Chapter 2 - The Stranger's TruckThe rain was coming down harder now, turning the manicured lawn of the Whitman estate into slick, dark mud.
Rachel stood by the curb, shivering slightly in her light jacket, wondering what on earth she had just done. A hundred dollars. She had been sold for the price of a tank of gas.
A heavy set of footsteps crunched on the gravel behind her.
The stranger pulled a large black umbrella from under his arm and clicked it open, holding it over her head to shield her from the downpour.
“You didn’t have to do that,” Rachel said, keeping her eyes fixed on the wet asphalt. “Give her the hundred dollars. Now I feel like I actually owe you.”
“You don’t owe me a dime,” the stranger said, his voice deep and raspy. He unlocked the passenger door of a battered, twenty-year-old Ford pickup truck parked at the curb. “Get inside before you catch pneumonia.”
Rachel hesitated, then climbed into the cab. It smelled faintly of old coffee, damp canvas, and cedar wood.
A moment later, the driver’s side door opened, and the stranger slid in, shaking the rain off his jacket. He tossed the manila envelope onto the dashboard between them.
“I’m Rachel,” she said quietly, staring straight ahead at the foggy windshield. “If you’re wondering, I don’t have anywhere else to go right now. But I can pay you back for the gas—and the hundred dollars—as soon as I find a temporary job.”
The man started the truck’s engine, the old V8 rumbling to life with a comforting purr. He put the truck into gear and pulled away from the curb, driving past the grand iron gates of the estate.
“My name is Thomas Vance,” he said finally, glancing sideways at her with those tired gray eyes. “And you don't owe me anything, Rachel. In fact, I think you’ll find that Robert Whitman’s estate owes you quite a bit more than anyone ever let on.”
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Rachel turned sharply in her seat. “What are you talking about? Patricia said my father died broke. She said the debts wiped out everything.”
Thomas gripped the steering wheel, his jaw tightening. “Patricia is a thief. And tomorrow morning, we’re going to prove it in a place she never expected to see you.”
