Only Women in Hell

by A. R. Braun

  Stacey watched her oldest ones lead the tots to the play area, feeling as if her mind would snap from the trauma.

  Look at my daughters act like mothers, and that’s what happened to me. I became a mom when I was a minor, just eighteen years old.

  Stacey reluctantly turned her head toward Amanda. “What happens now?”

  Amanda said, “Well… I’m to show you and your girls to your rooms. I’ll have to put one big girl with one little girl in three separate rooms in the children’s ward. Mental illness doesn’t usually start till a person’s a teenager.”

  “Mental illness?”

  “Well… you and your oldest have been through a lot. They might have childhood onset depression, or something else. Hopefully not schizophrenia. They’ll have to be diagnosed, of course.”

  “Look, my littlest ones didn’t go through trauma. Why do they have to be here? Not that I don’t want to be with them.”

  Amanda nodded. “I understand. The triplets were lied to by Dick and Marie for most of their lives, though, and that’s quite a shock to the psyche. They were told their grandparents were dead and that your foster mother was their mommy. Think about it. The people who raised them were just taken away from them. Plus, no one wants to separate you and your youngest.”

  Stacey was nonplussed.

  “The rooms all have clean bathrooms,” Amanda continued. “You’ll all go to group, and you personally will have to go to rape counseling. Your girls will get to play with the other children. You can go to the cafeteria and eat with your children. When those reporter hounds go away, we can include you in some outside activities… if they go away. I can’t promise anything. As far as most sports, they’ll be a long way off, in the spring. Inside, we have volleyball and church in the chapel, plus dances.”

  Stacey was anxious. “Who’s paying for all of this?”

  Amanda smiled. “You have a very loving community that’s pulling together to help you get through this, and they’re footing the bill.”

  Stacey smiled back and looked at the floor, then locked eyes with Amanda. “That’s nice of them.” She glanced at her daughters. My Brady Bunch. “Can we have some time for the girls to romp around in the play area? Please?”

  Amanda glanced that way, then back at Stacey. “Sure. I’ve got a ton of paperwork anyway. I’ll give you a half hour.”

  Stacey extended her hand. “Thanks again.”

  Amanda shook it. “No sweat. But we’ve got a lot of work to do to get you and your daughters well. Don’t pressure yourself at all, though. I want you to enjoy your freedom here.”

  Stacey couldn’t help stealing glances at the kids as they squealed while zooming down a little slide. Her oldest three were laughing as if nothing bad had ever happened.

  Amanda chuckled. “Just go.”

  Stacey went.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  Marie woke in the hospital bed with a policeman watching her as the nurse fluttered around. Her doctor, a dark-haired slim man, traded glances with her and his clipboard.

  She felt as if she’d had a hot flash. The memory of the investigator showing up with policemen came rushing back to her.

  Oh my god, they’ve found us out! Just act natural.

  The doctor smiled, removing his glasses. “Hello, Mrs. Alley. I’m Doctor Wilson.”

  Marie rubbed her eyes. “What am I doing here?”

  “You had a fainting spell and hit the back of your head. You took a pretty hard knock. There’s no concussion, thank god.”

  Marie was chilled to the bone, the heater not on overdrive as Dick had run theirs. The sounds of hospital workers talking and patients yelling from the hallway and the other rooms crept into her ears.

  I want out of this god-forsaken place.

  Dick had been arrested. Marie was frightened and couldn’t imagine life without him.

  She glanced at the policeman standing near her bed. “How did I get here?”

  The cop furrowed his brow. “We brought you, Mrs. Alley.”

  Another strapping cop came in, this one grey-haired and wearing glasses, unlike his young counterpart. He handed the youthful officer a soda.

  “Feeling better, Mrs. Alley?” the older cop asked.

  The policemen had a chuckle.

  Marie’s temper heated to boiling. “You can’t just throw me in a police car without reading me my Miranda rights. Why didn’t you call an ambulance?”

  “What about the rights of Stacey and those kids?” the older cop asked.

  “Actually, we’re about to release you into their custody,” the doctor interrupted.

  “What?” she yelled. Marie tried her best to scowl, staring at the policemen. “I’ll sue you for false arrest!”

  The doctor stepped out of the room.

  The youngish policeman shook his head. “We just wanted to ask you some questions and give you a ride to the hospital.”

  The older cop stepped forward. “If you didn’t know what Dick was up to, why are you getting so upset?”

  “This is entrapment.” Marie clenched her fists. “I’ll have your badges.”

  The younger officer snickered. “After what I’ve seen today, I’ll hand it over.”

  “You hush,” the older officer commanded. “I’m Officer Brenneman and this is Officer Williams. You keep acting suspicious, we may out and out arrest you.”

  Marie panicked inside. Calm down! Clam up! Just act normal. “I guess I’m… just upset you didn’t call an ambulance, that’s all.”

  Officer Williams folded his arms. “Hmm.”

  Officer Brenneman took a seat near the bed, whipping out a personal assistant. “Did you know anything about Dick imprisoning his adopted daughter and her daughters? Well, his daughters, too.”

  Marie shook her head. “You people saw the note she wrote saying she’d run away with a cult. That’s the same note I saw. It’s all I heard about it.”

  “Do you think Stacey and your husband will corroborate your story?”

  Panic ripped through her brain like Lovecraftian tentacles.

  Oh god, no, oh shit! Stacey will tell them I knew he was beating her when she was a kid, and that weasel husband of mine will probably tell them I knew she was in that dungeon. Fuck, fuck, fuck! All I can do is act innocent, I guess.

  Marie gagged, bringing her fist to her mouth to disguise it as a cough. “Well… I don’t know what they’ll say. But if they say I knew, then they’re lying.”

  The doctor walked back in. “You’re free to go, Mrs. Alley.”

  The female, African-American nurse pushed a wheelchair in. “We’ll have to let her change into her street clothes, officers.”

  They nodded.

  “We’ll wait outside,” Officer Brenneman said.

  The nurse placed Marie’s clothes on the bed, then left the room with the doctor.

  Marie struggled to get out of bed and walked over to the window, thinking about making a run for it. When she pulled the curtains apart, the streetlights beamed up to her, telling her she was about six floors up.

  So much for that.

  She dressed quickly, her hands shaking, her whole body shaking. After another minute, a knock came to the door.

  “Are you decent?” the nurse asked.

  “Yes,” Marie answered. “Come.”

  The nurse pushed the wheelchair over, and Marie got into it gingerly, getting a ride into the hallway.

  Marie looked up at the officers, more imposing when looming down upon her. “I’ve answered your questions. I ought to be able to go home.”

  “You’d be going to an empty house,” Officer Williams answered.

  “What?!”

  Officer Brenneman shook his head. “We know Dick fathered the three girls that were living with you, and they’re with their rightful mother at the mental hospital, god help us.”

  All Marie could do was stare at him.

  “You had to have known,” Officer Brenneman added.

  Officer Williams said, “You
’re coming with us.”

  <^^>

  Christina walked toward the waiting room where Stacey Alley sat.

  When is this goddamned day going to end?

  The psychologist unlocked the door. “Stacey? There’s an investigator here to see you.” She glanced at Christina. “Go on in.”

  As Christina walked in, she spied Stacey’s six kids having a ball in the play area. Now that’s better. Wide-eyed and surreptitiously eyeing her, Stacey rose.

  Christina asked, “Happy to see your kids at play?”

  Stacey looked over her shoulder, then locked eyes with her and said nothing.

  “I’ve got some more questions to ask you about the dungeon.”

  “Sure.” Stacey looked behind her at the plastic chairs. “Have a seat?”

  They sat.

  “Thanks again for getting us out of there,” Stacey added.

  Christina smiled. “It’s the least I could do.”

  Stacey looked at the floor, then back up.

  “Hi Mrs. Flowerpot,” Therese, Devon, and Sam cried.

  “Hi girls! Having fun?”

  The older children nodded and returned to keeping watch over the younger ones.

  “Haven’t I told you everything?” Stacey asked. She nervously rubbed her hands together.

  “We have Marie Alley in custody,” Christina blurted. “What I need to know is, did she have any knowledge that you were in the dungeon? I know you might not know that, unless Mrs. Alley was there when he kidnapped you and took you over there.”

  Stacey sighed and again looked at the floor.

  “I’m sorry. I know this is hard for you.”

  Stacey shook her head. “It’s not that.” She looked deep in thought. Stacey fluffed her hair. She locked eyes with her. “He used chloroform.”

  Christina took notes with her personal assistant. “Marie wasn’t there?”

  “No, but she knew he was beating me where it wouldn’t show… from the time I was eleven.”

  “Good lord.” Christina put her hands over her eyes and shook her head, then looked at Stacey, feeling her heart break. “I’m so sorry.” She composed herself. “And she didn’t care or try to stop him?”

  Stacey shook her head. “She was just as mean as he was.”

  “God help us,” Christina said, sotto voce.

  Stacey nodded, glancing at her kids. She surveyed the floor again. “She knew he beat me up, I know she did, said something about how I’m really going to get it from Dick if I didn’t behave, as in ‘You just wait till he kicks your ass.’ That’s what she might as well have said. Later, I found out what that meant.” Stacey pinned Christina with her eyes. “She knew I was in the dungeon, too, I’m sure of it.”

  “Hmm.” Christina put her PDA away. “I wish she would’ve been there when he kidnapped you.”

  Stacey furrowed her brow. “But she knew he was beating me since I was a tot! Doesn’t that tell you all you need to know?”

  “Again, I apologize for making you relive all this. I’m afraid we need concrete evidence, I’m sad to say.”

  Stacey gaped. “You mean she might walk?”

  “Not if I have my way.” Christina sighed as she flicked her blond hair behind one ear. “But I’m afraid it’s up to the judge and jury, and your suspicion that she knew probably won’t stand up in court.” She sighed. “I’m so sorry.”

  “Suspicion?”

  “The prosecutor may call you to testify, so it’s his baby.” Christina shook her head. “Don’t listen to me. I just hunt them down, question them, and arrest them.”

  Stacey stuck her quivering bottom lip out and stared at the floor, then glanced over at her kids. She faced Christina. “Is that all?”

  “Well… you didn’t hear any talk of the construction of a dungeon between Dick and Marie?”

  <^^>

  Stacey surveyed the floor again, then glanced at the window. It had gone pitch-dark outside. The Cobra Head amber lights beamed their nocturnal glow. Inside, the fluorescents tried their best to do their job, one light flickering and making a sound like a fly caught in a window. “There was no talk of a dungeon at all. When he put the chloroform over my mouth, I was planning on moving in with Kevin, my boyfriend at the time. But she did mention Dick was having an apartment slash warehouse built next door.”

  Christina sighed again. “All right. We’ll do the best we can to put Marie away, too, but know that Dick will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. There’s no way he’s going to walk, not after crimes that heinous.”

  The kids walked over, each of the big girls holding one of the littlest girls’ hands.

  “Mom,” Devon whined, “we’re bored.”

  Christina rose and crouched in front of the seven year olds. “Did you have fun playing, sweethearts?”

  “Yeah!” Bobbi said. “It was nifty!”

  Christina chuckled. “Good. You like your sisters?”

  “We love our sissies,” Kyra replied in a munchkin voice.

  “That’s great, dear-heart.” Christina rose, looking at Stacey. “I guess I’d better let you get back to your family.”

  Stacey shook with her. “Thanks again.”

  “No problem. I wish you all the luck in the world.” She walked away and banged on the door. “I’m done!”

  The clomping of heels clicked down the hall. Keys rattled in the door, and Amanda opened it and stepped aside so Christina could walk out. Amanda stuck her head in the room. “I’ll take you to your rooms in five minutes.”

  Fear tore Stacey apart inside.

  <^^>

  Christina loved Stacey to death, but was glad to get out of there. This had been one hell of a day.

  The door snicked shut. Amanda locked it.

  Christina felt funny about that. “So, you have to lock them in the waiting room, huh?”

  Amanda pursed her lips. “With those reporter hounds out there scheming to get in, I think it’s not only wise, but expedient.”

  “I understand.”

  “I’ll see you out.”

  With a heavy heart, Christina made her way toward the exit.

  This has to be the most stressful workday I’ve ever had. It’s Miller Time.

  She sighed.

  High life, here I come.

  <^^>

  Stacey sat looking at the door after Amanda locked it.

  My god, we were prisoners in the dungeon, and now we’re prisoners in here.

  “Mom,” Devon cried. Therese echoed her.

  Stacey turned to look at the children. The triplets fidgeted. Therese had her arms crossed. She blew her hair out of her eyes. Sam told corny jokes, trying to vie for the triplet’s attention.

  Devon stood with her hands on her hips. “How long is this gonna take? I wanna get out of this room.”

  Therese plopped down beside Stacey. “Yeah, Mom, I feel all cooped up.”

  These kids are getting on my nerves, which are already racked because of the ordeal. Why do they have to pester me so?

  Stacey checked herself. If it hadn’t been for her children, she never would’ve gotten through the imprisonment with her mind intact. “I’m sure it won’t be too much longer.”

  As if on cue, keys rattled in the lock. The door creaked open. Amanda walked through with the orderlies from before.

  “Ready to see your rooms?” Amanda smiled.

  “Boy,” Devon answered, “are we.”

  “Yes,” Stacey answered. “The natives are restless.”

  Therese stood, smoothing out her wrinkled clothes. Stacey rose and took Bobbi’s hand. She looked sleepy. Stacey also took Kyra’s hand. Sam took Louisa’s hand. Therese and Devon put their arms around each other and headed toward Amanda after Stacey did.

  Goodness! Six kids. I’m going to lose track of them all.

  Stacey realized she was petrified. She’d been thrust into an alien world and didn’t know what to expect.

  Amanda said, “These are the orderlies that’ll be on yo
ur floor, Stacey.”

  “I’m Wesley,” the black-haired orderly said, “and this is Zander.”

  Zander, the blond man, smiled.

  Bobbi raised her head. “Where we goin?”

  Wesley smiled. “We’re just going to the elevator, then to your new room.”

  Stacey realized he was just a shade of black only when she saw his wide nose. He looked muscular enough to handle any trouble, should it come his way, unlike Zander, who seemed as if he never ate.

  Looks can be deceiving, I’ve heard, but is it true in real life or only on TV? Oh god, I don’t know anything! I’ve been locked away in a dungeon for almost a decade and a half. How will I ever deal with life?

  Amanda locked eyes with Stacey, chiming in as if psychic. “You’ll be well-protected, don’t worry. If there’s ever a problem with another patient, I want you to let either me or a nurse know.”

  Stacey nodded. Their footfalls heading toward the elevator reminded her of a herd of cattle, and the lights in the hallway burned brighter than in the waiting room. Stacey blinked a few times.

  “You’re all scheduled for physicals tomorrow,” Amanda continued. “After being in that apartment for so long, we have to make sure all the plumbing’s running smoothly.”

  Stacey tried to focus on Amanda, but couldn’t take her eyes off Kyra when she started jumping up and down.

  “Of course,” Stacey answered Amanda.

  Louisa broke free of Sam and took off down the hall. “La-la-la-la-la-la-la!”

  Sam went after her before the orderlies could.

  Stacey whipped her head around. “Louisa, come back here! No running in the hospital!”

  Sam caught her, bent down to her, touching Louisa’s nose with the tip of her finger. “No! That’s naughty. You stay with us.”

  The elevator dinged, and the doors sounded like metal scraping concrete as they opened. A couple of young nurses stepped off, both wearing what looked to Stacey like Bermuda shirts and blue pants.

  Amanda touched Stacey’s back, guiding her in. “Looks like we’ve got the elevator all to ourselves.”

  Everyone went inside. Stacey felt like beef crammed into an enchilada.

  Kyra jumped up and down. “We go up, up, up, and away!”

  “Stop it,” Stacey cried. “Don’t jump in here!”

  “Wow,” Therese said. “An elevator.”