John had been skeptical. John had pointed out how much of Josh’s whimsy was just based on guesswork. John had thought it crazy to pursue something like this on such flimsy conjecture based on no real facts other than seeing a moped parked in the woods, a glint in a window, two people going upstairs in a library, and a woman wearing too much makeup. This was really absurd, when you came down to it. And then John had gone out to the mill himself, and there he’d found just enough evidence to make Josh’s suppositions not as silly as they’d sounded.
And, as Josh had politely pointed out and not snarkily as Peter would have, it was at least a theory, and so far, John had squat. Realizing that, John had decided to at least check out the scene in the library. The thing was, he didn’t want to go through channels at Terrytown PD. He could imagine their faces. He could hear their snide comments. What if they deployed a major operation based on a kid’s lunatic theory and the bottom dropped out? What if it turned out the woman at the library was a paralegal in some politically-connected, high-profile law office? And the Scowler turned out to be a lazy high-school dropout who looked a little like the guy in the mall who’d attacked Parrish but wasn’t that guy at all, in fact was just a young bum living off his old man’s money and spending his days napping in the library so his mother would stay off his back at home. The downside simply didn’t bear thinking about.
So John set up a look-and-see feeler operation on his own. He couldn’t be in on it; his face had been in the papers because of the mall shootout, and in any case, this meth gang knew him well enough to have sent a paid hit man after him.
What he decided on was a very low-key, low-profile operation just to gather info. And the perfect people to do that were the kids he’d spoken to in the FYC. There was little to no risk. All they’d be doing would be sitting and watching.
He spoke to Parrish and Peter about it, and then, because he’d been impressed with Josh just like everyone who came into contact with him was, he included him in the discussions.
In the end, John used the fact the library didn’t open till mid-afternoon on Sundays to his advantage. In the early morning hours Sunday he set up some tiny, well-hidden, motion-activated cameras on the upper floors of the library. They’d show the stacks area on both floors, and the hope was they’d allow John to see and record the woman making the drop and then the Scowler making the pickup. The problem, of course, was knowing when this would happen. They had no idea how often this exchange took place. Was it once a week? Once a month? Every day? They hadn’t a clue, and there was no manpower available for monitoring the cameras fulltime, especially based on such paper-thin guesswork.
But John wanted not only to get a video of the drop and pickup, he wanted to nab the perps as soon as he had the evidence. He wanted an immediate capture and arrest. To do that, he’d have to have a team ready to go on a moment’s notice. And he had to have someone inside the library who could notify him when the drop was being made.
So, it was decided, if he’d agree to do it, Dill would be their point man. He was no stranger to the woman or the Scowler, so they’d not be wondering about someone new in the building and be on their guard. He’d sit where he always sat, but he’d have a cell phone with a preset number on speed dial. When he saw the woman going upstairs, he’d press the button, John’s phone would ring with caller ID showing it was Dill, and John would know things were happening. Then, Dill would do the same when the Scowler went up. At which point, John would roll his team, a team that was ready but had no idea the whole operation was due to the brainwork of a fifteen-year-old.
If it all went as Josh expected and John doubted, John’s team would be there within minutes of the pickup, the drop and the pickup would have been recorded, and the two perps would be taken down.
It all went into action on Sunday afternoon. Dill entered the library when it opened. He got the book he was into from the stacks, sat down and began reading. He read till the library closed at five. Neither the lady nor the Scowler showed.
Monday, they tried again. This time, after a couple of hours, Kirk walked into the library and joined Dill. They chatted a moment or two, then Kirk got a book. They read in companionable silence. The woman came in just before noon, got a couple of law books from the stacks, and set out working at a table not far from the boys.
The Scowler never showed.
On Tuesday, John was ready to call it off. He was dithering about doing so, sitting at home complaining to Peter and Parrish that this was all a waste of time, before he took off to monitor a suspected drug buy he’d been tipped about at a bar in the sticks.
Josh wasn’t losing enthusiasm. He still thought his conclusions had merit. But he was fretting. He paced around the youth center, never staying in any place for more than a moment or two, and Jack knew he was troubled because this was terribly atypical of him. Josh was the calm one, never flustered. Jack was the one who got agitated.
Jack finally cornered Josh, hugged him, and asked, “What’s wrong? You’re acting like the Scarecrow of Oz at a wienie roast.”
Josh groaned. “Is that the best you have?”
Jack laughed. “It at least got your mind on something other than what’s been bothering you. What’s the matter, anyway?”
“I didn’t think of something when I was talking to John. I just realized something. This isn’t going to work.”
“Why not?”
Josh just shook his head. “I have to talk to John.”
“Call him.”
“All I’ve got is Parrish’s number.”
“Well? Call it.”
So Josh did. He got Peter. Parrish was taking a shower and so Peter answered his phone.
“I need to talk to John—and right away.”
“He’s gone to work. He’s undercover this morning, then he’s going to the library parking lot this afternoon. The lady never seems to show up in the morning, so that should work OK. Why? What’s the deal?”
Josh hesitated. Peter was 12, and something of a loose cannon. Still, Josh would feel better if he got what he was thinking off his chest. “The thing is, Peter, I think I was wrong. I see this lady, if she’s really the supplier, as being pretty smart and very careful. I still don’t think the Scowler knows she’s the boss, as I said before. But, if she’s smart, the last thing she wants to do is be predictable. She went up the library stairs to make the drop last week. But then she saw Dill go up after she did. Then another boy went up, too. That had to at least concern her. And when the Scowler was going up to make the pickup, he bumped into Dill and the other boy coming down. She saw all that happen. She’d have to have worried, seeing the two boys go up, and then seeing the Scowler start up with the boys still up there but not able to warn him because she couldn’t draw attention to herself.
“With all that having happened, I don’t think she’d use the same drop again. I’d guess she would think the risk of Dill knowing anything would be small, but why take any risks at all? The meth had still been where she’d put it when the Scowler eventually went up and got it, so Dill was not really a threat. But why go up and down stairs with him sitting there and seeing it for a second time? No, I don’t think she’d do that.
“So I was thinking. She feels comfortable in the library. It’s sort of a safe haven for her. And she can watch the Scowler without him knowing it. It’s perfect for her. But, I don’t think she’d make the drop upstairs any longer. I think maybe she’d make it where she could watch and see if anyone was aware of what the Scowler was doing, if anyone was watching him or her. She’d just be someone in the library. No one should be looking at her. I think that’s what she’d do.
“But John needs to be told to tell Dill not to expect her to go upstairs; if she does, fine, but don’t depend on it. I’d guess she’d have informed the Scowler of the change, however she manages to do that. He’s been told that the woman in the library will be dropping the stuff somewhere else this time and where. Dill has to be more aware of the Scowler’s movements rather than hers. We probably won’t be able to record her making the drop because, if I’m right, she won’t do it where the cameras are. Not unless John can put cameras all over the library. And Peter?”
“Yeah?”
“The important thing is, when the Scowler gets up and goes somewhere that might be the pickup, a place the woman has just come from, I think the woman will be closely watching to see if anyone is interested in where he’s gone, or if anyone reacts at all to him. So it’s really important that Dill not pick up the phone, press the button, and put it down again. That would look suspicious to her if she’s watching him. He has to do it under the table or some other way so she doesn’t see it happening. John has to find a way to get that message to Dill.”
Peter said, excitement in his voice, “OK, I’ll get the message to John.”
««« »»»
When Parrish finished his shower and came back into the bedroom, Peter was waiting for him. Parrish got the wrong idea, of course, and did some provocative poses using his towel to great and strategic effect. Peter laughed. “Sorry, don’t have time for that!” After telling Parrish what Josh had said, he told Parrish to pass it along to John. Peter then took off, leaving Parrish naked and wondering what Peter’s rush was all about.
««« »»»
When Peter entered the library, meaning to tell Dill what Josh had told him, he stopped just past the checkout desk. He’d been in the place a few times, once recently during the short time he’d been on the streets. There was a large room in the middle of the floor with several work tables. The stacks were along three of the walls, with the stairs leading upstairs dividing some of them. There was a children’s and youth section, a separate room off the main room. The magazines and newspapers were in a niche at the far back, with comfortable chairs and side tables for those who wanted to sit and read. There was an old man with a cane sitting in one of the chairs; he’d looked up at Peter when he’d come in. The rest were empty.
Peter saw Dill and Kirk at a table. Four tables away, he saw a woman with several yellow legal pads and three large books in front of her, one of them open. She didn’t look up when he entered, but he didn’t see any way he could go talk to Dill without her noticing him. And he did not want to be noticed. He’d decided on the way to the library that Dill couldn’t really do what needed to be done. If the lady had changed the drop point because she’d seen Dill on the stairs, then she’d be suspicious of him no matter what he did and be suspicious of anyone talking to him as well. As for Peter, he was an unknown and just a kid. He was a twelve-year-old who could be mistaken for ten. He assessed the situation and walked casually into the youth room.
There he found a book and sat at a table that allowed him to look into the main library work area. He couldn’t see Dill and Kirk, but the woman was in view. She was making notes after paging through her book.
««« »»»
Parrish called John. His phone was off. He often turned it off when on stakeouts. Parrish kept trying, and finally called Josh and told him he’d keep trying to get John, but hadn’t had any luck so far.
««« »»»
As Peter watched and read, read and watched, he saw an older teen come in. He slouched through the reading/work area and out of sight. Peter found he needed another book, left his on the table and walked to where he could get another one, and, not coincidentally, see farther into the library. The young man had taken a seat in the magazine area, and was scowling, almost causing Peter to laugh.
Peter took his new book back to his table. He opened it and began reading. And the lady stood up, picked up her purse, and walked into the stacks.
««« »»»
Parrish, in frustration, kept hitting redial, getting a voicemail message, hanging up and hitting redial again. He’d been doing that for ten minutes straight when, surprisingly, John answered.
Parrish told him about Josh’s thoughts, and that Peter had gone out, and that Parrish was worried he may have gone to the library. “You know Peter,” he said at the end.
“I do,” said John. “I’m done here and will take off immediately. It’s all the way across town, and it’s lunch hour. And I don’t want to use the siren, obviously. But I’ll get there as quickly as I can.”
««« »»»
From where he was, Peter could see directly down the aisle of bookshelves where the lady had walked. He kept his book open and eyes down, mostly, just peeking over the top. The woman was in the section where law books were kept, and she seemed to be searching for a specific book. As Peter watched, she moved down the stacks to the far wall, then moved around the end and started up the next aisle. Peter couldn’t see down that aisle without moving. With as little commotion as possible, even though she was unlikely to notice anything at all from at least one hundred feet away while peering at book titles, he stood and slid over so he could again see her. She had crouched down to look at books on the bottom shelf. He took his phone from his pocket and, still standing, started taking a video.
The lady lifted her head and gazed around, her eyes sweeping in Peter’s direction. Peter didn’t move anything but his fingers, pretending to be texting. He didn’t look at her, just at the phone. She looked back down, and Peter continued recording. She pulled out a book from the bottom shelf, then took something from her purse and set it where the book had been. When she replaced the book and pushed it back so it was even with the other books on the shelf, what she’d set down had been pushed back as the book slid into its place.
Just as she stood and looked around again, Peter lowered his cell phone. He was pretty sure he hadn’t looked suspicious at all. She was still far enough away that she’d probably not even noticed him. He took the three steps necessary to return to his table and picked up the book he’d been reading. What he didn’t want to do was look up and see where the lady was, but as the seconds ticked away, he became afraid not to. He lowered the book and saw the lady was walking toward him, her eyes fixed directly on him. He set the book on the table, then realized the phone was still in his hand. He saw her eyes move from it to his eyes. She was not smiling.
««« »»»
John was nearing the library. He could see it in the next block. He also saw four of the boys from the meeting at the center, standing in front, staring at the building. “Don’t go in,” he muttered to himself and pressed harder on the accelerator.
««« »»»
Peter got out of his chair. The lady was in the doorway of the youth reading room now, still advancing toward him. He looked around quickly. He could see no exit other than the one she was walking through. He started to move backward, through the tables, keeping them between him and her.
She was glaring at him, advancing steadily. He pulled a chair out and left it in her way. She threw it aside when she came to it, and it crashed against the table next to where she was. She ignored it and closed in on Peter.
««« »»»
John drove into the parking lot and left his car angled in two spaces. He jumped out and ran for the back door.
««« »»»
Peter had retreated as far as he could go. He was in the corner of the room, and the woman stood in front of him. “Give me the phone,” she said, in a menacing voice lower than he expected a lady to have.
Peter hesitated. He wasn’t a boy who was easily intimidated. He wasn’t a boy who’d cry out, “Bad touch, bad touch” and hope the librarian would come running to his rescue. He was a boy who reacted to danger by fighting back. He had all his life.
“Now!” the woman said, and took a last step forward, reaching for the phone.
Peter saw his chance. He raised the phone up above his head and she raised her arms, leaned forward and reached for it. Without warning, he kicked her as hard as he could right in the nuts.
She/he made a guttural gasp, rolled his eyes in pain and staggered backwards, both hands falling to his crotch. Peter juked around him and ran for the door.
And saw, standing in it, the Scowler. He’d seen the lady stride purposefully into the youth area, and, curious, he’d followed. He’d seen the kick and now stood waiting for Peter, who was still holding his phone, to come to him.
Peter saw him just in time and skidded to a stop. The man smiled a nasty smile and said, “I’ll take that phone.”
Peter was about to try to dodge around him when, out of the blue, two bodies slammed into the young man. Jack tackled him high, Jordan took him around the knees, and he went down. Then suddenly Dill and Kirk were there, too, jumping on the pile.
When John walked in, he found a ‘lady’ on the floor, moaning and holding her crotch, and the Scowler on the floor with over 500 pounds of gleeful boys sitting on him with Peter on the top, grinning broadly and holding up his cell phone.