Barely Legal

96

David Ross’s cab pulled up at the corner of Herbie’s building. There was some sort of fracas going on across the street. Two police cars with lights flashing were blocking one lane, and passersby were gawking.

As David was paying off the cab Herbie Fisher came out the door of his apartment building and walked quickly down the street in the opposite direction.

David was tempted to jump out of the car and run after him, but some instinct told him that would be a bad idea. In a flash, David realized what it was. Herbie hadn’t paid any attention to the fight going on across the street. It was only normal to stop and watch, at least to see what was going on. Everyone else was. But Herbie hadn’t done that. It was almost as if Herbie had known what was going on.

What was Herbie up to?

As far as David knew, Herbie and his father were the only ones who knew his sister had been kidnapped. Herbie hadn’t told the cops, though he had high-placed friends on the force. And Herbie hadn’t told his father what he was up to. He was playing a lone game, and he wasn’t about to let David in on it. If David stopped him, all it would do would be inhibit the play.

“Hang on,” David said to the cabbie, “we’re going somewhere else.”