Our Sick Inheritance (editing)

Chapter 124 - Don't Leave Me Here

Kyle forced his fast food chain hamburger down, but it tasted like cardboard, and he wasn't hungry. He kept thinking of all the terrible things Stacy could be going through. He hoped she wouldn't have just hooked up with a guy she just met. Kyle couldn't sleep, nor could he stop looking for daughter. Finally, near the area he was looking for, Kyle put his food away and concentrated on the road.

A helicopter went overhead in the mountains he was driving to look for his daughter. Someone reported an abandoned car in the area and Kyle had not been on this side of the mountain before. He would have been more surprised if his daughter had either. There weren't really any houses or shops around except an old gas station with a mini store. The mountain was basically a longer pass into the next town almost an hour away. He supposed that the people going around the mountain needed to be sure they had enough gas to do it.

The call came in from a gas station, but it seemed so secluded that Kyle was surprised anyone knew of it, especially his daughter. Thanks to the fat snow Angels for taking a break, his windshield stayed clear of the wet fluffy dust from above. Kyle had to move slowly for the road he was driving on wasn't plowed with anything other than cars' tires. Not enough of them had passed to expose the asphalt of the road so the ice was starting to thicken. As he moved with care on the paths of the natural shadow lighting, Kyle hoped Stacy wasn't buried somewhere in it. They wouldn't be able to find her until the snow melted some.

Just as Kyle caught sight of the little gas station and market, something on the other side of the building caught his eye. He leaned forward in his truck and drove even slower. He was the only one on the road so nothing moving had caught his attention. The reflection from the random peeping sun hitting a metal piece hanging in midair winked at him. Kyle sped up towards the station. Parked on the side of the building, was a front end of a car sticking a foot out past the edge of the wall. Kyle slid into the small parking lot, turned off his truck, and with speed he jumped out without shutting the door. He was in a hurry to see if the car peeking from behind the building was indeed his daughter's and if she was in it.

Hanging from rearview mirror was a cross made of silver and diamonds. Kyle used to tell Stacy that it was dangerous because the light that reflected off it was distracting, if not blinding to other drivers. He had never been so happy to see it in his life. Stacy didn't think it could have reflected enough of a light to distract anyone other than to show it off to others in her car.

"It was just enough, baby, just enough." Kyle said grateful for the cross.

Kyle looked in the window and saw the key was left in the ignition. Without touching anything, he first called the Chief. Normally he wouldn't have let Kyle do it, but Chief Williams told Kyle that he trusted him to be professional by taking pictures of everything first then start investigating to collect evidence. The chief was sending out a team and they already had a helicopter searching the area from the report of the phone call, which Kyle knew.

Alicia was home waiting by the phone. Kyle called her to let her know he found Stacy's car, because he knew she would have flipped out on him had he not. He told her not to worry, for it is the first step to finding her. She needed to stay home for when Jake showed up to let him know what was going on.

Stacy's purse was in the car but the sweater she had borrowed wasn't. Her bags were in her trunk, so Kyle searched them for it. He hoped his daughter was still wearing it and enjoying the luxury it provided somewhere warm. Before going further, Kyle needed to talk to the person who made the phone call about Stacy's car.

Kyle walked into the open but empty store and saw a tall man with long blond hair pulled back into a ponytail. A few pieces of curly thickness stuck out of his cloth hat as if happy to escape the bind of a band. The man looked fit as his muscles bulged against his tight long sleeve sweater. He had a gentle face, but he would be a fierce opponent in Rugby, Kyle thought.