Cooper felt weak when he dropped onto the seat beside Gordy. Gordy frowned. “What happened to you?”
“I think Lunk is on to me.”
“You sure?”
“He knows I’m hiding something. He just doesn’t know what.”
Gordy twisted to look out the window as if he thought Lunk might be watching them. Reading their lips. “What did you tell him?”
“Nothing. Thankfully we had to get on the bus.”
The bus door closed and the driver eased away from the curb.
Gordy gave a low whistle. “Close call.”
“Too close.” He’d made it through another day, but they were getting harder. And it wasn’t over yet.
He checked his watch. In thirty minutes he’d be turning on his phone, and the thought of that just added to his mounting concerns about Miss Ferrand and Lunk. And Hiro.
Gordy didn’t speak until the bus pulled out of the parking lot. “Think the police will call?”
“I’m sure of it.” As much as he dreaded it, he also knew this was his chance. It would be worth it if he could get the police to stop looking for him and put all their efforts into finding Elvis, Mr. Clown, and Mr. Lucky. Then he’d straighten things out with Hiro.
“I’m glad I don’t have to talk to them,” Gordy said. “Think Hiro will show?”
“Hope so.” Cooper felt more confident when she was around, and if a call came from the police, he’d need all the help he could get. But most of all he wanted to make things right with her about last night. He wanted her to know he was sorry about riding off angry.
The bus swayed down Plum Grove Road, picking up speed. Cooper reached in his backpack and pulled out the cell. Holding it in his hand, he stared out the window. Did the letter really help the police? Were they any closer to finding the men who put Frank in the coma? Cooper’s knee started shaking.
By the time the bus reached their stop, Cooper felt like his whole body was shaking. The two boys hustled off the bus.
Gordy started across the street as soon as the bus passed. “Meet you in five minutes?”
“Right.” Cooper jammed the cell in his pocket and took off at a run for his house. The front door was locked, so he circled around to the back. Peering through the glass on the back door, he saw Mom with her back to him working at the kitchen counter. The fact that she wore the black apron meant she’d been baking. He tapped on the glass. Mom turned and smiled. Fudge bounded into the kitchen barking her security dog bark, which turned into a tail swinging “let’s go out and play” bark the moment she saw Cooper.
His mom pulled open the door and gave him a hug. He was only slightly taller than her, but just enough to look over her shoulder at the microwave clock. He had to get moving.
She kissed him on the cheek. “Still didn’t find your key?”
“Nope. Did you talk to dad about getting the locks changed?”
“No.” She opened the refrigerator door. “Dad figures it will show up. Nothing to worry about.”
That’s exactly what worried Cooper … that the key would show up. In the hands of Elvis. Or the clown. Or Hammer. His mind flew back to the stool crashing through the window the night of the robbery. Changing locks wouldn’t stop these guys anyway.
“What would you like for a snack?” Mom said. “Peanut butter sandwich? Cookies? I just baked a fresh batch.”
The five minutes had to be nearly up. “Not right now. I have to meet Gordy. He’s probably out front waiting for me.”
“There’s always time for a snack. I’ll get one for Gordy too.” Mom disappeared toward the front door.
Cooper followed with Fudge right at his side. Mom opened the door and swung open the screen. Gordy stood in front of the porch holding his bike. The surprise on his face was obvious.
“How about a little snack, Gordy?”
Gordy glanced his way, and Cooper shook his head slightly.
“Aw, thanks, Aunt Dana. Maybe later.”
“Gordon Digby, you never turn down a snack.” She looked back at Cooper, suspicion in her eyes. “What are you boys up to?”
“Just riding bikes, right Coop?”
Cooper nodded.
Mom didn’t look convinced. “You’re not planning to shoot that potato gun are you?”
“No. Honest, Mom. We’re just going to ride around a little. Maybe play some ball.”
“Then you can take time for a snack.” She walked past him into the house.
The way she said it, it was almost like a test. If he didn’t have a snack, she’d know they were up to something. Then there’d be more questions. More lies.
“I guess a snack would be a good idea,” Cooper said. He motioned for Gordy to follow.
“What would you like?”
“Cookies,” Cooper said. It would be quicker.
Mom pulled out the chocolate chips and set them on the table. Gordy started right in and sat down like he had no idea what time it really was. Cooper grabbed one too, sat across from him, and ate fast. Fudge laid her head on his leg.
Mom opened the freezer and shifted things around on the shelves. “I have some vanilla ice cream in here somewhere. How about I make an ice cream sandwich with those cookies?”
Gordy’s eyes lit up. “Excellent!”
Cooper kicked him under the table and pointed at his wrist.
“How about you, Cooper?” Her voice sounded muffled by the freezer.
“The chocolate chips are perfect just like this.” He broke off a piece and fed it to the Hoover under the table. Fudge sucked it up and swallowed it without even chewing.
Mom nodded and pulled the vanilla ice cream from the freezer. Cooper felt the phone in his pocket, thankful he hadn’t turned it on yet.
The doorbell rang, and Cooper jumped to his feet. Fear-charged adrenalin. What now? If it was Miss Ferrand he might as well give it up. Trotting down the hall, he recognized the silhouette framed in the screen door. “Hiro.”
“Ask her if she’d like a snack,” Mom called after him.
Cooper swung open the door. “Where were you today?” Fudge bounded out and greeted her with a wagging tail and happy whimpers.
She bent down and kissed Fudge on the top of her head. “I’ll explain later.”
Her voice sounded fine. If she was sick, it wasn’t a cold.
“Shouldn’t we be leaving?” Hiro said.
“I’m trying.”
Mom came around the corner wiping her hands on a towel. “Can I get you something, Hiro?”
Gordy followed her, holding the cookie ice cream sandwich like a Whopper.
Hiro smiled. “It looks really good, but we have to run. We’re supposed to be at the park right now meeting someone.”
Cooper’s mom put her hands on her hips and eyed him. “First you were playing ball. Now you’re meeting someone?”
Not good. Cooper hesitated, but only for an instant. “I can explain. Later.”
She didn’t look like she was going to budge.
Cooper sighed. “We are going to play a little ball. But there’s also someone I’ve got to talk to. Just a guy I’m trying to help out a little—and I’m not even sure he’ll show up. But I’m supposed to be there by 3:30—and if I don’t leave now I’ll be late.”
Cooper’s mom looked at him like she was trying to make up her mind.
Hiro cleared her throat. “Actually I’ve been the one trying to encourage Coop to talk.”
Mom’s shoulders relaxed and she gave Hiro a hug.
Cooper leaned over and gave his mom a kiss on the cheek. “If there’s anything to tell, I’ll fill you in later. Okay?”
She gave him a kiss back. “You’d better.”
“If he doesn’t,” Hiro said, “I will.”
Cooper had a feeling she really meant it, too.
Mom smiled. “Have a good time.”
Minutes later Cooper left the residential section and wheeled his bike across Campbell Street and into Kimball Hill Park. Hiro still rode right next to him. It felt good to be on his new bike again. It felt better to be riding next to Hiro. He held his bat along the handlebars and a ball in his pocket. They rode in silence. She didn’t offer any explanation as to why she missed school today—and he wasn’t sure he wanted to ask.
What he really wanted to do was tell her how sorry he was for the way he acted last night. But it would have to wait. He had to get the phone call done first. He checked over his shoulder. Gordy lagged several houses back, trying to eat the ice cream sandwich as he rode.
The bike and jogging path ran between a small pond to the left and Salt Creek to the right. Ahead, a footbridge crossed the creek to connect with the bike path on the other side. Eventually the bike path on the other side of the creek led under Kirchoff Road to Frank’n Stein’s. Cooper wished he was heading there for a monster shake and fries right now.
“Hello. Hello. Hullo.” Cooper practiced disguising his voice. His high voice sounded wimpy. Talking really low tickled his throat.
The park was the perfect place to field a call. He didn’t want it too near his house, just in case the police were able to trace the cell. A public place was best, especially one like this where they could see police approaching from a good distance away. Far enough to allow them a chance to escape—and from the park they could take off in any direction. Campbell Street and Kirchoff Avenue ran parallel to each other, with Kimball Hill Park sandwiched right between them.
Cooper coasted the last twenty yards to the bridge and braked the moment he crossed. He ditched his bike and the bat in the tall grass next to the footbridge. Crouching, he worked his way down the embankment just a bit.
Hiro took her post on the top of the bridge, keeping an eye on things to the south. Kirchoff Road was clearly visible. A moment later Gordy stood opposite of her, keeping an eyeball peeled toward Campbell Street, in the direction from where they’d just come. From this vantage point they’d be able to spot any police cars in the area.
Cooper checked his watch. 3:35. He sat nearly under the bridge so he wouldn’t be seen by anyone scoping out the park. If the police were patrolling the area, all they’d see was Gordy and Hiro standing on the bridge—and neither of them holding a phone.
Reaching in his pocket, Cooper pulled out the phone and pressed the power button. The phone came to life, and Cooper’s heart picked up the pace. He fished out the toilet paper tube and made sure the wadding was still inside.
Hiro leaned over the railing. “You ready for this?”
Cooper nodded. Another lie. The truth? He was ready to chuck it all. Get away from it somehow. Escape. Be done with this. But just maybe the phone call was his ticket.
“Are you going to say something about Lunk?”
Cooper stared at her. “Like what?”
“Just ask them to check him out. Check his dad out.”
“We’ll see, okay?” It came out too forceful, too harsh.
Her lips disappeared in a tight line.
Great. He’d upset her again. Why couldn’t she leave it alone?
“How long do you think we have before they can trace this thing?” Cooper wobbled the phone in his hand, trying to get her mind off the comment he’d just made.
Hiro shook her head. “Cell phone? No idea. Keep it short to be safe.”
Right now he wished he hadn’t given the police a phone number at all. He looked at his watch. “What time do you have, Hiro?”
“3:37.”
“Maybe they won’t call.”
“Give ‘em time.” He hardly dared hope they wouldn’t.
The phone chirped almost on cue.
Cooper’s heart lurched. He cleared his throat, and before connecting, practiced saying hello several times, changing his voice a bit more every time he did.
“Grab it,” Gordy hissed.
Cooper nodded, put the tube to his mouth, and pressed the button. No turning back now.
“Hello.” He used the high voice.
“This is Rolling Meadows Police Detective Richard Hammer. Are you the one who wrote the letter?”
“Yes.”
“What do I call you, friend?”
“Let’s leave it at that.”
“What?”
“Friend.”
Hammer paused slightly. “Okay, Friend.”
Cooper sunk lower in the grass. “What do you want from me?”
“Your full cooperation.”
“That’s why I wrote the letter. You need to find those men.”
“I want you to come in and talk.”
“No.”
“What are you afraid of?”
“I told you in the letter. Two of the men wore cop pants. I go to the police, and maybe I end up talking to one of them.”
“Ridiculous.”
“I won’t take that chance.” He glanced up at Hiro and Gordy. Both of them were on the same side of the bridge watching him and listening. So much for the lookout plan.
Hammer sighed. “Get a chest.”
“What?”
“Get a chest. Be a man. Come to the police station and help us find these men.”
Cooper felt his cheeks burning. He wished he’d gone with the low voice. “It’s the phone or nothing. And you’re almost out of time.”
“Okay,” Hammer said. “You say you were at Frank ‘n Stein’s during the robbery. How is it that they didn’t see you?”
“I hid behind the counter. I told you that in the letter.”
“Were you alone?”
Cooper looked up at Hiro and Gordy. “Yes. Just me.”
“And you were the one on the bike at the Dunkin Donuts drive-thru?”
“Yes.”
“If you’re innocent, why did you take the hard drive for the surveillance cameras?”
“The guy they called Mr. Lucky disconnected it. I was afraid they’d be able to identify me.”
“Do you still have it?”
Cooper hesitated. “Yes.”
“Where is it?”
“Hidden where you’ll never find it.”
“I need that hard drive.”
“I looked right into the camera. I can’t give it to you.”
“Can’t or won’t?”
Cooper could picture him with the mirrored lenses. “Won’t.”
Hiro motioned from above him and mouthed Lunk’s name.
“Listen good,” Hammer said. “I think you’re wasting my time. You didn’t describe anything to me that someone couldn’t see through the window. So you rode your bike to Frank’s and looked in the window before the police came. You saw him laying there and thought you’d get some thrills with your crazy story about men wearing latex masks.”
Cooper fought back panic. “Know what I think? You might be the man in the Elvis mask.”
Hammer didn’t say a word. Cooper took it away from his ear for a second and checked the screen to see if the man disconnected.
Hiro pointed at her watch.
“Unless you give me that surveillance camera hard drive, how do I know there are any men at all? Maybe you don’t want me to have the drive because there were no other men. Just you. Maybe a couple of friends, too. And you guys got in over your heads.”
“No, no that isn’t what happened at all.”
“Only one way to prove that.”
“Look, you just have to believe me. It’s all true. You need to find those men”
“How can you prove to me you were really there—that you really saw all you claimed to have witnessed?”
Was Hammer really questioning whether he was there, or was this a stall tactic? Or an attempt to get him even more nervous so he’d mess up?
“I was there.” Cooper’s voice sounded more shrill.
“Give me proof.”
Gordy motioned with both hands and drew one finger across his throat. “Cut it,” he whispered.
“What more proof do you need?” Cooper said.
“Hard drive.”
“No deal.”
“I thought you wanted to help us?”
“They wore masks. I didn’t. The hard drive won’t help you find the robbers, just me. Forget it.”
Using a high-pitched voice to stand up to a cop seemed incredibly stupid. Like robbing a bank with a squirt gun.
“Then I’m going to figure this is all some kind of elaborate joke on your part. You weren’t even there. So I’m going to keep looking for the kid who was really there. And I’m going to find you, too.”
Hiro tapped on her watch furiously. She scampered off the bridge and down the embankment. “Get out,” she whispered.
He’s stalling me. Cooper looked around, half expecting to see police cars roaring up to the park. “I’ll send you more proof.”
“When?”
“Tonight.”
“What kind of proof?”
He is stalling.
“You’ll see.” Cooper pushed the disconnect button and sat there wishing he hadn’t agreed to send more proof.
Hiro ran toward him the instant he put the phone down. “You should have mentioned Lunk’s dad.”
Cooper didn’t want to go there. “He kept firing questions at me.”
“What happened?” Gordy hustled off the bridge and slid down next to him.
“He wants more proof.” He looked at Hiro. “How long was I on?”
Her eyes were open wide. “Too long. We should get out of here.”
The phone rang again. All three of them jumped. Hammer calling back, no doubt. Or maybe it was the Herald. Cooper turned off the power. He wasn’t sure how it all worked with cell phones, but what if they could still track him as long as the phone was on?
“Get down,” Gordy shouted. “Police.”
The three dropped as low as they could. Cooper peered through the tall weeds and grass. A Rolling Meadows Police car prowled down Campbell Street and pulled to the side of the road a couple hundred yards away, effectively blocking the most direct way home.