by C. F. Fowler
Catherine appeared in her mother’s living room. Adele was drinking coffee and reading the paper.
“Mom.”
Adele looked up. “Cathy! Oh honey, are you okay? The girls are good, don’t worry.”
“Mom, do you still have the business card Marion gave you?”
“The business card? I think Walter has it.”
“Mom, please, this is a matter of life and death! Call him. You need to call her office and tell them she needs help. Please!”
“Okay, Cathy. I’ll do it. Right now.” Adele picked up the cordless phone and hit the speed dial number for Walter. After telling Walter what her daughter said he assured, her he knew where the card was and would make the call.
“Cathy, is that all? Do you have a location for her?”
“She’s in the middle of nowhere. She said they would know. Oh, Mom! What have I done? I’ve sentenced us both to a life of torment!” And with that she disappeared.
Josh answered line three when the receptionist told her a man named Walter was on the line and said it was urgent. He was in promptly at 8:00 a.m. as he was every weekday.
“I spoke with you some time ago about Marion Rogers, my name is Walter Mansfield.”
“Yes, Mr. Mansfield, I remember. What can I do for you?”
“Please don’t ask me to explain, but Marion is in trouble and needs help. Cathy says it’s a matter of life and death.”
“Thank you, Mr. Mansfield, I’ll take it from here.” Josh hung up and called Gordon.
“Gordon, do you know where Marion is right now?”
Gordon had just arrived in the Fresno area. “I’m about 15 minutes away from the address she left me last night. Apparently she went after Jergins herself.”
“Alone! You let her go alone?” Josh felt panic and started tapping the keys on his computer.
“You know as well as I that I don’t allow Marion to do anything. She’s a free spirit. She called the authorities and they went to the house but there was no evidence of anything unlawful. They made a note to follow up. I’m going to check out the house myself. Marion’s not answering her phone but I expect there’s not much coverage up here.”
“Well then, before it cuts out on you she’s not there. I’ll text you the GPS coordinates.”
“Thanks, Josh, but I want to check the house out. If Jergins is holed up there he might have a child there as well.”
“I’ll get the house searched. You go after Marion. I’m on my way to meet you at the coordinates.”
Gordon pulled over not wanting to tempt fate. The text came through and he punched it into his GPS. This can’t be right, he thought. Speaking to Josh he said, “This is miles away in the other direction.”
“Moving south. Get going now and I’ll phone you back after I get the State Police to that address.”
Gordon checked his map and started off toward the new destination.
Marion was deep in prayer when Catherine returned.
“It will take a while until he gets back to the house, so I can stay with you.”
Marion smiled, “Thanks, Catherine.”
She tried to move but the pain was everywhere. She found it difficult to breathe. She figured he broke one of her ribs, which may have punctured her lung.
“I’m not capable of self-defense. When the person comes to take me, I won’t be in any condition to fight him. Catherine?”
Catherine had circled behind the cage. She floated back to the front and lowered down to be face to face with Marion.
“I’m here.”
“You were religious, when you were alive. I remember Walter saying you went to Sunday school every week.”
“Yes. My girls were going, too. Life was simple, uncomplicated, before I found out about my husband’s despicable actions.”
Marion tried to adjust her sitting position and couldn’t help crying out in pain. Tears began to flow, both for the pain and the child.
“All I can think of right now is that song by Ray Stevens.
‘Jesus loves the little children
All the little children of the world’
“Do you believe that?”
Catherine smiled, “Yes.”
“Then no matter what is in store for me, you have to save that little girl from that monster!”
“They’ll kill you, horribly! You heard what he said.”
“Yes, but I’m not important here. She is. I went into this with my eyes wide open. She had no control over what happened to her.”
“‘Blessed be the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.’ That was one of my favorite Bible verses.”
“Yes, so you must go, save her. Do whatever you have to do!”
She heard the sound of a vehicle pulling up outside.
“He’s early. He must be excited about his new acquisition. Go, Catherine, hurry!”
Catherine faded out. At this point she didn’t care whether she killed Jergins or not. The barn door opened.
Chapter 15
Gordon drove like a madman to the coordinates given him by Josh. After 15 minutes, as Gordon approached the location, Josh called back.
“Gordon, she’s moving, probably in a vehicle. Head south on 99.”
“Okay, what about the address she went to?”
“State Police are on their way. They have a tip a terror cell has a cache of explosives there. They’ll search every inch.”
As Gordon drove south, Josh stayed on the phone with him. As he approached Bakersfield, Josh instructed him to take the 58 toward Mojave.
“There are a lot of cars here. Any idea how far ahead she is?”
“You need to speed up. The vehicle is pulling away from you, about 15 miles ahead.”
Gordon floored the gas pedal and started to fly passed the other cars.
“If they enter San Bernardino County I’ll give you a name and number to call. I’ll need help stopping the vehicle and someone with the authority to search it. How long will it take you to get there?”
Josh said, “I’m on a helicopter now, landing soon in Barstow. It won’t be long.”
Gordon got stuck behind some big rigs. Josh came back on the line and told Gordon help was ready when they had the vehicle description and location. Gordon cut through a gas station and drove on the berm to get around the slower vehicles and got back on pace.
“The car is going through Barstow. Where are you?”
“I’m coming up on Barstow. Tell me the intersections as she approaches them. How accurate is that GPS? I didn’t think they could pinpoint a location so accurately.”
“It’s accurate to about 50 feet.” As Josh read off the intersections Marion was moving through, Gordon found himself just about within the 50 foot buffer. But there was just too much traffic to tell which car she might be in. As he proceeded south on the 247, Josh told him the vehicle had turned off. Gordon saw a pickup truck headed down a dirt road. A dog was in the center of the truck bed because utility boxes ran the length of the bed on either side, but Gordon couldn’t see the driver. He told Josh to call the number of the San Bernardino Sheriff and let them know the location.
Gordon followed the pickup truck to a farm about a half mile down the dirt road. There was nothing but weeds and empty fields as far as the eye could see. He pulled up behind the truck and the driver got out looking warily at Gordon.
“This is private property. I’d appreciate you turnin’ your car around and getting’ the hell out of here,” the truck driver said.
Gordon pulled his ID. He showed his badge and said he was looking for a possible kidnap victim.
The Rottweiler in the truck growled at Gordon, and the man stepped forward to examine the badge. “You’re out of your
jurisdiction. You have no business asking me nuttin’.”
“I’d just like to look in your truck. If the victim isn’t there, I can move on with my investigation.” Gordon moved toward the bed of the truck as the dog growled and barked. He couldn’t get close enough to see in the cab or bed of the truck.
“There ain’t no one in my truck, take my word for it. You can move your ass off my property now and don’t come back and harass a law abidin’ taxpayer. That’s what you can do.”
Gordon got back in his car and drove back up the road. Josh double-checked the GPS and said she was stopped, so that must be the vehicle. Gordon watched through his rearview mirror. Maybe Jergins tossed the phone in this guy’s truck, Gordon thought as he watched the man opened the barn door and drive in. They had no choice but to wait for the local sheriff. Could he really take the time to wait for local authorities, or should he make his way down to the barn and pull her out of there?
Gordon parked up on the main road and waited. Within five minutes a sheriff’s car drove up and parked behind him. He explained the situation to the officer and showed him his credentials. The officer suggested Gordon wait where he was while the sheriff questioned the driver.
“People live out in the middle of nowhere for privacy. They don’t take well to police poking their noses in their business. Just sit tight and let me feel out the situation.”
Gordon was agitated but nodded and turned to lean against his car. While he waited another car drove up. Josh got out and ran up to Gordon with his iPad in hand.
“What’s going on? Where is she?”
“The driver acts as though he has no one in the bed of his truck. The sheriff wanted me to wait here.” Gordon looked down the road and then back to Josh. “Drive me down and I’ll sneak out while you distract them. I need to see if I can get a look in that barn.”
“Okay,” Josh said anxiously. “I’ll see how the sheriff is doing with the guy. Call me when you can and let me know what’s happening.”
Josh drove down the driveway and skidded to a stop spinning the car around so the back of the car was inches from the barn and the front pointed back the way he came. He got out of the car, leaving the door wide open, and he ran up to the truck driver, screaming in anger to obscure the line of sight of his car. Gordon got out amidst the dust kicked up by the car and ran down the side of the barn and around the back.
The pickup truck was now in front of the barn. He probably unloaded his truck and pulled it out for the sheriff to search. As Josh approached, he identified himself to both men and told them the abducted person was his employee. The sheriff explained he had searched the truck and found nothing. He suggested he and Josh leave the property. Josh got back in his car and followed the sheriff back to the road.
“I must have cause to search the property, sir.” The sheriff said as they met on the main road.
“I can tell you with absolute certainty my employee is there,” Josh said as he turned on the iPad to show the GPS indicator.
The sheriff looked at the iPad and decided to call for support from his superior.
As Gordon made his way around the barn, he felt fear he had never felt in his life. He couldn’t stand the idea he may never see Marion again. Nothing would keep him out.
He made his way along the back side of the barn and turned to see Josh’s car and the sheriff’s car driving back up the road. The area in back was littered with old rusted equipment and trash. He examined the wall of the barn and found old, decaying wood.
Luckily, he found a hayloft door about 15 feet up the wall. He searched the lot for anything to stand on to reach the loft door. He had piled up just enough old, rusted equipment and pallets to reach the loft latch. Just as he opened the door, the debris under him started to shift. He grabbed for the structure and held on as the pile gave way.
He pulled himself into the upper loft and listened carefully. He heard nothing, but the odor assaulted him immediately: urine and feces. He moved quietly to the edge to look down into the barn. He made his way to a ladder to climb down and came across some rats. He kicked them away and climbed quietly down the ladder.
Gordon stepped off the ladder and heard a low growl in the darkness. He’d forgotten about the dog. He reached for his weapon. He loved dogs but it was him or the dog. He reached in his pocket for his keys where he had a mini-Maglite on the keychain. He turned it on and was amazed at the sight before him.
Before he could take it all in the dog was on him. He felt the dog’s teeth on his left arm. He pointed the gun with his right hand and shot the dog. Knowing the noise was loud enough to be heard in the house, he got to his feet and looked for Marion.
Along either side were ten cages: five to his right and five to his left. They were about the size to hold a decent sized lion; a water bottle sat on each cage with a tube hanging down to the inhabitant below. A couple were empty but the others had women in them. They were naked except for the collars around their necks. He tried to talk to the women but, although they acknowledged him with their eyes, they shook their heads. In one of the cages he found Marion, still clothed but with a collar around her neck; the man must have been in a hurry. He called her name but she was unconscious. Her clothes were torn and bloody and her breathing was labored. What she must have endured to this point: but no more. He heard the barn door open and he turned to find the driver of the truck pointing a rifle at him.
“Drop the gun, now. I got an itchy trigger finger and am not overly concerned with puttin’ your dead carcass out back for the birds to feed off of.”
Gordon dropped his gun. “I’m a police officer. You don’t want to make matters worse. The sheriff will be back here with a search warrant soon. Just leave now while you can.”
The driver smiled, “No, I don’t think so. I know these guys better than you. They’ll take a few days and by then I’ll have moved my harem elsewhere.” He looked at the women in their cages and said, “I just got ‘em all trained.”
Gordon started to move toward the middle of the barn. He was afraid an errant shot would kill one of the women. Then he saw the baby monitor on the ground.
Pointing to the monitor he said, “Is that why the women won’t talk?”
“We got rules here. Women don’t speak ’less spoken to. Only one thing they’re good fer.” He smiled as he spoke and Gordon’s stomach turned. “I’ll have your girl there trained up in no time. Too bad you won’t be ‘round to see the finished product.”
“I’ll pay you. Any amount you want.” Gordon continued to move backward. The man moved further into the barn.
“Money! I don’t need no stinkin’ money. I’ve got everythin’ I want right there in them cages. But you’re gonna pay fer killin’ my dawg.” The man grinned and Gordon prayed.
“Sorry about that. It was him or me. Kill or be killed. You understand that, right?”
“Yeah, that’s why I’m gonna kill you, cop.”
Gordon saw Josh approach the man from behind with a Taser and dove out of the way. As the Taser shocked the man the gun went off, the shot just missing Gordon.
“I don’t know how long the cops will take to figure out what to do so here I am.”
“Holy cow, Josh! You’re my hero! Come here and help me free these women.”
“Just a second,” Josh said as he pulled out his cell phone and said into it, “Yeah, we need police and paramedics.” He ended the call and looked at Gordon, “While John, our sheriff buddy, waited for support at the road, I came down as soon as I saw the guy go in the house. I drove fast right down the side of the barn. I must have just gotten out of sight when he came out of the house with the gun. We figured I should keep the cell connected so he could hear what was happening.”
They found the keys hanging by the door to the barn. Evidently the man was not concerned with trespassers. The keys unlo
cked the cages but not the collars. The collars were locked onto each woman’s neck with tiny padlocks.
“These are shock collars. If he heard a peep over that baby monitor he would shock us all!” said Margery, the woman who had been held captive longest. “I’ve been here, I think, six months, I can’t be sure. He goes through women pretty quickly.” She burst into tears at the relief of being freed. Some of the women looked emaciated.
Josh went into the house to get blankets for the women and find the keys to the shock collars. Gordon found some rope to incapacitate the man. Josh returned with blankets and sheets and as many keys as he could find.
“I was unsure as to how many blankets we needed so I grabbed them all.”
Margery collapsed outside the barn and looked up at the sun as if seeing a long lost friend. Gordon carried Marion out and laid her on a blanket spread by Josh near where Margery sat sobbing. She turned to Gordon and said, “He had to pull her out of the utility box in his truck quickly, collar her, and lock her up. But he didn’t do all that to her, must have happened before he got to her. He doesn’t like his livestock damaged.” She wiped the tears from her face and her nose as sobs continued to erupt from her and the other women. “He has cages around the state where others leave women for him to pick up. He doesn’t hurt them unless they fight him and then he just stuns them with his stun gun.”
On his arrival, the sheriff immediately handcuffed the truck driver and read him his rights as he and Josh put him in the back of the sheriff’s cruiser. He said his shift commander and paramedics were on the way. After seeing the number of women coming out of the barn he called for more ambulances. The deputy crouched down next to Gordon and put his fingers on her neck to check her pulse. “He’s not talking, wants a lawyer. Her pulse is weak but steady.”
