“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 church. 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.