Unlawful Imprisonment

by Tracey Higgins

  Chapter 1

  David Reese had been sitting in his prison cell for five years waiting for this day to come, his parole. He wasn’t sure if this was something to look forward to. From what he had heard being on parole was just like being in prison except you are not in a cell. However, he was looking forward to being in more control over his life. He went into prison right before his twenty fifth birthday and came out right after he turned thirty. Hopefully, he would be able to regain credibility into society, but he knew that was a long shot.

  “Open thirteen!” The cell door clanked open and David Reese was led throughout the prison to the basement. He didn’t have the look to be in prison. David was not muscular but he was extremely good looking. He was tall, his brown hair was always styled in a short, preppy look and there wasn’t a blemish on his face. David was going to collect the items he walked in with five years ago.

  “Prisoner 76231- Reese. One black leather wallet, one gold watch…” As the corrections officer was giving him back his personals, he was reminded of what his life had been like, until Barbara Atkins came into the picture.

  “You get this suit to wear and forty dollars for travel.” It was a disgusting brown suit made of crappy fabric that looked like it was worn five times already. “As soon as you walk out of here you will be placed on a bus which will take you to the Parole Department of Millers County. You will meet your parole officer at five o’clock. Don’t be late or you will end up right back here, got it?” “Yeah,” he sighed, “I got it.” He couldn’t believe he was free. David took one last look at the building that controlled his every move for the past five years. The only thing keeping him from leaving town and starting a new life was the fear he could lose his parole, but the temptation was strong.

  MILLERS COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF PAROLE “Stephenson!”

  “Come in.” Andrea Stephenson had been a parole officer for three and a half years. It took her a while to get to know what was expected of her, but one thing she learned is that it was absolutely impossible to get all the case loads complete on time. She was already behind on her parole visits. The workload was intense. More and more people were being paroled because of the overcrowding in prisons. Nowadays, a five-year sentence meant two and a half years, if that. When she heard John Healy’s voice, the Senior Parole Officer, she knew it was another one. There was no room in her office for a cup of coffee, let alone another file. Her office was more like a cubicle with walls and a view of the overcrowded street below. When she was in her office all there was to hear was honking and yelling. She had a few pictures of her boyfriend on the wall to cover some of the pale blue paint job from years ago.

  “Let me guess, I have another case.”

  “What else? That’s what you get for being so dedicated.” He said with a grin and handed her the case file. He was rubbing his lower back. John was a young looking fifty-five-year-old man. His brown hair had only a few strands of gray and aside from the small bulge in his stomach he was in decent physical shape. John was always into fitness but it was his last case that he hurt his back. He was running after a parolee when he caught him at a bar and was hit by a car. Incredibly he walked away from the accident, but his back had given him problems ever since.

  “I’ll go over it tonight.”

  “You don’t have until tonight, he’s going to be here in a few hours.”

  “Are you kidding me?”

  “Look, I’m sorry, but there’s nothing I can do about it. He was supposed to be assigned to Millhouse but he already has too many parolees scattered around the area. You’re the only one who lives within a reasonable distance from this guy. The traveling would be too much for the others. Besides you know everyone is already overloaded.”

  “Great, a new neighbor. What did he do?” “He raped and tortured a woman after picking her up at a bar.”

  “How nice,” she sighed, “I just love my clientele. It was cases like this that make me wonder why I keep working here.”

  “Oh come on, you can’t be ready to quit. Twenty five or more years of this and you can retire.”

  “Well, I’m thirty one now. I don’t think I’ll make it that long.”

  “Good luck.”

  “Luck has nothing to do with it.”

  Some people could never understand how a woman could supervise a convicted rapist, but after awhile the parolees seemed the same no matter what the offense was. Andrea had seen it all from burglary to assault, rape and even child molesting. If that wasn’t bad enough, every first encounter was the same with the “I didn’t do it” syndrome, or Andrea’s personal favorite, “I was found guilty so I guess that makes me guilty right?” The recidivism rate for felons is seventy percent, meaning they almost always do something to go back to prison. When you’re dealing with serious offenders you unfortunately learn to see them as a statistic and nothing more. She tried not to take that view but it was becoming more difficult not to. Just as she was about to open the file of her new parolee, there was a knock at the door.

  “Yes?”

  “Hey, want to grab some lunch?” It was Michael Amalfitano.

  “No I can’t. I have a new person coming in at five o’clock and about fifty parolee’s records to do before the end of the week.”

  “Impossible, it cannot be done.” He said as he made himself comfortable in a chair.

  “Tell me about it.”

  They were staring at each other in a very awkward moment. Michael wasn’t that tall, but he had a great body with big blue eyes. He was the perfect looking blond haired man. Andrea never liked blondes, until she saw Michael.

  “Look, I really have to get this done.”

  “Alright, I’ll try and get you for dinner.”

  “Well Michael,” she said sarcastically, “I don’t think your wife would appreciate that.”

  “What she doesn’t know won’t kill her.”

  “Goodbye Michael.”

  “Later.”

  Sometimes Andrea thought that Michael was just as bad as the people who came into her office day in and day out. Although, in a way she knew she was equally bad as him because she had an affair with Michael when she started. The guilt was too much for her to deal with so she ended it. Since they worked together she tried to make the break up as painless as possible, but he didn’t take it well. Michael was the type of person who couldn’t be on his own. He always had the need to be with someone. Until she met Tony, Andrea always had a soft spot for Michael. The only parole officer Andrea was truly disgusted by was Brandon Hughes. He was a parole officer for eight years and was known for his complete disregard for the opposite sex. John had always tried to get him fired, but it was impossible. Brandon did his job and was always on time with his reports. At first, Andrea thought all the rumors about him could not be true, until he continuously came on to her. Those were the times when Michael came in handy. She knew she had nothing to worry about with Michael right down the hall. Brandon was not a great looking guy, but his easygoing personality was considered to be his best quality. He was tall but didn't have a muscular build. Many people often mistook him for being Italian because of his skin and slight accent. It was his treatment of women that had almost everybody in the office, including the men, irritated by him. Brandon was always in a good mood when he got a nice looking female parolee. John Healy never had proof that Brandon had sexual contact with his parolees, but everybody knew it. However, without proof, it was only a rumor. It was unfortunate that the women he slept with never found out what Brandon was truly like until after he had his way with them.

  The first page of Reese’s file was a photograph. He didn’t look like the type to rape a woman, but then again, they usually never did. He was in a suit at the time of his arrest. He was a single man, never heavily involved with alcohol and never used drugs. There were no prior arrests and According to emotional problems. The file went on to read that he was the manager of a security company. All his friends at work and his family gave impeccable references. Even
his boss said he never had a problem with David. It would seem that this was going to be an easy case. However, it’s the ones with all the great references and jobs that one should look out for. They are the ones who think they can pull anything off because of their reputation.

  Apparently, he picked up a woman by the name of Barbara Atkins at a bar, and the night was going well until he took her back to his apartment. She said that he handcuffed her to the bed, blindfolded her and proceeded to torture and rape her. The report read that she was a small woman who stood only at 5’5 and was very thin. She screamed but he told her to keep her mouth shut or else he would kill her. The strange factor was that she didn’t mention being drugged or blacking out. There was no sign of a struggle in the apartment and he used a condom. However, when his apartment was searched there was a pair of handcuffs, a whip, mask and drawer full of pornography. Ms. Atkins had marks on her back that matched his whip. Andreadidn’t know what to do with this one. She knew the line she was going to get as soon as he walked in, but there was something strange about this case that didn’t make sense. According to him, she woke up and she seemed a little delusional. She asked him who he he had a bachelor degree in business. the psychiatric evaluation there were no was. He told her what happened, and that they were both willing participants. She started crying and he called her a cab but she ran out of the apartment before he hung up the phone. David was at work at the time of his arrest. His prison record went on to read that he never caused any problems. He was quiet and kept to himself. There were a few fights but officers have written to the fact that David was not the instigator and never fought back. Andrea was interrupted by a knock on the door.

  “Enter.” David Reese walked into the room with the most pathetic look on his face. “I’m Andrea Stephenson, your parole officer.”

  “Oh.” He sounded surprised. Andrea was used to this. She was tall and slender with violet eyes. Her long brown hair was tied back in a ponytail because of her work. Long hair was not practical in her profession but she would never cut it. She had a classy look to her, but when it came right down to it, she knew how to take care of herself. In the parole department officers usually don’t run into people who mean you harm because they know they will end up back in prison with a new charge against them. If anything, they will just deny that they did anything to violate their parole and hope their officer takes pity on them. It was incredible how many times it worked.

  “Have a seat.”

  “Thank you, I’m…”

  “I know who you are. David Reese, served five years out of an eight year sentence for rape.”

  “Yeah, I guess that’s me. I just want to tell you that I won’t be any trouble for you. I just want to get my life back.”

  “Well Mr. Reese that’s going to be difficult to do. I don’t want to give you the impression that this will be a walk in the park. You will have to meet certain conditions. If you break one of those conditions I have the power to throw you right back in prison, do you understand?" “Yes, I understand.”

  “Good. You will be placed on a nine o’clock curfew. You are not to attend any bars or nightclubs and you are not permitted to go anywhere out of your county without permission. We found a job for you at a local store doing shipping and receiving.”

  “What?”

  “Is there a problem already?”

  “I was the manager of a security company.” He looked shocked.

  “I know, but that company is located in another county.”

  “Why couldn’t I go somewhere in that county and establish residence there?”

  Andrea put her hands to her face and took a deep breath. “Mr. Reese, let me explain something to you. You have been in prison for torturing a young woman and then raping her. You did not get paroled to be put up in a fancy apartment and get your old way of life back. You are here to change your life, and because this state doesn’t have the money to keep you in prison. Am I making myself clear?” “Yes.”

  Andrea could tell that he was trying to get sympathy. Most of the people she encountered did, and then get angry when they don’t get it. “Good. Now I want you to sign this form stating that you will abide by the conditions that the court has set out for you.”

  “I understand. I apologize.”

  “That’s quite alright. Just remember, I am able to visit your home at anytime I see fit.” He stayed silent and nodded his head. “Then we shouldn’t have any problems. You will also attend therapy sessions with a group.” “I did that in prison.”

  “I know and you will do it again.”

  “There’s nothing to say about it. I was partly drunk, and she was on ecstasy. I called her a cab for Christ’s sake!” His temper was flaring.

  “Mr. Reese calm down. I’m not a judge. I don’t care about what she did. I care about what you did.” Since Andrea started this job, every person tried to convince her of their innocence. The first person she supervised went on for an hour about how he was framed. Within a week, she realized she had to stop them talking about the crime before they started.

  “Fine.”

  “Now, you will be staying with your mother Louise and your brother Aaron, is that correct?”

  “Yes.”

  “Very well, they are expecting you in one hour. I will be there tonight to see how it’s going. Don’t forget this copy of your conditions.”

  “How could I?” He walked out of the office like a kid who just got detention in high school. After he left, Michael walked in.

  “How did it go?”

  She sighed and leaned back into her chair. “Different.”

  “How do you mean?”

  “I don’t know. He was a sarcastic little bastard but he seemed like a straight guy who just wants to get his life back.”

  “Oh no.” Michael sighed as he rolled his eyes. “You’re doing it.”

  “What?”

  “Don’t tell me that you are getting into this guy’s troubles and you want to help him out. Haven’t you learned anything?”

  “I’m a parole officer to help people out.” “Bullshit. You are a parole officer because you want this loser to know that he did something wrong and he’s going to pay for it.”

  “I don’t know. I got a different feeling about him.” “Well, just don’t fall for the nice guy routine. It could get you into a lot of trouble.”

  “Oh, like sleeping with you? You should know the nice guy routine,you have it down to a science.” “That’s not fair.” He said, laughing.

  “I’m sorry. But you have to admit, you lied to me.” “You didn’t want to wait for the divorce.” “You told me you were getting divorced for two months and you’re still married!”

  “It takes time.”

  “You never even saw a lawyer!”

  “I was looking...”

  “Look, I don’t want to get into this with you.” She snapped back.

  “How about dinner?”

  “Michael!”

  “Okay, okay, I’m going,” he laughed.

  Andrea was relieved she never met Michael’s wife, Nicole. It would have made her feel all the more guilty. Michael and Nicole never seemed to get along. They got married because she was pregnant but she gave birth to a still borne. For awhile Nicole wanted the marriage to work, until she started getting hang-ups when Michael wasn’t home and she was becoming more suspicious that he was seeing someone. Nicole went out and had her own affair. When Michael questioned her about it, she denied it. She was giving him a taste of his own medicine. After that, Michael was the one who wanted to try and save the marriage, although he was still thinking of Andrea. But Andrea knew he loved Nicole. He always had problems with his marriage, but they also seemed to have this lovehate relationship.

  Although Andrea knew that Michael was not the greatest man in the world, he was a great parole officer and he did have an excellent point. Parole officers cannot allow themselves to get personally involved with their parolees. He also had another point. Some parole office
rs did enjoy the fact that they could arrest anyone on parole for any reason they saw fit. A person could be an hour late for curfew and miss one day of work, and his or her officer decides that they are not trying hard enough. In a way, a parole officer has more power than a police officer. Chapter 2

  Frank Riser, a homicide detective was about to take on the most horrific case of his career. He thought he had seen the worst until he was called to a new crime scene. The body of a woman was found buried in the woods by the Silent River. The crime scene division was busy taking photographs,collecting evidence and taking measurements. When Frank arrived he had no idea that this was only the beginning of the work of a severely psychotic individual. As soon as he got out of the car, he started making his way to the officer by the crime scene tape. Although there were many officers around, the area was very quiet. Nobody was talking above a whisper. The scene was like a funeral. For the beginning of May it was chilly. The sound of the breeze made the scene more eerie and uncomfortable. “Excuse me, officer?” Frank towered over the officer. He was 6’4 but not with a build to match his height. Frank had a masculine face and his voice was strong. When he spoke it was obvious that he had no time for bullshit.

  “I’m sorry this is a closed crime scene.” Officer Myles didn’t bother to look at Frank. He was short and heavyset. Frank immediately pegged him as a prime example of the Napoleon Complex.

  “Yes I know. I’m…”

  Myles still didn’t look up from his notepad. “Yeah, yeah, yeah. Look, no press is permitted. The Chief of Police will issue a statement later.”

  “That’s great but I’m not with the press.” Officer Myles finally looked up and Frank took out his identification. “Frank Riser, homicide.” He loved saying that while he flashed his badge. It was one of the perks of the job. “Oh, alright Detective, go right ahead.” He looked down again.