Two Ways to Die: A Java Jarvis Thriller

by Erin Wade

  CHAPTER 59

  Ares’ low guttural growl woke Java. The dog had placed himself between an unseen danger and the blonde. Java placed her hand on his back to let him know she was there. A menacing hiss accompanied by claws raking the concrete alerted Java to the enemy threatening them.

  Ares advanced toward the critter. A loud squeal and more hissing ensued as Ares’ growl became more hostile. A loud growl and the snapping of strong jaws set off more squealing and scrambling of claws as the unknown visitor retreated a safe distance from the dog.

  “Good boy,” Java praised Ares as she ran her hands over him to make certain he hadn’t been bitten. The dog seemed to grow in stature as Java praised him. She tried to ascertain his breed but wasn’t sure. Although he was undernourished, his chest was broad and his back was medium length. He was about eighteen inches tall, and his legs were solid and muscled. Java guessed a Pit Bull.

  Although she found no recent injuries on Ares, Java felt numerous scars. “Did they make you fight, fellow?” She said as she lovingly stroked him. “Kat’s going to love you. She’s the dog whisperer.”

  The whirring noise above announced the arrival of food. Java pushed Ares’ between her and the wall and feigned sleep. The lunchbox landed on the ledge and the rope was pulled back up the wall. Java lay motionless until the usual clanging on the pipes started. The usual light beam highlighted the lunchbox.

  Like a trained rat Java stood and walked to the lunchbox, sat down and pulled it into her lap. She wondered what she was being conditioned for. The same routine every day and like a good subject she reacted the same every day.

  As she opened the lunchbox and halved the sandwich the clicking of claws running toward them made Ares ignore his food and whirl to face their attacker. A vicious battle ensued as the dog fought to protect her.

  Snarling and snapping were all Java could hear. She couldn’t tell who was winning. A mournful howl from Ares ripped through the cavern as dog and attacker went off the ledge. Java cried out as she heard the loud splash below and the pungent smell of the disturbed swamp.

  “No,” Java screamed, “Ares, Ares come here boy.”

  She could hear the dog thrashing around in the water. His whines for help broke her heart but she had no idea where he was. She knew he couldn’t survive long in the icy water.

  “To hell with it,” Java hissed as she slid off the ledge and dropped into the slimy abyss.

  Java was waist deep in the water when her feet reached bottom. “Thank you, Lord,” she shouted out loud. She stood motionless listening for any sound that would tell her where Ares was.

  Water splashing on her left led her to the flailing dog. She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him close. He was trembling and whimpering. “It’s okay big guy. I’ve got you. Let’s hope there’s a way out of this mess.”

  She moved slowly through the caustic water hoping to hit a wall. She knew she couldn’t stay in the freezing water.

  She remembered seeing the rusting file cabinets along a wall. If she could locate them, she could shove Ares on top of them and hopefully hoist herself up too. Her captor had gotten her into this nightmare so there had to be a way out of it.

  Java sloshed through the cesspool clutching Ares to her stomach. His paws and head rested on her shoulders like a baby. She prayed she found a way out of the frigid water before hypothermia overtook her.

  She moved slowly in the darkness knowing she could easily crash into something before she knew it. Holding Ares with her hands required her feet do the searching before moving forward but they were losing feeling fast. Her right foot hit something and she gripped Ares with one arm and reached out with the other to feel what they had encountered.

  She had never loved a file cabinet so much in her life. She groped around in the darkness until her hand found the top. She felt the cabinets and discovered there were three of them lined up along the wall. She planted her feet solidly on the floor and lifted Ares to the top of the steel cabinets. Now to get myself up there, she thought.

  Ares was trembling and whining from the cold. He wanted to follow her but stayed when she gave him the command. Freeing her hands made it easier to feel around in the water. She found something large and solid. A desk, she guessed.

  She felt her way around the desk praying that she would be able to shove it toward the cabinets. Feeling was leaving both her legs as she reached the other side of the desk. She planted her heels against the floor and her butt against the desk. She shoved with all the strength she could summon. Just as she was about to give up the desk began to move. She kept pushing and praying until the desk slid into the file cabinets.

  Shivering from head to toe Java climbed on top of the submerged desk then hefted herself onto the top of the file cabinets. Ares welcomed her with a yelp and a lick on the face.

  “Your tongue is the warmest thing I’ve felt in days,” she laughed hugging the dog to her.

  The familiar whirring overhead warned her of her captor’s return. She pushed Ares behind her and dangled her legs over the edge of the file cabinets. When her jailer failed to find her after carefully shining a bright light along the ledge, the light began to search the filthy water.

  Java took in everything the flashlight illuminated. Two metal staircases were about twenty feet from her. If we can get to the stairs, we can get to the second level and out of the water. I should be able to do that. She thought then the light flashed on something swimming in the water.

  “Son-of-a . . .” Java yelled yanking her feet onto the top of the file cabinet as a huge alligator slammed into the file cabinet where her legs had been moments before.

  The flashlight beam instantly bathed her in light blinding her. “What do you want?” She yelled. “Show yourself.”

  The light went out. Java was certain her abductor was confident she couldn’t leave the top of the file cabinet. She waited for the closing of the trap door above and the slim beam of light heralding her lunchbox. Everything happened as usual, but no lunchbox was lowered.

  “We’re so screwed Ares,” Java muttered.

  Java reached into her jacket pocket and felt the toothpicks. She counted eighteen of the tiny sticks. “Six days,” she hissed. “I’ve been in here for six days. Where the hell is Kat?”

  Java knew her chances of making it to the stairs through the water were slim now that the gator knew she was a meal possibility. She stood up on top of the file cabinet and reached over her head trying to find the ledge. It was slightly above her head.

  A chair, she thought. There was a chair on the other side of the desk when I shoved it against the file cabinets. She eased to the top of the desk then dropped to her knees on the submerged furniture. She felt around the edge of the desk until she thought she was close to the location of the chair. Knowing she could pull back a bloody stump, she dragged her hand through the water searching for the chair back. On her third attempt her hand hit the metal object. She grasped it and pulled it onto the desk.

  Java was motionless for several minutes trying to ascertain the location of the gator. Failing, she lifted the chair to the top of the file cabinets then climbed up. A loud splash as the gator flapped his tail in the water made her glad she was safely seated on the file cabinets.

  Java steadied the metal chair on top of the cabinets. She placed Ares on the ledge then prepared to pull herself onto the ledge. Suddenly a chair leg gave way pitching Java to the left. She scrambled to hang onto the file cabinets and keep from sliding into the water.

  Frustrated beyond belief, Java resorted to a primal scream. She wondered if her captor’s intent was to drive her mad and then kill her. She wondered if all the other victims had been subjected to the same treatment then murdered.

  Taking deep breaths, she calmed her breathing then cleared her mind. Ares whimpered reminding her she now had him on one level and herself on another. She hoped Ares was as smart as she thought he was.

  Java slipped back to the top of the desk. She was a strong swi
mmer but was certain she couldn’t out swim a gator. She gripped the twisted chair and flung it as hard as she could then quickly slipped into the water.

  The chair hit the far wall and bounced into the water. Java kicked off the desk and swam hitting floating objects and debris. She hoped the gator was after the chair. In a moment of panic, she wondered if she was swimming in the right direction then she hit the metal stairs. She scurried from the water as the gator slammed his powerful tail into the water making one last effort to catch her.

  Java climbed to the top of the stairs and collapsed. She lay still in complete darkness but at least now she was off the ledge and out of the water. Standing she felt her way to the wall on the left of the stairwell. She prayed that Ares would be smart enough to come to her. A whine close to her ear sent a jolt of joy through her soul. The dog had made his way along the ledge and was so close she could hear him panting.

  Java felt for the ledge then felt Ares’ legs. She put her hands under his shoulders and helped him into her arms. Ares licked her neck and yelped his joy.

  Java knew dogs couldn’t see in total darkness any more than humans could, but Ares seemed to have a sixth sense when it came to avoiding objects in their way. Java slipped her belt from her soaked jeans and looped it around Ares’ neck trusting the dog to lead them to safety.

  Ares stopped and began to whine. Java moved around him and ran her hands along the wall encountering a door. She felt around until her hand closed around a doorknob. Twisting the knob, she almost cried when it turned, and the door opened.

  Functioning in total darkness with no points of reference was almost impossible. Java felt along the wall and located a switch. She whispered a silent prayer then flipped the switch. Nothing happened.

  “It was worth a try,” she snickered to Ares.

  Java wondered if she was on the same level as her captor. The person had been above her. Now she was above the level she and Ares had been confined to.

  “Let’s leave the door open and hope our abductor walks past us,” Java planned out loud. She and Ares huddled in a corner facing the door. Exhausted from their escape and mental anguish both fell asleep.

  Java was awakened by the whirring sound. There must be electricity somewhere, Java thought. That’s an electrical sound.

  Java knew she’d have only one chance to surprise her jailer. She crouched in the doorway and waited.

  CHAPTER 60

  Kat, Chris and Barbie clicked on their tactical flashlights illuminating the old tunnel. “Did you know this was here?” Barbie asked her partners.

  “First I’ve ever heard of it,” Kat shrugged, “and I’ve lived here for twenty years.”

  “I’m sure the city politicians want to forget about it,” Chris theorized, “but it’s too big a screwup to go away.”

  Halfway through the blocked off end of the tunnel they encountered water. Kat flashed her light onto the darkness. “That looks like the wall between this end and Harrah’s parking garage,” she pointed out.

  “We’ll need waders or a boat to go all the way to the wall,” Barbie surmised. “You want me to get a boat, Kat?”

  “No . . .” Kat hesitated. “No, I don’t see anything. Just debris and stagnant water.”

  Penny was finishing up her examination of the last body when they returned to the staging area. “If this thing hadn’t floated to the surface, we’d never find these bodies,” Penny declared. “I’ll let you know if I find anything that will lead us to their killer.”

  ##

  The sun was setting when they finished working the crime scene. “I need to get to the restaurant,” Kat said. “The show must go on.”

  “I’ll drive you back,” Karen volunteered.

  “She can ride with us,” Barbie offered. “Chris and I are returning to the restaurant too.”

  The three discussed Java’s disappearance looking at it from all angles.

  “I still think Déjà is involved in The Basher killings,” Kat shared her suspicions with her teammates. “I don’t see her as The Decapitator though.

  “We were trying to pull together enough evidence to convince a judge to sign a search warrant for Déjà’s home and shop. Java was on to something. I think that’s why she’s been abducted.”

  “What?” Chris asked.

  Kat told them about the tally marks in Déjà’s journal. “Java asked Penny to compare them to the bloody tally at the last crime scene.”

  Chris drove past the customer parking lot of Java’s Place and parked in the back. “It looks like Jody Schooley and Déjà vu are here,” she pointed out. “Kat, why don’t you take Jody. Barbie and I will double team Déjà vu.

  ##

  Kat looked at her face in the mirror. Dark circles under her eyes evidenced her lack of sleep. Sleep had eluded her since Java’s disappearance. The singer carefully applied makeup and fixed her hair. It took her less than thirty minutes to look like a million dollars. She dreaded stepping onto the restaurant’s stage without Java smiling down at her from the balcony.

  Kat was in automatic mode as the performed her routine. She noticed that Jody Schooley had both Amanda and Melody with him. Probably trying to drum up business, Kat thought. I’ll tell Chris and Barbie to watch them.

  Kat finished her set then strolled through the diners welcoming them to the restaurant and signing a few autographs.

  “You should join us,” Jody invited when she stopped at his table.

  “Maybe I will,” Kat smiled pulling out a chair between Melody and Amanda.

  “I understand you paid me a visit last week,” Jody smirked. “Mind telling me what you were looking for?”

  “Java,” Kat said. “She’s missing.”

  “Java, the queen of cool,” Jody snickered. “Someone got the drop on her! Maybe they wanted more than a cuppa’ Joe. She is a damn good-looking woman.”

  Kat stared into Jody’s face. “You really are repulsive,” she snapped. She stood and walked away from the table.

  “You do have a way with women,” Melody taunted Jody.

  “Shut up whore,” Jody growled.

  CHAPTER 61

  Java slowed her heartbeat trying to hear anything that would indicate another person in the room. She sensed it more than heard it. A sound to her right. Someone was crying. Ares growled and placed himself between Java and the sound.

  Java hated the darkness she was operating in. It could be a trick, but she decided she had nothing to lose. “Hello,” she called into the blackness.

  Sniffing and the crying stopped.

  “Hello,” Java called again. “Is anyone here?”

  “Yes,” a woman’s voice quavered. “Who are you?”

  “I’m Java Jarvis,” the blonde answered. “Who are you?”

  “Java Jarvis,” the joy in the response was obvious. “Java Jarvis it’s me, Melody. Where are you? Where are we?”

  “Keep talking,” Java instructed. “I’ll come to you.”

  “Ares, find,” Java held the makeshift leash as Ares led her out of the safety of the room they’d discovered. “Keep talking Melody.”

  “I’m here. I think you are headed for me.” Melody started a stream of chatter. “I’m just going to count out loud until you find me.”

  Ares led Java to Melody who was sitting against the wall her arms wrapped around her knees. Java touched her head and Melody squealed.

  “It’s okay,” Java assured her. “It’s just me. What are you doing here?”

  “I don’t know,” Melody caught Java’s hand and pulled herself into a standing position. “It’s so cold in here and you’re so damp.”

  “I know,” Java huffed. “It’s a long story.”

  “Where are we?” Melody asked again. “How long have you been here?”

  “I have no idea where we are,” Java answered. “I’ve been here six or seven days. Someone knocked me out and I woke up here.”

  “I think I was drugged,” Melody mumbled. “I remember having wine with Jody and
Déjà vu and I woke up here.”

  “Do you have a cell phone?” Java asked.

  “No,” Melody checked her coat pockets. “I have two packs of peanut butter crackers and a half bottle of water.”

  Java almost drooled. “Would you share. Ares and I haven’t eaten in a long time.”

  “Of course,” Melody gasped. “I hope you don’t think I’d eat them without sharing. How have you stayed alive?”

  “My captor brings food three times a day, but I made him mad and he hasn’t brought anything for a while.”

  “It’s a man?” Melody asked.

  “I don’t know for certain,” Java took the crackers Melody pressed into her hand. She ate three of the circular treats and gave three to Ares.

  “It’s so dark in here,” Melody noted. “Is there no light anywhere?”

  “None,” Java confirmed.

  “Wait!” Melody exclaimed. “I have a penlight on my keychain.” She searched through her overcoat pockets and sighed with relief when she jingled her keys. She turned on the small light.

  Java laughed ecstatically. “Oh, thank God. I was afraid I was blind.”

  Melody shined the light on Java’s face. “You’re none the worse for your ordeal,” she smiled. “However, you could certainly use a bath and comb.”

  “May I hold the light?” Java asked. “I have a feel for this place but have no idea how to get out.”

  Melody handed her the penlight and watched silently as Java flashed the light around the cavernous room.

  “What is this place?” Melody whispered.

  “I think we’re inside the old New Orleans Civil Defense Emergency Operations Center. It’s a huge complex of meeting rooms, hallways and dormitories designed to house city officials and law enforcement leaders during a nuclear attack.” Java moved the light over the water below. “It’s half full of water and at least one gator.

  “It was built in the sixties and abandoned after scientists ascertained no one could withstand a direct nuclear blast.”