The Oaths We Keep

Chapter 6

Erin paced back and forth in the small, confined space of the holding cell. She stopped and then sat on the bed, crossing her arms at her chest. She sat there for a minute, stood back up, and paced again. Erin forced herself to stop pacing, and rested against the bars of her cell. Trying to calm herself, she hoped the detectives or whoever was in charge would be there soon. Erin felt as if she was about to have a panic attack.

She heard a door open and footsteps headed her way. Moments later, two detectives stood outside her cell. "Mrs. Harper, I'm Detective Taylor; this is Detective Barnes. You wanted to talk to us, is that right?"

"Yes, Detective, please may I have my cell phone? I'm expecting an important call."

"Mrs. Harper, it's against the rules to have cell phones in the lock-up. You can use the office phone if you need to make a call. Otherwise, you'll have to wait until you're released to get your phones back, assuming they're not held as evidence."

"Please, I'll return it as soon as the call comes in."

"And just which phone are you wanting, Mrs. Harper?" Barnes spoke up. "We found two phones in your belongings, so which one do you want?" she asked as Taylor held both phones up.

"That one. Please, they'll call any minute now. I need a few minutes," Erin said, her voice becoming more desperate.

"Mrs. Harper, we can't help you if you don't talk to us. Are you in trouble?" Taylor asked.

Just then, the phone began to ring. Glancing at the screen, Taylor saw that the number and name were both listed as private. In his mind, he dismissed it as a sales call from a telemarketer, but as he looked at the woman in the cell, he could see it must have meant much more. "Alright, so who is calling?" he asked.

"Detective, please hand me the phone; I have to answer it."

The phone continued to ring. "Not until you tell me who is calling," Taylor firmly said.

"Please, please. I can't tell you, but please give me the phone."

"Not until you tell me what's going on. Who is this?'

"Please, they have my husband. They'll kill him if I don't answer. Please," she said in a near panic.

Without a second thought, Taylor quickly handed the phone over to her. She pushed the button on the screen to answer the phone. "Hello? Hello? I'm here. Hello?" There was no response on the other end, only silence. She held the phone at eye level with her right hand while she put her left hand to her mouth. She took small, unsteady steps toward the bed in her cell. Erin continued to stare at the blank screen in shocked disbelief.

Taylor looked over at Barnes as they both stood in silence. After several moments of silence, Taylor called for the officer on duty to open the cell door. "I think it's time you told us the whole story now, Mrs. Harper."

Several minutes later, the three were sitting in the interrogation room. Erin sat across from Barnes and Taylor, looking despondent as she recounted the events that brought her here. "My husband was supposed to fly to Chicago for a surgeon's convention on Monday afternoon. I offered to drive him, but he said he was going by his office to grab a few last-minute items for the trip, and then he'd drive to the airport. When I came home from work on Monday, I found a package by the front door addressed to me. I opened it and saw the cell phone and a handwritten note underneath it that said, 'This is not a joke. Call the listing on the contacts now.' Underneath the note was a picture of my husband tied to a chair blindfolded between two masked men."

Taylor asked her, "So you called the listing in the contacts. What did they say?"

"They told me not to go to the cops, or they would kill Conner. Said I would have to pay them $400,000 and retrieve some files from a protected vault from the bank. I told them I didn't have that kind of money but could get the files. They said I had until Friday to get the money and files together."