... Hi, everyone.
First off, I'm so sorry for the hiatus out of the blue, especially after the terrible (even in my standards lol) cliffhanger last chapter. The thing is, this past month has been... not so great. I won't bore you with the details, but to say it simply, I hit the wall.
I'm feeling better now though, and so I thought, as an apology for disappearing, I'll be publishing TWO chapters today! :D
A few things since last time:
I can understand the confusion with Gwen, as she only appeared in one episode. Maybe I should've explained her a bit more... Coincidentally, the next chapter is all about her, so I'll try my best to explain her backstory there! :)
Also, 39addict101, I really appreciate you pointing out the mistakes I made in previous chapters. I didn't even realise the thing with Jasper's phone lol, but now it's fixed so that he found it while searching the house. And you're right, feet sounds better than metres. I keep thinking in SI-units (thanks a LOT, Physics).
Before we start though, I just wanted to say a HUGE thank you to all of you, especially everyone who reviewed. You have no idea how much your words mean to me.
Chapter 25: The man behind it all
Detective Cassara smiled down at Henry, taking great pleasure in the confusion that so clearly splayed across the boy's features.
"Surprised?" he asked.
Henry tried to reply, but his head was now pulsating so viciously that all he managed was a quiet groan. As from far away, he heard Cassara continue.
"Well, you're not the only one who was fooled. Who would possibly suspect that the very detective investigating the case would be the one behind it? Quite ingenious, if I say so myself."
The man said a few words to someone out of sight, and suddenly firm hands grabbed Henry's arms and pulled him up into a sitting position. Something warm and sticky trickled down the back of his neck as cold steel closed around his wrists. Henry would have resisted if he hadn't been so out of it, but as it was now, he remained limp while the hands that had seized him rested him against the wall. Cassara appeared in his field of view again, mock concern flickering through his eyes.
"Looks like the blow landed harder than I thought. But don't worry, I don't think you have a concussion. Then again, I am no doctor." His expression hardened. "Now, I would like to know what you did with the flash drive."
Henry knew exactly what he'd done with it – last time he'd seen the flash drive had been at Junk N' Stuff, when he, Charlotte, Jasper and Ray had examined its contents. If he remembered correctly, it should still be there. But no way he'd tell Cassara that.
Instead, he shook his head, despite the pain that shot through his skull at the motion.
"I don't know what you're talking about," he whispered.
Cassara smiled – an expression Henry might've seen as friendly before, but now seemed anything but. "Yes, you do. You're just refusing to tell me, which is not only brave, but futile. I'll only ask you one more time: Where is it?"
"I don't know," Henry repeated quietly, his heart pounding.
A short, tense silence enveloped the room. Cassara angled his head, staring down at Henry like a predator at its prey. When he finally responded his voice was low, hardly more than a mutter, but to Henry, every word was terrifyingly clear.
"Then I guess I'll have to try and jog your memory."
Turning away, he barked an order and a man and woman stepped into Henry's line of sight. They looked disturbingly alike: the same short-cut brown hair, dark clothing – even their eyes had similar expressionless stares. Surely, they had to be related somehow.
The woman moved forward, grabbing Henry's arm and pulling him ungraciously to his feet. With his head still pounding - though not nearly as bad as before – the sudden motion caused the room to fade out of focus again.
"Let me go!"
As his vision slowly returned, he saw Piper being dragged out of the storage room by the man, struggling with all her might to free herself. She stopped though when she caught sight of her brother, eyes widening in terror.
"Henry-" she began, but the rest of the sentence was lost as he was jerked forward out into the massive adjacent room. The movement made his head protest viciously again, and the floor swam in front of him, as if he were aboard a ship in a wild storm. He closed his eyes to the nauseous view, letting the hand clamped around his arm guide him. He didn't know where they were taking him and Piper, but couldn't find it in himself to care - not that he would have seen much anyway, with the way his vision was.
As they turned around a corner, Henry adjusted his hands that were uncomfortably pinned behind his back with the cuffs, his shoulders already beginning to protest. A small sigh escaped his lips. How could he have allowed this to happen? After everything he and Lynne had been through in the past few days, he should've known it wouldn't be this easy. He should've stuck to the plan. Gone to Ray for help.
But instead he'd walked right into the trap with open arms.
The hand pushing him forward suddenly pulled back, bringing him to a sharp halt. Tentatively, Henry opened his eyes, blinking at the sudden light. After a few seconds, his surroundings came into focus.
They were standing in the doorway of a fairly large room with bare, unpainted walls, the only light coming from rows upon rows of fluorescent lamps mounted into the low ceiling. Several giant, rusty machines of all sorts took up most of the space, looking like they had recently been used despite their obvious age.
"Amazing, isn't it?" Cassara mused as he strolled past the little group, making a broad gesture with one arm. "These are the exact machines that were used when the saw mill was operating. In those days, they used steam for power instead of electricity. Not quite as effective, but they got the job done."
The way the man uttered the words - relaxed, almost jovially - made it sound like they were on a school trip to some museum, but there was an ominous undertone that sent chills down Henry's spine. Something was about to happen, and nothing good.
Henry snuck a quick glance at Piper who was standing next to him, held firmly back by the wrists. Her face was ghostly pale as she watched Cassara run a hand along the side of a huge flywheel. The unfiltered emotion sent a jolt through his heart. His sister wasn't just scared: she was terrified.
Clenching his jaw in sudden anger, Henry watched as the detective crossed the room, stopping in front of what looked like an oversized treadmill. Protruding out at the far end were several huge circular blades, tinged with rust and positioned periodically along a dark hole in the wall. Henry presumed it had once been used to slice logs into planks, to then be transported through the hole to the next workstation.
With a sure hand, Cassara reached out towards the small console mounted to a steel contraption next to the machine and wrapped a hand around one of the many levers. As he pulled it down, the saw blades spun to life with a quiet groan, a deep, spluttering hum filling the room. The corner of his mouth quirked up ever so slightly.
"It still seems to work. Now, there's only one thing I wonder…" Expression thoughtful, he turned towards Piper. "Are you right-handed or left-handed?"
A confused silence engulfed the room.
"Wh-what?" Piper breathed.
"I can only imagine the struggles of having to learn how to write with your non-dominant hand." Cassara shrugged, glancing towards the rotating blades again. "Unless you're ambidextrous, of course; then it won't matter which one I choose."
It took a few seconds before Henry realized what the man was implying, but when he did it felt like the blood froze in his veins. And by the way Piper blanched even more, he knew she had understood too. A sick feeling rose in his stomach.
"You… you can't do that."
Cassara regarded him calmly. "I take no pleasure in hurting children, but unless you give us what we want, I'm afraid there's no other option."
"Detective Cassara."
The sudden voice made all of them turn towards the door, where a tall, well-built man stood just outside. With a jolt, Henry realised he recognised him: it was one of the people who had pretended to be Lynne's cousins. What was he doing here?
"Mr. Quays," Cassara greeted with a strained smile. "I didn't expect you back until tomorrow morning."
"I know," the man - Mr. Quays - replied, stepping into the room. "But there's been a few recent developments that you might want to hear."
"I'm listening."
"The kids - Jasper Dunlop and Charlotte Page - they're onto us." He paused. "And I'm pretty sure they have the flash drive."