Free Crossroads Shadowland by Keta Diablo Page B

are
possible."
     
    * * * * *
     
    Frank accepted the ride Sister Francoise
offered from the cemetery. She rode in the passenger seat next to
her driver, and Frank in the back seat with Charlie and Brent. The
LX10 sped toward the Burrough household where the Chambers would be
waiting.
    Soon he'd close the file on
this case, but the specifics would remain with him forever. In the months ahead, other children would show
up missing. Frank would sit across from
the as yet unknown, heartsick parents at a kitchen table in small town or mammoth metropolis America,
and try to reassure them he'd do his best
to bring their abducted kids home.
    "Mr. McGuire?"
    "Yeah, Charlie."
    "I know the Sister said
he's at rest now, but I want to pay for fixing his grave."
    "That would be nice. It
would also be nice if you could come to terms with saying his name
one day." Frank looked out the window, the lights of New Orleans flashing by in rapid succession.
"Valmont. . . Valmont Doucet."
    "I stomped on his headstone," Brent said.
"Charlie tried to stop me."
    "Well, it's behind us now
and best for all concerned if we looked ahead to a bright future." Frank chuckled. "I mean the alternative
couldn't have been much
bleaker."
    Charlie leaned forward.
"Second house on your left, and damn, I'm happy--"
    Sister Francoise turned
sharply and gave him the infamous nun evil eye. "Sorry," he mumbled. "I'm sure glad to see my
house."
    Through the open doorway,
the smiles on their parents' faces spoke volumes and confirmed in
Frank's mind that the risks taken to retrieve the boys were worth every minute.
    Frank and the Sister
watched from the car as her driver escorted Charlie and Brent to the doorstep. Amid a blur of hugs,
the door closed, the driver returned and
then drove toward Hotel Provincial.
    "When does your flight
leave, Frank?" the Sister asked from the front seat.
    "In two days unless I call and change
that."
    She glanced over her
shoulder. "I want to hear from you tomorrow afternoon."
    "Why don't you come to the hotel around two
PM? I promised to meet with the parents in the outdoor
courtyard."
    The driver pulled up to the
front door of the hotel. "I'll be there, two PM sharp."
    Frank entered the hallway
leading to his room with waves of nostalgia and loneliness crashing down on him. The last thing he wanted
right now was to walk into that room where
memories of Rand would crush him.
    He checked his watch. God,
three in the morning. He'd have to wait at least five hours before he called him. And say what? "Rand,
I'm a jerk, a complete, total asshole and
I fucked up. Again."
    At which time Rand would
say. . . he didn't know. He had absolutely no idea how the one person he loved more than life would
respond. Panic- induced fear churned his
stomach. What if he said, 'I've had my fill, I moved out.'
    Frank closed his eyes and
shut his mind off. He needed sleep, time to mend the debilitating
pain clenching his heart. Perhaps while he slept, the solution to making his world sane again would
come to him.
    Or at least the strength he needed to beg
Rand to forgive him.
     
    * * * * *
     
    The air loomed eerily still
when he entered. Someone had been in the room again. His heart leapt. The bed was empty but the
bathroom door was closed. "Rand," he
called out rushing toward it. Rapping lightly, his pulse thrumming, he said softly, "I'm sorry. Open the
door, please."
    Silence met him. He turned
the handle and pushed the door open with the toe of his shoe. Empty like his heart. "Son of a bitch,"
he said to the white ceiling and turned
toward the bed.
    He wouldn't undress, could
think of nothing but laying his head on the pillow to seek the
blessed land of forgetfulness. Plopping on to the bed, shoes and
all, he rolled onto his side and looked toward the vacant bathroom
again. Only a lame-hearted fool would
believe Rand would be waiting for him after the callous words he'd spoken.
    A flash of dark against the
cream-colored wall next to the bathroom door caught his