Chapter 11

Jack and Sue were speechless. Millie looked inordinately proud of herself and ran to Levi's bowl of water for a quick drink. Disgusted at the liberty taken, Levi flopped onto his sleeping spot. As Sue entered into her room in amazement, Jack began to examine the inner door, the hinges were well oiled, to prevent squeaking, and there was a broken lock on the inside of the cupboard allowing easy access to the room. This led Jack to all kinds of different worries; especially about 'mice'.

"You don't suppose the mouse Levi heard last night was really a person," said Sue, calmly. Jack groaned inwardly, trust Sue to think of that one.

"If some-one wanted to get into the house secretly they could come in this way. They might have thought that the room was empty or if they knew I was in here that I wouldn't be disturbed because I'm deaf. They didn't consider that Levi might be alerted." Explained Sue.

"Well if it was a person then Levi scared them away," replied Jack. "But I think it would be best if we swapped rooms just in case."

"No it wouldn't," argued Sue. "They know Levi is in here so won't risk coming this way again. If they realise that it is just you then who knows what might happen!" Jack was preparing to argue his point when his phone rang. It was Bobby. He quickly explained where they were and what was happening. Bobby had heard about Dessa and he promised to look into it further and to get back in touch later, possibly through a video link so that they could talk for longer. Jack ended the call and was about to resume his argument with Sue when he realised that she had sneakily taken the opportunity to leave the room whilst he was distracted.

The rain was still coming down heavily so Sue made her way to the sitting room. It was empty, apart from Lionel, who spotted her before she could retreat.

"Weather catch you out?" he asked. "Me too, I was going to go down the river towards the coast but the mists will be coming down so it will be too dangerous. The river is silted in places and I don't want to get stuck." He explained.

Sue nodded searching for something to say, "Have you known Alex long?" She almost cringed when the banal question popped out.

"All his life," replied Lionel, to her surprise. "We're family." Sue was startled even more her amazement reflecting in her face.

"We share a great grandfather," he explained. "My grandfather and Alex's were twins. Alex's was the elder and so all this came down through the family to him and we had to find our own way. Not that we are doing badly," he added quickly. "And I do get to visit here every time city life begins to pall."

Sue nodded "You are lucky," she said. "It is a beautiful place." Curiously, she began to compare Lionel to Alex, there were some similarities in appearance that showed evidence of a familial connection which she hadn't noticed before. However, Lionel seemed to be quite a bit older than Alex, less trim and with indications of an over-indulgent lifestyle. At that moment, much to Sue's relief, Jack walked in grinning. Lionel moved towards the drinks table to replenish his glass as Jack took hold of Sue's hand and led her down a short flight of stairs and into the Jacobean gallery. Instantly Sue's eyes were drawn upwards to the ornate plaster ceiling showing images from the book of Genesis. Jack didn't let her linger but pulled her to the end of the room where they could talk with a degree of privacy. He signed "sorry"

"You can stay in your room, I'm being over protective as usual," he smiled sheepishly. "I'll … we'll let Alex know about the tunnel and think of a way to block it from the outside so that no-one else can get in. It does explain why we keep finding Millie in our part of the house though doesn't it. She must be using it as her own personal shortcut!"

Alex and Jason were amazed when they heard about the tunnel. Jason wanted to go down it straight away but Alex pointed out that they ought to make it secure for Sue's peace of mind. Once it had stopped raining he was more than ready to explore it from the other end in the wood. Jason scowled a little but agreed to the necessity even helping to fix the bolts to the door so that it could still be accessed from inside the house. Jack then spoke to Alex about a video link and they went to the study to set one up for later when Bobby got back in touch.

The afternoon passed restfully, Bobby contacted Jack again but had nothing to add to what they already knew though he did say that he would keep them informed of any developments. Thankfully the heavy rain stopped around dinner time allowing Jack and Sue to have a leisurely stroll around the garden after their meal before joining the others in the sitting room for card games. Towards midnight, as they were going to bed, Alex drew Jack to one side and mentioned that the conditions would be just right for an early morning surf if he was interested. Jack looked apprehensive until he found that that 'early morning' wasn't as early as he thought and he accepted the invitation eagerly.

The following morning, an extremely tired but, at the same time, invigorated Jack arrived back at the house having had an excellent time surfing at Polzeath. Alex parked his car at the stables and they were making their way around to the front of the house when a noise form above caused Jack to lift his head. They were beneath Sue's window and he could see Levi, pacing up and down on the window seat, barking furiously. Levi had obviously seen him too and the barking intensified. An uncomfortable sensation of disaster flooded through Jack nearly causing him to stumble before yelling, "Sue's in trouble!" and ran into the house as quickly as he could, Alex on his heels. He burst into Sue's room and was immediately accosted by Levi who was whining anxiously. Of Sue there was no sign, he checked the bathroom and his own room and even peered under the bed, much to Alex's amusement. Jack was frantic, remembering all the times that Sue had been in danger or abducted during other assignments surely it couldn't be happening again? Had Dessa played a part in this?

"You know she could just be somewhere in the house," commented Alex, trying to appear calm.

"No, not without Levi," responded Jack. "Where is she Levi?" Levi turned towards the cupboard and scratched the door. Jack opened it and saw that the inner door instead of being bolted shut, was also open.

"Don't go anywhere," ordered Alex. "I'll get the torches." Fortunately, there was a storage closet close by with a selection of emergency items in it (in case of power cuts) and he was back in no time with two powerful torches; he handed one to Jack and, taking a deep breath, they stepped through the tunnel door.

Jack led the way going the full length of the tunnel without finding any sign of Sue. He looked outside at the ground for traces of footprints, wishing that he had Bobby's tracking skills because he certainly couldn't decipher anything in the mud made by yesterday's rain. A bark from Levi made him look up, Levi still seemed to be inside the tunnel. Puzzled, Alex and Jack made their way back inside until they reached Levi's side. Levi was pacing and scratching at the wall, Alex shone his torch and they both looked closely. Suddenly, Alex exclaimed and pointed at a thin line, tracing it along and down the wall forming a door shape. Could it be another blocked off tunnel? After many minutes of trying various methods of opening the door from pushing, sliding and, in sheer frustration on Jack's part, 'alohomora' Alex finally found a stone in the wall which could be pulled out part way causing the bolt in the door to drop down allowing it to open. The door swung surprising easily and as their torch light shone through the opening they saw Sue sitting with her back against the wall, her knees up to her chest and her eyes tight shut. Levi bounded through, Jack's relief at finding her safe making him only a fraction slower than her furry friend. Sue jumped when she felt Levi's wet nose in her face then she lifted her head and saw Jack in the doorway. Carefully she stood up, her legs a little numb from being seated for such a long time but before she had taken two steps she found herself engulfed in Jack's arms before being roughly pushed away as he 'shouted' at her in sign. Alex, noticing how pale Sue looked soon stopped the tirade and suggested that they found somewhere more comfortable to finish this. With a deep breath, Jack pulled himself together and led the way back up the corridor with Sue right behind him.