Web of Deceit (20 page)

“I can’t believe
you did that.”

“I know. I’m
sorry. Whoa … what do you think they do with that?” Elliot shines his
flashlight on a long, wooden slab with shackles at both ends.

“I don’t know, but
we have to find Sarah before they introduce her to any of these machines. And I
forgive you, I ran yours too.” she says as they walk down an aisle that
separates the medieval torture devices. “Hey, what are those?” She points to
the right. “Jail cells? Maybe Sarah is in one of them.”

Elliot and Beth
race over to the small cubicle cells lined in a row against the wall.

“This one’s
empty.” Beth peers through the barred door.

Elliot shines his
light through the other barred windows until he comes to the last cell. “Beth,
come look at this. There is someone in this cell.”

“Is it Sarah?”

“I don’t know.”
Elliot shines his light into the cell. “Sarah? Is that you?”

Beth shines her
flashlight on the face. “Sarah, wake … huh.” Beth gasps and staggers backward.

“What’s wrong?”
Elliot shines his light on the face. “Whoa. He’s dead.”

“That’s Jade’s
husband. I recognize him from the pictures I took from her house. Why would
they still have the body? And shouldn’t he be stinking?”

“It looks like
they’ve preserved the body somehow.” Elliot shines the light on the cadaver to
get a better view.

“That is sick. Why
would they do that?”

“Have you heard of
body museums?”

“I read something
about it in the
Times
, but nothing of significance. So what’s the
static?”

“We have a few in
the US. People buy tickets to see real dead bodies. They prepare the bodies in
a way that allows you to see the muscles, bones, tissue, and everything. They
have pictures on the Internet showing a man cut in half with everything hanging
out. People believe it’s a great way to see how the human body works, but I
can’t help wondering how the families of these dead victims would feel if they
knew what became of their bodies. I read an article saying they were dead
prisoners from China. Looks like Mrs. Freedman found a way to make some cash
with her victims.”

“Elliot. We need
to find Sarah, now.” Beth pulls him away from the cubicle towards another room
only a few feet away, shining her light through a window, revealing the inside.

“This must be
where they do it.” Elliot stares through the window.

“It must be the
lab, slash, operating room. Let’s get out of here.” Beth holds his arm close,
pulling him alongside. “I’m sorry. I can’t bear to go in that room. I have
witnessed enough barbarism.”

“Yeah, the world
is a much prettier place when your eyes are closed,” Elliot says as they enter
the next room.

“This must be the
storage room?” Beth inspects a filing cabinet.

“What could
possibly take up all this space?” Elliot scans the abundance of cabinets.

“I don’t know, but
I’m about to find out.” Beth opens a drawer and pulls out a file. “Jeffrey
Caldwell—failure.” She glances at Elliot. “I wonder what that means?”

“Hey, these might
be all the victims she hypnotized.”

“Yes. So, all we
have to do is find the name in these files of someone who has been caught up in
this mess and …”

“And we got her.”

“What’s Kelly’s
last name?”

“Thompkins,”
Elliot says. “While you go through the files, I’ll go through this desk over
here.”

Beth scans the
filing cabinet drawers spanning the wall. “Fantastic. I have the T’s.” Beth
flips through the files.
Tandle, Tem, Thompkins.
“This is it, Elliot! I
found a file on Kelly Thompkins.”

Elliot clicks the
desk lamp on. “Hey, check this out. She’s got one with your name on it.”

 Elliot opens the
file folder underneath the lamp. “Beth, it says here she’s been followin’ you
for months. She’s been getting her information from Chip mostly. Kelly’s in
here too, but she’s got the word ‘failure’ next to her name. Must be that’s why
they brought her back.”

“Yeah, Jade
guessed they were making it appear as though Kelly moved out. Only, you got in
the way. This proves it.”

“Sweet, these
files tie everyone to Mrs. Freedman.” Elliot reaches for his phone. “I’ll call
Captain Aims and have him send those guys he has on hold.” Without looking at
the phone, Elliot presses Send.

“It’s not
ringing.” Perplexed, Elliot brings the phone away from his face to figure out
what’s wrong. “I only have one bar and it keeps fading in and out. God, please
help this call go through.”

“Let me see that.”
Beth takes the phone from Elliot. “There are no bars. Not a big deal.” She
hands the phone back to him. “Once we get out of the basement, you can make the
call.”
Man, this case has really gotten to him; he’s weirding me out.

Elliot smiles as
he pushes
Send.

“Hello?” the gruff
voice on the other end says.

Skeptical, Beth
gets closer to Elliot to listen to the conversation.

“Aims,” Elliot
says. “Beth and I have the evidence needed to make an arrest. Do you have a
team ready?”

“We’ll be there
ASAP. You guys stay hidden, and don’t do anything else until we get there. OK?”

“Uh, yeah, I can’t
make any promises, Sir.” Elliot disconnects the call.

*   *   *

“Elliot?” Aims
realizes Elliot disconnected the call and presses the intercom button. “Ralph!”

“Yes sir?” the
rookie responds, uncertain what he has done wrong.

“Tell the men
downstairs we’re leaving, and get suited up. You’ll ride with me.”

“Yes sir. Thank
you, sir,” Ralph responds. “You won’t be sorry.”

“Yeah, yeah. Just
hurry up before I change my mind.” Aims releases the intercom button.

*   *   *

“OK, the guys are
on their way. We need to find Sarah and Kelly and get them to safety before
they get here. The last thing we need is a hostage situation.” Elliot
disappears into a dark corner. “Beth, are you comin’?” He glances back,
catching her blank stare.

“Yes, I’m right
behind you.”

“I’ve never seen
you like this, you’re usually so confident. What’s wrong?”

“What’s wrong with
me? Don’t you mean what’s wrong with you?” Beth asks. “You’re the one that’s
changed from night to day. And how did you make that call? It wasn’t fading in
and out. There weren’t any bars at all. And, the way you’re handling yourself.
We both know you have anger issues when it comes to situations like this. And
yet you’re the calm one. So, don’t ask me what’s wrong. How about ‘fessing up
and telling me what’s going on.”

“I got saved. I
can’t explain it, but I have a peace, and I know everything’s gonna be OK.
Everything Sarah has told us about God is true. I was blind and now I see. Put
your trust in God, Beth.” Elliot goes into the shadows. “There’s a door, I’m
gonna check it out. Stay hidden. I’ll come back if it’s safe. OK?”

“Uh huh.”

Elliot silently
scales a steep flight of stairs. At the top he presses his ear to the door and
listens.
It sounds clear to me. Now let’s see
… Elliot tries to rotate
the knob.
Hmm. Locked. I can fix that.
Elliot reaches in his duffel bag
and pulls out a locksmith device.
OK, baby, let’s show Mrs. Freedman there’s
no keeping us out.

Click.

“Sweet.” Elliot
opens the door a crack and peers inside.
It’s the garage.

*   *   *

“Stay close to
me.” Kelly leads Sarah down a dimly lit hallway to the right.

“This lighting
adds to the creepiness,” Sarah says as the lights flicker.

“That’s the
generator. The lights are always weak like that when the power goes out.” Kelly
comes to a door at the end of the hall.

“Where are we
going?”

“To the kitchen.
This stairwell leads to a secret door inside the food pantry. I was playing
hide and go seek with a little girl who used to live here, and we found it by
accident.” Kelly places a finger up to her lips, finishing her sentence. “We
have to be quiet. Someone could be in the pantry.”

Sarah descends the
stairs with one hand on the railing, and the other on Kelly’s shoulder so as
not to lose her.

At the bottom of
the steps, Kelly puts her ear up to the door. “I think it’s clear,” Kelly
whispers to Sarah. Being cautious, she opens the door a sliver and peers
inside. “It’s empty.” She pushes the door the rest of the way open.

“Wow, I didn’t
think it was possible to be more organized than my friend Beth. Are those in
alphabetical order?” Sarah questions as she looks around the immaculate food
pantry.

“Yeah, and she
notices right away if something is out of place.”

“That’s too bad
’cause I’m starving.” Sarah holds her stomach.

A wry smile forms
on Kelly’s face as she places her ear to the door. “I hear footsteps. Someone’s
coming. Hide”

Sarah hides under
a nearby shelf while Kelly stays close to the wall where the door opens,
counting on it to hide her. Neither girl knowing the other’s plan, they both
pray for help as the door flings open. The tall dark figure enters the pantry.

Close the door,
a knowing voice says to Kelly. Kelly shuts the door as the figure nears
Sarah.

Stretch your
leg out,
God tells Sarah. Sarah extends her leg out straight just in time
for …

“Ugh,” a female
voice says while falling.

Bang! Smash!

The large woman
impacts and sprawls out on the pantry floor.

“Sarah, are you
OK?” Kelly asks.

“Yeah, God told me
what to do, and it caused the person to trip and fall.” Sarah moves closer to
inspect the unconscious villain. “That’s Catrina, the charge nurse from the
hospital.”

“Her real name is
Louise, but the guys call her Lou. She’s tougher than any of the men that work
for Mrs. Freedman. Hurry, we gotta find something to tie her up and gag her.”

“Look, she has
everything we need in her coat pockets.” Sarah tosses Kelly some rope. “You tie
her feet, and I’ll get her hands.” Sarah finds a roll of duct tape in Lou’s
pocket, rips a piece off, and tapes her mouth.

“I hear voices
coming towards us.”

“Help me put her
in the stairwell.” Sarah lifts the top of Lou’s body and pulls her up a few
steps.

“We need to clean
up this mess before Mrs. Freedman comes in. She’ll know something’s up if we
just leave it there.” Kelly sets Lou’s legs down and goes back inside the
pantry.

“We don’t have
time to put it back where it belongs. Push everything under there.” Sarah
points to a shelf next to the secret entrance.

*   *   *

“Have a seat.”
Mrs. Freedman enters the kitchen.

“Thanks, but I
have all the furniture I need.” Symphony is being escorted by Howard and Jerry,
each holding an elbow.

“Sit,” Mrs.
Freedman says, unamused.

Jerry pulls out a
chair, but Symphony resists, causing Howard to force her to sit against her
will.

*   *   *

“That’s my friend
Symphony. We have to help her.” Sarah and Kelly return to their hiding places.

*   *   *

As Beth enters the
cold, brick garage that contains Mrs. Freedman’s gray Cadillac, she closes and
locks the door behind her. “Man, this has got to be the most organized garage I
have ever seen.” She scans the room and notices the large tool cabinets lining
the walls.  Then, she spies a Yamaha Rhino, reminding her of the men that
chased Elliot. “Hey, isn’t it odd that we haven’t heard those guys scrambling
around for us in a while?”

“Yeah, unless …”
Elliot says.

“They think they
found us,” Beth says. “Symphony has my phone, Elliot. Call her and see what
happens.”

“What’s your
number?” Elliot asks. “I never dial it, I just press number one.”

Beth smiles as her
body is warmed by the memory of, “Our phones have a lot in common.” She takes
the phone and dials her number.

A boyish grin
crosses Elliot’s face as though he read her mind. He raises his finger to his
lips signaling Beth to be silent as the ringing ceases.

*   *   *

Feeling the phone
vibrate, Symphony flips it open in one of her deep pockets without being
noticed.

“Where is your
boss, girl?” Mrs. Freedman questions impatiently.

“I already told
Abbot and Costello, your fence crispy fried her, and she’s on her way to the
hospital.”

“So, you are
alone?”

“Do you see anyone
else here?”

*   *   *

I like her more
and more,
Beth thinks.

*   *   *

Come on
Symphony, give us a clue where you are,
thinks Elliot.

*   *   *

“Why are you
really here?” Mrs. Freedman questions.

“I’m here for
Sarah. Let her go, and I’ll be on my way.”

“I’m afraid it’s
not that easy.”

“Are there any
cookies in that jar, or is it just kitchen décor?”

“You are an
unusual girl.” The sound of metal grates against the porcelain cookie jar.
“Help yourself.” Mrs. Freedman puts the lid on the table, causing a clatter.

“Thanks, but I
don’t like to eat alone.” Symphony pushes the jar across the table.

“Worried they’re
poisoned? Here, I’ll join you.”

*   *   *

Careful not to
make any noise, Elliot closes the phone. “She’s being held in the kitchen. I
can’t believe you only hired her to answer phones.” Elliot opens the door
leading outside.

“I know. She’s
capable of so much more. I plan on promoting her and giving her a raise when
this is over.”