Livia was still upstairs asleep from the knockout drugs administered to her while Gareton dismissed the guests. However, Roland D'Aramitz and Nouria Courte refused to leave without knowing whether Lauren was safe.
By this time, Tamsin, Justice Lars Saunderson and Niles Seabridge had returned to the Beattie Estate, and Niles hurried off with his Legal Team in one of the nearby Drawing Rooms to discuss Lauren's case. Thankfully, Roland and Noria had joined Niles to listen in while Bo, Kenzi, Dyson, Tamsin, Trick, Eva, Jock and Justice Saunderson huddled in the Main Drawing Room.
Trick, Eva, and Jock sat on a long, red, high back couch while Bo, Kenzi, Dyson, Tamsin, and Justice Saunderson sat in individual chairs spaced about the room.
"Heard anything yet?" Bo asked Tamsin.
"Nope. Not yet." Tamsin replied.
"I'm so confused as to where my mother could have taken Lauren." Bo replied.
"Who knows where your Mom is concerned." Kenzi replied.
"That's not helping, Kenzi." Bo admonished.
"Sorry!" Kenzi replied. "But we've been down this road before."
"There's gotta be an explanation for her taking off with Lauren." Bo said.
"I know how much you want to give your Mom a chance to explain herself, but let's not forget, she is psycho." Kenzi replied.
"It's not just simply that, though." Bo said.
"Then what's up?" Kenzi asked.
"I want her to be part of our lives. The children's lives. She's their grandmother too, after all." Bo replied to looks around her.
"That's a lot to ask for, Bo." Trick eventually piped up. Bo looked straight at him.
"No. It's not." Bo replied.
The doors to the Drawing Room opened and Gareton entered the room followed by Dr. Austine Bromley and Capitaine Andre Morel, who closed the doors behind them. Tamsin stood up and went over to them.
"Anything?" Tamsin asked Dr. Bromley and Capitaine Morel.
"I've confirmed that all the cloud security footage in Auxerre dating back a week isn't there." Austine confirmed. Tamsin exhaled.
"Shoot!" Tamsin said.
"It gets worse. All the footage from the last three weeks has been deleted." Capitaine Morel replied.
"What? How?" Tamsin asked.
"They don't know." Capitaine Morel replied.
"They didn't notice a huge gap in their security footage went missing?" Tamsin asked incredulous.
"No." Austine replied.
"And they don't have back-ups to their back-ups?" Tamsin asked.
"Unfortunately, no." Capitaine Morel replied.
"But they wouldn't have known either." Austine added.
"What do you mean?" Tamsin prompted.
"From Capitaine Morel's point of view, the files were deleted, but they weren't deleted because they weren't actually created." Austine replied. Tamsin gave her a quizzical look. Austine continued, "It seems the system was paused."
"So, it was a technical glitch?" Tamsin asked.
"It looks like a technical glitch, and because of which, if it were discovered no one would have thought to check the access logs, they simply would've restarted the system and continued on with life." Austine replied.
"But you checked the access logs, right?" Tamsin queried.
"Sure did. Checked the access logs and compared the times right up to where the system was paused. Someone did access the system and paused it." Austine replied.
"But how do we know they intentionally paused the system?" Tamsin asked.
"The person who did it did not know the system had a hidden, expanded security detail column that also captures what action was taken." Austine replied.
"Do we know who that was?" Tamsin asked.
"Yes. It was a Police Officer who has since not reported to work." Capitaine Morel replied.
"Since when?" Tamsin asked.
"Since right after Ms. Beattie had arrived at Vézelay." Capitaine Morel answered. "Enroute here, I did all the standard checks on that Police Officer and found that he received a call. From this house. This past evening."
"From whom?" Gareton demanded. Austine looked at Gareton.
"From Mr. Perillard." Austine Bromley replied. Gareton quickly turned and rushed out of the room.
"Ostcliffe! Ostcliffe!" Gareton called out as he went down the hall with everyone from the drawing room behind him. Mr. Ostcliffe, and Ms. Touchard both emerged from opposite corners of the hall.
"Yes sir!" Mr. Ostcliffe returned.
"Where's Mr. Perillard?" Gareton asked.
"I don't know, but…." Mr. Ostcliffe started.
"Find him! Now!" Gareton thundered. Mr. Ostcliffe and Ms. Touchard were about to dash off when Douglas, one of the footmen, came running up.
"I heard all the shouting. Is anything wrong?" Douglas asked. By this time, Nouria, Roland, Niles and his Legal Team emerged from the other nearby Drawing Room.
"Mr. Perillard. Do you know where he is?" Gareton asked.
"I saw him leave downstairs out the back door." Douglas reported.
"I've got this!" Dyson stepped forward.
"I'll go with you." Jock joined.
"Me too!" Bo, Kenzi, and Tamsin all said at the same time.
"Everyone stays here." Dyson replied. "Jock and I can handle this." Then he turned to Douglas. "Lead the way."
"This way." Douglas directed and Dyson and Jock followed.
They ran downstairs and through the hallway to startled staff and then Douglas pointed at the door at the end of the hallway.
"He went out that way." Douglas pointed.
"Do you have anything he's touched?" Dyson asked.
"Of course!" One of the maids said behind them who then disappeared for a few seconds and then reemerged with a set of gloves.
"These are his." The maid said as she handed them to Dyson.
"What are you needing those for?" The maid asked.
"Don't be silly!" Douglas admonished.
"I'm just asking a question!" The maid shot back.
"What else do you think they need them for? For evidence!" Douglas replied. The maid looked at Douglas unconvinced.
"Thank you." Dyson said as he opened the door and ran out with Jock behind him.
When they were a good distance from the house Dyson sniffed the gloves with his nose then handed them to Jock who did the same then extended out his lizard-like tongue into the air. Both made a face.
"That's an odd scent." Dyson said.
"Indeed." Jock replied.
Dyson shifted his eyes and snarled as they went off in pursuit of the scent with Jock right next to him. As they ran in the dark in the forest, they could hear someone tearing through the forest ahead of them.
"This guy can move pretty fast." Dyson noted.
"That's what I was thinking as well." Jock replied.
"Agreed." Dyson said as he picked up the pace, but Jock dropped to the ground on all fours and shot off into the dark of the forest.
"Ranoruks." Dyson commented as he ran faster in pursuit.
Dyson emerged out of the forest into a marshy clearing two miles from the Main House and looked around. The night moon shone brightly over the marshy lake full of protruding branches and soupy grass, but the scent of Mr. Perillard ended here. Dyson was about to test the depth of the marshy lake when he heard a hiss. He looked all around him, sniffing as he went, but there were a lot of smells in the air, clouding his senses. Then he heard an animalistic scream and then another hiss. Dyson wasn't sure what was happening around him and found himself inadvertently backing into the marshy lake as he tried to ascertain what was happening around him.
Suddenly, Dyson was grabbed by the nape of neck, held high into the air, and then quickly plunged into the marshy lake so hard and so fast he let out a scream as the branches pierced his body like knives. Dyson fought through the pain for both air as well as clarity, but whatever had taken hold of him lifted him up again, and in course, ripped out the branches the pierced his body only to be plunged and impaled again. Dyson let out a roar as he tried to shift, but whatever had hold of him pulled him out of the water raised him high in the air. Dyson reflexively reached up behind his neck and grabbed the hand of whatever held him by the nape of his neck, but the hand was thick with wet fur, making it hard for Dyson to get a good grip. The animalistic scream Dyson had heard minutes before was now close to his ear, and whatever held plunged him yet a third time into the water, but this time it held him down. Dyson fought harder to shake its hold but its strength was too great and started crush his throat. Between the pain of the branches that pierced his body, his throat being crushed as he was being drowned Dyson started to lose consciousness.
Then whatever held him down abruptly let go, and Dyson could feel the turbulent rage of water around as he thrashed for orientation and air. Dyson breached the surface of the lake long enough to see two towering creatures locked in a struggle; one looked like a giant beaver and the other was a hairy lizard-like creature that whipped its tongue like a whip. The sounds of screams and hisses swirled in the air as the giants fought one another while Dyson fought for consciousness, air and footing, but the wakewater overtook him. Dyson struggled for the strength to escape the wakewater but his body betrayed him, and Dyson found himself underwater once again and his consciousness gone.
