Cody took the box of fish sticks out of the freezer and set them on the counter.
“I’ll get our dinner, Olive, you grab a couple of plates for us,” Cody exclaimed.
“Okay,” Olive replied.
When their mother came down from changing out of her work clothes, Cody and Olive were just starting their dinner. The cup of tea Cody had made for his mom was still steaming.
“How were both of your days?” she asked.
“Good,” both of her children simultaneously said, even though Cody was lying through his teeth.
The boy thought about telling his mom about what happened to him that morning, but he couldn’t do it. He also didn’t want his sister to know.
“You know it’s bath night, Olive,” she said.
Cody looked at his mom’s exhausted face. There were bags and lines under her eyes. Before Olive could reply, Cody quickly blurted out, “Mom, I’ll help take care of Olive tonight. You can go to bed early and get some rest.”
Surprised, she said, “Wow, Cody, has something taken over you? I will take you up on that, thank you.”
After dinner, they all cleaned up and headed upstairs.
Cody ran back down and made sure the front door was dead bolted, like he had always done. He had started doing this a few years ago. One time, a drunken man had actually come into their home. He was so drunk, he forgot where he lived and ended up in their home on the living room floor completely passed out. Cody’s mother had found him and called the police. Though it was unintentional, it was very scary for all three of them. Every once in a while, Cody would have a dream about the night that it happened.
While his mom went into her room, Cody went to the bathroom to start the water for Olive’s bath. He added bubble bath to the lukewarm water. Olive went into her mother’s room to say good-night. She was lying on her bed with a novel in her hand. Their mother loved reading books.
“Good night, Mommy! I love you!” said Olive.
“Good night, sweetheart! I love you too, bug! Tell your brother good-night and I love him too,” she said, putting down her book.
“I will, Mommy,” said Olive.
Cody called his sister, “Olive, your bathwater is ready!”
Olive jetted into the bathroom, threw off her pajamas, and jumped into the tub. Cody turned away as a huge splash full of bubbles scattered across the bathroom floor.
He grabbed the shampoo and squeezed a dollop onto his hand. He started washing his sister’s hair with his sleeves rolled up to his elbows.
“I wonder why Mom is so tired. It’s early for her to go in her room already, isn’t it?” she asked.
“Because she works really hard to support us, and her work is super busy at this time of the month,” Cody replied.
“Oh well, that makes sense,” she said, even though she looked a little confused.
Cody changed the subject.
“So how was school today? Did you learn anything fun?” asked Cody.
“Kind of. We are learning about presidents. Also, I’m making something cool in art class for Mommy,” she said with excitement.
“That’s great! Who is your favorite president?” asked Cody.
“Um, I like the guy on the dollar bill,” she replied.
“Oh okay, George Washington. Good choice,” said Cody. “What kind of art project are you making for Mom?” he asked.
“Something really cool that she will like. It’s a surprise. Next week, I’m going to start making something for your birthday too,” said Olive, smiling.
“Oh, wow. My birthday isn’t for a couple of months, though,” said Cody.
“Well, I’m starting on it soon.” replied Olive.
Cody changed the subject. “Olive, do you know what to do if a stranger were to try and talk to you?” he asked.
“Yeah, dum-dum. I am supposed to say no. Everyone knows that,” she replied, looking like a white-bearded little girl with bubbles all over her face. Olive loved her bubbles.
“Okay, good—but especially if someone were to offer you a ride in their car, okay?” he said.
“Yeah, I got it,” she replied back.
“Don’t ever, ever get into a stranger’s vehicle, okay?” Cody told his sister.
“Okay, okay,” replied Olive.
“You know I will never let anyone ever hurt you, don’t you?” he added.
“Yes, I know. You’re my big brother!” she jokingly said.
Cody finished rinsing his sister’s hair with a cup.
“That’s right. Now dry yourself off, brush your teeth, and I’ll meet you in your room to read you a story,” he said.
Cody left the bathroom and went into Olive’s bedroom.
Cody sat on the wooden rocking chair in the corner. His sister’s room was pretty girly for an eight-year-old. Olive loved unicorns, so there was a unicorn of some sort in practically every corner of the room. The room was small with pink and white paint on each wall. He had painted a unicorn on her wall above her bed when she first got a big-girl bed. It was hot pink with a silvery mane and golden horn. Olive loved that he did that for her. It was her favorite unicorn of all, and her brother had made it just for her.
Olive, all dressed in her pajamas, pounced into her room and onto her bed. Then she quickly hopped back out and went straight for her small bookcase. She pulled out The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss off the top shelf and handed it to her big brother.
“Here you go, brother!” she said excitedly.
“Great choice. This is one of my favorites,” Cody replied.
His sister hopped back in to bed and pulled the covers up to her chin getting comfortable for the story. She was excited and sleepy at the same time as she waited for her brother to begin reading.
“Thank you, brother.” she squealed.
“You’re welcome, sis.” Cody responded.
By the time Thing One and Thing Two were ready to clean the house up, Olive was fast asleep. Cody kissed his sister good-night, flipped on her unicorn night-light, and quietly closed the door as he left.
Cody grabbed a towel from the closet and headed for a much needed shower.
CHAPTER IV
Lying in Bed
It was going on 9:00 p.m., and Cody couldn’t even think about today’s homework. He scampered to his room and sat right back down at his desk.
The notes he had taken earlier were still sitting there, waiting to be further analyzed. He had almost forgotten that Zach hadn’t called yet. Cody tore off the first page of his sketchbook with the notes on it and put it to the side.
The memory of today’s morning would be etched into Cody’s head for the rest of his life. But that couldn’t be the end of it, could it? There was a reason he had asked Olive that question in the bathroom.
He began to wonder. What if it had been Olive in his shoes earlier this morning? What if the obviously sick man had jumped out of the car and tried to grab her after she said no and started running? What other kids were out there that this had been done to? Had any of those kids ever gotten in the vehicle?
The more questions he asked himself, the angrier he got. The pencil he had been holding was indented so far in the page of the sketchbook, a hole was being made on the top page.
He pulled the tip of the pencil out of the page and began drawing. With each stroke, vertical and horizontal lines were flowing on the page. Cody knew exactly what was being drawn. It was the mysterious black car. He sketched, erased, and shaded.
In just one hour, there was a fully drawn sketch of what Cody believed the car looked like. With as many details as he could remember, the nine-by-twelve pad had a drawing on it resembling a boxy and long car.