Meridia Falls Series 1 Books 1 & 2: The Spark & Sunburst (Meridia Falls Boxsets)

by D. B. Green

  Maz opens the truck door and rushes out into Steve’s arms. She kisses him, almost pushing him over.

  “Hey guys, save it for later,” Sergeant Dillon says. “This is serious.”

  Steve wipes his lips. “Sorry, Dad.”

  The sergeant checks his watch. “We’re just waiting for Miss Summers and two colleagues of mine.” He glances over his shoulder. “I’ll just check where they are.” He heads back to the squad car and pulls out his radio.

  My phone vibrates with a call. It’s Penny. I walk to the back of my truck and press the phone to my ear. My heart races with excitement as I’m eager to hear her voice.

  “I’m running late,” she says. “Good news, though; I got a copy of the original chapel plans. Oh my god, Logan - you’ve got to see the size of the original proposal.”

  Maz stares at me as I lean back against my truck. “Original proposal?” I say.

  “Yeah. The original proposal was a cathedral, but they downsized when the university expanded.” She pauses. “Looks like the crypt was built first. It’s called ‘phase one’ on the plans.” She stops and gasps for air.

  “What are you doing?” I say. “Sounds like you’re running.”

  “Me, run?” She laughs. “I’m just rushing home to drop the plans back off. Then I’ll join you at the chapel. I picked up a few extra things. Might help with our research later.”

  I pull at my collar as my face starts to burn. “I can’t wait.”

  “I’m still wearing the ring,” she says. “And your shirt. I never want to take them off.”

  Maz walks over and holds her hands out towards my face, like she’s warming them on a campfire. I turn away from her grin.

  “I’m almost at the cinema,” Penny says, still gasping for air. “Tell the sergeant he can start without me. I’m not sure why he needs us there, anyway.”

  Another squad car parks next to Sergeant Dillon’s.

  “Looks like we’re about to go in,” I say. “Hurry up. I miss you.”

  “I miss you too, Logan.” She pauses. “I know this might sound strange. Hell, it feels strange, even thinking it. But I feel like I’ve always loved you; I just can’t imagine my life without you in it.”

  Butterflies fill my stomach, warming me up inside. I’m addicted to this feeling of joy that floods through my body. “I feel the same, Penny. I love you, and I always will.”

  “Always,” she says.

  “Always.”

  Maz waits while I close my phone. “Is Penny on her way?” she asks.

  “She’s just dropping some things off at her apartment and then joining us here.”

  Maz glances over her shoulder as another officer joins the Sergeant Dillon. “Looks like the cavalry has arrived.”

  A casually dressed guy with bleached blond hair climbs out of the second squad car. He follows the other officer and hands a large brown envelope to Sergeant Dillon, then he charges at Steve, giving him a huge man-hug.

  Maz sighs as Steve waves me over. “This is a friend of mine, Teddy Chen. He’s interning with my dad… with Sergeant Dillon,” Steve corrects himself. He taps my chest with the back of his hand. “This is Logan Collins, a friend of Maz’s.”

  Teddy holds out his hand. “Hi, Logan.” His voice is high and chirpy. “Nice to meet you,” he says as I shake his hand. He sings the words, like he’s reciting a line from a poem.

  “What are you doing working a case?” Steve says. “I thought you were tied down to the computers all day.”

  Teddy puts his hands on his hips, pouting his lips. “They let me out on good behavior.” He laughs, then cups his hands so Sergeant Dillon can hear. “The Sarge—,” he yells, then lowers his hands again. “—wanted some plans from the Town Hall, so he sent me to get them.”

  Maz whacks Teddy’s arm. “Don’t call him that.”

  Teddy grins. “What’s he gonna do, send me back here?” He leans in close. “I’m too valuable now. The station can’t run without me,” he whispers.

  Maz frowns. “Or you could end up back at your dad’s print shop. Remember how much you loved working there?”

  Teddy’s smile fades as he contemplates the thought. “Never again,” he says, shivering as a cold breeze whistles between the trees.

  A black blur catches my eyes. It darts between the squad cars, disappearing behind the chapel. A cat. A black cat with a hint of red on its collar. Can’t be Izzy, though - she’s locked in Anne’s mansion. The others follow my stare.

  “What are you looking at?” Maz asks.

  I turn around to face Teddy. “Has anyone reported a missing black cat?” I ask.

  “Not that I know of,” he says, shaking his head.

  Maz rolls her eyes. “What is it with you and black cats?”

  “Plans,” I say. “You mentioned plans.”

  Teddy nods, zipping up his thin jacket as the ice-cold breeze intensifies “Yeah. Plans for this place,” he says, pointing at the chapel. “The Sarge wanted them rushed over. Immediately.”

  Sergeant Dillon walks over, struggling with the unfolded chapel plans, as the breeze continues to blow. Are those the same plans that Penny got? He folds them up into a manageable size. “Can you make your own way back to the station, Teddy?” he asks.

  Teddy nods, a look of resignation on his face. He wraps his arms tight around his chest, probably wishing he’d chosen a warmer jacket to wear. He leans in close and winks at me on his way past. “I’ll sneak a cappuccino on the way,” he whispers. “Don’t tell the Sarge.”

  “See you later, Teddy,” Steve says.

  Teddy salutes.

  Sergeant Dillon waits for Teddy to leave, then he shows us the plans. “According to the original drawings, this was going to be a cathedral.” He glances at the chapel entrance and then taps his boot on the ground. “Phase one construction was the cathedral crypt.

  The chapel doors open and a man comes bounding down the steps. His face is redder than his ginger hair.

  “Reverend Matthews,” Sergeant Dillon says, nodding his head. “We have a warrant to search your crypt.”

  The Reverend shakes his head. “I’m sorry, Christopher. It looks like you’ve made a wasted journey.” He tugs at his collar and glances over his shoulder at the open chapel doors. “I’m afraid we don’t have a crypt.”

  The sergeant unfolds the plans. “These drawings say phase one construction was completed in nineteen sixteen.” The reverend leans forward, examining the plans. “No, no, no. The planners abandoned these plans before construction began,” he says, half-smiling. “They favored expanding the university instead.” He turns around, sweeping his arm in an arc. “A cathedral would have been lovely.”

  The sergeant glances at Steve, then back at the reverend. “Can we look inside?” he says, pointing the folded plans at the doors.

  Reverend Matthews opens out his hands. “Sure, Christopher. No problem.” He indicates to the open doors.

  Sergeant Dillon grabs my sleeve. “Any word from Miss Summers?” he asks.

  “She’s on her way.”

  He glances through the trees, shielding his eyes from the low sun. “We’ll have to do this without her.”

  Steve barges through the open chapel doors. “It’s through there,” he says, pointing at the arched doorway across the room.

  “You kids wait here.” The sergeant walks up the aisle, then across to the arched doorway. He glances at Steve and waits while the reverend unlocks the door.

  “It’s only a storeroom,” the reverend says. “Where we keep the hymn books.”

  Maz taps my sleeve. “It wasn’t a storeroom last night. And it wasn’t locked.”

  “Shit. I forgot.” I grab Steve’s arm, pulling him back before he can join his dad. “Miss Slayter knew about the police. They knew we were coming.”

  “Can you three join me over here?” Sergeant Dillon asks, tapping the plans against the door frame.

  There’s not a corridor through the door - just a small room with a se
t of book-filled shelves against the back wall.

  Steve barges into the room. “There was a corridor here. And a door,” he says, feeling between the shelves. “A spiral staircase led down into the crypt.”

  “Do I understand that these youngsters have been trespassing on university property?” Reverend Matthews says, crossing his arms. He narrows his eyes, his voice more confident than before.

  Sergeant Dillon spins around. “I’m sorry for wasting your time, Jacob.”

  “No problem, Christopher.” The reverend smirks, his top lip curling over his teeth. “Kids today.”

  We head back outside and down the chapel steps. “You three wait here while I smooth this over,” the sergeant says. He frowns, then joins the reverend in the chapel doorway.

  My heart suddenly pounds fast in my chest. I can’t seem to draw breath. Penny. My phone vibrates in my pocket. A voice message from. Penny. Crap. I forgot, no signal in the chapel. I press the phone to my ear and play the message. “Logan, they’re here.” Penny’s voice is frantic. “They found me.” She screams. “Logan!”

  10:12 GMT-4

  THE MERIDIAN CINEMA | MERIDIA FALLS

  I push open the cinema door. The keys dangle from the lock, clanging against the wooden frame. My lungs feel ready to burst. The journey here was a blur. Penny’s scream replays through my mind, merging with the memory of Cassie’s screams.

  Her bag lies on the floor, the contents spilled out next to a cracked bust of Humphrey Bogart. Spatters of blood mark a trail through dusty floor.

  “Penny!” I shout. “Are you OK?” I pick up her bag. The folded chapel plans poke out of the top. “Penny!?” I run into the restaurant. Tables and chairs lay on their sides. Someone crashed through them, making a path to the staircase. Penny. I sprint through the carnage, following the blood trail to the stairs where it’s smudged with a heavy boot print. Too big to be Penny’s. The bloody footprint goes up the stairs, two at a time. I follow it, my heart pounding like a piston in my truck. “I’m coming, Penny!”

  A golden gong sticks out between the banister railings at the top of the staircase. It’s been thrown like a Frisbee, embedding itself into the wood. It came from a display next to the door marked ‘Private’. A bloody handprint stains the door frame.

  I push past it and sprint down the corridor to Penny’s wide-open apartment door. An acrid, burning smell blows past my face. I try to focus my thoughts on Penny, but my mind is strangely empty. Penny.

  “Shit.” A voice breaks the silence. It’s Steve. He’s standing in the doorway, panting for breath. “What happened?” he says. “This place is a mess.”

  I didn’t notice at first, but the living room is more of a mess than Penny normally keeps it. Her filing cabinets are open; the contents strewn across the already cluttered floor. Her computer monitors are knocked over on the desk and all her hard drives are missing. Stolen. Surprisingly, her vanilla orchid still stands in one piece on the coffee table.

  Maz suddenly barges past Steve. “Where’s Penny?”

  I flip open my phone and play the message. “Logan, they’re here… They found me.” I tense as she screams. “Logan!”

  I spin around, searching the room.

  “Looks like there’s been a struggle,” Steve says, kicking at a small metal trash can. “He picks up a pile of paper and places it on the coffee table.

  “No,” I say. “This is how she kept the room.” Theft deterrent. Her voice echoes through my mind. My heart races even more. “Penny!” I shout, but there’s no answer.

  “What the hell is that smell?” Maz says, scrunching up her nose.

  “Lighter fluid, or something,” Steve says, sniffing the air.

  Something catches my eye on the floor, near the sofa. It’s the twine engagement ring I made for Penny. I drop to my knees and grasp it. Penny. Where are you?

  “What’s that?” Maz says, kneeling beside me.

  I hook the ring on my pinkie finger, pushing it up to my signet ring with my thumb. “It’s… something I gave Penny.” I jump up. “She would never take it off.”

  Maz reaches under the sofa and pulls out a cell phone. Penny’s phone. She gives it to Steve. His eyes open wide. “It’s recording. Look.” He turns the phone around.

  “Play it then,” Maz says.

  He tentatively taps at the phone, like it will explode any minute. The recording plays and Penny’s scream cuts through my soul. “You can’t just come in here!” she shouts. “This is private property.”

  A heavy grunting noise follows. Steve glances at me. Panic flashes in his eyes. “Look at what you did, you bitch,” a deep voice laced with anger booms through the phone speaker.

  “There’s more of that,” Penny says. “Logan, it’s the guy from last night. The driver of the van.”

  “Penny,” I say, unable to control my trembling voice.

  The man laughs. “Who are you talking too, bitch? Ain’t no one here but us.” There’s a clicking noise. “Stay right where you are.”

  “Logan! He’s got a gun…”

  There’s a thud. Something… someone, falls to the floor. Penny.

  “It’s me,” the man says. “Yeah, I took care of her… Don’t panic - she’s still alive. Give me some credit.” He winces. “She put up a fight, though.”

  She’s alive.

  “Shit, she’s coming round. I need to fit the Lapse. Now!” The recording buzzes with static for a second, then a loud crackling noise rises to a crescendo through the phone speaker. It’s ear-piercing, like an amplified bottle of Coke fizzing open. “It’s done. What do you want me to do with the file?” The man pauses, waiting for an answer. “OK.” Then there’s a clang of something metal.

  I spin around and grab the metal trash can Steve kicked over. It’s warm and full of smoldering ashes. It smells of…

  “Lighter fluid,” Steve says, sniffing the trash can. “He burned something in here.”

  The man grunts again. There’s the snap of a match being struck and then the whoosh of fire. “It’s done,” he says. “Yeah, OK! I’ll bring the hard drives, too.”

  The file from the crypt is on the coffee table. I pick it up. It’s empty; the contents are gone. Burned. The file falls from my hand, sliding between two boxes against the wall. A framed picture of Penny and her grandad stares out of the first box. Penny.

  “What about the other stuff?” The man pauses again. “OK. OK. I’ll take her to the forest door straight away.” The recording suddenly cuts off.

  “The battery died,” Steve says, shaking the phone.

  The door. I look at Maz. She looks at Steve.

  “My truck is right outside,” he says. “I know a shortcut to Hellgate forest.”

  10:26 GMT-4

  HELLGATE FOREST | MERIDIA FALLS

  Steve hands me a heavy crowbar from the back of his truck. I tear off my bandage to get a better grip. The cold metal feels good against my tender skin.

  That man will pay.

  “What about me?” Maz whispers. “I need something, too.”

  Steve leans back into the truck and brings out a long wrench. Maz swings it a few times. A manic smile spreads across her face as it whistles through the air.

  “Come on,” I say, pushing through the crooked trees to the trail on the other side. I close my eyes and focus on Penny, trying to connect to her mind. Pins and needles wash over my head, like a numbing waterfall.

  A hand tugs at my jacket. “Careful, Newb,” Maz says, still holding my sleeve. I roll my neck, trying to force the feeling back into my head. My lips tingle and burn at the same time. Maz rests her hand on my shoulder. “Are you OK?”

  “I can’t feel Penny anymore,” I tap the side of my head. “Only numbing darkness.”

  She rubs my shoulder. “Don’t worry, Logan. We’ll find her.”

  Steve strides through the trees, brandishing another crowbar. He swings it in an arc. “Come on!”

  We sprint down the trail. My legs pound into the gravel, moving i
n time with my racing heart. I shield my eyes from the trees. The low sun glares through the branches, like a spotlight searching for us.

  The clearing comes into view. Penny. She could be there. Waiting for us. Waiting for me. I slow down. The white door is still there, shining in a shaft of sunlight. The glare almost hides the van parked next to it.

  Penny. “We’re too late,” I say, striding towards the clearing. Steve yanks my collar and I fall behind the same bush from last night. Something hard digs into my back. It’s Penny’s satnav. I scoop it up and slip it in my pocket.

  Maz grips my sleeve again. She nods at the clearing as the driver walks out from behind the van, tapping on his cell phone. “Looks like he can get a freakin’ signal,” she whispers.

  The sun disappears behind a gray cloud, revealing a floating Desino Lapse next to the van. It’s partially covered by a shiny white sheet - the same diamond-like material as the gloves.

  The driver groans and lifts his hand to a jagged cut across his forehead. He’s wearing a pair of the diamond gloves. The tip of the index finger turns red as blood stains the bright white material. He curses under his breath and pulls back the sheet covering the Lapse. Turning his back to us, he continues his phone call.

  Steve points at larger bush closer to the door. “We can jump him from there.” He scampers over the cold grass on his hands and knees.

  I follow, careful not to make a sound. Maz holds on tight to the back of my jacket, using me as a guide. A red light flashes in the distance, in front of Steve. The door. The red triangle shines bright red, but Steve heads away from the bush, into the clearing, ready to pounce on the driver. He hasn’t noticed the door. It’s opening. Crap. I forgot, he can’t see the door. I grab his sleeve and drag him behind the bush.

  “What did you do that far?” he whispers. “I could’ve jumped him.”

  Maz grabs his wrist and his eyes open wide. “I forgot all about the door.”

  Jesus Christ. It hits me. How in the hell can Maz make him see the door?

  “Miss Slayter,” Maz whispers, dragging my attention back.