Chapter Two
Chapter Two
"Stay calm…Stay calm," she thought. "They can see on the camera in the back…Don't give anything away…"
She tried not to look the man in his eyes. He was a big man, dressed all in black—black jeans, black T-shirt, black leather jacket. His salt and pepper hair was damp from the rain, and he jiggled his car keys in large, graceful hands. A greying stubble covered his face. If not for his gentle eyes, he might have frightened her.
"Hey…You ok?"
His voice was soft, low and surprisingly gently. Involuntarily, she looked up. He was bent over from the waist so that his head was below hers. She'd never seen eyes so brown or caring.
She fought a hitch in her throat. "He knows," she thought. "He knows something's wrong…maybe…" She thought of the gun trained on her brother.
"I'm fine," she said lightly. "Just moving some things in the back room."
"I need fifty dollars in gas…Pump three," he said calmly, but his eyes were on the stockroom door behind the counter. He saw that the door was open an inch, although it was clearly designed to close immediately behind someone.
The girl struggled not to show any emotion. "Sure," she said and flipped the switch for the pump. "Anything else?"
"Yea…" He was so calm that she wondered if he really had noticed something. "I need to use the restroom…and get some coffee…"
"If you'd like," she said, eager to get him out of the store. "I can ring everything up…and then you can be on your way…"
He studied her for the briefest of moments, and she felt as if he could see right through her. "That sounds good."
As he handed her the money, their fingers touched. It seemed to her that he allowed his fingers to linger against hers. She didn't know if it was reality or hope that caused her to think he was trying to reassure her. She opened the register, counted out his change, and handed it to him. He smiled and tilted his head towards a photo taped near the register.
"Your family?" he asked genially.
"Yea…My Mom and Dad have a date tonight." She didn't know how much she could or should tell him.
"Little brother doesn't have to work, uh?"
"No…not tonight…He helps in the back sometimes…" She felt she had to end the conversation. "The men's room is right over there."
The man seemed to pick up on her cue. "Thank you."
As he disappeared into the men's room, she tightly gripped the counter's edge.
He glanced through the men's room door just before it closed and saw the girl quickly look behind her at the stockroom. He locked the door, checked the room, and listened intently at the wall adjacent to the stockroom. He heard something, but couldn't make out what was going on. He moved to the sink and stared in the mirror. He scarcely recognized the man facing him.
"Who do you think you are?" he whispered. "How can you help…Maybe…You're wrong…"
He turned on the water and splashed it on his face. As he wiped it from his face with a rough paper towel, he tried to organize his thoughts.
"You're not wrong…Something is going on…Someone is in that stockroom…She keeps looking back there…The tape threads…Someone is in there…Maybe holding her brother…" He shook his head. "I wish Eames were here…God, I miss her…Ok…You have your cell phone…Call the locals…Your backup piece is in the car…" He pulled out his cell, but there was only a very weak signal. "Probably better outside…No heroics, Goren…Go out…Pay…get out…call the police…Don't make it worse…"
He took a deep breath, and opened the door.
To his great relief, only the girl behind the counter was in the store. She concentrated on straightening things on the counter, but she hadn't picked up the scattered items in front of it. Bobby, noting the present of a camera trained on the register area, walked to the coffee machine, filled a paper cup, and started out the door.
"Thanks," he said evenly. "Have a good night."
For a second, he saw a desperate cry for help in the girl's eyes, and it took all of his will to walk out of the store and hurry to his car. It took an equal amount of his will to fill up the car, get in it, turn it on, and drive away.
The girl clutched at the counter as the big man walked out the door. "He has to know something's wrong…He has to…"
"Now," a harsh voice said behind her. "Back in here…Now…"
She watched her hopes drive away with the man. "He'll be the last person to see me alive, except for the men who'll kill me."
END Chapter TWO