Author's Note: Thanks to all who have reviewed.

Don't own Cars, do own Simon Carrera, Seraphine and Maya.

In The Shadow of my Father

The sun was sneaking into the room when I awoke some hours later. I lay in the bed, for once thankful for the silence. The room was empty except for myself. I sat up slowly, reaching for my jacket. My shirt and skirt were rather crumpled now, but I kept a spare change of clothes in the boot of my car. I padded across the room, carrying my shoes, but as I went to open the door I stopped. There were voices in the corridor beyond.

"No, Sheriff, I will not allow you to interrogate her. Besides, you can't know for sure that she is the missing girl."

"She matches the description exactly, Doc."

"There could be a thousand girls that look like her for all I know. She's in no state for you to go around accusing her of things she might not have done."

Sheriff protested some more, though I couldn't make out the words. After a few minutes he walked off. I nudged the door open a crack. Doc had his back to me.

"You can come out now." He said quietly.

I jumped. "How did you know I was there?"

"I heard you opening the door." He turned around. "How are you feeling this morning?"

I shrugged and looked away, catching sight of my appearance in the nearby mirror. I was rather pale, my hair was a tangled mess and my eyes held a sadness I'd never seen before. I sighed and pulled my gaze from the mirror.

"Why did Sheriff want to talk to me?"

"He got some report of a girl that went missing a couple of days ago. Apparently she walked out of work and hasn't been seen since. I think he said the girl's father called the police when there was no sign of her the following day, yesterday."

I lowered my eyes. "Do you have a phone I could use in private?"

"Of course." He led me into a small study-like room and pointed at the phone on the desk, half buried by papers. "Right there. I'll be at the café."

"Thanks." I called as he left me alone. I quickly checked the calendar on the wall, Friday. I'd try phoning the office first, if Dad wasn't there then I'd try the house, then his mobile if I had no luck there either. I dialled his direct number, hoping Seraphine wouldn't be there to pick up the call if Dad didn't answer, the same went for Maya too, though she wasn't in as much as her daughter. My luck was in.

"Good morning, Carrera Attorneys of Law, Simon speaking."

"Hi, Daddy." I smiled down the phone.

"Sally!" I could hear the relief in his voice. "Where are you?"

"Um…I'm not really sure. Somewhere in Arizona I think."

"Oh sweetheart, are you all right? Seraphine told me about Wednesday. Why didn't you tell me what was going on?"

"There was nothing you could have done anyway, Daddy." I felt tears gathering behind my eyes.

"You should still have told me, Sally. I might have been able to help. In fact, I will make it my mission to sort something out for when you return."

"I'm not sure when I'll be back, Daddy." I said quietly. I hadn't planned on returning any time soon, and it depended a lot on how soon my car was mended.

"You just take some time off, sweetheart. Promise me you'll call us?"

"I will." I smiled down the phone sadly. My smile remained until I heard my father replace the phone at the other end. I followed suit, wiping the slight dampness from my face.

I walked out to my car to get my brush from my bag. I took it with me most places out of pure habit. I had seen my car the night before, parked next to the garage. My keys were still in my jacket. I grabbed my bag from the boot and returned to the quiet surgery.

It was probably half an hour later that I left the surgery. I'd left the jacket behind, not needing it in the heat. I was used to hot weather in California, but out here it was worse. I tried to keep to the shade as much as possible. It was fairly easy, given the position of the sun. The first person I saw as I crossed the road was Sheriff. He was about to get into his car in the parking lot of the café. I nodded to him as I passed.

"Sally." He called after me.

I stopped and turned around slowly. I'd not told him my name, so how did he know it?

"I know who you are."

"My father knows I'm here." I replied. "I phoned him a little while ago."

He raised an eyebrow but said nothing more to me. I continued into the café and he drove off. I found a small table in the corner where I could be alone. I glanced around the café at the other people. Doc was in the opposite corner on his own. I suspected Sheriff had been sitting with him. A couple of Italians were at the table next to mine. They were conversing in their natural language. I caught snippets of it, something about white-wall tyres. My Italian was rusty now. I was amused at the occupants of another table. An old army sergeant sat with a slightly younger hippy. I laughed softly. It was an odd pair, but I could tell they got on well. I recognised the man from the night before, the one who had towed my car into the town. The man next to him had a slightly darker complexion than the others. Behind them an elderly lady had dozed off.

"What'll be, honey?" Flo emerged from behind the counter.

"What have you got?"

She handed me a small menu. I scanned it for a few minutes.

"Cheese and tomato sandwiches, please."

"Anything to drink?"

"Cold water." I replied almost before she had asking the question

She laughed. "I can't blame you, honey."

As Flo walked off, Doc joined me. He observed me for a moment, before saying anything.

"Am I allowed to ask who you were calling?"

"My father."

"So you are the person Sheriff was talking about."

"Yes, I am."

"Why did you leave?" His tone was mildly curious, and a little cautious too I noticed.

"Simple, I'd had enough of it. I didn't enjoy what I was doing." I suddenly realised how true my words were. I had enjoyed it for the first few months, until I realised how unwilling people were to give me a chance. Even though I hadn't been out here long, I knew it was where I wanted to be. It was quiet, and peaceful. I'd not had that for a long time.

Author's Note: There's a lot of talking in this one, but it was necessary to explain the story. Next chapter should hopefully be online soon.