Chapter 19: Liz

Editor’s Note:
The next document is a printout of an email written by Liz Davidson on Wednesday December 1st, but it was placed here in the file so we will stick with that decision.

to: Dr Koehler
fm: Davidson, Elizabeth
dt: 22:23 12/01

Hey Bec,

Your doctor wanted me to describe what happened on Monday from my point of view. So here we go.

We were talking to each other on our new cell phones. You told me how you and Tara were babysitting Angie because everyone else was out and the two of you were grounded. I think you said how your parents had won some tickets to the opening of a new jazz club and Dan had been called into his work.

We were talking about the big fight you had with Hannah Fargo at lunchtime when I heard the doorbell in the background. I think you must have been in the kitchen so you’d have been able to hide beside the kitchen door and look through to where you could see the front door. I heard Angie give an excited squeal and I gather from Tara that’s when Angie ran to the front door and opened it.

I heard you gasp and move suddenly and I heard noises in the background. I heard Tara shouting and Angie screaming and some sort of a struggle.

I asked what was going on and you whispered that two men had pushed their way into the house and grabbed Angie and knocked Tara down. I heard noises and then you whispered that you were going to go and hide and you told me to call 911. Then you hung up

I yelled for Dad at the same time as I dialled 911. Dad came running in time to hear me telling the operator what I knew. He ran out of the room and I heard him talking to the two guys that were visiting. The operator made me go through everything a second time and while I was doing that, Dad came into the room and threw my riding jacket at me.

We were out of the house and I was swinging my leg over the Harley by the time I’d done that so I told the operator I had to go. I hung up and pocketed my cell then whipped on my helmet. Seconds later the three motorcycles roared out onto the street with me riding as a back warmer for my dad.

It took way too long to get to your house. I could tell Dad was using the CB so I figured he was calling for any reinforcements that were near. The two guys riding in formation with us were part of Dad’s unit. It was Arnold and Carlos. I think you’ve met them before but I’m not sure.

We spun into your street and spread out a bit. We beat the uniforms to your house which was pathetic given how long it took us to get moving and get there. Response time for the uniforms should have been way better than that.

When we got within sight of your house, I saw you dragging something along the ground out the front of your house. You were stumbling around and looking confused. You got it to that big bush in the middle of your lawn and then I saw you stand with your back to the bush and hold out a knife in threatening way.

Dad made a signal to the other two guys and they peeled away from us to take up positions on the street each side of your house. Dad told me later that the signal was a basic one which means “set up a perimeter.”

They had their guns out. Dad had his gun out. I was feeling frantic and scared but they were all calm and acting like they were in control and that helped me to stay a bit calmer.

Dad stopped the Harley in behind a parked car and told me to stay with it and use the CB to guide the two others from his unit who were coming in. I talked to Mack and Gonzo on the CB while I watched Dad check out the situation. From behind the car I could see that all the lights in the house were on and the front door was open with light spilling out onto the front lawn. You were going back and forth in front of that bush waving your knife around with two lumpy shapes on the ground near you.

Dad crouched and crossed the road towards you, calling your name. You seemed to see him coming because you swung around and went into a classic fighting crouch with that huge carving knife in your hands. You screamed at him but it wasn’t making any sense. I could make out black looking smears all over your clothes.

I called out to Dad to be careful and he backed away and then came back to me. He told me he could see Tara and Angie lying under the shrub but they seemed to be tied up. Tara wasn’t moving but he could see Angie wriggling. He said that you didn’t seem to recognize him and screamed at him to warn him off. He couldn’t see any sign of the two men you’d told me about but the door was open and they could be inside.

Mack and Gonzo came peeling up on their motorbikes at the same time as the first uniform turned up with his lights going but no sound. Dad holstered his weapon and held up his wallet with it open to his ID as he stepped out to meet the officer in the car. Arnold and Carlos kept their guns trained on the house.

The uniform slewed his car around so the headlights were pointing right at you. He had the door open and had his gun out and pointed at you by the time Dad got to him.

I heard Dad ask if the officer knew who he was. The officer shook his head so Dad asked him to look at the ID. The officer looked at the ID and then looked at Dad the way so many people do – like they expect Dad to eat them or something.

Dad told the officer that he was the first police on the scene and that Dad had no authority here unless the officer specifically asked him for help. Then Dad pointed out that he had 4 experienced men with him already on scene and that he knew the family involved and knew the house. The officer stuttered and then agreed and said he would appreciate the assistance.

Dad told the officer to call for ambulances for 3 injured and told him to use his car and any backup to maintain the perimeter. He also told the officer to watch the girl, meaning you, but that you weren’t a threat despite the fact you were waving a knife around. The main threat were the two unknowns who could still be in the house. He and his men were going to clear the house before anyone could go close to the girl.

Dad yelled at me to grab the notepad out of the pannier on the Harley and draw a quick floorplan of the house. They all gathered around me and watched as I drew with Dad making comments to the others about details as I drew. Arnold and Carlos were listening but they had their guns trained on the front door and took turns to glance down at my map. I reminded Dad about the paintings in your room and how they could be mistaken for a real person if you glanced into the room. Dad nodded and double checked with me that there was no other family in the house. I told him I was positive that you and Tara and Angie were the only ones at home. There was no sign of Dan’s car or your parents’ car so there was no way that they had gotten home between me talking to you and us arriving.