The Super Spies and the High School Bomber (17 page)

“Boy…you won't be able to hide in that thing,” Sarah grumbled.

Lacey chuckled. “True, but I won't get hit by a car, either.”

Sarah walked to the closet and pulled a gray sweatshirt off a hook. “Okay, let's go.” She caught Lacey primping in the mirror. “Oh, I get it…you're hoping we run into Scott.”

Lacey blushed. “I just want to look good in case we do.”

“Let's go.” Sarah rolled her eyes and shook her head.

“Are we going to tell Aunt June before we go?”

“No way. Let her sleep.”

Lacey hesitated. “What if she wakes up and comes down to check on us?”

Sarah shook her head. “She won't. She's too tired.”

“If you say so,” Lacey said, but her tone conveyed her doubt.

“Trust me.”

The girls climbed the stairs. Lacey rounded the corner to go out the front door.

Sarah grabbed her arm. “Let's go out the back.”

“I can't believe we're going to walk into the police station at midnight.”

“Believe it.”

The girls walked through the kitchen, Sarah leading the way. She opened the back door cautiously.

Lily padded into the room. Spying the girls, she wagged her tail so hard her whole body shook.

Sarah groaned. “We'll have to put her in her kennel.”

“She's not going to like that.”

“I know…but we don't have any other choice. We'll put her in the den.” Sarah picked up the wriggling cocker spaniel. “Grab her kennel.”

Lacey grabbed the dog enclosure and followed her sister.

After taking care of Lily, the girls set out for the police station. The night was pitch black. Clouds covered the moon and the only light was an eerie glow from the streetlights. Sarah shivered and pulled on the collar of her sweatshirt. The stillness unnerved Sarah, and she shivered again. Tucking her hands into her sleeves, she glanced around her and realized the only noise in the dark was the occasional chirp of a cricket.

Her heart skipped a beat when a slight breeze sent fallen leaves scuttling across the sidewalk. They looked like small, demonic creatures bustling out of their way. She imagined them congregating together in the shadows, formulating a plan to take them prisoner. Peering into the darkness, she expected to see evil, glowing eyes watching them with wicked intent. When she didn't find anything, Sarah took a deep breath, hoping to calm her wild heart.

The sound of a truck broke the silence and the hair on the back of Sarah's neck stood on end. She grabbed Lacey's hand and pulled her into the shadow of a large oak tree.

“What is it?” Lacey asked.

“I heard a truck.”

Lacey stared at her sister, her eyes widening. “Do you think it's the bombers?”

“I don't know, but I'm not taking any chances. Now, be quiet.”

The girls fell silent, as the rumble from the truck grew louder. Sarah searched the dark for headlights.

Within minutes, the vehicle came into view. It had turned onto their street from one of the side roads. Nervous sweat broke out under Sarah's arms, even though the night was chilly.

Sarah strained to see and gasped when the green truck drove closer.
They're coming from the direction of the high school
. She pulled Lacey closer.

The pickup drove by slowly. The dome light was on and Sarah caught a glimpse of the bald man hunched over the steering wheel. He wore an angry scowl on his face and she leaned forward to get a better look. He appeared to be arguing with his passenger and didn't notice the girls hidden behind the tree.

Sarah's heart leapt in her chest.
What are they doing out here at midnight?
She grabbed Lacey's arm and squeezed.

Lacey whimpered.

“Shhh.”

Sarah watched the truck as it drove away. It lurched to a stop. The door opened and out jumped the bald bomber. He stood beneath the streetlight, cursing and shaking his fists in the air.

“I can't believe you lost the phone!” He ranted at his partner.

His partner was still inside the pickup and said something that Sarah couldn't understand.

The bald man paced, clenching and unclenching his hands. He muttered as he trudged in and out of the shadows, his lips pressed into an angry scowl. He cursed and gave the front tire a vicious kick, then another. He kicked the tire for a good thirty seconds, then he stopped. After taking several deep breaths, he regained his composure and climbed back into the truck.

Sarah held her breath as the pickup screeched off, leaving the smell of burnt rubber. She held Lacey behind the tree until the taillights disappeared from view. “Let's go.”

“I can't believe we saw them,” Lacey whispered.

Sarah gulped. “Boy, he sure was mad about the phone.”

“I know.”

“He would've beaten us to a bloody pulp, if he would've found us.”

Lacey's eyes widened. “He sure has a temper.”

“I hope they're not setting another bomb.” As the words left her mouth, Sarah felt like she had been hit by a freight train. She stumbled and grabbed Lacey's arm to keep herself from falling. “We've got to hurry.”

The girls rushed through the darkness toward the police station. Fear ran through Sarah's veins like a raging river. Her throat tightened and suddenly it was hard for her to breathe.
I hope we're not too late.
She shuddered.

As she hurried through the night, Sarah's breath caught in her throat when the phone in her pocket rang. She stopped and stared at her sister. Lacey's eyes widened, and she inhaled sharply as she met Sarah's gaze.

“Don't answer it,” Lacey whispered.

 

 

“I'm not planning on it.” Sarah grabbed Lacey's sleeve and broke into a jog. “Come on. We've got to hurry.”

The phone rang three more times then fell silent. Sarah's heart thundered in her chest. She looked down at her sweatshirt and swore that it moved in time with her heartbeats.

The police station was four blocks away and those four city blocks seemed like the longest blocks in the world.

Sarah and her sister jogged down the sidewalk. As they continued their journey, a stitch formed in Sarah's side. She slowed to a stop and pressed on the area just above her right hip. Taking gulps of air, she watched as her exhaled breath turned to vapor in the cool air.

Lacey decreased her speed along with Sarah and asked, “What's the matter?”

“I've got a pain.” Sarah walked, holding her side. She looked in the distance at the cars passing beneath the streetlights. “We're getting closer to downtown.”

“Yeah, we're almost there. I wonder who was calling that phone?”

“I'm guessing it was the bombers.” Sarah frowned and pushed on her side harder. “They were probably calling to locate it, you know?”

“Yeah, I hadn't thought of that, but it makes sense.”

The girls turned the corner and found themselves on Jefferson Street. They walked down the tree-lined avenue and the Cat Lady's house came into view. Memories of her murder filled Sarah's mind.

Lacey grabbed her arm as they walked by the infamous house. The dwelling sat abandoned. No lights shown in its windows, but Sarah always had the feeling the house watched as she passed by.

The front porch still sagged and the grass hadn't been mowed. There was a faded
For Sale
sign in the yard, leaning off to the side as if someone had tried to knock it over. It looked like someone had left in a hurry, as if they had been frightened away before they finished their task.

The phone rang again, sending Sarah's nerves into overdrive. “Let's go.” She broke into a run, her feet pounding the pavement.

Lacey quickly fell behind.

Hearing her sister gasp for breath, Sarah slowed her pace. “We're almost downtown.”

“I know.”

The phone stopped ringing and relief flooded through Sarah's body.

After another five minutes the girls turned into the police station lot. Sarah looked at the parking area and realized there were more cars parked there than usual.
The Fibbies are still here
. She bit her lip to stifle the cheer rising in her throat.

She made her way to the door, with Lacey right on her heels. Sarah walked into the lobby and found an officer sitting at the reception desk.

“Can I help you?” he asked.

“Yes, we have some information for ah…” Sarah snapped her fingers as she tried to think of the agents' names. “Agent Gray or Agent Black. Are either one of them around?”

“I'll check. What are your names?”

“Sarah and Lacey Cole.”

“Wait here. I'll be right back.” He disappeared down the narrow hallway.

The cell phone rang again. “I feel like answering it.”

Lacey grabbed her arm. “Don't.”

“But maybe it will show us who's calling.”

“Sarah, let the police handle this. It's way too dangerous.”

Sarah rolled her eyes. “Whatever.”

The officer returned, stopping any further conversation.

“Girls, follow me, please.”

Sarah and Lacey trudged behind the officer—he turned at the sound of the cell phone's ring. “Aren't you going to answer that?”

Sarah shook her head. “No, it's evidence.”

The officer raised his eyebrows and chuckled, but didn't ask any questions. He escorted the girls back to interrogation room two. “Wait here. Agent Gray will be with you shortly.”

Sarah sighed as she took a seat. She peered at her face in the one-way mirror that took up most of the wall. Staring at her reflection, she took in her red eyes and the dark smudges under them. Her lips were chapped, and her tousled hair gave her a disheveled appearance.

Agent Gray walked into the room, interrupting Sarah's scrutiny. He carried a cup of coffee with him. “Isn't it kind of late for you girls to be out roaming the streets?” He sat down across from Sarah, still in his rumpled suit. He rubbed his eyes and sighed.

Sarah moved forward in her chair. “Yeah, but we found some evidence and thought you should have it right away.”

“What do you have?”

The phone's shrill ring filled the room.

“It's a cell phone.” Sarah pulled it out of her pocket and set it on the table, where it continued to ring.

Agent Gray gazed at the phone with a perplexed expression. “Why is this evidence?”

“Because I found it in the green truck this afternoon.”

Lacey nodded. “Yeah, and we think the bombers are calling, trying to find it.”

“Should I answer it?” Sarah reached for the phone.

Agent Gray reached across the table and stopped Sarah. “Not yet.” He bolted from his chair and ran out the door. “Jim!”

Sarah and Lacey trailed him into the hall and found the two FBI agents they had spoken with earlier that day in a heated conversation.

“Wake the Judge,” Agent Gray said.

“I'll get right on it.” Agent Black raced down the hall and out of sight.

“What's going on?” Sarah frowned. “Don't you want to dust the phone for prints?”

Agent Gray walked toward the girls. “Absolutely, but first we want to try and locate the men.” He herded the girls back into the interrogation room and closed the door.

Sarah sat in the folding chair and felt the chill of the metal on her legs. Lacey followed her lead. She winced when she sat down.

“How are you going to do that?” Sarah asked.

“We're going to ‘ping' their cell phone.” Agent Gray rubbed his face again.

Sarah heard the rasping noise his hand made when it found his day old beard.
He's tired.
She sighed. “How do you ‘ping' a cell phone?”

“First of all we've got to get a subpoena, then we have to contact the cell phone provider.”

“What's a subpoena?” Lacey asked as she cleared her throat.

“It's a court order, instructing the provider to turn over the documentation that we're requesting.”

Sarah slumped in her chair and groaned. “How long is this going to take?”

“It depends on how long it takes the Judge. Once we get the court order, it only takes about twenty minutes.”

The phone rang again and Agent Gray flipped it open, but didn't answer it. He took out his notebook.

“Aren't you going to answer it?” Sarah asked.

“No. The phone highlights the number it's receiving a call from. We're going to ‘ping' that number.”

“You still didn't explain what ‘pinging' means.” Sarah frowned. She looked down at the floor, trying to get her irritation under control.

Agent Gray cracked a smile. “You can locate someone by ‘pinging' their cell phone.”

“For real?” Sarah gave the agent a bug-eyed stare.

“Uh huh, now that we have their cell phone number. We'll have the provider ‘ping' the last three cell phone towers they used.”

“What's that going to tell us?” Sarah raised her eyebrow, still doubtful.

“It's called cell phone triangulation and it will give us a good idea where these men are.”

Sarah sat straight up in her chair and squared her shoulders. “That means you'll find them and arrest them.”

Agent Gray winked at Sarah. “That's right.”

“Awesome!” Sarah gave the FBI agent the thumbs up sign.

“That's great news.” Lacey fidgeted with her hair.

“That's right. Now we don't have to worry about them chasing us.” Sarah's body turned into a wet noodle as she relaxed. “Can we go with you when you pick the bombers up?”

Agent Gray chuckled and shook his head. “I don't think so.”

“Why not?”

“Because it's no place for teenagers. It could get dangerous.” He stood and rubbed his face again. “Now let's get you girls home.” He walked out the door.

The girls stood and followed him. Sarah led the way. She walked out into the hall and found Agent Gray waving down another officer.