Divorced! Now what?
Chapter 77

Theo POV

Robson gave me time off, something I have rarely done since I started working at the hospital. We had no scheduled operations at the moment, and we were waiting to discharge the ones we already had. He would call me in if we had an emergency.

I could not face the penthouse alone, so I packed a bag and, for the first time, locked our door. Though Felicity is next door, I do not trust that any visitors she may have might venture over to ours and help themselves, and I didn't want anyone else sleeping in our bed. Bob had taken me in; he said we could console each other, thought he needed someone to bounce ideas off, and there were few people out there that either of us trusted enough to do that with. My Dad would be happy to, but Bob is trying to keep things on a need-to-know basis, and Dad really does not need to know the ins and outs at this point. Maybe when the shite hits the fan, then others will hear about all the shady stuff that has been going on.

I am not interested in the shady stuff. I just want my girl home, and I think that is our bond. We both want the same thing. He has lost his sports buddy, and I have lost everything. That is how it feels. I have this hollow emptiness. Bethany once filled that, and now it just feels heavy.

Bob showed me to my room. He said little; we did not need words; we were both lost in our thoughts and needed a little more time to process it all; you do not realize how much a person means to you until they are not there anymore. I want to let Bethany know how I feel and how much I care in a day. This girl came out of the blue, bumped into me in the elevator, and took my heart with her.

Neither of us slept last night; Bob was on the phone and his computer most of the night, and after Dad took me home to pack a bag and then to Bob's place, I zoned out, thinking about our good times. I am not an investigator, so I did not know where to begin looking for her, so I left that to the experts. By listening to and watching Bob at work, I have underestimated who he is, and he is the expert. What he has is far better than anything that Scott has, and that is saying something. Bob is more than a detective; much, much more. I know he is high enough to command a helicopter when he needs one, and you have to be pretty high to do that, but I still need to figure out how high. But does it really matter, as long as, at his level, he can get the information we need? That is all I care about at the moment.

'Theo, want coffee. Bob said as he stretched his arms over his head and yawned.

'Yeah, I will do it. I need something to do.' I made a coffee, found some cake, and took it out to Bob, who was on his phone again, but this time he had it on speaker. He did not mind me hearing what was being said.

'We were tracking the signal until we reached the underpass, and then the signal stopped. Could they have removed the necklace?' the male voice said over the phone.

'Which underpass?' Bob's television suddenly showed an area map, and a red dot flashed at the last place where the signal came from.

'Bob, there are tunnels in there that go for miles underground; I had a boy scout week in them, part of our orienteering week; if they had taken Bethany there, they could be headed in any direction.' I say, knowing that area well, having played there many times, and got in trouble for it.

'He is right, Bob; I did not think of that. Please give me a few minutes to find an old map. It has all the tunnels in it, some mining operations not mined in over one hundred years, but it is a good place to hide and have fun. If they have taken her there, I can only think of two places that are big enough to keep her! The voice on the phone goes quiet, and the television starts to flick through different maps. They are remotely connected to Bob's television. I had heard about this technology but had never witnessed it before. It was terrific, and if not for the fact they were hunting for my girl, I might have appreciated what I was watching a little more. I had no idea if the information was something on Bob's side of things or if it was coming from someone else's computer. I am no expert. Please give me a scalpel. I am more than content with anything else, even fixing my own car, and I am at a loss.

'This one. The flipping through maps stopped, and I immediately recognized the area and the tunnels, my playground as a child, and finally, something I could do and contribute to finding my girl. I had been feeling so helpless until now. I got up from my seat in the lounge and walked to the television screen.

'Here is a large cave; it is as big as this whole apartment and can hold her there; here and here are smaller ones, but I feel the bigger one is more likely because it has running water. I said and started to walk back to my seat. 'Stay there a moment, Theo. Bob said and stared at the screen a little longer.

'Danny, Theo pointed to three places. Bob gave the coordinates, and a red flashing light appeared at those places.

'Any other way into those tunnels?' Danny asked. You would only find them if you knew that they were there. The underpass is not a place anyone normally goes to. It is dangerous to walk through, as there is little space between the road and the walls. Most thought it was purpose-dug for the underpass, but it was really a tunnel for the mines that they converted to a place for traffic. It cuts an hour of a round trip from one city to the next.

'Nope, the only way in and out is through that tunnel in the underpass. Do you have eyes in there?' I asked, getting excited that my girl could be home soon and get the medical treatment she needed.

'Let me get into Main Road's computer system and check. Give me a moment. While this Danny guy logged into main roads, I again wondered who Bob really was, that he could log into all these classified places and peruse their systems. I dare not ask too many questions. I might be standing in front of one of the most powerful men in our state or country, and I would not know it.

'The footage is a bit grainy; it was mainly used for traffic flow, but you can see the SUV stop in the tunnel and some get out. Your girl must be in there. I have sped through the footage since the vehicle first stopped, and no one has come or gone. I have looped that camera into our computer system so we can monitor it until you give us the nod to go in. the voice sounded a little more optimistic, and I was starting to feel that way, too. We now have an idea where she is being held; now it is a matter of getting in there and finding where she might be without them harming her any further than she already is.

'Do you have a heat-seeking camera available? Fly over with your helicopter and see what we can find?' I suggested, not trying to hide the excitement in my voice.

'That is a great idea. Danny, get the chopper ready and take Harpy with you. He is the best with that sort of camera. See what you can find! Bob orders and that confirms to me that he is a powerful man and not one to mess with. Taking Bethany from him was a stupid thing to do. He won't stop till he has her back safe and sound and all the perpetrators caught, no matter who they are.

'On it, sir.' The television went blank, and I stood there staring at the black screen for a little longer.

'Hey, your coffee is getting cold,' Bob reminded me, breaking the spell I was under. I smiled at him and sat beside him, picking up a cake and taking a large bite, the first thing I had eaten since Bethany was taken.