by Ryan P. Ruiz
“You live in the area?” the man surprisingly asked.
“Um, no,” replied Cody, thrown off by the question.
“I like this area, I have lived here my entire life. Where do you live?” the man said, opening the large trunk of his car.
“Um, few cities over,” said Cody, lying.
The gas stopped, and the nozzle clicked. Cody lifted the gun out of the fuel tank and placed it back on the pump. Cody noticed some things in the man’s trunk. Cody made sure the man didn’t see him peering into it.
“Well, you have a great day, kid. Before you go, one thing.” The man took two steps toward Cody. “I commend you for not wanting to talk to me. This is a bad world, and your parents must have taught you well. Don’t ever talk to strangers. You never know if someone is out to get you, you know?” he said, letting out a tiny laugh.
“Yeah, I know,” Cody said, screwing the cap back on the gas tank.
The man was staring right at Cody.
Zach and his brother were in the car, trying not to be seen by the man. The pump was shielding them from his view. Cody opened the back door and jumped into the backseat. Scotty started the car and put it in drive.
Cody’s heart felt like it was going to beat right out of his chest.
“Did you guys see or hear that?” he asked, knowing they probably did.
“Yes, are you all right? What the hell did the guy say to you? Do you think he saw me?” Zach anxiously said.
“Um, that was weird, did he know we followed him?” asked Scotty, now very concerned.
“I don’t know, guys. He started talking to me about the weather. He was very strange,” responded Cody.
“Oh my god, was that a close call or what!” yelled Zach.
“You’re telling me! He stared at me out there and said strange things,” said Cody.
“Okay, guys, there is something you are not telling me. What is going on? Or I am going to Mom, Zach?” said Scotty.
“Dude, can we tell him? He’s my brother, we can trust him,” Zach said, sounding defeated.
“Yes, we can tell him, but, Scotty, could you please keep this quiet? What we are about to tell is a secret, and no one can know,” said Cody, directing the question at Zach’s older brother.
“I can and I will, but what sort of trouble are you guys in?” asked Scotty, now very interested in what the two kids were up to.
The whole way home, the boys told Scotty everything. Like his brother, Scotty really understood how important this was to Cody. He also had heard about the missing eight-year-old girl, Mandy, even though he was at the college when it happened. Scotty had a newfound respect for the two boys.
By the time they got back to Zach’s house, it was going on five. Scotty parked the car in the street. The boys got out of the car and headed into the house, and Scotty was behind them, following. The boys marched right upstairs into Zach’s room.
“I think that’s him, Zach, I really do. He said the word kid to me twice. Though I can’t be for certain, it sounded like the same voice of the man that tried to pick me up,” explained Cody.
“Dude, I think we are getting close, maybe a little too close. I mean, why did that car, the car that we tailed for several miles, stop at the exact same gas station we were at?” said Zach, sounding worried.
“It does sound very strange. I didn’t like the way he stared at me, either,” said Cody. “It’s got to be the guy that offered me a ride.”
“What do we do next?” asked Zach.
“I don’t know, let me think. Oh, I forgot to tell you something, Zach. Don’t get too freaked out, but I saw some things in the trunk of the Cadillac,” said Cody
“Okay, what did you see?” asked Zach, looking interested.
“I saw a chain, rope, and some newspapers,” replied Cody.
“Those are some interesting things to have in the trunk of your car, don’t you think?” responded Zach.
“You think?” Cody questioned his friend in a high tone. “I’m going to head home for dinner, I’ll see you tomorrow,” said Cody.
He walked out of Zach’s room and down the stairs. An arm grabbed him right as he walked out the front door. It startled Cody.
“Hey!” a voice said.
It was Scotty.
“I just wanted to tell you that I respect what you two are doing. I just ask one thing of you, Cody. Be careful, you have no clue who that man is, and I can’t be there to help,” Scotty genuinely said.
“We will, Scotty, this isn’t a game to us. There is a much bigger picture to this,” said Cody. “Thank you for driving us today.”
“Don’t sweat it. Thanks for the gas money,” said Scotty, his tone changing like before.
“See ya, Scotty,” said Cody, grabbing the handlebars of his bike that was still on the front porch where he’d left it.
“Take care, Cody,” said Scotty.
Cody wheeled his bike down the four wooden stairs and hopped on his bike.
Like always, his brain was in deep thought on the way home. Did that man recognize Cody? Did the man believe Zach’s story? Were he and his best friend in too deep at this point?
When Cody pulled into the driveway, his mom was outside talking to Mr. Durkbridge in the front yard.
“Hi, Mom! Hi, Mr. Durkbridge!” said Cody.
“Hey, Code,” his mom said, stopping her conversation with Mr. Durkbridge.
Mr. Durkbridge waved at Cody and continued talking to Cody’s mother.
Olive was inside playing with her dolls in the living room when Cody walked through the front door.
“Hi, brother! I missed you! How was your sleepover?” asked Olive.
“It was fun, and I missed you too,” Cody replied. “Let me go upstairs and change, and we will do something. Why don’t you pick out a movie?” suggested Cody.
Cody ran upstairs and went into his room, pulled his notebook out of his jeans, and put it in the secret bottom drawer of his desk.
A very good idea popped in his head. He needed to find a phone book for the city of Crestwood. If he found one, he could look up the address and find out the man’s name. Although it wasn’t guaranteed the name would be in the book, it was worth a try. The man did tell him he had lived there all his life. A name would definitely be one more piece of the puzzle. But how would he get a phone book for the city of Crestwood?
Cody went downstairs and hung out with his sister for the rest of the night. Olive handed her brother a VHS tape, and Cody put it in the VCR.
CHAPTER XI
Needle in a Haystack
The next day, before school, Cody told Zach all about the phone-book idea. Zach thought it was a great idea and thought of another good idea himself.
“Dude, there’s this kid in my gym class named Grady or Brady or something. He just moved to Tippwood recently, maybe a couple of months ago. I heard some other guys talking to him about where he came from. He’s from Crestwood. I could talk to him and see if there was any chance that a phone book made the move with him to his new home,” suggested Zach.
Cody always thought Zach was smart and liked his friend’s idea again.
“Go for it, Zach, I was thinking about calling the city and seeing if they would send one to my house, but I like your idea better,” said Cody. “First, though, I would get his name straight before you talk to him,” Cody laughed
“I will. I’m not stupid,” said Zach jokingly.
“No, you are definitely not stupid, buddy,” said Cody in agreement.
The infamous first bell rang.
Fourth period came, and Zach approached the new kid in gym class. The boy was lanky with shaggy hair. He didn’t look athletic at all.
“Hey, I know you’re new here, aren’t you? I just wanted to introduce myself, I’m Za
ch,” said Zach.
“Oh, hey, uh, I’m Grady,” the kid said, sort of caught off guard. “I’ve seen you around.”
“Cool, dude, nice to meet you. You like basketball?” asked Zach.
“Absolutely, who doesn’t?” Grady fired back with excitement in his voice.
“Maybe we can play at Reagan Park some weekend in the summer? There are always good pickup games with older kids. You any good?” Zach implied.
“Yeah, that sounds great. I’m all right, I can shoot the ball. Where’s Reagan Park, though?” asked Grady enthusiastically.
“Oh, not far, dude, on the other side of town,” said Zach. “I have a question for you. Did you move from Crestwood?”
“Yeah, why?” Grady replied.
“Just thought I could ask a small favor from you, nothing crazy or anything,” said Zach.
“Oh well, what is it?” the new kid said.
“Do you think you might have a phone book for Crestwood?” asked Zach, not really knowing what type of response he was going to get.
“Um, sure, I guess, my parents keep all the phone books in the closet. They come every year. My mom and dad don’t ever throw them away. It’s actually very annoying seeing them in the closet. That’s a weird favor, man. Um, what do you need it for?” Grady asked.
Zach had to think quickly. “I’m doing a project for my art class and need phone books,” replied Zach sharply.
“That’s weird, man. I’ll try to bring one in for you tomorrow if I remember,” replied Grady.
“Really? Thanks, man. Now I’m going to go ask the other guys in our class if they have any phone books. Thanks again,” said Zach, slowly moving toward a group of other kids.
“No problem and don’t forget about the basketball game,” said Grady.
“Oh yeah, I won’t!” yelled Zach.
At lunchtime, Zack told Cody of the news, making sure Frankie and the rest of the table were not listening.
“Okay, dude, I talked to the new kid at gym class. He is going to bring the phone book tomorrow,” said Zach.
“That’s good,” Cody said, keeping his voice down. “Let’s go to my house after school tomorrow and look for the name in the book.”
“Sounds like a plan,” replied Zach.
The day moved slowly for the rest of the afternoon for both boys. Cody had missed an assignment in math class, and his teacher asked to see him after class. Though he didn’t like math, Cody was usually still a B student and one of the teacher’s favorite students. The other kids filed out of the room while Cody lagged behind.
“Cody, I am worried about you,” Mr. Jones said. “You scored very low on the last test, and that’s not like you, is something going on?”
Caught by surprise, Cody responded, “No, Mr. Jones, everything is fine.”
“Well, just know I’m here if you need or want to talk,” Mr. Jones said.
Cody could see the concern on his teacher’s face.
“Thank you, Mr. Jones. That means a lot. I’ll try to work harder,” replied Cody.
“I hope you will, Cody, this is a huge concern,” Mr. Jones responded.
“I know. I understand,” said Cody.
“Here, take this, Cody,” Mr. Jones said, handing him a piece of paper. “It’s a work sheet of difficult problems. If you do them correctly and turn it in to me after class tomorrow, I’ll apply some credit to that test to help you out,” encouraged Mr. Jones.
Cody didn’t really know what to say. He was shocked that his teacher had offered it to him.
“Thank you,” said Cody softly.
“You’re welcome. One time—that’s it, Cody. Now, get to your next class,” replied Mr. Jones and then started shuffling through papers on his desk.
Cody stuffed the work sheet into his book bag and left the classroom.
He continued on to art class. The day lasted forever and never seemed to end.
After school, Cody walked straight home. The day had been long, and Cody wanted to get home as fast as he could to get the extra-credit work sheet Mr. Jones had given to him done.
Like always, he said hi to his sister and went to his room. He flipped on his alarm clock radio on his desk to the AM news station while doing his math work sheet. He wanted to hear an update on the missing girl. It was all the news reporters were talking about in the area. After a bunch of commercials, a reporter came on.
“Mandy Coefield had been missing for eleven days now. Police and authorities continue the search for the missing eight-year-old,” the reporter said in a low tone.
Cody turned off the radio. The butterfly feeling formed in his stomach. Something told him that time was running out.
CHAPTER XII
The Hunt Part II
When Cody woke up the next morning, there was a sense of urgency on his mind. He couldn’t wait to get his hands on the phone book that Grady was bringing to school. Would the name of the man be in there?
At lunchtime, Cody circled the cafeteria, looking for Zach. He was nowhere to be found. Cody sat at the table with Frankie and Seth.
“Hey, guys, have either of you seen Zach?” asked Cody.
“Nope,” said Frankie, stuffing a piece of pizza in his mouth.
Seth didn’t even respond because he was occupied by a crossword puzzle.
Cody sat down at the table and pulled out his peanut butter sandwich that was in a small container in his book bag. Just before he could take the first bite, Zach was walking quickly toward the table.
“Dude, the new kid came through!” he exclaimed, making sure that no one really knew what he was talking about.
“You got it?” asked Cody with a wide eye.
“Yep, it’s in my bag. Let’s look at it at your house later,” said Zach.
“That’s probably a good idea,” replied Cody. “Meet me after school by the playground.”
Zach nodded and walked toward the food line. He rarely packed a lunch like his friend. Mrs. Madden always gave him lunch money.
Lunch came and went.
When Cody got to math class, Mr. Jones stopped him before he sat down. He pointed to his desk. Cody quietly placed the completed work sheet on the desk and sat down in his seat. He really appreciated what Mr. Jones had done for him. Mr. Jones acknowledged Cody after he sat down.
None of the other students had any clue what Mr. Jones did for Cody. Mr. Jones started teaching class.
“Okay, guys and gals, pull out your books and open to page 141. Welcome to geometry…” Mr. Jones’s voice trailed off.
Cody drifted off into a deep daydream. It was more like a day nightmare. He was at the man’s house on Braxton Street in Crestwood. It was night, and Cody was by himself. He was dressed in a hooded sweatshirt and was carrying a small flashlight. Cody opened the gate slowly to the front yard and walked up to the porch.
The house was dark, and there were some wooden boards on a couple of the porch windows. The outside floorboards made a creek as he gently tried to peer in a window. There was nothing to see because of how dark it was. Cody put the flashlight up to the window. He quickly turned it off when he heard someone walking toward the front door. The front door swung open…
The bell rang.
Cody snapped out of his daydreamed coma, grabbed his book bag, and headed out the door before Mr. Jones saw him.
Cody tried to stay focused for his last two classes. He was very anxious to meet up with Zach and the phone book. The final bell eventually rang two hours later.
Cody flew out of his last class down the hall, weaving through a plethora of kids to get to the back exit door. He arrived at the playground and sat on one of the benches. Cody could see his friend was about one hundred yards away just walking out of the building. He whistled and waved his hands in the crowded playground as
Zach came closer. Zach caught up with his friend.
“Let’s go straight to your house,” instructed Zach.
“Let’s go,” fired back Cody.
The two boys chatted all the way to Cody’s house about the upcoming baseball season. Both of them loved baseball. Cody was actually a better baseball player than Zach though he would never say that to his friend.
When they arrived at Cody’s house, they headed straight to Cody’s room and shut the door. Cody grabbed a blanket off his bed, rolled it up the long way, and stuffed it under the door to prevent it from opening. The lock on Cody’s bedroom door had been broken for years. He needed to make his own lock, and the blanket would be sufficient.
Zach pulled the thick phone book out of his bag and placed it on the floor. Cody went in to his desk and removed his small notebook out of the secret compartment. He opened it to the correct page.
“Okay, Zach, the address is 1291 Braxton Street,” Cody informed his friend.
They sat on the floor and opened the phone book to the beginning.
“We just need to flip page by page, looking for an address that starts with 1291,” said Cody.
Cody reached into his book bag and pulled out a pen.
Page after page, the friends looked. The address never came up. An hour had gone by, and they were over halfway through the book. One of them read one page, and the other followed to double-check. With just twenty pages left to go, Cody suddenly stopped browsing. Zach saw what Cody was looking at.
“I think we found it,” said Cody.
“I think you’re right,” confirmed Zach.
There, on the right page, was the address that matched Cody’s notes.
It read, “wermer, melvin t 1291 braxton st. (440)555-2448.”
The tired boys looked at each other.
“This is him, Zach. I just know it,” said Cody.
“Wow,” his friend said, that being the only word that would come out.
The boys had now put a name to the man’s face. What they thought of next was something unimaginable.
“I want to go back there,” blurted out Cody. “I need to know.”
