HIGH BEAMS

Rachel noticed the truck somewhere outside Duncan. She couldn't remember seeing it come up behind her, but it had probably been there awhile. She hadn't been paying much attention. She'd found a song on the radio she hadn't heard since high school and was singing along with it, although she couldn't have said who sang it if somebody asked her.

She checked the clock and saw it was already 11:47. "Shit. I'm supposed to be there before midnight."

The truck flashed its lights. Rachel looked in the mirror and then at the speedometer. Sixty-four.

"Go around."

She moved over enough to give him room. The other lane was empty, but he didn't pass. Rachel waited a few seconds, then moved back where she'd been and kept driving. The song changed before the lights flashed again.

"Seriously?"

She turned the radio down. The truck looked dark, maybe black or blue, and older from what she could tell. She watched it in the mirror for a little bit, waiting to see if he was finally going to go around.

"There's nobody coming. Just pass me."

He stayed behind her.

Rachel looked back at the road. She knew there were houses along here, but most of them sat far enough back that she couldn't see them in the dark. She passed a church and a couple of driveways, then looked in the mirror again and saw that the truck was closer.

"What are you doing?"

She tried to think if she'd pulled out in front of him somewhere or done something else that pissed him off. She didn't remember doing anything, but she also hadn't been paying enough attention to swear she hadn't.

His high beams came on.

"Oh, come on."

Rachel reached up and moved the mirror. The lights stayed there for a while before the truck finally backed off again. She picked up her phone, held it for a second, then put it back down. Who was she going to call? Some guy was behind her flashing his lights and refusing to pass. He was being an asshole, but that wasn't exactly an emergency.

She turned the radio back up and kept driving.

The lights flashed again. Rachel pressed the gas and watched the speedometer move past seventy. She stayed there for a little while before checking the mirror and seeing that he was still behind her. She slowed back down, and he slowed down too.

Rachel watched the truck for a few seconds longer this time. "What do you want?"

She picked up her phone and called 911.

"911, what's the location of your emergency?"

"I'm on 81, northbound. I passed Duncan a while ago. I don't know exactly where I am."

"What's going on?"

"There's a truck following me."

"Can you describe it?"

Rachel looked in the mirror. "It's a pickup. Older one, I think. Dark blue or black. I can't really tell."

"How long has it been following you?"

"I don't know. I didn't notice him at first. Maybe fifteen minutes?"

"Has the driver threatened you or tried to get you to stop?"

"No. He keeps flashing his lights at me, though. And when I speed up, he speeds up."

"Has he tried to pass you?"

"No. I even moved over for him. There's been plenty of room."

"All right. Don't stop your vehicle."

"I wasn't going to."

"What's your name?"

"Rachel."

"And you're alone in the vehicle, Rachel?"

Her eyes stayed on the road. "Yes."

"Are your doors locked?"

Rachel hit the button. "They are now."

"Okay. Keep driving for me."

The truck started getting closer again.

"He's coming up on me."

"Don't engage with him. Just keep driving."

"Can you get somebody out here?"

"I'm getting law enforcement started toward you."

"How long is that going to take?"

"I don't have an exact time yet."

"Well, that's comforting."

The truck was right behind her now, and when the horn sounded, Rachel jumped.

"Jesus."

"Rachel?"

"Sorry. He honked at me."

"Just keep driving."

"I am."

The horn sounded again. Rachel looked in the mirror. The truck was close enough now that she could make out the driver, a man maybe fifty wearing a baseball cap. He had one hand on the wheel and was pointing with the other.

"What the hell?"

"Rachel?"

"He's pointing at me."

"Do not stop."

"I'm not."

Rachel looked again and realized he wasn't pointing at her. He was pointing toward the back of the SUV. A few seconds later, the truck moved into the other lane.

"Oh shit."

"What's happening?"

"He's pulling up beside me."

Rachel hit the gas, but the truck stayed beside her. She looked over and saw the man leaning toward the passenger side, yelling at her through the window. She couldn't hear him, but he kept pointing toward the back of her SUV.

"He's yelling something."

"Don't open your window."

"I'm not."

Rachel looked over again. "What?"

The man pointed behind her and yelled something else. She shook her head because she still couldn't understand him.

"I don't know what you want."

He kept pointing, and Rachel pressed the gas until she pulled ahead of him.

"Rachel, what's happening?"

"I don't know. He keeps pointing at the back of my car."

She checked the mirror. The truck had fallen behind her again, but he wasn't going away, so Rachel turned the radio off.

"Rachel?"

"I'm here."

"Another caller has contacted 911."

"What other caller?"

"The driver behind you."

Rachel looked in the mirror. "What did he say?"

"I need you to keep driving."

"What did he say?"

"Rachel, he believes there's someone in the rear of your vehicle."

Rachel kept driving. "What do you mean?"

"He reported seeing a person in the back of your vehicle."

"Did he see his face?"

"What?"

"The person. Did he see his face?"

"I don't have that information."

"Ask him."

"Rachel, I need you to concentrate on driving."

"I am."

The truck flashed its lights again. Rachel looked at the clock and saw it was 11:56.

"How far away are the police?"

"There's an officer heading toward your location now."

"How far?"

"I don't have an exact time."

Rachel looked ahead. She knew there was a county road coming up on the right.

"Rachel, stay on the highway."

"I know."

She pushed the speedometer past seventy-five, and the truck stayed with her.

"Of course you did."

The feed store had been closed for years, but the building was still there. Rachel saw it up ahead and started looking for the county-road sign.

The truck horn sounded again, and something hit the back of Rachel's seat. She closed her eyes for a second.

"Rachel, what was that?"

"I don't know."

Something hit it again.

"Rachel, do not turn around."

"I wasn't going to."

There was movement behind her, and then a man's voice came from the back.

"Help!"

The truck laid on the horn while Rachel kept driving.

"Rachel?"

The feed store was coming up.

"Rachel, did someone just say help?"

She didn't answer. The man behind her kicked the seat again and yelled louder this time.

"HELP!"

Rachel sighed. He was awake.

"Rachel?"

"Yeah. I'm here."

"Pull over immediately."

Rachel watched the side of the road. "No."

"What did you say?"

"I said no."

"Rachel, you need to pull your vehicle over."

"I heard you."

The county road came into view, running between two fields with nothing lit up for as far as Rachel could see. She was almost to it when headlights appeared at the other end.

"Shit."

Rachel let off the gas. At first she thought somebody was coming out onto the highway, which was just her damn luck considering she hadn't seen another car turn off one of these roads all night.

Then the red and blue lights came on.

"Goddammit."

The patrol car pulled across the mouth of the county road, so Rachel drove past the turn. Another patrol car appeared behind the truck less than a minute later, and the dispatcher was still telling her to slow down. There wasn't anywhere else to go now, so Rachel put on her blinker and pulled onto the shoulder.

"Put your vehicle in park and keep your hands on the steering wheel."

She did, although the man behind her had started kicking harder.

"Rachel, keep your hands where the officers can see them."

"I heard you."

An officer came up beside her window.

"Ma'am, turn the vehicle off."

Rachel did.

"Step out of the vehicle."

She looked at him through the glass.

"Ma'am, step out."

Rachel opened the door. The man in the pickup had stopped behind her and was out of his truck now, although one of the officers kept telling him to stay where he was.

"There's somebody in the back," he yelled. "I saw him. He's back there."

Rachel looked at him for a second before turning toward the officer beside her. All that flashing and honking, pulling up beside her, damn near running himself off the road. He'd really thought he was saving her.

The officer closest to the SUV went around to the back and opened the hatch. Travis came halfway out before the officer caught him. His hands were still tied behind him, and the tape Rachel had put over his mouth had started coming loose on one side. There was dried blood along his temple and down into his hair from where she'd hit him with the flashlight earlier. She'd worried for a while that she'd hit him too hard, especially when he hadn't woken up after she got him into the SUV.

"What the hell?" the truck driver said.

The officer beside Rachel grabbed her arm and told her to turn around. She did, and a second later she felt the handcuff close around her wrist.

Behind her, somebody pulled the tape from Travis's mouth.

"She took me. She hit me and put me in there. Don't let her go."

"You're okay. Just stay where you are."

"Don't let her go."

Rachel turned enough to see him. He looked worse than she'd thought he would. Some of that was probably from being shoved around in the back of the SUV for the last hour.

She'd met him at the bar a little after ten. Travis worked construction, had two daughters and had been divorced for almost a year. He'd shown Rachel pictures of the girls before she'd even finished her first drink. The older one played softball. The younger one had just gotten glasses and hated them. He'd followed Rachel outside because she'd told him her battery was dead.

"Anything on you that's going to stick me?" the officer asked.

"No."

"Any weapons?"

"Not on me."

The officer stopped what he was doing, and Rachel wished she could have that one back.

"Where's the weapon?"

She didn't answer.

They found it themselves.

Rachel stood beside one of the patrol cars while two officers searched the SUV and the paramedics worked on Travis. She could hear him talking behind her, telling them about the parking lot and waking up in the back. Somebody asked if he knew where Rachel had been taking him.

"No. I don't know. I couldn't see anything."

Rachel looked toward the road while one of the officers brought the black bag out of her SUV and set it on the hood of the patrol car. Another officer stood beside him taking pictures while he went through it. He pulled out the gloves, duct tape, zip ties, the plastic and then her knife.

Rachel watched for a while. The knife had been in her kitchen junk drawer for years before she'd started carrying it in the bag. She couldn't remember exactly when she'd bought it.

The officer went back to the SUV and started looking around again. When he lifted the floor panel, Rachel knew what he was going to find. She'd forgotten about the Homeland sack.

He pulled it out, opened it and called one of the other officers over. They talked for a minute before he started taking the wallets out.

Rachel had meant to move those. She'd even thought about it Saturday while she was cleaning the garage, but then she'd gotten into the shelves and those plastic tubs that had been sitting out there forever. One of them still had Christmas stuff in it that should've been put in the attic years ago. She'd spent most of the afternoon out there and never did get around to the wallets.

The officer opened them and put the driver's licenses on the hood. Rachel knew which one was Daniel before she could read the name. He'd talked about fishing most of the night and had shown her pictures on his phone. Eric was next. He was the one who'd gotten irritated about the bar having Pepsi instead of Coke. Marcus had the motorcycle, and she remembered that because he'd shown her pictures of it too.

There were five licenses on the hood. Rachel counted them again because she thought there should be six, and it took her a minute to remember Michael's wallet was still at the motel.

"Right."

The officer standing with her looked over. "What?"

"Nothing."

The man from the truck was still there talking to another officer. Every once in a while he looked over at Rachel, and once she caught him doing it and he looked away.

She still didn't know what he'd seen in the back of the SUV. Travis must have gotten himself up far enough for the man to see part of him. Maybe that was why he'd kept pointing. Rachel hadn't understood what the hell he was doing at the time.

An officer came over and took her by the arm.

"Come on."

"Where?"

"You're sitting in the unit."

He opened the back door for her. Getting in with her hands cuffed behind her was harder than she expected, and she bumped her shoulder against the door before she finally got herself turned around and onto the seat. It smelled bad in there.

The ambulance had gotten there while they were searching her SUV. Travis was sitting on the back of it now with a blanket around him. One of the paramedics was doing something to the side of his head while another one talked to him. He looked over at the patrol car a couple of times.

Rachel watched what everybody was doing until one of the officers came back and opened the door.

"Rachel Turner?"

"Yes."

He had one of the driver's licenses with him.

"Do you know Daniel Mercer?"

"No."

"You sure?"

"Yes."

"What about Eric Sloan?"

Rachel shook her head.

"Marcus Bell?"

"No."

"Three of these men have been reported missing."

Rachel didn't say anything.

"You don't have anything to say about that?"

"I don't know them."

He stood there a little longer, but she didn't say anything else, so he shut the door.

Rachel leaned back as much as she could with her hands behind her. The cuffs were already starting to hurt her shoulders. The man from the truck was still talking, pointing down the highway while he said something and then pointing toward her SUV.

Rachel had been close to the county road when the police showed up. Once she made that turn, she would've had another eleven miles before she got where she was going. Most of it was dirt, and there was only one house she ever saw anybody at. She'd been using the place for almost two years and had never had anyone come by at night.

She looked over at Travis. He'd been close too.

Somebody had left the driver's door of her SUV open. The interior light was still on, and after a while Rachel started wondering if they were going to leave it like that all night and kill her battery. Her phone was still in there too. She could see it in the cup holder beside the Diet Dr Pepper she'd bought earlier, and thinking about the drink made her realize she had to pee.

Rachel moved around, trying to get comfortable, but there wasn't really any way to do it with her hands cuffed behind her. She looked out the other window for a while and then back at the SUV.

That was when she remembered where she'd put the scissors. They were on top of the freezer. She'd used them Sunday to cut open the bag of potting soil and set them down when she was finished. She'd looked in the kitchen twice yesterday and even went through the junk drawer because she could've sworn she'd put them back.

They'd been on the freezer the whole time.

Rachel rested her head against the seat and closed her eyes.