11:03:36 PM

Sara’s parents had taken her home. The adults had confiscated her laptop and cell phone as well as Randall’s, and his parents had confined him to his room.

Dr. Reeves was on his way downtown to Chuck E. Cheese. This bought Randall some time, but not much. Randall had to get out of there, and do it quickly, if he was going to be effective in recovering Jason.

Randall checked his surroundings. There was not a lot he could use: A boombox, a TV, a Wii, which did have internet capability, but was so cumbersome to use that he didn’t even consider it.

Wait a minute! Randall’s parents had disconnected the handset to his landline, but they neglected the spare buried in his closet. The ringer was broken, but you didn’t need a ringer to dial out.

Randall dug out the phone and plugged it in. Now if he could just remember the number. Randall dialed (310) 597-3781. He heard a ringtone and the click of someone picking up.

“Hello?â€?

“Edgar,â€? Randall whispered, “Listen very carefully…â€?