“Chapel Hill, North Carolina.”
“Keep talking.”
“Theo found her, and we took a little road trip to get her. She’s been with her father the entire time, sort of hanging out.”
“Theo found April in Chapel Hill?” Mrs. Boone repeated slowly.
“Yep. Again, it’s a long story and we’ll fill in the details later. We’ll be home early in the morning, I’d guess between six and seven. That is, if I can stay awake all night and drive.”
“Does her mother know?”
“Not yet. I was thinking that she should call her mom, tell her what’s up.”
“Yes, Ike, and the sooner the better. We’ll check out now and drive home. We’ll be there when you get there.”
“Great, Marcella. And, I’m sure we’ll be starving.”
“Got it, Ike.”
They passed the phone back and forth again, and Ike spoke to Mr. Whipple. He explained the situation, assured him everything was fine, heaped praise on Chase for helping find April, apologized for the deception and confusion, and promised to check in later.
Ike pulled over to the pumps, filled the tank, and when he went inside to pay, Theo took Judge for a quick walk. When they were on the road again, Ike said over his shoulder, “April, do you want to call your mother?”
“I guess,” she said.
Theo handed her his cell phone. She tried her house, but there was no answer. She tried her mother’s mobile, and there was no service.
“What a surprise,” April said. “She’s not there.”
Chapter 20
Ike had a tall cup of coffee, which he gulped down in an effort to stay awake. Just a few miles out of town, he said, “Okay, kids, here’s the deal. It’s midnight. We have a long way to go, and I’m already sleepy. Talk to me. I want chatter. If I fall asleep at the wheel, we all die. Understand? Go, Theo. You talk, then, April, it’s your turn.”
Theo turned and looked at April. “Who is Jack Leeper?”
April had Judge’s head in her lap. She answered, “A distant cousin, I think. Why? Who told you about him?”
“He’s in Strattenburg, in jail. He escaped from prison in California a week or so ago, and he showed up in town about the time you disappeared.”
“His face has been all over the newspapers,” Ike said.
“The police thought he snatched you and took off,” Theo added.
Back and forth they went, tag-teaming as they told Leeper’s story; his mug shots on the front page, his dramatic capture by the SWAT team, his vague threats about hiding April’s body, and so on. April, who was overwhelmed by the events of the past hour, seemed unable to digest the entire story. “I’ve never met him,” she mumbled softly, over and over.
Ike slurped his coffee and said, “The newspaper said you wrote him letters. You guys were pen pals. That right?”
“Yes. About a year ago we started writing,” she said. “My mother said we are distant cousins, though I could never find him in our family tree. It’s not your normal family tree. Anyway, she said he was serving a long sentence in California, and was looking for a pen pal. I wrote him, he wrote back. It was kind of fun. He seemed to be very lonely.”
Ike said, “They found your letters in his cell after he escaped. He showed up in Strattenburg, so the police assumed he came after you.”
“I can’t believe this,” she said. “My father told me he talked to my mom, and that he talked to the people at the school, and that everyone agreed that I would be gone for a week or so. No problem. I should’ve known better.”
“Your father must be a pretty good liar,” Ike said.
“He’s one of the best,” April said. “He’s never told me the truth. I don’t know why I believed him this time.”
“You were scared, April,” Theo said.
“Omigosh!” she said. “It’s midnight. The band is quitting. What will he do when he realizes I’m gone?”
“He’ll get a dose of his own medicine,” Ike said.
“Should we call him?” Theo asked.
“He doesn’t use a cell phone,” April said. “Says it makes it too easy for people to find him. I should’ve left a note or something.”
They thought about this for a few miles. Ike seemed refreshed and not at all sleepy. April’s voice was stronger and she was over the shock.
“What about that Zack creep?” Theo asked. “Could we call him?”
“I don’t know his number.”
“What’s his last name?” Ike asked.
“I don’t know that either. I tried to keep my distance from Zack.”
Another mile or two passed. Ike knocked back some coffee and said, “Here’s what’ll happen. When they can’t find you, Zack will replay the story of seeing you with us. He’ll try and remember our names-Jack and Max Ford, formerly of Strattenburg but now living in Chapel Hill-and if he can, then they’ll scramble around trying to find our phone number. When they can’t find us, they’ll assume you’re at our house. Just old friends catching up after all these years.”
“That’s a stretch,” April said.
“It’s the best I can do.”
“I should’ve left a note.”
“Are you really that worried about your father?” Theo asked. “Look at what this guy did. He took you away in the middle of the night, didn’t tell a single person, and for the past four days, the entire town has been worried sick. Your poor mother is out of her mind. I don’t have much sympathy for him, April.”
“I’ve never liked him,” she said. “But I should’ve left a note.”
“Too late,” Ike said.
“They found a body on Thursday,” Theo said, “and the whole town thought you were dead.”
“A body?” she said.
Ike looked at Theo, and Theo looked at Ike, and away they went. Theo began with the story about their search party roaming through Strattenburg, passing out flyers, offering a reward, poking around empty buildings, dodging the police, and, finally, watching from across the river as the police pulled someone from the Yancey River. Ike added a few details here and there.
Theo said, “We thought you were dead, April. Left floating in the river by Jack Leeper. Mrs. Gladwell called us into assembly to try and cheer us up, but we knew you were dead.”
“I’m so sorry.”
“It’s not your fault,” Ike said. “Blame your father.”
Theo turned around, looked at her, and said, “It’s really good to see you, April.”
Ike smiled to himself. His coffee cup was empty. They left North Carolina, crossed into Virginia, and Ike stopped for more coffee.
A few minutes after 2:00 a.m., Ike’s cell phone vibrated. He fished it out of a pocket and said hello. It was his brother, Woods Boone, calling to chat. He and Mrs. Boone had just arrived home in Strattenburg, and they wanted an update on the road trip. Both kids were asleep, as was the dog, and Ike spoke softly. They were making good time; there was no traffic, no weather, and so far, no radar. Not surprisingly, Theo’s parents were extremely curious about how he found April. Marcella picked up on another phone, and Ike told the story of Theo
