Regnad Kcin- Private Eye... The Case of the Erstwhile Accountant- Part XXI

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Spending the night sitting on the basement floor in his underwear did little to improve Harold's disposition... he was cold, hungry and surly and I was in no mood to help improve his temperament. I, on the other hand, was in fine spirits after a good night's sleep with the lovely Elnora at my side. We at last had Harold, the key to the code... all we had to do was to get it out of him. We also had the Lambert place with it's strange church-like living room replete with odd symbols. Once we made a decision about what to do with Harold, I would have one or both of the Lucchese twins stake the place out... sooner or later someone was bound to show up looking for Harold. I was feeling like we were about to blow the case wide open.

I brought him some breakfast and coffee, handcuffing one hand to an eye-bolt in the wall, after testing it for strength. He could stand and eat fairly comfortably.

"How long are you going to keep me here," He asked. "There are people who will miss me and when I don't show up, they'll come looking for me."

He had a point... I yelled upstairs to Kevin and sent him through the tunnel to the house next door to look for a car or other evidence that would lead any lookers to us- also to bring Harold's clothes. A more thorough search of the place could wait until later.

"Harold," I said evenly, "how long we'll keep you is up to you. If you're forthcoming with your answers and tell us what we need to know, you can be on your merry way." I was lying and if he sensed it, he gave no indication one way or another.

After a moment or two and a couple of drinks of coffee to wash down the last of his egg croissant he looked up: "You're lying," he said. "You have no idea what or who you're up against... some of the most powerful people in the country- in the world." The sneer was back.

"Why don't you tell me then," I said looking him straight in the eye to let him know I wasn't impressed or intimidated.

"You'd like that wouldn't you?" He sneered. "You'll get nothing from me."

"We'll see," I mused. "We've got nothing but time, but you, on the other hand," I looked around at his surroundings.

"You can't just keep me here." I sensed a trace of panic in his voice.

"Why not?" I asked impassively. "Look Harold, I'm going to lay my cards on the table..."

"I'm listening," he said, hoping for a deal more than likely.

"Here are my options," I began, "I can send you down to Parker Center for rape of a minor. You'll make bail and lawyer up, then tip off your comrades. Or, I can keep you here until you tell me what I want to know. But I don't want you here any longer than necessary- for one thing it upsets your sister."

"That bitch," he spat, earning himself a backhander from me. "What did she tell you?"

"I haven't finished my options," I said, leaving his question unanswered. "I can also- and this is the one I like best- drive you way out in the woods and put a .45 round in the back of that fat little head of yours."

"You're bluffing," he snarled, but I could see in his eyes he was weighing my words. "Besides, my dear darling sister would never go for it."

"Am I," I said, "right now you're just a pain in my ass, and what makes you think I'd even tell her. No, just you and me out for a little drive in the country... and then- boom." I made a pistol gesture with my hand. I could tell by Harold's expression that he realized that I had at least contemplated the option. His sneer was slowly being replaced by a look of fear.

"I want to go to jail," he said. "I have rights."

"You mean like the rights you gave to Sean?" I asked derisively. "You're not going anywhere for awhile." I had just gotten up to go back upstairs when Kevin came back from the tunnel with Harold's clothes.

"You want to give them to him now?" He asked.

"Not yet," I replied. "Let's make him earn them."

"I want to see my sister," Harold said, "I want to talk to Elnora."

"She doesn't want anything to do with you right now," I told him truthfully. "Let me tell you something cheesedick... she came to me in a panic- frightened to death that something terrible had happened to you. Then you kidnap her, and now this with that little boy. He's nine years old, Harold, nine."

"He's a throw-away kid," Harold responded, "he means nothing to anybody."

I fought off the urge to beat the tar out of him. "He's a human being, Harold, a child and he deserves a chance to become something- not game for you and your pervert friends."

Kevin and I went back upstairs to let Harold ponder his options... we found Elnora, Flora and Otto in the kitchen having coffee.

"How's my darling brother this morning?" Elnora asked with a smile.

"Ornery," I replied. "He'll come around, it'll just take a little time. By the way, dear, he wants to see you."

"Good luck with that," she laughed. "I wash my hands of him... all I want is to see him and all of his pedophile friends behind bars."

"Where's Sean?" I asked looking around.

"He's still asleep, poor dear," Elnora said sympathetically. "He's been through so much, I really hope there's something we can do for him." I decided not to tell her what Harold had said.

"I want to give that place next door a good going over today," I said. "I want to know how long Harold has been holed up there and look for signs that others are using the place too."

"Cameras," Otto said. "We can rig the place up with small cameras... they're so small they're undetectable unless you know what you're looking for- they operate off of motion sensors."

"That's a wonderful idea Otto," Elnora said. "You and Flora can go get them right away and we'll install them this afternoon."

"Harold did make one good point," I said, "sooner or later someone is going to start looking for him... and if they know where he's staying, that tunnel is where they'll come looking."

"They killed a baby," said a voice behind us. We all turned quickly to see Sean standing in the doorway.

"On that altar," he went on. "They were all dressed in black robes, with candles all around. They put the baby on the altar and killed it with a knife... then they all drank the blood."

Elnora jumped up, ran to the boy and threw her arms around him. "Are you sure Sean?" She asked. "Are you sure it wasn't a dream?"

"It was no dream," he said emphatically lowering his head. "I saw it and Harold was there too. I was watching from the stairs... they only kept me tied up at night."

Elnora busied herself with Sean's breakfast, I could see there were tears in her eyes.

"How many people were there Sean?" I asked gently. "Did you recognize any of them?" My idea of driving Harold to the country was becoming more attractive with each passing second.

"I don't know," he said, "maybe fifteen or twenty people. It was different every time."

"It happened more than once?" I asked incredulously.

"Every couple of weeks or a month," Sean replied. "I'm not sure... I didn't have any way to keep track of time."

"How long has my brother had you dear?" Elnora asked from the stove where she was scrambling eggs for Sean's breakfast.

"I guess a couple of months," he said.

"Come sit down and eat," she said, placing a plate laden with enough bacon and eggs to feed four large men in front of the boy. Placing her hand on Sean's forearm she said: "I know my brother hurt you, but that's over now. Nobody's ever going to hurt you like that again." She looked at me for reaffirmation.

"That's right, Sean," I assured him, putting my hand on his shoulder- then removing it quickly when he winced. "I'm sorry son," I said, "I just want you to feel safe."

"Thank you sir," he said looking up at me, "and thank you ma'am." He looked over at Elnora who was looking at me with tears in her eyes. Repairing this boy was going to take a lot of time and effort.

One of the first things we needed to do was get Sean some medical attention, but we couldn't just take him to the emergency room without risking losing him... this was going to take some careful planning. One look at Sean's injuries would tip off even the most inexperienced doctor as to what had happened to him. I called Manny for some advice and of course he had a solution.

"I know a guy- Hispanic," Manny said. "he takes care of a lot of illegals, he accepts cash and he's really good at keeping his mouth shut. I'll give him a call and have him call you... by the way, for a few extra bucks he makes house calls."

"Thanks Manny." I said gratefully, then went to give Elnora the good news. There was still the problem of what to do with Sean after we got him patched up. If we put him back in the system, he'd go almost immediately back into foster care where the same fate would likely await him... and then, of course, there was Elnora. She was already attached to the boy, so maybe the best thing would be for him to remain with us. I started tallying up all of the laws were were breaking already in my head. We had Harold falsely imprisoned in the basement, a ward of the state living in the house... I shook my head.

A little after lunch, Flora and Otto returned with the surveillance equipment and it was time to go to work. Elnora elected to stay home with Sean... Otto, at Elnora's insistence, bought Sean a top of the line video game player and they were engrossed in figuring it out. They'd be busy for hours. Dennis, much to his chagrin, stayed behind for security... with Harold in the house, I was taking no chances.