“Where did you go stranger?” Jack asked her, pushing one of her loose hairs back into line with its partners.

“Oh I’m sorry. This has been such a lovely evening but with the newspaper headlines yesterday and the kids that were found I’ve been so distracted.

Jack’s face immediately creased into a deep frown. “I know. I’m sure as a mom you feel it a little bit more, but I know everyone is so affected by what is happening. Parents have been calling all week to ask what measures the school is taking to make sure no children go missing during school hours”

Rita felt tears threatening her eyes and gazed down at her empty wineglass to refocus. Feeling Jack’s presence she wanted more than anything to share her conclusions from her talk with Father Phillips. “Can I tell you something? I just need to share it with someone else.”

Jack drained the last of his glass and met her gaze without flinching. “Of course. What do you need to tell me?”

Rita told him the events of the day before, of her research in the library, of talking to Chief Merrels and Father Phillips and of the conclusion she had reached with the help of the Aztec engraving. Jack listened without interruption and when she finished she realized his hand had been twined with hers the entire time. She glanced down at it and back at Jack but didn’t remove her fingers from where they were entwined. Right as he went to respond Deputy Patrick burst into the restaurant and spoke to the host. He was animated and his voice quickly rose before he burst back out the door. The restaurant manager looked incredibly pale and motioned for the patrons to all be silent. The sizzling of the pans in the back room was all that could be heard.

“Ladies and Gentlemen. You are about to hear this news anyways so I would rather tell you now. Father Phillips was found murdered in the confessional this afternoon. The coroner’s office has just confirmed he was stabbed. There’s a fingerprint but we don’t know anything else.”

The restaurant burst into pandemonium as everyone at once grabbed cell phones, asked for bills, and discussed what had just been shared. A priest murdered! Children found in caverns. This had gone much farther than accidents and child abductions. Jack turned to look at Rita whose face had paled to a deathly shade. “Rita. Rita!” He shouted to her, grabbing her shoulder to yank her out of the shocked stupor she had slid into. “Jack. If someone was there…” she started but didn’t need to finish. Jack threw a handful of money on the table to cover their bill, grabbed her with one hand, and their jackets with another and they were out the door heading to her house as fast as the accelerator would allow. “Judy and Brian.” Rita thought. “Judy and Brian.”

RICHARDSON, Ruddy

THE INNOCENCE (A Thriller)

Chapter 7

As Jack drove his small 4 door to Rita’s house swerving cars and people without breaking Rita frantically called every phone number she could think of. The house phone had gone straight to voicemail, as had Judy’s phone. Hesitatingly she called Kelly, not wishing to further destroy the women’s nerves but it had gone immediately to voicemail anyways telling Rita it was switched off. She had nothing else to do but clutch the small device to her chest, willing it to ring and thinking the whole time of her children’s faces.

When they arrived at the house the first thing she noticed was the TV was off and the lights were still on. Knowing her son and his affinity for television she felt the dread rise up, threatening to choke off her air supply completely. Jack parked a few houses down and grabbed her head, forcing her to turn and look at him.

“Look at me Rita.” He said. “No matter what happens in there you keep that smart brain of yours functioning through it all. You got me?” Rita nodded at him, trying to swallow the fear she had ripping through her body.

“I’ll go by the front door. Are there any more openings into the house?”

Rita nodded. “There is the backdoor with a screen and the basement entrance. But it’s had a lock on it for months.”

“Fine, you go through the backdoor and I’ll go through the front. Find something to arm yourself with in case someone else is there.” Right as he said that he looked up and pointed for her to look as well. A shadow had passed in front of her windows and had looked out onto the street. An adult shadow. Rita couldn’t stop the shaking that caught hold of her this time as she continued to stare until the source of the shadow had moved away. “Do you recognize them?” Jack asked.

“No. Please Jack, we have to get in there. We have to find Brian and Judy.” Right as she finished saying her name Rita saw her daughter pull up to the house in the car of one of the neighborhood boys. Rita felt a quick flush of surprise that her daughter had not shared any news of boyfriends with her but her reasoning quickly came into play as she saw he get out of the car and head up to the house. Rita watched horrified as Judy fumbled in her purse for keys and as the door opened her jaw almost hit the floor. There in the door way was Kelly motioning for Judy to come inside.

Rita felt complete gratitude overwhelm her. “Jack, it’s Kelly. She must have heard what happened to Father Phillips and came to check on us.” Her quivering muscles immediately stilled and she leaped out of the car, running across the street. As she ran she heard Jack call for her to wait but her sense of relief was too great. Kelly had turned into the house with Judy but as Rita called out to her, she turned with a complete look of surprise written across her features. Rita leapt into the house into her friends arms. Kelly hesitated with shock then wrapped her arms tightly around Rita as she shut the door.

“What are you doing here?” Rita asked her as the unraveled and headed into the kitchen. Kelly kept her arm about her friend’s waist as though guiding her through the hallway.

“I heard about Father Phillips and came here right away. I just got here 2 seconds ago. Did you hear the news?”

Rita turned to stare at the kettle on the stove and couldn’t remember when she had put it there. As she began to turn she felt something hard contact against the back of her head and as she slid down into darkness the last thing she saw was Kelly’s face twisted into a bitter sneer. Where had Judy gone to, was her last thought.

Rita opened her eyes to see her basement. A sliver of light illuminated the boxes she had meant to unpack but had never gotten to and her husband’s old saxophone that had somehow survived the trip with one of her children. Her head ached and something wet was leaking down the back of her shirt. She felt stiff and tested each of her limbs to find that she had been tied to a pipe of some sort running through the foundation of her home. She heard the sound of shifting and strained her eyes to see her daughter also bound on the floor, a bag over her head tied about the neck. “Judy don’t move. It’s ok sweetie, I'm here with you too.”

“Mom?” Judy asked the darkness about her? She was visibly shaking but not moving or testing her bonds. “Mom, what’s going on? Who did this?”

“I don’t know sweetheart but we will figure it out. Where’s your brother?”

“I don’t know. I was on a date. I’m sorry but I was going to tell you when I got home.”

“Judy focus, we can talk about that later. Where’s your brother? Did you see him when you walked in the door?”

“No. I just remember seeing Kelly, which I thought was weird since you weren’t home yet and then that’s it. Is it her? Is she behind this? Does this have to do with those kids?”

Surprising to herself Rita felt absolute calm as she calculated the situation. She heard the muffled sound of footsteps upstairs. Her friend. How could this be possible? They had known each other for years. They had even played in this basement together as girls. Suddenly Rita remembered. She had hid a stash of trinkets in her when she was 10 in case she ever wanted to run away.

“Judy, listen. I want you to crawl forward towards my voice. I can remove the bag and you can untie me. Understand?”

Judy nodded her head and slowly inched forward until she felt her mother’s bare toes against her shoulder. Rising slowly she felt hands pull at the rope about her neck until suddenly the blackness of the bag was replaced by the eerily lit basement. The smell of dampness and dirt filled her nose as she looked into her mothers face with a look of absolute terror. Rita’s own expression was calm and Judy found it odd that her mother could be so relaxed in such a situation as this. Untying each others bonds the two finally found themselves free of their bonds. The

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