A/N: Thanks very much to max2013, Lady Emily, Guest, Jackie, Caranath, zenfrodo, Stork Hardy, bhar, ILoveMom, Vinsmouse, and Leya for your reviews! You're awesome! And as always, thank you to those who are reading!

Chapter 16

"Um, what exactly are we looking for?" Bess asked, grabbing onto Frank's arm, as he began searching the altar area of the cathedral.

"Something…anything…that might give us a clue," Frank said.

Joe sighed loudly. "Frank, this place is wide open. We would have tripped over the girls by now if they were here. We're wasting our time."

Frank knew Joe was frustrated. But he couldn't ignore the cathedral…it was the one place he knew Nancy and Emily had been for sure. He didn't think they'd find the girls here either. But they might find a clue. And in his mind, that was worth being methodical about.

"Joe, we know they've been here. Maybe they were even abducted from here. Let's just check things out to be sure before we move on."

"Fine. I'll give you five minutes and then I'm out of here." Joe dropped to his knees and began scanning the floor.

"I'll look under this table thingy," Bess said, crawling off toward the back of the altar.

Frank was relieved that Bess had pulled herself together and was ready to help them. He knew they had to work fast if they were going to get any kind of lead on Nancy and Emily. He also knew they were at a distinct disadvantage since he and Joe had no knowledge of the case or the cathedral. Getting up to speed by questioning Father Bertrand would waste too much valuable time. Having Bess work with them was an absolute necessity.

Frank called out to Father Bertrand. "So, was the cathedral locked tonight at nine o'clock?"

"Yes, of course," he replied. "I checked it myself. Nothing was amiss."

Frank paused. "The girls didn't disappear until after nine-thirty."

Joe stood up and approached Frank. "And as far as we know, they disappeared from the hotel, not here. So what in the hell are we doing crawling around digging up dust bunnies on the floor of a church for?"

"We're being thorough, Joe. I don't want to miss anything. The girls' lives may depend on it. " Frank had reached his limit with his brother's impatient nature. "You of all people should know that detective work requires–"

An excited squeal came from Bess. "Look! Look what I found!"

She stood, holding up a dangling piece of crystal that glistened in the candle light. "It's mine."

Joe rolled his eyes. "Bess, we're not here to look for your things."

"No. It's my earring, but I let Nancy borrow it for tonight. She didn't have the right accessories for her gown. She never does–"

Frank snatched it from her. "Nancy was wearing this tonight? At the dance?"

Because if she was, that was the first solid clue they had. And it meant that the girls were close by. Maybe even actually in this building. Frank took a deep breath to calm himself down. He needed to think clearly.

Bess nodded. "Yes, she wore this earring to the ball. Tonight.

He turned to Guillaume. "Did the girls visit you right before the dance?"

Father Bertrand repeated the question to him in French.

"Non, monsieur."

Frank turned to Joe. "Then they're here."

OOOoooOOO

"It's no use," Emily sagged to the stone floor after shouting as loudly as she could for Joe. "No one can hear us."

Nancy's shoulders drooped. She bent her head forward on her knees, her body shaking with cold. There was nothing else she could do. She didn't have the strength or skills to get herself out of this mess. For the first time in her life, she felt utterly defeated.

"Oh, Frank," she whispered.

Emily shouted for Joe one more time before she, too, seemed to give up. Nancy knew it wouldn't be long for either one of them at this point.

At least hypothermia is a painless death.

OOOoooOOO

"Did you hear that?" Joe turned his head to the right.

"What?" Bess asked.

He held up his hand. "I heard something."

"What was it, Joe?" Frank came over to him.

"I don't know."

Joe moved forward a few more steps, then halted. It had almost sounded like a high-pitched cry, but it seemed smothered. He dropped to his knees then looked at Frank.

"It came from down here somewhere."

Frank joined him on the ground, and the two of them began feeling around the floor of the altar. Father Bertrand grabbed the torch and brought it closer to them.

"Is there a basement in this building?" Joe asked.

"Yes, of course, but it doesn't extend underneath the altar."

Joe turned behind him and stared at the floor. He thought the priest was wrong. The sound had come from almost directly under his feet. He noticed two dark marks that looked like something had been dragged over the marble tile. Glancing upward, he spotted an iron candle holder with hundreds of votive candles on it. He jumped up.

"Come help me, Frank."

Frank joined him and the two of them slid the candle holder away from the wall.

Joe hurried back over to where the candle holder had been resting. There was a visible gap surrounding the large tile. Bingo. That tile was removable.

"I need something to pry this open."

Frank reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a jackknife. "I don't know if this is sturdy enough."

Joe took it, and with Frank's help, pried the trap door up enough to slide their fingers underneath. They moved it across the floor and stared down. A dank, oppressive smell rose from the darkness below. Frank coughed.

Joe's hand shot out. "Torch."

Father Bertrand handed it to him immediately. As Joe shown the light over the opening, an ancient stone staircase came into view. The steps were steep and narrow, crumbling in spots, and closed in on both sides by rock walls shiny with dampness.

"Zut alors," the abbot whispered.

Bess peered over the edge into the inky blackness. "I'm waiting here."

Joe was hyper-focused now, his thoughts only for Emily. He made his way down the staircase, careful not to slip on the damp stone, followed by Frank and Father Bertrand.

"You didn't know this was here?" Frank asked.

The abbot shook his head. "No. It is not on any of the floor plans we have."

They reached the bottom and Joe held the torch high. They stared down a long corridor, the stone walls covered with large patches of green moss. Joe began walking and shivered as a torn spider web brushed across his face. He noticed old wooden doorways on both sides of the walls at about four foot intervals, and immediately reached out and opened the first one. A large rat scurried between his feet, but the cell was empty.

The same thing happened with every other door until they arrived at the end of the passageway. Joe tried the last door and found it locked.

"Frank!" he called. "I need some help."

Frank hurried to his side, and on the count of three, they both slammed their shoulders against the door hard. It didn't budge.

"Dammit," Joe hissed. "Try again, Frank."

The door refused to give even a little. Joe pounded it hard with his fists, then kicked at the ancient iron latch.

"It's no use," Frank said, breathing heavily. "We're going to need a crowbar or something."

"Just a minute." Father Bertrand dashed back to the stone staircase and shouted up to Guillaume in French.

"These are prison cells," Joe said, his anger rising inside him. "This place is a damn dungeon. A real one."

"I know." Frank face was grim as he ran his hand over the door. "This is so old. You'd think we'd be able to smash it in."

"It's also about three feet thick, I'm betting." Joe's anxiety level was rising. He felt it in his gut that Emily was somewhere close by and not being able to get this door opened was driving him nuts. As he ran his fingers along the edge of the frame, looking for any kind of crack he could exploit, he shivered. "Shit, it's freezing down here."

Father Bertrand returned with a crowbar. "Here you are."

Frank took it, jimmied the door, and with his and Joe's weight, forced it open.

In the torchlight, Joe could see Nancy and Emily huddled on the cold stone floor in a room about five feet square, not moving.

His heart almost stopped beating.

He rushed into the cell and scooped up Emily in his arms.

"She's an icicle, Frank."

Joe held Emily close as he checked for a pulse. He sighed with relief and quickly moved through the door.

Nancy sagged limply against Frank's shoulder as he caught up to his brother.

They carefully carried both girls up the stone staircase and into the main part of the cathedral.

"Oh my gosh!" Bess squealed loudly, her voice reverberating and echoing throughout the building. "Are they okay?"

"They're frozen," Joe said.

"This way," Father Bertrand instructed, leading them back into the monastery.

They followed him through the main corridor and down a side hall. He paused in front of a door marked "Infirmerie" and opened it wide. "I will go rouse our physician."

Joe entered the room and glancing around, spotted a sofa. He sat down, with Frank next to him, and held Emily close, while Bess knelt in front of them. Guillaume flipped the light switch on the wall.

"Find something to get these damn ties off their wrists," Joe ordered.

Bess hurried over to a desk in the corner of the room, and grabbed a pair of scissors out of a large mug filled with pens and pencils.

"Oh, she's so cold," Bess lamented, as she touched Emily on the arm, then quickly snipped through the zip ties around her wrists.

"These damn dresses are so flimsy, they might as well have been wearing nothing at all," Joe said, as brought Emily's arms in front of her and pulled her close to him. His heart twisted in his chest as he noticed the bluish tinge of her lips and the pallor of her skin.

Frank brushed his lips against Nancy's. "Ice."

Father Bertrand returned with another man, who immediately went over to the girls and began checking their vital signs.

"Are you the doctor?" Joe asked.

"Yes," he replied, in perfect English.

"Do you have anything here you can quickly raise their body temperature with?" Frank asked. "Can you do a warm IV?"

The doctor looked at Frank as he began rapidly pulling out supplies from a white, metal cabinet. "Do you have medical training?"

"No. Personal experience, unfortunately."

"I don't have that capability here, but I wish I did." The doctor gestured to the two hospital beds on the other side of the room. "Set them there, please."

Bess quickly turned down the sheets on two beds on the opposite side of the room and Frank and Joe placed the girls on them. The doctor hurriedly stuck a thermometer in both of their mouths.

"Hold them," he instructed Frank and Joe.

Father Bertrand moved between the beds, wringing his hands. "Who could have done such a thing? It's unthinkable. I had no inkling when I requested Carson's help something like this could happen."

Bess walked over to him and put her arm around his shoulder. "It'll be okay," she said as she led him over to the sofa. "Is there a kitchen? Maybe I could fix you some tea?"

"That would be an excellent idea," the doctor spoke up. "For the girls as well, please. Go down the hall and turn left. You can't miss it."

Bess nodded and slipped out the door.

The doctor removed the thermometers from the girls' mouths. His expression was somber as he read them.

"Are they going to be all right?" Joe was trying not to panic.

"We need to warm them up as quickly as possible."

Frank was already removing his jacket, and Joe had kicked off his shoes and was reaching for his belt buckle.

"I see you know the treatment protocol," the doctor said. "Excellent. That'll save time. I'll bring you some extra blankets."

"What are you doing?" Father Bertrand asked, as Frank and Joe stripped off their clothes down to their boxer shorts.

"They need body heat to warm them," the doctor explained. "I have nothing here that can generate a ninety-eight degree temperature fast enough."

Father Bertrand nodded. "I understand. You must do whatever is necessary to save their lives."

Joe glanced at Frank. "Damn straight we will," he muttered.

Frank was already pulling back the blankets to slide under them. "At this point, I could care less what anyone thinks."

Joe stripped down to his boxer shorts and was climbing under the sheets, when heard Guillaume speaking loudly in French to Father Bertrand. What the hell was his problem?

Father Bertrand cleared his throat. "Joe?"

Joe glanced at him.

"Emily is promised to you, is she not?"

Joe pulled the blankets tightly around Emily and himself. "I'm not sure I understand."

"She wears your ring, correct? You intend to marry her?"

"Yes."

Father Bertrand nodded, then turned to Guillaume and spoke in French.

Joe noticed that Frank was already under the covers and saw that he cringed as Nancy's cold body came into contact with his warm one.

Joe pulled Emily into a tight embrace. He ran his hands up and down along her bare back, trying as best as he could to raise her body temperature. The doctor stepped over to his bedside.

"Can you unfasten her dress?" he whispered. "You need to heat her core, not her extremities. The more direct contact her skin has with yours, the better."

Joe reached up to her neck, where the top part of her halter-style gown, fastened. "I don't know if I can get it from this angle."

The doctor stepped around to Emily's side of the bed and undid it for him. Then, moving over to Nancy, opened the zipper on the back of her dress.

OOO

Bess stepped back into the room, carrying a tray with a teapot and three cups on it. She set it down and poured a cup for the abbot. After handing it to him, she glanced across the room then walked over to the beds. Nancy and Emily still weren't moving and she was really starting to get worried.

"Are they okay?" she asked the doctor.

"I don't know yet," was his grim reply.

Bess said a silent prayer for both of her friends. They had to get better. She didn't know what she would do without Nancy in her life. And she knew Frank and Joe would be beyond devastated if either one of the girls didn't pull through.

OOO

Under the covers, Joe pulled down the front of Emily's dress and brought her up close against his bare chest.

"Come on, Emily. Wake up. It's all over. You're safe now," he whispered in her ear, following it up with a kiss. "Please, baby. Please wake up."