Heart Lessons (The Angel Chronicles Book 2)

by Mary May

“Hey, gentlemen, are you enjoying yourselves tonight? We have a new house band. Have you heard them yet?”

  Punk number two: “No, didn’t know nuthing about a new band. Didn’t know this place boasted any talent.”

  Devon cocked his brow. “They are pretty good actually. They can play most of the classics. You should hang out til nine and see for yourself.” Devon watched to see which of them would challenge him first, but they just nodded, keeping their heads lowered, then turned back to their drinks. He offered them a smile then walked on over to the bar where Kacie was watching what was going on.

  “They come in here from time to time. They are loud and rowdy, but generally harmless,” she said in response to his raised eyebrow and cocked head.

  “They are generally harmless? Does that mean they occasionally start trouble?” Kacie shrugged, flipping her long blonde hair over one shoulder as she reached beneath the bar to fish out another bottle of water for Devon. “I guess guys like that start it sometimes, and sometimes they finish it; just depends on the situation, I suppose. But overall they really are not that bad.”

  Devon thanked her for the water and the info then made his round again through the bar and around the dance floor. He kept his distance from the trio in the corner but kept his eye on them. So far they were doing all right. He chose to prop up against the far wall and observe the crowd. His eyes drifted from one couple to the next and after a few seconds he could pretty much tell you their story. A few were there just to dance and hang out with friends, but most seem to have eyes for everyone but the one they came in the door with. This was the underlying theme in every bar or club he had been in. People looking for someone or something to fill that empty spot in their heart and soul.

  If Miss Cleo was here she’d say they needed a good dose of Jesus! He wondered if maybe she wasn’t right. He looked at people’s faces and eyes as they passed and not a single one had the joy, that inner peace that he saw in Sabrina’s face and in the faces of her family. He had heard from Sabrina that his sister had that peace and joy. He was happy that Sherrilyn had found it after living such a nightmare with her abusive husband. He still had nightmares where he would see a house on fire and he could hear Sherrilyn screaming from within, but he was unable to help her, to stop what was happening. He felt if he had kept in touch with her even a little he might have found out what was happening to her and could have protected her. He had failed her in the end. This was the reason or one of the many reasons he had walked away from Sabrina. She deserved so much better than him, even though he knew no one would ever love her as much as he did.

  Later that night after the bar had closed and the crew was cleaning up, Devon was in the back office watching video. Nothing particularly eventful had happened tonight. He just liked to scan through it to see what he might catch. The camera was mounted on a rotating arm so it would sweep the dance floor then the back wall where his booth and the other booths were lined up. It had just swept the booth area when something caught Devon’s eye. He reversed the video and played it forward a frame at a time. “What the hell?” He whispered. Above the booth where the trio of guys sat he could make out a shadow. It was there in one frame and gone the next. He studied it, trying to find what could be making it. It was too high for any of the customers to be doing it. It was on the wall and looked like it was about to crawl across the ceiling. He fiddled with the focus and the tracking; then he zoomed in and out, trying to make it clearer. He finally hit “save” then he burned it to a disc.

  After he locked up the office, he stuck the CD in his pocket and walked back down the stairs. He crossed the dance floor and stood at the booth looking up at the spot where he had seen the shadow. He walked back and forth waving his hands, trying to see if he could cast a shadow that high on the wall or ceiling. He wasn’t even close, so he looked around the bar trying to see what could have caused it. There weren’t any windows in this part of the bar so it wasn’t headlights from the parking lot.

  Austin came out of the back room to shut off the lights when he saw Devon standing there. “Hey, man, awesome night once again! I have said it before but I’ll say it again. You walking in my bar was the best thing that ever happened to this place.”

  Devon glanced down at Austin, giving him a brief smile, but he kept looking at the wall and ceiling.

  Austin finally noticed that he wasn’t paying him any attention. “What are you looking at so hard? Do you think we got a leak or something?”

  Devon laughed then slapped Austin on the shoulder. “Or something, my friend, definitely or something. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Devon walked out, waiting for Austin to come out and lock up for the night; then he headed around back, walking up the flight of stairs on the back of the bar. He had a small apartment that came with his “salary.” It was a far cry from the estate but somehow he felt this suited him better, or maybe he felt this was what he deserved. He unlocked the door and flipped on the light.

  There wasn’t much to the small two-room apartment but it did have a state of the art Mac computer with some kick-butt surveillance software. He sat down. After firing it up, he slipped the disc into the slot on the side and waited for it to load. After a few seconds the image came on the screen. He tweaked it a little, fine-tuning the contrast then the sharpness. He zoomed it in and then reared back so hard he nearly fell out of his chair when it came into sharp focus.

  “No way that’s real…that can’t be real!” He stood there staring at the screen for a few long seconds before he finally sat back down, looking at it from all angles, and he couldn’t make it be anything other than what it appeared to be…a demon.

  Devon lay in his bed staring at the computer monitor that now had the shadowy image as his screen saver. For the better part of three hours he had enhanced and cropped, darkened and lightened the image. He had even gone so far has to hang upside down off the end of his bed to view it from a completely different angle; it still looked like a hell-dwelling demon, or at least what he believed a hell-dwelling demon would look like. He wasn’t quite ready to admit defeat on what this actually was. If he admitted it was what it appeared to be, well, that would open up a can of worms he would really rather not have open.

  If someone had asked him if he believed in God, he would have said “yes” without hesitation; but if they had asked if he believed in Satan, hell and demons? His answer might not have been so swift. Honestly, he had never given that side of the “religious” coin much thought. But it would stand to reason if there were one, then there was the other as well, the ying to the yang. He remembered the Bible stories from Sunday school. They always made the devil out to be somewhat fictional, maybe to keep from scaring the crap out of little kids, he supposed. Looking at this image brought another one to mind. The fierce-looking warrior he saw in his bathroom mirror at the estate. He had chalked it up to Edgar’s crazy potion at the time, but if this was from the dark side of the coin, could the warrior be from the light side? Then he had to ask the question: Why was he seeing both sides all of a sudden?

  He got up suddenly and slipped his boots back on. He wanted to go look through more video and see if he could find the shadow in any more areas of the bar. He was out the door and down the stairs in a couple of minutes. He unlocked the side door to the bar and entered through the kitchen area. He would not have admitted under threat of disembowelment that he was too chicken to walk past the booths in the dark by himself! He figured just coming back into this bar alone at night proved he was a brave soul well enough. He opened the door to the office, flipping on the overhead light, then sat down and turned on the desk-top lamp as well. He pulled video starting from three weeks ago, the night he first walked in here. He figured that was as good a place to start as any…

  Chapter 19

  Sabrina watched as the secret door scraped across the dirt floor of the tunnel. She could hear the sounds of traffic getting louder as the opening got wider. Eric turned, looking back at her. “You care to take a guess just where this wi
ll come out at?”

  Sabrina laughed. “I don’t know, the great land of Oz? Somewhere down a rabbit hole? This is stuff of fairy tales to me.”

  Eric stepped out and Sabrina followed, squinting her eyes against the glare of the setting sun. They both looked around, trying to get their bearings. “Well, it’s not Oz, not a Oompa Loompa in sight.”

  Sabrina laughed again. “You’re getting your stories confused! Oompa Loompas lived in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. The munchkins lived in Oz!”

  Eric studied her seriously for a moment. “Are you sure?”

  She gave him an amused look. “Trust me, I live with a four year old. I know my classics.” Sabrina turned around in a circle looking at the hillside and the street that was just above where they had come out. It took her a few moments to realize where she was. “Oh! We are in the clearing behind the estate! She walked forward, and pushed her way through some low-hanging cedar branches and then stepped into the clearing that she could see from the balcony of her bedroom. Eric came out behind her, looking around at the clearing. Not that he could see much in the rapidly-fading light.

  “Why would the tunnel come out here?”

  Sabrina kicked some tall brush as she walked around in circles. “I have no idea. There isn’t anything out this way except this clearing and some woods. We better start walking back to the house before it gets any darker. I want to ask Edgar about the tunnel. I bet he knows why it’s there and why it comes out here.”

  They started walking up the side of the hill to reach the road. Eric’s long strides got him to the top quicker than Sabrina, so he turned, extending his hand to help pull her up the few remaining feet. With a strong tug he pulled her up and she landed hard against his chest. “Oompf!! Sorry, sorry…” Sabrina felt her face flame up and was grateful for the low light that helped to conceal her embarrassment. She untangled herself from his arms, stepping back a couple of steps.

  “It was my fault; I pulled you up too hard. Are you okay?” Eric asked with concern in his voice.

  “Oh, yeah, I’m fine! No harm done!”

  They both turned, walking toward the house. They walked in silence for a few minutes before Eric switched on the flashlight. “I bet there are more tunnels in that giant house. I bet there are secret rooms and treasure maps, too!”

  Sabrina snorted in amusement. “That’s some imagination you got there, Mr. Knight, treasure maps?”

  Eric laughed, “Correct me if I’m wrong, Mrs. Blakely, but did we or did we not just come out of a secret tunnel? So who is to say that there aren’t secret rooms and treasure maps?”

  Sabrina looked up at him as they walked. “Well, you got me there. I guess I should learn to expect the unexpected, living in this crazy house. I can’t wait to see what secrets Edgar has been keeping. I know he knows about this tunnel; there is very little that escapes that man’s eagle eyes.”

  They came into the house walking into the kitchen where the man in question was whipping up some more frosting for the cookies he was making for Charlie’s birthday party the next day. He looked up at Eric; then his eyes went to Sabrina, taking in her tousled hair and flushed cheeks. His eyes hardened and went back to Eric.

  “Edgar, this Eric Knight, Evan’s friend from L.A. He came out to talk to me about the center.”

  Edgar nodded his head and gave Eric a slight smile. “It’s good to meet you, Mr. Knight. Sabrina, why are there cobwebs and twigs in your hair?”

  She beamed her trademark smile at him before she told Edgar about the tunnel and where it took them. She watched him carefully and she knew by the way he carefully cleared out his expression that he knew about the tunnel. “So, Edgar, what all do you know about that tunnel in particular and any other tunnels or secret rooms this house may have?”

  Edgar finished whipping the frosting; then he washed the bowl and scraper. Sabrina knew he was stalling for time, trying to decide just how much to tell her. He finally cleaned up everything, and he turned to face her.

  “All of it, Edgar, I want to know everything you know about this house.” Sabrina locked him down with her no-nonsense stare, and he sighed.

  “Perhaps we should sit in the den?” Sabrina and Eric followed the old butler down the hall into the den. He walked over to the fireplace that was still standing open, and he moved the brick that Eric had wedged into place to keep it from closing. Edgar ran his finger under the edge of the mantle, pushing the button. The fireplace slid back, settling into place. Sabrina and Eric had taken a seat, Eric in the chair on the right, and Sabrina was on the love seat holding a pillow in her lap. Edgar stood in front of the fireplace. He slowly turned around to face them. He looked like he was facing a firing squad.

  “Very well, Miss Sabrina, what exactly do you want to know?”

  Sabrina frowned at him. She also knew this was how he avoided giving out too much information. By asking what she wanted to know he would avoid telling her things she didn’t know she wanted to know. “Like I said, Edgar, I want to know everything you know about this house, but I’ll start with this. How many tunnels does this house have?”

  “Three.”

  “Does this house have any secret rooms?”

  “Yes.”

  “How many?”

  “Five.”

  “Do you know the location of each of these tunnels and rooms and where they lead and what they were used for?”

  “Yes.”

  Sabrina screamed into the pillow on her lap in pure frustration. “Edgar, stop it, okay? Just tell me what you know I want to know! I hate playing twenty questions with you!” She watched as her butler and dear friend sighed deeply then ran his hand through his steel-gray hair, leaving it in disarray. He sat down on the hearth. Then he told the secrets of the estate and the Laskers, including how he came to be with the Laskers.

  Sabrina sat in stunned silence when she heard the horrific story of Edgar and his family being forced into the death camps. She had heard about them, but to hear it firsthand and from someone that she loved, just how unbelievably bad it was…shook her. Now she truly understood his emotional reaction to seeing the photos of his family. After she had composed herself, she asked Edgar to please continue.

  “When the Laskers escaped from Germany, they were wanted criminals as far as the regime was concerned. Even though Hitler himself was dead, the regime did not die out with him. They continued to try and finish the dream that Hitler had started for what he called a “Pure world.” There were many refugees and war criminals looking for a place to hide until it was safe to try to return to their own homeland. The Laskers had this house built with the tunnels and the secret rooms to hide as many of the people as possible.”

  Sabrina waved her hand to stop him. “But, Edgar, this is America. Why wouldn’t they be safe here? How could the regime come across our borders, actively pursuing these people?”

  Edgar shook his head, looking at Sabrina like he would look at Charlie sometimes. “Sabrina, borders do exactly what a locked door does. Keep out an honest criminal. The regime didn’t care about borders or the fact they were in a different country. They had a mission, and they would succeed at that mission or die trying. Many of them did exactly that. They had many spies and high-ranking people on payrolls that would sell out wanted individuals without even caring why. The Laskers would employ as many of these people as they could at a time; then they would set them up in different parts of the country or even safe places overseas.”

  Eric sat there tapping his long fingers on the arm of the chair. “I bet I know why that tunnel led out to the clearing. It was to transport people or goods into or out of the estate without other people noticing.”

  Edgar nodded. “That’s correct, Mr. Knight. We have two transport tunnels and one escape tunnel.”

  Sabrina sat up in her seat. “Where are the other tunnels?”

  They were now standing in what Sabrina called Cleo’s prayer closet. Edgar pushed the stack of dry erase boards and markers off to one side
, hoping Sabrina wouldn’t question why so many were in there. He pressed his foot up against the trim that was edging the floor and with a soft click and a hiss the wall slid sideways. The opening wasn’t as big as the one in the den, so Eric had to bend down to step into the tunnel; then he was able to stand upright…barely.

  Edgar took the flashlight, marching ahead without waiting to see if they were following. Sabrina looped her finger through Eric’s belt loop. She was not about to get separated or lost in one of these dark creepy tunnels! They followed the tunnel down and around for what seemed like forever when Edgar finally came to a dead end. He waited for them to catch up. “Where are we, Edgar?” Sabrina asked in a whisper. She didn’t know why she was whispering. This place gave her the creepy crawlies big time; for some reason she felt like she would be disturbing…something… if she spoke too loudly. He didn’t answer. He just pushed against a part of the wall, and it opened up. He stepped out of the tunnel, turning to motion them through. Eric then Sabrina followed, and she gasped in surprised when she realized she was standing in the huge shed out back! “This is an escape tunnel. We would give the refuges what they needed, and we would lead them out through this tunnel then put them on cargo transports out of the city.”

  Sabrina laughed as she looked at the massive storage shed with new eyes. “I knew this was no ordinary storage shed…Why didn’t anyone else suspect this shed was more than it appeared to be; it seems obvious.”

  Edgar waved his hand for them to follow him as he walked into a back room and lifted several boxes and crates out of the way to pull out a large paper folder that was creased and worn with age. He laid it out on a table and began pulling old newspaper clippings and what looked like invoices from the folder. Sabrina stepped closer, reading headlines and looking at the pictures.

  The first picture showed when the shed was being built. A lot of men were up on ladders and hauling in supplies. The caption above the picture read: “Mr. Lasker’s Wicker Warehouse.” The following picture showed several different styles of wicker furniture. Sabrina recognized the bedroom suite that was in Cleo’s room. “Building the furniture was a passion of Mr. Lasker’s. He could employ many people and it also made an excellent cover for getting the people and the supplies in and out. Sabrina looked around in pure wonder at the whole world that had been hidden from her view since she had been living here… It made her wonder just what else she was overlooking.