She is not bad

Chapter 70 : Gas station

Joyce and Hopper found a lead. They discovered that there was a bus driving at night in the district to bring back people to their homes. They went to the bus depot and asked the driver of the night of Jane's disappearance if he had seen her that night. The man answered by the positive and told them where he let her. For the first time in three days, they felt the hope coming back. They went to the last bus station at the end of the town and followed the road leaving the city, as the bus driver told them she continued her way in this direction, on foot. They slowly drove on the road, looking everywhere around to find even the tiniest clue which could help them to find Jane. After some kilometers, they found a motel called the Crescent Moon and decided to stop here. They didn't check the rooms to directly go to the reception.

- "One or two beds?" the lady asked without looking up.

- "Um, no, we're not here for a room," Hopper said.

The man cleared his throat before showing the picture of Jane to the lady.

- "Yeah, it's Jane."

- "You know her?" Joyce frowned.

- "Yes, she came here sometimes to sleep with her aunt or her mother, I don't know."

Hopper and Joyce frowned at each other, not sure that Cassandra took Jane here while they were living at thirty minutes in car from the place.

- "Um, was she here three nights ago?" the man asked.

- "Yeah, she tried to break inside a room," the lady answered.

- "Really?"

- "Yes, she thought I wouldn't see her, but I'm not stupid. So, I got out and pointed my gun to her to make her stop."

- "You didn't shoot, right?"

- "No, of course not! She just wanted to spend a night here. She seemed...panicked, and I had only four clients. She couldn't pay, but she told me she would pay in another way."

- "Don't...don't tell me she paid in sexual favors..." Joyce intervened.

- "Ew, no! I asked her to clean the rooms before leaving! Which she did!"

- "In which direction did she go?" Hopper asked.

- "She asked another client if he could drive her to the next town. With a little bit luck, he wasn't a crazy psychopath."

- "Thank you for your help."

Hopper and Joyce left the reception to continue their search. Joyce was glad this lady didn't ask sexual favors to Jane. The young girl was too fragile to have this kind of relation with someone else. She needed to start over and to heal. But, for now, she just needed to go back home. If something happened, they would do everything to help her with that.

Hopper was lost in his thoughts. He was wondering why Joyce was scared that this lady could have asked sexual favors. Well, it wasn't why she was wondering that, because it could have been possible, but she used a tone implying it had already happened to the young brunette. Jane had been lucky this lady decided to help her, but not everyone was like that. He really hoped the man who took her in his car didn't try anything to Jane or hurt her or even kill her. He didn't know how he could tell Cassandra that her niece was dead because they lost three days interrogating people who didn't know anything before realizing there was a bus station not far from her apartment. He would never forgive himself for this.

The couple stopped at a gas station to stock up on gas. While Hopper was taking care of the gas, Joyce decided to go inside to buy some food and to ask the cashier if he had seen Jane around. He told her that she was with a man he knew well. This man was doing this ride every day and always stopping here to buy some beers. The cashier told her that he was a nice man, working hard for his family. It kinda reassured Joyce, even if it could hide something. She thanked the man and joined Hopper who was waiting in the car. She told him what the cashier said, hoping it would relax him, but it did not. She could see on his face that he was worried and feeling guilty, whereas none of this was his fault.

- "This is not your fault," Joyce said.

- "I know."

- "Why do you act like if it was?"

- "I don't act. I'm just...I'm thinking of Cassandra and everything she has lived since Jane lives with her. We saw them tear each other to pieces, we saw Jane doing bad things, we saw Cassandra giving up on this, thinking that time would make everything...but we didn't do anything. When I arrested Jane many times, I could have given her advice, I could have talked to her, I could have made her understand that what she was doing was bad and was making suffer her aunt...but I didn't. I didn't do anything..."

- "You're too rude with yourself. Every time you arrested Jane; you did everything to not send her in prison-"

- "And I failed. Now look where we are!"

- "Look, Jane is not your daughter. Yes, maybe we could have done something, but we can't know exactly everything that happened between them. Maybe Cassandra gave up on lecturing Jane, but she loves her like her own daughter. She fought for her when she was in prison, she freed her, she took care of her when she was still at home, and she would still be doing it if Jane was at home. And Jane knows she is doing bad things, but she is doing it to stay with her aunt. I'm not saying she did the right decisions, but she did it for the right reasons. They are completely lost, but they need each other. And none of this is our fault because we are not Jane's parents. It's not like if we abandoned them. We were here every time they needed, and we still are here, looking for Jane, so Cassandra don't have to do it."

- "Yeah...maybe you're right."

- "I know I am. I told Cassandra to focus on her rehabilitation as a nurse. Like that, she would have a better salary when Jane comes back."

- "You think it will work?" Hopper frowned.

- "It has to. I gave her some names to contact. They will help her. And she will be a nurse again."

Joyce gently squeezed his arm which made him smile. Hopper was trying to put things to perspective, but he still had this bitter taste in his mouth. He couldn't stop thinking that he didn't do enough for them.

After forty minutes of ride, they arrived at the entrance of the city. It was a wide city; it would be hard to find clues there. They took a deep breath and began their investigation in this new place.