by Jesse Reiss
Chapter 37
Thane and Lucy were silent, sitting in the back of their oversized Cadillac SUV, gliding up the 101 freeway. Neither spoke for fear it would prompt accusations and insults they would later regret. Many late nights and tears had been shed on Sam and it was starting to tear their marriage apart. Thane had never approved of this latest project and had told Lucy firmly that it would be the last. She accused him of neglect and abandonment and asked him how he would feel living his whole life in the dark when possibly there was a cure for the condition. At this time, as they left their only real son in the hands of reportedly the last professionals that could possibly give them hope, their marriage — based strongly on the mutual admiration for their child, which had tied them together for many years — was muted and cold.
Lucy’s cell phone rang, breaking the stilted silence. It was Tyra, who was following them in a BMW two cars back. Lucy knew she would call only if it was urgent and that could mean very good or very bad news. Any news or anything to talk about to distance herself from her brooding husband would be appreciated, she thought.
“Miss Curry, it’s Tyra. Jerome called me from the hospital. It’s about Sam. Angelina just showed up there and she’s taken off with him.”
“WHAT?” Lucy screamed.
Thane had overheard Tyra. “Charles! Get off the freeway and turn around! Turn around right now!” Charles immediately swerved to the right, looking for the next exit.
Thane stared at the phone as Lucy went on. “Where is she?” Lucy demanded.
“They went down a fire escape and were seen getting into an SUV and were followed by Hospital Security. He said the cops have been called and have them sighted and are following them now as well.”
Thane turned on the LCD TVs, which the vehicle boasted 4 high-def screens. He adjusted each screen so they were on a different news station. All were covering the Griffith Park fire.
Tyra, having now already given her all the info she had, tried to not to say “I don’t know” as the only answer to the many questions Lucy kept throwing at her about how this could have happened, where was security and where were the doctors and who let Angelina in?
Different images of the wildfire appeared on the screens, some were offset with close-ups of the lone Nissan SUV winding its way up into the park with the police cars in pursuit.
“She’s got my baby!” Lucy screamed at the TV as she saw the SUV being followed by police cars. She had hung up the phone and was taking short quick breaths and going into hysterics. Thane grabbed her hand and put his arm around her, trying helplessly to comfort her.
Charles screeched through a U-turn at an underpass and gunned the vehicle up the onramp, now heading south on the 101 and back to Hollywood.
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Neither phone conversation went well. Angelina had calmly talked to Officer Stanley and explained that she knew exactly where the fire was and knew exactly what she was doing and reassured him that no one was going to be hurt and she wasn’t doing something reckless, though all her actions said otherwise.
Neil tried with no success to reassure a hysterical Paula that he would get her daughter to turn around. He apologized profusely for failing to keep her out of trouble.
When either parent demanded to talk to their child, Angelina refused to talk to her mother and Neil refused to talk to his dad. They tried to give each other back their cell phones, but neither one would take them. They ended the calls. Angelina looked over at Neil and saw he was nearing grief. He looked distraught and conflicted, unable to comprehend what he had gotten into. He was thinking about grabbing the steering wheel from her or pulling the emergency brake and stopping the vehicle, but that was too dangerous on these mountain roads. He would, he made the decision, physically stop her at the next opportunity and turn her over to the police.
They passed several fire trucks and emergency personnel on the side of the road and witnessed blackened and exhausted fire fighters staring in disbelief as they zipped by.
Angelina swerved off onto a dirt road she knew to be a short cut, the vehicle bouncing roughly on the uneven ground.
They could see the fire line clearly now, a couple hundred feet further up the hill. They could hear the roar and crackle of the flames from inside the vehicle and smell the smoke, though most was being blown to the west and to the side of them.
The silence was interrupted by Sam’s quiet and nervous voice. “Angie, I don’t want to get you in trouble.”
“Oh, that’s okay Sam. We’re already in lots of trouble as it is. So long as you stay my friend, I think we’ll get through it okay.” She tried to sound reassuring, but inside she felt anything but.
The strong winds changed, redirecting the fire and sending the smoke cloud billowing back down the mountainside and across the dirt road.
A minute later, their vehicle disappeared into the cloud.