Free In The Shadows by Trenia Coleman Page B

to class on Friday. She knew she had to keep her mind busy and on her schoolwork, to keep her thoughts from running away from her. When Tonya left the girls last evening, she felt relieved and finally hopeful. Now the police would have more to go on if this case or the new discovery was connected to either disappearance. Tonya had a good feeling about the outcome and would do whatever was necessary to help find Danielle.
    The girls agreed to meet up again on Saturday morning for the search. They weren’t sure if the search area would be changed due to the new discovery, but they knew they wouldn’t be anywhere else.
    Brandon and Tonya agreed on dinner Friday night. This time they decided on a Mexican restaurant in Tuscaloosa. Once again, they received the dirty looks because they were together. As Brandon kept his focus on Tonya, he realized she seemed to be comfortable with being in his company. He knew people were sometimes cruel when it came to interracial dating, and he would never want to put Tonya in an uncomfortable position.
    Brandon was almost laughing inside when he realized he’d insinuated they were dating. It had been a while since Brandon dated. He had to learn to accept the fact that he was genuinely attracted to African American women and also accept the fact that his father would never accept that. Brandon knew that this day would come eventually, which would probably mean the end of an already strained relationship with his father.
    Brandon quietly listened while Tonya updated him on the disappearance. Brandon found himself smiling as he listened to the detective sum up her case from across the table. When Tonya mentioned the way the girl was bound, Brandon immediately thought of Stella again and how she was found bound and gagged.
    Brandon had gone through his list of missing persons and had approximately ten more people to try to match up with the victim. Most of the women he found meeting the description of the missing girl were homeless people and runaways. It would be hard to match them up if he had nothing to go on. If she was homeless, that probably meant nobody was looking for her.
    * * *
    Danielle was beyond hungry, and she knew it wouldn’t be long before she was too weak to go on. She heard a vehicle in the distance that seemed to stop right outside her location. She immediately thought it could be help, but when the door opened, she knew it was him by the sound of his heavy feet sometimes dragging across the floor.
    Danielle knew she had to remain still and pretend she was dead. When he opened the door and the light poured in through the top of the container she was in, the smell of urine and feces trickled out, but it was not unusual for him. Danielle had been sitting in her own waste for two weeks and could only move around so much in the tiny compartment. She was so weak, it wasn’t hard to pretend to be dead.
    Something was different this time, and Danielle was very afraid; she felt her time had run out. After just a few minutes, he suddenly closed the door, and Danielle could hear him shuffling away. It wasn’t until after he left did Danielle feel the coolness in the compartment.
    * * *
    The Bensons scheduled a trip out of town that weekend. As soon as Mrs. Benson arrived home on Friday evening, she decided she and Joey would go away for the weekend. She’d had a successful conference, but with the recent discovery, Mrs. Benson felt the need to escape the frenzy that was taking place in Northport and parts of Tuscaloosa. Mrs. Benson didn’t have many friends, being new to the area, so she and Joey decided to go to Birmingham and maybe do some sightseeing or visit the zoo.
    While Joey finished up at work, Mrs. Benson was packing their things. She’d taken Monday off, and very soon after arriving home, she and Joey were on their way out of town. Dr. Benson had to stay and see patients, so he called Vera who worked at the clinic part-time to cover the front desk for him that