The Kidnapping King

THE INQUISITION

BILL FLANAGAN'S ANCESTRAL HOME - DUBLIN, IRELAND - PRESENT DAY 

 The crowd hushed as Clara Mac Paidin was roughly escorted to the front of the ballroom, where a hard wooden chair awaited her.

The man shoved her into it then turned to face Ardal Flanagan. Bowing briefly, he stepped around the older gentleman and joined the rest of the onlookers.

"What have ye to say fer yerself, young lady?" Ardal gazed at Clara in silence.

"It was all Inez. The whole scheme was her idea." Clara spoke under her breath. She lifted both cuffed hands together and pushed a wisp of pumpkin-colored hair out of her mascara-smudged eyes, then wiped her nose on a shirt-sleeve, before looking up into Mr. Flanagan's wrinkled face.

"I've known you and yer sister since ye were wee little girls" Ardal began, "and you've always been prone to mischief...both of ye." He stood over her, hands perched high on his hips. "And I'll grant ye, t'was nearly always Inez who was the instigator, but yer a grown woman now, Clara Mac Paidin. And ye will be held accountable fer yer part in these crimes." His voice boomed on the last two words and he turned to face the others in the room.

Clara's head shot up in response and for the first time she was met by hundreds of accusing eyes staring back at her. She blinked rapidly, bowing her head once again.

"These are yer kin we are talking about!" Ardal continued. "How could ye do such things to yer own family?" He turned to her again and bent over, grabbing her by the shoulders.

Clara raised her head, closing her eyes, then opened them slowly and deliberately. She straightened her back and sat up a little taller in the chair. She stared at Ardal Flanagan with a gaze hard and cold as steel.

"I said it was Inez who planned everything. I am not responsible for her actions." She hissed the words between clenched teeth.

"No, but you will answer for your part..." Bill Flanagan strode assertively through the crowd, people stepping aside to let him pass. "Or do you forget I was there the other night when you, your sister, and Ethan materialized in the upper room at Mac Paidin Manor?" He came to a stop next to his father and waited for Clara to respond.

"I do not forget," Clara turned to look at Bill, "and as you are aware, I made the same claim then that I make here, now. It was Inez who plotted and planned..." she took a deep breath, "and I told you then that I would help you...that I could be a valuable ally. So, why have I been mistreated?" She glared at him. "I told you that I was willing to put myself at risk and that I requested PROTECTION from you people!" She shrieked. "And this is how you treat me?"

"This is not about YOU!" Bart shouted, stepping away from the butler and pushing his way forward. His cheeks were bright red and his eyes were bulging.

"This is about JACK! And I want to know where he is!" He stopped next to his dad. Bart's breathing was heavy and his actions animated. He threw both hands into the air, then shoved one of them through his bangs, shifting back and forth from one foot to the other. "We KNOW you two plotted to kill his parents and even his Grandpa Edward!" He blared. "You deserve to rot in HELL!"

Bill placed a hand on Bart's shoulder and Bart shook it off, roughly.

"No, I'm freaking angry! And I want to know where Jack is!" He looked up at his father then back to the woman seated before him. "Where is he? You better tell me RIGHT NOW!"

Loud chatter broke out across the room.

Clara squinted her eyes at Bart and tilted her head to the side.

"What do you mean, you want to know where he is? Last time I saw him he was with you." She shot back at the boy. "I've been a little...tied up...since then." She glanced down to her handcuffs and raised her fists off her lap.

"Maybe so," Bart shot back, "but you know she took him, and you know where she is, don't try to deny it."

Clara stared at him for a long moment then turned to Bill.

"Does somebody want to fill me in here?" She shook her head and jutted her chin out at him.

Bart stared at her, his eyes wide as saucers. Then he turned to look up at his dad.

Bill rolled his eyes and exhaled a heavy sigh as he looked down at her. "Jack and Ethan are missing," He began. "They disappeared last night. Their beds were undisturbed, clothes strewn all over their rooms. And..." he paused, bowing his head toward Clara, a somber look in his eyes, "Jack's inhaler and cell phone were left behind. It's clear they've been abducted."

Clara slowly nodded her head in acknowledgement. A wry smile was playing at the corners of her mouth and her left eyebrow raised up on her forehead.

"So, her plan is playing out as she intended, after all."