Book of JUDAS

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Four

Manhattan, New York

Philip, shaking with fear, clutched the note. He felt sick inside, distraught with the realisation that Heather’s life was in impending danger from an insane, ruthless killer who cared nothing for his hapless victims.

Simon and Anna rushed down the steps of the barely lit lounge to join him. There hearts in their mouths as they tried to comprehend the news.

It just can’t be possible! Please say it’s not real!

Philip stood motionless, paralysed with morbid dread as he played the thoughts over and over in his mind.

Simon looked down at the table; apart from the note that Philip was holding there was another envelope and underneath that there were two carefully outlined newspaper cuttings. Both reproduced the artist’s impression of the spread-eagled bodies found cruelly and savagely dismembered, once in Oxford and then again, only days earlier in Kings Cross, London. As the highlighted newspaper article confirmed, the media had heightened the local hysteria surrounding the deaths by dubbing the brutal slaying the work of the “Death Angel”. The first cutting was taken from a UK tabloid and the second from the New York Post. Conchos had smiled, pleased with his own handiwork as he placed the articles on the table; he wanted to leave them in no doubt as to the fate that awaited Heather if they did not comply with his demands.

Simon grabbed the note out of Philip’s hand as Anna clumsily tried to lead him to one of the high-backed chairs. Trying to focus on helping him gave her some short-lived respite from the untenable thought of Heather being held by a possessed, soulless killer.

“I’m Ok,” he muttered, rubbing the side of his face with his palm and gently pushing Anna away with his other hand. Despite the nauseous feeling inside he turned back towards the side table and reached for the envelope that had been placed by the kidnapper next to the two newspaper cuttings.

Simon read the note he had snatched from his brother’s hand. It was handwritten and signed with the initials “MM” at the bottom.

“Heather is with me now. You will follow the instructions in the envelope or I will enjoy torturing and cutting her in a manner you couldn’t possibly conceive so that she dies slowly in painful agony. Any communication to the authorities, any deviance from my instructions – SHE DIES.”

The note was real and it filled him with dread. Simon had seen the killer’s handiwork at first hand and now he feared the worst. How could they possibly save Heather from the horror of this insane murderer? He handed the distressing note to Anna. She looked stunned, her face like Philip’s, drained of colour.

Simon heard the sound of paper ripping and turned to see Philip tearing open the sealed envelope and pulling out a neatly typed page of instructions. He obviously prepared himself well in advance, thought Simon as he watched his brother quickly scanning the contents.

“We get her back if we follow his directions,” he blurted out. His despondency waned temporarily; he had found a small shred of hope to cling on to.

Philip handed over the typed sheet to Simon and paced around the room deep in thought. Saving Heather was all he could think about. Getting her back, alive and safe was now his primary objective – the Book of Judas and its consequences were no longer of any relevance to him. Marching up and down, he contemplated the contents of the sealed envelope and tried to fathom out the best options open to him.

Simon, with Anna peering over his shoulder, read the kidnapper’s instructions.

“You will complete your task and recover all three keys of arkheynia and locate the entrance to the labyrinth within the next seven days. All three of you will remain together at all times. If you do not complete my demand within the time frame or if you separate for any reason then the girl will die.

I will be in touch with you from time to time to understand your progress and to give you new instructions. Do not try and locate your friend, she will be with me at all times and I will be close to you. If you obey my instructions without question I will grant you the opportunity to speak to her at a time of my choosing in the next few days.

Tomorrow morning, you will put a statement in the personal columns of the New York Post. The message will contain three words, the first will be Cyclops, the second will be a town or city representing your final airport destination and the third will be the number of keys of arkheynia that you currently hold.

When you arrive at that airport you will be given a note telling you which hotel you are to stay in. I will contact you again.”

Finishing the last sentence, Simon looked up at Philip who was still pacing, deep in thought.

“We go through with the instructions − agreed?” demanded Philip.

“Of course,” replied Simon. “Do we have any other option?”

Anna opened her mouth to speak and then closed it again.

“Agreed, Anna?” repeated Philip pointedly, he had noticed her vague expression, which did not sit well with the immediate and unconditional confirmation he was looking for.

Anna stared blankly at him for a moment. She had only known Heather a few days but had immediately formed a strong bond with her new friend. However there were other things playing on Anna’s mind. Of course she would like her freed from the clutches of this insane murderer immediately but there was more to consider here. She knew that in any normal kidnap circumstances the obvious and only answer would be to rescue the victim at any cost because saving human life came above everything else. However, in normal kidnap circumstances the perpetrator’s motivation was typically money, the release of prisoners or some other political goal where the equation balancing “cost” against “life” was indisputable. This situation was very different, and that gave her a severe problem. Fulfilling their obligations according to the instructions in the sealed envelope would give the Satanica direct and uninhibited access to the Book of Judas. If history was correct and the myth behind the book was real − and the more she delved into the facts the more she felt convinced it was – then the potential destruction to humanity that could be caused by giving the book away to the Satanica was exponential in its consequences.

“Anna?” said Simon, willing her to respond encouragingly to his brother’s calling.

She was still dressed in the ballroom attire from earlier in the evening but it was no longer in the pristine state in which it had been when they left the apartment to go the party. Black wisps of her bunched hair now fell in a curl at the side of her face and her dress carried the marks of their earlier exertions. It didn’t matter to Simon – for him she was the lady of his dreams and her beauty was beyond compare.

“Agreed!” said Anna, making a concerted effort to drum up a positive demeanour. Simon quietly sighed with relief. He could sense there was something on her mind but now was not the moment to discuss sensitive matters with his brother.

“We must work together to do all we can to get Heather back,” she added and watched the relief spread across Philip’s face. At that moment seeing his tearful expression, her heart yearned to make things right for him.

She also sensed Simon’s concern and like him she knew that now was neither the time nor place to raise questions on such emotional issues. Whatever the outcome of such a debate, she knew that right now the main objective must be to obtain the keys of arkheynia and find the entrance to the labyrinth. There would be plenty of time to discuss matters later, she thought. Besides, she wanted to speak separately on the subject with Simon first.

“Good,” said Philip, rubbing his eyes as he walked over to the drinks cabinet.

“Anybody else?” he asked as he poured a generous tumbler of Heather’s malt whisky.

Both nodded their heads and he passed the glasses around.

“No point in getting the police involved?” asked Simon rhetorically. He already knew the answer but thought it worth mentioning in case anyone had something to say on the subject. Anna replied before Philip had a chance.

“We can’t do that! Once the police become involved we’re no longer in control of the situation or our destiny… Finding the book will no longer be an option!”

“Frankly you’re right, Anna, I don’t think we have an option,” remarked Philip, adding his seal of approval although he would have preferred to hear more concern in her voice. She makes it sound like recovering the book’s more important than saving Heather! he thought before continuing.

“I have no faith in the police being able to rescue Heather and I think we know enough about the Satanica to know that he’ll go through with his threat if there’s any deviation from the instructions – I’m just not prepared to take the risk.”

“I agree, we haven’t got a choice,” said Simon. “I’ll get the number for the airport and find out what the best schedule is to get us to Cairo.”

“Good − in which case, we need to place the ad in the personals tomorrow morning before we set off,” said Philip, anxious, exhausted and fearing the worst for Heather.

Taking a sip of Scotch, he felt marginally better knowing they had agreed a plan to get her back, albeit simply by following the Satanica’s instructions. There was a small glimmer of hope and he kept repeating in his mind the line that mentioned he could be speaking to her in the next couple of days if they did as they were told. Taking another sip of Scotch, he winced inside as he pictured Heather bound and gagged in the hands of this monster and the thought made him grit his teeth. He loved her and he promised himself that nothing in the world would stop him from getting her back.