Bella was able to reach Anna's face through the hole in the window without cutting herself on the broken glass, so she was able to get the key Anna was holding her mouth.

When she got in and saw how Anna was chained, she  said," It's a disgrace!You shouldn't be treated like that. I'll have to see that judge."

"Please, Bella, don't do anything of the kind. It'd be bound to reach the ears of the Press and the very last thing I want is to be surrounded with reporters and to get my picture in the local paper for everyone to see. Why,I'd have to move right away to another part of the country altogether."

Anna protested.

"Well, I think it's terrible, fastening your arms like that. Here, let me see if there is anything I can do about it." and she turned Anna round and started poking at the lock of the handcuffs with a wire.

She had just unlocked one of the cuffs when the sound of police sirens came through the open door. Three men rushed in, brandishing weapons.

Roughly, they pushed Bella to the wall, one of then shouting,"Spread 'em!" They felt all over Bella's body, far more intimately than necessary and then after cuffing her hands behind her, one of them said, "What did you think you were doing, interfering with a court order? You'll have to come along with us to the Courthouse.... Now!"

They saw the broken windows and one of the men picked up Anna's phone, calling for someone to repair the damage. All this time, Anna was standing, watching what was going on.

Bella was taken away and as the party left, the original sheriff marched in through the open door.  'My entrance hall is as busy as Main Street!' she thought.

"You'll have to have this put back" he said, fastening the cuff back on again. "The judge insisted that until two, this afternoon, you were to wear these restraints. I'll be back later!" and he left Anna alone again.

Not for long, though. Two young fellows came carrying steel pates, which they screwed over the windows in both of her doors.

"The Judge doesn't want anything to happen to you, does he?" one of then said with a wink and a nasty leer."All these expensive surveillance cameras an' all. I'll bet he's got plans for you! If they weren't switched on, I'd have plans for you,too."

Anna said nothing.

They left, after making sure that the plates covered the doors securely, dozens of screws holding them to the frames. She looked at their work, knowing that only someone with a key could get in now. The Judge had said she could have guests, but these men had ensured that the next caller would be the sheriff at two o'clock.... she hoped!

It was a boring morning after that. She heard people outside, apparently doing something in the garden she was cultivating at the back of her house.  She could not see what was going on behind some bushes, but evidently some heavy work was in progress. She saw one man carrying a sack labelled 'Quikset Cement' Two big men were moving things about, but what they were doing was completely concealed by her greenery. It was hot out there.  Neither of the men wore shirts and Anna took a little pleasure in admiring their strong bodies through the window. She was glad they could not see her, hidden behind the curtains
 
It was getting hotter in the house, too. Anna wished she had chosen thinner clothing. Perspiration was making her more and more uncomfortable. By 1-30p.m., she was very tired of her hot little bungalow and it was with great relief that she heard the scraping of a key in the lock of her newly reinforced front door.

She hurried out of her bedroom with a smile on her face. "I thought you were never going to come!" she breathed.

"Pleased to see me, are you?" the young sheriff said. "Well, I've brought you lunch, but not everything I've got will please you so much."

She asked him what that might be, but he said, "After lunch, I'll show you, but for now, it's the food that is the most important thing."

She said, "Not quite the most important. Do you think I might have a shower and a change of clothes? It's been terribly hot in here all morning!"

"The shower, yes, but we'll discuss your clothes afterwards."the man said.

He undid all the restraints and she left him to have a shower and change her dress. She noted that all her windows, apart from the one she had been looking through before the sheriff arrived, were now fitted with strong iron bars.

She thought "I might as well be in the county jail now. This house gets more like a prison every time I look out!" But she showered  and powdered herself and made herself as comfortable as possible before she returned to the main living room, where the sheriff had set out lunch for two.

As they ate, she considered the sheriff appraisingly. 'He's quite a hunk of a man.' she thought. 'It's nice they sent a younger guy for this job and not a dirty old man. I'd hate to be handled like Bella was treated this morning by most of the old and horrible county sheriffs' She asked him "What will happen to Bella?"

"Bella. That's the woman who tried to get your cuffs off, wasn't it.? Oh, she will be  in jail for the rest of the week. You're much better off than she is. After all, yours was only a misdemeanour, but she is a criminal now, suspected of violating a Court order. I think she'll be very sorry she meddled in thing that don't concern her.

"She was only trying to help  me." said Anna.

"Well that was a criminal act in the circumstances. She will know, after the Judge has seen her, that interfering with justice does not pay."

"But, I see you have finished lunch. As I said, we have to discuss your dress for the rest of the afternoon. Here, take these things in the other room and put them on. I have not seen what is in the parcel, but it was particularly ordered that you are to wear nothing else at all."

She obeyed him, but when she opened the parcel she exclaimed,"I can't wear these!"

He replied through the door, "I'm afraid you'll have to, miss. It's that or go to jail right now," A few minutes passed. She came through the door shyly, trying to cover herself from his pleased gaze with her arms. The bikini she was wearing covered her, but without a square millimetre too much. The material was elastic and moulded itself so snugly that she was almost as naked as if she were wearing nothing at all. If it had been any smaller, the costume could correctly described as obscene!
He almost said "Wow!" but restrained himself before the exclamation left his mouth. His expression, though, conveyed almost as much to Anna. "Hrrmph!" He cleared his throat and attempted to recover his official manner. "Now,"he said, "I have to affix your restraints as ordered by the Judge. Turn round!"

He knelt behind her and put thin, shiny anklets, joined as before, by a light,but strong chain on her ankles and placed high-heeled  shoes on her feet,. He fastened her hands behind her and as he fitted the heavy leather collar on her, said, "Although the order is for house arrest, so long as you are not outside the property limits, the Judge has agreed that you can be taken outside, seeing that the weather is so hot this week.  Do you want to collect anything to occupy your time out there this afternoon?"

She said she would like to take a book and fetched the one she was currently reading.
He said, "I think this collar is far too heavy for you. It is more for a mastiff or a Great Dane dog, not a beauty such as yourself. I told the Judge so and he told me that if I objected to the official one, I could pay for an alternative myself, because the local council certainly would not sanction the expense. Now, I'm sorry, but for the rest of the afternoon, you have to be gagged. Open your mouth!"

She started to protest, but he took her in his hands and gently but firmly placed a ball into her unwilling mouth and strapped it in position with a leather harness, locked there by another padlock. He enjoyed the feel of her slim body struggling slightly in his arms as he did this. He led her out of the door to the place where she had seen the two men working. There was a metal post there, driven into the ground and cemented in place, near to a huge tree that shaded half that end of the garden from the sun. He attached a chain, which was locked to a waist-high loop in the post, to her collar She would be able to lie in either the sun, or as soon as it got too hot, in the shade of the tree.

"There!" he said, "You'll be a lot more comfortable there. I'll come for you at six. Oh! I almost forgot. I have to measure your neck again. Stand still!" and he took out a tape measure, making a note in his book. Finally, he released her from the handcuffs.
 
 
He left then, reluctantly, looking back several times to see the beautiful girl standing in her high heels, gagged and chained in the open garden, holding on the post which would hold her fast for the rest of the afternoon.. He checked the video cameras  carefully to see that they were all working properly and that two of them were trained on the prisoner.

Back in the Courthouse, the Judge sat, smiling. The view of the girl was magnificent! He thought to himself that the official videotapes recording her imprisonment would not be erased at the end of the day. He would replace them with some of his own. His young sheriff would love to get possession of those. He had not yet seen the tape showing the appearance and arrest of Bella.
 
 
 

It was beginning to cool down, and Anna was beginning to feel that the breeze which had been so pleasant, was not quite so welcome as before. The warm grass which had been comfortable to lie on, now began to feel spiky and prickled her bare skin, everywhere except where she felt cold. She saw goose pimples on her legs. She had no watch and no other measure of time. As the sun got lower in the sky, a few clouds appeared.She wished she could call out to a neighbour, despite the terrible embarrassment that a confrontation with the stuffy man next door would cause her.   Still, that was not a possibility. the ball which filled her mouth prevented her from making any sound above a moan through her nose.

 She was pleased therefore, to see the sturdy form of the sheriff, her sheriff, as she now began to think of him.  He strode across the garden and without speaking, unlocked the chain from the post and pulled her back to the house, a little bit faster than she could comfortably manage in her hobbled, high-heeled feet. He fastened handcuffs behind her back and ordered her to get herself warm.

"Now," he said,"get in the shower and get warm. That costume and the shoes, I'm told, are quite water-proof and the ankle restraints are stainless, so you can go in there just as you are."
It was true that the material of the costume was water-proof, but hot water made it expand, so that it was only by pushing out her chest and standing with her legs apart that she could keep herself from losing everything.  He smiled and she looked at him sheepishly. He helped her by holding the material to her as she stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel round her. He could not help feeling her body under the towel as he did so. He undid the handcuffs and she was able to dry herself without his assistance, but lost the costume entirely as she rubbed herself dry. The wet material had no strength at all and shredded to small pieces, leaving her dressed in the towel only.
"My orders are that you may dress in your own clothes again for tonight. I have brought the evening's meal and have been instructed to stay with you until it is time to put you to bed. There has been information at the station that a gang of burglars is intending to do all the houses in the area. They are armed and quite dangerous and our Commander is of the opinion that if an officer is stationed at several of the houses here tonight, we may be able to take them. The Judge said that since I was your supervising sheriff, I have to remain here in this house until dawn unless the burglar gang has been arrested. So, go now and find something to wear!"

Anna hunted through the clothes she had in her wardrobe. Finally, she chose a two piece outfit. It was black, long enough to cover her adequately, but exposed a bit more of her midriff than she liked if she raised her hands.  Still, it would have to do.

She came back into the main room of the house, still wearing the shoes, strapped to her feet and still gagged with the hated ball-gag. She pointed to the latter with a gesture to ask him to release her from it.
He did so, saying that he would not need it for a while. She found it difficult to speak at first, the stress of having her mouth stretched wide open for so long making the whole of the lower part of her face stiff and sore with a dull ache which lasted for a long time.
She suddenly said,"I've seen you lots of times today and yesterday, but I don't know your name. What do I call you?"

He replied,"Masterson."
She said, "Masterson... Officer Masterson...Sheriff Masterson... those are awfully formal. Don't you have another name?"

"Yes," he answered," it's Eric, but don't let anyone else hear you call me that. If the rest of the gang at the station heard, I'd have to get a job somewhere else. My life wouldn't be worth living! Most of the guys call me Master, if they call me anything at all."

"That's appropriate for me, isn't it. I'm your prisoner and you're my master. Is that what I should call you?"
"I suppose it is. O.K., then, I'll call you Anna and not just'miss', he said. "Now that's settled Anna, it's time for our evening meal. Here is the stuff the county has provided. You can get it ready for both of us."

The atmosphere between them had changed a little. This was not quite an officer doing his duty and an unwilling prisoner of the county. Rather more of the master and slave element was developing.

She said, with a touch of spirit,"What about helping, then?"
He held up a key. "Do as I say. I have the keys here. I make out a report on you every day and a bad report might mean your week of house arrest could very easily get extended into two. . Or a month! Or, if I like, I can make you sleep on the floor... in the kitchen . . . or somewhere. . ." He left the rest to her imagination.

She thought,' He's right. He can order me about, just as he likes. Nobody is here to interfere. He really is my master for this week. I'd better do as he says.' and she took the materials for their dinner into the kitchen and began preparing their meal. She was a good cook and liked cooking, so not only did she enjoy the work, but the result was very satisfying.

He helped her clear the things away afterwards and they were sitting down, hoping to enjoy a break from officialdom when Masterson heard the telephone.

He went into the lobby and she could overhear him saying "Yes. Very good. I will, but it's hard on her. She did not ask.... Very good. I'll do it as you order..... Yessir!" When he returned to her, his face had a stern expression. He was holding a length of rope.

"Your friend has got herself in trouble, but it has surely put an end to our pleasant evening together. Stand up!"

She complied, smiling a little uncertainly.
 

He strode over to her bringing with him a length of rope. Without another word, he took her hands in his and bound them behind her with several loops of rope.Then he lifted her off her feet and placed her face down on the carpet. He joined the rope to her ankles, pulling them up to put her in a strict hog-tie. As he stepped back to consider his work, she raised her head and looked at him reproachingly.

Again, she was left alone in bondage, not knowing what might happen, nor when she might be able to walk free again. She lay there in the dark, listening to the sounds outside. The radio and TV were switched off, so there was absolutely nothing to take her mind from the ropes binding her in this uncomfortable position. They seemed to her to grow tighter and tighter as she moved about, trying to ease herself a little. Then, shortly before dawn, suddenly, she heard the sound of running feet and someone shouting.  There was a muffled shot and a groan. The door shook as a result of a heavy blow, then flew open after a second one and three masked figures burst in, almost tripping over Anna as she lay helpless on the floor.

The light came on and one of the men said, "Charlie Braun said there was a woman in this place. He didn’t say she’d be tied up though. Still, it saves us a job. What are we going to do with her, boss?"

"Let’s have look at her." said another of the men." O.K., we won’t kill her.
She’ll do for cover if the cops get on to us too soon, and we won’t have murdered her. I don’t like the idea of being wanted for murder. We’ll take her with us. Get her dressed in her ordinary outdoor clothes. If the neigbours see her, they’ll think she’s out a bit early and won’t raise the alarm. Hey! Where’s Spike?"

"That ***** cop shot her. She’s dead. I’m glad I was close enough to bop him. He won’t give us any bother now.. I used his own cuffs on him and shoved enough of his socks in his mouth to keep him quiet for the rest of the day. I rolled him into a ditch, so nobody will find him too soon."said another.

"Good", said the boss man."Start looking for the stuff. Charlie said we’d find it here."
The rat-faced one told Anna," Get your outdoor clothes on!" and cut the ropes binding her with a hge, dangerous-looking knife.  She was too terrified to speak more that a few stuttering works,"What, Here? Now?"

Rat-face lost patience. He slit the dress she was wearing from hem to neck, leaving her quite naked apart from the remains of the ropes still tied round her wrists and ankles. "Hurry up if you want to stay alive. He followed her into the bedroom where her clothes were. "Get on with it!" he urged.The other two men came with them and as she got out her clothes, pushed her out of the way and pulled up the wooden floor of the wardrobe.
"This is it!" the boss man yelled."C’mon. Get going! Fetch the kerosene!" He pulled out ofa hole under the wardrobe a sackwith something  heavy in it and left Anna with the rat-faced man. He saw the various bits of bondage gear that Masterson hed left on her bed and ppicked them up, saying, "These’ll come in real handy! On your back...on the bed!"waving the knife towards her.

"I wish I  had more time, but we will, later!" and he knelt over her to fasten the collar on her neck, then the  handcuffs and finally the chains on her ankles."Get up!" he ordered her. His eye settled on the blue ball-gag."What’s this?" he said and he brought it with them back into the main room where the others were soaking everything with kerosene.

She cried out,"What are you doing Stop it! You’re wrecking everything!"

"Gag the bitch! Shove that ball in her mouth. Fasten the strap round her head. That will shut her xxxxx noise off." Anna was quickly silenced and dragged outside. There was still not much light there, but she could see a small covered truck. Just as she was being dragged inside it, she saw a sheet of flame from her living room and clouds of black smoke. The other two men jumped in the truck and they were driven away.

"Things are under control."he told the policeman.

He checked the video record of the events at Anna’s place from the previous night to the point when the fire damaged the video cameras.
"I want your man Charles Braun put under arrest" he told the police commander over the phone.
"Anything will do, but keep him away from the telephone. Our plan is paying dividends." he told him. "But get someone over there as quickly as possible, "Masterson is down somewhere near there in a ditch and he may be injured."

She  had no answers.....

Story copyright by Max, supplement by Igor
 

 
 
( If you like to write a continuation to the story , email it to me ! )