Eternal Investigations

Chapter Twenty-Seven

They found the park a good half-mile away from the race and while Helen felt bad for Rudy, she didn't cut him any slack. There was too much of a time crunch to coddle his nerd-conditioned body. He might be able to go forty-eight hours without sleep and stare at a screen for hours on end or decipher hidden code and languages, but physical exertion wasn't one of his strengths.

The park itself was huge and she groaned in dismay and aggravation. "We're never going to find her like this!"

"We'll find her!" Rudy countered sharply.

Helen bared her teeth at him in a silent snarl as she scanned the area for any telltale signs of Jacqueline's passage. She saw the children's area with its jungle gym and swings, but there was no one there, which figured. There were trees every so often, big ones that had tangling canopies and provided a lot of shade. Their sheer mass reminded her they were no longer in a desert climate; the trees had probably been here longer than the town.

"What the hell are you doing over here?"

Turning to her sister, Helen snapped, "Looking for Jacqueline! She's missing."

"I know. I just saw something suck her down into the ground about three miles from here!" Brenda snapped right back, agitated.

Shocked, Helen echoed, "Three miles? But..."

And then it dawned on her.

"Shit, shit, shit! Rudy, do you have a picture of Frank Wilshire?" Helen demanded.

Rudy rifled through his messenger bag and came out with a file, thrusting it out at her. Taking it, Helen swore creatively on seeing he was the helpful man who'd been 'cleaning' at the race. Frank Wilshire had sent them on a wild goose chase so that whatever he'd summoned would have time to grab Jacqueline.

"What is it?"

Taking a breath, calming herself as best she could, Helen pulled out her cell and answered, "Wilshire is the one who sent us in the wrong direction."

"Son of a bitch!" Rudy swore.

They ran back to the car, following Brenda's terse directions to the correct location. Too aware of each minute that went by, her imagination filling in all manner of horrific things happening to Jacqueline in the interval, Helen ignored the speed limit and came to a screeching halt over the curb at the right park.

Brenda vanished from the vehicle, but Helen spotted her sister off in the distance and took off after her. She stopped short by the ghost, immediately seeing the wooden boards covering a hole in the ground. She bent down and grabbed hold of one, testing it and finding it well secured. Rudy joined her and each strained to pull their own piece off, but neither budged. Thinking fast, she suggested, "Crowbar?"

"Power saw," Rudy countered.

"Power source?"

"Portable."

"Nice."

"Be right back."

She watched him run off and restrained herself from pacing while she waited for him to get back. Unable to bear the inactivity any more, Helen pulled out a bottle of Holy Water and poured it on the boards, just to try. Steam hissed on contact and she dropped back to her knees to try again, but still no luck. She bit back a curse and sat back on her heels.

Brenda shifted into the visible spectrum, her face drawn in a tight expression as she urged, "Get down there!"

"What's going on?" Helen demanded.