Case #8 - The Payback Affair




CHAPTER ONE

Lying on his cot in the small 8 x 8 foot cell, Ben Durrell stared at the same
walls he'd known for the past fifteen years, except today would be the last
time he would ever have to see them for his release from his long stay at the
Collingsworth Penitentiary was just hours away.

Fifteen years was a long time to ponder at what brought him there. But instead
of other inmates finding redemption in these cold walls, Ben sought revenge
for that's all he thought of every minute he was in this godforsaken place.

He can still remember the day that changed his life forever like it was just
yesterday. He and his younger brother, Joey, were a pair of infamous bank
robbers. Unlike typical bank holdups where a person just used a note to make
off with whatever cash the teller had at that time, the Durrell brothers were
more daring in their approach. Staking out a bank before it opened, they would
gain access by tying up the employees as they entered. Once the place was
secured they would then help themselves to as much money as they could haul
out of there. They wore cheap Halloween masks to hide their identity and wore
gloves the entire time as not to leave any fingerprints behind.

After robbing over fifteen banks in the entire tri-city region, it seemed like
nothing could stop them, and that was when that fateful day arrived ... This
one particular bank job was just like all the rest of them, seizing the
employees with a gun as they entered the building one by one, tying and
gagging them with the ever-dependable duct tape. However, it seemed that one
of the pretty tellers had managed to get her hands loose and pressed the
secret alarm button, thus alerting the police of their presence inside.

They didn't even know that the cops were on their way until Joey happened to
notice that the woman who was freed was trying to make an escape and he
panicked by shooting at her, but missed. Ben heard that and then spotted the
black and white outside pulling into the parking lot with its lights flashing.
Grabbing Joey by the arm, Ben decided to make a mad rush out of the bank
before more cops arrived and the situation getting really out of control.

Ben shot at the police cruiser, hitting the windshield as he provided cover
fire so Joey can get to their car, which was only twenty feet away. What Ben
didn't know was that one of the officers was already crouched behind one of
the other cars parked and stood up to face Joey. Joey turned when he heard the
officer shout at him to drop his weapon, but being Joey; he instead aimed his
gun towards the cop, but didn't even get a chance to fire off a shot as the
cop plugged two rounds into him, one in the stomach, the other right in his
chest.

Ben remembered screaming, rushing to his fallen brother while he lied
motionless in a pool of his own blood. Everything then became numb as the
officers arrested him. He didn't care about the money anymore; all that
mattered was Joey, who was now dead, struck down forever ...

Flashing back to the present day, Ben still remembered the name of the cop
that murdered his brother, a name that he never forgot over the last fifteen
years ... Sgt. James Ferguson.

CHAPTER TWO

Ben took his first step out of the prison walls and let in a deep breath of
freedom""it felt so good. He looked over at the visitor parking lot and
spotted the only person he had left in the world, his sister, Cindy. While he
was in prison, Cindy visited him practically every week for she too was
devastated by the loss of her younger brother, and had secretly harbored
vindictive feelings for the cop who made her own life a living hell also.

The tall, cute-looking blonde rushed over to her older brother and hugged him
fiercely, the first time in fifteen years. "Welcome back ... " she said softly
in his ear.

"It's glad to be back," he spoke with just a hint of emotion from his usual
cold persona.

"C'mon, let's get you settled in and a nice home-cooked meal. I'm making your
favorite, meat loaf with mashed potatoes."

"That's sounds really good right about now, only I have to meet with my parole
officer in about an hour."

"I can't believe that, you served your required sentence, what more do they
want?" Cindy said frustrated.

"It's only for one year, then I'll be totally free of the damn justice system,
anyway did you get the file I requested?" Ben asked as they reached Cindy's
blue Honda Civic. "It's inside the car," she replied.

Stepping into the compact vehicle, Ben picked up a manila folder lying on the
passenger seat before sitting down. Everyday he was incarcerated, Ben
constantly thought of different ways of making Ferguson suffer the same way as
he did, and that was by taking away someone that he loved dearly.

Opening the folder, Ben saw this photo of a very attractive young-looking
woman with dark hair and a gracious smile. "Very pretty ... " he said softly.

"You're gonna love where she works," Cindy added.

Looking at the typed document behind the photo, Ben scanned through it
quickly, and a smile crept over his unshaven face. "Oh, this is too good to be
true," he said amusingly. "A loan specialist at the Empire State Savings bank,
this is going to be even better than I imagined." He then looked over at his
sister, "You did really good, sis."

"Well, we're in this together. I want to see Ferguson pay for what he did to
us," she spoke with such malice in her voice, which was a sharp contrast to
her wholesome good looks.

Ben looked back at the photo again with an icy gaze, "Let's see how Ferguson
will feel when he loses his precious daughter ... Megan."

CHAPTER THREE

Katie Spencer landed painfully hard on the dirt surface of Hyde Park, her jaw
sore from the severe punch she received. Standing over her, a tall girl
dressed in the St. Mary's Academy uniform with her fists clenched, looked down
at the downed Katie with fury in her brown eyes. "Come on, get back up!" she
taunted viciously at her.

Katie lied there for a moment, wondering how in the world she ended up being
someone's punching bag. Wanda Lasseter was a new student after her parents had
moved here from Boston over the summer. Wanda was trouble right from the first
day for she was a bully towards the other girls at the school, especially to
poor Brenda Peterson, who because of her weight was the constant target of
Wanda's malicious attacks.

Katie had stepped in to Brenda's defense by putting an end to Wanda's cruel
actions, for Katie was not in the least bit afraid of the five-foot-ten girl.
Wanda had learned of Katie's infamous reputation, and was determined to see
how tough this teen detective really was.

Katie was taught never to give into violence, for it ultimately solved
nothing. Her reluctance to fight had convinced Wanda that she was nothing more
than a coward. So one day after school, Katie was walking alone cutting
through the park to the Sheehan Center for the annual weeklong Teen Awareness
seminar when Wanda snuck up on her and landed a wicked sucker punch.

"Come on you tough detective, let's see what you got!" Wanda shouted out as a
couple of people watched from a distance.

Katie slowly moved her right hand and felt some loose dirt. Palming a good
clump of it, she swung her arm in one quick motion and threw the dirt into
Wanda's face. "Aaaaahh ... " she cried out as some of it got into her eyes
causing momentary blindness.

Katie didn't even miss a beat as she swung her legs over to Wanda's ankles and
tripped her down to the ground, landing squarely on her back. Before she could
get back up, Katie immediately got right on top of her, pressing her stocking
knee against Wanda's neck.

She wheezed at the pressure Katie exerted on her esophagus. "Now you listen,
and listen good ... " Katie spoke dead seriously with such ferocity in her
otherwise amiable voice. "You are to stop this cruel, childish behavior, and
to apologize to everyone that you bullied, otherwise the next time I might not
be so forgiving," she pushed down briefly with her knee to show Wanda that she
meant business. After that, Katie moved away from her and watched the shaken
Wanda coughing up a lung; pick herself up, and then ran off crying.

Katie stood back on her feet, brushing off the dirt from the burgundy cardigan
sweater of her uniform, breathing heavily at what she just did. Her father's
good advice on not fighting was certainly sound, but there were times where a
little show of force can go a long way ...

CHAPTER FOUR

Making her way to the Sheehan Center, Katie noticed that the seminar was
already underway. Started six years ago, the Teen Awareness seminar was a
joint effort by the Police Department and the Board of Education in teaching
kids the importance of staying out of trouble with the law and it has proven
to be a resounding success. Since its inception, Katie has generously
volunteered her time for such a worthy cause, and today one of the guest
speakers to kick off this year's program was none other than her
boyfriend/former criminal, Jake Perry.

Walking into the gymnasium, Katie heard Jake standing on the podium already
speaking to the crowd of kids and adults seated. She smiled at hearing Jake
share his experiences and to show first-hand how dangerous a life of crime can
lead to. Of course to finish off his little speech, Jake gave credit for
turning his life around to the love of his life. Katie knew better that she
was only the catalyst in helping Jake; it was still his decision to repent for
his criminal actions.

The police officer that organized the event was Katie's friend and confidant,
Sgt. Ferguson. He and Jake noticed Katie's fashionably late entrance and went
over to see her; they both took immediate notice to the nasty bruise on her
jaw. "Katie, what happened ... ?" Ferguson spoke out in concern.

"Was it that bully again?" Jake asked knowing the answer already.

"Yeah, but don't worry, I'm certain that she won't be causing anymore trouble
at school."

"Let me get you some ice for that though," Jake said ran off to find some.

"You know I always said you were the toughest girl I ever met," Ferguson
complimented.

"How's it going so far?" Katie asked in regards to the seminar.

"Not as big of a turnout as I had hoped, but every bit counts."

Jake then came over holding a bandanna with ice rolled in it. "Here you go,"
he said and handed it to her.

"Thanks," she smiled and placed the cold piece of cloth carefully on her jaw.

"When you're finished talking, I'm going to need your help with some of the
brochures," Ferguson said to Katie. "Jake, thanks again for coming," he shook
his hand warmly before heading back to the podium.

"I'm really glad you decided to show up and help out, that means a lot to me,"
Katie said sincerely.

"Hey, it was the least I could do. I learned a lot when I was locked up for
six months, it gave me a better perspective on life, and besides, I couldn't
wait to get out to do this again," Jake planted a kiss on Katie's lips.

"Oww!" she cried as the kiss irritated her bruised jaw.

"Sorry, I guess no kisses until you're all better. That bully is lucky she's a
girl, otherwise I'd have her set straight for ruining my good time with you."

"Well you don't have to, as I said I already took care of that."

"And that's one of the things I love about you," he said and this time kissed
her gently on her good cheek.

CHAPTER FIVE

After finished with his meal, Ben sat down on the tattered easy chair in the
trailer home of his sister's. "Man I tell you, I haven't eaten that good since
before I was locked up. That awful prison food was the only thing that kept me
still lean all these years." Ben grabbed the folder on Ferguson's daughter and
studied it some more. He liked the fact that she was still single and lived
alone. He also learned that Ferguson's wife was tragically killed in an
automobile accident by a drunk driver nine years ago, and that his daughter
was the only family he really had left.

Cindy was over in the kitchenette cleaning up the dishes. "Ben, are you sure
that this isn't too soon to exact your revenge. I mean you just got out seven
hours ago."

"I've waited fifteen years for this, it was the only thing that kept me sane
in that vile place, and I'm not gonna wait any longer now. Besides, once this
is all over, you and I will be able to start a whole new life where we can
live comfortably and the law won't be able to find us." After reading Megan's
file, Ben didn't care about keeping his parole anymore.

Cindy paused for a moment seeing how worthless her life was. After losing her
two brothers, Cindy was all alone as she struggled with depression. "That's
sounds really good to me. Do you have a plan already hatched?"

"As a matter of fact I do, but we're gonna to need to get some supplies
tonight, for tomorrow will be the first day of Ferguson's new life of pain ...
"

CHAPTER SIX

Megan Ferguson stepped out of her quaint two-bedroom apartment after locking
the front door as she headed out for another day at work. The cool morning
breeze was an indication that autumn was approaching soon. Still the weather
for the day was to be sunny with the high around 60, so she had on her
favorite gray suit with A-line skirt resting just above the kneecap and a
white silk blouse underneath. Her short, but shapely legs were sheathed in
sheer tan pantyhose, her small feet clad in classic black pumps with a
four-inch high heel to compensate for her petite five-foot-two frame. Her
shoulder-length, almost black hair swayed softly in the slight breeze, and her
round face was glowing with just the right combination of blush and eye
shadow, topped off by the rosiness of her full lips.

It was a quiet morning in her neighborhood, with the sounds of her stiletto
heels clicking against the pavement of the sidewalk being the only noise
around as Megan approached her silver Saturn Vue parked along the curb of the
street. Climbing inside, she turned on her favorite morning radio talk show
after fastening her seatbelt, then drove out towards the city.

Arriving at the Empire State Savings bank, Megan noticed three other cars
already present in the employee parking area at the rear of the building. A
part of her didn't want to come into work today for she was up to her armpits
in applications and denials of practically every type of loan the bank does.
She welcomed the new position she received for it was a great opportunity to
excel in her career, however, the unexpected resignation of one of her
employees had left Megan with the workload of two for the time being until a
suitable replacement was found, she just hoped that it would be soon.

Opening the door at the back entrance, Megan stepped through the small hallway
to where the break room was located. Upon reaching it, she suddenly felt
strong hands grabbing her from behind, her dark eyes twitched nervously as she
then saw a large, sharp hunting knife pointed right at her face. "Don't move a
muscle ... " a low raspy voice spoke. Megan heard muted sounds and gasped at
the sight of three of her fellow employees, sitting on the floor, bound and
gagged with duct tape.

Another person approached Megan, a woman wearing a clown mask. She held in her
gloved hands a roll of duct tape. Megan instantly realized that the bank was
being robbed, she remembered from her training that you always cooperate with
the robbers for the loss of the money was covered from the insurance company,
but the training never mentioned about having to be tied up and gagged!

The woman ripped off a strip and plastered the sticky tape firmly over Megan's
trembling lips from ear to ear. Her hands were then placed behind her back
with tape wound tightly around them. "Move ... " the man holding the knife
grunted out, and Megan walked shakily in her high heels to where her
co-workers sat terrified. She was forced to sit next to the bank manager, who
mumbled irately through the tape over her mouth. Megan gave her boss an
alarmed look, hoping that this ordeal would be over soon. The woman then
placed Megan's legs together and wrapped another strip of tape around her
ankles.

It wasn't long after until the rest of the employees showed up for work only
to find themselves instead as prisoners. Soon all twelve employees were
securely bound an gagged by the two robbers. Once everyone was accounted for,
the two robbers left the room to steal all the money they can get. Everyone
tried desperately to get loose of the tape, but was unsuccessful. Since the
robbers wore masks, Megan was confident that they'd leave them alone once
they're done since none of them would be able to give the police a detailed
description of either of them. It was best to just sit and wait until they
leave.

About twenty minutes later, the two robbers returned with the man carrying two
filled duffel bags over his shoulders. "And now before we leave, there's just
one more thing we need to take with us ... you," he pointed right at Megan who
squealed in shock through her tape gag. The woman went through Megan's purse
and pulled out her car keys, then went over to her and used the hunting knife
to cut the tape binding her legs. She was hauled back up to her feet and the
woman pointed the knife right at her. "If you try and fight with me, I'll gut
you like a fish, got it!"

Megan nodded meekly at her demand and allowed them to take her. The woman took
Megan by her arm and escorted her to the rear door with the man following
closely behind. The other employees all struggled and cried out in muffled
wails at the sight of their co-worker being taken away as an apparent hostage.

Outside in the parking lot the woman quickly hustled Megan over to her vehicle
parked at the other end. At one point Megan stumbled and almost fell because
of her spiked heels scraping against the pavement due to the running she was
being subjected. Megan turned her head briefly towards the street up ahead and
could see commuters driving by for the morning rush, but they weren't close
enough to notice the danger she was in. Reaching the Saturn, the woman opened
the rear door and the man first tossed in the two duffel bags, then picked up
Megan bodily and quickly placed her writhing form also in the back. He then
shut the door and was pleased to see that the dark tinted windows of the rear
compartment concealed her well enough from the outside.

Climbing into the two front seats, they then took their masks off. "Wow, that
was intense!" Cindy exclaimed from the adrenaline rush of the experience.

"Now you know why Joey and I liked it so much," Ben replied as he started up
the vehicle. "Phase one of our plan is now complete, and now onto phase two
... " he said as he turned over his shoulder and looked threateningly at the
helpless Megan sitting in the back, sobbing faintly through her gag ...

CHAPTER SEVEN

It was the start of lunch period and Katie was sitting under the large oak
tree of the spacious courtyard at her school enjoying the nice warm weather
while it lasted. She was the talk of the school after the word got out that
she pummeled Wanda and made her cry like a baby. Of course Katie corrected
that saying she didn't even lay a hand on her, just used her wits. Wanda did
show up for school today, apologizing to everyone she teased, and avoided
Katie completely. Katie was glad to see that Wanda did the right thing, but
she didn't want the poor girl to be afraid of her, so she planned on speaking
with her after school to try and smooth things over, start off on a clean
slate.

She took a sip of her apple juice box from her bagged lunch of tuna on wheat
and a couple pieces of celery sticks that Karen had packed for her. The
Spencer family was in the middle of yet another diet as her father was
beginning to get a little wide in the waist, so he reasoned that if he should
diet, then his two girls should also (it would help him stay on it better).
Katie didn't mind the scant lunch she ate, so long as this diet doesn't last
too long, otherwise she'll be going to Taco Bell for lunch.

"Hey, Katie ... " a voice called out and Katie looked up to see three girls
approach her: Stacey Campbell, Brenda Peterson, and Janice Butler. They all
sat on the soft grass of the lawn next to Katie with their stocking legs
placed together because the short skirts that were required with the uniform.
Brenda was having a little trouble with hers as she tried to get into a good
comfortable sitting position. "Why do we have to wear these stupid short
skirts, they're so impractical," she said in frustration.

"They're not that bad, you just need to learn how to sit with them better,"
Stacey replied back, showing Brenda how her legs were positioned.

"Easy for you to say, you wear nothing but short skirts," Brenda shot back at
her friend.

"So, how's the school hero doing?" Stacey asked Katie as she couldn't help but
stare at her bruise, which was now bigger despite the glob of make-up that she
used in an effort to conceal it.

"It actually looks worse than it feels. I'd say that Wanda got the bigger
bruise on her ego."

"I know, she came right up to me this morning and said that she was very sorry
for calling me a fat tub of lard. I don't exactly know what you did Katie, but
thank you," Brenda offered her sincere appreciation.

Janice was quietly fiddling with her cell phone when her face lit up in
amazement. "Wow, get a load of this guys," she announced as the trio of girls
turned their attention to her. "It says here that the Empire State Savings
bank was just robbed this morning, and the robbers had taken a hostage, one of
the bank employees named Megan Ferguson." Janice's cell phone was one of those
new ones equipped with Internet access, which Katie desperately wants.

Katie's eyes grew wide with shock at Janice's news. "Megan Ferguson ... that's
Sgt. Ferguson's daughter, I remember him mentioning that she got a promotion
there not too long ago."

"Oh, man that's just terrible ... " Stacey spoke sadly. "Do you think he
knows?"

"I don't know ... " Katie said pulling out her own cell phone and speed-dialed
Ferguson's cell number. Waiting for a while, she started to look upset.

"Not picking up?" Janice spoke.

"No ... The voice mail didn't even come up; he must've turned the phone off.
Being a cop he's never done that before."

"I wonder if he knows who took Megan, maybe she was taken on purpose," Stacey
suggested fearfully.

"Well, there's only one way to find out. He should be at the Sheehan Center
right now preparing for the seminar," Katie said as she stood up.

"You're leaving now during the middle of school?" Brenda asked in surprise.

"He saved me once before and I need to at least help him anyway I possibly
can," she retorted as Stacey quietly acknowledged her recalling the time that
Katie was held captive by the brutal white slavers. "Tell Sister Mary
Catherine that I got suddenly ill from the tuna sandwich in my lunch and had
to go home right away ... " Katie spoke as she headed for the exit at the
gate.

"Just please be careful, I don't want to be hearing about you again in the
evening news!" Stacey shouted as the three girls watched Katie dart out from
the school grounds ...

CHAPTER EIGHT

Katie arrived at the Sheehan Center as quickly as she could. Her feet ached in
her black maryjane shoes. Entering the building, she noticed only one person
present, and recognized that it was Sgt. Daniel McGee. He noticed Katie
walking over to him and met her halfway. "Katie, shouldn't you be at school
right now?" he took notice of her uniform she wore plus the time on the clock.

"Is Sgt. Ferguson here?" she asked still a little out of breath.

"He was a couple of hours ago, but had to go suddenly on some kind of
emergency, he wouldn't say what though."

"I see ... " Katie said suspiciously. "Did you hear about the bank robbery
that happened this morning?"

"Yeah, heard bits of it over the police band, something oddly strange about it
... "

"What was so strange about it?" Katie asked all curious.

"This was probably before your time, but the details of that robbery sounds a
lot like a string of bank jobs that were committed fifteen years ago by a
couple of guys." Katie listened intently as Sgt. McGee explained about how
Sgt. Ferguson had shot one of the robbers and arrested the other. She stood
there stunned at what she just heard for Sgt. Ferguson never told her that,
and probably with good reason.

"This Ben Durrell who was sent to prison, did he get out?"

"I'm not sure, maybe ... "

Katie stood there for a moment, thinking of what her next course of action
should be. "Well, thanks for your help, Sgt. McGee. I'll be heading back to
school right away," she said and headed out of the building.

Walking outside, Katie had no intentions of returning to school for she had
her deep suspicions that Sgt. Ferguson's unexpected emergency no doubt had
something to do with Megan's abduction. If Durrell did get out of prison, he
most likely would be seeking revenge for the death of his brother, and he's
obviously using Megan as bait. But where ... ?

Katie spotted the number 4 bus approaching in her direction and rushed over to
the bus stop just ahead. Sitting down on the bus, Katie decided to head
straight for home to do some detective work in the hopes of finding Sgt.
Ferguson and his daughter before it's too late ...

CHAPTER NINE

Katie finished lacing up her Nike sneakers as she had quickly changed out of
her school uniform and into a more practical attire consisting of an Old Navy
green sweatshirt and stonewashed denim jeans. It was fortunate that no one was
home at the time. Her father was now on day hours at the hospital, and Karen,
being a Real Estate Agent, also worked days.

Sitting down at her computer, Katie typed in the Yahoo search engine the web
address for the virtual white pages. She figured that if Ben had just gotten
out of prison he'd be staying with someone at the moment. It could either be a
friend or family member that would be willing to put him up, and since
searching for a friend's name would literally be like finding a needle in a
haystack, a relative, chances are, would have the same last name as his. It
wasn't much to go on, but it was the only thing Katie had to work with, she
just hoped that it would pay off.

Typing in "Durrell" for the last name, Katie had set the search parameters to
match the name up with the entire tri-city area, since it seemed very likely
that Ben would be staying somewhere within the populated region. Almost
immediately, a single name came up: Durrell, Cindy. Katie highlighted the
address that was shown on the screen, then went to Mapquest and pasted it for
the destination, using her address as the point of origin.

A list of directions with a small picture of a map illustrating those
directions came right up. Katie printed it and studied it carefully. The
residence was located about four miles from where she lived. There was a bus
route that ran close by that neighborhood, but the bus stop to catch it was
over a half-mile away. It's a good thing I'm wearing my jogging shoes this
time for all this running I seem to be doing ...

With no time to spare, Katie quickly ran out of the house, running as fast as
her legs would take her for the bus ...

CHAPTER TEN

The directions that Katie carried had led her to a trailer park. While on the
bus she checked her watch and guessed that over three hours had transpired
since Sgt. Ferguson received his dreadful phone call. She prayed that they
were both still alive and well.

After exiting the bus, Katie strolled down the main road checking out the
numbers on the trailers until she found the one she was looking for, number
72. She noticed no cars were parked next to it. Katie walked carefully up to
the front door, which was closed, and heard no sounds coming from inside the
trailer. Looking around to make sure that no one was watching Katie casually
walked around to the rear. Spotting a window she peered inside and definitely
could tell that no one was home. Of course she's not even sure that this
trailer belonged to a relative of Ben Durrell. There was only one way to find
out for certain ...

Katie tested the window, and to her relief she discovered that it was
unlocked. She opened it all the way, then quickly hauled herself inside before
someone would happen upon her and call the police.

Inside, the quaint-sized trailer was a bit unkempt and smelled of food, like
hamburger. Katie wanted to disturb the place as little as possible just in
case it belonged to someone else. Searching around the living area, she
spotted a manila folder on a small TV tray next to a worn out easy chair.
Katie opened it and to her surprise she saw a photo of Megan Ferguson along
with some personal information on her, she hit the jackpot for she found the
right place. Katie continued searching more hastily now trying to find some
kind of clue as to where they had taken her.

Heading over to the small kitchen, Katie saw a newspaper on the counter with a
big circle marked on it. She picked it up and read the article that was
circled; it was piece about the old Brookside School that was scheduled for
demolition in three months. Katie thought for a moment for the old school was
situated in a quiet section of town and was certainly private enough to hold
someone prisoner. This has got to be where they're holding Megan!

Not seeing anything else of interest, Katie opened the front door and promptly
exited the trailer ...

CHAPTER ELEVEN

There was no bus route that went near the old school, but fortunately for
Katie the school was about a twenty minute walk from the trailer park, if she
jogged all the way. As she ran there, Katie thought of how good it will be
once she finally gets her driver's license (she currently has her learner's
permit) so she can just simply drive from place to place.

Approaching the school in just under twenty, Katie eased her pace to a slow
walk to catch her breath. The Brookside School was perched on a small hill
overlooking the line of abandoned shops near it. Many years ago this
neighborhood was busy and vibrant, but hard times (not to mention bigger
stores and schools) had forced the closings of these institutions, and now
it's nothing more than an eerie ghost town, a perfect setting for Ben
Durrell's little game of revenge.

Parked right outside the school, Katie spotted two vehicles, Sgt. Ferguson's
Buick LeSabre, and a Saturn Vue that she recognized as belonging to Megan. As
with the trailer before there were no prominent noises coming from inside the
school, Katie prayed that she wasn't too late.

As a child Katie used to go to the old school with Stacey and Brenda and play
inside until the police would come and send them all home, telling them to
stay away for it was too dangerous of a place for kids. She remembered that
they used to sneak in through one of the basement windows. Not wanting to risk
being spotted by walking through the front door, Katie searched very quietly
around the perimeter of the school, and found that very same window. To her
delight it was still open for the police probably never knew that it was.
Katie struggled to squeeze her teenaged body through the narrow opening, of
course the last time she did this she was only ten, a lot of growing had
occurred during the last nine years.

Katie managed to slide through, landing softly in the basement. Just then she
heard a noise coming from above, then another. Well someone is definitely
still here ... Katie spotted an old metal pipe on the floor and picked it up,
figuring she was going to need a weapon. She made her way very quietly out of
the basement and up the stairs to the main floor. Still seeing no signs of
anyone, Katie continued to explore the large abandoned building. She checked
out each room as she passed by them. Another noise, faint this time, was then
heard still coming from above, and Katie rushed over there.

Reaching the second floor, Katie now heard what was the unmistakable sound of
a muffled cry. Being gagged as much as she has in the past, Katie knew the
sound when she heard it. The plaintive noise led her to a nearby door. Katie
carefully peered through the narrow window on the door and looked inside. The
room, actually an old classroom was dimly lit. In the far corner, Katie saw a
figure sitting on a chair. A closer look revealed it to be Megan bound and
gagged, struggling helplessly.

Seeing no one else in with her, Katie opened the door and rushed inside.
"Mmmmmmmm!!" Megan cried out at seeing her. Katie placed her index finger to
her lips indicating to Megan to quiet down, she didn't want Durrell to find
her until Megan was at least taken away from here. Dropping the pipe, Katie
reached for the tape covering her mouth and gently peeled it off. "Katie ...
what are you doing here?" she said both curiously and relieved.

"Here to get you out," she replied and walked behind her to remove the tape
from her chest. "My father is somewhere here. The man that kidnapped me said
after he was done with him, he was then going to kill me!" Megan spoke
fearfully.

"Well not if I can help it, but first we need to get you out of harm's way,"
she said as she finished unwrapping the long strip of duct tape. Kate started
working on her hands when just then, a tall woman suddenly entered the empty
room with a surprised look on her face. "Who the hell are you?" Cindy asked
noticing Katie crouched behind Megan.

Katie slowly stood up, staring at the cute-looking blonde with a neutral look
on her face. She then glanced down at the metal pipe over by Megan's bound
feet. Cindy reached behind her and pulled out the large hunting knife. Seeing
that Katie quickly leapt to the floor, reaching for the pipe. Cindy dashed
with her long legs over to Katie and swung the lethal blade at her before she
could get back up, but Katie managed to block the knife with the pipe at the
last possible second. Cindy hesitated for a moment and Katie swung the pipe to
her hand, striking it. "Aaaaaahhhh!" she cried out as the knife fell from her
grasp, then in a surprise move Cindy lunged Katie and tackled her hard around
her hips. With a thud Katie landed on her back, the tall woman fell on top of
her and used the moment to land with her knee hard between the legs of Katie.
Katie winched in pain as the pipe rolled out of her hands.

Katie struggled hard to break free but the tall woman was able to keep her
pinned on her back, and sat her butt down straight on the face of Katie. Cindy
kept her ass tightly over the face of Katie to restrict the breathing of the
teenager. As Katie was getting smothered she felt the tall blonde grab between
her legs and she led out a muffled scream as Cindy began to painfully squeeze
and claw her private parts.

"a bit sensitive dear?" Cindy chuckled as she could not help but enjoy
dominating the teenage snoop.

Reaching backwards Cindy then pulled the hair of Katie and forced her head up
which allowed her to wrap her long legs around her neck. Katie struggled
weakly as her face was turning red by the astonishing power of the thighs
around her neck. Cindy kept applying power on her headscissor and pushed dow
the wrists of the struggling Katie. Katie was hopelessly trapped and she
blinked with her eyes as her vision was slowly getting blurry by the lack of
oxygen. Megan meanwhile tried to help and managed to kick Cindy, using the
stiletto heels of her pumps as she fiercely struck her back. "Oooowwww!" Cindy
cried out in pain, which allowed Katie to use the distraction to her advantage
and wrestle free from Cindy's powerfull legs. Cindy kicked stood up and gave a
hard punch to the cheek of Megan, causing her head to snap to the side. Katie
immediately got back on her feet and attacked Cindy. She attempted to punch
her but Cindy seized her arm and used her own momentum against her to throw
her to the floor. Katie fell down but quickly picked up the pipe as she stood
back up, when Cindy seized the knife lying nearby and ran over to the bound
Megan, pressing the sharp pointy steel against her exposed neck.

"Now drop the pipe, or I'll slit her throat!" she screamed as her voice echoed
in the spacious room. Megan looked absolutely terrified at Katie as she sat
perfectly still.

Seeing there was no other choice, Katie reluctantly dropped the pipe. Cindy
smiled and slowly moved the blade down from Megan's neck and placed the tip
against her side.

"good girl, now strip down, I want you completely naked or I will gut Megan
here like a fish"

Without choice Katie removed the Old Navy green sweatshirt and then reached
back to undo her bra.

Cindy was staring at Katie with a malevolent smile as she seemed to enjoy the
powertrip of having two girls at her mercy.

All the while this was happening, Megan began to feel some slack in the tape
that bound her wrists, since Katie wasn't quite finished on freeing them, and
she worked at it until she was able to release one of her hands. With Cindy's
attention still fixed on Katie, Megan swung her now freed arms and grabbed a
hold of Cindy by pinning her arms to her sides, thus preventing her from using
the deadly knife. Caught by surprise, Cindy struggled in Megan's tight grasp
and before she got the opportunity to break free, Katie came right up to her
with the pipe and walloped her in the stomach, knocking the wind out of her.
Cindy fell straight to the floor, curled up in pain.

Katie finished wrapping the last of the tape around Cindy's ankles as the
statuesque blonde was now lying on her stomach with her hands bound behind her
back, her mouth gagged with another strip of tape, which Megan took pleasure
in administering herself. She then grabbed the knife off the floor and
followed Katie out of the classroom as Cindy struggled furiously in her bound
state, screaming out as loud as she could through the tape gag to try and
alert her brother.

Heading for the stairwell, Katie gave Megan her cell phone. "Once you're
outside call the police and send them over here right away," she said as Megan
took it.

"Aren't you coming with me?" Megan asked in puzzlement.

"No, I'm going to try and find your dad, see if he's hopefully alright," Katie
replied.

"Well then I'm coming with you too."

"No. Look I can take care of myself, really. You can do a lot of help for your
father by calling the police. I promise I'll be down as soon as I can," Katie
gave her a meaningful look and Megan quietly nodded in approval.

"Okay, you just be careful," and with that Megan hurried down the stairs.

Looking up, Katie breathed heavily with the pipe still clutched in her hands,
and began her ascent to whatever dangers may lie ahead ...

CHAPTER TWELVE

Walking up to the third floor of the dilapidated school, Katie noticed the
holes present on the floor as the building was no doubt falling apart, she
carefully avoided them hoping that the floor was still sturdy enough. Up
ahead, she could hear noises that evoked feelings of sorrow for they were the
sounds of beatings, which she had no doubt were being administered by Ben
Durrell. She gingerly approached the classroom at the end of the hallway and
peered inside through the already opened door to see one of the most
horrifying images her young eyes ever laid upon. Sgt. Ferguson was naked and
he had bruises all over his body. He had his hands on his head and was in a
kneeling position in the middle of the room clearly in pain, while Durrell
walked around him slowly like a shark circling its prey holding a whipping
stick in his hand. With a sadistic smile on his face Durrell lashed the stick
hard over the exposed body of Ferguson.

Katie felt so heartbroken at seeing Ferguson taking the punishment so
willingly, obviously with the belief that Megan would be released unharmed,
which Katie knew was nothing but a lie. Durrell wanted the satisfaction of
humiliating him first before making him suffer for the rest of his life by the
loss of his daughter.

Katie then took a step back from the door and noticed a small piece of the
wall lying beside her. Coming up with an idea, she grabbed it and hurled it to
the other end of the hall. Durrell heard that and quickly pulled out
Ferguson's gun from his belt. "Cindy, is that you?" he shouted. After hearing
no reply, he pointed the gun at Ferguson and he slowly walked towards the
door, not taking his eye off of him for more than a second.

Katie stood near the door with her backed pressed to the wall as she heard
Durrell approach. She then saw a gun appear that was grasped by an
outstretched arm. In a flash Katie swung the pipe and struck Durrell's forearm
really hard. "Aaaaaahhhh!!" he cried out as the gun dropped from his hand. He
whipped his head towards his attacker and gave Katie a cold look. Katie
attempted swung the pipe again but he pulled the pipe out of her hands. He
kicked her legs from underneath her and Katie fell hard on her back. She
looked up and saw Durrell raise the pipe with both hands when Ferguson
suddenly appeared and tackled him to the ground. The two men fell to the floor
as the pipe rolled away. Ferguson tried to stay on top but Durrell quickly
pushed him off. Ferguson tried to fight him but Durrell blocked his punches
and send a thundering uppercut to his gut which made him gasp for air. Durrell
twisted the right arm of Ferguson behind his back and banged him repeatedly
with his head against the wall, Katie ran up at him from behind. However as if
guided by a sixth sense Durrell turned around and easily blocked the kick
aimed at his ribs. Before Katie could react he punched her hard in her belly
and then grabbed her hair and threw her to the floor. Ferguson got back up and
attacked again. He managed to land a punch to the cheek of Durrell but it
barely affected him. Durrell grabbed him around his waist in a tight bodylock.
To the suprise of Katie he then lifted Ferguson in the air and slammed him
hard on the floor. The force of the impact was so hard that the creaky floor
gave way and both men plummeted to the second story with a loud CRASH!

Katie poked her head through the large gaping hole in the floor and saw both
men lying motionless below. Grabbing the gun, she quickly headed for the
stairs. Landing on the second floor, Katie rounded a corner to where they had
fallen only to find Ferguson lying there""there was no sign of Durrell. She
knelt beside Ferguson who was covered with dust and debris. "Sgt. Ferguson,
are you okay?" she asked urgently hoping to see some sign of life in him. He
began to move slightly. "What ... happened ... " he spoke weakly. "You took a
nasty fall through the ceiling," she replied, "Can you move?"

"I think so ... " he answered as he tried to get himself up. Katie went to
help him by gently grabbing his right arm. "Owwww!" he yelled at Katie's
touch. "Sorry," she spoke nervously.

"It's alright ... I think it may be broken," he said. Katie moved over to his
other side and helped him back on his feet.

"Megan ... " he spoke anxiously to Katie.

"She's fine. I freed her and she's outside sending the police here."

Ferguson smiled broadly at her, "You always do seem to come at the right
moment." His face then turned serious, "Where's Durrell?"

"I don't know, but let's get out of here quickly before we find out," she said
and helped Ferguson over to the stairwell.

Entering the main floor, Ferguson suddenly cried out in pain as he was struck
from behind by Durrell. His weakened body fell right to the floor. Katie saw
that, but before she had time to react, Durrell backslapped her hard across
the face, sending her tumbling near the stairs.

He looked all bruised up and dirty, but still had plenty of strength left in
him as he approached Ferguson with a wooden beam in his hand. "Since I can't
take your daughter's life now, yours will just have to do ... " he said,
raising the beam over him.

"Stop ... !" Katie yelled, and Durrell turned seeing her sitting on the floor
with Ferguson's gun pointed right at him. Her hands were trembling slightly as
she tried to maintain a steady aim.

Ben looked at her carefully, then smiled, "You're not going to shoot me ... I
can see it in your eyes."

"Please ... don't ... " she stammered out, looking back at him with frightened
eyes.

He turned back to finish off Ferguson when a single popping sound was heard.
Ben turned to Katie with utter shock in his blue-gray eyes at the realization
that he had just been shot in the back. He raised the beam at Ferguson again
and another shot was heard. Ben then dropped the beam and fell onto his knees.
Looking back at Katie one last time, he collapsed to the floor ... dead.

Katie dropped the smoking gun from her shaking hands and ran over to Ferguson,
who was slowly pulling himself back up. Sitting on the floor, Katie quietly
wept in his chest while Ferguson soothed her as the sounds of police sirens
approached in the distance. Sometimes it was necessary to have to resort to
using force when resolving a conflict, but this was the one time that Katie
wished she didn't ...

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

The private backroom at Testo's Restaurant was occupied with family and
friends as they all celebrated the long overdue retirement of Sgt. Ferguson.
He sat at the head of the long table with his arm in a cast being supported by
a sling, looking very happy at being alive to witness this joyous gathering.
He issued in his report that Durrell was killed in the defense of another,
namely his.

Katie and Megan both sat closest to him and seated at the table also were
Katie's parents, Stacey, Jake, and a few close police officers. Megan then
stood up holding her glass of Sprite. "I know I should be giving a toast to a
man that has been with me through the best and worst of times, but I want to
first say a special thank you to you, Katie." She looked completely surprised
at Megan's announcement since this was supposed to be Ferguson's special day.
"If it wasn't for you my father and I would not be here today. You are a very
special girl and we wanted to give you this ... " Ferguson took out a
rolled-up piece of paper and handed it to the stunned Katie. Unrolling it, she
saw that it was a certificate from the Schenectady Police Department awarding
her as an honorary member of the force, the first time ever bestowed for a
civilian.

Katie tried to keep a straight face after reading it, but broke down in tears
as she went to Ferguson, hugging him firmly. "You earned it ... " he whispered
softly in her ear. Everyone then stood up and applauded cheerfully. After
hugging Megan, Katie began to speak, "Wow, I don't know what to say ... but
thank you, all of you for everything. Dad, I know that you've tried your best
at keeping me from snooping around, but this is who I am. Stacey, you're my
Watson, always looking out for me. Jake, I know you're the newest member of
the group, but you're also my most dearest. And you, James," she turned to
Ferguson speaking out his name for the very first time, "you've been my
confidant and my friend, and I wish you all the best in your retirement. I
love you," she bent down and kissed him on the cheek.

Everyone then converged over to Katie, offering their congratulations with
hugs and kisses. She smiled happily for having such warm and loving people in
her life, for that was her greatest strength in fighting crime.

The following is an alternate version of Chapter 3 of "The Payback Affair." As
that story progressed there wasn't any setup for Katie to get herself
captured. Near the completion of the tale this version was created as a way of
rectifying that oversight, however, substituting this chapter proved to be
problematic with the flow of the story thus far, so it was never included.
Here it is though in its entirety ...

Katie Spencer sat in the cramped confines of a darkened closet in her usual
predicament of being tied up and gagged. The distant sounds of music and
chatting were heard as the dinner party downstairs was still going on, the
patrons being totally unaware that one of the guests was shown the hospitality
that only a villain would bestow.

Her latest caper had brought the teen sleuth to the Manor of Leonard
Ellingsworth III, a wealthy business entrepreneur. For the past couple of
weeks, Katie was investigating the mysterious disappearance of several rare
diamonds on display at the Fine Jewelry Expo at the Civic Center. The diamonds
in question were donated by one of the wealthiest collectors in South Africa
to Mr. Ellingsworth for exhibition in the States.

Suspicion of Mr. Ellingsworth into the theft of the diamonds was eventually
ruled out as no direct evidence linking him to the crime was established, and
just recently an anonymous tip was sent to the authorities fingering one of
Ellingworth's employees to the robbery. However, upon his arrest the police
were still no closer to finding those precious stones.

That was when Katie stepped in, for she had her deep misgivings about
Ellingsworth right from the start, even that tip the cops received seemed a
little too convenient, diverting their attention away from the real thief. But
to fully rule out Ellingsworth as a suspect in the case, the police wanted to
search his residence as standard procedure, but the capitalist refused, saying
it went against his right of privacy. And again since no direct link to the
theft was made, the judge would not issue a search warrant; a powerful man
like Ellingsworth no doubt could pay off officials so easily.

A black tie party was then announced at his Estate in support of the new
candidate for Mayor in the upcoming election this November. With
two-hundred-plus guests scheduled to attend, Katie saw that as the perfect
opportunity to gain access into his home and to prove that he did indeed steal
those diamonds.

Katie again had sought the services of her best friend, Stacey Campbell for
another makeover in order to blend in as one of the numerous guests at the
fancy bash. For this type of social gathering, Stacey had 'borrowed' a
gorgeous red silk evening gown from her mom's boutique along with a matching
pair of high-heeled sandals. And unlike before where Katie felt very
uncomfortable wearing a sexy dress, this time she welcomed it for her body had
filled out more that the gown was now flattering on her.

She did successfully infiltrate the party, impersonating as a University
student majoring in political science, plus the alluring red dress no doubt
helped since the doorman couldn't stop looking at her. After mingling with the
other guests, not to mention the contender for Mayor, who by the way she could
tell was a real sleaze ball and wished that she could vote to keep him from
winning, Katie was able to sneak upstairs undetected and into the private
study where his personal computer dwelled. After successfully hacking into it
by inserting a specialized CD that her friend Janice Butler had designed
(she's the computer geek), Katie was able to learn that Ellingsworth not only
stole those diamonds, but also smuggled other various artifacts of worth
including bonds. The man's fortune was financed primarily through illegal
activities of which no one had been able to prove ... until now.

As she copied the large list of records onto another CD, Katie heard someone
approach in her direction. Very quickly, she turned off the screen, but kept
the computer on, and hid under the large mahogany desk. The door opened,
bathing the room with light from the hallway. She could hear the sounds of
footsteps pressing down on the fine carpeting of the room. Katie sat nervously
scrunched under the desk staying perfectly still; even the computer
fortunately ran so quietly. About a minute later, the footsteps traveled away
from her and the door closed returning the room back into darkness.

Katie slowly stuck her head back up to check that the coast was clear, when
suddenly the lights blazed on, seeing the angry face of Leonard Ellingsworth
staring down at her; it was the scent of her perfume that gave her away. He
then called two of his goons, who showed up right away with some rope,
trussing up and gagging the teen detective in a flash, and whisking her bound
form to a guest bedroom at the other wing of the large house far enough away
from the party.

If Katie knew ahead of time that she was going to end up bound and gagged,
which due to her track record she should've realized that was a given, she
probably would've considered wearing something else for the taut dress she
wore felt just as rigid as the ropes that were wound tightly around her chest
and knees (in addition to her wrists and ankles). And speaking of ankles,
Katie cursed at herself for allowing Stacey again to talk her into wearing
stiletto heels for those sandals had straps on them, which prevented her from
kicking them off. She yelled out through the thick white napkin of the cleave
gag wound tightly around her head and over her fancy hairstyle that Stacey had
done, but the people downstairs were too far away to hear her muffled cries
for help.

Katie continued to struggle against her tight bonds for she knew that when the
party was finished, it was certainly going to be that for her as well. Seeing
that she wasn't going to get herself free of the ropes, Katie managed to stand
up by sliding her back against the wall of the small closet, then moved her
body so that her hands were grasping the door knob. Turning it opened, Katie
suddenly fell out of the closet landing right into the bedroom on her back.
Fortunately the room was plush carpeted so her fall wasn't so painful. Sitting
herself up, she moved her bound feet over to her hands and tried to undo the
rope around her ankles, but she couldn't get a good grasp at the tight knot;
she should've taken Stacey's suggestion to have long fingernails glued on.
Katie did, however, remove the straps of her shoes, freeing her nyloned feet
of those lofty heels. Using the double-sized bed in the room, Katie pulled
herself back up and hopped over to the door, exiting the bedroom.

Skipping through the spacious house, Katie bumped into one of the servants,
who thankfully wasn't a part of their employer's nefarious plot, and freed the
teen girl. The police were quickly called to the scene and arrested
Ellingsworth on kidnapping, the smuggling and theft charges were added when
Katie suggested that they check out his computer. The diamonds were discovered
stashed away in his safe and one more criminal was now behind bars, another
case closed ...