Audrey Carson and the Case of the Serial Kidnappers - Part 3



The sound of running water washed the cobwebs from Audrey's brain as she
slowly gathered in her surroundings. Her limbs were numb, like stone. As she
picked her head up, it felt as though it were about to explode.

"Nnnnnghhh ... " She rolled her neck.

"Be still ... " Vince whispered to her, pushing her head back.

As Audrey continued to take in her surroundings, she was staring at the
ceiling as Vince hovered over her.

"W ... what ... .are you ... .do ... doing t ... to ... me?" she asked in a
fog.

"No questions." He said coldly. "If you want to ask questions, I'll just have
to sedate you again."

"N ... no ... " Audrey shook her head.

Beside her, Audrey saw Rachel sitting in a chair. She had a mask over her face
that made it look like she should be working in a woodshop or something. Her
eyes were closed, and Rachel appeared fast asleep.

As feeling slowly returned to her body, Audrey felt that she was reclined in
some kind of chair. As she moved, she felt the plastic cushion of the chair
rub against her skin. HER SKIN!!! She thought.

Looking down, Audrey found that she had been stripped of nearly all her
clothes, save her bra and panties. As she began to struggle, she found her
arms bound to the armrests of the chair. Her feet too, were tied to the
elongated, reclining bottom of the chair. She could pull her feet to the right
and to the left, but she was prevented from moving them up or down.

"NNNNGGGHHH!!!" She struggled, demanding "What have you done with my
clothes?!"

Vince appeared annoyed. Finally, he looked down at her. "I think you need a
nap." He reached onto a nearby table, and Audrey saw one of those woodworking
masks. As he began to strap it over her face, Audrey could feel her hair
brushing up against the side of her face. It was wet.

Behind the mask, Audrey repeated, "What are you doing to me?!"

But her cries were in vain. As Audrey breathed in and out, she recognized a
sickly sweet, familiar smell that told her Vince had laced the dust-mask with
chloroform. Audrey squirmed relentlessly in the chair, but it was useless. Her
movements slowed, and her thoughts drifted onto better times.

Audrey's eyes rolled up into her head, and her eyebrows rose as sleep was
about to take her, but to Audrey's surprise, she saw the blurry figure above
her reach over her, and suddenly she found cool, fresh air washing over her
face. She took in each breath like it was her last.

As her head cleared once more, Audrey felt a whoosh. Gathering her bearings,
she found herself looking into a mirror. Behind her, Vince looked at her
through her surprised reflection. He had turned the chair she was sitting in
up, and Audrey recognized it as some kind of salon chair.

Audrey still found herself in a dreamlike state. Could this be a dream? Would
she wake up suddenly and wonder what it was all about? Perhaps she'd forget
about it by mid-day.

Behind her, the sound of scissors brought her attention back to the present.
Snip. Snip.

As Audrey looked into the mirror, she saw that Vince was cutting her shoulder
length hair. Her expression changed from dazed and confused to sudden horror.
She tried to turn her head.

"Hold still!" Vince said. "Tip your head forward!"

Quivering, Audrey did as he said.

"Now, you like you'd make a great ... redhead." Vince smiled.

"You're going to dye my hair?" Audrey asked in shock.

"If I'm going to take you out of here, I'm going to have to change your
appearance." Vince said. He nodded to a newspaper lying on the sink in front
of her. It was the University Journal. The headline read: UNIVERSITY LOSES 2
REPORTERS TO KIDNAPPER!

"So this is about the newspaper?" Audrey asked.

Sighing, Vince answered. "The board of trustees was going to cut the funding
for the journal. I had to make the journal appear indispensable to the
university."

"So you resorted to kidnapping?!" Audrey was shocked.

"Our reader base went up over 120% after the first disappearance alone."

"Where are you ... " Audrey saw that Vince was reaching for the chloroform
laced mask, and quickly quieted herself.

Stopping just short of grabbing the mask, Vince turned back to Audrey. "You
seem tense." He said.

"You've kidnapped me ... what do you expect?"

Vince stepped behind the chair once more and began massaging Audrey's
shoulders. "Don't worry, you won't be harmed ... you'll just be ... Canadian."

"You're going to take me out of the country?!!!" Audrey cried. Next to her,
she could see Rachel stirring in her restraints. "Rachel, wake up! Wake up,
Rachel!" She cried out, hoping to wake her competitor.

As Rachel eyes fluttered open, Vince chuckled, stepping up behind her. He
pulled her mask out before her, stretching the rubber bands out so that the
mask was still attached behind Rachel's head. With his free hand, he produced
a small vial and poured it into the mask while Rachel looked on with
cross-eyed eyes, still trying to figure out what was going on.

As Vince replaced the mask over Rachel's face, Audrey struggled in the chair
next to her. "Rachel! Stay awake Rachel! Don't leave me alone! Pleeeaaassee
don't leave me alone with Vince!"

Turning her head, Rachel looked at Audrey through sleep-glazed eyes. Audrey
saw her feet flex and unflex as Rachel fought the fumes. As her hands relaxed,
Audrey began to cry. She wondered if she would ever see her friends again ...
her home ... her dad ... .she wondered if they would give up on her?

As Rachel's eyes slid shut one last time and her head lolled back on its side,
Vince turned back to Audrey. "Now it's your turn." He resoaked the dust mask,
and placed it once again over Audrey's mouth.

Tears streamed down Audrey's eyes as she looked at Vince, trying to reason
with him. "Let me go, Vince. I won't tell anyone ... really, I won't."

As Audrey sniffed, she found herself once again taking in the flowering smell
of chloroform. Her head bobbed up and down with her sobs, and she shifted
around in the plastic coated chair. Finally her breaths became even once more,
and Vince tilted her back so that her head rested against the chair.

Once again, he grabbed the scissors and began clipping away.