Chance Of Rain (17 page)

It was damp and chilly, and Angel was strong and warm. I felt safe, and I melted into him. His shirt was freshly starched. It smelled wonderful, and I almost smiled when I thought how I was glad I was wearing waterproof mascara so I wouldn’t ruin it.

“What’s wrong?” When I didn’t answer, he tightened his grip even more. It felt so good.

When I finally was able to speak, I said, “I promise it’s nothing. It’s just been one of those days.” He held me as long as I needed, and finally I whispered, “Thank you, Angel.”

Reluctantly he released me. I blotted my eyes as we headed to the theater. “Let me know if you need anything, OK?”

“I will. And I’m fine. Really.” I managed a smile.

We went our separate ways when we entered the theater. Mack let Lindsey be in charge of the register drawer that night. Good! That was one less thing I’d have to deal with.

Erica and I rolled silverware in napkins and set them in a bin. Then I checked to make sure the restrooms were clean. The paper-towel dispensers were low, so I filled them along with the soap dispensers. By the time I stepped out, we already had our first customers. They were a little damp and carrying on about the rain. Evidently it was coming down hard again.

Suddenly a loud clap of thunder made me jump.

Erica laughed at me, but I didn’t join in. “Oh, come on. You know it was funny.”

I tried to smile, but my heart wasn’t in it.

“You need cheering up. You should come with me to my cousin’s party tonight. The rain is supposed to let up soon. Her parties are always a blast.”

I didn’t even try not to hurt her feelings. “No, thanks. I’m just not up for a party.” I turned and greeted the couple that had just walked up. They looked so in love and like they were having a great time.
That must be nice
.

A couple of hours into my shift, Angel approached Erica and me at the entrance to the café. “You don’t look well,” I said the moment I saw him.

“I never thought I’d say this to you…” He grinned weakly. “…but don’t get too close. I think I’m coming down with something.” He looked clammy and pale. “Mack is sending me home. I just wanted to let you know I’m not going to be able to walk you to your car tonight, so you can ask someone else.”

I smiled at his thoughtfulness. “I hope you feel better soon, Angel. Thanks for thinking about me, even though you feel so bad.”

He tried to smile, and then he turned and walked away. He was such a good guy to come and tell me he was leaving. It was a great feeling to know someone like him was looking out for me.

I leaned against the hostess podium for a few moments and stared at the little golden clock that sat ticking on the edge of it. I was waiting for the moment when it would tell me it was time to go. I didn’t really know why I was in such a hurry. All I was going to do was go home and be miserable. I could just as easily be miserable at work and make money while doing it.

The bad weather wasn’t keeping people at home. The café was still pretty crowded. There was no time to sit, but at least the night went faster.

Lindsey was becoming a stronger worker. I actually didn’t mind sharing a shift with her now. Things were really starting to hop; a movie had just let out.

“Is Erica back from her break yet?” I asked Lindsey.

Just then Erica walked in with wet hair. “You went out in the rain?” I asked, surprised.

“I needed a cigarette, and the wind was blowing. What can I say?”

“Well, come on. Table five needs cleaning. Hurry,” I barked.

A few minutes later, Mack entered the café looking flustered. “Excuse me, ladies and gentlemen,” he addressed everyone. “It seems we’re under a tornado warning until midnight. We’re going to have to close up for the night. I need to let you and my employees get home now.” He paused and held up some tickets. “I have movie passes for anyone who has an unused ticket. You can find me out front. We’re going to try to have the café shut down within the next thirty minutes. Sorry for the inconvenience, folks. Thanks and good night.”

We had the place empty in ten minutes.

I walked to my car as quickly as I could. Something didn’t seem right; my car looked a little funny.
Ugh!
My front tire was flat. I saw Erica getting into her car.
Great!
I thought. I wasn’t very nice to her tonight, and I’d turned her down every stinking time she’d asked me to do something. Now I needed her to give me a ride. I began to say something, but I felt guilty, so I chickened out.

A few moments later, I heard, “Something wrong?” Erica was yelling from her car. Apparently she had finally noticed me.

Thank goodness she saw me
. “A flat!” I yelled through the rain.

She pulled her car over. “Get in,” she said through the window.

I ran around her car and quickly got in. “Thanks, Erica. You don’t know how much I appreciate this.” I was so grateful to have a ride and be out of the
rain that I didn’t even let the stench of cigarettes bother me. Her car was in pretty rough shape, but at least we didn’t have far to go.

“It’s no problem. Where to?” she asked cheerfully.

I gave her directions. “That sounds easy enough,” she said, as she completed a text. She finally put the car in gear and headed down the road.

“Can you believe this weather?” she said, as she squinted, trying to see through the driving rain and her wipers.

“We haven’t had a downpour like this in a while,” I said.

We drove a little ways, and then Erica flicked her blinker on. “I just have to swing by and pick up my friend. He gets off the same time we do, and I always give him a ride.”

“Sure,” I said, still just happy that I had a ride.

She pulled in, and a medium-built guy, just a few years older than me, was waiting under the porch of a gas station. He had his jacket zipped up and was trying his best to keep dry. He smiled when he saw Erica, and he trotted to the car and got in behind me.

“Thanks!” he said. “It’s brutal out there.”

Erica had us back on the road in no time. She smiled in her rearview mirror. “Ashley, this is Anthony.”

“Hi,” I said.

He nodded. He wasn’t very talkative, which made me uncomfortable. I felt pressure to have a conversation. “So…you work at the gas station?”

I couldn’t see his face, but I could tell Erica was giving him a
look
in the mirror. After a few moments, he finally said, “Yeah.”

It took him that long to come up with that? What a genius. I stared sleepily out the window, lost in thought and wishing I were in my own bed, and then…it hit me. Erica had said that Anthony got off work the same time we did, but we didn’t get off at our usual time that night. So why would he be off right now? Was she lying? Why would she lie? Maybe he was sent home early too because of the bad weather.

I began to feel nervous. I tried my best to stay calm and not let it show. I was relieved when I saw that the exit to get to my house was approaching. I realized too late, though, that Erica was going too fast.

“You’ll need to slow down, Erica. It’s right here!” She passed right by it, and my heart thumped harder.

Anthony finally said the most he had the whole ride. “You know, Ashley, you talk
way
too much.”

I have to get away. I have to get away!

My eyes frantically searched around the car—for what, I didn’t exactly know. All I knew was that I needed a way out fast!

“Sit still!” Anthony demanded. I quit moving. “Act normal.”

What’s going on? This isn’t happening. This isn’t happening
.

With my eyes I bore holes in the side of Erica’s head until she finally turned to look at me. “What’s going on, Erica?”

“You’re
not
the boss anymore. You don’t get to ask any questions.”

Think! Think! Think…my cell phone!

XX

It’s Happened

I
t was almost ten, so Trent got in his car and made the drive to the Star-Lite. He had driven this path so many times that he could have done it with his eyes closed. It was a good thing too, because even though the rain was easing up, it was still difficult to see. As he approached the theater, he became aware that the building was much too dark. Had they lost power due to the storm?

A foreboding feeling slowly inched its way over him. He sped up and pulled into the lot to find it empty, except for a red Eclipse. He found himself hoping it wasn’t Ashley’s car but knew it was. He noticed the flat tire right away. Maybe she was inside the car waiting for help, he thought.

He grabbed his Maglite from his console. He shined it through his window into Ashley’s. She wasn’t in the car. He rushed over to her vehicle and looked at the tire. Dread consumed him. The tire had been slit!

He resisted the urge to knock his fist through the window and went back in his car. He took out his cell and immediately dialed Mark Devoe.

“Yeah,” said Mark.

“
It’s
happened,” Trent managed to choke out.

XXI

Don’t Panic

I
didn’t look down at my purse. I kept my eyes on the road and very slowly inched my hands to its zipper. What normally would’ve taken me a second was taking almost ten minutes.

Still without looking, I slipped my hand inside to see what I could find. I felt my art pencil first. It had my name written on it! I discreetly dropped it between the seat and the door, as a clue that I’d been there. If the lead wasn’t now dull, I would have used it as a weapon.

I slid my hand back into my purse and continued to search for something I could tuck into my waistband. I almost screamed with joy when I found the pepper spray my mom had insisted I carry.

Anxiety crept in.
Oh, my gosh. Where are they taking me?
My heart rate increased with the thought.
Focus!
I had to get help, or I had to free myself. I took a deep breath. I wasn’t going to panic.

XXII

Something’s Wrong

M
ark Devoe drove like a madman to his home. He had to see Beth face-to-face; he couldn’t do this over the phone. Chase was already there; his truck was in the drive.

Mark had phoned Chase and filled him in on what had transpired, but Chase didn’t say anything to Beth. He quietly waited in his truck for Mark to arrive.

Chase greeted Mark with sympathy as they shook hands. Then Mark walked past him and went inside.

Beth entered the den from the kitchen. A look of surprise crossed her face. She smiled. “Hey, hon. What are you doing here?” Her smile quickly evaporated as the look in Mark’s eyes told her something was dreadfully wrong.

XXIII

Phone Home

I
didn’t know what I was going to do with my phone once I got it. Of course I wanted to dial 911. But how would I do it?

I tried sliding my hand farther into my purse; Finally, I had my hand on it. And then it dinged with a text!

“What do you think you’re doing?” Erica shrieked.

“Gimme your phone
now
!” bellowed Anthony.

I was shaking so hard that I almost dropped it. He snatched it from my hand and tossed it out the window.

Erica reached toward me, and I flinched. She smirked then opened the glove box. She took out a cheap phone she’d obviously recently purchased; it was still in its original packaging.

She tossed it to Anthony, who tore it open with his teeth. A few minutes later, he barked, “Give me your dad’s number!”

The thought of my dad brought tears to my eyes.

“The number!”

“I-I don’t know his number,” I almost cried.

“Then give me your mother’s!”

“I don’t have it memorized either. It was programmed in my cell.”

“Give…me…a…number. And if you say one word while I’m on the phone, you won’t live to see tomorrow.”

My head was spinning. I couldn’t speak. I couldn’t think.

XXIV

Something of Yours

“N
o. No. No! This isn’t happening, Mark. We were careful. We took precautions.” Beth collapsed into her husband’s arms.

“I know, Beth. I know.” She wailed. “Shh, it’s going to be OK. We’ll get her back.”

Just then Trent walked through the door. He was distraught, and the sight of Beth made it even worse.

“Beth…I’m
so
sorry.”

Beth could see the pain Trent was in, and she managed to straighten up. She knew how much he had grown to care about her daughter. She ran to him and threw her arms around him. “It’s not your fault, Trent. Don’t think that.” He hugged her tighter at the sound of her words, because that’s exactly what he thought. It was his fault. It was his job as an officer to protect her, and he had failed.

Beth released him from her embrace. Then Trent looked at Chase. “I’m sorry, Uncle Chase.”

“We’re going to find her, son.”

Everyone jumped when the home phone rang.

Mark ran to pick it up. “Hello!”

“I have something of yours, Officer Devoe.” If the person at the other end of the line was nervous, he wasn’t showing it. His voice held zero emotion.

Mark stood frozen with the phone to his ear. Chase, Trent, and Beth gathered around him. They were practically holding their breath, trying desperately not to make a sound, wondering what was being said.

Finally Mark spoke, “Who is this?”

“Anthony. And, I have your daughter.”

“Is Ashley all right? Can I
please
talk to her?”

Anthony let Mark know that he was the one in control. “One thing at a time.”

“What exactly do you want?” Mark asked.

Anthony snorted. “What do I want? Well, let’s see…” He paused. “Well, for starters I’d like my girlfriend back—who you murdered! Her father would like to have her back too. In fact this was his idea…eye for an eye, daughter for a daughter, so to speak.” His raspy voice gave way to a chuckle.

Mark swallowed hard. His heart was racing. He tried to put together his next words very carefully. He didn’t want to anger the man who had his daughter. “I didn’t want Jessie to die.” He paused to let that resonate with Anthony. “She shot and wounded one of my officers. She was going to shoot me next. It was self-defense.”