Unlawful Imprisonment

by Tracey Higgins

  “Want to go out tonight?” Tony asked as he pulled her towards him.

  “After I finish my visit with Reese. Why don’t I meet you at your house later?”

  “Sounds good. I’ll see you then.”

  “Bye.”

  Andrea didn’t have a minute to catch her breath from the arrest she made. She drove up to David’s house to find his brother peering from the window. What a family, she thought. The door opened when she was half way up the walk. Aaron was looking her over.

  “Well, checking up on my brother?” Aaron had his arms crossed and was leaning against the house smoking a cigarette. She could tell that she obviously didn’t have to introduce herself. David and Aaron seemed to have identical personalities, but they looked completely different. Aaron looked like a wrestler. His hair was black, long and slicked back.

  “That’s my job.”

  “Nice job you gave him.” The sarcasm was overwhelming.

  “It’s a job. Some of my parolees aren’t so lucky.” “Yeah, he’s lucky alright.” Aaron stared at Andrea with a look that made her very uncomfortable.

  “Look, where’s David?”

  “I don’t know, maybe he’s at a bar picking up another whore.” He said as he chuckled. “He’s in the dining room.”

  “Thank you.” She went into the dining room as if she owned the house. After doing it for three and a half years, she couldn’t help it.

  “Don’t worry Officer Stephenson, I’m home right after work like a good excon.”

  “You know, this would be much easier for both of us if you can stop the poor me routine and do what you are supposed to do.”

  “I am. I took that crap job and I have no life. Is that satisfactory to you?”

  “You don’t get it, do you?” Her voice was rising. “I am here to help you re-adjust. If you prefer I could turn out to be the number one reason why you would rather be in prison. Do you understand?”

  “Yes.”

  “Wonderful. Have a good night.”

  As she drove away she noticed David and Aaron staring at her from the living room window. She felt her stomach jump. They gave her a look of such hatred it was scary. The sound of her cell phone distracted her. It was Healy. She pulled over to call.

  “John, it’s me.”

  “You’re going to love this. I just got a call from Barbara Atkins.”

  “Really? What did she have to say?”

  “She wanted to know how Reese could have been released. Then she wanted to meet his parole officer.” “Well, if she’s that worried I’ll be glad to talk to her.”

  “That’s what I thought. Her number is 555-9786. I told her that you would be in touch as soon as possible.” “Okay, thanks.”

  Getting to Tony’s house was like an adventure because he lived in a secluded area. Tony lived very well being as he was his own boss. She had to drive along a long winding road surrounded by woods for about a half an hour. His nearest neighbor was fifteen minutes away. Andrea never minded the trip considering she drove all over the place all day anyway. Tony was waiting for Andrea at the door. He looked great in his blue jeans, white tee shirt and black boots. He had that bad boy image that Andrea found so attractive.

  “Hi. How did your visits go?”

  “Weird.”

  “Why do you say that?” Tony asked as he poured her a glass of white wine.

  “I feel like his entire family is against me.” “Well, you didn’t expect that they would be thrilled to have you in their lives, did you?”

  “No, it’s just that,” she paused.

  “What?”

  “Nothing.” She sighed. “Let’s just have a relaxing night.”

  “Whatever you say.”

  They took a bottle of wine into the den and began to spend a quiet night in front of the television. About ten minutes later, the phone rang and Tony answered. “Hello? Hello?”

  “What’s the matter?”

  “Nothing, they hung up.”

  “Oh that reminds me, do you mind if I make a call? Barbara Atkins wants to speak with me. She’s worried.”

  “Who is she?”

  “The woman Reese raped.”

  “Jesus!” He snapped.

  “What is your problem?”

  “Can you ever not take work home with you? Is that too much to ask?”

  “Tony, the man who raped her is out of prison. It seems only natural that she wants some reassurances.” “Alright, alright, I don’t want to fight about it. Just make your call.”

  “Thank you. I won’t be long.”

  As Andrea was dialing the phone Tony turned off the television and left the room.

  “Yes, Barbara Atkins please.”

  “This is she.”

  “I’m Andrea Stephenson. I just received your message this afternoon. What can I help you with?” “Why is he out?”

  “Ms. Atkins, I can assure you that you are in no danger.”

  “No danger! That man is free! How the hell can you calmly tell me that I am in no danger?”

  “Because I am keeping a close eye on him. I know where he works, and he has conditions to follow. He is well aware of the fact that if he breaks them he will end up back in prison.”

  “If anything happens to me I’m going to blame you and your entire fucking department!”

  “Ma’am please, calm down.”

  “Don’t tell me to calm down! Just see to it that he stays away from me!”

  “I will.”

  “Good.” With that, Andrea heard the phone slam down. If that wasn’t enough, now she had to deal with Tony. He was sitting in the living room staring out the window. She let her long brown hair down and came up behind him.

  “Hey, you didn’t have to leave.” She put her hands on his shoulders and started rubbing.

  “I didn’t want to bother you. I know how difficult it is to fit me into your schedule of scumbags.” He got up and walked away from her and sat on the couch.

  “Tony, what do you want me to do? I don’t make my own schedule like you do. I have a ton of people to see and follow up on, and no time to do it in.”

  “I understand. I just want to have one night with you without getting into a discussion about the criminals you babysit.” There was an uncomfortable silence. “I’m sorry, you’re right.”

  Tony sighed. “Did you finish your call?” “Yes. Can we go back to our quiet night?” “If you promise not to talk about anything that has to do with work.”

  “I promise.”

  “Okay. Let’s go.”

  Andrea desperately wanted to tell Tony about her talk with Barbara Atkins, but she could see it was not a good idea. After all, she did have a right to act the way she did over the phone. Andrea just hoped she wouldn’t have to meet Atkins in person. Andrea hated it when she had to speak with the victims. It was very awkward. Of course, she felt bad for them but sometimes they acted as if Andrea was the one who personally paroled them. Not to mention the fact that the parolees families gave her nothing but problems, with the exception of a select few. A young woman she supervised for stealing convinced her family of her innocence. Every time Andrea went to the house her father would ask a thousand questions about her conditions. She apparently pulled off the good little girl act quite convincingly. That was, until Andrea busted her for shoplifting only two months after her release. Andrea couldn’t help but be happy to see the anger on her father’s face as she arrested her at the house. It was as if to say, ‘I told you your daughter was no good.’

  Michael was the one who showed her how ignorant some of the families really were. No matter how bad it got Andrea always kept her mouth shut. Michael, on the other hand, always had something to say. What were they going to do, arrest him? But Andrea could never be like Michael. She knew the families had every right to be upset and aggravated. After all, they didn’t commit the crime. They were also probably riddled with guilt thinking about what they did wrong.

  Andrea admired Tony because he worked for
himself. If he didn’t like a case, he didn’t accept it. She had to take every one she was handed. She wanted to be a parole officer since she was fourteen and witnessed her mother’s death. She was brutally raped and killed in their house. Andrea had always felt guilty because she didn’t make it out of her room soon enough. As he attacked her mother, she was paralyzed with fear. By the time she was able to get up, her mother was dead. She saw him for a brief moment on his way out. He had no idea she was in the house. She would never forget his face. It turned out that the man who killed her was on his third week on parole. Since then, Andrea vowed to make sure that criminals released early would be carefully watched, so maybe another young girl wouldn’t have to go through what she went through. For years her father acted as if her mother’s death was Andrea’s fault for not doing anything. She felt as if she were living alone all those years. Andrea’s grandparents lived in another state and since she had no siblings, she spent most of her time with friends. It wasn’t until he was on his deathbed four years before that they finally made peace, but it was too late.

  The murderer, Vincent Cryer was convicted after Andrea’s testimony and sentenced to life in prison without parole. Andrea always had nightmares about his getting released or escaping and coming after her. Even to this day, she always looked over her shoulder while checking up on parolees. You just never know when you may run into the devil himself, especially in this field.

  Crystal Silverman awoke after what seemed to be a fainting spell. All around her was pitch black. She tried to speak but there was something in her mouth. Her hands and ankles were handcuffed. Crystal was in the trunk of a car. She heard the honking and the screeching of the breaks. She was too sick to even understand what had happened. She couldn’t breathe well. Just when she thought she would pass out, the car stopped. Crystal heard the door shut. The trunk opened and a man was standing over her. He blindfolded her. The one second of sunlight she saw blinded Crystal. She wondered how long she was in there. She started screaming through the gag, and then there was a blow to her head. Crystal was unconscious.

  The man picked her up and walked a few feet away from the car. His trap was set; it just needed a victim. While she was unconscious, he had time. Deep in the woods was a cave so large a person could walk into it and two minutes later be lost. But not this man, he studied it for months. He knew exactly where to go. He through a piece of cloth over a long flat rock and laid Crystal down. He removed the handcuffs and then her clothes. She was beautiful. He caressed her from head to toe. When she started moving around on her own he panicked. From his bag he took a soft white rope and tied her hands behind her back. He didn’t want to leave any marks on her skin. He bound her ankles and then carried her off deeper into the cave. She once again tried to scream and move around, but it hurt. He finally spoke.

  “If you move it will hurt. You don’t want to be hurt, do you?”

  Crystal moaned through her gag. His voice was muffled through his mask.

  “Good. There’s nothing for you to be worried about. If you do exactly what I say, you won’t be hurt. If you understand, move your head.” She obeyed. “Excellent.”

  Crystal was petrified. She was left lying face down in the dirt and she heard his footsteps walking away from her. He put her clothes into a bag. “You won’t be needing these.” She didn’t know what was more frightening, staying on the dirt like that, or having him come back for her. In the homicide department people were staring at Frank constantly. He was called into the Captain’s office as soon as he walked in.

  “Frank! My office, now!”

  Shit, Frank thought to himself. Captain Mueller was very demanding. He was one of the best police officers, then as a detective solved every case. As head of the homicide department, he expected quick and accurate investigations, and never took ‘it will take time’ for an answer.

  Frank walked intothe Captain’s office and shut the door behind him. Captain Mueller was sitting in his leather chair lighting a cigarette, a habit he tried to break for ten years. The sweat was dripping from his face. Carl Mueller had gained about thirty pounds within the past year and he was practically bald. Ever since he made it to Captain, he really let himself go physically.

  “I wish they would fix this God damned air conditioning. Have a seat detective.” If it was sixty degrees out Mueller would sweat. Frank sunk into a chair and took a deep breath. In front of him were all of the Captain’s medals and awards. “It’s been a week and I have not received a progress report. What’s going on?” “Well, to be perfectly honest, nothing is going on.” “That’s obvious. Do you have any leads?” “I have nothing. The only concrete information I have is that whoever this guy is, he’s a sociopath.” “I know that, I read the autopsy report.” “Then you understand my problem?”

  “No. What about the bar she was at? Somebody hadto see her leave.”

  “It was three days before college graduation. There were countless people going in and out all night.” “What about the guy who checks the ID’s?” “He doesn’t remember her.”

  Captain Mueller started pacing the floor behind his desk. “What about her friends?”

  “Captain I went through this already. It’s is the initial report that you read.”

  “Well, detective,” his voice was rising, “I’m just trying to figure out why this murder case is suddenly at a halt.”

  “It’s not at a halt sir.”

  “Then what is it? A young woman is abducted and kept alive for a month. Then this sick bastard takes a picture of her and sends it to the police station with directions! He’s laughing at us!”

  “I’m doing the best I can with what I have.” “Do better! Now, go out there and do your job!” “Yes sir.” Frank walked to his desk and all eyes were on him. When he sat down he heard Maggie Sawyer coming, but he didn’t look up. Maggie was the only female detective who wore heels. She was always dressed in a skirt and blouse. Frank never saw her in a pair of jeans. But to him, she would have looked great wearing a potato sack. She had a perfect complexion, and gorgeous green eyes. He looked up and she and she handed him a cup of coffee.

  “Thanks.”

  “I’d ask what happened but we all heard.” She said as she sat across from him, tucking her long, red hair behind her ear.

  “I figured that.”

  “It’s not your fault. What the hell are you supposed to do, look into your crystal ball?”

  “No, but there’s no feeling like knowing there’s a scumbag out there and you have no clues. The only reason we found her was because he wanted us to.” “You’ll figure it out, you’re one of the best.” “Better than you?”

  She smiled. “I wouldn’t go that far.” A smile escaped Frank’s face.

  “Well, I better get to work.”

  “Good luck.”

  “Thanks.”

  Maggie Sawyer was one of the best. She had been working in the sex crimes division for four years. Frank never understood why a woman would want to work there, but she solved all her cases. Every accused rapist she investigated was convicted. She was also the most passionate detective in her department. Frank was passionate as well, but he had this habit of taking his work home with him. Like Andrea, he was never satisfied with an okay job. He wanted everything done perfectly. But in this case, he knew that perfection would not happen. This guy has all the power, and all anybody could do was wait. He couldn’t imagine the horrors that Kylie endured. Frank shuttered at the thought.

  Crystal Silverman was having difficulty catching her breath. The pebbles on the ground were pressing against her chest but she couldn’t move herself to take the pressure off.

  She heard footsteps coming towards her after what seemed to be hours. She screamed through her gag as she felt the man’s hands pick her up. He laid her upon the concrete on her stomach. She remained perfectly still, as if she were in shock. When he spoke she whimpered.

  “What’s wrong? How come you’re not struggling? I want to see you try to escape.�
� She whimpered again.

  “I’m waiting.”

  Crystal began trying to free her hands. He was not satisfied. “Come on, you can do better than that.” She began trying to turn over.

  “That’s better.” He moaned. She had no idea what to expect next. The more Crystal moved around, the more he moaned with excitement. Then there was silence. He picked her up and after a few minutes she was dropped down. He removed the gag and blindfold violently and let her hands go.

  “Please! Please let me go!”

  “Put the mask on.” She heard something close over her. She was surrounded by darkness. She heard a humming noise and felt a blast of air over her face. Crystal was so shocked about what had just happened she couldn’t even scream. Although, even if she could, nobody would hear her.

  Crystal felt around and felt something. It was a small flashlight. It didn’t give off much light but she could see a sandwich and a bottle of water in the corner. She wasn’t able to sit up straight but she had enough room to turn around. She saw the oxygen tank, and was terrified as to how long it would stay on.

  Reese has been at his job and counseling sessions so Andrea had not seen any reason to watch him like a hawk. She made only three visits and followed up with phone calls. It was the perfect time to catch up with other parolees, or so she thought.

  “Andrea!” Healy’s voice bellowed as he burst through her office.

  “What’s wrong with you?”

  “Reese’s in lock up, they arrested him an hour ago.”

  She sat at her desk and sighed. “I’m almost afraid to ask why.”

  “Harassment, against Barbara Atkins.”

  “Oh my God, I just talked to her a week ago.” “I know. What did you say to her?”

  “I told her that she had nothing to worry about. Pretty smart, huh?”

  “Well, she’s pissed.”

  “No kidding. I’m assuming she will be at the police station.”

  “Probably. I take it you’ll be there for a while, so good luck.”

  “I’ll need it.”

  MILLERS COUNTY POLICE DEPARTMENT Andrea hated this part of her job most of all. She went up to the front desk that she knew so well. “Excuse me, I’m Andrea Stephenson from the parole department. I’m David Reese’s parole officer.”