Stepmothers and the Big Bad Wolf eARC

by Edited by Madeline Smoot

  He sighed. “Well, I’m driving my daddy’s car and I guess I must’ve driven over a nail or glass or something cuz I came out and there’s a flat tire. I’ve got everything to change it, yet the lug wrench is stuck in its bracket and these hands of mine just don’t fit back there to get a grip on it. It’s just over there, and I’d be obliged if you could lend a hand to free it up for me. My daddy’s gonna blame me for sure, and he’s only gonna be more upset if he has to find somebody to get him down here to fix it.”

  Julie thought about it. She was sure she still had ten minutes before the bus should arrive, and it was usually late. He seemed sincerely in need, a little scared even, and it sounded simple. Her mom had taught her to change a flat last year, yet this guy looked like he could manage that part himself. “Do unto others,” she thought, “and be the change you want to see.”

  “I’ll try it,” she said aloud, “yet only for a minute; I don’t want to miss my bus.”

  He smiled at her brightly. “Well thank you, miss, you’re like an angel sent straight from heaven.”

  She was a little taken aback by his compliment. Yet she followed him across the parking rows, fortunately also in the direction of the bus stop.

  He headed toward a gray car that had a flat tire on the left rear. A canvas bag and tire were on the ground in a small extra space between the spot the car was in and a brown trash dumpster that hid it from the view of the mall. The trunk was slightly open and he lifted it the rest of the way. “The wrench is pinned at the back, I can nudge it but can’t pull it free.”

  Julie stepped over beside him thinking it would only take a few seconds.

  Suddenly, a car slowed to a stop behind them and a girl called out, “Hey Julie, did you finally find yourself a boyfriend?!”

  One of the passengers said, “Good one, Jess!”

  Everybody in the car laughed as they drove away.

  Julie could feel her face turning bright red. She could hardly breathe, yet stammered, “I … I’m sorry about that.”

  “They friends of yours?” he asked.

  She couldn’t even look at him. “No, but they know me from school. I’m not their kind of person.”

  He reached around her, rubbed her shoulder, and said, “Well, I think you’re a better kind of person. Don’t pay them no mind.” He gently put his hand under her chin and lifted it so she had no choice but to meet his eyes. “Any guy’d be lucky to have you as a girlfriend anyhow.”

  Julie wasn’t comfortable being so near him or with him touching her, and she pulled away from him.

  He quickly let go and apologized. “I’m sorry! Julie, is it? I didn’t mean to scare ya. I’m Ricky.”

  He stepped back a little, holding out his hand, and she shook it. “Uhm, hi. It’s okay; let’s just get this over with so you can be on your way.”

  She leaned over and looked in the trunk. It was dark, yet she could make out the shiny handle of the lug wrench over the shelf area at the back. She reached in and couldn’t even touch it.

  “I climbed in to get it, yet couldn’t get my hand around it,” Ricky said, and he held out his hand to help her do the same.

  She couldn’t turn her head to see it and stretched her arm across the shelf, feeling for it. “Seems like a bad design to put it there.”

  “I think I’ve got a screwdriver in my bag; maybe you could pry it off with that,” Ricky said, and she heard him unzipping something. She found the end of the wrench and was almost able to grip it.

  “Here we are,” said Ricky, and she felt his body press against her side as he knelt and reached in around her. “Just hold still while I get this in place.”

  She felt something soft press against her face that was suddenly in her mouth and being tightened around her head.

  Julie pushed back with all her strength, screaming as best she could despite the gag. Yet his body pinned hers against the shelf and forced her completely into the trunk.

  “You’re an angel,” he said, “and I don’t want to hurt you none. You and me both, we’re real, and I can see you’ve never had nobody really care about you. You deserve to be noticed, and I’m gonna treat you real sweet.”

  She let herself fall to the trunk floor, on top of her bag, and pulled up her legs to kick at him. Yet he hooted with laughter. Pushing his knee into her back, he grabbed her feet. She panicked at the sound of tape being pulled off a roll and torn as he bound her ankles together. She flailed with her free arm, screeching in hopes that someone would hear and bring help.

  “We’re going for a bit of a ride, Julie. You be careful; I don’t want nothing bad to happen to you.” The knee pressure was gone, yet with one hand he held her down as he stood back on the ground. She pushed up, hoping to scramble back out, yet the trunk lid closed and she was in the dark.

  The sound of an air compressor buzzed and Julie felt the left side of the car lift. She was terrified, could hardly breathe, and didn’t know what to do. She stopped screaming and pounded the inside of the trunk lid. It was spongy, like some kind of dense foam. She tried to untie the cloth that was gagging her, yet the back of it was wet and unyielding. She realized with horror that he’d planned this whole thing, even deflating his own tire.

  She tried kicking the trunk lid, yet that didn’t make much noise either. She heard soft thuds on the other side of the trunk wall. The car rocked a little, a door closed, and the car engine roared to life. She heard the exhaust rumbling below her. The car backed up, turned to the right, and stopped. She cried out in frustration as she heard the unmistakable sound of a diesel bus coming to a stop.

  Julie pounded on the lid again, yet couldn’t notice any effect. Nobody would be able to hear. Then he was driving away. He made a bunch of turns that she couldn’t follow.

  “I think he’s trying to throw off my sense of direction,” she thought, “and it’s working.”

  She closed her eyes, willing herself to not cry and to be calm so she could think better. Panic had not helped. She took a deep breath in through her nose, held it, and slowly exhaled from her mouth. The trunk smelled a bit like gym socks, wet grass, mulch, and maybe gasoline or some other solvent. It wasn’t pleasant, yet not sickening either.

  She took a few more deep breaths, noticing light from where the lock should be. She felt for a latch or other release, yet there wasn’t one. She tried kicking at the right where a tail light should be, yet it was tough with her ankles bound together. She lay sideways, pulled her knees to her chest, and started tearing at the duct tape binding them, wishing her fingernails were sharper. The car made a few more turns, and after a brief stop accelerated to what seemed like highway speed.

  Ricky was giddy. He couldn’t stop smiling as he replayed the events in his mind as he headed home. He loved that this mall had its own highway exit, it reduced some risks and made the trip easier for him.

  Sure, he’d taken a little chance by not taping her hands, yet there hadn’t been much time. Besides, if he hadn’t been able to get out of the locked trunk before it was sure to hold a little gal like her. She wouldn’t be able to run off or scream loudly, and he could handle anything else. He liked that she had a bit of fight in her, though, that showed a lot of promise.

  It was taking a lot of effort not to panic again in the dark. Not having a set time to be at her grandmother’s house meant nobody would miss her for hours. Then, feeling rather dumb, Julie remembered her cell phone.

  She pulled it out, and the light from it briefly blinded her. Feeling she’d wasted precious time, she dialed 911 and heard a recording to stay on the line for assistance. When a live operator answered, she tried saying, “Help Me!” yet the gag was too thick and tightly tied to allow more than a hoarse screech.

  The operator asked her to repeat what was said, and she tried. He asked her to stay on the line, yet Julie felt like it wasn’t working and she should try something else.

  She texted her mom, “Am in the trunk of a gray 4 door car. Some guy grabbed me at the mall while I was on my
way to catch the bus. Think we’re on a highway. I’m scared. I love you.” Then she sent, “Tried 911, but there is something tied around my mouth. Help.”

  She hoped her mom would think to check her messages soon. She didn’t have many other contacts in her phone and most of them didn’t text at all. She felt the car slow and go around a curve and shoved the phone in her pocket to hide it, in case they were going to stop.

  She tried again to tear at the duct tape, and succeeded in getting off a small amount, yet he’d wrapped it around several times. She’d need to peel it layer by layer or cut it, yet she didn’t have a knife of any kind. She had her house keys, and she fumbled through her bag to find them. As she started trying to blindly saw and pierce the tape, she heard her mom’s ringtone. She shoved the keys in her other pocket, pulled out the phone, and opened it.

  “Is this some kind of a joke, Julie?” her mom started. “I don’t think it’s funny and I sure don’t have time for games!”

  Julie gasped and screeched for help, feeling the tears and panic starting to overwhelm her.

  “Julie?” Her mom sounded concerned.

  Julie murmured, “Yes, help me!” yet doubted her mom could understand her any better than the 911 person.

  “Uhm, okay honey, if this isn’t a joke, I’m sorry. I love you too. Please say this is a joke. If you can’t talk, I hope you’ll text me again. I don’t know how to help, but if you don’t tell me this is a joke right away I’m going to hang up and call 911 myself.”

  Julie realized she was hyperventilating, and gasped as best she could, “Please, help me.”

  She heard the phone go silent, and put it away. She tried again to free herself from the duct tape, yet it was hard to get pressure there. Her hands were sweaty, and the keys kept slipping.

  “I need to act smarter, not harder,” she thought. It was getting hot in the trunk, intensifying the smells and sweat started to run down her face. She wiped it off on her shirt sleeve and tried pulling at the gag again without success.

  She had no idea how long she’d been in the trunk. She checked her phone and realized it was only 15 minutes after the bus should have left the mall. She wondered how far they had come. She closed her eyes and concentrated on her breathing.

  Julie felt through everything in her bag and pockets and couldn’t find anything that might help her. She didn’t have any tools. She felt around in the trunk and realized that Ricky had cleared it out pretty well. Duct tape covered over edges of the carpeting and a few broader areas. Maybe she could free that lug wrench after all. She felt along it, thinking there must be a bracket holding it in place by tension. Yet there wasn’t. She opened her phone, and its light revealed there was a bracket around the middle of the wrench, screwing it to the back wall of the trunk.

  “A totally pre-planned setup,” she thought. “Has he done this before, to someone else?”

  She used her keys to pry at the bracket itself and popped one of the screws out of the wall. The wrench wouldn’t come free, though.

  Taking a few more deep breaths, she began to take out the screw by hand from the bracket. The car hit a bump and the wrench rattled loudly. She was thrown forward, hitting her head as the car suddenly slowed and pulled to the right, stopping.

  She heard the crackle of a radio speaker mounted above the shelf.

  “Now, now, Miss Julie. I don’t know what you’re doing back there, but my Daddy’s gonna be really unhappy if anything happens to his car. It’s precious to him, you see. But you’re precious to me, like a jewel. You don’t mind if I call you Jewel, do you? You’re just as pretty as a diamond and your cheeks flush so nice like a ruby in the sunlight when you get embarrassed.

  “I know you’re scared, yet this really is the best way for you to get home with me. You’ll understand when we get there, and it’ll be fun. I promise. I’m sure you have a really great smile; I can’t wait to see it. You settle down, and you’ll be safe and out of there soon, honey.”

  Julie’s heart was in her throat. She didn’t know what Ricky intended, and she didn’t want to know. She knew she wanted to get out of there and be almost anywhere else.

  The car drove on, regaining speed. She held the wrench still, wrapping it with part of her shirt, as she finished freeing it. Finally, she had it loose.

  She figured she might only get one chance to use it, and didn’t want to waste it. First she texted her mom again, “Still in trunk. He’s crazy.” Then she called 911.

  She almost cried when a recording said, “Please hold, this number is flagged for immediate police dispatch.”

  She had no idea what that meant, yet she had no intention of hanging up unless the car stopped.

  A new voice said, “Hello, is this Julie Deveroux?”

  She tried to say “Yes!”

  The voice continued “I’ll take that as a yes. You don’t have to say more, especially if you think it would be unsafe. Please keep your phone on. Hide it if necessary. Help is on the way, and we can track you by your phone. I’m officer Pete Smithson, by the way. You’ve been traveling north on Highway 15 towards Elksburg. We don’t know which gray car you are in but your mom told us that much.

  “Local police will have a roadblock in place in about 10 minutes, yet we don’t know if he’s taking you that far. There are 3 exits before it, and lots of wooded areas where it would be hard to find folks on foot.

  “If you can remember the make and model of the car or anything else that would distinguish it, that would help. If you think of something and can safely text your mom, she’s got my partner’s direct number. She called to let us know you’d texted again.

  “You’re a smart, brave girl. Hang in there Julie; help is getting closer. We’ll keep this line open. If he keeps to the highway, you should have a signal.”

  Julie wasn’t sure when she’d started crying again. Her throat hurt, and she couldn’t see. She could hardly think. She could hear background noises even though the officer had stopped talking.

  She felt around the tail light areas as best she could and used her keys to pry open a seam in the carpet behind the left one. She felt some plastic housing for wires and pulled it loose, hoping it would disable the lights. She shuffled her body around to do the same on the other side. She felt around to identify the brake light itself and braced the end of the lug wrench in the middle of it, positioning it so she could kick at it sideways. She had no reason to think Ricky or his “Daddy” wouldn’t hurt her, and doing anything to escape now seemed better than waiting until they got “home.”

  She kicked as hard as she could. The car shook a little, or so she thought, and red light filtered into the trunk as the wrench broke through and cracked the back of the tail light assembly. She reached down and turned the wrench, whacking it through as best she could to widen the gap. She scrunched down and forced the wrench firmly into the breach. She heard a cracking sound. She braced it again, gave another good kick, and it went through to the outside yet was firmly stuck. She breathed a sigh of relief, relishing the feeling of cooler air from the outside reaching her face. She couldn’t see much, yet the light and the air alone made her feel freer and hopeful.

  The speaker crackled again. “How you doing back there, Jewel? You still awake? We’re almost home, honey. Just another exit to go. I’m so sorry for sticking you back there; I’d much rather be holding you. I’ll make it all better soon.”

  The way he sounded so sincere, concerned, and soothing while doing such a horrible thing made her feel sick and hurt her brain. He was crazy even though he seemed nice. She felt slightly guilty because she had felt special when he complimented her. She didn’t want to think about what might happen to him. She didn’t want him to suffer. She only wanted to be back with her family.

  “Julie, are you listening? This is officer Smithson again. We’ve got an officer in an unmarked Mustang following a gray sedan that seems to have something sticking out of its right tail light and only the cyclops light works when the brakes are used. We’re
guessing you’re in there, and you’re a brave, brave, clever girl.

  “Others are on the way from both directions, and things might get more exciting in a few minutes. Hang in there, Julie. We don’t know if he’s armed or not, but our officers will be. We’ll put the car over for the tail lights, and we’ll search it. If you’re in it, we’ll get you out; don’t worry. If you can keep quiet so he doesn’t panic, that may help.”

  The car slowed and veered to the right.

  “Julie, he’s taking an exit. Don’t worry, we’ve got one car right behind him and even if it takes a few extra minutes the rest will be there quickly.”

  Julie thought her heart might explode from the strain of waiting. The car finished curving and went immediately to the left and slowed to a stop, she could hear the clicking of a turn signal. Then she heard a siren chirp close by and the sound of a door closing.

  The speaker behind her crackled. “I’m not sure what this officer wants, Jewel, but you sit tight back there and don’t go making no noise. I don’t want to have to hurt anybody, but I’m not going to let them take my angel away from me.”

  The car turned off. Julie shuddered and waited. The gag was making her jaw hurt, and she really needed a drink of water. She strained to hear, yet the conversation was muffled. The heat was getting to her head, and she felt a little sleepy, yet she jolted awake when she heard a commanding voice sharply say, “Please step out of the car sir!”

  The car shifted and squeaked as Ricky got out, then all was quiet. She heard scuffling, and a voice crying out in pain. The car rocked as something heavy fell onto it, twice. Then she heard, “Drop the knife, boy. It’s over. Drop it, or I shoot!”

  She heard more sirens, and the screeching of tires. Then, the sweetest sound she’d heard all day, the trunk release clicked and the lid popped open. She pushed it as high as it would go, sitting up. Police cars lined the opposite side of the road, and one was directly behind the car she was in. She looked around and saw the Mustang had pulled in directly in front of it at an angle. She saw Ricky kneeling on the ground near the road, with his hands cuffed behind him and two policemen talking to him. He turned his head, revealing red puffiness swelling his face from his cheekbones to his chin. Another officer was putting a long thin knife into a bag. A paramedic was helping an officer remove a blood-soaked shirt.