Unlawful Imprisonment

by Tracey Higgins

  “David Reese?” A man asked in the background. “Yes.”

  “Well, looks like you’re parolee couldn’t last more than a month.” The officer had a disgusted look on his face. “It’s so interesting that while you parole officers are supposed to watch these people, they screw up all the time and we get blamed for the crime rates. What the hell are you people doing there?”

  “Like you officer, I can’t be everywhere at once. Where is he?”

  “He’s right at home in a cell. I’ll take you to him.” Andrea was so aggravated with cops sometimes. Whenever a parolee gets arrested, the parole officer is the first to blame. In a way, they were right, but there is only so much time to check up on over a hundred people. The worst was when a major crime is committed and it is all over the news. The media always had a field day when a parolee commits a robbery, rape or murder. When Andrea was first starting out on the job, one of Michael’s parolees was arrested for murder. Michael thought that was going to be the end of his career. For weeks afterwards, the parole department was flooded with calls demanding answers as to why Michael was not supervising the parolee well enough. The parolee had murdered his girlfriend who was pregnant, just two and a half months after his release. As a matter of fact, the murder occurred only an hour after Michael had made his visit with him, and everything seemed normal. It was months before Michael realized that the murder was completely out of his control. After all, if Michael thought his parolee was up to something, he would have followed him day and night. Michael knew that the majority of his marriage problems had to do with all his long hours. Ever since that murder, he put more and more time away from home supervising the parolees he knew were going to be a problem.

  She was brought to the interrogation room to wait for David. When they brought him in he looked terrible. He was in his nice clothes, but his hair was a mess, his shirt was out and he looked like he hadn’t slept in days. It wasn’t like him at all.

  “I might have known you would be here. I’ll bet you’re upset that you missed the arrest.” He sat down with his hands cuffed in front of him.

  “What happened?”

  “Nothing.”

  “Nothing?”

  “That’s right.”

  “The cops just arrested you for no reason. I guess they didn’t have anything better to do, is that it?” “Look, I don’t expect you of all people to believe me.”

  “Why don’t you just tell me what happened.” “I was at work and I got called into the office. There was a cop there and he arrested me.”

  “Did he tell you why?”

  “Yeah, harassment. They told me I was being arrested for making phone calls to Barbara Atkins and making threats. Now I know you won’t believe a convicted rapist who tells you he didn’t do it, so I have nothing more to say.”

  “Well, I don’t have to believe you, so let’s just see exactly what the complaint says.” Just then, another officer opened the door.

  “Mr. Reese, Officer Stephenson, the charges have been dropped.”

  “What?” They asked simultaneously.

  “We checked Mr. Reese’s phone records from work and home. There were no calls made to Ms. Atkins’ apartment. At the time she claims to have received the calls, his whereabouts have been accounted for. We told this to Ms. Atkins and she has recanted her story. She was probably getting prank calls and got scared.”

  David gave Andrea a look of total disgust. “Well,” he said sarcastically, “maybe she was busy shooting up.” “David…” She touched his shoulder to pull him back gently and he shrugged her off. David was staring at her with such hatred, just like his brother had done. “Where do I go know officer?”

  “Come with me and collect your wallet and your keys.”

  “Thank you.” David stormed out of the room and Andrea went after him.

  “Listen, I’ll call your boss and take care of everything.” Do you need a ride?”

  “I’ll take a cab.”

  “Alright, look…”

  “I don’t want to talk about it.” He hailed a cab and was off. Andrea headed back to the office and straightened things out with his boss, and then went to see John to sort out her own problems. She couldn’t go to Tony, and she couldn’t help but think there was more to Ms. Atkins than just being the victim.

  John knew David was going to be trouble. He noticed the look of aggravation on her face when she came to his office. “Hi Andrea, how did it go?”

  “Ms. Atkins dismissed the charge. She wasn’t even there. The police said there was no way David made those calls.”

  “Then, why would she accuse him?”

  “I have no clue.”

  “Maybe she was just getting prank calls and got scared. It sounds pretty reasonable to me that she would blame him.”

  “That’s what I was thinking, but it doesn’t seem right.” She pulled up a chair. “Did you read Reese’s case file?”

  “Yes, of course.”

  “Didn’t you find it suspicious that this woman who claims to have been tortured and raped was called a cab by her attacker in the morning? Now she’s making accusations when he was nowhere near her.”

  “Andrea stop. Just stop right there. You are not the investigator here.”

  “I know that.”

  “As far as your job is concerned you need not be swayed by the facts of the trial. You’ve been doing this job for over three years now, you know better than this.” “I understand.”

  “Good. Did you take care of his employer?” “Yes. He said he’s never had an employee like David. He says he is very efficient, clean and friendly. Too bad he’s not friendly when I’m around.”

  “Just try not to let him get to you. You’re tough, remember?”

  “Yeah. I’ll see you later, have a good one.” “You too. Oh! Before you go, have you heard from Michael today?”

  “No, why?”

  “He hasn’t checked in.”

  “He’s probably making a tough arrest. You know how that goes.”

  “Yes, I remember. If you hear from him have him call me okay?”

  “No problem.”

  “And if you see Brandon on your way out send him in here please.”

  “Okay, but I didn’t see him when I came in.” “Great.” John replied sarcastically with his teeth clenched.

  “Anything wrong?”

  “Just another rumor that I need to make sure is just a rumor.”

  “Really?” Andrea asked, waiting to hear about what Brandon was up to.

  “You mean you haven’t heard?”

  “Is this about the screaming lady the other week?” “Oh, no. This is about how Brandon has been spending a little too much time with his female parolees.” “Oh, please, who started that?”

  “Probably Michael. They would kill each other if theywere left alone for more than ten minutes.”

  “Rumors about Brandon are the last thing this office needs.”

  “I know, but you know how these things get built up. I just want to check up on him.”

  “If I see him, I’ll send him in. See you later.” “Bye.”

  Brandon was nowhere to be found. Andrea wouldn’t be surprised if the rumor was true. But there was no way to prove a rumor. Brandon was a smooth talker. If sexual favors would prevent a female parolee from being arrested for a violation, Brandon was the one who could talk her into it.

  A few months earlier, Andrea was propositioned by one of her male parolees in exchange for not being arrested after leaving the state. His name was Gregg Merck and he was on parole for robbery. A police officer in the other state noticed him and Andrea was immediately contacted. If a parolee flees the state, their picture was automatically sent to the other states. When he returned, as if he did nothing wrong, he came on to her, telling Andrea how well he could please a woman. As a result, Gregg not only broke his parole conditions, but also added bribery to his list.

  Andrea stopped by Billy Cassin’s apartment before going home. He was almost th
rough with his parole. Billy was convicted of assault three years prior. He was granted an early release due to his work in prison. He voluntarily went to counseling, took classes and after his release, participated in community service projects. He lived with his wife and son. Billy was one of the few parolees who was not looking for trouble. His wife was grabbed by a man while she was waiting for him to come to the car. They fought and Billy broke the guy’s arm. He was charged with assault.

  She walked up to his door and was greeted by his wife. She had to be the most understanding woman Andrea had ever met. Their son was ready to graduate high school. Andrea went through her routine visit, verifying pay stubs and time sheets. Billy was one of the few who gave her hope for the parole system.

  Andrea came home for a quick bite to eat. She received a note with no address slipped under the door. She felt as if she were having a heart attack while she read it.

  YOU MUST THINK YOU’RE SOMEONE SPECIAL, THINK AGAIN!!! BACK OFF OR YOU’RE NEXT!

  Chapter 15

  Frank decided to go back to the homicide scene by himself. He desperately needed some type of clue, anything to give him some hope. This was the toughest case of his career. He walked around the area for two hours but there was nothing. It was almost dark when he realized that he wandered far away from the scene. Frank started to go back to his car when he noticed a speck of bright yellow in the dirt. Frank put on his gloves, picked up the object with tweezers and placed it into an evidence bag. When he got back to his office he took his painkiller for the ulcer. Frank sat down at his desk and rubbed his eyes. He couldn’t remember any time in the past week where he had more than five hours of sleep a night which accounted for his bloodshot eyes. He was on his way to the print lab when he met up with Captain Mueller.

  “Frank, where have you been?”

  “At the Sanders scene.”

  “I see,” he sighed, “did you find anything?”

  “Yeah, this inhaler.”

  Mueller looked at the inhaler with a confused expression on his face. “The officers missed an inhaler while they were searching?”

  “No, I found this away from the scene.”

  Captain Mueller did not see a connection. “Well, I doubt that will give you any clues. It could just belong to some kids who were out there. “

  “It’s worth a shot to get prints.”

  “But if it wasn’t that close to the scene…”

  “Nobody ever goes to those woods. Just let me get the prints and put my mind at ease.”

  “Okay, but you better get going on some clues, detective, and fast.” The Captain didn’t wait for a response. Frank went right to the print lab. God knows when he would get the prints back. The lab was always busy. When he came up to the desk Debbie, the head technician greeted him. She was at least two hundred and fifty pounds and only 5’6. It was like pulling teeth to get her to stop and have a five minute conversation.

  “Debbie I have one for you ASAP.”

  “On the desk Frank.”

  “I need it immediately.”

  “Yeah right.”

  “I’m not kidding.” Nobody ever spoke to her so firmly.

  “Alright.” She looked down, took the inhaler and went to work.

  When he returned to his desk he heard a familiar voice coming from the Captain’s office. Mueller came out of his office and was directing a man to Frank’s desk. It was Jerry Slomin, the Assistant District Attorney. Jerry was short, chubby and his black hair that he was losing was turning gray was slicked over the side of his head. Frank couldn’t stand him ever since a year before when Jerry insisted that he almost lost a case because Frank didn’t give him a decent investigation. Frank knew it was bullshit, but what was he supposed to do, get on the DA’s bad side?

  “Detective Riser.” His voice was very feminine.

  “Mr. Slomin. I wasn’t told you were stopping by so late.”

  “I received your report and I need to talk to you about it.”

  Frank sat down and sighed. “What’s up?”

  “That’s what I’d like to know.” Slomin sat across from him. “We are in the middle of the most horrific case this county has ever seen and there are no leads. What’s going on?”

  “I’m doing my best.”

  “Carl just told me about the inhaler. Is that all you have?”

  “Yup.”

  “So are we just going to wait until he strikes again?”

  Frank hated it when Jerry used the term ‘we’ as if he was going to do anything. “Mr. Slomin, I of all people want this guy caught, believe me.”

  “I know, so let’s get on it before the news has a field day with an incompetent justice system that can’t protect its citizens. Catch me a bad guy.”

  “I will, don’t worry.”

  “Good.”

  Frank would like to see Jerry Slomin try to solve this case. He would probably run out of breath walking from his car to the crime scene. Frank wanted this guy to suffer. He didn’t want any pleas of insanity or any type of deal made. Frank wished he could get his hands on this sociopath and put him into his own grave.

  Chapter 16

  Andrea felt her heart skip a beat. She took out her gun and checked unusual. sometimes received prank phone calls and nasty letters from her problem parolees. Once she knew she was safe in her apartment, Andrea started to calm down. There was no way she was going to tell Tony about this. In a way, she really didn’t think twice about that kind of thing once the initial shock wore off. She never backed off from a parolee because of a threat, and she didn’t intend to start now. If anything, the more she thought about it, the more determined she became to get tough with her parolees. Andrea already knew how to take care of threats. One year ago she received constant prank phone calls and she spent two weeks trying to figure out who it was, until she caught him in the act. Andrea came home one afternoon to find a parolee, Mark Davis, sliding a note under her door, which was similar to this one. Although the first few moments of these situations were scary, she was used to it by now. She knew it was time to crack down on all her parolees, like punishing the whole class for one student’s behavior. Hopefully, whoever sent this note would get the message.

  Since she was now fully energized, she decided to see Andrew Duran, David’s counselor and get it over with. The work never ended. She just hoped she didn’t run into any of her other parolees. That was the last thing she was in the mood for.

  Andrea drove to the building and waited impatiently in the waiting room. Even though she was more relaxed about the note, all she wanted to do was go home and get some rest. Finally, someone came up to her.

  “Ms. Stephenson?”

  “Yes, hello.”

  “Hi. I’m Andrew Duran. You wanted to see me?” He looked very busy. Andrea didn’t look him in the eyes when they met. He was looking past her, keeping an eye her entire apartment, but there was nothing Ever since she became a parole officer, she on all the people waiting for their counseling session. Andrew seemed to be overly paranoid.

  “Yes. I know you’re busy but this will only take a moment.”

  “Come into my office.”

  She noticed a group of men staring at her as she followed Andrew. During her first months on the job this made her feel very uneasy. By now, it was all expected.

  “You are David Reese’s parole officer, correct?”

  “Yes.”

  “I can’t release any information about that is shared at the meetings.”

  “I know. I just need to confirm that he has been attending all the meetings so far.”

  “Yes, he has.”

  “Good.” Andrea paused for a moment. “Listen, while I’m here maybe you could give me some information.”

  “Sure.”

  “I was curious about how this happens to people. I mean, why rapists rape. There has to be a reason, and please don’t say it’s a chemical imbalance.”

  “I’m shocked to hear you say that.”

  “Why?”


  “Law enforcement officials are not usually interested in the social aspects of crime.”

  “Let’s just say it’s been on my mind a lot lately.”

  “I don’t have the answers to why a rapist has these desires. The only information I can give you is all in theory.”

  “Such as?”

  “Well, there are different levels. First, there’s the popular date rape when the victim and the offender know each other. The most serious offenders are the anger rapists and the sadistic rapists.”

  “What’s the difference?”

  “A person who commits sadistic rape has an intense desire to torture his victim. An anger rape is like a release of anger.”

  “What makes them get involved in rape to release anger?”

  “Usually it goes along with the social learning theory. This means that the offender imitates violent behavior, whether it is a parent or somebody they looked up to.”

  “Have you ever had anyone who could be rehabilitated?”

  “In my ten years here, I’ve had five.”

  “I see. Well, thank you for your time and the information, I appreciate it.”

  “No problem.”

  Andrea once believed in rehabilitation, but not anymore. She wanted to prove to her parolees that the sympathy play didn’t work anymore. On her way home she thought about what Andrew Duran had told her. It made perfect sense. One of the parole officers, Tina Sterner had to supervise a man who raped three women in two weeks. It was her first case. She followed him day and night because there was something about him that made her nervous. One day he didn’t report to work and then skipped his appointment that night. When she went to his apartment his door was left open. It looked like a tornado hit it. All the pictures of the women in his family were destroyed. There was also a journal. Apparently, he had been keeping it ever since he was in prison. It outlined all his days, and every thought in his twisted mind. How this guy was paroled remains a mystery.

  June2,1995

  My first day in prison as if that can do any good. For every one guy like me they lock up, there’s fifty more that are free. They know it’s us against them. I need to make plans for when I get out, and I will get out. They walk around here with their high and mighty attitudes but in the end I’m the one with all the power. Nobody wants to admit it, but it’s true. The biggest joke of the day is group counseling. Who the fuck do they think they’re dealing with? They think they can take a man’s mission and throw it away because of some psychological bullshit theories. They think bars are going to stop us. They talk about all those so-called victims. They were all whores, and they deserved what they got. My mother beat the shit out of me, but nothing happened to her. I took care of that bitch myself. At fifteen she raised her hand to me and it got broke. That’s when I ended up in Juvenile Hall. That place was full of counselors who wanted to dive into my feelings. What a fucking joke. I had to stay there for six months. While I was in Juvenile Hall my mother committed suicide. So, at the end of my stay I was bounced from foster home to foster home. My mother was the only family I had. My father took off when I was born. I ran away from every foster home. I did some time in CountyJail but now I’m here. I can’t wait to get out. It’s not hard to fool the parole board. Hell, my fourth probation officer got me into college and I was a psyche major. He was so proud that I was mending my ways, it was so fucking simple to fool him. I have to go, it’s time for recreation. Funny, I never had this much luxury at home.