“We wanna go ho-home,” Eddie said.
“You wil ,” the suit told him. “But not til we’re finished here.”
The trooper opened a rear door and pointed to the backseat.
“In. Now.”
Jack thought of bolting—not back down the fire trail, because he didn’t know how fast the trooper was, and he might not be able to outrun him on a
straight course. But he was sure he could duck into the brush just ten feet away and disappear among the trees before the guy knew what happened. With
his dark clothes and the sound of the helicopters and the backhoe drowning out any noise he made, he could circle around to the bikes and hightail it out
of here.
Get home. Sneak back in the window. Slip under the covers. Pretend nothing had happened. And avoid being grounded for life.
Yeah … he could do it.
But it meant running out on Weezy and Eddie. Sure, the distraction he provided might give them a chance to bolt too, but he couldn’t count on it. If he
escaped alone, he’d never be able to look them in the eye again. Never be able to look himself in the eye either. Didn’t want to look in the mirror and see
a guy who deserted friends.
Better to be grounded for life.
Eddie was first to go in. He resisted, whining a little, but a shove from the trooper got him moving, sliding to the far side. Weezy went next, settling in the
middle. Jack was last.
“You kids wanted to see what’s going on. Wel , now you’ve got box seats.”
Jack leaned against Weezy so the door wouldn’t bang him when the trooper closed it.
It sounded like a prison cel door slamming shut.
As soon as the trooper turned his back, Jack tried the handle—it moved but didn’t open the door. Across the car Eddie wiggled his.
“It doesn’t work!”
“That’s the way police cars are built,” Jack said. “To keep crooks from jumping out. There’s an emergency door release up front”—he tapped on the
thick plastic barrier that confined them to the rear compartment—”but we’l never reach it.”
Weezy was staring at him. “How do you know so—?” Then she nodded. “Oh, I get it. Your deputy friend.”
“Right. He locked me in the back of his cruiser once—just to let me know how it feels. But he also showed me a switch on the door that can undo it.”
“Wel then undo it!” Eddie said.
“You can’t reach it when the door’s closed.”
“What if they’re not cops?” Weezy said in a wondering tone.
Jack looked at her. “Of course they’re cops.”
“What if they’re just pretending to be? Those guys in suits sure don’t look like state cops. What if they’re some secret government agency—?”
Jack waved his hands. “Don’t start with that stuff, Weez. Things are bad enough already. We don’t need a conspiracy too. We’ve got uniformed
troopers driving state trooper cruisers. Let’s leave it at that, okay.”
“I’m serious, Jack. You ever see a trooper with such a bad-fitting shirt? And if a government agency is high enough up, don’t you think it can come in and
commandeer a few cruisers for a night?”
A far-out story, Jack thought, but not impossible. That guy in the suit … he had an air about him that gave Jack the creeps.
“Yeah, but—”
“Let’s just hope they’re real y going to let us go.”
Jack felt his chest tighten. “What are you
“Yeah, Weez,” Eddie said. “Cut it out, wil you. You’re scaring me. You’re always scaring me.”
“I’m not trying to scare anyone.” Her calm tone was scary in itself. “But it’s pretty obvious they’re not looking for evidence. So what
Something they don’t want anyone to know about if they find it?”
