Six Missing in Russel
Sep. 2nd, 2015 09:11 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sidhe_faerieSix Missing in Russel
Rating: Mature
Word Count: 4662
Prompt: Hurt Me/Heal Me #5. Abduction
Alice Walker checked into the motel in Russel to go to the editor’s convention. She went to bed after the first day of the conference with a head full of good ideas and a glass of wine. She went to sleep looking forward to the next day’s presentations.
Alice woke up with a sick headache. She tried to sit up and realized that she was not in her motel room. She groaned when she discovered that she had her hands and feet bound.
“Well isn't this lovely?” Alice looked around. She was more angry than frightened at that moment. “At least, I don't have a blindfold or a gag.”
The place where she was being held was dim but not dark. She could see that she wasn't the only one in there. That fact alone was more than a little disturbing. She hoped she was not in someplace full of corpses. She started to get just a little afraid.
Alice tried to sit up again. She found the pain in her head had subsided some but she still had to fight the nausea that she was feeling. She succeeded in sitting up on her third try. She took several deep breaths to gain control of herself.
“Hey! Is anyone awake in here?” Alice asked in a whisper. She thought she could see someone in the shadows moving but she wasn’t sure.
“I am.” A voice near her responded.
“Me too.” Another voice on the other side of the room piped up.
“So there are three of us?” Alice asked.
“No. There are two others near me.” The first voice said.
“I have one by me.” The second voice said. “But she hasn't moved since I got here.”
“Neither has the one my left.” The first voice said. “I'm Netta.”
“I'm Alice.”
“I'm Deb. We need to get out of here. Does anyone have any ideas of how we are going to do that?”
“If we move to the middle, we can untie each other.” Alice suggested. “Then we can get everyone out.”
“Unless, he comes back before we get out of here.” Netta said. “He hasn’t been in yet this morning. The last time I saw him was when he was bringing you in last night.”
“Then we have to hurry.” Alice started to scoot to the center of the room.
Netta and Deb scooted forward. They each worked on another to get free. They got up to check the others and free them as well.
“Oh god! She's dead.” Deb stood up suddenly.
“This one is dead too but the other one isn’t.” Netta said. “We need to carry her out. Her pulse is really weak.”
Alice felt around for a door or steps. She found a door. “I found the door but it’s locked. Does anyone see something I can break the lock with?”
Netta handed her a hammer. “I found it under the shelf. I hid it under me to protect myself if he came back this morning.”
Alice swung the hammer and broke the lock. She used the claw side to pry the door open. It gave with a groan then a pop. “I got it. Grab her and let’s get out of here. Where ever here is.”
Netta and Deb picked up the unconscious woman and followed Alice out of the building. They had gotten out of the shed only to find themselves in the middle of nowhere.
“Now what?” Netta asked as she and Deb were holding up the other girl. “We can’t walk with her like this and I don’t think we should leave her here.”
“There's a truck. Get in the back and I'll hotwire it.” Alice said.
Netta gave her a questioning look. “How are you going to do that?”
Alice shrugged. “I had a misspent youth.”
“Just hurry. She's gonna die if we don't get out of here.” Netta looked around nervously.
Netta and Deb climbed into the back of the truck just as Alice got the engine to turn over. They peeled out of the driveway.
A man came out of the house and started to chase the truck.
Alice floored it and they headed for a main road.
The next town they came to the pulled into the sheriff’s department. Alice got out of the truck and started yelling.
“Help us! We just escaped from being kidnapped.” Alice yelled. “We have someone that’s hurt. We need help.”
The several officers came out and called the EMT’s over from the fire department next door to take care of the unconscious woman.
The Sheriff came out and looked at the truck. “I know this truck. What are you women doing with it?”
“We were being held captive in a shed. We took the truck to escape. There are two women still in the shed. They didn’t make it.” Alice explained. “He took me last night from my hotel room in Russel.”
“He took me three days ago from the hotel at Russel too. Four women were already there when I woke up.” Netta pointed at Deb. “I think she was the last one taken before me.”
“Hamilton! French! Go out to Bob Jacks place and look for the two dead bodies and bring him in.” The sheriff called out to two of his men. He turned back to Alice, Netta, and Deb. “I want you three to get checked out. I don’t want anything missed. We’re going to need all the evidence we can get. He’s the county commissioner’s brother.”
“That’s just wonderful.” Netta looked around. “He’s going to get away with this, isn’t he?”
“Not if we get the evidence we need.” The sheriff patted her shoulder. He waved over another deputy. “Martin, take them to the hospital to get checked out.”
“This way, ladies.” Martin waved the three women towards a large SUV. “We’ll get you all checked out.”
The women followed him. They went to the hospital emergency room. Alice had been given a clean bill of health despite being dehydrated. Netta and Deb were in worse shape but they were going to recover. The unconscious woman was taken to a room as soon as she was brought to the hospital.
Alice called her husband as soon as they put her in a private room. “Dan, I don’t want you to get upset but I was kidnapped. I got away and I’m fine. The sheriff went after the man.”
“Where are you?” Dan asked over the line. He sounded upset even though she had told him that she was safe. “I’m coming to get you. Where the hell are you?”
“I was hoping you would say that. I’m in the hospital at Fulbright now but I was taken from the motel in Russel. I want out of here but I don’t have my stuff.” Alice told him. You’ll have to bring me something to wear.
“I’m leaving now. I’ll be there as soon as I can.” Dan took a breath. “Are they keeping you overnight?”
“Yes, I’m dehydrated. They’re giving me fluids.” Alice plucked at her arm. “Come directly here. I’m sure they will release me in the morning. The deputy said as soon as they release me they’ll need to take my statement.”
“I hope they put the bastard under the jail.” Dan growled. There was the sound of doors slamming in the background of the call.
“I don’t know. He’s the county commissioner’s brother.” Alice sighed. “He may get away with it. The sheriff thinks they can get him if they get enough evidence.”
“Did he rape you?” Dan asked suddenly,
“No, but I wasn’t there that long. He may have raped one of the other women.” Alice sighed. “They didn’t say anything about being raped when we were trying to get out of there.”
“Other women?” Dan was shocked. “How many women did he have? Didn’t someone notice people missing?”
“I don’t know. There were five other women when I woke up. Two were already dead.” Alice started to cry. What she was telling him was finally sinking in. “Dan, I’m fine.”
“I want to talk to that sheriff when I get there. I’m in the car right now. Get some rest. I’ll be there soon.” Dan said.
The call disconnected. Alice put the receiver down on the cradle and settled down to rest. She wiped the tears off her face and hugged one of the pillows against her stomach. She drifted off to sleep and by the time she woke up, Dan was sitting by her bedside.
She jumped when she woke up. She was dreaming of the shed and a face looming over her. There was a noise beside her and she almost screamed.
“Hey Alice. I’m here now.” Dan reached out and took her hand. “I’m not going to leave you by yourself. Go back to sleep and I will be over there in the chair.”
“Okay but I need you to go get my things at the hotel.” Alice told him. “Go get my stuff and come back here.”
“Are you sure you are going to be okay by yourself?” Dan looked around. “You were dreaming right before you woke up.”
“Yeah. I can’t leave here in a hospital gown.” Alice looked down at what she was wearing. “I just want to wear my own clothes.”
“Okay if you insist. I’ll be right back.” Dan kissed her on the cheek and held her tight for a moment before he left.
Alice let out a shaky breath. She needed a moment and she didn’t want Dan to know she was still rattled. It would only make him worry more.
Alice lay back down and tried to get some rest until her husband came back. She was failing miserably. She had too many images in her mind to get any peace.
Dan arrived at the hotel and the sheriff was there. He walked up to the man. “Hello I’m Dan Walker. I’m Alice Walker’s husband. I was wondering what you were doing to bring the bastard who took my Alice to justice.”
“We went to his place to pick him up but he was already gone. We have the bodies of two women on his property and proof that there were four others were being held there.” The sheriff walked with him to Alice’s room. “We have roads blocked off and we have been searching the woods near his property. His brother has a hunting camp and we are on our way out there now. We’ll find him and your wife will have justice.”
“I’m holding you to that. She was more traumatized than she will admit to. I should probably tell you that I am a lawyer. I would hate to file a lawsuit against this sheriff’s department and the county.” Dan threatened.
“I’m sure you won’t have to do that.” The sheriff assured him. This kind of thing is rare here. “This county is usually pretty quiet.”
“I hope so.” Dan said. “Is it possible for me to get my wife’s things? They will be releasing her in the morning. She sent me here to get them.”
“I think we can let you do that.” The sheriff turned to one of the deputies. “Bennet, let him have his wife’s things. We have everything that we need here, don’t we?”
“Yes sir, we do.” Bennet confirmed. He held up a paper bag and nodded. “I’ve gathered all the evidence there’s here.”
“Go ahead, Mr. Walker. We will be over at the hospital to take your wife’s statement in the morning. We wanted to let her get treatment before we started asking questions.” The sheriff held out his hand to Dan.
“Thank you for that.” Dan shook hands with the sheriff before going inside the motel room.
Dan went into the motel room and looked around. He collected Alice’s things and headed back to the hospital. Alice was asleep when he got there. He put her bag down and sat in the chair to spend the night.
The doctor came in the next morning and released Alice. The nurse brought her papers to sign and left to let Alice get dressed.
“I want to go check on Netta and Deb.” Alice said to Dan as she signed the papers for her release.
“I think that would be a good idea.” Dan said. “I want to meet these women. I want to thank them for being there when you needed someone to help you out of there.”
“We all helped each other.” Alice got up and got dressed. She ignored the wheelchair sitting near the door and headed down the hallway on foot.
Alice asked the nurse on duty where Netta and Deb were. The nurse gave her the room numbers. Alice thanked her and headed off to the first room she came to.
Alice knocked on the door frame and peeked in. “Netta, are you awake? It’s Alice.”
“Come in.” Netta smiled. “They aren’t going to let me go until they do some more tests. It’s not like they haven’t done all of them twice already.”
“I’m lucky to get out of her so soon. This is my husband, Dan.” Alice pointed to him. “Is there someone we can call for you?”
“No. my mom is on her way. I called her last night when we got here. ” Netta reached out for Alice’s hand.
Alice took her hand and held on to it. “I’m glad you have someone coming to help you through this.”
“We would still be there if you hadn’t got us moving. Thank you, Alice. We owe you our lives.” Netta squeezed her hand. “Alice, the nurse told me the name of the woman we took out of there with us. Her name is Lily Harper. She is in serious condition. They had to do surgery on her. She wasn’t just drugged when we got her out of there. She was bleeding internally.”
“I hope she is alright. She didn’t look good at all when we got her out of there. Have you seen Deb yet?” Alice asked. “I was going there next.”
“No. They haven’t let me out of this room since we got here.” Netta laughed. “Deb was having a rough night according to the nurse. They had to give her some medicine to calm her down.”
“I wonder if I should stop in and check on her.” Alice looked at Dan.
“If she is awake, she would want to see you. I was glad to see you. If it wasn’t for you none of us would have made it out of there.” Netta started to tear up. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to cry.”
“Like I said, I was mad. I hadn’t been there long enough to be afraid.” Alice said. “I didn’t do anything other than get angry and determined. I can’t imagine what you and Deb went through.”
“It was still more than we had managed to do.” Netta squeezed her hand again and wiped at her tears. “Tell Deb I’m thinking of her. She and I talked a little when we were in that place. I’d go but they won’t let me up yet. They want me to take it easy.”
The sheriff knocked on the door. “I’m glad to see they two of you together that saves me a trip. Hello Mr. Walker. We found Mr. Jacks at the hunting camp. He barricaded himself in and there was a shootout with my deputies. He was killed before we could take him into custody.”
“I want to see his body.” Netta said. “I want to make sure he’s dead. It’s the only way for me to get this behind me.”
“I want to see him too. I have a vague memory of a face but that’s all.” Alice requested. “Do you think Deb will want to see him too?”
“Probably.” Netta agreed. “They can take us to the morgue. We can get a look at him there. The morgue is in the building, right?”
“Yes. It’s in the basement.” The sheriff said. “I will ask the doctors if you three can make the identification for the purpose of closing the case. I will let him tell me if he thinks it’s a good idea or not. His brother will be here later to claim the body.”
“Did you find out who the other women were?” Alice asked.
“Yes. We have. All of you were taken from the motel in Russel. Mr. Jacks had a job there in maintenance. The first woman was taken right after Mr. Jacks got out of prison.” The sheriff told them.
“What was in prison for?” Dan had a sinking feeling as he asked the question.
“He was in for sexual assault of a neighbor.” The sheriff looked uncomfortable. “He served his time and he was staying out of trouble. His brother said he didn’t know that he was doing. I’m inclined to believe him because he lives in town and Mr. Jacks was living on the family farm.”
“Wasn’t anyone monitoring him?” Dan asked. “If he just got out of prison he would have to have had some kind of monitoring to make sure he wasn’t a threat to the community. He had to have been on a sexual offenders list at the very least.”
“He was monitored but apparently it wasn’t enough to keep him from doing what he did.” The sheriff took his hat off and rubbed his forehead. He looked tired. “Mr. Jacks never missed his appointments with the parole officer or the court appointed psychiatrist. His brother even had dinner with him once a week to make sure he was right in the head.”
“At the farm?” Dan asked. “Where they were being held?”
“No. They had dinner at the brother’s place here in town.” The sheriff shook his head. “This was a tragedy that could have been avoided and I’m sorry.”
“Have you gone to see the other two that made it out of there alive yet?” Alice asked.
“No. I was told that Ms. Harper wouldn’t be available to give a statement until later today.” The sheriff said. “That was the woman that was unconscious. The other woman, Ms. Sills, is my next stop.”
“I was headed that direction myself.” Alice said. “I wanted to check in on her.”
The sheriff nodded. “I’ll go ahead and fill her in, if you don’t mind waiting a few more minutes.”
Alice hesitated. She didn’t want Deb to hear what the sheriff said by herself.
“Don’t go yet.” Netta said. “I just don’t want to be alone yet. Mom won’t be here for a little while yet.”
Alice nodded. The sheriff bowed his head and left them to visit.
“What brought you to this place?” Dan asked Netta.
“I was here on a job interview. I don’t even know if I got the job.” Netta shrugged. “I’m a community planner. I came here to apply for a job opening advertised in Russel.”
“You could call and speak to the interviewer.” Alice suggested. “They may have made a decision by now.”
“I think, I will when I get out of here.” Netta said. “For right now, I think I should just follow the doctor’s orders and get some rest.”
An orderly came in with a wheelchair. “The sheriff told me to come get you, Ms. Kelly. He wanted you and Ms. Walker to meet him at the morgue. Ms. Sills wanted to go view the remains right away.”
“Do you need some help?” Alice asked Netta.
“I think I can manage.” Netta carefully got out of bed. “The orderly helped her into the wheelchair.”
They headed down to the morgue. Deb met them there in a wheelchair.
“Hey. Are you doing okay? Alice asked Deb. “I was coming to see you right after Netta.”
“The sheriff told me that you were coming but I wanted this over. He went in to get things ready for us.” Deb reached out for Netta. “How are you both feeling?”
“I’m still tired but Alice seems to be fine.” Netta took Deb’s hand and looked over at Alice.
“I wasn’t there as long as you and Netta.” Alice said. “You and Deb have been through a lot more than me.”
The sheriff came out of a door. “Ladies, they are ready for you now. All you have to do is take a look and tell me if the man on the table is the man that took you. Okay?”
The three women nodded.
Dan went to stand behind Alice. “Do you want me to go with you?”
“No. Dan, I can do this.” Alice said. “I don’t really have a clear memory of his face but I still want to see if this man is even close. I want to be there for Netta and Deb too.”
The orderlies wheeled Deb and Netta into the small room and Alice followed them. The sheriff looked at Dan and closed the door.
There was a man lying on a metal table in the room. There were two sheriff’s deputies standing in the room.
Netta leaned on the orderly standing beside her as she stood up. “That’s not him. He didn’t have a beard. This man has a beard.”
Alice looked at him and shrugged. “He doesn’t look familiar but I didn’t get a good look at him.”
Netta sat back down. “That isn’t the man. Oh god! That’s not the man.”
The other orderly helped Deb stand up. Deb looked at the man and shook her head. “That isn’t him.”
“This is Robert Jacks. This is the man that lived at the farm where you were being held.” The sheriff looked at the three women. “So all of you are telling me that this is not the man that kidnapped you and held you against your will in a shed on the Jacks family farm?”
“I think that’s what we are telling you.” Alice said. She looked around and saw Deb and Netta nodding.
The sheriff took off his hat and rubbed his forehead. “We have a big problem then.”
“Sheriff, they should get back to their beds. They are still weak.” The orderly who brought Deb in reminded him. “The doctor will not like it if they are over tired.”
The sheriff nodded. “Take them back to their rooms.”
Deb was the first one out of the door. She screamed.
Alice looked over Deb’s shoulder to where she was looking. “Sheriff, I think we found the man that took us.”
The sheriff looked out into the outer room and saw Martin Jacks the brother of the dead man on the table and the county commissioner. This was not the identification that he was expecting.
“Ms. Kelly, can you tell me if that is the man that held you prisoner?” The sheriff asked.
Netta looked at Martin Jacks with wide fearful eyes. “That’s him.”
The sheriff walked into the other room and handcuffed Martin Jacks. “I would have never expected it to be you. Bob was a more likely suspect.”
“Is this the man that took my wife?” Dan asked.
When the sheriff didn’t answer, he looked at the faces of the three women. He could see the fear in their eyes.
Dan walked over to the man in handcuffs and punched him hard in the jaw. Martin Jacks hit the floor unconscious.
The sheriff looked from the man on the floor to Dan. “I understand why you did that so I’m not going to charge you with assault. You need to take care of your wife not and leave him to me.”
Dan shook his hand and nodded. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to let my temper get out of hand.”
“You might want to get an x-ray of that hand. I think you may have broken it.” The sheriff gave Dan’s shoulder a squeeze. “I would have done the same thing if he had taken my wife.”
“Dan, that was stupid.” Alice said. “We better get that looked at.”
“Take Commissioner Jacks and put him in a cell.” The sheriff waved his deputies into the room. He turned to the three women. “I’ll need to get statements from you even though you identified him. I hate to do that to you but it has to be done.”
“We understand.” Netta told him. “You are only doing your job.”
“Ms. Walker, you can come down to the station to make your statement. I will send deputies to take statements from Ms. Sills and Ms. Kelly.” The sheriff looked at the orderlies. “You should be getting them back to their rooms. I am going to make sure the commissioner has been properly processed.”
“Thank you for everything you have done so far.” Deb told the sheriff. “I am getting tired.”
“Then we better go.” The orderly smiled. He looked at the other orderly who nodded and followed him down to the elevator.
“Let’s go get your bag and get out of this place.” Dan said.
“Not until you get that hand checked out.” Alice held his arm and looked at the bruise forming on his hand. “Humor me please.”
After Dan and Alice went to get her bag from her room, Dan got his x-ray. Dan had a boxers fracture but he didn’t care. All he cared about was that Alice was alright.
They left the hospital and headed to the sheriff’s department. Alice gave the deputy there her statement. Dan took her to a hotel in Fulbright for the night. They left in the morning.
Deb and Netta went home after they were released from the hospital. They kept in touch with Alice as they all waited for the trial.
The day before the trial they all went back to Fulbright to be witnesses for the prosecution.
Deb and Netta went in before Alice on the witness stand they told the judge and jury what they had been through. Their stories were similar.
They told the jury that they had been tied up and raped. They had been in that shed for days without water or food. They watched the next woman come in and be put through the same thing they had been put through themselves.
When Alice got on the witness stand, she looked at Martin Jacks.
“I never asked to be taken. I was minding my own business in my motel room. I had just spent the day at a conference. I went to sleep and had the weirdest dream that some man was standing over me. I woke up in a shed. In a shed!”
Alice took a sip of water and took a breath before she continued.
“My hands and feet were tied and I had been drugged. I was surprised that I wasn’t alone. I woke up to find five others in that shed with me. They had been there for days. There were two women dead in there with us.”
“I wasn’t going to stay there. I had to get out. We all did.” Alice looked at the judge. “We took an opportunity and got out of there. It took all of us to work together to get free but we did it.”
“Then the sheriff assumed that his brother had done this to us. He hunted down the wrong man and now he’s dead.” Alice turned to face Martin Jacks. “That makes you responsible for three deaths not just the two women in the shed but your own brother. I hope that haunts you.”
Alice went into the corridor to sit with Deb and Netta. Lily introduced herself and sat with them waiting for the verdict.
The verdict was quick and Martin Jacks was given the maximum sentence. It was what they needed to hear but it wasn’t going to help them heal. They were the only ones that could do that for themselves.
Rating: Mature
Word Count: 4662
Prompt: Hurt Me/Heal Me #5. Abduction
Alice Walker checked into the motel in Russel to go to the editor’s convention. She went to bed after the first day of the conference with a head full of good ideas and a glass of wine. She went to sleep looking forward to the next day’s presentations.
Alice woke up with a sick headache. She tried to sit up and realized that she was not in her motel room. She groaned when she discovered that she had her hands and feet bound.
“Well isn't this lovely?” Alice looked around. She was more angry than frightened at that moment. “At least, I don't have a blindfold or a gag.”
The place where she was being held was dim but not dark. She could see that she wasn't the only one in there. That fact alone was more than a little disturbing. She hoped she was not in someplace full of corpses. She started to get just a little afraid.
Alice tried to sit up again. She found the pain in her head had subsided some but she still had to fight the nausea that she was feeling. She succeeded in sitting up on her third try. She took several deep breaths to gain control of herself.
“Hey! Is anyone awake in here?” Alice asked in a whisper. She thought she could see someone in the shadows moving but she wasn’t sure.
“I am.” A voice near her responded.
“Me too.” Another voice on the other side of the room piped up.
“So there are three of us?” Alice asked.
“No. There are two others near me.” The first voice said.
“I have one by me.” The second voice said. “But she hasn't moved since I got here.”
“Neither has the one my left.” The first voice said. “I'm Netta.”
“I'm Alice.”
“I'm Deb. We need to get out of here. Does anyone have any ideas of how we are going to do that?”
“If we move to the middle, we can untie each other.” Alice suggested. “Then we can get everyone out.”
“Unless, he comes back before we get out of here.” Netta said. “He hasn’t been in yet this morning. The last time I saw him was when he was bringing you in last night.”
“Then we have to hurry.” Alice started to scoot to the center of the room.
Netta and Deb scooted forward. They each worked on another to get free. They got up to check the others and free them as well.
“Oh god! She's dead.” Deb stood up suddenly.
“This one is dead too but the other one isn’t.” Netta said. “We need to carry her out. Her pulse is really weak.”
Alice felt around for a door or steps. She found a door. “I found the door but it’s locked. Does anyone see something I can break the lock with?”
Netta handed her a hammer. “I found it under the shelf. I hid it under me to protect myself if he came back this morning.”
Alice swung the hammer and broke the lock. She used the claw side to pry the door open. It gave with a groan then a pop. “I got it. Grab her and let’s get out of here. Where ever here is.”
Netta and Deb picked up the unconscious woman and followed Alice out of the building. They had gotten out of the shed only to find themselves in the middle of nowhere.
“Now what?” Netta asked as she and Deb were holding up the other girl. “We can’t walk with her like this and I don’t think we should leave her here.”
“There's a truck. Get in the back and I'll hotwire it.” Alice said.
Netta gave her a questioning look. “How are you going to do that?”
Alice shrugged. “I had a misspent youth.”
“Just hurry. She's gonna die if we don't get out of here.” Netta looked around nervously.
Netta and Deb climbed into the back of the truck just as Alice got the engine to turn over. They peeled out of the driveway.
A man came out of the house and started to chase the truck.
Alice floored it and they headed for a main road.
The next town they came to the pulled into the sheriff’s department. Alice got out of the truck and started yelling.
“Help us! We just escaped from being kidnapped.” Alice yelled. “We have someone that’s hurt. We need help.”
The several officers came out and called the EMT’s over from the fire department next door to take care of the unconscious woman.
The Sheriff came out and looked at the truck. “I know this truck. What are you women doing with it?”
“We were being held captive in a shed. We took the truck to escape. There are two women still in the shed. They didn’t make it.” Alice explained. “He took me last night from my hotel room in Russel.”
“He took me three days ago from the hotel at Russel too. Four women were already there when I woke up.” Netta pointed at Deb. “I think she was the last one taken before me.”
“Hamilton! French! Go out to Bob Jacks place and look for the two dead bodies and bring him in.” The sheriff called out to two of his men. He turned back to Alice, Netta, and Deb. “I want you three to get checked out. I don’t want anything missed. We’re going to need all the evidence we can get. He’s the county commissioner’s brother.”
“That’s just wonderful.” Netta looked around. “He’s going to get away with this, isn’t he?”
“Not if we get the evidence we need.” The sheriff patted her shoulder. He waved over another deputy. “Martin, take them to the hospital to get checked out.”
“This way, ladies.” Martin waved the three women towards a large SUV. “We’ll get you all checked out.”
The women followed him. They went to the hospital emergency room. Alice had been given a clean bill of health despite being dehydrated. Netta and Deb were in worse shape but they were going to recover. The unconscious woman was taken to a room as soon as she was brought to the hospital.
Alice called her husband as soon as they put her in a private room. “Dan, I don’t want you to get upset but I was kidnapped. I got away and I’m fine. The sheriff went after the man.”
“Where are you?” Dan asked over the line. He sounded upset even though she had told him that she was safe. “I’m coming to get you. Where the hell are you?”
“I was hoping you would say that. I’m in the hospital at Fulbright now but I was taken from the motel in Russel. I want out of here but I don’t have my stuff.” Alice told him. You’ll have to bring me something to wear.
“I’m leaving now. I’ll be there as soon as I can.” Dan took a breath. “Are they keeping you overnight?”
“Yes, I’m dehydrated. They’re giving me fluids.” Alice plucked at her arm. “Come directly here. I’m sure they will release me in the morning. The deputy said as soon as they release me they’ll need to take my statement.”
“I hope they put the bastard under the jail.” Dan growled. There was the sound of doors slamming in the background of the call.
“I don’t know. He’s the county commissioner’s brother.” Alice sighed. “He may get away with it. The sheriff thinks they can get him if they get enough evidence.”
“Did he rape you?” Dan asked suddenly,
“No, but I wasn’t there that long. He may have raped one of the other women.” Alice sighed. “They didn’t say anything about being raped when we were trying to get out of there.”
“Other women?” Dan was shocked. “How many women did he have? Didn’t someone notice people missing?”
“I don’t know. There were five other women when I woke up. Two were already dead.” Alice started to cry. What she was telling him was finally sinking in. “Dan, I’m fine.”
“I want to talk to that sheriff when I get there. I’m in the car right now. Get some rest. I’ll be there soon.” Dan said.
The call disconnected. Alice put the receiver down on the cradle and settled down to rest. She wiped the tears off her face and hugged one of the pillows against her stomach. She drifted off to sleep and by the time she woke up, Dan was sitting by her bedside.
She jumped when she woke up. She was dreaming of the shed and a face looming over her. There was a noise beside her and she almost screamed.
“Hey Alice. I’m here now.” Dan reached out and took her hand. “I’m not going to leave you by yourself. Go back to sleep and I will be over there in the chair.”
“Okay but I need you to go get my things at the hotel.” Alice told him. “Go get my stuff and come back here.”
“Are you sure you are going to be okay by yourself?” Dan looked around. “You were dreaming right before you woke up.”
“Yeah. I can’t leave here in a hospital gown.” Alice looked down at what she was wearing. “I just want to wear my own clothes.”
“Okay if you insist. I’ll be right back.” Dan kissed her on the cheek and held her tight for a moment before he left.
Alice let out a shaky breath. She needed a moment and she didn’t want Dan to know she was still rattled. It would only make him worry more.
Alice lay back down and tried to get some rest until her husband came back. She was failing miserably. She had too many images in her mind to get any peace.
Dan arrived at the hotel and the sheriff was there. He walked up to the man. “Hello I’m Dan Walker. I’m Alice Walker’s husband. I was wondering what you were doing to bring the bastard who took my Alice to justice.”
“We went to his place to pick him up but he was already gone. We have the bodies of two women on his property and proof that there were four others were being held there.” The sheriff walked with him to Alice’s room. “We have roads blocked off and we have been searching the woods near his property. His brother has a hunting camp and we are on our way out there now. We’ll find him and your wife will have justice.”
“I’m holding you to that. She was more traumatized than she will admit to. I should probably tell you that I am a lawyer. I would hate to file a lawsuit against this sheriff’s department and the county.” Dan threatened.
“I’m sure you won’t have to do that.” The sheriff assured him. This kind of thing is rare here. “This county is usually pretty quiet.”
“I hope so.” Dan said. “Is it possible for me to get my wife’s things? They will be releasing her in the morning. She sent me here to get them.”
“I think we can let you do that.” The sheriff turned to one of the deputies. “Bennet, let him have his wife’s things. We have everything that we need here, don’t we?”
“Yes sir, we do.” Bennet confirmed. He held up a paper bag and nodded. “I’ve gathered all the evidence there’s here.”
“Go ahead, Mr. Walker. We will be over at the hospital to take your wife’s statement in the morning. We wanted to let her get treatment before we started asking questions.” The sheriff held out his hand to Dan.
“Thank you for that.” Dan shook hands with the sheriff before going inside the motel room.
Dan went into the motel room and looked around. He collected Alice’s things and headed back to the hospital. Alice was asleep when he got there. He put her bag down and sat in the chair to spend the night.
The doctor came in the next morning and released Alice. The nurse brought her papers to sign and left to let Alice get dressed.
“I want to go check on Netta and Deb.” Alice said to Dan as she signed the papers for her release.
“I think that would be a good idea.” Dan said. “I want to meet these women. I want to thank them for being there when you needed someone to help you out of there.”
“We all helped each other.” Alice got up and got dressed. She ignored the wheelchair sitting near the door and headed down the hallway on foot.
Alice asked the nurse on duty where Netta and Deb were. The nurse gave her the room numbers. Alice thanked her and headed off to the first room she came to.
Alice knocked on the door frame and peeked in. “Netta, are you awake? It’s Alice.”
“Come in.” Netta smiled. “They aren’t going to let me go until they do some more tests. It’s not like they haven’t done all of them twice already.”
“I’m lucky to get out of her so soon. This is my husband, Dan.” Alice pointed to him. “Is there someone we can call for you?”
“No. my mom is on her way. I called her last night when we got here. ” Netta reached out for Alice’s hand.
Alice took her hand and held on to it. “I’m glad you have someone coming to help you through this.”
“We would still be there if you hadn’t got us moving. Thank you, Alice. We owe you our lives.” Netta squeezed her hand. “Alice, the nurse told me the name of the woman we took out of there with us. Her name is Lily Harper. She is in serious condition. They had to do surgery on her. She wasn’t just drugged when we got her out of there. She was bleeding internally.”
“I hope she is alright. She didn’t look good at all when we got her out of there. Have you seen Deb yet?” Alice asked. “I was going there next.”
“No. They haven’t let me out of this room since we got here.” Netta laughed. “Deb was having a rough night according to the nurse. They had to give her some medicine to calm her down.”
“I wonder if I should stop in and check on her.” Alice looked at Dan.
“If she is awake, she would want to see you. I was glad to see you. If it wasn’t for you none of us would have made it out of there.” Netta started to tear up. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to cry.”
“Like I said, I was mad. I hadn’t been there long enough to be afraid.” Alice said. “I didn’t do anything other than get angry and determined. I can’t imagine what you and Deb went through.”
“It was still more than we had managed to do.” Netta squeezed her hand again and wiped at her tears. “Tell Deb I’m thinking of her. She and I talked a little when we were in that place. I’d go but they won’t let me up yet. They want me to take it easy.”
The sheriff knocked on the door. “I’m glad to see they two of you together that saves me a trip. Hello Mr. Walker. We found Mr. Jacks at the hunting camp. He barricaded himself in and there was a shootout with my deputies. He was killed before we could take him into custody.”
“I want to see his body.” Netta said. “I want to make sure he’s dead. It’s the only way for me to get this behind me.”
“I want to see him too. I have a vague memory of a face but that’s all.” Alice requested. “Do you think Deb will want to see him too?”
“Probably.” Netta agreed. “They can take us to the morgue. We can get a look at him there. The morgue is in the building, right?”
“Yes. It’s in the basement.” The sheriff said. “I will ask the doctors if you three can make the identification for the purpose of closing the case. I will let him tell me if he thinks it’s a good idea or not. His brother will be here later to claim the body.”
“Did you find out who the other women were?” Alice asked.
“Yes. We have. All of you were taken from the motel in Russel. Mr. Jacks had a job there in maintenance. The first woman was taken right after Mr. Jacks got out of prison.” The sheriff told them.
“What was in prison for?” Dan had a sinking feeling as he asked the question.
“He was in for sexual assault of a neighbor.” The sheriff looked uncomfortable. “He served his time and he was staying out of trouble. His brother said he didn’t know that he was doing. I’m inclined to believe him because he lives in town and Mr. Jacks was living on the family farm.”
“Wasn’t anyone monitoring him?” Dan asked. “If he just got out of prison he would have to have had some kind of monitoring to make sure he wasn’t a threat to the community. He had to have been on a sexual offenders list at the very least.”
“He was monitored but apparently it wasn’t enough to keep him from doing what he did.” The sheriff took his hat off and rubbed his forehead. He looked tired. “Mr. Jacks never missed his appointments with the parole officer or the court appointed psychiatrist. His brother even had dinner with him once a week to make sure he was right in the head.”
“At the farm?” Dan asked. “Where they were being held?”
“No. They had dinner at the brother’s place here in town.” The sheriff shook his head. “This was a tragedy that could have been avoided and I’m sorry.”
“Have you gone to see the other two that made it out of there alive yet?” Alice asked.
“No. I was told that Ms. Harper wouldn’t be available to give a statement until later today.” The sheriff said. “That was the woman that was unconscious. The other woman, Ms. Sills, is my next stop.”
“I was headed that direction myself.” Alice said. “I wanted to check in on her.”
The sheriff nodded. “I’ll go ahead and fill her in, if you don’t mind waiting a few more minutes.”
Alice hesitated. She didn’t want Deb to hear what the sheriff said by herself.
“Don’t go yet.” Netta said. “I just don’t want to be alone yet. Mom won’t be here for a little while yet.”
Alice nodded. The sheriff bowed his head and left them to visit.
“What brought you to this place?” Dan asked Netta.
“I was here on a job interview. I don’t even know if I got the job.” Netta shrugged. “I’m a community planner. I came here to apply for a job opening advertised in Russel.”
“You could call and speak to the interviewer.” Alice suggested. “They may have made a decision by now.”
“I think, I will when I get out of here.” Netta said. “For right now, I think I should just follow the doctor’s orders and get some rest.”
An orderly came in with a wheelchair. “The sheriff told me to come get you, Ms. Kelly. He wanted you and Ms. Walker to meet him at the morgue. Ms. Sills wanted to go view the remains right away.”
“Do you need some help?” Alice asked Netta.
“I think I can manage.” Netta carefully got out of bed. “The orderly helped her into the wheelchair.”
They headed down to the morgue. Deb met them there in a wheelchair.
“Hey. Are you doing okay? Alice asked Deb. “I was coming to see you right after Netta.”
“The sheriff told me that you were coming but I wanted this over. He went in to get things ready for us.” Deb reached out for Netta. “How are you both feeling?”
“I’m still tired but Alice seems to be fine.” Netta took Deb’s hand and looked over at Alice.
“I wasn’t there as long as you and Netta.” Alice said. “You and Deb have been through a lot more than me.”
The sheriff came out of a door. “Ladies, they are ready for you now. All you have to do is take a look and tell me if the man on the table is the man that took you. Okay?”
The three women nodded.
Dan went to stand behind Alice. “Do you want me to go with you?”
“No. Dan, I can do this.” Alice said. “I don’t really have a clear memory of his face but I still want to see if this man is even close. I want to be there for Netta and Deb too.”
The orderlies wheeled Deb and Netta into the small room and Alice followed them. The sheriff looked at Dan and closed the door.
There was a man lying on a metal table in the room. There were two sheriff’s deputies standing in the room.
Netta leaned on the orderly standing beside her as she stood up. “That’s not him. He didn’t have a beard. This man has a beard.”
Alice looked at him and shrugged. “He doesn’t look familiar but I didn’t get a good look at him.”
Netta sat back down. “That isn’t the man. Oh god! That’s not the man.”
The other orderly helped Deb stand up. Deb looked at the man and shook her head. “That isn’t him.”
“This is Robert Jacks. This is the man that lived at the farm where you were being held.” The sheriff looked at the three women. “So all of you are telling me that this is not the man that kidnapped you and held you against your will in a shed on the Jacks family farm?”
“I think that’s what we are telling you.” Alice said. She looked around and saw Deb and Netta nodding.
The sheriff took off his hat and rubbed his forehead. “We have a big problem then.”
“Sheriff, they should get back to their beds. They are still weak.” The orderly who brought Deb in reminded him. “The doctor will not like it if they are over tired.”
The sheriff nodded. “Take them back to their rooms.”
Deb was the first one out of the door. She screamed.
Alice looked over Deb’s shoulder to where she was looking. “Sheriff, I think we found the man that took us.”
The sheriff looked out into the outer room and saw Martin Jacks the brother of the dead man on the table and the county commissioner. This was not the identification that he was expecting.
“Ms. Kelly, can you tell me if that is the man that held you prisoner?” The sheriff asked.
Netta looked at Martin Jacks with wide fearful eyes. “That’s him.”
The sheriff walked into the other room and handcuffed Martin Jacks. “I would have never expected it to be you. Bob was a more likely suspect.”
“Is this the man that took my wife?” Dan asked.
When the sheriff didn’t answer, he looked at the faces of the three women. He could see the fear in their eyes.
Dan walked over to the man in handcuffs and punched him hard in the jaw. Martin Jacks hit the floor unconscious.
The sheriff looked from the man on the floor to Dan. “I understand why you did that so I’m not going to charge you with assault. You need to take care of your wife not and leave him to me.”
Dan shook his hand and nodded. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to let my temper get out of hand.”
“You might want to get an x-ray of that hand. I think you may have broken it.” The sheriff gave Dan’s shoulder a squeeze. “I would have done the same thing if he had taken my wife.”
“Dan, that was stupid.” Alice said. “We better get that looked at.”
“Take Commissioner Jacks and put him in a cell.” The sheriff waved his deputies into the room. He turned to the three women. “I’ll need to get statements from you even though you identified him. I hate to do that to you but it has to be done.”
“We understand.” Netta told him. “You are only doing your job.”
“Ms. Walker, you can come down to the station to make your statement. I will send deputies to take statements from Ms. Sills and Ms. Kelly.” The sheriff looked at the orderlies. “You should be getting them back to their rooms. I am going to make sure the commissioner has been properly processed.”
“Thank you for everything you have done so far.” Deb told the sheriff. “I am getting tired.”
“Then we better go.” The orderly smiled. He looked at the other orderly who nodded and followed him down to the elevator.
“Let’s go get your bag and get out of this place.” Dan said.
“Not until you get that hand checked out.” Alice held his arm and looked at the bruise forming on his hand. “Humor me please.”
After Dan and Alice went to get her bag from her room, Dan got his x-ray. Dan had a boxers fracture but he didn’t care. All he cared about was that Alice was alright.
They left the hospital and headed to the sheriff’s department. Alice gave the deputy there her statement. Dan took her to a hotel in Fulbright for the night. They left in the morning.
Deb and Netta went home after they were released from the hospital. They kept in touch with Alice as they all waited for the trial.
The day before the trial they all went back to Fulbright to be witnesses for the prosecution.
Deb and Netta went in before Alice on the witness stand they told the judge and jury what they had been through. Their stories were similar.
They told the jury that they had been tied up and raped. They had been in that shed for days without water or food. They watched the next woman come in and be put through the same thing they had been put through themselves.
When Alice got on the witness stand, she looked at Martin Jacks.
“I never asked to be taken. I was minding my own business in my motel room. I had just spent the day at a conference. I went to sleep and had the weirdest dream that some man was standing over me. I woke up in a shed. In a shed!”
Alice took a sip of water and took a breath before she continued.
“My hands and feet were tied and I had been drugged. I was surprised that I wasn’t alone. I woke up to find five others in that shed with me. They had been there for days. There were two women dead in there with us.”
“I wasn’t going to stay there. I had to get out. We all did.” Alice looked at the judge. “We took an opportunity and got out of there. It took all of us to work together to get free but we did it.”
“Then the sheriff assumed that his brother had done this to us. He hunted down the wrong man and now he’s dead.” Alice turned to face Martin Jacks. “That makes you responsible for three deaths not just the two women in the shed but your own brother. I hope that haunts you.”
Alice went into the corridor to sit with Deb and Netta. Lily introduced herself and sat with them waiting for the verdict.
The verdict was quick and Martin Jacks was given the maximum sentence. It was what they needed to hear but it wasn’t going to help them heal. They were the only ones that could do that for themselves.