hour till the first bell. Cody and Zach stopped at the playground right behind the school.

It wasn’t really a playground; it was more of a mulched area with a few rusted swings and worn-out benches. They each sat on a swing and put their feet on the ground.

“I saw something yesterday. I’m not for certain, but I saw something,” said Cody.

“What did you see? The car?” exclaimed Zach.

“Yes, I think, but like I said, I’m not certain. Ol and I were heading up to the store on our bikes, and you know that church on Lincoln? I saw a black car like my drawing parked across the street from it,” said Cody.

“Did you get close to it or write down the plates?” Zach questioned his friend.

“I couldn’t, Ol was with me, and she saw that I noticed something. You know I don’t want her to have anything to do with our investigation. We stopped briefly but kept on going. Believe me, I wanted to cross the street and check it out,” explained Cody.

“I totally get it, dude. I would have done the same thing,” he continued. “Have you ever thought about what we are going to do if we do find this man and car?”

“Yes, absolutely,” replied Cody.

“I mean, what if this guy is completely harmless and was just playing a joke? On the other hand, what if we are onto something and there is a much bigger picture here?” said Zach unsurely.

“Well, first off, that’s a pretty sick joke if that was the case. And secondly, we are onto something big, I just know it. I have this feeling in my gut that tells me so,” Cody explained.

“Your nightmares? I hope you’re right, I really do, buddy,” said Zach.

Cody had told Zach all about the nightmares every night since the incident.

A thought popped into Cody’s head.

“Zach, I have a question for you. You think the man only goes for kids when it’s cold outside?” said Cody. “It was very cold outside that morning, and I was bundled up pretty good. I could have looked younger like a little kid to him.”

“That’s probably a good question,” replied Zach.

“I was looking at an article on Sam Jennings in the newspaper. She was taken in the wintertime on a cold day,” said Cody. “It makes sense. When the weather is cold, kids may not be paying attention and not very aware of the surroundings.”

“I saw on the news that this year is Sam’s fifth year anniversary of when she went missing,” said Zach.

“I know, my mom was watching the news the other night, and they had a story about Sam on. They were talking about all the clues and tips the police received. The case is still open,” said Cody.

“One thing though, Cody, there was never any mention of a black vehicle,” Zach said.

“I know, but that was five years ago. The kidnapper could have gotten a new vehicle by now,” said Cody.

“True. That’s a very good possibility,” replied Zach.

“What are the chances of the man in the black car, being the kidnapper of Sam Jennings?” asked Cody, raising his eyes.

“Probably not likely, Code. The man would be stupid to stay in the area. Her case was very public, and anyone you ask knows who Sam Jennings is.”

“I know, but what if her killer is nearby and fooled everyone?” suggested Cody.

“Maybe, Code. Let’s get going,” said Zach.

Zach looked at his digital watch. The two friends jumped off the swings and headed toward school.

Monday went by extremely fast for both of them. After school, they each went home to grab their bikes. It was another decent day in the low fifties.

“Meet me at the store by my house at 4:00 p.m.,” instructed Cody.

“Okay, see you in an hour,” replied Zach.

Cody ran all the way home. Phyllis was waiting for him at the front door.

Before she could blurt out something dumb to him, Cody blew by her and ran up the stairs into his bedroom. He put on a hooded sweatshirt and set his book bag on his desk.

Cody walked into Olive’s room and gave her a hug as she was playing with her stuffed unicorns.

“I have to head out to meet up with Zach, I’ll be home later, and maybe we can play a board game or something,” said Cody.

“Okay, brother. Have fun with Zach. Love you,” his sister said.

“I love you too, Ol,” replied Cody.

He shot down the stairs and booked out the back door. His mountain bike was waiting for him on the side garage where he’d left it. Cody walked the bike to the gate and leaned it against the fence. Opening the gate, he thought he heard something on the other side of the fence.

“Mr. Durkbridge? Is that you?” asked Cody.

Cody looked through the slits in the fence and saw a car in the garage covered by a black tarp. Cody wondered what was underneath the tarp.

“Mr. Durkbridge?” Cody asked again.

There was no response, and the boy had a paranoid feeling. Cody hopped on the bike and closed the gate as he wheeled down the driveway. He thought he saw a pair of eyes staring at him between the wooden fence as he rode away.

When he arrived at the store, Zach was there waiting out front.

“I rode by the church and didn’t see anything,” explained Zach.

“I know, I didn’t see the car, either. Let’s just ride around in the area and periodically check back,” said Cody.

“Okay, also, let’s ride up Lincoln Street and look in driveways. You never know,” replied Zach.

“Great idea, now let’s find this car,” Cody exclaimed.

The boys rode slowly up Lincoln Street, peering into each driveway as they rode by. The street was fairly crowded with people and cars. It was a normal road with some people sitting on their porches, enjoying the decent weather. Some of them waved at the boys, and some just put their heads down or looked away.

A couple of people were watering their small lawns. The houses sat just thirty feet from the street. By the time the two reached the end of the street, they didn’t spot one car that resembled what they were looking for.

Cody and Zach turned around and went back down the street. The boys rode faster as they got to the church, and there were no cars parked across the street.

Every day after school, the friends rode down Lincoln. And every day, they came up with nothing. On Thursday, the boys rode to Lincoln Street again. This time Zach had a different idea.

“I’m going to check out the church.” said Zach.

“Good idea. I am going to circle the neighborhood.” replied Cody.

Cody continued down the street, while Zach parked his bike by the church steps. Looking at the large doors with stained glass surrounding them, Zach started walking up the steps. He opened the heavy doors and walked inside the lobby area. The church was quiet and the nave was all lit up with bright lights. Zach looked around and started walking down the center aisle.

“Hello.” the boy said. “Hello, is anyone here?”

“Hello there!” a voice echoed from the top of the altar.

“Oh hello, I was just trying to find out if anyone was here.” said Zach peering up at the altar at a figure.

A slender man dressed in black appeared and started walking towards Zach. It was a pastor.

“Yep, we are here. I’m Pastor Weber, how can I help you son?” the pastor said.

Trying to think of something, Zach thought quickly.

“Oh, uh, I’m Zach and I was wondering when the next service was?” said Zach.

“Nice to meet you Zach. Oh, ok. Our next service is in the evening at 5:30.” the pastor said with a smile. “Will you and your family be attending?”

“Um, maybe. I will tell my mom about it.” replied Zach.

“Does your family live here in Tippwood?” the Pastor politely asked.

“Yes sir. We live over on Jefferson just about a mile down the road.” answered Zach.

“Oh, wonderful. I know exactly where that is at. I live on Spruce by the bowling alley.” the pastor said with another gentle smile.

“Oh nice. Do you mind if I ask you a question?” asked Zach.

“Sure.” replied the pastor.

“My friend and I have been riding our bikes over this way lately. We noticed a black car parked across the street. Do you know who owns that vehicle?” Zach said.

“Oh, I think that’s one of our volunteers’ car. I don’t know his name, he is new to our church. I believe he is here on the weekends. Why do you ask?” the pastor said raising an eyebrow.

“Just curious. It is just a very good looking car and I was telling my mom about it. She is going to be getting a car soon. I thought maybe I could talk to the person that owns it and ask a few questions about the car. No big deal though.” replied Zach convincingly.

“Oh ok.” Pastor Weber said with a puzzled look on his face. “So I will see you later on this evening then?”

“Yeah, as long as my mom wants to come.” Zach said lying. “Bye.”

Zach turned around and headed back towards the doors.

“Goodbye Zach, again it was nice meeting you.” Pastor Weber said.

“You too.” replied Zach.

Zach opened the doors again and headed down the steps back outside.

Zach picked up his bike and started riding slowly. He could see Cody way down the end of the street. When he met up with his friend, he told him what the pastor had said. The boys had found where the man that owned the car volunteered at. It was just one more piece of information they would collect.

Sunday finally rolled around. Cody had a good feeling that the black vehicle would be there at the same time his sister and he went to the store a week ago.

Zach had spent the night at Cody’s house on Saturday night. The two stayed up all night and devised more ideas. They boys also talked about the creepy neighbor.

“Zach, I don’t have a very good feeling about Mr. Durkbridge,” said Cody.

“Why?” responded Zach.

“I always feel like he’s staring at me through the fence, like he’s spying on me,” explained Cody.

“Dude, he’s just a creepy older man that means no harm. You’re too paranoid. Maybe all this investigating is getting to be too much. Maybe we should stop,” said Zach.

Cody changed his tone.

“No, it’s not. We are doing this. I was just stating that Mr. Durkbridge freaks me out a little. I swear, his eyes are watching me through that fence. I’m fine,” Cody fired back at his friend.

Cody failed to tell Zach about the tarp that was hiding a car that he saw through the fence. The two friends moved onto other subjects throughout the night and eventually fell asleep.

When they woke up, Zach leaned over the top railing of the bunk bed.

“All right, dude, let’s check the church out,” he said.

“Let’s do it,” said Cody.

After breakfast, the both of them walked outside in the backyard to get their bikes. Mr. Durkbridge was on the other side of the fence, doing something to his bushes.

“Hey, you two! What are you guys up to today?” said Mr. Durkbridge in a cheesy voice.

“Good morning, Mr. Durkbridge! We are going for an early bike ride,” replied Cody, trying to sound excited like his neighbor.

“Well, you guys should wear a jacket or something. It’s only going to reach forty-five as a high today,” informed Mr. Durkbridge.

Cody gave his friend a long stare. Zach let out a small laugh, walked his bike toward the gate, and opened it.

“Okay, thanks. We have sweatshirts on. We will be fine,” said Cody.

“Well, you two have a nice ride and be careful. You really should wear helmets,” said the neighbor peering through the fence.

“We’ll be all right. See you later, Mr. Durkbridge,” replied Cody.

The two of them got on their bikes and headed for the church.

“See, I told you. You get it now?” asked Cody as the two rode down the sidewalk.

“Yeah, I get it. Just a creepy old guy like I said,” blurted Zach.

They pedaled as fast as they could toward Lincoln Street and came to a sudden stop a street before their destination.

Both of them saw the same thing at the same second. There, sitting less than forty yards away from them, was a black vehicle parked on the opposite side of the church on Lincoln Street.

“Oh my god, dude, is that the car you saw last Sunday?” asked Zach.

“Yes! I knew it would be there. Let’s get a closer look,” said Cody.

The two of them rode their bikes closer to the car. They were now staring at the vehicle from the sidewalk. No one was in or around the vehicle. They heard music coming from the church.

The vehicle was parked in the same spot Cody saw a week ago. The sleek black color of the car was shining in the early morning sun. The wheels had multiple spokes in them, and the tires had a clean white ring around the edge. Chrome edges surrounded the rear bumper. The vehicle’s windows were darkened with a black film. There was an ornament on the shiny black hood. The car was a Cadillac Brougham and was immaculate.

“It is a great-looking car, I’ll give it that,” Zach said, lowering the intensity.