Unlawful Imprisonment

by Tracey Higgins

  “Hello Tony.” John could feel the tension between them.

  “I take it she’s already visiting her so-called clients?”

  “No, she had one visit to make but then she should be going home. I gave her the rest of the day off.”

  “Is she sick?”

  “No, just needed a day.”

  “Alright, thanks. See you later.” He said nothing to Michael as he left.

  “What’s going on with Andrea?” Michael looked worried.

  “Nothing. Didn't you hear what I just said?"

  “Yeah.”

  “Then don’t worry about it. So, I guess you two don’t get along.”

  “I don’t even know him.”

  “Oh?”

  “No, I only saw him a couple of times. He seems pretty uptight.”

  “Michael come on, don’t even try it.”

  “What are you talking about, try what?”

  “Try to weasel your way out of this one.” John replied with a smirk on his face. “I know you still have a thing for Andrea.”

  “John, I’m married.”

  “Well, that didn’t stop you before, did it?"

  Michael was controlling his temper. “Don’t take this the wrong way John, but it’s none of your business.”

  John nodded his head. “Fine. You better get going, you have a lot of work to do.”

  John walked away and Michael looked around to see if anybody heard what was said. That was the last thing he needed.

  ~~~~~~~~~~

  Andrea went to her apartment after her outburst with David and Louise. As she was opening the door she heard her name and she jumped.

  “Hey, it’s only me. I didn’t mean to scare you.” “Tony.” She said as she grabbed her chest in relief. “Hi! How did you know I was here?”

  “I stopped by your office to surprise you.” “Come in, I’ll make lunch.”

  They went inside and he was closely following her, not letting her hand go. “Are you alright?”

  She looked confused. “Yeah, why?”

  “I asked John if you were sick and he told me that you needed the rest of the day off.”

  “Oh, I’m fine. I just let all my frustrations out on John and he told me I could take the rest of the day off.” “What problems?” He sat at the kitchen table. “Just with work.”

  “Like what?” He wasn’t giving in so easily. “I’ve been feeling overworked, overtired and it seems that no matter who I come in contact with, I get an attitude.”

  “Finally getting to you, huh?”

  “Yeah, but let’s not talk about it now. How did it go?”

  “Good. Get this; there was no kid stalking this woman’s daughter. As it turns out, she has been telling her mother that story so she would have an excuse to stay with her friends at night because her mother worked the night shift at a hospital. They would go out clubbing every night. Her mother was not thrilled to see the pictures I got of those girls.”

  “Oh my God I can imagine. I guess they’re in for it.”

  “Oh yes indeed.” Andrea was getting something to eat and Tony started in on her once more. “So what about those attitudes?”

  “Same old shit.”

  “It had to be a bad one for you to take a half day off.”

  She sighed and sat down with him. “One of my most promising parolees is pregnant and I got into a huge blow out with the Reese’s.”

  “What happened?”

  “He quit his job and when I went to his house, his mother was on my case and he had the audacity to want to know why he is being treated like a criminal.”

  “Because he is a criminal.”

  “Well, that’s what I said in a roundabout way. Then I told him he was not to leave the house until I fixed up another job for him.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah. Then I threatened to throw him back in prison if this happened again.”

  “Good for you. So, why are you so upset? You were doing your job.”

  “I know it’s just that I enjoyed yelling at the two of them and it bothered me. I wanted nothing more than to take her precious boy to the slammer and laugh in her face."

  “Well, well, well. I never heard you talk like this before.”

  “It’s just getting to me.”

  “That’s the job.” He looked down. “You know you don’t have to work this job if you don’t want to.”

  “Tony, please.”

  “I just wanted you to know.”

  “I do and I appreciate that. I’m just not ready for marriage and a family.”

  “Okay, can’t blame a guy for trying.”

  Andrea started to eat and Tony’s phone rang. “Hello?” He looked puzzled. “Can I help you?” he asked confused. “Oh my God! I’ll be right there!”

  “What is it?”

  Tony’s face turned white. “Frank’s in the hospital, he passed out.”

  “Let’s go, I’ll drive you.”

  Andrea drove as fast as she could without getting into an accident. Tony stared out of the window. Andrea wanted so badly to tell him not to worry, but if something were terribly wrong, she would feel extremely guilty. She remembered when her mother was killed. Her father was away when it happened. When she called the police, they told her to calm down and everything would be all right, but it wasn’t. One just never knows what could happen. Andrea was trying to keep up with Tony while he was running to the patient information counter. “Excuse me, where is Frank Riser?”

  “Tony?” Tony turned around to see Dr. Baxton. “I’m Dr. Baxton.”

  “Hello.” They shook hands. “How is he, what happened?”

  “He’s going to be fine. He was lucky, real lucky.” “What is it?” Andrea asked.

  “Oh, I’m sorry, this is Andrea Stephenson doctor.” “Hello. Frank is still getting settled in a room. You can see him in afew minutes. I’ve known Frank for a long time and spoke of you often. I figured I’d track you down since he never told me of any family.”

  “I am his family.” Tony squeezed Andrea’s hand. “Why don’t you come with me and get some coffee. Then you can see Frank.”

  “All right. Does he know I’m here?”

  “Yes, I told him you were on your way.” Andrea held Tony’s hand as they walked to a small table with a coffee machine. She made him a cup and they all sat down.

  “So,” Tony sighed, “what the hell happened? Was it his ulcer?”

  “Yes and no.”

  “Meaning?”

  “His ulcer was very upset. He was drinking heavily last night…”

  “Drinking?” Andrea was astonished. “Frank doesn’t drink.”

  “He did last night, and quite a lot. They are going to give him a stronger medication. Luckily, he didn’t do any damage. But, I think it’s all the stress he’s been under.” Tony had no idea what was going on. “Like what? He never told me anything was wrong.”

  “You know those two murders by the Silent River?”

  “Yeah,” they replied together.

  “Frank is the investigator.”

  “So that’s why I haven’t heard from him in the past few weeks.”

  “Probably. After he was feeling better, he told me that he felt so guilty over the second victim’s death that he just started drinking himself into a stupor. This morning before I saw him the Assistant District Attorney was on his case about the investigation. After that, he saw the body and passed out.”

  “Oh, poor Frank.” Andrea felt awful.

  “Frank wanted to sign himself out, but I convinced him to stay at least one night to monitor him.”

  “He has to be replaced on this case.” Tony said matter of factly.

  “Tony, he is not going to give up this case. You of all people know that.”

  “Andrea, he has no choice. He has got to start taking care of himself.”

  The three of them sat in silence for a moment.

  “Come on,” Dr. Baxton stood up, “I’ll take you to his room.”
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  Tony was protective of Frank, so Andrea was relieved at the way he was handling himself. She knew he was going to try and convince Frank to give up the case. However, she knew Frank would never do it. If he let this case get to him this much, there was no way he was going to let it go.

  Andrea hated the smell of hospitals. Dr. Baxton led them to Frank’s room. They saw him lying very uncomfortably in his bed, with an IV in his arm.

  “Frank, Tony and Andrea are here. I’ll leave you all alone.”

  “Hey you two.” He sounded weak. Tony pulled up a chair next to his bedside and Andrea stood behind him. “How are you feeling? And don’t lie to me.” “Tony, I’ll be fine. I only have to be here overnight.”

  “What was with the drinking? You never drink.” “I know it was stupid.”

  “Yes it was.” Tony was trying to relax, but he was angry. Frank didn’t know what to say. He couldn’t talk about his guilt over Crystal’s death. He was already falling apart on the inside.

  “How are you Andrea?”

  “Better than you.”

  “Listen Frank,” Tony interrupted, “Dr. Baxton told us about this case. You have to give it up.”

  “Yeah, right.”

  “I’m serious. It’s literally killing you.”

  “It’s not. I’ve been stressed out before, you know that.”

  “I understand but you never ended up in the hospital.”

  “Don’t worry.”

  “Frank,” Andrea pulled up another chair. “You should really take some time off. You need a break.” “Trust me, I’ll be fine. I’ve never given up on a case, and I don’t intend to start now.”

  Andrea and Tony looked at each other. “Alright Frank, it’s your decision.” Andrea was shocked to hear those words come from Tony’s mouth. “I was determined to get you to give up this case, but if you insist on staying with it, you better take care of yourself.”

  “I will.”

  “I mean it. One more thing, if you ever drink again you won’t have to worry about your ulcer, you’ll have to worry about me beating the crap out of you.”

  Frank felt his stomach turn, and he was trying to hide the pain on his face. “Deal. Trust me, I’ve learned my lesson.”

  “Tony, we better let him rest. Frank, if you need anything let us know.”

  “I will, thanks.” He looked at Tony. “Don’t worry buddy.”

  “Just take care of yourself please.”

  “I will.”

  Andrea could tell Tony was not at all relaxed. He didn’t say anything until they got into the car. “I’m going to have to keep an eye on him.”

  “Tony, relax. He just got the shit scared out of him being put in the hospital. I’m sure it won’t happen again.” “I hope you’re right.”

  “I am. Let’s go back to my place and relax.” “Okay.”

  Tony was still quiet the whole way to Andrea’s apartment. After the hospital visit, Andrea realized that she better start to relax when it came to work also. They way she had been going, Andrea could wind up in the hospital next.

  Tony and Andrea went back to her apartment and he finally seemed to be calm.

  “You want something to eat?”

  “No thanks.” He sat on the couch and clicked on the television.

  “Hey Andrea, that case of Frank’s is on the news.” She came in to watch. Tony was shaking his head. “No wonder he made himself so sick. This is a nightmare.” “Jesus, those poor girls.”

  “Not to mention all the other girls out there who might be next.” He got up to get a drink. “You know what the worst part is? After he’s caught, he’ll get his cable television and conjugal visits in prison.”

  “Then he can come to me when he gets paroled.” “That would never happen, but God help him if he did. The way you’ve been going you would probably scare the shit out of him.”

  “Ha ha! I hope so.” She swung her legs around his lap.

  “It’s guys like that that make me wish the death penalty was used.”

  “Oh God Tony don’t start that.” Tony had to be the only person she knew who thought those public executions were the answer to crime.

  “Start what? It’s true.”

  “I know, you just get too riled up over that topic.” “Look, if society demonstrates on national television the facts of punishment, it would cut crime.” “No way.”

  “You don’t think so?”

  “No. There is nothing to stop crime Tony. Believe me, the parole board certainly can’t. They see words like empathetic and intelligent and feel like the offender deserves a second chance.”

  “They’re assholes.”

  Andrea got up to make coffee. “Not with all cases. There are some people who should be released early. It all depends on the crime. Why should the state pay for their education and cable in prison when we could use all that space for sociopaths like this one?”

  “So you think because someone is intelligent they should be safe to let out?”

  “No, the opposite actually. It’s the highly intelligent criminals that are dangerous. Look at serial killers. They are brilliant. It’s the smart ones who can figure out what to do, how to do it and how not to get caught. Even if they do get caught, they feel famous because they will be in the media spotlight forever.”

  “Well, this guy obviously knows what he’s doing. After hearing this it’s no wonder Frank won’t give up the case. I wouldn’t be able to walk away from it either.” “I know.” Andrea knew that Tony would not only be determined to catch him, but he would probably kill the guy himself, and not have any problem being arrested for it. When he got angry about something like that, it was scary. Brandon didn’t really need to visit Diane Manns, but after the last time, he figured it would be worth it. He knew Diane would be there alone. He walked up to her door and unbuttoned the first two buttons on his shirt. When Diane opened the door, she didn’t seem to be on anything. “Hello Diane. How was work?”

  “Fine.” She looked at the floor. “I suppose you want to come in.”

  “Yes.” She held the door open. She wouldn’t look at Brandon in the eyes. Diane was in her skintight jeans and a tank top with no shoes.

  “You don’t seem so fine. What’s the matter?” “Nothing, just a long day.”

  “Oh.” He sat on the couch and didn’t take his eyes off her. She looked nervous. Brandon jumped off the couch when he heard a loud banging noise from across the hall, which was probably one of the neighbors moving out again. “Jesus!” he exclaimed. “How do you get any sleep around here?”

  “I manage. You know Brandon, you should be careful about how long you stay here.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “I just…I just don’t want any of the neighbors saying anything to my sister about you’re being here a lot.” “Your sister knows me Diane.”

  “I know, but the neighbors don’t.”

  Brandon walked up to her. “So what?”

  “I don’t want them getting any wrong ideas about me andmy parole officer.”

  “Well Diane, after my last visit I’d say it’s a little late to be acting like a perfect angel."

  “That was a mistake!” She raised her voice. “And a very nice one.” Brandon couldn’t resist smiling.

  “I think you should go.”

  “I don’t think so. I am your parole officer, so I need to check your pay stubs. You know the routine.” “Brandon, you already saw my last pay stub, so please, get the fuck out of here!”

  He backed her into a corner .

  “Brandon!”

  “Maybe I should search you for drugs.” As soon as Diane opened her mouth to yell, he covered it. “I did you a favor. You could be in prison right now.” He started at her for a moment, breathing on her. Diane was petrified. “Just remember that.” Brandon opened the door to leave. “And don’t forget it.”

  He shut the door behind him and calmly walked to his car as if nothing unusual happened. He knew Diane would never report him becaus
e nobody would believe her. Besides, she was probably getting high right about now, and if she did call the parole department, they would see that Brandon let her get away with taking the drug test the week before. If she made that call, they would probably make her take one right away, and she would fail it. Andrea's visit with David left him feeling completely humiliated. He hadn’t felt this way since his father was alive. The worst of it was when Aaron came home that afternoon and he had to explain why he wasn’t at work. David was in the living room when Aaron came home from one of his dates.

  “Hey, no work today?”

  “No work period.”

  “What do you mean?” He sat on the couch next to him.

  David sighed and held his head to try and keep it from pounding. “I quit.”

  Aaron raised his eyebrows and scratched the stubble on his face. He hated it, but according to him, all the women seemed to like it. “What do you mean you quit?”

  “I overheard these two girls talking about my parole and I screamed at the boss for letting other people find out about me.”

  “Wow.”

  “Yeah, wow. That’s not all. When I came home my P.O. showed up and made me feel like a piece of shit, right in front of Mom.”

  “She what?”

  “Then she started threatening me about going back to prison. So what am I supposed to do now, kick her ass and leave town? I am not permitted to leave this house until she can find me another job.” He was imitating her.

  “She said this in front of Mom?”

  “Yes, and when mom was trying to stick up for me,

  she started chewing her out, too.”

  “What a fucking bitch!”

  “Tell me about it. She’s going to be checking up on me constantly to make sure I’m here. Little does she know that as soon as she left, I went out.”

  “Ha, ha. Well, hey, you could have been taking a long, hot bath when she called.”

  “That’s what I figured, but if she came back to the house I would have been screwed.”

  Aaron was walking around smoking. “You want me to talk to her, or her supervisor?”

  “No, just let it go.”

  “Why? There is no reason for her to treat you and Mom like children in your own house.”

  “I know but she could also arrest me.”

  “I’d like to see her try. But, I guess you’re right. Those assholes probably all stick together anyway.”