Unlawful Imprisonment

by Tracey Higgins

  “Michelle, you were in prison for being at the wrong place at the wrong time. Your friend had cocaine in her car and you didn’t know, but you were there. Now, I of all people am not the type to say something like that. A crime is a crime, no matter what the severity of it. However, you have got to be one of the few parolees I ever had who never gave me a problem. If there’s anyone who can make it, you can.”

  “And how would I raise him?”

  “I can help you find a decent job.”

  “Thanks, but I need to decide this on my own.”

  Andrea stood up to leave. “I know. Just call me before you do anything.”

  “I will.”

  Andrea hated it when this happened. Michelle was not the only woman she ever supervised who actually thought of keeping her baby. These situations made her job even harder, and upsetting. She tried to put it out of her mind when she came home that night with a stack of new parolees. The work was endless. If one of her parolees was thrown back in prison, it was like an omen because for every one she no longer had to supervise, there were five more waiting. She hoped she could get through all of them before Tony came home from his case.

  Her first new parolee was a thirty-year-old man who was serving time for breaking and entering into three houses within one month. Andrea wondered how he was going to try and convince her of his innocence, which would be difficult to do considering he was caught climbing into the window.

  It was already ten o’clock and Andrea had spent two hours on two files. It wasn’t as if all she had to do was read them. For each case, she needed to decide a course of action, such as what type of treatment, any therapy and if so, group or individual. Also, she needed to see what type of job to get them, when would be the best time to make a surprise visit and most important, trusting her instincts on when to be overly cautious. Otherwise, one could end up like the parole officer Tina Sterner getting their throat slashed open.

  Andrea fell asleep on the couch that night. She woke up early in the morning around three am. Andrea got up and went into her bedroom. It was nights like this that made her think of making a change in her life. She often wondered what it would be like to marry and have a family, but not with her job. She would never work as a parole officer if she had a baby. The job was stressful enough. That’s one of the reasons why she refused to move in with Tony when he asked her a few months ago. Even though Tony had a tremendous amount of respect for her, she knew he would be relieved if she was not a parole officer. Andrea knew that she would be married to Tony, but not yet. It was not the right time in her life.

  Crystal Silverman was slowly losing her breath. She was so hungry but refused to eat the sandwich he left for her. A few hours earlier, she gave in and drank some of the water. Crystal was drifting in and out of consciousness. She was becoming physically ill from the smell of urine. She had tried to control it but she couldn’t. When she was awake she was tormented with thoughts of never being found. She wondered if he knew about her asthma. Was this what he wanted, to kill her slowly? Crystal remembered the day she was kidnapped, but she was so shaken up by now that she couldn’t recall what her assailant looked like. She was on her way to visit a college and had stopped off in a diner to go over her map and get a cup of coffee. She was sitting at the counter talking to a waitress when a police officer asked her if she needed help. Crystal had gone to the bathroom and when she came back finished her coffee. The next thing she knew, she was in the trunk of a car. Crystal didn’t know if she was even close to home. She had no idea how long she was in the car. She kept looking at the tankpraying it wouldn’t go off again. Her breathing was very shallow, and she passed out once more.

  Crystal’s captor and his friend were busy working on their dungeon. The insulation was coming along quickly. He couldn’t spend a lot of time with Crystal because he did not want to take the risk of running into any detectives. He was going to see her shortly but wouldn’t be able to go back for a day or so. His friend, Angel, as he wanted to be called in front of the victims, never wanted to go to the woods for fear of running into someone. He was looking forward to his basement dungeon. Angel knew his friend well but would not use his real name. Angel simply referred to him as Buddy. That was Buddy’s first rule when this plan was born. The second was that all work on the basement had to be done at certain times so people wouldn’t notice him going to Angel’s home on a regular basis.

  Brandon was on his way to make his last house visit of the day. Diane Manns was on parole for possession of drugs and a weapon. She lived with her sister in an apartment since her parole two months prior. Brandon was yawning while walking to her door. He hoped everything was going all right so he could go home right after. He knocked a few times before Diane came to the door. She slowly opened it.

  “Are you alright Diane?” Brandon could smell the marijuana.

  “Yeah.” She didn’t look at him.

  “Can I come in?”

  She was giggling. “Yeah…I’m sorry.”

  “Thanks. Is your sister here?”

  “No, she’s at dinner. I couldn’t go because of my curfew. See what a good girl I am?” She was completely stoned. Her hair was a mess and she was in her leather mini skirt with a short top. She was gently scratching at her dark skin on her stomach, trying to entice Brandon. Her skin tone was a perfect copper tan. Brandon loved that.

  “Is anyone here with you?”

  “Nope.”

  “Well,” he sighed looking over at the pot on the living room table; “maybe you should leave your sister a note that you will be going back to prison. Let’s go.” He reached for his handcuffs.

  “Come on Brandon.” Diane was still laughing.

  “Forget it Diane. Where did you get it from, the morons hanging out by the door downstairs? I think I stepped on one of them.”

  “You see where I live and wonder why I smoke pot?”

  “Don’t give me the pity routine. You put yourself here sweetie.”

  “I’ll get rid of it. Nobody has to know. It’s just pot for God’s sake!”

  “Diane…”

  Before he could finish, Diane pressed herself against him. “Can’t we work something out?” She was unzipping Brandon’s pants.

  “You know I could take you in for this.”

  “But you won’t, will you?”

  “If you do something for me.”

  “Anything.”

  “Put your hands behind your back.”

  “But…”

  “Don’t worry, I’m not arresting you.” She obeyed. Brandon cuffed her hands. “Now, on your knees. Let’s see how talented you are.”

  He sat on the couch and pushed her head onto his lap. When she finished, he released her and got up casually, like he was just coming out of a meeting.

  “Get rid of that stuff. If I see it again, you’re going in.”

  “Okay.”

  Brandon left like nothing unusual happened. It wasn’t the first time he made that type of deal with his female parolees.

  As soon as it was dark out, he was on his way to visit Crystal. He was getting excited while shoveling the dirt away from her underground prison. It didn’t take that long. Little did he know, however that Crystal would not be up to fighting him tonight. Her breathing was becoming more and more shallow. He opened up the cover of the box and immediately put a blindfold on her. Although he was wearing a mask so it didn’t matter if she was blindfolded or not, but he just liked the idea that his victims had no idea what was in store for them. Crystal didn’t even scream. This aggravated him.

  “Hey, cat got your tongue?” He ran his fingers along the side of her face. She moaned. Crystal was lying in the box, face up, and did not make one attempt to run. “Don’t fall asleep on me Crystal, we have a date. I put a lot of thought into this night.” She coughed. “Well?”

  “Can’t breathe, have asthma.” She managed to say very softly.

  He started to panic. She wasn’t going to last. He was infuriated. “This r
uins my plans!” He kicked her over so she was lying on her stomach. He took out his whip from his bag and began hitting her from her back to her ankles. He stopped himself so he could take her picture to send to the cops. She was trying to take a breath through her nose. He turned her over and removed the blindfold. There were two pictures taken. One was for the cops and one was for his personal record. He wrote the directions on the back of one of the photos after printing them out at homeand signed it, ‘Guess who?’

  The sociopath wasn’t noticed as he took the picture down to the police station. He kept it in his pocket and just let it fall out onto one of the desks. There was so much commotion going on that he was able to get in and get out. He came home even more angry than he was while beating the last minutes of life out of Crystal. He put the television on so he wouldn’t miss the news. He hoped they found her tonight. He was already in all the papers from Kylie. He needed a replacement, fast. But first the basement had to be finished. Until then, he would have to figure out a way to get his next victim. Having the dungeon would make things much easier for him. There would be no digging and no traveling to a cave in the woods. His lady would just be there, waiting for him.

  Frank Riser finally got a call from the print lab. It belonged to Crystal Silverman. He went directly to his computer and on a gut feeling pulled up the missing person’s file. Frank already had a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. It was his ulcer again. He popped his painkiller, entered in Crystal’s name, and there it was.

  MISSING PERSONS PROFILE SUBJECT: Crystal Marie Silverman

  AGE: 23

  DOB: June 26, 1972

  RACE: Caucasian

  SEX: Female

  HEIGHT: 5’6

  WEIGHT: 110

  EYE COLOR: brown

  HAIR COLOR: brown

  OCCUPATION: secretary

  MISSING SINCE: May 4th, 1995

  Frank continued reading the file. So far she had been missing for a week. When Frank read the medical history, his eyes were opened. She has asthma and always had an inhaler with her. Frank immediately went to the Captain’s office.

  “Frank, why are you here? Shouldn’t you be out and…what’s that thing we do here…investigating?” Captain Mueller could be very sarcastic when he wanted to.

  “I think I may have solved a missing person’s case.” He said as he shut the door and sat in front of the desk. The heat was unbearable. Instead of fixing the air conditioning, they turned up the heat and it wouldn’t shut off.

  “What are you talking about?”

  “That inhaler I found when I was at the Sanders scene.”

  “What about it?”

  “It belongs to Crystal Silverman who was reported missing one week ago. I think she may be our guy’s second victim.” Mueller was silent. He went to light up a cigarette. “Well?” Frank inquired rudely.

  “This is unbelievable.”

  “No kidding. You know what we have to do.”

  “Absolutely, I’ll get the detectives right on combing the area.”

  “Right now?” Frank raised his voice.

  “Yes as soon as possible.”

  “This woman has asthma Captain! She doesn’t have much time, she may be dead already!”

  “Frank calm down. We can’t search for her without anybody to do the searching. I’ll get everything organized, and in the meantime you go see Ms. Silverman’s parents and get any information you can about her disappearance. But don’t tell them about the inhaler.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because they will drive right over there and try to help. If we find her and she’s not alive…”

  “Say no more, I understand.”

  “Good. Nice job, Frank.”

  “Thank you sir.”

  Frank still wasn’t sure if this guy would be gutsy enough to bury one girl in the same place as another, even though there was a decent distance between the Sanders murder and where the inhaler was found. He prayed that he was, but he doubted it. Maybe he put the inhaler there as a joke. As if to say, ‘follow this so I can have more time with my victim. That should keep you busy.’ Frank knew these types of people only too well and it never really frightened him until now.

  Mr. and Mrs. Silverman lived right outside of Millers County in a nice area. Frank hated trying to get information from the parents who have a child missing without being able to tell them everything would be all right. When he rang the doorbell and showed his badge he was immediately let in.

  “My daughter! You found my baby!”

  “No ma’am, I’m sorry we didn’t.”

  “What…what are you doing here then?”

  “I need to ask you a few questions. I know it’s difficult but it will help the investigation tremendously.”

  “Have a seat.”

  Mrs. Silverman was in her fifties, but she looked as if she aged five years from all the stress. Her blue eyes were bloodshot and accompanied by dark circles.

  “Do you know where Crystal was or what she was doing when she disappeared?”

  “She was going to look at a college and she just…she just never came home. She had been working so long to save for it.” She took a swig of beer that was on the table.

  “Does she have a boyfriend?”

  “No.”

  “Was there anything peculiar about her behavior before she…”

  “No!” She was crying. “Don’t you think that if there was anything I could say to find her I would?”

  “Yes ma’am, I am sorry.” Frank was staring at the floor.

  “It’s all right.” Mrs. Silverman was trying to calm down. “I didn’t mean to snap. This is the worst thing a parent can go though. I keep going over every little detail in my mind. What if she left two minutes earlier, what if I forbid her to go off by herself?…”

  “Mrs. Silverman, you can’t do that to yourself.”

  “I know, but it’s hard not to. I saw on the news about that girl who was found in the woods.” She took a drink. Frank started to feel sicker than before. “This is a horrible thing to say, but I know she’s dead.”

  “Mrs. Silverman…”

  “Do you have children detective?”

  “No I don’t.”

  “Well, once you do, you’ll understand. I was in labor with Crystal for three days. I had been trying to get pregnant for six years. Crystal was a miracle. We were very close. Believe me, if she were still alive, I’d feel it. Right now, I feel sick. I know she’s gone, but I hope to God I’m wrong.” Frank didn’t know what to say. The last thing he wanted to say was not to lose hope, especially since Crystal may not even be near the woods. He hoped he could knock on Mrs. Silverman’s door again, with Crystal at his side. She got up and started towards the kitchen. “If there’s anything you need from me, let me know.”

  “Could I take a look at her bedroom?”

  “Of course, right this way.” She was surprised that Frank was taking the time to check out her room since it was already done by the other officers when she filed the missing persons report. She opened the door to Crystal’s room and stopped before she walked in. “Please don’t upset anything.”

  “I won’t.”

  Frank was looking through Crystal’s room, and he felt like she was there, watching him. It was an ordinary young woman’s room, with candles, college books on the bed and rose colored curtains. He looked at her picture with her family that was posted to the mirror. She was a beautiful woman, with a look of pure innocence. So far, neither of the girls had any psychotic ex-boyfriends or problems with stalkers. He didn’t see any numbers for men in her address book and she was not hooked up to the internet. Frank could only assume that he just picked a woman who caught his eye. Although Frank was worried about the media coverage, he did hope that this case would make woman understand the danger of some people in society.

  Frank was headed to the crime scene after he visited with Mrs. Silverman. In the distance he saw the flashing lights, and he had a small glimmer of hope. He ne
arly killed himself getting out of the car. Captain Mueller ran up to Frank motioning him to stop. He tried to see what was going on but there was a crowd of officers blocking his view.

  “Frank, wait.”

  “What?”

  “She’s gone.” Frank took out his badge and started walking towards the scene. “Frank, wait a minute.”

  “For what?” He turned around violently. “Just another case, right? What am I, a fucking miracle worker? I’ve seen a lot of bodies before so why should this be any different?”

  “Frank?” Mueller never saw Frank this upset.

  “Captain, I just came from this girl’s home. I talked with her mother and I looked at her room. Now I have to look at her body.” They were both silent for a moment. Frank was so furious that the pain of his ulcer wasn’t bothering him. He would have been willing to deal with that pain forever if it meant bringing Crystal home.

  “How did you find her so fast?”

  Mueller reached into his pocket and pulled out a photograph. “With this.”

  Frank became even more infuriated. “Great directions,” he said sarcastically, “you think he was on to us?”

  “Hard to say. We won’t know much of anything until the autopsy report.”

  “Right. I doubt he was on to us though. She probably died from the asthma. Now he’s going to be really pissed. He couldn’t keep her a whole month. Alright, is Baxton here?”

  “Yeah, he’s waiting to talk to you.”

  “Thanks.”

  Frank walked over to Crystal’s grave. He almost felt like crying. Aside from the snapping of photographs being taken, there was complete silence.

  I’m sorry, he thought,I’m so sorry.

  “Detective Riser.”

  “Hey doc. You have a time estimate for me?”

  “About six hours.”

  Six hours. If that God damned print lab worked a little faster I probably could have saved her. Why didn’t I check the scene sooner? He sighed, “Okay.”

  “I’m doing the autopsy in the morning. But I can tell you one thing, she was severely beaten.”

  “Enough to kill her?”

  “I’m not sure. Everybody has a different tolerance to pain.”