Amber Alert (Amber Alert Series Book 1)

by Sara Schoen

  "Because it is worse! I do have evidence as well!" James yelled in frustration.

  "Then where is it? You're not showing it in your hands, that means you haven't produced it yet," the chief said calmly, attempting to diffuse the situation, but there were beads of sweat starting to form on his forehead.

  "Anna, bring me the tape," James called to me as he held out his hand out.

  I stepped forward as all the attention turned on me. I dug the tape from my pocket and quickly placed it in James' hand before sitting out of sight again.

  "This is all the evidence you'll need," James stated matter-of-factually as he waved the tape in front of the chief's face.

  "Then hand it to me and I will watch it to make sure," he said snatching the small tape from James' hands and sauntering off.

  "No, you can't!" I screamed as I jumped up from my seat, putting myself between him and the door to his office. I couldn't leave him alone with the tape, he would destroy it somehow, and then no one would believe what happened to us no matter what we said.

  "Excuse me?" The police chief glared daggers into my chest for stopping him.

  "You should let everyone see it at the same time, that way everyone knows exactly what happened," I said, fabricating an excuse as best as I could.

  "I don't think that would be fair to them, what if they don't want to see it?"

  "They have a right to see it, with everyone present, so they know the man they are looking for. That way they only have to see it once and then they don't have to see it again," I said forcefully, hoping that it sounded convincing. My point swept around the room like a windstorm. They wanted to see the tape, only once, but at the same time.

  Some naturally didn't want to see it and I couldn't blame them. Some may be working with Steve and voted against it so the tape wouldn't be seen as a group, but also others didn't think they had the stomach to tolerate what Steve had done to us. It was clear that the ones with children had mixed feelings, they wanted to know what we went through, but feared what would happen once they knew.

  "Yeah, Rivers! Let's watch it together. We need to know, we can't just have you tell us what it is, we need to see it for ourselves," an officer said, voicing the opinions of those around him.

  Police Chief Rivers pressed his lips together hard into a tight crease as he tried to think through his options. He was stuck either he showed it and had to admit that Steve was a monster or the officers would become suspicious of him, and that wouldn't be good for him if Steve was caught.

  "Fine, we will watch it together, but remember what James said. It won't be pretty," Chief Rivers stated, as he handed the tape to James with a frown on his face. "Get the thing set up," he sneered as he forced his way past me and back into his office.

  James ordered a television brought into the room and hooked up, and then turned to us. "That was quick thinking, Anna. I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't grabbed the tape from the house or convinced Chief Rivers to watch it with the group.

  Jessi pulled her knees to her chest and hid her face as she spoke quietly, "I don't want to watch the tape."

  "You don't have to Jessi, I'm sure you can stay with some of the officers instead," James said in an attempt to comfort her. I could see the happiness on his face when his daughter didn't pull away from his touch. She was healing, and soon she may even move on from our nightmare.

  "But what if they are bad too?" she questioned, as the television was wheeled into the room and a few officers started to hook it up.

  "There are some that I know are good and would be happy to watch you for a little while, Jessi," James stated with a smile, as he kissed Jessi lightly on the forehead.

  "Daddy used to do that to me too..." she stated sadly.

  James looked hurt again, he didn't like her calling someone else her father. It must be difficult to hear that someone else had to protect your daughter because your wife gave her up, but I think he understood that she did it to cope with what happened to her. "Then he was a good daddy to you, Jessi. I'll find him for you so we can thank him together."

  Jessi's face lit up, "Really?" she asked so loud that other police officers turned to look at us. Her voice had cracked slightly, and it sounded more like a scream; they were checking to make sure she was okay.

  "Yes, really. We will find him together," James promised.

  "Television is ready, James," a male officer called over his shoulder.

  "Thanks, Jeff," James called back, as he took Jessi by the hand and led her toward a pretty policewoman. "Hey, Leigh, would you mind watching Jessi during the showing? She doesn't want to watch it."

  "I can understand why she wouldn't. I'll be happy to watch her," Leigh said as she led Jessi off toward James' office.

  James walked over to the old television set once Jessi was behind the closed door and put the tape in. The tape needed a VCR in order to play, and those went out of style years ago when DVD players were produced. VCRs lost popularity when I was young, and I only knew about them because I still have some of the Disney movies on VHS tapes, but now I can get them on DVD. I'm not going to get whatever comes out after DVDs because I don't want to start my movie collection over again.

  James pressed play and a stunned silence descended as the tape revealed a young girl with bleached-blonde hair in the frame. The first girl on the wall of photos appeared on the screen with a forced smile on her face, and ties around her wrists.

  "That's Kelly Hagerman!" an older officer exclaimed.

  The name caught my attention—Kelly, the love of Steve's life, and Garrett's mother. She was the first one he took, the one that started it all. Now all the officers had to watch in what happened when the police didn’t intervene and help save her life.

  "Now do you take me, Steve Bennett, to be your husband?" Steve's voice asked from behind the camera as he walked into view and approached Kelly. Steve appeared to be in his early twenties. There was no signs of age, no wrinkles, no tired expression. He was in his prime and ready to marry the girl of his dreams. "Well, Kelly? I do, or I don't?" Steve asked in a calm voice.

  "I do," Kelly said, with tears as the words left her mouth. Her cries were covered when Steve crashed his lips to hers in the sealing kiss. The tape focused on the kiss, the sealing of her fate and claiming her as his, just as he had done to me, and then there was a loud crack as the tape cut to a different scene.

  The tape cut to them a few years later, judging by the aging on their faces. They seemed to be a happy couple and even had a young child, no more than seven or eight, with them in the shot. “What’s his name going to be, Kelly?" Steve's voice asked from behind the camera again.

  "I like the name Garrett," she said with a smile that didn't look the least bit forced. She had accepted her fate, and accepted the fact that no one was going to find her. She had given up fighting and embraced the life she was forced into. The tape cut again, but this time to a funeral. The camera was just angled at the tombstone, which read:

  Kelly Bennett

  Loving wife and mother

  The tape cracked again, this time the frame focused on a new girl. She was second on the wall of photos that had been in my room, and unfortunately for her, she looked just like Kelly. She was tied to the chair that all the girls were put into. Her hands held down and her feet strapped to the legs of the chair. Her legs were spread apart, causing her skirt to rise up.

  Steve fiddled with the camera for a moment behind the lens, before he placed it down and came into view. I watched in disgust as he ran his hands all over her body, like he had done to me and probably every other girl that had been forced into that house. He talked so quietly that the camera couldn't clearly record was being said, but I could take an educated guess. When Steve got down to her skirt, you could hear the dark chuckle that escaped from his lips.

  "This is going to be good."

  Chapter 23

  I watched in horror as the tape continually cut to the next girl in the sequence. The same scene was
played over and over again with each girl. I wanted to leave, but I knew I had to stay since I asked for it to be shown as a group feature. Some officers took the privilege to leave the room, while others cringed at the sight, but held their ground as best as they could. A few had to run from the room to throw up in the closest trashcan they could find.

  There were gasps of horror, terrified screams, and pleas from the girls on the tape as they experienced Steve's advances toward them. They all begged him to stop, to let them go, and promised that they wouldn't tell anyone what happened. Soon they realized they were there for keeps and nothing they said would free them.

  "Please stop!" girl number four pleaded.

  "I won't tell anyone, just let me go," girl number five said.

  "Please, don't do this...stop!" another unfortunate girl screamed.

  Steve eventually stopped as the girl had begged him too, but only once he had his fun. He didn't care that they pleaded with him to stop, that they didn't like it. Steve simply laughed at them, telling them to stop playing hard to get, and then call them the name we had all grown to hate—Kelly.

  When Steve finished his fun, he would untie them from the chair. Of course, they were all in too much pain to move, much less attempt an escape. Then the camera would cut to the next girl in the sequence, and I cringed when I saw my face pop up the screen. I hadn't even been aware that he recorded me. I thought he just took a picture of me and then came to attempt to follow the same ritual he had done with all the girls before me.

  "Oh, that's a good one. I'll have to keep this," Steve said as he stepped out from behind the camera and closed the distance between us.

  I noticed a few policewomen looked away, they knew what was coming next, and they had seen enough. Although, they couldn't see the smile that had spread across his face as I struggled. The way he sat in front of me with his eyes locked on to mine. They couldn't see him put both hands on my legs and slowly work his way up my thighs until he got to the edge of my shorts. They couldn't see the things that would haunt me in my nightmares.

  "You're the first to have shorts on. All the others had on skirts so I could get to what I wanted with them in this chair," Steve said with lust dripping from his every word. I could hear myself starting to cry on the video as we watched his hands go to the button of my shorts. A slow, pleased sigh escaped Steve's lips and echoed around the empty room. I cringed as I felt the cold tingle of the memory trace itself on to my legs. I tried to push the memories from my mind, but I could feel everything again, including my fear and disgust. It was lucky that we couldn’t see it; I don’t think I would have been able to watch it.

  "Now, don't struggle. You don't want to know what happened last time someone struggled." He was right; at that moment, I didn't know what happened when someone disobeyed. Now I knew that they were thrown out of the house and chased down, just like I was now.

  "Please...please..." my voice cracked over the recording as I begged him to stop. Little did I know that the worst had yet to come.

  "Don't worry, I will. You'll get the welcome home I give to them all." I could hear my whimper of fear and sorrow come through the recording. Then the kiss, I gagged slightly remembering that his lips were rough and sloppy when kissing. My scream had become muffled for a few moments before he pulled away.

  "I guess you'll be getting your 'welcome home' another day." The camera cut as soon as my hands were free and I silently thanked god that it was over, but I was wrong.

  The tape cut to the next scene just before James could cut off the television. It was locked on an empty chair in the center of the basement of the house. Garrett was wrong, Steve did know about his basement hiding spot.

  A door slammed on the sound recording and soon after Garrett was dragged into view. He looked haggard, dead to the world. Blood was dripping from his mouth, and was coating the front of his shirt. As he was forced into the chair, a yelp of pain erupted from his lips, making me cringe.

  We watched and listened as Steve beat Garrett multiple times. Once Steve finished, he leaned over and said something to Garrett before he walked out of view. Steve had left the tape running, we fast-forwarded to see Garrett force himself out of the chair. He made it out of camera view by stumbling and using the wall for help, but he had made it out alive. It was then that James finally took pity on me and turned off the tape. He cleared his throat, clearly uncomfortable from the footage.

  "As you can see we are dealing with a psychopath. We need to send copies of this footage to other stations and get the word out," James said, handing the tape to someone he must have trusted. He took me by the shoulder and moved me toward his office, "You're going to be staying with me for the duration of this, Anna. I don't care what anyone says, you're staying with me. Tony will be sure to make copies of the tape and distribute them. I know he will take care of it, and I gave him instructions to do it alone and not let anyone interfere with it."

  "What are we going to do now?" I asked, referring to what we had just seen on the footage. Garrett had been beaten pretty badly and we still had no idea where he was. He must be in serious pain, and he was alone.

  "We're going home, and then we will start looking for him again tomorrow," James said, as he tossed me my backpack and took Jessi by the hand. He waved good-bye to Leigh and thanked her for watching Jessi before we left the room and headed for the door.

  "James, where are you going?" Chief Rivers asked, as we were two steps from the exit.

  "Home, it's time to take them home. It's been a hard day for both of them," James explained, pushing us out of the door.

  "Where's the tape, James?"

  "It's in my bag. I will write a report tomorrow morning, and it will be on your desk by noon," James lied, as he shoved us out the door before Rivers could ask us anymore questions.

  James shoved us in the car and drove out of the police station. We passed by a large window as we were leaving, and I could see Rivers, his eyes focused on the car as we pulled out of the parking lot.

  James had lied to protect us, but it put us in more danger. I wish I could say that I had seen it coming; maybe then I'd still feel safe.

  Chapter 24

  James had just let us into the house as the sound of sirens came rushing down the street. He told us to hide, and added that we could only come out if he was the one calling for us. James was worried about whoever was coming toward us, and that meant it wasn't something I'd look forward to.

  "I have a good hiding place. Even he doesn't know about it," she giggled, as she slipped her hand into mine and led me through the house.

  She pulled toward the basement, only letting me go so she could hold on to the banister on her way down.

  "Jessi, where are we going?"

  "In the floor, Mommy," she stated with no hint of joking in her eyes.

  "The floor?"

  "Yeah!" she exclaimed with a smile as she lifted the rug. Then she pried her fingers into a crack between the floorboards, just like Garrett had done with the wall to hide her. I saw her cringe when the board snapped shut on her fingers.

  "Jessi, you could hurt yourself."

  "I can do it, Mommy," she stated, as the board flung up and crashed to the floor. "See?" she asked excitedly as she climbed into the hole.

  I glanced down as I heard a loud thud of someone banging on the front door or breaking it down. I quickly fixed the rug enough so that it looked undisturbed and wouldn't throw suspicion on our hiding spot. I slowly climbed in, sealing the board back into place above my head as I heard footsteps enter the house. It wasn’t tall enough for me to stand in, it was just right for Jessi, but I had to kneel to fit. It was as cold as a cellar in here; the concrete walls gave off cool temperatures that would have matched sitting in a refrigerator.

  Jessi was wrapped in a blanket and sitting on the pillow so she wouldn't have to sit on the hard floor. I smiled, it must have taken her a few visits into this hole, but she really knew how to last down here. She had really spent a lot of time hidi
ng here if she was this prepared for a game of hide and seek.

  "Do you want to borrow the blanket, Mommy?" she asked, interrupting my silent compliments of her genius.

  "Sure, but I'll share with you," I stated in a whisper, as I crawled over to her.

  Footsteps soon walked over our hiding spot. We both froze; we hadn't heard them walk down the stairs or known that they were in the room until they were right on top of us. There were muffled voices, unintelligible since we were under them, but still present as the footsteps proceeded through the downstairs.

  I could barely hear James' words, but I could hear the edge in his voice. James sounded annoyed that these people had come into his house and sent us into hiding.

  James must have stood directly over us as I heard him ask, "What are you doing here?"

  His footsteps soon went away as he traveled to a different area of the basement. There was yelling for a period of time, then a sudden burst of footsteps running up the stairs. Silence surrounded us as the slam of a door finally rattled to a stop. It was an uneasy eerie silence; there was just nothing, no sound, no voices, no music, and barely the sound of our own breathing.

  "Jessi, Anna! Where are you?" James called as he stepped over our hiding spot.

  "In here!" I called as loudly as I could. Soon, I could see his fingers as he began to move the board. It opened to fill the hole with a sudden light, blinding me, and James' voice reached my ears clearly for the first time in a while.

  "How did you guys get down there?" he questioned, as he reached his hand down through the floor to help us out.

  "Jessi found it and put us in here when you told us to hide," I said, as he hoisted me up through the hole in the floor.

  "Is this where you've been hiding during hide and seek?" James asked with feigned horror. "That's cheating!" he yelled as he pulled her up. It made me wonder how many rounds of hide and seek he lost because she hid in that hole.