(Tape recording begins…)
Harris
If you could just have a seat right over there, ma’am. I’m Mr. Harris and this is Mr. Strong. Now, before we begin, is there anything we can get you? Coffee? Tea? Water?
Blake
mmm...
Strong
I know this has been an ordeal, ma’am, but we would like to get your testimony while it is fresh in your mind.
Blake
...ok.
Harris
Do you need anything? Water?
Blake
...water would be good.
Strong
Alright. Harris, can you go grab her a bottle while we start?
Harris
Sure.
(Footsteps…Door opens and closes)
Strong
Now, for the record, could you please tell us your name, age, occupation?
Blake
Umm...alright. I’m...um...my name is Irene Blake. I’m 28 and I’m the assistant human resources coordinator at my office.
Strong
Which would be?
Blake
oh, uh...Stanley and Horton's.
Strong
Thank you. Now, if you could, tell us in as much detail as you could the events leading up to the crime.
Blake
Ok...um...well it was getting close to the end of the 4th quarter and as we always do, Shannon, that’s the head of HR, my boss, likes to throw a little party for the section of the office which was voted the ones who had done the best job that year by the other employees. This year it was our secretaries. A few of them had done an...incredible campaign to secure votes. The party was going to be at her house on a Friday afternoon. Getting to knock off work early was part of the prize for winning.
Strong
I see...and when did you get there?
Blake
I was there early...I guess around 9:30 or 10-ish, to help with the set up.
Strong
Who all was there when you arrived?
Blake
Shannon was there, along with Denise, her other assistant. Oh and Bethany and Nancy.
Strong
They are?
Blake
Oh...they’re Shannon’s daughters. She’s divorced. They ditched school that day...because of the...because of the party...
(muffled sob)
Strong
It’s going to be alright...Now, can you tell us when it all started?
Blake
It started…I guess it started around 11:30. I was in the living room, getting chairs set up, when the doorbell rang. Denise said she’d get it; figuring one of the guests had gotten the time mixed up and arrived early. I stayed behind, with Bethany. Both of us heard her answer the door, then there was a loud commotion. Next thing I knew, four men ran into the room and pointed guns at us.
Strong
Four men? Can you describe them at all? Did they say their names?
Blake
Tall...burly...They all had black jackets on...and black ski masks. White, I guess, though one or two of them were really tanned. I…I caught a couple of their names: Louis, he was the ones who came in first, then there was Dave, he seemed to be the one in charge. I’m pretty sure I heard them mention a Frank and a Robert as well…
(Door opens and shuts. Footsteps.)
Harris
Here’s the water.
(Something thuds on table…footsteps…chair scoots)
Strong
So, four men came into the room and pointed guns at you. Did they say anything?
Blake
Yes. The leader…Dave…he told us that this was a robbery, and that as long as we did what they said we wouldn’t be hurt. Then he ordered us to move over to one wall and stand there with our hands on our heads. Neither of us said anything. I was terrified...I thought we were both going to die.
A minute after they came in, another man came in with Shannon and Nancy. Shannon was holding her daughter. They went over to Bethany and Shannon grabbed her to. She was telling them that everything was going to be okay. The men forced them apart, to raise their hands. She just kept telling them it would be alright.”
Harris
Was that all of them?
Blake
No...there was one more. He came in a little while later. He had Nancy with him. Her hands were behind her back, wrapped with duct tape and she had several strips over her mouth. The men said they were going to tie us up the same way and we shouldn’t resist, or we’d be hurt. We were all terrified, we didn’t resist. They told us to turn around and put our hands behind our backs. We did. Two of the men went down the line with rolls of tape, wrapping it around our wrists.
Then we were ordered to face them and open our mouths. Something was put in my mouth…I think it was a rag or a wad of cloth or something. It tasted bad. They taped my mouth shut, so I couldn’t spit it out. It was horrible, I started gagging. I was afraid I’d throw up but after a while I was able to calm down a bit, get used to it. They gagged everyone else the same way. Then they made us sit down and taped out ankles. Then they left.
Strong
All of them?
Blake
No. One man stayed, to guard us I guess: his name was Louis...I heard Dave tell him to keep an eye on us...make sure we didn’t try anything. He was pacing around and would turn to look at us. It made me very frightened, the way he was looking at us. I wondered if they were going to rape us, after they finished robbing the house. That’s what I assumed the rest of them were doing at the time. But after half an hour or so…that’s when the guests started to arrive.
I heard the doorbell ring. We were trying to scream…to warn her…but the way we were gagged made it impossible. We heard the door open, and a brief scream. A minute later, one of the other men came in, dragging a young woman…Julia I believe it was. She already had her hands taped behind her and tape over her mouth. They made her sit down with us and taped her feet. She was looking over at me, her eyes were big, like she couldn’t believe what was happening.
Anyway, over the next half hour, the rest of the guests arrived, in ones and twos and walked into the same trap. They were all brought in, hands behind their backs, mouths taped and sat down. The men didn’t stop until they got all of them. We were all in the living room, hands and feet tied, mouths gagged. We were all sobbing because we were so scared.
Harris
How many victims were there?
Blake
Um…let me think. All of the secretaries were invited...there were 11 altogether, but 3 of them couldn’t make it that day. They were also each allowed to bring an extra guest with them. I think there were four who came, so 12 guests, plus the five of us who were already there...so altogether there were 17 of us sitting in a long line looking up at the men in the room.
Strong
They came back to the room. All of them?
Blake
Yes. After a while had passed without anyone else arriving...I guess they figured no one else would be coming by, so they all came back to the room with us. They brought these black bags. At first I thought it was loot they were planning to steal, but it was their own gear.
Strong
Then what happened?
Blake
Well...next they...they...
(Sound of woman crying)
Harris
It’s alright…just tell us what you can.
Blake
Dave went to one end of the line and pointed to one of the secretaries…Mary I think. Immediately, two of his men went and picked her up, dragging her over to the center of the room. One took out a knife and cut the tape on her hands and feet while the other held her in place. Then Dave told her to take off all her jewelry and put it in the bag and then to undress. I could understand wanting out jewelry, but why did they need to strip us?
Harris
I don’t know...what did she do?
Blake
She refused…well she shook her head. She still had the tape over her mouth so she couldn’t say anything. Not that it mattered. Dave got angry and slapped her on the face hard enough to make her cry out. Then he told her to take off her clothes and said if she did it herself, she could keep her panties on, but if she refused again, he’d have his men strip her completely naked. Mary just nodded and started taking off her earrings and her necklace. The men took them and put them in a bag with some cash and cards they’d taken from out purses. Then she took off her clothes. She had on this nice red jacket with a matching skirt, dark blouse and red heels. They were tossed in the corner of the room. In the end, all she had on were these skimpy satin panties. And then...then...
Strong
Go on...
Blake
When she was nearly naked, Dave had his men grab her arms and hold her in place. He went forward and started to feel her up, grabbing her breasts, her thighs. He even put his hand inside her underwear, which made her scream and struggle but they just held her down. She was sobbing. The rest of us were to, because we knew what was happening to her was probably going to be us pretty soon. The whole time, Dave was saying things to himself.
Harris
Things? What sort of things?
Blake
It sounded like he was...judging her, or something. When he was holding her breasts he said, “Good size… nice and springy… nipples perky when stimulated.” And he pinched one, right in front of us. I won’t repeat what he said about her other parts. It was disgusting, the way he was treating her...like she...like all of us…we weren’t real people to him...just...things. Then when he had finished, he nodded to his men. One of them brought over one of their duffel bags and began taking out items. There were handcuffs, but leather, and they put them on her. They ripped the tape off her mouth and made her wear this odd device. It had a bunch of leather straps, holding a thick rubber plug in her mouth.
They put this collar around her neck. It was like a dog collar, but taller...thicker. I guess when they were looking through our purses, they took all of our driver’s licenses because one of them had found hers and use a hole punch on one corner. It was attached to a ring on the front of the license, so it hung down. The last thing they did was put this leather blindfold with a strap over her eyes.”
Strong
How long did this all take?
Blake
What does it matter?
Strong
Just trying to get an idea of the general timeline.
Blake
Oh...um...well it wasn’t long, I guess. Maybe five minutes to get her stripped and...the rest, then maybe only two or three to get her chained up. The men worked quickly, like they had a lot of experience with this. Of course it felt much longer to us at the time.
Harris
Who was next?
Blake
Olivia, another one of the secretaries. Poor girl had only been with us a month. One of the men grabbed Mary and lifted her up. She kicked and struggled, but he just threw her over one shoulder and carried her out of the room. In the meantime, Dave pointed to Olivia as next in line and his men grabbed her and cut the tape. The boss told her to undress. She didn’t bother arguing, just handed over her jewelry and started unbuttoning her blouse. It didn’t stop him from feeling her up, while his men held her.
Strong
They did this with all of the victims? The exact same way?
Blake
Yes, all the ones I saw...no...wait, there was one difference. When it was Mrs. Henderson’s turn. She was the oldest of the group, in her mid-50s I believe, though that didn’t stop them from making her strip down. But the boss didn’t grope her, he just shook his head.
Strong
Did they restrain her the same way and take her away?
Blake
Yes, only they didn’t put a collar around her neck, just the cuffs, gag and blindfold. All of the other ones before me got a collar around their necks, with their IDs hung on the front. But not her.
Harris
When were you selected?
Blake
About halfway through. I was in the middle of the group, beside Shannon and her daughters. They went first. Shannon was crying so hard, grunting something through her gag up at the men when they took her daughters and made them strip. She put her head in my shoulder so she wouldn’t see that bastard with his hands on them. Then it was Shannon’s turn. For a moment, it looked like she wasn’t going to get a collar as well, but one of the men who was shackling Bethany said something to the boss and it seemed to change his mind. He nodded and one of them got a collar and put it around Shannon’s neck. They found her license and clipped it to the front. Then...then they grabbed me...
(Sound of woman crying)
Harris
If you need a moment...
Blake
“I’m sorry… it was just...it was a nightmare, what happened...
Harris
Here…take a sip of water...just relax...it’s over now...
Blake
Thank you...Anyway I was watching Shannon being taken away when two of the men stopped, standing over me. They grabbed my arms and pulled me to my feet, dragging me over to the center of the room. When he looked at me and ordered me to tape my clothes and jewelry off, I froze. I was terrified, of him, of what would happen after I’d done so… I didn’t want to strip, but I knew I had no choice. Before I recovered, there was this sudden stinging across my cheek and I lurched. He slapped me, hard. I started crying, but he just repeated the order.
That shook me out of it and I started removing my rings. One of them had belonged to my grandmother, but I didn’t dare resist. When I handed over my rings, my necklace, earrings, it all went in a cloth bag with the rest of the loot. Between the jewelry, the cash and credit cards from our purses, the robbers had gotten a good haul from us.
Then, I had no choice but to undress. I went as slowly as I could, but soon my clothes were in the pile with the ones who’d gone ahead of me. I was trembling, standing there in just my underwear. I wanted to cover myself, my bare chest, but the two men grabbed my arms and held me there while their boss leered at me a moment. Then he...he...”
Harris
It’s ok...you don’t have to say it...
Blake
No...it’s alright. He grabbed my breasts, one in each hand and started squeezing them. He kept pawing at one and pinching my nipple with one hand, but the other… the other went down between my legs and slipped under my panties. He...he stuck his fingers...inside me, and he began massaging me there, rubbing his fingers...and...and...I started reacting to it. I felt myself getting warm and I was getting wet between my legs. I was so ashamed, stripped naked, held by two strange men while a third was masturbating me against my will, and I was getting aroused by it. I just wanted to die. But...but...what was odd was what he said at that. He smiled and said, “That’s worth an extra 5 or 10...” I didn’t understand what he was talking about.
Strong
I’m sure I don’t know.
Blake
He finished and pulled his hand out. He wiped it off on my panties, cause they were wet. I was so ashamed. He just smiled and nodded and then the men dragged me over. They put a pair of shackles on my wrists and another on my ankles. They were tight, but padded on the inside with some sort of cloth so they weren’t too painful, but I was completely helpless with them on, I could barely move.
Then they took one of the contraptions with the straps and plugs, took the tape off, pulled the wadding out and jammed that inside in its place. It was so big, my mouth started aching immediately, when they pulled the straps around my head and began to tighten them. I thought my jaws would just break. After a while, I found it made me drool and there was no way I could keep it in. One of the men came up with a collar, put it around my neck, very snug. My driver’s license was hung on the front. Then they put a blindfold on me and everything went dark.
Strong
How did you manage to escape?
Blake
After they blindfolded me, one of them picked me up, carried me out of the room. At first, I thought he was just taking me to another part of the house, to leave behind, but the next thing I knew we were heading out through the garage and into Shannon’s driveway. I was set down somewhere; I could hear the other women, muffled. Some were trying to talk, to call for help, others were crying. At that point, I realized we were in the back of a truck...some sort of large moving truck, I guess. They were going to take us away! I became terrified. I was sure we were going to be raped, or killed, or...or...worse. I knew, whatever happened, I had to get out of there.
Strong
How?
Blake
Well, after the man set me down, he went back inside. I guessed there weren’t any other men outside. I thought all of them had gathered in the room while we were being stripped and cuffed. I listened for a bit and didn’t hear anyone, but I knew it would only be a few minutes before someone came back out with the next girl. I decided to risk it. I’d been to Shannon’s house enough times before, I knew she had these big, thick hedges lining her drive. I rolled across the floor of the truck until I reached the edge, then swung my feet over the side and jumped down. I landed hard and fell over, so I started crawling across the concrete, blindly. The whole time, I was sure one of the men would come back and catch me.
Eventually, I reached one of the hedges. I pushed myself low, trying to get under the bushes. It hurt, the twigs poked at me and all I had on was my underwear, but I was so scared I hardly noticed. I didn’t stop until I was as deep as I could get and I curled up in a little ball, praying they couldn’t see me. Not a minute later, I heard someone come out. From the sobs I heard he was carrying another girl with him. I heard that eight or nine more times, before everyone else was on the truck.
Harris
They didn’t notice you were missing?
Blake
No...I was so afraid they would come over, looking for me, but it never happened. I guess with so many girls, they didn’t notice one more or less.
Strong
I see...what happened next?
Blake
After the last girl, I heard them closing up the back of the truck. Some of them got in the truck and drove it off. The rest got in another vehicle and left in that. I didn’t do anything then, I was so scared, thinking what if one of them had stayed behind to clean up, or to look for me...waiting for me to come out. I must have laid there an hour...it was bitterly cold and I was half naked. And the whole time I was thinking of the other women, Denise and Shannon and her daughters, all of them and whatever was going to happen to them. I...I should have done something...anything...
Harris
There was nothing else you could have done. And by getting away you have helped them. Without you and your story, all anyone will know is they went to a party and just vanished. Do you need some more water??
Strong
What happened after they left?
Blake
Well…eventually…I knew I couldn’t keep hiding there any longer. I was so bitterly cold. I hadn’t heard anything in a while so I started crawling back out. I was so stiff and the shackles kept getting caught…but eventually I got out...
Harris
That’s when you ran into...Helen, was it?
Blake
Helen, yes. She’s Shannon’s next door neighbor. She was out walking her dog when I came out. I can’t imagine what she must have thought seeing me half naked, muddy, gagged and chained, but I got through to her, grunting and that’s when she called you guys.
Strong
Was there anyone else who saw you? Anyone we didn’t see...speak to...when we arrived.
Blake
No...it was very late by then, the rest of the neighborhood was probably asleep. Helen’s a bit of a night owl.
Harris
Alright then. That should be everything. Thank you again for your cooperation. I know recounting that must have been difficult for you.
Blake
You’re welcome. I just wish I could do more to help the others. I can’t imagine where they are right now...what’s happening to them...
Harris
Don’t worry. I can promise you, you’ll be seeing your coworkers again very soon.
Blake
Whaa...oh my head...I feel dizzy. Whaas...hhaa...inng...zzzz...
(Loud thud)
Harris
Is she out?
Strong
Like a light. Quick though, she won’t be under long. Grab the restraints out of the evidence locker and get them on her. I’ll call this in...
(Cell phone ringing)
Strong
Hello? Yes, everything went perfectly. We got her statement and are securing her now. Higher ups won’t be happy though...seems the snatch team got very sloppy on this job. You’re just lucky when the call came in we were on duty and were able to keep things quiet while we hurried down here to clean things up...only one leak: the neighbor who found her and called the cops.
We’ve got her secured in the other room now. Haven’t had a chance to give her a proper inspection, but I think she’ll fit the bill well enough...mmmhhhmmm...that would be good...sure, we’ll have both of them around back...ten minutes...we’ll be there. Bye!
Good news Harris, they say if we hurry them over both of these ladies can still make the tail end of tonight’s auction. Alright, give me a hand with her...no, grab her feet…
(Door opens, footsteps fade out...door closes. End of tape...)