Page 50 of Just Curious

“Wait! Can we just get a helicopter to fly us back?” Casey asked desperately.

“We could try, but I’m pretty sure it would take us a few hours to charter one. If the traffic isn’t too bad yet, we’ll be home in less time than it would take to get one. But it’s on my shopping list for the future, that’s for sure. Case, I need to get back to Willa. If I can, I’ll patch you in on the call, but the car has been cutting out the phone intermittently, so we’ll have to see.”

Miles grabbed his suitcase, and the two of them dashed out the door, only to nearly collide with the room service waiter bringing Miles’ meal. The poor waiter looked shocked by their wild facial expressions and stood gaping as Jackson reached for his wallet. He grabbed a few fifty-dollar bills and shoved them into the guy’s hand. “Oh, sorry! Look, we have to get out of here. Eat the meal yourself, and use the room if you want. We won’t be back.”

They left the dumbfounded young man staring at the wad of cash in his fist. “Thank you, sir!” he yelled as the brothers rushed out of sight. “Rich people are crazy,” he muttered to himself and wheeled the cart in through the open door. For sure he would eat the meal; it smelled delicious. He was due a short break now anyway, so he pocketed the bills and made himself comfortable.

Once they made it to Miles’ rental car, Jackson called the car again. Completely distraught by now, he yelled into his phone, “Willa! Willa?! What’s going on? Talk to me, please!”

“I can’t control anything! I’m going up Torrey Pines right now, and the car is going way too fast. Where are the cops when you need one? I don’t know what to do! Oh. Well. How weird. Now the car has slowed way down. A guy on a bike just passed me actually.”

“Can you get out?”

“I’m trying, but it slows way down and then suddenly lurches ahead really fast. I just don’t have any control, and I’m afraid I’d get halfway out of the car, and it would speed up again, and I’d get hurt. Oh, here we go again! I just zoomed past the cyclist. This is so scary. I should have gotten out when it was going slowly.” Willa’s voice was quivering, and Jackson knew in his heart she was trying not to cry.

“We’ll figure something out, Willa. I’m going to patch Casey in too so you can talk to him while I call the police and try to get you some help. I’ll also call the Tesla people. Maybe they can override it somehow. Hang on.”

He heard Casey try to soothe Willa as soon as he was added to the call, and then Jackson called 911. He had to explain that he was in the wrong city for them to help locally, and really needed help in La Jolla. After a frustrating sequence of connections and misunderstandings, he finally got his point across to a dispatcher who sounded mildly skeptical about a car taking its passenger captive and driving itself, but she promised to send a squad car to the area to look for her.

“I’m telling the truth, lady!” Jackson bellowed at her. “This is a dangerous situation and the car needs to be stopped somehow before anyone gets ki… seriously hurt!”

“We’ll do our best, sir. Calm down, please.”

“I can’t calm down! Okay, look, I need to call the Tesla Company, so I have to go.Pleaseget someone over to that area to stop her!” Jackson disconnected and called the Tesla helpline.

He heard recorded music. He was put on hold before even talking to anyone.

After a few frustrating minutes of hearing crappy music, Jackson gave up. He reconnected to the call with Willa and Casey, and things sounded bad. Really, really bad.

Willa was full-on sobbing now, and Casey wasn’t a lot better. Jackson could hardly make out what she was saying, but finally got the gist that she was being flung around in what sounded like maybe a figure-eight pattern at top speed. She had lost complete control over the speed and the steering, but she could finally get the windows down.

“I’m going to try to jump out, and hope the car doesn’t run over me or break my neck in the process,” she sobbed. “I love you guys, and I hope I see you again. Alive.”

“Willa!” Casey hollered. “Aren’t you safer in the car?”

“NO! I’mnot. The car keeps getting closer to the cliff!”

Cliff?“Where are you, Willa?” Jackson asked, although he had a horrible idea of just where she was.

“I’m at the gliderport! It’s deserted, so I’m not going to hit anyone, but the car keeps getting closer and closer to the edge! Oh, God, help me! Oh, no!”

“Willa, wait! I think whoever is controlling the car must see where you are, and he’s not going to drive it over the cliff with you in it. He’s just playing a game. It will either stop or swerve. I’m afraid if you jump, you’ll be seriously hurt!”

They could barely understand her panicked voice as she shouted, “It’snotslowing down!”

There were some clicking noises. Then they heard Willa scream bloody murder—followed by a series of horrible crunching noises, and finally, everything went silent.

“Willa!” screamed Casey into his phone.

“Willa!” cried Jackson simultaneously. “Oh no, it can’t be.It can’t be!”

Chapter 32

Ryker, meanwhile, was still cackling about the wild chase he was treating Jackson to. “You like speed, asshole? Try this!” he’d say and put the car into hyper speed for a few seconds. “Too much for you, sissy?” and Ryker would abruptly put on the breaks, squealing the tires and making the car fishtail all over the road.

Inside the car, Willa bounced around, hitting her head against the window now and then as she careened sideways, and nearly vomiting when the car abruptly stopped speeding and came to a crawl. She never stayed slow enough to bail out, unfortunately. She was scared to undo her seatbelt for fear of what would happen, but by the time she worked up the courage to take the risk, she was off speeding again.

To Ryker, this was the most entertainment he’d had in ages. He cackled gleefully and glowered at Deb the few times she suggested, “Enough’s enough Ryk. Why don’t you call it quits and leave the guy alone?”

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