A Family Affair

by Marilyn McPherson

Chapter Twenty

  Since getting out of jail, Ted had made much progress. A successful robbery had put enough money in his pocket to last a few months. He had found a new place to rent and was already working on the plan. Initially he had wanted to shoot the makeup man. Not to kill him - the prison term for killing someone was just too long. But he wanted to shoot him somewhere – maybe in the knees. If the makeup man had to limp for the rest of his life, he would be sorry for hurting Colleen.

  However, watching Ellen had caused the plan to change unexpectedly. He had spent four days as a quiet observer, noting her daily movements and patterns. Watching her had quickly become his number one priority. After a while, he thought about how nice it would be to have her at home with him. She looked a little like Colleen, but was younger and fresher. She probably wouldn't nag him as much, either.

  Her daily routine was pretty simple. She went jogging in the morning, went to the office at around nine o’clock, and went to the makeup man’s house for dinner, returning home by about ten o’clock most nights. There were plenty of opportunities to take her, but Ted had decided that during the jog would be the easiest.

  He checked his watch. It was almost half past seven. Any moment, Ellen should leave her building and run straight past his car.

  One of the boys from prison had provided some helpful advice about a chemical called halothane, a modern-day chloroform-like substance. Inhalation would result in Ellen passing out quickly, for a period of four to eight hours. Ted had a soaked rag ready in his hand, and his fingers tensed and flexed in anticipation. He had seen it done in the movies many times. It should be pretty easy, as long as nobody was watching.

  The door opened. There she was, heading in his direction as expected. People were so predictable. Ted looked in the rear view mirror and around the street. No one was around.

  He stepped out of the car into her path. “Excuse me, miss.” Ted held a map in one hand, pretending to be lost. “I'm looking for Hardware Lane. Do you have a moment to help?” She came towards him, so trusting, so soft.

  The moment her eyes lowered to the map, Ted rolled his left hand into view and quickly covered her mouth with the rag. His right hand dropped the map to put pressure on her head from behind, ensuring she breathed in deeply. The chemical worked very quickly. The girl didn't have time to register what was happening. The whole process was very smooth, very quiet.

  Her legs wobbled, after a few seconds, and Ted realised he had done it. He supported her body as it went limp and carefully placed her into the back seat face down. His eyes darted up and down the laneway. Still nobody in sight. He chuckled to himself. It had gone more easily than he'd thought possible.

  He sped away to the suburban unit he had rented since getting out of jail. Luckily it had a garage connected to the back door, so none of the neighbours would notice him carrying an unconscious girl inside. He carefully lifted Ellen up and brought her inside onto his spare bed, cuffing her wrist firmly to the bed post. She was beautiful, even like that.

  “There's no escape for you now, missy,” he told her. Ellen was breathing, but still very much unconscious. “I didn't get to say goodbye to Col because of your Tom, so I guess you're the closest thing I can find.”

  Ted knelt down beside the bed and put his lips to Ellen's. He kissed her softly then more roughly. It felt a little different than he'd imagined. Actually, he didn't like it particularly, and stopped right there.

  “Well, what shall I do with you, now that I have you?” Ted asked himself out loud. He decided to search her pockets for money. There was a set of keys in one pocket and a mobile phone in the other. No money. Perhaps the mobile was the best way to punish Tom. Ted checked the contact list. Only eight contacts were present in Ellen's phone, and one of them was Tom.

  Ted starting creating his first message:

  Tom, it's me. I have found out who you are. You are a liar. I know you got Colleen pregnant. It's over between us. What other secrets are you keeping? You are also 2 old for me. I could be your daughter.

  Ted hit “send” and laughed. This would definitely ruin his day. Ellen's phone started ringing almost immediately. The caller ID said 'Tom'. He let it ring until her message service picked up. Ted listened to the message, which was just Tom asking Ellen to call him. Saying they should talk things through.

  Ted starting creating a new text message:

  I've gone away for a while. Don't call me. 2 upset to talk to u. I hate u now old man.

  Ted laughed at his second 'old man' jibe, while hitting “send”. A text message came back quickly in reply.

  Elle, I love you. Please I'll do anything to make it up to you. Where r u? Please, please call me. I love u

  He was definitely starting to hurt now. Revenge was sweet indeed. Ted started creating a new message.

  You are not listening gramps. It's over between us. I quit the job. I hate u. Go to hell pedo. ITS OVER. STOP TEXTING AND CALLING.

  Ted turned off the phone and threw it into the corner of the room. He was bored playing with Tom already. He didn't know what to do with Ellen now, but knew he had to hold her for a little while, to ensure his messages had the desired effect. Maybe a sandwich would clear his mind.

  A few hours and a few beers later, Ted heard some rumblings coming from the bedroom. He grabbed the black ski mask that he had bought for this moment. Best not to be too visible to Ellen, since the eventual plan was to let her go. Colleen would not be happy on the other side if Ellen was hurt, so the girl could not be too damaged.

  Ellen looked groggy and confused, but was clearly awake. She looked quite afraid when Ted walked into the room, and started to scream.

  He rushed over to her to cover her mouth. “You'll stop screaming now, or I'll gag you with masking tape, Ellen.”

  She stopped screaming with that threat, but looked fearfully into his eyes.

  He continued, “Now, I'm gunna take my hands off. You be good and I'll be good to you.”

  She nodded.

  Ted removed his hands from her mouth. “Good girl, Ellen. Right decision.”

  She looked terrified, her eyes darting around the room, while she pulled unsuccessfully against her handcuffs.

  “Now, there is no need to scream. I'm not going to hurt you.” Ted paused, watching her mood carefully. “I am going to keep you for a while though. There is nothing you can do about that. It will be you and me hanging out here for about a week, I reckon.”

  “Why?” she tentatively asked. “Who are you? What do you want with me? How do you know my name?”

  “We can get to know each other later. First, I want some answers from you, Ellen. You got that?”

  Ellen nodded obediently.

  “Well, first things first I guess. I told you who Tom is. Yet you are still with him. Why?”

  “Are you the one who sent me that letter?”

  Ted nodded.

  “Your letter was part right, and part wrong. He's not my father. I did a DNA test. It came back negative.”

  “Bullshit. Col said he was the father.”

  “You mean my mother - Colleen said that?”

  “Yeah, and she would know, wouldn't she?”

  “There must have been another man, because the test was negative.”

  The girl didn’t seem to listen. Ted was starting to feel angry towards her. “I said that’s bullshit,” Ted roared. “How many times do I have to say it? Tom is your father. Col would have said if there was another guy. And guess what? She didn’t say, so it’s settled. Tom is your daddy. And Col wasn't happy with you sleeping with your daddy, let me tell you.”

  The two of them stared at each other a while. The girl stayed silent.

  Ted was unsure how to argue the point any further. It seemed settled to him. “So you agree now or what?”

  Ellen nodded. “I agree.”

  “Good.” Maybe she wasn’t so stupid after all.

  Ellen hesitated a little and then timidly said, “I guess I should say thanks for the letter.
My parents never told me I was adopted. The truth came out when I confronted them.”

  “Uh huh.” He looked at her awkwardly. “So do you want to kiss a little bit or what?”

  A look of horror came over her face, and she shook her head quickly from side to side.

  “Fine. Have it your way. Col probably wouldn’t like it anyhow. Don’t want to get haunted by some angry ghost. She was angry enough in real life.”

  “Did you know my mother well?”

  “You might say that.”

  “What sort of woman was she?”

  “A good woman. She could nag, don't get me wrong, but I miss her.”

  “Your letter said that Tom killed her. What did you mean by that?”

  “What do you think I mean, dummy?” Ted angrily snapped. “I mean, he KILLED her.”

  “But why do you think that?”

  “Listen, Tom pretended that he was going to give her some money. She was at the bank picking it up when it happened. I guess he changed his mind about giving her the cash after all.”

  “What happened at the bank?”

  Ted raised his voice again. “Your boyfriend killed your ma, that's what happened. I already told you this. You need to start listening. He made it look like a bank robbery, except the gunman shot Col but never tried to get into the bank’s safe. What kind of robber leaves without money?”

  Ellen looked stunned by his tone and theories, and said quietly, “I don’t know.”

  “A fake robber, that’s who.”

  “Tom wouldn't have organised a shooting. He is the gentlest man I've ever met.”

  “Bullshit! He had the means and the motive. Your mum wouldn't want you dating her killer, even if he's not your dad, which he is. We’ve already covered this shit.”

  Ellen was silent, as she continued to look around the room. “So, you're not going to hurt me?” she asked.

  “No,” replied Ted gruffly. “I suppose not.”

  “Why don't you let me go now then? I don't know what you look like. You can blindfold me and let me go on a street somewhere and drive off. I won't be able to tell the cops anything.”

  “No, sorry. I'm keeping ya for a week.”

  “A week? Why?”

  “Well, if you must know, Miss Nosy, I sent some messages to Tom on your phone, breaking up, you know. So we need some time to let them take effect.”

  “What did you text?”

  “I got him up to speed on the situation, and I said you’ve gone away.”

  “Please, please. Let me call him. He'll be so upset.”

  “He killed your ma. Which part of that are you not understanding?”

  “You don't have any proof that Tom was involved.”

  “You don’t need proof when you just know something. I mean, maybe you don't know him as well as you think. Like, you didn't know that he had a kid. That he paid Col cash to keep her quiet. Well, did you?”

  Ellen shook her head. “No, he didn't tell me.”

  “So, end of story. You've broken up with him. You can leave in a week's time. There's a bucket there,” Ted said, pointing to a bucket next to the bed. “Obviously I have to keep you tied up, so you can use that if you need to go. I’ll feed and water you if you do your part. But if there's any screaming from ya, I'll gag you and stop the feeding. Got it?”

  Ellen nodded.

  “But if you're good, then I'll bring you something nice, maybe some pizza. Do you like pizza?”

  Ellen didn't respond, and Ted noticed that she was still looking at the bucket.

  “Do you want water or beer?”

  “Water,” said Ellen weakly.

  “You'll be right here. Maybe I will drag the TV in later so you can watch something.”

  Ellen didn't respond to that offer, which Ted thought rather generous. Instead, her eyes wondered around the room again. Maybe he wouldn’t bring the TV in, if she was going to act like that.