Chapter 41 - ON THE ROAD

Following my failed attempt at breakfast I went straight to my truck so that I could set out for my new case. I needed to catch that nasty piece of trash, Sandy Fink, and put his ass behind bars before he could hurt an innocent child.

I sat in the driver's seat for a moment while I reviewed the information that EZ had gathered for me. I was going to do it in the diner but I didn't want to pull it out while Laremy was there. Though I really do think he could come in handy at some point so he was going to be good to keep around.

I flipped open the pink file folder that I had gotten this morning and looked over everything that EZ had given me.

<NAME> SANDY LOREN FINK

<D.O.B> OCTOBER 25, 1986

<PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION> SUSPECT HAS THINNING MUDDY BROWN HAIR THAT IS GRAYING SLIGHTLY. EYES ARE LIGHT BROWN. SUSPECT HAS SEVERELY CROOKED NOSE FROM MULTIPLE FRACTURES. SUSPECT HAS A TATTOO ON HIS LEFT WRIST OF SKULL. SUSPECT HAS A TATTOO ON THE RIGHT WRIST OF A SNAKE'S HEAD. SUSPECT HAD A TATTOO ON THE LEFT SHOULDER OF A CLOWN. SUSPECT HAD A TATTOO ON HIS BELLY OF AN ICE CREAM THAT APPEARS TO STICK OUT OF HIS PANTS WHEN SHIRTLESS.

<LIST OF OFFENSES> SUSPECT HAS BEEN ARRESTED FOR SEVERAL COUNTS OF CHILD PORNOGRAPHY. SUSPECT HAS ADMITTED HE HAS A PROBLEM AND WAS REMANDED TO HOUSE ARREST UNTIL THE TRIAL. SUSPECT HAS SINCE BEEN CHARGED WITH EVADING ARREST/TRIAL

<KNOWN ASSOCIATES> THE SUSPECT HAS SEVERAL KNOWN CRIMINAL ASSOCIATES IN AND AROUND THE AREA OF JASPER, ARKANSAS LOCATED IN THE OZARK MOUNTAIN RANGE. ASSOCIATES INCLUDE JIMMY LEE (WANTED FOR DRUG POSSESSION/DISTRIBUTION AND ATTEMPTED MURDER), CRAIG POLK (WANTED FOR ILLEGAL HUNTING AND ASSAULT/BATTERY), AND LARRY LOUGH (WANTED FOR POSSESSION OF NARCOTICS, WEAPONS CHARGES, AND ATTEMPTED MURDER).

<KNOWN ALIASES> RANDY LOREN, LOREN FINK, SAN MILES, LORRY DINK

Following the initial page that you would expect to see on any rap sheet there was a list of the most recent calls on his cell phone and landline phone, a list of all the most recent transactions on his credit cards and his bank accounts. He appeared to have had a friend of his cash advance several loans to get money for him so that he could run.

There is no guarantee that he went to the area where his criminal friends were rumored to be but it was a good enough place to start. So it looked like I had a long ride ahead of me. The down side was, I was getting a little too close to home by going there. I would be way too close to the Appalachian Mountains in Tennessee. This was starting to annoy me.

Another drawback to looking for this bounty was that it would take me a long time to drive there. In all it would take me around twenty-four hours of drive time. That didn't count for stopping to eat, fuel up, or sleep. This was going to be so much fun.

It was still early, just after seven in the morning when I left the diner's parking lot. If I got on the road now I would be able to make some good time and could possibly drive half of the distance in one day, if I pushed myself that is.

I hopped onto the interstate and started on my way. I had a lot of ground to cover in the next few days. And I absolutely was not running away to Arkansas to avoid anything back at home. Definitely not.

In less than two hours I had left Massachusetts and was into Connecticut. Before eleven in the morning I had passed through New York then New Jersey and was now already moving into Pennsylvania. That was when I started to think about grabbing a bite to eat and fuel up.

I chose to make the pit stop after very little thought. I used the restroom then I topped off the tank and grabbed some fast food all from an exit just off the interstate. I hopped back onto the highway and set about continuing my journey.

I was attempting to eat and drive at the same time, something that I had done thousands of times before. The problem was, that just getting the food near my nose made me feel sick and the urge to vomit was coming back.

I forced myself to eat the food though. I hadn't been able to eat my breakfast and if I went too long without eating I would begin to feel weak and sick, the drawback of a very fast metabolism.

I managed to get the food down, but less than half an hour later I was pulling to the side of the road and rushing to the guardrail to eject most of the meal. I'm sure that I had retained some of the food though, since I could feel a little more strength coming back to me.

Ugh this sucked. How long was this going to last? It was just black coffee for crying out loud.

That was when Laremy's words went through my mind again. He had said it sounded like I was pregnant. That was impossible, wasn't it? I would know if I was pregnant, I'm a shifter, we know these things right away.

Still, the episodes with the coffee and the food was not making me feel very confident right now. Still, I had work to do so I got back on the road. I had wasted about half an hour just by sitting there on the side of the road.

I continued driving through Pennsylvania for the next several hours but I could feel exhaustion hit me way too soon. I needed to get more food into my system and to get some more sleep since I had gotten up way too early this morning.

I pulled off the highway and into the parking lot of a hotel just before the Maryland border. I got a room, ordered a pizza that I could barely eat and then went to sleep. I threw up another two times that night and was starting to really worry about what was happening to me.

I got back on the road the next day with a half a gallon of orange juice and a big box of crackers as my breakfast. I needed to get my body settled and not think about what all this sickness meant for me.

I entered Maryland almost immediately and followed the interstate until I entered West Virginia. From there I went into Kentucky and I was already too tired to drive more.

I pulled a similar routine as the night before. I pulled into a hotel, ordered some take out and went to bed. I was actually able to eat the food this time since I specifically ordered food that wasn't greasy. Whatever was going on it was clear that I needed to stay away from coffee and greasy foods.

The next morning I had a bowl of oatmeal that didn't threaten to come back up but the bacon turned my stomach. Shit! I can't live a life with no bacon. I was also craving milk, probably to replenish some of the nutrients that I had lost from being sick for the last couple days. The good thing was, I think I was starting to get better.

I continued through Kentucky for a few hours until I got to just the corner of Illinois. I was in that state for just the blink of an eye before I made it to Missouri. A few more hours in Missouri had me finally entering Arkansas.

I was finally almost there. It would take me maybe three more hours max to get to the city of Jasper. Thank the Goddess that I was finally there. This drive had taken me a whole day longer than I thought it would have.

Three days, two nights in hotels, and at least a dozen stops for fuel and pit stops, that was what it took. I made it though and that's what mattered. Now I can finally get back to work and do my job.

I pulled into the lot of a small inn just outside Jasper and checked in. I would need somewhere to come back to during the investigation. After setting my stuff down in the room though I needed to settle my stomach so I went to the counter at the bar and ordered a ginger ale.

Thankfully my stomach didn't flip at the smell of it. I might finally be seeing the end of whatever this thing that was plaguing me was. See, I told Laremy that I wasn't pregnant. It was just a mental thing, most likely. I had made myself sick with the black coffee and Laremy's words had thrown me off so much that I had made myself physically ill.. It was a psychosomatic issue that's all.