Free The Black Cadillac by Ryan P. Ruiz Page B

vehicle in drive and drove off. When they arrived at Lincoln Street, the boys were in luck. The black Cadillac was there. A huge sigh of relief came over both friends. Zach turned to look at Cody’s reaction to the car being there.
    “Okay, just park right over there,” Zach pointed to halfway down the street where he saw an open space.
    The street was full of parked cars, and Scotty had to park on the same side of the street the Cadillac was on. He turned the engine off and fiddled with his radio.
    Zach jumped out of the front seat and into the back with Cody. The two had to turn around on the seat and lean against the back to keep watch. Scotty shuffled through cassette tapes, trying to find some music. He could absolutely care less what the boys did.
    “As soon as we see the man who owns that car, I need you to be ready, Scotty. He will most likely drive past us, start the car and try to stay behind him when that happens, okay?” asked Zach.
    “Whatever, bro, I know how to follow somebody. I got it,” said Scotty.
    An hour went by, and there was no action near the car. Some neighbors were staring through the open windows of Scotty’s car.
    “I’ll give you guys one more hour, and then I’m done. This is stupid, and you’re wasting my time,” said Scotty.
    “Okay, okay,” said Zach.
    Another twenty-five minutes went by, and a larger-sized man was walking toward the black vehicle. He was carrying a brown paper bag. It was the same man they had seen before. Both of the boys’ hearts were racing and beating fast.
    “Get ready, Scotty,” said Zach.
    Scotty just nodded into his rearview mirror at Zach.
    The man got in the black car and started it up. The car didn’t move for several minutes. What was he doing in there? The boys couldn’t see the man because of the dark windows and the sun’s reflection. The car pulled out of the spot and started heading toward Scotty’s car. The boys ducked their heads and rolled up the windows. The car passed by Scotty’s red “rust bucket.” Scotty started his car and pulled out from behind the car parked in front of it.
    “Scotty, whatever you do, please don’t lose sight of the car,” Zach said.
    Cody reiterated, “Stay with that car, Scotty, please?”
    Scotty followed the car, keeping a distance. The back windows were darkened as well, so all three of them couldn’t really see the driver. Zach wondered if the man knew he was being followed.
    Cody tried to remember what the car looked like when it pulled away after trying to pick him up. When he looked at the vehicle they were tailing, the similarities were astounding. The chrome on the back bumper jarred his memory from that morning.
    The Cadillac came to a stop at a light. They were just about to go into the next city, which was Crestwood. Scotty fell a car behind the Cadillac. The boys stayed calm in the backseat.
    The vehicle made another three turns with a final turn at a street named Braxton Avenue. Scotty didn’t turn down the street, but he parked on the side of the street Braxton was off. Both of them jumped out of the car and slowly turned the corner down Braxton. The Cadillac was pulling into a drive on the corner of the street.
    “Dude, we need to just walk down the sidewalk and get that address now,” said Zach.
    “Let’s go, then,” said Cody, grabbing his small handheld spiral notebook and a mechanical pencil from his pocket.
    The two boys started walking on the sidewalk of the same side of the street the house was on. The neighborhood was sort of low-class, and the houses were small. The houses were a little closer apart, and most of them had chain-link fences in the backyards. The Cadillac was just twenty yards away.
    “Just write down the address as we walk by,” Zach whispered to Cody.
    “I know,” Cody whispered back.
    As they were passing the house, Cody wrote down the address. The car was parked in the driveway, and the man was already in the house. The house was sort of enclosed