by Pamela Wells
There was another room on the other side of the staircase. Laura checked the door and it wasn’t locked so she opened it slowly and looked inside. She felt for the light switch and the room filled with light. It was another bedroom with a bathroom similar to hers. The wallpaper was an old fashioned floral print. It looked like it might be a bedroom for the mother. Laura found this odd, since she would assume that the mother would have a large bedroom on the main floor of the house. There was a picture on the dresser of two young teenagers. Laura stepped in for a closer look. One was clearly a younger version of her kidnapper and the other must be Christine. Laura had to admit that Christine and she definitely looked similar. She put the picture back where she found it and left the room quickly, rubbing the goose bumps on her arms. This place is giving me the creeps.
She went back into her own room and began to explore it in greater detail. The bed was a double four poster bed. The dresser and night table matched. She opened the doors of the closet and saw that there were a few dresses and blouses hanging there. She noticed something odd about them and stepped in for a closer look. All the sleeves were cut up the sides all the way to the collar and had Velcro closures. It took her a moment to figure out why that would be but then she understood. It was so she could get dressed with the hand cuff on. Both sleeves were done on every garment. Obviously this was so the cuff could be worn on either hand. If one wrist got sore, it would be no problem to move the chain to the other arm. How convenient!
Laura felt her stomach churning again as she backed out of the closet. She checked the drawers of the dresser and found a variety of undergarments, socks, some sweaters with the same alterations done to the sleeves as the blouses and dresses. She didn’t even look at the sizes of the clothes. She didn’t want to think of staying here long enough to need them. She went over to check out the desk in the corner. Sitting down, she checked out the contents. It contained items one might expect to find in a teenagers desk. A bulging pencil case with magic markers, colored pencils, and a few packages of binder paper. A tape player with head phones and a few tapes of bands that were popular thirty years ago. Some colored candles, incense and stickers that would glow under a black light. In the book shelf above the desk was a set of encyclopedias, some paper back novels, and a few old high school text books. Several books that looked like journals, as well as a high school year book. All looked slightly yellow around the edges.
As if they had been sitting there for thirty years, and she supposed they had.
Looking around the room she saw a poster of a kitten hanging from a limb with a
“Hang in There” caption. Well that’s appropriate! Another poster with David Cassidy and the Partridge family hung beside it. Just like her kidnapper had said, she saw a shelf with several horse figurines on it. Another shelf contained a variety of stuffed animals. A few of them looked well worn and quite used while others looked more recently purchased, like they had never been handled. On the bedside table was a lamp with a sunflower shade and a matching alarm clock. On top of the dresser was the note pad and pencil that her kidnapper told her about. Beside it was a piggy bank shaped like a teddy bear. It was empty. I guess Christine took every penny with her when she ran away!
Laura went into the bathroom and began to explore the contents of it. A linen closet that was well stocked with an assortment of top quality towels and linens for the bed, was to the right. The shower stall was a large one with a glass door and even a place to sit down. The cupboard beneath the sink contained a variety of hygiene supplies. She checked the cabinet above the sink and it found an assortment of cosmetics. Wow! This guy really tried to think of everything. There is even some eye shadow and mascara. Her stomach churned again and she couldn’t imagine wanting to bother with getting fancy with her make-up when she was being held prisoner.
Laura went back into the bedroom and sat on the bed. She put her head into her hands and began to cry again.
“Help me Lord. I have no idea what to do here. I need you desperately. Please send help, send the police. Do something Lord. Lead me out of this place and get me home. I don’t want to meet the mother; I just want to go home. Father, I ask You to give me Your strength because there is no way I can do this on my own. Give me Your wisdom so I will know what to say to this insane man. Help me to reason with him Lord.
Help me to ….” Laura was overcome with tears and could find no more words to say.
She knew that words were not necessary and God would hear her heart. She trusted Him.
No matter what her situation, she trusted Him.
Laura curled up on the bed and cried until she fell asleep. It seemed like just five minutes, but was actually two hours later that a very excited Gerhard woke her up.
“Wake up Christine; mom is coming down in a minute with some cookies and milk for you. She’s very excited to see you. I told her to give you a few minutes to freshen up. So you should get moving.” Gerhard went to the closet and pulled out a dress that looked like it would fit.
Laura opened her eyes hoping it was all a bad dream but at the sound of Gerhard’s voice she knew it was not.
“William, do we have to do this? Please think about what you are doing. It’s not too late. If you let me go home I won’t even call the police. I’ll just go home and we can pretend that this never even happened.” begged Laura.
“Oh I forgot to tell you, my name isn’t William, its Gerhard. Now come on, get up and wash your face or something. Mom will be coming down the stairs any second.
She made your favorite cookies too, chocolate chip with raisins! Do you still like chocolate milk? We don’t have any right now, but if you want, we can get some later. I know you probably have lots of new favorite foods. Just write down what you want on that pad of paper and I’ll be sure to get them for you.” Gerhard pulled out a pair of scissors and came towards Laura. She gasped with fright wondering what he was going to do.
“It’s ok, don’t be scared. I just have to cut your sleeve so you can change into this dress.” He then proceeded to cut her sleeve from the wrist to the neck hole. Laura grabbed hold of the front of her shirt to keep it up. He then snipped her bra strap so she could change out of it as well, explaining there was some specially altered undergarments in the dresser. Gerhard gently pushed Laura into the bathroom, passed her the dress, and closed the door as far as the chain would allow. Laura leaned over the sink and moaned.
Obviously, she was about to meet the mother. She splashed some cold water on her face and then ran a brush through her hair. She didn’t really care how she looked for this woman so she barely looked at herself in the mirror. All of a sudden, she had a very scary thought. What if this woman was crazier than Gerhard was? What if she was mean and cruel? Help me Jesus! If I wasn’t scared before, I sure am now!! Christine gripped the edge of the sink and tried not to start crying again and trying to calm her nervous stomach. Gathering her courage she changed out of her clothes and put on the dress Gerhard had picked out for her. It was a bit loose but not too bad a fit. She turned and opened the door and walked out.
Gerhard was standing outside the bathroom door with a very stern and serious look on his face. Laura felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up as she took a step backwards. She tried to retreat back into the bathroom and close the door but Gerhard grabbed hold of the door knob.
“I just wanted to warn you about one thing.” growled Gerhard, “Mom thinks you are Christine, so for her, you ARE Christine. At no time are you to tell her that you are not Christine. For years she has lived in hope that she would see her daughter again. If she found out that you were not really her daughter it would kill her. So I’m warning you right now, if you tell her that you are not her daughter, then I will go to your house, and I will kill YOUR daughter. Do you understand me? Have I made myself perfectly clear?” Laura’s knees went weak as she almost fell to the floor. This was a threat that she had not expected. She didn’t even have the strength to answer him so she could only nod her ob
edience.
Like Jekyll and Hyde, Gerhard changed his mood instantly and prepared to unite mother and daughter and excitedly led Laura out into the living room where his mother was waiting eager to see her daughter Christine.
Hilda stood in the center of the room waiting to greet her long lost daughter.
Laura nervously entered, stopped a few feet away from Hilda, waiting for her reaction.
Hilda didn’t smile and throw her arms around Laura as one might expect but she looked Laura up and down very carefully, obviously inspecting her closely to see if this really was her daughter.
“You’ve been gone a long time. Where have you been?” She walked around Laura as she talked. Hilda felt Laura’s hair and squeezed the flesh of her arm. Laura didn’t think Hilda was actually expecting an answer so she kept silent. Her whole body was trembling but if Hilda noticed she didn’t say anything.
“Well you’re rather thin, you obviously haven’t been eating much. Sit down and have some cookies. I made your favorites.” Hilda said this as a command not an invite.
They all sat down and Gerhard breathed a sigh of relief as it became obvious that his mother accepted Laura as her daughter Christine. Laura took a cookie in her hand but her mouth was so dry she didn’t see how she could possibly eat it. Hilda didn’t seem to notice.
“It’s good that you’re back, but don’t expect any fancy welcome home parties.
You really hurt me when you ran away.”
Hilda sat in one of the reclining chairs. Her stomach hung over the sides of the chair. Her gray hair, wild and uncombed, her plump face rather pale and there was a trace of perspiration on her upper lip. It was clear the trip down the stairs was a chore for her. She was wearing a large, flowery dress that had no shape to it, and large slip on shoes. Laura just sat on the couch holding her cookie with one hand looking down at the hand cuff and chain not knowing if she should speak or not. Gerhard sat across from her in the matching love seat, grinning. Clearly he was happy with the situation.
Hilda then began to talk to Laura with a stern voice, “Well, eat your cookie and have some milk, but don’t eat more than one or two. We’ll be having supper soon. I’m making pork chops with apple sauce and scalloped potatoes. I hope you still like them.
Gerhard said you probably have lots of new favorites but I hope you don’t expect me to wait on you and treat you like a princess. Just because you’re chained down here and can’t come upstairs and do the cooking, doesn’t mean I’m going to cook everything you want. I’ll cook what I want and you’ll just have to live with it. Is that clear?!” Hilda glared at Laura.
“Yes ma’am, that will be fine.” Laura whispered.
“Ma’am? Ma’am? What’s this ma’am stuff?” roared Hilda as she threw back her head and laughed. “Maybe that trip you took out into the world actually taught you some manners.”
Laura tried to eat the cookie but she was grateful for the glass of milk because the cookie seemed to stick in her throat. She hoped she would be able to keep it down. She didn’t notice what the cookie tasted like.
“I watched my shows upstairs today while I baked the cookies, but normally I watch TV down here in the afternoon. So you can get used to that. You can watch TV
with me or read a book in your room, whatever you like. We had a maid clean the place for awhile but after Gerhard installed the chain he had her stop cleaning the basement. So that will be your job from now on. The maid still cleans upstairs on Mondays and I don’t know if Gerhard told you, you can yell all you want and she won’t hear you. The pope himself could be sitting in the living room and you could turn the TV on full blast and he wouldn’t hear it. This place is fully sound proofed.” Hilda looked smug as she filled Laura in.
“Now you get the TV trays out from over there” Hilda gestured to a TV tray rack beside the TV. “We’ll eat dinner while we watch some game shows” Then climbed back up the stairs to get their supper.
“Good job Christine, nicely done. I think this is going to work out well. Mom is looking happier already.” Gerhard leaned back in his seat and smiled happily.
“Gerhard!” yelled Hilda from upstairs, “Get up here and help me carry the food down the stairs!”
Gerhard reminded Laura to set up the TV trays and hurried up the stairs. Laura fought back more tears and quickly set up the trays. She didn’t know how she was going to eat pork chops, or anything else for that matter. Her stomach was in knots. Her knees felt like they were made of jelly.
How did this happen? What do I do? I need to get out of here!
“Jesus” Laura whispered the name over and over. She couldn’t think straight to put together an actual prayer. Soon after Gerhard and Hilda came back downstairs, the three sat together and ate supper while watching game shows. Hilda didn’t seem to even notice that Laura barely touched her food; she got caught up in the game shows calling out the answers she knew and cheering on the contestants. The remainder of the evening was spent watching TV with very little conversation until Hilda announced it was bed time. She simply got up, went into her room and closed the door.
So she does use the other bedroom down here. Probably because she finds it so hard to climb up and down the stairs.
“Good night Christine, I trust you will find everything you need. If not, write it down and tomorrow I will go shopping for you.” Gerhard smiled at Laura and departed up the stairs with the leftover dinner and dishes. Laura went into her room, closed the door and fell on the bed. She knew she should brush her teeth, do the normal bedtime routine things, but this just wasn’t a normal bedtime type night. She didn’t even have the strength to look for pajamas or think about changing her clothes. She just pushed off her shoes and got under the covers. It wasn’t long before she fell sound asleep.
Chapter 6
Laura woke up the next morning, feeling confused about where she was. It took a few seconds for the events of the day before to sink in and then all of a sudden it hit her.
She sat straight up in bed and felt like someone had punched her in the stomach. Jim!
What about Jim? I have spent so much time thinking about poor me that I haven’t been thinking about what Jim must be going through, or Josh and Lacey! Lord, what’s happening with them?
Laura had seen enough news broadcasts about missing women to know that the first person the police suspect was the husband. That would mean the police would be all over Jim, questioning him on every aspect of their relationship. They would doubt every answer that Jim would give, he would be their number one suspect, and because the police would suspect him, so would others. They must be questioning Josh and Lacey as well. Friends and relatives would be interrogated. What a nightmare! Niagara Falls was a small city which would mean her disappearance probably would make the front page.
While she was weeping over her situation, she didn’t even think about what her husband and children were going through. How selfish can I be?
Laura could only imagine what it must be like for Jim. The endless hours of repetitive questioning. Jim insisting on his innocence. Oh how her heart ached for him.
If only she could get a message to the police and tell them Jim had nothing to do with her abduction. They had a wonderful marriage. In all the years they had been married they had seldom fought. Well sure they argued sometimes but that was normal stuff.
All husbands and wives argue, don’t they? Well there was that one year when they went through a very difficult time. Oh no! If the police find out about that they will suspect Jim even more!
They got through it and now they respected each other and never put each other down in front of others, especially the children. They both agreed that this had a lot to do with the strength of their marriage. All she could do for Jim now was pray that the police would see the truth and go easy on him. She prayed that his friends would stand by him and give a good testimony as to his character. He was an honest and trustworthy man and had never been in trouble with the law.
Laura also t
hought about Lacey and Josh. She was sure the police wouldn’t suspect her children of any wrong doing but they would no doubt question them thoroughly. This would be a difficult time for them. She also lifted them up in prayer and asked the Lord to strengthen them and help them through this.
Oh God, will I ever see them again? I trust You Lord and I know You are with me, but what’s going to happen to me?
Laura lay back down and prayed some more until she fell back asleep, but it wasn’t a peaceful sleep. In her nightmare she found herself in the living room but where the bookcase had been there was a huge picture window and Jim, Lacey, and Josh were on the other side. They were looking for her and calling her name. She ran to the window and yelled out to them but they didn’t hear her. Pastor Brooks and June arrived who also started calling her name. Laura yelled as loud as she could but they still couldn’t hear her. She pounded her fists on the glass but it did no good. She began to look around for something to break the glass. She ran back to her room to get the chair from the desk, planning to use that to break the glass, but when she got to her room Hilda was sitting on the chair, laughing, and refused to move. There was no way she could budge the large woman from the chair so Laura ran back into the living room.
By now the police had arrived and were starting to pull her family away from the window and Laura knew she had to find a way to break the glass soon. She grabbed one of the TV trays, headed for the window and began to bang the TV tray against the glass.
The glass however would not break. It wasn’t normal glass, it was soft and rubbery and when she slammed the TV tray into it, it just stretched out with the tray and then came back in again. Laura tried again and again to break the glass but the TV tray could not get through. Her family, the pastor and his wife together with the police were all moving away! Then Laura thought, just a small hole would do it. The glass was soft and she was pushing at too large an area. If she poked a small hole with something like a pencil, then maybe she could work it into a bigger hole, yell through the hole and they would hear her.
