Motel Owner Refuses to Let Freezing Girl in Unaware She’ll Deprive Him of Business – Story of the Day

Laura was freezing and desperate for shelter as she arrived at a motel in an unknown town. But the owner refused her entry, so the young woman took drastic steps to teach him a lesson, not realizing her karma would soon catch up with her.

Snow encased the pine trees and the path. Cold winds blasted through the area, causing the trees to bend and shiver. The reporter's voice through the car stereo reminded her that the weather would only get worse.

As Laura carefully drove down the road, the waves of snow blurred her vision. Wipers squeaked against the windshield, periodically clearing the snow that obstructed her view. The snowstorm was finally here.

Laura tilted her head to catch a sight of the road ahead. On one side of the path were towering mountains, and the other led downhill. She had to find a place to crash before it got dark, but she didn't know how far she would have to drive before she saw any sign of human habitation...

The car suddenly started making noises. Then it sputtered and came to a stop, perplexing and terrifying her. "No, no, come on!" Laura didn't want to be stranded in the middle of nowhere. She tried to restart the engine but to no avail. Then, to her horror, she noticed smoke emanating from the bonnet.

Worried, Laura hurriedly opened the car door, only to be greeted by icy gusts in the face. Her faux leather jacket provided little shelter from the cold. She braced herself for the strong, icy winds as she climbed out and slammed the car door shut.

Laura didn't dare to look back at the slope only a few steps away. There was no barrier fence behind her. This winding road through the mountains terrified her. If she fell, she had no idea where she would land.

Her heels teetered on the slick road surface with each step she made toward the bonnet, clutching onto the car body for support. The wind, on the other hand, howled harder and louder, tossing her hair across her face.

Laura took the risk. She hurried to find safety but ended up losing her footing. Her heels slid on the icy surface, sending her tumbling down the steep mountain.

A sharp pain shot through her head when Laura opened her eyes. She rose to her feet, gripping her throbbing head, and looked around. It was still day, but the sun was hidden behind the trees.

Everything she could see was blanketed in snow; there wasn't a single soul or sign of habitation in sight. She brushed the snow off her body and set out on her way to find help, her body aching from the fall.

How long had she been lying in the snow? Maybe just a couple of minutes? She wondered as she trudged along the road to the city. Laura's phone and purse were in the car, so she couldn't call anyone for help. All she had in her pocket was some loose change.

Laura was terrified as she walked along the isolated road. Her eyes darted to snow-covered trees and mountains, knowing it wasn't safe for a girl to be out alone like this.

The cold winds made her shudder, so she pulled her jacket close to herself and hugged her body. The heels hurt her feet, but it was preferable to walking barefoot in the snow.

After trudging along the icy way for what seemed like an eternity, Laura spotted a neon sign in the distance that read "MOTEL."

Laura didn't realize it yet, but she was heading to a new town. The Whispering Pines Inn, a cheap motel, marked its beginning.

Her feet ached, she was freezing, and her face had grown pale from the cold. She didn't have the strength to go on. But Laura hugged herself tightly, her teeth clattering, as she forced herself to walk toward the only shelter she could see.

As she arrived, she noticed the "CLOSED" sign on the door. A heavy sigh escaped her lips, but she decided to give it a try. She pushed the door open, letting in frigid gusts along with herself, and staggered toward the reception desk. The voices from the TV filled the space.

"We're closed!" The motel owner, Mr. Cooper, dismissed her instantly, his gaze fixed on the TV across from him.

"Plea-please…" Laura was shivering. "I-I need a room only for tonight, sir. Can you please make some adjustments?"

"Can't you see the sign on the door, lady?" he snapped, looking at her. "We don't accept people after closing time! So get the hell out of here!"

"Look, I have nowhere to go," she pleaded, reaching into her jacket pocket and pulling out the sticky bills and coins. "You can have this. I need a room just for tonight."

But Mr. Cooper didn't budge. "Haven't I made myself clear?" he groaned at her.

"Please, sir!" she begged one more time. "There-there is a snowstorm outside, my car broke down, and I don't even know what place this is. I could really use your help."

Mr. Cooper rose to his feet and sighed. For a moment, Laura thought he would cave and hand her a bunch of room keys. But then, Mr. Cooper stepped out from behind the counter, and her face fell. He approached her, only to grab the sleeve of her jacket and shove her out of the motel.

"GET LOST, girl!" he yelled, slamming the door shut in her face.

Through the translucent door, she watched his shadow return to the counter. "Oh, please! You can't be so heartless! Let me in!" She banged on the door multiple times, but Mr. Cooper had locked it from the inside.

Laura shivered as a result of the cold. She had no idea where to go now. She lingered on the sidewalk, and then her attention was drawn to a series of lights in the distance. It looked like a small cluster of houses.

Laura realized her only option was to knock on doors and hope someone would let her in. She took a deep breath and set out on her way to find herself a shelter. She shouldn't have worn stilettos! She trudged on the snowy path for another 15 minutes and finally stood across from a modest home—a small wooden house.

The wood creaked underneath her feet as Laura climbed the steps to the porch and knocked on the door. Minutes later, an elderly woman appeared in the doorway.

"Hello? I'm terribly sorry for intruding, but ca-can I please crash here for the night?" Laura asked her immediately. She could no longer stand the cold.

"Oh!" the woman paused. "Haven't seen you around before, darling. Are you from some other town?"

"Yes, ca-can I please come inside?" she asked, and thankfully, this woman was nice enough to let her in. She introduced herself as Maria and welcomed Laura in. Laura thanked the older woman for her kindness and stepped inside. Maria's home was modest but beautiful, Laura noticed.

"Have a seat, darling. Let me get you some tea," Maria pointed to the living room couch, then disappeared to the kitchen. Soon, the faint whistle of the kettle and the smell of chamomile filled the air. Maria returned with two cups of tea and sat across from her guest.

"Thank you," Laura smiled as she reached for the tea. As she took a sip, she felt utterly relieved. The cold had been killing her.

"I'm Laura. Nice to meet you," she then introduced herself. "Thank you for everything, Maria. If it weren't for your help, I don't know what would have happened to me…" Laura then told her everything that had happened, including how her car had stopped in the middle of the road and how she had slipped down the slope and made it to the town.

"I went to the motel then," Laura continued. "But the owner…he just kicked me out. I don't understand why he's so harsh. I really hate him."

"Oh, it's not just you," Maria said, and Laura was suddenly intrigued. The older woman revealed Mr. Cooper had a bit of a temper, and he treated everyone rudely. He frequently got into conflicts with the residents of the town, as a result of which not many people liked him.

"But then how has he been able to keep up the business?" Laura wondered aloud. "I mean, he doesn't sound like someone who is good with people. But the building looked old, so I'm assuming his motel has been around for quite some time."

"It has," Maria replied and sipped her tea. "But…that's not how he makes all his money, dear." Maria leaned closer to her to whisper. "He's been involved in a shady alcohol business. Rumors have it that the motel is just a cover. Some claim that a secret passage behind his motel leads to the chamber containing all the alcohol. Maybe the burden of hiding it gets to him, which is why he's so rude and angry all the time!"

"Has anyone ever seen it with their own eyes?" Laura asked, shocked.

"I don't know, dear," replied Maria. "I seldom leave my house. You see, I'm no longer energetic. But I overheard some women discussing it at the grocery store one day, so I know some entrance behind his motel leads to the room full of alcohol."

After tea, Maria made Laura some soup and toasted some bread for her. Laura had a hearty meal and crashed into the older woman's guest bedroom. But despite having a warm bed to sleep in, Laura was restless. Her mind kept racing back to what Maria had said about Mr. Cooper and the illegal business he was secretly operating.

Laura recalled how Mr. Cooper had treated her. He wouldn't have budged even if she had died of the cold. And the way he shoved her out of the motel was extremely disrespectful. A strange anger gripped Laura. An ill-mannered man like Mr. Cooper deserved a taste of his own medicine, she decided.

Laura walked out of the room, looking for Maria, and saw her in the kitchen. "Hey, Maria, would you mind if I borrowed your phone? Mine's still in my car, and I needed to make an urgent phone call," she said.

The older lady paused for a moment but relented.

"Sure, darling. Give me a minute," she said.

The older woman gave her phone to Laura, who dialed 911. She gave the cops a tip about Mr. Cooper's illegal business and told them everything that Maria had told her, including the secret passage that led to the room full of alcohol.

As the call ended, Laura had an idea. She asked Maria for a sweater and shoes that were more comfortable to walk in and said she would be back soon. Laura then left Maria's house and headed back to the motel.

As she arrived, she noticed a cop car had already pulled up outside. Two cops stood at the entrance where a dejected-looking Mr. Cooper was being questioned. Laura hid behind a tree, eavesdropping on the conversation.

"What? I can assure you nothing of that sort is going on here, officers!" Mr. Cooper insisted. "Whoever made that phone call was just pranking you! It was a false call."

"How about you leave that to us, sir?" the other cop said rather stiffly. "We'll need to check the motel, so please step aside."

"Well, that would require a search warrant, wouldn't it?" Mr. Cooper was adamant not to let the cops in. "I can't just let you barge into my establishment like that!"

"Sir," the first officer stepped forward. "In this case, which is an exigent circumstance, we don't need to produce a warrant because there is a risk that the evidence will be tampered with or get lost. Please step aside and let us do our job. We're doing everything as per the law, and like a good citizen, you should as well."

"Exactly!" Laura finally approached them. "I was the one who made the call, officers! And I'm confident you'll find all the alcohol he's hiding if you search his place carefully."

"You? I know you from before!" he shouted. "Are you doing this because I didn't let you stay here?"

Mr. Cooper clenched his fist and took a step toward Laura, but one of the cops, Officer Baxton, blocked his path. "I'm sure you don't want any more trouble, sir," he warned. "Please, let us do our job. Peacefully."

The cops finally searched the entire motel while Laura and Mr. Cooper waited in the lobby. She noticed how frustrated Mr. Cooper looked, and a part of her was satisfied because he deserved it for what he had done.

When the officers returned, Laura immediately asked, "So, did you find it?"

The two cops exchanged a glance, and from the look on their faces, Laura could sense something was off.

"There's nothing illegal going on here, ma'am," Officer Baxton said. "Where exactly did you get the information, if I may ask?"

Blood drained off Laura's face. "What? But that's not possible! It-it was one of the town residents. She told me—"

"She?" Officer Baxton raised a brow. "May I have her name?"

"Wait a minute, the secret passage! Well, I'll show you that she wasn't lying!" Laura stormed out of the motel to the back of the building. She noticed something there. A basement bulkhead protruding from the snow-covered ground.

"I'm sure this leads to the room she'd mentioned, officers! Ask him to unlock it."

The two officers looked at Mr. Cooper suspiciously.

"What? This just leads to the cellar. There's nothing much down there," Mr. Cooper said in his defense, but Officer Baxton insisted that he unlock it.

Everyone descended the stairs into a darkened room. Laura's hands went to her mouth in dismay as Mr. Cooper turned on the light switch and the room was lit. There was no booze down there. Instead, there were rows of shelves, some of which were loaded with meat and groceries.

"I-I still don't believe this!" Laura cried. "The old woman in the wooden house nearby—Maria—told me this man is into the illegal alcohol business. I'm sure he moved everything somewhere."

"That recluse? I know her, officer!" Mr. Cooper lost his cool. "She seldom leaves her house! Is she so bored that she's cooking up stories about me?"

"Well, ma'am, as you saw, there's no illegal business going on here, and there's no alcohol at all," Officer Baxton said. "I assume the older woman fell prey to rumors and doesn't know what she's talking about. Happens with age. Now, coming to you, you wasted the police's time, and I believe this gentleman here," the cop looked at Mr. Cooper, "was right. We'll mark your call as a false call, and we'll have to ask you to pay the fine."

Laura was disappointed, but she wouldn't let Mr. Cooper slide for how he had treated her. She decided that if there were no issues with his motel, she would create some. That would be the right way to get back at the man who had thrown her out in the frigid weather and left her to die.

On her way back to Maria's house, Laura noticed a pet store. A brilliant idea flashed through her mind. She stuffed her hands in her jacket pocket and walked toward it.

The bell on the entrance chimed as she entered the store.

"Yes?" the man at the counter asked.

"Hello, I'm here to buy…" she paused. "I know it would sound strange, but I want to buy rats and cockroaches. You have any?" she asked. "I'm a researcher, and my team and I are doing this study. Uh, I wish I had some identification or something to show you, but it's quite urgent. I'm new to town, and I'm not sure if I can find another pet store nearby."

The man paused for a while, and Laura wondered if he had bought her story.

"We do keep mice, ma'am," said the man, and she sighed in relief. "By when do you need it? And I'll need some time to arrange the roaches..." He went on to ask her how many mice and roaches she needed, and Laura answered carefully, taking care her lies were not caught.

"So…Can you do it by tonight? Before your store closes?"

"I guess so," said the man. "You can collect them by 7 p.m. tonight."

"Thank you so much," Laura said gratefully. "I'll be here."

That night, Laura visited the pet store and bought the pests. Thankfully, the money she had was enough. Then, she made her way to Mr. Cooper's motel. Arriving there, she decided to sneak into the building through the cellar door. But the bulkhead was locked.

Laura had come prepared. She removed her hairpin and tried to pick the lock. Her hands froze because the lock was cold. But a few turns of the hairpin…and click! The lock slid open.

Laura climbed down the stairs leading into the cellar. Once she was inside, she unlocked the cage with the rats in a corner, letting them into the space. Then she opened the box of cockroaches and stepped away, watching the insects as they crawled out of the boxes and made their way into the room.

Suddenly, she heard faint footsteps, and her heart skipped a beat. She looked around. It seemed like someone was coming. Laura dashed to the stairs and hurriedly climbed out of the cellar. Before anyone would spot her, she disappeared into the night.

The next morning, Laura awoke late. As she entered the kitchen, she noticed Maria had made her breakfast.

"Did you hear what happened at the motel?" the older woman asked, and Laura's curiosity was piqued.

"Uh, no, I was so tired last night…I just crashed," she replied, sitting at the kitchen table. "What happened?"

"Oh, dear. So you don't know! The milkman said Mr. Cooper's motel had a pest problem overnight. Well, I don't feel bad for the guy, but it turns out all his guests are canceling their bookings. Some went so far as to sue him…"

Maria went on to tell Laura how Mr. Cooper was extremely frustrated after none of the guests wanted to stay at his motel. They demanded their money back, and Mr. Cooper had never faced such a terrible day in the business.

"Well, I guess that's what he gets for being unnecessarily unkind to everyone," Laura said. Deep down, she was utterly glad that Mr. Cooper finally paid for what he had done, an idea brewing at the back of her mind.

Laura wanted to see Mr. Cooper suffer with her own eyes. So she told Maria she was stepping out for a walk. And about 20 minutes later, she stood across from the motel, watching frustrated guests storming out of the establishment.

For a moment, the door opened, and she glimpsed at a dejected Mr. Cooper behind the counter. He looked annoyed and depressed as he dealt with the long line of customers.

A wide grin flickered across Laura's face. She felt relieved to see him in distress. The customers walking out of the motel were extremely furious and outraged.

"What a liar! We paid upfront, and this is what we got?"

"Man was so rude when I said I was short of cash! Had to call a friend and ask her to pay. Now he'll know how it feels to be helpless!"

"The worst service I've ever received in my entire life. He better shut this crap of a place down!" A man grumbled as he walked away, leaving the door open.

Laura approached the motel and stood behind the closed door, listening in on what was going on inside.

"Look, please, don't cancel the bookings!" Mr. Cooper was pleading. "This is a small rodent issue, and I promise I'll deal with it ASAP! You don't have to leave."

"Small problem? They've taken over my entire bathroom! We're going to spread the word about how filthy this place is!" someone yelled at him. "We don't want to stay here! Give our money back!"

The guests were furious. Mr. Cooper told them he would have to shut the place down if they canceled their bookings and spread negative reviews. But people only kept asking for refunds.

"Eww! They're here too!" Someone screamed, and panic ensued between the guests. Suitcases were toppled, and chairs were upturned. Mice and cockroaches had made their way to the lobby and darted all over the place. The customers dashed out of the motel, crowding the path outside and yelling at Mr. Cooper.

Laura scurried away and hid behind a tree, watching Mr. Cooper as he surrendered. The man eventually paid the irate clients. And after the last customer left, he sank onto his chair, holding his head in his hand. His place was out of business. The motel stood empty now, except for the mice and cockroaches crawling around.

Laura was satisfied. She walked away, glad about what Mr. Cooper went through. But she caught a glimpse of him as she turned briefly. He flipped the sign on the door to "CLOSED." His motel was finally shutting down. Laura decided to share the good news with Maria, unaware of what awaited her.

The snow around was gently melting as the sun shone brightly in the sky, casting its rays everywhere. Laura was finally heading down the road to Maria's house. She was still a few steps away when a cop car overtook her. Officer Baxton and his partner stepped out of the vehicle, perplexing her.

"You'll need to come with us, ma'am," Officer Baxton's hands reached for something tucked in the back of his belt, and it wasn't long before she saw him pull out a set of handcuffs.

The cop arrested her, and though she had an idea why, she pretended not to know it until Officer Baxton read her her rights.

"...so you have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. We are arresting you on account of trespassing and damage to Mr. Cooper's private property. We know the rodent and roaches issue was your doing."

Laura was then led to the station in the police cruiser. As she sat in the interrogation room, she wondered how the cops got to know she was the one behind it.

"So will you walk me through why you did what you did, Miss Laura," the detective sitting across from her interrogated. "In case you're wondering how we know you were behind everything that happened, just know that the hidden CCTVs around the motel came in handy. You were there this morning, too, weren't you?"

At this point, Laura knew she didn't have a way out of the situation. She confessed to her crimes, telling him everything had happened, including how she did everything because Mr. Cooper refused to let her stay at his motel.

"...I just wanted to teach him a lesson," she finished. "And I thought he deserved it for what he had done! How could he have been so cruel as to throw someone out in the snowstorm? He left me to die!"

"Well, nobody is allowed to take the law into their own hands, ma'am," said the detective. "Just because he refused you entry doesn't give you the right to commit a crime. Besides, what you've done has tormented him mentally. He has been deeply affected…"

Laura was relieved that Mr. Cooper was distraught by what had happened until the detective informed her that Mr. Cooper's wife had been diagnosed with cancer. He only learned about it on the night of the snowstorm. He had no idea how to pay for her treatment now that his business was closed.

As Laura heard that, she felt a sharp pang of guilt and uneasiness in her chest. She just wanted to teach Mr. Cooper a lesson. She had never guessed her actions would affect his wife's life. Laura now understood why he had behaved so rudely last night. He was in despair.

"I have to inform you that the charges are serious," the cop leaned on the table and clasped his hands, snapping her out of her thoughts. "Mr. Cooper intends to press charges for damages and endangering the guests. You could be facing jail time and restitution to the owner. However, there is an option. You can post a bond for yourself for $20,000. It would secure your release until your trial."

"I have a proposal," Laura replied too quickly, looking at the detective. "Instead of posting the bond, I'd like to give the $20,000 to Mr. Cooper for his wife's treatment. After what I did, this is the least I could do to help him. After all, he's struggling because of me."

"Well, that's a noble thing, but it's too late, miss. You can offer him the money, but it won't change the charges against you. I hope you know that," the detective reminded her.

"Yes, officer, I know," Laura replied, sighing.

She wasn't a bad person. She knew that. She didn't know what had influenced her that she was so blinded to get her revenge on Mr. Cooper, but it was about time Laura accepted she had been wrong.

So Laura decided to go to jail and await the trial, accepting her crimes and deciding to correct the wrongs she had done.

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