snipsa: Thanks! It's wonderful to know you like my story. I don't know, yet, how much longer it will be. Probably only 1 or 2 chapters left!
A/N Okay, sorry this next chapter took SO long! My computer wasn't working and I had some problems, but I promise; I will NEVER leave a story unfinished. You have my word.
5. Unplanned and Unwanted Events
As Gary lay in bed that night, he couldn't sleep. There were too many things bothering him; the Paper for one thing. This family got into so much trouble! He had already saved half of them! They suspected something, he knew it. So how would he keep the Paper a secret?
Finally, after what seemed like hours of tossing and turning, Gary drifted off into sleep.
The next morning, everything was the same story. Only this time Gary was up and at the front door at 6:30 AM. No Paper. Aggg! Gary was ready to pull out his hair.
Where on earth was that cat? He hadn't seen hide or tail of him for quite some time. That's when he heard footsteps coming down the stairs. He turned around to see Stephanie and Arianna coming down, both taking the stairs two at a time.
"Good morning, daddy," Arianna greeted her father with a smile. The smile quickly faded though when she realized that Gary was not smiling.
"Uh, Steph," She turned to the other girl, "I think I hear your dad in the kitchen. Maybe you should go see if he needs any help."
Stephanie shrugged, "Okay." Leaving her backpack by the front door, she left for the kitchen.
"The Paper didn't come, did it, daddy?" Arianna asked softly, letting her backpack slide to the floor as she sat down beside Gary.
"No, it didn't, Arianna," He replied, "I just don't get it," He then looked her in the eye, "Arianna, honey, what do you know about this?"
"N-nothing, daddy," Arianna replied, looking at her father strangely, "I don't know where it's at."
"Arianna, you are the only other person here who knows about the Paper," Gary reminded her, growing more sure of his theory, "You're the only other person here who knows when it comes; 6:30 AM. You're the only other person here who would take it."
"But, daddy," Arianna cried, "I didn't take it! I, I didn't! You have to believe me!"
"Arianna, I thought you knew better than to take the Paper without permission," Gary said, shaking his head as he stood up, "And I know you know better than to lie to me. Now, where is the Paper, Arianna?"
Arianna's eyes filled with tears. She hadn't taken it! She couldn't have – she wouldn't have! And what hurt the most weren't Gary's accusations, but the fact that he didn't believe her. She had told him the truth, yet he didn't believe her.
"Daddy, I didn't take it!" She wiped the tears off her face, "I, I didn't!" And with that she ran out the front door.
Gary felt terrible. His daughter was usually very honest; especially with him. And now, he didn't know why he hadn't believed her when she said she hadn't taken the Paper. She had never taken it before, why should she start now? Feeling awful, Gary walked into the kitchen.
Outside Arianna still crying slightly as she walked down the sidewalk. How could her father accuse her of stealing the Paper like he did? And he didn't believe her; that was even worse!
"Hey, little girl; you okay?"
Arianna turned around. There was a man leaning against the STOP sign. Arianna gasped as she recognized him as the cabbie from before. Cautiously, she took a step back.
"Hey, don't be worried about me," The man said with a smile that didn't quite meet his eyes. He took a step towards the girl, "I ain't gonna hurt ya."
Turning quickly, Arianna made a break for the house. She hadn't got very far, before she felt a strong hand grab her by her upper left arm. She cried out in pain, as the man grabbed her.
"C'mon, kid," He snarled, "You're comin' with me!"
"No, no," She fought back kicking and thrashing as he easily lifted the girl off the ground, "I'm n-not coming with you! I'm not! Let… me … go!"
The man snickered; "Hah! And let ya run off home and tell your old man about me? I don't think so. Nah, it don't work that way, kid."
And with that he threw Arianna into the back of his taxi and drove off.
Meanwhile, back at the house, Gary was still puzzling over where the Paper was at. He felt bad for accusing Arianna of taking the Paper. Inside, he knew she wouldn't have without good reason and if she had taken it, she would have told him the truth.
"Mr. Hobson?"
Gary turned to see Stephanie standing behind him. Her backpack was slung over her shoulder and she looked confused.
"What can I do for you, Steph?" Gary asked kindly.
"I was about to leave for school, but I don't know where Arianna's at." The girl explained, "Do you know where she is?"
"She went outside about ten minutes ago, Stephanie," Gary replied, his mind still pre-occupied, "Why don't you check out there?"
"I did. I checked everywhere," She shrugged, "I can't find her. If we don't get going, we'll be late."
"Well, you why don't you go ahead and go. I'll see if I can find her, okay?" Gary instructed, "You go on."
Stephanie nodded and went out the door, leaving Gary to find his daughter. He was a little worried. Stephanie had said she looked everywhere. Even outside. If that was the case, then where was Arianna?
"Let me g–" Arianna's shouts were cut off, when a gag was pushed into her mouth. She felt a few tears slip down her cheeks and she determinedly wiped them away. She would not cry. She wouldn't let this guy know how much he was scaring her.
After all, why should she be scared? Her father was probably already on his way to find her, having the paper and all. But then truth dawned on her; Gary didn't have the Paper. That meant he didn't know where she was. All over again the tears began to fall again. What would she do?
Gary was beginning to getting anxious about Arianna's whereabouts. He, too, had searched outside and the entire house. Neither Joey, nor, anyone he had asked had seen Arianna all morning.
Feeling nearly defeated, Gary walked back into the kitchen where Michelle and Danny sat at the table. That's when something caught Gary's eye; the newspaper that Danny was holding.
Gary cleared his throat, "Um, D-Danny, would you m-mind me asking where y-you got that paper?"
"Well, if you would believe it, for the past two mornings, I've found this paper right outside on the doorstep… along with a stray cat. I've been shooing the cat away," Danny added, "But the newspaper; that's the strange part. I don't usually get the San Francisco Chronicle, but here it is!"
Gary nearly choked. Danny had his Paper! "Um, Danny, w-would you mind if I, I borrowed that Paper… please… see; it's real important."
"Oh, sure, here," He handed the man the newspaper, "You can have it. I don't need it. I was just was looking for the coupons…"
Once the Paper was in his hands, Gary let out a sigh of relief. "Th-thanks a lot, Danny." And with those words, he was gone.
Danny shook his head in amazement; "Now what on earth could be so important about that newspaper. Why did he want mine?"
"I don't know," Michelle spoke up for the first time, "But I'm sure glad he didn't want my funnies pages." With a sigh of relief, she pulled the brightly colored pages out from underneath her where she had hidden them.
"Michelle," Danny asked after a moment, "Don't you think that Mr. Hobson is kind of strange?"
Michelle looked astonished, "Stranger than Kimmy Gibbler?"
As Gary walked out of the kitchen, he began to flip through the Paper. So that's where the Paper had been these past two mornings. He was reminded of how he had found it in the garbage can the day before.
Suddenly, he stopped turning the pages. Something had caught his eye; a picture… of his daughter! He glanced at the headline it was under;
11-year-old Girl Missing
Arianna Marissa Hobson, age 11, was reported missing after she failed to show up at school yesterday morning. She was last seen wearing jeans, a purple long-sleeved top, and blue & white tennis shoes. The girl has dark-blonde hair, green/brown eyes, stands 4'9", and weighs 86 lbs. If you have any information about this case, please contact the authorities immediately at…
Gary's eyes drifted from the article. The only thing this article told him was that he wasn't going to find Arianna by tomorrow morning; at least not at the school or around the house. Slipping on his jacket, Gary walked out the door.
Arianna finally managed to spit out the gag in her mouth; "Please, mister! Let me go! I, I won't tell anybody! Please!"
"Sure ya won't," The cabbie sneered, "Hah! Like I believe that! Ya know what; I've changed my mind about what we're gonna do with you. Ya ever seen the Golden Gate, kid?"
Gary continued to run. He had no idea where he was going, but he knew was that he wasn't going to find Arianna sitting around the house. He couldn't help, but blame himself for the mess he was in. After all, if he hadn't accused Arianna, she wouldn't have run out of the house, therefore; she wouldn't have ended up in the Paper.
"I did all that?" Gary shook his head. He knew he had and he promised himself he would try and listen more carefully for now on… if he got the chance.
Suddenly, he realized that he hadn't checked the Paper for anymore catastrophes, errors, or tragedies that might occur. Frustrated, he stopped, tore the Paper from his back pocket and began to flip through the pages; nothing. He breathed a sigh of relief. But only a moment too soon, for that's when he noticed that the article about Arianna had changed.
Body of 11-year-old girl Found
Gary gasped. The article said that Arianna was going "fall" from the Golden Gate Bridge and her body be discovered at 10:42 PM that evening. Gary suddenly began to feel very weak. This couldn't be happening. Not to him. And certainly not to his daughter! But, it was. The whole article disturbed him greatly, but there were two things in particular that bothered him most;
(1. The article said that the authorities were investigating the matter. They didn't know for sure that she fell. She could have been pushed.
(2. They didn't, yet, know the time of death. They had no idea what time Arianna "fell". They were also currently investigating that. They didn't, yet, have any witnesses. There just had to be someone who had seen the incident, but no one had come forward yet. But, all in all, it meant Gary didn't know what time it happened. What if it already did?
With these thoughts in mind, Gary began running in the direction of the Bridge, all the while looking for an available taxi.
Arianna was terrified. As she sat in the backseat of the all-too-familiar taxi, she thought about how this had happened.
And she blamed herself. If she hadn't gotten so upset and stormed out of the house, this wouldn't have happened. She wouldn't be in this mess. She glanced at her watch wrapped around her right-wrist; 10:39 AM. If things had been different, she would probably be in Math class about now. She thumped her head against the seat. Oh, how would her father find her?
Gary gasped for breath as he quickly lowered himself into the seat of the taxi. His legs felt like fire from running so hard for so long. He glanced at his watch; 10:43 AM. Arianna had been gone for about 3 hours now. If he had to wait on that bridge all day, he would. The sooner he got there the better. If something hadn't already happened to her, he might make it there on time. He just might.
"Girl, you better say your prayers. 'Cause in 'bout 10-minutes, that'll have been the last prayer you ever say."
Arianna gulped and pushed her sleeves up. She was getting really hot; not only because she was so frightened, but because the cabbie had the windows rolled up, for fear of Arianna calling out for help. And the air conditioner didn't work. She had learned that the first time she rode in the taxi.
Quickly, Gary thrust a wad of bills into the cab driver's hand as he hopped out of the vehicle. He started to run down the bridge.
"Hey, pal!" The cabbie exclaimed, "There's 10 extra dollars in here!"
"Keep it!" And Gary continued to run. As he ran, he looked for any sign of his daughter. But it was all in vain. How were you supposed to make out one girl amongst all that traffic? But, Gary refused to get discouraged. He had to have courage; he had to remain calm; for his sake as well as his daughter's.
Arianna sat huddled on the back seat of the car, her arms wrapped tightly around her legs and her eyes shut tight. They were on the bridge now; she could felt it as they drove over. She recalled how she had begged her father to take her there. Oh, how badly she had wanted to see it. Now, she wished more than anything that she was back in her Chicago school, listening to Mr. Abbott lecture the class on spelling and grammar. She was then suddenly aware that the car had stopped. She opened first one eye, then the other. What she saw made her stomach turn; they were on the center of the huge bridge and the cabbie had pulled off to the side.
The cabbie then turned around in his front seat and smiled at her; an evil grin that Arianna would never forget.
Gary wasn't sure he had run so fast and so far in his life; at least not all at one time. The burning sensation in his legs was almost too much to bear now, but he forced himself to keep going. Sub-consciously, he wondered how long the bridge was. It felt like it was about 50 miles long! He was nearing the center of the bridge now. That's when he saw it; a pulled over car. And he pushed on with newly found energy.
The cabbie yanked Arianna out of the car. Had it not been for the gag that had been stuffed back in, Arianna would have called out for help. But she could not. The man pushed her towards the side of the bridge. She banged against the railing and was forced to look down. At once, her head began to swim. She hated heights. She always had. But this was worse. There was water below her; way below her. She got the ill feeling that the cabbie had every intention of throwing her down there.
Turning quickly, she tried to run away. Angrily, the cabbie grabbed hold of her arm, pulling her back. He put his face down close to hers and she could smell the alcohol on his breath. "You ain't goin' no where," He hissed, "And get this; ya try and run away again or ya call for help, I'll bring your old man down here too. He just might be in the mood for a good swim."
Trembling uncontrollably, Arianna nodded.
A/N Well, that's for now! Sorry to leave you guys with a cliff-hanger, but, hey, what can I say? That's what the plot kitty wanted… (Hey, it's an Early Edition story! There are no bunnies…)