No Way To Escape | Novel

CHAPTER 50: 'SIR'

No hell! There has to be a way. There has to be any clue, any proof, any vindication for my theory. I know am right. Mr. Frank. If not you then who?!

Or was it also another dream which I saw, like all the illusions shown to me earlier. Are the monsters trying to trick me?...

My mind started to babble at me ferociously, trying to judder and shove me into the reminiscence of the dream. As we slowly walked out of the Cathedral, Father Richard stopped and looked at me.

'That's it!', he said. He could guess what I was on to. 'I can feel the aroma of your thoughts. Try to work it out harder, Liam. Better be our last hope'.

I winced and tried to swim into the growing impulse in my brain. It was not like it was me who was trying to be pushed, but it was a force within - a hefty, resonating force which was wanting me to dive in and help myself out of this quagmire. I could feel the throbbing of the veins by my temple. The slow, but hard beating of the heart beneath my chest. It was all so hectic right now. It made me wonder if I was seeking too much out of the reality, battling with my subconscious, trying to get into something I had only seen through my tired, imaginary eyes.

This game was at a different level of complexity now. Each level I tried to clear, each hurdle I got over, I was faced with a new challenge. Each step I took, it made me doubt itself. All these had entangled me into a tricky situation. Every time I made a move to rise, I was being flung down. Now, I was so close to the truth, but yet it seemed so damn far. It had me count on my chances of escape.

I started recalling whatever I had seen throughout my dream. All the details - Edward losing his job, gifting his wife the silver memoir, trying to stand up on his feet again, losing it again, and again... Going into depression, getting involved in Satanism, developing a shorter temper. I just couldn't find any connection with it.

I sat down on a nearby bench by the sidewalk while Father Richard kept on looking at my face in anticipation.

Then I started going through the homicide. The way he killed his mother, his beautiful and kind wife and his sweet little daughter. The way his sanity had been sabotaged - all of this made me grimace. Father Frank was the ultimate person who got hold of the notorious.

What's the link? What's the clue?!

And then there was the enlightenment. A baffling one. How did I not pay attention to it?! I gasped and stood up.

'What? What happened?', Father Richard asked me.

'The hell how I missed it?!'. Father had a curious look over his face. 'I forgot to mention - there was another man in there. His name, um... Cooper... Shaun Cooper, I guess. He had been with Father Frank that night, the only other witness of the act.'

'He must also be dead. I don't know any Cooper for a long time here. Cannot be a known priest. We must have a look at his house. There may be something helpful for us.' I nodded as we started walking back into the Cathedral briskly.

As we got in, Miss Stacy asked, 'Father, all okay? Anything more I can help you with?'

'Actually, yes. I need access to the records room right now. Can you give me the keys?'

'Only if you insist'. She bent down and pulling out a drawer, started searching for the keys to the record room. 'Why is it though, about the record room?'. She glanced at me. 'What is it that you need?', she asked.

Just shut up and mind your business, for God's sake! - I yelled out in my mind. 'Some minor Clergy work', I said instead, trying to hide my annoyance at her questions. Finally, she found them and handed them over to Father.