The Case Of Ali

Chapter 4. Into Thin Air

After Ali left the airport she  went home, did some laundry  and waited by the phone for a call from Jake.  He promised  that he would call after he landed.  That call never came.  Jake had said that reception might be bad and he might not be able to call.   Ali was worried sick  that she had not  heard from him that he at least landed and caught up with the rest of the group.  Ali jumped everytime her phone rang, but  to her disapointment  it was her  father and not Jake. He kept calling her but she refused to take his call.  She was still so mad at him. 

One day turn to two and Ali tried to justify why she had  not heard from Jake.  Then before Ali knew it a whole  week had passed but still no word from Jake.  Was he still mad at her, she wondered.  She could not blame him if he was,  but even if he was still mad, she expected  that he would call her and let her know that he had reached his destination safely.  

Ali kept calling his phone and it just kept going to  voice mail until it came up full. She felt like kicking her self for not getting information on the people who went with Jake.  She knew that the plane must have landed safely because she heard of no plane crashes over the past week.  She wondered if she should call his mother.  Maybe she had heard from him.  Ali told herself to calm down.  He did say that he would write; it was only a week; it would take more than a week for a letter to get to her from South America.  And so she waited. 

One week turned to two weeks and still no word from Jake and Ali began to get sick with anxiety.  Did something happen to the group...to Jake? This was South America after all.  It was not the safest place of places, with kidnapping and violence being very common. 

 Ali started her new job but could not keep her mind on work.  By week four Ali was practically going insane with worry and was thinking of booking a flight to go look for Jake.  But she had no clue where to start looking.   She jumped every time the phone rang and she was checking the mail box several times a day even though  the mailman only came once a day.  She checked before she left in the mornings; she  drove  home at lunchtime just to check again and several times before she went to bed.  She knew that her behavior was not normal but she did not care.  She didn't know why she went to bed because she got very little sleep.  She was headed for a nervous breakdown.

Ali reluctantly decided to call Jake's mother.  The woman could not be any colder and rude.  she was like frigging ice, Ali thought.

"I am not Jake's keeper; I have no idea where he is," Cynthia  said.

"I am not asking you for Jake; I am asking if you  heard from him in the last month," Ali said.

"And why would I tell you that? He probably need a break from you," the woman said.

"Cynthia, I think something happen to Jake; If you have not heard from him; I think we need to get the government involved," Ali cried.

"What do you mean something happen to Jake? Did your father hurt my son?" Cynthia asked.

"No, of course not; Jake left  with his history class on that Humanitarian trip to South America and I have not  heard from him in over a month; I am worried; I am hoping that you heard from him," Ali quickly clarified. 

"Jake  came here, spent the night with me here; he said that he was going on some humanitarian effort and I begged him not to go. I had a bad feeling about that trip; I was getting these dreams of him crying out to me for help.  He would not listen," his mother said.  "His father is from there, you know.  I had a bad feeling when he left too," Cynthia continued on her rant.

"What happened to his father?" Ali asked.

"His father left for Peru...said he was going to see about some property he inherited  and he never came back," Cynthia cried.