“Hey! Can I help you with something?” Tanya asked.
Whitney walked over and sat on a seat, “I have noticed that you have been rather distracted lately. Not focusing much on work.” She gave Tanya a glaring look.
Tanya gulped, “Umm… no, I just… there was this family emergency I was distracted with but, it’s all taken care of now.” She added quickly.
“Family emergency, huh?”
Tanya nodded.
“You haven’t been in touch with Aria, have you?”
Startled, Tanya tried to keep her face neutral to not give anything away, “What? No. of course not. We haven’t been in touch since even before she was arrested.”
Whitney gave her a searching look, “Well, I will take your word for it… for now. But, if I were you, I’d be careful with whom I keep my association with. You might find yourself out of work or worse if the management finds out that you have been in contact with a murderer.”
With that, Whitney walked out of the room.
“How on earth did she know!” Tanya thought to herself, “Or was that just a guess? It’s too much of a coincidence that she would mention Aria just minutes after she had talked to her.” Tanya tried to concentrate on her work. She had a client meeting in an hour, and she needed to prepare. However, it was getting harder and harder to focus on work with Whitney’s clear warning ringing in her head. What if she finds out that she had been helping Aria all along? She could manage without a job for a while, and with her experience, she would be able to find a job elsewhere … unless Whitney makes sure that I don’t get hired anywhere. What did she mean by ‘or worse’? Tanya shuddered. Was Whitney involved in this? Or was she trying to warn her about the ‘management’ and what they might do to her?
Tanya leaned back in her chair. This was getting messier every day. Should she take Whitney’s warning seriously? Should she back off? She buried her head in her hands, unsure of what to do.
Aria was lying awake in her cell. It was way past midnight. Carrie’s words kept repeating in her head. She wanted Aria to “take care of someone”! How could she possibly do that! She thought to herself. There was no question about it. She can’t really take someone’s life. She had been thrown into jail for a murder she did not commit. There was still a chance she could get out if Sanjay, Clark, and Tanya found something. She hadn’t done anything to deserve all this. Killing someone in prison would end all her chances of getting out. And how could she even think about doing something like that? Take someone’s life?! There’s no way.
However, Carrie had been clear that she would make her regret it later if she refused. “How much worse can my life get?” Aria groaned. She looked at the bars on her cell. She was already at her lowest. She suddenly remembered how brutal some inmates could get, Karen and Kelly had told her stories. Was she prepared to face all that?
No. She can’t take someone’s life. No way in hell. Her friends are bound to find something that her name soon. She just had to be patient and wait it out for a little while longer. Plus, she had done pretty good for herself in prison, thinking about Rachel and the way she was able to fight back like a pro.
Shit! She thought. What if Carrie and Rachel get together to take revenge on her! No. But, Carrie said she never liked Rachel. That won’t happen.
She sighed. Whatever her friends were doing, they better find something soon and quick. She can’t stay here. Another voice started speaking inside her head, what if they never find anything that can stick in court? They needed something big to submit an appeal after the case has been closed. What if she had to stay in prison for the rest of her life? Is she going to let Carrie brutalize and terrorize her forever? Shouldn’t she prove her worth again and get strong allies here? Isn’t that what Kelly had advised her to do?
But she can’t possibly kill someone! This wasn’t just a fight. It was murder!
Of course! That voice spoke again. But it is also survival.
Aria moaned lightly. How the hell did she get here! Her life had turned into a never-ending nightmare that she couldn’t seem to wake up from it.
Chapter 7: The Return of the Dead
The woman’s face was covered with a black cloth, her hands tied behind her back, her arm was tightly gripped by a masked man who was dragging her along the dark alleyway. She hit her foot on a large rock, and her knees gave away. She lost her balance and almost fell to the ground. The man aggressively pulled at her arm, “Stop messing around!” he snapped at her and pulled her up. He looked around to make sure there was no one around and started taking quick steps. He made a sudden turn, and the woman bumped into the wall. “Aggh!” she moaned in pain. Her mouth was gagged to ensure she didn’t scream. “Shut up!” the man hissed at her and gave her a shake.
They stopped in front of a shady building, but instead of climbing the stairs, the man dragged the woman towards the back. He instructed her to stand still while he opened the cellar door of the basement. The woman took a few steps backward, figuring out her chances of escape. She knew it was close to impossible that she would ever make it even a few steps away from her captor. She heard the squeak of a metal door opening. She gave her head a little shake to try to see through the cloth but in vain. It was dark outside, and the cloth was made of fine material, preventing her from seeking anything.
She heard the crunch of grass, and before she knew it, the man gripped her arm and pulled her towards the door. “Get in!” he snapped. “Hurry!” she was pushed inside the door and almost fell down the stairs before the man grabbed her hand again. He stepped near her a little too close for comfort, and she heard the door shutting loudly. “Move!” she slowly made her way downstairs, but her injured foot gave away, and she fell down the last couple of stairs.
The woman heard laughter. There were more men there.
“About time!” a loud voice boomed. “You were supposed to arrive an hour ago.”
The man came down the stairs behind the woman and pulled her up. “There was a delay. Fortunately, things went as planned.” He dragged the woman in the middle of the basement. There were many shelves with boxes at the back, and in the middle, there was a table surrounded by a few couches and chairs. There were a few men playing cards and smoking pot.
One of them stood up and stepped forward, “Should I put her with the other one?”
“You sure are dense, aren’t you?” said the man, still holding the woman, while others snickered.
“What… what do you mean?”
“Put the two women together so they can start trying to plot their escape?”
“They can’t escape from here, can they? There isn’t even a small window in those tiny rooms.”
“Oh, trust me, that doesn’t stop them. They will try their best to cook up an idiotic plan and then get killed in the process. I prefer to keep them alive, and once they are of no use, have a little fun, and then dispose of them.” This declaration was met with a lot of laughs and hoots from the men.
The other man looked nauseated but quickly forced a laugh to avoid further confrontation.
The first man pushed the woman towards the other man, “Take her in the last room. Make sure to tie her up nicely.”
The man nodded and grabbed the woman’s arm to lead her towards the five small rooms at the opposite end of the basement. As they were passing the stairs of the basement, the cellar door opened again, and everyone froze. They were not expecting anyone. The stairs creaked loudly as another man made his way down, followed by the sound of heels of a woman coming behind him.
All the men stood up immediately.
The man who brought the woman stepped forward, “We didn’t know you were coming boss. We could have made some nicer arrangements for you.”
The large man held his hand up, and he immediately was quiet, “Have you brought her here?”
“Of course. Like you instructed.” He answered, nodding towards the man who was standing next to the woman. He dragged her forward.
The large man
stepped forward and took off the cloth covering the woman’s face. “Ah! We meet again, Mrs. Coons.”
Ellen looked at the man, her eyes wide with fear. She took a few steps backward and bumped into the man standing behind her.
“There was nowhere to hide. Didn’t I make myself clear to you in our last meeting? Did I not warn you to keep your mouth shut or I will shut it for you? What did you do? You tried to do some investigation on your own. Not just that, you even tried to help that Aria chick through her feisty lawyer. Now, look at the mess you have created? We had to get her out of the picture too. See? I still thought I would keep you alive, figuring you might be of some help. What did you do then? Tried to escape!” The man roared. “You cost me a man too due to your stupidity!”
Ellen shook her head, desperately trying to apologize and to convince the man that it won’t happen again. However, only muffled sounds made their way through her gag.
“You have become too much trouble for me now, Mrs. Coons,” the man turned to the woman standing next to him, “You were right, love, I should have gotten rid of her with her husband. She is of no use to us.”
Tears flowed down Ellen’s face as she tried to beg for her life. She turned to look desperately at the man standing behind her, who hesitated before speaking up, “Should I lock her up, boss?”
The large man glared at him, “Who the hell are you? How dare you interrupt me.”
The other man quickly stepped forward, “He’s new. Forgive him, boss. He is just trying to please you. I will have a word with him later.” The man turned and gave him a warning look to stay quiet.
The large man looked at him angrily but then turned his attention back to Ellen. “I have had enough of this nonsense.” Without any warning, he pulled out a gun and shot Ellen right in the head.
“Clean up this mess!” he said to the room in general. “If that lawyer tries to make problems, deal with her too.” He turned to the woman, who was looking at him, admiringly, “Happy? Good! Let me take you out to celebrate?”
With that, both of them left the basement, leaving a heavy silence behind them.
The gunshot had startled Diaz awake. What was that! She thought. Her heart was pounding loudly against her chest. Was that a gunshot? Did they kill someone? It was the first time she had ever heard a sound in this place. She started sweating. Was that Ellen? Or was it some other unfortunate soul? Are they coming for her next?
She looked around desperately to find something to free her but in vain. She already knew there was no way to escape. If they were coming for her, she was as good as dead. Diaz waited and soon realized today wasn’t her day to die. After a long while, she realized no one was going to come in, aiming a gun at her. She breathed a sigh of relief. She hoped against hope that the masked man would actually come to her rescue. She didn’t know how much energy she had left inside of her. What she did know was that sudden gunshot made her realize she wanted to live, and she had to get out of this place, no matter what.
The men stood in silence after the boss and his lady were gone. The man standing close to Ellen’s body was staring at her eyes that were still open. He had blood spatters all over his clothes and face. His head was still trying to process what had just happened. He had never watched anyone die in front of him, and certainly not this brutally. His heart was racing. He felt someone push him.
“… do you even hear me?” said one of the men. “You are lucky I stepped in when I did, else you would have been lying next to her right now. Have you gone insane? Talking back to the boss! Keep your mouth shut the next time. You hear me?” the man gave him another push. “You will end up getting us all killed otherwise!”
The man simply nodded his head, still staring at Ellen’s eyes. The shock and fear hadn’t left her face yet.
“Good! Keep your trap shut, and clean up this mess. All that blood is making me queasy. It better be cleaned up before we get back.” After a few minutes, all the men left through the basement door. He heard the loud bang of the door shutting. Alone, his knees gave way, and he fell on the floor. This wasn’t supposed to happen. It was supposed to be a one time job to keep a watch on the kidnapped people. He never expected this to happen. He never even wanted to be here in the first place; he was threatened and forced to do this job. A woman lost her life right in front of him, and he couldn’t even do anything about it.
He couldn’t bear looking at Ellen’s face again. He gently closed her eyes and found a clean cloth and filled a bucket with water, and cleaned up her face the best he could. He then found a large bedsheet and wrapped Ellen around it. She deserves a proper burial. He thought to himself. It took him a good amount of time to carry her body out of the basement. He cleaned up the blood from the basement floor and found a shovel. He was halfway through digging the grave when the men returned. Some of them looked surprised when they saw him, and others had the audacity to laugh. “Seriously, man? Just drop her in the lake, and you are done. What’s wrong with you?”
He wiped the sweat off his forehead and continued digging the grave. All of them went back down to the basement, and he was sure they resumed the card game they were playing before, as if nothing had happened.
He kept on digging the grave, and by the time he was done laying Ellen to rest, he had resolved to save the other woman who was still stuck in the basement, at the mercy of these men. Who knows when the boss might return and shoot her too! He wasn’t sure at first how he would manage it, even though he had promised her he would rescue her. Now, after what he had witnessed with Ellen’s point blank murder, he knew he had no choice but to get her to safety, even if it’s the last thing he did.
He needed to make sure that the basement was empty. He had to figure out how to get them all out again. There wasn’t much time. At night, only one or two of them would stay to guard the place, while the rest went home or wherever they were staying. Since it an easy job, and there was only one prisoner there, one of them stayed up half the night, and then the other would switch and take over the shift a few hours of sleep.
That night was his shift for the first half of the night. It was now or never. He thought to himself. He told the others he was going to get food and that he’d be back shortly.They were playing cards. No one even bothered replying. He just had to wait till everyone else left and the other guy fell asleep. He got his hands on some sleeping pills and bought some food that he could give to Diaz to make sure she had strength to get up and go. He then spent the next couple of hours at a diner. He wanted to make sure he didn’t get back to soon, so as not to make anyone suspicious about his intention to rescue Diaz. Plus, his nerves might give him away.
A little before midnight, he returned to the basement and was greeted by a few abusive words.
“Where the hell were you?”
“Sorry, I got caught up. Lost track of time!”
“I thought I had to spend the whole night alone here!”
“Oh! It’s just us?”
“Yeah! It was our shift today, you know that. What’s wrong with you?”
“Oh yeah! Sorry! I am just a bit in shock still…”
The other man sneered, “Aww, look at you, getting all girly after seeing a lil’ blood.”
“Wasn’t just a little blood…” he said to himself. There was no point in getting into an argument. He needed this guy to go to sleep soon. There wasn’t much time. Some nights, a few men would barge in with a new victim or to just drop something off for the boss. If that happened, there was no way he could help Diaz. His next shift was a week later, and there was no way he was going to risk it after what happened today. “Sorry, man! I just lost track of time. How about I make some coffee or maybe some sandwiches? There’s peanut butter in the fridge.”
The man looked at him and then grinned, “Yeah, you do that. Imma sleep after that, and I won’t be waking up anytime soon. You got it? Serves you right for coming back so late.”
“Sure,” He quickly started making the coffee and sandwiches. That was
easy. He thought to himself. He added two pills into the coffee and watched as it dissolved. For good measure, he crushed two more pills, and mixed it with the peanut butter he was spreading on the toast.
“Good girl!” the man sneered, taking the sandwich and coffee from him. He proceeded to make more snide remarks as he wolfed down the sandwich and finished the coffee. Then he chugged a can of beer and threw it away. “So, how was it? Was that your first time watching someone get shot?” he asked as he sank into the sofa, still sneering at him.
“Umm… yeah!” he replied, getting worried he might not have put in enough sleeping pills. However, within the next few minutes, while the other man carried on about when he watched someone get shot for the first time, his voice trailed off and he started snoring.
“Finally!” The man jumped up and grabbed the keys from the table. He already had a backpack packed with some food and water. He quickly grabbed the mask and pulled it over his face. No need to reveal his identity as he could get into trouble even if he did help her escape in the end. He hurried towards the back of the basement, towards the room where Diaz was locked in.
Diaz woke up, startled with the sound of someone trying to open the door. She sat up. What was happening? She had only seen the door open once when the masked man came in before. Was it him again? Was he going to help her escape? Her spirits lifted when the door swung open, and the masked man hurried inside.
“Stay quiet! The other guy is sleeping. I put some sleeping pills in his food, but I don’t know how strong they are, and if he catches us, we are both dead.”
Diaz stammered, “Yeah… okay.” She watched as the man untied her hand that was chained to the wall and then her feet.
“Here, there is some food inside. You need energy. We will have to walk a long way. I don’t have a car right now… listen, you have to make sure you are well hidden and avoid attracting attention. Some of the men come during the night, and we don’t want them to notice us on their way here. got it?”
Capital Crime (An Aria Raymond Thriller Book 2) Page 7