The Black Cadillac (9 page)

“Um, not really. Most of it’s done, Mom,” said Cody, lying to his mom.

She glanced down at the sheet of paper.

“You’re lying, Cody. You can’t pull a fast one on me. I’m your mother,” she said. “You better get that done by the time you leave,” Georgiana informed him. “And don’t lie. I cannot stand liars.”

“Okay, Mom. Sorry,” Cody said meaningfully.

His mother set down a mug with his tea in it. Cody gave Olive a playful stare. Olive just smiled, remembering her brother put down his homework so they could play Sorry.

Cody took a sip of the hot tea his mother had just set down for him on the kitchen table. It was twenty after seven. Georgiana said good-bye and headed out the front door. Her bus stop was just at the corner of their street.

Cody finished his math homework by just guessing and jotting down random numbers under the problems. He jammed the paper into his folder and stuffed it in his bag.

After saying good-bye to Olive, Cody headed out the front door. He took the long way to school. Cody caught up to Zach right before the playground. Zach had headphones on and was listening to a cassette tape on his Walkman.

“Hey, buddy!” yelled Cody.

“Oh, what’s up, dude?” said Zach, removing his headphones.

Zach noticed his friend hobbling.

“What happened to you?” asked Zach.

“Oh, nothing. Ol and I were playing tag, and I twisted my ankle trying to catch her. No big deal, it’s just a little sore,” replied Cody.

“Oh well, that sucks,” said Zach.

“Wanna shoot some hoops after school?” asked Cody.

“Yeah, dude. We could use a break from this work we have been doing,” replied Zach, looking at his friend in disbelief. “Are you sure you’re okay to play?”

“Yeah, I’ll be fine by after school. Do you want to play or what?” said Cody.

“Yeah, let’s play some b-ball after school at my house,” replied Zach with a smile.

“Okay, cool. I’ll call Phil from your house after school and tell her,” said Cody.

“Sounds like a plan,” replied Zach.

The two headed into the school building just as the first bell rang.

For a dreaded Monday, which every student hated, the day went by quickly for Cody. Two of his teachers were sick, and the substitutes in each class were cool. They just let the class do anything they wanted within reason.

During a few classes, Cody thought about his neighbor’s garage. Could Mr. Durkbridge own the car the boys had been looking for? Was that even possible? But who was the man they saw at the church? Thoughts and questions ran through Cody’s mind all day about his adventure a night ago. The pain in his ankle also reminded him of it. Things were starting to confuse the boy. Cody met up with Zach after school by the playground, and they headed to Zach’s house.

The house was a little smaller than Cody’s, but it was very homey. The house was white with green shutters. It had a porch with two green columns. Zach’s driveway was fairly big and made a great basketball court. Zach had gotten a mounted basketball hoop when he was in fifth grade. Zach was a great basketball player, and it was his reward for making the team.

“Let’s go inside and put our book bags down. I’ll give you a T-shirt to throw on,” offered Zach.

Before Cody could respond, Zach’s mother interrupted.

“Are you guys watching this?” she asked, pointing at the television.

“No, what is it?” responded Cody.

The news was on the TV, and there was a flashing emergency alert sign going across the bottom. Zach’s mother turned the volume up on the television.

“Again, everyone, we have breaking news. An eight-year-old girl is missing in Sheldon Township. Her name is Mandy Coefield, and she was last seen walking home from school by friends earlier today. If you have any news or information regarding Mandy, please call the Sheldon Township Police Department. Or call 1-800-MISSING with any tips,” the newscaster said through the television’s speakers.

“This is just terrible. There are some evil people in this world, kids. You just never know anymore. God bless that little girl and her parents,” Zach’s mom said.

Cody and Zach looked at each other, very worried. Sheldon Township was just two cities away from the town of Tippwood. In fact, one part of Tippwood actually bordered Sheldon.

Zach set down the basketball. The boys went up the stairs to Zach’s room and shut the door.

“Dude, you don’t think…” Zach’s voice trailed off.

“I don’t know, man, this is too coincidental. It’s two cities from us, and the girl was walking home from school,” replied Cody.

“We should go to the police,” said Zach.

“No, we can’t. No one knows what we’re doing. Our moms will kill us if they found out what we were up to,” Cody said.

“We are not police officers, dude. We are twelve years old and in seventh grade,” replied Zach with an edginess to his tone.

“I know, but trust me—we are better off continuing our own investigation,” fired back Cody.

Zach could tell that Cody was obsessed with the man in the black Cadillac. For some reason, Zach completely understood the pain and determination on his friend’s face. Zach dropped it.

“What next, then?” asked Zach.

“We need to figure out where that man we saw lives,” said Cody.

There was a long pause in between.

“I have an idea, dude. It may not be the best idea, but we may have a shot,” said Zach.

“Okay, let’s hear it,” said Cody.

“My brother… He’s going to be home this weekend, I heard my mom talking to him on the phone. He has a car, dude. We can see if he would drive us to Lincoln Street on Sunday,” said Zach with excitement in his voice.

Cody knew Zach’s brother but not well. He was a freshman in college at a school two hours away from Tippwood. Cody was intrigued by the idea.

“Go on,” replied Cody.

“We could tail the car with my brother’s help. This is a long shot, but it’s a shot. We are going to have to let him in somewhat about what we are doing, though,” responded Zach.

“I think it’s a great idea. The only thing is, we need to hope and pray that the Cadillac is there this Sunday. Do you think you could convince your brother?” Cody asked.

“I don’t know, man, it’s worth a shot. Maybe we could give him some money or something? I don’t know,” Zach said in a worried tone.

“You need to be the best salesman on the planet,” Cody said.

“I know,” replied Zach.

The boys talked more about the missing girl in Sheldon. It made Cody sick to the stomach that the girl was exactly Olive’s age. Cody was angry and upset over the whole situation. Zach understood exactly why.

The two friends went back downstairs and made a snack. Zach’s mother was still watching television. The emergency alert flashing sign was still streaming across the bottom of the color television.

“Do you want to play basketball now?” asked Zach hopefully.

“No, I’m going to head home. I have a lot of homework and reading to catch up on. I’ll talk to you tomorrow. Call me if you think of anything else for our project. Bye, Mrs. Madden,” said Cody.

“You got it, dude. See you tomorrow,” replied Zach.

“Bye, Cody,” said Mrs. Madden. “Wow, you two are really serious about this project. I can’t wait to see it when it’s done,” she continued talking to Zach.

“Yeah, can’t wait,” Zach said convincingly.

Cody started walking and took Thomas Avenue home. He started to hum his favorite song and also began thinking about the missing girl.

“Poor Mandy, don’t worry, little girl, I’m going to help find you,” he thought in his head.

When he arrived home, it was past 4:00 p.m. Cody glanced down the driveway of his neighbor’s house and saw an older blue car covered by the tarp. It had a bow-tie logo. The car was a Chevy. A sense of relief came over Cody as he continued to walk toward his house. Phil was furious with Cody and was already yelling before he stepped foot in the driveway. Cody had forgotten to call his babysitter and let her know he went to his friend’s house after school.

“Where were you?” she screamed.

“At Zach’s house, sorry I didn’t call,” said Cody.

“Well, you are in big trouble, boy. Your mother will hear about this, don’t you worry,” explained Phyllis.

Olive was behind the babysitter, making funny faces while she was yelling at Cody. He couldn’t help but smirk a little. The smirk sent Phyllis over the edge.

“You are grounded, I’m definitely telling your mom, and get up to your room,” she screamed, her voice getting louder and louder.

Cody took his shoes off and ran up the stairs into his room. He didn’t care that his babysitter grounded him; it didn’t mean anything. His mother would be home soon, and he could explain everything. He was certain his mom would understand.

Cody went straight to the alarm clock radio in his room on his desk. He tuned it to a local AM news station. The reporter on the news was talking about Mandy Coefield.

There was urgency in his voice.

“If anyone has any information regarding this missing girl, please call authorities,” the reporter said.

Cody sat at his desk and turned off the radio. He thought about what Zach’s mom had said.

“There are some evil people out there,” he remembered her saying.

Cody thought about Sam Jennings, the missing girl from five years ago. He thought of an article in the newspaper he read of how her kidnapper kept items that Sam had on her at the time she was taken. The girl had a multicolored woven bracelet her mother had given her with an inscription on it that authorities were certain her abductor took as a souvenir. Just the thought of that made Cody’s stomach cringe.

“There are some sick and evil people in this world,” he thought, “and I’m going to catch one of them.”

Cody prayed that Zach’s brother would help them.

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A
couple of days went by, and Zach still had no good news. It wasn’t until the middle of the week when Cody got the news from Zach.

Cody and Zach were on the playground behind the school at lunchtime on the early spring day.

“Okay, dude, I got to talk to Scotty. It took a while, but I actually convinced him to help us! He will give us a couple of hours on Sunday afternoon. We have to pay for his gas in his car. He’s driving back to college around seven on Sunday night,” Zach told his friend.

“Wow, that’s great! Does he know fully what we are doing and why?” asked Cody.

“No, not really, and he doesn’t really care, either. He’s just helping us,” replied Zach.

“That’s great. Now, we just have to pray that the black car is there,” said Cody.

“Yep,” chirped Zach.

The boys ate their lunch and talked about different things the rest of the time.

The next few days moved slowly, and the boys hardly talked about the investigation.

Sunday finally came, and the two friends had a sleepover again, this time at Zach’s house.

Zach’s brother, Scotty, pounded on the bedroom door and opened it. Scotty had dark-brown hair parted down the middle and really dark eyes. He was tall and slender with long legs. His face was partially covered in acne.

“What time am I taking you guys?” he asked aggressively.

It was 10:00 a.m. on Sunday, and the boys had slept in. Zach was in his bed, and Cody was burrowed in a blue sleeping bag on the floor. Zach looked at the clock above his door. Cody’s ankle was all healed and felt much better.

“Like around one, dude,” Zach murmured, half awake.

“Okay, be ready at one and don’t call me
dude
. I’m going to go for a jog,” snapped Scotty.

Cody barely budged from the sleeping bag. Scotty left, and Zach hopped out of bed.

“Come on, Code, get up, let’s grab some breakfast,” said Zach, now more awake.

Cody’s head popped up from above the top of the sleeping bag. He unzipped the side of it and slipped out. Cody’s shirt was drenched with sweat. Even at another house, the nightmares continued.

They got dressed and went down to the kitchen. There was a sweet smell in the air. Zach’s mom was making French toast for them.

“Yeah, Mom!” shouted Zach. “French toast! Perfect!”

“Thank you, Mrs. Madden,” Cody said politely.

“You’re welcome, boys,” she said.

She put two pieces on each plate, sprinkled them with powdered sugar, and handed the plates to the boys. Zach’s mom genuinely liked her son’s best friend. She was always nice to Cody.

“There’s more where those came from, do eat up,” she said.

Zach pulled the carton of milk out of the fridge and grabbed two cups from the cabinet.

“Don’t forget this too,” his mom said.

She put a bottle of chocolate syrup on the table with a spoon.