Creatures of the Chase - Richard. L. M. Ollie
few minutes later the panels were in place. Each six feet high and covering a total length of twelve feet, Sarah, with Seefan’s help, positioned them immediately behind the sofa. Satisfied, Sarah curled up on the sofa once more, pulling Seefan down beside her. ‘Now, this is the plan. When Carl comes back, bringing our pizza I hope, watch him carefully. With a bit of luck, he’ll tell us at a glance exactly where the lens is.’
‘Then what will happen?’
‘Then, my dear, I will personally shut it down permanently.’
‘Mr. Develin, he will be angry. No, you must not do this!’ Seefan began to panic.
‘Seef, I understand and I promise you I’ll take all the blame. Up to now it’s just a silly game with no harm done. If I succeed in destroying the camera, it’ll be recorded that I did it. You needn’t be held in any way responsible.’
‘But ... why do you do this thing?’ Seefan asked, horrified.
Sarah paused, considering. ‘I’m not like you, Seefan. Without question or thought you do whatever he asks of you, right?’
Seefan nodded, biting at her lower lip in fear and confusion.
‘Yeah well, that’s the way it is in your culture, but not in mine. He has taken away from me everything that’s important to me. I’ve lost my father, friends, the life I once knew. All of it has ceased to exist because of him. Most of all he’s taken away my freedom and now he seeks to control my future. He has no right to do that, Seef. It belongs to me, not to him. I have to fight back in any way I can. I fully appreciate the fact that you feel that you owe him some measure of loyalty, but I don’t.’
Seefan’s eyes glistened with tears. ‘He will hurt you.’
‘He already has,’ Sarah replied in a voice harsh with emotion.
*****
When Carl returned, Sarah was ready for him. ‘You did it!’ she shouted in glee as the kitchen maid followed immediately behind, pushing a mobile table heavy with cutlery, dishes, serviettes, a massive double cheese, pepperoni and pineapple pizza, a large bottle of Coca-Cola and a bowl of popcorn. The only extras were two large glasses of milk and two bowls of strawberry ice cream.
She watched carefully as Carl surveyed the room in undisguised horror. ‘Bingo!’ She mentally exclaimed as Carl measured the angle upwards to an oil painting - an eighteenth century hunting scene. ‘How appropriate,’ she thought derisively.
‘Do I smell pizza?’ Laird stuck his head in through the open door. Carl turned swiftly, angry at this unexpected intrusion.
‘Doctor Laird!’ Sarah shouted. ‘Come in. Smells wonderful, doesn’t it? Carl organized the whole thing. What a sweetie. Thank you, Carl.’
Her saccharine smile was lost on him as he neared the partitions. ‘These must be removed! Laird, help me get these back to where they belong.’
Sarah and Seefan retreated while their little barricade was dismantled.
‘Everything in this room is as Mr. Develin has ordered. Nothing is to be changed or rearranged. Miss Churchill, you will eat your meal. In thirty minutes I will return to escort you to your rooms.’ His anger bordered on the explosive.
‘Don’t worry Carl,’ Laird cut in, ‘I’ll see that everything is put back just so. I trust you will have no objection if I stay and enjoy this feast?’
‘By all means, Doctor Laird.’ He smiled thinly as he exited the room, slamming the door behind him.
As soon as he was gone Sarah hurried across the room to stand beneath the painting. She nodded to Seefan, who nodded back. Then she had Laird to contend with.
‘Miss Churchill,’ he whispered, ‘Sarah, I ...’
She cut him off instantly as she grabbed his throat before putting her index finger to her lips. Silently she moved a chair into position, stood on it and tried to unhook the painting from its hanger. The lens of the camera held the painting in place so she had to twist the painting free to reveal the lens at chest level. From her pocket came a dinner knife, silver-plated and heavy. With a single blow she smashed the lens, rendering the camera inoperable.
‘If you have something to say, Laird, you better make it quick,’ she said as she re-hung the painting and began her descent from the chair.
‘Oh, my God!’ Laird stared open-mouthed.
‘Surprised, are we?’ Sarah huffed as she walked away.
Laird hesitated for a moment, then grabbed Sarah’s arm at the elbow and pulled her across the room to the left. ‘If you’re into surprises, here’s another.’ He drew out a cluster of keys from his jacket pocket, selected one and inserted it into a small keyhole almost hidden at the front of the wooden shelving. He turned the key carefully then began to probe with his left hand for the secret button concealed near the back of the shelf. With a metallic click and a dull hum, a door opened in the facade, revealing a small vault-like alcove. Filing cabinets lined the back wall.
‘Wow! Does Develin know about this?’
‘I would think so. The cabinets are locked and I don’t have keys, but I bet those little beauties contain some very interesting reading. Valuable enough to be kept locked away like this.’ He turned towards her. ‘Sarah, I ... look, I’m sorry about what’s happened. I had no idea that … well, it doesn’t matter. The thing is that I want to help you to escape. If I could hide here before … just one good shot and…’
Sarah stared, incredulous. ‘Shoot him?’ She whispered, appalled.
‘He deserves to die.’
‘You would risk killing him … for me?’
‘For you, Sarah, I would risk all there is and more.’
‘Put it back, quick!’ Sarah ordered, horrified and confused. Her heart beat wildly. ‘Carl will be back any minute once he …’
‘Then I have just enough time to …’ Laird cupped her face in his hands and kissed her quickly. ‘I do believe I love you, Sarah,’ he whispered just as the door closed with an audible thud. He quickly turned and removed the key, slipping the ring into his jacket pocket.
Sarah backed away, visibly shaken.
‘Sarah, Doctor Laird, be quick!’ Seefan hissed. ‘You must seem to eat with all things as they should be.’
When Carl entered the room, he was beyond simply furious. Behind him came another of the type, far younger, powerfully built and prepared to do exactly as ordered. ‘Take Miss Churchill back to her rooms, now,’ Carl barked as he moved aside to allow his protégé room to maneuver.
*****
Sarah remained locked in her rooms, alone. Meals were delivered, but orders had been given, so she no longer enjoyed any measure of freedom. Books were brought to her from the library, but she remained confined, contenting herself with a wide variety of topics, none of which succeeded in lifting the veil of fear that had become her constant companion. Develin was due back Sunday, so she waited, as did everyone else.
9
‘She destroyed the main camera,’ Carl said in disgust, ‘but not the secondary one. The video portion is imperfect, the angle less than ideal, but I think you will find what you are about to see, and hear, very interesting.’
It was almost six in the morning. Develin had returned two hours earlier and had insisted on showering and changing before he was prepared to indulge Carl. Now he sat casually dressed and totally relaxed behind his desk as the monitor