Photographs in Time

by Terry Segan

  “Yes,” Jimmy said. “That’s why we’re here and hoping you’d be willing to help.”

  “As I stated earlier, I am at your disposal. Whatever is in my power to do, I will. What did you have in mind?”

  Jimmy and I sat together on the couch. Once again, Paolo took the love seat across from us.

  “We want you to invite Carney here, to your home. He doesn’t know we’ve told you he murdered your son, does he?”

  “As far as I know, he does not. I haven’t spoken with him since Junior discovered the loss of his Photographer at that monster’s hands. Maybe he doesn’t know I suspect his involvement with my son’s death.”

  “Good. Keep it that way,” Jimmy said. “Make the same suggestion to him that you made to us. Offer to give him Paolo, Jr.’s, slides in hopes he will complete the matches your son began.”

  “Do you think he’ll take the bait?”

  “Absolutely,” I said. “Right now, he’s trapped in the present, with no means of traveling through time. Without your Family Slide, he’s out of options, other than the Suitor slides he never completed. Obviously, none of them are for the correct time periods he needs, otherwise he would have used them by now to steal one of the devices.”

  “I agree,” the old man said. “So, if he believes my son’s allotment might help him to further his exploits, he will agree to meet with me.”

  “Yes,” Jimmy said. “But you know there’s a risk? He murdered his own grandfather in cold blood. He wouldn’t hesitate to shoot you too.”

  “I understand,” replied Paolo. “It is a chance I am willing to take. What have I got left? My wife is gone these last ten years, and Junior was our only child. If I can help stop this demon, then my life still has purpose.”

  “Do you know how to reach him?” Jimmy looked concerned as he said this. I knew it didn’t sit well with him—this man may be sacrificing his life to help us.

  “If his phone is still the same, then yes. I know what to say to entice him here.”

  “Good. When he comes, we’ll also be waiting. It would be best to coerce him into your son’s studio. Can you show us the room?” As he said this, Jimmy reached over and took my hand. I felt his thumb caressing my skin.

  Paolo hesitated at this suggestion. “Of course,” he finally said, “come with me.” He led the way out of the sitting room back through the entryway. Instead of going right toward the kitchen, he veered left down another hallway.

  Opening a door to the left, the old man stopped so abruptly we almost bumped into him. As my lips pursed to question the delay, his foot crossed the threshold and he entered the room. We followed. Both walls to the left and right were lined with portraits of men from past eras. These were the thirty Suitors interviewed by Paolo, Jr. Lacking a Photographer, none of the men received the bride promised. It broke my heart. The room screamed of loneliness and disappointment. More injustice because of Carney’s evil.

  The sense of longing from the men in the portraits overwhelmed me. “I need some fresh air. Give me a moment, please.” I hurried from the room toward the back of the house. Finding a door to the outside, I bolted onto the patio trying to catch my breath.

  Warm arms wrapped around me from behind. “You all right?” Jimmy asked.

  I allowed him to encircle me in an embrace but didn’t turn around. Instead I focused on the beauty around us while leaning my head back onto his shoulder. Through the dusk I could still make out the neatly trimmed hedges. The fragrant scent of rose bushes and lavender swirled in the air. How could so many fresh signs of life surround a structure full of utter disappointment and heartbreak? This structure wasn’t a mansion, but a mausoleum. The thought of Paolo spending his days and hours in a perpetual cloud of loss, wrenched at my heart.

  Finally feeling my pulse come down to a steady beat, I turned around. “I’m okay now. It’s just…the portraits…the loss…”

  “Shhh, honey. It’s okay. Maybe when this task is complete, we can help them. Not necessarily ourselves, but perhaps we can find a couple with noble intentions to finish the work.”

  I nodded. Looking up into his eyes, they still sparkled the way they had when I first met him. I gently kissed his lips. “Okay, let’s take a look at the snare we need to set.”

  Releasing me, he led me back into the house and the studio.

  “I’m sorry, Paolo,” I tried to explain, “it was just so…so…”

  “Do not worry. To be honest I needed a moment alone as well. I have not been in here for over a year. The sadness would not permit me to enter. But now, with your help, this room may heal, and perhaps even breath life again. You understand?”

  “We do,” said Jimmy.

  That’s when the lights went out.

  Chapter 36

  Jimmy gripped my arm. “Sami, stay here,” he whispered into my ear. Then he let go.

  The room had no windows, so we were in complete darkness.

  “Jimmy,” I whispered back louder than anticipated, “where are you going?”

  “Paolo?” Jimmy’s voice came from across the room by the door.

  “I’m here. Where are the Family Slides?” he quietly asked.

  “Back in the sitting room. Take care of my girl. I need to go get them.”

  “Jimmy, don’t leave. He might have his gun,” I said.

  “You believe Carney is here,” Paolo stated. “She is safe with me. Come,” he said as I felt his hand on my arm, guiding me toward the back corner of the room.

  To my amazement, he led me through a doorway. I could sense the closeness as we entered. Instinctively, I reached out and felt the edge of the wall as we went inside. Not feeling a door jam, just a smooth flat edge, I assumed we were in a closet or small storage space. Strange, I didn’t remember seeing it when we first entered. From the staleness of the air, the room hadn’t been used in a while.

  I had no doubts about why the lights went out. Could we be smarter than him to survive this?

  “Stay here,” Paolo said. The door closed with a light click. I stood alone.

  This didn't sit right with me. I felt infuriated at the way both men tried to shelter me. Putting my hands out in front, I walked toward where I heard the door close. My hands met the wall. I felt the rough, glossy texture of what must be wallpaper. There had to be a handle or doorknob somewhere. Damn, why didn't I have my phone on me? I’d left my purse in the living room, not thinking I would need anything from it while here in the house.

  Finally catching my hand on a metal lever, I swiveled it down and pushed forward. The door wouldn’t budge. Keeping my grip on the handle, I pulled it toward me and felt a gust of fresh air from the opening. Stepping back into the studio, I tried focusing my eyes, to no avail. Without even a trace of light, I couldn’t make out a thing.

  Instead of proceeding further, I stood still and enlisted my other senses. Closing my eyes, and concentrating on sounds, I heard breathing. That must be Paolo with his slow, steady rhythm. Straining, I tried to detect anyone else in the room. Nothing.

  On the front end, I heard the door from the hallway open, then close.

  “Sami, Paolo, where are you?” Jimmy asked in a hushed tone.

  “Jimmy, I’m here.”

  “As am I,” said Paolo. He stood closer to me than I realized. “Sami, I thought

  you would remain in the hidden room to keep safe.”

  “I appreciate your intentions, Paolo, but I am not sitting this one out,” I stated firmly, but quietly. “Jimmy, did you get the slides?”

  “Yes, help me activate them. It seems our timeline has been moved up considerably. This may be the perfect situation to trap Carney when he thinks he has the upper hand.”

  “Where and when should we set them for?” We’d never talked about the logistics. It would need to be a time and place where he wouldn’t have access to slides. Not knowing how far back this process went, that might be difficult. Our best guess would have to do.

  “I don’t know,” Jimmy answered. “Pa
olo, are there limits on how far back in time we can send him or locations?”

  “This is all new territory for me as well. As explained, I have never heard of anyone using this process to trap someone in time.”

  “Okay, how about Alaska in the early 1800’s? There was life up there. None of us are murderers, so we need to send him somewhere he can survive.”

  “You are a better man then I, Jimmy Chang,” said Paolo. “The Titanic’s maiden voyage would be my first choice.” Loathing seethed through his voice. He continued, “Even Alaska in the 1800’s can allow him to get back to the United States. Perhaps a remote island?”

  “Whatever we choose, needs to be quick. We have no idea where he is in the house, and it will take an hour to power up.”

  “Then let’s take a page from history. Send him to Elba, an island in the Mediterranean, in the year 1815,” Paolo offered quietly.

  “That’s where Napoleon spent his exile, didn’t he?” I asked, quite impressed with his suggestion.

  “Yes. Perhaps he and that despot would have lots to talk about,” he said. Even though I couldn’t see his face, I knew Paolo smiled at that thought.

  “Works for me,” Jimmy said. “Sami, come hold my phone so I can see.”

  I saw the flashlight on his cell phone activate and moved over toward the light. Grabbing his phone and shining the beam on him, he set one on the floor.

  Holding the first slide up toward his mouth, he depressed the button underneath the location and quietly spoke, “Elba Island in the Mediterranean.” Releasing the button, his words appeared on the frame. Quickly he set the date, June 4, 1815. He swirled the time to read 5:00 a.m. He left the number zero underneath the time allotment.

  Quickly he handed the frame to Paolo, who had walked over to join us. Picking up the second Family Slide, he repeated the procedure and set up identical instructions.

  Time was not on our side right now. We had no idea what Carney was up too, yet we needed to stall him for an hour while the slides powered up.

  Once the settings of the second device were completed, Jimmy grabbed his cell phone from me and ran the light around the room. He stopped as it hit a side table toward the back, then flitted the beam across the room and saw its twin on the opposite wall. Since the studio was narrow, the space would be perfect.

  “Paolo, hit the activation button, then take the slide and set it on the table to the right.” Paolo followed the light and walked to the designated spot.

  Jimmy took his slide to the table on the left. Sitting on each table was a large, square urn with silk palm fronds sticking out. The receptacles had just enough room to slip the devices inside behind the plants. They wouldn’t be visible until it was time to remove the slides to activate the 30 second countdown. Every possible advantage had to be used right now.

  “Paolo, hide it in the urn behind the palm fronds for now,” Jimmy said.

  I could here the rustling as Paolo did as requested. Hopefully they would be overlooked by Carney if he were to come into this room.

  “When both are powered up,” whispered Paolo, “we need to depress the activation buttons at precisely the same time, or it will not send him back permanently.”

  “I understand,” said Jimmy, as he turned off the flashlight on his phone.

  “What will we do for an hour?” I asked. “Jimmy, I don’t like this. Right now, he has the advantage.”

  “Does he,” Jimmy asked. “Carney has no way of knowing we brought both Family Slides.”

  “He does if he watched us leave the house. What else could we possibly have in that bag?”

  Despite our voices being no louder than a whisper, it still sounded like we were shouting in the stillness of the room. The door to the hallway opened.

  “Greetings, my friends,” Carney bellowed through the room. “What are you up to now?” There was a moment of silence before he illuminated a flashlight and scanned the floor, just as we were closing the door to the hidden room.

  Paolo had the forethought to quickly escort us through the hidden entry when we’d heard Carney open the door. The man may be in his nineties, but his reflexes were that of someone much younger.

  “Won’t he find the door?” I whispered.

  “The entrance is hidden,” Paolo answered just as quietly. “There is a hidden lever on the left side of the portrait hanging beside the doorway. I had this room installed after our Family Slide was stolen. My hope of retrieving the slide required a plan to keep it safe. As you know, I never had that opportunity. Now I never will.”

  “Yes, you will,” I said. “Once we trap him, the slide will be yours again.”

  There was no answer to that, but I could hear Paolo quietly sigh. I assumed he felt there would be no need for it, with his son being gone.

  “Sami, quiet. We don’t want to give ourselves away,” Jimmy whispered in my ear.

  Chapter 37

  I felt a hand on my arm gently guiding me further away from the door. Hearing a lever being pulled, I felt a waft of fresh air brush across my face. There was another entrance.

  Paolo herded us through the other doorway and into a clothes closet. The hangers scratched on the rod as we bumped into whatever was stored there. They scraped once again as I heard them pushed aside so the door could be cracked open. After a moment’s hesitation, it was opened wide. This room had a window as a modicum of light seeped in. Just enough for me to see shapes in the tiny refuge.

  “This way,” he quietly told us. The light dissipated a moment as his tall figure stepped through the doorway. Jimmy nudged me forward into the room. As he followed, I heard the door to the hidden room click shut. We were in a bedroom. From what I could make out in the dim light, probably a guest room, as there didn’t appear to be many personal items on the dresser or floor.

  “What if Carney tries to get in? He’ll see us for sure,” I said.

  “Not to worry, I keep this room locked. Without a key, the only way to open it is from the inside. We’ll be safe in here for a while.”

  I could feel the warmth of Jimmy’s body brush against my arm as he stood close. It seemed like we lingered in there for an eternity, but it could only have been a few minutes.

  “We need to come up with a plan to lure him into the studio when the timer is ready,” I said.

  “No need to lead him on a chase through the house,” Jimmy whispered. The light of his phone came on. “It’s been twelve minutes since we set the...”

  We heard the door knob rattle. It sounded like someone trying to turn it back and forth to work the door open. I held my breath hoping he wouldn’t succeed.

  Carney banged on the door and made me jump. Jimmy put his hands on my arms and rested his head on my shoulder from behind to calm me down.

  “Come out, come out,” Carney shouted. “We’re a bit old for Hide and Seek, don’t you think?”

  Jimmy’s grip tensed, but we remained quiet. Hopefully he would think it was simply another empty room and move on. Staying here was probably the best idea to kill the time we needed for the slides to power up.

  The knob jiggled again, but the door remained in place. “Damn,” Carney said, “they can’t be that dumb, I guess.”

  We heard light footsteps as they padded down the hallway toward the back of the house. For now, it seemed Carney believed we weren’t hiding in the room. Hopefully he moved on and wasn’t looking for a way to pick the lock.

  “What now?” I asked Jimmy.

  “We wait. Paolo, do you have any more of these secret passage ways?”

  “No. I am afraid there is only the one. I created the hideaway solely to keep the Family Slide safe, should it ever be returned.”

  “Is there anyone else in the house we should be concerned with?” Jimmy asked.

  “No. I sent all the servants home for the night, telling them I needed to be alone. They’re used to that, as it happens quite often. Especially lately…,” he trailed off.

  I felt Jimmy squeeze my arms and then release.
We both knew the sadness that hovered about Paolo. It amazed me he could still go on with life after all that happened. His grief must be overwhelming sometimes.

  “I think we should try to get out of this room and perhaps make a dash for the front door,” said Paolo.

  “Why would we do that?” I asked. “We’re safe in here. He’s moved on.”

  “It’s only a matter of time before he figures out this is the only locked room in the house. While there is a lock on the door, it can be broken. We need to move while he is searching elsewhere.”

  “Paolo’s right. We can’t stay here. Let’s go,” said Jimmy.

  Light footsteps quietly padded across the room. I heard the deadbolt turn. As the door was pulled open the hinges creaked. He stopped and we all listened. There was no noise outside in the hallway. Slowly Jimmy pulled it open further, so we could all slip out.

  The house remained mostly dark, but we could see enough to make our way down the passage to the front entry. As we scurried toward our exit, a flashlight blinded us.

  “It’s about time, old man,” Carney said. “I was beginning to worry you’d gone back on our bargain.”

  My hands balled into fists as I realized what was happening. “You made a deal with him?” I shouted at Paolo.

  “I am sorry, Sami. But it was the only way for me to go on.”

  Jimmy stepped in front of me as we realized Carney’s other hand held a gun.

  “Be a good chap and turn on the lights, will you Paolo? This whole charade of traipsing around in the dark is getting old.”

  “As you wish. Do not do anything rash while I am gone, please.”

  “Just do it, old man! My patience is wearing thin,” spat out Carney. “We’ll wait here,” he said to Jimmy and me. “And bring our sweet Sami back out where I can see her.”

  Jimmy hesitated to move out from in front of me.

  “Do it now!” Carney’s voice had an edge of hysteria in it.

  “It’s okay, Jimmy. Let me beside you,” I said, trying to remain calm. It took all my strength not to give Carney any more reaction than necessary. Moving from behind him, Jimmy put his arm around my shoulders and pulled me close.