Chapter 1 · Five-Star Wanted: The Family Road Trip To Jail

I dropped 120,000 dollars on a brand-new RV for a solo coastal road trip over Memorial Day weekend.

My neighbor Karen caught wind of it and showed up at my house with her husband, their child, and both of his parents. She wanted me to take them along so they could save on gas money.

I gave her a hard no.

The next morning, I woke up to find my RV gone.

A quick check of the security footage told the whole story. Around 2 AM, Karen's husband started up my RV and drove their family of five straight toward the freeway.

I called Karen right up. She had the nerve to say, "You're traveling alone, so just grab a cheap hotel for the weekend. The RV is made for a family our size."

The very next call I made was to 911.

They thought they could steal my RV and get a free vacation on my dime.

Instead, they were about to spend Memorial Day weekend in jail.

*****

I was chilling on the couch, mindlessly scrolling through my phone, when the doorbell rang.

When I opened the door, my next-door neighbor, Karen Smith, was standing on my porch, grinning like she'd hit the jackpot.

"Hey, Samantha. Word is you got a new RV," she chirped.

A whole parade of people was waiting right behind her.

She brought her husband Mike Smith, her kid Timmy Smith, and her in-laws, Richard and Susan Smith.

All five of the Smiths had shown up on my doorstep.

"Hey, Karen. What brings you here?" I asked.

"Well, we heard you're hitting the road for Memorial Day," she began. "And you're taking that gorgeous new camper?"

"Yeah, that's the plan," I replied.

She clapped her hands. "Awesome! We should come with you. That way you won't get lonely out there."

That caught me off guard.

"I'm going on a solo road trip. Why would I be lonely?" I asked.

Karen waved off my comment. "Oh, solo trips are a total snooze. You need someone to talk to on the road. We'll ride along and keep things fun."

"Karen, I bought this RV for myself. It's just for me," I told her.

"Oh, I know," she said. "But it's way too big for one person. The five of us can squeeze in, and we promise we won't get in your way."

Timmy piped up, "I wanna ride in the camper. I wanna ride in the camper!"

I kept my mouth shut.

Mike jumped in, "Samantha, we're not asking for much. Just drop us off at the first stop on your route, and we'll do our own thing from there. It saves us some gas money.

"We're neighbors, so do us a solid, will ya?"

"No," I replied.

Susan scowled at me. "Why are you being so petty? We live right next door. You're going that direction anyway, so what is the harm in helping out?"

"Mrs. Smith, I dropped 120,000 dollars on this brand-new camper," I replied. "I haven't even taken it out for a spin yet."

Richard cleared his throat. "Don't be so selfish, kid. What goes around comes around. Help others out, and good karma will come your way."

Their twisted logic made me let out a dry laugh. "It's my vehicle. I paid for it. Because I won't let you guys hitch a free ride, that automatically makes me the selfish one?"

Karen jumped in to smooth things over. "Okay, chill out, guys. Samantha doesn't want us along. Just let it go. Let's not make a whole scene over this."

She grabbed Mike by the arm and led him away from my door.

As they walked down the driveway, she glanced back over her shoulder.

She didn't look mad or upset.

Instead, she gave me this toxic, spiteful stare that silently warned me I would regret saying no.

I shut the front door and brushed the whole weird encounter off.

Sometime in the middle of the night, a weird noise outside my house pulled me out of a deep sleep.

It was a rustling sound, as if someone was messing with something in the dark.

I was way too tired to go check, so I turned over and drifted back off to sleep.

Morning arrived, and I headed downstairs.

The driveway was bare.

My RV was gone.

I stood there, my brain buzzing.

That was impossible.

I blinked hard and rubbed my eyes.

But the pavement was still bare.

Snatching my phone out of my pocket, I scrolled straight to the pictures from the day before to make sure I wasn't losing my mind.

The RV was parked right there in those photos.

It was a gorgeous white Class C RV equipped with an automatic power awning.

Now, the space was nothing but concrete.

Whoever took it had managed to vanish without dropping a single clue.

Chapter 1

I dropped 120,000 dollars on a brand-new RV for a solo coastal road trip over Memorial Day weekend.

My neighbor Karen caught wind of it and showed up at my house with her husband, their child, and both of his parents. She wanted me to take them along so they could save on gas money.

I gave her a hard no.

The next morning, I woke up to find my RV gone.

A quick check of the security footage told the whole story. Around 2 AM, Karen's husband started up my RV and drove their family of five straight toward the freeway.

I called Karen right up. She had the nerve to say, "You're traveling alone, so just grab a cheap hotel for the weekend. The RV is made for a family our size."

The very next call I made was to 911.

They thought they could steal my RV and get a free vacation on my dime.

Instead, they were about to spend Memorial Day weekend in jail.

*****

I was chilling on the couch, mindlessly scrolling through my phone, when the doorbell rang.

When I opened the door, my next-door neighbor, Karen Smith, was standing on my porch, grinning like she'd hit the jackpot.

"Hey, Samantha. Word is you got a new RV," she chirped.

A whole parade of people was waiting right behind her.

She brought her husband Mike Smith, her kid Timmy Smith, and her in-laws, Richard and Susan Smith.

All five of the Smiths had shown up on my doorstep.

"Hey, Karen. What brings you here?" I asked.

"Well, we heard you're hitting the road for Memorial Day," she began. "And you're taking that gorgeous new camper?"

"Yeah, that's the plan," I replied.

She clapped her hands. "Awesome! We should come with you. That way you won't get lonely out there."

That caught me off guard.

"I'm going on a solo road trip. Why would I be lonely?" I asked.

Karen waved off my comment. "Oh, solo trips are a total snooze. You need someone to talk to on the road. We'll ride along and keep things fun."

"Karen, I bought this RV for myself. It's just for me," I told her.

"Oh, I know," she said. "But it's way too big for one person. The five of us can squeeze in, and we promise we won't get in your way."

Timmy piped up, "I wanna ride in the camper. I wanna ride in the camper!"

I kept my mouth shut.

Mike jumped in, "Samantha, we're not asking for much. Just drop us off at the first stop on your route, and we'll do our own thing from there. It saves us some gas money.

"We're neighbors, so do us a solid, will ya?"

"No," I replied.

Susan scowled at me. "Why are you being so petty? We live right next door. You're going that direction anyway, so what is the harm in helping out?"

"Mrs. Smith, I dropped 120,000 dollars on this brand-new camper," I replied. "I haven't even taken it out for a spin yet."

Richard cleared his throat. "Don't be so selfish, kid. What goes around comes around. Help others out, and good karma will come your way."

Their twisted logic made me let out a dry laugh. "It's my vehicle. I paid for it. Because I won't let you guys hitch a free ride, that automatically makes me the selfish one?"

Karen jumped in to smooth things over. "Okay, chill out, guys. Samantha doesn't want us along. Just let it go. Let's not make a whole scene over this."

She grabbed Mike by the arm and led him away from my door.

As they walked down the driveway, she glanced back over her shoulder.

She didn't look mad or upset.

Instead, she gave me this toxic, spiteful stare that silently warned me I would regret saying no.

I shut the front door and brushed the whole weird encounter off.

Sometime in the middle of the night, a weird noise outside my house pulled me out of a deep sleep.

It was a rustling sound, as if someone was messing with something in the dark.

I was way too tired to go check, so I turned over and drifted back off to sleep.

Morning arrived, and I headed downstairs.

The driveway was bare.

My RV was gone.

I stood there, my brain buzzing.

That was impossible.

I blinked hard and rubbed my eyes.

But the pavement was still bare.

Snatching my phone out of my pocket, I scrolled straight to the pictures from the day before to make sure I wasn't losing my mind.

The RV was parked right there in those photos.

It was a gorgeous white Class C RV equipped with an automatic power awning.

Now, the space was nothing but concrete.

Whoever took it had managed to vanish without dropping a single clue.