Jim and Bill worked in the barn
feeding the cattle and milking the Guernsey cows. They always played the radio during
milking because the drone of music and voices calmed the animals, much as if
they ran a fan. The radio erupted with a high-pitched beep, which alarmed Carmen
the cow. She kicked Bill with her hind leg, and he jumped up and away from her.
“This is a special report.
Lilia Faith Christian is reported missing
while on vacation with her family,” said the reporter in a projected and
urgent voice. “Anyone who has seen her or
has knowledge of her whereabouts, please notify the police.” Goose bumps
arose on Bill’s arms with dread.
Bill bellowed across the barn, “Jim! The special report said that Lilia is
missing!”
The hair stood up on the back of
Jim’s neck. This was his worst fear of all. When Jim was the Chief of Security,
they had aborted all the other near kidnapping attempts. They frantically
worked at finishing their chores. Sweat poured off Jim’s brow as he tore
through his routine. Bill’s hands shook with the effort to do the chores faster.
A few minutes later, Jim and Bill heard tires screech in the gravel driveway.
Gil and Ann, friends of the Christian family, leaped out of the truck and tore
into the barn.
Gil squalled at Jim and Bill, “Go find her! We’ll take over from here!”
Jim and Bill glanced at each other
briefly with misgiving, and knew what their mission was. They dropped the pails
and the pitchfork, and sprinted out of the barn to Jim’s pickup truck. They
both jumped in, and Jim’s truck tires ripped up the gravel in the driveway as
he drove helter-skelter towards the highway.
“I just learned that Lilia still
loves me,” said Jim as he complained bitterly, “and now I might have lost her
forever.”
Bill called Cindy on the way to the
airport, “Little red,” he began.
“Go, Bill! Go find her!” Cindy yelled with passion.
“Right!” Bill said and hung up.
He and Jim roared to the airport
without suitcases or planning. They only had time to react. They bought tickets
and charged full speed to the end of the terminal for the next departing
airplane. They lined up with the last of the travelers.
“Oh, dear God, help us to get there
in time,” Jim whispered in prayer under his breath.
Bill said adamantly to Jim, “We
have to think like the kidnappers,
Jim.”
“I know,” said Jim with weighty angst. “It depends on what their
purpose for taking her is. Is it for money or something else?”
“It could be for many reasons.
Think Jim. Lilia is on crutches and has a giant heavy cast. What are the
chances of the kidnappers escaping the resort without anyone noticing, especially with her celebrity?” Bill asked with
focused calculation. He stared at Jim pointedly.
“Nada,” Jim replied with stern
determination. “She’s probably still there somewhere.”
“That is exactly what I was thinking,” Bill countered with intense
reflection. “Do you remember how Lilia loved the far end of the adult pool by
the water slide? She visited the creepy damp bathrooms underneath the staircase.
She said it was like entering a cave. All the walls were lava rock.”
“I remember. They were cold, and
dank, and dark, and almost no one knew that they were down there. Lilia felt
spooked about using them. They were right across from a supply room underneath
the staircase to the viewing deck where the tourists watch the manta rays feed
at night,” said Jim with a pounding heart of apprehension.
“I wonder how many underground and
hidden closets exist, and if the security people searched inside of each one,”
Bill pondered with misgiving.
“There’s also that lava path on the
cliff overlooking the ocean. It’s below a person’s vision level. They could
have used that route. It’s a dead end at the lava field to the left, and it
wraps around the grounds of the hotel to the right.” Jim reminded him and felt a
fierce unwavering need to find her.
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