by Linnea Hall
Collin looked at the shelf under the television. It was piled high with hot rod magazines. He walked over and started shuffling through the pile. He pulled out a magazine discussing the history of Mustangs and went back to the chair.
“Good choice.” Jewell’s dad smiled at him.
“I’ve always liked cars. I had a Mustang GT500 that was totaled in the accident.”
“What a waste.” They sat and talked about Mustangs, and then moved on to discussions of other cars. Even though Collin preferred the sports cars, he loved the old muscle cars as well so he was able to keep up his end of the conversation. They talked for a while, and then sat silent, each involved in their reading. Collin found several issues discussing the high end sports cars that he fancied.
Whenever a car passed, Tommy and Collin would both glance nervously out the window.
Chapter 27
When Alex had arrived back at the station, he immediately called Sheriff Payne in New Orleans. Although Jewell wasn’t an Infinitas, she was dating an Infinitas, and regardless, the first duty of a Templar was protection. But this case had brought attention to the Templars because Collin was involved. Sheriff Payne had immediately called a meeting, and he had set about calling all of the New Orleans Templars to let them know that there would be a meeting at Dr. Babineaux’s house on the North Side of the causeway in Mandeville. Dr. Babineaux lived in a large plantation style home on several acres. The house was set back from the road, and shrouded by massive oaks. This made it easier to gather all nine people without drawing attention.
The Templars were gathered for their second meeting in three weeks. Under normal circumstances, the group met once every three months to manage the accounts, and usually share a drink. Having two meetings so closely together, and outside the usual schedule did not bode well. While all knew what their commitment meant, most did not ever believe they would be called to duty. It was a dangerous job. The last time an Infinitas was identified; several Templar Knights were killed. Unfortunately, in that case, the Infinitas were killed as well.
Alex pulled onto the long driveway leading toward the house; he could see evidence of other cars recently passing. As he pulled onto the concrete parking pad, he saw that six others had already arrived in addition to Dr. Babineaux. They were waiting on only one other. He recognized all of the cars. Taking inventory, it appeared that Sheriff Payne was the only participant who had not yet arrived.
Alex rang the bell and was greeted by Dr. Babineaux. As he walked in the door, he saw Sheriff Payne’s car pull into the driveway followed by an unfamiliar SUV. He stood inside the door and watched as Sheriff Payne exited his car and walked back to the SUV. An unfamiliar older man emerged and shook Sheriff Payne’s hand. Together, they walked to the house.
Once everyone was inside, the nine Templar Knights and the single stranger settled at the massive table in Dr. Babineaux’s dining room. Sheriff Payne sat at the head of the table, despite this being Dr. Babineaux’s home, the unknown man sat to Sheriff Payne’s right and Dr. Babineaux sat to his left. The other seven Templars arranged themselves around the table in no particular order. Sheriff Payne stood up and gestured to the man sitting to his right.
“Gentlemen, this is Percival Knighton. He is the uncle of the identified Infinitas, and an Infinitas himself. He has identified himself in secrecy to request our protection for him and his family while they reside within our territory. There are four others including the two previously identified.” The other knights nodded in greeting at the newly introduced individual. “There have been some recent developments that require our attention. Most of us know Jewell McKean. She is currently in a relationship with Collin, Percy’s nephew. She is neither aware of the Infinitas, nor what they are. Collin, though an Infinitas himself, is also unaware of his…uniqueness.” He gestured to Dr. Babineaux “Will you call the meeting to order?”
After the meeting had been called to order, Sheriff Payne sat down and gestured to Alex. “Alex, please tell us what you know of the situation concerning Jewell.”
Alex stood and told everyone about his conversation this afternoon with Tommy, Collin and Jewell, referring to his notes to ensure that he didn’t leave anything out. When he was finished, he sat down.
Sheriff Payne rose again and gestured to Christian Johnson, who was an officer with the New Orleans police department. Christian stood up and explained the details of the situation as presented to him by Garrett Roes, head of security at the hospital. He told of the two incidents at the hospital, including the confrontation with Lea Coles. Finally, Sheriff Payne gestured to Dr. Babineaux and requested that he give his report.
“The individual’s name is Edgar Durand. He’s 28 years old. He has lived in the same apartment in Chinchuba for approximately six years. He has no criminal record. He was born and raised in New Orleans, but I searched the federal database. He has no record there either. He works at a private sanitation company in Madisonville as a bookkeeper. He’s worked there for six years and hasn’t missed a single day of work…until recently. I couldn’t find any record of his having been previously treated for any illness.” Dr. Babineaux paused to add emphasis to the oddity of recent events. “He was admitted to the hospital eight days following the admission of Collin Sykes. He was the victim of a single car MVA. The circumstances surrounding his accident are suspicious. A review of security tapes indicate that he tried on two prior occasions to get into the hospital, both after Collin was admitted. On one of these occasions, he tried to get into the hospital claiming to be a friend of Collin.
“After he was treated in the emergency room, he was moved to a room on the same floor with Collin. Shortly thereafter, Percival removed his nephew from the hospital for obvious reasons. I documented the move, indicating that Collin was being moved to a private facility in Lake Charles. After Edgar was discharged, this piece of paper was found in his room.” He passed around a piece of paper almost completely colored in with pencil. “If you look closely, you will see the address of that private facility. This facility is nonexistent and was fabricated for the protection of Collin and his uncle. Two days later, Jewell saw Edgar in Lake Charles only blocks from this address. In the past month, Edgar has missed eight days of work, not including the two he missed as a result of his accident.
“Recently, he has been requesting information about Jewell at the hospital. We feel that the actual target is probably Collin. Percival has requested our assistance until they are able to relocate.”
Sheriff Payne stood up. “Because Edgar has no criminal record, and has not made an overt threat toward either Jewell or Collin, we cannot authorize that he be questioned or held for any reason. However, his description and automobile information have been circulated throughout Orleans and St. Tammany Parrish law enforcement units. In addition, hospital security has been authorized to contact us if Edgar is seen at the hospital. Edgar has been ordered to stay off the property and told that if he is seen on the property he will be charged with criminal trespass. Although this is a misdemeanor, law enforcement officers have been given authorization to detain him.” Dr. Babineaux sat down.
Sheriff Payne looked at Percy. “Dr. Knighton, do you have anything that you would like to add?”
“Thank you all for your efforts. I know that this is a difficult thing that I am asking of you and I know the dangers you face. Collin’s parents were both Infinitas who were killed by the people like Mr. Durand. We thank you for pledging your lives to our protection.
“We have only just recently, within the past hours, learned of this development. Already, my family is taking steps so that we may leave this area, hopefully eliminating any threat to you, and any threat to us. We will communicate with either Sheriff Payne or Dr. Babineaux of our plans as soon as we can. We hope to leave within the week.” He sat down, his head dropped in defeat.
“Does anyone here have anything to add?” Sheriff Payne looked at each man sitting at the table. When he determined that there were no additional comments
, he thanked the men and dismissed them.
Chapter 28
Thirteen men sat in a nondescript warehouse just outside the New Orleans airport. Secrecy was crucial to their task. Very few people were even aware of their existence though their sect had existed for over one thousand years. It was not often that this group of men had been called upon to mete out justice. In their thousand years of existence, they had been called to duty fewer than fifty times. There were thousands of men in the Order. They came from different countries, different backgrounds, different values, but they all had the same purpose. That purpose was to retrieve the artifacts stolen from the Temple of Solomon by the Templar Knights, and to punish all those that had defiled these ancient relics. These relics included the Shroud of Turin, the Ark of the Covenant, and the most famous of relics, the Holy Grail.
The thirteen men sat on folding metal chairs in one of the office sections of the warehouse. The warehouse was obviously old, and Edgar questioned when the last time was that it had been used or cleaned. The carpet was a commercial loop in shades of orange and gold, reminiscent of the late 60s and early 70s. It was dirty and well-worn in some places, and stank heavily of dust and mildew. There was one office area located directly adjacent to a large warehouse with cement floors, and metal walls and ceilings. The noise from the airport was deafening when a plane took off or landed. It rattled the metal walls and echoed throughout the warehouse for several seconds after the plane had passed. It was slightly quieter in the offices, but conversation was still difficult.
Edgar stood inside the circle of men. “We know that infidels exist and walk among us. They look like us, they act like us, but they are not like us and must be punished for their crimes. We have been charged with the responsibility of identifying these people and meting out justice.” He turned in the circle, looking at each person in the room. They looked at him with curiosity, excitement. This was the purpose that the group remained in existence for so many centuries. It was rare to find an infidel despite the numerous groups seeking them out, but it was even more unusual to verify one so quickly. Usually, once a person was suspected as an infidel, they were tracked for years before it could be ascertained that they deserved punishment. Edgar claimed to have identified one in less than a month. Naturally, there was some skepticism, so the group interrogated Edgar thoroughly.
Edgar did not let their scrutinizing stares or endless questioning dissuade him. He was certain of his information. He carefully explained everything he knew about Collins Sykes.
For three hours, Edgar was grilled by his brothers of the Obsidian Knights. These men were trained for this purpose. This was a fight between a sacrilegious, condemned, disbanded order and an order seeking to carry out the original sentence upon that order, and to prevent the continuing corruption resulting from their existence.
Chapter 29
Jewell woke up earlier than she expected. Her dreams had been plagued by shadows and danger. She was always alone, but she could sense Collin, reaching out to her, trying to find her before it was too late. She put on a robe and wandered into the living room. Collin was dozing on the couch but she couldn’t find her father. She walked into the kitchen to find something for her and Collin to eat, and glanced at the calendar as she walked by. It revealed that her father had started a forty-eight hour shift at the firehouse. Due to recent events, she expected that her father would probably try to come home if he could. She knew that he would at least call. She glanced at her watch. It was five-thirty. Her father would probably call in a couple of hours when he was certain that she was awake. She was glad that he had let Collin stay.
As she sniffed at a container she heard Collin behind her. “What are you doing?”
“I thought I’d find us something to eat.”
“How about going out for dinner? What do you want? The sky’s the limit.”
“I don’t know…” she tried to think of what she was in the mood for.
“How about Outback? I’ll call in an order and go pick it up.”
She shrugged. “I suppose, but I’m going with you. I don’t want to be left here alone.” She hadn’t realized how truly scared the incident at the hospital had left her. She could feel the tension in her shoulders and tried to relax.
Collin went into the office and brought back Jewell’s pink laptop computer. He plopped down on the couch and started it up. Navigating to the restaurants web site, he turned the computer so that Jewell could see the menu. “Just a salad I guess.” Collin looked at her.
“That’s it? A salad? Fine, but I’m going to pick which one.” He carried the computer into the kitchen to the phone and called the restaurant. When he came back into the living room he looked at Jewell who looked a bit peaked. “You okay?”
“I’m just worn out. Too, I’m worried about that…” she didn’t want to say stalker, but couldn’t think of any better term. Instead, she let the sentence trail off. “I’m just really tired.”
Collin put his arm around her and pulled her so that her head was resting on his shoulder. “We’ll get you fed, and then you can go back to sleep. Your dad pulled out the bed in the office and gave me some sheets and a blanket. I guess he figured that leaving me in the house with you was safer than leaving you alone.” He grinned. They sat and watched the TV until it was time to leave.
The drive to the restaurant was uneventful. When they got to the restaurant they sat at Curbside delivery and listened to the radio. Jewell’s eyes wandered to the Wendy’s across the street; something had caught her attention. She sat up, leaning toward the window so that she could see the man getting out of the car parked at the Wendy’s.
Collin was startled by Jewell’s sudden movement. She had paled visibly and was shaking. He looked at her face and tried to follow the direction that she was looking. In the Wendy’s parking lot, he saw a man with a black leg brace and a cane walking towards the door. His car had been parked facing the restaurant, away from where Collin and Jewell were sitting and his back was to them. Collin’s gaze alternated between Jewell and the man across the street, but Jewell’s eyes never wavered until the man had disappeared inside the restaurant. When the man had disappeared from view, Collin heard his own breath whoosh out in a relieved sigh. Jewell had leaned forward in her seat, her head between her knees.
“Was that him?” Collin asked rubbing her back, trying to calm her down.
“Yes.” Her voice was barely a whisper.
“You’re sure? You only saw him from the back. It would be pretty weird if he were here at the same time you were.”
She had calmed down a little bit; her breathing was a little easier. “Maybe. Do you think he followed us here?”
Collin looked out the window at the Wendy’s as he thought about Jewell’s question. “I don’t think so. He didn’t act like he knew we were here. When we leave, we can watch to see if he follows. At least we know what his car looks like.” He reached over into the glove compartment and pulled out a small pad of paper and a pen. He looked at the car, then scribbled some information on the sheet of paper and handed it back to Jewell. She looked at it.
“His license plate number?” She looked up and squinted, trying to make out the characters on the plate. “How can you see that far?”
“I’ve always been pretty good at stuff. I can see better than most people, hear better, I was always first in track. I never really studied either. I could read a page in my book and just remember everything it said.” He shrugged. She stared at him for a minute, and then ripped the top piece of paper off the pad, and put the pad, with the pen, back in the glove compartment. Just as she finished, their food arrived. Collin thanked the waitress and handed her some cash. He handed the bag to Jewell and started the car. When he backed out of the space, he stopped his car in the aisle, ready to leave. He watched the door to the Wendy’s. When the door opened, they both held their breath, but it was a mother and her daughter.
Collin drove through the parking lot to the main road. He drove slowly
, watching the Wendy’s in his rear view mirror. Jewell had turned to look. The side windows were tinted so it was unlikely that he could see into Collin’s car. They both watched the restaurant as they drove towards 190. Collin turned right while Jewell continued to watch the restaurant. Neither of them had seen any indication that there was an attempt to follow them.
“He probably didn’t see us. I think it was a coincidence. Of course, that probably means he lives around here somewhere.”
“Great. So I might just run into this weirdo while I’m out grocery shopping or something?” Her voice shook on the edge of terror.
“Well, we don’t know for sure. Is there some way to find out where he lives?”
“Maybe. My dad knows some of the police officers in Covington; he might be able to find something out.”
“Good. We’ll call him when we get back to the house.”
They drove home without any additional incident. Jewell’s father assured her that he would try to find out some information about him. He could call Andy with the sheriff. He would be able to let him know if Edgar lived anywhere in St. Tammany Parrish. Jewell felt a little better, but was still unable to eat. Her stomach was twisted in knots.
Collin sat on the couch. Jewell lay down with her head in his lap. He rubbed her back trying to help her relax. At the same time, he tried to send her happy thoughts. He didn’t know if it would work, but he figured it wouldn’t hurt. He tried to think of the most beautiful things had ever seen in his life. He thought of the glades with daffodils in Tagla Mountains in Romania, the sunset at Cinque Terre in Italy, Winchester Cathedral in England, the Piana rocky inlet and the Girolata gulf in France, Aeroe island in Denmark, and of course, Jewell McKean in Louisiana. As he thought of these beautiful places, he imagined he could feel Jewell’s thoughts moving from the darkness, as if his thoughts were affecting hers. She relaxed, and was soon asleep.