Night of Fear by Peg Kehret Read Free Book Online

block and came back. Maybe it was a different car altogether, with a driver who would help him.
    There was a big chestnut tree on the boulevard just ahead. T.J. ducked behind it. If the headlights belonged to the old blue truck, he was hidden. If it was some other vehicle, he could jump out and yell for help as it went past.
    When the headlights were almost even with the tree, T.J. peeked around the front of the tree and prepared to leap out. As the lights passed, T.J. saw that they belonged to a white sedan. He jumped from behind the tree, waving his arms and shouting.
    “Stop!” T.J. yelled. “I need help!”
    The car never even slowed down. He could tell there were three passengers, in addition to the driver, but not a single one of them turned to look back at him. They didn’t see him running along the sidewalk after them. They were so busy talking to each other that they didn’t hear him yelling.
    He couldn’t possibly run fast enough to catch the car. Panting, he slowed to a walk.
    Minutes later, he saw headlights approaching again. This time, he decided not to wait until the vehicle was past before he yelled for help.
    When the headlights were half a block away, T.J. ran to the curb and tried to get the driver’s attention. The headlights came faster.
    T.J. stepped off the curb, waving his arms over his head like signal flags. “Stop!” he yelled. “Stop!”
    The old blue pickup stopped.
    Brody got out.
    T.J. turned and ran.
    “Hold it right there.” Brody’s voice was steady. Menacing.
    T.J. stopped. No matter how much he wanted to escape, he couldn’t risk his life. There was no truck and no minivan to hide behind now. Earlier, when he ran to the phone booth, Brody didn’t shoot but that time, he was caught off guard. That time, T.J. had been zigzagging across the dark parking lot before Brody could get out of the truck and aim the gun.
    This time, Brody was only a few feet away, just as the bank clerk was only a few feet away when she was killed. If Brody shot the bank clerk for no reason except that she could identify him, he might do the same with T.J.
    “Get back in the truck.”
    T.J. still didn’t see the gun but Brody had his right hand in his pocket again. T.J. wondered if the bank clerk saw the gun before it went off. He tried to remember exactly what the TV newsman had said. Did the witnesses describe a weapon or only the sequence of events? He couldn’t remember and right then, it really didn’t matter. T.J. did as he was told.
    “Head down.”
    T.J. put his forehead on his knees but he kept his head turned so he could watch Brody.
    Brody didn’t drive off right away. He sat there and looked at T.J., as if wondering what to do with him. Finally, he spoke. “What did the guy in the van say?”
    “He didn’t believe me when I said I needed help. He thought it was some kind of scam.”
    Brody nodded his head. “It figures.”
    “Why did you drive off?”
    “I couldn’t be sure what that driver would do. I left, in case he helped you, and I came back, in case he didn’t.”
    “Well, he didn’t.”
    “Nobody ever helps.”
    “I want to go home. My parents will be worried about me.”
    “You can’t go home. If you went home, you would tell them about me.”
    “No, I wouldn’t. I swear I wouldn’t! I wouldn’t say anything about you. I’d say I was at my friend Dane’s house and didn’t realize how late it was. They would believe me.”
    Brody shook his head. “You would tell,” he said sadly, as if T.J. had already betrayed him. “You would tell all about me and then they’d know who to look for and I would never finish my revenge.”
    “But I have to go home eventually. If I don’t, the police will be looking for me. You’ll get caught sooner because I’m with you than you would on your own.”
    Brody nodded. “We’ll hurry,” he said. “I’ll do as many as I can tonight.” He started the truck.
    As many as he can? Brody talked as if he planned to break