by T. K. Chapin
I called the front desk.
There was no answer.
Hurrying over to the computer, I powered it on. I'd look up their website and try to find someone who was awake, someone to talk to about Emily. Emily's frantic voice replayed in my head as I waited for the PC to boot up, my heart twisting. Combing my fingers through my hair, I heard it again, and again. "Dad?" whispered through my mind. My eyes watered as all the possible scenarios played through my mind like a horror movie.
The log-in screen on computer finally came up, a welcomed distraction from my thoughts.
Hurrying, I typed in my password and logged in.
Finding a twenty-four-hour crisis hotline number on the website for Lighthouse, I phoned them and got ahold of a lady named Tiffany.
"What's your daughter's name again?" she asked for a third time.
"Emily. Emily Fields. You know, for being a crisis line, you sure aren't very good at listening. She's been at the facility, community, whatever for a year now!"
A set of Mmmhmms coupled with the sound of tapping on a keyboard did little to make me feel anything was being carried out on her end of the phone. My anger rose. Emily had called me at three o'clock in the morning. Something was wrong, and I didn't feel Tiffany was going to figure it out. Growling in frustration, I finally had enough of the incompetence.
"Give me someone in charge, please."
"Sir, I do apologize, but I'm the only one here until seven am. I did find a record for your daughter, but it shows her state as asleep right now."
Click.
I hung up. I wasn't going to waste any more of my time. Calling the number back again that Emily had called from, I found the line once again busy. My annoyance bubbled more, and I slammed the phone down on the hook, almost busting it.
I called the cops.
Dispatch had an officer phone me an hour later after visiting the community and assuring me my daughter was asleep. Going back to my bedroom after hanging up with the police, I lay down to sleep even though I knew not even a wink was going to be possible.
As I tossed and turned, I wondered more about Emily. The panic in her whisper echoed repeatedly through my mind, keeping me from slumber.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
EVERY HOUR I DIDN'T SLEEP, I tried that same phone number she called from, and it rang busy every time. Finally, at seven o'clock, I called the front desk. This time, someone answered, a woman by the name of Joan.
After hearing all I had to say, Joan was supportive, which was more than I could say about their so-called crisis hotline.
"Oh, dear, Mr. Fields. You know, I see here that she's in the sleeping state, but you're more than welcome to come down and visit anytime you'd like as long as it’s during normal business hours."
The knot in my chest loosened a little. "That'd be great. I'll be there shortly. Thank you, Joan."
Hanging up the phone, I went and got ready. I showered, shaved, and even stopped by the grocery store on the way to pick up a dozen flowers for my daughter. I wanted her happy to see me, and I knew flowers would put a smile on her face. I wasn't sure what to expect when I finally laid eyes on Emily after a year of her being in there, but I did know a couple of things. First, she was my daughter, and second, I loved her more than any other woman on the planet. Just because I was upset with her choices didn’t mean my love for her would ever change.
Arriving at the Community, I pulled through the open black gate and parked in a spot near a white brick building. Getting out, I headed up to the front doors and took a glance toward the towering cinderblock walls on both sides of the building that kept the community confined. I wondered if those twelve feet cement walls were to keep people out or those inside in.
Meeting Joan face-to-face, she let my nerves cool even more as she came across even more friendly and personable than she did on the phone. She explained how some of the medication they gave to residents had harsh side effects, and a nurse had told her one medication, in particular, produced nightmare states in patients.
"That's most likely what happened with Emily last night, Ron, and I'm so sorry about that."
"So she's okay?"
Joan nodded. "After talking to you, I spoke with her Doctor, Dr. Jamison, and he and a couple of nurses went over to her dwelling. They found the phone off the hook and her fighting some sort of nightmare when they walked in. She's okay now."
"Okay." I wasn’t believing it quite yet, but I heard her.
Joan stood up from her chair at the desk and left her station to take me through the facility and to my daughter. As we were walking by a large set of windows, I saw into a swimming pool area. In the midst of a dozen or so women around the pool, I caught one staring at me. She turned, pulling her eyes off me, then dove into the pool.
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
THE COURTYARD JOAN BROUGHT ME into was beautifully crafted. Flowing streams of water, flowers, and other various trees filled the area. Tiles of hand-carved rocks made paths that went in all different directions in the courtyard. We took a path that led under a row of pink cherry blossom trees. The flowers in almost every inch of the courtyard had vibrancy and beauty I hadn’t seen in all of Spokane. The flowers in my hand suddenly felt silly, a bit unneeded in a place like this. As we crossed through the center of the courtyard, dotted cabins on the far side came into my view.
"That must be the dwellings?" I pointed to them.
"Yes."
We continued and came out of the courtyard through a small black gate and to a cement road that led to the front of the cabins. Passing by the first and second, we came to the third. Stopping at the wood-grain door, Joan turned to me.
"Please, no loud sounds or yelling. Be calm and peaceful as you visit with her. If you upset her in any way, we will remove you from the premises. Understood?"
"Sure. Let me see my daughter." I reached past her and grabbed the doorknob, twisting it. I found it locked.
"It's locked?" Joan inquired. I moved out of the way and let her give the knob a turn.
Joan turned to me, her eyes wide, full of surprise.
"What is this? Some kind of joke?" My tone carried an edge as I felt she was messing with me. My eyes darted to the left and to the right. Then I turned around. "Where is my daughter?"
"No, it’s not a joke. I don't understand why it's locked." Joan's cellphone suddenly rang. She turned to answer it as she pulled it from her pocket, but I moved closer to her, then leaned in as I tried to listen. She tried to move further down the slab of pavement that lined the cabins, but I followed closely.
"Where's my daughter, Joan?"
She waved a hand back at me, trying to shoo me away from her presence as I followed even closer. My anger grew.
Finally, I grabbed her cellphone from her hand, prying it away from her.
"Who is this?" I asked into the phone. "Where's Emily?"
"Mr. Fields." Immediately, I recognized his voice. It was Henry. My heart burned with an angry fire. Joan tried to get her phone again, but I twisted away from her.
"Where is she?" I asked through my teeth as my grip on the bouquet tightened in my other hand. My heart pounded so hard in my ears I could barely hear a word.
"Go to the courtyard and find a seat on the bench near the white stone with a little fence around it. I'll meet you there and bring her to you."
Click.
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
GIVING JOAN HER PHONE BACK, I sensed she was sorely displeased by her frown. I told her about the request for me over in the courtyard, and she informed me she was about to tell me that when I took her phone from her.
“Well, I’m sorry. Little frustrated here, Joan.”
A woman approached us right then, someone from within the community, and she and Joan began to talk. I left to go meet with Henry and to finally see my daughter. Walking back through the gate and into the courtyard, my eyes glided over the beautiful tulips, red and white roses, and then finally, a section of bleeding hearts. I realized just then tha
t someone was watering plants nearby as my shoes found themselves in a stream of water. I peered over and saw the woman from earlier in the pool area who had been staring at me. She was watering a section of plants with a garden hose.
I walked toward her, but she dropped the hose and hurried down a path that led away. I was about to pursue, but I couldn't. I didn't want to miss seeing Emily. Turning, I saw the bench Henry spoke of on the phone, and I went and sat down.
As I waited, I pondered the woman from the pool as I looked at the bouquet I had brought for Emily. Who was she? I wondered. The petals of a few of the flowers were gone on the bouquet, and the leaves on the stems were all but a few smashed from when my fist tightened around them. I couldn’t give these to her, not like this. Sliding on the bench, I leaned over the edge and set them down in the flower bed.
"Mr. Fields, we meet again." Henry's voice was smiling along with his mouth as he and Emily came walking through the courtyard toward me. I stood up as my eyes fell on Emily and immediately watered. I hadn't seen her in what felt like forever. Seeing her now, in a white and long flowing dress, killed me. The worst part was she looked happy. Joan's words replayed in my mind. She was just on medication.
"Why were you medicating my daughter?" I asked, standing up and looking squarely at Henry.
"We don't like to call it ‘medicating’. We call it love." They moved closer to me, my daughter's expression of a smile and that softness stuck on her face like glue. I realized not a single muscle was moving in her face. What is going on? It was as if Emily were a wax doll brought out for this very occasion.
My stomach flipped.
Henry continued. "We use natural ways of treating illness. We call them love plants. Your daughter, Emily, was suffering, and we gave her something for the pain of her soul, of her heart."
The kid didn’t have a clue what he was talking about. He didn’t know my Emily. “Suffering from what?”
He shook his head and moved behind Emily, resting his hands on both her shoulders. “Your daughter has a very beautiful soul, Mr. Fields, but she’s been through a lot of pain. Your divorce thrashed her, and that’s not even to mention the time she spent away from home when she ran. She’s finally dealing with these things, and it’s love that will get her through them.”
What? By numbing out on plants? I thought to myself as my stomach somersaulted. Something was wrong with this place, very wrong. "I'd like to talk to my daughter alone."
He waved his hand in the air, motioning to the bench behind me. "You're sure into that. As you wish." He turned to Emily, took both her hands in his, and kissed her on the lips. She kissed him back, finally revealing that she could move muscles in her face.
"I won't be long, my love." Her voice was like silk, void of any sort of pain or stress.
We sat down on the bench, and I watched as Henry made his way out of the courtyard through a row of tall standing shrubs. I had never felt so powerless as I did in that moment. If only I could rescue her from this place. When he was finally out of sight, I scooted closer to her and grabbed her hand closest to me. It was cold. "You called me last night. What's wrong, Emily? He's gone. You can speak."
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
TILTING HER HEAD, EMILY SMILED, but her eyes didn't reflect she was even there. It was like Emily had checked out. She shook her head as she looked at me. "I'm fine, Daddy. I just had a bad dream and accidentally called you."
"C'mon. You can be honest, Ems. One doesn’t sound that terrified on accident. Something is wrong. What are they doing to you here?"
"Nothing is wrong!" she snapped, her eyebrows furrowing and her smile falling fast. She stood up quickly, and her smile came rushing back, her eyebrows softening. "Is that the only reason you came here? To rescue me? What a fool I was. I thought you wanted to see how I lived, to see how happy I am. But you don't. You thought I was in danger." She shook her head and turned, glancing toward the direction Henry had left. "I'm happy, Dad. I wish you could be happy for me."
Rising to my feet, I grabbed her and turned her around to face me. "Are they making you say this? What are you happy with, Emily?"
Her eyes widened for a second, and the fear I heard on the phone flashed through her eyes, then it was gone. The ‘cult pamphlet’ Emily returned. "Henry is good to me, good to all of us. The help we are providing to Spokane has a huge impact. Last week, we fed over 60,000 people in the greater Spokane area. I help with the community's garden, which feeds every person here at Lighthouse. I have purpose for the first time in my life, and I love it." She came in closer, her palm grazing my cheek as she tilted her head, her eyes still void of the Emily I knew. "Be happy."
Panic stricken, I pressed my hand against my forehead. She’s in there! I saw it! Glancing around nervously, I saw a few women walking. They were coming through the courtyard with baskets of fruits and vegetables. Laughing and smiling as they walked, they looked over at us and smiled. Only women. Odd. Why? There was something wrong with the Lighthouse community. I knew that now, but I had no way of getting her out of there. One of the women walking by waved at Emily in the courtyard, saying, "Hi, Mya."
Emily waved back at the woman. Mya? I thought to myself. Maybe I misheard. Taking her hand in mine, I said, "Come with me. Let’s get you to my place. This place isn’t okay, Emily."
She shook her head as her eyes came back to me and she pulled away. "No, Daddy. I can't. There's still work to be done before the Cresting."
"Emily." Henry's voice carried through the courtyard, crushing what little chance I had of rescuing her. I took a step back, knowing my chance had slipped away.
My daughter grabbed one of my hands and gave it a squeeze. It was cold, almost to a point of worrisome. "It was nice seeing you again, Dad. Do not return here again."
With that small, painful sentence, she walked away and joined Henry. I stood there in the courtyard for a moment, trying to wrap my mind around what was happening within this community, with all the women. Henry and Emily left me in the courtyard, but soon, Joan came and found me.
"It's time for you to leave, Mr. Fields."
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
SITTING QUIETLY IN THE BACK of the bus, the man watched his target as she sat reading a book while sipping on her low-fat latte a few rows up from him. He knew this woman could be the clue that finally led to his sister.
The bus stopped.
Lifting his eyes from the magazine he was pretending to read, he saw she was gone. Panic gripped the man as he hurried to his feet and to the nearest exit. Getting off the bus, he glanced up and down the sidewalk in both directions.
He thought he had lost her, but then there, almost two blocks up on Main, the woman was walking. He smiled. The red cloche hat she was wearing was the only reason he could spot her. Without it, he would have lost her.
Picking up his pace, he gained on her. As he weaved between people on the sidewalk, he accidently bumped into a woman, sending the poor gal crashing to the sidewalk.
Moved with decency, he stopped and helped the woman up. He couldn't help but catch a glimpse of her gorgeous figure and lovely brown eyes. "Sorry about that, ma'am."
"It's okay. You should try to be more careful, you know?"
"Right." Directing his sights back down the sidewalk, the target had vanished. Worried he’d lost her, he hurried down the sidewalk in pursuit.
His phone buzzed a moment later in his jacket’s breast pocket. Stopping, he went to pull it out, but suddenly, he felt the presence of a barrel push against his back. Uncertainty overtook him and he held up his hands. The gunman moved in closer to the man, moving both the man’s hands down to his sides. The closeness of the gunman made him realize it was a woman. Then he cocked his head and saw out of the corner of his eye that it wasn’t just any woman, but the one he had been following.
Her breath tickled the hair of the man's neck as she came even closer to him. She reached in his jacket, snatched the phone out, and threw it down on the sidewalk. A moment later, she smashe
d it beneath her heel.
"Start walking."
She moved to his left side, barrel resting firmly planted into his ribcage. The man couldn't help but be impressed by the woman’s abilities and finesse. He had underestimated her.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
ON MY WAY OUT OF the community, I noticed brochures out in the lobby and grabbed a few. Seeing beyond the cinderblock walls made me curious about Lighthouse more than ever. It wasn’t because I had any interest in joining, but I wanted to learn and see what exactly they were getting my daughter to believe, to buy into for the last year. Taking the brochures, I shoved them in my back pocket and left out to my truck.
Back at my house, I called the police station and had an officer phone me back to see what my options were.
“Sir, we will send another patrol car out to question them and speak with Emily again, but according to our records, we already made a trip out there last night and everything checked out.”
“But I’m telling you, officer, she’s being held against her will! Isn’t there something I can do?”
A heavy sigh followed, then the officer said, “Unfortunately, not unless we see some sort of foul play or indication that she’s being held against her will.”
My jaw clenched. “Thanks for your time.”
Hanging up with the officer, I did the one thing I knew would keep my mind off my poor Ems. I went to work on the Impala. It was a car I had just picked up a few days prior. Letting my fingers and mind get lost under the hood, I tried not to think too much about Emily, about that phone call or the visit at the community. It hurt too much. I wasn’t going to give up on her, but I needed a mental break to clear my head. Hours passed by with little notice on my part as I worked. Then, just like clockwork, at five, my body got tired and my stomach hungry.