His Watchful Eye

Chapter 22- The Trapdoor

     Beckner kicked down the back door as he and Hannon entered the dwelling. Laribee and Macklin's heavy footsteps could be heard upstairs. Shouts of, "Clear!" echoed after a sweep of each vacant room. After checking every space on the ground floor, it was evident the house was deserted. Looking through each room for any clue regarding the inhabitants of the home, the agents took great care in examining the two story house.

Starting upstairs, they noticed all the windows were covered with cheap particle board. In the corner of one of the bedrooms a stained mattress lay on the floor. Screwed to the floor was a metal plate attached to a long chain and metal cuff. The cuff appeared to be just big enough for a child's ankle. "They were definitely set up to keep children captive here." Macklin's voice held a note of sadness. Georgia felt sick to her stomach when she discovered what appeared to be blood stains on the reverse side of the mattress.

As they continued searching the house, they found three additional bedrooms identical to the first. "How many kids have they kept here? This is just awful." For the first time since joining the team, Hannon saw the normally unflinching Carter Laribee visibly shaken.

"I don't know." Georgia replied. "This makes me sick."

Macklin nodded his head in agreement, clearly overcome at the thought of what the poor children cursed to inhabit this house endured.

Glancing at Beckner, Hannon noticed unshed tears in the corner of his eye. Surely his mind was on his twin brother...how could it be anywhere else? She wished with everything inside her she could do something to ease his pain. Macklin and Laribee started down the stairs leaving Colin and Georgia in the hallway.

"How are you doing?" She brushed away a tear as it escaped down his cheek despite his efforts to maintain his composure.

Swallowing hard, he took her hand in both of his. "I know he was here, Georgia. As crazy as I must sound to you, I know he was here. I just have a feeling there is a basement or cellar or something around here."

"We'll find it." She squeezed his hand. "And you don't sound crazy at all. Now let's check out the main floor and look for the basement."

In the kitchen, Macklin and Laribee stood beside the table having a serious conversation.

"What did you find in here guys?" Georgia joined the discussion.

"Look at this." Macklin pointed to a plate of pancakes and sausage. Only a few bites of the breakfast were missing. "Warren and whoever else may have been here left in a hurry. Why would these people bother making breakfast if they were planning on leaving?"

"You're right." She noticed the griddle and skillet sitting unwashed in the sink. "Why go to all this trouble and not even eat?"

"This gives me the same uneasiness I felt when we checked out the house where Boyle was holding Greta Marks." Laribee's jaw clenched. "The coffee pot was still warm, and the house looked like it had been deserted in a hurry. This is the second time our perps have been tipped off before we arrived. I am concerned we might have a mole on our hands...but who could it be?"

"It might be nothing, but I overheard part of a conversation Traeger had on the phone right before we left..." Colin's words were quickly died in the air as David Traeger himself walked through the back door.

"Find anything in here?" Though his words sounded harsh, Georgia noticed the look in his eyes changed as he entered the kitchen. She couldn't quite put her finger on the expression they wore, but it was nothing she ever witnessed in him or anyone else before. The hardness and steel of his grey eyes was replaced by a softness that altered his whole demeanor entirely. Not only did his appearance change, but it filled her with an unshakable sense of déjà vu. As quickly as the soft, almost childlike look appeared on his face, it vanished and was replaced with its familiar set of flint and stone.

"You should check out the bedrooms! These people were heartless monsters for sure. We think they might have left in a hurry too. They went to the trouble of fixing breakfast, but most of it was left untouched." Macklin pointed out the different aspects of their findings.

"Georgia and I are going to check on something outside." Beckner motioned to her to follow him.

Walking out to the side of the house, he took her by the shoulders. "Georgia...I heard Traeger having a conversation in the hotel when I was getting the coffee this morning. I only heard bits and pieces, but he seemed pretty agitated. The one thing I did hear was him telling someone to leave wherever they were right away. Do you think that he could be in on this somehow?"

Trying to process the information, Georgia was at a loss for words. "I don't know, Colin. That's a dangerous accusation to make without proof."

"I know. Do you think we should tell Macklin and Laribee? They have the same suspicions about a leak in the department."

"I think we should see if T.J. can help us. If our suspicions are confirmed, we need to tell them. Until then, we need to keep this as private as possible. It's just an assumption, and if we are wrong it could be a disaster."

"You're right. I'll talk to T.J. and see if he has any ideas on how to get to the bottom of this."

Nodding her head, her mind strayed back to his brother. "I didn't notice any doors leading to a basement. Let's check for a cellar while we are out here."

Needing no further prompting, he led her to the other side of the house. To her dismay, there were no cellar doors to be found. "I don't know what to say, Beckner. I don't see anything."

Almost frantic, he raked his fingers through his hair. "I know we are missing something...we have to be missing something. I can't shake this feeling."

"Let's go back inside to see if there is something we missed." She tried to offer him the most reassuring glance she could muster, but she wondered if there really was a basement or if this was just wishful thinking on his part.

"Wait!" Beckner stopped dead in his tracks. "Traeger checked the outbuildings. We need to check the garage for ourselves. If he is in on this, there may be something out there he doesn't want us to see."

"You're right. Let's go."

With weapons drawn, they sprinted toward the outbuilding. When they opened the door and looked around, they found the garage empty. Peg board covered all the walls, and tools hung from almost every surface. The smell of sawdust filled the air and particles of dust and cedar wood hung think where light streamed in through a narrow window. The concrete floor was shrouded in a thin layer of dirt and sawdust. "Look, Georgia. There are no footprints in here. Traeger was supposed to check this building, but he never set foot in here."

Unable to deny the facts before her, she nodded her head and a fearful, sick feeling rested in the pit of her stomach. Swallowing hard, she continued walking slowly across the concrete floor. She could feel the cold of the cement through her shoes with each step on the solid surface. As her right foot stepped again on the floor, she heard a hollow sound and felt wood beneath her foot.

"Colin...come here." She motioned to him urgently. "I think I found it!" Dropping to her knees, she frantically brushed the sawdust away from the hollow part of the floor. Instantly he was beside her, helping her rid the spot of debris. Their efforts were rewarded when a flimsy, wooden trapdoor emerged into view. She heard a deep, painful sigh escape Colin's lungs, and her hand quickly found his. The look he gave her evidenced the pain he was experiencing, and her heart ached as she realized there was nothing she could do to help him through what was to come.

When he grabbed the handle and pulled the door, the rusty hinges creaked and groaned. Turning on her flashlight, she took a deep breath as she braced herself for whatever awaited them in the darkness below.