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Manhattan

     Nell Northam thought her sister, Lindee, looked good.
     Eight months ago Lindee looked dead.
     A man had attacked her in her apartment and left her to bleed out. Nell found Lindee with no pulse and did CPR until an ambulance rushed her to Mount Sinai where her heart stopped twice in the ER. But she was resuscitated.
     Days later, she emerged from a coma and began a slow recovery. Her doctor called her "The Miracle Girl."
     Today, the Miracle Girl seemed almost back to normal, if you forgot about the three dead-bolt locks on her apartment door, two alarm systems, and her sweat-drenched nightmares.
     Nell had flown up from Virginia for their annual Sisters-Shop-Till-We-Drop-Athon. She had her eye out for a few items, but really wanted to make sure her younger sister was recovering physically and psychologically. So far it appeared she was.
     Nell turned and looked in a shop window and couldn't believe her eyes. "Found it!"
     "What?" Lindee said, two shops ahead.
     "That beautiful Michael Kors purse I've been lusting after."
     "In brown?"
     "Brown and on sale!"
     "Look at what else is on sale!" Lindee said, pointing in her window.
     "What?"
     "Those Cole Haan shoes you've also been on the prowl for!"
     "No way!"
     "I'm looking at them!"
     Nell was amazed. They'd been shopping for only four hours and she'd already found the two items she wanted most just a few feet apart. On sale! What were the odds?
     She looked back at the attractive leather purse. Why 50%-off? She couldn't see any flaws. Even if it had a flaw, it was good enough for her.
     She heard footsteps come close. Suddenly two men grabbed her from behind.
     She tried to scream, but a huge male hand clamped her mouth shut. She struggled against arms that felt like steel bands. The big man and a short man dragged her quickly toward an open van.
     This is not happening! Nell thought, as they lifted her into the van.
     Lindee turned, saw her, and shouted - "STOP! LET HER GO! HELP!"
     But a truck horn blasted, drowning out Lindee's cries.
     The big man pushed Nell down on the van floor as the van sped away from the curb.

***

     Lindee slumped against a parking meter, watching the van disappear into heavy traffic. I'm having another nightmare!
     But then she saw Nell's earring near the curb.
     My God - Nell was taken! She grabbed the earring and called 911.
     "My sister was just taken by two men in a van!"
     "Where are you ma'am?"
     "On Broadway near 67th. Not far from Barneys."
     "What kind of van?"
     "Long. White. Big windows along the side. It looked new."
"Did you see the license plate?"
     Lindee paused. "The last number was maybe a ... nine."
     "Which direction was the van driving on Broadway? North or south?"
     "I don�t know."
     "Away from Columbus Circle?"
     "Yes."
     "What was your sister wearing?"
     Lindee told her.
     "Remain there, ma'am. Keep your phone on. We're sending a police car immediately."
     "Please hurry!"
     Her mind spinning, Lindee stared at the spot where they grabbed Nell. She prayed it was just another one of her crazy nightmares.
     But she knew it wasn't.
     Her sister was just abducted.