Audrey Carson and the Case of the Serial Kidnappers - Part 2


Audrey awoke in darkness. Slowly rolling her head around, she moaned.

"Sleeping beauty has awakened!" Rachel's voice echoed through the darkness.

Audrey began to frantically look about her, hoping to catch a glimpse of her
surroundings. Unfortunately, Audrey determined that she had been blindfolded.
As Audrey became more and more aware of her surroundings, she found her arms
bound at the wrist, and her feet bound at the ankles. As feeling returned to
the rest of her body, a wave of nausea washed over her.

Rachel must have seen the look on her face, as Audrey felt her lean in close.
"You're feeling the effects from the chloroform. Handy stuff, it'll put a
girl's lights out in no time."

Audrey thought she was going to vomit. "What have you gotten yourself into,
Rachel? Kidnapping?! We're talking about Federal Prison!"

"Only - if - I - get - caught ... " Audrey felt Rachel's finger protruding
into her with each word of that sentence.

Sighing, Audrey shook her head. "How long have I been out?"

"About 8 hours. We kept you lightly sedated for transport." Rachel answered.

"But I have to get to the Journal! Vince will be so upset with me." Audrey was
still trying to see past the blindfold.

"Who do you think chloroformed you last night?" Rachel asked. Her spite
rewarded as Audrey's jaw dropped open.

"NO!" Audrey cried, "He ... he wouldn't!"

"Oh, but I would." Audrey suddenly heard Vince's voice.

" ... But why?" Audrey asked in shock.

"Well, you were right ... someone was going to disappear in the park last
night. When I saw that you were catching on, I knew it had to be you." Vince
said, matter of factly, removing the blindfold.

Audrey found herself bound and helpless on the floor of what appeared to be a
university basement. Before her, Rachel sat smugly in a fold-up chair, with
Vince kneeling beside.

Audrey looked at Rachel, " ... And YOU were in on this?!"

Rachel's grim smile answered her question.

"What have you done with the other girls? What are you going to do with me?!"
She looked at her kidnappers.

"So many questions," Vince chuckled, "but first, I have some questions for you
... "

"Such as?" Audrey asked.

"Who have you told about your plans for last night?" Vince asked.

"Why? What are you going to do? Kidnap them too?!" Audrey asked
sarcastically, but discomfort suddenly overtook her as her kidnappers
exchanged glances.

"I told you she'd be difficult." Rachel said to Vince.

Vince sighed, "Audrey, I need to know ... "

"I'm not telling you anything!" Audrey blurted out.

"Alright," he stood, "we'll do this the hard way ... " Vince grabbed Audrey
around her arm, yanking her to her feet. As he began walking her into the next
room, Audrey was forced to hop, as her ankles were bound. After several steps,
Vince gave up and finally picked her up, throwing Audrey over his shoulder.

"Put me down!" Audrey kicked at him. Moments later, her request was granted,
as Vince threw her down on the mattress of an old bed, like a sack of
potatoes.

"I don't know what you think you're doing, but you can't ... " Audrey's voice
suddenly trailed off as Rachel appeared behind Vince, brandishing a hypodermic
syringe.

Exchanging glances, the two approached the struggling journalist as she
squirmed around on the mattress. Vince grabbed at her hands, as Rachel held
Audrey's legs.

After several attempts, Vince finally grabbed hold of Audrey's arms and began
untying the bonds around her wrists. For a moment, Audrey settled, but once
free, Audrey put up a frantic struggle. Rolling around, Audrey fought to kick
Rachel off her legs, and she actually succeeded in pushing Vince into a nearby
table. But all too soon, the duo was upon her once more.

Vince forced her hands up, retying her wrists to the metal frame bedposts. As
Audrey's cries grew louder, Rachel finally lost patience, thrusting the
syringe into the back of Audrey's right thigh, and injecting her with its
contents.

"Hey!" Audrey began to protest, but very quickly found herself feeling woozy.
Her thin body continued to gyrate around on the bed for moments to come as the
drug took effect. Her cries becoming whimpers, and finally disappearing
altogether as her chest began rising and falling in a regular rhythm.

"Audrey?" Vince asked.

"Hmmmm?" Audrey finally answered through barely opened lips. Her eyes
fluttered as she looked about the room in a sleepy haze.

Turning, Vince saw Rachel smiling at the damsel's helplessness.

"Who else did you tell your plans to last night?" Rachel asked loudly.

Struggling, Audrey shifted around on the mattress.

"She's hiding something." Rachel said, whipping her blonde hair back.

"Let the truth serum kick in ... " Vince replied.

A few seconds later, Rachel repeated the question. This time, Audrey groaned.
"C ... Can't tell ... "

Impatiently, Rachel pulled out a small vial, and began refilling the syringe,
but Vince put his hand on her shoulder. "We don't want to hurt her, Rach ... "

Sighing, Rachel rolled her blue eyes. "If someone goes looking for sleeping
beauty here, it's going to be much harder to move her!"

On the bed, Audrey shifted.

Vince turned back to Rachel, "If she won't answer, let's just put her under
and move her before they get out the search dogs."

"I'll be gentle," Rachel smiled, pushing past Vince and kneeling beside the
old bed. Audrey's breath quickened and sweat appeared on her brow as she
looked over at the blonde.

Rachel ran a finger up and down Audrey's bare forearm, finally finding a vein.
Behind her, Vince took a few steps forward, but it was too late. Rachel
plunged the syringe into Audrey's arm as Audrey squinted in pain. Her chest
rose and fell in rapid succession, and Audrey kicked her feet.

"Hold her," Rachel said to Vince.

Sighing, he slid over next to Rachel, and grabbed Audrey's kicking feet. As
Rachel slid the drugged syringe from Audrey's arm, Audrey's head bobbed back
and forth, moaning.

"Whh ... what are you d ... doing to me?" She asked.

"Just tell us, deary ... who else knows what you were up to last night?"
Rachel asked.

Audrey's breath still came in short huffs. Her face grimaced, still trying to
fight the drug, but it was winning out. All at once, she finally let it all
out.

"My room mate ... my room mate, Susan." She rolled her head around angrily as
she panted, catching her breath.

Rachel looked at Vince next to her, smiling. "Told you I could get her to
talk."

"You enjoy this too much," he shook his head. "How long before you think this
Susan will call the police?"

Rachel shrugged.

"M ... m ... morning ... " Audrey let out a sigh. Vince and Rachel exchanged
glances. The question had not been aimed at Audrey. The truth serum was indeed
fully at work in her system now. Vince looked at his watch.

"It's getting close to noon."

"We'd better assume that Susan has already called the police." Rachel said
seriously.

"I think you're right." Vince said, turning to Audrey, "Audrey, did Susan know
that you were planning you steak out with Rachel?"

"Yesss ... " Audrey sounded sleepy, "I was ... I was com ... plaining."

"Figures." Rachel huffed.

Vince stood up. "We're going to have to figure out what to do with that.
You're linked to her now."

Rachel shrugged. "I can just say that I got tired and went home early."

"Well, we'll worry about that later ... " Vince said, "Get her untied, and
we'll get to work on Ms. Carson."

Grumbling, Rachel reached for the bonds tying Audrey's wrists to the metal
frame of the old bed. Behind her, she did not notice Vince removing the small,
smoky brown bottle from his pocket, or the white cloth he dabbed its contents
onto. "Did you have to tie her so ... MMMPPPHHH!!!" Rachel asked, trying to
pull out one of the knots in the rope, when suddenly the white cloth came
down, covering her nose as Vince pulled her back.

Rachel kicked, but her legs slid under the old bed, her balance thrown off.
Her arms flailed about, trying to grab for anything that would help her.
Blindly, she grabbed the used syringe next to the bed as she struggled.

"MMM ... MMMPPPHHH!!!" She was trying desperately to hold her breath.

"Shhhhhh ... " Vince gripped her tight. Not allowing her free hand to pull the
chloroformed rag loose from her face. It wasn't until Rachel jabbed the
syringe into his hand that he finally let go. "OUCH!" he cried, dropping
Rachel.

Fumbling for her freedom, Rachel pulled her legs out from under the bed, and
struggled to get to her feet as her high heels slid on the smooth cement
floor. Finally, she kicked them off, leaving her with bare feet as she pushed
herself up onto her feet, already in running position. Behind her, Vince
lunged at her, the empty syringe shaken loose from his hand.

As Rachel took a few running steps, Vince caught up to her, throwing his arm
around her waist, pulling her back as the two fell back to the ground. "Oh no
you don't!" Vince cried.

As the two fumbled around on the ground, Audrey tried with blurred vision to
free herself from the nearly untied bonds. Below her, Vince reached for the
drugged cloth, while Rachel reached in the opposite direction, in hopes of
getting free. Finally, she kicked at him enough that he let go, quickly
reaching up and grabbing the cloth, but before he could turn, Rachel was
already on her feet, running past heating ducts for the heavy wooden door at
the other end of the room.

Getting to his feet, Vince chased Rachel down, reaching her at the door, which
she fumbled to open, but found locked. Turning back towards Vince, she found
him standing before her, holding up the key. It was Rachel's turn to pant
heavily, terror in her eyes. She made a quick grab for the key, but Vince
pulled it back from her playfully.

"Give me that key Vince!" She lunged at him, but he was ready for her. He
rolled back, allowing her to throw him to the ground, but as the two hit the
ground, he quickly rolled her over onto her back, straddling her.

Rachel kicked uselessly with bare feet, as she found Vince on top of her,
smiling down. He grabbed her at the wrists, so it was all she could do to
struggle. She finally screamed, "Let me go!" but Vince only laughed as he
pushed the chloroform over her mouth once more.

Across the room, Audrey could hear Rachel's muffled moans as she finally freed
her left wrist. She frantically reached over and began untying her other
wrist.

Across the room, Rachel's eyes fluttered, and her kicking was now reduced to a
sensual rhythmic dance as her legs moved back and forth across the cement
hopelessly. Her head lolled this way and that as Vince hovered over her, still
straddling her near unconscious form. Behind him, sounds from the creeky
mattress broke his concentration. With a sigh of frustration her removed the
cloth from Rachel's mouth, leaving her in a near-unconscious state, rolling
about on the floor.

As Audrey reached forward to untie her bound ankles, she could see past the
ductwork with blurred eyes to see Rachel, now alone, still moaning and rolling
around on the floor. Vince was nowhere to be seen. Audrey fought with the
ropes, but failed to see Vince crawling out of the ductwork behind her.

Just as Audrey finally loosened the rope around her ankles, Vince pressed the
chloroformed rag over her mouth. "ERRRRMMMMPPPHHH!!!" Audrey fought, but after
being heavily drugged with what Audrey thought could only be sodium pentathol,
her movements were slow and awkward. As she reached back, and tried to claw at
Vince, she found her world already hazy.

Audrey fell back into Vince's arms with a sigh, the white cloth still pressed
over her mouth and nose, her chest rising and falling, taking in the drug.
From the tense, gnarled position of her hands, Vince saw that she still had
some fight in her, but as Audrey's hands slowly grew limp he knew that she was
out. Her blue eyes made one last attempt to open, but fluttered and closed as
sleep took her.

Smiling, Vince laid Audrey back onto the old bed, removing the chloroform. As
Audrey's arm dangled from the bed, Vince considered retying her, but behind
Audrey, he could still hear Rachel moaning. She was trying to get up now,
crawling towards the door.

Vince walked back towards Rachel, and as his shadow overtook hers, she cried
out once more, "NO!" but Vince applied the chloroform mercilessly. Rachel's
body felt heavy, and as she finally faded into oblivion, one last thought ran
through her mind, "What have I gotten myself into?"