Finders Keepers

It was dark and damp, Sarah noted as she slowly regained consciousness and opened her eyes. Her mind trying to establish where she was and how she got here. Her attention immediately diverting to her head that was searing with pain. Her fingers fumbled to the source of the agony, the clammy and moist feeling of her skin under her fingertips questionable.

Even though it was dark, with the help of light creeping in from what appeared to be a window in the far corner of the room, she was able to see albeit with great difficulty. She ran her thumb over her other fingers, as she pulled her fingers closer to her face, there it was. Blood.

Jesus Christ! Panic began to wash through her body. Her heart beating so fast it could be compared to a horse’s gallop. Out, I need to get out! thought Sarah.

Feeling around in the dark, she felt an object next to her. Certain it was a chair, she pulled herself up trying to gain her balance. She stumbled her way towards the window in the corner of the room. As she stood in front of it, she peeled back the paper revealing a shattered windowpane looking onto a deserted street. Relieved to find a broken and worn board the only obstruction to her freedom. She tugged at the board, its rusty nails giving way to her forceful pull. Sarah shoved the tattered board to the side, making a loud thud as it hit the floor. Leveraging her body through the open space, she put her right leg through the hole and propelled herself forward with her left. The last remnants of glass, catching her thigh as she exited. She didn’t care, she was out.

Run, just fucking run! Her inner voice coaxing her legs to move.

Sarah ran as fast as her legs would carry her, not stopping to look back. As she made her way to what seemed like a main road, she stopped to see the sign. Westridge Street, it read. She turned left and ran up Hugh, leaving the industrial part of town behind her. After passing three blocks, Sarah stopped. She spotted a police car. Thank God!

She darted across the bustling street towards them, narrowly avoiding on-coming traffic. Cars hooting as they veered off the road, attempting to avoid collision. There were two cops standing on the walkway and talking to a man in a brown coat. All of them had turned and were looking at her.

''Please, please you need to help me.'' Sarah stammered breathlessly. Exhausted from her escape, her adrenaline depleted body near collapse.

The man wearing the brown coat spoke. ''My name is Detective Saunders, let me take you down to the station and I will help you.''

Sarah, although exhausted, couldn’t help but notice he was handsome. Mid-thirties she guessed with deep blue eyes. Just as she began to lose herself in them, she remembered why she was there in the first place. The urgency of the situation yanking her back into reality.

‘’No please, there is no time, you must help Anna!’’ panicked Sarah.

Detective Saunders looked deeply into Sarah’s eyes seemingly resonating with her fear.

He looked back at the café on the corner of Elm and Fifth. ''Let me buy you a coffee and you can tell me what’s going on.'' He said reassuring Sarah she was now safe. Sarah nodded, still trying to catch her breath.

Slipping into the booth, Sarah noted her appearance in the café window. I look like shit! She thought, running her fingers through her matted hair. Trying to better her state of appearance was futile at this point. Handing her a cappuccino, Sarah lifted the mug to her lips. Taking a sip, the warmth and comfort of this caffeine fix soothing her soul.

''Well, let me have it.'' Detective Saunders said.

Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, Sarah prepared herself for retelling the strange events of the past few hours of her life.

''It all began yesterday on my way home from work. I was on the train almost at my station, but I got up too soon and lost my balance. My bag slipped off my shoulder and everything inside it spilled over the carriage floor. The train had stopped, and the doors opened so I was rushing to shove everything back into my bag before the doors closed. As I was walking up the stairs towards the exit, a man ran after me and handed me my diary, well I thought it was mine.

''Did you get the man's name?'' Detective Saunders asked.

''No, I did not. To be honest I was quite embarrassed.'' Sarah replied remembering how flustered she had been.

''When I got home, I realised mine was in my bag. The one the man gave me was not mine. I flipped through the little black book; it was pretty much empty except for the name Anna Dubrovnik written on the personal data page. I flipped through the dates trying to find contact info for Anna to let her know I had her Moleskine but only found a data entry for today at 3pm.''

''Sorry, what day is it actually?'' She asked.

''Thursday.'' he replied curtly.

''Shit, so I’ve lost a day of my life?'' She asked, flabbergasted.

''It seems so.'' he replied.

Regaining her composure, Sarah continued.

''Okay, so a data entry for yesterday at 3pm. It was an address close to my office so I thought I would just go to the address at that time and hopefully find her to hand her book back to her. When I got there, I realised it was NatWest Bank, so I went inside and asked for Mr Breckenridge, the person written on the page with the appointment details. He asked me to follow him to his office, removed a bag from the safe and handed it to me. I opened the bag and saw it was full of money.''

''Do you know how much was in the bag?'' Detective Saunders asked.

''Yes, Mr Breckenridge said it was $20 000.''

''Anyway, I told him he must be mistaken because I was just there trying to find Anna. He said his instructions were clear, to hand over the bag to her or whomever comes to collect it at 3pm. He had not heard from Anna and since she was not here and I was, I needed to take the bag.''

Sarah took another deep sip of her coffee, remembering what came next. ''My cell phone rang, it was my assistant Kate. I told Mr Breckenridge I had to take the call and would come back shortly. I had many questions as you can imagine.'' Sarah said, remembering she had put the money in her handbag so that it wouldn't be seen.

''I made my way out of the building and answered the call. Kate told me my next appointment was moved forward which meant I had to make my way back to the office ASAP. I put my cell back into my bag and hurried down the steps of the bank. As I looked up, I saw a black van speeding towards me, its doors opened. I screamed but it was too late, two men pulled me inside the van, something was pulled over my head and the van sped away.''

''Did they say anything to you?'' Asked Detective Saunders.

''No but I heard men talking to each other saying that now that they have me no one else will know they have Anna. The rest is blank. I think that may be when they hit me.'' Her fingers making their way back to her wounded head.

''I woke up inside a building on the industrial side of Westridge Street, managed to escape through a broken window and ran until I saw the police car and ran to you. Anna! Anna must still be alive! You need to help her!''

''Do you think you could show us the building?'' He asked.

''Yes. Yes, I can. It’s on the corner of Hugh and Westridge.'' She replied.

Making their way outside the café towards the parking lot, the detective was already requesting backup. He opened the door of his car prompting her to get in on the passenger’s side. Within seconds the engine roared to life, taking off at such a speed that Sarah found herself bracing between the door and middle console, clutching the grab handle for dear life as Detective Saunders swung the car around the corner of Hugh.

As they pulled up to the building, a squadron of police were ready. She saw the same building that had been her decaying prison not so long ago, an old mill that had closed many years before. It's bricks tarnished from years of neglect and paint that had faded into near non-existence.

''Wait here!'' He commanded. Sarah was sure as hell going to listen. She saw him making his way to the derelict building, opening the street-level door with his backup team behind him. Within minutes Sarah heard shots being fired. Sarah’s heart was thumping, her mind racing. What will I do if the detective and cops have been shot? She thought. Surveying the street for exit strategy options. Her plans were interrupted by the nearing sound of sirens. An ambulance and more police cars pulling up at the scene. Sarah slumped further into the seat, the leather now sticky from her body's heat.

The driver's-side door opened, Sarah nearly jumped out of her own skin from fright. It was the Detective. He was alive. Thank God!

''It’s time to take you home.'' He said as he slid back into his seat.

The ride was filled with nothing but dispatch alerts hissing over the radio. The car pulled up in front of her apartment block. The surroundings familiar but feeling so different to how they had before all of this.

''Anna Dubrovnik,'' he began.

''Real name Tara Ofsted was a DEA agent. She was undercover on a drug cartel operation. The targets have been on our radar for over six years.''

''Was?'' Sarah asked, hoping the past tense used was not literal.

''She’s dead, they found the body inside the building.''

The wind was knocked right out of Sarah’s sails. She had not known this person at all but in the past 48 hours had built up this hope she would be able to see her alive.

''I know how you feel but know it is not your fault.'' Detective Saunders said, attempting to comfort her.

''In fact, without you the cartel would have disappeared again, and her death would have been in vain. We now have them in custody, and they will pay for what they have done. You have helped find the group that have been linked to countless murders, money laundering and innocent lives swept up in the drug world.''

Sarah opened the car door and closed it behind her, walking towards the entrance door. She felt she should have said something but the only thing in her mouth was silence. ''Sarah.'' Detective Saunders called as he got out of the driver’s seat and walked towards her.

Sarah turned back to look at the detective once more.

''I believe this is yours.'' he said, handing her Kate Spade handbag back to her.

Opening her bag, she saw everything was inside it just as it had been before being kidnapped, everything including the $20k in cash.

Finding her voice once more, Sarah asked "But Detective, what must I do with this money?''

He was already walking back to his car but stopped briefly to respond to the question. Gazing back at Sarah with a grin on his face, Detective Saunders shrugged, "Finders keepers."