by Laurie Ames
***
“SURPRISE!!!” - The employees of Crawford Clothing all shouted in unison as Juanita walked in. They all cheered while clapping their hands and applauding.
Juanita’s mouth dropped open in surprise and her face lit up with delight. “Oh my Gosh!” she exclaimed happily. “I can’t believe you guys did this!”
One by one, they all came up and gave her friendly hugs, commenting on how great it was to finally have her back. Juanita was almost in tears with emotion.
“You guys are the best!” she declared cheerfully.
One of the girls pulled out a cake box and set it up on the front counter. She motioned for Juanita to come over to see it. Juanita smiled with gratitude and appreciation when she saw what was written on it: To the Best boss in the whole world! We love you!
She placed her hands to her cheeks and thanked her employees again for such a wonderful and thoughtful endeavor. She was over the moon with joy. The only thing that would have made the event even more enjoyable, would have been if Allison was there.
Allison! Where is she? Juanita wondered. This is so unlike her. She pulled her phone out of her purse and checked to see if she had any calls, texts or messages, but there were none. It was strange for Allison to not reply at all. Juanita began to wonder if she should be concerned.
***
“What the hell did you do?” Elaine bellowed furiously, glaring at Walt with fire in her angry eyes.
“Well, I had to do something!” Walt retorted in annoyance.
Allison came to and realized that she was in the dark. Squinting her eyes, she noticed a small sliver of light coming through a crack between the two doors on her left. That’s when she realized she was in the back of a truck or van of some type. She suspected it was the one Walt had used to ram her car.
She could hear muffled voices outside of the van, and even though she was tied up, she rolled her body slowly toward the crack in the doors and put her ear as close as she could, wincing from the pain of the injuries she had suffered in the accident.
“Now what the fuck are we supposed to do?” a woman’s voice asked. The woman sounded very irritated.
“This is perfect, Elaine, don’t you see? Juanita is in love with that girl! We can use her to force Juanita to sign the store over to us,” Walt replied, enthusiastically.
Us? …Since when were Elaine and Walt partners of some sort? Allison wondered.
“That nosey little bitch was snooping around the store the other week while I was waiting for you to disable the security system! She saw my car in front of the store and had the nerve to sit there and watch me! That’s why I had to leave you there, that night.”
“And that’s why we had to come up with a Plan B,” Walt noted.
“I had no idea that kidnapping Juanita’s new little bitch was your idea of a Plan B!” Elaine snapped.
“Well, your hit and run plan didn’t quite work out the way we expected it to, now did it?” Walt retorted. “If she would have died like she was supposed to, we wouldn’t be in this situation! Good thing we used the car that was in that Andrew Gusslin’s name.”
“OK, say this little plan of yours actually works out. How can we ensure that they won’t go to the authorities?” Elaine asked.
“We make a little insurance plan.” He said, maliciously. “Juanita is intimidated by you, Elaine. If we scare her badly enough, she’ll keep quiet. We’ll just send one of our guys to threaten her little girlfriend’s life. She’ll convince that little blonde to keep quiet. Besides, she has no idea that we are in on this together.”
Elaine sighed.
“Well, I guess we have no choice now, do we?” she muttered. “Let’s just hurry up and get this over with.”
***
Juanita checked the time on her phone again. It had been more than hour since she’d arrived at the store, and she still hadn’t heard from Allison. She was more than flattered by the thoughtfulness of her wonderful employees, but she was becoming more and more worried about Allison with every passing moment.
Just then, her cell phone rang. The number was blocked, but she answered it anyway, just in case it was Allison calling from a different number.
“Hello?” she answered; her voice shaky with anxiety.
“If you ever want to see your precious Allison again, you’ll do what we tell you,” a deep, raspy voice said on the other end.
Juanita’s heart dropped down into her stomach. She was scared out of her mind, but she didn’t want her employees to know, so she hurriedly stepped outside to take the call.
“Who is this?” she demanded, nervously.
“Someone who has your Allison bound and gagged. She’s okay for the moment, but if you want her to remain that way, you will do exactly as I tell you.”
Juanita placed her hand to her face, trying to hide the tears that were threatening to pour out of her eyes and run down her cheeks.
Chapter 9: Isn’t It Ironic?
Juanita ran over to where Allison was sitting on the cold hard floor of the abandoned warehouse and hugged her. Allison was happy to see her, but also very miserable, due to the amount of pain and discomfort that she had endured. She winced and groaned when Juanita hugged her, yet still managed to force a relieved smile.
“Oh my God, Alli! I’m so sorry!” Juanita sobbed into Allison’s sore shoulder.
“It’s okay,” Allison whispered, exasperatedly.
“No, it’s not! It’s not okay! And I’m gonna fix it, I promise!” Juniata replied; her voice filled with deep emotion. “But right now, I need to get you to the hospital.”
She helped Allison up to her feet and over to her SUV. She put her in the passenger side, then hurried over to the driver’s side. Tears were rolling down her cheeks as she drove as quickly as she could to the hospital that she, herself, had just been in several weeks ago.
“It was Elaine and Walter Fanning. They were in on it together,” Alli said softly. She was exhausted and her body was in bad shape.
“Wait, Walter Fanning?” Juanita repeated, confusedly. “I knew Elaine was behind it, because they forced me to sign my store over to her in order to save your life, but I had no idea that Walt was involved. Are you sure?”
Allison nodded weakly.
“He was the one who took me,” she replied softly, then, she passed out.
When they arrived at the ER, Juanita ran inside and yelled for help. A few orderlies and nurses came to her aid and they helped Allison onto a stretcher and rolled her into a Trauma Room. She was still unconscious, and Juanita was becoming very worried.
Juanita sat in the waiting room waiting to hear from the doctor. She wanted to go and be at Allison’s side as soon as possible. As she waited, she thought about how ironic it was; the fact that just a few weeks ago, Allison had been the one who’d rescued her in her time of need, and she had been the one sitting in this waiting room, waiting to hear about her medical status.
She sighed as she reflected on how conniving and dirty Elaine had become. What gall she had to kidnap an innocent young woman out of pure envy and vengefulness! Juanita wanted to cry. What had started out as a beautiful day of celebration and reconnection had turned into a disastrous and tragic evening of misfortune and calamity.
“You’re going to get yours,” Elaine, Juanita said aloud, narrowing her eyes as she spoke quietly. “You’re going to get yours if it’s the last thing I ever do.”
After what had felt like hours, the ER doctor finally came out and approached Juanita.
“Are you Ms. Crawford?” the huskily built female doctor asked, looking down at Juanita.
“Yes, I am,” Juanita replied quickly, rising to her feet.
“I’m Dr. Hartfield,” she said, and reached out and offered her hand. “Ms. Manning has some internal bleeding so she’s going to need emergency surgery. She also has a few fractures, one in her right leg and one in her left arm. The surgery shouldn’t be very lengthy, maybe an hour or two,” the doctor explained.
Juanita burst into tears.
“Thank you, doctor,” she said. “I’m not leaving until I see her.” Juanita sat back down in her seat.
“I’ll come find you when she’s in recovery,” Dr. Hartfield promised.
***
Allison opened her eyes and looked around. She had a dull pain in her abdomen, and she was too weak to move, if at all. Suddenly, everything started coming back to her and she realized she was in a hospital bed.
“You’re awake!” she heard Juanita exclaim.
She turned her head to the left and saw Juanita looking down at her, smiling, with tears in her eyes.
“Hi Alli.”
Allison managed to squeak out a small smile. “What—what happened?” She asked softly.
“You had to have surgery, hon. You had some internal injuries,’ Juanita explained.
“I knew it,” Allison replied.
“How are you feeling?” Juanita asked concernedly.
“Like shit,” Alli said quietly and then flashed another weak smile. Juanita smiled back through her tears. She bent over to give Allison a small peck on the cheek, then held Allison’s hand. Alli gave it a slight squeeze.
***
Later that evening, after Allison’s anesthesia had completely worn off and she’d been able to eat something, Juanita felt much more relieved. Her left arm was in a sling, and she was stitched and bandaged in a few places, but for the most part, she was okay.
Juanita left the room to grab something to eat from the hospital cafeteria, and when she returned, she was surprised to see Officer Betty Holt standing beside Allison’s bed. She froze in her tracks when she saw her.
Officer Holt looked up and smiled at her. “Oh, hello, Ms. Crawford,” she said pleasantly.
“Hello, Officer,” she replied quietly. “How did you know Allison was here?”
“I called her,” Allison answered.
“I’m just about finished with Ms. Manning’s statement. Afterward, I’d like to ask you a few questions, as well,” Officer Holt stated plainly.
‘”Um…ok,” Juanita replied.
After Officer Holt left, the two women sat in an awkward silence.
“Alli, I have to tell you something,” she said suddenly. “The man on the phone who forced me to write a notarized letter signing my business over to Elaine told me that if we went to the authorities, they would make sure you didn’t survive your next accident.” She began to cry hysterically.
“Juanita, you can’t let her intimidate you anymore. I’m not going anywhere. Besides, we’ve got them now. I told Officer Holt everything that happened.” She told Juanita all about how Walt had found her and knocked her out, tied her up and put her in the back of a large vehicle. She explained how she’d heard them talking and what they’d said. She also told Juanita that Elaine was behind the hit and run incident.
“Officer Holt is going to have them arrested, right away,” she told Juanita. It’s all going to be okay.”
She reached out for Juanita and the two women embraced in a passionate, emotional hug. Deep down, Juanita hoped that Allison was right, but she had a feeling of dread in her gut. Allison didn’t know Elaine like she did.
Chapter 10: Seeking Justice
Allison was released from the hospital the very next day. Juanita insisted that she stay with her until fully recovered, and Allison gratefully accepted. Juanita had to inform her employees that the store was going to be closing temporarily, and that she would contact them when she was able to reopen it. She was just trying to buy herself some time to try figure out what to do about the Elaine and Walt situation.
Allison’s first day at Juanita’s home was very pleasant, and though she wasn’t well enough for a night of heated passion, the two women cuddled up with one another and slept in each other’s arms.
The next day, they received some shocking news from Officer Holt when she called right after they finished breakfast.
“Ms. Manning, I need to tell you that both Mr. Fanning and Ms. Helton were both released on bail today. We were unable to hold them due to lack of evidence,” she told Allison.
“What?!?” Allison was livid. “I told you he kidnapped me and both he and Elaine held me hostage. They forced Juanita to sign over her store to Elaine!”
“Yes, I understand, and those are serious accusations, Ms. Manning, but…the problem is, there is no evidence whatsoever to back up your story, and their attorney claims that they’re innocent. He is filing a motion to have the charges dismissed.”
Allison couldn’t believe her ears.
“Ms. Helton claims that Ms. Crawford signed her store over to her because she owes her a significant amount of money and cannot afford to pay it. And Mr. Fanning said he was just trying to help you when he saw that you had been injured in a car accident, but that you attacked him, accusing him of being the one who had hit you. He said he left you where he’d found you, but that he reported the accident as soon as he got back to his vehicle.”
Allison listened to him in a stunned silence.
“Also, Ms. Helton’s story checks out. Her attorney produced documents backing up her claim that Ms. Crawford is in a significant amount of debt to her. And—there is no evidence linking the two of them together at all. Mr. Fanning was also able to produce proof that he made a call to 9-1-1 reporting a car overturned in a ditch on Heimlich Road. You and Ms. Crawford, on the other hand, have nothing but your verbal statements. I mean, Ms. Crawford couldn’t even tell me who it was that called her, the number was blocked, and you were alone and unharmed, other than the injuries you suffered from the car accident when she found you at the abandoned warehouse. I’m sorry ladies, but my hands are tied. Unless you can deliver me some hard evidence before the day of the pretrial, this case will likely be dismissed.” Her voice sounded sincerely apologetic, but Allison was furious.
“So that’s it? They’re just gonna get away with it? With almost killing Juanita and with kidnapping me?” Allison was close to tears.
“I really want to help you ladies, believe me, but without any proof or evidence, we have no case against them. It’s your word against theirs, and unfortunately, they took steps to cover their tracks well, and they have evidence to back up their versions of their stories.” Officer Holt sounded exasperated.
“Wait, they said something about a man named Andrew Gusslin. What about him? Can’t you subpoena him or something?” Alli asked.
“The car that hit Ms. Crawford was registered to an Andrew Gusslin, but the address of the registration is an abandoned house. We have been unable to locate Mr. Gusslin for several weeks, nor have we been able to locate the vehicle itself. It’s almost as if the man is a ghost.”
“When is the preliminary hearing?” Alli asked.
“Monday,” she replied, and Allison knew that they didn’t have much time.
“I’ll get you the evidence you need by then,” Alli retorted before ending the call and turning toward Juanita. “Juanita, we’re gonna have to step our game up. We can’t let them get away with this! They’re not gonna stop unless we stop them!”
***
The two women sat on Juanita’s sofa, sipping on alcoholic beverages as they discussed the situation at hand.
“Why did they want your store so badly, Juanita?”
“Because Elaine is a conniving, controlling, and very vengeful woman. She loves having power and control more than anything else, and she’ll go to great lengths to get it.”
“Do you really owe her a shitload of money?” Allison asked Juanita.
Juanita lowered her head before answering.
“Yes, she paid off my mother’s house and she also paid for my store and everything in it. We had a contract agreement that she would get 50% of the profits from my store until the entire balance was paid off. When we became a couple, though, she tore the contract up in front of me, making me think that she loved me so much that she was absolving my debt to her. She even let me keep 100% of my store’s prof
its. But the day after I broke things off with her, I received a certified copy of the original contract in the mail. She had only ripped up a copy. She’d had the original stashed away—as insurance. The truth is, without the store I’m ruined. I’ve been able to save up a bit of money, but it’ll be gone soon if I don’t have any income coming in.”
The two women sipped their drinks in silence for a moment. Then, suddenly, Allison had an idea.
“If we’re going to get the evidence we need, I think we should start at that abandoned warehouse,” she suggested.