by RL Edinger
“When Sheriff Delsmann, Talia, and I first met it was not the most pleasant meeting I’ve ever had,” Andrew paused as a wave of respectful laughter spread across the sea of mourners. Andrew continued, “She actually despised me and was determined to put me in jail for interfering with the Higgins investigation.” Andrew paused to gather his thoughts. He looked at his daughter. Like the others, Chloe waited for his next word. Andrew went on, “But over time we had become friends and there was a mutual respect for each other.” Andrew stopped again, this time he looked at the photo of Talia. He remembered her that night at the hotel in Berlin. She was so thrilled to wear the evening dress. He also remembered their kiss. Andrew touched his lips. Talia absolutely hated him when they first met. But all changed when he saved her that night at JFK Prep. He also remembered Talia had saved his life that night at the park. Andrew sniffed back his tears and went on, “Talia gave her life for me. When she lay dying in my arms, Talia asked if I knew what true love was.” Andrew paused. Everyone waited with anticipation for the answer. Andrew did not disappoint them, “I said no and she told me that true love was ‘sacrifice’”.
Andrew left the pulpit and walked over to Talia’s casket. He gently caressed the cold metal with his hand. Talia had willingly sacrificed her life for his. Andrew broke down. Chloe and Peter rushed up and helped him to the pew where they were seated.
Father Michael took his place at the pulpit. He gave the blessing. Six deputies rose and took their places beside Talia’s casket. Together they walked her mortal remains towards the side doors of the church and into the waiting horse drawn hearse. Peter, Lisa, Chloe, Nick and Andrew walked out and stood behind the company of Sheriffs deputies, the honor guard, the mayor and other city officials. The rest of the mourners filed out of church and joined them. Father Michael took his place at the head of the processional. The hearse driver gave his noble steed the command and the processional began its march through the church cemetery.
The funeral processional wound its way through the cemetery and finally came to a freshly dug grave overlooking the lake below. The honor guard marched in formation and came to a halt at the right side of the grave. They immediately came to ‘order arms’ and stood, stone-faced at attention. Father Michael took his place at the head of the gravesite as the pallbearers removed the casket from the horse drawn hearse. They carried the casket and set it down. Andrew, along with his daughter and the others, took their seats as the other mourners remained standing. It started to snow.
The snow was getting heavier now, and it soaked Andrew’s overcoat as he sat there staring at the casket.
“The Lord is my Shepard, I shall not want,” Father Michael began the graveside service. “He maketh me lie down in green pastures; he leadeth me beside still waters. He restores my soul. Thou preparest a table before me in the presesence of my enemies, my cup overflows, even though I walk through the valley of death, thou art with me, thy rod and thy staff comfort me, surely goodness and mercy shall follow me and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord my whole life long.”
Andrew found little comfort in the words. He could not shake the image of Talia in his arms. The look in her eyes would forever be etched in his mind. His pain was reflected in the faces of the other mourners.
Father Michael stepped aside and the honor guard marched to the head of the grave. They did a right wheel and now faced the lake. The ‘ready’ command was given. The honor guard came to the ready position. Then the order came to ‘aim’, they did with expert precision. Finally the ‘fire’ command came. The silence was broken with the report of gunfire. Each time the honor guard fired, the rage inside of Andrew grew.
The honor guard came to shoulder arms and marched back to their original position. Two deputies removed the flag from the casket and folded it. One of the deputies presented the flag to Andrew, since Talia had no living relatives. Andrew nodded his thanks and held the flag to his chest. He and the others watched as they lowered Talia’s casket into the ground. Andrew suddenly rose, handed the flag to Chloe, and walked off.
Andrew had seen Vlad standing by a tree as he watched the gravesite service. Andrew ducked behind the crowd of mourners and slipped in the surrounding woods. With great stealth, Andrew circled around to the place where Vlad was standing. Vlad, his attention focused on the service, never saw Andrew come up behind him. Andrew did not bother to even speak and punched Vlad in the back. Vlad stumbled to his knees. Andrew spun and hit Vlad with a kick to the back. Vlad fell and his face buried into the snow. He regained his composure and jumped up to see Andrew standing there. Vlad flashed his fangs and rushed Andrew, who twirled in the air and struck Vlad across the head and in the chest with his boots. Vlad tumbled and fell again. He glared at Andrew and spat blood from his mouth. Andrew walked up to Vlad and roughly grabbed him by the collar of his overcoat. He put his face close to Vlad’s and growled, “I am coming for the book and you.” Andrew let go of Vlad’s collar and walked away. Vlad wiped his mouth and narrowed his eyes. “I’ll be ready,” Vlad’s voice echoed through the cold winter’s air. He rose a bit unsteadily to his feet and walked away.
Chapter 19
The northern wind fanned out across the land with perilous intent. Its icy breath stirred up and drove the innocent looking velvety flakes of snow into a fevered frenzy. The wind moaned and howled through the branches of the leafless trees. The snow and wind kept building until it finally climaxed and gave birth to the season’s first winter storm.
From the blowing and drifting snow, a single pair of headlights pierced through it all. The road was nearly impassible, but the rider coaxed his trusty steed to continue on. When it could go no futher, the driver pulled his jeep into a wooded glen just off the road.
Andrew jumped out and trudged through the knee-deep snow to the back of his jeep. He thrust open the hatch and took out the first order of business; his shelter tent. Andrew plowed through the snow and when he got to a spot beneath two tall pine trees, he pulled the cord and the tent sprung to life. Andrew kept a tight grip for fear of losing his shelter to the hungry winds. He set his tent down now and quickly secured the lines to the trunks of the sturdy trees. Satisfied, Andrew returned to the jeep for the rest of his gear. He grabbed it all and held it tightly in his arms. Andrew returned to his shelter and while balancing his load with one hand, he unzipped the flap with the other. Andrew tossed in his gear first and then climbed in right after. He re-closed the tent flap.
The interior of the tent was pitch-black. Andrew unzipped the large bag and searched through it. He was glad and pridefully removed the lantern. He pushed the button and the electric blue light flooded the tent. Finally able to see, Andrew put down the lantern and laid out his sleeping bag. He climbed inside and zipped it shut. Soon Andrew was feeling comfortably warm. In order to save the lantern battery, Andrew shut it off.
Andrew lay awake unable to sleep. His thoughts soon drifted off to days earlier. Right after Talia’s funeral, Peter along with the Sheriffs department, showed up at the Ravenclaw property with a search warrant. When they arrived, a caretaker was there to meet them. He informed them that Ravenclaw had already left to join up with friends in Illinois. Though disappointed, the authorities searched the manor and the rest of the property for the book. They could not locate it and gave up the search. Andrew knew they would never find the book there; Ravenclaw was much more intelligent than that. To make matters worse, the Sheriffs department classified the Higgins’s case as unsolved and filed it away. Wyatt was released from jail as promised. Nedra, tired of the bad influences in Bayport, took her boys and just left. She also put their home up for sale. When Nedra paid Andrew for his services, she did not even tell him where they were going. Roxanne returned to her bookstore. She had suggested that Andrew seek professional counseling for his obsession with Vlad Ravenclaw.
Roxanne told him that it was unhealthy. Andrew said he would, but never intended on following through.
Chloe also told him to get help before she re
turned to her own private investigative business in Madison. She was concerned he would do something extreme. Andrew lied and told her he was planning on joining up with Megan and her parents. Chloe asked where they were. This time Andrew told the truth that they were going to visit family in California. Chloe must have believed him and left.
Nick had gone back to Chicago. He had with him a letter of recommendation from Peter, the Sheriffs department and the Berlin police in Germany. As a result, Nick was promoted to the rank of Sergeant. With everyone gone and back to their normal lives, Andrew was once again alone.
The wind’s icy claws were scratching at the tent in search of it next victim. Andrew laid back and closed his eyes. But sleep did not come yet. Andrew suspected that Ravenclaw had Kara keep possession of the book. Her place was much more secure than Ravenclaw’s. As a result, Andrew suspected that Kara was some how involved in the death of the Higgins’s family. He also believed that Vlad Ravenclaw was involved too. It was all a mute point anyway, at least until he had proof.
Andrew nestled down inside his warm, comfortable sleeping bag. He did his best to ignore the howling winds. Finally, sleep did come to Andrew. He closed his eyes and drifted off into sweet slumber.
The sunlight glistened across the newly laid out blanket of snow. A light winter’s breeze gently flowed across the land. The storm from the night before was gone and in its path was a winter wonderland.
Andrew woke refreshed. He had not gotten such a restful night sleep in months. He sat up and stretched the last remnants of the sandman’s dust from his eyes. Andrew unzipped the sleeping bag and rolled out. He crawled on his knees to the flap and unzipped it. Andrew’s gaze was immediately met with a wall of white. He would have to dig his way out. Andrew dug at the snow, shoveling it out of the way with his gloved hands.
After what seemed like forever, Andrew emerged. The sun-soaked snow blinded him and Andrew immediately closed his eyes. He reached in the breast pocket of his coat and took out a pair of sunglasses. Andrew put them on and re-opened his eyes. When he did, Andrew surveyed his surroundings.
Andrew first appraised the situation with his jeep. It was buried in the snow and going nowhere for a very long time. Andrew turned around and eyed up his tent. It looked more like an igloo now. Andrew ducked back inside and retrieved his binoculars. He walked to the edge of the hill and gazed upon the pristine landscape below. Andrew raised the binoculars to his eyes and focused on the object of his desire.
The stone block castle was impressive, but it probably was more of an eyesore amongst the more modest homes of its neighbors. Andrew scouted the fence line which was constructed of stone and electric wire. It said to intruders very loud and clear to ‘stay out’ or else. Andrew turned his attention to the front gate and the guard house. He saw two security personnel that carried side arms. The gate itself was a very impressive creation of an iron frame and bars. As Andrew continued to watch, a linen company delivery truck stopped at the gate. As one of the guards remained inside in the guard house, his partner approached the truck. He spoke to the driver and checked his clipboard. When he was satisfied, he waved to his partner to open the gate. Once the gate was open, the truck continued on its way.
Andrew settled down in the snow and continued his surveillance. About a half an hour later, another truck arrived. This one was from Nancy’s Catering. Well, Andrew thought, Kara must be having a party. The guards followed the same procedures as earlier. There was no way he could enter the property during the daylight with such tight security. The only way was under the cover of darkness. Andrew estimated it took about five minutes for the guards to check in a vehicle and open the gate. This included the time it took to exit the guard house, walk to the vehicle, check the clipboard and open the gate. Andrew had to find a place to hide close by, and that meant he had to do that during the daylight. Once there, he could remain undetected until the time of the party. Andrew searched the area close to the gate. It was there that he found a large pine tree with its lower branches touching the snow. Andrew was willing to bet that the area beneath the branches and snow was a place to hide in. To do so, was a risk, but one he had to take. He could use the surrounding woods for cover, but the last few yards were in the open.
Andrew stood up and returned to his tent. He crawled inside and retrieved a rather large and long pack of white camouflage that matched his winter clothing. Andrew departed from his ‘igloo’ and started his trek towards the pine tree.
It had not been an easy hike through the knee-deep snow. Andrew was about halfway and decided to rest. He took off the pack and plopped it and himself down in the snow. Andrew opened one of the side pockets and pulled out a couple of energy bars. Andrew tore open the first one and quickly downed it in a couple of bites. With the next one, he opened it and spent a little more time to eat it. As he sat there, Andrew looked around and still could not believe how much it snowed last night. Andrew stood up and slung his pack over his shoulders. He continued on his way.
Andrew had finally reached the edge of the trees. He knelt down and took out his binoculars. He focused on the guard house. The two guards had their backs to him and were in the midst of a conversation. It was now or never. Andrew put away his binoculars and dropped down on his belly. He started his approach to the pine tree. Andrew crawled along slowly and would pause from time to time to blend in with the snow and barren ground cover. By now Andrew could see the guard house and security without his binoculars. This was the critical part in his plan. This was the part where it could all go bad and he would be discovered. Andrew had to slowly inch his way towards the pine tree. What should have normally only taken a few minutes, it had taken Andrew much longer. He was never so glad when the aroma of pine filled his nostrils.
Andrew moved to the opposite side of the tree, away from the guard’s view. Andrew quickly dug through the snow and as he suspected there was a ‘cave’ beneath the tree. Andrew took off his pack and lowered it into his ‘home’ and crawled in after it. He fixed the snow to make it look like it was before. Andrew left his pack and crawled on his hands and knees to the side of the tree that faced the gate. Andrew dug out a hole just big enough for him to look through and provide some necessary light. He could clearly see the security guards and the front gate. Andrew was about to go back for his pack, when a black Mercedes with heavily tinted windows, pulled up to the gate. You could not see the occupants at all. Just like before, the guard exited the guardhouse and approached the vehicle. But this time was different. As the driver lowered the window, the security guard never bothered to check his clipboard and immediately motioned for his partner to open the gate. Whoever it was, they were important. Once the gate was open, the car sped through and up its way towards the castle. Andrew went back for his pack and brought it with him to his spy window. He set the alarm on his watch and laid his head down on the pack for a pillow. Andrew was worn out and needed to rest. His eyes were suddenly very heavy and soon Andrew was snoring away.
Andrew woke in a panic. The sunlight was gone. His watch alarm did not go off! Andrew scrambled in the dark and crawled quickly to his spy hole. It was night and there were already a line of vehicles at the front gate. Andrew crawled back to his pack and grabbed it. He returned to his spy hole and shoveled the snow away like a madman. Soon the hole was big enough and Andrew climbed out. He ducked and sort of did a run crawl along the line of cars. So far he went undetected. Pretty soon Andrew was along side a black hummer. Andrew sat down for a few seconds to catch his breath, but it did not last long. The gates started to open and the hummer started to move! Andrew scrambled as fast as he could as the hummer picked up speed. If he did not move quicker, the guards would discover him. Andrew stumbled and fell as the hummer pulled away. He turned and looked. He was inside! The gate closed and with it, concealed his presence.
Not far from the gate was the groundskeeper building. Andrew scrambled to his feet and ran over to it. Andrew took out his lock pick set and bent down to examine the lock. He selec
ted the right tools. Andrew had the lock picked and the door opened within minutes. He put the tool back in the case and back in his pocket. Andrew went inside and closed the door. Andrew removed his pack and set in on the floor. He removed his winter clothing to reveal a Knight’s of VanHelsing outfit underneath. He unzipped the pack next and took the scabbards with swords along with a long leather black coat. Andrew first put on the coat and then slipped on the scabbards. He reached inside the pack for one other thing. Andrew slipped on the hood and now he was complete. Andrew hid his winter clothing and the pack beneath some lawn product bags. Andrew left the groundskeeper’s building and headed for the main house.
Andrew used the landscaping for cover as he went directly to the rear of the castle where the deliver vehicles were parked. Andrew ducked into the bushes nearby and watched. He saw a pretty steady flow of catering staff that moved from the truck to the entrance.
He at first thought it would be too risky to try and sneak in between the catering workers. The windows were out as an entry point because they probably had some type of alarm. Andrew was stumped for the moment, but then opportunity knocked; there was a break in the line of catering staff.
Andrew bolted from the bushes and in through the open doorway. He was in the hallway which led directly to the kitchen. Now what Andrew thought? There was no place to go. Great, Andrew said to himself, he would surely be discovered. Andrew leaned against the wall, and before he could react the wall seemed to swallow him up! Andrew stumbled backwards and landed on his butt. The secret panel closed and a light immediately illuminated the area he was now in. It was a narrow passageway.