Spirals

by Scott Bergin

  Alex raced on toward Thomas' townhouse. Knowing that within the hour, he would be reunited with Gabrielle. He knew that there was only one way to find out how he felt about Gabrielle, and that was to be with her. Alex would look her in the eyes, while Gabrielle told him that she loved him. Immediately upon hearing those words, Alex would know if Gabrielle was the woman he could spend forever with.

  Chapter 54

  April 20

  6:10 p.m.

  Nice, France

  Thomas stepped off the boat. The pier wasn't dry land, but it was good enough. It was something other than the open sea. Thomas was glad to be off the ship, and so close to home. He quickly tied off the boat, then walked down the short pier to the parking lot. He reached a dark blue Volvo, with a back seat full of children's toys and a car seat. Thomas thought of himself as being very clever. He had placed those items in the car to throw off anyone's suspicions. The car looked like that of a middle class family man, not an illegal alien criminal. Thomas opened the trunk and examined its contents. Among them were a complete tool chest, a pick axe, a miner's helmet, a shovel, ropes and pulleys, a harness, and other supplies. Thomas had guessed that wherever Leonardo Da Vinci had hidden his gem, it would not be in an easy location to reach. He unlocked the door, and got into the driver's seat.

  Within five minutes, Thomas reached his townhouse. He parked the Volvo across the street, so no one would be able to connect the car with that house. He locked the car, and walked back across the street. Thomas found nothing unusual about the townhouse, until he grabbed hold of the doorknob. It was unlocked. Thomas knew that there was no way he had left it unlocked. He quickly looked back at the street. There were no cars he did not recognize. Quickly, strange possibilities entered Thomas' head. His first thought was that hector was still alive, and had beaten him home. Hector would be inside burning the files, if that were the case. The next thought was that Alex had found him, and was ransacking the place in an attempt to locate him. He passed the thought off, for being nearly as ludicrous as the first. Thomas settled on the belief that Hector had been the one to leave the door unlocked. Satisfied with his conclusion, Thomas slowly opened the front door. The door squeaked very softly. Once the door was half opened, Thomas was able to slip through. A faint sound of Italian music emanated from the back room. Thomas closed the door as quietly as he could. As he pressed his back against the closed door, Thomas wondered what the Italian music meant. Whoever broke in, was still there. That was the first thing it meant. Thomas also started to fear who it might be. The Italian police might not be as stupid as he hoped. They could have found his house, while he was away in Africa. Thomas cautiously walked down the hallway, expecting to run into French and Italian police along the way. He didn't. Before Thomas could see who was playing the music from beyond the sliding glass door, he stopped to listen. Thomas hadn't bothered playing the radio in his car, so this was the first music he had heard in days. It sounded like magic, far better than he could remember it. Thomas decided to let the song that was playing finish, before entering the room, and surprising his mystery guest.

  As the song dwindled, and the next came on, Thomas pulled out his knife. He held it firmly in his right hand, with the blade lying flat against his arm. If there was more than one policeman in the room, Thomas didn't want to get shot. The easiest way to avoid that, was to conceal the blade. Thomas stepped through the sliding glass door, and around the filing cabinet. Gabrielle Chambers was sitting in his chair facing away from him. She apparently didn't notice when he walked in, because she continued talking to herself.

  "I know the gem is there." She whispered. "But where?"

  Thomas gasped. How could she possibly know about the gem? How did she find him? And how could she still even be alive? All at once, nothing seemed to make any sense. Gabrielle froze when she heard someone breathing behind her. She turned, expecting to see Alex. Her jaw dropped, when she found herself staring at Thomas LaRue. Gabrielle stood up, and turned off the radio. She did not notice that she let the postcard fall to the floor. Thomas looked down at the postcard.

  "What is that?" He asked.

  "It is just a postcard." She assured him.

  "How much do you know?" Thomas asked.

  "I don't know what you are talking about." Gabrielle insisted.

  "Pick it up." Thomas demanded.

  Gabrielle bent down, and picked up the postcard. As she handed it to Thomas, she noticed that he was looking over at the desk. She glanced over to see what he was looking at. On the desk sat the photograph Alex had taken of the page.

  "So the gem is here?" Thomas said, looking at the postcard. "At Chambord."

  Gabrielle said nothing. She started playing with the crucifix that dangled from the chain around her neck. Immediately, she knew how nervous and afraid she was. What was worse, was that Thomas knew it too.

  "Where is Alex?" Thomas asked.

  "He's dead." Gabrielle replied. "He never made it out of the jungle in Africa."

  "Good try." He said. "But I heard him on the radio, telling about his ordeal."

  Gabrielle didn't respond. She stopped playing with her crucifix. It fell against her chest, and her arm fell to her side.

  "So where is he?" Thomas repeated. "He didn't already go to Chambord, not without you."

  "No." Gabrielle said. "He went to go get the police."

  "Liar." He replied.

  "Why don't you wait around, and see if I'm lying?" She offered.

  "I'm sorry." Thomas said. "I can't really afford to take that chance. Now if you will just hand me that photograph, I'll be on my way."

  "What do you want this for?" Gabrielle asked, handing him the picture.

  "I can't just leave loose ends laying around." Thomas said, taking the picture with his left hand and sliding it into his pocket.

  Gabrielle noticed that Thomas accepted both items with his left hand. She wondered if there was something wrong with his right. It was bent oddly at the wrist, and she wondered if it might be broken. Gabrielle figured that she wouldn't stand a chance fighting Thomas, unless he was injured. He seemed like the type of person who wouldn't bother to seek medical attention if he could not move his wrist. Now that Gabrielle discovered his weakness, she was not so afraid of him. If Thomas came at her, she would just attack his injured wrist. Gabrielle remembered taking the knife from the kitchen. She wished that she had not brought it back. Then she wondered if she could make it back to the kitchen, and retrieve it again. Gabrielle doubted if she could make it passed Thomas, and she tried to convince herself that she was better off unarmed. She quickly thought of the statistics, most women who try to defend themselves with a weapon end up having their own weapon turned against them. Gabrielle focused on Thomas' right arm, and decided that she would not strike first. She still had a tiny bit of hope that Thomas would let her live, or that she could escape through the back door. Gabrielle knew that if she attacked first, any chance of leaving without a fight would be lost.

  "Did you say something?" Gabrielle asked, realizing that she had not been paying attention to anything other than his hand for the last several minutes.

  "I said nothing." Thomas replied, staring coldly at her.

  "Oh." Gabrielle said.

  "I tried to save you once, and I succeeded." Thomas said. "I tried to kill you once, and I failed. I won't make either mistake twice."

  Gabrielle watched in awe, as Thomas brought his right hand across his body. An instant later, he was swinging that arm straight toward her. Gabrielle realized that she had been wrong about Thomas' right wrist being injured, or he wouldn't be attacking her with it. She closed her eyes, tensing for the back of his hand to strike her face. A strange sensation came across her. It almost felt like she had just gotten a paper cut across her neck. Gabrielle opened her eyes, and saw Thomas finishing his swing. In his right hand, he held a large knife. She suddenly understood why he had kept his wrist bent like that. He was concealing the blade from her. Gabrielle gasped when she saw th
e size of the blade. It was longer than her whole hand. When she gasped, Gabrielle felt a mouthful of spit accidentally slide down her throat. She coughed, to clear it. The cough burned intensely, and Gabrielle saw blood fly into the air. Thomas stepped to one side to avoid it. The taste of blood flowed strongly into Gabrielle's mouth. At first, she wondered if she had actually coughed too hard. Gabrielle put a hand up to feel her crucifix. It was gone. What she did feel, was the large slit in her throat. Warm blood gushed out the opening, which went almost from ear to ear. Thomas had slashed her throat so deep, that he almost completely severed her esophagus.

  A look of shear horror swept over Gabrielle's face. She went pale with fear. Thomas smiled, as he watched the blood flow from her. He had been disappointed when he thought that she had died in Cameroon. Now he was blessed with the opportunity to watch her die. An opportunity that he had previously thought he would never have. Gabrielle tried to hold the wound closed. She put both hands to her neck. It was no use. Blood flowed endlessly from around every finger. Thomas stepped backward, to the edge of the sliding glass door. Gabrielle looked down at the floor, and saw her blood racing across it. She suddenly felt dizzy, trying to estimate how much blood she had already lost.

  Gabrielle fell to her knees. Fighting to keep her wound shut. She struggled to take breaths in without coughing precious blood and air back out. It seemed hopeless. Every time she inhaled, she went into uncontrollable coughing fits. The blood and air not only came out her mouth when she coughed, but through the wound itself. Gabrielle collapsed onto the floor. She managed to fall onto her back, and her hands fell to her sides. Laying on her back was a vast improvement. After a couple of short gushes, the blood stopped spewing out her throat. It only trickled out the sides. As a result, she was able to take shallow breaths through the slit in her throat. Gabrielle hoped she could hold on until Alex arrived. She knew that Thomas would leave when he thought that she was dead. Gabrielle remained motionless, and passed herself off for dead.

  Thomas leaned his head in over hers. He stared into her eyes. When she failed to blink, he was satisfied. Thomas turned and walked back down the hallway. On his way, he yanked the wires out of the phone in the kitchen. He didn't think Gabrielle would be able to call for help, but he didn't want anyone else to be able to call either. The last thing he needed was a miracle rescue. He was already wanted in at least one country, no need to make it two. Thomas closed the door behind him, but didn't bother locking it. If Alex had broken in once, he would do it again. Thomas hopped in his Volvo, and casually left the scene without attracting any unnecessary attention to himself.

  Gabrielle continued to lie on the floor, staring at the ceiling. The same as she had been doing earlier. Only now, she felt her life quickly slipping away. She reached her left hand up, and dipped her fingers in the fresh blood that still ran from her throat. She brought the hand back down. It lay next to the sliding glass door. Gabrielle brought it up high enough to smear her blood on the glass. She continued this slow process, and scrolled what she guessed would be her last note to Alex. She wished that she had not been so stupid. She wished that she had called him, or stayed with him. Then, as she started to black out. All of Gabrielle's regrets left her. She no longer thought of what she should have, or could have done. She thought of the time she and Alex had spent together. Not just of the previous night, but of every moment. Every second they had spent together seemed perfect, from the pillow fight in Waza, to the kiss on the abandoned street in Cameroon, to last night. Gabrielle felt a warm sensation come over her as she thought about Alex. Her only regret was that she did not have another whole lifetime to give to him. She thought again of all the wonderful times they had together. The more Gabrielle thought of Alex, the less she feared dying. She didn't know if it was just that her mind was being preoccupied with thoughts of him, or if it was his love that was guiding her through such a difficult journey. Gabrielle looked over at what she had written to Alex, she was satisfied that he would understand her final message. She closed her eyes. A sensation of pure warmth and love swept over her, and Gabrielle let herself simply slip away.

  Chapter 55

  April 20

  7:00 p.m.

  Nice, France

  Alex pulled the black Mercedes to the curb. He quickly got out of the car, and ran across the street. Alex cautiously opened the front door to Thomas' townhouse. The place was eerily silent. The front door closed with a small squeak.

  "Gabrielle?" Alex called out, in a voice just louder than a whisper.

  No one answered. Alex didn't become concerned, until he spotted the smeared blood on the sliding glass door. Alex raced down the short hallway. He stopped just before entering the work room. Gabrielle lay on her back on the floor, with her eyes closed. All around her on the floor was an enormous pool of blood. So much blood, that Alex wondered if there was any left in her body. Alex collapsed inside the doorway, beside the pool of blood. The only two things Alex had no doubts about were that Gabrielle was dead, and that Thomas had killed her. Alex immediately started thinking about the night before. He realized that with Gabrielle gone, he would never experience another night that would be quite so wonderful. Alex felt as if he had just been cheated out of an entire lifetime worth of happiness. As he looked at the enormous slit in Gabrielle's throat, he tired to imagine what she went through. He couldn't. He knew that she must have suffered more than he could imagine. Alex also knew that while she lay helplessly dying, he slept peacefully in his hotel room. That fact was something he would have to deal with for the rest of his life. Alex expected his thoughts to drift back to the precious little time they had spent together. What he did not expect was to hear Maria Douglas' voice so clearly in his mind.

  "You didn't see how it is all connected?" She asked, in what now seemed to be a mocking voice.

  "We are connected, just as you are connected to Thomas. You will continue to experience death and destruction all around you, until you finally die." The voice in his memory said.

  Alex thought it was strange, listening to only half of the conversation. It was as if his voice did not exist in his memory. As hard as he tried, all he could recall was what Maria had said.

  "This is not over!" She exclaimed. "We are not through! These spirals are not through!"

  "None of this is real." Maria insisted. "When you get to France, you'll understand. Nothing is finished until you let it be."

  Alex felt as if he finally understood what his vision of Maria was trying to tell him. He was somehow connected to Thomas. Likewise, Thomas was connected to him. Unless they were both willing to let their business go unfinished, one of them would have to die. Alex regretted deeply that Gabrielle had to die for him to understand that. Then he wondered if it was all part of some greater plan. Maria had foretold of Gabrielle's death in her message. She had stated that Alex would continue to experience death and destruction all around him. Cold chills ran up Alex's back, as he remembered the rest of her line. She had also foretold of his death. Alex wondered if death would soon be waiting for him. He felt an instant compelling urge to leave France, as if the country itself posed the threat. Maria had predicted that something would be waiting for him in France, and she could not have been more exact. Alex wondered why his vision on the plane had taken the form of Maria Douglas. Perhaps it had been based on the fact that the stewardess' name tag sent him the thought, just before he fell asleep. Alex could no longer accept that possibility. There had to be more to it than that. Looking over at Gabrielle's body, Alex wondered if he would soon be joining her. As much as Alex wanted to be with Gabrielle again, he could not look forward to dying at the hands of Thomas LaRue. Alex was able to convince himself that he only stood a chance if he fully understood Maria's message. Her message only contained one line that he could not understand. As he attempted to understand it, he brought the sound of her voice back into the forefront of his mind. Alex hoped that would aide his understanding of it.

  "We are not through! These spirals are no
t through!" Maria hollered from deep within Alex's mind.

  He had already given considerable thought as to why he and Maria were not through. It was because he could not let them be. Nothing was over until he let it be, and he still could not get her out of his mind. The spirals not being through, that was what he could not understand. Alex knew that he would have to fight Thomas. He also knew that only one of them would survive that encounter. The only thing Alex feared was fighting him before he understood the full meaning of Maria's message. Alex did not dare meet up with Thomas again until he understood what she had meant about the spirals.

  Alex decided that he should get away from the townhouse as quickly as possible. Thomas was probably out gathering supplies to dispose of Gabrielle's body. Alex knew that he could not let Thomas simply throw her body into the trash. She deserved so much more. He also feared running into Thomas in his own house. Alex concluded that the best thing he could do was to pay his respects to Gabrielle, then leave. Once he got a safe distance from the site, he could call the police and tell them where they could find the body. There was so much blood, Thomas would never be able to clean it all up before the police arrived. So long as he explained the possibility that the body had been disposed of to them, the police would still be able to find enough evidence of a murder. The blood had soaked deep into the cracks in the floor, and it would be almost impossible to get out.