Nothing but static came across, then Cody heard a noise in the house. It sounded like a shuffling or someone walking. Panicked by the noise, the boy pushed off and fell through into the kitchen. He gathered himself off the ground and picked up his items off the floor, grabbing the flashlight first. The house was so dark. He took a few steps in the kitchen and pointed his light at different objects. The fridge was to the left of him, and there was a square table with chairs in the corner. It looked like a normal kitchen.
Cody’s radio continued to muffle. He walked straight ahead into the living room. There was a window to the left of the front door all blacked out by paint with curtains in front of it. A couch was against the wall with a table on each side. A rotary phone sat on one of the tables, and a lamp sat on the other one. The front door had at least four extra locks on it.
To the right of the living room was a hallway leading to a stairway and two other rooms. Cody walked into the hallway and turned left. A mattress sat on the floor with no box spring or frame. There was another window also blacked out and a curtain. The room smelled horrible, like nasty body odor. Cody gagged a little as he shined the light on the room. The walls had some sort of stain on them, and there was hardly any furniture in the room. A bathroom was across from the bedroom.
More static came over his radio. Feeling courageous and scared, Cody climbed up the stairs between the bedroom and bathroom. He thought he heard noises just moments ago coming from upstairs. As he reached the landing, he heard a vehicle’s engine close by. The Cadillac was home.
CHAPTER XIII
Confronting Evil
Cody rushed up the stairs and found an open room much like a loft. It was at that moment that the boy had confirmation of everything he believed. All the feelings that he had for the past several weeks had come to the surface.
On the far wall of the room were hundreds of newspaper clippings, articles, and missing-persons flyers attached to a bulletin board. Cody even noticed something hanging on the wall that he needed to take a closer look at. He walked up to the wall and studied the object. Butterflies started to form in the boy’s stomach.
In a small frame was a knitted green-and-yellow bracelet that read “Love You Always” on the side. It was the bracelet that once belonged to Sam Jennings, the missing girl from five years ago. Cody was sick to his stomach as he stared at the frame on the wall. It took him every ounce of energy to not throw up as his hands went completely numb.
There was a large black sheet hooked up to the ceiling. It was to cover the wall so no one would see the bulletin board of paraphernalia. The floor was made of hardwood and creaked when he walked. On three sides of the room, Cody saw windows with curtains that were not blacked out. A telescope was in front of one window. As he continued to inspect the room, Cody heard a car door shut.
Zach, who was still underneath the car in the street, saw everything. The black Cadillac pulled into the driveway and idled for a couple of minutes. The car had pulled all the way up to the back gate. The man the boys knew as Melvin Wermer got out of the car and went to his trunk that was popped open. Zach looked at his watch and saw that it was after 9:00 p.m., and his friend was still in the house.
With a worried look on his face, he needed to think of something. Zach crawled out from beneath the car and left all his stuff there. He needed to think fast before the man went into his house. Zach started walking on the sidewalk, yelling his fake dog’s name again like he had done the first time.
“Lu-cy! Lu-cy! Are you out here, girl!” he yelled, his voice sounding shaken.
Zach was right in front of the house and caught the man’s attention as he turned around and shut the trunk gate.
“Hey, mister! You didn’t see my dog yet, did you?” Zach asked the man standing in front of the side door.
“Are you kidding me, kid? You still didn’t find it? What are you doing out here in the pitch-dark?” said the man.
“Um, still trying to find my dog,” responded Zach rather loudly, hoping that Cody would hear him from inside the house.
“I think you’re out of luck, kid, but if you want to come in my house and we can discuss it more, you can.” the man said raising his voice.
“Uh, no thanks. I’ll just keep looking myself. Thanks though.” Zach replied briskly.
The man looked at Zach peculiarly. The boy stared at the man’s house and started walking away. The man shuffled with his keys in a hurry and put them in the door. Zach took off running down the street as fast as he could.
CHAPTER XIV
Part I: Run
In the black night, Zach put his head down and ran faster than he ever ran in his entire life. He needed to get to the gas station where the boys stashed their bikes. There, he could grab the pay phone and call the police. He knew his friend was in the house and didn’t have long before the man would find Cody.
Zach knew that he was racing against time. He flew down Braxton, made a left, and ran toward the store. When he arrived at the store, someone was talking on the pay phone. Crazy thoughts ran through Zach’s head as he waited for the man to get off the phone.
Zack tried to get the guy’s attention, but the guy was too focused on the phone and very rude to the boy.
“Excuse me, mister, I really need to use the phone,” exclaimed Zach with excitement.
The man was in his twenties. He stopped talking on the phone and put the phone to his shoulder.
“Get lost, kid. I’m using it,” the man on the phone said, putting the phone back up to his ear.
“Please! Please, man!” yelled Zach.
The man ignored him.
Frustrated, Zach ran into the store and asked if he could use the store phone. He told the clerk at the cash register that it was an emergency and that it was a matter of life and death. The cashier just laughed at Zach and told him to go use the pay phone outside. Zach ran back outside, and the man was still on the phone.
Needing to think quickly, Zach ran away from the gas station and farther down the street, looking for another pay phone. A few blocks down, he found another phone on the corner of the street. Zach grabbed the phone and quickly dialed 911.
“911, what’s your emergency?” said the operator.
“Hello, my name is Zach Madden, and I think my friend is in trouble,” exclaimed Zach.
“Okay, calm down. What is the problem?” said the operator.
“My friend Cody and I were at this house. We think that the man inside the house is really bad,” said Zach.
“What do you mean you think the man is bad?” said the operator.
“It’s a long story. I need a police officer here now. My friend is in the house,” said Zach impatiently.
“Okay, what’s the location of the house, Zach? We are going to send a squad car there to meet you,” said the operator.
“1291 Braxton Street. When will he be here? My friend is in the house,” said Zach.
“A squad car is on their way. Are you near the house now?” said the operator.
“No, but I can be. I will run to it and meet the officer,” said Zach.
“Okay, Zach. Do not go into the house. Wait for an officer to arrive,” said the operator.
“Okay, I won’t go in the house, but please send an officer right away,” said Zach, slamming down the phone.
He ran as fast as he could back to Braxton Street. While he flew as fast as he could, crazy thoughts ran through his mind: Was his friend okay? Should he have gone in the house instead of running to a pay phone to get help? What if the guy wasn’t bad at all?
Zach wanted to believe the last question so much, but something in his heart told him that his friend was in trouble. In the pitch-black, he ran as fast as he could back to Braxton. Shortly after he arrived in front of the corner house, a squad car was driving down the street, and Zach waved it down. Two officers stepped out of the police car.