Taking their lead from the multi-lingual Shane, they all joined in thanking him for his help, “Nkosi!”
His face positively beamed with pleasure and he shook their hands warmly before showing them to the Guest’s entrance to the hotel. Shane couldn’t help grinning. This entrance by-passed the reception area, allowing them to go directly to Claude’s room, without the inconvenience of explaining their uninvited presence. Perfect.
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“That’s her, I’m sure.”
The camera had caught the couple from behind. The woman was slender with long dark hair. The man next to her was wearing a paramedic’s uniform. At first glance, it looked as if he was supporting her, yet there was a tension to his arm that hinted at something more sinister. Then she glanced up toward the camera. Elijah hit pause and the image froze. He zoomed in until her face filled the screen.
Jason felt the wallop of emotion and looked across to Stanton. Gaze fixed, his eyes watered over. A tremor ran through him from head to foot and Lisa instinctively drew closer in support. Shutting his eyes, he spoke, “Let’s focus on the paramedic. This is definitely not a healthy situation. We need to know who he is.”
It took a few more minutes of scanning the tape before they came up with a close-up that was reasonably suitable for identifying purposes. Jason asked Lisa, “Why don’t you check with the ambulance service who was on duty last night. I’ll hook up with the guys and see if we can get a description of Claude.”
Lisa left the room to use the telephone next door, and Jason texted Tim.
A thought occurred to Jason. “I’m just wondering, where would Rebecca have got clothes from? She only had what was on her and those were soaked through. I’ve never seen what she was wearing in the video.”
Elijah clicked his fingers. “It all makes sense now. We had a complaint from one of the other patients in the woman’s ward that some spare clothing that they had stored in their locker had gone missing. Must be what your girl was wearing.”
Just then Lisa came back looking bleak. “Two emergency personnel did deliver someone here at about 2 this morning, but they were back at the base by 2.20. It couldn’t have been one of them. Here’s the worst part. The spare uniform that was kept in the Ambulance is missing. They’re not sure when it disappeared.”
Jason’s phone beeped loudly, announcing the arrival of a message. Opening it up, he read the message then handed his phone to Stanton. The photo that had just arrived on his phone was a dead-ringer for the phony paramedic. “Claude has Rebecca.”
Stanton stood in frustration. “Who is Claude? What is going on here?”
“I’ll explain on the way. Tim says they’ve found the hotel where he’s got Rebecca. It’s about 5 minutes from here.”
Chapter 27 – Homecoming and Hotel Rooms
Edward Rochester was being twice as painful as usual.. The worst thing was that he knew it, yet felt helpless to do anything about it. Heading for the kitchen, he sought out Hazel’s calming company.
“Groot Baas12, can I make you some tea?”
He nodded and sat down at table that dominated the room. “I can’t take much more of this Hazel. Is everything ready?”
“Ja, Groot Baas. We’ve been through the house three times. It will be fine, you’ll see.” Filling a plate with freshly baked Crunchies, she poured tea in his favorite bone china mug and patted his arm in genuine affection. “You drink your tea; I’m going to pick some flowers from the garden.”
“Uh, Hazel? It’s winter. Are you sure you’re going to find flowers to pick?”
“Madam planted some pink Camellia’s out back. They were her pride and joy. It would be good to have some inside, don’t you think?”
Winter-loving Camellia’s. Of course. How could he have forgotten? That made him feel even worse. The only response he could manage was a gruff harrumph.
He was halfway through his tea, when the noisy crush of gravel announced the arrival of a vehicle. Heart in his throat, Edward stood and walked to the door. Seconds stretched to eternity as his hand folded around the cold metal of the handle. Bright sunlight streamed in as the door swung back. With a jerk that nearly sent him sprawling down the stairs, time clicked back to normal speed. And then she was there. As fragile as a porcelain doll, yet with the vital sparkle of life dancing in her eyes, the absence of which had slowly bled him dry.
A few long strides closed the distance between them as he swept her into his arms. His love, his life – his Maxine. Home again at last. Her arms around him infused life back into the dry husk of his frame. In that moment he knew that one cannot mess with vows that state “Till death us do part” and not expect consequences. They were one until one of them passed on. It was good and right.
“Oh Maxine. I don’t know what to say.”
She reached up and silenced him with her fingers. “You don’t need to say anything. We were both scared, and ignorant. Not the best emotional state to make decisions in. I’m just glad to be home.”
Sally had hung back till now, giving them time to greet. Now she stepped forward and hugged Edward. “Good choice, Brother. This girl’s been pining for her family for too long now. You and those boys of hers.”
“Oh yes, my sons! Where are the boys love?” She peered past him toward the house, expecting them to appear any moment.
Edward took her hand, wrapped it around his arm and led her inside. “The boys are away for a little while. How was the tri—”
His sentence was cut short by a wild squeal of excitement. Hazel ran to Maxine at a speed that Edward didn’t know someone her size could move at. Love lent wings to her feet and she dashed down the path, Camellia’s dropping from her hands as she ran. With tenderness in direct contrast to her enthusiasm, she hugged Maxine and wept.
“Welcome home, Madam! Welcome home. Go inside and have some tea, I’ll bring the bags.”
It was a happy reunion around the old oak table. Hazel had retrieved the fallen Camellia’s, which now graced the center of the table in a crystal vase. A sense of rightness settled into place over the four of them as they dunked Crunchies in tea and reminisced about the time the boys had played leapfrog on the lawn until one of them had landed on a bullfrog. Kenneth had run screaming one way, the poor frog leapt off to find safer pastures the other way and Claude had rolled about on the grass in such a fit of laughter that his stomach muscles had been sore for two days.
Edward sat with his arm around Maxine, smiling at the memory. Talk of his boys raked up concern over their well-being. A sharp reminder that he’d not heard from Kenneth since they’d left. Looking up from his cup, his eye caught Hazel’s across the table. She nodded and he knew her thoughts matched his.
Forcing a smile, he reached across to the teapot. “Refill, anyone?”
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Jason and Stanton’s collective charm had failed. Lisa’s skills in diplomacy had got them nowhere. The clerk at the reception desk of the Prime Paradise Hotel would not budge. “I’m sorry, our guest asked specifically not to be disturbed by anyone for any reason whatsoever.”
Stanton’s head hung as hope failed him.
Unwilling to quit, Jason tried a different approach, “A young woman’s life may be in grave danger. You’ve got to let us go up there. You can even send security with us. Please!”
For the look he got, he might as well have said that the sun was setting – so great was the impact that his sense of urgency had on this buffoon.
“Do you have any proof of this fact, Sir?”
No, none whatsoever. “Well, actually—” began Jason, brain working frantically.
Just then, the lift landed with a ‘ping’ and out piled Shane, Tim and Kenneth.
Shane saw them first and led the troop across the marble floor, “Hey Halloway! You made it to the party. Don’t waste your breath, they’ve left already.” Sarcasm didn’t do a very good job of hiding his frustrated disappointment.
The desk clerk looked relieved as they made their way out.
Something in Jason’s heart didn’t want to leave and he felt wrong the moment he set foot out the building. He slowly walked to where Lisa was facilitating introductions on the pavement. Stanton’s face was an ashen mask of ice, Kenneth was as skittish as a racehorse and the question on everybody’s lips was, “What now?”
“Guys, I need to get into that hotel room.” Jason knew he was hankering after the impossible.
Shane spoke first, “Why?”
“Call it a hunch.”
Tim’s nodded knowingly, “Ah haa! I know the signs. He’s been doing this all week. Better start making plans to get back into that room.”
Shane grabbed Jason by the arm, “You lot hang here, and we’re going to chat to my purple and gold bedecked friend over there.”
Jason understood nothing of the conversation that followed, but he didn’t really care as it ended in them being ushered through the back door of the hotel. Shane retraced his footsteps from earlier. As they were headed up the staircase – avoiding the security camera infested lifts – Shane said, “I don’t know what you hope to find. They were only in the room for a few hours.” They made their way across the second landing, “And I don’t know how you plan to get into the room. Have you thought of that?”
Jason squirmed a little, “I have, but I don’t think that will be our problem.”
“You’ve gone soft in the head. What are you talking about? Do you see anyone else here? We’re IT, Halloway. Sum total of whatever is going to solve our problem – you and me. God help us.” Shane spoke flippantly, but Jason couldn’t help laughing.
“Don’t be surprised if He does.”
“Who?”
“God! You asked Him to help us, and I think He will. I also think checking the room is His idea in the first place. When He wants something to happen, he makes it possible.”
Shane eyed him as if he were contagious. “Don’t tell me you’ve gone all religious. Oh man! The stress of this whole thing has got to you and you’ve lost it. Had to happen sooner or later.”
“I’m not getting into this now. Rebecca’s in trouble. Let’s just find her.”
Truce reached, they both flew up the remaining stairs two at a time.
Chapter 28 – Hogsback
Rebecca’s peace-bubble was fast evaporating. With each kilometer that flew beneath Claude’s car, they headed further away from civilization. The narrow road had a single lane for traffic going in either direction, and snaked ahead through the vast expanse of barren earth with no living thing anywhere in sight.
Buckled in next to Claude, hands bound at the wrists, Rebecca felt her faith slipping away. If God had been going to rescue her, He would surely have done it by now. The cut on her temple no longer throbbed, but now blazed in constant pain. Wracked between violent shivering and hot sweats, Rebecca knew that she was running a fever. Her mind drifted and the journey took on a strange, nightmare-like quality. Claude’s voice buzzed in her head, now softly, then loudly – deafeningly loud.
Rebecca moaned, desperate for silence that would soothe the thundering in her head. “Please stop the car. I’m going to throw up.”
Not trusting her plea, Claude kept driving, “Nice try, Rebecca.” Then he saw her body heaving and he swung to a stop, unbuckled her seatbelt, opened her door and all but shoved her out the car just in time to avoid the shower of vomit landing in his vehicle.
Somehow managing not to fall, Rebecca clung to the door with her bound hands and emptied the contents of her stomach on the road.
“I wanna lie down.”
Sobered by the messy evidence of her illness, Claude didn’t argue, but quickly unlocked the back door for her to stretch out across the back seat. The sooner they got to a place with a toilet and a bed, the better.
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“Room C32, C33. Here we go, C34.” Shane jiggled the knob and found it to be as he thought – securely locked. “So what now Wonder Boy? Do you want to ask God if He’s forgotten something?”
Vaguely perplexed, Jason stood silent for a moment before turning in the direction of the lift. “Someone’s coming. Let’s get out of sight.”
Moving quickly, they rounded a corner and ducked down behind an oversized indoor plant pot with a huge fern feathering out of it.
Peeping through the fronds, they waited to see whom the lift had delivered. A cleaning lady decked out in the female version of the security guards purple and gold regalia appeared, pushing a trolley loaded with fresh linen, cleaning materials and a stock of mini soaps and shampoos to replace what guests might have used or snaffled.
Jason was thrilled. His expectation had been spot on. Breathing a quick “Thank you Lord!” he turned to Shane and whispered furiously.
Shane’s brows lifted – a definite sign of being impressed. “Might just work, Halloway, might just work. Let’s go.”
Heading into the hallway, looking every inch as if they belonged, they approached the cleaner. Shane’s remarkable fluency in Xhosa was just what they needed. “Molo. Kujani?”
Her face beamed in response, and Shane soon had her nodding in compassion for the watch he thought he’d left behind in Room C34. Without a question, she unlocked for him, wished him the blessing of the Ancestors in his search. Then she left them alone to go and clean room C33.
“Okay. We’re in. What now?”
“Well, now we hope that God shows us what we’re here for. Let’s look around.” Deep in his heart, ominous thoughts about what they’d find in the room had brewed black fear. Thoughts that pivoted around dead bodies, blood, sinister deeds that defied human decency. Claude and Rebecca had only been in the room for a few hours, but then it only took a few minutes for one human being to cause irreparable harm to another.
Shuddering, Jason shook away the blackness that threatened to overwhelm him and took a quick tour through the room. Satisfied that there were no obvious signs of bloodshed, Jason slowed his search and prayed, “What are we here for, God? Please will You show us?”
Heart desperate for guidance, he made his way slowly through every inch of the room. Nothing in the bedside drawers, nothing on top. Nothing under the bed. He got to the chair and found cut bits of rope scattered around on the floor. The pig must have had Rebecca tied to the chair. The thought of it heated his blood and he continued searching. Nothing on the dresser but a pile of brochures, nothing in the dresser drawers... Jason looked down in surprise to see one of the brochures in his hand. It was an advert for Rustic Wood Retreat in Hogsback. A stunning log cabin graced the front of the brochure, and the catchphrase inside boasted complete privacy. His heart double-thumped. “Is this it, Lord? Is this where he’s taken Rebecca?” Hanging onto the brochure, he finished sweeping through the room, finding nothing else. Again he looked at the brochure, and again his heart leapt. “Please let me be hearing You correctly. Oh please God.”
Calling Shane, he showed him what he’d found. Shane looked doubtful, “Do you think that’s where they went?”
“It’s the only clue we’ve got and my heart says ‘yes’.” He shrugged, looking for some backup from his friend.
“Well, they say love works in mysterious ways. Let’s go with your gut.”
Jason wasn’t sure he’d heard right, “What do you mean, love?”
Shane was laughing as he headed out the door.
“Hey, you get back here. You don’t know what you’re talking about… Shane! COME BACK HERE NOW!”
Shane’s voice echoed down the deserted corridor, “C’mon lover boy! You’re wasting time. Let’s get a move on!”
Jason had to run to catch up.
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Edward was out, checking on the horses. Maxine was sitting in a puddle of sun in her favorite room of the farmhouse, the lounge. It was enormous, with polished Pine floors and huge white Angora rugs strewn about for warmth. There were many windows for
the sun to smile through regardless of the season, or even the time of day. A fireplace and a few bookshelves were the only other things in this room, apart from a freestanding lamp with an ornately crocheted shade that stood in one corner.
It was perfect in its absence of clutter. Maxine had found since contracting the HIV virus and being faced with her own mortality, that the things of this world held less and less allure for her. Yet the people in it had become more and more dear. Relationships were to be treasured and appreciated, and the stuff that one accumulated was to be passed on, or ignored.
The initial surge of excitement at coming home had worn off, leaving Maxine feeling hollow and somewhat fragile. Sally had left earlier in the day, having things at home to mind. Edward wouldn’t say where the boys were, other than to repeat that they were away for a few days and then he would promptly change the subject.
Something else had been bothering Maxine, something she couldn’t quite put her finger on. Suddenly it came to her – Rebecca! Where was Rebecca?
It was time to put a stop to this all this nonsense. Reaching out, she rang the crystal bell Hazel had insisted she carry with her. It rang with such a sweet high peal, that Hazel could hear it from anywhere in the house and would come running. Maxine had been loathe to use it till now, refusing to think of herself as an invalid. This was different. She wanted answers and she wanted them now. If Edward wouldn’t be honest with her, Hazel would have to be.
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The sun was setting when they eventually arrived at the log cabin. They’d followed a steep, winding mud path through the forest for what seemed like an eternity, which had finally led them to the retreat. A quick stop at the office to pay the deposit, and then another muddy path up to their love-nest. Rebecca had faded in and out of consciousness through most of the journey, her garbled sleep talk evidence of a mind befogged with fever dreams.
Shackles: The truth will set you free Page 21