by Noah Rea
“Why didn’t you go back at the truck stop?”
“I guess I was too scared. I didn’t know I needed to go.”
“Lay your seat back all the way down when we go through a weigh station, pull your hat down over your eyes, look as if you are sleeping, and do not move a muscle until we got back up to speed.”
I did exactly as she said. We were back up to speed quickly. She told me she didn’t believe everything I’d told her, but she was sure I was in some kind of trouble. She said she wanted to help me, but warned that it better not cost her too much or she would kill me herself.
“I understand. You won’t have any trouble out of me.”
“Can I sit up now?”
“Yes.”
We rode for a good while in silence. She glanced at me. “Here is the next problem. I don’t know you and don’t really trust you. I’m not going to let you get into the sleeper behind me where you can whack me in the head. It will be hard to sleep in the seat so I don’t know what to do with you tonight.”
We were silent for a long time. After about an hour she turned on the radio and found some music. We continued in silence.
It got dark and she kept driving.
“Look you have gotten me a long way away from my car. I really appreciate your help. You may have saved my life. If you want to put me out somewhere around here so you can sleep, I will understand and still be grateful.”
Deb didn’t answer but nodded she heard me.
About nine o’clock she said, “We are far enough south that it should be nice outside tonight. There’s a catwalk just behind the cab. If you can make a bed and sleep there, I will take you farther tomorrow. You aren’t sleeping in the cab.”
“I can’t ask for anything better.”
We passed a rest area, and she drove on.
“Why didn’t we stop there?” I asked.
“It appeared to be a quiet place. But you would more likely be seen among cars. You will be safer at a truck stop surrounded by trucks.”
I thanked her again, and we drove on in silence.
Later she pulled into a truck stop and up to a pump.
“Can I help?” I asked.
“Sure. Get out and come around here.” She swiped a card in the pump and answered a lot of questions by poking on the pump screen.
Finally, it told her we could pump the fuel.
“Put this nozzle in this tank and turn it on.”
She pointed to the largest fuel hose I had seen outside of a commercial airplane.
“Then go around to the other side. There is another hose and tank over there. Fill that one up too. Just stay with that hose, because it will shut off first. When it does, put the hose back on the pump, put the cap back on the tank, come back around here, and finish this side. That’s all you do. Stay right here with the truck until I come back. Don’t talk to anyone any more than you have to, but be polite. Don’t get in the truck. …I’m locking the truck. Don’t mess with anything else.” With that she locked the doors with the remote, turned on her heels and walked away.
I felt a big sigh of relief coming over me. While she might be turning me in right now, I somehow didn’t think so. I felt somewhat safe for the first time...since…that night.
Not long after I put up the hose on the driver’s side, she came out carrying a sleeping bag. She showed me how to check the oil. Then we drove to the back of one of the largest parking lots I had ever seen. She found an empty parking space in a rather dark place and pulled in forward with the trucks on either side facing out. This way her cab was toward the back of their trailers.
She asked if I had a toothbrush or a change of clothes. When I shook my head “no”, she told me to get out and go with her. She was carrying a duffle bag. She handed me a plastic bag and told me it would be for my dirty clothes. I wasn’t sure what that meant but I kept my mouth shut. We went into the main building where she’d gone when I was pumping the fuel. She asked if I was hungry and I said yes.
We went to the restaurant and sat away from others. We ate quietly and talked a little. It was shallow conversation about the weather, unusual people we saw, things people said. She was nice but guarded. I thought she was probably trying to figure out where and how to get rid of me. It was so easy for her to do it at any time. I was a fish out of water.
She paid for our meal, and we walked to the back of the large building. We came to a hallway, where there were frequent doors with numbers on them. She found the one she was looking for and punched in a code. The door made a sound, and she opened it. She told me to go in and take a shower. She’d be back with clothes in a few minutes. She asked me what size I wore. There were two towels, a washcloth, shampoo, and soap. I would be clean in a few minutes and was getting happier. The water was hot and steamy, and it felt so good. I was taking a long shower, enjoying myself, when I heard a knock on the door. It scared me to death.
“It’s me. I have your clothes,” Deb shouted.
I pulled a towel around me and went to the door. I opened it a crack to see what was going on. She had a roll of clothing, which I took and closed the door. I opened it again to see her about to walk off, and I asked how much time I had. She replied she was about to take a shower. She would not be in any hurry, and I should wait on her in the TV room when I was done. Was I thankful!
I had never been so needy in my life, and she was taking really good care of me beyond anything I had hoped for. I knew it could come to an end any moment, but for now I was enjoying this one. She had given me a pair of jeans, a sport shirt, some tennis shoes, socks, boxer shorts, a toothbrush, toothpaste, and mouthwash. I was about to look and feel somewhat normal for the first time in days. Maybe I could start building back and trying to get myself out of trouble.
After finishing my shower and dressing, I only waited a few minutes in the TV room until she appeared and asked if I was ready. I said yes, and we walked out together. I had put my dirty clothes in the plastic shopping bag she had given me.
She didn’t smile or do more than glance at me. We walked to the back of the building to the dumpsters. She told me to see if I could find some corrugated boxes. After poking around a bit, I came up with a large one and two small ones, which we carried to the truck.
She told me to break the boxes down flat and put them on the walkway behind the cab and put my sleeping bag on top of them. She said good night and got in the truck. I didn’t have a pillow but I was not going to complain. I slept really well that night. I awoke several times when one of the trucks pulled out in the middle of the night, and a short time later, another one pulled in. There were other noises, and I awoke a few more times, but I still slept very well. Later I learned one of the noises was a “Refer Unit” going on and off.
The next morning we ate breakfast and were pulling out of the parking lot when a black SUV with all dark windows pulled into the car entrance. I tried not to look at it or flinch or tighten up, but when it was out of sight she glanced at me and said, “You can breathe now.”
We pulled away and I began to take her advice.
“So the black SUV is after you, huh? They don’t look very nice.”
I was too shaken to reply. And I had done my best poker face. How did she know I reacted?
We continued to travel this way for about five weeks with me sleeping in the sleeping bag and her in the truck, and me helping with fueling or any way that I could. My daily prayers always included thanks for sending Deb to me, and one month after meeting her I gave extra thanks that she had not dumped me yet. Each day and each mile that rolled under the truck could be the last one, but I wasn’t as scared as I had been. I didn’t know if I was really safer, though.
Chapter 4
A New Day
One morning a few weeks after that, Deb decided she needed to hear my story. She woke me around seven and asked if I was hungry. I really was and told her so. We had a good breakfast and hit the road. The conversation was much like the days and nights before. I was not going to
create any problems for her, so I didn’t bring up anything.
About midmorning she broke the ice. I knew this was coming, and I dreaded it. She would ask me who I was running from and why, or she would tell me when I was getting out of her truck. Still I was grateful and looked at her, intent on listening.
“We need to talk. I don’t want you to lie to me. I don’t intend to turn you in, but I may kill you myself if you don’t tell me the truth.”
“OK.”
“What do you want to do? Where are you headed? I have done about all I intend to do.”
I paused a long time, and she didn’t press me to answer quickly. “I don’t know. I’ve been trying to stay alive. I have thought of a few things but haven’t come up with anything solid yet.”
“What do you mean?”
I was thinking quickly and talking slowly. She had done a lot to help me. I could sense it was coming to an end, and I didn’t want it to end badly for either of us. I didn’t want to tell her everything for sure.
“There are men in a black SUV who are trying to kill me. I’m sure you saw the bullet holes in the back window of my car. You saw the black SUV at a truck stop. I don’t know who they are, but they know when I use my credit card.”
She looked me in the eye. I’m sure she thought I wasn’t telling the truth.
“OK. Why are they trying to kill you?”
“I don’t know. No one’s mad at me. Not that I know of, anyway. I haven’t stolen from anyone. I haven’t been around any drugs or drug deals. I don’t know.”
Then I asked her if she had seen the bullet holes in the back window, and she nodded her head “yes”.
There was a long silence. We drove until we came to the next rest area. She pulled off and got as far away from cars and other trucks as she could. She parked the truck and turned toward me. “I’ve done what I’ve done because I’ve taken you at your word that you were afraid for your life. But I will tell you for sure I find it hard to believe except for those bullet holes in the back window of your car. And just because a black van looks ominous doesn’t mean they’re after you. What you have told me so far seems incredulous.”
She frowned. “I’ve been suspicious the whole time with you tearing up and with your wild story. I’ve been concerned about you conning me. I’m not easy to take as a mark, but I have been had, lied to and cheated. I’m worried it’s happening again, and I don’t want what I fear to prove true. I don’t necessarily believe you, but I don’t ever want to refuse to help someone who is really in need.”
“I’m not conning you.” I said. “You have to believe me. And I’ve wanted to pay for stuff because you’re doing so much for me. I haven’t paid for much of anything because I’m afraid to use my debit card. When I do the black SUV people show up who are trying to kill me. I only have a few hundred dollars cash right now, and I’m not sure how long I have to make it last.”
I didn’t want to tell her I was also concerned she would abandon me somewhere, and if I had no money on me then I would really be hurt.
“Let’s use your card and see if you’re telling the truth.” She said.
“What!” I exclaimed with fear obviously in my voice. She was about to give me a heart attack. I hadn’t seen the black SUV in several days and hadn’t totally relaxed but I wasn’t jumping out of my skin either. “That will bring them to find me. Why would you do that?”
“I want to see if you are telling the truth.” She said.
“Are you going to turn me over to them?” I asked and then paused. “Please don’t do that. Just let me out right here if that is what you are thinking.”
“I’m not going to turn you over to them. I just want some proof you aren’t lying to me.”
My fear made me hesitate. My head was spinning. I didn’t like it a bit but finally, I agreed. “OK, but I would prefer it was not at any place close to a truck stop because I don’t think they are currently looking for me in a truck.”
“Okay, if you are telling the truth I don’t want them knowing you’re in my truck either. I don’t need more trouble. So we will go somewhere and make a plan so they don’t connect you with this truck.”
We agreed to find a place away from all truck stops and cameras, use the card, and see what happened. The rest stop didn’t have many cameras, but we didn’t want to take any chances. And then for the first time I became worried they wouldn’t come.
“What if they were too far away or it takes them too long to get for them to get there?” I asked.
Now I was afraid she would give up waiting and leave me where I used the card and where they would start searching again? Would this fear and trouble never end?
We located a strip mall a few miles away and decided to go there for our test. We wanted something way back in the parking lot so we could see people coming in off the interstate and service road. We agreed on a store with a back door exit. I asked if there was anything she needed since I owed her anyway. She gave me a list of things she wanted and I went shopping.
We agreed on a plan.
Once I swiped the card, she and I would be watching the highway and the service road. If I saw something threatening, I’d go out the back door. She would be sitting in her truck with the front at the end of the building, where she could go around back in a hurry. Or at least as fast as you can in a truck. Plus, we scouted out the back drive, and there was a street leading to a major divided median road that led to the interstate.
If someone showed up, I would go out the back door. She would pull around back and get me and we would get on the interstate as fast as we could. It would be essential they did not see me get in the truck. We had driven around back and checked to be sure there were no cameras where I would be getting in. She pulled back up front and let me out at the corner where no one saw me and then went to the spot we had agreed on her sitting.
I went in the store and took my time shopping to try to get exactly what she wanted. Just before I checked out, I went to the front window and made sure she was still there and she was watching. She saw me and knew the test was about to happen. I found out the store limit on cash advances and got as much as I could.
With my heart pounding and a lump in my throat, I swiped my card. To my relief it went through, and I had the merchandise, cash, and receipt in my hand. I stood back from the front glass door a little and watched the street. My heart was beating so hard I thought the teller could hear it. Nothing happened. I waited for a few minutes.
Imports, cars, and pickup trucks were the only things turning into the mall parking lot. No one was driving fast. I decided it was safe, and I walked out the front door. I walked past the next store in the direction of her truck hardly able to breathe and kept watching as I walked. I got to the truck and got in. She was watching the street. We sat there for about five minutes.
She turned to me. “OK, I am putting you out a couple of miles from here. I would put you out right here, but if I should be wrong, I don’t want you killed a couple of hours from now. It looks like you’re conning me, and I want to be done with you. Either way, here or down the road, you’re getting out. So which is it?”
I was slow to answer. Scared and so disappointed she was angry with me. “Down the road. At least I don’t want to be here since I still think they will show up.”
She turned the truck around and drove slowly through the parking lot to the service road headed back on the interstate. About the time we pulled onto the service road, we saw a black SUV coming off the freeway and going at least a hundred miles an hour. It screeched into a turn and entered the parking lot, where the vehicle slowed for a few seconds. Then the passengers must have located the store they were looking for. The SUV tore out across the parking lot with smoke pouring out behind.
She got on the interstate, and neither of us said anything for a while. Then she sighed. “That was a scary-looking SUV. I don’t think you want to talk to them.”
It was all we said for a couple of hours.
Finally, she glanced at me. “Are you hungry?”
“A little.” I answered in a low unmotivated voice.
The morning’s exercise left me more than a little shaken. We pulled into a truck stop for lunch. After she ordered a good-sized meal and I ordered soup, she broke the small talk.
“It looks as though someone bad is very upset. That SUV was serious, and they beat the police there. I know they are not the police because I looked at the tag. It was moving too fast and it was too far away to read it all, but I saw enough characters to know it wasn’t a government tagged vehicle. All of this tells us the people who are after you appear to be dangerous and well connected and have money.”
“I was thinking about joking with you. What I saw back there was very scary and they got there quickly. I’m pretty sure I could get a lot of money for turning you over.” Then she paused while my face went flush. “But it probably wouldn’t be funny right now.”
It wasn’t funny and I wanted to tell her so but she had been so nice I bit my tongue. It would be better to get more miles with her than to correct her. So I didn’t say anything.
“I don’t like them either.” She said. “They scare me, and I don’t get scared easily. I don’t know what to do with you. I want to get rid of you, but I don’t want to get you killed either. I’m certain those guys would kill you. If they get a hold of you, it won’t be pretty. You really need to figure out who you made angry.”
She paused and looked out the window trying to figure out what to do.
“Anyway now I believe you so I’m a little more comfortable helping you. That doesn’t mean I like it but I don’t want to get you killed.”
I just sat there for a long time. I didn’t know what to say and she didn’t push me for an answer. Finally, I found the energy to talk.
“I know your assessment is accurate. The bullet holes in my back car window were all I needed to know. I don’t intend to let them catch me but I don’t know how to protect myself on my own. I am totally at your mercy. I need your help.”