Wednesday morning Cooper overslept, totally missing his chance to call Gordy. Once he was awake, time crawled by. Other than the dread in his stomach, he felt fine. His strength returned. By noon he started pacing the room, wondering what Hiro was doing and if Gordy had blown their cover yet. He half expected a police car to pull up to the curb, and every ten minutes or so he checked the window.
The text message from Hiro came just about the time he’d be heading to lunch if he hadn’t stayed home.
RMPD plans to trap you today.
That was it. No details. And the thing that really gnawed at him was this. How did she know that? Which is exactly what he wanted to ask her. But right now things were way too iffy between them. He didn’t want to make it worse.
The good news, if this could be considered good news at all, was that at least she’d warned him. That was something.
Maybe Gordy told her about the second letter and she had one of those feelings. But he didn’t need to be a detective to know the police would try to trap him. He was sure that was why Hammer had asked for more proof.
He debated whether or not to send a response to Hiro, but how would it look if he didn’t? He tapped out a quick thanks and sent it. It made sense to keep any bridge of communication open between them.
He hoped she’d send a response back, but when nothing came, he went back to thinking about his next move.
If he was going to avoid the trap, he’d better know what it was. Maybe they’d try to keep him on the phone long enough to locate him. By 3:30 Hammer would have cars everywhere in hopes to net him. The timing had to be the key to their little trap. He’d have to mess up their little timetable.
Mom left the house early for work and wouldn’t be back until just before Mattie got off the school bus. Dad was shooting a photography job in Schaumburg and wouldn’t be home until dinnertime. By the time he’d downed his lunch, Cooper knew what he had to do.
“C’mon, Fudge.” Cooper grabbed the leash and clipped it to her collar. “We’re taking a little walk.”
Fudge trotted happily beside him. She didn’t seem to care where they went. Maybe if she knew, she’d be as nervous as he was.
“Here’s the plan, Fudge. The police expect me to turn on my phone at 3:30 again. And they’ll be ready.” Cooper figured they weren’t about to let him slip away again. They’d have police cars all over. Maybe even plainclothes cops in public places looking for a junior high kid with a phone. But this time he wouldn’t wait for the call. He’d call Detective Hammer himself—early. An hour and a half before Hammer would expect it … and hopefully that meant he wouldn’t have the net set up yet.
Cooper kept a close watch for any suspicious-looking people in the park. It seemed he and Fudge were alone. The phone was exactly where he’d left it. He took a piece of paper out of his pocket with the Rolling Meadows police number on it. Taking a deep breath, he powered on the phone and dialed the number.
“Detective Hammer, please.” Cooper used his high voice and the paper tube, just like before. Fudge looked up at him and cocked her head.
He counted off the seconds while on hold. The phone clicked at twenty-seven.
“Hammer.”
“It’s me. Silence is Golden.” Cooper looked around.
“You’re early. Skipped school today?”
Cooper cringed. How easy would it be for Hammer to check attendance records? He had to cover up his mistake. “I’m between classes—so I’ve only got a minute. You got the letter with more proof, just like you asked. What are you doing to find the real robbers?”
“Not as much as I could if I had the security tapes,” Hammer said. “I want them.”
“Can’t. I explained that.”
“You ever heard of obstruction of justice, kid? This is crazy.”
Cooper checked his watch. “Not from where I stand.”
“Really? And exactly where is that?”
Like he would really tell him. “O’Hare Airport. United terminal.” It was the first place that popped in his head. “I’m leaving the country.” He wished he could.
“Funny,” Hammer said. “Now you listen good. I have a suspect in custody. But I can’t hold him without something concrete. I need the hard drive.”
Cooper’s heart kicked it up a gear. “You’ve got one of them?”
“Absolutely. I think we’ve got Mr. Lucky. Got a solid tip from a student at Plum Grove. We picked him up a couple hours ago. Found the guy hiding out in a shed. Turns out the guy has a very interesting record, and he’s related to an employee.”
Cooper was too stunned to answer. Lunk’s dad is Mr. Lucky. They got him. Thank you, God! “What about the other two?”
“We’ll find them. He’ll be ready to bargain when he sees we have the surveillance data. And when you bring it in, I’ll have you identify him in a lineup.”
He hadn’t expected this. Wasn’t prepared. Cooper looked around. No police cars in sight. Could it be true?
“I can’t identify him. I never saw his face.”
“Don’t worry about that yet. You might be surprised at some things you’ll remember.”
“Yeah, uh, does this mean you believe me?”
Hammer chuckled. “Absolutely. Unless you don’t show, that is.”
Cooper wanted to shout. Call Hiro and Gordy. Celebrate. And apologize. Looks like Hiro had been right about Lunk. “Honest?”
“Trust me, kid.”
Trust him? He couldn’t trust anybody. How much time had passed?
“I can only hold him twenty-four hours unless you come in.” Hammer’s voice hardened. “He had a key in his pocket. Looked like a house key. Says he got it from somebody—but won’t say who.”
Cooper’s stomach clenched. A house key? His house key. They really got him. “He must have gotten it from the guy with the clown mask.”
“That’s the way I see it. But he’s got lockjaw now. I think the surveillance tape will loosen that up.”
So they had Mr. Lucky. But that still didn’t guarantee that Elvis and the clown weren’t cops. What if Hammer was working with Lunk’s dad, Mr. Lucky? What if they just wanted to smoke him out?
“Mr. Golden. You still there?”
“Yeah.” And that was a problem too. He’d been on the phone too long. Again. He had to think.
“So give me your address so I can pick you and the hard drive up. I’ll bring the key. If it fits your house you won’t even have to identify Mr. Lucky on a lineup. Your key will pin him to the crime.”
It sounded on the level. And easy. But if Hammer was part of it, he’d be leading him right to his house. “How long do I have?”
Hammer sighed. “This isn’t a game. You said you wanted us to find the guy. Now you won’t even ID him? You really want me to cut him loose?”
“No. NO.” Cooper caught himself. Had he just answered in his normal voice? “How long?”
“Without more proof he’ll walk tomorrow morning. Ten o’clock.”
“I’ll call.” Cooper hit the END button and powered off his phone. How long had he been on? Two minutes? Three? He looked around the park and beyond to the street. No police cars. Yet.
“C’mon, Fudge. Let’s get out of here.”