The Case of The Devil's Octopus

"It's okay," she cooed softly to him. She then took his hand and continued, "I know you are just looking out for me. But no, this person did not sign my cast."

She saw that her answer caused the tension in his face to relax, and that heart-warming smile had returned to his handsome face. He lightly squeezed her good hand and asked, "So tell me, my love, what are you thinking we should do next? Your hesitation to go back to the police leads me to believe that you have something in mind."

"You are so observant, and you know me quite well," she smiled at him as she said that. She turned away from his gaze and looked around at where they were. "Well... we are only a couple of blocks away from Chasey's apartment. Let's drive over there and see if she is home. We can show her the photograph and ask her what she thinks we should do?"

Lyle shifted his attention to the traffic in front of their car and noticed that the traffic light had just turned green. He put on the turn signal to indicate that he wanted to get into the left turn lane. "I can agree to that. But if she doesn't have a good alternative plan then we should go back to the police. Agreed?"

"Agreed," she said. Yvonne, still holding his hand, placed it on her left thigh giving him ample opportunity to feel up her pantyhose-covered legs. "And if she is not home, then you promise to take me back to my place so you can have your way with me. Agreed?"

At the same time he maneuvered the car into the left turn lane, he started to gently stroke her thigh while responding, "Agreed!"

*****

Lyle pulled the car into the nearest visitor's parking space at the apartment building where Chasey lived, and then turned off the engine. The place was in the historic part of town, where many of the old buildings had been converted into condominiums and apartments. This particular building was at one point in time a bottling factory from the early 1900s, but had since been converted to a private residence. He put the car in park, got out and walked over to the passenger side where he opened the door for Yvonne to exit the vehicle.

As she swung her legs out of the car, Yvonne made sure that her man got a nice panty peek as revealed by her short leather skirt. Unlike last night, she opted to wear panties under her pantyhose. Probably a good idea for a work setting, she told him. Rather than wear plain black panties, she felt daring this morning and agreed to his suggestion of her wearing a pair of hot pink satin panties underneath her suntan pantyhose. After all, she thought, he did help me get dressed this morning. Why not indulge his fantasies too? She beamed that naughty vixen smile at him, and his face lit up with equal excitement as she saw that he helped himself to an eyeful. She extended her good hand for him to help her out, and he took it delicately as she lifted herself out of the car.

The day had been sunny to start, but the clouds started to roll in around lunchtime. Now the skies were a leaded gray overcast, and a gentle breeze had picked up. Lyle made sure to grab the umbrella he kept in his car (in addition to her purse -- such a sweetie, she thought), and then they both walked from the parking lot to the interior breezeway that bifurcated the building into two even halves. On the one half were the condominiums, the other apartments. The entrances to all units were located on the ground floor, and each unit was a three story layout. The enclosed space inside the building created the perfect acoustics for the sound of Yvonne's high heeled boots clacking as she walked along the concrete floor of the breezeway. Chasey's apartment was the last one on the end.

When they arrived at Chasey's front door, and before Yvonne could knock, she noticed that the front door was ajar. After a moment Lyle noticed this fact as well. They exchanged curious glances before Yvonne spoke up. "That's not like Chasey to leave the front door open."

"Wonder if she came in carrying something and forgot to go back to check if she closed it behind her?" he asked.

"Unlikely," Yvonne said with a concerned look and tone in her voice. She turned her attention back to the front door as she continued, "She is a very careful and deliberate person. And she is very conscientious of her personal safety. This is not a good sign."

Lyle stepped forward to inspect the door more closely. "Doesn't appear to be a forced entry. But that doesn't mean she could be in trouble."

"Well... let's at least go inside and take a quick look," she said returning her gaze back to his. He nodded in agreement, pushed the front door open wide enough for them to enter, and stepped in first. Yvonne followed him in.

What they saw both shocked and unnerved them. The first floor of the apartment was the main living room, kitchen and dining area. From what they saw all three areas were disheveled as it appeared the place had been ransacked. Scattered all about the floor could be seen dishes, throw pillows, cutlery, shattered glasses, books thrown from the shelves, pictures removed from the walls. The persistent sound of a beeping phone that had been off its cradle for some time was heard, although it was muffled as though it was probably buried under a pile of couch cushions. It looked like a tornado came through the place and left a huge mess in its wake.

"Okay, this is kinda spooky," she said as she continued to visually sweep the area. Neither she nor Lyle had stepped beyond the foyer. Partly because there were not many places to walk without stepping on something, but mostly because the hairs on the backs of their respective necks were standing up.

"Now do you think that we should go back to the police?" he said.

"Yes, but not just yet." she said as she returned her attention back to him. "We should probably check out the rest of the apartment first. What if she is still here? She could be hurt and need our assistance?"

He looked at her with an expression of mild disbelief as he replied, "As much as I hate to say it, you are probably right. Stay here and I'll go upstairs to the second floor and check it out. If it looks okay then I will proceed to the third floor."

"I'm going with you!" she said rather insistently while giving him that pleading look indicating that she did not want to be left alone in this place.

"Are you sure about that?" he said. Next he pointed to her broken arm and continued, "What if there is someone upstairs that we are not expecting? I don't want anything else to happen to you."

Her expression relaxed and she smiled at him, leaned in to give him a quick peck on the lips and said, "I've got you to protect me."

He pressed his lips together and shook his head. Next he let out a breathy chuckle, took her by her good hand, and started in the direction of the staircase. When they were at the base of the stairs, he let go of her hand and walked up the first half of the flight of stairs. From what Yvonne could tell he was able to see through the banister railing and visually inspected the hallway that led to the master bedroom and bath. After a few moments he seemed convinced that it was safe to continue, and then climbed the rest of the stairs to the top. Yvonne started to take the first stair when she saw him raise up his hand in the 'stop' signal. He stood there motionless for what seemed an eternity before he waved for her to come up.

She climbed the stairs sideways -- because climbing stairs while wearing high heel boots is tricky enough without a broken arm, and the fact the railing was on the right hand side of the staircase when a person ascends -- and as she got nearer to the top he extended his hand to help her up the rest of the way. They both stood motionless and silent at the top of the stairs as they took in the new surroundings.

The door closest to them led into the master bedroom. From what they could see it was the same thing as downstairs -- sheets torn from the bed, the mattress and bed springs were stood up on end leaning against the far wall, pillows thrown about. Looking down to the end of the hallway they saw that the door to the linen closet was wide open and all of the towels and sheets were pulled out and piled onto the floor. Around the corner from the linen closet was the staircase leading to the third floor.

Lyle nodded in the direction of the master bedroom and said, "I'll go in first and take a look inside, and then make my way over to the door leading to the master bathroom. Stay here at the top of the stairs until I give the all clear."

Yvonne nodded her head wordlessly, and then watched him as he went into the master bedroom. He stepped out of sight for a few moments as he headed towards what she knew would be the master bedroom closet. Half a tick later he came back into view and gave her the thumbs up gesture. Next, he went towards the doorway to the master bathroom. She saw him turn on the light, poke his head in, and then back out. He looked at her and motioned for her to come in.

Yvonne carefully entered Chasey's bedroom. She had been in here before not long ago when Chasey remodeled the room. She was so excited to show it off to her friend. Now it was a complete mess. As her eyed darted around the room surveying the mess, she spied something on the nightstand. She walked over to get a better look, and let out a muffled gasp.

Lyle, who was in the master bathroom, came out and over to her side when he heard her. "What is it?"

Yvonne reached down and picked up the photograph placed there on the top of the nightstand. She held it up for him to see. It was a print copy of the same photograph she received from the strange little man earlier in the day. The photo of her and Chasey at the costume party last night. She looked at him to see his reaction.

"Oh my God!" he said. Yvonne noticed that the color seemed to have drained from his face. "This is outrageous. Darling, we have to leave here now and go directly to the police..." His words trailed off and he went silent. She looked at him with astonishment as she heard the same thing he did -- the sound of someone moving around downstairs.

*****

Yvonne and Lyle continued to look at one another, eyes wide as saucers, barely breathing, as they listened to hear that sound again. There it was! The distinct sounds of rustling. A few moments later the muted sound of the beeping telephone subsided with a distinct clicking noise as though someone put the receiver back in its cradle. Yvonne heard her heart beating loudly in her chest; it was practically in her throat. She could see that Lyle was noticeably shaken, although he kept his cool and collected demeanor on the surface. Probably to reassure her that he would, in fact, protect her at all costs. But the fact remained that their only escape route out of here was cut off by an unknown person or persons below.

The paralysis of fear had them both frozen in place, and the sensation of dread deepened when they heard the ominous sounds of quiet footsteps ascending the staircase. They simultaneously shifted their respective gazes from each other and looked towards the banister outside the master bedroom. A faint shadow of a single person was seen rising up the staircase, preceding the person to whom the shadow belonged. The anticipation was unbearable until at last a human head appeared visible between the banister railings. The face of this head was turned in the direction of Yvonne and Lyle, and it stopped advancing up the staircase when it detected their presence.

Yvonne turned her attention to Lyle, her knight in shining armor here to protect his damsel in distress, to see what his reaction would be. She saw that he was transfixed with this person -- a man of about fifty-ish with deep-set eyes and a goatee beard -- and had locked eye contact with him. It seemed to her that Lyle might have recognized this person. Her suspicions were confirmed when Lyle spoke to the man coming up the stairs.

"Charles?"

Yvonne continued looking at her man with the most dumbfounded, incredulous look imaginable as if to say 'how do you know this person?' She then shot a glance at the man coming up the staircase, this time studying it further, and also got the same impression as Lyle did about recognizing this person.

"Lyle? Is it you, the person I met last night at Miss Tina's costume party?" the man replied almost as stunned as Yvonne and Lyle were.

"Why yes I am. What on Earth are you doing here man?" Lyle replied.

This was too much for poor Yvonne as she interjected herself into the conversation, "Lyle, who is this man?"

"My darling, this is Charles. He was at Miss Tina's costume party last night dressed as Henry VIII. Charles, you remember meeting my lovely girlfriend Yvonne?"

"Yes, pleased to meet you again," Charles said smiling graciously at Yvonne.. He then looked at Lyle and continued, "I am as much surprised to meet you two here as well. To answer your question directly Lyle, I received a disturbing call from Miss Chasey not more than half an hour ago. She sounded quite anxious, and part way through the conversation I heard her say that she was going to put the phone down and see who was at the door. Next, I heard what sounded like a confrontation followed by a cry for help. I knew it was Chasey's voice. Then the sound of the phone being hung up. I tried calling back but all I got was a busy tone. Naturally, this caused me concern for her safety and I came right over. And here we all are."

"We must have just missed her and her assailants," Yvonne said as she first looked at Charles, and the directed her gaze to Lyle.

Lyle looked at her -- into her lovely blue eyes as he has told her many times before -- with a look of knowing and concern as he replied, "Yes darling, that seems to be the case. And based on the information that Charles just shared with us, this also indicates that Chasey's apartment is also a fresh crime scene. Now can we please go back to the police sweetie?"

It was Charles who spoke up next, causing both Yvonne and Lyle to shift their attention towards him, "Normally, I would agree with you Yvonne that this is a matter for the police to handle. But I have additional information that may mean we need to act sooner than local law enforcement can react. I have reason to believe I know where Chasey's kidnappers have taken her."

Lyle sighed, and as he did so Yvonne, looking at him, saw that her lover's face expressed exasperation; as though he was feeling conspired against with his notion of not going back to the police. "This is all getting to be too much. Before I give in to my impulse to go straight to the police, please do tell us Charles what it is you know that should make us change our minds?"

"Thank you," Charles replied, "I realize that you don't really know me, but I have been a close friend of Miss Chasey for several years. In fact, I have been quite instrumental with helping her on some of her previous cases. You see, I am a private investigator. My profession works well to compliment Chasey as an investigative reporter, and vice versa. And at times we have exchanged information with each other. Information that has helped each of us, respectively, solve the others case. A few days ago, when Chasey told me of the assault against you Yvonne, naturally I hit the streets and met with some of my contacts. Fortunately, one of my contacts yielded to me some pertinent information that dealt with the local gang of hooligans responsible for the attack. I immediately called Chasey to report this information to her, again adhering to our strict code of confidentiality, and I can only guess that she relayed this information to you Yvonne."

"So you're the anonymous source that Chasey mentioned to me!" exclaimed Yvonne with a noticeably excited tone in her voice. She directed her attention to Lyle as if to seek validation that not going back to the police was the right course of action at the moment. She saw that he, for the moment, acquiesced. After a few moments they both turned their attention back to Charles for confirmation. He nodded his head, then placed his index finger to his closed lips indicating that this tidbit of knowledge should be kept under wraps.

Charles continued, "These hooligans are involved with some nasty types, I should tell you. The Justice of the Word gang members are low-level affiliates of an international crime syndicate known as The Devil's Octopus. Chasey relayed to me the symbol she saw on the crates, the black octopus with five tentacles each holding a trident. This told me right away who she was dealing with, and I enlightened her to the fact she needed to be extra careful as they are very powerful indeed. Each of the five tentacles represents the continents that they run their illegal activities from - North America, South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. The Devil's Octopus are responsible for many of the major news headlines with their high profile kidnappings, Banana Republic government corruption scandals, and massive drug exports to name just a few examples of their nefarious nature.

"From what I have surmised, I get the impression that these 'good old boys' from the Justice of the Word gang are now in over their heads. Normally, these guys just handle drug running and extortion for protection money for The Devil's Octopus. But I believe that they have inadvertently stepped up their game to kidnapping with the abduction of Chasey. From the brief snippet of the phone conversation I overheard when Chasey answered the door, I heard her mention two names - Eustace and Gary. Then I heard a male voice say something to the effect of this is what they do to snooping reporters, followed by the sounds of a struggle. Then the phone call ended.

"Those are the names of the two men that Chasey told me about the night of the party," Yvonne said.

"Right," replied Charles, "and they are two of the four gang members who assaulted you the other evening."

"Okay, so you seem to know more about this situation than what the police could possibly know at this point, right? So Charles, what do you propose that we do next?"

"Well," Charles replied to Lyle, "Before I came over here to Miss Chasey's apartment, I called a few of my, how shall I call them... 'associates' that I reach out to in times of need to provide muscle when the situation calls for it. They have agreed to help me as needed. Judging by the current state of Chasey's apartment, I will contact them again and organize a search and rescue party this evening after dark."

"Organizing a posse?" Lyle replied dryly. "Complete with torches and pitchforks as they storm the castle?"

Charles chuckled at this statement as he replied, "No, nothing quite that dramatic my good man. Something more clandestine under the cover of darkness. This is not my first time doing something like this -- although this is the first time doing so to help Miss Chasey."

"What about these crime syndicate types? The Devil's Octopus you called them... are you and your 'associates' prepared to take them on? This really sounds like a matter for the police, if you ask me," Lyle replied.

"We, my associates and I, have not taken on The Devil's Octopus directly. But we have experience taking on the local gangs like Justice of the Word. And from the preliminary intelligence I have discovered the location of Miss Chasey is in one of their locations, and not one actively known to be used by The Devil's Octopus. The good news is that if The Devil's Octopus suspects that one of their local gangs is running afoul of the law then they will quickly distance themselves from that gang. That is one of the tactics that have kept them in power for so long. The local gangs act as the fall guy, so to speak."