Taken

Interestingly, there had been no mention of the missing money and jewels in the article. Maybe the police were withholding that information, for whatever reason. Not that it mattered to Jane one way or the other.

Once she’d gotten herself free, things had moved surprisingly quickly and well. After she’d abandoned their Porsche and made her 911 call, she’d taken the next bus to Atlantic City. Luck had remained on her side, with the bus leaving within five minutes of her arrival at the station. Once in Atlantic City, she’d caught a cab to the closest quality hotel and booked a room.

The bed was firm, the pillows plump, the hot water endless. After a long shower with lots of wonderful sudsy soap and sweet-smelling shampoo, she’d wrapped herself in the thick terrycloth robe provided by the hotel and ordered room service.

She’d enjoyed a delicious meal of a cheeseburger, fries and a huge chocolate milkshake. Full and content, she placed the Do Not Disturb sign on the outside of her door. Then she’d dumped the contents of the Coach tote on the second bed and stared for a long time at the stacks of money and the glittering jewels.

Picking up one of the rubber-banded packets, she counted a single stack of hundred-dollar bills. Just a single stack contained ten thousand dollars. She had ninety-four packets, less the money she’d spent getting to the hotel. Close to $940,000, and that didn’t count the jewelry.

Jane, who had never earned more than thirty-five thousand dollars a year, was awestruck at the extent of her newfound wealth. She didn’t feel even a drop of guilt for the theft. It would never make up for what they’d done.

She decided to get some rest until it was daylight. She lay down on impossibly soft, silky sheets with a contented sigh and closed her eyes.

When she’d opened them again, the sun was streaming through the windows. She called the concierge and explained she’d lost her suitcase while traveling and needed some fresh clothes. Would she be kind enough to send someone to buy her a pair of jeans, size 2, a small T-shirt, a sports bra and a packet of underwear?

She would be kind enough, it turned out, if Jane was willing to pay the hefty service charge, which Jane assured her was not a problem. While waiting for the clothing to arrive, she took another long shower, brushed her teeth and ordered more room service—this time raspberry scones and clotted cream along with grilled ham, hot coffee and fresh squeezed orange juice.

Once the stores were open, she bought a small high-quality carry-on bag, along with several outfits of clothing and pairs of shoes. Back in the hotel room, she changed into one of the nicer outfits and packed the rest into the carry-on, along with most of the cash and the jewels.

She checked out and caught a cab to the airport, where she bought a first-class ticket to San Diego, California, since it was the next available flight departing for the West Coast. She’d only been on a plane once before, and certainly not in first class. She sank back into the large, comfortable seat and allowed the flight attendant to bring her champagne, a tasty meal and even an ice cream cone while she was watching a movie on her private screen. Eventually, she’d made the seat go completely flat, and snoozed away the rest of the flight.

She decided she liked San Diego as well as anywhere for a start, and went to a local realtor to find a rental on the water. She found a lovely little villa right on the beach. The rent was insane, but hey—she could afford it. Once she figured out her life more, she would see about buying something.

Over the next several days, she met with a financial advisor, who was happy to help her invest her “inheritance from a great aunt.” She took Brenda’s jewels to an estate sale jeweler who wasn’t overly interested in where she’d acquired such valuable pieces. He bought the lot of them for the additional sum of four hundred thousand dollars.

She really didn’t need to work. The income from her investments promised to be more than enough to live like a queen without lifting a finger for a long time to come, even in expensive San Diego. Still, she liked the idea of doing something with her life—something of value. After giving it a lot of thought, she had decided she would eventually return to college and get a degree in social work. She hoped to help other young women traumatized by physical and sexual abuse.

In the meantime, she planned to seek counseling for herself to help her find peace and acceptance in her new life. And there were fun things to look forward to, as well. She would get a totally new haircut and maybe go to a spa for one of those full makeovers. Then there was the fun of buying a brand-new wardrobe, without having to worry about the price tags. And she’d always wanted to learn to paint and to do pottery. She also wanted to learn to scuba dive. It was awesome to realize she now had the time and the means to do whatever she wanted.