As soon as Gio pulled up in front of her house, he noticed the empty driveway. Silently cursing, he got out of the car and walked up to the door anyway. The night was mild, and he saw no harm in waiting outside for a while until she came home. On a Tuesday, she couldn’t stay out too late, he told himself. Brushing aside some pebbles, he took a seat on her front stoop and looked up. A pair of eyes met his from the first floor window next door. Immediately, Gio recognized the woman as Mrs. Benjamin, who was not only irritating, but slightly creepy as she stared at him from the window. A moment later, the curtains fell back and the eyes disappeared.
Gio kept his gaze fixed on the old woman’s house and was not surprised when he heard the creaking of her screen door. In her usual bedtime attire, she came padding over to the stoop where Gio greeted her with a curt “Good evening.”
“Hello again. Are you here looking for Sabrina?” She asked, turning her head in the direction of the empty driveway.
“Yes, I am. I thought I’d wait here until she gets back.” He answered.
“Well, you’re in a for a mighty long wait. She left today in quite a hurry. I’m house-sitting and taking care of that little kitty of hers.” Mrs. Benjamin smiled proudly, obviously pleased with her responsible post.
Gio raised his brows in shock and disappointment. “Where did she go?” He demanded roughly.
“She said she was visiting her parents.”
“Why? Are her parents OK?” Gio asked, not able to believe that Sabrina would leave town without informing him.
“Yes, I’m sure they’re just fine. She travels so much for her job that she doesn’t get to spend much time with them.” Mrs. Benjamin explained.
“But she was just there for ten days!” Gio cried, getting up from the stoop to stare down at Mrs. Benjamin as though it were her fault that Sabrina was gone.
“A girl can never visit her parents too much! I would suggest that you go on home because Sabrina will not be home tonight. Unless, of course, you’d like to come inside my house for some tea and biscuits.” Mrs. Benjamin waved her arm towards the driveway, as Gio remained immovable.
“No thank you. How long did she say she would be there?” He asked, dreading her response.
“She didn’t give a specific date, but she mentioned something about next week.”
Gio was stunned. How could Sabrina be so inconsiderate? Was it typical of her to disappear for a week or more without telling the man in her life? Suddenly, Gio felt as though Sabrina were a stranger, and he had been duped again. Still not recovered from the rage that Cooper’s desertion had incited, he felt an even more powerful fury rise up within him. Without another word to Mrs. Benjamin, he stormed away, getting into his truck and driving to the nearest pay phone.
The first pay phone he spotted was at the diner where he had first seen Sabrina back in January. Feeling a pang of emotion as he peered inside the diner, he picked up the phone and dialed the operator. Requesting the phone number for Henri Montrouge in Manhattan, Gio was relieved when the operator provided him with the information. Repeating the number in his head to memorize it, he fumbled through his pockets, found a quarter, and shoved it into the coin slot. He dialed, waiting expectantly for the line to be answered and hoping that it would be Sabrina on the other end.
On the fourth ring, a clear, sweet voice intoned, “Hello?”
“Sabrina, is that you?” Gio asked desperately into the receiver.
“No, this is Cara. Who’s calling please?” Gio’s heart sank as he realized he had been tricked by the deceptively similar voices of the Montrouge sisters.
“This is Gio. Is Sabrina there?” he probed.
“Hi Gio! No, Sabrina isn’t here. Why would she be?” Cara replied, confused.
“Because she’s visiting your parents this week!” Gio spat impatiently into the phone.
“No she’s not! What gave you that idea?” Cara informed Gio, and in his frustration he wanted to yank the phone out and sever the metal wire.
“I just came from her house. Her neighbor, that Mrs. Benjamin woman, told me that she left today to visit you in New York and would be staying for about a week.”
“If she’s coming to New York, she didn’t tell us at all. And she would have been here by now because she always arrives by dark when she comes to visit. Now you’ve got me worried!” Cara said, suddenly feeling uneasy about her sister’s whereabouts.
“Listen, don’t get worried. Mrs. Benjamin is a little batty, and she probably misunderstood Sabrina. Maybe Sabrina left on a photography assignment that she forgot to tell us about.” Gio suggested, not really believing his own story.
“She does too much driving alone. One time, she even headed cross country, but then turned back after her car broke down.” Cara shared, and Gio’s mind raced, wondering if she had done something similarly impetuous this time.
“Do you think she would do something like that again?” He asked.
“No, not with you in her life! She would have told you---and my parents---if she were going on some crazy adventure.” Cara reassured, and Gio prayed that she was right.
“I’m calling you from a payphone and don’t have much time left on this dime. Don’t worry about anything, but please call my home if you hear anything at all from Sabrina. Max can give you my phone number.” Gio told her.
“OK, Gio. Take care and don’t you worry either. Bye.” Cara hung up as Gio threw the phone down, leaving it to dangle from its wire swinging like a pendulum against the wall. In a clamor for fresh air, he ran out of the diner, feeling as though Sabrina had played him for an enormous fool. If she wasn’t with her parents, then where was she? Angry questions swarmed through his brain as he started up the truck and drove reluctantly home.
*****
A hot bubble bath had worked wonders on Sabrina’s back and neck, stiff from hours of driving. By the time she crossed the state line into New Hampshire, she had felt tired, but after pressing on to Maine, it was all she could do to keep her eyes open.
As she dressed in her private room within the bed-and-breakfast, she still didn’t have a plan. When she had finally arrived in Maine, her nerves frayed from the near fatal accident and moose collision, she checked into the first vacant lodging she could find.
Unfortunately, the bed-and-breakfast was in a very isolated area of the state, making it prime fodder for a photographer, but a forbidding locale for a lone traveler. Sabrina found herself wishing that she had driven to an upbeat, urban place like Boston, but now that she was in Maine, she endeavored to utilize the seclusion to shoot footage for the magazine’s upcoming issue on rural America. Sabrina looked out the window at the imposing moon, knowing that in the morning, she would have a much brighter perspective.
The next morning, Sabrina rose with the sun and scurried down to the dining nook for a home-cooked breakfast, lovingly prepared by the married couple who owned the lodge. After a paltry dinner of pretzels and ginger ale the night before, Sabrina was famished. She devoured an extra large Belgian waffle topped with fried eggs and blueberry flavored syrup. Pouring herself a second cup of coffee to go, Sabrina set out for an invigorating day of landscape photography.
After the nightmarish journey to Maine, Sabrina opted to leave her car parked for the duration of her stay at the bed-and-breakfast. Her time in Maine would be a wonderful opportunity to decompress and get around without the assistance of anything with wheels. She zipped up her spring jacket, double tied her shoelaces, and began a walking tour of unknown territory.
Passing by ponds and innumerable maple trees, Sabrina was reminded of Vermont. Thoughts of Vermont inevitably led to memories of Gio and, for the first time since leaving Burlington, she wondered if he was looking for her. A part of her felt guilty about not informing him of her trip, but another part secretly hoped he was going mad trying to reach her. Smugly, she thought how now it was her turn to walk away. No longer was she the one to be casually discarded.
By the end of the day, she had snapped eno
ugh pictures to assemble a wall-size collage. To reward herself, she dined extravagantly on lobster, reasoning that it was the state specialty and no one came to Maine without tasting the crustacean delicacy. Now once again in the room, her feet ached as much as her back and neck had the night before. She found a basin in the washroom and filled it with steaming water. Peeling off her socks, Sabrina dunked her bare feet into the basin, letting the muscles be soothed by the hot water and mineral salts she had added.
After a few moments of oblivion, she felt the need for some entertainment. Having spent the entire day alone, she decided the television would make decent company. Splashing water on the carpet, she removed her feet from the basin and twisted the knob on the television set. After trying a few different stations, she settled on a national broadcast of the evening news.
As her feet softened and wrinkled inside the water, she listened to the headlines. A perky newscaster with a tidy bob hairdo gushed about the most recent celebrity divorce and other fluff news topics. Then the newscaster launched into a repetition of the evening’s top stories, announcing that there had been an armed bank robbery in El Paso, Texas on Sunday. Sabrina half-listened as the newscaster reiterated how there had been no arrests made in the case but police were ready to release new information. The newscaster continued:
“The robber was wearing a mask but, at one point during the hold-up, a brave bank employee, now being hailed as a hero, yanked the mask off of him. The criminal, presumably flustered about being seen, did not fire any shots from his pistol. Instead, the suspect fled on foot with the sack of cash and pistol in hand. However, the bank employee, who wishes to remain anonymous, got a good enough look at the suspect’s face to compile a police sketch.”
Sabrina glanced with mild interest at the screen as the sketch was displayed. Then, she blinked disbelievingly at the sight, instantly recognizing the face of Glen Cooper. Sabrina listened in astonishment as the newscaster issued a severe warning to civilians:
“The suspect is at large and considered armed and dangerous. Police have sufficient reason to believe that the suspect may have defected to Mexico. Law enforcement officials are relying upon citizens to identify the suspect and hopefully lead them to make a swift arrest. More on this story at eleven.”
Sabrina sprang out of her chair, toppling the basin of water over and saturating the carpet. Cursing under her breath, she dashed to the telephone, dialing Gio’s number and waiting impatiently as it rang. Gio did not pick up the line, so Sabrina smashed the phone down and began pacing the room. She wondered if Gio had watched the news. Of all the interesting anecdotes she had learned about the man, she did not know if he made a habit of viewing the evening news. She knew it was her duty to tell Gio what she had seen on the news, but first she had to notify the police.
Scolding herself for not having recorded the hotline number given moments ago by the newscaster, Sabrina lifted up the phone again and dialed the operator to be connected to the police. When Sabrina stated that it was an emergency, the operator immediately transferred the call.
“Police Department,” A woman’s voice answered in a thick Southern accent.
“Hello, I have a lead for you in the case of the armed bank robbery. I know who the man in the police sketch is.” Sabrina spoke urgently.
“And where are you calling from?”
“Well, I’m in Maine right now, but I’m from Vermont. That’s also where the suspect is originally from. His name is Glen Cooper and he’s formerly of the Mount Hollow Fire Department.” Sabrina gushed out the information, hearing the click of a pen and the sifting of paper. Those were the last noises she heard, as the line went suddenly dead.
A sudden flicker of lightning shone through the window, as Sabrina registered that a severe thunderstorm had just begun. She ran to the window and watched helplessly as lightning slashed and thunder grumbled through the sky. Restlessly, Sabrina moved from the window to the center of the room, where her socks lay in a careless heap. She quickly put them back on along with her sneakers.
“I’m not staying here.” Sabrina announced to the empty room.
She was relieved when the storm subsided as quickly as it had emerged and soon there was nothing but a gentle trickle of water against the roof. Collecting her belongings in a hurry, she decided that she would depart for Vermont that night. She had already given the police all the information they needed, and it was Gio who was still stranded in the thick of this mystery back in Burlington. No matter what hazard she encountered on the road, Sabrina knew that she had to leave at once. Her conscience wouldn’t have it any other way.
Ignoring the stares of fellow guests as she sprinted through the hall and down the winding staircase, Sabrina reached the front desk and ripped her checkbook from her pocketbook. The owner accepted her check at the reception desk and asked with concern, “Was something at the lodge not to your liking, Miss Montrouge?”
“No, not at all. I just need to get back to Vermont tonight. It’s urgent.” Sabrina explained, signing her name to the check, smiling apologetically, and dodging out the door to her car.
Sabrina squinted and tried to keep her sleepy eyes focused on the road, as the windshield wipers swished back and forth to sweep away the lingering drizzle. She hadn’t driven very far, but already she was grateful for the thermos of coffee she had filled in the lodge before checking out. Keeping her concentration fastened on the dark highway, she took a mighty gulp from the thermos and instantly felt refreshed. The caffeine burst carried her along without a single stop until she reached New Hampshire. This time, she made sure to stop in a well-lit area just off the highway. Back behind the wheel, she picked up speed and endeavored to make Burlington her next and final stop.
As soon as she crossed over into Burlington, Sabrina drove to Gio’s loft. Never mind that it was four o’clock in the morning; she needed to speak with him immediately. For an instant, as she turned onto his street, she thought how untidy she must look. The interstate trek had deprived her of sleep and, as she glanced in the rearview mirror, she could discern dark circles under her normally perky eyes. Rubbing some blush onto her cheeks and a quick smudge of color on her lips, Sabrina surfaced from the car and rang Gio’s doorbell. She tried several times to no avail. Getting back into her car, she thought of the only other place he might be at this hour.
A few minutes later, Sabrina parked the sedan outside of the firehouse. She walked past fire engines directly into an area that clearly stated “Employees Only.” Paying no mind to the sign, Sabrina pressed forward, down a long corridor leading to a room where male laughter could be heard. Before she could proceed any further she nearly careened into a fortyish man in plain clothes who asked her, “How did you get through here young lady?”
His tone was stern and disarmed Sabrina, already taxed from the ridiculous amount of driving she had done in the last 48 hours. Stammering a bit, she said, “I—I’m sorry, sir. I saw the sign back there, and I know I’m not an employee. But I have an emergency. I need to speak with Giovanni Salvatore immediately. Is he here?”
The man’s expression loosened as he replied, “Yes, Gio’s in the back room with the other guys. He’s probably sleeping in the bunks. You wait here, and I’ll get him.” He turned around, then called over his shoulder. “What’s your name?”
“Sabrina.”
“Sabrina, hold tight.” The man disappeared into the back room and moments later, Gio emerged. He was dressed in a gray tee-shirt and black sweat pants, and his beard looked like it hadn’t been shaved in days.
Upon laying eyes on Sabrina, he seemed to awaken from a walking coma and cried, “What are you doing here?!”
“I thought you’d be in uniform.”
Gio gave her a strange look and said, “You mean in my gear? No, firefighters don’t sleep in suspenders. We only put the gear on when there’s work to be done.” His voice and demeanor were patronizing. He continued, “Where did you run off to? Your neighbor told me that you were with your parents
in New York. But when I called there, I spoke with Cara and she told me you weren’t there. I’ve been very worried…and also confused about why you left so suddenly.” Gio looked deep into her eyes as he spoke, as if he were trying to extract the truth from her depths.
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