Chapter 27

Steve was working on the car that Soda had left for him when taking off to go find Sara. He was glad that the pumps had slowed down some so that he could try to get caught up on the repairs in the garage. Dally was there still and had helped with a select few fill ups. Of course the car load of girls was the only ones he was helping out with, but hell Steve took the help either way. It was better than getting even further behind than he already was. The two were talking back and forth about neighborhood stuff when they heard the bell ring at the pump. Dally and Steve both looked over and noticed the familiar black Cadillac. Steve crocked his eyebrow up and flashed Dally a smirk. "You want that one, or should I?" Dally just returned Steve's smirk. "Not today Dal. If you're itching for a fight take it somewhere else." Steve warned. "I don't have time for this shit today. On second thought why don't you just keep your smug ass on that stool and I'll go fill it up."

"Hey man, I'm not looking for a fight today. I've been a good little boy. I'm keeping my nose clean. Plus so isn't he. He just got outta the joint. I don't suspect he's looking to go back anytime soon." Dal said flipping out a cigarette. Steve turned and started to head out to the pump when he noticed that Dally was gonna light up.

"Hey Dal, outta of the garage if you're gonna light up. You know the rules." Steve waited to see if Dally was going to listen, and by gosh he did, so Steve headed out to the black Cadillac as he approached he heard the driver holler over.

"Hey Greaser, we gonna get any service around here or what?" Steve threw the driver a smirk and waved him off.

"I'm coming, jeez give me a break; I'm running the show all by myself. What you want a fill up?" Steve asked.

"Nah, just two bucks worth." The driver got out of the car and was leaning against the pumps watching Steve. He was looking around and noticed Dally hanging out by the bay doors. He gave the boy a nod with his head and then looked back towards Steve. "Where's Curtis?" Now if it was someone else Steve would know better to keep his trap shut about the Curtis family, but he knew that this guy would keep everything he told him under wraps.

"He had to leave early. Family emergency."

The driver crocked his right eyebrow up to question Steve. And in a deep country voice he asked, "Is that right now?"

"Yeah, the youngest is giving them a little bit of a hard time here of late." Steve was giving out just enough information to explain why Soda was absent but not to many specific. The specifics were for inner gang members only where the information would stay.

"So, I've heard. What's she done now?"

"Oh, my guess is she ran off. Pony says she disappeared, but I'm guessing after the whoopin' she got last night from Darry, she got pissed at him and took off."

"Interesting. You think she went on foot or does she have a bike?"

"I don't know, foot maybe." After Steve answered he did remember that he had seen Mr. Curtis teaching her last summer to ride. "Come to think of it she could be on her bike; she has a little pink one with a white basket on the front." By this time Dally had made his way over to hear some of the conversation. It looked like his good ole friend was here for more than just a fill up. As Dal got closer the driver acknowledged his presence. "Hey there Dal. Haven't seen you around much. How ya been?"

"Fine, how long you've been out of the slammer?" Dal asked leaning up against the old caddy, nodded at the other guys inside of it.

"About a week, keeping my hands clean, until now that is."

"What makes you say that?" Steve asked putting the pump back. He reached over and took the 2.00 from the driver. "Well,you know because trouble just seems to find me where ever I go. I don't know why really, it just does." The driver said was a grin from ear to ear. "So where do you think Curtis is right about now?" The driver asked opening his door.

"I don't know. You can swing by their house. Two-Bit should be there waiting just in case the kid comes back."

"I don't think she's be coming back any time soon. She looked awfully determine." Now Dally had missed most of the previous part of the conversation but didn't take a liking to the last part he just heard.

"What the hell are you talking about Shepred?" Dally moved in grabbing a hold of Tim's black t-shirt. Tim quickly pushed Dally back away from him.

"The kid, I saw her just about 30 minutes ago she was head east on 11, she was in front of Wilson's field. I was drag racing with the oldest Parker kid, Louis and Parker started to lose control of his car and hit the Kid's bike. I was pretty sure that she had jumped down into the ditch. But after the race was over I wanted to make sure so I turned around and found her pushing her bike heading east. I didn't know that it was her at first. I thought it was just some random kid. But as I got close to her, I knew it was her. She tried to convince me that she wasn't who I thought she was, but she's no con artist. Plus Sodapop's old ball cap gave it away. You know the one he used to always wear, the red and white one with the T on it? But I knew for sure when I was pulling away and she made the mistake of looking into my eyes. She has Mrs. Curtis's eyes. You know those eyes that you'll never forget."

"Yeah, well, you'll never be forgetting Darrel Curtis' fist either if you don't get over there and tell them where you saw Sara." Dallas threated Tim.

"Cool down, Dal. I'm making my way over there right now. I'll catch up you guys later. Thanks, Steve." Tim jumped in his car and drove off in the direction of the Curtis' house.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Do you notice anything missing?" Pony asked Sodapop as he entered into Sara's room.

Sodapop let out a grunt. "I don't know how we could find anything anyway; she didn't do what Darry asked her too. The place is still a pigsty. How does one little girl make such a mess? This place was spotless yesterday for Mrs. Roberts' visit. What happen?" Giving the circumstances Ponyboy could help but giggle.

"You've got to be kidding? Soda you're worst then this. Have you checked out your side of the room?"

"Not lately. I've been good." Sodapop said moving closer to Sara's bed. He moved back some of the blankets and picked up her pillow. As he looked closely he did notice that something was missing. "Hey, Mr. Bear, he's missing. He's not here on the bed. Did you check out in the living room for him?"

"Yeah, he wasn't out there, and she still has here sneakers on because there not out there either." Pony moved closer to make sure that Sodapop wasn't missing anything. As Pony looked at the pile of things on her rug he noticed that those items belonged in her book bag. He glanced around the room to see if it was over in the corner where he had noticed it early. When it wasn't he ran out of the room and into the kitchen. He remembered her bringing out her lunchbox. But when he looked on the counter he noticed that it wasn't there anymore and beside the sink was the sandwich baggies, which he knew were not there before he got into the shower. He ran back into Sara's room where Soda was moving things around with his foot. "Soda! I think Darry was right. I think she ran away. Mr. Bear is gone, her book bag is gone, and her lunchbox. She had brought her lunchbox out to the counter before lunch. I found it odd, but she said that she forgot to do it yesterday. I figured with the whole Mrs. Roberts thing and then the spanking that it just didn't get taken care of. But she had this all planned out. She knew that I was getting in the shower and she knew that she would pack her lunch up, hence the sandwich baggies that she left out. She wouldn't make too much of a criminal, now would she? She left to many tracks behind."

"And you wouldn't a detective. Because if you would of noticed these things before Darry said something, then we might be a lot further into our investigation, there Perry Mason." At least the two boys were calm enough to be able to make a little light of the situation. As Soda was combing through the stuff on her rug, his foot hit the flier that Ms. Martin had handed Sara before she left school on Friday. Soda read the headline and let out a deep moan.

"What?" Pony asked moving away from her pile of books and over to the rug. Sodapop held up the flier for Pony to read.

"Oh, man. Do you think this is the reason why she ran off?" Pony asked as he reread the flier announcement.

"Could be, I doubt it's the only reason, but it could be one." Sodapop sighed and was about to throw the flier back down on the floor when both boys heard Darry's truck pulling into the yard. The boys moved to Sara's window and watched as Darry hopped out and moved quickly to the house, but it was at the moment that Ponyboy noticed something, something that was missing outside. "Darry!" Pony yelled out the window to get his attention. Darry stopped and look towards Sara's window.

"Is she here?" He yelled back, but by the time Darry had yelled, Pony was hauling it out the back door towards the shed. "Pony?" He questioned as he now saw Pony outside.

"Her bike, Dar? Her bike is it there in the driveway?" Pony asked running towards him. Darry didn't really know what Pony was talking about but he turned and looked slowly around the yard, he found no sign of Sara's bike. Pony had stopped in front of the shed and the bike wasn't there. "She took her bike Dar. I know she did. We got into a fight earlier about her wanting to ride her bike, and I wouldn't let her because I couldn't see her from where I was mowing the lawn. She got mad and said.." Pony's voice trailed off remembering their argument.

"What Pony? What did she say?" Darry pressed for an answer from Pony. By this time Sodapop, Johnny and Two-Bit had joined them from the house.

"What's going on guys? Another clue?" Soda asked coming up beside Darry.

"What did she say, Ponyboy?" Darry asked raising his voice with the request.

"I told her that it was Mom and Dad's rule that she can't ride her bike without supervision. She said that Mom and Dad weren't here so she could do so. I told her that it's still the same rule with you. And she got mad and upset and stormed off." Pony paused as he looked back over to the swing where she had stormed off to this morning. "I'm sorry Darry, I should of noticed the bike was missing earlier. Just like Mr. Bear, and her book bag and her lunchbox." Darry moved closer to Pony and flung his arm over his shoulder and pulled him in for a small hug.

"It's ok, Pon. Sometimes we miss things like this when we are in fight or flight mode. We'll find her. She couldn't of gotten far. Did you guys check the treehouse yet?"

"We did Darry." Two-Bit spoke up pointing to Johnny. "We went over to check after Soda and Pony got home. No sign of her, or that she had been there. But the next big storm we get and that thing is gonna fall completely apart. It's not safe for her to playing in that."

"She knows that. But thanks for checking. It was worth a try." Darry started moving towards the house while the rest of the boys followed. He grabbed his tool belt from the back of the truck and threw it over his back. He started walking towards the porch with the boys in line behind him. They filed through the front door and all started to take their spots in the living with the exception of Darry and Soda. Darry placed his belt down and started to move towards Sara's room looking for more clues. He stopped and placed his keys down on the counter and swiftly moved down the hall. He entered her room and couldn't believe what he was seeing. "I see that she's still in her mood. This place looks worse than it did this morning when I asked her to clean it up. I'm surprised you were able to notice anything missing." Darry moved further into the room and went through the same motions as Sodapop and Ponyboy had done before. He lifted her blankets up and pillows looking for Mr. Bear. He then went over to the pile of stuff on the rug and was rummaging through it. As he tossed useless items aside he picked up a few papers that were graded and half chuckled. "I can see she still needs some help with her math." He tossed the paper towards Soda who noticed a check minus on the top of the paper.

"Yeah, well that's not half of it. Look, I picked this up earlier from that same pile." Darry stood back up and took the paper from Soda. The instant he read the title on the flier he let out a low moan. "You've got to be kidding me. You think this might of drove her off too?" Darry read the informational flier again and carefully folded it up into a nice square and placed it in his back pocket.

"Who knows with her?" Soda said shrugging his shoulders. Darry brushed past Sodapop and headed back out to the living room calling for Two-Bit. "Ok, guys, so there are three us with vehicles. I say that we all split up and divide the town into three sections. We know that she's on her bike, so we'll be on the lookout for that. If you can think of any places that she likes or that you think she might go to then check there. We'll meet back here in an hour to regroup. Hopefully one of us will find her and this whole thing will be over by then." Darry looked from one boy to the other and he could read the same thing on all of their faces. "Ok, Ponyboy, you and Johnny go with Two-Bit, take the north side of town. Sodapop, take Steve's car and go to the west park of town, I'll take the east. We'll meet back here at three fifteen."

"BREAK!" Two-Bit said trying to add a little humor to a not so funny situation. Even though Darry was worried he couldn't help but place a small grin on his face as he slapped Two-Bit upside the head.

"You're a damn fool, you know that." Darry said shoving him out the door.

"I feel the love, Dar. I really do." Two-Bit said laughing as he jumped down the stairs.

"Pony, anywhere you can think of, look there, you hear?"

"Got it Dar. We'll see ya in an hour." Darry watched as the boys filed into Two's car and watch them drive off. Sodapop came out onto the porch and placed his hand on Darry's shoulder.

"Don't worry Dar, we'll find her. Just promise me that you won't kill her if you get a hold of her first?" Soda was smiling but a part of him was also being serious.

"Maybe I should of kept Ponyboy with me then, to help hold me back."Darry tried to joke back, but was honestly thinking he should of kept Pony with him. Soda started to descend the stairs when Darry called out to him. "Sodapop?"

"I will Dar. Stop worrying. I have some places I think I'm gonna look first." Darry stood on the porch and watched as another member of his family left in hunt of their little sister. He was ready to leave when he reached into his pocket to get his keys, but only found some loose change. He checked his other pockets but only found the flier that he had placed there a little bit ago. He moved back into the house checking all the places where he would have set them down. Finally when he came into the kitchen he noticed them on the counter. He swooped in and grabbed them and headed out the door. As he was moving towards the truck he noticed a black caddy coming to a stop in front of the gate. Darry stopped to see what they wanted. Tim steppede out and sauntered over to Darry.

"Hey Dar. Look at us, meeting like this two days in a row. Kind of like old days, huh?"

"Sorry Tim, I don't have time to sit and reminisce about how it used to be. I've gotta get going." Tim stepped in front of Darry to get his attention. "C'mon Tim, I've got a family emergency on my hands. I don't have time for this." Darry tried pushing Tim aside, when Tim firmly placed both on his palms on Darry's chest and stated.

"I know, that's why I'm here. I think I can help." Tim said sternly.

"How?" Darry snapped.

"It's a long story, but if I was you I would head east on 11. I saw the Kid pushing her bike going east. I stopped but she refused to get in. She's wearing jeans, a long sleeve blue shirt and has Sodapop's old Tulsa hat, the red and white one he used to wear all time. I don't know where's she heading to, she wouldn't give up any information, but thought that you would like to know."

"That sounds like her, but what the hell would she be doing on 11? There's nothing out that way except for some farm lands." Darry said scratching at his head in hope that something would come to him. Darry looked back up at Tim who was still standing in front on him. "Thanks, Tim. I just wished you had shown up five minutes earlier. I just sent Two-Bit and Soda out to look other places."

"Well, if I see them, I'll let them know. Good luck, Dar." Tim walked past and got back in his caddy and took off going in the opposite direction. Darry quickly jumped into the truck and took off in the direction of 11. As he was driving things started making sense. Of course she would head out on 11, it was in the opposite direction of everything, and everyone that she might run into. The kid was truly getting too big for britches, and to smart. She probably laid awake all night planning this out. Darry wanted to go fast in hopes to get to her quicker, but knew if he went to fast he would be taking the chance of missing her. So once he got out onto 11 he pulled the truck over and placed his flashes on and crept along the side of the road scanning every inch of the road, the shops, the yards, houses, fields, and everything he passed on the way. He was bound and determined that he would be the one to find her. He was the one that drove her away; he would be the one to bring her home.