Girl Jacked (10 page)

Jack had to keep forcing himself to slow down as they raced out to Sullivan’s Auto and Salvage. Sullivan’s was the main towing company the police used, and the official impound yard. The gigantic auto yard was on the west end of Darrington County. Most cars there ended up as scrap, but if they towed a car, they would bring it there.

I should have checked it first.

Jack pulled down the rear view mirror and glared at himself but his reflection glared right back. The person in Jack’s life that was his harshest critic was Jack.

Jerk.

Jack flipped the mirror up.

Replacement was fitting the role of his new puppy more and more. It was 42 degrees out, but she had her window half open and kept popping her head out. She was hopping in her seat, and he kept having the feeling he should roll the window up, or she would jump out.

It was starting to get dark so once they got out of town he punched it. His Impala’s gas pedal was about as sensitive as a moody schoolgirl. The difference between going 20 and 120 was about half an inch. He knew how she ran and she had never left him stranded. 185,768 miles and she still purred.

He decided to give Replacement the look that said, ‘Don’t worry, I can handle driving this fast.’ One glance at her and he could tell she loved speed and was grateful they were getting there fast.

They towed Michelle’s car. That means she didn’t have the car for a while. That isn’t a good sign.

It made no sense she would go to California, but part of him wished she had. She’d be safe then. The alternative was not good.

He thought back to leaving Chandler and Michelle and going to live with his new parents. Could she have done that? Would he blame her? Didn’t he do the same thing when he came back from the army? He had abandoned them.

But I’m selfish, Michelle was good
. He chalked his selfishness up to pain.
What a pansy I am. Michelle must have been hurting just as much as I was, more so, and I know she wouldn’t have left.

He barreled into a turn and the car strained against the chassis.
Too fast
. He was going into a slip. Everything slowed way down. His adrenaline kicked in, and the world seemed to freeze. He loved this feeling.
Cut the wheel go with the skid.
His training was taking over, kinesthetic muscle memory. Dancers, athletes, martial artists all strive for it. If you perform a motion often enough you teach your muscles to move, and when the time comes, the muscles repeat the motion on their own, almost independently of the brain.

Jack was smiling but when he glanced at Replacement, both of her hands were grabbing the “Oh crap!” handle on the ceiling of the car. He still accelerated into the turn. It went against instinct to speed up as the car was going into a slip, but if you didn’t you’d spin out.

As they straightened out, he relaxed his grip on the wheel but noticed that Replacement hadn’t settled back into her seat. Her knuckles were turning white on the handle. He forced himself to slow down.

“I… I’m sorry about driving so fast. I just… I just want to find Michelle.”

Replacement adjusted her grip on the handle. “Me too. Punch it.”

Jack stomped on the gas. He raced the rest of the way there.

Jack stopped in front of the two large gates to the auto yard. A thick chain and padlocked were in place. Replacement jumped out the second the car stopped. He gave three loud blasts on the car horn.

She ran up, grabbed the gates and peered in. “Why is he closed!?!”

As he walked along the 10’ tall fence with old rusted barbed wire, Jack inspected the cars, desperately searching for the blue Honda Civic like a mother frantically scanning faces of people as she looks for her lost child.

Found it.
Jack’s jaw clenched.

The roof of the car was partially smashed in.

The car must have rolled over at least once.

Replacement looked back at him and then followed his eyes to the car. Before he could stop her, she pulled the gates as far apart as the chain would allow and her slender frame allowed her to slip through the gap.

“Replacement!” He grabbed the fence. “No! No! No!” The warning came bursting out like a machine gun as he dashed back. His arm reached through the gate and he tried to grab her, but she was too fast and Jack was too bulky to fit through the opening. “Stop!” He tried not to yell, it was more of a shouted whisper.

It would not have mattered if he had screamed; he knew that she was fixated on Michelle’s car. As she ran up to it, Jack could see the windows were both down and the windshield was broken. The front end was damaged and pieces of headlight and bumper were gone.

“Replacement!” Jack attempted to get her attention again, but she was staring at the car.

Then he heard the jingle of the bells.

He pulled at the gates, but he couldn’t break the chain, nor fit through.

“RUN!” Jack could always yell loudly, even as a little kid. Sheer panic amplified this yell. It was so loud it broke through the dark cloud that Replacement was in, and she looked up.

Jack saw the huge pack of dogs. He couldn’t even count the number of animals that raced towards her. Junkyard dogs; they were muscular, enormous beasts that were as mean as they come. They made no noise except for the ringing of the little bells around their collars. He saw her body tense for the run back to the gate. The dogs must have sensed the hunt was on because they roared and when they did, she froze, her eyes wide with fear.

She’ll never make the gate.

Jack stared as the beasts drove forward, mouths open as they rushed to tear her to pieces.

“GET IN THE CAR!” Jack shouted. He took one look at the barbed wire at the top of the fence and knew he couldn’t climb over it in time.

“GET IN THE CAR!”

Replacement tried to open the smashed car door. It creaked but it did not budge. Jack could hear the dog’s claws on the frozen ground now.

“IN!” Jack ordered.

She scrambled through the open window. Jack saw her legs vanish inside the car. He could only watch as the huge, snarling, dogs chomped at the window where their prey disappeared. Their open jaws snapped, and they barked and scratched at the car. Baying and yelping in frustration, they howled and circled it.

The biggest dog Jack had ever seen put both of its front paws on the open window and rammed its giant head in. Jack heard Replacement screaming and saw her kicking again and again. Her feet were slamming into the beast’s head, but it wouldn’t back away.

Jack pulled the gates open as far as he could, his chest muscles straining. He rammed his body between the gates. His upper body went partially through before he became stuck fast. He struggled to pass, but the metal refused to move. He roared louder than the dogs in a fusion of desperation and fear.

The dogs stopped circling the car and looked as one at the sound of the challenge. They snarled, and their claws raked the ground. The giant alpha dog howled, and the pack turned to hunt their new prey.

The pack trotted toward Jack and then broke into a run. Jack smiled. He had succeeded in luring them away from Replacement. He pushed to move back through the gate, but found that he could not budge; he was wedged fast. His legs strained, and he pressed at the gates, but his upper body stayed where it was. He tried to plant his feet but they slipped on the frozen dirt.

The dogs closed the distance. Jack’s shoulders burned as his back muscles went into overdrive. His shirt ripped open, and the metal slashed his skin. He growled, heaved, and tore himself free just as the dogs smashed into the fence. They howled in frustration now that both their prizes seemed outside their grasp.

“Donner! Blitzen!” An old man dressed in dark blue overalls rushed into view. “Comet! Heel!” The dogs turned and raced toward the man. They nuzzled up against him eager for praise because they had protected the junkyard.

Jack winced as he got up. All of the buttons were gone off the front of his shirt, and his chest was scratched and bleeding.

“That you, Jackie?”

Why older people referred to him as Jackie he had yet to figure out. The old man walked over and unlocked the gate. Jack darted through and headed for the Civic.

“What the hell were you thinking, boy? Heel!” the old man snapped as the dogs started to growl. “Move slow, boy!” he cautioned Jack.

“Sorry, Sully.” Jack had to force himself to slow down and not run to get to Replacement. “I’m here about the blue Civic and my friend ran in to check it out…”

“What? Is your friend stupid, crazy, or both? You never go past the gate at Sullivan’s! Doesn’t everybody know that?” Sully shook his head, and his wild white hair bobbed back and forth. “Go check to see he ain’t bit. If he is, it’s his own darn fault!”

Jack jogged over to the car and found Replacement curled into a tight ball on the front seat. He grabbed the door and yanked it open.

“Kid?” he whispered. “You okay?” His voice was calm and soothing.

He touched her back and her arms shot around his neck. She sobbed and buried her face in his shoulder. He lifted her from the car and cradled her in his arms, his back to Sully.

“What kind a daisy is your friend, Jack? Is he bit or not? Either way, tell him to man up!”

Jack felt Replacement go rigid, and he smiled.
She still had fight in her so maybe she’s okay.

“Man up?” She wriggled her way out of Jack’s grasp. “I’m a woman you killer dog owning psycho!” She wiped her nose with the back of her sleeve. Jack noticed she had a small cut on her chin and another on her cheek.

“A girl! I’m so sorry, honey!” Sully went as white as his hair and looked like he was about to faint when he realized his mistake. “Jack, what the hell is wrong with you?” he grumbled and his legs wobbled. He looked like he was having a heart attack.

“Me?”

Replacement rushed to the man’s side and took him by his hands, concern for him all over her face. How she could go from one extreme to another perplexed Jack. One second he thought she would punch the old man in the face, and now she rushed to care for him. She shot an angry glance at Jack, but as he tried to approach, the pack growled as one.

“Easy, boys! Sit! Sit!” Sully pulled one hand free from Replacement and waved at the dogs.

“Let me help you back inside?” Replacement offered as she took him by the arm. “You’re as pale as a ghost.”

The old man grinned like a schoolboy at the attention and let her begin to lead him into the trailer. “You got cut up. I have some bandages inside.”

She led Sully back to the office as Jack followed at a slight distance, and the dogs followed him. The dogs were very well trained. He might as well have been under guard. If he got too close to Sully, the dogs would growl. If he lagged too far behind, they would growl. He tried his best to follow at the right distance.

The office was what you would expect for a junkyard trailer office. It smelled of a mixture of mildew, cigarette smoke and motor oil. There was a small counter when you came in and a desk covered in greasy papers. An old TV was turned on full blast across from a worn out chair. A little space heater provided a surprising amount of heat and Jack was grateful since he could no longer zip his broken jacket and because his shirt buttons were gone, he had been walking around bare-chested.

Sully had Replacement sit in the portly old chair while he switched off the TV. “Sorry, I’m a bit deaf,” he apologized.

He’s probably deaf because the TV is so loud.

“What brings you out, Jackie?” Sully asked Jack the question, but he kept looking at Replacement. “You want a soda?” he asked her as he moved over to the small brown refrigerator in the corner.

“Sully, I’m not here officially, just yet,” he added the last part as he noticed the old man’s puzzlement. “We are looking for our missing foster sister.”

Sully’s eyes went wide, and he swallowed hard. “Missing? I’m so sorry, Jackie!” This latest bit of news caused him to pale even more. “How can I help?"

He handed a soda to Replacement and offered another to Jack. He mumbled a thank you and put the soda in his coat pocket. Jack already wasn’t looking forward to going back outside, but he didn’t want to do it holding a cold can.

“The blue Honda Civic.” Jack cocked his head in the direction of the car. “What can you tell me about it?”

Sully reached into a drawer and took out a box of bandages. He offered them to Replacement but she waved them off.

“That one? Found her on Reservoir Road. Totaled. Bent frame. Some kids must have rolled her…”

“Kids? Who found it?”

“A hunter called it in. He was out on reservoir looking for deer and said he saw a group of kids trying to start it. He thought they were stuck but when he went to give them a hand, they all took off. Murphy said he figured we’d get the story when she showed up stolen. I hadn’t heard anything, so I was going to check back with him.”

I knew it! Murphy you stupid bastard!

Billy Murphy was half a cop. If he weren't the County Commissioner’s son-in-law, he wouldn’t even be that. He had his own carpentry business and worked part-time as a cop for extra money. He did mostly on call stuff, like traffic details. Sheriff Collins couldn’t stand him and neither could the other police officers. The work was slow here, but the other cops took it seriously at least. Murphy working the car explained the error line in the police database.