Read Dangerous Dana (A Suspense Thriller) Page 5

The weekend is now over. It is Monday morning. Dana is inside her apartment, getting ready to leave for work. The telephone rings. Dana picks up the telephone and says, "Hello?"

  Missy, who is on the other end of the telephone, says, "Hi Dana. It's me Missy. Dana could you do me a favor please? Could you pick me up real quick and drop me off at the school? I'm running late!"

  "Okay Missy. I'll be in front of the house in a little while. I'll beep the horn and wait for you outside."

  "Okay Dana! Thanks!"

  Dana hangs up the telephone. She grabs a light jacket and leaves her apartment.

  Around 15 minutes later, Dana pulls up in front of her grandparents' house. Missy hurries outside the house. She goes and hops into Dana's car. Dana then pulls off.

  Dana drops Missy off at an elementary school in Jamaica, Queens where Missy works. Missy opens up the car door and tells Dana, "I'll see you later Dana. Thanks again."

  "Okay," Dana says as Missy gets out of the car. Missy closes the car door. She waves goodbye to Dana as Dana pulls off.

  Missy goes near the school entrance and meets up with Raymond, one of her co-workers. Raymond, a stocky 37 year old male who is fair complexioned with brown wavy hair and a mustache, smiles at Missy and says, "Hello."

  Missy then sees Raymond's girlfriend Kathy, who is fair complexioned with short dark brown curly hair, staring angrily from a distance. Missy asks Raymond, "Does Kathy still think that there is something going on between me and you?"

  "Yes she still does Missy. I keep telling her that you and I are just friends and co-workers! She still doesn't want to hear it."

  "You know she needs to stop being so insecure."

  "I know Missy, but somehow she sees you as a threat. I tell Kathy time and time again that there is nothing going on between me and you, absolutely nothing!"

  "Well it's obvious she doesn't trust you Raymond."

  "Well maybe she doesn't trust you Missy."

  Missy looks at Raymond. She and Raymond then go inside the school. Kathy continues to stare angrily from down the street.

  Dana continues to drive. She then stops her car in front of Teresa's building and sits there. Teresa soon leaves her apartment building and approaches Dana's car. They then drive off to work together. They soon reach their job at the stockroom department in Long Island City, Queens. They both stay at the job, working all day inside the stockroom with around 20 other employees.

  The work day is now over. Dana and Teresa leave their job at the stockroom department. They hop into Dana's car and drive off.

  Around an hour later, Dana pulls her car up in front of her grandparents’ house with Teresa. Diane D comes out of the house and approaches Dana's car. Once Diane D gets inside the backseat, the three women start to head off.

  It is a few hours later. It is getting dark. Dana, Diane D and Teresa finish shopping. They bring out their bags of merchandise and walk back to Dana's car. They put all the bags into the trunk. Dana then closes the car trunk. She, Teresa and Diane D all hop back into the car and start to head for home.

  After Dana drops Diane D and Teresa off, she drives into her neighborhood and parks her car. After she parks her car, she gets out and takes her bags and packages. She starts to walk towards her building. As she is walking towards her building, a black male around his mid 20's walks past her. As he walks past Dana, he tries to snatch her bags! He grabs a hold of Dana's bags and tries to run off with them, but Dana does not let go! She holds tightly on to her bags! The fellow continues to grab onto Dana's bags as she holds tightly onto them, refusing to let go! Suddenly, Dana kicks the guy real hard in the groin! As the guy bawls over in pain, a second guy, a taller black male in his mid to late 20's comes out of nowhere and knocks Dana down to the ground! He grabs Dana's belongings and runs off! The first guy hurries behind him and they both run off very quickly with Dana's bags and belongings! Both guys run off and disappear into the distance!

  Several witnesses, who had seen what happened to Dana, quickly run over to help her as she gets up! They anxiously ask her, "Are you alright Miss?" They start to hold on to Dana! Dana tries to break away from the witnesses' hold so she can go after the guys and get her belongings back! The witnesses continue to hold on to Dana, telling her, "It is too dangerous to go after those guys Miss! You should go make a report of this incident to the police!"

  "I WILL GO MAKE A REPORT OF THIS TO THE POLICE, IF YOU WOULD JUST LET ME GO," Dana angrily shouts as she desperately struggles to break free from the witnesses' hold! She finally breaks free from the witnesses' hold, which almost causes her to fall! She quickly catches her balance and runs off quickly after the guys! The witnesses watch Dana stunned! Dana continues to race off very fast! She then approaches the street corner and stops! Her face is red with anger as she looks her head around for the guys! She does not see the guys or know where they are or know where they had ran off! She doesn't think that the guys could have gone off too far yet, so she hurries back to her car!

  The guys continue to run as fast as they can! They get tired and start to slow down. They decide to take a rest. They go and rest behind a bush. The first guy who Dana had kicked in the groin area painfully holds on to himself as they both sit, trying to catch their breath! The second guy asks him, "Are you alright?"

  "I sure hope so! Boy that woman gave a mighty hard kick," the first guy says as he painfully continues to hold on to his groin. He then asks, "So what did you get?"

  "Let's see," the second guy says as they start to go through Dana's belongings, trying to see what they can find. They take a few things out. They then rest for about a half-hour. Afterwards, they decide to go and start walking again.

  It is now dark. Dana drives around in her car, looking for the guys. She doesn't go to make a report of the incident to the police; she just drives around, waiting to find the guys.

  As Dana drives for almost an hour, she later spots the same two guys walking down a street. She stops her vehicle at a far distance away from the guys, where they can't see her! She quickly gets out of her car with a screwdriver in her hands and goes around her car to her license plates! She quickly unscrews the license plates and takes both plates off her vehicle! She quickly puts the license plates inside her car! Then she gets back inside her car and starts up the engine! She starts to drive up slowly down the street, watching the guys. She drives up little by little, following the guys. The guys are about to cross the street. They do not see Dana's car. As the guys walk across the street, Dana puts her car into high gear! She then races and speeds right towards the guys! She slams her vehicle right into the guys, flipping one of them high into the air! Dana continues to speed off as the guy lands on the pavement! Both guys lay in the street! Blood is everywhere! A few people start to hurry towards the scene! They are all hysterical as they start to surround the injured guys! The people then look and see the hit-and-run vehicle continuing to speed off into the distance!

  The police soon arrive! They question some of the witnesses and ask them did they see anything! They ask the witnesses, "Do any of you know who ran the guys over or why? Or do any of you know what kind of car it was or what color it was? Did any of you get a license plate number or did any of you see who the driver was?"

  One of the witnesses tells the police, "No. We do not know who ran the guys over or why! We do not know what kind of car it was or what color it was! We didn't see who the driver was! We did not see any license plates on the car! The vehicle did not have any license plates on it!"

  The police are stunned.

  "We didn't see one," the witness continues. "The car had went by so fast that we didn't even have time to find out what type of car it was! It's too dark outside to tell what color the car really was, but it looked either dark blue or black from the back of it!"

  The police start to search and put out a manhunt for the hit-and-run vehicle!

  Dana quickly but carefully drives her car halfway across Queens! She finds an isolated area and pulls over! She gets out of
her car and goes to the trunk. She opens up the trunk and takes out some plastic gloves, some rags and some cleaning fluids. She puts on the plastic gloves. She then goes to the front of her car and starts to clean the blood stains off her car!

  After Dana finishes cleaning her car off, she throws away the bloody rags! She then takes off the plastic gloves and puts them and the cleaning fluids back into her trunk! She screws the license plates back on her car. She closes up the car trunk and gets back into her vehicle. Then she drives off again!

  Dana goes into a residential area and parks her car. She gets out and walks away from her car, leaving it there. She decides not to use her car for a while, figuring that there might be a police hunt for it. She goes to a pay phone and calls for a cab. She then hangs up the phone and waits for the cab. After around several minutes, a cab arrives. Dana hops into the back seat and closes the door behind herself. The cab then pulls off.

  The cab driver, a South American male around his mid 40's, drives Dana back to her part of town. As the cab arrives to Dana's part of town, it goes into her neighborhood. It goes down the street where Dana had ran the two guys over! The cab goes down the street, going the opposite direction of the scene! As the cab is going down the street, the cab driver sees a heavy crowd of people! He sees police cars everywhere! He sees a couple of ambulances! The driver decides to slow down to take a look at the scene. As the cab driver is looking at the scene, he sees a body lying in the street covered with a bloodied sheet! He stops the cab and stares at the scene in shock! Dana stares at the scene also! She also sees a body lying in the street covered with a bloodied sheet! She realizes that she has killed one of the guys!

  After a few minutes, the cab driver continues to stare at the scene. Dana looks at the cab driver and asks, "How long are you going to sit here, sir?"

  "Oh I'm sorry Miss! I didn't mean to keep you waiting," the cab driver says as he starts to drive off again. He then says, "What a horrible scene that was, wasn't it?"

  Dana looks at the cab driver as she leans against the back seat, not saying a word. She then looks straight ahead, showing no emotions.

  The cab driver soon reaches Dana's building. Dana pays the cab driver and gets out of the cab. She then walks to her apartment building as the cab pulls off. As the cab driver continues to drive, he sees more police cars scurrying towards the scene!

  Dana enters her building. She goes through the lobby and sees a neighbor named Mark who lives in her building. Mark, a male black around his mid 30's, says hello to Dana as she walks pass him. Dana does not speak back to Mark. She just continues to walk towards the elevator, going about her business. As she walks to the elevator, Mark continues to stare at her. Dana soon reaches the elevator and enters it.

  A couple of minutes later, Dana is at her apartment door, which is on the 4th floor. When she unlocks her apartment door, she goes inside and sees Tony standing there waiting for her. She gives him a sinister stare. Tony asks her, "Where've you been?"

  "I was at the police station all night! I had my bags snatched!"

  Tony becomes hysterical and shouts, "WHAT! YOU HAD YOUR BAGS SNATCHED?"

  "Yeah."

  Tony grabs Dana by the shoulders and hysterically shouts, "OH MY GOD DANA! ARE YOU ALRIGHT? DID YOU GET HURT?"

  "I'm okay Tony, I'm okay. I didn't get hurt."

  "NO?"

  "No."

  "WELL WHAT HAPPENED DANA? HOW DID IT START?"

  "Well, I had just came home from shopping with Diane and Teresa. I parked the car and started walking towards the building with my bags. As I was walking towards the building, two punks came out of nowhere and snatched my bags! Then they just ran off and disappeared! I don't know where they went after that! I went and made a police report of it and I was stuck at the damn station all night!"

  "YOU WERE?"

  "Yeah."

  "WELL, DID THESE GUYS GET ANYTHING, LIKE ANY VALUABLES OR ANYTHING ELSE?"

  "Well, they didn't get any of my keys. I had all my keys in my jacket pocket."

  "Oh that's good! COME ON DANA! I WANT TO LOOK FOR THESE GUYS! LET'S GO FIND THEM," Tony angrily shouts as he pulls Dana towards the front door!

  Dana quickly stops Tony and tells him, "No that's okay Tony! I made a police report of it already! The police are going to handle it and take care of everything! Let's just stay in! I'm kind of tired and I want some rest."

  "ARE YOU SURE DANA? ARE YOU SURE YOU'RE ALRIGHT? BECAUSE IF THOSE GUYS HURTED YOU IN ANY KIND OF WAY, THEY BELONG TO ME!"

  "I'm alright Tony! I'm okay! I didn't get hurt! I just need to lie down and rest for a while that's all."

  "ARE YOU SURE NOW?"

  "Yeah I'm sure Tony. I'm alright."

  "Okay then Dana. You know I was so worried about you when you didn't come home. I was wondering where you were! I had called up your family. They said they haven't seen or heard from you yet! Then I called up Diane and Teresa. They both told me that you all had gone shopping together and that you had dropped them both off! They both told me that they thought you would have been home already, but I told them that you hadn't arrived home yet." Tony then grabs Dana again and starts to hug on to her very tightly. He gives a sigh of relief and says, "Well anyway Dana, thank God you're okay." He continues to hold on to Dana very tightly as she gives a sinister look straight ahead towards the bedroom behind him, not saying a word.

  A couple of hours later, the police and the ambulance are still at the accident scene. A heavy crowd is still gathered. The victim's body is placed inside a body bag on a stretcher. The stretcher is then put into an ambulance. After a while, the ambulance takes off with the victim's body.

  The next morning, Dana gets up extra early and is about to leave her apartment. Tony stands near the kitchen and asks, "Why are you leaving so early?"

  "Oh I want to stop by a few stores before I go to work."

  "Alright then."

  "I'll see you later."

  "Okay Dana," Tony says as Dana walks out of the apartment.

  A few minutes later, Dana walks out of her building. She goes to a pay phone and sees her neighbor Mark standing on the sidewalk staring at her again. She ignores him and gets on the phone to call for a cab.

  After a short while, a cab arrives. Dana goes to the back door and hops into the cab. As the cab pulls off, Dana could still see Mark watching her. The cab then takes Dana halfway across Queens. The cab soon pulls to a curb and stops. Dana pays the cab driver and gets out of the cab. She walks a few blocks to where she left her car. It is still there. Dana goes to her car and unlocks the door. She gets inside the car, turns the engine on and pulls off.

  Dana drives back across Queens. She pulls her car up in front of Teresa's building and waits for a while. Teresa soon comes out of her building and approaches Dana's car. Once Teresa gets inside the car, Dana pulls off and starts to head for work.

  As Dana and Teresa are driving heading to work, Teresa turns to Dana and asks, "Hey Dana, did you hear on the news about a hit-and-run accident that happened last night, not too far from where we live?" Dana stares straight ahead. Teresa then says, "I heard it on the news this morning!"

  "Oh really?"

  "Yeah!"

  "I didn't hear about it. I didn't have the TV or radio on this morning. Did the news get any more information about the accident?"

  "Yeah! They said that a dark colored car had ran two guys over on the boulevard and just kept going! The news said that one of the guys had died right at the scene and the other guy is in the hospital in critical condition!"

  "Oh yeah?"

  "Yeah!"

  "Did they say which hospital the other guy is in?" Dana turns her head and looks at Teresa.

  "I'm not sure," Teresa says. "But I think they said it's some hospital across town!"

  Dana turns her head back and looks straight ahead as she continues to drive.

  When Dana and Teresa arrive to work, they go into the stockroom and hear their co-workers talking about the hit-and-run incident
that they had heard on the early morning news. Dana and Teresa hear the co-workers talking about that one of the hit-and-run victims had died at the scene and the other victim is in the hospital in critical condition. Dana doesn't say a word to anyone that she was involved. She just keeps her mouth shut about the incident.

  The head boss, a male white around his mid 40's with light brown hair named Wallace Smith, soon walks into the stockroom. He tells the employees that he had heard the news of the hit-and-run incident also. He says, "So far, the police have no suspects nor any motive."

  Later on that day, Tony calls up Dana's grandparents' home. Dana's mother Christine, who had come up for a visit from Jamaica a couple of days ago, picks up the telephone and says, "Hello?"

  "Hello," Tony says. "Who is this, Christine?"

  "Yes. Is this Tony?"

  "Yeah! Hi Ma! How are you?"

  "Oh I'm alright Tony! How about yourself?"

  "Oh I've been okay Ma!"

  "Good! How's Dana?"

  "Oh Dana is doing fine for now!"

  "Dana is doing fine for now?"

  "Yeah."

  "What do you mean Tony?"

  "Well Dana had gotten her bags snatched last night!"

  "WHAT!"

  "Yeah! Dana said that she had gotten her bags snatched right after she had come home from shopping with Diane and Teresa! Dana said that when she was walking towards the building, two guys came out of nowhere, snatched her bags then ran off!"

  "OH MY GOD TONY! IS DANA OKAY? DID SHE GET HURT?"

  "Dana is okay Ma. She didn't get hurt."

  "WELL THANK GOD! WHY DIDN'T DANA TELL ME ABOUT THIS?"

  "I guess she didn't have time to tell you about it yet or she probably forgot! She probably didn't want to worry you about it either."

  "WELL DID SHE GO TO THE POLICE? DID SHE MAKE A REPORT ABOUT THIS?"

  "Yeah! Dana said she had went to the police station and made a report of it last night! That's why she came home so late! She said she was stuck at the police station all night!"

  "SHE WAS?"

  "Yeah!"

  "Well, at least she's okay!"

  "Yeah that's true. Okay Ma, I gotta run now! I just wanted to call you all and let you all know about it!"

  "Well thanks for calling about it Tony!"

  "No problem Ma. I'll be talking to you."

  "Okay Tony. If you see Dana before I do, tell her I want her to give me a call, alright?"

  "Alright Ma. I will."

  "Thanks Tony. You take care now."

  "Alright Ma. You too. See you later." Tony hangs up the telephone.

  It's been a couple of days now. Christine has not heard from her daughter Dana in a while. She has been trying to call Dana back and forth for a while, but does not get any answer. Whenever Christine finally gets an answer, Tony is always on the other end of the telephone. He would never know where Dana is.

  After a while, Christine gets concerned. That evening, she decides to make a telephone call.

  Diane D is inside her other grandparents’ Margarita and Tomas’ mansion as the telephone rings. She picks up the telephone and says, "Hello?"

  "Hello Diane! It's me, Aunt Christine!"

  "Oh hi Aunt Christine! How are you?"

  "Oh I'm okay Diane! How about yourself?"

  "Couldn't be better!"

  "Oh yeah? That's good! Hey Diane, I just wanted to know, have you seen Dana lately?"

  "No Aunt Christine, I haven't. I haven't seen or heard from Dana since a couple of days ago. She told me then that she would meet me over here this evening, but she didn't show up yet. I don't know where she's at right now."

  "No?"

  "No."

  "Well did you hear that Dana had gotten her bags snatched a few days ago?"

  "Yeah, she told me! She had told me and Teresa about it the day after it happened! She told us that it happened right after she had dropped us both off from shopping together! She said that when she was walking to her building, two guys came out of nowhere, snatched her bags and then ran off! Dana said she didn't know where the guys ran off! She said that she just went to make a police report about it and was stuck at the station all night!"

  "Yeah, that's what Tony told me."

  "Oh Tony told you about this?"

  "Yeah! He told me about it a couple of days ago! I haven't seen Dana since he told me about it!"

  "No?"

  "No!"

  "Well Aunt Christine, I wish I could tell you where Dana is right now, but I can't. I don't know where she is."

  "Oh that's okay Diane. If you see or hear from Dana anytime soon, please tell her that I called, alright? Tell her that I'm still at Grandma and Grandpa's house."

  "Okay Aunt Christine, I will! I'll stop over there and see you a little bit later okay?"

  "Okay Diane. I'll be here. See you later."

  "Okay Aunt Christine. Bye now."

  "Bye." Christine hangs up the telephone. She then calls up Teresa. Teresa is inside her apartment, listening to old Motown music as the telephone rings. She turns down the volume, picks up the telephone and says, "Hello?"

  "Hello Teresa! This is Christine, Dana's mother!"

  "Oh hi Christine! How are you?"

  "Oh I'm feeling okay Teresa! How about yourself?"

  "Oh I'm feeling alright Christine!"

  "That's good!"

  "So what's new Christine? What's happening?"

  "Well Teresa, I was just wondering where Dana is! I haven't seen or heard from her since Tony told me that she had gotten her bags snatched!"

  "Oh Tony told you about what happened?"

  "Yes! He told me everything! Teresa I just wanted to know, have you seen or heard from Dana today?"

  "Yeah! I was with Dana today!"

  "You were?"

  "Yeah! I rode to work with her this morning and we had rode back home together! She had dropped me off, but I don't know where she is right now!"

  "No?"

  "No."

  "Okay Teresa! If you see or hear from Dana anytime soon, could you please give her the message that I called? Tell her that I'm still at her grandparents' house!"

  "Okay Christine, I will."

  "Thanks a lot Teresa! I'll talk to you later okay?"

  "Okay Christine! By!"

  "By now." Christine hangs up the telephone.

  The next day, Christine decides to unexpectedly drop by Dana's apartment. When she arrives there, she is stunned to find two policemen standing right outside of Dana's apartment door. Christine asks them, "What's going on here? My daughter and her boyfriend live there! Why are you here?"

  One of the police officers, a stocky built black male, asks Christine, "Is your daughter's name Dana Brown?"

  "Yeah. Why?"

  "Well we had found some of your daughter's belongings with her information on it, on the dead hit-and-run victim! We had wanted to return her belongings to her and were trying to get in touch with her before, but couldn't reach her! We want to question your daughter Dana about what was the dead hit-and-run victim doing with her belongings!"

  "Dead hit-and-run victim? What dead hit-and-run victim?"

  "The two guys that were ran over on the boulevard several evenings ago! The ones that were reported on the news! Did you hear about it?"

  "I heard a little bit about it, not much! You mean that dead hit-and-run victim that was on the news had my daughter's belongings on him?"

  "Yes! It was found on his body! We want to know whether your daughter knew the victims or not!"

  "Oh I don't know! I don't know who the victims were! I don't think I've ever seen any of them before in my life! I don't know whether or not my daughter knew them! I don't know where my daughter is right now! I have not seen or heard from her in a while! What was the dead hit-and-run victim doing with my daughter's belongings anyway?"

  "We don't know ma'am, that's what we're trying to find out. If you see or hear from your daughter Dana anytime soon, please have her come down to the stati
on. Tell her to ask for Officer Jones alright?"

  "Alright, I will."

  The policemen start to walk away. Christine says, "Oh I'll take my daughter's belongings now."

  "No, that's okay ma'am! We would rather for your daughter to come down to the station and pick up her belongings herself. Have a nice day ma'am."

  Christine stares at the police as they leave.

  After the police leave, Christine starts to think to herself. She starts to remember on the news the color of the car that she had heard was involved in the hit-and-run accident. The color of the hit-and-run vehicle was either dark blue or black, the color of Dana's car! Christine starts to panic inside knowing her daughter's violent temper, she gets scared. She does not know what to do. She does not know what to say. She does not know whether to tell someone! She does not know whether she should mention it to anybody what she is thinking, or just keep her mouth shut. She just stands there frightened and worried! She starts to wonder how far will her daughter actually go to hurt somebody? Christine starts to leave from in front of Dana's apartment door. She turns back around and sadly stares at Dana's apartment door. She then goes into the elevator and leaves.

  After a short while, Christine reaches back to her in-laws, Gracy and Mike's house. She goes inside and heads upstairs to one of the bedrooms. She goes inside the bedroom and sits at the edge of the bed. She buries her face in her hands and begins to cry. No one sees her. She starts thinking to herself, "It was never said what make or model the hit-and-run vehicle was. The news just said that it was a dark blue or black car! Hey, that could be any car!"

  Later on that afternoon, Dana and Teresa are both riding home from work together on the highway in Dana's car. Dana is wearing her dark brown leather jacket as Teresa wears a blue jacket. Teresa turns to Dana and asks, "Hey Dana? Did you call up your mother yet? She is very worried about you."

  "Yeah I know. I tried to call her at my grandparents' house earlier today but nobody was home. Let me try to call there again."

  "Okay," Teresa says as Dana heads for the highway exit.

  Dana soon exits her car off the highway. She reaches a local street and drives her car a couple of blocks to a pay phone. She stops her vehicle, gets out and walks to the pay phone. She gets on the pay phone and calls up her grandparents' home. Christine picks up the phone and says, "Hello?"

  "Hello Mom?" Dana says. Dana finally speaks to her mother.

  Christine gets excited to finally hear from her daughter Dana again, after several days! She says, "Hey Dana! How are you?"

  "I'm okay Mom."

  "You are? Good! I'm so glad to hear your voice Dana! I've been so worried about you! Where've you been? Tony had called here and told me about your bags being snatched!"

  "Yeah he told me he mentioned it to you."

  "He did!" Christine then tells Dana about the police. She tells Dana about the police being at her and Tony's apartment door, looking for her! Christine then says, "Dana the police had found your belongings on the dead hit-and-run victim! You know, the hit-and-run victims that were on the news! You heard about it right?"

  "Yeah I heard a little about it."

  "Dana, did you know who the hit-and-run victims were?"

  "No I didn't Mom."

  "Were your belongings on the dead hit-and-run victim the same belongs that were snatched from you?"

  Dana starts to lean against the phone booth and say, "I don't know Mom. All I know is that my bags were snatched by two punks that came out of nowhere! Then they ran off with my belongings and I didn't see or hear from them again! I don't have any idea whether or not they're the same people who got ran over."

  "No?"

  "No."

  "Well anyway, the police want to speak to you Dana. They want you to come to the station to pick up your belongings in person."

  "Okay Mom. I'll go down to the police station after I drop Teresa off. Then I'll pick up my belongings."

  "Okay honey. When you go down to the station, make sure you ask for Officer Jones, okay?"

  "Officer Jones?"

  "Yeah. He's one of the police officers who was at your apartment door."

  "Oh yeah?"

  "Yeah."

  "Okay Mom, I'll ask for him." As Dana continues to lean on the pay phone speaking to her mother, Teresa suddenly comes behind Dana as she looks towards the street. Dana noticing Teresa's presence slowly turns her head to the side and looks at Teresa, giving Teresa a mean stare. Teresa looks away from the street and looks at Dana. She sees Dana giving her a mean stare so she nervously and quickly says, "Oh Dana, some of the parked cars are getting tickets!" Dana quickly turns her head around and looks towards the parked cars as Teresa tells her, "I think you better move your car before you get one!"

  Dana sees a parking attendant putting tickets on the parked cars behind hers. She quickly tells her mother, "Look Mom, I have to get ready to leave before I get a ticket. Some of the parked cars behind my car got tickets already. I don't want to be next."

  "Okay Dana, I'm gonna let you go. I'll see you later, okay? I love you."

  "I love you too Mom. See you later."

  "By Dana."

  "By Mom." Dana hangs up the telephone. She quickly leaves the pay phone with Teresa following right behind her. They both go to the car and get inside. Dana starts up the engine and quickly pulls off!

  Dana drops Teresa off home. She then heads for the police station. She arrives to the police station and speaks to one of the officers, asking for Officer Jones.

  After a few minutes, Officer Jones arrives. He brings Dana into his office. He sits Dana down in front of his desk and starts to talk to her and question her. He tells Dana that her belongings were found on the body of one of the hit-and-run victims. He shows Dana two pictures of the two hit-and-run victims. He then asks, "Did you knew any of these two hit-and-run victims?"

  Dana looks at the pictures. She then says, "No. I've never seen any of them before."

  "No?"

  "No."

  "Well, how did the dead victim wind up having your belongings on his body?"

  "I don't know. I was walking home to my building after I had gotten off the bus. I was minding my own business when all of a sudden two guys came out of nowhere and snatched my bags! Then they ran off and disappeared! I didn't see them anymore after that!"

  "Your bags were snatched?"

  "Yeah!"

  "Well are any of these two guys the ones who snatched your bags?"

  Dana looks at the pictures again and says, "I don't think so. None of them really look like the two guys. I mean it happened so fast, I didn't have time to see their faces! But from what I can remember, I don't think that any of these guys were the ones who snatched my bags! Maybe they were friends of the guys who snatched my bags, I don't know! Maybe the guys who snatched my bags caught up with these guys later on and they all looked through my belongings together!"

  "Oh yeah?"

  "Yeah."

  "Now Miss Brown, tell me from the beginning. How did it get started?"

  "I just told you! I had just gotten off the bus! I was walking home to my building, minding my own business! As I was walking to my building, two guys came out of nowhere and snatched my bags! I didn't know these guys! I've never seen them before in my life! They just snatched my bags, ran off and disappeared after that! That's all that happened! I never saw or heard from the guys again."

  "Hum. Miss Brown, do you have or own a car?"

  "No! I just told you my bags were snatched, after I had got off the bus! Why would I be taken the bus, if I had or owned a car? No, I don't have nor own a car, but I'm looking to buy one."

  "What did you do right after your bags were snatched?"

  "I went straight home!"

  "Was anybody home with you?"

  "No. I was alone."

  "Why didn't you report that your bags were snatched?"

  "I didn't have time. I was too busy with my work schedule and everything."

  After O
fficer Jones finishes questioning with Dana, he hands Dana back her belongings. He then says, "Okay Miss Brown. You may leave now. I'll look more further into this." Dana's mouth goes towards the side of her face as she gives Officer Jones a cold stare. She gets up from the chair. Then she turns around and starts to leave his office.

  A couple of weeks later, Christine starts to head back home to Jamaica, West Indies. She arrives to Kennedy Airport with her children Sammy, Missy, Londa, Robert and their father David. David and the children all walk Christine to the departure gate. Christine hugs and kisses each of her children goodbye. She then hugs and kisses David goodbye. She then goes through the departure gate.

  After Christine goes through the departure gate, she turns around to David and the children and says, "I'll call you all when I get down there! See you all later!"

  "Okay Christine. Bye," David says. Christine then turns back around and starts to walk away. David and the children continue to watch Christine as she walks away down the corridor.

  Chapter 5

  The Near Accident