Unlawful Imprisonment

by Tracey Higgins

  Incredibly, Nicholas Miller did get paroled. When Tina went to check up on him that day, it was her last. Her throat was slashed as soon as she walked into the apartment. Nick took off and hasn’t been caught. That was only five months ago, but that is a long time to have someone like Nick free in society.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Andrea went to check up on David the day after his arrest. When she arrived, his mother was there alone.

  “Good afternoon Mrs. Reese.”

  “Hello Ms. Stephenson. David is out getting dinner.” “That’s all right, I can wait.” Louise reluctantly

  directed Andrea in.

  “Even though I’m here to see your son, I was

  wondering how you were doing.”

  “It’s just as bad as seeing my boy through bars. He

  has no freedom, his life is destroyed. How do you think I’m

  doing?” The sofa made noise from the plastic covering

  when she sat down.

  “I understand Mrs. Reese, but I’m sure he would

  rather be on parole than in prison.”

  “Really? Have you ever been convicted of a crime

  you didn’t commit and imprisoned?”

  ”No ma’am.”

  “I didn’t think so.”

  “It’s not my job to determine guilt or innocence.” “Oh, that’s right. It’s your job to make my son’s life

  just as bad as being in prison. You know, maybe he would

  be better off in prison away from people like you who treat

  him like a disease. It’s bad enough that girl ruined five

  years of his life, now she has the nerve to say he was

  harassing her.”

  Andrea was losing her temper. She felt like telling

  Louise how lucky David was that there was parole for

  convicted rapist. In the ancient days, David would probably

  have been tortured to death, or banished. Compared to

  punishment years ago, punishment today seemed like a

  joke. “If you’re upset about how David is being treated,

  why don’t you ponder over what Ms. Atkins felt like while

  your boy was raping her. As for him being better off in

  prison, if I don’t get relieved of that attitude from David, I

  can arrange it.”

  “Is that a threat?”

  “It’s a fact.”

  Louise was finally silent. When David walked in she

  acted as if nothing was said.

  “Hello David.”

  “What do you want? Am I being arrested again?” “Just checking in. How’s the job?”

  “Fine. It’s easier work than I’m used to.” He looked

  at his mother and he could tell something was wrong. “I guess that’s less of a strain for you.”

  “No, not really.” He replied flatly.

  “It takes time.”

  “Don’t take this the wrong way, but I can’t handle a

  lecture right know.”

  Andrea gave David a look of disgust. “Just make

  sure you are sticking to your conditions, and don’t forget

  your counseling sessions.”

  “How could I?”

  “I thought you would say that. Goodbye Mrs.

  Reese.”

  Andrea left with an adrenaline rush she never had

  with any other parolee. She now hated Louise as much as

  she hated David. She went back to her office and noticed

  Brandon by the coffee machine. Her hope of leaving early

  was not going to happen.

  “Hi Brandon.”

  He looked surprised. “Hi Andrea. How’s it going?” “Same old shit.”

  “I hear you.” He looked away from her. “I’m

  surprised you’re speaking to me.”

  “Why?”

  “I seem to be getting the cold shoulder from all you

  female officers.”

  “Yes, I heard the latest rumor.” She kept busy

  making her coffee so she didn’t have to look at him. “Well, apparently if one of the woman parolees ever

  calls hear looking for me, I am automatically sleeping with

  her.”

  “Don’t worry. Pretty soon somebody will start

  another rumor and everybody will forget about this one.” He laughed. “True. I’ll see you later.”

  “Bye.”

  It took awhile, but once Brandon stopped coming

  on to Andrea, she was able to have a decent conversation

  with him. Every once in awhile he would give her looks, but not enough to annoy her. Occasionally, he would always have some type of sexist remark to make her give him the silent treatment for a few days, along with the other female officers.

  Crystal’s captor was very irritated that he couldn’t spend more time with her. He knew he had to stay away from the woods for awhile, just in case the cops decided to go back to look for more clues to Kylie’s death. Even though Crystal was on the other side of the woods, he didn’t want to take any chances. But, he could still have some fun with Crystal. He picked up the remote control that was keeping Crystal’s fan going and turned it off. He didn’t think a minute or two would hurt her. At that moment, she was probably screaming and panicking. He was aroused. He left the fan off for one minute while he masturbated, thinking of her fear, and then turned it back on. He hoped Crystal would eat the food he left for her. Kylie had refused to eat or drink at first, but he knew how to take care of that. He took Kylie into the cave and had his way with her with a stick. Obviously, she gave in right away and agreed to eat, but he played with her for about twenty minutes anyway. He couldn’t wait to play with Crystal some more. However, he had something else to do the next day. He had to fix up his new dungeon. It was close to home at a friend’s house so he could visit a lot more. He needed to get started on the insulation. His friend was already looking into buying the equipment. After all, two heads were better than one. Andrea hadso much paper work to catch up on she didn’t know where to begin. Of course being interrupted by Brandon wasn’t helping her. She had been reviewing a file

  when he walked into her office.

  “Uh, ever hear of knocking?”

  “Sorry.”

  “What is it?” She didn’t take her eyes off her work. “Jesus! What bug crawled up your ass?”

  Andrea looked at Brandon and sighed. “I have a lot

  of work to do.”

  “Don’t we all.” He said as he shut the door. “Brandon, what the hell do you want?”

  He smiled at her and laughed. “Do you really want

  me to tell you?”

  “No.” He made his way around her desk and stood

  behind her. She felt his hands on her shoulders. “Brandon…”

  “Come on, you’re tense.” Before she could say anything, her phone started ringing.

  Thank God, she thought. “Stephenson.”

  “Hey it’s me.”

  “Tony, heh! Hold on a second.” Andrea turned to

  Brandon. “OUT! And shut the door behind you.” He

  walked out and she resumed her conversation. “Hi honey.” “Who were you yelling at?”

  “Nobody. Where are you?”

  “I just got offered a case out of the city so I’ll be

  gone for a few days.”

  “ Where are you going to be?”

  “Jersey. It’s only going to be a few days. A guy I

  helped out a few months ago mentioned my name to this

  woman.”

  “When are you leaving?”

  “Tomorrow. I’ll be up late packing if you want to

  come over.”

  “Alright, I’ll be there as soon as I finish my reviews.” “That will never happen.”

  “I’ll see you later.”

  “Bye.”

  Although Andrea knew how to take care of herself,

  she
hated it when Tony was gone and she had no way to

  reach him directly. It was comforting to know that she

  could always depend on Frank in case of an emergency.

  She didn’t finish her work until ten o’clock that night, but

  Tony was not even half way through getting ready when

  she arrived. Tony didn’t finish packing until after midnight.

  For somebody so organized in his work, it took him forever. “From the looks of this suitcase, you’re going away

  for a month.”

  “I promise it’s only a day or two. I need all my

  equipment.”

  “Well, be careful.”

  He kissed her. “As always.”

  David Reese woke up in the middle of the night in a sweat. His heart was racing and he felt disoriented. Just another nightmare, he thought. It was the same nightmare he had ever since his father died. Since he was released from

  prison, he was having it every night.

  In the nightmare, he was twelve years old and in his

  bed. He would wake up to his mother’s voice. She would

  sound like she was screaming but then it would turn to

  laughter. David would walk down the hallway and look in

  his parent's bedroom. His mother was lying on the bed on

  her stomach naked and his father was tying her up. Andre

  then went to get a box from the closet. He walked back

  with a whip in his hand. He would hit her with the whip, but

  she didn’t tell him to stop. When he finally stopped, David

  woke up. For a short dream, it seemed to last all night.

  David went downstairs into the kitchen, and he saw Aaron

  sitting on the couch watching television and smoking a

  cigarette.

  “Hey, what are you doing up?”

  “Just a nightmare. I thought Mom wouldn’t let you

  smoke in the house.”

  “Don’t worry, she can never tell. So what was it?” “What was what?”

  “The nightmare.”

  “Oh, nothing. I can’t really remember it.”

  “One of those, huh?”

  “Yeah.” David sat across from Aaron and looked him straight in the eyes. “Aaron, what did Mom tell you about the night Dad died?”

  “Just that he had a heart attack. It was no wonder

  with all his carrying on all the time. His heart was bound to

  give up on him sooner or later.”

  “True.”

  “I could just hear him if he were alive. Could you

  imagine what he would say to that bitch of yours? “Bitch of mine?” David raised his eyebrows. “Your parole officer. A woman parole officer, forget

  it! He would go ballistic!”

  “I know. See you tomorrow, I’m going back to bed.” “Okay.”

  David tried to go back to sleep but the fear of having his nightmare again kept him awake. He wondered what Barbara Atkins was doing. Ever since he was convicted, he wanted some time alone with her. One day, he thought, one day.

  Frank Riser was impatiently waiting for the print lab to call. It could take anywhere from three hours to three days, and that was by computer. Maggie Sawyer noticed him at his desk looking over the photographs taken at the crime scene.

  “Frank, when was the last time you slept?” “Oh, I got a whole two hours last night.” He couldn’t take his eyes off the photographs of Kylie.

  “You can’t do this to yourself Frank.”

  “Do what? I’ve worked late hours before.”

  “You know what I’m talking about.”

  He rubbed his eyes and sighed. “Maggie, we train, we make sure we have every piece of information we need committed to memory, and then a case like this comes along, and I’m useless.”

  “You’re not useless. There’s only so much you can do. You are in the middle of the most disturbing case this county has ever seen, and all you have is a few pictures to go on. You can only do your best with what you have.”

  “I know.”

  “Come on, let’s go to breakfast. My treat.”

  “Okay, let’s go.”

  They went to the diner across the street and Frank started to get his second wind after he ate. “Maggie, how do you do it?”

  “Do what?”

  “Stay so calm and relaxed, and solve all your cases without getting an ulcer, like me. Speaking of which, I have to get a refill on my pain killers.”

  “I have a feeling that your ulcer would just disappear if you weren’t a homicide detective.”

  “I doubt it. Besides, you are exactly like me and you don’t have an ulcer.”

  “Oh really? And how did you figure that out? Enlighten me.”

  Frank laughed for the first time since this case started. “You’re a perfectionist.”

  “That may be but I don’t make myself sick in the process.”

  “True, but don’t worry, I’ll learn to relax eventually.”

  “It would be good for you to relax, but that third piece of sausage is not going to help your ulcer.”

  Frank put it down, wiped his mouth and smiled. “Yes ma’am. Come on, we better get back. I want to call the print lab.”

  “Okay. I heard about your outburst with Debbie.”

  “Yeah, well. At some point you have to be a little abrupt to get what you need.”

  “Very true. You think she’ll rush anything for me?”

  “I doubt it.” He smiled.

  Everybody in the office assumed Frank and Maggie would end up together. Frank did not date many women. He didn’t lose his virginity until he was twenty-two years old. Frank was engrossed in his work which was the main reason for his ulcer. Maggie was the first woman in a long time that he had an interest in. Frank had strong ideals regarding sex. He considered sex to be an intimate experience, physically and emotionally. It was always difficult for him to keep a relationship going because of his job. It wasn’t like he could come home with a smile and talk about his day. Maggie would be the only woman he ever knew that would understand that.

  While Frank was trying to deal with Mueller and Slomin, the sociopath holding Crystal was making his own plans. It excited him to know that he may not have to drug this one because she had no strength to fight him, but he hoped she didn’t die until he wanted her to. He enjoyed knowing that his prisoner was at his mercy for everything, including air. Her asthma was part of the fun, thinking of her fear and panic if the oxygen suddenly stopped.

  He put together his bag of toys, as he called them. Having his friend work for the sex shops was very handy. That afternoon he would visit Crystal. The cave where he tortured his victims was deep in the woods. Nobody really knew about it and it was always private. He couldn’t help but to daydream about his ‘date’ with Crystal. He thought about what he would do and how she would beg; he loved that. He reveled in watching them try to escape when they thought he was gone. But he would just watch from around a corner. It aroused him watching them squirm. That was what he lived for. He couldn’t get to Crystal soon enough. Andrea headed back to her apartment to change for work after Tony left. When she arrived, there were two hangups on her machine, but she didn’t think anything of it.

  The next day, Andrea was out in the field so she didn’t see any of her fellow officers. She had one more visit to make before going home. Michelle Parker was on parole for two months and so far there had not been any problems. Michelle was twenty-three years old and lived with her mother. The mother gave Andrea an attitude from day one. She acted as if Andrea was supposed to do all the work for herdaughter. Mrs. Parker wasn’t even interested in her daughter’s parole conditions. As far as she was concerned, if Michelle had to be supervised by an officer, then why should she have to take any responsibility? Andrea knocked on the door and Mrs. Parker answered.

  “Don’t worry, she’s home.” That was all she had to say. She walked away and went up the stairs. Andrea wal
ked in to find Michelle sitting on the couch, staring into space.

  “Michelle, what’s wrong? You look sick.” She was very pale and looked like she hadn’t brushed her hair that day. In fact, she was in her nightgown and it wasn’t that late. It was not like her at all.

  “I am sick.”

  “What is it?”

  She couldn’t look Andrea in the eyes. “I…I’m pregnant.”

  “Excuse me?” Andrea sank into a chair.

  “I’m pregnant.”

  “The father?”

  “My ex.”

  “Did you tell him yet?”

  “Yes. He came over a few hours ago with some money for an abortion.”

  “What does your mother have to say?”

  “She doesn’t care.”

  “What do you want to do?”

  Michelle looked shocked. “You’re acting like I have a choice.”

  “You do.”

  Michelle folded her arms. She was on the verge of tears. “Andrea, I’m on parole. I work as a cashier. There is no way I am going to tell my child that his mother is a criminal.”