For a time he mingled among the crowds at the Eiffel Tower, but then he heeded Brumfield’s comment to Krasner about walking along the Seine. Todd did likewise. He walked at least two miles, up and down, back and forth, seeing some young and some old lovers, but again no sign of Brumfield. The next day he went through the same routine, but still with no luck. He was beginning to lose hope. After all, he was searching for this tiny needle in a huge European haystack.
His next stop was the Berlin Wall where he obliged groups of tourists by taking their picture next to the tiny graffiti section of the structure still standing. Again, another day of strolling around the area produced no results.
Now he headed for Italy, specifically first to Rome and St Peter’s. The church was magnificent, but Todd’s view was spoiled by the fact that he kept looking in the crowds for some sign of Nathan. After four hours of walking around the area, he went inside the church, not to pray but to rest. Sitting there he started to nod off, but suddenly for some reason he snapped awake. Had he seen something, or was some kind of force guiding him? After two minutes of scanning the crowds, there was Nathan. No. Todd felt he must be getting delirious from all this traveling and searching. He kept staring, and now he was sure. It was Brumfield. He was standing near another smaller altar, admiring a statue. No one was with him.
Todd rose slowly, but his caution did no good because like in a movie when the hero closes in, by magic the villain sees him or her. It was other-worldly because at that very instant, Nathan turned and looked right at Todd. There was no hesitation. He broke out running, sprinting for a side door. A young couple, with eyes glued to their camera phones moved into Todd’s path. He ran smack into them, sending all three of them to the ground. The two were upset because Todd had ruined their picture. “You walked in front of me,” Todd protested, but he couldn’t keep arguing. He had to go after Brumfield.
Of course now the man was gone. Todd ran outside, but there was no sign of him. Rather than wander around aimlessly which he had been doing, Todd sat down on the side steps to think. Why would Nathan come here to St. Peter’s when to Father Xavier he had totally denounced the Catholic Church? Todd had not seen any instance of Nathan doing anything offensive in the church itself. He was not here for the purpose of spitting in the aisle like he had said. Then why was he here? It could be just a curious stop at the Church on his way to his real destination, which was Florence, da Vinci’s home turf. Foxworthy, the Math teacher had told Todd how enthralled Nathan was with Leonardo’s work. In his crazed mind he could be bringing Carrie into an area that he was proud of, as if he was the one who had produced those paintings and drawings. Brumfield had made a success for himself, but not in the world of the arts. Possibly she still yearned to be more creative than he was. If he could be in da Vinci’s homeland, he could transform himself into a person whom Carrie could admire.
Why do many people like to be in the presence of celebrities? If I can get close, some of their genius will rub off on me. Nathan will show Carrie the land of his hero, and there together the both of them could settle down.
Todd took a rental car from Rome to Florence. He was excited the entire three hour ride north. He was sure he had found Nathan’s destination.
Once in Florence he went to five different areas that the map said were connected to Leonardo da Vinci. At none of those places, did he find Brumfield. Again, he’d hit a brick wall. Wait a minute, what had Foxworthy said was the da Vinci creation that Nathan liked the best? Vitruvian Man that was it. Where was that painting located? Todd said to himself.
Todd paged through the Guide he had bought at the Rome airport. That drawing by the genius was located at the Gallery dell’ Accademia in VENICE. That could be where Nathan had been heading for the entire time, the final destination. Todd was not happy thinking about the word, final, related to Carrie. He had to get to Venice as fast as he could.
Traffic was bunched up. It took Todd over three hours, but now he was at the Gallery. He asked the clerk at the main desk where the Vitruvian Man was. “You are in luck, sir; the drawing is not always displayed. Yesterday was the first day for a week.” Todd was told the pen and ink drawing was around the corner and down one aisle.
Of course Todd was puzzled as to why Nathan was so obsessed with that male figure. He had read that it was supposed to be the depiction of the perfect human body. Brumfield fell far short of that physical perfection. Maybe he felt he was going to have another life with a new kind of body.
Todd saw the crowd at the far end. Yes, Nathan was standing there along with the others. Todd could not approach without eventually being seen. While he was debating what to do, a couple from the crowd in front of Brumfield were leaving causing him to turn to let them by. Again as luck would have it his gaze swept up the hallway. Todd quickly ducked back behind a post, but it was too late. A woman screamed. Nathan had grabbed her and was holding her in front of himself as a shield. The crowd in frantic haste dispersed, splitting off in all directions. The sighting of a gun will do that to people.
Nathan and the woman started to approach Todd. The frozen fear on the woman’s face told Todd she was not going to make a break away for freedom. Todd did not know how the man had been able to get a gun into the museum, but he also had walked right past a couple guards without being checked for his gun. There were no metal detectors.
Nathan was closer now. The woman, maybe in her middle fifties, looked as if she were going to faint. Nathan spoke with a confident voice. “Carrie said you would pursue me. She’s proud of her little brother. If you try to stop me, you know I will kill this lady.”
“Just like you killed Blessing and Fosdick.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. With your opposite hand, take your gun out by the barrel and throw it toward me.”
Todd did as he was told. Brumfield took two steps forward and kicked the gun down toward the rear wall. “You do not know the truth about life, little brother. We are all in a prison. Right now Carrie is in one herself; she will be the first one dying in there in quite a few years. But such is life. Goodbye, Todd, until we meet again in Hell.”
The two guards near the entrance had come upon the scene, but they also backed off. Nathan dragged the woman out of Todd’s sight.
The instant they disappeared around the corner Todd ran to get his gun. He and the guards waited a couple minutes for the safety of the woman, and then they ran outside. The woman was lying on the steps. She had sustained a cut on her knee and bruises on her arm, but she was breathing. How could Nathan have vanished so quickly? Todd wondered.
That question was answered at the top of a nearby alley where a youth was also lying on the ground. He gave Todd a stream of Italian as he approached. One of the guards walking with Todd translated. “He said his scooter was stolen by a crazy man.”
Todd knew with this kind of head start, Nathan could already be on the Grand Canal and on his way out of the city.
Todd thought back to what Nathan had said about Carrie. She was in some kind of prison. It sounded like an actual prison, and she would be the first one to die there in quite a few years, the kidnapper said. To Todd, this meant that back in history other people had died at that same spot. Todd googled Venice, prison history. He received a bunch of references, and when for the next fifteen minutes he sorted through the articles, he thought possibly he had a clue. The ruling government or Doge had its Palace there at the Piazza San Marco. Trials were held at the Palace court, and then the convicted prisoners had to walk across the bridge to their cells. According to lore and legend, the prisoners were supposed to sigh heavily as they glimpsed the lagoon and the island of San Giorgio through the small windows of the bridge. It was their last look at freedom. In truth the days of inquisitions and torture were over by the time the bridge was built, and only small time crooks were kept in those prison cells at that time. Still it was their last look at freedom for those people. No one really knows how those prisoners reacted when they looked through t
he windows. The name, Bridge of Sighs comes from a poem by Lord Byron two hundred years after the bridge was built, which talked about the sighing of the convicted because freedom was no longer theirs.
The point for Todd was that there were still prison cells within that Palace. It took him over an hour to get someone in charge to take him through those cells. With his red uniform and square black hat, this official fussed the entire time. He would tug at his mustache and say, “This is highly irregular,” again and again.
“I’m trying to save a woman’s life.”
“There is a regular tour where you are allowed to go across the bridge and see only one cell.”
“Don’t tell me that for a good amount of money, you guides wouldn’t take a person on a special tour to see more?”
“Are you saying we would soil our honor by taking a bribe?”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying.”
“I have never taken any such bribe. What you are having me do is highly irregular.”
They wound their way in and out of a labyrinth of passages. Todd examined every one of the cells. Finally they were in the basement dungeon area. “No one comes down into this area,” the guard said. “I only show you because you are a policeman and I have respect. But if you did decide to contribute something to my children’s schooling I would not refuse it.”
In the corner of the third cell in the narrow corridor, there looked to be a blanket folded into the darkness. Todd looked twice. No, not just a blanket; a shape was underneath it. Todd ran into the cell and threw off the blanket. Huddled in a fetal position was his sister. Her eyes were closed but Todd could see that she was breathing. There were smudges on her face, and she definitely had lost weight. Todd could not immediately wake her. Possibly she had been drugged.
“Go, get more help,” Todd said to the guard. “Get me a doctor.”
“I will, but please remember my son and daughter’s education.”
Todd held Carrie in his arms to give her warmth. It had to be forty degrees down here. She suddenly opened her eyes. She grabbed at Todd’s face and dug her nails in.
“Carrie, it’s me.”
“Oh. Todd.” She let go.
“Carrie, those nails are sharp.”
“I thought you were him.”
Todd wiped the blood away. “Obviously. You’re safe now. Brumfield is gone.”
She now hugged her brother back. “It was so scary. He broke into my apartment waving a gun. If I didn’t come with him immediately he would shoot me right there. He had a warehouse in the country he uses as storage. He kept me there for two nights. That first night he gave me water, but it was laced with some kind of drug. It made me powerless, and he raped me. Then he gave me a shot which put me out totally. The second night I was out of it the whole time, and then the next morning he said we were going to Italy. He told me if I made any kind of fuss he would kill the people around us, even on the airplane. He had his company make him a gun with a plastic shell that is coated with some chemical that makes airport scanners impossible to pick it up. He was so crazed I knew he would do it. Many people would die. I had to go along with what he wanted.”
Todd had never seen Carrie in any kind of vulnerable position. “It’s all right. None of this is your fault. Nathan lost his mind. Maybe it had been a long time coming, but he finally flipped.”
By this time the doctor had arrived. He did a preliminary check. “There seems to be no broken bones, but we will transport her to the hospital and take X-rays.”
They let Todd ride in the ambulance with his sister.
“Has Nathan been arrested?” Carrie asked.
“No, he momentarily took a hostage and escaped.”
“Todd, he’ll come back and get me!”
“No he won’t. Listen, when we get back to Chicago I’ll stay with you and check with the Chicago police to see what progress they’re making. Because this crime of kidnapping involves interstate and inter-country boundaries, I think the FBI and CIA can be brought into this. Police agencies throughout the world are better able to communicate with each other through law enforcement data bases. They will get him. For as long as it takes, I’ll stay at your place.”
“That would make me feel better.” She was about to say something else, but she passed out.
CHAPTER FORTY TWO
Two days later Carrie was released from the Venetian hospital, and they flew back to Chicago. She was starting to regain some of her old self, letting one of the attendants on the plane know about the kind of food that was being served.
After the girl walked away in a huff, Todd said, “Carrie, this isn’t a posh restaurant catering to the rich and famous. They have to feed a lot of people day-after-day. It’s assembly-line food.”
“I don’t care. I wouldn’t feed what I just ate, or almost ate, to my dog.”
“You don’t have a dog.”
“If I had one, I wouldn’t feed him that crap.”
Carrie was back.
She also would not take any days off and, no matter how much Todd protested, she insisted she go to work the next morning. “I’ve had my vacation,” she said.
“Yes, everyone wants a holiday where they can be kidnapped and practically tortured.”
“The only way I was spared with Nathan is that after the first time he couldn’t get it up again, even when we got to Italy. I thought the frustration would get to him, and he would beat me up, but instead of anger he got depressed. One time I thought I saw tears in his eyes. It didn’t make me sympathetic, but at least he didn’t try to unleash any violence on me.”
“I thought he might have done a couple murders as a favor to the other woman he had just kidnapped, that I told you about. But when I mentioned it in the museum he seemed to know nothing about it. Possibly he isn’t the killer I’ve been chasing, but he still should spend a lot of time in jail for his kidnappings and rapes.”
“I agree. Also, he needs therapy.”
“A person doesn’t always get that in prison.”
“I know I’ll have to eventually testify against him in court. I’ll suggest that he get the psychiatric help. After all, he’s held it together long enough to run this extremely successful business. He did want to date me, but he never became offensive in the office. Like you say, he just suddenly lost it. Too much of a desire for women.”
“It was interesting that he could hardly perform when he had you alone.”
“He told me once in the office that in bed he didn’t need all that Viagra stuff.”
“Thank goodness for the pride of the macho man. That helped your ordeal.”
Just to be safe, each day Todd drove Carrie to and from work, and they pretty much ate in her condo. “I haven’t even had such a long stretch where I haven’t gone out to a restaurant,” she said.
“You are high maintenance. The person who eventually marries you will have to have a hefty bank account.”
“Definitely. I’m not a McDonald’s or Wal-Mart person.”
Todd hearing those names was again made aware that he had to eventually get back to Calypso to continue to work on that case. On the fifth day back in Chicago, being picked up again from work she said she couldn’t stand it anymore. “We have to eat out tonight. I’m going through withdrawal. I know a nice cozy place.”
Todd was going to make a fussing comment about the cost of any place that she would pick, but then he remembered the Lottery money he was still spending.
“Sure. My treat.”
“Todd, you had to spend a lot to come rescue me. You’ve either robbed a bank lately, or won the Lottery?”
“Well, I haven’t robbed a bank.”
The cozy place was posh and elegant. They had just finished dessert after an exotic offering of Japanese cuisine. Todd leaned back still savoring what had graced his palate.
He asked Carrie, “I haven’t always been in touch with you too often these last years. Did you ever come close to finding Mr. Right?”
“Tw
o years ago, I met someone at a Midwest marketing conference. Porter was his name. Porter Hancock. He’s a marketing director for Exxon oil, working now out of Houston. We talked a lot at the meetings, and one of the nights we had dinner together. I liked him. I guess I liked him a lot.”
“Well, what happened?”
“What do you mean, what happened? He had to go back to Houston.”
“Oh, all right, that’s so far away. You of all people should be aware that this world is totally a global village. You could have emailed him, texted him, sent him a Tweet, and if you wanted to go old school, you could have even phoned him.”
“Look at my baby brother, trying to play cupid. I’m just not ready to settle down.”
“Quit calling me your baby brother. I’ve been a cop for all these years, risking my life every day. I don’t think babies do something like that.”
“Sorry, I’m just used to calling you that.”
“You’re used to a lot of things, for one, always being in control. Just a week ago you weren’t in control, and someone named your brother bailed you out. You think you’re going to spend your entire life always being in control. Maybe you need a helper, someone who can enhance your life and you can do the same for his. Start living a little and quit isolating yourself.”
“Wow where did all that come from? Maybe I needed that. I sometimes won’t admit that I get lonely. I take that back. I never admit it when I get lonely, but I do feel the absence of a companion. Thank you, Todd, for slapping me around”
“You don’t have to put it that way.”
“How about you? Any girlfriend on the horizon?”
“That’s where my anger comes from. I’m the same way. Just lately I decided to change that a little, but the gal I liked became a suspect in my Indiana case. I had to step away.”
“What’s her name?”
“Nancy. Nancy Skylar. She runs the local newspaper in Calypso.”
“I’ll give you the same advice. If you think she’s the one, don’t let her get away.”
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