Back Before Dark (8 page)

H
e stared at the TV tuned to the local news station. The music swelled as the news team prepared to break for a commercial. “Up next, a local boy abducted.” A picture of the boy flashed on the flat screen—then WGN cut to a commercial.

It doesn’t get better than this.
He’d actually made the list of top local stories. This was even bigger than he’d hoped.

The commercials took forever, but he was okay with that. It was a chance to practice a little self-control. Impatience leads to mistakes. And he didn’t make mistakes. He sat on the arm of a leather chair and waited. His mind drifted to Hammer—the cop who had changed his life. Guys like him needed to be taught a lesson. Just because a guy had a badge didn’t give him license to be a bully. And that’s exactly what Hammer was. He knew it the first time Hammer hauled him in. Hammer had made him look stupid. Now Hammer was going to look stupid. Was he sweating yet?

The boy’s picture appeared on the screen again. He smiled to himself and tapped up the volume on the remote.

“Rolling Meadows police are investigating the abduction of fourteen-year-old Gordon Digby,” the news anchor said in his most serious voice. “He was taken from the parking lot alongside Kimball Hill Park just after seven-thirty last night.”

Camera footage from the park filled the screen.

“The teen was with several other friends, including his fourteen-year-old cousin, when he was abducted.”

His cousin
? Probably the one that got so close to catching the minivan.
Really
close—for a moment, anyway. The kid’s desperate chase added excitement and a momentary boost of adrenalin. He got a little buzz just thinking about it.

He had to go back. Tonight. Relive the whole thing. He wouldn’t need to steal a car or a minivan. He could drive his own car.

“Witnesses report that a man driving a late model silver minivan used a taser to stun the boy. Gordon Digby’s parents were unavailable for comment.” The announcer looked sympathetic. “Police are following leads in connection with the kidnapping.”

Leads
? He smiled. He didn’t leave them any.

C
ooper dumped his bike on Hiro’s lawn and took the porch steps two at a time. Lunk hustled right behind him.

Hiro swung open the door before Cooper rang the bell. She motioned him inside, and, seeing Lunk, she hesitated. “You too, Lunk.”

Lunk nodded and stepped inside, looking strangely out of place and more than a little uncomfortable. It dawned on Cooper that Lunk had never been inside her house before.

Hiro’s Mom, Mrs. Yakimoto, appeared in the hallway. “Cooper, how are you holding together?” She was at his side, arms around him in an instant.

Cooper didn’t know what to say—and knew she didn’t really expect an answer. “God knows
exactly
where Gordy is, and he knows how to take care of him,” she whispered in his ear.

She gave Cooper one more squeeze and released him, turning her attention to Lunk.

“Mr. Lunquist.” Mrs. Yakimoto gave a slight bow. “I’m honored to have you in our home.” She pulled him into a hug.

Lunk’s eyes grew wide and he stood there stiff as a mannequin, looking like he had no idea how to respond.

“We’re going to talk over some strategy, Mom,” Hiro said. “Is it okay to take them upstairs?”

“Take them into the kitchen, Hiroko. You can bring the laptop down here.” She started up the stairs. “I’m going to call Cooper’s mom to see if there’s anything else I can do.”

“Would you mind telling her I’m here?” Cooper said.

Hiro’s mom turned and nodded.

“I’ll be right back,” Hiro said. “Meet me in the kitchen.” She dashed up the stairs behind her mom.

Lunk and Cooper slipped off their shoes and headed to the kitchen. They had barely sat down before Hiro glided into the room, laptop clutched to her chest.

“Okay,” she said, putting the laptop on the table so all three of them could see it. “I went to the Illinois Sex Offender website and punched in our zip code.”

Cooper’s stomach soured.

“There are seven.” Hiro’s eyes teared up. “Right here in Rolling Meadows.”

God, no.
Cooper felt a rage flexing its muscles deep within.

She scrolled to a screen listing names, addresses, and the crime they’d been charged with. A series of pictures was posted for each man.

Here in Rolling Meadows? How could this be?

“Look at this one.” She clicked on a name, opening an entire page of information. “Donald Burnside. Aggravated criminal sexual abuse.”

The guy looked like any regular guy you might bump into at the hardware store. Like a decent guy. A little league coach. Or a grandpa. “Elliot Santoro.”

This guy was old. Toothless. White hair.

“Aggravated criminal sexual assault.”

Cooper felt weak. He didn’t want to hear anymore. His stomach couldn’t take it.

“And this one,” Hiro said. A new page flashed on the screen. “Raymond Proctor. Child pornography.” She pointed at the address. “And he doesn’t live far from where you lost sight of the minivan!”

Cooper felt like he was going to lose it. “Do the police know about this?”

Hiro nodded. “I’m sure of it. They were probably on this last night.”

Hiro open another page. “Michael VanHorton, indecent solicitation of a child.” Hiro stopped to glance at Cooper. “Victim was 13 years old.”

Nearly Gordy’s age. What if this guy went from indecent solicitation to violent abduction? The rage grew inside Cooper.

Lunk’s face looked dark. Angry. “I know that guy.”

Hiro stared at Lunk. So did Cooper.

“He’s bad. Really bad.” Lunk shook his head. “He lives down the block from me. I’ve seen police there plenty of times. His wife and kids are gone—left him, I think. The way I heard it, they took off and didn’t leave a forwarding address.”

“To get away from him?” Hiro asked.

Lunk nodded. “I don’t go near the place. But I’m pretty sure it’s just him at the house now.”

“Or
is
it?” Cooper said.

Hiro seemed preoccupied with the website, scanning the information. Cooper leaned forward to look at the screen. “Go back to that Raymond Proctor guy. I want to get his address.”

Hiro closed the laptop cover and stared at him. “Why?”

“We have to go there. Check it out.”

“You will do no such thing, Cooper MacKinnon,” Hiro said. “Have you lost your mind?”

“Coop’s right.” Lunk pushed back from the table. “We should check these guys out. Especially VanHorton.”

“Never,” Hiro said. “Do you realize the kind of people you’d be dealing with?” She pulled her braid in front of her shoulder and tugged it. “Not a chance.” She nodded like the whole thing was settled.

Lunk worked his jaw muscles. Like he wanted to say something
but was doing his best to hold back. He turned to Cooper instead, like he expected him to take the lead.

Cooper focused on Hiro. “Look, Gordy needs our help.” He wanted to go right now. Tonight. But it was already after nine. He was already pushing the limits for getting home. If he stayed out much later, Mom would make sure he didn’t do any searching for Gordy tomorrow. He’d be stuck at the house babysitting Mattie.

Hiro clutched the laptop in her arms, like she was afraid he’d open it up and see the addresses.

“I wish we’d found this information hours ago,” Cooper said.

Hiro looked at him like he was crazy. “What exactly would you have done?”

Cooper didn’t see any point in looking back. It was what he did next that was important. “We’ll check them out tomorrow. Right after school.” He hated the idea of waiting.

Lunk nodded. “Count me in.”

Hiro bolted out of her chair. “Are you insane?” She gripped the laptop harder. “That’s police work.”

Cooper motioned for her to keep her voice down. “They’d need warrants.”

Lunk nodded. “Which will slow everything down.”

Hiro put the computer on the kitchen counter and whirled to face them. “You’re
both
talking like idiots now. These men are dangerous.”

“Exactly,” Cooper said. “And Gordy is in danger. Are you going to let me grab those addresses? If not, I’ll just go home and look them up myself.”

“This is more than just dangerous, Coop.” Hiro put a hand on each of his shoulders as if to hold him down in his chair. “Something evil is going on here. Something dark. And this darkness swallowed up Gordy. I’m not going to stand by and let you disappear too.”

Cooper felt goose bumps rising on his arms. Hearing the words “evil” and “darkness” creeped him out. Yet somehow he knew what she said was true. He sensed it deep down inside.

“Did you hear me, Coop? Something evil is at work in Rolling Meadows. We need to use our heads. Stay safe.”

And that’s exactly why he needed to go. His throat burned. “But it’s Gordy,” he whispered.
“Gordy.”

“I know,” Hiro said, “but—”

“No
buts
,” Cooper said. “How can I worry about staying
safe
while he’s in danger? How can I sit back and do nothing?” He couldn’t live with that thought—and he wasn’t about to try.

W
hen Cooper left with Lunk, Hiro did
not
look happy. Cooper biked toward his house in silence. He knew where she was coming from. Obviously. But if he played everything safe, Gordy might never be found.

But it was the way she talked about something evil at work that gnawed at him now. The guy who grabbed Gordy was warped. No doubt about it. But the word
evil
sounded even worse. It suggested the guy was influenced by demons or something so twisted that Cooper didn’t want to imagine it. Not exactly the kind of guy you’d want to meet on a dark night—or any other time—especially at the guy’s own house.

Lunk pedaled beside him. Black hair blowing away from his face. Black T-shirt. Camo shorts. Same Lunk, but changing somehow. There was a time he used his size and strength to bully. Now he used it more to support. Cooper knew Lunk had his back on this. Together they passed under the streetlights and slipped back into the shadows. It felt good knowing he was there.

“Got a plan?”

Lunk’s voice shook Cooper free from his thoughts.

“Not exactly.” Cooper thought for a moment. “Ringing the bell and asking if he’s the one who took Gordy isn’t much of a strategy.”

Lunk shrugged. “That would depend on your goal.” He looked dead serious. “If you meant what you said. About not playing it
safe
as long as Gordy was in danger.” Lunk paused for a second. “It might get the guy nervous. It may flush him out.”

Cooper turned that one over in his mind. The guy who grabbed Gordy had guts. He’d already proved that. That meant he wouldn’t spook easily. Cooper pictured himself ringing the doorbell of Raymond Proctor. Showing him the flyer with Gordy’s picture. And Proctor inviting him in. Like a spider leading some dumb bug to his web.

Proctor, or one of the others on the predator list might lead him to Gordy, but if the guy pulled out his taser, Cooper wouldn’t be able to help his cousin—or himself.

But the chances of Raymond Proctor, Michael VanHorton, Donald Burnside, or whoever took Gordy actually inviting Cooper in was remote. They’d put on a concerned, innocent face and wish Cooper the best of luck finding Gordy. And as soon as Cooper left, the monster would do even more to cover his trail.

No, if he was going to go to these houses, he’d have to do more than stand at the doorway. The police had probably already done that. He had to get
inside.
Check the house himself. Only then could he be sure.

He had to agree with Hiro. That sounded totally insane.

Cooper checked his driveway as it came into sight. No pickup truck. As far as he could tell, Dad and Uncle Jim had been searching continuously since they got home from the police station the night before. They wheeled onto Cooper’s drive, dropped the bikes on the grass, and sat on the front porch step.

“If you go, I’m going with you.” Lunk stated it like a fact.

Cooper pictured the two of them at Proctor’s door. “Hiro is right. It’s crazy.”

Lunk stared toward Gordy’s house across the street. “They’ll have a tough time taking down two of us.”

Cooper looked at Lunk, the skeleton of a plan dropping into
place. “Tomorrow after school, we do it. I’ll get the addresses tonight.” How many houses did Hiro say there were? Would it even be possible to get into one of the houses, much less all of them?

A chill raced through Cooper. It was a plan. Risky, but at least they’d be doing something.

Dad’s pickup pulled in the driveway, the headlights sweeping across the lawn and blinding Cooper for an instant.

Both doors swung open. Uncle Jim slid out the passenger side. Dad stood on the driveway and stretched. The look on Uncle Jim’s face said it all. No sign of Gordy.

Cooper wanted to tell them about the website Hiro had found, but after seeing Uncle Jim’s face, he couldn’t bear to do it. He’d tell Dad when they were alone.

Uncle Jim looked like a zombie. Or maybe like a robot, operated by some invisible remote control. If he had seen Cooper and Lunk, it didn’t seem to register. “I’m just going to check in.” He jerked a thumb toward his house. “Shut my eyes a few hours.”

Dad stepped around the side of the truck. His eyes were sunken and hollow. “Call me?”

Uncle Jim nodded. “Let’s make it four a.m.” He turned and shuffled across the street.

Dad waited until his brother-in-law went into the house and closed the door behind him before he faced Cooper.

“Anything?” Cooper asked. But he already knew the answer.

“Nothing. I think we’ve checked every parking lot, driven every street, checked behind every building for a ten-mile radius. No silver minivan with those plates.”

“Lunk and I checked the garage at Northwest Community Hospital.”

Dad nodded. “We checked that last night. Twice.”

“What about Woodfield Mall?”

“Got that last night too.” He leaned against the grill and hooked a heel on the bumper. “Easy to check in the middle of the
night. If there was an abandoned minivan, we’d have found it. We also checked the parking lots in every forest preserve.”

It all seemed to point to one thing. The minivan couldn’t be found because it had never been abandoned in the area.

Lunk stood there listening. Like he knew this was family business.

Dad seemed to notice him for the first time. “Oh, hi, Neal. Sorry, I’m just a little preoccupied right now.”

Lunk stared at his feet. “Gordy’s lucky to have you for an uncle.”

Dad shrugged, obviously trying to keep back the tears.

If only Cooper and Lunk had found the minivan at the hospital. At least there would been a fresh lead to follow.

“You doing okay, Cooper?” Dad studied him.

“I do better when I’m looking for him.”

Dad nodded. “Me too.”

Cooper wanted to ask how Uncle Jim was holding together. But what was the point? His son was gone. He was probably coming unglued. “What can we do, Dad?” Cooper meant it. He needed to do something.

Dad put a hand on Cooper’s shoulders and clamped down with an iron grip. “Stay safe. Keep your eyes open. Pray.”

Cooper figured he’d get an answer like that. In other words, sit back and wait. Let the adults handle this.

“I’m putting everything into helping Uncle Jim find your cousin. I know you’re canvassing the area by bike, putting up flyers and stuff. I’m proud of you for that. But I need you to take care of yourself too.” Cooper’s dad squeezed tighter. “If something like this ever happened to you—”

He couldn’t finish. He didn’t have to. Cooper glanced over at Lunk. Their eyes met, and Lunk looked down immediately. But it was long enough for Cooper to see the longing there, wishing for a relationship with a dad.

Cooper focused on Dad. He’d never looked this tired—and scared. “I want to help. I
need
to help.”

“
Need
to help?” Dad eyed him for a moment. “This wasn’t your fault. You know that, right?”

Bingo. Dad put that one together fast, even as beat as he was.

“Make no mistake, Cooper, the guy is evil. He baited a trap.”

Now Cooper looked down. The kidnapper laid a trap alright. And like a bunch of idiots, they walked right into it.

“You hear me, Cooper? This wasn’t your fault.”

Cooper nodded, but inside he wasn’t quite so convinced. “I could go out with you at four. Fresh eyes.”

Dad seemed to think about that for a moment. Then he shook his head. “We’re going through the motions out there. There’s almost no point to it.”

The words hit Cooper hard.
Almost no point? Going through the motions?

“We’re past the twenty-four-hour window. But searching keeps Uncle Jim from going crazy—and I think he would if he sat at home waiting for the phone to ring.”

The twenty-four hour window. It had come and gone. And with it went all hopes of this being a ransom, which meant whoever took Gordy had no intention of giving him back. Ever.

“But you’re beat, Dad. Let me ride along. Keep you awake.”

“Thanks. But I don’t think it’s a good idea. Uncle Jim isn’t himself right now. And you riding along won’t help him.”

Cooper tried to focus. Was Dad saying what he thought he was saying? Did Uncle Jim not want to see him? Did he blame him somehow, or wish the man had tasered Coop instead of his own son?

“Thanks, son. I know you want to help.” He put a hand on Cooper’s shoulder. “Save your strength. You’re going to need it.”

Cooper pulled away. “Save my strength? For what? Being a pall bearer? We’re going to find him. We have to find him.”

“Sorry.” Dad shook his head like he was trying to wake up. “That came out wrong. Of course, we’ll find him.”

Dad looked out at the street, but he didn’t seem focused on
anything in particular. “I just can’t understand why the van hasn’t shown up.”

He wasn’t talking to Cooper anymore. It looked like he was still trying to piece it together himself. “The kidnapper was driving a stolen car. He’d been spotted in it. He had to ditch it fast and pick up a new vehicle. We should have found it by now if he was still in the area.”

Exactly the same thoughts looping in Cooper’s head. “Speaking of the area—” Cooper stopped, not sure how to tell Dad about the sexual predators in Rolling Meadows.

Dad held up his hands. “Save it for later. I want to talk more, but if I don’t catch a few z’s I’m not going to do anybody any good.”

An image of Dad falling asleep at the wheel flashed through Cooper’s mind. The sexual predator list could wait until tomorrow.

“You get some rest, too, Coop.” Dad locked the truck. “The guy pulled a Houdini. Disappeared.”

And took Gordy with him.

Dad trudged toward the house, slightly stooped over, like the invisible kidnapper himself was riding on his shoulders.