by Robert Olsen
Sherry surprisingly turned to the other receptionist, “since when did Donald Gingrich have clients, Marge?”
“Beats the shit out of me, and, I don’t give a crap, either. As far as I’m concerned, he is one hell of a strange duck. Almost scary, Sherry.”
The car was traveling down Cherry Valley Avenue, when it turned onto 6th street. It immediately pulled over and parked in front of the corner house. A man proceeded to walk to the front door and ring the bell. Moments later, a woman answered the door.
“Hello, can I help you?”
“Yes, my name is Donald Gingrich, and I am with Rockne Pharmaceuticals. We are visiting customers because I’m afraid there may be a problem with your new diabetic pump.”
“Oh dear,”
“Oh, I’m sorry, don’t be concerned. This is just a safety precaution. We care about our customers and do everything to provide a comfortable and safe environment. It will only take a second for me to check it out. May I come in?”
“What did you say your name was again?”
“Donald Gingrich, ma’am.”
“I know that name. You may know my daughter, Kathryn Becker, who works there, too.”
“Well, I’ll be gosh darned, I know her. That’s your daughter? Small world.”
“She has often mentioned you, young man.”
“She has?”
“Yes. You probably know my daughter is not married. I always hoped she would find a young man, settle down, and get married. For quite a while, I thought it would be you?”
“Oh really? What makes you say that?”
“She talked about you all the time. How nice you were, and how smart you were. She recently even told me she worried about you.”
“Why would she say something like that?”
“I don’t know the details, but, wasn’t there a promotion, or a job maybe, that you were supposed to get but some outsider stole it from under you!”
“Oh, yes, I know what she meant. Well, I do love this position. I get to meet wonderful people like yourself.”
“Oh, you are such a nice man. No wonder my daughter likes you.”
“May I come in?”
“Certainly Donald. Would you like a cup of tea? Or coffee?”
“Tea would be lovely, if you don’t mind.”
“Not at all, I was just about to fix some tea for myself, when you rang the bell.”
As Kathryn’s mother was fixing the tea, Donald removed a funny looking device from his attaché’ case. When she returned, with the tea, and a few cookies, Donald told her it should only take a few minutes.
“My, my, these cookies are good. Did you bake these?”
“Afraid not, Donald. They’re store bought.”
“Well, either way, Mrs. Becker, thank you so much for the tea. It’s very good. And so are the cookies.
I guess I can check your device now. I can display the readings of your vitals, then, if all is alright, it’s finished. I promise, it doesn’t hurt.”
Donald was checking the unit when he suddenly looked up and said, “this is very unusual, ma’am. There is a problem with this unit. You are very lucky that I stopped by today. Let me get a replacement part from my bag, and then I’ll be on my way.”
“Oh thank goodness it’s a simple matter.”
It was only a few minutes, before Donald returned.
“Oh dear, I seem to be out of the part,” he said, quietly looking like he was thinking of what he should do.
“Mrs. Becker, I hate to put you through this, but you need this part as soon as possible. Is your pharmacist nearby?”
“Oh yes, right down in the village, just a few blocks away.”
“We could drive over there, I could explain everything to him, and in the future you can just have him check. This part, should be replaced probably every six to nine months. Shall we go to your pharmacist? It shouldn’t take more than 20 minutes to completely resolve this.”
“I guess so, Donald. I’d rather fix it now, too, than wait. Why put it off to a later date?”
“You’re a smart lady.”
She checked the back door, turned off the lights, than locked the front door behind her, as they left for the Pharmacist. Donald opened the car door for her, then went around to the driver’s side. He immediately locked the doors when he got in the car. He turned the car around to go back to Cherry Valley Avenue and then made a left turn, passing the country club.
“Oh Donald, you turned the wrong way. You needed to make a right turn to go to the village.”
“This will do.”
“No Donald, you’re going the wrong way.”
That was when Donald pulled out the gun.
“Please Mrs. Becker. I suggest you just sit tight and enjoy the ride. Kathryn would just hate it if her mother was harmed in any way.”
“Who are you? Why are you doing this?
“I told you, I’m Donald.”
“You can’t be Donald, my daughter said he was a nice man.”
“Well, your daughter ma’am, was a nice woman. Until, she got hooked up with that fancy doctor. I knew right from the beginning, he was not the right man for her.”
“Is my Kathryn alright? You didn’t hurt her, did you?”
“Kathryn is just fine, for now. Hopefully, you will see her shortly. Now please be quiet, and enjoy the ride. As long as you do as I say, no one will get hurt.”
Chapter 34
By Long Island standards, it would not have been considered a long drive - perhaps 30-45 minutes - but to Kathryn’s mother it seemed like an eternity. When they left 6th Street, in Garden City, Donald should have expected her to be upset. After all the poor woman, was just kidnapped, bamboozled into thinking he was there to help her, and what’s worse, left fearing not only for her own safety, but her daughter’s as well.
Of course, Donald should have expected that, but didn’t. Her constant demands and questions quickly frustrated him to no end. He had little patience for her foolish comments.
“Just shut up!” he yelled.
“Don’t talk to me in that tone of voice!” She demanded.
Then, rather softly he said, “I really don’t think you’re in a position to demand anything, Mrs. Becker. I am trying to be as nice as possible. Didn’t I tell you we were just taking a short ride? Haven’t I been polite to you? I thought I was being kind. I told you my name. I said where I worked, and that I know your daughter. I just don’t understand your behavior?” He said in an extremely calm voice. “Please, just sit still and stay quiet, or I will have to take more drastic measures my dear.”
“You don’t scar me, Donald. People like you are all the same - sick. You will not get away with this. Even if you kill me, my daughter will find you. She will hunt you down, and have the police put you away in a dungeon or whatever, for the rest of your natural life! And after that, God will punish you, too!”
“Shut the fuck, up!” He screamed as loud as he could.
Then, in that soft, quiet, calm voice, he again started to speak.
“Let me suggest to you, Mrs. Becker, that I am a very reasonable man, but, if you insist on continuing to badger me, well.....how about for every time you open your mouth to harass me again, I cut off one of Kathryn’s fingers? How would you like that? Oh and one more thing, I seemed to have forgotten, did I say we were going to call your daughter when we get to where we are going? Or did I say you’ll see her?”
Suddenly, Kathryn’s mother turned white as a ghost, and started trebling. Although she didn’t say a word, she started fidgeting, rapidly thrashing in her seat as if she was trying to undo the seat belt and open the door at the same time. She kept pulling at the door handle, even though Donald had permanently locked the door from his side.
“That does it!” Donald said, looking ahead for a place to turn off the roa
d. He was still traveling south along Cherry Valley Boulevard and had just passed the Cherry Valley golf course and was close to Hempstead Turnpike, when he spotted a sign that said Dead End. He quickly turned right onto the short street driving to the end. There were several trees and a barricade at the end of the street. He parked, jumped out of the car slamming the door again and quickly opened the trunk grabbing a cloth bag.
He was closing the trunk just as he spotted her climbing over the console trying to get out of the car on the driver’s side of the car.
“Damn it,” he hollered, racing around the car and pulling her out of the car onto her feet. He held her tightly, walking to the rear of the car. He opened the trunk again, spun her around, and hit her hard in the face, knocking her down into the opened trunk. She winced in pain, reaching for her face. Pulling some rope out of the cloth bag he tied her hands together then to her ankles, tight, up between her legs and backside, finally tying the end around her neck making a noose. She could not move an inch. He gagged her with a cloth, and pulled a black hood over her head.
“There you go my dear. I know it isn’t as comfortable as the front seat but it won’t be much longer, I promise.”
The pain was awful as she lay bunched up in the trunk. They were traveling at least another 30 minutes or more, when she was so uncomfortable it almost became unbearable to her. Every bump in the road sent shooting slivers of pain up and down her spine. At one point she swore she was crossing a bridge, from the sound the wheels made on the road surface. Soon thereafter, she heard the sound of the wheels rolling on gravel. Suddenly the car came to a stop. Dead silence came over her. She could not hear a sound. It felt like such a long time before Donald opened the trunk that she actually thought he may have abandoned her, leaving her to die.
“Here’s Johnny,” he smiled looking down at his prize possession. “We’re home!”
He lifted her out of the trunk, still with the hood over her head, and carrying her in his arms, he quickly moved into the house through the side door. She could tell from the sound he was walking on the gravel road. Donald wasn’t speaking, so she concentrated, carefully listening for any familiar sounds.
“Is that water I hear?” She thought to herself. “The ocean? It sounds like the roar of ocean waves on the shore. Yes, I can hear the sea gulls.”
Suddenly, she heard the sound of a squeaking door, and Donald’s feet walking on wood. Could it be stairs? A stoop into a house? Minutes later she could tell he carried her into a building, or a home somewhere near a beach.
Once he had her inside the house, he carried her into some room, and set her down on the floor. He left the room for just a moment returning with what sounded like a chair, a wooden chair being dragged across the floor. Donald bent down, and untied the rope from her neck and, ankles but not her hands.
Holding on to her he spoke, “get up. Stand up on your feet Mrs. Becker. I want you to sit in this chair while I get Kathryn.”
She did as he asked. Now, removing the rope from her hands he place her hands behind her back, tying them again to the chair. Once her hands were secure and tied to a rung of the chair, he pulled the rope to the front and tied her ankles to each chair leg. Last, he wrapped the rope around her waist several times and secured that as well. Mrs. Becker, wasn’t going anywhere.
Looking around to make sure all the blinds were closed, and the drapes drawn, he returned to Kathryn’s mother and removed the hood from her head. He also removed the gag from her mouth. She was free to speak, once again.
She immediately looked all around the room. She seemed to be in the parlor of an old home. There was a fireplace, sofa and lounge chairs, and several large bookcases loaded with books. She even noticed fresh ashes in the fireplace that may have meant the house is currently used, and not abandoned. Peering through several doorways that led to other rooms, she could only assume one door appeared to be entering a living room. From there, she spotted another door that must be the kitchen. A second door off the parlor clearly was the formal dining room since she could see the table and chairs and perhaps a server on the far wall. A third door off the parlor, was closed. What she couldn’t see was that the closed door lead to a front foyer and the main stairway to the second level where four or five bedrooms could be found. A back stairway also lead to the bedrooms from the Kitchen. It was hidden down a tiny alcove. Straight ahead in the alcove was an old door leading to the outside. It was completely boarded up. On the right, what appeared to be a closet door actual hid the back stairway. On the opposite side of the kitchen was the door Donald used when he entered the home.
“Is Kathryn here, Donald?” She politely asked in a soft voice.
“Yes. She’s fine, but I believe, she is downstairs. We will speak with her shortly. I just need to be sure all the doors are locked and that we’re safe inside. You do understand, I presume.”
“Downstairs?” Did he say downstairs, she thought, realizing there must be a basement to this old home.
Donald again, disappeared for a few minutes. He walked into the living room and through the door she believed was the kitchen. She thought she heard him go down a flight of stairs. There was some crazy sounds as if he was moving something. A scraping noise, like a shovel on a cement floor. But, she never heard any voices or conversion. In due time, he returned.
“Would you like something to drink?”
“I would like a glass of water. Please?”
Donald returned with a cold bottle of water.
“See how nice I can be when you behave? Good girl.”
“Thank you, Donald. And yes, I agree. You are very kind.”
Kathryn’s mother knew damn well by now, that she was dealing with a psycho, who very well may be a very depraved, dangerous man. She no longer wanted to take any chances of enraging him.
“From what my daughter told me, I take it you two have been close friends for a long time.”
Donald turned and just stared at her for what seemed the longest minute.
“Close friends? I suppose so. She was always so nice to me. From the very beginning, she not only supported me - she was on my side, if you know what I mean - but she relied on me to explain things to her, too. She always welcomed my help.”
“Help with what, Donald?”
“Usually, computers. Kathryn doesn’t like computers very much, but I do. I’m rather good at anything involving technology, especially the systems in our company, or the computerized medical devices. I know all that stuff backwards and forward. Whenever she was stuck or couldn’t work out something, she would call me and I would immediately run over to her office to help her figure it out. Sometimes we even stayed all hours into the evening. Once we even sent out for food.”
“That sounds like you two have a wonderful relationship.”
“You don’t understand. I love your daughter. I would do anything for her. And I know she loved me, too. But, then that God damn doctor had to show up. Things were still good for a while, until they ran off, overnight! Do you believe that! She never should have slept with that man Mrs. Becker. That was so wrong! That slut daughter of yours cheated on me!”
“Wait Donald, please wait. Kathryn was under a lot of stress. I don’t understand it all, but she came to me, talked with me, said nice things about you too! She’s confused Donald. She needs help. Kathryn is not a slut. I know she still likes you. Maybe the doctor took advantage of her. He’s not as smart as you.”
Donald frowned, staring at her mother contemplating all that she had just said.
“Do you really believe Kathryn would still want to help me?”
“Yes of course, Donald.”
“Why did she give up on me then with Ted Duncan and Dr. Andreyushkin?”
“I don’t know. Maybe they threatened her. She could have been frightened.”
“She didn’t tell me that.”
“Maybe she couldn�
�t or those men would do harm to her. I don’t know Donald. I only can tell you how upset she’s been. Ask her. Ask Kathryn to help you Donald.”
He thought for quite a while gazing into space. Finally, he looked at her, eyes wide. Yeah. Yeah, that’s a good idea, and I know just what to ask her too! And if she does it that proves she is on my side.”
Donald immediately took his cell phone from his pocket and dialed a number. A number that was preprogrammed in his contacts.
“Kathryn Becker,” she said, answering the phone.
“Hello Kathryn,” he said in a very soft, low, and peculiar voice. “I told you I had other ways to resolve the situation.”
“The situation?”
“Yes, I tried to warn everyone but they would not listen to me. He was a problem from start! But, what does Donald know? He’s stupid.”
She paused, not answering right away. There was something different about him. She was beginning to get frighten over the conversation. His voice! He sounds so weird it’s almost scary. But, I just can’t hang up on the guy.”
“No Donald. You’re not stupid. That’s not true and you know it!” Kathryn finally said.
“But Kathryn, I told you the tests were wrong. It failed. The pump failed the tests and it was all covered up. The pump is a killer, Kathryn. People were bound to die because of him and it only will get worse until he’s gone. Four people are dead Kathryn. How many more before everyone realizes. They are all so stupid. But you Kathryn? You were my biggest disappointment. I thought you were different.”
“Donald, where are you? You’re scaring me. I’m worried about your safety. We should be talking. I want to help you, please.”
“Oh, I’m fine. Just fine.”
“Where are you?”
“Why, I’m sitting here in town having a wonderful conversation with your mother.”
Suddenly, Kathryn froze up inside. “My mother? Donald, what are you talking about? You’re honestly scaring the shit out of me. Please, Donald, where are you?”