Koradonda Chapter 1: An Encounter With the Police: Part 2
Something was off about the arrest and the young, abused teenaged girl patrolman Ann Donaldson had to sit with. As the night when on things made less and less sense.
Ann found the interrogation room empty again except for Sara, who sat with a pensive look on her face.
“Ann, my Master sometimes talks to me. A Pet can have only one Master but can be the Pet of one or even more People.”
It tested Ann’s control when she realized that Sara was calling herself a pet, but she kept it out of her face and body language, as she had been taught.
“You were just in the room with my Master. Can you take me there so I can ask him a question about this? I don’t want to be a bad Pet.”
“How do you know I was talking to your master?”
“I can smell you were near him.” She sniffed the air near Ann. “Not enough smell for you to have touched him, but you were close.”
Letting that go, she said. “What question do you want to ask? I might be able to ask him for you.”
“Will I be a bad Pet if I am your Pet too, even if you don’t belong to my Master?”
“Do many people belong to your master?”
“No, he doesn’t have any people. He says the having people is much more complicated than having a Pet. He says that first a person has to ask him to be their Master, and he rarely lets himself get in a position where one can.” She smiled then, “You could ask him to be your Master, then I wouldn’t be a bad Pet being your Pet too.”
Containing herself until she was out of the room stretched her skill to their limit. That the suggestion that she become a slave was made in total innocence made it that much worse.
Detective Reilly exited the observation room between one and two and stepped near. “Very informative interview. You likely have not pieced some things together, having to do several things at once. However, from a comment here, a bit of one there, something disturbing has emerged. She may have met none, but it is possible there are others playing at being masters and having pets. Here are some things that you would have likely have said or asked. Until we get a lot more information, don’t. Don’t tell her she is a person, too. Do not approach the issue of what is the difference in a pet and a person, or even a person and a master. Bits and pieces of this puzzle will fall out on their own as long as she keeps talking, so just keep her talking.” He paused in thought. “It is almost as if Mr. Jones wants us to piece things together. Tell her that I wouldn’t let you see her master.”
**
Detective Reilly watched Ann return to the girl, then headed for Mr. Jones.
“Mr. Jones, Sara has asked a rather interesting question that she wanted to ask you. I am not saying that I will pass on any answers, but I’m just curious if you would answer and how you would answer it.”
“You can tell Sara that she can be the police officer’s Pet until I tell her different, as long as she does not kill anyone, Detective Reilly.”
Reilly could hear how both of them said Pet as if it was a proper title. “You are that sure you knew what her question was?”
“If a problem is too hard for her, or she does not have the information she needs to answer it, she always turns to me. It is how she is made. She does not have the information to decide if she is being good or bad, being the police officer’s Pet.”
“Ann Donaldson.”
“Miss Ann’s Pet. The sooner you tell her, the less stress that the two of them are likely to be under. One more thing. I have told Sara that people sometimes lie, but she doesn’t really believe me. If it is possible, make your lies to her ones she doesn’t have to find out about.”
Reilly headed back, mulling over someone that doesn’t really believe that people lie. He opened the door and stuck his head in. “Sara, I talked to your master for you. He said that you could be Ann’s pet until he says different, as long as you don’t kill anyone.”
Her face got pouty. “He hardly ever lets me kill anything.” Then she brightened and went to all fours and licked Ann’s shoe.
A shocked Ann had a ‘what am I supposed to do?’ look on her face.
She tried a distraction. “When do you get to kill?”
“If I am very, very good, he will build a pen and catch a deer and put it in it for me.”
“Does he only put deer in the pen for you to kill?”
“Once he put a rabbit in a pen, but the pen was too big. After two days and I still hadn’t caught it, he let it go.”
At this point, Wells tapped Reilly on the shoulder, and he pulled his head back and closed the door.
“We identified the anonymous phone call.” He paused for a moment. “Our Mr. Jones, using the bar phone across the street.”
“That means that all the evidence is back in, and we have him. That call to 911 counts as a confession.”
“Unless he is setting things up for an insanity defense, nothing is making sense. In case we had any trouble with voice identification, he went out of his way to make sure that there were five different people that could place him on that bar phone at that exact time. Things are adding up all wrong and I do not like it.”
“I think we need to speak with Mr. Jones again.”
Inside the room, Detective Reilly sat and asked him, “Just what is your game here? You’ve set all of this up from the beginning.”
“Why, I thought you had figured I set it up by the time you came to me about Miss Ann. If you didn’t know by then, you should not have been coming to me then. Sara’s involvement with her was the only unforeseen thing that has happened.”
“I don’t know what you have heard, sir, but Ann would never take advantage of a privileged position over a young girl.”
“Tell me you don’t mean that she likes girls.”
“She would not take advantage of someone in her care.”
“Tell your Miss Ann not to let on that she likes girls to Sara.”
“Would that put her in danger?”
With something that was not exactly laughter in his voice, he said, “Of a kind. Sara is very sexual. But in her education, it has never been mentioned that two females can have sex together. Sara does not have a real sense of propriety. If there is a wrong way, and wrong place, to ask a question, that is the time that Sara will undoubtedly choose to ask it. Sara could mortify your Miss Ann asking about specific details in front of the wrong people. And she will not be put off and keep bothering her until she gets very detailed answers.”
Reilly turned to Wells, “Do you think it would be revenge enough to mention Ann’s bi-sexuality where it could be overheard for her using that dye that turned my jacket bright pink in sunlight?”
While his face remained neutral, Wells’ voice could not keep just a hint of humor from creeping in, “We’re getting off the subject, and as I was present when you found out about this, I would have to take official action were it to get out.”
Reilly turned to Mr. Jones. “Why are you doing this?”
And Wells put in, “And why here?”
Looking at Wells, “Ah, a question that I will answer. The selection of places I could go was limited. The jail, interrogation rooms, police station, courthouse all needed to be in the same building. It had to be one place that had someone from the Prosecutor’s Office on night shift preparing cases for the morning arraignment hearings. It should be close to state-of-the art. It would need to be very secure in both directions.”
“You’re looking for a place to hold up? From who? Others like yourself?”
With the first hint of anger shown on Jones’ face, “Don’t say or even hint such a thing.” Then his face calmed. “No, I have enemies. Most do not know that they want to kill me yet, or that it is me they want to kill. I would have done this differently; however, governments are notoriously slow, but nutcases can act in days. A bomb big enough to damage this building would unlikely get close enough to do so.”
“What is it that would make nutcases go after you?”
“That I will tell to the judge. Neither of you have the authority needed, and saying anything would cause red tape and delay me seeing the judge.”
Wells put in, “I could exercise my authority and not charge you for seventy-two hours. Have Sara presented this morning and sent to the state hospital while I kept you locked up here.”
“Then there is a nine out of ten chance that Sara will die.” Ice dripped from his voice. “I would not like for that to happen.”
He was handcuffed to the steel table; it was bolted to the floor.
The handcuff chain snapped.
With ease, he stood and tore the massive steel table from the floor, tossing it across the room with a single hand.
“I really would not like for that to happen.”
Then he seated himself calmly and was sitting there when the door flew open and officers with guns drawn came in.
A white-faced Wells yelled, “Everyone out!”
Looking at the overturned steel table, they backed out and the two men with them.
Outside that closed and now locked door, Wells picked out the Captain, “Captain, I can’t tell you how to use your men. I would suggest, however, that you put two men with fully automatic weapons on that door, and two more of the same behind the glass looking into that room, then do the same to the room that Sara Long is in and do it very quickly.”
“Will you tell me what the hell’s going on?”
The pale-faced assistant prosecutor turned to him. “I have no idea. However, an average-looking man calmly snapped his handcuffs as if they were paper, then pulled the table out of the floor. While he made no exact threat, it was implied.”
“I’ll get the men armed and assigned. Should I pull patrolman Donaldson from the interrogation room with the Long girl? Can she do that too?”
“I don’t know if the Long girl can too, or not, but it might be a bad idea to pull Donaldson out. But place the men. When the men are in place, let her know, so she knows to hit the ground should trouble start.”
Reilly followed Wells towards his office. “What are you going to do?”
“Rearrange the docket so that Mr. Jones is the first case called, which is in about an hour and a half from now.”
“You’re giving into threats.”
“No, assessing the situation and dealing with it as I can. We don’t know what the fuck is going on or what the repercussions will be. That there will be repercussions, there is no doubt. As soon as I have the docket set, I’m calling Homeland Security, the FBI, and the Department of Justice, plus anyone else I can think of. If they want to change the docket, they can. We have a girl that cannot be alive, setting in a room chatting with Donaldson; a man tore a bolted-down table that it took four men to carry in out of the floor. He thinks that crackpots will be out to kill him soon. We would be fools to think we can handle this. Handle; we don’t even have the slightest idea what is going on. He isn’t going to tell us until he is in front of a judge. I am arranging that now so we can find out what the fuck is going on.”
**
Ann burned with fury but kept her face calm.
It was most definitely not policy for the victim to be in the courtroom at the arraignment hearing. She would have protested strongly if they had not told her of it when they brought in different clothes for Sara. It wouldn’t do for the victim to appear in jailhouse coveralls, and Wells had known. She could not make a scene about how it would be bad for Sara to have any contact with Mr. Jones whatsoever while in the room with Sara. Wells ignored her wish to speak privately.
Fortunately, they would not be brought in together.
As soon as Sara changed, Ann and she, with four heavily armed escorts, headed to the courtroom.
Though the courtroom was nearly empty, the armed guard caused a stir. Dangerous people were arraigned by video. If Mr. Jones was considered so dangerous, then why was it not being done this way?
Sara fidgeted in her seat.
Ann whispered, “Can you just sit quietly for me for a bit? We don’t want people noticing us.”
The girl became utterly still.
Then the judge walked in and the Court was called to order.
“The State versus Mr. John Jones in the unlawful captivity and abuse of one Miss Sara Long.”
Not until this minute was Mr. Jones brought in to stand before the judge.
Wells cursed himself.
One other thing that Mr. Jones wanted but did not mention about why he picked this place was live cable coverage of the courtroom. Wells could not have them turned off without bringing prior reason before the judge.
“How do you plead?” asked the Judge.
“Your Honor, I plead not guilty, as Sara Long died three years ago.” He paused only a second. “Sara!” he said, pointing at the ground. Sara made a tremendous leap over the banister to land on all fours next to Mr. Jones.
A moment later, a mountain lion stood there wearing a skirt and blouse, shaking the shoes from her rear paws. The mountain lion roared, silencing everyone.
Into that silence Jones’ voice boomed, “I further move that the charges be held in suspension until more investigation can be done. I do have a request of the court, however. Because of Sara’s origins, she has several problems that other cougars do not. Special care needs to be taken of her. Can she be put in the same cell as me so I may see to them?”
The judge seemed to be the only one who seemed to have taken everything in and did not let it rattle him. Everyone appeared to be in shock. “You are not trying to claim we have no right to hold you or any other motion?”
“Not at this time, Your Honor, though I reserve the right to do so at a future time.”
“It is not the practice of these facilities to have coed floors, much less coed cells; however, I will allow it. Bailiff, see to it.” He took a deep breath. “I don’t think I have ever called a recess after the first case when sitting morning arraignment. Court recessed one hour.”
I hope you liked the fist chapter. Tell me what you think of Jones, Sara and Ann.