False Finder (11 page)

“That wasn’t so hard was it?” she said sarcastically.

Kirby stared at her in contempt once more, reminding her of Rogan. His attitude had been repellent every time he had come across Cora, so it came as no shock to her. However, what she didn’t understand was why all the hatred that oozed out of him was directed towards her. He wasn’t the first person to have a passionate dislike of her so shrugging it off, she ignored his demeanour and pressed on before he could say anything back.

“So what’s the plan? I can’t use the front door and I’ve just checked all the rooms, except the one next to this. Can you even get me out?” This time it was Cora’s turn eye Kirby suspiciously. He didn’t seem like the type to openly disobey Rogan’s orders, but then again, he had burst into the office with not a care in the world.

“Of course you won’t have found any. They’re not meant to be found by those who don’t know where they are. That’s why they are called emergency exits. The only emergency you’re going to get here is either a fire or a raid, the second of which is more likely to require secret exits.”

It didn’t fail to escape Cora’s notice that he avoided her question as he spoke.

“Can you get me out or not?” she said impatiently.

“Of course I can.”

Cora waited for him to elaborate on how he was going to succeed at allowing her to escape but he said nothing else.

“Care to share your plan?” Her tone was curt, showing off her annoyance as she placed her hands on her hips, her feet shoulder width apart.

“There are four ‘secret’ exits from this floor. Dad’s ‘Priest holes’ as he calls them are there in case we ever needed to get out quickly and leave no trace of it. He made them blend in to give us time to get away. Like anyone would be stupid enough to attack here though,” he stated while grinning cockily, seemingly enjoying that side of his father. “What he doesn’t know is that they’re also great for sneaking out without him knowing. He placed one in every bedroom.”

He seemed to be going off on a tangent, and Cora wanted direct information that was concise.

“Get to the point. Where’s the one in my room?”

Much to Cora’s surprise, Kirby shrugged, his lips stretching into a straight line.

“How would I know? I’ve never slept in there.”

His games were starting to irritate Cora and she was really starting to consider punching him in the face. He may have been older and slightly bigger but unlike everyone else in the Carvelli household, Kirby was a little on the chubby side rather than having a toned, athletic build. Cora thought she would be able to take him but it probably wasn’t the wisest decision if he was the only one who could help her.

“Kirby…” Cora’s voice was low and tense but he remained unfazed. “Tell me how you are going to get me out.”

A cruel smile swept across his face. Kirby knew he was getting to her and he loved it. Just because he wanted her gone, it didn’t mean he couldn’t have a little fun at her expense first.

“Just tell me, Kirby! I don’t have the time!”

“Well, I thought that you could come here and I’ll let you out my door.”

Cora wanted to bury her face in her palms and groan at his response but she refrained.

“And how am I meant to get past the two brick walls that guard my door? I may be cocky around Rogan but I know my limits. I would not get past those two.”

“Oh right…” Kirby’s hand raised to hold his chin as he thought.

“What about if I come to your room? I have a vague idea of where the escape route might be as I’ve seen what all the others look like but you’ll have to help me look for it. The men shouldn’t question me.” He didn’t speak with much confidence as he said the last sentence but that was all he could come up with.

Cora knew she had to be back in her room before someone checked on her. She was surprised she had remained undetected for so long, so agreeing she turned to leave.

“This doesn’t mean I like you Cora…just so you know,” Kirby called out behind her.

Cora turned her head, looking back over one of her shoulders and giving him a devilish smile. “Right back at you. I also owe you nothing for this. You’re getting what you want and I’m never indebted to anyone.”

Before he could respond she opened the door and after checking the hallway was clear, she made her way back to her luxury prison cell.

Chapter 11

The first thing Cora had done when she made it back—besides breathe a sigh of relief—was start to look for the exit Kirby had mentioned. However, she didn’t know where to begin searching or what she was actually looking for. Her mind flicked to the few books she had read before she gave up on reading and she considered whether there could be some sort of secret lever. Then she wondered whether it was just hidden behind an object in the room, but there was no way she could move the furniture on her own.

All in all, she didn’t know where to begin and after turning the parts of the room she could get to upside down, she still came up empty-handed. Deciding to give up, waiting for Kirby appeared to be the best option. She didn’t know what was beyond the door, where it would come out and what would be at the other end.

Walking backwards and forwards frantically, Cora kept her eyes on the clock. She hoped time would pass quickly but, of course, it didn’t.

* * *

When Kirby finally knocked on her door, it was not only dark outside but Cora had collapsed on her bed in boredom. If she had paced up and down the length of the room anymore, she would have worn away the carpet. She was nervous, tense, and anxious to get a move on. The longer she stayed the more she felt trapped, and it was not a feeling that Cora was accustomed to…she hated it.

As the time passed by she felt as if the walls were closing in on her. The guards had poked their heads around the door to check on her when they had returned but other than the maid, who brought her up some food, she had no human contact. It wasn’t that she missed it but without her belongings, Cora had little to keep her from fidgeting and glancing at the time every second.

At one point she had started playing darts against one of Rogan’s paintings with her cutlery. Well technically it could be classed more as practising her knife throwing technique, but that was an insignificant detail. What was important was that it kept her entertained for at least an hour. The satisfying thud as the knives wedged themselves into the wooden door to bathroom she had hung it off and slight rip of canvas made her smile.

She didn’t care what Rogan thought when he saw it. The painting was a boring landscape and Cora would be long gone by the time he found out. She smiled to herself at the mental image. However, even that couldn’t hold her attention for long and she resumed meditating on her bed.

It was about an hour later she heard voices outside her door. Kirby hadn’t actually specified a time, so she couldn’t be mad. Of course she was frustrated and that meant she was going to show it, but she restrained the full-blown outburst that she wanted to exercise because strictly speaking, he wasn’t late.

At least he actually showed up
, she thought, reminding herself that he didn’t have to help her. Not that she really understood his motives in the first place.

“My dad’s asked me to check on her,” Kirby said to the men outside Cora’s room, trying to sound as strong and confident as possible. Lying and giving orders was not one of his strengths. It was one of the reasons Rogan doubted him, and at that moment in time he was proving him right.

“No one goes in or out,” one of the guards replied without looking at Rogan’s son. Instead his gaze remained fixed on the section of wall that was just above Kirby’s head, refusing to look at him.

“I’m not anyone, and my dad has asked me to check on her,” Kirby said again, his eyes moving everywhere to avoid looking at the men in front of him. Built to intimidate people, their size was doing an effective job with Kirby who lacked everything in the muscle department.

“Go radio Rogan and ask if the kid’s telling the truth,” the man said, addressing his colleague.

At his words, Kirby’s heart started to pound, knowing that Rogan would confirm their suspicions. What he didn’t realise though, was that Cora had been listening from the other side of the door since he arrived.

Hearing what was about to happen, Cora swung the door open, leaning on it as she stood in the middle of the entrance. Her plan seemed to have worked as the man that had started to walk off spun around quickly. Moving back to his post both men faced her with irritated faces—not that they had much effect on Cora.

“Is there someone here to see me?” she asked, her voice full of fake enthusiasm while smiling sweetly.

“No, go back inside and shut the door.” The guard gave a curt response and she saw the muscles in his arm tense as if he expected her to make a run for it.

Instead, she peered to the left, arching her eyebrow and pointing at Kirby.

“Who’s that then?” she asked innocently.

“No one,” he replied quickly and Cora sighed at Kirby’s lack of speech. Clearly she was going to have to do it all herself.

“Really? You’re calling Rogan—your boss’s son—a no one? I’m quite sure that wouldn’t go down too well with the big man downstairs,” she questioned, her tone confident.

It was another thing she had picked up while on the run from Rogan: it didn’t matter what you were saying, as long as you said it with confidence, authority and stuck to your story people would tend to believe you eventually.

“I’m sure he would say the same thing,” one of the men said in a bored tone like it was a common thought among everyone.

At that, Cora noticed Kirby tense, an angry red glow appearing on his face. It was like she could see his blood was boiling. The men still did not move though.

“I think you’re missing my point. Kirby is Rogan’s son, therefore, that means he outranks you and you have to do as he
orders
.” Cora emphasised the word while looking deliberately at Kirby, hoping he got her implied message. “You should not have to check up on him and I’m sure Rogan would not be pleased to find you treating him this way as disobeying Kirby’s orders is like disobeying Rogan. You know what happens to people who disobey Rogan, don’t you?” Cora was aware she sounded like Dolores Umbridge from Harry Potter but at that moment she didn’t care.

The men in front of her were not hired for their brains and as they considered what she said, she noticed them glancing at each other. She saw it from the corner of her eye though as most of her attention was fixated on Kirby, trying to communicate with him to speak up.

“She’s right. If you disobey me, you’re disobeying my father and he doesn’t take well to people ignoring him. If you don’t let me pass, then I will report your incompetence,” Kirby said. It wasn’t the perfect command and it wasn’t as confident as it could have been but it was enough.

The men had worried expressions on their faces and slowly they took a step to the left, leaving room for Kirby to enter.

When he had moved to the centre of the room and Cora had shut the door on the guards she broke her silence. “What the hell was that?” she questioned vehemently in a low voice, not wanting to draw the guard’s attention. Kirby just shrugged.

“You had better be taking this seriously! It’s my life on the line, not yours, and that little stunt out there nearly cost me my chance to leave. I might add that is also what you want.” Cora paced past him, turning to glare at him as she finished.

“That ‘little stunt’ as you called it was not a stunt. I’m not good at giving orders. Why do you think I don’t get on with my dad? And not that you’d care, or that it’s any of your business, but it is my life on the line too.” His voice had dropped from shouting to a sinister murmur as he approached Cora. His eyes had a deadly glint in them and he stopped, not even a foot away from her.

“If you stay, my life is over. If you go, I may get reprimanded but that is nothing compared to what will happen if you’re still around. You think you’re the only one who has something to lose? You couldn’t be further from the truth. This isn’t just about you.”

“Thought you had a problem being direct?” Cora sneered, manoeuvring herself so that he was no longer trespassing in her personal space. She didn’t want to consider what he had meant but she could see his face fall as the slight rush of anger left him with her comment.

“I’m no good when challenged. I’m not strong enough. There’s something about you though. You frustrate me.” He collapsed on the corner of her bed, looking at the floor.

“Oh don’t be self-deprecating, you’re just lazy. You are quite capable of challenging someone, you just did it to me. Now get off your ass and help me. I doubt those two out there will give us long.” Cora was irritated by his instant mood shifts and lack of consistency. All of his words rang true so she knew what he was saying wasn’t some ploy to make her believe him. What she couldn’t figure out was what he had to lose.

“Why is your life in danger?” she asked as he got up and headed towards one of the corners she had searched earlier in the day.

“My life isn’t in danger. I said if you stay my life is over—there’s a difference.”

Cora didn’t understand, to her they were the same thing.
If your life was over, aren’t you dead?

“Fine then why is your life over and why does it have anything to do with me?” she said mockingly as she repeated his wording.

“Doesn’t matter. What matters is getting you out, so help me with this.” He was rummaging through a book case as he spoke but she didn’t know what he was expecting to find.

“I looked everywhere already. I don’t know what else I can do.”

“Where were you looking? I’m guessing all the obvious places: back of the wardrobe, under the bed? That kind of thing?” He turned to face her for a second.

“What and behind the books isn’t obvious? There’s no way it’s going to be there. The person escaping wouldn’t have time to tidy up fifty or sixty books behind them.”

Kirby shrugged. “It doesn’t hurt to check every option. The routes are never where you expect them to be. All of the others have panels covering them so that they blend in.”

“Right. So where are the other ones located usually and where do they come out?” Cora asked, trying to narrow down their search as she could see Kirby was going about the task in the wrong way.

“All of them lead into one tunnel underground. There’re hollow sections in the walls of each room with enough space for someone to fit in and climb down. The tunnel comes out a few hundred metres from the outhouse where Dad’s men stay in an old shed—those who aren’t trusted enough to be in the house but are high ranking, that is.”

Cora wanted to strangle him at that moment. He was missing the vital clues from what he had just said and it infuriated her. If it was true there was only one wall strong and thick enough to have a hollowed out section.

Grabbing Kirby around the arm, she twisted it up and pulled him to his feet, dragging him over to the wall that overlooked the front driveway.

“What’d you do that for?” Kirby cried, his brow furrowing as he reached up, rubbing the part of his arm she had grabbed to relieve some of the ache.

“Because you’re being thick. Those three walls,” Cora pointed to the walls either side of them and the one behind, “Are not strong enough to support a chamber. They’re also not thick enough. So it only leaves this wall. Am I right? Are all the other routes leading off an outside wall?”

Her words felt more like an accusation as Kirby took in what she was saying. He stood in silence, just considering what she said as he tried to place each exit in the room.

“Oh yeah. Mum and Dad’s is in the left corner of the house, mine is on the right so it only makes sense for the rooms in the middle to have an escape route on this wall,” he exclaimed as the realisation hit. “I’ve never thought about that before.”

“Well consider it later when I’m gone. We don’t have the time now. Get moving,” Cora snapped, irritated by his simple-mindedness.

Shaking her head, she started moving towards the corner on her right while she ordered Kirby into the left one.

“We’ll work our way to the middle so as not to miss anything.”

Kirby nodded in understanding and started to push the dressing table back from the wall. His feet struggled to get a grip on the carpet and with his weak arms the wooden table hardly moved.

Rolling her eyes, Cora stopped what she was doing and walked over to help him. Together they both pulled it back from the wall but all it revealed was a solid wall.

“You think you can manage on your own now?” she asked patronizingly as they moved the item back into place, careful to line up the legs with the slight indentations in the carpet once more.

“Of course,” Kirby replied curtly and Cora tried and failed to hide a smile at his embarrassment.

Moving back over to her corner, Cora stared at the wall, looking at all the possible places a panel could be hidden. Unlike Kirby’s section, hers was mostly bare. Except for a large painting and an ornate, gold mirror there was nothing covering the wall.

It can’t be behind a one of those, can it?
she thought, and as she considered it she moved to look out the window. She could remember there were parts of the house that were significantly separate from the rest of the building and they happened to be on either side of her balcony. Originally she had thought it was just to enclose the balcony and create a private setting. Now she wondered if there was another purpose.