The Passage of Truth

Chapter One

The temperature had dipped below freezing, so she wrapped the scarf closer around her face and put up her hood, hurrying down the street. It would be morning before anyone dared to call the police and by then she'd be long gone. Ice-cold fear gripped at her, but she brushed it aside, turned the corner and climbed into the car. 

There was something Sam always liked about airports. While everyone seemed consumed by the search for their gates, Sam leisurely walked to her gate and found a quiet seat by the window; the perfect vantage point for watching planes landing and taking off.

Airlines from around the world sped by and she imagined the far off places they were going and the hundreds of people aboard bound for these exotic places.

Playing with the lid of the coffee cup in her hand she sighed. She knew she shouldn't have bought it. The flight was only five hours, the worst of all redeyes, and if she had any hope of overcoming jet lag, she needed to sleep for as long as possible. That idea was out the window now, though. Long nightly shifts at the front desk of the local police station had only fueled her addiction to caffeine, and, unfortunately for her waistline, she had developed a penchant for donuts too. What a stereotype. She couldn't help but roll her eyes at herself.

Nothing exciting happened in the small town of Roseau, Minnesota, where the winters were long, cold and dark, endlessly stretching for six months or longer. She spent most of her evenings at the station flipping through travel magazines, sipping her coffee and marveling at the beauty of the world beyond Roseau's three square miles.

One day she decided she'd had enough. She quit her job at the station, much to her mother's horror, bought a one-way ticket to Iceland and flew out to New York three days later. She knew it was impulsive, but there was nothing in Roseau for her anymore and she figured if she didn't do it now, she probably never would.

At 28 she felt like life was passing her by and she was just watching it go, feeling like a sidekick in her own story. She'd read that in a magazine once: that you should be the heroine of your own story. Sam was certainly no heroine. She knew all too well that life was short and what exactly had she done with her's so far? Precisely nothing.

It had been 12 years since her best friend Dani had disappeared and she knew she had to stop blaming that one event on her inability to move on with her life. Dani had always been the beautiful, exciting and adventurous one. Once when they were six, Dani decided they were going exploring and convinced Sam to sneak out of her house after dark to creep across town and break into the high school. Dani craved the adrenaline. Sam would have rather been in bed cuddling her teddy bear.

As teenagers, Dani's long, blonde hair and vivacious personality garnered her the attention of the whole school and got her invited to all the parties, with students clambering to be her friend. Sam never knew why she chose her and why she stuck by her side all of those years. But Dani was like a sister to Sam and they told each other everything. Or so she thought.

When they turned 16, Sam felt like Dani began pulling away. It was small things at first, easily explained away by her busy schedule. Being a popular, straight A student who played on two sports teams didn't exactly leave a lot of free time, but Dani had always managed to make the time for Sam before. More time would lapse between returned phone calls and Dani stopped sleeping over, despite only living a few houses down. Sam was desperate to keep her friend and worried what was causing her strange behavior.

Like most teenagers, unable to see the bigger picture, Sam blamed herself. Why would a beautiful, lively girl like Dani want her social status hindered by a mousy, quiet misfit like Sam? Sam accepted this fate and stopped trying to force the friendship; hurt, she buried herself in her mystery books and kept to herself.

As the months passed, Sam noticed Dani was out of school far more often, and when she did decide to show up, she looked disheveled and exhausted. Sam tried reaching out to her, but Dani looked so far removed from the person she used to be, her eyes bloodshot, like those of a wild animal. She clearly didn't want Sam anywhere near her, so she gave up. She hated that she gave up.

The fragile box Sam had cocooned herself in over the past few months came crumbling down one snowy November morning when Dani's mom came to their house frantic, asking if Dani had spent the night. By late that afternoon, the police had been called and that's when she knew something terrible had happened.

Despite the endless searches, there were no leads. It's as though Dani had completely vanished from earth. It's why, as soon as she turned 18, Sam immediately applied for the open front desk position at the police station when Barabra Albright had finally retired. She had hoped being closer to the action would help her solve the mystery surrounding Dani's disappearance, but nothing came of it.

After five years, the police finally put the case away, filed it as a cold case, and Sam fell into the dull lull that was her life.

"We are now boarding zone three for Icelandair flight 614 at gate 33," the announcement snapped Sam back to reality and after a quick glance at her boarding pass, she swung her backpack on and grabbed the handle of her suitcase and boarded the flight taking her on her first international trip.

No one understood why she chose Iceland as her first international destination, coming from a place that had been experiencing winter for several months already, but Sam liked the cold and felt at home bundled up in sweaters, coats and hats, so Iceland seemed like the natural first step.

Spending most of her adult life living at home, except for a very brief stint in Minneapolis, Sam had saved up a good bit of money and had every intention of embarking on a journey of self-discovery. Sure, she'd start in Iceland, but after that maybe she'd maybe venture to Paris, Vienna and who knows, maybe even to Australia. Perhaps she wouldn't even return. She shook her head, knowing that was a ridiculous thought.

Shortly after take-off, the flight attendant came by with two dinner options and a choice of wine or beer. Sam got a pinot noir, closed her eyes and, surprisingly, drifted off to sleep.