HITCHHIKER

BY CORNER GHOST

[ part 3 ]

I started to panic, what could I do? Here I was in my daughter’s bedroom with a naked, bound 10-year-old girl on the bed!

What could I do? I glanced around in fear.

“Lift me up!” Said Amanda, I looked at her in shock, she nodded her head at the door where there was a hook. I could see what she was aiming at and quickly wrapped more of the rope around her body and then lifted her up to the door so that she hung from the hook. I then covered her with the remnants of the bedspread, checked that she was okay and left the room to go downstairs.

A thought struck me and I quickly went to the bathroom and flushed the toilet, then I went downstairs and opened the front door.

“You John Argent?” The officer asked me severely, I agreed that I was, “You took your time answering the door!” He stated.

“It’s not my fault you rang while I was sitting on the loo, was it?” I countered, “Anyway I’m here now, so what can I do for you?”

“Can we come in, I’m sure you don’t want us standing out here in front of your neighbours do you?” The second officer asked — he’d obviously had the good cop role.

“Well . . . I suppose so, but what’s this all about?” I said as I stood away from the door to allow them in.

“Where were you at 17:45 today?” The nice one asked.

“Driving home of course, do you have any idea what the traffic is like at that time?” I said with a straight face.

“Did you happen to notice a young girl running through the traffic at that time?” He asked me.

“No, to tell you the truth I was more concerned about not hitting the car in front to worry about other things!” – this was true and when I noticed that Amanda was there it was too late, she was already in my car and not running outside.

“Listen we had a report of a girl getting into a car, we searched out files for creeps who’d take advantage of kids and your name came up!” The first officer said.

I went to a cupboard and took out a tape recorder, put a new tape into in and started it recording. “Would you care to repeat your last statement officer . . . your number is 355 isn’t it.”

“Can I ask you why you’ve brought out that recorder sir?” The second officer asked me.

“Well if I’m going to face verbal abuse from a police officer I’d prefer it on tape so that my solicitor can take the correct legal action. I do understand that my name is erroneously on your database thanks to my divorced wife’s husband’s accusations and as such should any child go missing I’m one of the first people you will check on. However I am taking legal steps to clear this up, but I’ll be dammed if I’m going to allow cheap cracks at my expense. Now what questions do you have to ask me officers.”

“I’m sure my colleague didn’t mean anything by his remark sir, it’s just that a girl has been reported missing and following normal routine we have to check that you haven’t seen her, I’m sure you understand sir.” The second cop was doing his best to sound nice for the tape.

“No officer I haven’t, but I’m sure you don’t want to take my word for that.” I said sounding tired.

“Well if we could just have a look around?” He asked me smiling as if he was a good old buddy of mine – he wasn’t!

“I’m not sure, I’m certain that my solicitor would insist on receipt of a search warrant first. . .” I said before being cut off by the first officer again,

“Why? You haven’t anything to hide have you . . . Sir?” he asked

“Of course not, we’ll got together shall we officers, I wouldn’t want to be able to say that evidence was planted against me.” I said with a bland face, “Where do you want to search first the garage, or the kitchen?”

“Do you mind if we check upstairs first sir?” The second officer asked me.

“If you have to officers, this way.” I took them up the stairs and then to my bedroom. “If she’s in here I’m not sure where she’ll be?” I said as they took in the mess of my room.

The officers took turns looking in the door way at the room, the second one shook his head, “I thought my daughter’s room was bad enough, at least you can see the floor there!”

“Don’t you want to search it then?” I asked them but they shook their heads.

I took my heart into my hands as I opened the door to my daughter’s room, the officers looked inside at the dressing table with its dolls and the denuded bed and mattress.

“That was my daughter’s bedroom until my wife decided I wasn’t earning enough money and went to live with some magistrate, he decided that I couldn’t see my daughter and so made up a cock-and-bull story that I was molesting her. That’s why my solicitor is fighting the case.

The officers decided that I wasn’t hiding anyone in the room and then checked the bathroom and the airing cupboard.

Then the first one decided to check the attic. “Fine, I’ll just get the ladder from the garage, I’ll have to bring it through the front door as it won’t fit around the corners from the kitchen to here.” I said and started to walk downstairs.

“Err, that’s okay sir, there’s too much paint around the door anyway, if it had been opened recently there would be a mark there.” The second one said, we all walked downstairs to the living room.

“Are you sure you don’t want to check out the kitchen, I’ve still got my breakfast and supper plates in there yet to be washed.” I said to them the first one shuddered.

“No thanks, if it’s anything like your bedroom . . .” and then silenced himself as he realised the tape was still recording.

“No, that’s fine sir, I’m sorry we disturbed you, but we have to go through these procedures, I’m sure you understand.” The second one said.

“I hope you find her, I know what it’s like to have your child taken away, and who did she run away from?” I asked as a concerned member of the public.

“Her dad, he reported her missing from his hotel room.” The second officer said.

“Hotel room, why weren’t they at home, I mean this isn’t the place to have a holiday? Maybe she’s missing her mother, although if it was anything like my old missus I wouldn’t stay with her. But then she’s got legal custody. I take it her father still lives with her mother?” I asked them sounding morose

“I don’t know sir, but it’s something I’m sure they’re looking into.” They left the house and entered their car, the second officer looked thoughtfully at me and then spoke into his radio, the car pulled away.

I watched them as they drove away, then I causally re-entered my house and made a show of sitting down in my living room, after turning off the tape recorder, switching on the television and sitting down to watch it. I don’t know what was on, some inane soap opera I think, but I sat there for at least half an hour. Then I went into the kitchen and put the plates into the sink, checked the tumble dryer to make sure the clothes were dry and took them out, I would have ironed them . . . but I’d probably burn holes in them if I tried. Hey I wear easy care clothes, means I don’t have to try to iron them!

I was glad that the two officers didn’t look in the kitchen, they would have asked some awkward questions, like why did I have girl’s clothes in my tumble dryer and why were the two plates still warm if one was from breakfast, but normally if you try to drag people’s attention to something it’s normally the last place they’d look, as the magicians say, ‘mis-direction is the key.’

I returned upstairs to release Amanda from her position, she was smiling dreamily away as she hung from the door hook, I could see her squirming in her bonds. When I touched her she opened up her eyes in shock and then relaxed.

“Oh it’s you daddy John, I was scared that the copper’s had taken you away.” She said as I lifted her off the hook.

“What would you have done if they had?” I asked her.

“Oh just hung around until my folks came for me, it would only be a few more hours!” She said.

“But they said that they couldn’t get her for a couple of days!” I exclaimed in surprise, “How are they going to get here so soon?”

“I asked them to stay away and find daddy, he’s not going to leave the town until he’s found me, and so they’ve got days to search for him. They already know where I am!” She said sweetly.

I almost dropped her, “So you could have been rescued and away from her by now, why did you take the chance to stay with me?” I asked her, starting to untie the ropes.

“I wasn’t taking any risk at all, I knew you wouldn’t hurt me, but they will be phoning soon to make sure I’m okay, so there’s no problem.” She said

I was looking at the way the rope had been pulled into her slit, the area of skin around it was red and raw. “I’m sorry Amanda, I didn’t mean to leave you up there so long.” I told her as I gently eased the rope out of her.

“Oh that was nothing, one night mummy kept me tied up until it was morning, she had to massage my legs to get them working, but the butterfly she’d attached to my clit had kept me awake more that the ropes did.” She smiled and giggled in her memory.

This really struck me as strange, I knew that some children had weird ideas about fun, but this masochistic view wasn’t what I’d considered normal, I think Amanda realised this.

“She wasn’t being mean to me, honest daddy John, it’s just the way we’ve been brought up, daddy didn’t understand some of it and he was away from home so much anyway. So it was just mummy and me. One day, when I was in bed, daddy came home and he started to argue with mummy. I could hear words like ‘not right’ and ‘abominable’ and ‘nasty’ he called mummy a ‘whore’ and ‘Jezebel’ he told her he found someone else who would be better for him and for me. Mum phoned the police and had him thrown out of the house and that was the last we heard from him.”

“But he came back for you?” I said to her softly.

“It wasn’t him, it was a man I didn’t know before, he drove up to me when I was walking to school, he asked me if I was Amanda. I didn’t answer him as mummy said I wasn’t to talk to strangers. Then he stopped his car and pulled me into it. I tried to defend myself like they taught me at school, but I could only get a few kicks in before he used a needle on me . . . I don’t remember much after that, I know I was on a plane, but before I could say anything that man would prick me again.” She paused for a moment before she carried on.

“When I woke up I was in a room, I think it was a hotel room, daddy was there with that man. They were talking about deprogramming me or something like that. I got out of the bed and quickly ran for the door before they could stop me. I was so frightened when I got onto the sidewalk, the cars and people I just ran, until I saw your car, I opened the door and quickly got in. I was so scared!” She finished.

“YOU WERE SCARED, how do you think I felt? I’m stuck in slow moving traffic when all of a sudden my door is opened . . . I was expecting some burly, thick necked guy with a knife or gun, trying to rob me or even kill me! You very nearly gave me a heart attack, young lady.” I said but found she was just smiling at me, “What’s so funny.” I asked her.

“Nothing, I’m just enjoying what you’re doing to me.” She looked down to where my hand was gently rubbing her skin at the join of her thighs. She moved her body to allow me more access to her.

I pulled my hand away from her as if she’d burnt me. “No please, don’t stop.” She said, although I heard it as ‘No. Please. Don’t. Stop!’

“I’m sorry Amanda. It’s wrong of me to do that.” But a part of me was screaming in my ear to continue!

* * *

I removed all the pieces of rope from the girl and looked at the marks that had been produced by the tightness of the bonds. I was surprised that she wasn’t aching more than she admitted to.

I went into the bathroom and started to run a bath for her, I didn’t have any of the kid’s type of bubble bath, but I had some Radox which I poured into the flow of the hot tap.

I returned to the bedroom, to find that Amanda was no longer in it. Where could she have gone? . . . A noise from my bedroom told me the answer, I found her picking up items of clothing and placing them in piles on the floor.

“You know daddy John, you really need someone to look after you!” She said.

“They wouldn’t put up with me. I’m a boring old sod.” I said.

She paused and smiled at me, “You’re not old . . . but I don’t know about the sod part.” She added.

“Right young lady, for that. . .” I chased after her, falling over a couple of piles of clothing as I did so, before catching her and throwing her over my shoulder, she was giggling as I walked into the bathroom and then, almost, throwing her into the warm bath.

I turned to leave the room but she called out to me. “Daddy John, can you wash me? Pleeaaassee.” She said.

I turned around and found myself looking into those eyes again, I don’t know what it was about them, but I found myself walking back to the bath and picking up the soap, she held her hair away from her back as I rubbed the soap into her skin, bringing up a lather that covered her, I then rinsed the suds off with a flannel, she then turned around so that her front was within easy reach, my hand was shaking as I performed the same duty, making her giggle as I ran circles around her stomach, and gasp slightly when I touched her forming breasts, she leant back with her eyes closed and smiled at my touch, the flannel touching her skin made her frown slightly. “With your hand please.” She whispered to me.

I found some shampoo and, after wetting her hair with the shower spray (warm this time and close to her head), I liberally covered her head with the shampoo, massaging it into her scalp and along the length of her hair. She kept her eyes tightly closed during this time and allowed me to pass a soapy flannel over her face to ensure it was clean.

I used the shower spray to rinse out her hair, making sure all the shampoo was washed out. Then she stood up, I almost lifted her out of the bath but she protested. “You’ve got to do my legs as well you know!” So I got out the soap again and started on her legs, from mid thigh to the level of the water.

“No, no, daddy John, all of my legs and above!” She told me. I sighed and began the arduous task of soaping up the flannel and was about to apply to her body again when she said, “With your hand please, daddy John.”

So I transferred the soap to my hands and built up a lather with them before I touched her skin, one hand in front of her and the other behind her, she sighed again as I passed over her small slit and clit. She moved her hips to ensure full contact, I smacked her sharply on her ass with my hand – spraying lather all over me as I did so.

“You’re being very naughty making me do this to you!” I told her in a low voice, the fact was I was the one being naughty in taking advantage of this young girl.

I felt her hand on my shoulder, as if seeking support. “That’s nice daddy John, I always wanted my daddy to do that to me, but he wouldn’t.” Now she was the who sounded sad now.

I pulled her close to me, resting my head on her stomach. “Don’t cry Amanda. Remember he didn’t really understand how you felt. He was conditioned just as I am.”

“But you’re not like him. He wouldn’t wash me like this! He wouldn’t even come into my bedroom! Why didn’t he love me?” She asked me as I rinsed off her body and legs, lifting her up out of the bath and surrounding her with a towel. I gently rubbed her dry as I thought of an answer.

“It’s difficult to say Amanda, in his way he did love you, to him he was rescuing you from what he sees as an awful life . . .” Amanda tried to protest but I carried on speaking, “He was seeing you as he wanted to. You are his daughter being made into someone else!”

“But that’s stupid! I’m me, I’ve always been me!” She protested as I was rubbing her dry.

“Well yes and no! As you grow you gradually change, you gain more knowledge and mannerisms, he couldn’t face up to this, and he most probably wants to keep you as if you were six again, but you can’t do that! You have to change. You will always change until you are comfortable with how you are.”

I finished drying herself off while I took clean sheets and a bedspread into Wendy’s room. But I still had a problem, what could she wear for the night? I didn’t think that a blouse and skirt would be the right attire.

I looked into my bedroom, it was a bit tidier than I had known it, I found a large tee-shirt in a drawer, I returned to the bathroom where Amanda was still drying her hair.

“Here you are, they’re one of my favourites” I said holding up the garment, she inspected it closely

“Who’s ELO?” She asked.

“Oh fame, you are so fickle!” I said as I gather Amanda’s hair into a bun so that her head would go through the open neck of the tee-shirt.

From below I heard the phone start to ring.