Abandoned (2 page)

Lauren heard Sweetie barking as
soon as she stepped inside the house. She was impatient for her
walk. Lauren dropped her backpack in the entrance hall and hurried
to the back door. When she opened the door, Sweetie bounced inside,
dashed up and down the hallway twice, then sat at Lauren’s feet,
her body quivering with excitement. Lauren knelt down and gave her
a hug.

“Hey Sweetums, just let me grab some
cookies. Then we can go to the park, okay?”

When Lauren came out of the kitchen a
minute later, Sweetie was sitting at the front door, the leash in a
tumbled heap at her paws. Lauren laughed, then pushed the rest of a
cookie into her mouth. She pulled a dog treat out of her pocket and
gave it to the eager dog. “There you go, girl,” she murmured
through a mouthful of cookie. Then she grabbed the phone and
dialled Piper’s number. Piper wasn’t home yet. “Ms. Myers, this is
the kidnapper,” Lauren said in a deep voice when the answering
machine clicked on. “Lauren made me call you and tell you that I’m
stealing her away. Ha ha!”

Lauren clipped the leash onto Sweetie’s
collar and opened the door. She hadn’t noticed the car at all when
the bus drove her home. And the street was still clear. With a sigh
of relief, Lauren stepped out onto the porch and locked the door
behind her. She felt safe with her dog. Even though Sweetie was the
gentlest dog she had ever known, Lauren knew Sweetie wouldn’t let
anyone hurt her. Lauren was safe as long as Sweetie was with
her.

“Let’s go, girl,” she said to the
retriever. Within minutes, they were at the park. Lauren unclipped
Sweetie’s leash and the golden dog ran around her in circles. She
wanted to play! Lauren made a quick rush toward the agile dog and,
when Sweetie sprinted away, she raced after her as fast as she
could. When Sweetie was far ahead of her, Lauren slipped behind the
trunk of a large tree. She waited until she could hear the whisper
of Sweetie’s paws racing back over the grass, then Lauren leaped
out from behind the tree.

“Boo!” Shock slid over Sweetie’s face
and she jumped back. Lauren laughed in delight, then turned and ran
with the yellow dog leaping at her heals. Finally, breathless and
hot, Lauren fell to the ground. Sweetie flopped down beside her,
grinning and panting.

“What a great day,” Lauren said as she
stared into the intense blue of the clear sky. “It’s so hot, it’s
practically like summer already. Just one more week of school…” she
said dreamily and rolled over to scratch under Sweetie’s chin.
“Hey, maybe Dad will come home early today. He leaves work early on
Fridays sometimes. Maybe he’ll drive us to the beach.”

She jumped up and pulled a dog treat and
another cookie from her pocket. “Which one do you want?” she asked
Sweetie with a grin. Then she popped the cookie into her mouth.
“Too late,” she said in a muffled voice and held the dog treat out
to Sweetie. Then she pulled the leash from her pocket and clipped
it onto Sweetie’s collar. “Let’s go, Sweetums.”

She wouldn’t have even noticed the
person sitting on the bench if Sweetie hadn’t growled. Lauren
glanced down, surprised. “What’s wrong, girl?” she asked and
followed the line of Sweetie’s vision. Someone in a big floppy hat
and a trench coat was sitting on the park bench beside the parking
lot. And behind the person was the blue car!

This is
the final proof,
thought Lauren, fear surging into her
brain.
There’s no mistaking it now.
There aren’t any other kids here. The driver of the blue and white
car is following me. Not Piper or the other kids at the bus stop.
Just me!

She pulled on Sweetie’s leash. “Let’s
go,” she commanded. But Sweetie tugged back.

“Come on, Sweetums. We’ve got to get
home. I’ve got to phone Dad right away.” Her voice was on the edge
of panic. Lauren started to pull Sweetie toward home, but the dog
continued to struggle. Finally Lauren stopped and looked down at
the disobedient dog. “What’s wrong, girl?” she asked softly,
kneeling by the dog’s side. Sweetie wasn’t growling anymore, but
she still seemed intrigued by Big Hat. The hair on her back stood
on end as she sniffed the air.

“Is that the guy from the car? Can you
tell if he wants to hurt us?” whispered Lauren, though she knew the
dog couldn’t answer, at least not in words. She peered at the
person sitting on the bench. Big Hat’s features were hidden in the
shadow of his gigantic hat and the shapeless coat covered him from
neck to knees.

As Lauren watched, Big Hat raised a
camera from his lap and pointed it toward her. His finger twitched
on the button. Lauren’s mouth dropped open and she stood, her hands
slowly clenching into fists. Anger trickled into her mind, creeping
over top of her fear. How dare this person follow her! How dare he
take her picture! Without thinking, she took a step toward Big Hat,
and then another.

“Hey!” she yelled. “Who are you?”
Sweetie tugged on the leash, pulling Lauren closer. Big Hat jumped
up and the camera fell from his lap and bounced across the grass.
He hurried to pick it up, his movements jerky. Almost panicky.

Lauren blinked her eyes. This wasn’t
what she was expecting: the watcher wasn’t supposed to be afraid of
her.
Sweetie! He’s afraid of
Sweetie,
she realized.
This is my chance to find out who he
is.

“Hold still, girl,” she said as she bent
to release Sweetie from the leash. The dog was anxious to run
toward the stranger and Lauren had trouble grabbing the clip, but
finally Sweetie was free. Lauren straightened as Sweetie bounded
toward Big Hat.

But Big Hat was almost to his car.
Lauren ran toward Sweetie when the retriever stopped to sniff at
the bench where Big Hat had been sitting. The car door slammed.
Tires squealed as the vehicle sped away. Then Lauren was at
Sweetie’s side, breathing heavily. She hugged the dog to her and
clipped the leash back onto her collar.

“Thanks, for saving me, Sweetie,” she
gasped. The dog licked her face and Lauren drew a deep breath. “I
can’t believe he was taking my picture! What a jerk! A horrible,
creepy jerk. Come on, we’ve got to get home. I have to tell Dad
about this right away.”

Lauren and Sweetie ran all the
way home. Within seconds of coming in sight of the house, Lauren
was safe inside with the door locked behind her. She dialled her
dad’s work number with shaking fingers.

“Is my dad still there?” she asked when
her father’s assistant, Emily, answered the phone.

“Oh, Lauren, I wish you hadn’t asked,”
said Emily. Her voice was kind and grandmotherly and Lauren’s alarm
eased slightly. “He left, oh, maybe ten minutes ago. He thought
he’d surprise you and come home early.”

“Don’t worry, Emily,” answered Lauren,
relieved. “I won’t tell him you said anything.”

“That’s great. You have a good weekend
now, you hear?”

Lauren smiled. “I will, Em. Thanks. You
too, okay?”

“I will, Love. Bye now.” There was a
soft click and Lauren knew Emily had disconnected. She put down the
receiver and almost picked it up again. She knew Emily wouldn’t
mind talking to her until her dad came home.

But she’s
probably going home early too
, thought Lauren.
I don’t want to keep her. I can feed Sweetie her
supper. That’ll keep me busy until Dad gets home.
She
unclipped Sweetie’s leash and hung it up, then followed the eager
dog into the kitchen.

As she dumped the can of dog food into
Sweetie’s bowl, she heard the key in the front door deadbolt.
Leaving the dog in the kitchen, she ran toward the door and reached
for the lock.

Suddenly the image of Big Hat flashed
into her mind. What if he’d somehow gotten a key and was coming
inside? Or what if he was trying to fool her into thinking he was
her dad so she would unlock the door for him.

Don’t be
silly,
Lauren told herself, but she took a step backward.
There were scuffling sounds outside the door and then the door
unlocked. More sounds. Lauren was almost ready to jump forward and
lock the door again when it slowly, slowly swung open. And there
was her dad holding two bags of groceries.

A breath of relief, almost like a sob,
exploded from Lauren. She leaped forward and flung her arms around
her dad’s waist.

“Whoa there, partner,” he said, holding
the bags up higher. “What’s all this about?”

But now that he was home, Lauren didn’t
know how to start. She stepped back and opened her mouth, but the
words stuck in her throat. Then, even worse, two big tears appeared
in the corners of her eyes.

“Hey, Lauren, what’s wrong?” her dad
asked gently. He put the groceries on the hall table and pulled her
into his arms once more. “Did something happen at school? Are you
okay?”

To her horror, Lauren couldn’t stop
crying. She
never
did this in
front of her dad anymore. Never. Not since she was eight and he
told her that her mom had died.

It had been such a shock, to her and her
dad. After all, the car accident hadn’t seemed that bad and her mom
was recovering in the hospital. Lauren remembered visiting her
there, and her mom saying she was fine. Laughing even. But then the
day came when she went with her dad to visit and her mom wasn’t
there. Her dad had gone to talk to a nurse and left Lauren in the
hospital room. Lauren lay down on her mom’s bed and waited and
waited and waited. The next thing she knew she was waking up and
her dad was saying the unbelievable. That her mom was gone. It
wasn’t until later that she understood her mom had died and that
she would never see her again.

Broken hearted, she had cried and cried
and cried. For weeks. Everything during that time was still a blur
to her. She could hardly remember anything about it, except for the
crying. And Sweetie, she could remember Sweetie licking tears from
her cheeks. Then one day she looked up, saw the terrible pain in
her dad’s dry eyes, and understood he refused to cry because he
didn’t want her to be even sadder. And she stopped crying too. She
promised herself she would never cry again, and she hadn’t. Until
now.

Lauren dashed the tears from her eyes
and sniffled. Her dad waited patiently for her, his arms steady
around her. “It’s okay, Kiddo,” he whispered. “There’s nothing
wrong with a good cry now and then. I can wait to hear all about
it.” His words made her feel stronger and she pulled back.

“Just let me get a tissue first,” she
said, her voice hoarse, and hurried toward the downstairs bathroom.
She wiped her eyes and her nose, and then looked in the mirror
above the sink. The skin around her eyes and nose was red, making
her hazel eyes look yellow in comparison.
At least my nose matches my hair now,
she thought
and ran her fingers through the red mop on her head.

She frowned. “I can’t believe you just
did that,” she whispered to her reflection. “Why would you cry over
something so silly? You’re such a wimp. Grow up.”

“So what’s up?” her dad said when she
walked into the kitchen.

“Let me start at the beginning, okay?”
asked Lauren. When her dad nodded, she pulled one of the bright
blue kitchen chairs back from the table and slid onto its cool
seat. Her dad sat down opposite her. Lauren started at Piper’s
house with the strange car, then told him of seeing the car in the
morning when she let Sweetie out and then again at the bus stop. As
she talked, her dad’s face became paler and paler, and, when she
told him about the man taking her picture, he reached out and
clutched her hand. “So someone’s been following me,” she finally
concluded. “I don’t know who it is, but I’m scared.”

Her dad took a deep trembling breath.
“Was it a man or a woman?” he asked, his eyes locked onto Lauren’s.
“And what about hair colour? Height? Did you get a license plate
number?”

Lauren squirmed on the chair. “I
couldn’t see his hair. And he was about averagely tall. And I
didn’t even think about a license plate number. Sorry.”

“But you think the person is a man?”

“I’m not even sure of that,” she
admitted. “Sorry, Dad. I couldn’t see his face. Or her face.
Its
face, I guess.”

“Don’t be sorry, Honey. I’d rather you
tell me exactly what you think, even if you don’t know for sure. It
won’t help if we’re looking for a man and the stranger is really a
woman. You think it’s a man though?”

Lauren’s hand dropped to scratch Sweetie
on the head. “It could have been either. I remember his hands when
he held the camera up. They weren’t tiny woman hands, but all women
don’t have little hands. I mean, Piper already teases me about my
man
hands. She’s such a
brat.”

“What else do you remember?”

“When he ran toward the car, he ran
pretty fast so it could have been a man. But he was kind of
graceful too, so maybe it was a woman,” Lauren remembered aloud.
“Sorry, Dad. I don’t mean you’re not graceful or anything.”