Dead End High

Restless and troubled, Adam slept fitfully that night. Eventually he slipped downstairs for a snack. He sat at the kitchen table with the lights off and gazed out the window, being careful to remain quiet in case his parents caught him having a midnight snack.

A face appeared.

With a cry of alarm, Adam leapt out of his chair. He could hardly breathe and his chest tightened up. He immediately recognised him as the hunched man he had seen with Miss Crazy.

The face vanished.

Adam stared out the window. He felt bound there, unable to move. He was afraid that at any moment, he would hear a banging at the door, or even worse, the sound of the door being kicked in.

But there was only silence.

He leaned shakily on the sill and peered out in all directions but saw no one.

All types of horrible thoughts came to mind. Had Miss Crazy and her two henchmen found out where he lived? Or was it coincidence? Maybe he wanted to burgle the house. Or even worse, perhaps Adam was the next person on their list of abductees?

He continued to sit there, staring out of the window. It surprised him that his parents had not come running down after his cry of alarm; perhaps they slept too soundly. It didn’t matter, there was nothing they could do, the man had gone and would probably not return. Besides, he would only have to explain what he had been up to that afternoon. He had no proof that Miss Crazy or her two friends were involved in anything illegal and his parents would probably only insist he had an overactive imagination.

The only other solution was to go out there himself and look around. He had followed Miss Crazy on his own and had spied on her in the Collins house on his own. Why should this be any different? If he could get proof they were involved in something dodgy, he’d really have something to report to Constable Clements.

He withdrew a steak knife from the kitchen drawer, feeling certain he’d never have the guts to use it, but at least it might make the burglar think twice about attacking him. He grabbed a torch from the shelf in the laundry and stepped outside. A cool breeze blew across the doorstep. Gloom surrounded him and he couldn’t see much at all. He shone his torch in the shadows. Hopefully the intruder was long gone and not just hiding somewhere, but it gave him the creeps just thinking about it.

About to go back inside, he hesitated. He felt a thrill about being out there at night, looking for an intruder and didn’t want it to end just yet - it was invigorating. He thought about the Collins house and his decision to return there later on. If he left for the Collins house now, the man would see him go - assuming he was still around. But adrenalin surged through his body like electricity and he just had to do something. He couldn’t go back to bed now; he’d never get to sleep.

An idea leapt into his mind and he rushed up the stairs to get dressed. He debated taking the knife with him, but saw no way of carrying it safely, so left it there. Returning, he climbed over the back fence, into the next-door neighbour’s yard and stopped to listen. Apart from the ever-present wind in the trees, there was no movement or sound. No cars, no cats or dogs, nothing.

Why was it so quiet? It reminded him of his visit to the Minnow house. At least this time the wind was steady.

He crept through the yard, out onto the street and headed towards Dora’s house. He wasn’t quite sure what he would do once he got there, but would make up his mind when he did.

The house was quiet and dark when he got there. All the drapes were open as if nobody stayed there at all. Either the occupants he had seen earlier that evening were out, or didn’t actually live there. He approached the backdoor and tested the knob. It turned and with a little pressure, the door creaked open.

He froze.

He hadn’t seriously expected to find the door unlocked and his heart pounded as he stepped inside. He dared not turn on the lights just in case someone was still in the house. He could only make out shadows of furniture.

Holding his breath, he closed the door gently behind him and moved cautiously into the lounge, not willing to turn his torch on either. He tried to make out the objects he saw - a TV cabinet, lounge suite, coffee table, a tall bookshelf. Moving towards the couch, he stopped suddenly when he saw what appeared to be someone sleeping on it. He couldn’t hear any breathing and a closer look proved the extra bulk to be nothing but cushions.

Relieved, he continued his search, moving back into the hallway. A door to a bedroom was wide open. As best as he could tell, the bed was flat.

All was silent. He moved to the next room, finding it empty as well.

He checked out the other rooms in the house, feeling safer every time they proved to be vacant. Everything seemed deserted. He still didn’t turn on the lights, because there was no knowing when someone might return. He risked flicking his torch on, but only for short bursts, just to get a better look at things.

He could see definite signs of recent habitation. The kitchen was a mess. There were dirty dishes piled up and rubbish strewn on the floor. From what Adam knew about Dora, she was a perfectionist and so was the rest of her family. They would not leave rubbish around like this. There were still photographs on the wall that belonged to the Collins family and he found things in drawers, with their names on. They hadn’t moved out, but what had become of them and why had Miss Crazy and her goons been there?

He thought about the Minnow house. Not only Doug, but his entire family seemed to have disappeared. Now the Collins? But the small newspaper article had said nothing about entire families. Could Miss Crazy and her goons pull off such a feat?

He continued his search around the house, nervousness still racking his body. In the lounge, he came across a book sitting on the coffee table next to the couch. It was The Stand by Stephen King. Eager for any clue, Adam picked it up and flipped through it from back to front. He stopped at the inside cover and noticed a handwritten name and address…

Tania Casey

145 Godfrey Road

RD5

Opanake

He reeled. Here was proof that Miss Casey had been staying here, even if it was only briefly. Sure, it wasn’t proof that she had done away with the Collins family, but it did look very suspicious and rather careless.

At least she hadn’t lied about her name. The address was either an old one or she still lived there when she wasn’t out abducting people. Opanake... or Opaslackee as he and his friends liked to call it, was a thirty-minute drive from Pungaru. Adam really wanted to go there to check the place out and perhaps ask some questions around the town about her. But no buses went out that way and he couldn’t very well ask his parents to drive him there. They’d freak if they knew he wanted to investigate one of his teachers.

Not wanting to leave any evidence he had been there, he memorised the street number and placed the book back down.

He heard a car engine outside, flicked off his torch and rushed to the window to watch headlights stop in front of the house. Adam made a mad beeline for the backdoor and slipped outside.

A car was still running. He crept to the edge of the house and peeked towards the front gate, where a figure climbed out of a blue Daihatsu. It was the longhaired man with the uni-brow. He looked around, then not seeming to care whether he attracted attention, reached back into the car and gave the horn a brief toot.

Another figure, illuminated by the headlights of the car, came jogging down the path to greet him. It was the hunched man. Adam wondered what he had been doing from the time he’d shown up at his place until now.

‘Morgan! There you are,’ Uni-brow said. ‘How did it go?’

Morgan stepped up to the car and rested his hand on the roof. ‘He’s there all right Don. It’s definitely his house.’

Adam’s heart skipped a beat. They could only be talking about him. Why were they so intent on knowing where he lived? What made Adam any more special than anyone else in Pungaru? Unless of course he just happened to be the next person on their list.

‘It’s a nice house too,’ Don continued, ‘possibly the nicest one in Pungaru.’

Morgan chuckled. ‘It figures. Well if you could have any house in Pungaru, what one would you choose?’

‘The richest kid in Pungaru.’ Don smirked.

Adam gulped. So that was it. They knew he and his family had won the lotto. Perhaps their intention was to kidnap him and then demand millions in ransom from his parents.

But then he thought about all the missing people. The fact the suspects were staked out in the house of Dora Collins – one of the missing kids, surely meant they must have had something to do with her disappearance. Now the Collins’s weren’t rich. Neither were the Diamonds or the Minnows. Most of the kids who had gone missing weren’t exactly rolling in money, so why would they want them too?

‘The kid saw me at his window,’ Don said to Morgan.

‘You’re kidding me!’

‘Yeah. Shit, I don’t know who got more of a fright, him, or me. He was sitting there in the dark staring out his window.’

‘What the hell was he doing up so late?’

‘Who knows? But then again, he’s a rich kid, right? He can do anything he likes.’ Don sniggered.

‘Well he’s gonna be suspicious now.’

’So what? What’s he gonna do - call the cops?’

The two burst out laughing.

Adam nearly stepped out from his hiding place to confront the pair. He had every right to call the cops. Anyone would call the cops if a burglar came calling. Unless... and another horrible thought crossed his mind… unless the cops were being paid off or deliberately turning a blind eye. That might explain why they weren’t out in force scouring the neighbourhood and asking questions.

But no, he couldn’t believe that. Guys like Constable Clements were on the job investigating… weren’t they? Sure, Adam hadn’t seen him around since their meeting at the school, but why would he want Adam to keep an eye on Miss Crazy if he was working for her? It didn’t make sense.

‘At least we know where he lives now,’ Don said. ‘We just need to stay out of sight. And we can’t use this house as a base any longer. Tania wants us over at the other place from now on.’

‘Damn it, this is ridiculous!’ Morgan drummed his fingers on the roof of the car. ‘Why don’t we just go in there and get the kid?’

‘Tania doesn’t want that. Not just yet. She says we have to take this one step at a time.’

‘Yeah, yeah, yeah, I get the picture. But still, how much more time can we waste here? What if Hochstetler shows up?’

‘There’s no reason to believe he will.’

‘He’s shown himself before and done irreparable damage.’ Morgan sounded most concerned. Adam racked his brain on the name Hochstetler, but he had never heard of it before. A distinct name like that would have lodged in his mind.

‘Yeah, I know that, you don’t have to tell me that. We haven’t seen any sign of him yet, have we?’

‘No, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t around. He’s tracked us down before. He’s smart. He’d stay hidden and make his move when he’s ready.’

Don started to speak again, but then his voice became muffled. Oh no, it was happening again. What a marvellous time for that to happen. Here they were, no doubt revealing a heap of juicy details, which Adam couldn’t hear. Who was this Hochstetler? They talked of him, like he was against them, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t dangerous. On the contrary, he could be far worse.

They continued to talk, their voices muffled, Adam willing his ears to hear, but it did no good. Finally they cleared and once again Adam could hear them talking, but it seemed he’d missed it all.

‘It’s an ok little town I guess,’ Don said. ‘Not my choice of places to live, but then if you didn’t know any better, what would you do?’

‘True.’ Morgan patted the car a few times with his hand. ‘Anyway, let’s just get going. I’m tired and need to catch some Zs.’

‘Yeah, same here.’

The two climbed into the Daihatsu and drove off. The car disappeared from sight, leaving a very disturbed and irritated Adam far behind.