I know how you feel, Vorr de Ville! I apologise most sincerely for the delay...you've probably gotten bored of this now! Hope not! Please read and review... feel free to let me know what you think. Hopefully posting again very soon! ;-) BIG thanks to everyone who is reading and reviewing at the moment! THANK YOU!
Bosley guided the rental car into a space at the kerbside, close to an old church, which Kris had spotted as they drove across town. Of course, towns like these were always busy with worshippers of various denominations. It wasn't too hard to find a place of worship. Bosley switched off the engine and they both got out, looking at the church before them and feeling a little uncomfortable as they approached the entrance. Churches were where people went to pray and sing songs about the almighty. Neither of them had done any of that very recently. Bosley mentally shrugged off his misplaced sense of guilt but smiled a little as he spotted Kris's frown and wondered if she felt the same way. They walked up to the entrance door and looked at each other sheepishly. Bosley reached out and tried the door. It was open. He pushed it open wider and allowed Kris to enter first. She looked at him. Her look said: 'coward'. Bosley shrugged and grinned as he followed her in. They had both noticed the sign at the entrance which read 'Sacramento Episcopal Church'. Kris wasn't sure what that entirely meant but she decided it was likely christian. Inside, they stepped through a small entrance hall which wasn't lit. But ahead were two double doors, where lights were on. They both stood at the doors, peering inside, looking for signs of people.
"Can I help you?" A voice from behind made Kris jump and utter a small "oh!" as she turned. Bosley quickly recovered his own nervous start.
"Oh hello!" He smiled. "Ah, we were just looking for .. Um…" he faltered a little, aware of the mans eyes seeming to sum him up too quickly. "… we're private investigators and we're after some information, if you could be of any kind assistance…Mr…" Bosley tailed off, unable to decide how to address this man of the cloth, because he was wearing only slacks and a shirt, and no traditional religious garb of any kind.
"I'm doctor John Clements…but you can call me John. I'm sorry to startle you both." He smiled, then opened the doors, directing them into the main hall where there were some seats.
"Please, have a seat…how can I be of help?"
Bosley produced a business card and then proceeded to inform the minister of the reason for their visit.
"Oh I see. Well, as you would imagine, " the minister said, folding his hands in his lap as she sat opposite Kris and Bosley, "there are quite a few different religious followings in this area. Although I have myself heard of a rather strange group of people out in the mountains also, actually." He paused to think, frowning. "They've never interacted at all with any other churches around, from what I have gathered."
Bosley looked a little confused. The doctor continued. "Even though religions around here are somewhat diverse in their approach toward seeking God… I firmly believe we are all seeking the same thing. I make it a point to keep in touch with my spiritual brothers and sisters…no matter what their denomination. I am hoping that our common religious ground will one day unite us all." The doctor smiled.
"Ah, right. So, I take it that, you all kinda get along with each other - apart from this group in the mountains?" Bosley wondered slightly at the mans rather grand idea of unity.
"Oh well, we've had no trouble of any kind from them… it's just that they keep themselves to themselves."
Kris sat quietly taking in what the minister was saying. She liked his idea of unity… even though she doubted very much it would ever amount to anything. She just wished he knew something that could be of use.
She was feeling more anxious than when they'd first arrived. Bosley must have sensed her agitation, as he now became more direct.
"We need to find this … group of people..err.. John - do you have any idea where they could be located?"
The minister looked at him, eyes brightening.
"Why yes… I took it upon myself to locate their…place of gathering… to invite them to an ecclesiastical meeting I was setting up…" He looked back at Bosley and noticed a vague sense of hurry from the man.
"… I'll just go get the address for you… I filed it away…" The minister stood up and left the main hall, muttering to himself about keeping everything filed and in order.
Kris sighed and looked at Bosley. "Do you think Kelly could be there, Bos? Or are we just chasing fog?"
Bosley looked at Kris. "I don't know Kris - you said it yourself, you thought it was a long shot… but it's all we've got right now."
Kris nodded. She wished she knew how Sabrina was, she wished she could be sitting with her, helping her. She wished she knew exactly where Kelly was and then nothing and no-one would stop her or Bos from getting her back safe.
The doors opened, interrupting Kris's unproductive thoughts. "Here we go. I'm afraid you've got a bit of a drive ahead of you, it's more than 2 hours away up near the Heavenly Mountain resort in Nevada."
"OK thanks" Bosley took the offered address then the minister also gave him added written directions.
"It's quite hard to find." He added. "but I hope you find what you're looking for."
"Thanks a lot!" Kris spoke up for the first time as she stood up and made her way out of the building. Quite apart from churches making her feel uncomfortable, they needed to get going. Bosley also thanked the minister again before hurrying after Kris.
They got into the car and Bosley set off back the way they had come.
"We should find the main freeway out to Nevada easily enough." He commented as he drove along, looking for a gas station. Kris's stomach rumbled and Bosley heard it. "We should also find some food!"
Kris hadn't even realised she was hungry but Bosley was right… she felt a bit light headed from lack of food. "We can pick something up when we get some gas."
Kelly came round, opening her eyes, trying to adjust to the darkness. For a second or two, she had absolutely no idea where she was, and panic began to jostle for room in her chest as she struggled to keep calm. Then recent events cascaded back into her mind and she took a deep breath to ease the panic away. She needed to get out of here or she was going to go crazy. She winced as her wrist pained her and she felt at it with her left hand - it felt swollen. Great. She sat up and clambered off the mattress, aware that the stale smell of the mattress was clinging to her. She wrinkled her nose. Not pleasant. She could still hear the hum of machinery she'd heard… when? Kelly suddenly realised she had no idea of the time. How long had she been asleep? The watch on her left wrist was useless to her in the dark. She made a mental note to look into buying one of those new smart lcd watches that you could light with a button. That, or at least carry a penlight on her person. She walked up to where she though the door was, that she'd been thrown through.
"Hello?" She shouted up loudly. "Hey!" She shouted even louder. She stood with her head looking upwards, willing a door to open, and light flood down. Nothing. She took a deep breath, then began shouting as loud as she possibly could. None stop for about three whole minutes. Then she stopped and listened. Still nothing. She took in another deep breath but coughed a little as she still tasted that strange odour at the back of her throat, that was in the air again. She decided to try and investigate where it was coming from. She held her hands out in front of her, like a stumbling blind person…which she actually was at this moment in time. She followed her nose. The smell was coming from the same direction as the sound. Yes, it was definitely stronger…more pungent in this direction. She stepped carefully toward the smell and the sound and finally made contact with the far wall. She put her ear to the wall, in a vain attempt to catch any other sounds. But the brickwork was quite solid. And cold on her ear. She drew away, then tried again. But just got more humming and a very slight vibration through the brickwork. Well Kelly Garrett, if there's nothing more nefarious than ice-cream being made next door…then I'm Mother Theresa! Then just as she drew her head away again, she thought she heard yelling. She drew close to the wall again and listened as hard as she could. Yes, there was definitely a commotion going on in there. What the hell was going on in this place? Kelly got the distinct feeling that Brother Marcus was up to his armpits in things of a nefarious nature. And she had to get out of here and figure her next move. But it looked as though she'd have to wait for the commotion to die down before she began yelling again. She felt around the space she was in, for any kind of long instrument that she could possibly jab up at the door. Or better still, anything she could use as a weapon that she could hide in a pocket or at the back of her trouser waistline. She sighed and groped around, feeling so frustrated with her current predicament. And not only was she frustrated, she knew, but her anxiety levels were about to skyrocket. She knew for certain she couldn't keep the lion shut up much longer. And just as her thoughts were turning even more dangerously inward, she heard the door being opened on her prison, and oh thank goodness! Light! She almost sobbed with relief as she stumbled and hurried to the source of the light and looked up, her eyes squinting, unable to see who was looking down on her. She tried to shade her eyes.
"Sister Garrett!" A whisper from above. Kelly was shocked to realise the voice belonged to the brother who had thrown her in here. She collected her wits.
"Look, I'm really very sorry…please get me out of here…!"
She was then surprised and thankful when a ladder was dropped down.
"Quickly, climb up!" The voice ordered. Kelly didn't need a second bidding. She was up as quickly as her throbbing wrist could allow her. She was still squinting as she made it up into the small kitchen. The brother took her by the arm…more gently this time… and guided her back to her room. She tried to enquire as to why she had been let out, but the brother remained silent. Although she could tell he was very nervous as he kept looking around him, expecting trouble from any quarter.
They got to her room and she turned to thank him. He held his hand up. "All I can say now is…keep your head down and stay out of trouble." With that, he hurried away and Kelly was left with so many questions, she didn't know where to start. She walked into her room and sat on the edge of her bed, pondering the brothers motivations for letting her out and also trying deciding what drug it was that was being churned out below. She nursed her wrist. She needed some ice. Fat chance. Her mind was ticking madly away, taking the newly acquired information, adding it to what she already knew and coming up with every perceivable scenario that would describe what was exactly going on here and how Alda Limardo had wound up dead. The obvious answer was staring her in the face. Alda had stumbled across something she shouldn't have… yet why had they dumped her body somewhere public? That was a big mistake to make. But then this Marcus guy was nutty as a fruitcake … probably thought the cops were just that dumb… or… was a cop on someone's payroll? And did Marcus even know who Alda's mother actually is? Maybe that was what the commotion was downstairs… maybe whoever he was associated with, had decided he was just not to be trusted…. Kelly sighed. Some things were adding up nicely, while other things were popping up, begging to be labelled with an explanation. She decided to go and find Colleen and maybe the other fruitcake, sister Clayton. There must be something she can glean from them.