“Oui,” Megan smiled back.
Talia parked her car a few blocks down from the Victorian house. She turned the car off and reached for the briefcase on the back seat. Talia opened the briefcase and turned on the monitoring equipment. The judge had denied her request for wiretapping Knight’s phone. Desperate times call for desperate measures, so Talia took matters into her own hands.
She keyed in the frequency and placed the headphones on. Talia listened. She heard Andrew and Megan enter the house. Talia heard Megan say ‘Let’s go into the family room.’ She then heard Andrew respond ‘okay’. At the moment, there were only footsteps and the sound of Megan putting the candy and balloons down. Talia listened more intently, but wasn’t prepared for what she heard next.
“What the hell,” Talia cursed. “He’s speaking French!” Talia couldn’t believe it. She berated herself that she never finished learning French. Either Knight had totally lost his mind, or he found the bug. But how, the device was a nearly invisible clear strip. It was the most advanced electronic listening device ever made. She surmised it was time for some old school tactics. Hopefully, Knight was still suffering from amnesia, and that way he wouldn’t suspect being followed. Talia closed the briefcase and started the car. If he did have his memory back, well, it wouldn’t be good.
Chapter 8
The room was black. A strong musty smell filled Chloe’s nostrils. The walls felt cold and damp to the touch. Chloe didn’t know what day or hour it was. She didn’t even really know where she was. Chloe tried to move, but her hands felt like they had been glued together. She lifted them up and touched them with her lips. It wasn’t glue but a thick rope. When Chloe tried to stand up, she couldn’t do so. Her legs were bound in the same way. She heard soft moaning coming from somewhere in the dark.
Roxanne moaned softly when she opened her eyes. There was only blackness. Her hands and legs felt heavy, almost burdensome. She brought up her hands and touched the side of her face. She was right, they were bound with rope. A swirling of odors filled her nose and she didn’t like it one bit. Roxanne heard some rustling around in the dark; she wasn’t alone.
Chloe shifted her body to a more comfortable position. She decided to take a chance that the moaning was from someone familiar.
“Roxanne?” Chloe called out. She waited for an answer. ‘I’m here Chloe’ she heard.
“I’m glad you’re alright.” Chloe started to cry. She didn’t exactly know why she was crying; maybe it was tears of elation.
“Me too,” Roxanne replied. “So where are we exactly?”
“I think were in the catacombs beneath JFK Prep,” Chloe answered, though not really sure. But what her instincts told her, it might be.
“How did we get here?” Roxanne asked.
“Someone knocked us out and carried us down here.” Chloe replied.
“Who would do that?” Roxanne asked.
“Probably the same person who did it to those kids,” Chloe said.
“So you think they’re okay?” Roxanne asked.
“I hope so,” Chloe replied.
“Do you think someone is looking for us?” Roxanne’s tone was unsure, and Chloe picked up on it immediately.
“Um, they probably are,” Chloe gauged her words carefully. “But they may have given up since there was no trace of us.”
“Are we going to die?” Roxanne’s voice trailed off. Chloe didn’t answer. Roxanne pleaded, “Are we?”
“The one who can help us has no idea we’re here.” Chloe finally replied.
Father Michael stepped from the confessional to see Andrew kneeling in one of the pews. Father Michael walked over and sat down next to him.
“What brings you here my son?” Father Michael asked as he removed his stole. He put the Bible and the stole beside him.
“I need your help,” Andrew answered with whisper and his eyes closed.
“What kind of help?” Father Michael asked.
“We need to talk somewhere private,” Andrew continued in a whisper. “I’m being followed. The person is in the last pew to our left.” Father Michael was about to turn and look, but Andrew told him not to. “He’s from the Sheriffs department. Apparently Sheriff Delsmann feels I need a shadow.” Father Michael nodded that he understood.
“The Confessional is always open my son,” Father Michael said loudly, he picked up his stole, kissed and placed it on himself. He grabbed his Bible and headed to the confessional. Andrew made the sign of the cross, put the kneeling board back into place, and entered the confessional.
Andrew knelt in front of the screen.
“Bless me Father for I have sinned,” Andrew said, making the sign of the cross.
“How long has it been since your last confession,” Father Michael inquired.
“Too long,” Andrew confessed.
“What are your sins,” Father Michael asked.
“I did not do my job,” Andrew first confessed.
“How is that?” Father Michael queried.
“I haven’t found the missing teenagers yet, or Wyatt,” Andrew explained. “And now my daughter has disappeared along with Roxanne Turner.”
“How did this happen?” Father Michael further asked. “You are the best I know.”
“Do you know about the catacombs out at JFK Prep?” Andrew asked.
“They were sealed off when it was still the seminary,” Father Michael replied. He put his Bible beside him. “I was there when they did it. Why do you ask?”
“I believe that everyone that is missing, is locked away somewhere in the catacombs,” Andrew answered. “That’s why the authorities haven’t found them yet.”
“They were sealed!” Father Michael was resolute.
“There were no hidden doors, at all?” Andrew asked.
“How do you know about that?” Father Michael was caught off guard.
“I had a friend of mine at the Bayport Daily Herald, pulled all the information from the last fifty years about JFK Prep,” Andrew explained. “In the story about the fire, the reporter mentioned the catacombs beneath the seminary. It also mentioned that there were several secret entrances built just in case of emergency.” Andrew paused, and leaned closer to the screen, “I believe that whoever took the teenagers, along with Chloe and Roxanne, used one of those entrances to hide them all in the catacombs.”
“There were more than just catacombs,” Father Michael finally confessed. “There were also several rooms used for storage along with living quarters. A person could literally stay down there for months and be able to survive.”
“So they could still be alive?” Andrew breathed a sigh of great relief. He was afraid that his mission would be one of ‘recovery’ and not ‘rescue’. He pressed further, “I need to know where one of the entrances is?” Father Michael whispered the location to Andrew.
It was time to leave, so Andrew thanked Father Michael and left the confessional. When Andrew exited, he saw that his shadow was still there. Andrew walked past the man, pretending not to notice him and preceded out of the church. The man followed a few minutes later. When he emerged, Andrew’s car was still there, but Andrew was nowhere to be seen. He had seemingly vanished into thin air! The man cursed and began a frantic search of the area.
As soon as his shadow took off, Andrew sat up in his car. How stupid for the man to not even check for such easy rouse. Andrew was sure that Sheriff Delsmann would have a long talk with her man. Andrew started the car and took off.
A crisp winter wind rustled through the bare branches of the trees. The full moon shone across the land creating patches of light and shadow. Among the shadows and light, a dark figure crept towards the empty church.
Andrew paused at the side door. He gave the handle a twist and pushed open the door and stepped inside.
The sanctuary of St. Ambrose reminded Andrew of the grand churches in Europe.
Andrew walked up to the altar. Andrew knelt down to examine it. As he ran his fingers underneath the edge, Andrew suddenly felt the recessed switch that Father Michael told him about. He pushed it and a secret panel opened in the middle of the back of the altar. Andrew crawled through the opening and into the darkness. Using his hands and feet as a guide, Andrew descended the stairs which led him to a small chamber. Andrew felt his way around the room. On the wall, he found oil lanterns hanging on the wall. A little further, his hand found a light switch. Andrew wondered if it would work after all these years. He gave the switch a twist. There was a quick spark of electricity and the light bulb filaments began to glow with life! That’s when Andrew noticed not only one, but three branches of passageways leading away from the room he was in. Andrew knelt down to examine the dirt floor. He was looking for any signs as to which passageway was used. Since the dirt was compacted, it yielded no signs. Andrew decided to take the one on the right first. He grabbed one of the lanterns just in case, lit it, and headed down the passageway.