River of Implications

The following day happened to be a Saturday. Although Jan had let her know the night before that she was welcome to share her bed, Venita insisted she wasn't ready for that yet and would remain on the couch. She wasn't stupid, though. She wasn't about to try to escape lest she wake Jan. For all she knew, Jan would chain her to the boat if she were caught trying to get away. Patience. That's what she needed to muster up. Patience… until the time was right to break away without being stopped. She would first have to earn Jan's trust. It was a bitterly cold Saturday morning and the town of Klamath Falls was blanketed in white. Jan wanted her to visit a friend with her before hopefully bringing her to her place. She tried to refuse the offer, saying it was best that she go home and rest so she would be alert and ready for work come Monday morning. Besides, her rent was due soon and she would need to pay it if she decided not to move in just yet. Not surprisingly, Jan insisted it could wait and urged her to visit her friend with her. As they prepared to leave, Venita thought of ways she might escape while they were out. "Who are we visiting?" "Just an old friend of mine. She's an elderly lady who used to come to my store before I went online. She doesn't have a computer or use the Internet in any way, so she calls to let me know what she wants and I bring it over to her." "That's nice of you," Venita said, faking a smile. "What does she want?" "Some snow globes to give her grandkids for Christmas, and also some candles." "Do you have any family here?" "Yup. Remember, I'm a native of the area." "Jan, I promise you I'll give you a decision by Monday morning as to whether or not I want to move in with you this month or maybe next." "It's Saturday, hun. We have two days to discuss it and decide what to do." They dressed warmly and headed down to Jan's car. Venita shivered in the bitter cold and promised herself that she would relocate to a warmer climate just as soon as she could get out of the mess she was in. At least I wasn't dumb enough to move in with her so soon, she told herself. Venita got into the passenger seat of Jan's car. Her hands were freezing even with her gloves on and she couldn't wait till the car warmed up. Before it had much of a chance to, however, they were pulling up at her friend's house. Klamath Falls was a very small town. It didn't take long to drive through it. Along the way, Venita eyed her surroundings in search of a convenient getaway without alerting Jan to what she was doing. If Jan had picked up on it and had taken her gaze at the area as anything more than mere curiosity, then she wasn't showing it. As they were heading up the snowy walkway toward the house with Jan carrying a box, she had a scary thought. What if they weren't going to visit some old lady? What if they were really going to see a bunch of young and dangerous criminals? "I guess her son hasn't come to shovel yet," Jan said, stepping through the snow. "It's still pretty early." The front door opened up and Venita was relieved to find what was definitely an older-than-old lady gazing out the storm door. She didn't look a day under a hundred. "Hi there," Jan called out cheerily as they ascended the front stoop. "Hello there, Jan," said the old lady. "This here is Venita. Remember the lady I told you about?" "Oh, yes, Venita. Hello." "Hi," Venita said with a smile. The stooped and wrinkled old lady let them into her home and Venita spent the next few hours bored out of her mind as they discussed the holidays, family, friends, Jan's business, and the cost of heating as if she wasn't even there. Although the tea and homemade banana nut bread had been delicious, Venita could barely hide how glad she was to leave in the end. "I need to go home now, Jan. I'm tired, I have a lot of thinking to do, and I'd really like a shower and some clean clothes." "You know who that was?" "No," said Venita. "Her youngest granddaughter was kidnapped at six years old. For over a decade, she had no idea who took her, where to, or what had happened to her. Then one day last year, hikers discovered human bones in the forest up on the mountain. They were identified as her granddaughter's. Eventually, enough suspicion and evidence mounted against a guy who once lived on her street and had even babysat her a few times. It was suspected that he also molested her. What in the world should happen? He got off on poor representation. Can you believe it? A stupid, mundane error of misrepresentation and off goes a child molester and murderer scot-free." "I don't know if I'll move in with you, Jan, but I'll definitely work for you. Both jobs, of course. But you'll guarantee my safety while I'm at it?" "Of course I will," Jan said. Relief flooded through Venita when she saw Jan pulling onto her street. "I'll pick you up Monday morning at the usual time unless you want me to come and get you sooner." "Ok," said Venita, clutching her purse and cracking another fake smile. "See you later." Relief flooded through Venita more and more with each step that took her closer to the front door of her building. With shaky fingers, she unlocked the front door and entered the building. Then she swiftly climbed to the second floor and let herself into her room. She shut and locked the door, leaned her back against it, and let the air whoosh out of her lungs. "That was easier than I thought it'd be," she said aloud. She then stepped over to her loveseat and fished through her purse in search of her cell phone. It wasn't there. Damn it! The question was, had she forgotten it, or had Jan swiped it when she wasn't looking? Venita swore under her breath again, wondering if she should knock on anyone's door and ask to use the phone. Then she wondered how she would explain that it was an emergency because some woman shot a guy who was about to rape her and maybe even kill her before she grabbed her hand and made sure her own prints were all over the gun. Yeah, sure. People would really not mind at all getting involved with crazy shit like that. Her mind whirled like the snowflakes outside. She owned next to nothing. She could always rent a room elsewhere. Probably not before Monday morning, though. She would also need one of her friends to help her move her bed, table, and loveseat, plus haul her personal items to the new place as well. Who the hell wanted to do that in the middle of a snowstorm, even if she could move right now? She wondered what Scarlett would think once she told her what had happened. That was the least of her concerns right now, however. Right now, she needed to get to a phone. She reached into her purse once again. At least her money was still there. She pulled out enough to purchase a cheap cell phone. She hated to go out in such misery once again, but if she moved fast enough, she could get the phone and be back in less than fifteen minutes, given how close the nearest store was that would have one. Venita took a deep breath and placed her hand on her doorknob. She was almost afraid to go out again. What if Jan or someone she put up to it seized her and forced her into a life of crime until she was sent to prison forever and… "Don't think like that! Just get a phone, call the police and tell them what happened." She threw the deadbolt and yanked the door open. Then she stuck her head out, glancing right to left. The building looked deserted. Locking her door behind her, she then ran down the stairs and out the front door. The temperature seemed to have plummeted just in the short time she'd been inside the building. It couldn't have been over twenty degrees outside. Her teeth chattered together in the cold and she wondered if she'd freeze to death before she even got to the store. It seemed to take forever, but she finally got to the store and purchased the phone she needed. She hated to leave the warmth of the store, but she wanted to get back as fast as possible, have a neighbor activate the phone for her, and then get on with calling the cops. Back out into the cold she went. It was snowing harder and the barely existent sun was setting fast. It was almost completely dark out by the time she got a guy in a room a few doors down to help her activate her new phone, and told the story to the police as she knew it. A few minutes later, she was speaking to a couple of officers in person, one an older, graying man and another a young guy who was probably fresh out of the academy. As they spoke, the older officer's walkie-talkie squawked, but it was too full of static for Venita to make out any of the words. After a minute or two, the officer told her that another officer was unable to locate any such houseboat along the dock, and asked if they could take her to show them where it was. Venita readily agreed. They drove to the dock, which was just minutes away. Venita was stunned with confusion as they approached the dock. Once they were out of the car, Venita did a slow circle and then stopped at the empty spot where Jan's boat had been. "There," she pointed. "I swear she was right there. I recognize everything else around here. That’s exactly where the boat was." The cops looked at her. Clearly, they didn't believe her. "Come on, let me show you something," said the rookie. Venita followed him to the trunk of the cruiser, which he quickly popped open. "Look. You see that?" Venita gazed inside the trunk, heart flip-flopping like clothes in a dryer when she saw the bagged pistol. "Your fingerprints are all over that, Miss Stein, and the guy you shot is being autopsied probably as we speak." "No," Venita gasped in shock. "No, you don't understand." The older officer placed handcuffs on her as he Mirandized her. "No! No! No!" Venita screamed helplessly. "You don't understand!" But as much as she begged and pleaded, she was helplessly dragged away.