The Journal (Book 5): Fault Line Page 5

  “Forgive me for asking this, but I see you live not far from here. With your own head injury I’m concerned about you driving. May I ask you to call here when you arrive, so I know you made it safely?” Trevor asked, sincerely worried about her. He handed her the store business card.

  She smiled at him again. “Sure. That’s nice of you to be concerned. It’s been a rough day."

  ***

  Christine turned onto her street and felt a surge of relief when she saw the light over the garage door. She hit the remote on her visor, pulled in, and shut the car off as the door lowered again. After she unloaded her few groceries, she emptied her pockets onto the kitchen table just as she had for years. The blue and white business card stared at her. She picked up her cellphone and dialed the T’N’M store.

  “T’N’M, this is Trevor,” he responded. His heart hit an extra beat when he saw the local number on the caller ID.

  “Trevor, this is Christine Tiggs. You asked me to call when I got home. I feel like I’m in school and checking in with my father.” She laughed.

  “Ouch! I hope I don’t remind you of your dad!”

  “Oh, no, I didn’t mean it that way. Not at all, it’s just that he was the only one who ever cared about my safety. I really do appreciate your concern. That’s really nice for someone you don’t know.”

  “Just the same way you helped that deaf girl,” Trevor said softly.

  Christine went silent.

  “Umm… Christine, can I call you sometime? I’d like to know you better,” Trevor said awkwardly.

  “I’d like that.”

  “Great! Now get some rest, Christine. I’ll talk to you soon. Good night.” Trevor hung up the phone grinning. He picked up her driver’s license from the counter and thought to himself, like maybe tomorrow to return this.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  After hanging up her phone, Christine retrieved her suitcase, briefcase, the shopping bag, and her purse from the car and dropped them on the kitchen floor. Even though she was exhausted, she still put away the lunch meat and frozen pizza. She opened the refrigerator again and took out an opened bottle of wine. After pouring herself a second glass full, she realized how hungry she was and got out the sandwich makings.

  Still running on adrenaline, she took her makeshift meal to the den and turned on the news, hoping to find something, anything about what happened. It was enough to make her lose her appetite.

  “…first quake was downgraded to a 7.6 with the epicenter just north of Memphis,” a reporter was saying. “It lasted four minutes with multiple aftershocks. Bridges have collapsed or are severely damaged all along the Mississippi River. There was also a great deal of damage in the St. Louis and surrounding area. We are getting reports of incredible acts of bravery and people helping others that were trapped.” The reporter went quiet as he listened to his earpiece. “We have some aerial footage that shows an actual crack in the Earth. It’s just mind boggling, Jennifer.” A choppy piece of helicopter footage appeared on the screen for a moment.

  The view switched back to the TV station and the anchor person. “The second quake remains at an 8.2 and centered in what was Hannibal, Missouri. Hannibal is just gone, leveled,” she said in a whisper. “The tectonic plate was shoved out of place during the seven minutes of shaking, and now the Mississippi at this juncture is spilling back into itself, forming a new lake. The death toll is staggering. Thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands, with thousands more missing and even thousands more injured. There is no way to get an actual count right now because the devastation is too great. There are fires and gas explosions everywhere, hampering any rescue efforts, which unfortunately are minimal. Roads are filled with debris from buildings and crushed cars. Asphalt and concrete have buckled. Emergency vehicles can’t get anywhere. Gas stations are burning out of control from ruptured fuel tanks and natural gas lines have ignited everywhere.” The anchor paused to collect herself. “Please, stay out of this area and let the emergency crews do their job.”

  The news reported a total of eleven states had been affected by the quake: Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. Damage was concentrated along the Mississippi River and the New Madrid fault line and branched out from there.

  It was 5:15 P.M. Central time, right in the heart of rush hour, when the second quake hit. It measured 8.2 on the Richter scale. Christine knew that the one before, a strong aftershock, must have been the one that knocked her out when she fell. St. Louis was in between Hannibal and Memphis. She had been right smack in the middle of the disaster area.

  She turned off the TV and fell into bed, sobbing, and cried herself to sleep.

  ***

  The alarm went off at 8:00 AM. Christine pulled the pillow over her head to keep out the noise and bumped her forehead, sending a shockwave of pain to the back of her skull. She sat up and blinked several times to clear her vision. The last two days came rushing back, and shock and sadness welled up in her chest. She needed to go to work soon and tell them about Lois.

  For now, though, a hot shower, a long hot shower called to her.

  ***

  “You’re late!” the office manager, Mary Jane, said just a bit too loudly when Christine arrived at the dental clinic. “And where is that lazy partner of yours? You were both scheduled for 10:00am today, not 10:30!”

  Christine turned slowly to face Mary Jane, whom she had disliked from the first day, five months ago. The forty-something woman had terrible people skills for being a manager. She doesn’t even dress professionally, Christine thought as she took in Mary Jane’s worn blue jeans and flannel shirt. She knew the woman lived on a farm that her husband ran, but she sure didn’t have to dress the part of a farm wife.

  Christine scowled. “Do you know where I’ve been for the past three days, Mary Jane?”

  “Of course I do! I sent you there. I’m hoping you and Lois learned something at that training session. It cost this office a bundle.”

  “No, I mean really were.” When the older woman didn’t respond, Christine’s temper flared. “We were in the middle of that earthquake! You know, the one that has killed thousands of people? I was injured, and Lois…” her voice hitched, “Lois is dead. Crushed when the hotel stairwell collapsed! I’m glad to hear that you accept that you sent us there because Lois’ family is likely going to sue your ass and this clinic for her wrongful death.” Her voice had risen several octaves and her breathing was labored.

  The entire office had gone quiet at Christine’s announcement. One of the dentists leaned out of an exam room. “What’s going on out here?” he growled.

  “I’ll take care of it,” Mary Jane was quick to answer. She grabbed Christine’s arm and led her to the break room. After she closed the door, she turned to Christine.

  “What do you mean Lois is dead? Are you sure? Where is she?” Her voice was quiet yet laced with panic as she handed Christine a bottle of water from the refrigerator.

  Christine took a deep breath. “The quake hit while we were on the lunch break. I was in the conference room on the second floor with a few others, while Lois stayed downstairs with the rest of the class. During one of the aftershocks I fell and hit my head. I was out for about an hour I’m guessing. I don’t know why Lois was on the stairs, she was safe on the main floor. I had to climb over chunks of broken walls to get out. That’s when I found her buried under a ton of rock in the stairway.” She paused for a sip of water. “She’s still there.”

  “Are you one hundred percent sure it was Lois?”

  “No doubts, Mary Jane. She was the only one wearing hot pink sequined leggings, which was all I could see of her,” Christine sobbed.

  “What are your injuries? You look fine.”

  Christine brushed aside her bangs with the tips of her fingers, revealing the now deep purple bruise and the stitches on her forehead. Mary Jane flinched.

  “I’m going to take a few days off,” Christine announce
d. “Paid days. And here’s the packet from the session. It explains everything the speaker told us about filling in the forms.” She dropped the neatly stapled papers on the table and stood.

  “You can’t just leave. We need you here,” Mary Jane said grabbing Christine’s arm in anger.

  Christine looked down at the woman’s hand restraining her. “I have a Bachelor’s degree in Public Health, a year of pre-med, and I’m a state licensed dental hygienist with several years of experience and you need me to fill out insurance forms? Get your hands off of me before I add assault to the lawsuit I intend to file.”

  The office manager backed away.

  ***

  Christine stepped out of the low office building into the crisp fall day. A light breeze ruffled her short blonde hair. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath of the fragrant air. When she opened her eyes again, she caught sight of yet another T’N’M convenience store. Heading across the street, she wondered if Trevor would really call her. His collar length long brown hair added to his boyish good looks, and his dark brown eyes are what really caught her. He was a handsome man.

  She pushed on the glass door of T’N’M’s to find it locked. No lights were on inside the store, and the security gates were down. Odd, she thought.

  Her next stop was to the shop that took care of her car. After leaving it there for repairs and to let them fight with the insurance company over the damage, she took a cab home, knowing her father’s dark blue SUV was parked in the garage and she could use that for as long as she needed.

  It was now noon. Those few hours of sleep weren’t enough to wash away the aches and pains of the last few days. Christine stripped off her clothes and crawled back into bed.

  At 5:15pm, the ringtone of her smartphone broke through her sleep fogged brain. She slipped on her fluffy pale green bathrobe and stumbled to the kitchen, looking for the phone which had already stopped ringing. The caller ID gave a local number that was only vaguely familiar so she let it go, not noticing there had been another call earlier from the same number. She yawned and headed to the bathroom for another shower to help wake her up, her stomach grumbling with hunger. The phone rang again a few minutes later, although she couldn’t hear it with the water running.

  ***

  Trevor hung up the phone, concerned that Christine wasn’t picking up her calls. What if that bump on the head gave her a concussion and she was unconscious? His worried mind assailed his common sense. He decided that a visit was in order, but he had a couple of stops to make first.

  ***

  Trevor let himself in through the back door of the Exit 31 store early in the morning. With the heavy traffic of the last two days, he felt it prudent to close the doors for a while and cancelled the day shift.

  That morning Trevor had asked Riley, his most trusted employee, to open the Spring Hill store instead of the Exit 31 store, and to stay there until Trevor relieved him, promising to arrive no later than noon. Trevor had a very uneasy feeling about what was going on and decided to make a few more phone calls. The first one, to his main supplier, confirmed his worst fears: the earthquake two days before had interrupted not only his shipments, but everyone’s. Food was going to run out, and fast. What food was left in his three stores would last him personally quite a while if he stopped selling it. It was a difficult decision to make since most of his life had been focused on making money. It was also an easy decision to make; Trevor was a survivor.

  After securing all the security gates and lowering the shades, Trevor shut the lights out and headed over to the Main Street store.

  “Adele, this is your lucky day. I’m going to take over for a few hours,” Trevor said to the middle aged woman at the counter. “Do you have your timecard up to date? Payday is also early.”

  “Gee, boss man, what’s up?”

  “I need to do a private inventory of all the stores. I will give you a call when I’ve got the new schedule set,” he said, taking her work sheet into his back office. He quickly ran her hours and figured what she was due, and then he doubled it to make up for the coming lost hours. He counted out the cash from the pouch from the other store and slipped it into a plain envelope.

  “Is something wrong, Trevor?” Adele asked quietly.

  “I’m not sure,” he said. “Pay is in cash today, and I added enough for next week too. Now go home and enjoy the nice weather.” He escorted her out the front door, promptly locking up with the frown she couldn’t see. He lowered the blinds and the security gates like he did the other store, then emptied the register and turned out the lights.

  ***

  “What’s going on, Trev?” Riley asked when Trevor arrived at the Spring Hill store. This was his first and therefore favorite store. Besides, he lived in the apartment above it.

  “I’ve got a bad feeling about what’s going on because of the earthquake, so I’m shutting down for a week or two until things quiet down.”

  “Seriously? Wow, man, you’ve never done that before. You must be really worried.”

  “Not real worried, although enough to take some precautions,” Trevor admitted. He flipped the open sign to closed and started locking the security gates. “Lower the blinds for me, will ya? I’ll get your pay.” He disappeared into his office with the register receipts. He already had an idea of Riley’s pay, so he didn’t bother with the time sheet. Stuffing an ample amount of cash into an envelope, he found his employee putting on his jacket by the back door.

  “Here you go, Riley. There’s extra to make up for the lost wages,” Trevor handed him the hefty envelope. “Before you go, take a couple cases of beer with you as a bonus.”

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Christine towel dried her hair, combed out the tangles, and then fluffed it with her fingers to help it dry. Tightening the belt on her robe, she headed to the kitchen to find something to eat. The front doorbell rang, followed by a loud knock. She looked through the peephole and even though the view was distorted, she could see it was Trevor and opened the door cautiously.

  “Oh, there you are,” he said sheepishly. “When you didn’t answer three calls I got worried.” He looked into her blue eyes and couldn’t help but drop his gaze to the open V of her robe and then all the way down to her bare feet. He looked away, embarrassed. “I… I… I brought some dinner.” He met her eyes again and she smiled, opening the door for him to come in.

  Trevor set two pizza boxes down on the kitchen table, along with a bag from the sub shop, a six pack of beer, and another bag with two wine bottles.

  “That’s a lot of food, Trevor. Are we expecting company?” Christine laughed nervously, and swallowed hard, knowing she was naked under the robe, and knowing that he knew that too. “Why don’t you set the beer in the fridge? I’ll be right back.”

  She hurried out of the room.

  Once in her bedroom she ripped off the robe and put on the first t-shirt her hand came in contact with, along with a thin pair of sweat pants, and rushed back to the kitchen.

  “I’m sorry to have surprised you, Christine,” Trevor apologized. “I don’t normally just show up at someone’s door.”

  “Then why did you?” she asked curiously.

  “Like I said, you didn’t answer your phone and I got worried.” He busied himself opening the pizza boxes and setting out the sandwiches. “Would you like a beer or some wine?” He was obviously nervous.

  “Beer and pizza sounds pretty good, actually.” She smiled at him. “And thank you, I’m really hungry! I haven’t eaten yet today. It was thoughtful of you to bring dinner with you, though I wasn’t expecting our first date to be an in-home pizza party.” She stopped, realizing she said this was their first date.

  “Um... we can go out if you prefer,” he offered.

  “No, no, this is fine. This is great, in fact.” She looked down, embarrassed. “Look, Trevor, I slipped up calling this a date. I’m sorry. I know you were just concerned.” She took a long swallow from the beer he handed her, not meeting his eyes.<
br />
  “Christine,” he stepped closer, “this is a date. A bit different than what I was planning, although I’m not unhappy about it.” He touched his beer bottle to hers and took a drink. “Not knowing your preferences yet, I brought a cheese and pepperoni pizza and one with everything; one sub is vegetarian and one is double meat; and the wine is a California red blend.”

  “Wait, how did you know where I lived?”

  “Oh, yeah.” He dug into his jacket pocket and handed her driver’s license to her. “Here, you left this behind last night.”

  They took the pizza boxes to the coffee table in the living room. Trever sat on the floor to eat, and Christine retrieved two more beers from the fridge, a bottle of wine, a cork opener, two glasses, and set them on the table.

  She sat on the floor with Trever. “There, now we don’t have to get up again.”

  “How was your day?” Trevor asked. “Are you feeling better?”

  “I spent most of the day sleeping. That was after I went to the office and had a bit of an argument with my boss.” She told him about the conversation with the office manager.

  “Your co-worker actually died there? Wow. That must be really upsetting.” He put his hand over hers.

  “Yes, it is. I didn’t really like Lois, though I didn’t dislike her either. Fact is, I barely know… knew her. All this has left me in a daze, to be honest.” She took a bite of pizza and washed it down with some wine. “By the way, why is the T’N’M’s on Main closed? I thought the stores were open 6:00am to midnight.”