Turn Back Time (The Full Circle Series Book 1) Read online

  “Can you imagine anything more beautiful than this?” Stella sighed. “I liked the story of how Victor and Annette met and how he carried her onto dry land. And it had a happy ending, too, for a change.”

  “Yeah, it was lovely. Oh…speaking of happy endings. Look at our honeymooners going for a late-night stroll under the full moon. How cute.”

  “Aren’t you even a little bit jealous of them?” Stella asked, watching Andrew and Sarah leave the hotel.

  “No. Andrew said they had to deal with many roadblocks before they got where they are now,” Naomi said and topped off their glasses. “I’d rather take the direct route, no detours, and no hoops to jump through.”

  “Wouldn’t we all?” Stella muttered.

  CHAPTER 21

  Stella—July 2018

  S

  tella wrapped a scrunchie around her hair then let the ponytail fall over her shoulder. On her way past a low table in the hotel’s lobby, a headline on the front page of a newspaper caught her eye. “Naomi. There’s Kai!”

  “Where?” Naomi craned her neck at the large urn where she was helping herself to a cup of coffee.

  “Here, in the paper. Ugh, it’s all in French. What’s Kai doing on the front page of Le Monde? Oh my God, he’s at the same place we saw on TV yesterday. What happened?” Stella’s voice rose.

  “If you’d give me a minute, I’d be able to read it and tell you,” Naomi held out a hand for the newspaper.

  But Stella had just spotted John, Michael, Karen, and Jenna sitting in an alcove of the lobby, concentrating on something on TV, and pulled Naomi along to join them.

  “Jeeesus, Stella, slow down.” Naomi freed herself from Stella’s iron grip. “Hi, guys, what’s going on?”

  “There’s something about the catacombs. Looks like a repeat of last night, though,” John said.

  “Oh good, it’s in English.” Stella was relieved—until she recognized one of the two men standing in front of a dark green, almost black, shack-like building.

  “This is Leo Wu, and I’m reporting from the catacombs of Paris, where an unknown man took three hostages two days ago. With me is Kai Olders.” Leo looked up at Kai, who was a head taller than the reporter. “Kai, you came face-to-face with the captor and the hostages. Tell us what you saw.”

  “Oh, no!” Stella grabbed Naomi’s arm again. “Did you hear him?”

  “Stella, for cryin’ out loud, I don’t wanna spill coffee on my white shorts,” Naomi hissed and set the coffee cup on the table next to her.

  “Leo, let me clarify. I didn’t come face-to-face with him. I only saw his back,” Kai replied.

  “We were told the tours have been suspended. What were you doing there? And isn’t it illegal to be in the catacombs after hours?” Leo prodded.

  “I guess it is, but I was also told it doesn’t bother the police too much. And it’s an open secret that there’s lots of business going on after the tunnels are closed. So anyway, this one guy from our group knew about a cave that was set up with tables, chairs, air mattresses and blankets. There were also snacks, beer and bottled water. Three of us decided to stay and have some fun.”

  “Why did you want to sleep in an underground tunnel full of bones and skulls?”

  “Such a chance doesn’t come up too often. I guess it’s the grown-up version of telling ghost stories at a sleepover,” Kai grinned.

  “When did you run into the kidnapper?”

  “We were on our way out of the tunnels around nine in the morning when we heard voices. It was strange, because, as you said, the tunnels are closed. At first we ignored the voices. But then we heard a crash, and someone screamed.”

  “What kind of crash?”

  “As if someone threw a coffee maker against the wall.”

  “A coffee maker?” Leo’s eyes narrowed to slits.

  “Listen, you asked what kind of crash. It sounded like someone dropped a small appliance, and glass shattered, okay?”

  “And what about the person who screamed? When was it?”

  “The scream came right after the crash. It was a woman’s voice. The guys and I just looked at each other and decided to check out what was going on. Now…the tunnels can be low and narrow, and at times you must be on your hands and knees to get through. And it’s like a labyrinth down there—one wrong turn, and you end up who knows where.” Kai stopped talking and raked his fingers through his hair.

  “After a few minutes, we came around a bend and the voices were much closer. I was in front. No idea how I got there because I’m not familiar with the tunnel system, but there I was, and my half-forgotten military training from almost twenty years ago kicked in. I got on my belly, slid to the corner to peek around, and saw a man holding a gun maybe ten to twelve meters away.”

  Leo asked, “How well could you see in those tunnels? Isn’t it dark?”

  “There are electric lights on the walls every few meters, and they’re bright enough to see where you’re going. Anyhow, this guy had his back to me and couldn’t see me. He yelled at two women and gestured farther down the tunnel. They refused to go, and when he reached for one of them, she stumbled and fell backwards. The other woman rushed to her and shouted at the guy, but I didn’t understand what she said. It was all in rapid French.”

  “Can you describe how the hostage-taker looked?”

  “He looked bulky, like someone who works out a lot, and he was wearing dark blue cargo pants, a wind jacket, and something like combat boots. Similar to tactical gear. He also wore a safety helmet with a light.”

  “Where was the third hostage?”

  Kai took a quick swig from a water bottle. “A man was sitting on the floor of the tunnel. His hands and feet were bound with duct tape and it looked as if there was blood trickling down the side of this face. I can only assume it was blood. It looked dark.”

  “What happened next? Why didn’t you try to help the people? It sounds as if they could’ve used it,” Leo said.

  “Listen, Leo,” Kai said, shoving his fingers through his hair again, making it stand up in a few spots. “True, there were three of us, but Bulky had a gun. And we might’ve been brave—or stupid—enough to stay overnight, but we hadn’t signed up for a gunfight. Plus, we didn’t know if he was alone or if there were more. We figured we’d be of more help if we alerted the authorities.”

  “How long were you there? How did you manage to leave without him noticing you?”

  “We couldn’t have been there more than a minute or two. You’d be surprised how much can happen in only a minute. I signaled the guys to retreat,” Kai demonstrated his hand signal while he talked, “When we backed away from the scene, the man on the floor must’ve sensed us and gave us a slight sideways jerk of his head. As if he was telling us to get the hell out of there. And the woman who yelled at Bulky made enough noise to cover any sounds we might make. We left the tunnels as fast as possible and went straight to the police. You know the rest.”

  “And you didn’t hear anything at all during the night or early in the morning?” Leo asked.

  “Man, I don’t know how much effort you put into the research of these tunnels, but there are hundreds of kilometers of tunnels, and hidden caves you can only access by crawling. The sewer pipes make noise, and the subway rattles above those tunnels. I can assure you, we took the fastest way out, and it still took us about forty-five minutes. Our nerves were kind of stretched thin by the time we saw daylight again.”

  “Were your friends able to contribute anything to help the police?” Leo asked.

  “They were behind me and couldn’t see anything, but they were able to confirm what we heard.”

  “Thank you, Kai,” Leo looked into the camera again, straightened his tie, and finished, “reporting from Paris, this is Leo Wu.”

  “Oh, my God, how terrible,” Jenna said. “I hope there’s a way to provide those poor people with food and fresh water. They must be freaking out.”

&n
bsp; Stella had paled while watching the recorded interview. She shook her head and looked at Naomi, who had been silent through the interview.

  “We should’ve tried to stop Kai,” Stella said, wringing her hands.

  “Nobody knew this was going to happen. And why should he have listened to us?” Naomi asked and reached for her coffee.

  “Wait, you know this man?” John asked.

  Naomi explained, “We stayed at the same hotel in Paris and had a drink together on Sunday afternoon. He told us he had a night tour of the catacombs planned.”

  Caroline joined them and said, “I watched the press conference last night, where a spokesperson from the organization in charge of maintaining the tunnels, the Inspection Générale des Carrières, verified the names of the two scientists, who entered the tunnels to take material samples and check the walls and ceilings for possible water damage which can impact the stability. They also confirmed their approval for a non-employee to accompany the women. His name and the purpose of his presence haven’t been shared.”

  “Why would they keep it a secret?” Karen asked.

  “It’s possible the authorities haven’t been able to reach his family yet,” Caroline said. “I can’t imagine they’d want his relatives to hear about it on the news first.”

  Suddenly, Stella and Naomi had a vague connection to the hostage situation. Granted, it was far-fetched, and they didn’t even know Kai well, but three days ago they had laughed with him. She was also amazed at how calm he appeared on TV. She wouldn’t have been able to say one coherent word, let alone rehash the whole story. And the reporter was a schmuck. Kai held his ground very well. Stella wished she could tell him so.

  Caroline said, “Did you all have breakfast yet? We need to get going if we want to make it to the Loire Valley in time to visit a few of the châteaux.”

  All six of them shook their heads.

  “Well, it’s eight o’clock now. Let’s get something to eat and meet at the bus in one hour. I’ll let François know we won’t leave at 8:30 as planned but at 9. Sounds good?”

  “Sounds good,” six voices answered, and everybody got up.

  Thirty minutes later, on the way back to their room, Stella asked Naomi, “How are you doing it?”

  “Doing what?”

  “You just polished off a hearty breakfast with all the doings, while I had to force myself to nibble on a croissant and a yogurt.”

  “You know I never lose my appetite. Would it change anything if I don’t eat?”

  “I guess not,” Stella admitted.

  Before they reached their room, her phone rang. “It’s Luca! What does he want?”

  “Pick up and find out. Put him on speaker!”

  Stella greeted her brother by saying, “Did Mom or Dad ask you to check on me? Making sure I’m staying out of trouble?”

  “Damn, Stella, it’s good to hear you,” his strained voice came through the cell phone. “Is Naomi with you?”

  “Yes, hi, Luca, I’m right here. You’re on speaker.”

  “Good. Where are you right now?”

  “Halfway down the hallway in our hotel,” Naomi answered. “Care to know the color of the carpet, too?”

  “Where in France are you?” Luca’s voice was tense.

  “Mont Saint-Michel, but we’re heading out within the next half hour,” Stella said. “We’re off to the Loire Valley today. I’m so excited, and...”

  “Girls, can you go somewhere where we can talk in private?” he interrupted.

  “Almost at our room, hold on.” Stella mouthed, What the heck? to Naomi. “What’s so urgent? Are Mom and Dad okay?”

  Before he could answer, her phone played another ringtone, followed by a text message.

  Please call me ASAP, D.

  She almost dropped the phone.

  “Are you kidding me?” Naomi looked over her shoulder. “What does he want now?”

  “Stella, Naomi, what’s going on?” Luca voice boomed. “Are you in your room?”

  “Just walked in,” Naomi said and closed the door with a firm push.

  Stella said at the same time, “David wants me to call him.”

  “Since when are you in touch with David again?” Luca asked. “No, don’t answer. It can wait. But back to why I’m calling. Did you know Revan is in Paris?”

  “I didn’t,” Stella said. “I thought he was somewhere in India.”

  “What? Since when?” Naomi asked.

  “He called to tell me something exciting had come up and he planned a stopover in Paris for a photo op.”

  “Oh, if it’s only a photo op, it means he’ll be home in a few days,” Stella looked into the distance, where Mont Saint-Michel basked in the bright morning sunshine, bracing itself for another day with thousands of tourists congesting its ancient streets.

  “Luca, what’s going on? You’re not just calling to tell us to meet with Rev for dinner, are you?” Naomi said in a tight voice.

  “I’m not quite sure what’s going on, but I wish it was as simple. His parents got a call from the Bureau of Consular Affairs. They were told he’s being held captive in some underground mine together with two other people.”

  Naomi shrieked and grabbed Stella’s arm. They looked at each other, not able to say a word.

  “They announced the women’s names on TV, but nobody mentioned the man’s identity. Are you sure it’s Revan?” Stella said, finding her voice again. “Wouldn’t it be a huge coincidence if it was him?”

  “There’s no doubt it’s him. His name hasn’t been released because the American Embassy had to get involved first. The women’s names could be made public because they’re employees of the inspectorate, and French citizens. Rev is an American citizen and is there as a visitor.”

  “How are his parents holding up?” Naomi asked. She was as white as the wall.

  “Alicia’s freaking out, and Robert is trying to hold it together for her sake. I thought of taking the first flight to Paris today, but I wouldn’t get there until tomorrow. And I don’t know how much I’d be able to do. Instead, I drove to Philadelphia this morning to be with Rev’s parents. They haven’t even told Dinah yet. She’s away at a summer camp this week, but they’re bringing her home this evening.”

  “We’re going back to Paris,” Naomi said resolutely. “Right now.”

  “Yes, we have to be there,” Stella agreed. “Like you said, Luca, there may not much we can do, but at least we’d know we’re close enough to help him.”

  “I don’t think it’s necessary for you to cut your trip short. I just wanted you to know what’s going on. Weren’t you supposed to be back by tomorrow evening anyway? Hopefully, Rev and the women will be free by then.”

  “There’s no way I’m strolling around fucking wannabe castles and watching lovey-dovey couples for the next day and a half, while knowing Rev is rotting in a stinking cave with some gun-toting lunatic. He could be dead for all we know. Kai said he was bleeding,” Naomi said fiercely as she marched toward the door. “I’ll go find Caroline and drop us out of this carriage ride through the French countryside.”

  “Kai who?” Luca asked.

  “Someone we met in Paris. He’s the guy who alerted the police. Look up the news footage,” Naomi called out.

  “You can bet I’ll check it out,” Luca said, “Okay, if you’re serious about returning to Paris, I’m sure Alicia and Robert will appreciate it. Stella, call me when you get there. Do you need help arranging for a hotel?”

  “No, I’ll call the hotel where we already have reservations and see if they can accommodate us earlier,” Naomi yelled from the door before stepping into the hallway. “Bye, Luca. Stella, meet me downstairs.”

  “Let me know if there’s anything I can do from here,” Luca said. “Keep in touch!”

  “Will do—and give our best to Alicia and Robert,” Stella said. “Love you!”

  “Love you back! Be careful!” Luca said.


  CHAPTER 22

  Stella—July 2018

  M

  ost members of the tour group were still in the restaurant when Naomi and Stella rushed in and repeated the phone conversation. Naomi finished by saying, “I’m sorry to do this, but we have to cut our trip short. We need to be in Paris as soon as possible.”

  “I think I’m speaking for all of us when I tell you we’re sorry you’re leaving us, but we understand. You need to do what your gut tells you.”

  “Thank you, Caroline. Thank you, everybody. Now, what’s the fastest way for us to get there?” Naomi asked. “I guess I could look it up online, but I haven’t had time yet.”

  “Let me check a few things. There are plenty of bus and train connections from here to Paris. It’s a popular day-trip location.” Caroline pulled out her tablet and started typing.

  “We apologize for causing all this trouble and holding everybody up,” Stella said. “You’re on a schedule, so please don’t let us keep you. Naomi and I can figure it out ourselves, or we’ll ask the reception desk for help.”

  “Nonsense!” John said.

  “Stop it!” Michael said.

  “We don’t want to hear about it,” Andrew said.

  “Okay, guys, thank you!” Stella was grateful for the support.

  “Here’s what will work best for you, I think.” Caroline put her tablet on the table. “There is a high-speed train going between Rennes and Gare Montparnasse in Paris several times a day. It takes less than two and a half hours. Rennes is on our way to Angers, where we’re visiting our first château. We’ll drop you two off at the train station and continue on.”

  “Works for me,” François said. “And I know where the train station is in Rennes. It’s just a small detour. No problem!”

  “I’ve only heard the last part, about Naomi and Stella taking a train to Paris, but I’m going with them,” Julia said from the doorway. She stood there with her suitcase, her body rigid. Her purse was clutched under her arm as if it might try to escape.