Sold, Packaged, and Shipped

Chapter 7: Being Packed

First, Mrs. Fisher was picked up and carried to the garage. There, she was set down on a table. There was only a single light bulb in the ceiling, so she could not see what Arnie was doing in the shadows until he rolled a cart into the light. Then she gasped, for on the cart was a coffin!

A cold chill raced down her spine and she began to twist her hands in an effort to pull them out of the ropes. Of course, the ropes held her tightly.

“Oh… Please…. No…” she stammered, eyes wide with fear.

“Oh, don’t worry so. You’ ain’t going be dead. Just sort of pretending to be dead.” He chuckled. “This is about the best way to get a body past airport inspectors and such. They don’t really want to open coffins if the paperwork’s okay. The Boss says he’s done it many times.”

It was a relief to not know that she would be killed first, but still she was very nervous. “How will I breathe in there?” she asked.

“Don’t worry. You’re worth too much to let that happen. There’ll be oxygen bottles in there with you. Be kind of interesting, tho’, being locked in a coffin and all. I hear tell it’s totally dark in there. And, of course, you won’t be able to move much. Probably best if you try to sleep.”

As he was talking, he was also bringing out some additional items from a cardboard box. He put those on the table next to the bound woman.

“Okay, first we gotta gag you. The coffin is pretty soundproof but the Boss says to add a gag. Open your mouth.”

Darlene saw the large sponge in his hand and clamped her lips shut.

on, Mrs. Fisher. It’s going to happen so

kept

with fear, between his thumb and forefinger and squeezed. He also made sure that his fingernails were digging into the soft flesh there.

you don’t want to be hurt no more. Then you’ll

looked both angry and hopeless. She opened her mouth and accepted the sponge, although not with good grace. It

teeth together,” he

that the sponge was not hard to compress.

he told her. “Makes this easier for both

used on her. But then Arnie lifted a roll of silver-gray duct tape and began wrapping that around her head, over the elastic bandage. He wound

were nylon webbing straps attached to the bottom and sides. He picked her up and then set her down inside the coffin. At first she refused to lie down

bottom. Straps went around her wrists, above and below her elbows. When that part was finished, the top half of her body was immobile. Only then did he untie the ropes from her legs, immediately replacing them with straps at mid-thigh, above and below the knees and again at the ankles. Those straps not only held her

ask him how long she would be in there, but the noises she could make were not very loud,

garage and that one light overhead. Then she felt the coffin jerk and the light was moving out of her vision. When he halted the coffin, all she could see was part of a wall and

Immediately she began struggling against the straps. She pulled and tugged but the held fast. She tried to reach back with her fingers to where the straps on her wrists were secured but could not

Melinda was set on the table. Then the rope connecting her wrists and ankles was removed. But her arms were left bound behind her with the elbows tightly corded

She even heard the cart wheels slide against the concrete. Then there came a loud slap sound. For a second there was silence, but Melinda quickly recovered and began cursing like

legs and strapped them down before doing anything with her arms. If nothing else, Melinda was colorful in her description of Arnie’s past, dirty sexual habits and hopes for future salvation. She included such terms as, “Bastard,” “Son of a