The woman with glasses, showing her laid-back demeanor, responded, âSure thing.
Iâll dial them up pronto.
â
It appeared the woman was concerned about Nicoleâs nerves as she activated the speakerphone, connecting to a seasoned operator on the other end.
âHey there, Ardlens Police Department.
Whatâs the trouble?â
The woman with glasses said, âHi, I stumbled upon a wounded girl on the road, likely attacked.
Sheâs stranded.
Could you send some help?â
âDo you have a name?â
The woman with glasses turned to Nicole, querying, âMiss, whatâs your name?â
Nicole shared her name and explained, âHey, someone kidnapped me.
He was a total stranger.
I got his plate numberâ¦â
âGot it, sending an officer pronto.
Hang tight.
â
With the call wrapped up, Nicoleâs tense demeanor eased a bit.
The woman with glasses extended another invitation.
âMiss, why not hop into my car and chill for a bit? Itâs pouring down hard, and your shoulderâs still bleeding.
Keep this up, you wonât last until the cops roll inâ¦â
After the call, Nicoleâs guard was down a notch with the woman.
Plus, the woman had just spelled her ID and name over to the operator.
Her name seemed to be Evelyn Quinn.
Nicole nodded.
âAlright.
â
Once in the car, Evelyn pulled out a towel from the passenger seatâs storage and offered it to Nicole.
âHere, wipe up.
You donât wanna catch a cold.
â
âThanks.
â Nicole accepted the towel, dabbing at her face and wet locks.
Nicole coughed lightly.
She sneezed.
âThanks a lot, Ms.
Quinn,â Nicole said, returning the towel politely.
âNo problem.
â Evelyn tossed the towel onto the passenger seat and then lit a cigarette, leaning her elbow on the car window.
âIâve just been chilling here waiting for you.
â
The rain outside drowned out Evelynâs voice.
Nicole asked, âSorry, what was that, Ms.
Quinn?â
Evelyn smiled, saying, âOh, nothing.
â
Just then, Evelynâs phone rang.
She smiled faintly, saying, âQops, gotta take this.
â
Evelyn answered the call on Bluetooth, and Nicole could hear every word.
âEvelyn, damn it! That chick boltedâ¦â
Nicoleâs heart raced.
That voiceâ¦
Evelyn stayed cool, firing back, âI know.
Youâre useless.
That chickâs with me now.
No payday for you, dumbass!â
âDamn, youâre slick!â The man on the other end sounded impressed.
Losing a target was a major screw-up in their line of work.
Heâd rather get zilch than lose someone.