by Linnea Hall
Jewell sat in silence. The chair was hard against her back, and her legs were too far apart to be comfortable. She had an itch where the rag over her mouth was tickling the end of her nose. She couldn’t smell very much beyond the rag, which smelled faintly of fabric softener, but what smells she was able to identify were musty and moldy. The air inside the room wasn’t damp, but it smelled like it should be. The acrid smell irritated her nose. She could hear the person in the room with her leafing through a magazine or newspaper. She waited for him to say something; he didn’t. The only sounds she heard were the muted conversations of those outside the office, and the periodic turning of a page in the magazine.
Her stomach rumbled; she hadn’t eaten anything since midnight. It had been near seven when she was taken, and it had to have been at least an hour since then, probably closer to two. She strained to hear the conversations going on outside of the room. She could catch a word here and there, but not enough information that she could piece together the reason for her kidnapping. The organization of the kidnapping, the planning, seemed to indicate that she was not a random victim. They wanted something, and they wanted it from her. The man who had sliced her arm seemed to think that it would give them some information about her as well; something to do with infidels. She didn’t attend church regularly, but her job made that prohibitive for the most part. She believed in God. What did the man think slicing her arm would prove?
The tape securing the rag to her mouth was starting to irritate the sides of her face where it stuck to her cheeks causing them to itch and burn. It also pulled at her hair when she turned her head. The cuffs around her wrists and ankles were starting to chafe her skin, and the blood on her arm was caking where it had collected near her elbow. The cut stung terribly. As she waited for something to happen, she tried to remain calm; to try to gather as much information as she could while she sat imprisoned in this room. Other than that, her only option was to wait and hope that someone noticed she was gone before she was supposed to meet Ashley at six. The longer it took them to start a search, the less likely they were to find her.
As she breathed the dirtied air in the room, her eyes started to water from the pervasive mildew smell in the air and her nose began to get congested. Before long, she was working to suck air through her blocked nose; she realized that if she did not get the gag off her mouth, she was going to suffocate. She started sucking breaths through her nose, harder and harder, but despite her efforts, she began to feel dizzy as her oxygen levels began to drop. Her lungs burned for lack of air. Finally, she heard her captor put his magazine down and walk toward her, casually. She felt his big hands picking at the tape on the side of her face while he held her head against his chest with his other hand. When he had a hold of the corner of the tape, he ripped it from her mouth causing a scream to escape her lips though she tried to hold it in. It wasn’t much of a scream, she had no air behind it, but having the duct tape ripped from her face, pulling out clumps of hair around her ears and at the base of her neck caused excruciating pain.
She sucked in deep breaths of the dank, polluted air, trying to fill her lungs and bring her breathing back to normal. She felt a tickle running down the back of her neck, something wet, soaking the neckline of her shirt; blood, she realized, where a clump of hair had been torn from her scalp. “Thank you” she said when she was finally able to breathe again. She heard her captor grunt what might have been an acknowledgement as he sat down and picked up his magazine again. “Why am I here?” She asked, hoping to gain as much information as she could now that she could talk. He didn’t answer. “What are you reading?” Her voice was shaking as she spoke. She tried to stay calm; if an opportunity for escape presented itself, she may be able to take advantage of it but only if she could think clearly, though she doubted an opportunity would present itself. “What’s your name?”
Her captor continued his silent treatment, refusing to answer any of her questions. She sighed. At least she didn’t have the gag over her mouth any more. She didn’t try to scream. The kidnapping seemed to be too well planned. She was certain that they had chosen a location where no one would be near enough to hear her scream, and the constant drone of airplane engines would drown out almost any sound. Besides that, she strongly doubted that anyone who might hear would be willing to come to her rescue.
She wasn’t sure how long she sat in that room. She tried to think about things that would make her feel better. Thoughts of Ashley, Collin, and her father flitted through her head. She felt a tear escape her eyes as she thought about the fact that she may never see any of them again. Suddenly, she caught her breath. She heard Collin’s voice, his muddled European accent, filled with worry. “Where are you Honeysuckle? Please hold on, we’re coming for you.” She wanted so much to believe it was true, that Collin knew what had happened and was looking for her, but Collin was gone, her father wasn’t home, and no one expected her to be anyplace but her bed until sometime around six this afternoon. Then it would take time before they could organize a search. Since her car was at home, and everything looked normal, she didn’t even know where they would begin. She sniffed back a sob; she couldn’t give up, no matter what, she knew she could survive this, if she could just remain strong.
Chapter 44
By the time Collin finally regained consciousness, a search effort was in full effect. The Templars were doing what they could, but it didn’t hurt that Jewell was known and loved by most of the public servants in St. Tammany Parrish. Andy Baraven, a deputy sheriff in St. Tammany Parrish and Templar Knight had brought in a forensics team to work with the Covington police force. They were scouring Jewell’s car, yard, and house for clues. Andy didn’t have any doubts about his team, or the team with the Covington police department. Their personal relationship with Jewell and her father would not affect the quality of their search. In fact, he thought, it would probably make them even more meticulous than they usually were.
At nine thirty, Andy received a call from Alex. Even though Alex was not chief of police, because of the Templar relationship, they remained in constant contact. Apparently, Tommy, Jewell’s father, had determined that everything in the house was intact. There was no sign of a forced entry, and no sign of a struggle within; nothing was missing except of course, Jewell. Outside the house, the car also lacked any sign of a struggle. However, the grass around the walkway leading from the car to the house was muddied and damaged. Because of the mud, it was difficult to determine how many people had been in the area.
There were at least two shoe prints that they were able to decipher, one being Jewell’s, the other was larger, a man’s. It was unlikely they had taken her anywhere on foot, but there were no distinctive tire marks anywhere on the road to indicate what type car she may have been taken in. The neighbors, those that had been home, had neither seen nor heard anything.
Sheriff Payne had chosen a different lead to follow; the man, Edgar Durand, who had been watching her so closely in past months. The Sheriff called Andy and told him that Edgar had an apartment in Chinchuba, in St. Tammany Parrish and would therefore be in Sheriff Baraven’s jurisdiction. The sheriff had already sent three officers to the apartment. When it was ascertained that Edgar was not at home, he sent one of his officers to get a judge to sign a search warrant. Depending on which judge was making the decision that could take a while. The truth was they did not have a lot of evidence to show that a search warrant was necessary. All they had was the circumstantial evidence showing Edgar following Jewell and asking about her over a month ago, and the fact that Jewell was now missing. Because she was over 18, that would pose additional problems as she had only been missing for a couple of hours. Sheriff Baraven hoped that the testimony of several civil servants regarding the likelihood of Jewell’s disappearance as involuntary, and the evidence at the scene would help convince the judge that a search warrant for Edgar Durand’s apartment was justified.
After nearly an hour, Sheriff Baraven left the judge’s chambers with h
is two officers…without a search warrant. While the judge was sympathetic, she told the sheriff that without just cause, she couldn’t allow them in to search. She needed some solid evidence, some proof to indicate not only that Edgar had something to do with Jewell’s kidnapping, but she also needed to know what they were looking for.
Sheriff Payne seemed to think that Jewell wasn’t in any mortal danger as long as Collin didn’t do anything stupid, so Sheriff Braven posted plain clothed officers outside of Edgar’s apartment, and at either end of the hallway. He hoped that eventually Edgar would have to come home. Until then, there was little he could do. The area outside Jewell’s house had been thoroughly searched. A receipt for an Egg McMuffin bought at McDonald’s just after seven that morning, but other than that, they had found nothing. The shoe print had been from a pair of Nike Dunks, size ten. Not only one of the most popular brands of shoes, but also one of the most popular sizes. Jewell’s fingerprints were the only prints on the car and there were no tire prints or eye witnesses. They had nothing.
Chapter 45
Collin finally woke up about two hours after he had his vision of Jewell. Kendryck told his uncle that it was important that they not wake him if at all possible, because the unconsciousness was his body’s way of protecting what he could not control. He awoke violently, lashing out at those around him. Percy and Kendryck were able to grab his arms and hold him against the couch until they could calm him down. When Collin was finally fully awake and aware of his surroundings, Percy let go of him, and Kendryck pulled a chair up to face him. If Kendryck could help Collin understand what he was seeing, strengthen the telepathic link, they might be able to get some information that could help in the search.
Kendryck gently laid his hands on Collin’s shoulder. “Collin,” he said gently, “I need you to look at me.” Collin moved his face so that it was more or less facing Kendryck’s, but his eyes still held a haunted look. “Collin.” Kendryck said his name again with a little more force. Collin’s eyes moved slightly. “I need you to look at me. Look at my eyes.” Collin slowly moved his eyes, trying to focus on Kendryck’s face. It was difficult, as if he was trying to see someone through a window coated with years of dust and filth. Finally, Collin’s eyes found Kendryck’s. “Something has happened to Jewell.” Collin’s eyes went wide with shock and he struggled to stand, but Kendryck’s hands on his shoulders kept him seated.
“What? What’s happened? Is she all right?” Collin was frantic, looking to his family for answers.
“We don’t know. She’s missing. We think she’s been kidnapped. Sheriff Payne is heading the search effort. The Templars are involved as are pretty much every police officer and Sheriff in both Orleans and Covington Parishes. They are doing all that they can do.”
“I have to go. I have to help find her!” He tried to stand again. Kendryck placed his hands on Collin’s thighs.
“You will help. But right now, the best help you can give her is to help us to understand what happened this morning. It seems your vision happened at the same time that she disappeared. We,” he gestured to the people gathered in the parlor, “believe that this was no coincidence. We need to find out what you know, to see if there‘s any information that can be useful. Can you do that?”
Collin nodded his head numbly. “I’ll do whatever I need to. If this is what will help the most, then let’s get started.” He focused his attention back on Kendryck.
“Now…I need you to tell me what you felt.”
Collin took a deep breath, trying to settle his nerves. He was trembling violently; so much so that he needed to grip his thighs to keep his hands from flopping like a fish on the bottom of a boat. “It was Jewell,” he started. “I smelled honeysuckle.” He struggled to put his thoughts into words.
“Good,” said Kendryck. “I want you to remember the details like that. It’s important that you try to express every feeling you had.”
“Well, okay I guess. Let’s see…” Collin’s eyes drifted to the ceiling as he tried to remember everything that had occurred. “I was lying in bed. I had just woken up and had looked at the clock. It was a little past seven. I was thinking that Jewell would probably be getting home from work and…” he blushed a little as he voiced his next thought, “I was imagining her coming through the door of the house, you know, like she was coming home…to me.”
“That may be why you were able to feel what happened so strongly. In a sense, you had already created a connection without knowing it. If you hadn’t been thinking about her when it happened….” Kendryck’s thought trailed off.
“I might not have felt anything.” Collin finished, resentfully. Had he been trained, he might be able to provide more than daydreams and fantasies. “It was really weird, because I suddenly felt like there were people around me and my heart started beating faster. I was scared, not for Jewell, but for me. It felt like it was happening to me. It only took me a second to realize that there was no one in the room with me and that’s when it occurred to me that it was something Jewell was experiencing.” He paused, looking at Kendryck. “I tried to focus, like you’ve been teaching me. I put all my energy into feeling what she felt.” A tear trickled down his face. “He grabbed her. I don’t know how I knew that, but I knew she was restrained somehow. She was really scared. That’s the last thing I remember.” After Collin finished explaining everything, everyone was silent; it was as if someone had hit the mute button. Collin sat and looked at everyone in the room. “What?” His concern was growing as the silence stretched on.
Finally, Kendryck broke the silence. “Okay, we need to see if we can establish a connection now. We need to see if we can figure out anything that might give us a clue to where she is, or who she’s with.”
“Well, it doesn’t take a genius to realize that that weirdo from the hospital took her. What did you say he was; a Black Knight or something?” Collin asked.
“Obsidian Knight.” Percy mumbled.
Gladys came over to sit next to Collin. She put her arm around him and gave him a hug. “It’s okay honey, we’ll find her.” Collin just nodded his head against Gladys’s shoulder.
“Okay.” Kendryck pulled Collin’s attention back to him. “Now, just like we practiced. Try to focus your thoughts on Jewell. Try to feel her thoughts.” His voice was low, hypnotic. Collin could feel himself drifting and his thoughts start to focus on what Jewell was feeling. As he started understanding what she was feeling, he tried to tell those sitting with him what he…what she, felt.
“She’s terrified.” He started. “She’s…hungry?” He was having trouble sorting through all of the emotions that were flooding his mind. “She’s hostile or maybe defiant. Anxious, but she’s also hopeful. Pain, exhaustion, resistance.” He stopped for a minute, frustrated. “I don’t know; there’s just so much!”
“That’s understandable. Let’s try to focus on one emotion at a time.” Kendryck tried to sort through what Collin had said so that he could help Collin focus. “The hunger is easy. They found a receipt from McDonald’s. They must not have given her a chance to eat. That’s not really important right now.” He looked at a notepad where he had been jotting down notes as Collin spoke. “I guess we should probably focus on the pain first. Can you tell whether it’s a physical pain, or an emotional one?”
Collin closed his eyes and tried to focus, attempting to block out all of the memories other than the pain. “It’s both, but…more physical I think.”
“Where? Can you tell where she’s feeling the pain?”
“Ummm…here,” Collin pointed to the back of his neck. “That pain is different than the rest. It’s like…it’s more of a burning pain, like a cut or a scrape. Her arm, it stings like a cut. Her back. That’s ummm…like it’s cramped maybe? Her wrists.” He thought for a second. “And her ankles too. It’s like something is wrapped around them.” Collin opened his eyes and looked at Kendryck.
“Maybe they’ve her tied up?” Percy supposed.
“That
would make sense, if they’ve got her as a hostage.” Gladys added.
“Well, they’re not exactly known for their gentle treatment of their victims.”
Gladys glared at Kendryck as Percy answered Collin’s worried look. “She’s not dead. That’s the important part. If they thought she was one of us, she would be dead. They decapitate infidels. They must want her for something else.”
“What else would they want her for?” Collin asked.
“You.” Percy answered succinctly.
Collin frowned and tried to make a connection with Jewell. “Where are you Honeysuckle? Please hold on, we’re coming for you.”
Chapter 46
Jewell didn’t know how often her guard had changed while she was sitting in the room. She had no way to guess the time between changes, but she thought that it was probably every hour or so. There had been four different guards which meant it could be just after noon. Jewell heard the rhythmic knock on the door indicating that someone new was coming to take over. She knew there were at least three men based on the different sounds they made as they moved.
“Tell the others that they can take a break, go home and get some rest. It’s hard to say how long this is going to last.” The voice was that of an older man, one that had reached full maturity. It carried with it an air of influence as if he was used to delegating authority or giving out orders. “Tell them not to get any ideas. I’m in charge right now, and as far as I’m concerned, unless we learn she’s one of them, she will leave here alive.”
Gee, she thought, that made her feel a whole lot better; and one of whom? Who did they think she was?
“Do we know if he knows yet?” The man sounded younger than the first.