Everybody's Daughter (15 page)

Michael sped through the streets of Northport, talking to himself about what he had just seen. His emotions zigzagged from gloom of not being able to help Yochanan to euphoria of having spoken to Vicki. He hurried into his house and ran upstairs. “Elizabeth. The tunnel opened. I made it back. I saw your mom. I saw Leah.”

He opened her bedroom door. Empty. Inside the bathroom her makeup kit was open on the ledge of the sink. “Lizzy, are you home? I’m back.”

He returned to the kitchen and noticed a handwritten note. “Oh no.”

Michael dialed his sister’s number. She didn’t answer.
Great.

He headed back to the church and arrived as the event was wrapping up. He weaved through a group of teenagers chatting and drinking soda. He checked each group of volunteers, asking if anyone had seen Connie or Dennis. When he couldn’t locate either, he rushed to the basement.

The dead soldier’s dust was still visible. He knelt and could smell the cooling metal. He poked at it with his index finger.
Still hot.
He slowly moved his hand side-to-side over where the tunnel opening was.

“Michael? What are you doing?”

Startled, he jumped up. “Connie. I’m glad you’re here. Where were you?”

“I had to get out of this church.”

“Why?”

“This place is spooky. There was this snake.”

“What snake?”

“I saw a snake slither out of that stairway. What in the heck is down there?”

“Where did it go?” he asked.

“The snake?”

“Yeah, the snake.”

“It just crumbled up and died.” She furrowed her brow. “At least I think it died. I don’t see it around here because I took off so fast. What is in that holy water? And you drank that stuff. Everyone here is freaking me out.”

Michael paused, remembering his confrontation with the snake near the grate. “What type of snake was it?”

“I don’t know. A hissing kind.”

“What did it look like?”

“It had a huge head and a big mouth.”

“You’re not hurt?”

“I’m fine but the cops think I’m a kook.”

“Cops?”

“I went to the police station and reported it to the cops.”

“What did they say?”

“I told you they think I’m a nut job.” She looked around the floor. “Ah, there’s my shoe.” She picked it up and slipped it on. “Oh, by the way, here’s your cellphone.”

“Where did you get this?”

“Elizabeth gave it to me.”

“Where did you see her?”

“Here at the church. Didn’t she come back with you?”

He froze. “What do you mean?”

“I told her not to go down there but she was worried about you.” She rubbed her forehead. “I think she went after you.”

“You think?” he shouted. “Did she go down the stairs or not?”

“She said something about a soldier. I told her not to go because you’d get mad at her.”

Michael threw his arms in the air. Exasperated, he yelled, “I told you to keep her out of there.”

Connie backed away. “She said you were going to see if some woman was safe. She said she wanted to find you and make sure you were okay.”

“No, this can’t be happening.” Michael collapsed to his knees and clawed at the floor, sweeping away the dust. He dug his nails hard into the ground. “Elizabeth, can you hear me?”

“Maybe –”

“Shut up!” He lay on the floor, his head close to the ground. “Elizabeth, if you can hear me, scratch the ceiling.” He listened for a moment. “I don’t hear anything.”

“What’s going on down here?” asked Dennis.

“It’s Elizabeth,” Connie said, pointing to the ground. “She could be in there.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m not a hundred percent sure.” Connie knelt beside Michael. “If she is, it’ll open again, right?”

Cold sweat poured down his temples. “I don’t know.”

He clawed at the ground until a couple of his nails broke out in blood. He stopped, bent his head and wracked his brain for a better solution.

The cloth.

He took the cloth out of his pocket and rubbed the floor in frantic, circular motions. “Work. Work, now!” He shook the cloth out and continued rubbing. “Why couldn’t you have kept a better eye on her?”

Connie joined him, pawing at the floor. “It’s not my fault. Your daughter’s stubborn.”

Michael dug harder with his fingernails until one tore off. He pressed his head against the ground. “Elizabeth,” he shouted. “I’ll get you out. Don’t move. Stay there.”

“Stop,” Connie said through her tears. “We have to get the police to help us.”

He took a few more half-hearted digs at the cement before getting to his feet. “Go see if Elizabeth’s home. Maybe she returned before I got back.” He handed her his keys.

She nodded and ran up the steps.

For a moment Dennis and Michael stared at each other in disbelief.

“Let’s go,” Dennis said.

“No.” He continued digging with his nails as more blood pitched out from underneath his fingertips. “Not now.”

“We need to compose ourselves. We need to think and pray.”

“Pray?” Michael said in disbelief, shaking his head. “It’s time for action, not talk.”

“Michael, you need to get hold of yourself and think about this rationally.” He held out his hand. “Come to my office before you hurt yourself. Connie will let us know if she finds Elizabeth at home.”

Michael tried to catch his breath. Dennis helped him up, guiding him up the stairwell and into his office. He closed the door and locked it. He fell into his seat behind his desk. The old, tattered book that Michael and Elizabeth had found in the basement lay in front of him.

“So what exactly happened?” Dennis asked. “Where did you go?”

Michael paced back and forth. “Jerusalem. But it wasn’t the same time. I’m not sure of the exact day or year. But I know I didn’t go back after Christ was crucified.”

“You saw the Lord, right?”

“I already told you. Yes. I saw him up on a mountain.”

“What did he say about forgiveness? Did he say one’s actions here can remove one’s sins?”

“What?” He wrung his hands frantically. “Look, Dennis, right now I’m worried about my daughter. She could be back there. What should I do?”

“Let’s wait and see if she did go back. We need to call her friends and check the places she usually visits. It’s easy to lose someone in a crowd like the one we had today.” Dennis pointed to a chair but Michael shook his head. “Did Jesus say anything to you about removing one’s sins while here?”

What is he talking about?
He bit his lip so he didn’t utter a strong expletive to let out his frustration. “I don’t know. I’m confused right now. I have to talk to Connie again.”

Dennis frowned but didn’t say anything. “You said you saw your wife. Did she say anything about the accident?”

“What? Um, no. Why? Forget that. I need you to help me figure this out.”

Dennis fidgeted with a bookmark inside the black book. “You must think hard about all the people you met, what you saw, what they said to you. There has to be a reason.”

There was a knock at the door.

“Yes?” called Dennis.

Michael heard the church secretary’s muffled voice behind the door. “There’s a police officer waiting to speak to you.”

“Tell him I’ll be there in a minute.”

Michael gritted his teeth. “What do I say to the cops?”

“Nothing. Stay here.”

Dennis got up from his seat, unlocked the door, and greeted the cop. “Hello, Officer McDougal. How can I help you?”

“We received a visit from a Connie Donatella. She filed a report about some disturbance in the church’s basement.”

Dennis smiled but Michael knew it was strained. “It was a misunderstanding. Everything’s fine.” He attempted to close the door. “Thanks for checking it out.”

“Misunderstanding?” The cop blocked the door with his hand and wrote something on his notepad. “Ms. Donatella claimed there was a snake coming out of a hole in the basement.”

“A snake? Downstairs?” Dennis looked at Michael. “Your sister must have seen a mouse.”

The cop’s eyes stared from Dennis to Michael. “Connie Donatella is your sister? Is she here right now?”

Michael shrugged.

“I don’t think so,” Dennis said. He looked at his notepad. “I’ve got her contact information.” He put his pen in his pocket. “I’m going to take a look in the basement. If she comes back, please send her down to talk to me.”

“Sure,” Dennis said. He closed the door, leaned his ear against the thick, wooden frame, and locked it again. “Your sister is going to have to talk to the police.”

“What can she say?”

“The truth.”

“They’ll think she’s crazy.”

Dennis nodded. “That’s exactly what we want them to think.”

“Why?”

“That way they won’t go digging for more information. They’ll just put it down to her hysterics. You play along and say she’s been under a lot of stress lately and her anxiety tends to make her imagine things. That won’t make any news headlines. But if the media gets hold of this story they’ll turn this place into a circus. Thousands of people will show up at the church. That’s not the best thing for us right now.”

“I don’t care,” Michael said. “I only care about finding my daughter.”

“I know. But if she did follow you into the tunnel, you have to find a way back. And you won’t be able to do that if this place is crawling with people and cameras.”

“Okay.” Michael put his hands on his hips and looked upward, blowing out a loud breath, trying to make sense of it all. “Obviously, you believe what I went through down there.”

Dennis picked up the old book and waved it at Michael. “I’ve read about the miracles witnessed by the previous pastors of this church. They’re remarkable and amazing accounts.”

Michael’s heart raced, his body energized with hope that there might be a way back to find Elizabeth if she did follow him. “So there’s a chance the tunnel will open again for me?”

“Only God knows.” Dennis put the book back on his desk. “I’ll keep reading this.”

The church phone rang and Dennis answered. “Hello. Yes. Yes. Okay. Thanks.” He slowly put the phone down, his expression mournful. “Connie said Elizabeth isn’t home.”

Michael darted out of the office and back downstairs where he found Officer McDougal rummaging through the containers. He gripped the coins in his pocket along with the wooden cross. “What are you looking for?” he asked the cop.

“Excuse me?” The cop lifted his eyebrows. “I’m investigating a report. What are you looking for?”

Michael grabbed the broom leaning against the wall. “I’m going to finish up cleaning.” He noticed the cop staring at the scratches marking the spot where Michael dug. He walked over them and pretended to be concentrating on sweeping.

The cop took a couple of steps back up the stairs. “If you see your sister, let her know we’d like to talk to her again.”

Michael nodded. “Will do.”

He waited a few minutes to ensure the cop had left and went back to Dennis’ office.

“Is he gone?” Dennis asked.

“Yeah, but he’ll probably be back.”

Dennis shook his head. “We can’t let this story get out or this place will be overrun. They’ll think we’re a bunch of crazy nuts.”

Michael glared. “I don’t care who finds out about what, or what they think of me. They can call me crazy, call my whole family crazy. I don’t care if people want to report this. I just want to find my daughter.”

He walked out of the office and to the front of the church, watching the crowd continue to mill along Main Street.

“Hey, Mike, what’s going on?”

Oh great, now what do I do?
“Hello, Allison. Long time no see.”

She stepped away from her friends she’d been chatting with and touched his upper arm.

He backed away as if a wasp stung him.

She frowned. “What’s up with that? I’m not going to bite you.” She stepped closer to him. “You look terrible. What’s wrong?”

He ignored her questions.

“Are you all right? You look like you just saw a ghost.”

Allison was the last person he wanted to ask for help, especially if it meant being in a confined space with her. But he was desperate. He chased every face for a sympathetic expression, examining every possible option. He eventually relented.

Allison waved her hand in front of his face. “Hello? Are you there?”

“Can you help me?” he asked.

“You want my help? Depends.” She nudged his elbow. “What do you need?”

He tried not to roll his eyes. “A ride home.”

“You want to be in the same car with me?”

“Forget it. I’ll walk.”

“Stop being a baby. Let’s go.”

They got into her blue Sedan and he leaned over to the far right.

“I’m not going to attack you,” she said. “Put your seatbelt on.”

He did and pressed his shoulder against the passenger door.

“You know, I could open up the door,” she said.

He remained silent, not blinking.

“Truce, okay? What’s going on?”

“I don’t know where Elizabeth is.”

Allison pulled her car over on Ocean Avenue. “What do you mean? What happened to my goddaughter?”

“I don’t know. I’m not sure.”

“What kind of father are you? Not knowing where your daughter is. Does she have a cell phone?”

He nodded. “I tried calling it a few times but no one answered.”

“Keep trying. You know how kids are, sometimes they screen their calls.”

“Can I borrow your phone? My phone isn’t getting reception. Stupid cheap phone.”

She handed him her phone and he punched in Elizabeth’s number. The phone rang four times and as Michael was about to hang up, a male voice answered.

“Who is this?” Michael demanded.

“Um, it’s Matt.”

“Matt, this is Elizabeth’s dad. Is she with you?”

“No. Isn’t she with you?”

“Would I be calling her if she was with me?” Michael bit down hard on his molars. “Do you know where she is?”

“No, I thought she went home.”

“Where are you?” Michael asked.

“At home.”

“I need to speak to you right now. Where do you live?”

He gave Michael the information. “Stay there. Don’t go anywhere. Don’t move.” He hung up and gave Allison the address and directions to Matt’s house.