Outrunning Villainy

Chapter 6: No Good Deed Goes Unpunished

Chapter 6: No Good Deed Goes Unpunished





         The following morning, Engrid sat in her kitchen leafing through the morning paper and sipping her coffee. The bright morning light streamed through her kitchen window and illuminated the newsprint text. The toast was good, smothered with her homemade peach preserves. The doorbell interrupted her morning routine.


         She opened the door and it was Rev. Creighton, her bright red hair and fair complexion looked concerned as she stood on the porch. She was a youthful, mid-thirties pastor of the Oak Grove Presbyterian Church where Engrid was a member.


         “My goodness, Michelle, what brings you around this morning?”


         “Well, Engrid, I got an interesting call last night and I wanted to follow-up with you.”


         “Oh…from who?”


         “Someone named Dylan Riverside. He says you two know each other. I asked if it was okay if I speak with you about what he said and he gave me permission.”


         “I know him. I can’t say were friends or even acquaintances but I’m aware of who he is.”


         “Okay,” Michelle furrowed her brow, “May we talk inside?”


         “Yes, that’s fine. Let’s go into the kitchen, I’ve got coffee and toast.”


         “That sounds great.”


         The two women sat down in Engrid’s kitchen. Engrid presented the reverend with toast and fresh coffee and sat across from her at the table.


         “So, what did Dylan want to talk to you about?” Engrid smiled, uncertain of what was about to happen.


         “Well, he had some interesting things to say. He says that you threatened him.”


         “Threatened him?” Engrid looked incensed.


         “Yes. He says that you threatened to hurt him and his daughter if you insisted that he stopped seeing Myrtle. Now, I’m not making any judgments, I just want to know what happened from your perspective. He sounded very upset and I just want to find out what’s going on so I can help settle whatever’s going on.”


         “Well, Michelle, I can assure you that I never, ever threatened Dylan. I have never threatened anybody in my life.”


         “So you met him at Myrtle’s house yesterday?”


         “Actually, it was the day before yesterday. Myrtle had Evan, Andrew, Dora, Dylan and me over to dinner to introduce us to him, and him to us.”


         “How did that go?”


         “Not well. Not well at all.”


         “What do you mean? What happened at the dinner party?”


         “It turns out that he threw his fourteen year-old daughter out of the house for being a lesbian. Then he turned and started making a fuss accusing me and Dora of being lovers, if you can imagine such a thing! I love Dora like she was my own sister, but we’ve never even thought of each other in “that” way. Then he stormed out. That was the last I saw of him. Andrew said that he talked to Evan on the phone last night and Dylan came by his house while Myrtle was there but Myrtle wouldn’t talk to him and he left. That’s really all I know Michelle. I don’t know if that matches up with what Dylan said, but that’s the truth as far as I know it.”


         “Okay. I’ve known you for years Engrid, so I trust you and I believe you.”


         “What did Dylan say that I said?”


         “It’s not important. Obviously he was upset. Myrtle must have told him at some point what church you belong to and so he called me trying to start trouble for you. It won’t work. I’ve been a minister for years, so I know when someone’s trying to use me to get to someone else and I’m not going to let that happen.”


         “Good. I’m glad.”


         “Do you know where Dylan is?”


         “No. I know around about where he lives but I don’t know where he is right now. Why?”


         “When he called last night, my caller ID said he was calling from the county jail. Does he work at the jail?”


         “I don’t know where he works. He lives in Columbia in a huge, mansion of a house and he drives a little green sports car. So, I doubt he works at the Deerfield County Jail.”


         “Hmm. I guess he must be an inmate there.”


         “He must have recently got arrested because he came over to Evan and Andrew’s yesterday around 6:00, according to Evan. I haven’t talked to Myrtle about it.”


         “I wonder why in the world he would call me then.”


         “Like you said, he just wants to start trouble.”


         “That’s too bad. The six of you are such good people, I’d hate for anyone to stir up trouble for you.”          


         “People do that sometimes. I met him and I don’t think he’s that stable. He went from being polite and sweet to ranting and raving in a matter of minutes.”


         “Oh.”


         “Well, hopefully he’ll get his head on straight soon.”


         “I hope so. Anyway, I’ve bugged you long enough. I’ve got to get over to the church.”


         “I’ll be there in a bit too. I’m glad you stopped by.”


         “You’re welcome. I just wanted to get this cleared up before church started in case he showed up. This way, if he does, I’ll know what’s really going on.”


         “I hope if he does come, he doesn’t stir up trouble. I would hate for that to happen.”


         “Me too…well I’d better get going!”


         “Okay. See you in a little while.”


         Reverend Creighton let herself out of the front door as Engrid finished up her coffee and went upstairs to get dressed for church.


         Clad in her green slacks and matching flats and a white blouse with little green flowers on it and a matching coat, she drove over to the church to warm up her fingers for the morning’s hymn selection. Dylan scheming more trouble and Amanda was going into withdrawals from her chemical addiction.


As that little old lady drove to church that bright, sunny


Sunday morning, little did she know the trouble that was about to start. Her mind was focused on helping lead the church service at Oak Grove Presbyterian Church, not on the hornet’s nest that had been stirred up with Dylan.


He didn’t know that they’d helped their daughter. He’d been angry so he called the minister at Engrid’s church to make accusations against that meddling old sow that he didn’t know what else to do. Afterwards, he went to sleep in his jail cell. At 6:30 he’d demanded to be allowed to call home to check his messages. The deputy decided that was okay. So, Dylan checked his messages. There was one from Amanda. She’d left it about 4:30. She was crying and distraught. She cried and wailed about how she’d been kidnapped and that she was going to be killed. She cried and cried and described through her blubbering tears the young man and the old woman that chased her through the park. Dylan knew instantly what had happened. She described the young one as having black hair – so it couldn’t have been Myrtle’s son; it had to be the other one. The elderly woman was ‘chubby’ so it must be Engrid; the other one was very thin to the point of being skinny.  Oh that made him royally mad. Even though he’d thrown her out, no one had better mess with this little girl. Hearing her voice on the other end of the line made every crumb of paternal instinct come rushing forth. Unfortunately, his little tussle yesterday had landed him in jail. If he was going to kill anybody now, it was going to be that old busy body and her little boy sidekick. He just had to get out of jail.


Engrid was humming as she pulled into the church yard. She knew she’d done a good deed last night with Amanda. It had been difficult and she wasn’t sure what she could do from this point, but she was glad she was able to intervene to at least get her some help. She was early, as usual because she liked to practice a bit before the other congregants arrived. She unlocked the door and went inside.


Dylan sat in his jail cell stewing. Attempted murder was going to be a tough one to overcome. Especially since the police witnessed it and ended up taking him out with a rubber bullet. He realized he would probably be in jail for a very, very long time. He just had to figure out a way to escape. He had to act fast; Amanda didn’t have much time before those loathsome people killed her. He looked around the cell to see if he could come up with some sort of a plan. He paced back and forth like a caged animal. His mind fumed and raced, believing that his daughter was in mortal danger. This was a small town jail; he had not been transferred to the maximum security prison yet. His best chance of escape was from here. It dawned on him.


“Hey! Hey!” He yelled out, jumping up from the bed and rattling the bars.


A guard appeared in the doorway to the cell block, “What do you want?”


“I need you to do something for me.”


“No.” He turned back to leave.


“Wait! Wait! Someone has kidnapped my daughter, you have to help me!”


“What?”


“Give me a phone. She left me a message on my home phone last night.”


The officer eyed him suspiciously. The panic in the man’s eyes made him believe him. The officer went and got a portable handset and gave it to Dylan. Dylan punched in the numbers, went through the voice prompts, and handed the phone over to the officer. He held it in his hand, listening to the message. He face paled as her fearful cries came through the phone speaker.


“My God…do you have any idea where she’s being held?”


“I don’t know. I think I know who’s responsible.”


“Who?”


“Two people who live on Maple Ave. An old woman named Engrid and a young guy…I think his name was Andrew.”


“Engrid Matthews?”


“Yes! Yes…that’s her. She’s evil…she and that guy kidnapped my little girl and they’re going to kill her if we don’t stop them.”


The policeman just stood in stunned silence. “I can’t believe that Engrid would be mixed up in something like that. She’s the sweetest little old lady you could ever meet.”


“She seems that way. But under those white curls is the mind of a serial killer. And since she’s too old and frail, she recruited that Andrew guy to do the dirty work for her. You heard Amanda! They chased her through the park in Columbia and drugged her. I’ll bet they’ve got her tied up in a basement somewhere.”


While Payson had known Engrid all his life, Amanda’s frightened pleas added weight to Dylan’s story.


“Hold on a minute.” He walked into the other room.


“Jimmy, call Engrid.”


“Why?”


“Just ask her where she was last night.”


“She’s probably already at church right now. She plays the piano in that little Presbyterian church out on Highway 10.”


“Call Myrtle Grayson, she might know where Engrid was last night.”


“Okay Payson, I’ll call her and ask.”


He picked up the phone and dialed Myrtle’s number. She was dressing for church and picked up the phone extension in her bedroom.


“Hello?”


“Hello Mrs. Grayson, this is Jimmy Behr down at the police station.”


“Yes, Jimmy, what’s the matter?”


“Do you know where Engrid was last night?”


“She and Andrew went to Columbia.”


“What were they doing there?”


“They were looking for a girl named Amanda. It was Dylan’s daughter, the man you guys arrested yesterday at Evan’s house.”


“So they were in Columbia looking for Mr. Riverside’s daughter.”


“That’s correct.”


“Do you know if they found her?”


“I’m not sure. They came back around midnight last night and I haven’t talked to them since then. Is everything okay, Jimmy?”


“I’m not sure,” he answered honestly, “Thank you Mrs. Grayson, that’s all for now.”


“Okay, Jimmy. You have a nice day.”


“I will, you too Mrs. Grayson.” He hung up the phone, totally taken aback at the recent revelations about Engrid and her neighbors on Maple Avenue.


“Payson! Payson! Get out here, now!”


Payson ran into the room from an adjacent office.


“What’s the matter?”


“We need to question Engrid and Andrew. NOW!”


“What did Myrtle say?”


“That Engrid and Andrew did go to Columbia and they went looking for Amanda Riverside, Mr. Riverside’s daughter.”


“Holy crap! What should we do?”


Jimmy sat down in an office chair to think for a minute. “We need to find Andrew and Engrid. We need to find out what happened to Amanda. I hope it’s not too late.”


“I don’t know how to investigate kidnappings and possible homicides. We should call the state law enforcement. They would know what to do.”


Jimmy picked up the receiver.


“Hello? State Law Enforcement Division? Yes, this is Jimmy Behr, I’m in Deerfield and we have a situation on our hands. Yes…yes… we have a possible kidnapping and attempted murder. We don’t know for sure, but we have some accusations and we need help investigating the allegations.”


After a brief discussion, he hung up the phone.


“So?” Payson asked, “Are they going to help?”


“Yes. They are sending agents now to start the investigation.”


Payson went back into the cell block.


“Mr. Riverside, we have called the State Law Enforcement Division and they are sending agents to investigate your daughter’s whereabouts.”


“Oh thank goodness,” Dylan breathed a sigh of relief and leaned back on his bunk.


“We’ll keep you apprised of what’s going on.”





                                                 #





Andrew opened his eyes. He smelled the scent fresh pancakes and sausage floating through the air. He could hear Evan downstairs shuffling through the kitchen preparing breakfast. It was a lovely sunny morning and they would soon be departing to join Engrid at church. Andrew had never really been a church person before, but it was important to Evan and it was nice to feel like part of a community. The theology was lost on him, even though Evan had tried to teach him a few things about the Bible. Both Engrid and Evan were Sunday school teachers. They’d brought some of their curriculum to show him but it really didn’t make much sense so he tried not to think about it too much. Some of the bizarre coincidences last night made him wonder if maybe there was something to divine providence after all. But for now, he was content to lie in bed and smell the sweet smell of a freshly cooked breakfast created by the love of his life.


“Are you coming down to eat? It’s getting late. We need to leave soon!”


He rolled out of bed and quickly changed into church clothes and went downstairs. Evan was wrapping up cleaning the dishes as Andrew came bounding through the door and sat down at the table.


“I’m glad you decided to join the land of the living!” Evan grinned.


“It wasn’t my decision. The aroma of your cooking is too enticing to resist.”


“You don’t have to butter me up, I like you just fine the way you are.”


“I’m ready to butter up those pancakes.”


“Well they’re ready for you.”


He handed over the pancakes and sat down to join Andrew.





                                                 #





As the two were eating their breakfast and Engrid was plinking away on the church piano, state law enforcement officers were racing towards Deerfield to solve a mysterious kidnapping and to prevent a nefarious murder plot.


They pulled to a stop in front of the police station.


They went inside. “This is Agent Richard Sørenson and I am Agent Carl Mortar. We’re here from the State Law Enforcement Division.”


Agent Sørenson was a tall, lanky Swede with short dirty blonde hair. His face was narrow and always stricken with a severe expression. The deep lines and recesses of his face meant many years of weighing heavy, life-or-death options. He was quiet and was the sort of person no one messed with. He may not talk much, but when he does, people listen or heads roll.


Carl Mortar, was shorter, Napoleonic, and dead set to catch the bad guys. He had a tendency to be hotheaded in contrast to the even keeled, ‘let’s see what’s happening first’ attitude of his comrade. It was evident that Agent Mortar did most of the talking while Agent Sørenson did most of the thinking.


“Thanks for coming, I’m Police Chief Mark Piper, this is Sergeant Jimmy Behr and Sergeant Payson Flores.”


“It’s good to meet you,” Mark said, “So, the situation is this. We have Dylan Riverside in custody. He was arrested yesterday after a stand-off with our police force. He forced entry into the home of Andrew Garrison. He pulled a gun and threatened to kill Evan Grayson and his mother Myrtle Grayson. The police were phoned by a next door neighbor, Dora Murchison. After a brief stand-off with negotiators, Mr. Riverside was taken down with a rubber bullet shot through the kitchen window. Then, this morning, Mr. Riverside was allowed check his messages and he received a telephone call from his daughter at 4:30 this morning. Our Sergeant Flores listened to the message and the daughter was very distressed claiming that she had been kidnapped and she described her kidnappers. The description fits two people – Andrew Garrison, the owner of the house Mr. Riverside forced entry into yesterday and his neighbor Engrid Matthews. We followed up by calling Mrs. Matthews who did not answer. We called another neighbor who confirmed that Mrs. Matthews and Mr. Garrison went to Columbia last night and that they were looking for Amanda Riverside. All this led us to believe that this is a credible threat to Miss Riverside. That’s why we called you.”


“Okay. It does sound like we have a credible threat here. We will take over from this point,” Agent Mortar stated, eager to get underway.


“What are you going to do?”


“We are going to go to Mr. Garrison’s and Mrs. Matthews’ homes and interview them. We will also get search warrants for their homes. We need to find out if Miss Riverside is there or we might be able to get clues as to where she is. We need to act fast. With kidnappings like this, we have very little time to get to the bottom of it.”


“We’ll let you know if we find anything,” Agent Sørenson turned to leave the room.


Once the search warrants were obtained, it was 12:15 and Rev. Creighton was wrapping up her sermon. As Engrid prepared to play the last hymn, police cars were racing through the streets of Deerfield in route to her home. Andrew and Evan stood next to each other as the hymn began. Outside their homes, police cars screeched to a halt.


They ran up the steps and banged on the door.


“Mrs. Matthews! This is the State Law Enforcement Division. Open this door!”


They got no response. After a few more attempts, they kicked open the door and stormed in. It was the quiet interior of a little old lady’s house. There was a pot of soup in the slow cooker, and the oven timer had enacted and the smell of macaroni and cheese wafted through the air. There was nothing out of the ordinary. They couldn’t find a basement of any kind. They set up a perimeter and put up crime scene tape around both houses. This was serious business.


Rev. Creighton dismissed her congregation and everyone filed out. There was the typical after church conversations. Engrid followed the boys out of the parking lot and headed home. It was going to be a typical Sunday afternoon lunch at Engrid’s house. As they turned onto Maple Avenue, they came to a sudden stop. The Pathfinder stopped dead in its tracks. Engrid craned her neck and saw what Evan and Andrew had already seen. Evan and Andrew got out of the car and walked towards the police barricades.


“What’s going on?”


“Sir, step away from the house. This is an official police investigation.” Payson stated.


“What on earth are you investigating?”


“I’m not at liberty to say.”


Agent Mortar approached them, “Are you Andrew Garrison?”


“I am,” Andrew stepped forward.


“Who are you?” He asked.


“My name is Evan Grayson.”


“That wouldn’t happen to be Engrid Matthews coming up behind you, would it?”


“Yes, that’s Engrid. Why won’t somebody explain to me what’s going on here?”


“The three of us have a lot to discuss.”


“Did something happen with Dylan? He was arrested in our house yesterday.”


“It involves him, yes.”


Engrid said, “I would take what he says with a grain of salt. He called our minister last night making all kinds of wild accusations against us. It was her professional opinion that he is just angry and trying to cause trouble for the three of us.”


“You minister’s name is Michelle Creighton, correct?”


“Yes.”


“We are currently trying to bring her in for questioning too. Since Mr. Riverside called her, that makes her part of the situation.


                                                 #


    The Reverend Creighton coasted her green Prius towards her driveway, noticing the dark, unmarked sedan with two strange men sitting in it. She was still unnerved by the nocturnal call the night before. She decided to keep driving. Being a young woman, she was well aware of safety issues and crime could happen any time, whether it was Saturday night or Sunday morning. The stern, authoritarian look of the men unnerved her even further. She slowly drove past them and past her small, three bedroom bungalow about three miles from the church. She kept her eyes straight ahead, hoping that they did not notice that she saw them. Perhaps they would think she was just another passing motorist, nothing more. Her eyes widened as she approached the stop sign at the end of the street and noticed the navy blue sedan pull away from the curb, make a U-turn and was now approaching from behind her. They were after her. The young pastor, only a few years out of seminary, was panic-stricken. She was being followed. She drove faster, they kept pace. She made unexpected turns without signaling. They were still behind her. They were definitely following her. What should she do? She wasn’t trained to lose a tail. They didn’t teach a course in seminary on how to ditch stalkers or pursuers. She drove as quickly as she dared down the street. Suddenly, another dark sedan pulled in front of her, blocking her path.  She slammed on the brakes and her little green Prius skidded to stop just inches from the side of the car. The original blue sedan pulled to a stop behind her. She was trapped. She whipped out her cell phone to call the police.


A man jumped out of the car in front of her and pulled out a gun.


    “Shut off the engine and get out of the car.”


    Michelle’s eyes bugged out. There was no way she was getting out of the car. She shook her head firmly.


    “Ma’am get out of the car, we are with the State Law Enforcement Division.”


He produced a badge and held it up against the car window. She squinted and read the print. She’d never seen a police badge up close, so she really wasn’t sure what she was looking for, other than official looking text. She still wasn’t going to trust the four, gun-toting men who now surrounded her gas-electric hybrid automobile. She slowly cracked open the window.


“What do you want?” She stammered.


“You are not in any trouble; we only need to ask you a few questions.”


“You should have called. You scared the living daylights out of me.”


“Do you know Engrid Matthews and/or Andrew Garrison?”


“Yes. Engrid is a member of my church. Andrew is a frequent visitor. He’s new to town. Engrid’s lived here forever and a day. Why?”


“What do you know about their recent activities?”


“Is this in regards to the phone call I received last night?”


“Depends…what was the phone call about?”


“It was from a man named Dylan. He called me from the city jail. He was making all kinds of wild accusations against Engrid and Andrew. I’m not inclined to believe any of it.”


“Why not?”


“I went to Engrid’s house this morning to ask her about it and she told me that she had done nothing of the sort. She said that she turned his daughter Amanda over to some paramedics who took her to the county detoxification center in Columbia. That’s really all I know about it.”


“So she denies being part of any kidnapping plot.”


“Yes. I’ve known Engrid for years; she’s not the type of person to get mixed up in something like that.”


The men conferred quietly, leaving Michelle to wonder what they were discussing.


They returned. “Do not leave town. We may have more questions.” With that, they jumped in their cars and sped away. Michelle’s hands were still shaking when she pulled into her driveway. What on earth were her congregation members up to? It must be a very serious accusation to bring in the State Law Enforcement Division. They only got called out on the most major of cases. Maybe she’d been misjudging Engrid and she had a much darker heart than she’d ever imagined.


The SLED officers reported back to base.


“We had a brief encounter with the Rev. Michelle Creighton. She tried to evade us and we had to bring in back-up to stop her for questioning. She seemed jumpy and ill-at-ease during the interview. We suspect that she may in some way be involved. We should put up surveillance up at the church in case that is where Miss Riverside is being held captive. It is a pretty ingenious plot to keep her in a church. We might never have thought to look there if Mr. Riverside had not contacted the minister.”


To the police, this plot was becoming thicker and thicker. People one would never suspect were being implicated in a despicable plot to kidnap and murder a teenage girl.


Engrid sat in her living room, being questioned by the SLED agents. She maintained that Amanda had been transported to the county detoxification center. This information was relayed to base that placed a phone call to the county detoxification center to verify.


“Agent Mortar, we took in several young women that night, but we were unable to make positive identifications of several. They were not coherent enough to provide truthful identification and they did not carry any identification on their person. It is possible that this Miss Riverside was among them, but there’s no way to be sure. Three of them checked themselves out this morning. We were never able to complete ID checks on them. I wish I could be of more help.”


Base reported back to the on-scene agents questioning Engrid.


“Mrs. Matthews, we just spoke with the county detoxification center and they report that no one with that name came in on the night in question.”


“But that’s impossible. The paramedics specifically said that’s where they were taking her. Maybe they took her to one of the hospitals.”


“We already checked there. We’ve also checked the morgue. There is no one in all of the midlands of South Carolina by the name of Amanda Riverside receiving medical treatment of any kind, including behavioral health and substance abuse rehabilitation.”


“But that’s impossible…unless she checked herself out.”


“Mrs. Matthews, why don’t we just cut the innocent act? We have strong evidence including a message from Miss Riverside herself to her father that someone fitting your description kidnapped her and planned on killing her. The fact that you were in Columbia that night for the purpose of seeking out Miss Riverside for whatever reason has been established by the testimony of Mrs. Myrtle Grayson. Her son, Mr. Evan Grayson confirmed that you and Mr. Garrison went to Columbia that night looking for Miss Riverside. We also know that you have strong, negative feelings towards Mr. Riverside because of some accusations he made against you and Mr. Garrison regarding your sexual proclivities.”


Engrid gritted her teeth against such absurdity. She stated, somewhat sarcastically, “Mr. Riverside came into Mr. Garrison’s house wielding a gun and tried to murder Mr. and Mrs. Grayson. Doesn’t that somehow make his testimony less credible? He’s in jail for attempted murder…and yet you believe his testimony over mine and that of three other people who are law-abiding, upstanding members of the community.”


“What about the phone call from Miss Riverside?”


“What about it?”


“Why shouldn’t we believe her testimony?”


“She’s a drug addict.”


“So, now you are slandering the person making the accusation?”


“Oh good Lord, she’s slandering me and you don’t seem concerned. She’s accusing me of kidnapping and attempted murder…and you’re going along with it.”


“We also have physical evidence.”


Engrid just sat stunned. “Like what?”


“We found a piece of mail in the trash at Mr. Garrison’s residence. It is addressed to Miss Riverside. Mr. Riverside claims you took it from his house. We circulated a photograph of the two of you and several neighbors reported you in the area last week. In fact, a neighbor says she believes that you took something from the front porch of the house, but she wasn’t certain. That would make sense that that is when you took the piece of mail…which is, in itself, illegal.”


Engrid just stared out the window. She didn’t know what else to say. She wrung her hands as her mind spun trying to figure out a way to adequately explain herself.


“So, Mrs. Matthews, you must forgive us for being a little suspicious of your recent activities. We believe we have a fairly strong case against you and Mr. Garrison.”


“You don’t have anything. All you have is the ravings of a drug addict and a would-be murderer. I wouldn’t call that a strong case.” Engrid folded her arms and glared out of the living room window at the side of Andrew’s house.


Carl Mortar stood tall over Engrid’s diminutive frame. She continued to stare out of the window, her mind now a frenzied blank. The shock and gravity of what was transpiring around her began to dawn on her. She was in serious trouble.


Being questioned in his own house, Andrew long ago came to that same conclusion. The question now was…how to get out of it.





                                                 #





Dylan sat in his jail cell. He’d had time to think through what had happened in the last couple of days. He had some regrets, including pulling a gun on two people…but mostly he was fuming. Fuming that he was in jail because of those people. Fuming that his daughter was out there on the street doing who knows what with who knows who. It was getting late and the slant of light from the approaching dusk filtered in through the small window at the top of the wall at the back of his cell. Dylan looked up at it wistfully. How had this all happened? He wasn’t a bitter man by nature. How could he have done these things? What drove him to throw his own daughter out of the house? What possessed him to go to someone’s house and threaten to kill the occupants? Dylan paced back and forth in his cell, running his fingers through his thick black hair and thinking about what to do. Being in jail was boring. Knowing that his daughter was out there somewhere in the approaching darkness was frightening and torturous. The frightened, panicky boredom closed in on him. He paced faster.


“Hey!” he shouted.


“What?” The guard on duty grumbled in response.


“Have they found her?”


“Not yet,” he replied.


“What’s taking so long?”


“I don’t know.”


Dylan fell silent. His daughter, his precious Amanda was missing…taken…by those monsters!





                                       #





“Well,” Agent Carl Mortar began, “Mrs. Matthews, we are finished here this evening. We are continuing our investigation, so do not leave town.”


He raised his hand a motioned towards the door. His entourage of agents filed out of Engrid’s house. She looked around- confused by their sudden departure after endless hours of interrogation and accusations. She hopped up and walked over to the window and watched the cars disappear into the radiant gold of an October evening. The lights were on at Andrew’s house but the agents had already left there.


She wondered around her living room, her nerves still jangled by the events of the day, but the stress of the interrogation had taken its toll and Engrid realized she was immeasurably tired. But she had to keep going. The police were convinced of her guilt, so she must clear her own name before this got any more out of hand. She slipped on a light jacket and headed out of the door. She started towards her car but then shifted directions towards Andrew and Evan’s house.


The pair was sitting on the porch staring out at the nothing, the exhaustion evident on their faces as Engrid came up the steps and stopped on the porch.


“Andrew…what are we going to do?”


“I don’t know.”


“They think we’re guilty as sin…we have to find Amanda and prove that we’re not.”


“We can’t. If we go find her, the police will claim that we knew all along where she was and that we led them right to her. That’s why they left; they’re watching us to see if we lead them to her. If they find her and Amanda sticks to her story, we’re as good as electrocuted. At least I am…you’ll probably be dead before the 10 years of litigation and appeals are finished and they finally get around to zapping us.”


“What are we going to do?”


“At first I thought it would be best to stay put since we’re innocent. Then it dawned on me that this is going to hit the news tomorrow- if not the 11:00 news tonight. If that happens, Amanda is even more likely to be found and more likely to stick to her story. This means we are in serious trouble.”


“So…she may have been so strung out when she called her father, she may not even realize she has a story. She probably has no earthly idea any of this is happening.”


Andrew paused…“I hadn’t thought of it like that.”


“What were you going to suggest?”


“That we get out of here.”


“I’m not running.”


“We have to. They think we’re guilty, soon everybody in America will think we are guilty. It will all over the news. It will be impossible for us to get a fair trial.”


“All the more reason we need to talk to Amanda. You aren’t thinking clearly, Andrew. Running will only make us look guiltier.”


Andrew stopped swinging. It was a huge risk either way. He could stay and face a death sentence or he could make a run for it and spend the rest of his life in hiding.


“I need to go for a walk,” Andrew stated and stood up.


Evan stood up too. Andrew turned to him and shook his head, “I need to be alone right now. I need to think things through.”


Evan didn’t protest and sat back down on the swing. Engrid stepped aside to allow Andrew to pass. He slowly went down the steps and walked out towards the sidewalk. A few seconds later, Engrid hurried after him. She wanted to know what he had in mind. She didn’t want to be on the lamb for her waning years, but it beat spending them in prison.


Engrid caught up to Andrew as he got to the corner.


“Andrew! Wait!”


He turned to her, “Engrid go home and get some sleep.”


“Sleep? With our whole future hanging in the balance and the prospect of spending the rest of my life on death row…I may never sleep again.”


“Let’s go sit on your gazebo and talk.” Andrew said, “I’m too tired to walk.”


Engrid turned and the two walked to her backyard. Evan had already gone inside and thus didn’t see them return from their constitutional.





                                       #





Amanda was back at it. She’d pan handled the streets for a while to get more money. She returned to the park beneath the bridge. She knew he’d be here. This man was her rescuer. He had rescued her from the torments of life, though she didn’t know his name. She needed him.


“Where are you?” She murmured as she stumbled through the park.


A shadowy figure stepped out from behind a nearby tree, dressed in his usual long black coat, his face pale and drawn.


“I’m here,” He stated.


She stopped. Even though he was her rescuer and helped her before, she was still startled by him. He was silent as night and could walk up behind you and you’d never know…until it was too late. He stared at her.


“I need a fix.”


“You need to leave.”


“What?”


He raised his hand up and balled his long, tendril fingers into a fist. Her mind snapped back to life and she took off running. He was after her. He gave chase as she ran as quickly as she could up the incline toward the street. She could hear the rustle of his coat as he closed the gap between them. She could feel the unevenness of the natural earth and grass beneath her feet. It was odd how even in a hazed and terrified state, the details that stand out. She was approaching the safe glow of streetlamps when his stony hand clamped down on her back. His fingers wrapped around her shirt and pulled her to the ground, the natural earth and grass now against her back as she writhed under his oppressive grip.


“You need to leave,” He stated again.


“I’m trying,” she shouted.


He drew a bottle out of his coat pocket, dabbled its contents on a small handkerchief, and placed it over her nose. Amanda Riverside’s body relaxed and slipped into the dark abyss of unconsciousness. He stood over her. Those who saw kept themselves hidden. Officially, no one would see anything. He grabbed her feet and dragged her further from the lights of the street.          


He thought to himself, “That meddlesome old woman must be stopped!”


He pulled Amanda’s limp body into the backseat of an old car from the 1970’s. Driving out of town, he already had a plan. Engrid had tried to stop him…now it was payback time.





                                       #





Payson sat behind the desk at the Deerfield police station filling out some paperwork. He was still rattled by the events of the day. Normally, Deerfield was a quiet little hamlet where not much happened, but today, that fabric of quiet normalcy had been torn. Deerfield was no longer immune from the troubles of the big city.


The telephone rang.


“Police.”


“I have an anonymous tip for you.”


Payson pulled a form out of a desk drawer and clicked the pinpoint into place.


“Okay sir…I’m ready.”


“I know where the Riverside girl is being held.”


Payson snapped to life. This was not just some ordinary tip…this could be the making of his career on the police force. He could be the one to find Amanda Riverside alive.


“I’m listening.”


“I’ll bet you are,” The caller stated flatly.


“Where is Amanda?”


“She’s in a self-storage unit. It’s by the Shady Acres trailer park out on Route 5.”


“Mini-Self?”


“Yes. I have a slot there. It’s next to the one she's in. I went over there tonight to get a few things and I heard noises coming from the adjacent space. I noticed that the door was locked from the outside. I called back to see who it was and she said her name was Amanda.”


“We’ll get someone out there right away, sir.” Payson said, “Are you in any danger?”


“No…I’m fine. I just hope that she’s okay. She’s in Unit # 17.”


Payson hung up the phone and immediately dialed Agent Mortar’s cell phone.


“Mortar here,” he said into the phone, exhausted.


“We’ve had a break in the case.”


“What’s that?”


“We got a tip from someone that she’s being held in a self-storage unit out on route 5. Jimmy and I are going to go out there. We’ll let you know what we find.”


“Okay. If you find her, call me immediately.”


“Will do agent, I hope we find her so we can put this all behind us.”


He hung up the phone and radioed Jimmy to come get him. Payson looked up the number and called the owner of the mini-storage facility and arranged to have him meet them on-site in 10 minutes. Jimmy arrived outside and picked Payson up to ride out to Mini-self on Route 5 next to the Shady Acres trailer park.


They flew through the dark Deerfield streets, excited that they may be the ones to solve the case and get some recognition from the higher officials. They didn’t sound their sirens because didn’t want to alarm anyone or alert the perpetrators.


Payson sailed the large police cruiser into the mini-storage facility. It took a moment to find Unit # 17. They parked in front of it just as the owner, Dave Samuelson, came around the corner with a set of keys.


“Thanks for coming out here.” Payson said.


“I don’t want this kind of notoriety. But I guess I should help the police when I can.”


Payson rapped on the door with a nightstick, “Anybody in there? This is the police.”


Amanda had sat stonily thinking that her rescuer turned kidnapper had returned to do whatever with her. When the strange voice announced it was the police, she started calling out again.


“Open this door!” Payson shouted.


Dave stooped down and tried to put the key in the lock, but it wouldn’t fit. He pulled the keys up to his eyes in the dim lighting to make sure it was the right one…the tag said ‘Unit #17,’ this had to be the right key. He tried again, but to no avail.


“Stand back!” Payson said, and produced a set of bolt cutters from the trunk of the police cruiser. Dave and Jimmy stepped away from the door as Payson approached.


The voice inside cried out, “Get me out of here!”


“We’re going to get you out! It’s going to be okay,” Jimmy soothingly.


Payson reached down and with a surprising amount of force, snapped the metal arm of the padlock. He snatched it away from the lock and lifted the door. Amanda was inside tied down to a chair. There were hundreds of books piled everywhere. There were notebooks and text books. It looked like a college library in there.


Payson turned to Dave, “Who rents this unit?”


“A new guy, named Andrew Garrison, I think. Or something that sounds like that. I can go make sure and get you his address if you want.”


“Yes. Do that.”


Dave turned and hurried away. He now realized just how serious this all was. This wasn’t the police following-up on some phony ‘tip’ but that this girl really was in there and she really had been kidnapped.


Payson shined a flashlight into the unit. Jimmy clicked on the lights. The old fluorescent lights flickered to life overhead. Payson clicked off his flashlight and returned it to his utility belt. Amanda sat staring at them, tears streaming down her face.


“Are you Amanda Riverside?”


She nodded, the sobs coming heavier and louder. “I want to go home!”


“We’ll get you home.” Jimmy said soothingly, he reached around to the large knot that held her in place. His Boy Scout training came back to him and he knew that it was a binding knot. A pretty complicated one. Whoever tied her up, knew what he was doing. He wiggled the knot a little to try to loosen it up, but it only got tighter. He pulled out a knife from his utility belt and cut away the rope. He unwrapped the rope from around her wrists. The instant her hands were free, they flew around Jimmy’s neck. Amanda Riverside was a scared little girl. She’d been through a lot, but now perhaps she’d be okay.


“It’s going to be okay.” He patted her head as she sobbed uncontrollably into his shoulder. “We’re going to take you to your father now.”


As he walked out of the self-storage unit, Amanda wrapped in his arms, Dave came around the corner with a sticky-note.


“This is the name and address of the person who rents this unit.” He handed the scrap of paper over to Payson who took it and looked at it.


“Garrison…it’s him, the guy we suspected all along.”


“We should call Agent Mortar and let him know what’s happened.”


“I’m on it.” Jimmy sat in the back seat comforting the distraught girl while Payson slid his cell phone out of his pocket and dialed Mortar’s number.


Agent Carl Mortar raced along the highway headed to the scene. He’d called the rest of the State Law Enforcement Division people and they were sending a team out to go over the scene and look for any evidence. By the time Mortar arrived, it seemed the whole world was lit up with blue and red lights.


“Have we found anything yet?” He demanded, striding confidently to the entrance to the small self-storage unit.


“We’ve found lots of fingerprints. Nothing on the chair or on the ropes, though. The fingerprints were on the door and lots of books…so they probably belong to Mr. Garrison.