Packed with bags
Jake whispered, “What the heck…” as he wiped a grimy window with his sleeve. Inside the car, he saw several suitcases, some slashed open with their contents spilling out. Among the scattered items, he noticed children’s clothing and toys, along with adult belongings, leading him to believe the suitcases belonged to a family. But there was something else, something unsettling.
A woman’s purse
The car’s keys were still in the ignition, and a woman’s purse sat abandoned on the passenger seat. It was clear that whoever had been in the car had left in a hurry. An unsettling feeling washed over Jake as he wondered what had happened to the family. Driven by curiosity, he opened the passenger door.
A baby’s picture
Jake sifted through the woman’s purse and found a wallet with several credit cards, each bearing different names. As he dug deeper, his gaze landed on something that made his stomach drop—a photo of a baby. The baby in the picture looked almost identical to Jake when he was an infant!
He had to search farther
Jake carefully took the picture out of the wallet and flipped it over, hoping for a clue written on the back, but there was nothing. He returned the photo to the wallet, though he didn’t put the wallet back in the purse. Despite the fear gripping him, Jake felt compelled to look deeper. Maybe one of the other suitcases would hold the answers.
Taking a look inside the bags
He slid the wallet into his back pocket and opened the backseat door. Pulling out all the suitcases, he placed them on the ground, eager to open them. He knew he was tampering with evidence, but he couldn’t bring himself to care. The baby picture had triggered something deep within him, despite the fact that his parents were both alive and well.
Taking A Look Inside The Bags
Outdated apparel
At first glance, the clothing inside the suitcases seemed normal, but the more Jake examined them, the more he realized they were all outdated. Some of the brands, once popular, were now nearly forgotten, having been fashionable about thirty years ago. As he picked up an old-looking shirt, something unexpected slipped out of it.
A family getaway
A small agenda fell from the shirt and landed in the grass. Jake picked it up and began flipping through its pages. Inside, he found a list of birthdays and appointments. One entry caught his eye: “Family vacation for Tom’s birthday,” circled on a random Saturday, with a location written beneath. Jake’s eyes widened as he realized the car had likely been headed to his hometown before it ended up in these woods!
A Family Getaway
He had to call the cops
This revelation deeply unsettled Jake, and he knew it was time to go to the police. Something terrible must have happened to this family. He left the suitcases on the ground and returned the wallet to the purse, but not before taking out the baby picture once again. There was one more thing he had to do.
Arriving at the police station
Jake hurried to the police station. “Hi, I’m here to report… well… I found an abandoned car,” he told the officer at the front desk. Unsure how to explain what he had discovered, since he hadn’t witnessed any actual crime, he fumbled with his words. Fortunately, abandoned cars always raised suspicion, so the officer asked for the location and assured Jake that officers would be sent to investigate.
Glad he was free to go
Jake left his phone number with the officer, but he didn’t mind—he was just relieved to be free to go. He made sure to explain what he had done and what he had found, to avoid any confusion about why his fingerprints were all over the car and suitcases. As he walked out of the station, his adrenaline was still racing, and he hurried home, eager to process everything that had just happened.
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