Gone at Zero Hundred 00:00 (3 page)

I whipped the pickup into an empty spot at the
curb, stepped out, dropped two quarters into the meter and rushed into the
café. The strong smell of coffee and the chatter of customers met me at the
door. It was booming with activity. Flat screen TV’s hanging from the walls
were turned on. Locals and tourists filled the booths and cluttered the bar as
the wait-staff hustled to keep up.

“Hey Syd,” a male voice boomed from a far corner.
Two of my pals, Jaden White and Cody Beck, sat in a booth with a group of
cheerleaders from our school. Jaden was the star who led Sutter Beach High
School’s hockey team to the championship two years in a row and ended up All-State.
Now, NHL teams had scouts pursuing him for the future.

I walked over to the table. “Hey guys.” Cody and
I tapped fists, something we’ve done since I was eight-years-old. I wasn’t pals
with the cheerleaders, so I just nodded to be polite. Cody was a wannabe
filmmaker, but helped me and my mom part-time at McSwain Investigations. Most
of all, he was known as a wisenheimer and flirt. The cheerleaders and ‘it’
girls of Sutter Beach usually hung on his every word.

Always the gentleman, Jaden stood up to offer me
a seat. “Wanna join us?” He towered over me at six-foot-four and well-muscled
arms. Poor guy was already huge his freshman year of high-school, only he still
carried some of his childhood flab around the middle. That changed when the
coach put him on a rigorous fitness regimen. He started lifting weights and
never stopped, probably a good thing too, because he was a human garbage
disposal who ate everything in sight. You’d panic if you ran into him in a dark
alley, until you got a glimpse of the cute dimples when he smiled. I know, hard
to equate cute with a big guy. But it’s true.

“No thanks,” I said. “I have to get my usual
before our final meet and greet in the gymnasium.”

He sat back down.  “So, are you going to
A.J.’s party after we put in the obligatory appearance with the family after
graduation?”

I shrugged. “My mom’s not too hip on the idea.
You know her and her rules.”

“You kiddin’, you can’t go?” Cody said, looking
bummed. “Your mom
loves
me. Want me to come over and sweet talk her?”

“She may love you, but trust you, not on your
life. You’re the flirt she constantly warns me about…” I followed it with a
teasing smile.

Cody and I have been pals since, like, forever.
But lately, my mom had been keeping a close eye on our friendship. She got it
in her head that Cody was interested in something other than being buddies, to
which I always laughed, hysterically. When you compared me, always in tattered
Levi’s and boots, to the eye candy consistently hanging on his arm, you’d think
it was a hoot, too.

“Syd, I’m hurt.” He draped his arms around the
cheerleaders sitting on both sides of him, pretty much proving my point, and
ultimately, putting huge smiles on their faces. “Your virtue is safe with me.”

Jaden rolled his eyes. “Dude, that’s because her mother
could hurt you. Really hurt you.” He turned toward me. “Maybe she’ll come
around.”

I shrugged. “Maybe.”

“No way,” Cody said. “That’s not like you.”

“What?”

“To give up that easy.”

“Who said I was giving up?”

“Hah, I knew it! So c’mon, spill it.”

“No way, it’ll jinx it.”

Jaden glanced at Cody. “Well, if she can’t go, we
could just go over and hang with her. Maybe play a little street hockey and hit
the
Redbox
for some movies. Do one of our all-night action marathons.”

“Abso-friggin-no-way,” Cody said, aghast at the
thought. “You get enough of hockey every day. If I have to miss out on my
graduation party, then we’d have to do something off the charts.”

Jaden smirked. “You did not just say
abso-friggin.”

“Is that even a word?” I added.

Cody shrugged.

“What do you consider off the charts?” I said,
although I had a pretty good idea.

Cody rubbed his temples, a clear sign he was
thinking and scheming. Then, a wise-ass grin spread across his face. “I can
film some new scenes and finish up that trailer for my YouTube channel. Yeah,
now that I think about it, let’s scrap the party altogether. Everybody will
just wind up shit-faced from too much celebrating, and the cops will be out
doing random checks. We can avoid all that. It’ll be sweet.”

The cheerleader to the right of Cody made a pouty
face. She obviously didn’t want them to miss the party.

Jaden and I looked at each other, and shook our
heads. Cody thrived on using us as his acting pigeons. He started his own
YouTube channel and posted trailers up for comments. In his spare time, he
hoped to complete a short film to send out to festivals for recognition. He
worked with my mom to help pay for the equipment, and his rent. Even though he
used a digital camera, he still liked to have all the top-notch equipment;
tri-pods, lighting, storyboard software, a green screen and of course, his
editing programs.

The cheerleaders started whispering to each
other.

“This’ll be great. Jaden, you can bring the ninja
equipment, since you have all the ski masks and Under Armour gear from hockey.
Syd, you’re in charge of the rope and rock-climbing gear, and those paintball
guns we used in the obstacle tournament. You still have those, don’t you? Then,
we’ll use the Firehouse as the location. No permit needed…Yep. It’ll be off the
charts.”

“Hold on, paintball guns?” I said. “My mom would
have a major cow if she found paint splatters on the property. The punishment
would be worse than if I defied her and went to the party.”

“They can just be for show. I can film the two of
you flying down a zip line off the roof, armed with weapons, like we planned in
the winter. We could do a few sniper scenes.”

“But no shooting…”

Cody shrugged. “Maybe a little fight scene on the
ground.”

“Forget it,” I said.

He laughed. “Alright, the fight scene can be
choreographed kickboxing moves.”

“Oh, that sounds cool,” one of the cheerleaders
piped in with a sing-song voice.

“Do you need extras?” the cheerleader to Cody’s right
asked, as she brushed her fingertips down his arm in a flirting manner. “We’re
on the gymnastic team. We know some
really hot
moves.”

The other cheerleaders bobbed their heads up and
down, all eager to ditch the party just to hang out with Jaden and Cody.

“What about it, Cody?” I said “Do you need
extras
?”
I said it in a sarcastic voice mocking the cheerleaders. I know. I was being
petty. So shoot me.

“Not a bad idea,” Cody said, more excited about
the prospect of filming than the attention he was getting from a bunch of
chicks. “The more babes, the better hits on YouTube.”

“Yeah, I’m sure that’s the motive.” I glanced at
Jaden and grinned.

“Suu-weet! Yep, we should just nix the party.
This new plan is much better.”

“Only if mom is okay with it,” I said. “Last
thing I needed to do was piss her off.” I know I spout off a lot, like I did
that morning at home. But, when it came down to it, I have been trying really
hard not to defy her. Okay, so that was an exaggeration, but I try not to push
things too far. She could easily toss my little behind out on the street.

“Do you do everything your mom tells you?” The
cheerleader sitting next to Cody asked. “I mean, how old are you, anyway?”

Cody gave the cheerleaders a patronizing look.
“Hon, her mom carries a gun, a real gun.”

What could I say to top that, even though I
really wanted to pop her? “Later,” I said.

“Give us a shout out later, Syd,” Jaden said.

As I walked away, I couldn’t help but notice the cheerleaders
didn’t look too happy with the attention Jaden and Cody were giving me. Too
bad. The three of us grew up together. Sure, we spat like brothers and sisters.
But, when it came down to it, we were pretty much inseparable.

I STEPPED to the back of a line of customers
waiting to place an order. While I waited, I did a little people-watching. It
was something my mom taught me how to do. She said, in order to be a good
investigator, you should always pay attention to the physique and mannerisms of
your subject. In case you ever need to describe them later, or pick them out of
a crowd. What was their nationality? Do they have any distinguishing marks, or
tattoos? Do they make unusual gestures? It was actually kind of fun, and a good
way to pass the time.

Like for instance, the cheerleader just to Cody’s
right. She was a blonde—but not a real one. Her makeup was airbrushed on to
hide all of her flaws. The pearly-white teeth were porcelain veneers, and the
smile and giggle that seemed to come so easily to her, were only for Jaden and
Cody’s benefit. I’m not jealous…really. I just have little patience for girls
who put on all that phoniness for the attention of a guy.

No, really. I’m not jealous.

When it was almost my turn, I heard a commotion from
the far corner where a group was crowding around one of the big TV’s.

“Hey Syd, isn’t that your mom, there on the
news?” Cody yelled a minute later.

I inwardly groaned. In the last two years my mom
was constantly seen on the news for a law enforcement matter she got involved
with. While doing surveillance on a city employee accused of gambling while on
the tax-payer’s dime, she stumbled onto evidence of another crime. When she
delved deeper, it resulted in the arrest of three high-profile individuals alleged
to be stealing from various pension funds for the city. It was huge. A lot of
employees almost lost their retirement.

So, what news-worthy action was she involved with
this time?

With dozens of curious eyes on me, I glanced
toward one of the TV’s. On the screen, at least a dozen patrol cars were
positioned in front of a middle-class home with their cherry tops flashing.
Uniformed officers were crouched behind the doors of their cars with their
weapons drawn. A local reporter - tuned into law enforcement scanners - already
had a camera on site, and was filming the scene as it played out.

My mom and Sutter Beach Detective, Ace Carter,
stood on the front porch with their guns aimed at the bare chest of a muscular
man wearing gym shorts and Nike running shoes as he opened the door.

Carter yelled, “Marty Cole, we have a warrant for
your arrest.”

Cole darted an angry look toward Anna, the person
responsible for him being arrested.

“You know the position,” Carter continued. “Down
on the pavement. Lock your hands behind your head.”

Cole glanced around at all the armed officers;
then reluctantly did as he was told. Anna kept her gun aimed at him, while
Carter read him his Miranda rights and cuffed his wrists behind his back. While
the cameras rolled, Carter hauled him to his feet and paraded him toward his
police-issued Dodge Charger parked on the street. He opened the back-passenger
door, lowered the prisoner into the back seat, and shut the door. Before he
stepped into the car, he gave a mock salute toward Anna.

The ticker tape on the bottom of the TV read:
In
an unusual turn of events, Investigator Anna McSwain assists law enforcement
personnel in the arrest of Marty Cole, an officer with the Sutter Beach Vice
Unit. Cole is another individual alleged to be involved in the pension fund
scam that McSwain uncovered earlier this year.

Anna slipped her weapon back in its holster, and
started down the path toward her own SUV, when…

POP – POP – POP – POP…

A sniper opened fire, and a round of bullets
ripped into her chest. She stumbled and faltered; then fell like a dead weight
to the ground.

It was immediate pandemonium at the scene. “Shots
fired! Shots fired!” an officer screamed at the top of his lungs. “Officers
take cover.” Uniformed officers took up defensive positions and scanned the
area for the shooter.

Detective Carter bolted out of the Dodge and
raced toward Anna, at the same time he tried to stay out of the line of fire.
“We’ve got shots fired!” he yelled into his radio. “We need medical here, now!”
He knelt down next to Anna, and checked her pulse. “McSwain, don’t you dare die
on me!” A few seconds later, he said in a somber voice, “Cancel the medical.
She’s gone.”