THE ATTACK
I wake up from a dream about sweet Cleo. I smile and head to the bathroom for a pee and a shower. On the way out I decide that it's house cleaning time, so after drying myself I take the towels into the laundry, add the clothes from the basket and start the washing machine.
I dress in shorts and a t-shirt, with no bra of course. I walk toward a closet to get the vacuum cleaner when I hear a car's tyres screeching to a halt outside followed by a loud slam of the car door. I peer out a window and see a large, unkempt man storming up the footpath of Gwen's and Cleo's house.
I hear him yelling and banging on the door. I find my phone and open the surveillance app for the CCTV cameras next door. These had been installed by my neighbours and me a year ago throughout our houses when we had a raft of break-ins. We allowed each other viewing access via the internet for our mutual protection. The gang who was living nearby has been arrested and convicted of the burglaries, so we were thankful for that.
I soon have a view of him at the front door on my phone. He is now trying to break through the door, and he finally succeeds. I switch to the lounge room view, where I see Gwen and Cleo fearfully huddling on the sofa with him standing over them. "What the fuck do you think you are doing, Gwen?" he shouts. "You can't leave me. I'll kill you."
Cleo stands and tries to keep her dad away from her mum, but he slugs his daughter in the face, knocking her to the floor. My adrenaline surges, and I look around, seeing the kitchen drawer that has my Taser. I quickly get it and check that it's charged. Checking the phone again, I see his hands around Gwen's neck.
I fly next door with the Taser. I run to the lounge room and see him violently choking Gwen, who's lying on the sofa. I squeeze the Taser's trigger, hear it buzzing and slam it into his neck and hold it. He jerks for a few seconds and then collapses on the floor.
Gwen is clutching her neck, gasping. I look around and see Cleo on the floor looking up; she breaks into tears. I am breathing hard and my heart is pounding. I look down at the massive hulk that I just floored and I am worried that he might revive himself and attack us all.
I stand over him with the Taser ready. I look at Cleo and bark at her, "Do you have any rope?" She looks stunned. "Pull yourself together, Cleo, this is important. Do you have any rope?"
She blurts, "Maybe, but we haven't unpacked much, so I have no idea where."
"Okay, Cleo, stand up. Run over to my house. Look in the kitchen drawer that's open or maybe the one below it. I should have a length of rope." She stares at me. I shout, "Go! Now!"
She snaps to and runs out. He's starting to come to, so I give him another quick zap on the neck. He collapses again, face down.
I look at Gwen on the sofa, who's breathing a little easier now. "Are you okay?" I ask.
"Well, no, but I'll live," Gwen croaks.
"Don't try to talk."
After what seems like hours, Cleo comes back with a long hank of rope. I quickly undo the hank and untangle it. With one end, I tie his wrists together with several tight coils and then knot them securely. I take the rope down to his ankles and try to tie them together. He kicks free, so I Taser him again and then tie the ankles.
I stand and catch my breath, examining my work. I decide that he can still kick, so I take the free end of the rope from his ankles, between his tied wrists, and pull hard to make a loop, pulling his ankles backward. I finish with an adjustable hitch, keeping it taut between ankles and wrists.
Satisfied that he's now unable to hurt us, I become dizzy and collapse into a chair. We sit in stunned silence. Only a few groans from him can be heard.
Cleo says, "Should we call 000?"
I think for a moment, looking around. "Not quite yet. We're safe now, and I need to prepare evidence if we have it."
"What evidence?" Gwen croaks.
"Save your voice, Gwen," I reply. I collect my thoughts as my body begins to settle.
I stand and open the cabinet doors under the TV and retrieve the remote controls for the CCTV recorder and the TV. I'm surprised but very pleased that the previous owners have left the installation intact.
I hit the "On" button on both remotes and I'm happy that the recorder has been left active. I see a pack of new USB sticks next to the recorder and plug two of them into sockets. I take the remote controls back to the chair and start working.
"This was all recorded?" Cleo asks.
"I hope so," I reply, "we'll find out in a minute."
I work for several minutes. I first note the time that he pulled up in his car and the time that I finished tying him up. I copy all video from relevant cameras in that time span to one USB stick, so I will always have the complete recordings, even if the police take the recorder.
I pause for a moment and consider that if the police view all of the recordings, they might see something we don't want to be circulated. I play back Gwen's bedroom from last night, and sure enough, they are there, pleasing each other.
I copy that action to the same USB stick, then I pull it out, put it in my pocket and put in a fresh USB stick. I erase that camera's recordings prior to 8 am today to save them unneeded embarrassment.
I then create trimmed copies of the attack recordings, showing when he's in the shot for each camera. Finally, I copy the trimmed set to both USB sticks. I put one in my pocket and put the other into the TV. I turn off the recorder, put its remote control back into the cabinet and close the doors.
"Let's watch it," I say to Gwen and Cleo. I start the playback from the USB stick, which shows him pulling up in his car, bashing down the door, charging through the foyer and then attacking Gwen in the lounge room. After a minute, I charge in, subdue him and tie him up.
"I think we have enough evidence to lock him away for a long time, especially because we captured that he said he would kill you, Gwen." I'm satisfied with the USB copy, so I say, "Okay, Cleo, call 000 now. Gwen, are you okay?" She shakes her head, obviously still damaged from his choking. "Okay, Cleo, ask for police and an ambulance."
"What the hell have you bitches done?" he yells, straining at his ropes.
I pick up the Taser, squeeze the trigger and show it to him. "Shut the fuck up, you bastard, or you'll get this again, and again," I shout back.
"Who the fuck are you?" he yells at me. I zap him on the neck and he groans and collapses. He doesn't interrupt us again.
I can sense that we are beginning to calm down, although we are far from normal. Sirens approach and soon we hear a knock on the open front door.
"Come in," I shout, and a female police officer comes in and looks around. She looks mid- to late-twenties, with a pretty face, a nice blonde pixie haircut and a petite but muscular body with large boobs, perhaps C-cups. For a brief moment, I have a flush of excitement, but the weight of the recent events quashes it.
She's followed by an older male officer who quickly begins examining the scene and taking photographs.
"What happened here?" she asks.
I respond by pointing to the TV and saying, "Probably best to watch the CCTV recordings and then ask." I play the recording for the two officers, then remove the USB stick and hand it to her.
She turns to Gwen, points to the man on the floor and asks, "Who is this?"
I interrupt and say, "Her throat is quite damaged. I don't think you should make her speak now. That's Gwen's husband, whom she's divorcing. That's her daughter Cleo. I'm Mary. I live next door and I came over when I heard the commotion."
"I'm Constable Jacobs, and this is Constable Williams. We need to ask you questions. The CCTV recording is great, of course, but we need to know some things about the circumstances."
"Of course," I reply.
"Cleo, can you answer some questions?" Constable Jacobs asks. She just collapses into a ball and whimpers.
"She's a wreck, too. Can you question them later? Ask me anything you want."
"Yes, I can see that they are traumatised. I'll hold off talking to them, but I do have several questions for you."
I am asked what my relationship is with Gwen and Cleo, and I relate how they recently moved in and I welcomed them. I am asked about having a Taser and I tell about the gang and how I was fearful since I live alone. I describe the attack.
The constable makes notes, thinks, and then asks me, "So you came over with your Taser? What on earth made you do that?"
I think for a moment and tell her all about the mutual CCTV arrangement I had with the previous owners. "Force of habit made me bring up the surveillance app on my phone, and when I saw Gwen being choked, I knew I had to save her life. So I grabbed the Taser and ran over. Just in time."
"I see." She scribbles copious notes. "How did you make this USB stick?"
I show her the recorder and say that as I had set this up for the previous owners, I know how to use its features, including the trimming and copying.
