When he arrived home, it was past 4:00 p.m. Cody glanced down the driveway of his neighbor’s house and saw an older blue car covered by the tarp. It had a bow-tie logo. The car was a Chevy. A sense of relief came over Cody as he continued to walk toward his house. Phil was furious with Cody and was already yelling before he stepped foot in the driveway. Cody had forgotten to call his babysitter and let her know he went to his friend’s house after school.
“Where were you?” she screamed.
“At Zach’s house, sorry I didn’t call,” said Cody.
“Well, you are in big trouble, boy. Your mother will hear about this, don’t you worry,” explained Phyllis.
Olive was behind the babysitter, making funny faces while she was yelling at Cody. He couldn’t help but smirk a little. The smirk sent Phyllis over the edge.
“You are grounded, I’m definitely telling your mom, and get up to your room,” she screamed, her voice getting louder and louder.
Cody took his shoes off and ran up the stairs into his room. He didn’t care that his babysitter grounded him; it didn’t mean anything. His mother would be home soon, and he could explain everything. He was certain his mom would understand.
Cody went straight to the alarm clock radio in his room on his desk. He tuned it to a local AM news station. The reporter on the news was talking about Mandy Coefield.
There was urgency in his voice.
“If anyone has any information regarding this missing girl, please call authorities,” the reporter said.
Cody sat at his desk and turned off the radio. He thought about what Zach’s mom had said.
“There are some evil people out there,” he remembered her saying.
Cody thought about Sam Jennings, the missing girl from five years ago. He thought of an article in the newspaper he read of how her kidnapper kept items that Sam had on her at the time she was taken. The girl had a multicolored woven bracelet her mother had given her with an inscription on it that authorities were certain her abductor took as a souvenir. Just the thought of that made Cody’s stomach cringe.
“There are some sick and evil people in this world,” he thought, “and I’m going to catch one of them.”
Cody prayed that Zach’s brother would help them.
CHAPTER X
The Gas Station
A couple of days went by, and Zach still had no good news. It wasn’t until the middle of the week when Cody got the news from Zach.
Cody and Zach were on the playground behind the school at lunchtime on the early spring day.
“Okay, dude, I got to talk to Scotty. It took a while, but I actually convinced him to help us! He will give us a couple of hours on Sunday afternoon. We have to pay for his gas in his car. He’s driving back to college around seven on Sunday night,” Zach told his friend.
“Wow, that’s great! Does he know fully what we are doing and why?” asked Cody.
“No, not really, and he doesn’t really care, either. He’s just helping us,” replied Zach.
“That’s great. Now, we just have to pray that the black car is there,” said Cody.
“Yep,” chirped Zach.
The boys ate their lunch and talked about different things the rest of the time.
The next few days moved slowly, and the boys hardly talked about the investigation.
Sunday finally came, and the two friends had a sleepover again, this time at Zach’s house.
Zach’s brother, Scotty, pounded on the bedroom door and opened it. Scotty had dark-brown hair parted down the middle and really dark eyes. He was tall and slender with long legs. His face was partially covered in acne.
“What time am I taking you guys?” he asked aggressively.
It was 10:00 a.m. on Sunday, and the boys had slept in. Zach was in his bed, and Cody was burrowed in a blue sleeping bag on the floor. Zach looked at the clock above his door. Cody’s ankle was all healed and felt much better.
“Like around one, dude,” Zach murmured, half awake.
“Okay, be ready at one and don’t call me dude. I’m going to go for a jog,” snapped Scotty.
Cody barely budged from the sleeping bag. Scotty left, and Zach hopped out of bed.
“Come on, Code, get up, let’s grab some breakfast,” said Zach, now more awake.
Cody’s head popped up from above the top of the sleeping bag. He unzipped the side of it and slipped out. Cody’s shirt was drenched with sweat. Even at another house, the nightmares continued.
They got dressed and went down to the kitchen. There was a sweet smell in the air. Zach’s mom was making French toast for them.
“Yeah, Mom!” shouted Zach. “French toast! Perfect!”
“Thank you, Mrs. Madden,” Cody said politely.
“You’re welcome, boys,” she said.
She put two pieces on each plate, sprinkled them with powdered sugar, and handed the plates to the boys. Zach’s mom genuinely liked her son’s best friend. She was always nice to Cody.
“There’s more where those came from, do eat up,” she said.
Zach pulled the carton of milk out of the fridge and grabbed two cups from the cabinet.
“Don’t forget this too,” his mom said.
She put a bottle of chocolate syrup on the table with a spoon.
Zach and Cody loved chocolate milk. Cody drizzled the dark syrup in his cup and stirred it with the spoon. There was something about the first gulp of freshly made chocolate milk Cody loved.
“Thank you, Mrs. Madden,” said Cody.
“Yeah, thanks again, Mom,” Zach followed.
“What’s on the agenda today, guys?” she said.
“Scotty is taking us to Reagan Park to play some basketball on the full courts,” Zach quickly responded.
Reagan Park was on the other side of town and was too far to ride a bike. Though it was a lie, it would be the perfect cover.
“Oh really, how nice of your brother.” She sounded very surprised.
“Yep, I do have a great brother,” said Zach sarcastically.
Cody let out a small laugh while Zach just grinned.
“After we are done eating, let’s go shoot some hoops. We need to practice so we are ready for the pickup games at the park,” suggested Zach.
“Yeah, good idea,” replied Cody.
“Mom, have you heard any news on the missing girl in Sheldon?” asked Zach.
“No, honey, they are still looking for her. The longer amount of time that goes by, the chances go down of finding her. Such a sad story, I feel so terrible for her parents,” Mrs. Madden said.
“Yeah, we do too, Mom,” said Zach.
“Cody, isn’t your sister the same age of Mandy?” she asked.
“Yes, she is,” answered Cody, looking at his friend with concern.
“That’s what I thought,” Mrs. Madden said.
They finished up breakfast and threw their dishes in the sink.
“Thanks again, Mrs. Madden,” said Cody again.
“You’re welcome, sweetie,” she cheerfully said.
Zach was already grabbing his basketball and tennis shoes from the hallway closet. Cody started to put his Reeboks on. Cody tied his shoes and pushed the pump two times on the tongue of each shoe.
The boys went out the side door and into the back. They shot hoops for a couple of hours while also chatting back and forth.
Zach looked at his digital watch, and it was a little past noon. It was almost time. Scotty came out of the house and told the boys it was time to leave at ten till. Zach took one last shot from twenty feet away, and the ball swished through the net.
Scotty’s car was parked on the street in front of the house. It was a smaller boxy car called a Ciera. The maroon paint was faded on the hood of the car, and there was bubbling around the wheel wells. The car was eight years old, but it was sufficient for Scotty to go back and forth to school.