He obviously wasn’t taking the bait, so Walker decided to go direct. “Does Castillo know?”
Ellis thought for a moment. “Unless either Amanda or Meredith spoke to him about it, I would not believe that he knows. I’ve never told him.”
You wouldn’t have to, Walker mused to himself. “And he’s never mentioned it to you?”
“Absolutely not.”
“And you never mentioned Meredith’s erratic behavior to him?”
“No. I actually dismissed it at first. Just thought I was overreacting, but as the days wore on, I reflected upon it and realized it was probably more serious than I originally thought, which is why I’m telling you now.”
“But if you knew all of this from the beginning, why did you bring me here? Why go through all the trouble of this charade of an outside investigation?” Walker begged.
Ellis lowered his eyes. “Guilt, Mr. Walker. Plain and simple. I thought that if I allowed you to investigate, even if you didn’t find anything, that my conscience would be cleared.”
“And now?”
“And now, I understand that we all pay for our mistakes. One way or another, and as much as we attempt to avoid the inevitable, we all pay.” His voice trailed off.
Walker got up from his chair and stared at Ellis who was now deep in thought. “I need to find Meredith,” he said vehemently. “I’m going to need an escort downstairs, so the techs there can help me pinpoint her location on campus.”
“Certainly,” Ellis agreed, jolted from his stupor, leaning forward to pick up the telephone on his desk.
As Ellis put the receiver to his ear and pushed the button to dial the security center, Walker said, “I just need to ask you one final question.”
Ellis looked up at him and nodded.
“If you wanted me to be here, why did you let Castillo hinder my investigation?”
Ellis pulled the phone away from his mouth. “Hinder your investigation? Why would he do that? Joaquin was the one who convinced me to bring you on board.”
“Excuse me?”
“Indeed. When Lorenzo asked me to permit you on the campus to investigate, even though I was guilt-ridden, I was still very hesitant, but Castillo told me he knew of you, respected your skills, and believed you could help us. Tragically, it seems his confidence in you has led to my downfall, but at least we may still find Amanda.”
Walker stepped closer. “Wait. Castillo wanted me here?”
“Yes, very much so.”
Walker mentally searched his mind, trying to determine a plausible explanation for what he was hearing. “Do you know anything about a relationship between Meredith and Joaquin, either in the past or recently?” he finally asked.
“No, I don’t believe so,” Ellis answered.
“An affair perhaps?”
“I really don’t know. I’m sorry. I’m not aware of any relationship.”
“Forget the security center. I need to speak with Joaquin. There’s something he’s not telling me. He’s at the tunnel exit at the southern end of campus, so I’m going there now.”
Ellis hung up the phone. “Please be careful, Mr. Walker. There have been so many surprises during the last few hours, I simply don’t know what to expect anymore.” Walker turned to leave as Ellis finished his thought. “I still can’t believe they found that tunnel where they did. The boys’ dorm? That’s baffling.”
Walker abruptly turned. “Why is that, sir?”
Ellis leaned back in his chair again. “Because that original section of the male dormitory wasn’t actually one of the first buildings on campus.”
“It wasn’t?”
“No. The earliest drawings of the campus were lost during the Civil War, so the ones we have in the library were actually created years later, as the campus really started to expand in the late 1800s. So if there were tunnels, I’d expect them to have been constructed under those original buildings.”
Walker advanced back toward Ellis. “What were the original buildings?”
“There were two. A dormitory and a lecture hall. The school’s first lecture hall was this building we’re in now and the original dormitory, which predated the school’s late nineteenth— century expansion, was completely refurbished in the 1920s and again during the 1980s to serve a new purpose for the campus.”
“Which was?”
“Our faculty residences.”
Chapter 48
After exiting from the admin building and stopping briefly at his car to remove the Glock and a small flashlight from the glovebox, Walker sprinted across campus to the neat row of faculty residences he had called home for the last three days. He leapt up the set of steps to the front door of Meredith’s unit, but didn’t bother to knock. Removing his handgun from the back of his pants and pointing it downward, Walker kicked just below the door’s handle. The wooden frame cracked and splintered as the old door swung open, revealing a largely empty living space which was dark and quiet. He stepped patiently across the threshold, his handgun drawn, the flashlight held just below it, scanning the room for any movement or activity. There was none.
Walker slowly entered the main living area, which was similar to his own residence next door, but this one didn’t appear to have anyone actually living in it. He didn’t bother to move toward the light switch, but even in the semi-darkness, with his narrow beam of light tracking across the space, he could see that the room was spotless. Nothing was out of place.
The furniture and wall hangings were neatly arranged as the books and folders on the desks and lamp tables were perfectly stacked and tidy. Walker immediately recognized a distinct pattern of organization and symmetry as he moved into the kitchen. Again, everything was neat and clean — no dishes or silverware were present on the main counter or kitchen table in the corner. The refrigerator was free of magnets or papers, and all the appliances were properly spaced apart and reflected a metallic shine when hit by the illumination from the flashlight, as though they had just been cleaned.
If Meredith actually lived here, he couldn’t quite believe she had grown tired of Castillo’s OCD. These two rooms were all the evidence Walker needed to deduce that whomever lived here suffered from an acute obsessive—compulsive disorder. So he wondered if that had been a lie as well. Had she actually ever been with Castillo? Or did she even live here? Walker had never seen her place before, just taken her word that she lived next door to him, but right now, he didn’t trust anything that had come out of her mouth.
Meredith had certainly played him, withheld her many secrets, and lied to him about nearly everything, but the strange appearance of her residence was unnerving on an entirely new level. Walker couldn’t figure out exactly who was he dealing with here and that was frightening. He couldn’t imagine where this ended, felt as though he was closer than ever to the truth, but unsure of what that truth was going to be.
Crossing the linoleum floor, Walker noticed a metal door at the far end of the kitchen. Walker approached the door and raised his gun as he carefully turned the knob. Opening the door with his left hand and pointing his gun and flashlight into the dark space with his right, Walker stared down a steep staircase leading into a basement level. He maneuvered his way down the stairs, peering through the sites of his gun, with the flashlight irradiating the way. Each worn, wooden step creaked as he climbed his way into the underground chamber. The walls were damp, and it smelled of mildew and rot.
Finally stepping onto the cement floor of the basement, Walker could feel that it was uneven and cracked, deteriorated from its centuries of use. Through the darkness with only the dim stream of light from his handheld flashlight, he approached the far wall of the basement. A large armoire hugged the stone wall, but was slightly askew, revealing the partial entrance to another tunnel, similar to what they had discovered in the inner chamber of the boys’ dorm.
He paused, mesmerized by the threshold to the tunnel. He could picture Mosby’s rangers, lugging supplies and weapons through this underground labyr
inth, plotting against the Union soldiers above. So much had happened down here, so much secret history had passed through these subterranean passageways. And even now, these tunnels were still protecting secrets.
In his soul, he could feel this journey was nearly at an end. The answers he sought were about to be revealed. He did not know what he was going to find, but he hoped it would be the truth, regardless of what it would cost him. He slid his body past the thick armoire and moved cautiously into the tunnel. But unlike the other, there were no lights dangling from wires. It was complete darkness. Walker held his flashlight tightly alongside his gun, projecting a thin layer of light forward through the sepulchral darkness.
He had only walked a few yards before he saw an opening up ahead and a soft glow emanating from what appeared to be a larger chamber. He stepped toward the growing light and the tunnel opened into a large room, built into the shape of a dome, with high ceilings and makeshift wooden counters encircling the interior walls. It appeared like some sort of ancient workshop with various archaic instruments as well as metal and wooden tools littering the counters. A web of cords crisscrossed the dirt floor, carrying electricity to a number of small lamps, attached by silver sconces to the walls just above the cluttered shelves, casting a dull light on the bizarre collection of spare parts from the last century.
As he entered the chamber, Walker was momentarily stunned by the surreal sight of the underground workshop. He peered around the entire room, moving his firearm in complete synchronization with his eyes as he scanned the strange lair. He finally settled on a lone figure who was facing away from him and working diligently at a space on the counter near the far left side of the room. His gun’s sites lined up on the back of the darkened figure, and he immediately recognized the body structure and the unique stance of the person he had spent so much time with during his time here. On the shelf next to the figure was a cell phone and laptop.
Not uttering a word, the shadowy figure cocked his head slightly, hearing the visitor enter the quiet cavernous space and knowing this stranger to his workshop was staring at him. Walker immediately tightened the grip on his weapon, removed its safety, and pulled back the cocking mechanism with his thumb. The cocking of the handgun echoed loudly in the hollow chamber. A slight smile creased the stranger’s face, and the figure — hands raised — slowly turned to confront Walker.
The low light from the nearest lamp cast a pale shadow on the figure’s face, and Walker instantly recognized the person before him. Standing there motionless, his hands held up at his sides and a smirk on his face, was Joaquin Castillo.
Chapter 49
Walker kept his weapon trained on Castillo, positive that if he made even the slightest of movements, the former FBI agent wouldn’t hesitate to fire until the clip was empty. He stepped closer, only looking at Castillo through the thin triangle of his gun’s sites. Walker wanted nothing more than to pull the trigger, but he knew if he did, the answers he so desperately sought would remain elusive. So for now, Castillo was safe, but in Walker’s mind, the situation was remarkably fluid.
The smirk remained on Castillo’s face as he glanced at his hands raised to about eye level at his sides. He finally bobbed his head in satisfaction and chuckled. “Well, I’m must say, Mr. Walker, I drastically underestimated you.”
Walker did not respond and took another step closer, his weapon still aimed at Castillo’s chest.
“I didn’t think you would figure it out. I mean, I gave you enough clues, but I didn’t think you had it in you anymore. I know you’ve probably wrestled with a lot of demons this week, so I figured that would ultimately cloud your judgment and prevent you from discovering the truth. But then again, here we are. I must say, I’m impressed.”
Walker lifted the Glock a little higher, moving the barrel toward Castillo’s head, “Where is Amanda?”
Castillo chuckled again. “That’s odd. I thought you would ask about Meredith first.”
“Where is she?” Walker demanded.
“Which one exactly?” Castillo motioned with the fingers on his hands, darting his eyes back and forth between both hands.
“Don’t fuck with me, Castillo!” Walker shouted, then calmed into a reassuring voice. “The games are over. The lies are done. What have you done with Amanda? And Meredith?”
“Ah yes, Meredith. Dear sweet Meredith. You took quite a fancy to her, didn’t you? She really pulls you in with that innocent, yet sexy seduction of hers, doesn’t she? Believe me, she’s not that innocent.”
Walker ignored the taunting. “What have you done with them?”
“It’s not what I’ve done with them. It’s what I’m going to do with them,” Castillo said with an immense degree of satisfaction.
“They’re still alive?” Walker asked, surprised. He honestly expected them to be dead.
“Oh, yes, very much alive, but not for much longer.”
“Where are they?” Walker repeated.
Castillo turned slightly and pointed to another tunnel entrance near the rear of the chamber. The faded light made it hard to distinguish the dark entrance against the facade of dirt and rock, but Walker peered at the rear wall and was able to barely see another passage leading out of this room. “After you, Mr. Walker. If you want to find Meredith and Amanda, this is the only way.”
Walker motioned his gun toward the tunnel entrance. “No. You lead the way.”
Castillo shook his head and laughed. “I don’t think you’re in any position to be giving orders. Are you really going to shoot me? Do that and you risk never finding them. Knowing you were so close, but yet so far away from solving this intriguing mystery. I don’t think so.”
Walker swung the gun back on Castillo. “I made it this far. I don’t need you to finish this.”
“Really? You made it this far. All on your own, huh?” Castillo said, grinning. “You are only here because I wanted you to be here. I led you here, Walker. I brought you down here because I wanted to give you a chance to go down the rabbit hole and find out the truth, pull back the curtain on this entire charade, and give you the opportunity to know what happened before you died.”
“You’re in no position to be threatening me. I could kill you right now and be perfectly within my rights to do so, even if I cared about the consequences, which I’m not sure I do anymore.”
“Would you still kill me if I told you that Josh Easterly is innocent. Oh, I don’t mean he’s completely innocent. He’s still a troubled kid with a leadership role in a weird society, but it’s far from secret and light years from dangerous. But a killer? No. Josh is not a killer nor is he an abductor. He had absolutely nothing to do with Amanda’s disappearance.
Walker was curious. “You framed him?”
“Did I mention stupid? It was almost too easy. His insane jealousy and his constant fights with Amanda made him a perfect suspect. And the secret society — God help me — that was a stroke of sheer luck. We’ve known about it for years, mapped all the tunnels and secured all the escape routes. And then just monitored the activity, ensuring it was never a threat. That’s where the hidden cameras come in handy. You know about those, right?”
Walker winced. Castillo obviously knew he had seen the hidden camera footage, probably knew that Meredith had given him the key, a gesture that may have cost her life. “But the footage, it showed Josh with Amanda...”
Castillo sneered. “One more piece of the mindfuck, my friend. I needed you to think Josh was involved, so when we started to chase Mosby’s ghosts, you would play along. You really didn’t think that footage was real, did you? You think I would allow you access to one of the most sensitive areas on this entire campus? Sounds like you drastically underestimated me, Mr. Walker.”
Walker grimaced, realizing he had been played.
“We pretended over the years to go after the Sons of Liberty to push it further underground, but that was just a ploy to see what they would do. We’ve always allowed it to thrive, instill a sense of fear in the s
tudents, knowing someday we could use it to our advantage. And here we are,” Castillo said smugly.
“What about the ritual? The backpack?”
“Those kids might be dressing in cloaks and chanting in the dark, but they’re still kids. They conduct those rituals like clockwork, so I knew exactly when it was going to happen. I was surprised you had made it to the library that night; I guess I really pissed you off. But remember, I found you. I was coming after you anyway to lead you to the boys’ dorm; I just had to make a quick detour to the library. Did you really think we were partners?”
Walker looked down the barrel. “Go on.”
“All I had to do was convince Josh that Heather was ratting him out, and he decided to scare her. And the backpack, well, I planted that little beauty that morning. At first, I thought it might be a little over the top, but after that perfectly timed ritual and your priceless scuffle with the boys, it was just one more piece of evidence in the circumstantial case against Josh Easterly and his Sons of Liberty. Prosecutors probably won’t even need a body at this point. They could easily charge him with third-degree murder or manslaughter based on the overwhelming evidence against him. Like I said, it was almost too easy.”
“My God, you’re sick.”
“I’m not the sick one, my friend. Did our esteemed Dr. Ellis tell you what he did to Meredith?”
“Why are you protecting him?”
Castillo huffed. “You still don’t get it. I’m not protecting him. I can destroy him. I’m just waiting for the right moment. The good Dr. Ellis knows deep down who controls this campus. He knows who has the real power here. Once he decided to join forces with a den of thieves and bring me on board as the intermediary, his days were numbered. A respected professor like Ellis would never survive in the company of crime lords. It was only a matter of time. Amanda simply sped up the process for him.”
“What are you saying?”
“I’m saying if Amanda wouldn’t have disappeared and caused this entire affair to spiral out of control, Ellis would have been done anyway. Remember, I have hidden cameras everywhere. I know all of his secrets. Talk about sick. Ellis is a disease all by himself.”
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