Dark Mansion 5

1

Hearts afire2

Hearts ablaze3

Hidden4

In a perfect maze5

Laid to rest in a special place6

Laid to rest at her own pace7

Hearts adrift in a box8

He is crazy like a fox9

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Jack sat in his office and cussed after the police left. There was nothing that he could do at the moment except tighten security. This had only happened once before, and he had put a stop to it. One of his women had called her mother from a payphone on the grounds. The next day he took all payphones out. Calls were limited, and supervised.11

The measures seemed extreme, but these were women in crisis. Women in crisis do funny things. The woman only wanted her mother to know she was alive and well, unfortunately the mother told the husband and the husband shot his wife dead just outside the premises.12

Jack had vowed to never loose another.13

His office was grand in size but sparse in furniture. There were two wingback chairs, and his desk. Books surrounded him, his love for the written word acute. Jack was in his late 50's salt and pepper hair and his wire rimmed glasses made him look studious. Behind the glasses were the deepest blue eyes, almost electric. They tended to pierce the armor the women put up, and allowed them to confide, open up and feel safe. He was a gentle man, bound by a code of honor long forgotten by most. He cherished each of the women who came through his door, allowing them to stay as long as necessary. Some, like Beth, never left, having found her calling in helping other women move on with their lives. 14

Beth came to him mentally exhausted, spiritually defeated, and emotionally drained. Jack knew there had been some physical violence, but sensed the emotional violence was much more harmful. Her journey had been a long one. The refusal for her to acknowledge her feelings held her back for a long time. She didn’t feel she had the right to be sad, angry, and just plain fucked up about her marriage. 15

The therapy sessions had been intense. The "circle" as it was called was very deep. Women, sitting sharing at random memories they had. The stories were all so intense, so heart wrenching. Kleenex was a staple here. No one was allowed to judge, to ask why you didn’t leave sooner, to say what else would he have had to do. The number one rule was, unless it was you, you have no right. The number two rule was: if it was you, the important thing is you left, for good.16

That was the one thing they all had in common. To be here, you couldn’t go back, ever. Secrecy was key, and if you were found to violate that, you were turned out, no questions asked, no assistance given. Jack did not stand for one person to put everyone in jeopardy.17

That is why this current situation bothered him so. He was sure Angie had not violated any of the rules. She was vigilant about making sure she did the right things. She hadn’t been given access to the "outside" yet, that wouldn’t come until day 100. What was it that brought the package here.18

Jack handed it over to a friend of his in forensics. In his game it is important to have the right connections. Men of his same mind set were few and far between and he searched them out like a vein of gold in a mountain. He had people everywhere, in every state, and kept in close contact. The women mostly served as informers, letting other women know there was an option. Then, deciding if those women were worthy of his care, of his, attention. They had to be special, someone with potential for the future. Someone not going back. He took them in, taught them to be whole, then trained them to help. 19

Women leaving his care had careers waiting for them, their children would have their college paid. What they gave up to come here was enormous, the reward for staying the course was the same.20

Jack was playing this over and over in his mind. He didn’t understand how someone would know, how Angie’s husband would know where she was. He knew for a fact that her husband was unconscious when she left. He had checked the police report filed against her for assault, and knew that her husband had been in the hospital for days. There was no way she was followed here.21

Jack decided he had no choice but to go through her things, looking for a cell phone, a credit card, something they had missed. His heart would break if he found Angie had violated any of his rules. Leaving your old world behind was hard, but so necessary.22

He went to Angie in the library and closed the doors. He got two glasses, put a shot of bourbon in each one and asked her to have a seat.23

"Angie, are you happy here, is there anything bothering you, troubles, questions?"24

"No, Jack, well, maybe one. What is going on, what was in the package, I don’t understand why I haven’t been told yet."25

"Angie, there was something very disturbing in the package, and I haven’t told you because we have been speaking with the police on the matter. I have some hard questions for you and I need to you answer honestly. You know the rules here, that you are to have no outside contact whatsoever. Have you violated this in any way, email, phone call, letter?"26

Tears welled up in Angie’s eyes as she started to speak. 27

"No, Jack I promise none of that, I haven’t made a phone call at all, I don’t use the Internet except under your name and to order new books, and I haven’t written any letters. How did he find me, I thought I was safe here, here of all places I thought I was safe. " Tears now rolled down Angie’s face, her nose turning red .28

"Angie, do I have permission to search your things, to see if we missed something some how?"29

"Yes, of course you do, please whatever you need to do, I just want to get on with my life, to be safe again, to live."30

With that Jack downed the rest of his bourbon and watched Angie do the same. He told her to take the afternoon off and do something entertaining on the grounds. Get Steven out of school if necessary and watch a movie or something.31

Angie left, her head down and eyes full of worry. Steven knew this look all to well and immediately asked her what was wrong. She tried to assure him that nothing was wrong and distracted him with the promise of popcorn at the movie. He shuffled along beside of her, his hand clinching hers, wondering what was happening.32

Jack opened the door to Angie’s room and called in the team of crime scene analysts. The started at the door and went around the room. Dusting for fingerprints, looking for clues. To Jack this was a crime scene, something had transpired here to allow this breech of security.33

Finally they brought in the electronic devices, spectrum analysis, bug detectors, listening devices. The spectrum analysis didn’t show anything special, however when the bug detector was turned on, it went haywire.34

Jack cringed, somewhere in Angie’s things was a device emitting electronic signals. Signals that lead her abuser here. Going around the room, starting at the walls and working their way inward, they were lead to her dresser. At her dresser the signal was strongest by her top drawer.35

Jack walked over and opened it, full of her underclothes he took each pair of panties and each bra out searching them for something, anything that might have been missed. Most of her things had been bought after she arrived, but he was taking no chances. After the drawer was emptied, he reached to the back, then upwards. He felt a little box. Untaping it from the top of the drawer he pulled it out. 36

A little box shaped like a coffin. He opened it and found a silver heart inside. It was a locket, there was a picture, but Jack didn’t recognize who it was. The detector was going bonkers, yet Jack didn’t see anything. Taking his pocket knife out he pried off the back of the locket. There hidden inside was a micro-chip the size of a crumb. Jack was suddenly beside himself.37

All the times Angie had gotten away, all the time he found her, this was how. He reached for a bowl, took some paper off the shelf, pulled out his lighter and set the whole mess on fire. 38