“We can’t go back, Julie. It’s just a jacket.”
“I need my jacket!”
“It’s just a jacket, Julie. Calm down.”
“I want my jacket!” Julie yelled even louder. “Turn the truck around.”
“I can’t turn the truck around,” Jack said. “There aren’t any exit roads.”
“Well, put it in reverse, then!” Julie sounded furious.
“Are you crazy?”
Jack slowed the truck as Julie’s eyes wandered across the interior of the driver’s side of the cabin. It appeared that she was considering the possibility of maneuvering the large vehicle. Jack stopped the truck completely and looked Julie in the eyes.
“Now, think this through, Julie. That man could now be armed. He’s probably scared, and he’s not in his right mind. He could shoot us,” Jack said. “Let the police handle this. They’ll get you your jacket. Okay?”
Julie didn’t respond. She just stared provocatively at Jack, her breathing still heavy, and her nostrils still flaring.
“Think of the potential consequences here, Julie.”
Just then, it appeared that Julie’s did, in fact, evaluate the risk and reward of retrieving her jacket from the house. Her pupils bounced around the interior of the truck, and her eyes wandered back and forth before they eventually trained down at the floor. Then Julie turned her body the other way and looked out the passenger window. She put her hair up and didn’t speak a word until they reach the town of Yellowknife.
They stopped at the first diner they came across. Julie had insisted they eat and then contact the police.
The diner was small and intimate. It had a genuine and personal touch to it rather than a corporate and franchised feeling. The few customers who were visiting the diner this afternoon all glanced in the same direction—at the three individuals occupying the sofa in the corner of the room.
Julie sat closest to the window and was currently devouring a large stack of blueberry pancakes, using her entire mouth. The young woman who was wedged in between Jack and Julie had an unkempt appearance. Her red hair was thick and greasy, her complexion was pale white, and the number of pimples on her face almost exceeded the number of freckles. The young woman had her eyes fixed on the chocolate cupcake in front of her. Jack had a sad and disappointed look on his face. A glass of milk and a half-eaten chocolate cupcake sat on the table in front of him, but he didn’t eat or drink at this particular time. Instead, he kept staring at Julie.
“Is this because of the jacket? Is that why you’re not talking to me anymore?” Jack sighed. “It’s just a jacket, Julie.”
Julie ignored him and kept consuming her pancakes.
Jack focused on the young woman beside him. “You’re not hungry?”
He removed the plastic wrapper from the chocolate cupcake and brought the cupcake close to her mouth, but the young women didn’t take a bite. She did, however, all of the sudden stare directly into Jack’s eyes.
“Is your name Melissa?” Jack asked.
The young woman didn’t respond, but she kept staring into Jack’s eyes.
“Melinda,” Julie mumbled, and kept chewing.
At first, Jack seemed relieved by Julie’s response, but then his face turned sad just as fast. Julie kept eating, and never looked his way.
“Melinda, is that your name?” Jack asked. “Do you understand English?”
The young woman kept staring Jack in the eyes, then suddenly, she blinked and her eyes shut for longer than usual.
“You’re safe now, Melinda. You’re going home. It’s all over,” Jack said.
Then, something suddenly broke. The young women’s facial expression appeared completely shattered. She began sobbing hard and loudly, choking for air, almost as if she were drowning in her tears. Jack flinched and looked frightened by the abrupt change in the young woman.
A waitress came to their table, an angry and concerned look on her face.
“What did you do to her, eh?” The waitress poked Jack’s shoulder.
“What did I do to her?” Jack responded. “I think I just brought her back to reality.”
“I’m calling the Mounties,” the waitress said.
“Are you calling the police?”
“You bet I am,” the waitress responded quickly.
“Thank you,” Jack said in a soft voice.
The waitress looked confused.
“Please, call the police,” Jack said and stared the waitress down.
“You just sit right there.” The waitress pointed toward Jack in a hostile manner, and then walked away.
“What the hell is your problem, lady?” Julie yelled, and sprayed the tabletop with her blue saliva.
Not long after, the sound of sirens bounced across the interior of the diner. However, the sound vanished shortly after as the fire trucks passed by the diner in high velocity. Dark smoke rose up from the forest, far away on the horizon.
The police eventually came. Jack sat in the back of the police car. The young woman who sat next to him insisted on holding his hand, and her hand trembled for the entire ride to the hospital. Julie sat in the front seat. She never spoke, and she never turned her head around or even glanced at the people in the back seat of the car.
Both women were admitted into the local hospital. Jack however, was brought to Yellowknife police station.
Evening
Jack sat in an office, and a woman who appeared to be in her forties sat across the desk from him. She had a dark complexion, short curly black hair, and wore a black pantsuit along with a white shirt. The woman turned the computer screen around, so it could be viewed by Jack from the other side of the desk.
“Is that her?” A hint of French came through in the woman’s accent.
On the screen was a picture of a young woman with red hair and lots of freckles. Above the picture was a large headline.
MISSING GIRL, MELINDA NORDSTROM, 16, IS PRESUMED TO HAVE BEEN ABDUCTED AS HER CAR WAS FOUND BY THE SIDE OF THE ROAD.
“Yes, that’s her,” Jack said, and then frowned at the screen. “She’s been missing for three years?”
The woman nodded at Jack and seemed appalled.
“Did they find any more victims up there?” Jack asked.
“Everything burned to the ground. His son is still missing. We think he set the estate on fire once he discovered his dead father and uncle.”
“It burned to the ground? The house too?”
The woman nodded. “It took a long time for the firefighters to get there.”
“Julie left her jacket in the house,” Jack said. “She wanted to go back for it, but I assured her she’d get the jacket back once we contacted the police.”
“It’s just a jacket.” The woman shrugged.
“That’s what I said, but she was really upset,” Jack said. “It must have had some sentimental value to her.”
“Either way, it’s just a jacket.”
“I agree. I don’t understand why she was so upset,” Jack said. “Besides, the jacket was pretty much ruined anyway.”
Jack exhaled deeply, then he shook his head, and his face turned sad.
“Julie wasn’t the same person after we left the house. She was so different all of a sudden.”
“People react differently to…” The woman seemed to be lost for words, and she looked uncomfortable. “When people’s integrity is violated, they usually have a strong reaction.”
Jack bowed his head, but then he raised it.
“Are you certain the main house went up in flames?” he asked.
“I was told the entire estate burned to the ground.”
“And you’re sure we’re talking about the same farm?”
The woman’s expression suddenly shifted from compassionate to alarmed. Then, she turned the monitor back her way and focused on the screen.