Page 9 of Tiger Queen

Talking with Ashley didn’t leave me feeling as excited as I had hoped. The satisfaction of what I had done had already worn off and I was left with a deep sadness for the animals I had seen. I could still feel the white Siberian tiger’s blue eyes following me, intense and thoughtful. Like he knew he didn’t belong there either.

I finished my second beer, then started on a third as my food arrived. By then I realized that I was buzzed from the beer. I slowed down on my third drink and wolfed down my food, but I could tell I wasn’t totally sober. And I was still five hours from Fredericksburg.

Outside my window, on the other side of the Applebee’s parking lot, was a Sunshine Motel. Sobriety aside, the thought of relaxing for the rest of the night rather than getting back on the road was appealing.

“Hey mom, it’s me,” I said into my phone while walking across the parking lot.

“Rachel! How are you? Are you in Virginia yet?”

“I got a late start this morning. I’m just outside of Fayetteville. I think I’m going to take your advice and split the drive in half. I’ll get a hotel here and come home tomorrow.”

“I told you eleven hours is too far to drive in one day,” she said. “I’m glad you’re being smart. We’re so excited to see you!”

“I’m excited too,” I said. “I’ll text you when I leave, but I should be home by lunch. Love you.”

She was so enthusiastic and supportive. More than I deserved. Once again it made me dread the coming weeks, staying at home and trying to find a job.

Hopefully the evidence I gathered today will help with that, I thought.

The rooms at the Sunset Motel were cheap. After getting the key from the front desk I walked back to my car, then drove it to the back side of the motel where it would once again be hidden from the road. Just in case anyone came looking for me. The room wasn’t anything to write home about, but it had a bed and a bathroom, and it was clean. All I wanted was to take a shower and go to sleep. It had been a long day.

I turned the water on in the shower and began to strip out of my clothes. When I was down to my bra and panties I realized that the towel rack above the sink was empty. No towels there, nor on the back of the door. I turned the water off.

“Damnit.”

I didn’t feel like putting my dirty clothes back on, so I called down to the front desk and asked for them to bring me some fresh towels. The girl who answered promised to send them up right away. I waited by the front door in my bra and panties. Impatient, I checked my email on my phone to see if David or Anthony had emailed me after what had happened. Nope—my inbox was empty.

A knock came at the door. Taking care to keep my body hidden behind the frame, I opened the door and reached a hand out. “Thanks for bring it so quick—”

Everything happened very quickly.

A man pushed aside my hand and shouldered his way inside. I backed away instinctively. He shut the door and bolted the chain, then turned to me with danger in his blue eyes.

“You,” David Haines said in an ominous voice.

5

Rachel

I hated scary movies because the characters never behaved realistically. The women in scary movies would freeze when they saw the killer, and just stand there as he raised a knife to kill them. Meanwhile, I was screaming at my television for them to run, to call for help, to do something. Anything.

Yet as David Haines locked my door and turned to me, I realized that nobody could predict how they would react in such a situation until they were there. It felt like my feet were frozen in place. My tongue was heavy in my mouth. My brain struggled to process what was happening and what I should do next. It felt like my system was rebooting, and I stood there helplessly.

“You,” David said as he turned to me. “We need to talk about what—oh shit. Why are you half naked!”

He turned away and shielded his eyes with a hand.

My voice came out in a squeak. “Because this is my hotel room!”

“Then why did you open the door!”

“Because I was waiting for the front desk to bring me a towel! Why are you here!”

It was a dumb question. I knew exactly why he was here: to take my phone. To retrieve the evidence I had taken.

Or worse.

I cleared my throat and prepared to scream.

---