Ryan Ruiz: The Black Cadillac

Cody stared in the direction of the man and thought for a second, scared out of his mind. Tears fiercely dripped onto the ground. He ignored the Melvin’s crazy rant.

“Would you make me a deal?” the boy asked, shaking.

The man started laughing at Cody.

“Sure, kid, let’s hear your offer,” he said. “Your tears don’t affect me one bit kid, let’s hear your offer though.”

“Let Mandy go. I’ll take her place. She’s just an eight-year-old girl. You can have me,” Cody said, still trembling.

“You are something else, kid,” the man said with a laugh. “Still trying to be a hero. Why can’t every kid I take be like you? Now, you know I can’t do that, kid. It’s a great offer, it really is—but I can’t take it,” the man explained, still chuckling. Melvin’s laugh was creepy and sinister.

The man stepped out of the shadows and walked toward a sink nearby then turned on a light. He picked up a brown medicine bottle and a rag. With his eyes on Cody, he unscrewed the cap and poured some of the contents in the rag. Setting down the bottle, the man started walking toward Cody.

It was at that moment that Cody snapped out of his fear and reached into his pocket. He pulled out his black pocketknife and opened it behind his back. The man didn’t see it. Cody took a few steps away from Mandy, who watched hopelessly. The man started walking faster toward Cody, holding a rag in his hand.

“I’m sorry, kid. You should have kept to yourself. You have ruined my big plan, and now you belong to me,” the man said with anger in his voice.

The man lunged toward Cody, knocking him against the concrete wall face-first. A cut formed over Cody’s left eye from the wall. With the pocketknife still in his right hand, Cody turned his body and swung his hand toward the man. Cody sliced the man’s arm, and blood dripped to the floor. The man looked at his arm and then punched Cody in the chest area, and the boy fell to the ground. Blood dripped down right next to Cody’s head as he lay hunched over, gasping for air. The man reached down and pulled Cody’s hair up, making the boy look at him.

“Remember this face. This is the face that took you from your family. It will be the only face you will ever see again, kid,” the man said with more anger.

The man grabbed Cody and put the rag up to his face. The past few weeks flashed in the boy’s head. He quickly pictured his best friend running to get help. He wondered if the man knew Zach was connected with him. With drooping eyes, Cody looked over at Mandy and saw Olive’s face. His eyes slowly faded towards the back of his head. Just as Cody started to pass out, he heard a siren in the distance.

His eyes shut, and he fell asleep.

The man turned in the direction of the basement stairs with a look of disappointment. The man grabbed Cody and threw his sleeping body like a rag doll against the concrete wall next to Mandy’s mattress. There was a loud thud as Cody bounced off the concrete and lay passed out on the floor.

“Do you see what has happened? I thought we would be happy here. Don’t you like it here?” the man asked the little girl with a crazed look. The little girl just put her head down and cried.

His face was sweating and growing pale. He looked at his arm where he was sliced. The man walked over to the sink, put his arm under the spout, and turned the water on. Dark-red blood splattered all over the sink and poured out of his arm. He reached down to the floor where a sock was on the ground next to the dryer. He picked it up, wrapped it around the deep cut, and tied it off. He pulled down the sleeve of his flannel shirt to cover up his arm.

Suddenly, there was another quick loud siren outside and a pounding on the side door.

“Police! Open up, please,” said a loud voice.

“Crestwood Police, open this door please!”

The man walked up the stairs grabbing the wooden railing to help pull himself up, unlocked the side door, and opened the door halfway.

“Hello officers, how can I help you?” the man politely said.

“Sorry to disturb you sir, we received a call about a disturbance.” the first officer said.

“No disturbance here. Quiet as the night, officer.” The man calmly replied.

The officers tried to peak around the man. The second officer spoke,

“We have reason to believe that someone broke in to your house. Do you mind if we come in and inspect?”

The man looked at the police officers, then replied and chuckled, “Sure no problem. I assure you no one broke in my house though, I would definitely know that.”

“Well, let us just have a look, then we will be on our way.” the second officer suggested.

The man opened the door all the way and took a step back blocking the basement stairs. He motioned for the officers to go up to the kitchen. The officers entered the kitchen and looked around. The first officer glanced around towards the living room and the second officer motioned towards the breezeway room.

“Sir, do you mind if I look in this room?” the second officer asked.

“No, not at all, let me open that for you.” the man replied.

He unlocked the door between the kitchen and breezeway, then let the officer in. It was dark and the officer turned his flashlight on. Just as he started to shine the light towards the floor by the back door, the man spoke, “Hey guys, can I offer you something to drink?”

The second officer turned his head before he saw the mangled metal piece on the floor.

“That won’t be necessary, sir. We will get out of here and on our way. Sorry to disturb you like this.” the first officer said.

“Well, thank you for stopping gentlemen. You guys are great police officers, keep up the good work.” the man said reaching to shake the first officer’s hand.

The first officer gave a nice thorough handshake to the man and the man winced a little. The officer noticed, but didn’t say anything. Melvin walked the officers to the stairs to the side door and turned the light at the landing on. The second officer noticed something on the wooden railing going down the basement stairs. There were some blood stains on the top of the railing.

“Are you sure everything is okay here?” the second officer asked.

“Yes, everything is fine. You two have a good night.” the man replied as he opened the side door.

It was at that instance that a small cry came from the basement. With every ounce of energy, Mandy let out another cry. Still holding the door, the second officer turned and looked at the man. The man’s eyes had a different look to them. Melvin turned around and ran down the basement stairs. The officers stormed back in through the side door.

The man stumbled over to the bed Mandy was on and attacked her. He wrapped his hands around her neck and started squeezing.

“Hold it right there! Hold it!”

The officers rumbled down the basement stairs after the man.

“Sir, come back here!” said the second officer as he reached the bottom of the stairs.

The first officer followed right behind down the basement stairs and flipped on the light switch at the bottom. They saw the man choking a little girl.

“Freeze! Take your hands off her!” the first officer screamed. Both men had their guns drawn.

The man turned to look at them, still grasping Mandy’s neck. The man looked at the officers and smiled. Mandy’s eyes closed. The second officer took two shots at the man, one to the knee and one to the shoulder. The man fell to the ground and let go of the little girl. She gasped for air as she fell to the ground.

The first officer raced over to the man and restrained him. The second sprinted toward the girl.

“I need an EMT down here right away!” the first officer reported into his radio.