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Back Before Dark Page 25

by Tim Shoemaker


  He had to do this. Had to try. If he didn’t, he’d be left with the things he’d done to find Gordy mostly out of his own guilt. He’d be robbed of doing the one thing he knew to do that would be totally motivated by love.

  Cooper would have to watch his footing around Lunk as well. For everything else Cooper had wanted to try, Lunk was there for him. Like a blocker, making a path for him. But this would be different. Lunk would put the block on him if he had any idea about Cooper’s strategy.

  So the trick was to act normal while he was around them. Stay in control. Avoid another meltdown. Secretly work out details of his plan. Hold on until he could put it into motion—which wasn’t going to happen until after dark. After they’d passed the seventy-two-hour mark.

  Yeah, Hiro and Lunk would be together on this one. They’d both try to stop him. It made the things he’d done at VanHorton’s and Stein’s look like kid stuff.

  He fought a mental wrestling match for half the afternoon. Sometimes he worked on the plan. Other times he fought it. He knew he needed to protect himself, but his passion was to help Gordy. Survival versus motivation to save Gordy—even if that meant risking everything to do it.

  Despite all the alarms going off in his head, he knew he was going to do this. A day ago, he hadn’t even thought of this plan. And if he did, he probably wouldn’t have even considered it. But that’s when guilt had been the hidden motivator—and something had changed since then.

  Cooper drew in a shaky breath and let it out slowly. Dr. McElhinney was right. Love was stronger than all the other motivations combined.

  CHAPTER 64

  Hiro sat in the cabin of The Getaway. Cooper was hiding something from her. She knew it. Could sense it. And it drove her nuts. She watched as he studied the satellite photos of Rolling Meadows for blocks around the abduction site.

  It was getting dark, and Cooper already had the camping lantern on. The clouds hanging low over Rolling Meadows had opened up rain with such force that it made any kind of search for Gordy impossible. Hiro was grateful for the storm if for no other reason than it had driven Coop indoors. The sound of the steady rain beating against the hull would have been soothing except for one major problem. Gordy was gone. And to make it worse, Cooper was still in denial.

  She looked at Lunk. He was watching Cooper too. Good. They’d compare notes later. But right now it was raining too hard to leave. It had started that morning, and had been pouring on and off all afternoon. If it kept up like this, they’d all be glad they agreed to meet in the boat. They’d need it.

  “He’s right here in Rolling Meadows. I’m sure of it.” Cooper stared at the pages taped to the inside hull of the boat.

  Was he going to rehash all that again?

  Lunk sat on the floor in the tiny cabin, his back against the hull on the port side of the boat. “Gordy?”

  “The guy who took him.”

  And that was another thing. Something had shifted since yesterday. Cooper’s focus didn’t seem as intent on Gordy as it was on the man who had abducted him. What was that all about?

  “After I lost sight of him, he didn’t turn west on Campbell. He could have turned east, though.”

  Hiro didn’t say a word. He sounded so sure.

  Lunk leaned forward. “He could have gone straight. Stayed on School Drive.”

  “Yesterday I wasn’t so sure, but now I think you’re right. The minivan was out of my sight long enough to put some real distance between us. It could have been close to Lark Court by that time. I wouldn’t have seen the tail lights.”

  Hiro didn’t say anything, but it made sense. Right in line with her thoughts earlier.

  Cooper grabbed a marker and drew a circle around a small section of the map covering a few square blocks. “I think he’s right in here somewhere.”

  “What makes you so sure?” Lunk didn’t say it in a challenging way. More like he wanted to hear Coop out.

  Hiro wanted to hear his reasoning too. She’d been thinking it through since lunch, and her gut told her the minivan never left the area—which was a change from what she’d thought earlier.

  Cooper shrugged. “Two reasons. First, leaving the area—fast, is the most expected route. Staying local has a much higher risk factor. Right?”

  Lunk nodded.

  “And this guy, whoever he is, would conclude that staying close—if carefully planned out, would be the unexpected reaction—which actually makes it the safest choice.”

  Lunk nodded again. “He’s hiding out right in town while the Amber Alert is putting out—and focusing—on a wider and wider search perimeter.”

  Coop looked at Hiro. “Make sense to you too?”

  “Perfect,” she said. Which meant he was really getting close to the conclusion she’d come to herself. And while normally that would make her feel really good, the thought of it scared her. Because if he really believed the kidnapper never left Rolling Meadows, he’d want to do more searching. More crazy stunts that could turn disastrous. “What’s the second reason?”

  “The minivan hasn’t been found.”

  Lunk tilted his head to one side. “And how does that make the case for the guy staying in the area?”

  Hiro’s heartbeat picked up a bit. Cooper was following the same logic she’d used in the cafeteria today.

  “If the guy left the area, he would have still dumped the van eventually. Switched vehicles. He’d be driving another car or minivan—and we’d have no idea what kind. Why would he bother hiding the minivan so well? The longer he stayed with the stolen vehicle, the greater his chance of being found. Once he had Gordy in the other car, he’s off the grid. It wouldn’t matter if the police found the minivan.”

  “So,” Lunk said. “The fact that the minivan hasn’t been found suggests the guy hid it really well—which means he likely stayed local. If he’d dumped the minivan fifty miles from here, he wouldn’t have hidden it so carefully. There was no need.”

  Exactly Hiro’s conclusion. She had wanted to tell them at the lunch table, when the last puzzle piece fell into place. But if she had, Cooper would be out right now taking more chances—and it was too late for that.

  Instead, she’d phoned Detective Hammer after school. Explained her whole theory.

  “So,” Lunk said, “if he stayed local, where’s the minivan?”

  Cooper stared at the maps again, then turned to face them. “The minivan is in his garage—or in somebody’s garage. Within blocks of where we last saw it. Maybe on Campbell, maybe on School. Could even be on Lark Court. But it’s close.”

  Hiro’s heart sunk. He’d figured it out. The same conclusion she’d come to.

  “Brilliant. No wonder nobody could find the minivan,” Lunk said. “Probably used an automatic garage door opener, too.”

  Hiro sighed. “He had the minivan off the road and out of sight before 9-1-1 dispatched the first police car. And when things cool off, he’ll drive the minivan out of his garage and park it somewhere. Maybe at Northwest Community Hospital. Maybe at Woodfield Mall. It will be close. He won’t risk driving it far.”

  Cooper looked confused. “When did you put that together?”

  She shrugged. If she told him it came to her at lunch today, he’d wonder why she didn’t tell him. And then she’d have to tell him what she was really afraid of.

  “It was at the lunch table, wasn’t it?”

  She lowered her gaze, but he ducked lower to keep eye contact. “I saw that ‘aha’ moment in your eyes at lunch. That was it, right?”

  Hiro nodded.

  “Why didn’t you tell me? We could have done some real searching after school.”

  Hiro didn’t answer. He wouldn’t like her answer. He couldn’t handle her answer. “I called Detective Hammer, though. Told him everything.”

  “And?”

  Hiro shifted. “He seemed to appreciate it. Said he’d check on it.” Just the way Detective Hammer said it had given her hope. And he gave her his personal cell number. Told her to call
him if anything else came up.

  “I’m glad you called him, but you still didn’t answer my question.” His eyes bore right into her. “Why didn’t you tell me at lunchtime—the second you figured it out? Or right after school?”

  His cheeks were getting red. She could feel hers warming up too.

  “Because …” she paused. Did she really want to get into this?

  Cooper looked annoyed. “Because … c’mon, Hiro. Spill.”

  She knew him. He wasn’t going to let this go. Wasn’t going to let her avoid the question. “Because I was afraid you’d hatch another crazy plan.”

  “Crazy? Crazy?”

  He could totally exasperate her at times. “Please, don’t get me started,” she said. “Breaking into the home of Joseph Stein, a dangerous felon, isn’t exactly the most balanced thinking.”

  “How else would we know? How else could we be sure?”

  Hiro stood. “It was dangerous. You were expecting all of us to take the risk with you. And a lot of it was about you trying to ease your conscience—when you had nothing to feel guilty about in the first place.”

  Coop held up both hands. “Okay. I admit it. Guilt was definitely a factor driving me to do everything I did—but I’m past that now.”

  “Really?” Hiro wasn’t convinced. “And exactly what is your motivation now?”

  Coop lowered his head. His shoulders slumped. “Love.”

  He said it so quietly she almost missed it.

  Coop looked up, and tears pooled in his eyes. “I’m not doing this just because I feel guilty. I’m doing it for Gordy. And yeah, maybe I will do more crazy things, but I’ll be doing it 100 percent for Gordy.”

  Hiro sat back down and watched him. She wanted to reach out to him.

  Cooper wiped his eyes with the back of his hand and looked upset with himself for not being able to stop his tears for the second time in the same day.

  “You’re done, Hiro. You made it clear. I won’t ask you to help. I promised I wouldn’t. But don’t expect me to stop. Not when I have a plan.”

  A red flag went up. “What’s your plan?”

  He hesitated long enough for her to know he had no intention of telling her. Not everything, anyway.

  “If Gordy hasn’t been found by tomorrow morning, I’ll check every garage in Rolling Meadows.” He pointed at the map. “Starting here, in this circle.”

  The timing was strange. “I figured you’d want to start now. Tonight.”

  Another pause. Too long, though. What was he hiding?

  “The daylight will help. And maybe the rain will stop by then.”

  Okay. What was up with that? Tomorrow? Waiting for the rain to quit? That wouldn’t stop him. Not when he had a plan. Or was it that he had a different plan? Something he intended to do tonight. But what would be more important than finding Gordy?

  “Tonight. Tomorrow.” Lunk shrugged. “Either way works for me. Say the word and I’m there.”

  Exactly the type of thing Hiro would expect Lunk to say. Day or night, “checking” garages would be dangerous.

  “This is police work, Coop,” Hiro said. “What are you going to do, ring the bell, ask them to open their garage?”

  “It’s faster if I just look through the garage window myself.” Coop looked at Lunk. “Thought I’d bring the wiffle-ball bat. If I can’t see through the window, I’ll tap it out.”

  Lunk smiled, which infuriated her.

  “That’s why I didn’t want to tell you, Coop. I knew you’d do something like that.”

  The look on his face—definitely surprised.

  She wasn’t about to stop now. “And if you find the right house, you think the kidnapper is going to let you get away? ‘Oh, excuse me a minute, Mr. Psycho. I’d just like to make a phone call to the police before you try to kill me.’ Be realistic, Coop.”

  “Look.” Coop stood. “I’ll be careful. As careful as I can be. But Gordy is in trouble. He needs someone. And I love him too much to worry about playing it safe.”

  Lunk stood. “Then let’s go now.”

  Hiro imagined the glass flying when Lunk swung the concrete-filled wiffle-ball bat. Lovely.

  Coop shook his head. “Tomorrow morning. Eight o’clock.”

  Lunk had a questioning expression on his face, but he looked away, not saying a word.

  All right. She wasn’t imagining this. Lunk sensed it too. Coop was keeping something from them. A bad feeling gripped her. Lurking. Gaining strength. Something was going to happen. Was it the checking garages thing? She couldn’t tell. “Don’t do it, Coop. Leave this to the police. Let Detective Hammer handle this.”

  “I’m glad you called him.” Coop glanced at the satellite photos again. “And I hope he finds him. Somewhere right here in Rolling Meadows there’s a monster hiding under a rock. He’s going to crawl out from under his rock, and do this again. He has to be stopped. Gordy needs me now.”

  Okay. There it was again. A disconnect. Gordy needs me now. That’s what he said. Then why was he waiting until tomorrow to start checking garages? “I’m not getting this, Coop. Something isn’t lining up.”

  His eyes locked with hers. “When a friend needs help, what kind of a friend would I be if I didn’t do everything I could to help him? I’d do the same for you, Hiro.” He jammed his hands into his pockets and looked down. “If I didn’t, then I’d actually have a legitimate reason to feel guilty.”

  And in her heart, she knew his words were completely true. A lump burned in her throat.

  Coop turned to Lunk. “And I’d do it for you too.”

  Lunk clenched his jaw like he was trying to keep his emotions in check.

  Then why not search tonight? Maybe she shouldn’t ask. What if he took her up on it and did start tonight? Coop’s real problem was simple. He was fooling himself. Whether driven by guilt or love, it was time to stop before somebody else got hurt.

  Hiro wanted to give him the statistics. The chances of finding a kidnapped victim after twenty-four hours go way down. And the odds of finding that person alive were significantly less. “It’s been nearly seventy-two hours. Do you know what that means?”

  Coop looked at her. “Don’t say it.”

  “Coop, face the facts. Statistics prove that if a kidnapped person isn’t found within—”

  “Stop.” Coop held up his hands as if he could ward off her words. “No more. Don’t say it.”

  The intensity of the rain drumming against the deck above them picked up, as if nature itself was trying to keep Coop from hearing what she had to say. But it was for his own good. He had to hear it. “Gordy is gone. He’s dead. You’re in a dark place, Coop. I’m just trying to—”

  “No. Gordy is alive. I feel it. And I’m not in the dark place. Gordy is.” He placed both hands on the table and leaned forward. “Sometimes rescuing a friend from darkness … means going in after them.”

  Hiro’s stomach twisted. “What does that mean?”

  He didn’t answer. And by the distant look in his eyes, Coop was envisioning something. The haunted, guilty look she’d seen mirrored on his face the last few days was gone. But something just as unsettling replaced it. Fear. “Coop, what are you saying?”

  He closed his eyes tight for an instant. Like there was something he wanted to say, but couldn’t. Or wouldn’t. “Nothing. I’m not saying anything.” He stood. “I need some time alone. Goodnight, you two. See you tomorrow at eight o’clock, Lunk.”

  Coop brushed past them and ducked out the cabin door.

  Hiro didn’t move. Even Lunk seemed stunned.

  “He’s planning something,” Hiro said. “I know it.”

  Lunk just looked at her. “Tomorrow. At eight o’clock. You heard him.”

  Hiro shook her head. “That’s his Plan B. He’s doing something tonight.”

  “Why wouldn’t he tell us?”

  Hiro fought a sense of panic rising up in her. “He figures that if we know what he is really planning to do”—the sense of d
read she felt grew a bit darker—”we’ll do everything in our power to stop him.”

  CHAPTER 65

  Lunk wasn’t sure how to react to that. Could Hiro be right?

  He followed her out of The Getaway cabin. Coop was already gone. “What now?”

  Hiro scampered over the dripping railing and down the ladder leaning on the transom. She jogged through the backyard—every step a soggy splash. She passed through the gate in the cedar fence, the hood of her sweatshirt pulled up against the rain.

  Was she leaving?

  “Hiro?” He slogged through standing water to catch up. The ground had more water than it could absorb. Hiro didn’t slow down. She was determined. No doubt about that. “You just going to go home? What about Coop?”

  She glanced over her shoulder, as if she couldn’t believe he didn’t understand what she was doing. She kept up the double-time pace around the house, past the garage and right to the front door. She pressed the doorbell, seemed to rest all her weight on one leg, and folded her arms across her chest.

  Okay. So she was going after him. That was more like it. Exactly what Lunk figured he’d do after Hiro went home. But this was better. They’d double-team him.

  Mrs. MacKinnon opened the door. Even in the dim porch light, he could see the red rimming her nose and eyes. She worked a wadded up napkin with her hands.

  “Hiro. Lunk.” She smiled. A very tired smile. And underneath it fear and worry. Lunk had seen the same look on his mom’s face whenever his dad showed up at their door.

  “Can we talk to Coop?” Hiro took a step forward, like she hoped Mrs. MacKinnon would invite her in.

  Coop’s mom smiled apologetically. “He just flew in and said he was going to his room.”

  “Can we speak with him?”

  Mrs. MacKinnon looked at her. “Is something wrong between you two?”

  Hiro shrugged. “Not really. I mean, yes, maybe. But there shouldn’t be.” She picked at her braid. “He knows I don’t think Gordy is coming back. I think I hurt him.”

 

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