Rachel Lemke Memoir

Rachel Lemke worked as a waitress in the basement lounge of the Blackhawk Hotel. The lounge had grown increasingly popular because of its famous clientele and allegedly black market dealings. Although the lounge was a part of the hotel, when patrons visited, they felt as if they were in another world. Rachel thrived as a waitress at the lounge. She began making more money that she would have finishing her college degree and used this fact as ammo against her disapproving parents. Her mother and father bit their nails worrying about their little girl. Rachel had grown up so fast and felt invincible, as the city often makes twenty-one-year-old girls feel. On February 12, 1977, Rachel was called into work, even though she had specifically begged …show more content…
Rachel stood her ground for what seemed like the longest ten seconds of her life. Rachel’s sheepishly inched towards the kitchen and placed her index finger on the door. As soon as she began to apply pressure, the door swung open her way and laid her out on the floor. On the way down, her head met the edge of the bar. She was unconscious. Rachel had no idea that thirty minutes had passed when she awoke. She had no idea where she was, but she did know one thing; she was cold - freezing cold. Then Rachel saw the thermometer over her right shoulder and could not stop herself from smashing the door in front of her with her fists. She was in a freezer. The lounge only had one freezer. Without further pondering her situation, Rachel shrieked, kicked, and punched as much as she could until finally, the freezer door opened. Amazingly, it was someone she could trust, her brother, Jack. Rachel lept into Jack’s arms and hugged him tightly. She stepped away, however, when the hug was not forcefully returned. Jack did not speak a word, and Rachel began to grow leary again. “Where are we, Jack? What’s going on? Where ARE