Page 38 of Traces of Kara

Ted waited until Jackson said his goodbyes to Nancy. “Want to run out and get dinner when Mimi comes back?” Ted asked.

“No I can’t leave the plant. Thanks, though.”

“Then why don’t I run down to Tony’s Pizza and pick us all up a few subs? No sense just sitting here waiting for Mimi. We’ll take off as soon as I get back,” Ted offered.

“You really don’t have to do that.”

Ted stood, slipping his arm into his jacket. “Nonsense. You’re here until what, seven a.m.? I might as well.” He opened the office door. “Turkey? Italian?”

“Meatball. Thanks, Ted.”

“No problem. Just tell Mimi I’ll be back in twenty, and to be ready to go looking for Kara. Maybe we’ll go check the outlet mall. Kara isn’t a big shopper, but I’m not sure where else to look, and that’s one place she could get to by bus.” Ted turned to leave. “Let me out of the gate?”

“Sure. I’ll check on Mimi if she’s not back soon.” They headed for the stairs. “That reminds me. When you get back, call my cell so I can open the gate. I can’t promise it’ll work right away, but with the phone lines down, you can’t dial in on the plant’s main number. And the damn cameras are on the fritz again.”

Jackson’s footsteps echoed throughout the first floor. “Mimi?” he called. He walked down the hallway and to the ladies’ room, the ever-present rumble of the plant beneath his feet. He stood outside the bathroom door, wondering what the proper etiquette was. He knocked. “Mimi?”

There was no answer. He opened the door a crack, looking down a row of lockers. “Mimi?”

Silence.

Jackson stepped inside. “Mimi? It’s Jackson. Ted went to get dinner, but I was worried about you.” The room was silent. Jackson drew his eyebrows together. He left the bathroom, calling out for her in the hallway.

He went back to the first floor and looked up to the second and third floors, calling out once again. “Mimi?”

Jackson turned around, the heart of the plant was lit up like a Christmas tree behind him. He headed for the office to see if Mimi had returned.

Just as he reached for the office doorknob, the lights went out, and the hum of the plant slowed to a stop. The silence was deafening.

A total shutdown. Great.

Jackson had worked at the plant for the past thirty years. He’d been hired just after the new building was built, and the old generators and equipment had already been replaced. He’d seen his share of total shutdowns. He knew the drill.

He stepped into the office and grabbed the enormous flashlight he kept under the desk, catching a glance of the blueprints as he turned around. His gaze fell to the line where the set of plans from the old plant met the new. Along that seam, or the fault line, as it had become known, were the faulty generators. Beneath his feet, the floor rumbled. The backup generators came to life, casting an eerie, insufficient light inside the plant.

Chapter Thirty-Three

Kara and Mimi huddled together in the darkness of the familiar back room. Kara rubbed her eyes. The memory of her botched escape came back into focus. Roland had captured both her and her mother. Her mother had come to rescue her, and she’d ended up in hell with Kara instead.

“Mom? My eyes are blurry,” Kara said, just above a whisper.

Roland paced in his blood and sweat streaked clothes.

“You bastard. What did you do to her?” Mimi spat.

Roland ignored her.

“I’m sorry, Mom,” Kara cried.

“Shh, honey. This isn’t your fault.” She eyed Roland. “We have to get out of here. What did he do to you?” Mimi whispered.

“I don’t know,” Kara whispered. “He made me drink something.” Kara watched Mimi’s eyes slip over the shards of metal and glass, paper plates, and pieces of cake that were strewn about; they came to rest on an open bottle of antifreeze against the wall.

Mimi gasped. She grabbed hold of Kara’s hand and squeezed it tight. “Roland, what have you done?” she asked.

Roland followed her gaze, then said, matter-of-factly, “Getting back the sister who was taken away.”

Mimi turned angry eyes on him.