Glacier Highway

Chapter 6

Jen woke with a start. It was almost seven. It had been after 2:00 a.m. when she had fallen asleep, and her dreams had been filled with kidnappings and feeling of helplessness. She saw CD standing beside the bed, patiently waiting to be let out. She stretched and was tempted to turn over and get a few more minutes. CD whined.

She jumped out of bed, let CD out, and took a quick shower. She used some makeup, not a lot—some eye shadow and foundation. Today she decided to spray on a little cologne, just in case she came across Agent Z, which was what she was calling him.

Jen’s senses were immediately assaulted with the smell of coffee and cinnamon rolls when she walked into the Coffee Hut. Her mouth watered. She ordered a cinnamon roll and her usual mocha and scanned the room. She saw Agent Julion.

She and CD walked over to where he was sitting. He offered her a chair, and she sat down. Deb, the barista, would bring her coffee over to her. Jen was surprised to see CD go up to him and greet him. Agent Z reached down and stroked CD’s head between his ears. He looked tired.

“He doesn’t usually warm up to people. He was trained not to, but you seem to be an exception. How did it go with the woman?” she questioned. “Did the license plate turn anything up? Did you find out who they are? Did you catch them?”

“She is doing OK; she was glad to be safe.”

“Human trafficking?”

He looked startled that she would guess that. “I can’t comment on an ongoing investigation.” He smiled apologetically.

“Well, it was pretty obvious from what little I heard. I hope you catch them. I can’t imagine how awful it must be. That was one fear I had to fight in Afghanistan, the fear of being captured.”

Deb delivered her coffee, and Jen got up to go. “Good to see you again, Agent Julion.”

“Zack, please.”

She nodded and left. She felt his eyes on her as she crossed the room. She turned and smiled as she opened the door and left.