Page 61 of Fighting for Mallory

Faith fixed him a plate and handed him a cold bottle of beer. “No luck finding Dr. Samir, huh?”

“No. She’s in the wind. I asked Chief Watkins to bring her to the station if she shows up at her home and notify me, but he has no intention of getting involved.” Judd swallowed a bite of pizza and washed it down with a swig of beer. “Have you spoken with Tex?” He directed his question to Luca.

“Yeah. Traffic cameras picked her up when she left the University of Memphis and tracked her to a public parking garage where we lost her. According to the camera footage, she hasn’t left the garage.”

“Damn. I wish I had known that before I left Memphis.”

“Detective Scope is on his way there now. Hopefully, we’ll have some information soon.”

“Any sign of Neheb?”

“Tex spotted him outside of Memphis but hasn’t been able to pick him back up. All we know is that he’s here, and he’s seen Mallory.”

“So, what’s our next move?”

“After we eat, we’re heading back to our original target spot, scouring the area for another entrance, and following the tunnels where I saw arrows.”

As they devoured the pizza, Faith entertained everyone with stories of her escapades to break the next big story. She excluded her harrowing experience in Axel Anderson’s compound, joking lightly that they could read about it in the book she’d begun writing, when she published it. Only Luca, Hutch, and River discerned the pain behind Faith’s bright, flirty smile, for they had been with Justice when he and the FBI raided the compound and rescued her and Brielle. How she’d survived Dr. Schou’s intense brainwashing techniques that broke Nash Carter and turned Anderson’s youngest children into raving lunatics was a testament to Faith’s inner courage and strength.

This time she insisted on accompanying the men to the caves. The weather had finally cleared, and conditions safer than the previous day. Clayton provided her with an equipment bag and a hardhat.

“Stick with a buddy,” he advised. “Don’t go wanderin’ around like a ghost in a graveyard my grandma used to tell me about.”

“I’ll watch out for her,” Judd vowed in a possessive tone of voice.

“And I’ll do the same for you,” she teased, smiling.

They loaded up the army trucks and headed out. A Department of Transportation crew had set up a roadblock to prevent motorists from getting close to the washed-out road, so the team pulled onto the shoulder and parked. Clayton, Luca, Hutch, and River hiked to the caved-in entrance, while Maverick and the others continued to trek to points Clayton had indicated on a map. Fortunately, no debris blocked the opening to the tunnels, and the four men entered without any hindrances.

Luca discovered the first arrow carved into the wall and illuminated it with his flashlight. “I knew I wasn’t imagining it. And I’m positive Mallory left this trail.”

“They’re pointing the way out,” River noted.

“My theory is she somehow got caught in the mudslide that blocked the entrance and landed in the same cavern I did. She left the message and?”

“And then what?” Clayton interrupted. “Climbed out and marked the tunnel? Luca, you couldn’t make that climb. And not to rain on your parade, but if she made it out, where is she?”

Luca scowled. “Do you have a better theory?”

“Yes, sir, I do. I think your girl escaped from the Cave of Osiris, marked the way with arrows, then got caught in the mudslide. We know she was in the blue cavern. It’s possible she tried to find a way out and?”

“And is either lost or right back where she started. Captive in the Cave of Osiris,” Luca finished.

“Guys,” Hutch interrupted. “I hate to point out the obvious, but we know she’s back in the Cave of Osiris because Neheb has already seen her.”

“Injured, too,” River added, “which would explain the blood you saw, Luca.”

“We need to follow these arrows,” Luca declared.

Clayton shook his head. “I say we go down.”

The others glanced at each other and shrugged.

“Then we go down,” Luca agreed.

Since Hutch had experience in rappelling, he descended first into the phosphorescent blue cave. Clayton hooked up Luca and explained how the apparatus worked. Luca pushed backward out of the opening and lowered himself without any difficulty to the floor of the cave. River descended next, followed by Clayton.

“So, the tunnels above us branch off into different directions, but they must eventually slope downward,” Clayton stated.

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