Taken

She would get far, far away and start a new life.

But she couldn’t just leave it at that.

Robert and Brenda had to be stopped. They had to be caught and punished. They had to be. Who knew how many other young women they’d kidnapped, tortured and ultimately murdered? She couldn’t allow that to happen again.

She thought about the big man lying at the foot of the basement stairs. What if he was dead or dying? Though he’d certainly come to kill her, she couldn’t have his death on her conscience. She would find a phone at the station and make an anonymous call to 911.

She would let the police know there was a man—an armed hired killer—locked in the basement. She would give them the address and tell them she’d been kidnapped, tortured and held captive in the basement. When they pressed for details, she would hang up.

She glanced at the tote bag next to her, bulging with cash. It was definitely time to get the hell out of Dodge.

“Let’s go,” she shouted to the disembodied voice in the console.

She eased back onto the road, pressed the accelerator, and took off. As she drove, she touched the button to open all the windows. Hair flying, the wind in her face, she whooped with joy.

Epilogue

Associated Press – August 31

Frozen Fish Heiress & Husband Charged with Murder, Kidnapping & Sexual Assault

Two weeks ago today, an anonymous call to 911 indicated that an armed man, possibly unconscious, was locked in the basement of the home of Robert and Brenda Harris, who reside in a country compound twenty miles inland of Cape May, New Jersey. Brenda Snider Harris is the only child and sole heir of Franklin Snider, the owner of the Gloucester, MA company, Mrs. Martin’s Frozen Fish, which has estimated annual sales of $175 million.

Following the tip from the anonymous caller, police apprehended Ivan Ignovski, who was released from prison two years ago, after completing a ten-year sentence for armed robbery. During police questioning, Mr. Ignovski claimed he was hired by Ms. Snider Harris to “dispose of” a girl she and her husband had kept locked in their basement for an indeterminate time.

Based on the police investigation, the captive had somehow gotten herself free of a cage not much bigger than a dog crate and was still in the Harris’ country estate home when the hit man arrived to dispatch her. She was able to subdue her would-be attacker and lock him in the basement before making her escape in one of the Harris’ cars. The car was later found at a supermarket parking lot in Cape May. Mr. Ignovski sustained a severe concussion and a broken leg, but is expected to make a full recovery.

As part of a plea bargain, Mr. Ignovski has agreed to provide evidence of other “hits” he performed for the couple over the two-year time period in which he was in their employ. According to the alleged murderer-for-hire, this was the fourth time he was hired by the couple. The young women, none of whom have yet been identified, were allegedly kept locked in a filthy cage in the Harris’ basement. Based on Mr. Ignovski’s confession, the abductees were naked, bruised and malnourished. Police are attempting to track down the identities of the abducted women, so far with no success.

Mr. Ignovski was able to produce four recordings on his iPhone in which a female caller requested his services to kill and dispose of the bodies of women, for which he was paid twenty-thousand dollars in cash upon completion of the task. Voice analysis results have not yet been released to confirm or refute his claim that the caller was indeed Brenda Snider Harris.

Police found further evidence in the couples’ home to support Mr. Ignovski’s claims. Along with the cage, the basement was filled with multiple whips, rope and chains.

The couple was apprehended at Disney World in Orlando, Florida. They have denied all charges. Both are being held without bail, pending trial.

Jane stared at the mug shots of her captors. Robert was actually grinning goofily at the camera in his head-on shot, the asshole. Brenda was glaring, her mouth in a tight, hard line. Jane clicked away from the link. She never wanted to see either of those faces ever again.

She stared out at the Pacific Ocean, a smile of satisfaction on her lips. That day when they’d had her out on their boat had been a turning point in her mind, solidifying her determination to escape. She had refused to give up. She would not be broken.

And now those two monsters were in cages of their own, awaiting trial. Hopefully, they’d never get out again. While her heart ached for the other three girls the couple had tortured and murdered, she was glad it would not happen again.