Although refreshing, another gust of chilly air made her shudder as she wrapped her arms around her shoulders. The thought of last night’s experiences weighed heavily on her mind. Witnessing the abduction of her best friend had thrown her into a near panic, but determination to rescue Sally pushed her into action. She had run full speed down the street to reach her car and managed to take off after the dark sedan carrying her friend, fumbling to fasten her seat belt in the process.
In her desperate attempt to keep up, she lost sight of them a couple of times as they raced through city streets, but miraculously, she found herself not far behind as they entered a major freeway. A hair-raising race ensued, which took her eastward out of town heading for parts unknown. As traffic thinned out, she decided to maintain a more discreet distance and even once exited the freeway, having made a metal note of the style of taillights of the car, and then quickly headed up the opposite on-ramp hoping her maneuver would somehow throw them off, assuming they may have been suspicious of being followed. Had she seen that done in the movies? It didn’t matter, and besides, this wasn’t the movies! This was real!
Hours later, however, and upon entering a small remote town hundreds of miles from home, Janet lost sight of the car and panic set in again. She circled back and drove through the few streets of the town just to be sure they hadn’t turned onto a side street. Exhausted from her vigilant all-night journey she had decided to park on a remote lane on the outskirts of town. Determined to catch only a quick nap and try to collect her thoughts as the eastern sky was barely beginning to show the very faint signs of an impending sunrise, Janet knew she needed to rest—at least for a short while.
So here she was, alone in some remote place, facing a brand-new morning, in addition to being grievously anxious and concerned for her friend. In other circumstances, it could have been a beautiful way to start the day and she might have actually been able to enjoy it. But the tension she was feeling kept mounting as she frantically tried to decide what to do next.
“Find food, that’s what I need to do next,” she spoke aloud. “And some gas for the car...then the Sheriff.” She drove into the little town looking for a gas station and a place to eat.
Cold Creek wasn’t very big. A tiny post office, a couple of miscellaneous stores, a run-down motel, a gas station with a small country store, and Rosie’s Café. Perfect, she thought to herself, pulling into the gas station and stopping at the single island with two pumps.
An older man stepped up to her car window offering to help. She was grateful for the assistance. “Nice day.” He smiled a wrinkled and leathery grin.
“Yes, it is,” Janet responded politely.
“You headed up north?” His question seemed innocent enough.
“Um, yes. Yes, I’m headed north,” she answered, not really knowing what to say to him. She really wasn’t interested in conversation at the moment. Her mind was filled with what-ifs and what-am-I-going-to-dos.
“You been traveling all night?”
“Excuse me?”
“You been traveling all night, is what I asked.” He was still grinning. There wasn’t anything necessarily sinister about him or his questions, but just the same, Janet was uneasy telling a stranger too much about her situation.
“Why do you ask?” she asked.
“Well, ’cuz I happened ta notice yer car parked over yonder as I drove in to the station this morning, that’s all.” He grinned again. “My name’s Andy by the way. I help Pete and Jake out around here sometimes.”
“Oh, well... uh... yes, I just needed to catch a few winks. I’m... uh... headed for my sister’s place up north.” She felt stupid telling such a goofy lie, but continued, “I got a late start yesterday and wasn’t able to get as far as I had planned.” It sounded plausible.
“You could'a stayed at the motel over there.” He pointed at the run-down place she had noticed a few minutes before.
“I know, but I didn’t need a room for long. Just a short nap.” She smiled politely and hoped he didn’t have any more questions. He gave her a quizzical look and finished filling her tank. She paid him and then pulled out onto the main street and continued on, except she didn’t really know where to go. Janet glanced in her rearview mirror and noticed the old man watching her drive away. “I guess I’m heading north then,” she muttered out loud then noticed Rosie’s Café and decided to stop for something to eat first.
Entering the café, Janet was told she could sit wherever she wanted, so she chose a booth by a front window where she could see the street. She was the only customer. The waitress came over and offered her a menu.
“Just passin’ through?” the waitress asked abruptly.
“Yes.” Janet began looking at the menu.
“You look tired.”
“I am a little, yes,” Janet responded.
“Been driving all night?” Again with the questions, Janet thought sourly.
“Yes,” she replied, still looking at the menu. Geez, don’t these people have better things to do than poke around in other people’s private business?
“If you need some sleep, I can get you a good deal on a room at the motel next door,” the waitress offered.
“No thanks,” Janet finally looked up at the waitress. “I think I’ll have the breakfast special, please.” She smiled and handed back the menu.
“Sure thing.” The waitress scribbled on her order pad then walked away.
“Thank you,” called after her. Janet figured the woman was probably in her late middle fifties, having accumulated a few unwanted pounds over the years. Her pale pink uniform clung to every curve and was a little too short, revealing thick calves and spider veins. Her hair was a harsh bleached blonde, giving her skin a hard and sallow appearance. Deep lines and a leathery complexion revealed an obvious addiction to cigarettes and alcohol, likely adding years to her appearance in spite of heavy makeup.
Breakfast arrived a few minutes later. It smelled good and looked all right. The waitress set a glass of orange juice in front of Janet with a smile.
“I didn’t order orange juice,” Janet said politely.
“I know. I just thought it might taste good. It’s on the house.” She smiled back and gave Janet a wink.
“Thank you” was all Janet could manage to say surprised at the sudden kindness of the woman.
“My pleasure. My name’s Rosie. I own this place.” She glanced around. “So I can do what I want.” She smiled again and asked if Janet needed anything else.
“No, thank you. The meal is just fine and thanks again, for the juice.” With that, Rosie wandered off toward the counter, wiping a few spots from tables as she went.
Janet ate slowly and pondered her situation. She had no real idea where she was other than way out in the countryside and very far from home sitting in a small café completely alone and very worried about Sally. In fact, she was terrified for Sally, and the agitation she was feeling kept growing.
How on earth was she going to find her friend? Where had that car gone? What were they doing to Sally anyway? Why did they even want her? She hadn’t done anything to anyone. She liked people, was friendly, and fairly trusting—maybe a little too trusting sometimes—but even so, she wasn’t especially flirtatious, and she definitely wasn’t “easy.” Sure she was very pretty and had killer dimples, but all that was just natural for her as well as her friendly personality. And as for Prince Charming, who wouldn't be charmed by a handsome guy who simply asked her to dance?
Right now, though, she needed to think, but didn’t really have any idea what to think about. How could she possibly find Sally? Maybe she should just drive back home and call the police. But then they’d wonder why she didn’t do that last night. And with no real information to give them, what could they do? She didn’t know what that guy’s name was nor could she tell them the license plate of his car. In fact, she suddenly realized she might not have been following the right car aft
er all! Maybe they really did get away. Maybe they never really left town. My gosh! It wasn’t like that car was so unusual in any way. There are lots of dark blue sedans driving around. What if she had been following the wrong car? She started to cry silently as she sat staring out the window.
No longer hungry, Janet just stared down at her half-eaten meal and shoved the plate away, looking out the window again. She wiped her face and resolved to get control of her emotions. Yes, she decided, it was probably best to turn around and go back home, if she could even figure out how to do that.
Janet started to get up. Rosie came over and noticed the food left on her plate. “Aren’t you going to finish your breakfast, dear?”
“No. I’m not very hungry,” she replied. “It was very good though.”
“I could wrap it up for you, if you like. You could take it with you.”
“Well, okay. Sure. That would be nice, thanks.” Rosie headed for the kitchen to put the rest of Janet's meal in a take-out container.
While waiting for her to return, Janet stood staring out the front windows of the café. The town seemed quiet and peaceful. It was as if no one had a care in the world, but then it was still early. At that moment, two old guys came in and sat down at the counter. They each acknowledged Janet with a “howdy,” then picked up the conversation they obviously had been having when they first came in.
Janet didn’t pay much attention. She just kept staring out the windows, although she did overhear something said about a big “to-do” that was happening soon. Then suddenly she stiffened as she watched a dark blue sedan drive by, slowing down in front of Rosie’s as it passed her car parked at the curb. It picked up speed and continued on to the next lane turning the corner and disappearing from Janet’s view. She was sure two men were in the car.
Within minutes, the phone at the counter began ringing. Rosie had just returned with Janet's box then hurried to the phone to pickup the call. “Rosie’s Café,” she greeted the caller. Her side of the conversation was brief. “Yes, that’s right.” She glanced at Janet and smiled, then turned halfway and said something quietly to the caller, finally hanging up.
Janet suddenly felt uneasy and was anxious to leave in an attempt to find that blue car. “How much do I owe you?” She fished around in her bag for some cash and paid her bill. As she started to leave, Rosie called her back.
“Say, are you planning to stick around the area for a while? There are some interesting things to see around here.”
“No. I need to get going. But thanks just the same,” Janet responded politely then headed for the door.
“But there are some gold mines in the hills that tourists like to go see," Rosie called after her. "Are you sure you wouldn’t like to see one of them?” Rosie seemed somehow anxious for Janet to stay.
“No thanks. I’m not that interested in mines of any kind,” Janet answered back as she headed out the door. Suddenly her suspicions were becoming aroused. How odd it was that Rosie was so anxious all of the sudden for her to stick around...ever since that call. Janet quickly got into her car. Glancing up at one of the windows, she could see Rosie on the phone and pointing in her direction. Janet started her car and headed out of town—north.
Chapter 3