Chapter 1

"This is an Action News Alert ... Sub-freezing temps and stiff winds will bring unwanted Artic blasts into the Southern States mid-day today and the temperatures are expected to drop even low into the evening hours. Motorists are urged to use caution before heading out to the highways because the drop in temps with be sudden and life-threatening."

Alice heard the TV with only a fraction of her attention because she was determined to get both of her children out to the school bus before she left for the special meeting at the courthouse downtown. Her spouse and hard-working partner Jack had already driven to the airport and his flight had probably already taken off before the cold front moved into the area. Her son Robert was all squared away with his usual placid attitude in any situation no matter how new and unexpected. Her daughter Belle was just the opposite finding something to complain about from the toast being overcooked to the disturbing fact their frisky dog Charlie had eaten her homework from the night before. She put the remains of the homework inside a plastic baggy and told her that it was "prima facie" evidence that she was not making it up.

Of course, neither Robert nor Belle had the slightest idea what "prima facie" meant and they were far too late for school to ask the question.

She practically shoved the two out the front door telling them not to "horse around" on the icy driveway and to go straight to the school bus stop which was located right next door. Fortunately, she saw the yellow school bus pull up almost at the exact same time and saw the small group of children pushing and shoving to get up the steps first.

The hall telephone was ringing insistently reminding her that she had better get a move on if she was going to make it to the meeting on time. She answered the phone after removing her pearl earring and looked out the glass side panels to see the first flakes of actual snow beginning to fall.

"Hello!"

The voice on the other end of the line was a bit agitated and Alice immediately recognized Jack's mother. The last thing she wanted this morning of all mornings was a conversation with the "dragon lady".

"Alice, dear, I hope you didn't allow the children to go to school this morning. I don't like the looks of things and I heard that over in Alabama the traffic was getting tied up with terrible ice on all the roads."

Alice was convinced Maude, her mother-in-law was exaggerating as usual and tried to cut off the conversation with little success. Finally, she just said,

"I think we are losing the land line. I can't really hear you any longer. I will hang up and call you on my cell phone as soon as I get into work."

She pulled the cord from the receiver and ran up the staircase to the master bathroom to take a quick shower and get dressed for the meeting. The bathroom was pretty well steamed up but she kept her hair out of the water and managed to finish pretty quickly. For some strange reason she choose the nice looking panties with the lace edges even though she know she would be the only one to appreciate their display. She pulled up the control-top panty hose because they kept her legs a bit warmer even wearing a skirt. This was probably not a skirt day but she knew the other male Attorneys in the office liked the females in the office to wear either skirts or dresses and not pants because it was gender distinctive and established a visible demarcation line between them.

It was just one of those unspoken things that annoyed her but not enough for her to contest it in any manner considering the amount of money she made at the firm. She hadn't told Jack but after her last bonus check, her income for the current years was more than his and he would not be a happy camper to hear it.

Looking out the small bedroom window, she saw the snow had already placed a thin layer of white on the lawn and the bushes but it was still melting on the street because the warmth of the ground was still too strong for the snow to stick.

Her make-up only took about 15 minutes because she was behind schedule but she made certain her teeth were perfect and that she had done her eyelashes and eyebrows nice and dark to complement her deep shade of red lip gloss. Alice was convinced she was just another plain Jane without any make-up but when she had her "war paint" on, she did look a bit stunning and attractive to the male partners.

Fortunately, the station wagon engine started on the first try of her key in the ignition. She was a bit afraid it would be a problem because Jack had warned her about replacing the battery before it got too cold and it would be too late to keep from getting stranded on the road. She was still a bit mad at Jack because he had been quite distracted lately and had even missed the obvious signal of her not wearing any panties to bed the night before and he just told her,

"Don't forget to turn off the light, honey!"

She tried to hide her rising frustration there in the darkened bedroom knowing he had been ignoring her of late and she really didn't have any idea of the reason. She didn't have anyone to talk to about it because her last best friend stabbed her in the back when she tried to make a play for Jack after her own tragic divorce from her husband of almost ten years. Losing him to a silly cheerleader for the local football team was a humiliation she was hoping to dispel using Jack as her guiding light. Alice considered herself lucky to have discerned that almost immediately and she felt her constant awareness had saved her marriage more than once because Jack was far too handsome and an easy mark for any determined female with a pleasant smile and a nicely padded bottom.

The streets in the subdivision were not icy nor covered with snow, but she noticed they were a bit slick on the hills and the tires had difficulty in gripping the road. The same conditions got a lot worse as she approached the interchange where she would enter the interstate for the ride to the exit only about five miles away. It was a short distance, but she had not reckoned with the endless lines of eighteen wheelers traveling as a snail's pace because of the road conditions. The commuter traffic was trying to cut in and out of the lanes causing brakes to be engaged and it was getting increasingly dangerous as the snow continued to fall and the temperatures to drop. She looked at the gauge on her dashboard and saw that the temp. was right at freezing and that was a concern she had not anticipated.

Alice hoped the school bus had already arrived at school and that the kids were safely in school. It was too late to call the airport and confirm that Jack's flight had gotten out of the area before the front moved in. She could see ahead that the traffic in all lanes was at a standstill and she decided to pull off the interstate at the next exit and traverse the side roads to the conference center by the courthouse. She had forgotten the exit was a long circular affair and that it was pretty much all uphill. She had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach when she saw the traffic slow down and come to a complete stop about halfway up the rising slope of the exit. She was on the right hand lane and was annoyed when a silly Volkswagen tried to slip past her on the right and went into the railing as it skidded on a patch of ice. She was able to stop without hitting the rear end now partially cutting off her lane. The lane on her left was filled with a line of eighteen wheelers that had all ground to a dead halt.