by Ryan P. Ruiz
“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 chu
rch. 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.
“Great-looking or not, we need to find who owns this car,” said Cody.
“Well, what should we do? Do you want to ride over to the store and keep watch from there?” replied Zach.
“Let’s split up. I’ll ride up and down Lincoln, you hang out across the street by the store,” said Cody.
At that moment, Zach reached into a drawstring sack he had on his back and pulled out two gray-and-black walkie-talkies. He handed one to Cody.
“Dude, I forgot to tell you about these. My mom got me these a long time ago. I completely forgot I had them. I knew that we might need them someday, so I brought them. They’re not the best, but they do work and should help us,” explained Zach.
“These are great, Zach! Nice job!” said Cody. “Really good thinking, buddy.”
“Thanks. Just try not to get too far away from me or they won’t work well,” Zach explained.
The boys went to their respective stations. Both of them had their eyes pinned on the vehicle like a snake waiting to strike its prey.
“Check. Check. Can you hear me?” Zach’s voice was muffled over the walkie-talkie.
“I can hear you, Zach. Let me know if you see anything,” said Cody.
“Will do. Same to you,” the voice in the walkie-talkie said.
An hour went by, and still, nobody approached the car. It wasn’t anybody in church because all the people that went to the morning services had already filed out of the building thirty minutes ago. Cody snapped pictures of the car as people were walking out of the church.
Thirty more minutes went by, and Zach was getting tired of riding his bike.
“No one is coming, dude. Let’s just write down the plates and get outta here,” the walkie-talkie mumbled.
Cody replied back, “I know this isn’t fun, but someone owns that car, and we are going to find out who. You can go if you want, but I’m hanging out…” His voice faded.
Cody stopped talking into the device. A larger-sized man with gray hair was walking toward the car with keys dangling from his hand.
“Dude, get some pictures,” Zach’s voice informed through the device.
Cody reached into his pocket and slowly pulled out his rectangular camera. He was just parallel with the man and the car. The man unlocked the vehicle and hopped in. Cody very carefully snapped off two pictures, holding the camera near his stomach and while straddling his stationary bike. The man did not see him. The vehicle rumbled on and slowly pulled away.
Cody stood still. Was that the same rumble he had heard on that cold and windy Monday?
The voice came back through the walkie-talkie. “Um, dude, he drove off. I wrote down the plate number. Should we try to follow him?”
Trying to keep up with a motorized vehicle with a large engine in it would be impossible to do on bicycles.
“No.” Cody’s tone changed. “We have enough for now.”
Cody tried not to forget every detail he could remember about the somewhat plump man. Sketches were already forming in hi
s head, and he needed to get home to get them on actual paper.
The boys rode back to Cody’s house. As Cody and his friend were passing Mr. Durkbridge’s house, he noticed that the garage was completely empty. After they pulled into the backyard of Cody’s house, Zach went home shortly after. Cody ran straight up to his room and pulled out his sketch pad from the top drawer of his desk. He started drawing everything he could remember about the man he saw. He asked himself more questions like What was the man wearing? What did his face look like? He continued to draw. Trying to draw multiple angles of the man was a little hard, but Cody managed.
When he was finished, just like with the vehicle, Cody had a pretty decent idea of what the man looked like. He was content. A few hours went by as Cody analyzed his drawing.
The slim black phone on Cody’s wall in his room began ringing.
“Hello,” answered Cody.
“Hey, dude,” said the voice on the phone.
Cody knew right away it was Zach.
“We need to find out where the car was going and where that guy lives,” said Zach.
“I know, we will. I just finished drawing everything I remember about the man we saw today. I think we need to come up with a game plan,” said Cody.
“I agree. We do know a couple of things. The car has been seen twice on Lincoln Street in the last two weeks, which might mean the guy lives in town. And two, it’s a Cadillac,” explained Zach.
“Yep. I will see you at school tomorrow,” replied Cody.
“Okay, see you tomorrow,” said Zach.
Cody hung the phone up on his wall. He looked down and gazed at his recent drawing. Was this the man responsible for missing kids in the area over the last ten years? Was this the man that took Sam Jennings? He pondered the questions intensely in his head for a minute.
Cody’s bedroom door swung open. He quickly put his sketch pad on top of the drawing. It was Olive.
“Whatcha doing?” asked Olive in her cheery voice.
“Oh, nothing. Just getting ready to do my math homework,” Cody responded, reaching into his book bag.
“How about we play a board game instead?” Olive asked sort of strictly. “You promised me a week ago,” she continued.
