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She drove around the rest of the neighborhood but there was no sign of a red mustang. The only other residential area close by the soccer field was across Beach Street, a main thoroughfare in Whispering Bay. Claire said that Jordan’s house was close enough that they wouldn’t have to go through any main roads to get there, but of course, Allie now realized that was probably a lie.
When had Claire become so duplicitous? Allie felt like crying. Instead, she tried calling Zeke and Mimi again, but it was like their cell phones had been abducted by aliens.
“Maybe we should stop and ask for directions,” Henry suggested.
“Good idea. If I had an address, that is.”
“I have to go to the bathroom,” Cameron said.
“Of course you do. Do you think you can you hold it, big guy? Just for a few minutes? I’m going to go through this neighborhood one more time.”
And then what? Give up? Drive the boys back home?
Allie was about to call Claire one last time when she glanced into the rearview mirror to see a patrol car behind the van, its blue lights flashing obnoxiously.
The patrol car wasn’t after her, was it? She hadn’t been speeding and she’d stopped at every stop sign. She even used her turn signal even though the van was the only vehicle out in the neighborhood. She stuck her arm outside the car window and waved the police car by. But instead of passing her, the cruiser turned on its siren. Allie’s palms broke out into a sweat.
Cameron and Henry began whispering in excited tones.
“Uh-oh,” Cameron said. “Are you going to jail?”
“Jail!” Allie faked a laugh. “Don’t be silly. It’s okay, boys, I got this.” She only wished she felt as confident as she was trying to sound. She pulled the minivan over to the side of the road. To her relief, it was Rusty who got out of the cruiser.
Allie practically leaped out of the car and hugged him. “Rusty! Thank God, it’s you. You have to help me find Claire.”
Rusty disentangled himself from the hug. “Allie, what are in tarnation are you doing driving?”
“What? Oh, I know this looks bad, but it’s an emergency.” She went on to explain how Claire had tricked her. “And believe me, I now know what people mean when they say teenagers in that tone of voice. So, do you know this Jordan person? Has Zeke ever mentioned her to you?”
“Can’t say that I recall the chief ever mentioning a friend of Claire’s named Jordan.” He peered inside the van. “Is that Cameron in there?”
“And Henry Donalan. I was supposed to supervise Claire’s driving. From a purely theoretical standpoint, of course, because I know my license is still suspended, and I certainly knew it was wrong of me to drive, but I didn’t know what else to do. Neither Zeke nor Mimi are answering their cell phones right now.”
Rusty’s face scrunched up like he was constipated. “You know, Allie, I cut you a break and gave you a warning the other night. Breaking and Entering is bad enough. But this second infraction? I can’t overlook it. No matter who you’re related to. Zeke would be the first one to tell me that I gotta do the right thing here.”
&nbs
p; “You’re kidding. Claire could be God knows where and you’re worried about something as stupid as a suspended license?”
“Now, Allie,” Rusty said like she was some skittish poodle about to be put down. “I’m going to have to ask you to lower your voice.”
“Lower my voice? Lower my voice!” She sounded hysterical but she couldn’t help herself.
The man from the red brick house who’d poked his head out the door earlier, joined them on the street. “That’s her,” he said, pointing to Allie. “She’s been driving up and down the street real suspicious like. Probably casing out the neighborhood.”
Allie stared at him in disbelief. “You called the cops on me? Is this a joke? I’m driving a minivan with two eleven-year-olds in the back seat! Does that sound like the modus operandi of a cat burglar?”
Rusty scratched his head and began mumbling to himself. Then he grinned, like a light inside his brain had just been turned on. “This is a test, ain’t it?”
“A what?”
“Zeke put you up to this, to see how I’d react.” Rusty opened the driver door to the minivan and stuck his head inside. “Is there a hidden camera in there?”
A hidden camera?
“Rusty, are you high?”
“Oh, no worries. I’ve already passed my drug test for this quarter.” He put a hand up in a peaceful gesture to the idiot who’d called the cops on her. “Don’t worry, sir, the Whispering Bay Police Department has this all under control.” He unclipped a set of handcuffs from his belt. “Allie, can I get you to turn around?”
