Daddy's Little Girl (Complete book- limited time only)

Chapter 26: The Good Samaritan

The concerned man quickly bends down to retrieve the parts to his phone. He searches the lot, his eyes roaming everywhere for the little girl.

As he begins to reassemble the phone, he calls for her, "Little girl? Where are you?"

His nerves cause his hands to tremble making the task of rebuilding his phone difficult. Finally he manages to snap the back cover in place. He presses power. It seems to be taking forever to come back on.

"Come on, come on." He stares at the screen with a desperate look in his eyes.

From behind him in the distance, he hears her childish laugh, 'Hee-hee-hee'. Spinning quickly, he scans the area and spots the girl at the back corner of the building. She stares directly at him, her knife held tightly in her grip. She holds the knife in plain sight, making sure he can see it. At the sight of her, he starts to walk in her direction. She steps back around the corner out of sight.

"Little girl, wait!" He hurries toward her.

The man checks the status of his phone. It has powered on but cannot locate a signal. As he approaches the corner of the building, his heart beats faster. He had stopped at this gas station expecting only to get gas. This situation is much more than he was prepared to handle. The thought of such a young girl running around with a knife seriously freaks the guy out. Even though he doesn't know her, he is extremely concerned for her safety.

He peers around the building but sees no one. He walks slowly, "Hello? Little girl?"

Two bathroom doors face him. He reaches for the knob of the woman's room. He pulls to open it; it is unlocked. Easing the door open, he calls into the room.

"Hello? Is anybody in here?"

He gets no response. He quickly exits and tries the men's room door. It's locked. Shit. He begins to beat on the door frantically, "Open the door! Little girl? Anybody?" He begins to panic even more. His concerns have him fearing the worst. What if she stabbed herself? What if she's bleeding to death behind this door?

The man runs quickly to the front of the store and rushes inside, "I need the key to the men's room, please hurry."

The gas station attendant gives the impatient man a look and slides him the key. As the man grabs the key and turns to rush back out, he yells back to the attendant, "Call the police, there's a little girl with a knife."

***

Harrison Kringe waits anxiously in the long line to pay for his gas. Having already been on high alert, the mention of a little girl with a knife nearly pushes Harrison off of realities ledge. He freezes for a moment, his mind processing infinite thoughts, all bad. He has to mentally restrain himself to avoid completely flipping out in front of the store full of people. He can't allow the other patrons of the service station see him lose it. He remains calm, at least in appearance.

Finally, it is Harrison's turn to pay for his gas. Stepping up to the register, his hands shake uncontrollably as he gives the cash to the clerk. Every beat of his heart is thudding in his chest like a bass drum. All he can think is the horrible things his daughter could be doing at this exact moment, Oh Abby, please don't do anything stupid. It takes every ounce of willpower Harrison has not to rush out of the store to find Abby. The cashier seems to be in slow motion as Harrison is eager to get moving, hurry the fuck up!

At last the transaction is complete, the cashier hands Harrison his change and receipt. Harrison quickly snatches them, not caring if he seems impatient anymore. Every second counts. He rushes out the door. Once in the lot, he walks at a fast pace toward his car but avoids running. As he nears the car, his eyes survey the area for police.