Amelia laid in her bed engrossed in a book. A good mystery always could keep her reading. It was about 10:30 on a Saturday and she was already in her pajamas. She wore black shorts and a big T-shirt of the local hockey team. She had taken out her contacts and switched to her glasses. Amelia had spent the day with her younger sister, Alexis. She always tried to make sure they would do the things that Alexis wants to do. Their Mom worked so much and Amelia remembered all the things she wanted to do when she was 13, but couldn’t because there was no ride or time.
Normally, on a Saturday night she would be doing something with her best friend Molly. She would probably prefer if they would just hang out in their bedrooms, but Molly always wanted to go out and do something; particularly if that something involved cute guys. Tonight, Molly had gone out of town with her family to a reunion in another part of the state. Amelia decided she would spend the night in, which she was quite enjoying.
Amelia was pulled from her book by the ringing of her cellphone. It was the ringtone that she had given Molly and one she was very familiar with.
“Hi, Molly,” she answered the phone.
“Hey, A,” Molly said, “How are things back home?”
“Fine,” Amelia answered, “I’m in my pajamas and reading. How are things there? Boring?”
“Yea, a little boring,” Molly said, “I refuse to believe that all these people are actually related to me. Anyway, it wasn’t really too bad. I talked to a lady who I think is my Mom’s second cousin? Yea, and she told me about some of the crazy stuff that was going on in her town.
“She said her daughter-in-law had gone missing more than a year ago and that it was the first in a bunch of disappearances. Those have been on our news, but she told me about some stuff that had been going around the town. Like how incompetent the police have been and the growing belief that it is being caused by some sort of animal or monster or something.”
“That’s awful,” Amelia said.
“Yea…,” Molly said, “Umm… Then she said she would give anything to find out what’s been happening and the truth about her Daughter-in-law’s disappearance. She said she’s hired some PIs and nothing has come of it. So then, I told her that I had a friend who was really good at researching and figuring stuff out.”
“Molly,” Amelia whined.
“It just kinda slipped out. She looked so sad.”
“I have a feeling you wouldn’t be calling me, if this didn’t go further,” Amelia said.
“Yea, well, she kind of dismissed it at first, but then I told her about how fucking smart you are and maybe hinted that you’ve dabbled in crime investigation. Then she was intrigued. Then, I came to find out that she and her husband are very rich. And she said that she could make a generous offer should my friend be interested.”
“Did it end there?” Amelia said hopefully.
“Well… no. I pushed her for specifics and she said that if you figured it out she would pay for your college in full. Then I told her that my friend probably would get a full-ride wherever she went. And she said in that case she would provide a very generous amount of spending money. I told her I’d talk to you about it and said I thought you’d be interested.”
“Wow,” Amelia said, “That’s quite generous. But I’m not really an investigator.”
“You always can figure stuff out,” Molly said, “I bet you could solve this and be all set for College.”
“It is a lot of money,” Amelia started, “But I kinda wanted to keep my head down after what happened last time I looked into something sinister.”
“Yea,” Molly said, “but I think this is different. It’s a different city and whatever is going on isn’t the work of some master criminal organization. And it’s paid so the risk is kind of worth it.”
“I don’t know, Molly,” Amelia said.
“C’mon,” Molly started, “I know you would like to see those families get some peace. And I bet you could make it so women can feel much safer in that town, if you just try to figure it out. It’s a pervert or maybe a small group of perverts making thousands feel frightened. It isn’t fair, Amelia.”
Molly knew her best friend well enough that she had tailored that argument to Amelia’s intense belief in fairness and justice. If it didn’t work, there was no way to convince her friend. The call went silent for nearly half a minute. Amelia’s mind was racing.
“Tell her,” Amelia started, “that if she agrees to pay for Alexis’ college as well I’ll start looking into this stuff.”
“I’ll tell her what you said and let you know what her response is tomorrow,” Molly said, “I’ve got to go. Mom and Dad just got back to the hotel room.”
“Try not to volunteer me for any new work tomorrow,” Amelia said dryly.
“I’ll do my best,” Molly said, “Talk to you soon. Bye, A.”
“Bye, Molly.”
Amelia walked into her house after returning home from school. She had the house to herself until Alexis got home, which would be in about an hour. She wore a short denim skirt, plaid button-up shirt, black pantyhose and black chucks. She ran up to her room and sat at her desk. It was as she had left it. She had a marked-up map, her notes randomly strewn about on the desk and various printed articles. She pulled her laptop from her backpack and it quickly became an extension of her cluttered desk.
She had agreed to investigate the missing women in another town nearly four weeks ago. She felt she had things figured out as well as she could using just the internet and a few phone calls. She also thought she was pretty close to finding an answer. She went over her facts for another time:
She knew that there were 12 missing women and a body had been found at the scene where the 5th disappearance is thought to have occurred. They were between the ages of 14-37. An expert hired by the city thought the wounds on the woman’s body were consistent with a snake bite, but that theory was not accepted as credible. All but one of these women and girls were last seen wearing hosiery, which was the main link they shared. Only one shoe was found where each woman is thought to have been taken from.
She held up the map and looked at the area she had circled. The area where all the initial disappearances had occurred was quite small. Her main focus had become on an area of just four houses. She thought that area would be where she could figure out what was going on.
The theory she developed was that the woman had been kidnapped by a single person. They were targeted because of their pantyhose or tights. She thought it was just a single culprit, because there was never any ransom sought, so it must be a psychotic sadist and sadists rarely work in pairs. She had little doubt that all the women were dead and she thought their murderer must have a way to make the bodies literally disappear. She thought likely he had an incinerator.
She had come up with a plan, which she was going to put into action tomorrow. She knew how risky it was, but she had become determined to find the truth. She just needed to get this guy out from hiding. Even if that met she had to be the lure.
Hours later, Amelia, Molly and Alexis all sat in Amelia’s room. Amelia was going over the plans for tomorrow, which they had both agreed to be a part of when she first brought the idea up more than a week before.
“Molly,” Amelia said, “you will drive your own car and meet Alexis and I at the fast food place just off the interstate. Then we will all make certain that we have this locater app on our phones and that it is working properly. We will then park our cars in separate locations that will allow for us to get to one of them quickly and allow for a quick escape from the subdivision. Then, we will meet up at this corner, which is several streets down from the area we need to work in.
“At this point I will start walking towards that area and Molly will follow several minutes after. Alexis, we will both keep in contact with you by text message frequently. If one of us goes silent alert the other and check out locations. Whoever is still in contact with you will tell you to call 911.”
“I’d rather be closer,” Alexis chimed in, “so I could help too if one of you gets in trouble.”
“No closer,” Amelia said authoritatively, “For your important job you need to be out of sight. And my job as a big sister means I have to make sure you're safe. And remember that we shouldn’t tell Mom we are doing this.”
“Okay, Amy,” Alexis said, trying not to pout.
“Molly, do you remember how you’re supposed to dress?”
“Yea,” Molly said.
“Remember to have pockets,” Amelia said, “Cell phones need to stay on your person and not in a bag.”
“Mhm…” Molly said kind of absent-mindedly, “We’ve been over this a million times. I got it a while ago.”
“Well,” Amelia, “it’s important, so I was just making sure. Remember that one of us is trying to get grabbed by a homicidal person. If he tries to knock you unconscious try to tell him that you’ll cooperate and do whatever he wants. Try to sound pathetic and scared, because I think he’ll like it. Alexis will make sure 911 is called and the police are coming to your location. Either Molly or I will make our way to the other’s position once one of us loses contact with Alexis.
“Finally, if anything goes awry the priority is Alexis and getting her out safe. Under no circumstance is she to be left stranded even if it means leaving one of us in a potentially dangerous situation.”
“I’ve been meaning to ask this,” Molly said, “but what if this guy kills whoever he grabs quickly.”
“He won’t,” Amelia said, “He likes to watch people suffer. The scenario that could be very bad is if he feels desperate. Don’t fight him too hard and he’ll feel he has the power and won’t make him feel like he needs to escape or something.”
“Okay,” Molly said, “I trust that you little genius brain has figured all this shit out.”
“We’ve gone over everything multiple times,” Amelia said, “Anything else you guys wanna touch on?”
“No,” Alexis said quietly.
“Nope,” Molly replied.
“Alright,” Amelia said, “Molly, I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”
“See you, A,” Molly said before exiting.
“Alex, give me like half an hour,” Amelia said, “and then we’ll go pick something up to eat.”
“Okay,” Alexis said, “what do you wanna get?”
“Whatever you want will be fine.”
“I don’t know,” Alexis said, “I’ll think about it.”
Alexis ran out of the room. Amelia’s expression changed from one of confidence to one of panic. She realized all the risks and their consequences as she went over the plan that evening. She just wanted to cancel the whole thing. But she didn’t want to be a coward. She also wanted to see Alexis’ college paid for. She realized that she was shaking quite badly.
“Fuck,” she said aloud, “This is too risky.”
A few tears fell from her eyes as her mind was filled with lots of fears of dying or getting Alexis or Molly killed. Her nervousness was overwhelming her. She laid on her bed and started to calm herself down. She wanted to do the right thing, but she didn’t know what that was anymore when just a few hours ago she was so convinced of it.
Upon returning to her room after having dinner with Alexis, Amelia stood over her desk and happened to catch the profile she had made of the girl who had gone missing most recently. She picked it up and looked it over and realized how much similar she was to the girl. She grabbed more of the information she had gathered about the victims. The second girl reminded her of Alexis. A realtor, like her Mom, had gone missing from a showing.
She remembered why she wanted to take the risk. She felt such empathy for the victims’ families, imagining how awful it would be if something happened to Alexis. The desire she had for there to be justice for the victims rose above her doubt once again. She sat at her desk and started looking over the plans and all the information she had gathered for another time.
Amelia awoke early the next morning, still at her desk with her face buried in her papers. She sat up and stretched her arms above her head. She felt pretty well rested just a bit achy from her awkward sleeping position. She got up, showered and got dressed. She had decided on this outfit a few days prior. She wore a short black dress, which only came down to the middle of her thighs, black opaque tights and gray slouchy boots. It was a bit of an unusual look for her, but she had reasoned it all out. It showed off a lot of leg. Also she decided that instead of having pockets she would keep her cell phone tucked into her right boot. She deduced that since on the left shoe was found of 11 of the missing woman her right shoe would probably stay on for long enough for a location to be found.
About an hour later she and Alexis, who she had made change out of a skirt, were in the car and on their way.
They pulled off the interstate and found that Molly had beaten them to where they had planned to meet. Molly typically wasn’t that punctual, so Amelia figured that her best friend must be just as eager as her. She pulled into a parking spot beside Molly. She got out of the car, so the three of them could have a final meeting before they actually do anything. However, when Molly got out of her car, Amelia was immediately annoyed.
“Why the fuck do you have that on?” Amelia said looking at her friend’s outfit.
“What?” Molly replied a bit confused.
“Did I not go over how you should dress a million times?” Amelia said.
Molly had not worn tights or even a skirt like Amelia had told her to. Instead she wore a black cardigan, white top, black pants and black strappy sandals on her feet with a heel Amelia guessed to be 4 inches.
“Yea,” Molly said, reaching into her pockets dramatically, “you said pockets.”
“There was a little more than that, Molly,” Amelia said.
“Oh,” Molly said, “Must’ve missed that part.”
“There were three rules,” Amelia said, not masking her annoyance, “Tights, show off your legs and pockets! I didn’t tell you about the show off your legs one, because you always seem to do that anyway! But here you are in pants and a pair of totally impractical heels.”
“But they’re sexy,” Molly said.
“Right,” Amelia started, “but that doesn’t matter to the asshole we’re trying to catch!”
“I’m sorry, A,” Molly said, “I should’ve listened better. I thought a pervert would be attracted to how awesome my butt looks in these pants.”
“I didn’t mean to yell,” Amelia said, “we’ll just…”
“You’re adorable when you yell and get all mad,” Molly said, interrupting.
“We’ll just have to alter our plans,” Amelia said, not acknowledging her friend’s joke, “and maybe this isn’t such a bad thing.”
Amelia paused and thought for a moment.
“If we just have one of us as bait,” she started, “We won’t cover as much ground, but it could be much less confusing for all of us and that should make this a little less dangerous.”
“See that’s what I was really thinking,” Molly interjected.
“And you always say I’m the genius,” Amelia said sarcastically before turning serious again, “Okay, Molly, I want you to remain close to me, but out of sight. Use your phone to keep track of where I am not your eyes, because if you can see me then this person might see you as well. And I think he’s probably too much a coward to even dare try something in that case.
“If I do get nabbed, you’re going to have to play it by ear. Don’t do anything dangerous. Make sure Alexis has called 911. Make sure you’re there when the cops arrive. Do whatever you think is right. Just don’t make a scene, because I don’t think that would be safe for anyone.”
“Got it,” Molly said.
“So you actually listened?” Amelia replied.
“Of course,” Molly said, “Keep close but out of sight. When shit goes down, I need to make sure we’re both as safe as possible.”
“Do you want me to do anything else?” Alexis chimed in.
“No,” Amelia said, “Just stay back. I’ll keep texting you. If you get nothing from me for two minutes you call 911. Or if Molly tells you to.”
“Okay,” Alexis replied.
“Everyone, let’s check our phones,” Amelia said, pulling hers out of her right boot, “plenty of battery and that locator app?”
“Yep,” said Molly.
“Yes, Amy,” said Alexis.
“Alright,” Amelia said, “you’re both still comfortable with this? If you’re too scared or think this is too dangerous just say so and we won’t do it.”
“I’m here for you,” Molly said, “and I know that if you use that giant brain of yours we’ll all come out of this alright. And there’ll be a nice payoff too.”
“Alexis?” Amelia said.
“I wanna help.” Alexis answered.
“Okay,” Amelia said, “if any one of us texts the others ‘abort’ we’ll stop. Let’s go.”
Amelia parked her car in a predetermined spot and walked with Alexis to the rendezvous point. They had to wait a bit for Molly, since she had to park further away and her heels didn’t help her progress either. When Molly joined them, they were ready to put their plan into action. They all had terrible butterflies, but reassured themselves by looking at the others.
“Can you run in those?” Amelia asked, looking at Molly’s shoes.
“Mhm,” Molly said, “You’d be surprised what a girl learns when she plays three sports.”
“Alright,” Amelia said, “I’m first to leave. See you guys in a bit.”
Amelia started walking towards the street that she intended to get kidnapped, albeit briefly, on. It sounded crazy in her head, but she just kept walking. The bright morning sun reflected off her tights and she knew that if he was paying attention there was no way he wouldn’t notice her. She texted Alexis as she neared the street at which she would turn.
Molly left a few minutes after Amelia and took a rather different path. She moved through people’s yards using bushes and the houses themselves for cover. She got into position where she was hidden behind a house and Amelia walked on the other side of the street. She peeked around the corner and spotted a man walking very quickly towards where Amelia was. She quickly pulled her phone out and texted her best friend:
“Man. Behind you. Walking very fast.”
Amelia had just finished sending Alexis another text when she got the message from Molly. She slid her phone into her right boot hoping to make it look like she was just scratching her leg. She braced herself as she expected to soon be grabbed. Molly texted Alexis telling her to call 911. She had kept out of sight as instructed, but she was certain that was the man they were looking for.
Amelia heard the footsteps coming. She knew what was coming when an arm wrapped around her torso. She saw the rag coming towards her face and quickly reacted.
“Please don’t knock me out,” she said trying to act even more scared than she actually was, “I’ll do anything you want. Just don’t knock me out.”
“Hands behind your back,” Michael said.
Amelia did as she was told and she felt something being wrapped around her wrists. It felt soft; not at all like the ropes she had experienced before. Michael tied the tights securely binding her wrists behind her back.
“You must think I’m a fool,” Michael said.
He returned his chloroform rag to her face before she could respond. She struggled as best she could, but it was useless given her bound state. She lost consciousness quickly and fell limp into his arms. He dropped her and quickly knelt down. He slid off her left boot and left it on the sidewalk. Then picked up the small girl for the short trek to his house.
Molly came out of cover just in time to see him take her into a house. She could see her boot was gone before he shut the door behind him. She started making her way towards the house.
Michael set Amelia down on the ground by the stairway to his basement. She was definitely the smallest girl he had brought home to feed to the snake. She was cute and in tights though, which were really his only two requirements. He got down at her feet and slid off her right boot, which as it came off revealed her cell phone which slid down her nylon-clad legs and onto the floor. He didn’t bother paying any attention to it. He just grabbed it and threw it aside. He thought it might have some interesting pictures for him to enjoy along with the boot souvenir.
He gently ran his and along her calf and foot for a moment before she began to stir. He lifted her up and started carrying her down the stairs.
Molly struggled to unbuckle her heels as she stood on the porch of the house Molly had gone into. She remembered why she hated that type of sandal. She managed to get them off her feet with some effort; she knew it would be quieter and quicker to go without shoes. She could hear sirens in the distance, but she feared too much that Amelia would be killed before they got there. And she knew that she was a tall and strong girl and thought she could take this guy; especially if she surprised him. She checked the door and found that it was unlocked, which was lucky for her.
“How comfortable that pervert must be to not even lock his door while he does whatever it is he does”, she thought, “That’s my advantage.”
In the basement, Michael laid Amelia down and the snake had its usual reaction as it uncoiled and started slithering towards the new writhing form. Amelia fully awoke and started fighting against her bondage. She didn’t bother pleading with the man for she knew he wouldn’t care. But she was sure he’d enjoy a good show, so she grunted and fought until she rolled onto her side and saw what was approaching her. Her eyes got big. She was horrified that she was about to get eaten. That this was how that bastard made girls disappear.
Molly was only a few steps from the basement when she stopped to assess the situation for a brief moment. She could see her best friend bound and struggling just ahead of her and slightly to the right. She noticed a shadow of a man to the left and burst down the few remaining steps. Michael didn’t even react until he received a solid kick to the crotch which sent him to the ground. Molly quickly moved to Amelia and was faced with a snake. She was petrified of snakes, but she kept moving despite the terror that filled her.
Amelia was surprised when she was lifted with that monstrous snake inches away. She didn’t quite grasp what had happened, but she knew she was being taken up the stairs very quickly. She looked up and saw her best friend had picked her up and was taking her out of the house.
“Oh my god, Molly!” she said, “You saved me.”
Molly didn’t reply; she just kept moving. She carried her out the door and found a group of SWAT team members were jumping out of the back of an armored vehicle. Their leader motioned for them to get behind the vehicle. Molly did just that, she sat Amelia down very gently as they both took in the scene before them. The SWAT team blocked any escape through the front door just as Michael came running out in a rage.
He was faced with many suppressed MP5s and their laser sights were fixed on his chest. He quickly calmed down and surrendered to the officers. Molly realized that she hadn’t untied her friend, so she did so whilst apologizing for not doing it sooner. She was very quickly embraced by a tearful Amelia. She tightly hugged her best friend back while Michael was being led away.
Molly started to shake very badly as the scene became less frantic. Amelia let go and saw her friend had gone pale and looked absolutely terrified.
“What’s the matter?” Amelia asked, sounding very worried, “Are you hurt?”
Molly shook her head.
“Snake,” she quietly muttered.
“It’s okay, Molly,” Amelia said, “It’s over now. It won’t get me or you.”
“So big,” Molly squeaked out.
“You’re safe, Molly,” Amelia said.
“I…I…I,” Molly started as she started to look very woozy, “I didn’t know they could get that big.”
“Stay with me,” Amelia said grabbing Molly’s upper arms.
Molly mumbled some incoherent things and collapsed onto Amelia. With all the might in her small body, she kept her friend from falling and then used her lap as a pillow for Molly. She saw an ambulance and some paramedics walking towards them.
“Are you okay?” one of the female paramedics asked.
“Yea,” Amelia answered, “but my friend just kinda passed out.”
One of the paramedics grabbed smelling salts from their impressive first aid kit. She passed it to her partner who broke it under Molly’s nose. Molly woke up to the unpleasant aroma.
“Stay still sweetheart,” The paramedic said as she handed the smelling salts back to her partner.
She used a tiny flashlight to check Molly’s eyes, which were fine.
“Does your head hurt?” she asked.
“No,” Molly answered.
“Are you dizzy, lightheaded or nauseous?”
“No, No, and a little from that smell,” Molly replied.
“Okay,” she said, giving a smile, “I think you’re fine. Your parents will be informed of your situation. And we will need to get both of you checked out at the hospital.”
“Do you know where my Sister is?” Amelia asked.
“She is with an officer,” she replied, “she really wanted to come to the scene, but we thought it would be best if she didn’t. She’ll be at the hospital.”
“Thanks,” Amelia said.
“Um…,” Molly started, “Can I get my shoes?”
“Sorry,” she said, “it’s a crime scene now, so you’re down a pair I’m afraid.”
“I didn’t like them anyway,” Molly said, “too hard to get on and off.”
“And maybe you shouldn’t wear giant heels in case you pass out again,” Amelia said.
Molly stuck her tongue out at Amelia who was still serving as her pillow.
“C’mon,” the paramedic said, “Let’s get you kids up.”
She helped Molly stand up and kept her stable on her feet and Amelia followed behind. Police were swarming the scene and some media vans had just pulled up as the girls were taken away in the ambulance.
The girls were taken straight to an exam room where they were greeted by Alexis. She ran straight at her big Sister and they hugged for a long time. A nurse came in and took their vitals before warning them that a detective would come in soon and question them. The girls answered his questions and then were checked out by a doctor and both were given a clean bill of health. They were left in the room and told their parents were on the way.
“Thank you for saving me,” Amelia said.
“Nobody fucks with my friend,” Molly said feigning toughness, “I will do it again even if you warn me to be cautious again. But let’s hope there isn’t a next time. Or at least don’t involve snakes.”
“Got you,” Amelia said, “No more snakes.”
“I mean it,” Molly said, “I freak out over a garter snake. I probably won’t ever sleep again knowing a snake that huge exists.”
There was a knock on the door and the parents walked in. Hugs were given all around.
“Alright,” said Molly’s Mom, “they said we’re free to go home.”
“Didn’t they tell you guys to bring us shoes?” Molly asked.
Back at Michael’s house, a group of Biologists from the local university were moving cautiously into the basement. They acted incredulous at the report of the snake’s size, but found if anything it had been underestimated. The most experienced of the team at handling live animals cautiously approached the beast and gave it a very large dose of sedative. Once that had taken effect they needed the assistance of several police officers to get it out of the basement and into their van.
They had been tasked with the job of figuring out the back story of this snake. Detectives wanted to know where it came from, how it got so big and any other useful information they could come up with. The university was tasked to provide a secure home for the snake until further notice.
No comments:
Post a Comment