In The Shadows, page 7
The girls agreed to meet up again on Saturday morning for the search. They weren’t sure if the search area would be changed due to the new discovery, but they knew they wouldn’t be anywhere else.
Brandon and Tonya agreed on dinner Friday night. This time they decided on a Mexican restaurant in Tuscaloosa. Once again, they received the dirty looks because they were together. As Brandon kept his focus on Tonya, he realized she seemed to be comfortable with being in his company. He knew people were sometimes cruel when it came to interracial dating, and he would never want to put Tonya in an uncomfortable position.
Brandon was almost laughing inside when he realized he’d insinuated they were dating. It had been a while since Brandon dated. He had to learn to accept the fact that he was genuinely attracted to African American women and also accept the fact that his father would never accept that. Brandon knew that this day would come eventually, which would probably mean the end of an already strained relationship with his father.
Brandon quietly listened while Tonya updated him on the disappearance. Brandon found himself smiling as he listened to the detective sum up her case from across the table. When Tonya mentioned the way the girl was bound, Brandon immediately thought of Stella again and how she was found bound and gagged.
Brandon had gone through his list of missing persons and had approximately ten more people to try to match up with the victim. Most of the women he found meeting the description of the missing girl were homeless people and runaways. It would be hard to match them up if he had nothing to go on. If she was homeless, that probably meant nobody was looking for her.
* * *
Danielle was beyond hungry, and she knew it wouldn’t be long before she was too weak to go on. She heard a vehicle in the distance that seemed to stop right outside her location. She immediately thought it could be help, but when the door opened, she knew it was him by the sound of his heavy feet sometimes dragging across the floor.
Danielle knew she had to remain still and pretend she was dead. When he opened the door and the light poured in through the top of the container she was in, the smell of urine and feces trickled out, but it was not unusual for him. Danielle had been sitting in her own waste for two weeks and could only move around so much in the tiny compartment. She was so weak, it wasn’t hard to pretend to be dead.
Something was different this time, and Danielle was very afraid; she felt her time had run out. After just a few minutes, he suddenly closed the door, and Danielle could hear him shuffling away. It wasn’t until after he left did Danielle feel the coolness in the compartment.
* * *
The Bensons scheduled a trip out of town that weekend. As soon as Mrs. Benson arrived home on Friday evening, she decided she and Joey would go away for the weekend. She’d had a successful conference, but with the recent discovery, Mrs. Benson felt the need to escape the frenzy that was taking place in Northport and parts of Tuscaloosa. Mrs. Benson didn’t have many friends, being new to the area, so she and Joey decided to go to Birmingham and maybe do some sightseeing or visit the zoo.
While Joey finished up at work, Mrs. Benson was packing their things. She’d taken Monday off, and very soon after arriving home, she and Joey were on their way out of town. Dr. Benson had to stay and see patients, so he called Vera who worked at the clinic part-time to cover the front desk for him that Saturday.
* * *
Carlos had spoken with his mom and heard about the body being found. He was terrified it was Andrea. He’d not heard from her since that night he was supposed to meet her. Carlos had hoped she’d turned up at home by now, so he wouldn’t have to carry around the guilt of not being able to meet with her that night. He would forever live with blaming himself for her disappearance.
Once his mom informed him of the discovery, Carlos knew he would not be able to put it out of his mind. He never wanted his wife to find out he’d been unfaithful, but he didn’t know how long he would be able to keep silent.
* * *
Brandon had a lot of work ahead of him. He still had some schoolwork to finish up before he turned in for the night. It would soon be dark, and he needed to get busy working on the last stack of printouts he had left.
He smiled as he watched Tonya drive away. She made him feel good about himself and confident in his abilities to help solve the case that brought them together. Although he wished it was under different circumstances, Brandon was thankful for the chance meeting. He knew there was something intriguing about her when he saw her for the first time at Subway.
They had very few things in common, but both of them having the desire to solve mysteries was odd all by itself yet interesting at the same time. As Brandon drove home, he wondered how hard it would be to get his captain to allow him to work on the case with the lead department. Brandon figured he could act as the liaison to his department and would be privy to all the new developments, in addition to being able to help out with the case.
* * *
Tonya was in deep thought as she neared the library on her way back to her dorm. All the research she had been doing was wearing her out. She spoke to Natalie and her aunt briefly on her way home. There were no new developments in the case, and in a way, Tonya was relieved to hear it. Before she passed by the library, she made a quick detour pulling into the parking lot. She needed to research something else before meeting up with Brandon tomorrow, and she had a good feeling about it.
Chapter Fourteen
Several hours after her visitor left, Danielle began to lose consciousness again, this time due to the drop in temperature. She felt weaker than ever and couldn’t believe it had grown so cold, colder than it had ever been since she’d been stored in the compartment. Suddenly, she knew that whatever he did on his last visit had everything to do with her current condition.
Danielle was too sleepy to call out as she went to sleep thinking about her family. Danielle felt hopeless as she decided to say her prayers and go to sleep for good. She’d not heard from him in a long time, and she knew that her health was deteriorating and fast. He’d never been gone this long before, and Danielle realized he had left her there to die.
* * *
It was Saturday morning, and Natalie and Janelle were dressed in their gear and ready for their assignments. The search team captain spoke to the group before they departed and let them know they were running out of time, and the chances of finding Danielle alive were growing dimmer. His announcement caused a buzz within the group, and fear spread throughout the search team like wildfire. Tonya walked up just in time to console the girls and let them know that anything was possible. Tonya truly believed that with God’s presence, anything was possible and urged the girls not to give up hope.
Tonya knew Brandon would be there later and felt she needed to get on the grounds with the girls helping with the search. She agreed to meet with Brandon for lunch and match up notes. The search area that day was farther north, and the volunteers were driven to a field near Northport, which was thirteen miles away.
Tonya agreed to drive the girls, so they would be able to come and go as they needed to. Tonya dialed Brandon on the way to the site to inform him of her whereabouts. His search was also moved farther north of Tuscaloosa, and he wondered what clues the found body held.
Brandon would spend the rest of the day searching, but the next day he wanted to follow up on the three missing persons’ files he had narrowed his search to. One female was a runaway, and two were homeless people. He really wanted to go to the homeless shelters in town to see if he could get more information on the ladies. The runaway was reported missing from Columbus, Ohio, and he knew following up on that tip would require a visit to the local police station in Columbus.
Brandon’s team returned to the church around lunch, and he waited for Tonya and the girls to show up. As soon as he saw her car pulling up, he stepped out of his truck to make himself visible. When she parked and exited the car with the girls in tow, for the first time Brandon had to wonder if her family and friends would be receptive to him. He’d always been concerned about his father, then he had to worry about the reaction he would have on Tonya’s family.
Once he saw her heading in his direction, he pushed his body away from the truck and started walking toward her. Her face lit up as she made eye contact with him, with the two girls following. Seeing this put him at ease, and he began smiling as he walked up to meet her. As soon as he reached her, they shared a short but warm embrace.
“Brandon, I want you to meet my cousin Natalie and her best friend, Janelle. They are both very close to Danielle.”
Shaking their hands, he said, “Ladies, it is very nice to meet you.”
“Likewise,” Natalie said smiling. “We’ve heard a great deal about you. It’s good to finally meet you.”
Now with a whimsical expression, Brandon had to wonder just what Tonya had shared with the girls. The girls excused themselves and disappeared inside the church for lunch.
“Don’t worry, Brandon. I didn’t tell them your deepest darkest secrets. I simply told them how we met and that we were sort of seeing each other.” Tonya smiled, with her smile soon turning into laughter.
“Oh, did you now? That’s cool. I’m okay with that. I wasn’t sure if it was something we should be keeping from them.”
“Why would we keep it from them? Is that how you prefer us to exist?”
“No. By no means would I want that to happen. I was simply trying to make my presence easier for you.”
“And by keeping you a secret would make things easier for me or for you?”
“Okay, wait, let’s start this over. I am used to my father being stubborn when it comes to my dating preferences. I wasn’t sure what your family and friends would think, and today it suddenly hit me when I saw you pull up with them in your car. I never want to put you in a difficult position, that’s all.”
“Well, Brandon, that is very considerate of you, but I can handle my family and friends. If I haven’t told you already, my family has always been supportive of my decisions to date whomever I felt comfortable with. If you hadn’t noticed, I feel totally at ease when I am with you. As for my friends, I could really care less if any of them had an issue with the fact that I was dating someone of another race. I learned a long time ago that when times get rough or things become different or difficult is when you learn who your true friends are. I can honestly say that I can count on one hand how many real friends I have, and I’m okay with that. I’ve never been about pleasing people or doing things to make them happy. I just want to be happy.”
“It’s good to hear you say that. Saying that really puts my mind at ease,” Brandon said, smiling as he remembered Tonya mention they were dating. He knew she was a carefree and independent young woman, both of which he welcomed totally.
Brandon wanted to be happy too, and he thought being with Tonya would not only make him happy but allow him to be true to himself. He’d been hiding his feelings for so long, and now to find someone who thought like he did blew him away. Not only was Tonya a beautiful girl, she was smart and ambitious too. He knew he’d gotten lucky, and he only wanted to keep her happy.
They had lunch out on a picnic table and discussed and exchanged their new information. After Brandon shared his information with Tonya, Tonya surprised Brandon with her new development. Brandon was excited about getting closer to identifying the body that was found not long ago. He told Tonya he’d narrowed it down to three girls. Two were homeless, and one was a runaway from Ohio. Brandon wasn’t sure how yet, but he needed to get to Ohio and do some more digging without stepping on any toes.
Tonya explained that after she did some more research at the library last night, she had an idea and needed to get information. On her way to the search site, she questioned Natalie and Janelle about the missing girl. Sometimes the locals had more information than the sheriff’s office who was supposed to be investigating the case. The girls told Tonya that it had been rumored that the missing girl had been seeing someone and was supposed to see him the night she disappeared.
Brandon was shocked to hear that information and knew it made complete sense, although finding the boyfriend would be like finding a needle in a haystack. Brandon was sure whoever it was didn’t want to
be found.
Chapter Fifteen
When the room fell quiet again, Danielle knew it was now or never. She’d almost given up on escaping or seeing her family again. She awoke frantically gasping for air and rubbed her legs together in an effort to warm up and realized the room had grown extremely cold.
Danielle knew her heartbeat had slowed considerably, and she needed to get out of the area and fast. Danielle was thankful for the box of juices she’d been supplied with since she’d been held captive. Although they didn’t come every day and didn’t make up for a meal, she learned how to ration them to keep herself semihydrated. Danielle knew it wasn’t enough, and she could tell her kidneys were beginning to shut down. She’d not used the bathroom in days and felt her time was coming to an end.
Then deciding it was now or never, Danielle pulled herself up to her knees. She began to stand slowly until her back hit the top of the box again. It was already so cold in the box that she felt like her feet were stuck or frozen to the bottom of the floor. The top was cold to her back too as she pushed with all her might while she stood.
Almost screaming in pain as she used every ounce of strength she had left in her debilitated body, the screaming soon became joyous laughter. Danielle could not believe she had managed to get the top open. She’d tried numerous times to push the top open, but it was always locked. That day, she knew her prayers would be answered. Although she didn’t know what she would find once she got out, she was hopeful people were still looking for her.
As Danielle pushed the lid back, she immediately shielded her eyes from the painfully bright sunlight. Danielle realized she was extremely photophobic and moaned in pain. Then finding her footing, she was able to get one leg on the outside of the compartment, which she discovered was a large deep freezer. Being weaker than she imagined, Danielle found herself falling clumsily to the wood floor with a thud, hitting her head.
Realizing it was still daylight, Danielle suddenly panicked, not knowing if someone could hear her moving around inside the room. Maybe he would know instantly that she had escaped. With her mind racing, Danielle knew she had to be smart.
With the room being lit only by the tiny window covered in years of dust, Danielle squinted her eyes as she crawled around the room, looking for anything to cover her naked body. She found two old T-shirts stuffed into a corner of one of the shelves in the room. Danielle knew wearing this would be better than wandering around in the middle of nowhere wearing nothing.
Searching for a weapon, Danielle was unable to find anything she could use for a weapon. She crawled to every corner of the room and was finally able to find half-empty cans of paint with a paint scraper sitting on top of one of the cans. This would be better than using her already weakened and fragile limbs and hands.
As she put on the oversized T-shirt, she was able to tie the other one around her waist to cover her bottom. When Danielle finally mustered the strength to stand on her weak legs, she realized she had started her menses as she felt the blood trickle down her leg. She had been so out of touch with her body that her cycle was the last thing she thought of.
Now removing the second T-shirt from her waist, she stood on one end of it while pulling with all her strength on the other end, to tear the T-shirt into two pieces. She then had two strips of cloth she could use for a pad. Danielle needed to get out of the building before he returned as she looked about the room for her escape route.
The window was too high to climb through, and she knew he would probably be watching the door. She wasn’t sure which route to take, so she slowly made her way over to the window and stood on her tiptoes to get a peek outside.
She was shocked to see that she was in the middle of nowhere and surrounded by a grassy field in a heavily wooded area. There were no roads or other buildings in sight. Realizing she was not far from the tree line, she figured if she could make it to the trees, she could get lost in the woods.
Growing up a tomboy, Danielle had no fear of being in the woods or climbing trees with the neighborhood boys. As she focused in on the doorknob, she realized the key was still in the door. Almost gasping aloud, Danielle knew she had to stay focused on the task at hand.
With trembling hands, Danielle reached for the doorknob and found it locked, but it didn’t discourage Danielle. Once she grabbed the knob with one hand and the key with the other, she was able to unlock the door with ease. After gently pulling on the doorknob, knowing she was only seconds away from being outside, she realized the deadbolt was on.
Now slightly laughing at her inability to focus, Danielle looked around the room one more time before trying to open the door. Holding her breath, she almost felt like he would appear out of nowhere just in time to stop her from leaving, like in the movies. Danielle listened for any outside sounds over the thud of her heart pounding loudly in her ears. Not seeing him or hearing anything on the other side of the door, Danielle slowly opened the door and felt the warm sun on her fragile skin.
* * *
Saturday’s search ended up just like the previous Saturday, and the family was beginning to lose hope. Danielle’s mom, dad, and brother had been out every day, searching for her. Now that the search area had been changed, they were relieved, and believed that she might be found alive. Reverend Hall had come to pay them a visit late Saturday evening and wanted to counsel them and pray for Danielle. The family knew they were running out of time. They had spent every waking moment driving through neighborhoods and walking through parks and trails every chance they got, in hopes of finding their little girl.
