Olivia enters the living room from the kitchen with a glass of red wine in one hand, a bar of dark chocolate in the other. She takes a seat on the left end of a large puffy floral-designed couch.
Bramston Catsworth, her thirteen year-old orange tabby, is loafed at the opposite end. She glances over, he slow-blinks and yawns.
“What do ya think Brammy, feel like a sappy love story?”
He meows and yawns once more.
“Sounds like a yes to me.”
Olivia eagerly grabs the VCR remote and hits PLAY on the video already inside. One she hasn’t seen but purchased on a whim at her local discount shop.
Thirty minutes in, her glass is empty - time to fetch the bottle. Upon returning, Bramston decides to continue his evening upstairs. She pours herself another glass and resumes the movie.
A driving scene. Beautiful forest views open to a sprawling teal green lake - then a break in the footage. Horizontal lines, visual static, grainy and struggling to focus in black and white - gradually flicker into color. Faded, like a weak signal. What do you expect for secondhand?
Olivia’s concern blooms. The images have shifted from serene to distressing. A woman, early thirties and nude, is pushed onto a bed. A masked individual with his back to the camera enters the frame and pins her down - he too is naked. What begins as common intercourse quickly progresses into much darker activity.
Slapping, punching, verbal assault.
A second unclothed man, also masked, enters the shot. The scene erupts into a frenzy of unmistakable violence. Weapons. Strangulation. At the first sight of blood Olivia leaps towards the VCR - but not before being further jarred by desperately unnerving sounds.
STOP. EJECT.
An accelerated heart rhythm overtakes, eyes tearing up, her mind is fighting for air. She has no idea what she just witnessed but knows something must be done.
One hour later she’s perched on the edge of a recliner with a detective seated on the couch a few feet away.
“At first, I thought it was just some kinky sex tape, ya know? Something that someone recorded over part of the movie, as a prank - but it was - so much worse.”
“I’m very sorry you had to experience that.” he consoles.
“I wanted to throw up - that poor woman. They beat her unconscious.” she quavers.
“They were yelling such horrible things at her and laughing. I’ll never forget those dreadful moans - just before the gurgling.”
Olivia pauses to catch her breath.
“Then I heard a baby crying.”
She crumbles into chaos.
“We’ll go through the tape. We’ll also talk to the shop owner, see what they know.”
Olivia wipes her eyes and clears her throat.
“You need to catch the monsters who did this.”
The detective rises to his feet.
“Justice will be brought, hard and swift, to the guilty parties. I promise you.”
He gently touches her left shoulder and takes his leave.
