Free Beauty and the Beast by Laurel Cain Haws Page A

wondering why, and we don’t keep anything for the living in the coroner’s van.”
    After giving Catherine the shots, Father went to the supply cabinet and pulled Tony out of it. Tony had typical Gypsy good looks, with dark hair and eyes. Father sat down facing Tony, and asked, “Now, son, why don’t you explain what you were doing here.”
    Tony exclaimed emphatically, “Repaying a debt! Vincent and Catherine gave me back my life when they helped me prove that it was my uncle and not my father who stole from our clan. By Gypsy law, I must repay that debt! I owe them my life, and I must help save Cathy’s.” Father responded gently, “Tony, you must understand that this is as important a secret as the tunnels are. This one will be even harder to keep, though, because you mustn’t tell even Vincent that Catherine is alive. Chuck, can you hear me? I need for you to understand this too.”
    Chuck spoke up, “I hear you, Father. I can keep any secret you tell me to.”
    Tony also spoke up, “Father, Gypsies always keep their word, and we know how to keep secrets. If you say that staying silent is the best thing for Cathy and Vincent, I won’t say anything to anyone about this. You have to let me help!”
    Father then continued, “As David was telling us, our primary reason to keep Cathy’s location and condition a secret from the world above is because the assailant who did this to her is unknown and still at large. Vincent can’t protect her in his current state, but we can. She has no living family now who need to know where she is, so this secret will not hurt anyone above.
    “Aside from that, I know what Cathy’s wishes were.
    She was in the process of wrapping up her life up top after she and Vincent were married. She had even written her letter of resignation to her boss in the District Attorney’s office, but she postponed tendering her resignation when Vincent became ill. She wanted to give Vincent time for his memories to return and his connection to her to be restored. She had discussed all of these things with me when she brought me their marriage certificate and their wedding rings to keep until that time.
    “There is another problem I have been thinking about since we picked Cathy up which makes it essential that Vincent not know right now that she is alive. Not only would it devastate him to lose her again if we can’t save
    her, but his own desperation to save her would even more severely impair his ability to become reconnected with her empathically. If we can stabilize her, and if he can work through this loss, then there is a much better chance that his link with her will be reestablished naturally. I am her father-in-law and Vincent is her husband. She also has a large extended family below, so I think it is pretty clear what we need to do for both Vincent and Catherine. Tony, do your grandparents know where you are?”
    Tony answered, “They know I am in your world,
    Father, so they aren’t worried about me. Before Cathy disappeared, she was teaching me to read when she got off work. You know that I’ve been coming below to go to school with the other children, and Vincent has been giving me reading lessons since Cathy was lost.”
    Father looked sternly at Tony and said, “And you put those reading lessons to good use when you read that note Dr. Marx gave you, didn’t you?”
    Tony gave him a sheepish grin. “How else was I going to know where to find Cathy?”
    Father took the boy by the shoulders, and looked him squarely in the eyes. “Then I have the perfect job for a Gypsy boy! You can keep track of Vincent for me, so I always know where he is while we are going through this crisis. That way, he won’t accidentally find out about Catherine before he figures it out on his own. Do you think you can handle that responsibility?”
    “I’m your Gypsy, Father!” Tony was beaming, his tears
    completely dried.
    Then Chuck spoke up, “We’re at the manhole cover. I’m going to