A Vulnerable Broken Mind Read online

  He was completely lost. He didn’t know how he was going to save Amber now, He heard footsteps walking towards him. The sound startled him and caused him to lift his head. Standing before him, was the little girl. She didn’t say anything, she merely sat down next to him and stared at him.

  “I’m so sorry,” John said, his voice cracking. “I tried but I was too late.”

  The girl just stared. Her eyes were not emotional. In fact, it looked like she was trying to burn a hole in him with her eyes. “It’s not too late.”

  John looked incredulous. “How is it not too late?” John screamed. “They have my wife and I have no idea where they went. How am I supposed to find them?” John asked with anger. He couldn’t find the strength or reason to calm himself down.

  The girl gave John a very sad look. She then reached out and grabbed his hand and held it. While not ridding John of his sadness, he felt a comforting feeling when she did this.

  “I know you might feel lost but you’re closer to finding them then you think,” she explained. “You might not know where they are but someone down there might.” She pointed down to the town below.

  “Who could possibly know?” John asked.

  “Think about it. Deep down, I think you already know.” She said and John thought to himself while staring down toward Tuxton. The town as a whole was not visible but the street with the houses were. Suddenly it came to him. He had already met this person. He had turned around to the little girl to tell her his discovery but she was once again gone.

  John turned back towards the town and began to walk down towards it. He had immediately thought of Mary Stanton. She was the most suspicious to John. Her quick answers and her unusual behavior should have made it obvious to John from the start.

  She was hiding something and John was anxious to find out what it was. John continued to walk back into town, trying to walk down the hill as quickly as he could. On the way down, he saw the police office. The lights were on but nobody was there. John realized that he was truly alone in this mission. There wasn’t a cop for miles and if he were to get into trouble, he couldn’t call anybody.

  Once he was at the bottom of the hill, he turned to walk towards the houses. John was now as determined as ever as he approached the street. Since Mary Stanton’s house was the first on the street, her house was visible right away.

  All of the lights were off in the house, indicating that she was asleep. John had lost complete track of the time and didn’t really care what time it was and didn’t care that she was asleep. He wanted answers.

  He walked up the steps to the front porch and pounded on the door. Mary didn’t come to the door right away. John remained persistent and pounded on the door again. A light finally came on in the house. “Who is it?” Mary shouted from the inside of the house.

  “It’s John Robinson, I need to talk to you,” John shouted back.

  “Mr. Robinson?” Mary said, sounding nervous. “I really can’t talk right now. Come back later.”

  “No,” John shouted but realized quickly that shouting might not help. “Please, I’m desperate, I need to talk to you. It can’t wait.”

  There was a very long pause but John could finally hear the door unlocking. The door opened slightly, just enough to where John could see her face. “What can I help you with Mr. Robinson?” She asked. She looked very nervous.

  Chapter 8: Mary’s Tragedy

  “Please, I need to know everything you know about Ralph Hunt and Ken Sparks.” John may have been a little forward but he didn’t have time to beat around the bush. “I think you know what I’m talking about.”

  “I don’t, I’m sorry.” Mary said quickly and was about to shut the door but John put his hand on it to keep it open.

  “Please, neither of them are here, they fled and my wife is with them. I have no clue where they went but I think you do.” John’s desperation was becoming clearer in his voice. “I need to know where they took her.” John’s eyes began to water; he was on the verge of breaking down.

  Mary’s stare had gone from nervousness to a sympathetic look. She then pulled the door open. “Come in,” she said

  John walked in. Mary looked around outside before closing the door, as if to make sure that no one was watching them.

  John walked into Mary’s house and knew that there would be some memorabilia from her dead husband but he still wasn’t prepared for what he saw. The room that the front door led to was the living room. It was a bright blue, square room. A grey couch and chair faced the left wall and next to that wall was a television set.

  Several shelves were on the walls and were filled with many pictures of the two of them. In the far right corner, was a fireplace and sitting above it, was a hand painted portrait of the two of them holding hands.

  “Do you want coffee or anything?” She asked sweetly.

  “No, but thank you.” John said, his appetite and his thirst were completely gone. His wife was his only worry.

  “Well, let me get you some water anyway, you look thirsty,” she said with her head down. She walked out of the room and into the kitchen, which was out of John’s view. Despite her pleasant tone, something was clearly bothering her and John had a good feeling about what it was.

  “You do know about Sparks and Hunt, don’t you?” John asked, getting straight to the point.

  Mary then walked back into the room with a glass of water and set it on the wooden living room table, her eyes not looking into John’s. “I’ve known for a while now,” she said in a whisper.

  “How do you know?” John asked.

  Mary finally looked into his eyes. Her eyes were quickly welling up with tears. “I can’t tell you. They will kill me if I do.”

  “They are not here,” John said quickly. “No one can hear you but me. Please, I need to know.”

  Mary’s tear filled eyes continued to stare at John. She sat down on the couch and indicated for John to do the same. She took several deeps breaths and then began. “My husband, Tony, was really in the military but he didn’t die overseas. We moved here after his last job overseas was complete. I was jobless at the time.

  “He decided to become a recruiter because he wanted a much longer delay in between going overseas again. We got permission to move here due to his position and we were looking for a place that was more secluded and quiet.

  “Our first six months here were beautiful. I had actually managed to get a job at Ralph Hunt’s main location in Jacksonville. Applying for that job wound up being the worst decision that I ever made in my life.”

  “Why is that?” John asked. He was listening very intently to every word that Mary was saying.

  Mary seemed to be battling with herself to keep from breaking down. “We knew Ralph because we shopped at his store before I started working there. Ralph was around me a lot more after that. He gave me compliments about my work and really seemed to like me. I wasn’t aware of how much at that time.

  “Around that same time, he had built his house at the top of the hill. We not only got to see him at my job but he would come to the house. Because he seemed to like the both of us, we didn’t think twice about it.” She then paused and almost seemed to drift but continued.

  “I was without a car one day at work. Tony gave me a ride to work but was unable to pick me up. Ralph offered to give me a ride. We considered him a friend and I accepted. When my shift was over, he was waiting in his SUV for me. I got in and he offered me a bottle of water when I got in. It was a long day and I was thirsty, so I drank it. He had put something in the drink, which knocked me out.

  “I woke up in a small room. My hands were chained and I had been stripped of my clothing.” She paused again, tears then began streaming down her face. “I was there for months. He beat me, raped me, and tortured me.” She then pulled down her shirt collar on the right side to expose her right shoulder and revealed burn scars on her shoulder. John winced. “He burned me for being disobedient. It was the most painful experience of my
life.

  “Sparks started coming regularly as well. He and Ralph loved taking turns.” She grimaced and cried more from the thought of it. “Tony had been trying hard to find me but Sparks led him on a bunch of false trails. He finally became suspicious when Sparks kept putting off questioning Ralph.

  “He tried to sneak into Ralph’s house but was caught and put into a cell under the house. Those cells are an awful place to be in.”

  “I know,” John agreed.

  Mary didn’t seem to know how to react when she learned that John had been there as well, so she continued. “They started videotaping their abuse of me and showing him on a TV while he was in his cell.” Her crying was getting worse as she spoke. “After a couple of days he couldn’t take any more of the footage because it drove him mad. He actually requested a rope and he…” She paused and broke down completely, unable to finish her story.

  John knew the rest of it already. He thought back to the noose that hung from the first cell. He now knew who had once hung there. Now, the image haunted him even more than before. John had no doubt that they had planned to torture him in the same way but hadn’t planned on him escaping.

  “What happened after that, why weren’t they caught?” John asked.

  Mary managed to calm herself enough to speak. “Hanson became suspicious after my disappearance and when Tony went missing as well, he requested an investigation from his department. Ralph got rid of Tony’s body in the river. It hasn’t been recovered.” She held back from breaking down again when saying this. “They hid me somewhere else during the investigation.”

  “Where?” John asked but Mary hesitated to answer. “Please, Amber might be there!”

  “There’s a little patch of land several miles down the river. The river itself is only a few miles out of town. It’s an old house that was built in the early twentieth century. Ralph bought it and redid it. Only Ralph, Ken, and I know of its existence.”

  “Why didn’t you run after all of this or tell anybody?” John asked curiously.

  Mary then put her head down in shame. “They threatened my life if I left. I was scared. Ken was a cop and could manipulate any story that I would tell them. They said the only way I could live was to stay and accept that I was their property.

  “They forced me to tell everybody that I wasn’t really missing but secretly left Tony because he was going back overseas and that he was killed there.”

  John didn’t want to hear anymore. Telling this story was obviously breaking her beyond belief. He stood. “How do I get to that house? I’m going to get Amber and make sure that you are no longer their property.”

  “You won’t be able to.” Mary said, shaking her head. “It’s miles up the river and impossible to get to unless you have a boat,” she explained and while John was a little disappointed at first, he immediately thought of a boat that was quite literally only feet away from Mary’s house.

  “I know what to do,” was all John said to her and he was about to turn and leave when she got up and stopped him.

  “If you manage to get her, can you pick something up for me, if you can, of course?” She asked emotionally. While John was in a hurry, he knew that this really mattered to her. He nodded. “Please grab our wedding rings if you see them. They are both silver with the words “For life and beyond” engraved into them. He took them, almost as if they were a trophy of victory to him.”

  John then looked at the finger on his left hand that once held his wedding ring. His wedding ring meant so much to him. It was a symbol of his love for Amber. If it meant that much to him, Mary’s ring meant the same to her. He looked her in the eyes and said, “I promise to bring them back to you.”

  Mary then leaned in and gave John a tight hug. With tears streaming down her face she said, “I hope you find her.”

  “I will find her,” John said confidently and turned to leave. He took one final look at Mary and walked out of the house and closed the door behind him. Once outside, he looked to the left at Tom Morrison’s house. The jet boat was still sitting on the trailer in the front lawn.

  He looked left and sitting on the porch, in his chair, was Tom Morrison. However, this time he appeared to be fast asleep. John walked down Mary’s porch and towards Morrison’s house. He walked through the front gate and was about to go up the porch.

  “So, when are we leaving?” John jumped slightly as Morrison spoke, proving that he wasn’t asleep.

  “How did you know?” John asked stunned.

  Morrison sat up and gave John a quizzical look. “Son, I’ve lived here since this town was reformed. I’ve known Mary since she moved here. Did you honestly think that I didn’t know?”

  “But your statement to Hanson, you said…” John started but Morrison interrupted.

  “My statement to Hanson was only meant as a hint to you. I had to keep it vague to avoid suspicion because I knew that he would repeat my statement to Sparks. Saying that I saw Hunt moving in and out all day doesn’t mean that I saw much.”

  “What else do you know?” John asked.

  “That you’re going to his other house,” Morrison responded.

  “You know where it is?” John asked quickly.

  Morrison nodded and gave a smile. “I was lucky enough to pass by the place while driving my boat and Hunt’s boat was parked right next to it.”

  “I need to go there,” John said immediately.

  “I know, give me a couple of minutes.” Morrison got up out of his chair and pulled a set of keys out of his pocket. He then walked to the left side of the house, where the driveway was and walked towards the back.

  John stayed in the front and waited. Only a few seconds later, he heard the loud sound of a truck or SUV being started. Morrison then came driving around in a big red SUV , parking the rear end next to the jet boat. John was slightly stunned to see an old man in such a big vehicle. This expression was not missed by Morrison, who was stepping out of the SUV.

  “What? Did you think I hooked this thing onto a compact car?” Morrison said with a laugh. “Let’s go.” John then helped him hook the boat up to the truck and within a matter of minutes they were off.

  It took them a few minutes to get on the highway. The trip had been silent thus far. John couldn’t get his mind off of Amber.

  “Are you nervous?” Morrison suddenly asked.

  “Yes,” John said, not seeing any reason to lie.

  “Don’t be,” Morrison said very seriously. “Just keep your mind on your mission. Focus on saving her and nothing else. Get rid of those nerves now because they’ll only distract you. Don’t let those two jerks get the best of you.”

  John breathed deeply, trying to calm himself down. “Have you always hated Hunt this much?” John asked. It was a rather senseless question given the situation, but he was just trying to keep things from getting quiet again.

  “I didn’t when I had first met him,” Morrison said as he continued to stare at the road. “He seemed harmless; arrogant but harmless. Then poor Mary went missing and I just had a gut feeling it was him. The way he looked at her and talked to her. I had no doubt.”

  “Tony didn’t suspect foul play with Hunt?” John asked.

  “Hunt could be very slick. I was on the police force for many years and I know when someone is hiding something. I became so suspicious that I sent a memo concerning Hunt to one of my old police trainees, who is now a lieutenant. He sent an interesting memo back.

  “Apparently Hunt has been questioned and arrested before for kidnapping and rape. However, there has never been enough evidence to hold him and Hunt has used his financial power to cover up any possible wrongdoing. He also used that power to manipulate a certain police officer.”

  John knew who Morrison was talking about. “How did he manage to manipulate Sparks?”

  “Sparks was a very green police officer but he also had a reputation for bending the rules,” Morrison explained. “Someone like Sparks was exactly what Hunt needed. Not only would he have a
police officer to cover up his tracks but he could also use his power and seniority to turn him into his puppet.

  “I tried to warn Tony not to trust Sparks but he was still too young to understand. He went mad looking for Mary. Then he went missing. I knew how bogus that overseas story was. They forced her to tell that story.”

  “Have you ever found out how he really died?” John asked.

  “No, I never have and I wasn’t about to bother Mary about it. She had been through enough,” Morrison said but John didn’t go any further. He hated hearing the story the first time and didn’t want to repeat it.

  Morrison then made a sudden right turn onto a dirt road. The trees, which were thick, came to a sudden end as the SUV turned onto a gravel road that was surrounded by rocks. John then looked forward to see a big river at the end of the rocks.

  He could see the water but because of the darkness, he could not see anything else besides the rocks in front of him.

  The SUV left the gravel road and then slid onto the sand. The SUV was strong enough to drive right through it. As they got closer to the water, John realized one flaw. “How are we supposed to get the boat into the water from here?” He asked.

  “You see that dashboard in front of you?” Morrison asked and John nodded. “I would grab onto that if I were you.” John put his hands on the dashboard just in time as Morrison turned the steering wheel sharply to the left, sending the SUV into a violent turnaround. Because they were in sand, it felt like the SUV was going to tip over. John could feel the weight of the trailer shifting from the back of the SUV as well.

  However, it was soon over with and the boat was near the water. Morrison looked at John after it was all over. “Does that answer your question?” He then stepped out of the SUV. Once John was over the shock, he stepped out of the SUV as well. The sound of the river filled his ears as soon as he opened the door.

  John looked around but couldn’t see much beyond the water. It was so dark out that he couldn’t even see the trail they had taken to get to this spot. He could only see a few rocks, courtesy of the SUV’s headlights. However, not seeing the entire location didn’t raise his confidence. “Are you sure this is the right place?”