"Boo!" Chaney starts laughing as she jumps out of a small, hidden broom closet. She's bent over holding her stomach from laughing so hard. Laura walks over and slaps Chaney across the face. She immediately stops laughing and frowns at her mom. "What the hell?"
"Serves you right! You had us worried sick, Chaney. We thought you were taken. Do you want to end up like Tibby's sister?"
"Mom! Relax! I'm fine, okay?"
"No, it's not okay. When we get back to the RV Park, you're grounded. No phone, nothing!"
"You're overreacting! Tibby, don't you think she's overreacting?"
I shake my head, agreeing with Laura,"no, I don't." I walk over to her and hand her the stack of pictures we found. I turn my head away from the image of my sister and tell her, "this is my sister and all the other girls he's taken. She examines the picture and her eyes go wide. "That's what they went through. Your mom has every right to be upset. Listen to what I'm saying to you. You are in danger. You need to stay with us. We need to know where you are. Okay?" I explain calmly.
"Okay, sorry mom." She walks over and hugs Laura, rubbing her back gently.
"It's okay," Laura says quietly.
Meanwhile, Happy is spinning around in a circle with her tail wagging. "See, she realizes it was a game. I was just playing. I didn't know that you found those pictures. "Tibby, I'm sorry about your sister," She says apologetically.
"I guess you're right. Happy would have warned us if you were in any danger." I rationalize.
"Still, don't do that to me or Tibby ever again. Got it?" Laura raises her eyebrows.
"I said sorry, jeez!"
"Back to business," I change the subject.
"Yeah, so I have a plan. Tibby, I know someone who works at the DMV. I memorized the license plate on that truck. We can get his name when I visit my friend and ask her to run the plate number." She smiles, knowing what this does for our investigation.
"Awesome! So, why don't you head over to the DMV, or call her and get back to me with the information, then we can go from there.
"You're not coming with us?" Chaney whines.
"Um, no. I should probably stay here. I've imposed upon you girls too much."
"No, Tibby. You have to come home with us. I'm not leaving you here."
"Uh...Okay," I say awkwardly.
"Now, let's go back to the RV Park. I will drop you girls off and head over to the DMV."
Happy and I follow Laura and Chaney to the RV. Happy gladly gets in without hesitation.
I try not to cry. Laura and Chaney are two people I know I can count on and They really love each other. It makes me think of my mom and dad. I miss them. I don't want to go home until this guy pays for what he's done. Then, I can tell my parents that we've nailed him, so they can get some closure. My parents are suffering more than anyone, so I hope they understand when they figure out that he paid the price with his life. Or I don't tell them what happened to him. I could lie. That might be my best option.
We ride to the RV park in silence. I can feel Chaney staring at me, but I don't acknowledge her. She probably has more questions about my sister or wants to talk about the pictures. I don't want to talk about them.
Before we know it, we've arrived and Laura is rushing us out of the RV. "Chaney, why don't you and Tibby go get breakfast. I know the Glutzs are making something good. I can smell it."
"Okay, mom." Chaney and I start walking over to an RV similar in size to theirs. It's huge and by the looks of it, brand new. This nice looking elderly woman approaches us.
"Hi, Chaney. Who's this?" She asks. She smiles and bends over to pet Happy. She laughs and shakes my hand as Happy gives her kisses vigorously.
"I'm Tibby," I smile back.
"Clearly, you're a girl," she says, teasing me.
I laugh and say, "yeah, i'm a girl."
"Well, where did your hair go?" She's genuinely curious and nosy, like my grandmother.
"I shaved my head. I had a nasty case of lice." I say bluntly.
"Oh, well okay," she shakes her head. "You are still beautiful. I bet the boys really liked you when you had hair."
"Something like that," I laugh. It feels good to be joking around. Things have been tense since our trip to the desert.
"No more questions, girl. Come get some food. You look starved."
"Thank you," we both say in unison.
The food smells amazing. She laid out a whole little breakfast buffet for us to enjoy, with eggs, bacon, sausage, pancakes,waffles, and potatoes. "Hurry and get some before everyone else comes."
Chaney smiles and hands me a plate. "Here, get whatever you want. She feeds everyone here. The Glutzs look out for everyone here. They are like the grandparents of the RV park."
I smile and start loading my plate with everything, so I can share with Happy. "Thank you," I tell Mrs. Glutz. She nods her head and points to the small crowd approaching for some breakfast.
"They're coming. You three better go find a table to sit at before all the seats are taken." Chaney nods her head and grabs my arm, pulling me away.
"Look, there's Jeff, your favorite person." Chaney says, smirking.
I turn to see him staring at the two of us, with a smirk of his own. Fucking pervert. I have a feeling that he and I are going to have a run in soon. It won't be pretty and I might get kicked out of the park for not playing nice.
"We better sit where he's not."
"Why?" Chaney's still smirking.
"Because, he and I are going to have problems if we sit by him."
"What kind of problems?" She's laughing, clearly amused by my shitty temper.
I turn and glare at him. He's still gawking at us. "If he still wants to keep his balls, he will keep his distance. I'm serious, Chaney."
Her eyes go wide and she drags me to an empty table. "Forget about him and eat. Okay?"
"Okay," I start eating and share with Happy. Chaney and I eat our breakfast in silence, waiting for Laura's return.