Back Before Dark

by Tim Shoemaker

  “I remember,” Cooper said. “And thanks again.”

  The other firefighter extended his hand. “Mark Hayden.”

  Cooper shook his hand.

  Mr. Rill scanned the flyer. “This a friend of yours?”

  “My cousin.”

  Rill winced. “This hasn’t been your lucky year.”

  Cooper shook his head and stared at the floor. “Worst year of my life.”

  The fireman took a handful of flyers. “We’ll get them on the back of every engine, ambulance, and ladder truck. At Station 16 too.”

  Hayden grabbed a few and put them on the driver’s seat of the ambulance. “I’ll post them in the emergency room at Northwest Community hospital.”

  “Thanks, Mr. Hayden,” Hiro said.

  Rill’s face looked hard. “I’d like to get my hands on the guy who grabbed him.”

  Cooper’s throat burned. No words came.

  The firefighter seemed to understand. “After we get the flyers on the truck we’ll drive around town a bit. Make sure people see it.”

  Cooper nodded and headed out with Hiro at his side. He glanced back. The guys were already taping flyers to their trucks.

  Lunk had already covered the gas station. Every pump had a flyer by the gas nozzle. He was waiting outside when Cooper and Hiro wheeled in to Frank’n Stein’s parking lot.

  The three of them walked in together. The smell of fries, Italian beef, and Chicago-style hotdogs greeted Cooper like an old friend. Normally he’d be walking in here with Gordy. This time he carried a stack of his pictures in his backpack.

  For an instant he thought about the index card in his pocket and wondered if he’d ever get the chance to use it. Don’t go there, Cooper. Do not go there.

  CHAPTER 12

  The Frank’n Stein’s monster mascot stood near the window, just like always, holding a hotdog in one hand and a monster shake in the other. Cooper wished everything could stay the same, just like that mannequin. Even the picture of Frank Mustacci and former co-owner Joseph Stein still hung on the wall. Now that was one thing Cooper wished Frank would pull down and burn—especially since Stein had been behind the robbery and everything that happened last fall.

  Frank greeted them at the ordering counter.

  “I am so sorry to hear about Gordon.”

  There was nobody like Frank Mustacci. He’d known them forever. And not just because Hiro’s mom used to work for him. It was just the way he was.

  “Neal already gave me flyers.” He pointed to Lunk. “We even put one up at the drive-thru.”

  Cooper wouldn’t have thought of that.

  “I’m just sick about this.” Frank wiped his hands on his white apron. “You kids grab a table. I’ll bring something out.”

  “I’m starving,” Cooper said. “I’m going to get more than the usual shake and fries.” Cooper dug in his pocket for some money, but Frank held up his hand. “The way I see it, you’re working as part of the search party—and I can afford to help fuel you with food.”

  Gordy would have loved that.

  Cooper led the way to the big booth in the back. The one they always sat at.

  “Nice coverage with the flyers, Lunk. That ought to attract attention.”

  Lunk nodded. “Now if only somebody would call in with a tip.”

  The hotline number went directly to the police station. Cooper checked the time: 4:30. Just yesterday the four of them were talking about going to Walmart after dinner. Now one of them was gone. He hoped somebody had already called in with a tip.

  Lunk slapped his handful of flyers on the table. Cooper added what he had left of his stack to the neon-yellow pile and gave them a quick count. Twenty-four left.

  The side door to the kitchen opened, and Frank walked through holding a tray.

  “Here we go. A large cola.” he nodded to Lunk. He handed the bottle of water to Hiro. “And for Cooper, a chocolate monster shake. A couple of large fries for you boys. I’ll be back with some dogs in a minute.”

  He even knew what they would have ordered. Amazing. Frank scooted into the kitchen before Cooper could give him a decent thank-you.

  Cooper filled several little paper cups with ketchup and brought them back to the table. The fries drew him like a magnet, and he downed a handful while he poked a straw through the plastic lid of his shake.

  Hiro twisted the cap off her water and took a sip. “So where do we go from here?”

  That was the question. For the last hour or so, Cooper felt like he had direction. Purpose. But with the flyers almost gone, fear filled the void.

  Cooper tapped the stack of flyers. “Get the rest of these posted. I was thinking of taping them to mailboxes along the route the minivan took.”

  Hiro nodded. “We can do that on our way home. Have you checked your phone?”

  Cooper dug it out of his pocket and laid it on the table. “Nothing.” He wished he felt nothing. That’d be better than the churning in his stomach right now. He took several deep sips on the straw, hoping the cool chocolate would settle things down.

  “Look who’s coming,” Lunk said.

  Cooper turned just as Officer Sykes, still in uniform, entered with Detective Hammer. Sykes waved and headed their way with a stack of yellow flyers in his hand. Hammer nodded and went to the ordering counter.

  “I guess you are going to hand out all those flyers you took,” he said. “That all you have left?”

  Cooper nodded.

  “Great job,” Sykes said. “I’ve seen them everywhere.”

  Cooper felt pretty good about that too, but Gordy was still missing, no matter how many flyers went out. “Thanks for what you did with the buses—and the bus driver. She was ready to bite our heads off.”

  Officer Sykes laughed. “She’s a loose tooth.”

  Hiro wrinkled her nose. “A what?”

  “Loose tooth. She’s got no bite.” He set his stack of flyers on the table. “Mind if I join you for a bit?” He reached for a chair from the empty table and sat on it backwards. “First, how about some introductions?”

  “Cooper MacKinnon.”

  “Gordon Digby’s cousin, right?”

  Cooper nodded. “And this is Neal Lunquist.”

  Neal waved a fry. “But my friends call me Lunk.” His eyes darted from Cooper to Hiro.

  “This is Hiroko Yakimoto. Hiro for short,” Cooper said.

  “And she is short,” Lunk said.

  Hiro made two tiny fists and shook them at Lunk. “But I can still take you, big guy.”

  Lunk laughed. “No argument there.” He turned to Officer Sykes. “She wants to be a cop someday. Like you.”

  “Someday?” Cooper laughed. “She wants to be one right now.”

  Sykes smiled. “Bet you’ll be a good one.”

  Hiro nodded. “That would be a smart bet.” She took a sip of water. “Can you tell us anything about the investigation?”

  He hesitated. Cooper wasn’t sure if Sykes was deciding what he could tell, or trying to find a way to break the news that they had no news.

  “We may have a lead on the van.”

  Cooper almost choked on his shake. “They found it?”

  Officer Sykes held up both hands as if to slow Cooper down. “Not yet. But we will.” He looked like he wished he hadn’t mentioned the van. “We got a lead that may help us find it, that’s all.”

  Hiro shot Cooper a look. Not that he knew exactly what she was trying to tell him, but he had a pretty good idea. Let me handle this.

  “So, this lead,” Hiro said. “Did a witness actually see the minivan, or did somebody report a stolen van that matches the description?”

  A hint of surprise registered on Officer Sykes’ face. “Okay. Here’s what I can tell you. We haven’t found the van. Not a trace of it. But a man reported a minivan stolen from Woodfield Mall last night. He works at one of the stores, and when he walked to the lot after closing—no van.”

  “Let me guess.” Hiro leaned forward. “Silver. S
liding doors on both sides. And the plates aren’t an exact match, but are definitely in the ballpark with what Coop remembered.”

  “Could be,” Officer Sykes said. His look went from surprised to suspicious.

  “Told you she wanted to be a cop,” Coop said, hoping he could keep Sykes from clamming up. “How close are those plate numbers?”

  “Close enough,” Sykes said.

  It was clear the cop wasn’t going to give any more details. But he’d revealed enough. It had to be the right van. But how many hours had the police lost by not having the right plate numbers? A measly three letters and four numbers, and Cooper totally messed it up. What an idiot. Maybe if he had remembered the numbers accurately things would have been different.

  “Cooper,” Hiro said. “You’re not beating yourself up again about the plate number, are you?”

  Was he that easy to read?

  “Look,” Officer Sykes said. “In a pressure situation it’s almost impossible to remember numbers like that. The way I heard the story, you did everything you could.”

  “Except the most important part,” Cooper said, “get the numbers.”

  Sykes shook his head. “You chased the van. Got a visual on its direction. Phoned 9-1-1 with all that info and a description of the van so they could activate an Amber Alert. I’d call that excellent work in a high-stress situation.”

  Cooper stared at the lid of his shake. There was no getting around the fact that he’d totally messed up by not getting the one piece of information that could have saved Gordy.

  When he looked up, Hiro was staring at him.

  “You did good, Cooper MacKinnon. Don’t you forget that,” Hiro said.

  What else could he expect Hiro to say? He did good? Really? The truth wasn’t quite as heroic. He messed up good. Really good.

  “So what’s next?” Hiro acted like she was part of the investigating team now.

  “The police are still looking for the minivan—and especially with that plate number.”

  Cooper suddenly got a creepy feeling.

  “How do we know the van really was stolen? What if he’s the one who grabbed Gordy?” Cooper asked.

  Cooper played out that possibility in his mind.

  “Yeah,” Lunk said. “He could just be saying his van was stolen.”

  Sykes studied them a moment, then leaned forward and pulled out a small spiral notebook from his back pocket. “I’ll tell you what I know, but if this leaves this table, you can forget me sharing anything again. Got it?”

  Cooper exchanged looks with Hiro and Lunk. “Yes, sir,” Hiro said.

  “His story checks out,” Sykes said. “And now we have complete details on the van. Plates, VIN, everything. That will help.” He pulled out a small spiral notebook from his back pocket and flipped it open. “CRM 9147.”

  Cooper groaned. It sounded right. Had to be right. Hiro jotted the number on a napkin. Cooper pulled a pen from his pocket and wrote the number on the back of his hand. He wanted it visible when he rode his bike so he could check every minivan he saw.

  CHAPTER 13

  Cooper peeked at Officer Sykes’ notebook. No address. Something bothered Cooper about the owner of the minivan. It seemed a little too convenient to report the minivan stolen after Gordy’s kidnapping. Maybe the owner had a partner and he let that guy “steal” his van. If the guy working at Woodfield Mall was involved, directly or indirectly, then Gordy may still be nearby.

  He wondered if Hiro could get an address for the plates. Would her brother do that for them? Then Dad and Uncle Jim could pay the man a visit. And maybe they’d let Cooper go with them.

  “Officer Sykes?” Hiro fingered the police star necklace hanging around her neck. “What are the chances Gordy is still in the area?”

  Was Hiro thinking the same thing?

  Sykes tucked the notebook away. “Fifty-fifty?” He thought for a moment. “I’m not going to lie to you. He could be anywhere.”

  No news there. Cooper had already covered that ground in his mind. The abduction site was less than a minute from a ramp onto Route 53 at Euclid Avenue. The route could take him north or south at highway speed. The junction with Interstate 90 was only a couple miles south on Route 53—which gave east or west options. The kidnapper picked the perfect place. He was either brilliant or just plain lucky. “So you think he’s out of the area?” Cooper asked.

  “Some of the RMPD feel that way. He could have crossed over the state line into Wisconsin in about an hour. Indiana, even less.”

  Which made every poster they’d put up totally pointless.

  Hiro tilted her head to the side. “And what do you think?”

  Officer Sykes crossed his arms over the back of the chair and rested his chin there. He stared into space for a moment. “I think—” he paused. “I think he’s still in the area.”

  Cooper was all ears. “Why?” He wanted to believe Gordy was close. And that he was okay.

  “Nothing scientific. Just my gut. Speaking of which, I’m going to order something to eat. Keep up the good work with the flyers. I’m going to get more posted myself.”

  Detective Hammer entered the dining area just as Officer Sykes left. He headed for Cooper’s table without hesitation. He held up a monster shake. “You got me hooked on these last fall. Remember?”

  How could he forget? Cooper was standing outside Frank’n Stein’s when Hammer had grilled him about the robbery. He’d asked Cooper if there was anything he wanted to tell him. But that was before Cooper trusted Hammer—so he dodged the question. “Yeah. Try the monster shakes. The chocolate is best.” Cooper smiled.

  “Mind if I join you?”

  Last October, those words from Hammer would have sent Cooper running. Not anymore. “Have a seat,” Cooper said. Maybe Hammer could tell them more.

  “Detective Hammer,” Hiro said. “Do you believe the kidnapper stayed local?”

  Hammer unwrapped the straw, slid it through the lid of his shake, and pumped it up and down a couple times. “I have to keep my options open right now.”

  Hiro seemed to be collecting her thoughts. “But do you have a hunch—a direction you’re leaning?”

  “Maybe.” He slurped his shake. “But I’m not ruling anything out—yet. The guy seems smart.”

  Cooper didn’t want to push so hard that Hammer would stop talking, but he wasn’t exactly divulging much information anyway. “What makes you so sure he’s smart?”

  “We haven’t found the van. Whether he drove across the state line, or ditched it locally, that van should have turned up by now. And if he wasn’t smart—it would have.”

  “But a silver minivan?” Lunk shook his head. “Way too common to stand out. How can you be sure you haven’t missed it?”

  Hammer smiled. “We’ve got a good team. If it’s local, we’ll find it.”

  “But it couldn’t be far,” Hiro said. “If he assumed someone might see the abduction and ID the vehicle, he’d have had another car hidden nearby so he could make a switch.”

  Hammer nodded. “That certainly is one scenario.”

  Cooper turned that one around in his mind a bit. A new strategy began to form. First, they’d finish posting flyers, then they’d ride and start checking every parking lot around. They could check the parking garages, Northwest Community Hospital, and what about Woodfield Mall? Minutes away by car. Big, open parking lot.

  It seemed pretty obvious Detective Hammer wasn’t going to share real details of the case.

  Cooper glanced outside. Still plenty of daylight left. He stood. They needed to keep moving. He drank the last couple mouthfuls of his monster shake. He thought of Gordy. They always got shakes when they came in. “Thanks, Detective Hammer. I think we’re going to finish posting the flyers.”

  Hammer stood too. “We’ll find him, Cooper.” He put a hand on Cooper’s shoulder. “I’m not going to quit until we find him, one way or another.”

  Cooper’s legs felt weak suddenly. He only wanted to find him one wa
y. Alive. Safe. It was finding him the other way that really had him scared.

  CHAPTER 14

  By 6:00, Cooper had checked in with his Mom a handful of times and posted the last flyer. He’d already folded one up and kept it in his pocket to show neighbors. For a moment, the three friends looked at each other. Hiro fingered the necklace at her throat. The miniature of her dad’s Chicago police star. Probably wishing he was still alive. Believing somehow he’d find Gordy. And he probably would.

  Lunk was harder to read. But then, he had plenty of experience hiding his feelings under a tough mask. Maybe it was the result of having had an abusive dad, or the fact that he’d moved so many times that Lunk never really made friends. But even after months of Cooper trying to be a friend to him, Lunk hadn’t fully loosened up. And right now Lunk definitely had a guarded look about him. Whatever he was thinking, he was keeping it to himself.

  “I like it,” Hiro said. “Nobody can drive through Rolling Meadows without seeing Gordy.”

  Cooper wanted to make up for the lack of hope he saw in Lunk’s eyes. “After we find him, the guy will be a celebrity.”

  Lunk nodded like he agreed. “What’s next?”

  Cooper had been working on that one ever since Frank’n Stein’s. “We can go door to door down School Drive. See if anybody saw the minivan after we lost sight of it. Maybe somebody saw it turn a corner.” If the van turned east, away from Route 53, that would confirm the theory that the van stayed in the area.

  It was a shot in the dark. He knew it. And by the looks on the others’ faces, they felt the same way. What were the chances somebody noticed a silver minivan? The backpack on the roof was the only thing that would have made it stand out. And by the time the kidnapper made his getaway, it was getting dark enough to easily miss a detail like that.

  The last thing they could afford was to waste time. “Or we can bike over to Northwest Community Hospital. Cruise through their lots.”

  Hiro brightened at that suggestion. “It’s only a couple miles away. A perfect place to dump a hot car.”

  “And pick up a new one,” Lunk said. “Let’s check it.”