She texted the address to me and I left the mall. I recognized the location, but had no idea why Seth would be there. Then snippets of conversation came back to me. Mom saying parents always want to protect their kids, Neila describing her surprise at what a parent will do, and Morgan’s comment that looks can be deceiving. The entire picture shifted for me and I suddenly got very worried.
The early promise of a stormy day had been realized and dark gray clouds seemed to press down on me as I drove to Covenant of Grace. It was only a few minutes from the mall and when I pulled into the lot, I saw a dark Tahoe parked near the church offices; otherwise the place appeared deserted. I remembered Gladys telling me the church closed on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Fighting the wind, I tried the door of the old part of the church. Locked. I went to the back and found a small door that led to the back of the sanctuary cracked open. I slipped inside. Dark and silent, none of the usual noises of an electrified building greeted me. The power was out.
In the silence, I heard my own ragged breathing. None of this made sense and I felt more anxious the farther I got inside the church. I called Seth’s name but received only an echo from the empty sanctuary. I walked through the whole main floor of the church, peering through the glass into Gladys’s office and the other offices on that side of the sanctuary. I saw a small staircase on the other side of the front door and climbed it carefully. Since there were no windows, only a feeble light from the sanctuary’s stained glass lit my way. At the top of a short flight I found another door. I held my phone up to the sign in order to read it: BELL TOWER.
I backed away from the door. No way. I wouldn’t go up there in good weather. I heard the wind howl outside and rain pelted the windows.
I turned and started down the stairs again when I heard a clatter on the stairs on the other side of the door. Sighing, I returned to the entrance to the bell tower.
I pulled the door open slowly, afraid of what I might find on the other side. I thought of my dreams about Seth, and knew I had no choice.
40
An ancient stone staircase greeted me and spiraled upward out of sight. The only light in the stairwell seemed to come from above.
I put my foot on the stairs and started climbing. I felt my way along the wall in the dim tower, carefully placing my feet on each step. At about the tenth step my foot kicked something that clattered all the way back down. I cursed to myself and turned around, using my phone’s small screen as a flashlight. I found it at the bottom—Seth’s dragon statue.
I ran up the stairs again, more frantic than ever.
I started to get dizzy from the constant turning and stopped to catch my breath. The wind howled above me. Either the stairs led directly outside, or a door sat open at the top of the staircase. I continued on, worried about what I would find at the top.
A scrabbling noise from behind stopped me. I made the mistake of looking back down the stairway. The gray slabs melted into black and then disappeared entirely. My issue with heights kicked in and added to my anxiety about Seth. Fighting to keep my heart rate down, and to breathe calmly, I struggled to remember my police training. Shut off all emotion and get the job done. I slowed my pace and prepared to meet the unknown.
A heavy wooden door stood open at the top of the stairs. Rain lashed its way into the opening and onto the top steps. Wind howled in gusts, bringing more icy drops in waves. I reached the doorframe and peered around to the open bell tower.
It was empty. The room was square and the worn dirt floor was wet from the rain. The openings on all four sides of the tower were set high in the wall starting about eight feet off the floor. I looked up into the bells and then noticed the ladder.
Old and rickety, it led to one of the openings. I remembered seeing a balcony with a balustrade running around the tower outside of the bell openings. I had assumed it was a decorative touch by the church architects. The ladder told a different story. Apparently, there was access, albeit rickety, old, and uninviting.
Convinced that Seth needed my help, I tamped down the churning in my gut that accompanied brushes with heights. I tested the ladder and found it to be just as decrepit as it looked. I hoped it would hold my weight. I began to climb, the wind almost drowning out the creaks and groans of protest sent up by the ladder. As I reached the top, I carefully eased my head out into the storm and saw a narrow catwalk running around the tower, enclosed by the balustrade. I struggled up onto the ledge and plastered my body against the tower. I looked to my left briefly and saw nothing, then forced my head around to the right with my eyes closed so I wouldn’t look down.
I took slow, shuffling steps along the walkway toward the first corner. I had gotten so turned around, I wasn’t even sure which way I was facing. Could I be seen from the road? Would anyone driving by for a fun, storm-lashed jaunt look up and see me? Peering around the first corner, my chest tightened when I didn’t see Seth. I wondered if he’d even come up the ladder. Where could he be? My sodden clothing stuck to me and I shivered from the cold and the fear.