Swagger (22 page)

I smiled. “Thanks for coming.”

“Thanks for asking me.”

And then we stood, neither of us knowing what to do.

“Are you hungry?” I asked at last.

“Not as hungry as you must be, but I could eat.”

We went inside. The back table was filled with bowls of salad, bread sticks, soft drinks, and six different kinds of pizza.

We ate and talked, and then around eleven Cash started dancing with his girlfriend in a little room off to the side, and soon other kids joined in. Rachel, who was wearing a skintight, low-cut top, danced with DeShawn.

“Do you feel like dancing?” I asked Celia.

She shook her head. “Let's just talk.”

So that's what we did. About Central Washington University and about Monitor College. I'd been focused on Levi and basketball for so long that it felt good to think about something else.

At twelve forty-five, Hartwell stopped the music to tell us that Zeeks was closing. “Make sure you get all your stuff before you leave, and if you want any more pizza, get it now.”

Hartwell's voice snapped me out of the calm place where I'd been. Things needed to be done, and soon. I looked around for Levi and Rachel, figuring I'd give them both a ride home. I couldn't find Levi, but Rachel was about ten feet away, pulling a sweatshirt over her head.

Celia and I walked over to her. “Have you seen Levi?” I asked.

Rachel shook her head. “He's probably outside. He's supposed to walk me home.”

“I can give you both a ride, if you want.”

The three of us headed out to the parking lot. It had turned cold and rainy, and the wind had come up. I scanned the area looking for Levi but didn't find him. I thought it was possible he'd gone home earlier, but not likely. He'd have said something to Rachel before he left. I looked over to where my mom's Subaru was parked and then looked again.

It wasn't there.

For a second I thought I must have parked it someplace else, even though I knew I hadn't. My eyes searched every corner of the parking lot. No Subaru.

“What's wrong?” Rachel asked, hugging herself to keep warm.

“My mom's car is gone. I parked it right there, and now it's gone.”

The three of us stared at the empty parking spot as if the car might magically reappear.

“Do you think somebody stole it?” Celia asked.

“I don't know. Maybe. I left the keys under the mat.”

Rachel spun around to face me. “Did Levi know about the keys?”

“Yeah. He saw me put them there. Why?”

“Maybe he stole it,” Rachel said.

“Come on,” I said, the cold biting at me. “Your brother? Stealing a car?”

Rachel's eyes scanned the lot. “He's gone, right? And your car's gone. I mean . . . What else?”

I felt my body sag. Was Rachel right?

“Try his cell phone,” Celia suggested. “There's got to be some explanation.”

“He doesn't have one.”

“He stole your car,” Rachel said, a smile of disbelief on her face. “My brother stole your car.”

 

Celia gave Rachel and me a ride to Tangletown. As she drove, the only sound was the car heater going full blast. When we neared my house, I peered out into the darkness, hoping I'd see the Subaru parked either in front of Levi's house or my own, but it wasn't there. “Is there anything I can do?” Celia asked as she pulled up in front of Levi's house.

“No, but don't worry. There's got to be some simple explanation.”

Rachel and I climbed out of the car and headed up the walkway to Rachel's house. Her father was waiting in the front room.

“Is Levi here?” Rachel asked as soon as she opened the door.

“No,” her father said, walking toward her. “He's supposed to be with you, making sure you're safe.”

“Then he's out drinking,” she said, her eyes burning with a strange excitement. “He stole Jonas's car, and he's out drinking.”

“What is she talking about?” her father said, looking at me.

I stepped into the warm house and closed the door behind me. Her dad listened to my story, and then had me repeat the whole thing. “You should call the police,” he said firmly after I finished the second time.

“I don't want to do that, Mr. Rawdon. Even if he took the Subaru, he didn't really steal it. We're friends and all. He just borrowed it.”

“He stole it,” Rachel said. Then she wheeled on her father. “You always thought he was perfect, and I was just a tramp. Well, he stole a car and got drunk, and he's probably got some slutty girl with him too. So what do you think of him now?”

“Go to your room,” her father commanded. She glared at him for a moment and then disappeared down the hallway.

The two of us stood facing each other. Finally he spoke. “If Levi is drinking alcohol with a girl, then the proper thing is to report your car as stolen. He needs to be arrested before anyone is hurt.”

“Mr. Rawdon, he's not drinking. Not Levi. You know he's not. And he's not with a girl, either.”

He stood, still and silent, for a long time. “Then what is he doing, Jonas?”

I
HURRIED HOME—THE RAIN
had stopped, but it was bitter cold—and opened the door to a dark, quiet house. I was glad my parents hadn't waited up for me. I slipped upstairs, took a shower, and then lay down on my bed, trying to make sense of what had happened. Every time a car drove by, I jumped up hoping to see the Subaru.

Around two I fell asleep, but I was awake again at four. I got out of bed and went downstairs and out into the street. The rain had stopped, but it was freezing out; it almost felt as if it might snow. I walked to Levi's house, hoping to see the car in his driveway. Nothing. I did the same thing again at six. I was sound asleep at seven thirty when my dad shook me awake. “Jonas, are you okay? Were you in an accident?”

“No, no. I'm fine.”

“So where's your mom's car?”

 

Ten minutes later, my dad was angrily punching numbers into the telephone. “Who are you calling?” I asked.

“The police. Which is what you should have done last night.”

“He's not drinking, Dad.”

“Fine, Jonas. I believe you. But he's in some kind of trouble. Once I report the Subaru as stolen, the police will look for him.”

An hour later I told my story again, this time to a Detective Wanda Brockman, a large black policewoman who took notes as she fired questions at me.

“We've got no reports of any accidents anywhere in Puget Sound involving a Subaru,” she said, when the questions ended. She was looking at my dad and mom and totally ignoring me. “My guess is that the boy is probably passed out on the side of some road somewhere.”

“You don't know Levi,” I said, heatedly. “There's no way he's drunk.”

She looked at me, and her eyebrows went up. “And you don't know how many times I've heard that.” She sighed. “Give me his address. I need to talk to his parents.”

I told her the house number. “It's down the street. Should I come?”

She shook her head. “No, you stay here. This is my job, not yours.”

When she left, my mom looked hard at me. “Is something going on with Levi? Some problem that might make him pack up and leave?”

I stiffened. “No.”

She stared at me. “Jonas, are you keeping something back? Some secret? Because if you are—”

“There's nothing.” As I spoke, I forced myself to look her in the eye, even though every part of me wanted to look away.

 

The hours crawled by. I kept looking out the window, hoping to see Levi pull up in front of the house. I ate lunch before calling Celia. “Have you told anybody about the car and Levi?”

“No. Is he back?”

“Not yet. Listen, don't tell anyone, okay?”

“I wouldn't do that,” she said.

“I'm sorry. I'm just . . . I don't know.”

After I hung up, I grabbed my basketball and headed to the Good Shepherd Center. I didn't feel like shooting around, but I was too nervous to stay in the house, and I couldn't think of anything else to do.

As I tossed up shots, my mind burned with questions.
Where was Levi? What was he doing? When was he coming back?
Was
he coming back?
I had no answers, but I knew what was behind it all. Levi was gone because he knew I'd make him talk about Hartwell.

I trudged home, ate some dinner, went upstairs, closed my door, turned off the light, and just lay on my bed, wanting time to pass. Around seven thirty I heard a knock on the door. I hurried downstairs to see Rachel stepping into our living room. My mother motioned for Rachel to sit on the sofa, and then she left us alone. I sat next to Rachel, and she took from her purse a sheet of paper that had Levi's picture at the top with the word
MISSING
underneath.

“My mom and dad want me to make fifty copies and put them up around the neighborhood. I was hoping maybe you would help.”

“When are you putting them up?”

“Now, I guess.”

“I think we should wait a little longer, at least until tomorrow. I have a gut feeling that he'll be back soon.”

“Okay.” She paused. “I didn't mean what I said about him drinking and being with a girl.”

“I know you didn't.”

Her head dropped; her voice got small. “Jonas, I'm scared. What if something terrible has happened?”

“Nothing terrible has happened,” I said, and then I hugged her the way I'd seen Levi hug his little sisters.

After Rachel left, I dragged myself back upstairs to my dark room. Once she posted those flyers, word would be everywhere. There'd be an article in the newspaper.
MVP Disappears!
Everyone would think Levi was crazy or a thief or both. He had to come back, and soon.

And then, suddenly, I knew where he was.

I fumbled through my wallet, pulled out the card of the police detective, and punched in her number. She answered on the first ring, and I quickly identified myself. “Levi Rawdon is at Kachess Lake,” I said. “He's hiking on one of the trails. He loves the mountains; that's where he's most at home—it's a spiritual thing for him. I'm sure he's there, or almost sure.”

“Okay, Jonas,” she said, her voice business-like. “That sounds plausible. I'll call the ranger station up there. I'll get back to you if I hear anything.”

“Detective Brockman, he was just wearing sweats. If he's out on a trail—”

“If your friend is out on a trail, they'll put together a search team to find him. But you're way ahead of yourself, young man. You've got
if
s piled on
if
s piled on
if
s. Wait for some facts.”

After I hung up, I went downstairs. My dad was working at the Blue Jay, but I told my mother about the trail up at Kachess Lake. “You might just be right,” she said. I caught her looking outside. The rain had started again, and rain in Seattle meant snow in the mountains.

“It rained last night too,” I said. “And it was cold.”

“There's a wool blanket in the trunk of the Subaru, and also one of your dad's sweatshirts. Remember, Levi knows the mountains. He knows how to take care of himself.”

Back upstairs I checked my e-mail—there was one from Coach Richter with the subject heading:
Congratulations!
I didn't even open it. Around eleven I switched the light off, lay back on my bed, and closed my eyes. I kept my cell phone on the table next to me in case anyone called.

The next thing I knew, my dad was shaking me. “Jonas, wake up. They found Levi.”

I sat up, completely alert. “At Kachess Lake? Was he there? Was I right?”

“He was there,” he said, his voice strangely choked and thick.

“I knew he would be there. I was really starting to worry. That's great.”

“No, no, Jonas. No. You don't understand.”

“You said they found him.”

My father put his arm around my shoulder, and I could feel him shaking. “They found his body. Levi is dead, Jonas. Your friend is dead.”

I
WENT DOWNSTAIRS, SAT ON THE SOFA
, and drank a cup of tea that my mother made for me. I don't really like the taste of tea, but that night it didn't taste at all—it was just hot, and the heat felt good going down. When I finished the tea, I stepped outside the house and walked out into the street. Down the block, the lights in Levi's house were on, and two police cars were parked in front. I wanted to go to his house and hear what was being said, but I wasn't part of his family. I shuffled into my own home and was about to head up to my bedroom when a car pulled into our driveway. Within a minute there was a firm rap on the door.

It was Detective Brockman. “I don't have much time,” she said, and then she told us what she knew. The Subaru had been where I'd thought it would be. Levi had gone up on the same trail we'd hiked in the summer. He was wearing a sweatshirt and sweatpants—no jacket, no sweater, and the temperature had dropped into the teens. “He wandered off the trail. Over a foot of snow fell Saturday night. Had he made himself some sort of shelter, he might have lived, but wearing what he was wearing . . . out in the open . . . he had no chance. The medical examiner will do a blood test to see if alcohol or drugs played a part, but it'll be a few weeks before the results are back.” She paused. “I'm very sorry. What a terrible, terrible tragedy.”

 

I didn't go to school Monday morning, but somehow my mom found out that there would be an assembly at eleven, and once I heard that, I had to be there. I arrived at Harding just as it started. Word of Levi's death must have gotten out, because kids were quiet as they headed into the gym, and they looked away when they saw me. I wanted to find somebody on the team, but it wasn't until I was inside the gym that I spotted Cash. “Do you think he was drunk like people are saying?” Cash whispered.