“John Sandman is 13 years old, has dark, shoulder length hair, about average height and is athletically built and was dressed in dark blue, bibbed jeans, white armless t-shirt, and western-styled boots, at the time of his disappearance.
He was last seen walking along Main Street, on his way to visit relatives who says he never got there.
If you have any information regarding the disappearance of 13 year-old John Sandman, please contact the nearest police station, or the state-police headquarters.”
John listened to the message from the police, which had been broadcasted on the radio several times during the last couple of hours. He was pretty sure it was to be repeated on TV, when the broadcasts started, later on that night.
“They will never find me; will they?” he asked the woman standing next to him, while trying to make his hands, which were crossed and snugly tied together behind the back of the chair he was sitting in, a little less uncomfortable. His legs were tied together at the knees and ankles.
She looked down at him and smiled.
“I don’t think so, love; unless I nail a big map on the door of the police-station, with a big, bright red, cross marking out this place and put another one on the roof of it, and place out several signs saying: ‘He’s HERE’!
As you know, I don’t respect the sheriff of this town; never have, and never will.
I’m certain he came from the lower end of his class at the academy.” His aunt let out a deep sigh, rolled her eyes, and looked down at him. “I know he’s my son and your father and all that, but I still think he’s quite useless! Now, let me just check if the knot still is secure enough, and then I’ll go start dinner.” She went behind his back, and he could feel her tugging at the rope holding his wrists together.
“Good! It is still holding firm,” she said, before checking the ropes on his knees and ankles.
When she had put a big wad of cloth in his mouth, and tied a long strip around his head to hold it in, she left him alone.
He started thinking about what had happened. He had been on his way to visit his aunt, who lived alone in a big ranch-style house just outside town all right, when she had picked him up, as they had arranged.
“Are you sure you want to go through with this?” she had asked.
“Yes, I’m sure.” he had replied.
“O.K; good! I’ve prepared everything so if you just sit in the chair, as soon as you come through the door, I’ll take care of everything else; OK?”
“O.K, aunty May!” he had replied, knowing those words would be the last ones he would be able to say, for quite some time.
They got to her house and he ran inside, sitting down in the chair she had placed in the middle of the living-room, in front of the TV. He put his arms through the slats in the back, crossed his wrists, and pressed his legs together.
When his aunt came through the door he, without her having to tell him, opened his mouth as wide as possible. She had been carrying several coils of rope, which she now put on the floor in front of him.
“Right,” she said. “Let’s start by silencing you, shall we?” She took a big handkerchief, rolled it into a ball, and only just managed to squeeze it between his teeth. She took a long strip of fabric and tied it around his head before picking up the first of the three ropes, which would, effectively, make him her prisoner, for the time being. She wound it several times around his crossed wrists, both horizontally and vertically, and tied it off in a place where he could get at it, however not without having to work a bit. Then she wound ropes around his knees and ankles, again placing the knots where he couldn’t easily get at them. She told him what she had done, stressing the fact that he could get free, but he would have to work a bit.
“And besides,” she said, “I’ll be here if you get into trouble! Now; for act two of our little drama.”
She went and called her son, the sheriff, on the phone.
“I don’t know where John is!” she sobbed, her acting worthy of an Academy Award ‘For best actress in a drama’. “He was supposed to have been here an hour ago. No; I don’t know what he’s wearing, or when he left home; do I? You’ll have to ask that wife of yours! You do that! You call me the minute you hear anything; you hear?”
She hung up the receiver, and took the gag out of his mouth.
“That ought to keep him occupied for a while. Now, are you comfortable like that?” She smiled down at him and he smiled back.
“Yes, aunt,” he said, “I am.”
“That’s good. In a few minutes I’m going to put you in a situation which might, just might, be a bit uncomfortable for you. But I can assure you; it will be worth it in the end! If you haven’t had enough, that is?”
“No, aunt,” he replied, “I certainly haven’t!”
“That’s my kind of boy!” his aunt proudly told him, put the gag back in his mouth and left to make another phone call, this time closing every door between him and the phone.
As promised, a couple of minutes later the door-bell rang. He could hear the door being opened, and then mumbling voices.
‘Wonder who it is?’ he thought. ‘I think it sounds just like a girl, but it can’t be; can it?’
But it could, and it was. It turned out to be his cousin Samantha.
She was wearing a knee-length denim skirt, leather boots and a short-sleeved, white frilly blouse.
When she saw him, she stopped dead in her tracks.
“Johnnie!” she gasped. “What are you doing here? And why are you tied to that chair? Mum, do you realize what you have done? The whole freaking town is out looking for him! They will all go ballistic, when I tell them where he is! TI-HI.”
“Yes,” her mother replied,” I know full well what I’ve done. To answer the rest of your questions; he is here because I invited him, and I tied him like that, because he asked me too. He’s been here most of the day, tied to that chair pretty much all the time. As far as you telling anyone where he is I’m afraid I, or rather we, can’t allow that. Grab that chair and put it beside his.”
Suddenly, Johns’ aunt had several coils of rope in her hands, a hankie and a long strip of cloth. She grabbed Samantha by her shoulder and pushed her into the chair. She quickly tied her to the chair. She then also gagged her the same way she had tied and gagged her nephew.