He dropped the envelopes inside and grabbed the keys, not bothering to lock the door.
“Move!” Cooper hopped on his bike.
They pedaled hard out of the parking lot. In a moment they scooted out of sight in the tunnel below Kirchoff Road. It would be a great place to hide, but it was way too close to Frank ‘n Stein’s.
“Keep going!” Cooper’s voice echoed against the cement and steel of the tunnel. Even the alarm sounded louder under the road.
Gordy stood on the pedals and whipped out of the tunnel on the other side of Kirchoff.
With each turn of the crank Cooper’s mind hurled accusations at him. You’ve blown it this time. You’re going to get caught. Even the wind rushing against his face seemed bent on holding him back. He pulled alongside his cousin, making Gordy hunch over and drive harder, taking the lead again. In moments the two of them raced into the shadows of Kimball Hill Park.
His original plan called for a roundabout, casual ride from Frank ‘n Stein’s, one that wouldn’t look suspicious. Maybe they were being watched right now. He needed to think. Map a safe route home. Making a beeline for the house may lead the cops right to him.
His cousin shot him a questioning look. Only when Cooper hit the brakes near the giant maple tree did Gordy react. He skidded to a stop next to him.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” Cooper dumped his bike. “Just want to be sure we haven’t been spotted.” The spot gave a perfect view in all directions, including a clear shot of Frank ‘n Stein’s. He crouched down to rethink.
“Lousy alarm,” Gordy said, breathing heavily.
Cooper could still hear it, even at this distance. It was like the diner had a life of its own. It was calling out to the police, telling them where he and Gordy hid.
“Well, Hiro really missed it,” Gordy said.
And Cooper missed Hiro. In a way, the letters started out as a way to show Hiro they could help with the investigation without revealing their identity, without compromising their safety.
“Coop.” Gordy nudged him and pointed just beyond Frank ‘n Stein’s.
Two police cars raced with their lights flashing, sirens off. They squealed onto the road and headed west for Frank ‘n Stein’s. Two more squad cars roared in from the opposite direction. All four cars converged on the diner. The policemen scurried out of their cars like ants from a damaged anthill.
“Somebody heard the alarm,” Gordy said.
“Or maybe it’s wired directly to the police station.”
Cooper’s plan didn’t include his letter being discovered so soon. Not until the next morning when Mr. Stein opened up. He watched two officers approach the door. Another pair split up and ran along each side of the building toward the drive-thru menu sign in the back. Two more fanned out in the parking lot of the apartment building next door, walking between the cars and even dropping down to check underneath them.
“They came quickly,” Gordy said.
Too quickly. And two of them from the direction of the library. They were scoping the place out. If he’d dropped the letter at the library, they’d both be sitting in the back of a squad car right now.
“We got out of there just in time,” Cooper said.
Four more cars pulled up with blue and red lights flashing madly. The parking lot looked like some crazed light show gone bad. Two officers ran down the embankment where the creek passed the diner.
“Weird.” Gordy crouched down on the bridge. “Here we are watching them while they’re looking for us. It’s like attending your own funeral.”
“Which is exactly what we’ll have if we don’t get out of here,” Cooper said. “We’ll forget picking up the phone tonight. They’ll widen the search zone quick.”
After a quick scan in all directions, the boys crept out of the cover of darkness and mounted their bikes. In a moment they crossed the footbridge and sailed along the creek path toward Campbell Street at the other end of the park.
Fifty yards from Campbell Street a police car cruised into view. The boys pulled into the cover of some trees, dropped their bikes, and waited. The cruiser combed the sides of the road with its searchlight.
It looked like something out of an old science fiction movie. The beam reached far into the park, exposing every bench and rock in its path. It was an alien, searching for them. Sniffing them out.
Cooper and Gordy hid their bikes behind some brush and pressed themselves against the trunk of an ancient oak. The light inched their way. Cooper looked back toward Frank ‘n Stein’s. Several cars peeled out of the lot, joining the search. “Here they come.”
“We gotta get out of here,” Gordy said.
“Right.” Cooper watched the cop car inching down Campbell. “As soon as he’s out of sight, we’re gone.” The police had a net in place, and they intended to pull Cooper in. He couldn’t let that happen.
“When is this going to end?” Gordy muttered.
Cooper knew the feeling. It all seemed so crazy. They were hiding from the police like any other criminal.
The searchlight crept across the brush. Cooper held his breath, praying the police wouldn’t see the bikes in the shadow behind it. One reflection off the metal and they were nailed. Game over. The light splashed against the oak casting a pillar of darkness behind them. Neither of them moved. Cooper didn’t breath. Light bleached the ground on either side of the tree and stopped. He expected it to keep going, but the beam stayed locked in place.
“What’s he doing?” Gordy whispered. “Think he sees us?”
Both of them were in the dark. The cop couldn’t possibly see them. But did he suspect something? Was he getting out of his car, walking this way to investigate? It made sense, and Cooper fought the urge to bolt.
Gordy leaned his forehead against the tree. “Please make him go, God.”
He said something else, but Cooper couldn’t make it out. He listened for a car door, or some sign the policeman was coming their way. He wished he could peek around the edge of the tree, but to him the searchlight was like a giant laser beam. If it touched him, even for an instant, he’d be toast.
The light started moving again. It crossed the tree, surging full strength on the other side, and kept burning its way across the park away from them.
Cooper let out a shaky breath. Thank you, God. Thank you, God.
They waited no more than thirty seconds before going for the bikes. Cooper didn’t want to risk another police car using a searchlight on the park.
“We’re not still going to take a roundabout route, are we?”
Cooper shook his head. “Too risky now.” Before heading to Frank’s they’d mapped out a return route with lots of turns to be sure they weren’t followed. “We’ll keep our eyes open, but let’s go straight home.” All he wanted was to get back and stay there. For about a month.
They watched the police car weave its way around parked cars lining Campbell. The searchlight probing for its quarry. It was past them now, and creeping farther away by the second.
“Let’s make a run for it,” Cooper said, swinging a leg over his bike. Gordy nodded and did the same.
Cooper took off, building up as much speed as he could. The two of them zipped across Campbell Drive, crossed through several yards, and into the maze of winding roads in the residential area.
In record time he made it to the house and rode through the gate to the backyard. Gordy followed and both of them leaned their bikes along the shed.
“I’ll pick mine up tomorrow,” he panted, heading back toward the gate.
Cooper wanted his own breathing to even out before he went in the house. He opened the shed, wheeled his bike inside, and tossed the keys to Frank ‘n Stein’s in the plastic barrel.
He hustled over to Gordy so he could lock the gate behind him. Cooper didn’t need to remind him to make sure the coast was clear. He didn’t think either of them would ever stop looking over their shoulders.
Gordy stopped and peered toward the street. “No more letters. Right?”
“Not a chance.”
Gordy nodded once. “Good.” He leaned out the gate, glanced both ways and then looked back at Cooper. “You think Frank ‘n Stein’s got a new hard drive for their security cameras?”
Cooper added up the days. “Maybe. Why?”
“You had your face up against the window, and um …”
Gordy didn’t finish his thought. He didn’t have to. If the cameras were up and running, they’d just captured a view of him pressing his face up to the window. As clear as the picture of the owners hanging on the wall.