Chapter 1
Roger Bostic pulled out of the parking lot of the motel in Utica and headed for the gas station located at the end of the ramp at Interstate 90. The gas station was really a small truck stop, but it had pumps setup just for cars. The Silverado had a Duramax V-8 Diesel and he often had to stop at the truck stops because not all gas stations carried diesel fuel. He had ordered the truck with every luxury item that was available. Because he would be traveling in all kinds of weather, he had the dealer install a fiberglass bed cover so that his luggage would stay dry.
His plans were to take I-90 to Syracuse and then pick up I-81, get over to I-83 in Harrisburg and take I-83 into Baltimore. Although he had four wheel drive, he didn't relish traveling across the northern part of the country in the dead of winter. He hadn't decided what east-west route he would take through the southern part of the country yet. If he decided to skip Florida until later, he would continue on I-81 and pick up I-40 in Baltimore and head west by that route.
He pulled up to the diesel pump and got out to start filling the tank. As the pump started filling the tank, he stood a bit away from the nozzle. He hated the smell of gas and diesel fuel. He heard someone walking up behind him and he turned to see who it was. A young girl walked toward him. She appeared to be about 14 or 15 years old. She was dressed in the tight blue jeans popular with teen-aged girls today. She had on a leather jacket that was stylish but did little in this 30 degree weather. The jacket was open a bit and he saw that she had a tube top under the jacket. Typical teen-ager, stylish and freezing to death. She was pretty but had way too much makeup on. He suspected that she was trying to look older.
"Are you going to Syracuse, Mister?"
"Yes I am. What are you going to Syracuse for?"
She hesitated before she answered, "I'm going to Baltimore to live with my father. My father said that I could come live with him."
He searched her face for some clue as to why she was out on a night like this. She was sure not dressed to be outside as cold as it was. He was sure that she was a runaway.
"Where are you from?" he asked.
"I'm from New York City. I've been hitching with the truckers."
He knew that she was lying to him. If she lived in New York City, she would have taken I-95 to Baltimore. I-95 runs right through New York and it's a straight shot to Baltimore.
He looked around to see if anyone was watching him. He was a bit wary that she might be trying to set him up. She might even be a police decoy. That's all he needed, to be arrested from trying to pick up a minor. He noticed two rough looking men in their early twenties staring at them. When they saw him looking at them, they said something to each other and turned back to look at him and the girl.
"Do you know those two guys?" he asked.
"They said that they would take me wherever I wanted to go. They won't leave me alone. I don't trust them."
"Get in the truck. I'll pay for the gas and grab a cup of coffee. Do you want anything?"
She shook her head and he went inside and paid for the gas and got a large black coffee. He picked up a handful of the snack cakes on the counter and paid for the coffee and cakes and went back outside. The two guys were talking loudly to the girl through the closed window of the truck. She had locked both doors of the truck.
"Anything I can help you guys with?" he asked as he put the keys in the door.
"I was just going to take my girlfriend here home. Where you going with her man/"
He looked at the girl and asked her if she wanted to go with them. She shook her head hard.
"Looks like she don't want to go with you. Move away from the truck so I don't run over your foot as I pull out?"
"Look man, she's going with us," the younger of the two said as he started around the truck.
"Well, no sense getting hostile. Let's let the police sort this out."
Roger pulled out his cell phone. He didn't turn it on but pretended to dial 911. After a few seconds he talked into the phone.
"Yes, I'm at the Amoco station at I-90. I think two men are trying to kidnap a young girl. Could you send a patrol car here and check it out?"
The pair looked at each other and ran to their old faded car in back of the station and started out of the station very fast. As they drove by him, the driver gave him the finger.
He got into the truck and threw the cakes to the girl. She grabbed one and opened it and ate it before they were out of the station. They got on the ramp to westbound I-90 and started toward Syracuse. The girl didn't speak and looked at him sheepishly.
They had only traveled about ten minutes when it started to snow. The weatherman on the radio had predicted light snow with an accumulation of one inch overnight.
"What's your name?" he asked.
"Lara."
"Mine's Roger-Roger Bostic. How come you're traveling this time of night?"
She just shrugged and he was about to revise his estimate of her age. She couldn't be fifteen, she was too naïve. The snow started falling harder. The flakes were about the size of a nickel. Within a few minutes the snow was falling even faster and it started to accumulate on the road. The traffic packed the snow and made a slick slushy mess. The cars ahead of him were starting to slow and his truck was only going between forty-five and fifty.
A car passed him, going too fast in the slush. When the driver pulled in front of him, the back end of the car spun sideways and the car started down the road sideways. It finally went off the road, barely missing a salt truck that was waiting to get the orders to start spreading salt.
"That's it. I'm pulling off at the next ramp. We're going to spend the night in a motel and start out in the morning."
A look of fear came over her face and he could tell she was trying to figure out how to get away from him.
"Don't worry. I'm not into young girls. I'll make sure that the room has separate beds, unless you feel like continuing on your own tonight."
She looked at him as if trying to see by his face if he was safe or not. He got off the Interstate at the ramp and saw a motel about a block from the Interstate. As he pulled into a parking place he saw that they had a restaurant with a sign that said they were open twenty-four hours.
He got out of the truck, "I'll see if they have a room. I'll be right back."
He walked into the lobby. He figured that it was about fifty-fifty she would be gone when he got back to his truck.
The desk clerk was reading a book and looked up as he approached the desk, "Can I help you, sir?'
"I need a room with two beds."
"We only have one room left with two beds. The beds are two king sized beds. Is that Ok?'
He told the clerk that it would be fine and signed in. He didn't know the girl's last name so he signed her in as Lara Bostic. He handed the clerk his credit card and waited while he processed it. The clerk shoved a key at him and told him that the room was at the far end of the motel on the second level.
He was half surprised when he got to his truck and found that the girl had not run off, "Come on. I'm hungry. Let's get something to eat."
"I'm not hungry. I'll just wait here till you get back."
"Come on. You'll freeze out here."
The girl reluctantly followed him into the restaurant. He guided her to a booth and they sat down. A waitress came over to them and put two menus in front of them and told them she'd be right back.
"I'm buying. Save your money for the trip to Baltimore."
He knew, from the way she was acting, that she didn't have any money. She scanned the menu and put it down.
"I'll just have a grilled cheese."
"Yeh sure, you need more in you than that. That won't even keep the heat in your body. Get something decent. How about a double cheeseburger?'
She nodded her head. The waitress came over to them and he ordered a double cheeseburger for the both of them, French fries and two chocolate shakes. The girl smiled at him weakly and thanked him.
"Well Lara, it's time for truth or consequences. I haven't told you a lie yet and I don't want you to lie to me. Why are you on the road heading for Baltimore? I know you don't come from New York City. Talk to me and make it the truth this time. You're running away from home, aren't you?"
She nodded her head. She took a while to start talking and he saw that it was very hard to tell him why she was out on a night like this.
"I can't put up with living with my mother anymore. I'm going to live with my father in Baltimore."
"Lara, you're mother is doing the best she can, I'm sure. The way you're talking, she's a single mom right?'
She nodded, "It's not her, it's her boyfriend. Whenever my mom isn't home he always touches me. The other night he started rubbing my rear and he did other things too."
"What other things?'
She started to tell him and then stopped. She just looked down at the table. The waitress brought their order to them and he was quiet until she left.
"What other things?"
"He grabbed my... my boobs and started squeezing them and told me I was built real good. He started to open my shirt and told me he wanted to feel them. I ran into my bedroom and locked the door."
"Why didn't you tell your mother?"
"My mother broke her leg last year and she couldn't work for a while. She needs the money that Henry gives her for bills. She lost the car while she couldn't work and he has to take her to work. If I told her about it, she would throw him out and she can't afford that. It's just best that I get out of the house."
"How did your mother break her leg?"
"Henry came over to the house, they were just going together then. She told him she didn't want to see him anymore. He started arguing with her and he threw her down the front steps and she broke her leg. He moved in because he said that he had to help her because it was his fault that she couldn't work. Now he stays around the house drinking beer every night."
"Where does your mother work?"
"She's a nurse, so she works all shifts. It's Ok when she's home at night. When she works night shift I have to watch out for Henry."
"Where are you really from?"
"Poland, it's a small town a little north of Utica."
They ate their dinner and she asked where he worked. He told her about his company and how he had decided to travel the country. When Lara was finished the waitress asked if they wanted dessert. She shook her head no.
"Last chance. You don't get anything else until breakfast."
Lara opted for a piece of apple pie and she finished it before he had finished his French fries.
"You haven't had anything to eat today have you?"
She shook her head; "I was trying to figure how to get to Baltimore without any money. That's why I was at the station. I thought maybe I could get a ride with a trucker. Those two guys started trying to get me to go with them and I was afraid that they would try to pull me in the car."
He got out of the booth and she followed him to the cash register. He paid the bill and handed the waitress her tip. Roger told Lara to get in the truck and they would pull down to their motel room. The snow was now about three inches deep and was coming down as hard as ever.
When they entered the room he was pleased that the room did have two king sized beds as the clerk had said and the room was very nice. He went to the truck and got his luggage. Lara had carried her knapsack in with her.
He checked the bathroom and saw that it was stocked with towels, "You get first crack at the shower. I have to make a few calls and let some people know that I'll be a day late because of this snow. Do you have any pajamas with you?'
She shook her head. He went to his luggage and found a t-shirt that he had bought a few days ago. He pulled the plastic off of it and handed it to her.
"I buy these with extra long tails so that when I bend over I don't give everyone a show. This should come down to your knees. It will do for a nightshirt for tonight. Now get your shower so that I can get mine and get some sleep."
She went into the bathroom and closed the door. He heard her lock the door. He waited until he heard the water running and reached for her knapsack. He found a student activity card with her name on it, Lara Barback.
He headed for the office. He had seen a pay phone in the office when he signed in. The clerk was sitting at the desk staring at the snow.
"Do you have a Utica phone book?"
The clerk reached over to a stack of phone books and handed one to him. He searched for the name Barback. There was only one Barback. B. A. Barback. He dialed the number hoping that he had the right number for Lara's mother.
The phone only rang once before someone picked it up.
"Hello."
"Mrs. Barback?"
"Yes, who is this?'
"Is Lara Barback your daughter?"
"Yes, who is this?"
"Mrs. Barback my name is Roger Bostic. I was stopped at a gas station and Lara asked for a ride to Syracuse. She told me that she was going to Baltimore to live with her father."
"Is she all right?"
"Yes she's fine. We're in a motel about halfway between Utica and Syracuse. We're snowed in and I've gotten a motel room."
He heard her gasp, "You don't have to worry Mrs. Barback. Lara is safe. I promise you that I will not harm your daughter. Do you have a pencil and paper?'
He heard her fumbling around trying to find a pencil and paper. He heard a man's voice yelling at her. He couldn't make out what the man was saying.
"Go ahead," she said.
He gave her the name of the motel they were at and his cell phone number. She said that they would try to make it there soon.
"Mrs. Barback, I have a four-wheel drive and I was starting to have trouble. I pulled in here because the roads are getting bad. The snow on the Interstate is turning to ice. Just stay there and I'll bring Lara back tomorrow. If there is some reason why we can't be back by noon, I'll call you and tell you why. You don't have anything to worry about. Lara is probably asleep right now. Would you like to call me back on the cell phone to see that I gave you the right number?"
She hesitated, "No I guess not. Has she eaten anything today?"
"Yes, we just had dinner. I know you're worried Mrs. Barback. Believe me Lara will be Ok. You don't think that I would call and give you my cell phone number if I had bad intentions, do you?"
"No, I guess not. Please get her home as soon as possible."
"I will. I promise that I'll get her home by noon."
"Did she tell you why she ran away?"
"Yes she did. I'll talk about it with you tomorrow."
He told her to relax, that her daughter would be fine. She thanked him and he hung up.
Lara was asleep when he got back to the room. He looked at her for a minute and thought to himself that she would break a lot of hearts when she grew up. She was going to be a beautiful woman. As he walked in to take his shower he heard her let out a big sigh. He knew that the sigh released a lot of tension. He hoped that she would be able to get a good night's sleep.
He was asleep within minutes after his head hit the pillow.