“He really was a devil,” Hannah said, hoping that she could buy just a bit more time. But that was when Rodney picked up a knife and moved toward her.
Everything happened very fast, so fast that she had trouble believing how rapidly she moved. Hannah threw the bowl of oil in his path, pivoted on her feet, and raced toward the kitchen door. She heard him fall heavily, but a split second later, she was out of the kitchen and in the back hallway. She pulled the back door open and the alarm sounded, just as she’d expected. She ran out and saw a garbage truck parked by the back door.
The driver of the truck was moving one of the Dumpsters from the back wall so that he could get behind it and wheel it to the truck. Hannah didn’t hesitate. She dashed up the ramp and into the trailer of the truck. He’d already loaded several Dumpsters, and Hannah lifted the lid of the closest one. She scrambled inside and closed the lid just as Rodney ran out the door, looking for her.
“Hey, fella! What are you doing out here?” the driver called to Rodney. “You set off the alarm.”
“Sorry!” Rodney answered. “I just came out for some air. I didn’t realize that would happen.”
“No sweat. I’ll take care of it.”
Hannah lifted the lid of the Dumpster just enough so that she could see what was happening. Rodney followed as the driver punched in the code, the alarm stopped ringing and they both stepped inside. Then the driver retrieved the Dumpster from the hallway, said goodbye to Rodney and shut the door behind him, wheeled the Dumpster outside, and reset the alarm.
She was safe! Rodney was back inside and there was no way he could get out this way again without setting off the alarm. Hannah was about to raise the lid on the Dumpster when the cargo door at the back of the truck slid down all the way. She heard the ramp rumble back into place below the door, and she wasn’t sure whether she was relieved or frightened. Rodney couldn’t get to her now, but where would the driver be taking her?
“Help!” she called out, but the driver must not have heard her because the cargo door remained closed and the engine turned over with a roar. She was trapped in the truck, and she had to get out of the Dumpster and bang on the wall that connected the back of the truck with the cab where the driver was sitting.
Hannah raised the lid of the container and attempted to climb out, but every time she thought she’d be successful, the contents of the Dumpster shifted and she sank back down again. It was squishy on the bottom and she really didn’t want to think about why that might be. She was stuck and she could feel that the driver was picking up speed.
She heard a car horn honk, and the truck lurched to the left. There were several other honks and the noise of traffic passing the truck. She was on the freeway in the garbage truck. Where was the driver taking her?!
Chapter Thirty-two
Hannah felt a moment of pure panic before her rational mind took over. The driver was taking her to the dump, of course. All she could do was hope that it was a local dump and she’d be there soon.
What time was it? It had been almost seven when Rodney had come into the kitchen. And her wedding would start at eight-thirty. What would happen if she wasn’t there? Would they wait for her? She had to find out the time!
That was when she felt it, the weight on her shoulder. It was her purse! Somehow, she’d grabbed her purse in her mad flight to get away from Rodney.
Hannah used both hands to rummage around in her purse. Her cell phone was in there somewhere. All she had to do was find it and she could call the sheriff’s station.
It took several anxious minutes, but at last she grasped it. It was right where it should be, in the inside pocket at the back of her purse. Her panic was slowing her brain. She had to think clearly if she wanted to get out of this Dumpster and marry Ross.
Did the garbage truck have a compacter? Would the driver use it? There was another brief moment of panic, and then Hannah sighed loudly. Of course the driver wouldn’t use a compacter, even if he’d had one. This garbage truck was like a moving truck. It didn’t have a trash compacter. And even if the driver’s truck had contained a compacter, he wouldn’t have used it. Dumpsters were expensive. You might dump out the trash and put it through a compacter, but you would never compact the Dumpster itself.
Hannah wiped her hands on her sweatshirt and felt for the buttons on her phone. It was off and she had to turn it on. But it wouldn’t turn on! There was something wrong! Had she forgotten to charge it again?!