The Midnight Bandit by Melissa Willingham (book series to read .txt) 📕

Janet Hansen hurriedly gathered up the faculty documents and put them into her briefcase. She slipped on her overcoat and grabbed up her car keys. It was growing dark rapidly. She didn't want to be left at the school all alone. Those dark, empty corridors could be quite creepy sometimes, especially this time of year. Halloween was only a couple of weeks away.

A young woman of thirty, she was slim and pretty, with an oval-shaped face. She always wore knee-length dresses and skirts. She kept her light brown hair pinned securely atop her head. For five years now, she had been teaching fifth grade at the local elementary school in Owensboro, Kentucky. Sometimes she felt a perfect fit for the job. Other times, she didn't feel smarter than a fifth grader, as the popular television show indicated.

After checking to make sure she had everything, Janet walked over to the door. She stepped out into the hallway and shut the door quietly, making her way towards the exit. All she needed to do was turn a couple of corners, and she'd be outside. The trick was getting past all the spooky decorations of witches, ghosts and other ghoulish designs lining the facility.

She noticed with a quick glance around that everyone else was already gone. Drat! She knew staying late to finish grading those tests was a bad idea. She should've taken them home with her, as she planned to do.

The school didn't seem the same anymore. It used to be considered a safe haven, but that changed a few weeks ago. A fellow teacher and personal friend of Janet's, Alice Perkins, was sexually assaulted while at home in bed. The police believed she was followed home after class by the offender. Since then, none of the female faculty members wanted to be alone in the school after dusk.

To make matters worse, it appeared thirty-four-year-old Alice had been attacked by the same man who terrorized other women in the town. The problem was, she wouldn't discuss the incident in detail with anyone. All she'd say was a masked man snuck into her house and forced her to have sex with him.

The guilty culprit was known as the Midnight Bandit. He broke into homes in the middle of the night and raped vulnerable females. The perpetrator had a specific modus operandi and was profiled as being a 'gentleman' rapist, the least violent of four types that existed.

The victims all said he brought a small knife to the scene. He told them to cooperate and no harm would come to them. He spoke in a soft voice and wore a bandit-style mask around his eyes, was in his mid-thirties. He sported a beard and mustache, had a medium build, was of average height and had short dark brown hair.

The women he raped described him as being polite. He handled them gently during the commission of the crime. There was no verbal or physical abuse involved. They reported he had a unique style. He performed foreplay on his victims, and then made them do likewise.

After that, he forced sexual intercourse upon them. They indicated he was compensatory and apologetic for attacking them. He asked for their forgiveness afterwards and ironically, offered them safety tips on protecting themselves from intruders.

Lee Bowers, a friendly detective who was handling the case, cautioned female teachers to stay in an area where other people were. He warned them not to be wandering around after hours. Just in case the masked intruder was lurking about the premises, waiting to follow one of them home.

With this in mind, Janet hastily made her way around the first turn, and then continued along the corridor. The thoughts she was having were causing her to feel jittery. She felt the sensation of being watched. Her pulse quickened; her breathing increased.

She suddenly heard a couple of scraping noises from somewhere behind her. At that moment, the lights went out and Janet shrieked in terror. She made a beeline towards the exit, running as fast as she could. When she rounded the final corner, she collided with a dark human form.

She screamed as her briefcase landed on the floor with a thud. The other person reached out to grasp her, but Janet wrenched herself away and tore off down the hall. The dark shapes formed by the decorations loomed at her; taunting with mockery at her fear. She'd helped put up the cardboard and paper designs. Now they were seemingly turning on her. She didn't stop running until she finally approached the exit.

She pulled and pushed frantically at the release bar across the double doors, but they wouldn't open. She heard footsteps heading in her direction. She panicked, kicking at the doors and tugging with all her might, yet they still wouldn't budge. The sound of shoes on polished floors drew nearer with each steady step.

Janet felt trapped inside of the building with no escape. There was nowhere to run and no time to get away now. She felt tears forming in her eyes as she resigned herself to her imminent fate. It must be the gentleman rapist, the so-called Midnight Bandit. He'd apparently come for her.

She caught a glimpse of the other person in the blackness surrounding her. Desperately, she gripped hold of the bar again, to no avail. It was then she realized the chain was wrapped around the door handles and securely locked. Dear God! She was hemmed up inside the school with a sexual predator.

Turning to regard her would-be attacker, she tried to speak. It took her a moment to find her voice, due to her horror at what she felt was to come. "Please, don't d-do this," she stammered.

Suddenly, the lights came back on, flooding the school with their brightness. Janet winced as her eyes adjusted to the change. She felt grateful for the restored visual, at least. As soon as she saw who was standing before her, she almost collapsed with relief. It was only the school janitor, Dennis Pittman, whom she had a personal interest in.

He was a ruggedly handsome man, around thirty-five, a quiet person. He had dark brown hair, wore a beard, and was of average height. His muscular build turned the occasional teachers' head. In ordinary circumstances, she would go out with him in a heartbeat.

She released a pent-up breath and a small sigh escaped her lips. "Dennis, it's you. Oh, thank heavens! I heard a noise, the power went out and then I heard footsteps. I thought- well, never mind. I couldn't get these doors to open," she related, raking a shaky hand through her hair.

Dennis peered at her kindly and flashed a warm, understanding smile. "I'm terribly sorry, Janet. I owe you an apology. I didn't realize you were still here. I figured everyone already went home, so I locked the place up tight. The fuse box is acting crazy today. I was on my way to repair it when we bumped into each other in the hallway."

"So that was you I ran into back there. Whew! It gave me such a fright. I imagined it was- uh, anyway. I sure am glad the lights came on again," she told him.

"I'm sure you are, ma'am. Here, I picked up your briefcase for you. If there was anything else, I couldn't find it in the dark," he said shyly. He glanced away as he handed it to her.

She reached out gratefully and replied, "Thank you so much, Dennis. You're a real lifesaver. I wish I'd known it was you. I wouldn't have been so nervous. Well, anyway, I need to get home. Would you mind letting me out?"

He nodded kindly and fished a set of keys out of his hip pocket. "Sure thing. I'd be glad to."

After he unlocked the chain, he pushed one of the doors open for her. As she stepped outside into the fresh evening air, he laid a hand on her back.

Janet jumped a little, surprised by the unexpected gesture. She regarded him questioningly, wondering what he wanted.

"Would you like me to walk you to your car? You shouldn't be out there all by yourself at night. You never know who might be lurking around, especially so close to Halloween," he informed her. Concern marred his brow.

She nearly melted right on the spot. How flattering to know he cared about her! "Yes, please. I'd appreciate that, if you wouldn't mind." She dreaded the idea of making the long trek out to her vehicle alone in the darkness. Especially after the scare she'd just had.

The two of them made small talk as they traversed the distance from the school exit to her parked automobile. Dennis waited patiently until she unlocked her car and was safely buckled up inside of it. He went to close her door, but leaned in first to say goodnight.

"You have a nice night and drive safely now, Janet. Be careful and make sure you check for signs of the Midnight Bandit when you get home, considering what's going on lately. A beautiful woman like you is bound to have a secret admirer," he told her. His dark eyes held hers briefly. His expression and thoughts were unreadable. But, she thought she saw a glimpse of passion within his brown depths.

Janet offered him a weak smile, glad to be heading for the shelter and safety of her home at last. "I'll be careful. Thank you for your help. Goodnight."

"You watch out for yourself. It would be a shame if that Gentleman Rapist got hold of such a sweet, little lady," Dennis lamented. He grinned pleasantly, watching her intently as he shut the door.

Janet shivered and tried to stifle the feeling of dread that came upon her. His words made the reality all too clear once again. The fact was, somewhere out there a bully with a prick was amongst them. And whoever he might be, he undoubtedly waited to strike again.

On the drive to her house, she recalled what Detective Bowers said about the offender. He was most likely a loner, shy and insecure around attractive females. The guy was pegged as a blue collar worker, who had trouble maintaining relationships with women. This was due to his feelings of insecurity and inadequacy. Supposedly the reason he committed sexual assaults stemmed from the need to assert his manhood.

The perpetrator hadn't killed anyone so far. It seemed he took what he wanted and left, including a piece of jewelry or a pair of panties. Profilers intimated he used them as trophies and souvenirs, to reminisce over his crimes.

Janet wished she could speak with Alice Perkins, her friend who'd recently been attacked by the rapist. But, the woman refused to talk to anyone, since filing a report with the police station. She'd simply gone into hiding since the night she was violated.

Alice was the seventh victim in Owensboro, though cops indicated there were similar incidents in neighboring cities. Janet would like to find out more details from her about what exactly occurred on the night in question. She thought the insight might help to better protect other women. Having knowledge was power. Using gleaned wisdom always proved to be useful in most cases.

Since the attacks began in her town, Janet took it upon herself to research everything she could on the subject of rape. She learned that rape was not about sex, as most people assumed. It wasn't just some guy who was horny and couldn't get laid, so he chose to force his sexual advances on women. Rape was about power and control; making someone else do what one wanted, plain and simple.

She discovered there were not one, but four different types of rapists. Each of them possessed individual tactics and styles. Getting the information out to women might help prevent assaults from happening. That was precisely