Cooper By The Gross (All 144 Cooper Stories In One Volume)

by Bill Bernico

  Matt stepped inside, closing the door behind him. On one wall stood a small sink with a mirror above it. Perpendicular to the mirror was the window that looked outside. Across from the sink Matt noticed a flat wall with a small ring embedded into it. He hooked one finger into the ring, pulled and a bed came down, held by two chains. Matt felt the mattress with his hands before sitting on the edge of the bed. His own bed at home was much more comfortable, but still, this wasn’t too bad for being in a train car.

  Matt turned, locked the door to this compartment and returned to the bed, slipping out of his shoes. He sat on the edge of the mattress and swung his legs up; wanting only to get a sense of how soft it was to lie on. He fluffed up the pillow under his head and stared at the ceiling for a moment before closing his eyes. Before he realized it, Matt was asleep.

  Matt had no idea how long he’d been asleep, but when he opened his eyes, the room wasn’t nearly as bright as it had been at noon. He glanced out the window and into the black night. Matt swung his feet over the side and sat up, rubbing his eyes. He slid off the bed and back into his shoes before stepping up to the sink and splashing a little water on his face. He straightened his shirt out, brushed a little lint off his slacks and unlocked the door to this compartment. Matt hurried back the way he’d come, not anxious to walk past Roy and his forty-four dollar a gallon chocolate milk.

  As Matt exited the sleeper car and stepped into the dining car, he shot a quick glance at the bar and noticed that Roy wasn’t standing behind it. Another man in white was there instead. His name tag said ‘Bill.’ Matt kept walking through this car and the next two before getting back to his own seat. He settled in and yawned. Something made him look up and he soon noticed that he didn’t recognize any of the other passengers that were there when he first took his seat. Could he be in the wrong car? Did he go through too many cars and sit in the wrong seat?

  Matt felt under his seat for his suitcase. He found it right away. This was his seat, all right, but what happened to all the other passengers? He glanced out the window and noticed that the train was going through a mountain pass. Matt glanced at his watch for the first time since he’d left the sleeper car. It was nine forty-five. This train had been scheduled to stop in Flagstaff at eight-thirty. Oh shit. He’d slept through his stop. He slapped himself in the forehead and laid his head against the window. He had to find the conductor and arrange to be let off the train at the next town, whether the train had a scheduled stop there or not.

  Matt got to his feet and started walking toward the back of the train. He’d just come from the front and hadn’t run into the conductor. He must be in one of the cars behind him. There were four more cars behind the one Matt was in and he walked through all four before he found the conductor sitting in one of the seats talking to another railroad employee.

  “Excuse me,” Matt said. “What is the next town on this route?”

  The conductor looked up at Matt and said, “That would be Winslow, sir.”

  “Does this train stop in Winslow?”

  The conductor nodded. “Indeed it does.” He checked his watch. “We should be pulling into the station in approximately eight minutes.”

  “Thanks,” Matt said. “Do you know if they rent cars at the station or anywhere nearby?”

  The conductor looked over at the other railroad employee, who nodded and looked over at Matt. “You can get one right at the station,” he told Matt.

  “Thank you both,” Matt said. “How far is it from Winslow to Flagstaff?”

  The conductor stood now and looked at Matt. “Just under sixty miles,” he said.

  Matt nodded acknowledgment and walked back to his car.

  A few minutes before ten Matt could feel the train begin to slow down. He looked out his window and could see city lights ahead. That had to be Winslow. A few minutes later the train whistle blew just before it rolled to a stop at the station. Matt grabbed his suitcase and hurried back to the end of his car. He wanted to be the first one off when the doors opened. A short while later Matt stepped off the train and hurried into the station to find a rental car.

  He chose the lowest priced car they had; a Toyota Corolla sedan with eighteen thousand miles on it. He gave the clerk his credit card, signed the papers and slid behind the wheel. He found the onramp to U.S. Highway 40 and in no time realized that he was traveling the old Route 66. Somehow that seemed comforting as the miles whizzed past his window.

  Then he remembered Leo Cooper, who would have been waiting for him at the Flagstaff train station. Matt dug his cell phone out of his pocket and flipped it open, laying it on the seat next to him. Keeping one eye on the road, he fished the slip of paper from his pocket that held Leo’s number on it. He picked up the phone and did something that he usually cursed other drivers out for doing—he temporarily took his eyes off the road and dialed Leo’s number. The phone rang eight times and still no one answered. Matt checked the number on his slip of paper again and redialed it. Still no one answered. Was Leo the kind of guy who didn’t keep his cell phone on?

  Matt closed his phone and continued driving. With any luck at all he could be in Flagstaff shortly after eleven. He must have been going faster than the speed limit because he could see the lights of Flagstaff already and it was only ten-fifty or so. He took the exit marked ‘Train’ and headed north. It took just a minute or two more for Matt to realize that something was terribly wrong. All he could see ahead of him were dozens of flashing red lights. Traffic on the highway had come to a standstill and police were diverting traffic back the way they’d come, allowing drivers to cut across the median strip and head south again.

  Matt turned around and drove south on Milton Road and exited onto Route 40 before pulling over to the side of the road. He pulled his cell phone out and tried Leo’s number again. This time a man answered.

  “Hello?”

  “Hello, Leo?” Matt said.

  “Who is this?” the voice said in a stern, no-nonsense tone.

  “This is Matt Cooper. Who am I speaking to?”

  “Mr. Cooper,” the voice said. “This is Officer Marver of the Arizona State Police. Are you related to Leo Cooper?”

  “No I’m not. What’s going on, officer?”

  “I’m afraid there’s been an accident,” the cop said. “That’s all I can tell you at this time.”

  “But what about Leo?” Matt said.

  “Sir, you said you’re not related to Mr. Cooper so I can’t release any information until his next of kin has been notified. I’m sorry. I really have to go now.”

  The dial tone sounded in Matt’s ear and he closed the phone. This didn’t sound good. Surely if Leo was all right, the cop would have told Matt. He had no sooner laid his phone the passenger seat than it rang. Matt scooped it up and flipped it open. “Hello?”

  “Matt is that you?” Elliott said. “Are you all right?”

  “Dad,” Matt said. “Of course I’m all right. Why shouldn’t I be?”

  “Haven’t you been watching the news?”

  “I haven’t been watching anything,” Matt explained. “I’m still in the rental car. I missed my stop at Flagstaff and had to ride on to Winslow. I rented a car there and came back to Flagstaff but I can’t even get close to the station. What’s going on, Dad?”

  “It’s been all over the news, even here in Hollywood,” Elliott said. “All they know at this point is that an eastbound train for Flagstaff jumped the track shortly before it got to the station and plowed into the station house. There were a couple dozen people sitting in the station when the engine came through the wall. Only one of them made it out alive—a ten-year-old boy who had wandered away from his mother and was far enough away from the point of impact. Gees, Matt I thought you might have been sitting in that station. You had me scared out of my wits.”

  “No, I’m fine,” Matt said. “But I have a strange feeling that Leo didn’t make it.”

  “Leo?”

  “Leo Cooper,” Matt explained. “R
emember, the guy I was supposed to meet here in Flagstaff?”

  “You think he was in the station at the time?”

  “Dad, I called his phone and a state trooper answered it. He asked if I was related to Leo and when I told him I wasn’t, he told me that was all he could say about it until he notified Leo’s next of kin.”

  “That doesn’t sound good for Leo,” Elliott said.

  “I’m afraid you may be right, Dad.” Matt paused momentarily. “Listen, Dad, I’m not coming home right away. I want to stick around for a while and see if I can find out a little more about this whole thing. I’ll probably see you late tomorrow or the next day.”

  “I don’t think you’re going to be able to take the train back home,” Elliott said. “It been shut down between Flagstaff and Kingman.”

  “Probably just as well,” Matt said. “I’m suddenly not feeling to good about trains. I’ve got the rental car. I could always drive that back to Hollywood.”

  “Just let me know what you find out and when you’ll be home and I’ll come pick you up at the rental office.” Elliott was silent for a few seconds before he offered, “I’m just glad you’re all right, son.”

  “Thanks, Dad. We’ll talk later.” Matt hung up and kept driving until he found a motel just off the highway. He pulled into the parking lot and killed the engine. Matt couldn’t help thinking about poor Leo and how he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Matt walked into the office and got a room for the night. After he finished signing the register he looked up at the man behind the desk.

  “Any idea what happened at the train station?” Matt asked.

  “Haven’t you been watching the news?” the clerk said.

  Matt shook his head. “I just pulled into town from Winslow. I haven’t seen a television yet. How bad is it?”

  “Oh, it’s bad,” the clerk said. “First report said there were twenty people killed. Then the latest report a few minutes ago put the death toll at twenty-six. I guess twenty-one of them were in the station at the time and the other five people were killed on the train when it hit.” The clerk took Matt’s credit card and processed it just as a breaking news flash came over the television set hanging above the clerk’s head.

  “This just in, latest reports now put the death toll at twenty-eight, making this the worst railroad disaster in Arizona in nearly eighty years.” the reporter said.

  Matt just shook his head, took the room key from the clerk and left the office. His room was three doors south of the office and was nothing special; just a bed, a dresser and a television bolted to the dresser. Matt laid his suitcase on the bed, locked his room and returned to his car. He wanted to see just how close to the train station he could get before he had to park and walk the rest of the way.

  Elliott and Gloria were watching television at home when their phone rang. Elliott glanced at the wall clock; it was nearly eleven and he wondered who would be calling at this hour. He was almost not going to answer it and then he remembered Matt. It could be him calling, so Elliott padded to the kitchen and picked up the handset from the wall phone.

  “Is this the Cooper residence?” a man’s voice said.

  “Look,” Elliott said, it’s too late for any sales calls and besides, we’re on the do-not-call list, so…”

  “I’m sorry,” the man said, “but this isn’t a sales call, I can assure you. My name is Leo Cooper.”

  Elliott paused, not sure how to react.

  “Hello,” Leo said. “Are you still there?”

  Elliott snapped out of his stupor. “Uh, yes, I’m still here. Did you say your name was Cooper?”

  “That’s right. I spoke to a Matt Cooper several days ago and we were supposed to meet in Flagstaff. I suppose you’ve been reading about the accident there.”

  “Yes,” Elliott acknowledged. “It’s been all over the TV news, too. But how… I mean, I thought you…”

  “A lot of people thought I was, that is, oh hell, it’s a long story. Short version is that I nodded off and someone stole my overcoat with my wallet in it. That poor schlep was the one they found in the rubble, thinking it was me. He also got my cell phone with Matt’s number in it, so I couldn’t even call him and tell him I was here waiting for him. I need to reach him. Could you give me his cell number?”

  “Sure,” Elliott said. “Hold on, will you. I’ll go get it.” Elliott set the phone down and walked over to his bedroom to get his cell phone.

  Gloria saw the strange look on her husband’s face and said, “Who is it, Elliott? You look like you’ve just seen a ghost.”

  Elliott held up one hand and kept walking back to the kitchen. He flipped his cell open and retrieved Matt’s cell number from the contact list. Elliott picked up the kitchen phone again and read the number to Leo.

  “Thank you, Mr. Cooper,” Leo said. “I’ll look forward to meeting you when I get to Hollywood.”

  Elliott hung up the kitchen phone, closed his cell phone and carried it back to the living room. He turned to Gloria. “That was Leo Cooper.”

  “But I thought he…”

  “So did I. It’s one strange set of circumstances and I’m sure we’ll get the whole story when Matt gets home.” He told Gloria about Leo nodding off and having his coat stolen and how that may have saved his life.

  She just shook her head. “Fate is the hunter, I guess.”

  “It’s one case where the old saying, ‘you snooze, you lose’ didn’t apply. Nodding off probably saved Leo’s life.”

  As Matt was walking toward the Flagstaff train station, the cell phone in his pocket rang. He stopped walking and fished the phone out of his pocket. “Cooper,” he said. When he finished talking to Leo he just stood there, dumbfounded. He ended the call by telling Leo the name of the motel where he would be. Leo agreed to meet him in twenty minutes. Matt turned around, walked back to his rental car and drove back to the motel to wait for Leo. He couldn’t sit still while he waited and chose instead to pace his room. Several minutes later there was a knock at the door and Matt stopped pacing. He stared at the door momentarily and then opened it. Looking in at him was a man perhaps in his mid-forties with thinning hair and a bit of a paunch.

  “Matt Cooper?” the man said, extending his hand. “My name is Leo Cooper.”

  Matt shook Leo’s hand and immediately pulled away. Something had pinched his finger. He looked at Leo’s hand and noticed a bulky, ruby red class ring with F.H.S. in black letters across the top. He figured it had to be from Flagstaff High School.

  “Oh, sorry,” Leo said, pulling the large ring off his finger and dropping it into his pocket. I always forget how sharp that thing can be.”

  He offered his hand again and Matt shook it. “Won’t you come in? Matt said.” He stared at Leo for a moment before adding, “Nope, I don’t see any resemblance.”

  Leo stepped over to the mirror above the dresser and looked at his reflection. “I see it,” he said. “Yup, I look like all the other Coopers I know, except for you.”

  “I’d ask you to sit,” Matt said, “but as you can see, they didn’t put any chairs in this room. How about if we go somewhere and get something to drink?”

  Leo looked at Matt. “I’m not really a drinker,” he said. “Never cared for the taste of any of that stuff. How about we go to the diner?”

  “That’s what I was thinking,” Matt said. “I don’t drink, either. Matt glanced at his watch. It was going on midnight. “Do you have an all night diner in this town? You’ll have to tell me where to find it if you’d like to go and talk. It’s your town.”

  “Come on,” Leo said. “You can ride with me. I know the perfect place.” He and Matt got into Leo’s car and drove in the opposite direction of the train station. Leo hiked a thumb over his shoulder. “That end of town is a mad house.”

  “Did you find out exactly what happened?” Matt said. “I mean with the train and all.”

  Leo shook his head. “That was a bad one. The train jumped the track just before it r
eached the station and plowed into the building. It was only going twenty miles an hour at the time, but it must have had tremendous momentum behind it, because the engine almost came out the other end of the station before it stopped. I would have been sitting right there, had it not been for some schmuck stealing my overcoat. I went outside to see if I could see anyone walking away with the coat, but whoever took it must have ducked into the station restroom. I was out in the parking lot when the train hit. The guy with my coat was found in the restroom sticking out from under a hundred sixty tons of engine.”

  “Ouch,” Matt said. “I don’t suppose it did your phone any good, either.”

  “That’s why I had to call your dad in Hollywood to get your number,” Leo explained. A minute later he pulled into a small parking lot in front of a diner. He and Matt got out and walked inside to find the place nearly deserted. He looked at the waitress behind the counter. “Are you still open?”

  “Sure,” she said. “Have a seat wherever you like. I’ll bring you a couple of menus.”

  Leo and Matt found a booth near the front window and slid in. The waitress came with two menus and two glasses of water. “I’ll give you both a minute to decide,” she said.

  “Where is…” Leo started to say.

  “Everyone must be trying to get near the train station,” the waitress said. “This place was nearly full before that happened. People are funny that way. They’ll hold their ears shut and look away when you step on a bug but those same people will rush to see if they can see any carnage at a major disaster like that one. Go figure. I’ll come back in a minute for your orders.”

  Leo and Matt sat looking at the menus, neither of them able to concentrate on ordering. Matt laid his menu down and looked over at Leo. “Do you know if anyone you knew was among the casualties?”

  “Nobody knows at this point,” Leo said. “It could be days before the list of people killed is released. I don’t think any of my friends were there at the time, but who knows?”