Elevator Rapist
7 THE ELEVATOR RAPIST
At Brighton Apartments, turmoil was brewing. There was a man in town who raped women in elevators and was appropriately called the elevator rapist. There was no picture of him because he wore a hoodie and glasses and made sure when he entered the apartment buildings, the surveillance cameras did not capture his incriminating features. The manager of the building, Mr. Baldings, put fliers by the elevator doors and in the lobby warning the residents of the elevator rapist who reserved his ugly charm for the weekends.
The elevator rapist made it into the building using a key. He got the key from a colleague at work in the postal office. The lady left her purse unattended one day giving him the opportunity to secretly make a duplicate key of the building entrance. This was his modus operandi: steal a key and use it to enter the building. This way, he could go into the building when no one was around. That night, he entered the Brighton Apartments on Memphis street. He preferred nighttime since it would be difficult to see him in case he had to run out.
The rapist walked slowly around inspecting the grounds and looking at the available exits. There was an entrance in the back of the building that opened to the back parking lot. The lobby had no place to hide though there was a restroom next to the manager’s office/home. That could be his last resort for hiding. He walked to the elevator and saw the flier by the elevator door. He ripped it off and entered the elevator.
Meanwhile, Monique was in her apartment feeling down. The day she met Mr. Walton did not go as expected, and the more she thought about her options, the more distressed she became. She usually kept busy by bringing her work home, but she was too depressed to do any work that night. Her chest felt heavy, and she wanted some fresh air. She went out of her apartment and walked towards the elevator located in the middle of the hallway.
Charlie was in his apartment sitting on an old sagging couch which he had bought used. When his clinic was shut down, Charlie was left with huge debts stemming from his college loans and the cost of opening the clinic. He could not afford to buy anything new, and all his stuff came from either donations, family, friends, or from the thrift store. The apartment was a mess with numerous pizza boxes piled up everywhere. The kitchen, which was part of the living room, was piled up with dirty dishes.
Charlie looked extremely worried and distressed. He was looking down at his crotch tent. He had been tenting for the past hour and he could not get it down. He started to panic. He called his friend, a urologist, for medical advice even though he knew what was going on.
“Sam, I got an erection for more than an hour…. can’t get it down man!”
“Shoot, you have priapism. You should go to the emergency room now!”
“Will I lose it?”
“No man, just go. Don’t waste any time. I’ll meet you there.”
Charlie took off like a speeding bullet. He opened the door and ran towards the elevator where Monique was standing, waiting for the elevator to come. She heard Charlie’s apartment door open, so she looked and she saw Charlie running towards the elevator like crazy. The elevator door opened and there was already a guy inside, so she felt relaxed that she would not be alone in the elevator with this lunatic.
She stood close to the elevator door by the buttons in case she had to press the emergency button. Charlie rushed in and stood by the rapist who was the other guy in the elevator. The rapist was aroused by the presence of Monique, and he had a crotch tent.
Charlie was restless and looked towards Monique to see if the elevator button was pressed. He was really in a hurry. It was a matter of “dick existential situation”. Monique gave him a quick glance making sure he was at a distance away from her. The rapist was very upset because Charlie came in and spoiled his plans. The rapist worked “mono a mono”. Charlie, who was worried about what was going on “down there”, looked at his crotch. That was when the rapist noticed the tenting in Charlie’s pants.
“No, you don’t! She’s mine!” the rapist shouted.
Monique turned around and found two guys with crotch tents behind her. “Damn,” she thought, “I’m the object of interest of two crazy rapists, and they’re fighting over me!”
The experienced elevator rapist was quick to act and punched Charlie in the stomach. Charlie bent over, and the rapist locked on him and spun him around towards Monique. Charlie was bent over with his back to Monique. She was in an excellent position to kick Charlie in the crotch, and so she did. Charlie screamed, “Ouch!”
The rapist, who was facing her, lifted his head and she had a good look at him. While still holding Charlie down, Monique hit the rapist on the head with her purse. By then the elevator arrived at the lobby. The elevator rapist let go of Charlie and ran out. Monique hit the emergency button and set the alarm off.
The first to come was the manager who lived in a small apartment on the ground floor. When he arrived, he saw Charlie on the floor of the elevator. Charlie was moaning in pain. “Dr. Hughes, what happened?” the manager asked.
Charlie answered in a weak voice, “He punched me in the stomach, and she kicked me in the nuts!”
“Let me help you to the couch,” the manager helped him to the couch in the lobby. When Charlie sat down on, the manager asked, “Are you OK?”
Charlie reached down to his crotch and there was no erection. He laughed, “I am bigly OK!” He was cured of his problem, thanks to the groin kick.
Monique and the manager did not know what he was talking about and looked at each other in amazement. Instead of being upset, the guy was elated.
Monique knew that she had made a mistake when she heard the name “Dr. Hughes”. She assaulted an innocent man which meant criminal and civil charges in a lawyer’s mind. It was another disastrous event to deal with. ‘When it rains, it pours’, and it was raining and pouring hard. She followed the strategy of ‘the best defense is offense’.
“I’m a lawyer, and I’m going to sue you for attempted rape,” she said in a stern voice.
“I wasn’t going to rape you!”
“I saw you! Your pants had a bulge, and you were aroused and went for your zipper,” Monique explained.
“No! I had a medical condition. The other guy was the rapist.”
“Explain that to the jury!”
“You hit me in the nuts without any provocation. I did not attack you. I have full right to have a crotch tent. It’s not against the law. It’s a free country!”
“I agree with him Miss Dubois. It was an unwarranted attack. As a lawyer, you should know that men have freedom of tenting as long as what goes on inside the pants stays inside the pants. It is written in the constitution somewhere... I forgot the number of the amendment…” but before he could continue, Monique interrupted him,
“Mr. Baldings, this is not the time for making jokes at the expense of our ordeal!”
“Actually, I am the one who is supposed to press charges against you for assault. That kick was very painful. It hit both balls at the same time. I bet you did it with your foot sideways. It was a professional hit. Are you trained in martial arts?” Charlie hit back.
She was alarmed by his threat, “I am sorry for what happened, but you can see from my point of view how the situation can be easily misinterpreted.”
The manager called the police. Two officers, Leo and Jack, came and took statements from both Charlie and Monique. She told them she went into the elevator with two guys who looked like they were sexually aroused. She thought they were going to rape her. That was a valid deduction since she was in the elevator, and there was an elevator rapist on the loose.
She took advantage of the fight between the two guys and hit the first one in the nuts and the second on the head. She told them that she got a clear view of the second man’s face, so they brought a sketch artist. The officers sent the sketch to the news media to publish it and see if they could get an ID on the rapist.
Charlie gave a statement. He tried not to include the details of his crotch tenting but the issue was at the center of the commotion and he needed to explain what happened. He told the officers that he had priapism, a medical condition, which made him lose control of his erection, and that he was on his way to the emergency room for treatment. He already called a doctor to meet him there. That proved that he had no intention of raping anyone.
Officer Leo concluded, “It was a case of mistaken tenting,” he laughed.
Jack added, “Not all tentings are equal, back to you Leo.”
“You can’t judge a man by his tenting, back to you Jack.”
Charlie was not amused by the comedic act of the two officers. “If we are done, can I leave?” asked Charlie.
“One more thing. What happened to your medical condition?” Jack asked.
“Luckily, it resolved,” Charlie answered.
“After the kick on the nuts?”
“Yes…”
“The kick saved your dick,” Jack joked.
“Yes. That’s why I’m not upset with Miss Dubois, and I’m not going to press charges.”
“Can you tell us what triggered your medical condition?” Jack asked.
“What do you mean?”
“Was it triggered by an inflatable doll or some sort of magazine… you know what I’m talking about.” Jack said looking at Monique who was sitting close by.
“I’d rather not say,” Charlie replied,” and by the way, I would like to keep this off the record.”
“No, this can’t be done. This is part of the police report which is public record,” Leo stressed the facts in an official police tone.
“If we get a FOIA request from the press, we have to give it to them,” There was a blank look on Charlie’s face, so Jack added, “FOIA stands for Freedom of Information Act.”
“You mean this whole thing will be in the newspapers and on the internet?” Charlie asked sadly.
“Yes,” responded Jack.
Monique, feeling sorry for Charlie, offered to help him. “I’m a lawyer, and I think you can withhold the information pending the conclusion of the investigation. I will hold you both responsible for keeping this report from reaching the media. I work for Wagner, White and Walton and with one phone call to the mayor, you two will be working parking meters for years to come.”
“You’re not his lawyer,” Jack objected.
“Dr. Hughes, would you like me to represent you?” Monique asked.
“Yes, sure!” Charlie was relieved by her strong response to the FOIA business.
“I advise you to keep a tight lip on this report,” Monique told the officers, “I’ll hold you responsible and I’ll sue your department if you breach the confidentiality of this report. When you give your report to the prosecutor, I’ll discuss it with him. I don’t think we need to keep Charlie’s statement on file if he’s not going to press charges against me.” That was her way out of a lawsuit.
“I won’t,” Charlie said loudly.
Since Monique was firm and decisive in her response, the two officers had no leeway to maneuver.
“You got it lady,” Jack muttered succumbing under her attack.
When the officers left, Monique told Charlie, “Thank you for not pressing charges against me.”
“Come on, you saved my dick,” he said without thinking. She laughed.
“I’ll put this on my curriculum vitae,” Monique joked.
“Please don’t,” begged Charlie.
“Such a big misunderstanding.”
“I know, these things happen. By the way, we doctors always need lawyers. We can help each other, ‘you scratch my back and I scratch yours’ as they say.”
“My back is not itchy,” Monique threw cold water at his proposal.
The following day, Monique knocked on Charlie’s door. He invited her in.
“To what do I owe the honor of this visit?” he asked.
“You said yesterday that we can help each other, ‘you scratch my back and I scratch yours.’ I need your help.”
He smiled, “Your back is itchy.”
“Very,” she smiled and then added, “I am extremely depressed and I need antidepressants but I don’t want to go to a doctor and put this on my record. Can you write me a prescription?”
“Sure I can, but it will be on your record anyways.”
“You can write it for my mom, and I’ll pick it up.”
“That works too,” he agreed. Charlie was also depressed which showed in the condition of his apartment, and he was in no mood to ask questions. However, Monique felt she owed him an explanation and told him about her disappointment at the office and the elaborate and deceptive scheme by her boss. He responded, “You mean there is no honor among lawyers?”
“Apparently not,” she said laughing. She left hoping the antidepressants would help her go on in life until things get sorted out.
On Monday, the rapist went to the post office where he worked. By then his sketch was all over the news. His fellow employees were waiting for him. The owner of the keys which he copied was very upset. She was an aggressive, big-size lady. When he entered, she confronted him and showed him his picture on the front page of the newspaper. “You creep! You took my keys and copied them,” she paused and then added, “we did not call the police...” she smiled.
The rapist feared the worst. “Why?” he asked.
“Because we are going postal on you, creep!”
They beat him up, rearranged all of his bones, and then called the police. They told the cops that he tried to rape a fellow employee after his failed attempt over the weekend, and so they came to the rescue. Things went out of hand before they realized that his dick was permanently neutralized. No further details were given, and the police did not ask. They were not keen on arguing with postal employees.
