riding a brand-new, bright red bike. Walt says he thinks he saw a kid riding a red bike into the Pines.”
“Thinks?” Weezy said. “Did the kid he saw have blond hair?”
“You know Walt. He says he wasn‟t paying much attention, and even if he was, I
don‟t know how reliable he‟d be. He was in his usual state.”
Weezy‟s expression became defensive.
“Even in his „usual state‟ he knows what‟s going on around town.” Tim shrugged and looked around. “In all fairness, with this being the first dry
Saturday in a while, and with so many kids on bikes around here, you‟d have to be
looking for a specific kid to be able to spot him.”
His gaze ranged back and forth, pausing on each of them.
“You two were just in there. Think hard: Did one of you see even a hint of a little
kid on a bike?”
Weezy shook her head as Jack said, “I know Cody. If I‟d seen him, I‟d ‟ve
grabbed him.”
Still, he felt bad now for not following him home.
Tim banged a fist on the fender of his car. “Damn! It was a long shot, but still …” “That doesn‟t mean he‟s not in there,” Jack added. “He wouldn‟t have gotten as
far in as we were. You know how those firebreaks fork left and right all the time, even close in. He could be just a quarter mile from here but totally lost.”
“And unless you know your way,” Weezy added, “or know enough to follow your
tire tracks back, you can get lost in no time.”
Jack had a sinking feeling. “And stay lost.”
He thought about the day ahead of him. He was supposed to put in a few hours at USED, but he was pretty sure Mr. Rosen would let him off if he asked—especially if it
concerned a missing child.
He turned to Tim. “We‟ll go back in and ride around to see if we can find him.” Tim shook his head. “I‟d get my head handed to me for putting even more kids
at risk of getting lost.”
Weezy looked offended. “We wouldn‟t get lost.”
Tim nodded. “I know that, and you know that, but the sheriff wouldn‟t see it that way. Besides, he doesn‟t want any more bikes in there tracking up the trails.” Jack thought that was stupid. They‟d be able to spot Cody‟s bike tracks before
anyone else. And they wouldn‟t get lost. Weezy could ride a new path and remember
everything about it, then add it to the map she kept in her head. Day or night, she
knew exactly where she was in the Pines.
Jack was less sure about himself. Certain trails he knew by heart, but he‟d never
be as at home in there as Weezy. The trails forked no matter which direction you were moving. You might try memorizing your turns on your trip in, but everything looked
different on the way back. Choose one wrong fork and you could wind up in unfamiliar territory, miles from where you planned to be.
Retracing your own tracks was the best way, and promised to be pretty easy
today—all the recent rains had smoothed out the sandy surfaces of the trails, leaving them blank, like new sheets of paper waiting for someone to write on them. Perfect for finding Cody‟s tracks.
Jack was opening his mouth to protest when a flash of light flickered to the west.
He saw the underbellies of storm clouds darkening the overcast. Thunder rumbled a
few seconds later.
Tim gave his fender an annoyed slap. “Just what we need. Another storm.
Perfect timing. Damn!” He turned to Jack. “All right, you guys, head home before it gets here.”
Shoving his smarter instincts aside, Jack said, “Let us ride in for a quick look
before the storm wipes out all the tracks.”
Tim shook his head. “No way. And you know better than that, Jack. The Barrens
are the last place you want to be in a thunderstorm.”
“But maybe we can pick up his trail. Once the rain comes through, it‟ll be gone.” “I know that, and I appreciate the offer, believe me. But I‟ve got my orders, and
even if I didn‟t, I‟d never forgive myself if I let you kids go in there and something happened. We‟ll take the cars in and cover as much ground as we can. But as for you
two …” He jerked his thumb over his shoulder. “Home. Now. Git.”
They got.
Guilt followed Jack all the way home. He should have made sure Cody had got
back to his house. If only he‟d seen him all the way home and told his folks that he‟d been out in the street. But he‟d watched him turn onto Jefferson, and hadn‟t wanted to get him in trouble. All he could think about was that little kid out in the Pines, lost and alone. He could imagine how scared he had to be. And then to be caught in a
thunderstorm …