An unexpected tornado warning, so frequent in the spring, had just been issued for the Dallas/Ft. Worth area. Dark clouds churned and tumbled, rolling rapidly toward North Dallas and the Galleria Mall. A feeling of foreboding hung heavy in the Texas air. Angry, relentless winds whipped at the young woman’s long, denim skirt . An overpowering feeling of apprehension overtook her as she hurried to where she had parked her tan Bronco. Long wisps of blond hair, blown lose from her usually immaculate French braid, struck her blue eyes with great force.
She winced from the sting. Tears welled up from the biting wind.
The intensity of the storm pushed against the small woman, holding her back from safety. Rain began pelting her tanned skin.
She had waited, at the appointed time and place praying that her message had reached the only person she was certain could help her stop all this craziness. The appointment had not been kept. She could wait no longer.
As she hurried through the deserted parking lot, she nervously fumbled in her purse. The tips of her fingers urgently searching for the car keys. She should return to the Mall and wait out the storm. But Michael was waiting for her. He would be terrified. She had to get to him. Fear flooded her soul. The adrenaline pumped. Her heart raced and her palms grew sweaty. A feeling she had become familiar with in the past weeks. Was she being followed. Watched. Stalked.
It wasn’t just the storm. She had been through countless sudden Texas storms. Something far more sinister, far more deadly was threatening her. Instinctively, she glanced over her shoulder. She saw no one. Everyone had taken shelter. The wind grew stronger, swirling the dirt and debris as the dark clouds closed in like a suffocating blanket. Thank God, it was only a few more feet to the safety of her car.
Sirens wailed in the damp Dallas night. A passing motorist slowed to look at the faces of the shocked crowd standing on the edge of Castlewood Road. He strained to look into the nearby ditch. A police officer, wearing a yellow slicker, used his flashlight to notify the intrigued motorist to move on.
Two more Dallas Police cars raced up to the site and pulled to a stop. The officers jumped out. “Over this way,” called an excited bystander, pointing into the depths of the muddy ditch. Occasional lightning flashed and thunder rolled in the distance. Rain was still lightly falling in North Dallas. Broken tree limbs and twisted street signs gave evidence of the heavy storm that had passed through only hours before. From street level, the wheels of the shattered, late model, tan Bronco were all that could be seen as it rested upside down in the mud. Several splintered warning barriers were lying in pieces on the road.
Flashing red lights cast a surreal glow on a group of Police Officers holding back the curious onlookers. Other officers took notes and pictures of the scene. A gurney carrying a filled body bag was loaded into the Dallas County Coroner’s van.
Get your own Free Home Page