Chapter 5 - Watchers

Rita Logan and the Dark Tower
Part 5

When Rita Logan arrived home after dropping off Kyle and Jordan, she found the house strangely quiet. The only noise ws the ticking of a battery-powered clock in the living room.

"Mom? Dad? You home?" Rita called out to her parents but got no response. As she made her way into the kitchen and dropped her books on the table, she found a note taped to the refrigerator. The note said: "Gone to Park Ridge Mall to shop. Be back home late."

Rita glanced at the time. Nine o'clock. It was already late. They could have stopped in town to see a couple of their friends. Then something on the stove caught her eye. One of the burners on the stove was still on. She quickly turned off the gas and let out a sigh of relief. If the burner had been on any longer, all the potatoes boiling in the pot of water would have burned.. Her mother never left the stove unattended. What was going on here?

A knock at the front door broke her concentration. Rita nearly jumped a mile. Who would be visiting her at such a late hour? A glance through the peep hole gave her the answer.

Matt and Noah Strong.

***

Steven Strong and Cosmo reviewed the surveilence footage of Rita Logan and her friends.

"I don't think she knows anything, boss. Did you see how that Cresswell woman gave her the brush off? That woman is as cold as ice. Freaky col, if you ask me."

"What we have here are a string of random disappearances. What is someone doing with all these people?" Steven Strong asked.

"But, what about Cresswell? Have you checked her out?"

"I've known Lady Bird Cresswell for years. If she knew anything she'd come to me about it."

While Mr. Strong stared at the wall of evidence photos pinned to a large corkboard, Cosmo pulled out his cell phone. If Mr. Strong wouldn't check out Mrs. Crewell, he knew someone who would.

***

Rita opened the door just as Matt's cell phon rang. He waved at her and took the call which left Noah and Rita staring awkwardly at one another.

"Can we come in," Noah said after a beat. "It's important."

"Actually, I'm glad you're both here. I think I have a real mystery on my hands."

Noah followed Rita into the living room. It was one of those fancy sitting rooms where people didn't actually sit, they just looked. Matt waved again and smiled at Rita all the while still talking on his phone,. He stayed near the window while he spoke in hushed tones.

"What's up?" Noah asked eagerly. He was always ready to jump head first into a mystery.

"When I got home tonight, I found this note." Rita handed it to Noah who held it by its edge. He didn't want to mess up any possible fingerprints. "A short time later I noticed one of the burners in the kitchen was still on. The water was nearly gone in this pot. I think my mother would never do something so irresponsible. I think something happened to my parents."

"Whoa," Noah said. "That's quite a leap in logic."

"It makes sense if you add in the fact of how jumpy they've both been this past week. Something's going on, Noah. Something they wouldn't tell me about."

"You don't think it has anything to do with your investigation of the Dark Tower, do you?"

"How'd you know about that?"

"We saw you from our house. It's not far from the dark tower," Matt answered joining the two. "Hi, Rita," he said with a smile and turned to Noah. "That was Cosmo on the phone. Apparently, we weren't the only people watching Rita enter the tower. Dad's on the case with Cosmo. Cosmo wants us to question Mrs. Cresswell. He thinks there might be a lead there."

"You all have been watching me? That's a little creepy. Kyle did say that he thought Noah was the one who helped us escape."

Noah held up his hands. "Hey, it wasn't me."

"It was probably Micah. He gets mistaken for Noah all the time. Micah has been taking a short hiatus from college to help Dad with an investigation. Actually, that's kind of why we're here. Micah's girlfriend was one of the first to vanish."

"Vanish?" Rita said, immediately thinking of her parents. And there may be more that we don't know about," Noah said handing Rita a list of the missing.

"I know all these people," Rita said. "They're friends of my parents."

"Have you tried calling your parents?" Noah asked, hoping to impart a bit of common sense into the mix.

"No, not yet," she said, calming down a bit. "That lit burner thing really threw me for a loop."

"Why don't you try calling them now," Noah suggested.

Rita nodded and punched the numbers into her cell phone. She waited a beat and then heard the phone connect.

"Someone's picked up," she whispered. "Hello? Mom?"

"It's only muted noise and shuffling," she said. "Maybe I got the wrong number."

"Don't hang up!" Noah shouted. He placed a quick call to Cosmo. "I'm going to have mother's cell phone. With the technologically available now, location."

Noah paused, listening to Cosmo. "You're sure?" he said. "Thanks Cosmo."

"What did he say," Matt and Rita said in unison.

"The signal was coming from inside the dark tower."

Part 4-Investigating, Strong-Style

Rita Logan and the Dark Tower
Featuring Micah, Matt and Noah Strong
By Toni Walker

Part 4: Investigating, Strong-Style

“It’s not as if she knows what she’s getting herself into,” Noah Strong said. It was useless to defend Rita’s actions to Matt. He was still torked that she wouldn’t go out with him last semester.

“Let me guess. You want to dash in and be the hero. Show her the error of her ways?” Matt asked his brother.

Matt stood off to the side and watched through binoculars as Rita Logan and Kyle Filmore raced from the Dark Tower toward the dimly lit parking area near the fence.

“You do have to admit, we have a leg up on the investigation,” Noah said.

Noah was the eldest more stable brother. Not that Matt was unstable, but Noah was the responsible one. He was the first to consider all his options before taking one step. It was a trait that sometimes annoyed his younger brother, Matt, who was the spontaneous one. Matt wasn’t used to his brother acting so much like him.

“We have to help her, Matt,” Noah pleaded.

“Hey, isn’t that my line?” Matt said. “I thought I was the only brother who rushed in where the sensible feared to tread.”

“She and Kyle were nearly captured just now,” Noah stressed. “I don’t think there is anything impulsive about wanting to help them.”

Matt gave his brother the eye. “So what are you saying here? You want to compare notes with Rita?”

“We have to know why she’s investigating the ruins of the Dark Tower before something grave happens to her. I don’t want anyone else disappearing,” Noah said.

“I thought dad said they were keeping a lid on the string of missing college girls.”

“They are. Nothing was ever reported in the newspaper about it. She must be there for a different reason,” Noah said.

Noah had a sudden sinking feeling as he stared intently at his brother.

“What was that look for,” Matt said.

“What if someone was luring Rita to the tower but they didn’t anticipate her bringing her friends along?” Noah hypothized while grabbing his coat and walking toward the door. “She could be in more danger than we realized.”

“Where are you going?” Matt asked, following his brother to the door.

“We’re going to find Rita before the mad man in the dark tower find her first.”

“Great. Just great,” Matt said slowly. “I guess my quiet evening at home just went out the window.”

“Are you coming?” Noah shouted from outside.

“Yeah, yeah.” Matt sighed and followed. He didn’t like this role reversal at all. Noah was not supposed to be the impulsive one. That was his job. “I’m coming.”

Matt grabbed his coat and locked the door behind him. One couldn’t be too careful these days.

***

“You have to give me another chance,” Rita begged. “I know I can find something.”

Mrs. Cresswell‘s aged face was painted with a frown.

“I‘ve changed my mind,” she said. “Stay away from the Dark Tower. And stay away from me.”

She shooed the duo out the door and then proceeded to slam it in their faces.

To say Rita was shocked was an understatement.

"I told you that you were out of your mind," Kyle said. "We should not have gone in there!"

Mrs. Cresswell’s house was on the same lot as the Dark Tower so the walk to their friend Jordan’s car was a short one.

"What did you find?" asked Jordan blowing bubbles and chewing gum.

"Things. Strange and scary things that should not be found in a bell tower," Kyle said darkly.

"What Kyle means is that we had to stop investigating before we got very far into our search," Rita explained. "I found it a bit odd at Mrs. Cresswell's sudden dismissal of our investigation."

"If it hadn't been for Noah Strong, I doubt we would have ever found our way out," Kyle said.

"You don't know it was him," Rita said. Jordan smiled at Rita with a knowing smirk. She knew that Rita had a crush on Noah Strong. "He just got a glimpse of someone around a dark corner. It wasn't Noah."

"Yeah, keep telling yourself that," Kyle said. "I know what I saw."

"Five minutes before that you thought it was a ghost."

"Hey," Kyle said. "I didn't imagine the door unlocking itself and letting us out, did I? It was Noah. I know it was."

Rita nodded and sighed. It was better to let Kyle believe what he wanted to believe instead of fighting with him all night. He was famous for babbling on and on about absolutely nothing.

The trio turned and left the parking lot of the dark tower and headed for home. Neither, Rita, Jordan nor Kyle noticed the man standing not an arms length from them. He had the ability to disappear into the shadows. His breathing was controlled and hardly audible even to himself. His mission at this point was an unknown variable. He was awaiting instruction on how to deal with the teenagers.

Kyle seemed to be a bit more focused on the danger which was odd since Kyle didn't have anything in common with focusing.

Steven Strong and his computer expert, Cosmo, were back at the Strong Compound watching Rita’s movements though security monitors that they had set up throughout the facility.

"Cosmo, get information on these kids for me. I want to know what they're doing here," The Mr. Strong was standing next to Cosmo. He also watched his son's movements through the security feed he had set up in their bedrooms and the main living quarters.

"Roger that," said Cosmo through the mini microphone cupped around Micah's ear.

"Micah, if they dare to return, you have to stop them anyway you can. You know that, right? Our objective is to protect the package at all costs," Micah's father, Steven Strong said.

Micah eyed Rita as she smiled at her friends and sped away in her convertible. He knew she did her best work alone. He'd learned all about her antics from his brothers, Matt and Noah.

"I understand, dad. You can count on me." Micah verbally agreed with his father, but he knew that if it came down to harming Rita and her friends, he just might not be able to do it.

Episode 3: The Disappearing Couch Mystery

Episode 3: The Disappering Couch Mystery

"Did you hear that?" Kyle Fillmore whispered. "It sounds like someone is following us."

"Don't be ridiculous. Who else but us would be here tonight? This place is abandoned," Rita said

"I don't know," Kyle said. "Maybe it's the same person who is haunting the tower!"

"I don't believe in ghosts," Rita said seriously.

"No, you wouldn't. Even if it came up and said 'Boo!' in your face."

"I believe there is an explaination for everything - a logical explaination not a woo-hoo explaination."

"You're seriously close to hurting my feelings," Kyle said, somewhat seriously. He did believe in ghosts even if she didn't. He also belived in gut instincts and vibes. And those instincts have saved him more than once in his young life.

Rita ignored his comment. She knew he'd get over it. He always did.

"What do you think is really going on in this house, Rita," Kyle asked. "I have a hard time believing you're buying into this whole 'ghost' theory."

Rita smirked, but Kyle couldn't see her amusement since he was walking behind her into the entrance of the dark tower.

"What makes you say that?"

"Oh, because you're you. And I don't think there are enough tests to prove the existance of a ghost to you.

Rita directed her flashlight around the first corner. The darkness seemed to envelop the length like a long black hole.

Kyle tapped Rita on the shoulder. "How long will it be until you solve this mystery? Because my parents are expecting me home for dinner."

As they inched down the hallway it quickly opened up into a large area that probably looked more like a living room than it realistically should.

"This is very odd," Rita whispered. "Mrs. Cresswell told me that nearly every piece of furniture had been scavanged over the years." She tapped a single finger to her lips. "If that was ture, why is this room still intact?"

Kyle snickered. "Maybe your ghost is really into interior design. Or maybe the ghost is luring you into its trap by inticing you with suede furniture and awesome light fixtures... Or maybe this place isn't as abandoned as the old lady thinks."

"Kyle!"

"What? Technically she is old and she is a lady."

Rita shook her head. "Although, you may be right about this place not being abandoned. She's shown me photos of the inside of the tower and it looked nothing like this."

Kyle began to sit on the appealing-looking couch and instead of reveling in its plush goodness, he ended up sprawled on the floor. The couch looked like it was there but really it was an illusion. He jumped up and stood away from the couch.

"It's not there," he yelled backing away. "The dang thing is not really there at all."

Rita, who hadn't seen Kyle's tumble, gave him a strange look. "What are you talking about?"

"The couch is not really there. See for yourself."

Rita leaned down to touch the arm of the elegant suede couch but when her hand failed to touch anything she lost her balance and stumbled forward until she found herself standing in the middle of a couch that was only being projected into the room.

"Whoa! Whoever's haunting this place is not quite as dead as Mrs. Cresswell expects," Rita said.

Suddenly, without warning, all the beautiful furnishings in the room disappeared. What was left behind was an empty room filled with grafetti on the walls and a grungy, delapated look to the space. Even the dank musty smell of the room began to fill their nostrils.

"We need to get out of here," Rita said. "I think someone's watching us."

"Finally, you're speaking my language."

Rita and Kyle ran back to the front door. They tried the handle but just like Kyle had discovered - there wasn't one.

"Oh, no! I forgot about that. We're trapped!"


****

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