IT WAS WILD chapter 1 part 4 of 5

IT WAS WILD chapter 1 part 4 of 5


The handcuff was still dangling from my right wrist as I ran through the door to my workbench where I found a big roll, of duct tape. I rolled Troy over and taped his right wrist to his left forearm and repeated with his left wrist. Then I taped his ankles and knees to immobilize him completely. Marge was starting to come around when I taped her the same way. I ran back to the workbench when I knew they were under control, this time for a mostly clean rag that I used to wrap around Troy’s badly bleeding organ. I did not want him to die; I wanted him to suffer and suffer he would.

Up the stairs I ran, taking two steps at a time before stopping in the kitchen for a quick can of Bud. I had taken two pulls when I lifted the phone from its cradle on the wall and dialed my friend Fred from the phone’s memory.

Fred Ryan was a detective lieutenant in the Sheriff’s Office sub-station in Boyertown. Fred had been two years ahead of me all the way through school and his brother Roy was a classmate. They were my two closest friends, especially now that Troy was out. Fred answered the phone on the second ring. “Ryan.”

“Fred, it’s Sean.”

“Aren’t you in Hawaii now?”

“No, unfortunately; I will explain later. I need you to send EMTs, a patrol car, and a female deputy to my house. I would appreciate it if you could come, also. Tell them to enter through the garage. I will meet them in the family room.”

“What’s up, Sean?”

“My entire relationship with Lori was a sham. It was all a fraud. You will see me when you come. Right now, I need to phone Roy and my secretary.”

“Okay, Sean, I will see you in a few minutes, but I need to phone my contact in Montgomery County. There may be a jurisdictional issue.” I ended the call and phoned his brother, Roy, who was my personal and business attorney.

His secretary asked if I was calling from Hawaii before transferring me to Fred’s office. “Sean? What is up? That was one great reception—best I have been to in years.”

“Yeah, too bad the whole thing was a sham. I need you to come to the house ASAP, Roy.” I rang off once he said he was on the way.

My final call was to my secretary, Sandra. She had only been with me three months since my original Gal Friday had moved to Chicago. I made the call while on the way to get a robe and she answered the phone while I was on my way down to the family room. “Sean Sloan Fabrications.”

“Sandra, it is Sean. Contact Angus and tell him I need him at the house in fifteen minutes.”

“Aren’t you in Hawaii?”

“No, I am not. Just tell him that I need him now.”

“Sean, you know how Angus hates to leave the production floor.”

“Tell, him I said he has two choices—be here in fifteen minutes or find a new job. I must run now. The police are in my driveway.” I opened the garage door, and they rushed in. I knew both deputies, just as I knew most of the people in the community. I led them to Troy and Marge. They noticed the video camera immediately. Together, we found the DVDs clearly marked and numbered in the back seat of Marge’s car. Fred came in a minute later, followed by the ambulance and EMTs only seconds later.

Detective Sergeant Michael Bailey of the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office arrived a few minutes later. The problem here was that much of the criminal activity had occurred in Berks County while I lived in Montgomery. The boundary line was only a mile or so away.

“What’s this all about, Sean?” Rather than tell him I turned around and dropped the robe. I knew that Fred had seen everything during his twelve years in the sheriff’s service and I assumed correctly that Sgt. Bailey’s experience was similar, but nothing had prepared them for the sight of my body. They gasped several times in disbelief and the female deputy almost fainted.

“It is all on the DVDs, Fred. To summarize, Lori’s and my relationship was a lie—a fraud designed by Marge to make a slave out of me so Lori and her boyfriend could live a life of luxury at my expense. Troy was involved, too. He led me into their web for money—a promise of $250,000. It is all on the first DVD. Marge took me to a farm out near Oley on Route 73. I was in a broken-down barn with a hole in the roof. The farmhouse was burned down.” Fred used his radio to contact several deputies; they found the farm in less than ten minutes, and they found the whip, the cage, and my bodily wastes.

Marge and Troy were removed to Pottstown Memorial Hospital—Troy for surgery, and Marge to be examined before being driven out to the county jail in Leesport. The EMTs wanted me to go, but there was no way I was sharing an ambulance with either of them. I promised that I would see my personal physician by tomorrow morning. Fred and his deputies along with Sgt. Bailey sat and drank my soda while they watched the horrifying action on the DVD right from the drugging of my champagne, attaching the cock cage to my genitals, and even evaluating the shocking capability during my drug-induced sleep. No wonder I had had nightmares.

DVD Number 1 covered everything on that fateful first day. Fred told me there was enough evidence on it to send all four to prison for more than twenty years—Marge for even more. Fred stopped the viewing after two hours, taking the collection of DVDs with him. Sgt. Bailey told him to oversee everything pending discussion with his district attorney. I knew then that it would be a Berks County prosecution. Both DAs were democrats, and the Berks DA was up for reelection. Sgt. Bailey shook my hand and wished me luck as he left. Roy had joined us a few minutes after Fred and after watching the beginning of the recording agreed that an annulment was in order. “You will not have any problem with evidence like this. Whose idea was this, anyway?” He could barely believe it was Lori’s, even after viewing the time we spent in my bedroom.

Angus arrived last with a scowl on his face until he saw my back and the device on my genitals. “Just tell me you can get it off.”

“Not a problem,” he replied, his Scottish brogue at its strongest. He took a tracing of the bolt’s head to get an idea of the wrench’s shape and size. He returned to the factory to select what he thought would be the right-sized cylinder of iron—not steel which was too hard—and a Dremel Rotary Tool with a fine diamond-tipped cutter. I watched with interest as he cut away the metal until the iron tip would fit inside the bolt’s head. Five minutes later I was truly a free man. Fred took the infernal device with him as evidence. Angus returned to work, and I was alone at last.

I spent more than an hour in a warm bath then tried to sit or lie on the bed in a loose tee shirt and my softest running shorts. Only when I lay on my stomach was I able to get any relief from the pain. I phoned old Doc Crawford who had been my doctor since childhood and, once he had an idea of my injuries, I had an appointment that very afternoon. He prescribed what he called a “miracle” ointment, and I bought it at the pharmacy I always used even though I had no idea how I would be able to apply it. Doc had told me that I needed someone who could see the thousands of welts.

The time was just after 4:30 when I got home from the pharmacy, so I phoned Sandra to tell her I was taking the week off because of my injuries. “I am sure you will be able to read all about it in the Reading Eagle or even on the TV news. Right now, I’m wondering how I’ll be able to apply this ointment Doc prescribed to my back.”

“Let me see what I can do.”

“Sandra, you are NOT going to do it.”

“Not me, you dummy; let me see what I can do to help you. I will be in touch.” We spoke for a few minutes and then she ran off. I spent most of the afternoon trying to get comfortable without much success. Around six I realized that I was starving. I had not much to eat in more than a week. My body had adjusted to eating less and I was sure that I had lost a lot of weight, but just at that moment, I felt like I could eat a cow. I dug through the freezer, finding two prime filets that I had planned to eat with Lori once we had returned from Hawaii. I placed them on the granite counter to defrost. If I had waited this long for something good to eat, I was sure I could wait another hour.

I was putting together a salad from things I had noticed on my way back from the pharmacy when the doorbell rang. I stood there in silence with my mouth open as I took in my visitor. There clad in blue scrubs with bright pink sneakers was a tall slender woman with a perfectly oval face and mahogany brown hair—hair so dark that it was almost black. Her eyes were a sparkling brown. This was the way the girl next door might look if she was smoking hot—Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue hot. Her lanyard said Pottstown Memorial Hospital and her photo ID said her name was “Scarlett, RN.”

She smiled and then told me, “I heard you need some help with some ointment.”

Ever suave, I clumsily asked her, “How…?”

“I learned about it from Sandra. She phoned me at the hospital and here I am. Where is the bedroom?” I pointed to the right and followed her down the hall. She walked into the bedroom, stopping when she saw the blood stain. “What happened here?”

“I broke an asshole’s nose.”

“Oh? Sandra told me you have not been here for a week. Is that related to your injury?”

“Yeah, you might say that. You are going to freak out when I take this shirt off. I have it on my butt and thighs, too.”

“Then we will need a couple of big bath towels to protect the quilt. Is this silk? It feels like it.”

“Yeah, it is. Silk is supposed to keep you at the same temperature all year round. It works great. I never sweat because I am too hot, and I am never cold, even in the middle of winter.” Once I had returned from the bathroom

I carefully placed them onto one side of the bed. I turned toward Scarlett and, “Ummu, I….”

“Sean, between nursing school and working in a hospital for three years, I’ve seen it all…probably thousands of butts—penises, too--but I’ll turn around if it will make you more comfortable.” She turned away and I stripped down. I was lying on the towels when she turned back to face me.

“Good God! What happened to you?”

“I was whipped every day for about a week.”

“But, why?”

“I’m sure it will be in the Reading Eagle and maybe on TV, too.” Scarlett was satisfied. She was quiet as she pulled on a pair of exam gloves—a reasonable precaution considering all the open sores on my body.

“You obviously have a good doctor. I recognize this ointment. I have used it on burn patients dozens of times.” She warmed the ointment with her hands and then began to gently apply it to what was left of my skin. Her touch was light and gentle, and the ointment was soothing to my skin. All told she spent about twenty minutes before tapping my shoulder to tell me she was done.

“Thanks, what do I owe you?” I turned slightly to reach for my wallet. What I saw on Scarlett’s face surprised me. She looked at me with a steely glare as she rose and stripped the gloves from her hands. She turned and walked out without a sound until I heard the front door slam. “Oh, well,” I thought. I remained there for a few minutes, realizing that the ointment must be working. My back had not felt this good since my ordeal had begun. I dressed in my robe, went out to the pool deck, and cooked one of the filets, going straight to bed once I had eaten and sleeping better than I had in more than a week.

I had always been an early riser and my deep sleep evaporated in a flash as the pain in my back reappeared. I was up, showered, and dressed, again in the robe for comfort, by 6:00. Still, I was surprised when the doorbell rang at 6:15. I was further surprised to see Scarlett in fresh scrubs and green sneakers this time, her hair tied into a French braid. “Let us get one thing straight, Sean. I am doing this as a favor, not for money.”

“I am sorry if I offended you. I saw that you were a nurse and I assumed it was a job you had taken. I do appreciate all the help. God knows I need it.” She said nothing in response, pointing instead to the bedroom. I grabbed two clean bath sheets from the linen closet and dropped my robe, less embarrassed, or concerned about my nudity.

Scarlett was done twenty minutes later. I walked her back to the door as she told me, “I’ll be back at 7:30. My shift runs from seven to seven, sometimes at night, but mostly day shift.” I said goodbye wondering how Scarlett might look without those baggy scrubs. From the little, I could see I thought she might be spectacular.

I spent most of the day on the phone, first with Roy about my annulment and later with Fred who told me that two officers from the DA’s office had been sequestered to watch the videos and make a list of the crimes committed. “Marge Canning is in a shitload of trouble, Sean. They counted 4,376 whippings. The DA will charge her with Aggravated Assault—one count for each time that whip struck your back. I expect the arraignment in another two days.” I thought that could not happen to a more deserving person. Personally, I had prayed that Marge would die in prison. Now that prayer might come true.

I did go out in the early afternoon to buy some fresh vegetables from a local farm stand. They planted much earlier than I could in my garden so they had tomatoes and green peppers much earlier than I would, too. My tomatoes were still green, and my green peppers were tiny. I bought several of each and a couple of large potatoes I would bake for dinner. I had taken out a full rack of ribs and they had been on the grill for four hours when I heard Scarlett at the door.

To be continued