You’re not going to figure that out standing here. Let the cops handle it.

She nodded to herself at that thought. Her finger remained in place above the number one. Hovering.

She thought of her father, dead almost five years. Though not a day had passed when she hadn’t missed him, that empty place in her life made her feel especially lonely right now: her father had been an FBI agent, and an Army officer before that. She would be on the phone with him right now if he were still alive. She would have called him before the police. Would have sought his advice, because—

Because whatever this was, it already felt bigger than a local police matter.

That notion seemed to slide over her like a chilly draft. Pressing through her clothes, into the skin. What exactly would the Brookings Police Department do about this? They would look at security footage from the store, inside and outside. Maybe the van’s license plate would be visible, assuming the vehicle wasn’t stolen. And if that didn’t pan out, then what? Were they going to assign cops to stand guard outside her house while she slept? Escort her to her classes and both of her minimum-wage jobs? Something told her the response would be less proactive than that.

Her breathing was close to normal now. She could hear the night wind in the pines behind her. Far ahead in the inner lot, her keys still hung from the lock in her driver’s side door.

She stared, thinking it all through. She shut her eyes.

There was someone else she could talk to.

You don’t even have his number anymore.

She could just get in her car and go see him, though. She would be there by morning. Late morning, maybe. Getting the hell away from Brookings was probably a smart move anyway, at least until she knew more.

What would you say to him, after all this time?

“Help me,” she whispered.

Even that much would be hard to work up to. And maybe he wouldn’t be thrilled to see her. But—

But he’s a better option than the cops, for something like this.

On that point there was no arguing.

She opened her eyes and looked at her phone. The nine and one were still on the display. She deleted them, slid the phone back into her pocket and ran for her car.

CHAPTER TWO