Running with the Demon - Terry Brooks [145]
Then Brianna Brown said, “There he is.”
She was pointing at a good-looking boy with dark hair and big shoulders standing in the shadows just beyond the tables where the soft drinks and lemonade were served. Some other boys were with him, and all of them were talking and joking with a pair of young girls dressed in cutoffs and halter tops.
Old Bob took a deep breath. “Stay here,” he said, and started forward.
He was right on top of Danny Abbott before the boy saw him. He smiled when Danny turned and put a friendly arm about his shoulder, drawing him close, holding him fast.
“Danny, I’m Robert Freemark, Nest’s grandfather.” He saw frightened recognition flood the boy’s eyes. “Now, I don’t want to waste any time on this, so I would appreciate a quick answer. Where is my granddaughter?”
Danny Abbott tried to back away, but Old Bob kept a tight hold on him, taking a quick measure of his friends to see if any of them meant trouble. No one looked anxious to get involved. The girls were already moving away. The boys looked eager to follow. “You gentlemen stick around a minute, please,” he ordered, freezing them in their tracks.
“Mr. Freemark, I don’t know what...” Danny Abbott began.
Old Bob moved his hand to the back of Danny’s neck and squeezed hard enough to make the boy wince. “That’s a bad beginning, son,” he said quietly. “I know your father, Ed. Know your mother, too. They’re good people. They wouldn’t appreciate finding out that their son is a liar. Not to mention a few other things. So let’s get this over with before I lose my temper. Where is Nest?”
“It was just a joke,” one of the other boys mumbled, hands digging in his jeans pockets, eyes shifting away.
“Shut up, Pete!” Danny Abbott hissed furiously, the words out of his mouth before he could think better of them. Then he saw the look on Old Bob’s face and went pale.
“One more chance, Danny,” Old Bob told him softly. “Give me a straight answer and we’ll put this behind us. No calls to your parents, nothing more between you and me. Otherwise, the next stop for both of us is the police station. And I will press charges. Are we clear on this?”
Danny Abbott nodded quickly, and his eyes dropped. “She’s in the caves, taped up inside a gunnysack.” His voice was sullen and afraid. “Pete’s right, it was just a joke.”
Old Bob studied him a moment, weighing the depth of the truth in the boy’s words, then let him go. “If she’s come to any harm,” he said to all of them, looking deliberately from one face to the next, “you’ll answer for it.”
He walked back to where Nest’s friends waited in a tight knot at the edge of the parking lot, their eyes bright with excitement. He surveyed the crowd, looking to see if there was anyone he could call upon to help. But none of the faces i were familiar enough that he felt comfortable involving the few he recognized. He would have to do this alone.
He came up to Nest’s friends and gave them a reassuring smile. “You young people go on home now,” he told them. “I believe I know what’s happened, and it’s nothing serious. Nest is all right. You go on. I’ll have her call you when she gets home.”
He moved away from them without waiting for an answer, not wanting to waste any more time. He followed the edge of the paved road toward the west end of the park and the caves. He went swiftly and deliberately, and he did not look over his shoulder until he was well away from the crowd and deep into the darkness of the trees. No one followed him. He carried the flashlight loosely in his right hand, ready to use it for any purpose it required. He didn’t think he would be attacked, but he wasn’t discounting the possibility. He glanced around once more, saw nothing, no one, and turned his attention to the darkness ahead.
He followed the roadway to where it looped back on itself under the bridge and turned down. The streetlamps provided sufficient light that he was able to find his way without difficulty, keeping in the open where he could see any movement about him. He was sweating now from his exertion, the j armpits and collar