HAUNTED BY THE PAST, PART TWO

Rachel awoke to the sound of the sea.

THE SEA?

She opened her eyes and found herself looking up at the canopy of a four-poster bed.

What on earth - ? Rachel tried to remember: she had been stuck in an elevator with Lila; then the elevator had gone back up to the penthouse; Matthew had taken Lila out, the doors had closed before Rachel could follow and then -

And then Rachel had been rendered unconscious (knock-out gas?) and brought here, wherever here was.

Rachel got out of bed, only then realising that she was wearing an old-fashioned nightgown, trimmed with lace, and looked around: dark wood furniture and white gauze drapes, both on the bed and on the French doors, which were slightly ajar.

Rachel stepped through them onto a balcony; it looked out onto an overgrown garden on the top of a cliff, high above a turquoise sea, sparkling in the sunlight.

"I guess I'm not in Kansas." Rachel murmured.

The bedroom had three doors; Rachel tried them in turn; one led to a sitting room, furnished in the same style as the bedroom, the second to a bathroom, and the third - the one that must open on the corridor - was locked. Rachel pounded on it.

"Open this door!"

****

"The Lumina security tape shows Rachel walkin' out of the elevator all by herself." said Joe.

"Then where is she?" Paulina demanded, "She wouldn't just disappear!"

"People do, every day of the year." Joe shrugged, "You know Rachel's been actin' kinda weird ever since Carl died. Maybe she decided to go away for a while."

"Without a word to anyone? Leaving behind all of her clothes and possessions? Abandoning her babies? For Heaven's sake, Joe, that can't be true! Something must have happened to her! She must have been kidnapped!"

"Then we should be gettin' a ransom demand soon." Joe shrugged.

****

The sound of a key turning in the lock sent Rachel running into the sitting room. A man wearing what she recognized as Regency-style clothes (right out of Jane Austen), his whole head concealed by a mask, stood holding a covered tray.

"I've brought you something to eat." he said in a sonorous voice, setting the tray down on a table and re-locking the door from the inside.

"If it's money you want, my family will pay any ransom." said Rachel.

"It's not money I want - it's you, Amalie."

"Amalie?" said Rachel, "You've got the wrong person. I'm Rachel - Rachel Cory Hutchins."

"Only in this life." the masked man replied, "When you and I lived and loved before, you were Amalie Kitteridge."

"And you were -?"

"Jordan Stark."

"Jordan -? The head honcho at the Lumina Foundation? The man who hosted that stupid party?"

"It was rather dreary." he admitted, "But then, consider how dull most of the guests were. Present company excepted. However, it served its purpose."

"Which was - what? You held that party so you could kidnap me?'

"That's such a harsh word." he replied, "I - transferred you to an environment more suitable for the return of your memories."

"Where am I?"

"You are home, Amalie. You must be hungry. Come and eat."

"What is it - gazpacho?" said Rachel.

"No - although if that's what you want, I can have it prepared for you."

"It's not." said Rachel, "I hate cold soup."

"Yes, one always has the suspicion that if it had been served more promptly, it would still have been hot. OH!"

"What's wrong?"

"I - have a headache. You must excuse me." He headed for the door.

"Wait!" cried Rachel. Too late! She heard the door being locked behind him.

****

"Joe, you've got to find Rachel!" Paulina cried.

"Paulina, between the tape recorded confession, and Cindy's testimony, I've got enough to nail Grant Harrison for settin' fire to Pop's house and nearly killin' you and Dante! That's more important than some rich dame who decided to take a powder!"

"Joe, how can you say that? Rachel didn't just leave - she was kidnapped!"

"Has anyone asked for ransom?"he said.

"Not yet!"

"Until they do, I'm treatin' Rachel as a missin' person."

"Will you at least search the Lumina Building? Maybe Rachel's still there!"

"I gotta go." said Joe, "Grant's havin' a bail hearin' today. I don't want him fleein' the country!"

"JOE!"

Left alone, Paulina grabbed the telephone.

"Jake! I need help!"

To be continued.