“Swing by that car wash, and the garage,” said Jupe.
Ty did. But the lowriders had disappeared.
“What do we do now?” Ty asked.
“Nothing,” Jupiter replied. “Not tonight. But tomorrow we figure out how to catch the thieves red-handed with the stolen cars.”
Jupiter was at the desk. “I’m sure now that Jake Hatch is boss of the stolen car ring. Proving it is going to be something else.”
They were silent as they thought about how to stop the gang of car thieves.
“I appreciate what you’re trying to do for me, guys,” Ty said slowly, “but this is an organized gang. They can be real dangerous. Maybe we better take what we have to the police. There’s a lot of money in this, and money means violence.”
“You think we have enough for the police to act on?” Jupiter said.
“Or even believe us?” Pete added.
Ty shook his head. “No, I don’t think we do.”
“Then we go on until we have it,” Jupiter said. “Am I right, guys?”
“Right,” Bob said.
“We go on,” Pete said.
“So,” Jupiter said, “we’re sure Tiburon and the Piranhas are transporting the stolen cars in the disguise of lowriders. And we’re pretty sure the Freeway Garage is where they take them. But we can’t jump Tiburon and his gang on the road, and we’ve already been to the garage and found nothing.”
Ty said, “If there’s a chop-shop hidden in that garage, they’re sure to have it set up so they can escape if the police break in.”
“Which means we can’t do much from outside,” Bob said.
“So we’ll have to get inside,” Pete said.
“That’s what I was thinking all night,” Jupiter said, nodding. “One of us must get inside the gang.”
There was another silence in the trailer. Bob frowned and looked worried.
“I don’t know, Jupe,” he said. “They’ve seen us a lot by now.”
Ty said, “They don’t know me that well. I can grow a mustache, use some disguise, and — ”
“Both Torres and Tiburon got a good look at you, Ty,” Jupiter broke in. “No, I think I’m the one.”
“Come on, Jupe.” Pete snorted. “You flattened Torres, and gave Tiburon a hard time at The Shack. They’ll remember you. No, the only one they haven’t gotten close to is me. It’s my job to get inside.”
The other three looked at one another.
“He’s right, Jupe,” Bob said.
Ty nodded.
“All right,” Jupiter agreed. “How do we go about getting you infiltrated?”
“Infiltrated?” Bob laughed. “Is that a word, Jupe?”
“It is now.” Jupiter grinned. Then he became serious again. “How do we get Pete into the gang?”
“I could apply for a mechanic’s job at that garage,” Pete suggested.
“Too risky and wouldn’t work,” Ty said. “If they are a chop-shop, they’ll only take on someone sent by someone they know.”
“A parking attendant’s job?” Jupiter suggested.
“Sounds like they only use that gunman,” Ty said, “and he’d probably get suspicious too.”
“What about the car wash?” said Bob. “That’s where Tiburon and his gang hang out. And car washes always need people to do the hand finishing with the rags. Pete could get close to Tiburon there and maybe work his way into the garage.”
“Yeah,” Ty agreed. “He could talk a lot about wanting to be a mechanic and needing big money. Then maybe show Tiburon how good he is with cars.”
“It could take forever,” Jupiter objected. “Unless… what if we sabotage Tiburon’s car in such a way that it’s really easy to fix but hard to see what’s wrong unless you know? Then Pete could fix it like magic and impress Tiburon.”
“I can pull a couple of wires underneath they’d never spot,” Ty said. “It might work.”
“I think it’s our best chance,” Bob agreed.
“We’d have to be sure Tiburon brought his car to the car wash,” Pete said.
“That won’t be a problem if it’s their steady hangout,” Jupiter said. “But infiltration could still take too long. We need a backup plan.”
“Like what, Jupe?” Bob asked.
“One of us rents a parking space in the garage for a week and hides in the car to watch what’s going on. It’s not as good as infiltrating, but we might spot enough to tell us where the chop-shop is.”
Ty said. “Who parks?”
“I’m busy all day with Sax,” Bob said, “and maybe with that beach party with the girls. I kind of promised them, and I’ve busted the promise twice already. Hey, Jupe, Ruthie really wants you to come.”
“Ty might lead the police to the garage and scare off the crooks,” Jupiter said hastily. “That leaves me, so I can’t go to a beach party. I’ll go and pick up my new car right now.”
“Wait a minute,” Pete said. “What if Torres and that guy with the gun are at the garage? They know you, Jupe.”
“If Torres is there I’ll have to get away fast,” Jupiter admitted. “I don’t think that Max guy really saw me. Anyway, there’s no one else. You’ll be taking a risk at the car wash, Pete.”
Pete gulped. “I guess we’re all taking some risk. Okay, I’ll head for the car wash and sign up to polish cars.”
“I’ll borrow a pickup and drive Jupe to his car,” Ty said. “And then I’ll watch Pete at the car wash from that Taco Bell you told me about. If the cops tail me, they won’t see me do anything except eat a couple of tacos.”
Jupiter reached into a desk drawer and took out money to pay for the parking. Then he stepped out to his workshop. He returned a moment later with mini walkie-talkies for the three of them.
“Pete had better put on a work shirt for the job and wear a bolo tie with the walkie-talkie in the slide. The range isn’t far, but Pete can talk to Ty. And I can report to anyone right outside the garage.”
They drove out of the salvage yard at the same time. Bob to Sax Sendler’s office. Pete to get a shirt and his bolo tie and go to the car wash. Ty and Jupiter to pick up Jupe’s new Honda.
“Meet you later at HQ,” Jupe told Ty after claiming his car.
Ty smiled. “Drive carefully now.”
Jupiter grinned like a kid with a new toy as he drove off on his first mission on the new wheels. The little car handled beautifully, cornering and holding the road and slipping in and out of small spaces like a snake. He drove the long way to the Freeway Garage just to enjoy his new car.
When he got to the garage, he honked in front of the doors.
Nothing happened.
After a few minutes he honked again.
A man stepped out through the small door inside the larger doors. It was the burly gunman, Max!
“Yeah?”
Jupiter swallowed hard to hide his panic, but the gunman showed no hint of recognition. Max really hadn’t seen him clearly the day before yesterday in the gloom of the garage parking floor. Jupe breathed deeply and smiled his best arrogant smile.
“I need parking for a week,” he announced.
Max turned away. “Got no openings.”
“Mostly I’ll be leaving the car here,” Jupiter went on as if he hadn’t heard. “But I will have to go in and out sometimes. Can that be accommodated?”
The man turned and looked back at him. “Get lost, jerk.”
The gunman went back inside. Jupiter sat in his new Honda and tried to think what to do. He had to admit finally he was stumped. If they wouldn’t rent him a space, there was nothing he could do about it. Glumly he drove back to the salvage yard. He hoped that Pete had done better.
No one was in the workshop or trailer. Jupiter munched guiltily on a chocolate bar from his secret stash as he waited. Then he decided that the grapefruit and cottage cheese diet just wasn’t right for him. He’d find a new diet. That made him feel a lot better. He went out to admire his car again. The telephone rang in the trailer.
“Jupe!” It was Ty. “Two guys just quit the car wash. They shoved rags in Pete’s hand, told him to start drying and shining!”
“What about Tiburon and the Piranhas?”
“Not here yet. I’ll stay and watch for them. How’d you do?”
“I didn’t,” Jupiter said gloomily. He told Ty about Max the gunman.
Ty snorted at the other end. “I don’t believe him. That guy just wants some money in his hand. Pick me up, we’ll both go back.”
“You mean he wants a bribe?”
“Sure, guys like that always expect a little ‘tip’ to give you a space. The guy who greases their palm the most gets the best spot. I’ll be right there.”
Jupe jumped back into his new Honda and drove quickly to the Taco Bell next to the car wash. Ty came out.
“Shouldn’t you stay and watch?” Jupe asked.
“Nothing’s happening, and this won’t take long.”
“All right, but you drive,” Jupiter said. “I’ll hide in back. When you leave, I’ll stay behind. Let’s go.”
Ty drove off with Jupiter on the floor in back and Jupe’s money in his pocket. He’d gone five blocks when he swore.
“It’s the cops again. A blue Aries this time, but I can spot them anywhere.” Jupiter heard him laugh. Then he began to talk to the police car. “Okay, boys, if that’s the way you want it. Hang on, Jupe.”
The car seemed to shoot off like a rocket. Jupiter clung to the bottom of the backseat. Ty drove like a cannonball. The car made screeching turns that flung Jupiter like a sack around on the floor of the hatch-back. But he wasn’t worried about himself.
“My car!” Jupiter wailed. “You’ll wreck it!”
Ty laughed. “Nah. It’s a tough little baby!”
Bruised and battered, Jupe listened to the little car creak and groan in violent turns and wild speed-ups. It bounced and rattled over bone-jarring bumps and ruts as if Ty were driving over plowed fields and railroad ties. Then it slowed down and stopped bouncing.
Ty laughed again. “Lost ’em. You okay?”
“I think so.” Jupiter groaned. “Is the car okay?”
“Perfect.” Ty chuckled. “We’re almost at the garage. Stay way down.”
Jupiter lay rigid as the car came to a stop. Ty honked.
Max the gunman came out again. “Yeah?”
“Need parking for a week,” Ty said.
“No openings.”
“You look like a guy knows how to be treated right. What’s the week in advance?”
There was a silence. Then, “Fifty bucks.”
“Hey, that’s only half what I figured. Let’s say a hundred. Got it right here. Cash.”
There was a silence, then Max spoke.
“I guess we can squeeze you in.”
The doors opened, and the Honda drove into the dim garage. It parked in a row toward the back.
“Okay, you’re in,” Ty said.
Jupiter groaned. “That hundred was all we had in the treasury.”
“It was the only way, Jupe. I’ll hitch back to the car wash and see what I can do to help Pete. Be back for you around five.”
Then Jupiter was alone in the gloom of the silent garage.
Now Max walked along the clear lane between the elevator and the first row of cars. All he had to do was glance left and down and he couldn’t miss Jupiter. In a matter of seconds he would look straight down the aisle where Jupiter crouched.
The leader of the Investigators lay flat on the dirty, greasy, oil-splattered concrete floor and rolled under the car. He watched Max’s legs walk past only a few feet from his head. The gunman paused, as if he were looking along the now empty aisle.
Jupiter breathed slowly and wiped the sweat and oil off his brow. It seemed like Max would never move on. His legs were so close that Jupiter could have touched them.
Then the small outside door opened, letting in a long shaft of late-afternoon sunlight.
“Yeah?” Max challenged instantly.
Ty’s voice loudly answered, “Hi. Just came to get my car.”
“Let’s see your ticket.”
“Right here,” Ty called out.
The legs disappeared. Jupiter waited a long minute, then rolled out on the other side of the car and peered over it. The gunman walked toward the front door, where Ty stood in the shaft of sunlight.
Jupiter stood and waved, then dropped low again to work his way through the silent rows to his car. He hoped Ty had seen him and would hold the gunman long enough for Jupe to reach the Honda.