Broken down on the side of the road was not what Janie had envisioned when she'd left Denver for Seattle, and evening was drawing near. She had little to no mechanical experience and that was why she'd settled on renting a car instead. She'd be calling Enterprise in the morning, if she could only get a cell signal. She held her phone up in the air, praying that she'd get just enough of a signal to call for a tow. The phone simply ignored her hopes.
Tired from the 8 hours she'd driven straight, stopping only for a quick snack or two and a restroom, Janie contemplated walking the four or five miles to the next mark on the map. It was a small town, but surely they had land lines that worked better than her cell. She opened the driver's door, threw her phone into the passenger seat, and slid in behind the wheel. She tried the engine one more time, but it was obvious even to her that something more than a battery was an issue. Frustrated, she sat with her hands on the steering wheel watching the sun fading over the horizon. The mountains were beautiful, but she really had no desire to walk the fairly deserted roadway in full darkness.
She tried the car one more time before cussing it out. Steam was now billowing out from under the hood. "Great," she thought. "Perfect actually." She pounded her right fist on the steering column, and then regretted it when her hand stung from the blow.
Janie leaned back against the head rest and closed her eyes. She kept going over scenarios, and the only one that truly made sense was staying in the vehicle, the doors locked, until morning came. She reached around to the back seat and grabbed a sweatshirt. With the sun finally gone, and no way to start the car, she was getting chilled and used the sweatshirt to cover herself. She left the hazard lights on and hoped no one would run into her as she took a nap.
Liz Harding was a deputy sheriff who frequented the night shift, preferring the near-empty roadways to the site-seeing crowd and families that traveled the interstate system on their way to vacation destinations. She never felt lonely; she had her iPod filled with her favorite road tunes and drove the Tahoe with the stereo blasting and the windows down on cool nights. She had started her shift at 8 that night, about 3 hours earlier than usual. Being single in a world of men who had wives or girlfriends to go home to, she usually pulled extra shift time, especially during the summer months.
It was around 11 now, and as usual, the stretch of road she was patrolling was empty. About the only car she'd pass was one with out-of-state plates and doing the speed limit. She rarely had to pull anyone over, and only did so if they appeared to be falling asleep by crossing the center line or going 15 miles per hour over the posted limit. She took a sip of the hot coffee in her thermos lid and nodded her head to a Credence Clearwater Revival tune.
The song changed to a more raucous tune when she came around a bend and noticed hazard lights blinking in the distance. She slowed her vehicle and pulled up behind what appeared to be an empty Honda Civic. Per protocol, she radioed her stop in, then turned on her floods and stepped out of the vehicle. With her heavy-duty flashlight, she walked slowly up to the car, peering inside as she approached the driver's door. When she was next to the window, she saw that a young woman about her age was sleeping. Not wanting to frighten her, Liz tapped gently on the glass with her flashlight and announced that she was a deputy sheriff.
Janie heard the tapping, and at first she thought she was dreaming. She opened her eyes and realized that light from outside the vehicle was flooding the inside. She turned toward her window, holding her hand up to shade her sleep-filled eyes. Luckily, the windows weren't power, and she slowly cranked it down just enough to hear what the person standing outside the car was saying.
"Are you okay?" Liz asked the blonde who looked a little dazed. "Sheriff deputy Harding. I saw your hazards and pulled over to make sure you weren't stranded."
Janie grimaced. "Actually I am sort of stranded. This piece of crap just died on me out here, and I didn't really want to walk in the dark."
Liz smiled and moved the light so it wasn't shining directly in the other woman's face.
"Can I give you a lift?" she offered? "I can take you back to the town you passed. It's about 20 miles, but better than sleeping out here along the road -- and safer."
Janie saw the badge, looked in her rear-view and saw the vehicle behind her own was indeed marked as a police vehicle, and then nodded. She reached beside her and grabbed her purse. The deputy stepped back and let her exit the vehicle. Janie popped the lock on the door manually and slipped the purse over her shoulder. She carried the sweatshirt in her free hand.
Liz motioned for Janie to move towards the Tahoe, which Janie did quickly. The night air had definitely taken on the chill of the mountains around them. When Janie reached the passenger side, she heard the automatic locks disengage and she gladly opened her door and crawled inside. The interior was warm, and the music amused her. She was a fan of rock music herself, but didn't necessarily expect it to be so loud in a police vehicle. Liz stepped in and got behind the wheel. She flipped off the spotlights, turned down the tunes, picked up the radio and announced to dispatch that she had picked up a stranded motorist and was returning to Harrisville. As soon as dispatch acknowledged her call, she put the vehicle in gear and did a quick u-turn.
Janie couldn't help but notice how nice the deputy looked in her uniform; it was lit up only by the dash lights and the soft glow of the laptop and police radio. She felt awkward, but the silence was killing her.
"I'm glad you came along," she offered. "I have no idea how long it would have taken to get a tow truck in the morning, especially since I couldn't get a signal on my cell."
Liz looked over at her and smiled, "Probably a while. This isn't such a great stretch of road to break down on."
Janie nodded.
