Shackled

by Ray Garton

  "Oh, for crying out loud, didn't you at least tell him about me?"

  "Hey, Leon, I swore I'd never tell anyone. That's why l wanted him to be here, so you could tell him as much as you wanted to."

  "Well, you knew damned well I wouldn't want anything to do with it. Period." He slipped on his windbreaker.

  Ethan stepped forward. "Mr. Bixby, please listen for just a moment. All we'd like is for you to help us keep up-to-date on the child kidnappings around the Bay Area. Surely you must know some people, other police officers, who could fill you in on the things we can't find in the paper."

  "And I suppose this would help you prove your theory? The one that involves the upside-down cross on the map?"

  "We would like that, yes. Because then we would have something to take to the police in Vallejo, something that would make them take us seriously."

  Bixby scrubbed his ruddy face with a big hand, then sighed as he looked at Ethan sadly. "Yes. Vallejo. Well. All I'm gonna tell you is this, Pastor: For your own good and for the good of your family, don't put a whole lot of faith in the Vallejo police. Or any police. Take it from me. I'm very sorry about your son. But don't endanger yourself and those you love for what might be a lost cause. For what is ...” He looked at his feet and lowered his voice. " ... very likely a lost cause." He started to leave, stopped again, thought awhile with his back to Ethan, then turned. "Look, under other circumstances, I'd be more than glad to help you. But I ... after all these years, I still don't sleep well. And there are days when I truly fear for my life, Pastor Walker. I just don't want to go through it again. You take care of yourself."

  Then he left and closed the door quietly behind him.

  They stayed there by the door for a long time, motionless and silent, until Garner finally looked up and said, "I'm really sorry. I thought he'd be willing to help us."

  "What was all that about, Garner? What did he mean by all that? Tell me."

  "Well, um ... he had a little, uh, problem with some Satanists when he was on the force. That's why he quit early, even before his pension came through. He's not as old as he looks, you know."

  "Satanists? You mean, on the police force?"

  "Uh ... yeah, on the force. But that's all I'll say, because I swore I wouldn't tell anyone. We've been friends for a long time, Leon and I, and I'm not about to betray his confidence now. But that's really all you need to know, isn't it?"

  Ethan frowned. "What do you mean?"

  "Well, he told you not to trust the Vallejo police. What does that say?"

  Ethan thought about it awhile, then his frown disappeared and his eyes opened wide. "Oh, dear lord. You mean ... you think he knows something about them? That they might be ...”

  "Well, not all of them, necessarily. But at least one of them. Maybe some of them. And believe me, this guy knows. That was his way of helping you, telling you that ... without really telling you. Obviously, he was afraid to do anything more."

  Ethan's face went through several changes: confusion, puzzlement, then fear and, finally, shock. "Cotchell?" he breathed, looked down at Garner.

  "Him or somebody else on the force in Vallejo. From what you said, Cotchell wasn't only unhelpful with your son's disappearance, he was a dam to any progress, refusing to listen to anything you had to say or — "

  "Wait, wait ... you think Cotchell could be one of them? That's ridiculous! It's absurd! I admit he was very frustrating, but to say — "

  "Yeah, I know it's all shaping up like a bad movie. But, unfortunately, real life almost never shapes up like a good movie. And making things look ridiculous and absurd is what these weirdos are good at." Garner spun his chair around and said, "C'mon," as he led Ethan back to the living room.

  "I think this is crazy," Ethan said quietly. "He's the chief of police, for heaven's sake."

  "That makes him a likelier candidate. These groups tend to have deep roots in high and helpful places. I've got all kinds of books on the subject if you don't believe me, but that'll have to wait."

  "What do you propose that we do?"

  "Well, I've got an idea," Garner said, going to the phone. He punched in a number quickly and held the receiver to his ear, smiling a little as he waited for an answer. Then:

  "Rob, my friend. It's Garner. How are you? ... Good, good. Look, I have a question. Remember our friend Pastor Walker? ... That's right, yes. Well, I think you might be able to help us with something else. Tell me, how hard is it to use a computer to tap a phone? ... Really? Great, great. Can you also determine the numbers that the subject dials, as well as the numbers of the people who call the subject?" After a moment, he leaned his head back and laughed. "No, no, Rob, that question was not meant as an insult to you and I'm sure — no, no, I'm very confident in your abilities to — well, yes, I know you are, I know you can, yes, and I didn't mean to imply otherwise." He turned to Ethan and rolled his eyes, then listened a moment. "Great! Wonderful! So, would you be willing to stick your neck out for us? ... No, I didn't doubt it for a moment. See you later, then. Bye." He hung up and turned to Ethan, smiling. "I don't think I've ever heard Rob so excited. He just loves this kinda stuff, but he hates it when I ask him if he can do something instead of just telling him what I need. He expects me to assume he can do anything. Which he can, of course. So, anyway, he's got some things to do, so he'll be here around three this afternoon. All he needs to know is where Cotchell lives."

  "Well, I don't know where Cotchell lives!"

  "We can look, I suppose, but chances are he's not listed in the phone book. So all we have to do is take a little drive to Vallejo. He's gotta go home sooner or later, and we've got time, right? So we can follow him."

  Ethan buried his face in his hands and groaned.

  "Does this worry you?" Garner asked.

  "Yes. Well, no. Oh, I don't know. I've been worried for so long that it's hard to tell anymore." He shook his head and sighed. "The bible speaks so often of tests of faith, but ... I'm afraid I'm failing this one."

  "Why? You still have faith in god, don't you?"

  "If my faith were as strong as it should be — if I were as faithful as I am worried — I would leave this in his hands instead of running around tracing computer networks and bugging telephones."

  "You want your son back, don't you?"

  "Of course."

  "And god wants you to have him back, I'm sure. I'm not religious, but I've never taken to the idea of god willing pain and misery on people."

  "He most certainly does not," Ethan said with confidence.

  "And besides, I'm a strong believer in that old saying, 'god helps those who help themselves.' So” — he spread his hands, shrugged his shoulders, and grinned, making his fleshy cheeks puff out — "what's the problem? In fact, for all you know, god might've been the one who hooked you up with Coll and Bent and Rob and myself in the first place. See? And besides, if this is a test, class isn't over yet."

  A slow smile grew on Ethan's lips. "We could use more people like you in our church, Lewis."

  "Well, maybe someday. But in the meantime, how about a sandwich and a soda?"

  "Oh, I'm afraid I can't. I promised my little girl I'd take her out for ice cream after lunch today. Is it all right if I come back later this afternoon?"

  "Sure. But you're missing a heck of a sandwich."

  "I've no doubt ...”

  6

  Having lost all sense of time, Lacey began to feel that she'd been in this place forever. So when Jacquie offered to take her someplace else, it came as a shock ... but a welcome one.

  "Where?" Lacey asked, seated in the familiar chair in Jacquie's office. "Where are you taking me?"

  "Well, you've come a long way in a short time, Lacey. You've taken to your training unusually well. Now you need to go someplace else to continue that training."

  "But where?" She was excited and leaned forward in the fat, overstuffed chair.

  "You'll see. But I want you to understand one thing. If you show any signs suggesting
that you might not have adjusted as well as we thought, you will be brought back here immediately for further training ... and a good deal of disciplining. Otherwise, your training will continue on a periodic basis, according to your schedule. Do you understand that?"

  Lacey nodded.

  "All right, then. Come with me."

  Lacey did not expect to be taken far, and she certainly didn't expect to be taken outside, but that is where they went.

  "Now, there are a couple other routes we could take, but they're mostly indoors," Jacquie said as they went up in the elevator. "I thought you might enjoy a walk in the sun for a change. But it's going to be terribly bright at first. So, put these on before we go outside." She reached into the pocket of her dark, baggy skirt and removed a pair of sunglasses. Lacey held them as she waited for the elevator to stop.

  When the elevator stopped, Lacey stepped out very carefully, not sure of what she would find. But it was only a bare, gray room, dark and stuffy, with a large door directly across from the open elevator.

  Jacquie fished a key from the pocket of her baggy avocado sweater, crossed the corridor, and slipped the key into a lock above the latch. Before opening the door, she turned to Lacey, who was still inside the elevator car, and smiled, saying, "Come on, Lacey. It's okay. Really. After all, you're with me. Now, put on your glasses." She held out a hand and beckoned.

  Lacey slipped the sunglasses on and moved forward cautiously, looking in both directions, as if she were crossing a busy street. Then she hurried across the corridor and stopped at Jacquie's side.

  Jacquie opened the door.

  Lacey cried out as the brightest light she'd ever seen poured over her and drove spikes into her eye sockets, in spite of the sunglasses. She covered her eyes and bowed her head, muttering to herself.

  "Just stay like that for a little while," Jacquie said. "You'll get used to it soon."

  Minutes passed and the brightness receded enough for Lacey to see the grass before her. It was brilliantly green grass, and at both sides, she saw beautiful green trees, tall and regal, with a breeze whispering through them. Far ahead of her, she saw a tall, white stone wall. In the very center of the stone wall, directly across the grass from them, was a white gate.

  "That's much better," Jacquie said, dropping the key back into her pocket and leading Lacey outside, then closing the door behind them. She put an arm around Lacey and began to walk her over the grass as she said quietly, "Don't worry, Lacey, there's nothing to be afraid of. You're moving up in the world ...”

  Squinting, Lacey stumbled across the lawn, enjoying the feel of the grass beneath her bare feet. She wore only a long T-shirt that ended midthigh, and a pair of panties. She looked at the trees on each side of her and listened to the birds that sang from their branches. She looked back over her shoulder to see the building in which she'd been living for most of her life — or so it seemed — but saw only a large white shed with peeling white paint and yellowish-green vines growing on the windowless walls. It couldn't possibly hold the massive darkness and all the people, all the children, all those rooms, and all those endless corridors. Behind the shed were more trees that cast a velvety shade over the two narrow footpaths that wound into the woods beyond, each one heading in a different direction. Then a thought occurred to her that made her stop and turn to stare at the shed. We went up in the elevator ...

  "Come on, now, Lacey," Jacquie said. "No looking back ... at least, not if you're serious."

  They walked the rest of the way to the gate. "Well, are you ready?" she asked with a grin.

  "Um ... yeah. I guess so."

  Jacquie reached into the other pocket of her sweater, removed another key, and slipped it into the lock above the gate's latch. It clicked loudly when she turned it, then she pushed it open with a long crreeeaak.

  Lacey stepped through the gate, Jacquie closed it behind them, then they headed down a long concrete walkway covered with curved, tinted glass reinforced by a framework of black steel. To the right was a large pond surrounded by green grass and flowers; ripples spread over the surface of the pond as four ducks floated around lazily. To the left there was more grass, more flowers, and several pieces of beautiful white lawn furniture arranged in the shade of a few tall oaks.

  "Where are we?" Lacey whispered with awe.

  "You'll find out soon enough."

  The walkway curved to the right and they stopped at a large white door, where Jacquie pressed a doorbell. Hushed chimes sounded inside, and a moment later the door was opened by a small man with white hair, black pants, a white suitcoat, a white shirt, and a black bow tie. He nodded politely, stepped aside so they could enter, and said, "He's expecting you, Doctor. Right this way." He led them down a plushly carpeted hall with beautiful paintings on the wall; although she knew nothing about paintings, these looked very old to Lacey and she suspected they were worth a lot of money.

  They passed countless closed doors, rounded a corner down another similar hallway, until the man stopped to tap a dainty knuckle on a door. "Yes?" a voice called, and the little man opened the door and gestured for Jacquie and Lacey to go in.

  Lacey followed Jacquie into the room that smelled of sweet pipe tobacco, heard the door close gently behind them, and looked at the man on the other side of the room.

  He was sitting behind a glass table that he apparently used as a desk. It had a blotter on it, a telephone, a lamp, and several papers, folders, and books. He held a pen in his left hand, poised over a paper to write; he put the pen down and smiled as he stood.

  He was a big man with a square, rugged face, broad shoulders, a deep chest, a belly that was catching up with it, and skin coppered by the sun. His glasses were slightly tinted and he wore a pair of maroon silk pajamas beneath an open black silk robe with gold pinstripes. A long, thin, dark brown cigarette dangled from his lips.

  Lacey stared at the thick, curly brown hair atop his head for a moment, deciding it was probably a toupee.

  His eyes locked with Lacey's and he removed his glasses slowly, placing them on the glass tabletop with a small clacking sound. They were a sparkling golden brown, those eyes, with thick, long lashes, so piercing that Lacey did not notice the crescent moons of puffy flesh beneath them. When he smiled, his lips pulled back over perfectly straight, brilliantly white teeth.

  "Aahh, Lacey," he said, his voice soft and smooth. In fact ... it sounded vaguely familiar ... low and moist. He rounded the table and approached with both large hands outstretched. He took both of her hands between both of his and smiled down at her, looking directly into her eyes as he said, "We meet at last. How lovely."

  Jacquie said, "Lacey, I'd like you to meet Rex Calisto. You will be staying with him for a while. Once again, please remember everything I told you and everything you've learned."

  After a long silent moment, Calisto looked at Jacquie, nodded, and said, "Thank you. You can go now."

  Jacquie patted Lacey's shoulder briefly, then left the room.

  They remained silent for a long while with Calisto holding her hands and smiling directly into her eyes. Then he moved closer, put an arm around her, and began to lead her out of the room.

  "How would you like to be famous, Lacey?" he asked.

  "Wuh-well, I d-don't know."

  "Let's talk about that later. First of all, let's go find something for you to wear." They started down the hall. "Then I'll show you around, and if you'd like, you can have a bite to eat. What would you like, by the way?"

  "Oh, um ... well, whatever you have, I guess," she muttered.

  "Don't be shy now, Lacey. Anything you want. Do you like Chinese food? Italian?" He stopped and turned to face her. "Yes, how about spaghetti! I have a cook who makes the richest, most delicious spaghetti sauce in the world. How does that sound?"

  A smile played around her lips, but she was still too uncertain to let it come through. "Okay."

  Calisto turned and said, "Fritz, spaghetti for two, with everything. Including the ice cream dessert."
>
  Lacey was surprised to see that the little man in the white suit-coat had been with them the whole time, following them silently as a shadow. Fritz nodded his head, said, "Yes, sir," quietly, then left them.

  "Now," Calisto said, "let's find you some pretty clothes."

  He took her to a room that was connected to two other rooms, and each of them was like a gigantic closet filled with women's clothing of every kind. There they were met by a beautiful red-haired woman named Debbie who helped Lacey pick out a lot of attractive clothes. Once Lacey had changed, Debbie assured her that she'd made the right choice and looked beautiful.

  Then Calisto took her on a tour of the cavernous house and the sprawling grounds that surrounded it. Everything was so huge, so bright and clean, and smelled so nice that Lacey was a bit startled when it suddenly occurred to her that she'd just walked here from that dark cramped place where she'd been for so long. They were like two completely different planets at opposite ends of the universe ... but within walking distance of each other. She didn't know why she'd been brought to this beautiful place yet, but she didn't really care.

  The spaghetti and all that went with it was the most delicious food Lacey had ever tasted in her life. She ate too fast at first and quickly felt full, but she still picked at a second serving and did not turn down the ice cream that was brought out after the meal.

  When they'd finished, Calisto took her hand and led her down a long hall. They stopped at a door, he opened it and gestured for her to enter his massive bedroom.

  "Now," Calisto said as he closed the door behind them, his voice feather-soft and moist, "why don't you show me some of the things you learned at the complex ...”

  Three and a half hours later, Rex Calisto went into the spacious lounge that led into the master bedroom's bathroom. The lounge alone — and the bathroom beyond it — was larger than most apartments. Calisto seated himself in a gray love seat on plush black carpeting; behind the love seat was a mirrored wall with smoke-colored marbling. Across from him, the wall was plainly mirrored above a massive white and gray marble sink and vanity.