فصل 16

CHAPTER 16

REUNION

AIDAN, HAVING ROUNDED ONE CORNER and then another, was running hard on a side street, glancing back, pondering his next move. His plan had been to head back to the train station and catch the next train to Princeton. But things had changed. The police wouldn’t be able to hold the big guy who’d been following him—after all, he hadn’t done anything wrong. And if he was a P.I.—which Aidan was pretty sure he was—he’d tell the cop that Aidan was a runaway. Then the police would be after him, and they’d be watching the station.

He thought maybe he could take a bus to Princeton. The question was, which bus? And where to catch it? He was passing a Harley-Davidson shop. Glancing inside, he saw a wide, bearded man with many square feet of tattoos talking to a man dressed head to toe in black leather, wearing a red bandana.

Aidan went in. “Excuse me,” he said. The men turned toward him. Aidan wondered if he was making a mistake.

The wide man, his voice a growl, said, “You look a little young for a Harley.”

“I, um,” said Aidan, his voice cracking, “I was just wondering, what’s the best way to get to Princeton?”

The wide man tugged at his beard. “Well,” he said, “there’s the train.”

“Right,” said Aidan. “I was just looking for something…” —he paused, frantically trying to think of an excuse for not taking the train—“…faster.”

“Really,” said the wide man, amused. “Faster than the train.”

“Yeah.”

“Well, then,” said the wide man, “if you want fast, you could maybe hitch a ride with Tommy here. He’s heading up that way right now, delivering a part. You up for a rider, Tommy?”

Tommy looked at Aidan. He had a lean, sun-baked face and a hard expression. But when he spoke, his voice was surprisingly soft.

“Happy to take you, kid, if we can find you a helmet.”

“Seriously?” said Aidan. “On a real Harley?”

“I don’t drive the imaginary ones,” said Tommy.

In half an hour—one of the most exciting half hours of Aidan’s life—he was climbing off the Harley at the doorstep of the Princeton town library. He thanked Tommy and went inside, where, after a few minutes, he found Sarah at one of the computer stations, typing away. He walked up quietly behind her and tapped her on the shoulder. She emitted a small scream—drawing disapproving stares from other library patrons—then, seeing who it was, jumped up and wrapped Aidan in the kind of warm embrace she normally reserved for dogs.

“Easy!” said Aidan, disentangling himself.

“Sorry!” she said. “I’m just…”

“Happy to see me?”

“Incredible as it seems, yes.”

“Yeah, me too, with you. No more splitting up.”

“Agreed.” She attempted another hug, but he fended her off.

“Now what?” he said. “Where’s our guy?”

“I’ve done some Google mapping,” Sarah said, nodding toward the computer. “His office is on the Princeton campus. It’s a little ways, but we can walk.”

They set out from the library, Aidan filling Sarah in on his escape from the big man and his Harley ride. They reached the Princeton campus and, following Sarah’s handwritten map, made their way along pathways, past well-manicured lawns and old brick buildings.

“I really, really hope this guy can help us,” said Aidan.