The Caged Student Ch. 08

Slidell is trying to wave them off, but I've gotten their attention. I direct everything I have at them. Just pure, raw panic. I draw up short as both pull their guns. I flinch; but then I take a second look. They're not pointing at me!

"What the hell!" the big man shouts.

They both freeze for a moment and then slowly drop their aim downward. The male officer shakes his head. "Fuck! I thought you were..."

I don't wait for them to collect themselves. I immediately run to the woman. "Help me!"

The officer comes out of her daze. "Of course. What's your name?"

I feel the drain on me once again. I grasp her vest and hang on for support. "It's Sally, officer. Sally Yeager. You have to help me. I don't trust them!"

Slidell comes up behind me. "The girl's nuts. One second we're talking about a missing woman, and the next she's running out in hysterics."

The woman looks down at me. I try to focus, but I know I'm about done. The headache is back. I just stare at her beseechingly. She's not... She won't... Then she puts a hand on my shoulder. "Why don't we get in the car and sort this out."

I nearly collapse in relief. "Thank you, Ma'am."

"But..."

The lady looks up at the beefy man. "I'm senior here. I'll be sergeant soon."

"Yeah, but..."

The not too tall but very fit woman puts her hands on her hips. I can tell she wasn't a lady to be messed with. "You handle the questioning inside. I'll calm her down and get her side." She looks back at some new noise behind her. "What are they doing here?"

A plain-looking car pulls in, and two men get out in regular clothes. They hurry over quickly. "We heard the call."

"One second." The lady turns to me. "Now tell me what's going on."

I point back to the house where Mr. Cox is standing. "That man punished me and another woman last night. Now she's gone!"

"Punished you how? Is he your; grandfather?"

Slidell steps in. "It's the new civil code. She's here for some kind of truancy."

The woman looks back at me. "So are you doing off-campus suspension? Schoolwork?"

"He gave me an enema!"

"What?!"

Finally! Someone who doesn't think this is all normal. Slidell continues to try to talk to her, but she's having nothing of it. I watch as the woman gives commands to various officers, and the men begin to enter the house to start a search. After they leave, I'm told to sit in the car. With both of us inside, the African American woman introduces herself. "I'm Julene. What's your name again?"

"Sally," I say brusquely. "Ma'am. That man did something to Beth... Miss Holeman. I'm sure that's why she left."

The officer frowns. "Are you okay? Did he hit you?"

"Well, yes. He caned me once really hard. And rulered my foot. And had me wrestle Miss Holeman."

The officer raises her hands. "Whoa! Hold on!" She starts typing on her keyboard. "What is the full name of the lady that went missing?"

I give the woman a full rundown of what I know. I leave out my sexual escapades, of course.

"Where are your parents?" Julene asks.

I look down. "I live with my guardian, Mr. Montgomery. He was supposed to come soon."

"Did he send you here?"

I nod. Will he get in trouble? I have to be very careful. I can't cut off all my options at once. The woman continues typing. Just then, I see Collin's car enter the gate as well. I have to do this just right. "There's my guardian now!" I yell and open the car door. I hear Julene call out behind me, but I have a plan. Well kinda. I run up to my mystified looking caregiver and hug him. Then I start crying. He looks down at me in dismay.

"What's going on, Sally? Why are the police here?"

"He fooled us! He went crazy last night!"

Collin's mouth drops open. "What?!" He takes me by the shoulders. "What did he do?" He looks up at Julene and grows visibly angry. "What did he do?!"

The officer tenses. The woman places herself between the middle-aged man and the door. "Sir! Calm down! Are you the guardian of Miss Yeager here?"

"Yes!" Collin yells. "What happened in there?!"

The woman looks straight at me, and I hang on tight. After a moment, she sighs. "We're not sure, sir. I just sent some detectives in to gather information on what happened here."

I start to fill Collin in on everything anyway. "...and then Cox gave us enemas..." Wait. Why am I blaming Cox? I can't seem to... I open my mouth, and again, all I say is that Cox did this. The What the hell did the Headmaster do to me?!

"Motherfucker," Collin whispers. "He struck Miss Holeman? He gave you... He violated you!" The man begins to head to the door, but Julene stops him. One of the suited men comes out and looks down at him. "Are you Collin Montgomery?"

The angry man stops struggling to get by Julene. "Yes?" He could see several pieces of paper in his hand.

The serious-looking man stares down at Collin. "Could you come inside, please? We have some questions about this document you signed."

I look closely, and it's the agreement. I realize right now, at this very moment, I have the futures of both of these men in my hands. There was only one problem. What about the man who really is behind all this?!

* * *

I sit in an office at the precinct building, still wearing my slacks and overshirt. They had let me grab a bra, at least. Hours have passed, and I still haven't heard anything about Beth yet. Several times, Julene had come in, offering me milk and items from a vending machine, but it's poor fare compared to what I had at Mr. Cox's place. Other men had come by with questions, but they were soon gone as well. They assured me that they were doing everything they could to locate Miss Holeman. It's getting well into the afternoon now, and the headache is gone at least. Maybe if I rest, I can finally tell them...

The door opens once again. I blink my eyes. I must have dropped off. Sitting up, I see Julene stepping in, not looking happy. Just behind her, a man follows, who I am told is a lieutenant. He had asked most of the questions about why she was at Mr. Cox's house in the first place. After him, a second man comes in with a briefcase, and they all take chairs around the sofa I'm on. The lieutenant speaks first. "Sally, this gentleman here is an attorney for our city. He wants to make sure you understand what's about to happen."

The short man nods. "Miss Yeager. I know you're eighteen, but you're still in school. Is that correct?"

"Yes, sir." I confirm.

"And I'm to understand that both your guardian as well as the Head of the school you attend required you to be there?" Again, even with his prompting, I can't say what I want to say. I just nod. "I see. You wish to press charges against Mr. Cox?"

"Absolutely. I want him in jail for what he did to me and Miss Holeman."

The lawyer takes a few notes. "But you don't wish to press charges on Mr. Montgomery?"

I have to be very careful. "Yes, sir. I feel safe with him. He wanted to punish me; but he couldn't do it himself. I'm sure he had no idea that this would happen."

The lawyer sighs. "Are you very sure? The document he signed..."

"We all agreed to," I say earnestly.

Julene looks uncomfortable. "Are you sure Mr. Montgomery hasn't ever threatened you or been violent in any way?"

"No ma'am. Over this last weekend, I realized how lucky I was that he was taking care of me. I was skipping school and bringing boys over without..."

The female officer rolls her eyes. "Which doesn't deserve you being sent over there."

The short lawyer coughs. "Actually, that proposition the city passed last year did allow the parties to make this agreement. The school is mostly immune to prosecution due to state law as well."

"What?!" Julene exclaims.

"If we find that the school was acting in good faith, then there is little we can do about that."

The older officer winces. "We are questioning the Headmaster, of course. I have two detectives looking into that side of things." The man shifts in his chair. "After a scandal like this, maybe they will repeal that law."

I sit there silently thinking. The Headmaster has made sure none of this would come back at him. It just means I have to be even more careful. But I still need to do something. I have to find out about Beth. I finally speak up. "I want to go home and return to classes if I can."

All of the adults in the room look at each other with concern. I know what I said makes no sense, and it puts them on edge. The short lawyer puts his hands in his pockets. "Considering the situation you're in..." He turns away.

"What?" I ask. "What situation?"

"Sally," Julene says carefully. "I think it's time we told you."

I look back at the woman, my guard now up. "Tell me what?"

The lieutenant takes a deep breath. "Normally, in these situations, we would have the birth parent take custody until the courts make a judgment."

I'm already shaking my head. "I would rather stay with Collin, sir. My relationship with my mom isn't very good right now."

Julene leans in. "Sally; your mother's in jail." She did try to say it as gently as she could.

"In jail?" I can't believe it. "When?"

The lieutenant looks as compassionately as he can at me. "We just found out after we tried to reach her. I'm sorry, Miss Yeager. Hearing all of this at once is not how I would want to do this."

I sit there for a moment. My mom; arrested? Would she do something to get sent to prison? "Do you know why?"

The older officer grimaces. "Something to do with money laundering. There were several suspicious deposits made to a bank account with her name on it. I'm sorry, Miss Yeager."

I actually realize this would make things simpler for me. After resting, I think I can make one last push. Looking right at the short lawyer, I begin to focus on what I want. "Thank you, sir. I really just need to go home. My Guardian hasn't raised a hand to me through this whole ordeal. All the rest can sort itself out I'm sure. Please."

The prosecutor stares. He finally sighs. "I will recommend releasing Miss Yeager into Mr. Montgomery's care with a stipulation that they go into court-ordered counseling at a future date. We will, of course, charge Mr. Cox with endangerment and assault. Then, depending on whether we find Miss Holeman, we can add more counts later." He looks around the room. "Anything else?"

Everyone either shrugs or shakes their heads. The lieutenant stands up. "I'll get the paperwork sent down. Corporal Harding... Sorry. Seargent. You'll escort Miss Yeager downstairs and wait with her."

I'm led to the lobby, and Julene gives me a phone number to reach the lieutenant's desk if I have any more information to offer. "Are you sure about this?"

"Yes, Ma'am." She's the only person I've met in the last few days who has shown any concern for me. Right now, though, I need to get home and think about what happened. We wait in a hallway for a few minutes, and I finally see my caregiver. He looks more than a bit frayed at the edges. Good. Have a taste of that, you idiot. Taking a deep breath, it's time for the act once again. "Collin!" The middle-aged man's neck twists at my call. His tie is loose, and he looks tired. Still, at the sight of me, I see his expression brighten. "Sally!" The two of us walk towards each other and stop a couple feet apart. "I'm so sorry, Sally," he says with some feeling. "I trusted that man..."

Not your first mistake. "You had no way of knowing, sir."

Collin's mouth twitches. "Can you forgive me?"

Not likely. I take a step forward, and my eyes began to fill. It's so easy now. I feel Collin grasp the top of my shoulders lightly.

"I'll make this up to you, Sally. I will work every day to make sure you're safe and happy."

I force myself not to grin. It's still working. "Thank... Thank you, sir." Then, to seal the deal, I bury my head into his chest. It's easier to act when someone can't see your face.

* * *

The drive home is a bit uncomfortable. I respond to anything Collin would say, but I can't keep up with what I was doing before. He tries to bring up mother, so I just stare out the window. Luckily, he takes the hint and the rest of the drive goes on in silence. At least until we pull into our neighborhood. "Sally. Did that man do anything else to you?"

I want to roll my eyes so badly. "No, sir. Not until he went crazy last night," I lie. I can't have him do something really stupid. The oaf is showing a wonderful amount of protectiveness towards me, and I aim to use it as much as possible. "I thought he might be acting strange when he showed you how hard to hit me with the belt, sir." Let that needle poke him for a while. A few seconds later, the man slams a hand on the steering wheel.

"How was I so stupid?!"

I reach out for his arm. "We both were. I shouldn't have done all those things, and I pushed you too far."

"It all seems so obvious now." The man mumbles on, and yet he calms a bit at my light touch. "How about I order in. Chinese sound fine?"

"Absolutely." I try to sound grateful, but nothing would taste as good as Beth's cooking. Entering the house, I turn for the hallway. "I'm going to take a shower."

Collin nods and goes to the phone to place an order. I immediately go to my room and close the door behind me. Throwing my small duffel on the bed, I finally let the facade fall. I'm so tired. Grabbing a robe, I head over to the bathroom for a shower. Maybe a bath? Yeah. Entering the bathroom, I start running the tub. Listlessly, I strip off the mismatched shirt and slacks. As the room starts to steam, I study my full curves in the mirror. The appearance of my ass still surprises me. I'm virtually unmarked after the experience. I felt the pain. I'd been stripped and embarrassed. Yet I seem... What's the word? Unbroken. In fact, in certain ways, I feel stronger than ever. All except; I'm unable to blame the Headmaster. What did he do to me?

Settling into the hot bath, I let my eyes close and try to relax. I really can't, though. Every minute that passes with no word about Beth is making me more worried. I have to get back to the striking blond and explore all the possibilities I sensed when we were together. I reach for the soap and begin rubbing the bar, generating a good lather. My hands work their way down my shoulders and arms mechanically. Get myself clean. Wash all of this away. With the warm water beginning to take effect, I lean back, just keeping my head out of the water. My breasts rise to the surface and bob above the gathering suds. I love how they do that. I imagine Beth's strong hands on them. First softly, then more forcefully. As the bar slides over my soft skin, I shudder a bit. Everything becomes slick to the touch as I lightly stroke upward over my elongating nipples. After everything that happened, I seem to be more in tune with myself. I reach down under the water. Beth would do this next. She knew exactly what I needed. As the soap slides across my belly, I remember her parting my legs. I resist; but she's stronger. The bar pushes at my folds, and...

I sit bolt upright, splashing water out of the tub. He did that to me last night! Listening to the bubbles popping one at a time, I concentrate. I remember exactly how the Headmaster touched me. What I did. How I felt. Well, it did feel good. Much better than anything I could do to myself here, that's for sure. But how did I forget? Was it the dream? Where did those two go? I have so many questions, and there were no answers here.

Growling in aggravation, I stand and shower all the suds off. Looking at the door, I make sure it's closed. All the stupid games I played. Well, some of it was Susan's fault. She pushed me, and I didn't want her around Collin anymore. Drying quickly, I wrap the robe tightly around me and go out into the hall. I hear Collin's voice. Was he still on the phone?

"...recommend that man? From what it sounded like he was constantly torturing her either physically or mentally."

Who is he talking to? I quickly run down the hall and enter the living room. Collin sees me and raises a finger.

"That's just great! You think she'd ever want to go back to your school?" I wave my hands at him, and he quickly covers the receiver. "Can you believe the man?!"

It must be the Headmaster! So he's still around. "Actually, I do want to go back, sir."

Collin's mouth drops. "Why would you want that?! The man..."

"I really need to." Coming close I smile softly without all that sexual stuff that I was doing before. Collin pauses. I think I've figured him out. "It's where all my friends are."

"Okay then." He uncovers the phone. "It looks like we'll be going up there after all, Headmaster. Tomorrow then." He hangs up. "He wants to see us personally. Are you sure about this?"

I try to act all happy. "Let me get dressed and organize my stuff. Food on the way?"

"Yeah." He shakes his head. "I can't believe after all that, you'd want to go back to that school."

Heading back down the hallway, I come up to the storage closet and quietly open it. After a minute of digging through some games and puzzles in boxes, I find it. The cassette recorder. It's powered by 'C' batteries and could record an hour or so. That would be long enough. The game is getting serious but at least I know who the players are. If I'm going after the big fish, I need the tools to land him; or at the very minimum keep him at bay.

* * *

All right. I'm finally dressed in the regular school uniform once again. Making sure that my white button-down shirt, blue-green plaid skirt, and knee socks are all to code, I finish with the small tie and coat. I'm all ready to go. I walk out and find Collin standing in the living room with keys in hand. "Why are you so gung-ho about returning?"

I walk out the door just to show him how determined I am. "I have to. I want to see my friends and not just sit here thinking about; stuff."

"Well then, let's go see him."

I nod getting into the car. "As long as you call the school if they find Miss Holeman."

"Agreed." Collin takes his time driving over to the school. "I'm glad you're showing this much concern for another person. It... Well, you've changed."

That's another understatement, once again, from clueless Collin. I nod at the appropriate times just to show I'm all right. With one last turn, we pull into Warrington's parking lot. It's a bit early, and we'd beaten the usual rush near the entrance. The two of us walk into the office and are greeted by the assistant, Miss Watts. The graying blond smiles guardedly and then goes to notify the Headmaster that we have arrived. A moment later, the tall man comes out to greet us.

"Come in, please." He turns to the severe-looking woman. "Kylie. Please make sure we're not disturbed."

Once inside, we both sit down in front of the tall man's desk. The Head of the school takes a moment and studies the two of us. I'm sure he's trying to read Collin and figure out what I told him. He finally addresses my so-called guardian.

"Mr. Montgomery. You had called me on Saturday with an apology. It now seems I owe you one."

Collin raises an eyebrow. "To say the least."

The Headmaster nods. "I had put my trust and the school's reputation in Mr. Cox's hands. You must understand the betrayal I feel at the harm that was caused to Miss Yeager here. The law allowed us to handle the punishment of female students outside of school if it was required. This institution will no longer use that option for any student going forward. You can also be certain that we will fully cooperate with law enforcement to make sure the matter is handled satisfactorily."

I watch as both men stare hard at each other. Is the Headmaster doing something? I reach out and sense; nothing. Something's very strange here. It's Collin's turn to speak after a long pause.