The Hitchhiker by Julianna Rowe

 Out on Amazon soon.   

The Hitchhiker by Julianna Rowe  Book #1

Cardboard Coffins is a series that takes place in 1966 while traveling the Old Mother Road Route 66 to Los Angeles.  

Chapter Ten “The Holding Cell”

This sure as heck was no cardboard box.  It was a cold gray holding cell and I was hungry and angry and staving off a serious nervous breakdown I surely deserved to have.  At least I had convinced myself I was justified in giving up.  Surviving had been my middle name most of my life.  Never giving up, always a smile no matter what.  Yet the hitchhiker saga pulled me to a depth I had never experienced.  Not even the death of my father had affected me in the way a total stranger named Roger had.  And I didn’t even know his name.

That is when I met Bambi, a girl of the night working the streets. Hence, a prostitute.  She had more rouge on her cheeks than I had ever seen on my old Grannie Gillie.  Well, I am exaggerating some.  Bambi would have been much prettier without all that makeup.  Nevertheless, she saw I was in distress and she came over to offer kindness to me.  Bambi told me not to worry. I would get to see the Judge the following day and I was lucky it wasn’t Friday because Friday meant no Judge until the following Monday.

I guess that was supposed to make me feel better but it didn’t.  I asked Bambi why I didn’t get to make a phone call.  I thought legally they had to give me one phone call before putting me in the pokey.  I told Bambi I didn’t even know why I was there.

She laughed as in disbelief.  I reiterated to her I was not a lady of the night.  That I had picked up a hitchhiker back in Illinois and I thought he might be the reason why we got stopped by Johnny Law who took my dog and my beautiful Pink Cadillac and I was so afraid they were gone forever. 

My story seemed to have shocked Bambi, but she told me to relax because if I hadn’t committed any crimes, I should be alright.

Now as I look back, I realize why she was shocked at my circumstances.  And yes, I should have been offered the option of a phone call.  She again had a puzzled look on her face regarding the fact I wasn’t offered my legal right to a phone call.

The guards finally came with dinner which amounted to a hot dog, peaches, some chocolate pudding, and a carton of warm milk.  Most of which I could not consume due to an allergy to milk so Bambi traded me her peaches for my pudding and milk which lifted my spirits some as I could not recall when I had eaten last.  That made me think of Duke and I started to cry.  Bambi put her arms around me and rocked me like a little kid.  I guess I needed that.

Then came the mats.  The guards had thrown them into the cell-like our livelihood meant nothing to them.  Like you throw a hunk of meat at a captive lion at the zoo.  The mats were to sleep on as there were too many bodies for the number of bunks in the holding cell.  Naturally, the weaker of the lot go to the floor and of course, that was me as in only the strong survive which used to be my motto but had now exited the building.

Bambi opted to sleep next to me so she could watch for any fights breaking out between the girls and which gave me a sense of security.  She could see how alone and simply stressed out I was.  My utter exhaustion caused me to sleep right through the noise of the women of the night and their constant drama until early morning.  They had been used to sleeping all day and working the streets all night thus, the noise and bickering.

And then came breakfast which was atrocious.  Slop with soggy white toast, a packet of jam, and cold coffee.

I prayed for the time to pass quickly so I could tell the Judge my story.  But I did not have a story.  At the least, I would hear what the charges against me were.  And then it began.  Every single girl was taken to the courtroom but me. My friend Bambi was gone.  I was all alone in that huge gray cell.  The only good part was no one would be staring at me when I used the toilet.  That degrading fact did not help my depression.  I had always been a very private person when it came to bathroom activities.  Therefore, this happening to me just added to my hate and anger for Roger.  Who the heck was Roger anyway and why did I get arrested?

That is when the woman guard opened the cell door, handcuffed me, and took me six floors down to Courtroom 107.  Judge Sommers.  As I stood before him trembling, he asked me if I knew why I was there.

I said, “No sir I do not. All I know is I was traveling to Los Angeles and picked up a hitchhiker in Illinois and ever since some very strange things have happened to me, sir.  I had never been in any sort of trouble in all my life.”