The Case of Elaine Stanson

My name is Lt Jack Benson. I have been on the police force for 12 years. My partner is Sgt Louis Chand. We been together for five years.

We know everything about each other except for one thing, he doesn't know that I am a Medium. Yes, that means I can see and hear ghosts. I also can pick up clothes and other objects and feel where this person is and whether they are alive or dead.

It's 9:05 am on a Tuesday. I walk into the office. I see my partner waiving at me. Two coffees, as usual, are sitting on my desk.

I said "Good morning Loui. I know my sister Elaine is missing. Mary called me on my way in. Do we have the case?"

Sgt said "Yes, I talked with Captain Wilson and we got the case."

I picked up my coffee and took a couple sips and said "Thank you Louis for the coffee. I have a feeling you didn't bother telling the Cap that the missing person is my younger sister."

Louis said "No I didn't. I'm hoping we will solve this case real quick since she is your sister. So why tell the Cap and get in a argument with him this morning."

I took another sip and said "I agree with you Loui. I will take the heat when he finds out. Have they found Elaine's car?"

Louis said "No, nothing yet. It's only been about 30 minutes. We are fresh on this case."

The phone rings, Louis picks it up. He says "hold on" and hands me the phone.

I said "Hi Mary."

Mary says "Did you get the case?"

I said "Yes Mary, we did. We are about to leave and should be at your house in about 30 minutes or so. As you suspect, this case went to the top of our list. Okay? bye."

I said to Loui "On my way in, Mary told me the route Elaine takes every morning. She stops at a 7-11 and then drives straight to work."

Jack says "First thing we are going to do. We're going to Mary's house, I need to talk with her and find out what she knows."

Louis says "Okay, let's hit the road. We got to find your sister fast before something happens."

27 minutes later, Louis pulls the car up Mary's driveway. The front door opens and Mary comes out. I finished my coffee and threw the cup on the floor of the car. We get out.

Mary is telling me in an excited voice "I bet that no good husband took Elaine."

I said "Let's go into the house."

We walk inside and I say "Where's Ben?"

Mary said "They have a Shuttle launch in a week. He can't miss work. Why do you need to talk with him?"

"I dont know why but I need to talk with him. I have this feeling he has something to do with this."

Mary said "There is no way Ben had anything to do with Elaine's kidnapping."

"I'm telling you Mary, I can't find out why until I talk with him. What time does he get home?"

Mary said "He gets home around 4:00. But many times being this close to a launch, he gets hope later."

I said "Can you call him at work?"

She said "I will try but I doubt I will be able to talk with him."

"Call him and see if you can talk with him. Tell them it's very important."

Mary calls the number to the firing room. Someone answers. Mary says "Hi, this is Ben's wife calling. It's extremely important I talk with Ben."

They put me on hold. A minute passes and someone picks up "Hi Mary, this is Lee. Ben is inside the mobile launcher. I've been trying to get a hold of him but no luck."

Mary says "Thank you Lee. When you get in touch with him, tell him to call me immediately. Elaine is missing and the police are looking for her."

Lee says "I will do everything I can to find him."

Mary says "Thank you Lee. Okay, bye."

I said to Jack "They can't find Ben right now, but they are looking. He will call when he finds out Elaine is missing."

I said "Have him call me when you hear from him."

Mary said "Don't worry, I will."

I said "I also need to talk to anyone else who has talked with Elaine in the last 24 hours. So make a list if you can."

Mary said "I will."

"So Mary, why is Elaine living with you?"

Mary said "About a month ago, Elaine and Dean had a big fight. She found out that he is cheating on her. So she left him and moved in with us."

I said "Did you see any sign of violence between them?"

Mary said "Ben and I didn't see anything, and Elaine never said anything about Dean hitting her. So probably not."

I said "Okay. Did you do what I asked you to do?"

Mary said "Yes, what you need is in the family room on the sofa."

Jack said "Okay. Loui stay here. I will be only a minute or so."

I walk into the family room. I see a couple nightgowns and a blouse on the sofa. I pick up one nightgown. I hold it close to me.

She is in a bedroom. The shades are closed. There are two white males around her. They look to be in their 50's. That's it, gone.

I try her blouse but nothing there. I pick up the second nightgown. I see the same two white males. They are close to Elaine.

Ohhhh, I see she has tape over her mouth and her hands are tied. There is a hood over her face and she has no clothes on. She is lying on a bed on her stomach. Gone, maybe something later hopefully.

I walk back to the living room and said to Mary "Do you have a photo of Dean?"

Mary picked up her phone and went thru the photos, looking and said "Here's one" and hands me the phone.

I look at the photo and said "This is Dean?"

Mary said "Yes, that's Dean."

"Dean is not there in the house. But he could have hired two guys to do this. But right now, I don't think he's involved. We still need to talk with him."

Mary said "Are you sure?"

I gave Mary one of my famous looks. Mary said "Okay, then who?"

I said "I know it's two white guys in their 50's. I need a hard photo of Elaine. And I need to talk with Ben. Ben knows something, I don't know what."

Mary goes back to her bedroom and picks up a photo of her and Elaine. She is thinking how Ben could know something about Elaine missing. Maybe because Ben has fucked her a few times. She walks back to the living room and hands the photo to Jack.

I look at the photo and said "That's good."

I said "We need to go look for Elaine's car. I will talk with you later. Please have Ben call me when you hear from him. Here's my card."

Loui and I leave Mary's house. We drive the route Elaine takes every day.

Louis said "What the hell happened back there?"

I said "What are you talking about?"

Louis said "You know what I'm talking about. I've been noticing things about you."

Louis said "You walked back to the family room for a couple of minutes and come back and said the husband is not involved. Was he back there in the family room tied up or something?"

I said "No, that's crazy."

Louis said "Okay, then how could you eliminate the husband? We've been partners for five plus years now. So give me a straight answer."

I was about to say something but Loui kept talking.

Louis said "Why not the husband. And how did you come up with two white males in their 50's? And you feel Ben is involved with this?"

I said "I never said Ben was involved. But I can tell you Loui, Ben knows something."

Loui said "How do you know that?"

"Okay Loui, you want the truth?"

Louis said "Yes, damn it."

I said "Are you sure you can handle it? This is between the two of us, no one else."

Louis said "You are scaring me. Is it something illegal?

I said "No way."

I see the 7-11 Elaine stops at, up ahead. I said "Pull in here Loui. We will finish this later."

We walk into the 7-11. Two ladies are working. I go to one and ask her "Have you seen her today" holding up the photo and my badge and say "What is your name.?"

The lady said "My name is Sue. Yes, we know Elaine. She came in here today at her normal time."

I said "What is her normal time?"

Sue said "Around 8:30."

I said "Did she act her normal self?"

Sue said "Yes she was her normal self."

The other lady walked over and asked "What is going on?"

I said "Hi, I am Lt Benson, holding up my badge, and this is my partner Sgt Chand, holding up his badge. What is your name?"

She says "My name is Alice."

"We are looking for Elaine Stanson. She didn't show up for work today. Have you seen her today?"

Alice said "Yes, Elaine came through here around 8:30, her normal time."

I said "Did she act her normal funny self?"

Alice said "Yes we talked and definitely she was herself."

I said "Did either of you see two white males in their 50's when Elaine was here?"

Sue said "Now that you mentioned that, there were these 2 guys watching her. I just figured any man would look at Elaine. She is very nice looking and a very sweet lady."

I said "Can you tell me anything about the two guys? Did they leave when she left?"

Sue said "They paid after she did. One person was in between them."

"Can you give me a description of the two guys?"

The two ladies were thinking. Alice said "They definitely were in their 50's white like you said. I didn't hear anything they said but they were talking to each other."

Sue said "They both were well dressed. Nice pants and expensive shoes"

Jack said "That's an interesting description."

Sue said "The way they were dressed didn't fit in here."

Alice said "Come to think of it, Sue's right. I remember now, they drove a late model BMW." I remember when they drove in. I saw them getting out of their car."

Jack said "Anything else you remember?"

Alice said "The BMW was light blue."

Jack said "That's great. Anything else?"

Sue and Alice said that's all they can remember.

Jack said "How did they pay?"

Alice said "Oh, I remember now. They bought a small bag of Lay's Potato Chips. They gave me a five dollar bill."

I said "Where is that five dollar bill?"

They walked to the cash register. A couple customers were waiting. Sue went to the other register and said "Can I help you?"

Alice said "I can't open the register until someone buys something."

I said "Sir, you can come over here. I'm not in line."

He said "Thank You."

Alice took care of the man and left the register opened. I walked in back and looked at the five dollar bill.

I said "Alice. It has been about an hour. Are you certain that is the five dollar bill they paid with?"

She said "I am 100% sure that is the right five dollar bill."

I said "How can you be so certain?"

She said "After they left, I closed this register. There were items to put on the shelfs. So I did that. I did not use this register nor did Sue."

I said to Louis "Go to the car and get what we need to bag the five dollar bill."

Louis said "Okay, I will be right back."

I said "Alice can you please keep the register open until we get that five dollar bill?"

Alice said "Okay. I will. Lt Benson, we will do anything to help you catch those guys and find Elaine."

Lt Jack said "Thank you Alice."

Sgt Louis comes back with a pair of gloves and a seal bag.

I said "Go ahead Loui and get the five dollar bill."

I stood there watching to make sure the chain of evidence is proper. As usual, Loui did a wonderful job. He sealed it and signed the label. I signed it and so did Alice.

We thanked Alice and Sue for their help.

I said to both ladies " Here is my card. If you remember anything else no matter how small, please call me."

I said "One more thing. If those two guys show up again, call 911 and try to keep them there. If one of you could get the license plate number, that would be great. But don't do something that would endanger you."

They both said they would.

Elaine wakes up. Damn, there is a hood over my head. I can't see anything. My hands are tied, my mouth has tape over it and I don't have any clothes on.

I can't say any words but I try to yell for help. I wonder if anyone is here. How did I get here? What was the last thing I remember?

I can't think. I wriggle my hands trying to get them loose. Tie wraps. Fuck.

Who would do this to me? A Serial killer? I hope not. Do serial killers tie you up?

I hear voices. Sounds like two people, two men. Can I make enough noise so they can hear me?

I try kicking but I can't move my legs. I can't do anything, no noise. It feels like I'm on a bed. I try to roll over, but I can't.

My legs feel weird. My legs are spread out. There is something between my feet. It feels like wood. And it is beginning to hurt.

The good news is, I don't think it's two serial killers. More likely sex perverts. I don't think I've been raped yet. Maybe they will rape me and let me go.

I won't resist when they rape me. Maybe I can get them to remove the wood. I have to be cooperative no matter how much I hate it. I will do whatever they want me to do.

Lt Jack and Sgt Chand pulled out of the 7-11. Louis said "Okay Jack. how did you know it was two white males in their 50's?"

Lt Jack said "Okay Loui, I've been wanting to tell you for a long time. It might as well be now. Loui, I am a medium. Do you know what that is?"

Louis said "Are you like that lady on the TV show Medium?"

Jack said "Yes. Not all mediums are the same. I have the same abilities as the lady on Medium has."

Louis said "You can see ghosts?"

Jack said "I can see and hear ghosts. I can talk with them. I can also feel things when I feel clothes the person wore. That was what I did at Mary's house when we were there."

Louis said "This is so cool. So there is a God and an after life?"

Jack said "I haven't seen God Loui, but there is an afterlife. There are an estimated 30 mediums in the US. I think there are more. Many never tell anyone and they go through life miserably."

Louis said "So we need to find Elaine's car. Maybe you can find something there?" So what did you do at Mary's house?"

Lt Jack said "I felt some of Elaine's clothes. I'll tell you what I know. Elaine is tied up with a gag over her mouth and a hood over her head. She also has no clothes on."

Louis said "So she is alive?"

Jack said "Yes, but we need to find her fast."

Louis said "Can you get any vibes on the car?"

Jack said "No, only humans. Sometimes animals mostly dogs. Ghost dogs still can sniff humans. I am hoping there are some ghosts hanging around."

I said "We need luck to find her car."

Louis said "Let's find the car."

Jack said "I'm glad you accepted me as a medium. It's going to make things a lot easier."

Louis said "It would of been easier if you told me a long time ago."

Jack said "You are right. I should of told you a long time ago. Mary is the only other person who knows. Loui, please don't tell your wife."

Louis said "I won't, I promise. Hey, over there, is that Elaine's car?"

Jack said "I think it is."

As they get closer, Jack says "Yes, that is Elaine's car."

We park by her car. We get out. The doors are unlock.

I said "I see her coffee and her purse. Let me pick up the coffee cup."

Jack says "I can see both males. Both in their 50's. Elaine is still tied up with a hood over her head. There is nothing to get the location."

Jack says "I need something the guys touched."

Louis says "Try the driver's side door handle."

I said "That won't work. Plus I don't want to touch anything until forensics is done. Go ahead and call the cap Loui."

Sgt Chand calls Captain Wilson and says "Cap we need forensics here fast. I tell you what we know so far. Two white males in their 50's, drives late model, light blue BMW."

Captain says "Okay, good work guys. Fast too. Forensics will be on their way shortly."

Louis says "Okay Cap, bye."

Sgt Louis said to Lt Jack "Cap's got forensics on their way."

Lt Jack says "Great. Hand me her purse."

Jack feels the purse. Nothing. He opens the purse and see's the lipstick. He holds it with both hands.

Louis is watching Jack and listening.

Jack feels the lipstick and see's the bedroom again. "I am looking around the bedroom. I have a better look at both of their faces."

Jack says "Where are you Elaine? You don't know. She was drugged. They opened the car door and held a rag to her face until she passed out."

Jack says That's all. Did you hear what I said?"

Louis said "I heard everything you said. They used chloroform or ether. Where do you get that stuff from?"

Jack said "You can get chloroform at lots of places. Walmart sells it online. You can get it on Ebay or Amazon. That's not going to help."

Louis says "You said Walmart sells it online? Let's call cap and see if he can call Walmart. Maybe he can get a name."

Jack says "What are you going to say when Cap asks you why you need that info?"

Louis says "I don't know. How come you haven't told the Captain?"

Jack said "I tell you why. First he will send me on a murder case and see if I can ask the victim who killed them?"

Louis said "You could be helpful."

Jack said "I started in homicide Loui. I did solve some murder cases others couldn't do. I don't like talking to murder victims anymore. I like this job a lot better."

Jack continued "Do you know why I like this job?"

Louis said "I like it. I don't know why you do?"

Jack says "On this job, if we do a good job, we bring people back alive. Homicide, everyone is dead. It's not the same finding the guilty persons. You can't help the dead people."

Louis says "I understand. You could still tell cap and tell him you want to stay here."

Jack said "I thought that out. I would get calls from Cap asking me to help someone find the guilty people. It would never end."

Louis said "You're right, my mistake. He would never leave you alone. But you can't blame him. He's just doing his job and you could make it a lot easier for him."

Jack said "You making me feel guilty Loui. Maybe someday I will tell Cap. But right now, I like how things are. Loui, don't tell Cap."

Louis said "I would never do that. That's something only you could do. Besides, I like this job working with you."

Jack said "Good, we could be partners for a long time. Now let's find Elaine. I need to talk with Ben. He knows something."

Jack said "Loui. I know now. The answers to our questions come from Ben. We will know the location of Elaine after talking with Ben."

"I need to call Mary right now. Forensics won't help. Ben holds the key."

I call Mary "Hi Mary, have you heard from Ben? Time is running out."

Mary said "Not yet. Did you find the 7-11?"

Jack said "Yes, we talked to two ladies who work at 7-11. They saw Elaine and remembered the two white males in their 50's. They were at the 7-11 watching Elaine."

Jack says "Ben knows where Elaine is?"

Mary says "How does he know that?"

Jack said "He's been in the house where Elaine is being held."

Mary said "Did you say it was two white males in their 50's?"

Jack said "Yes, that has been confirmed and they drive a late model light blue BMW."

Mary said "Light blue BMW?"

Jack said "Yes."

Mary said "I know where the house is. I don't know the address but I know where it is. Ben has been in that house. Where are you now?"

Jack says "We're at Elaine's car. There is a Race Track gas station right down the road from here. Do you know where it is?"

Mary said "Yes, I can be there in 20 minutes. Wait for me."

Jack said "Okay. We have to wait until forensics gets here. We will meet you at the Race Track as soon as they get here."

Mary pulls into the Race Track. She looks for Jack and Louis's car. They are not here yet. She parks in obvious place where they will see her when they get here.

Jack and Louis are waiting for Forensics. They finally pulled in. Jack and Louis get out of their car.

Jack says "I'm glad you guys are here."

Jack fills them in on the case and where to look for prints. Jack says "Do you need anything else from us?"

Bill says "We're good Lieutenant, we can handle this."

Lt Jack "Okay guys, thanks a lot. Bye."

They hop in their car and head for the Race Track. They pull in and see Mary waving to us.

They park their car and got out.