Titan: The Dark Path

Exposure

Nancy saw her across the hotel lobby. No one else was around except for a front desk attendant smiling cheerily at no one in particular. Rose sat on a chaise lounge chair with her legs pulled to her chest and her laptop beside her untouched. She stared ahead, her mind working.

"Rose," Nancy said.

She snapped out of whatever trance she was in and looked up. "Oh, God, Mrs. Steele?"

"Can we talk?" Nancy asked.

"Yeah, of course," Rose said. "It's 2:30 in the morning. How'd you know I'd be down here?"

"I didn't," Nancy said. "I was going to come to your room."

Nancy remained standing as they stared at one another for a moment. Then Rose glanced around. "You want to sit?"

"I need a smoke," Nancy said as she pulled a pack from her bag.

"Um. Okay..." Rose followed Nancy outside. Nancy stopped outside the door and lit up. Rose hovered off to the side. "You know I was just in the hospital for smoke inhalation, right?"

"I'll blow it this way," Nancy said. She took a drag, held it in her lungs, and let it go in a wisp of white smoke. "You have to tell me what happened."

Rose hesitated. "What do you mean?"

"The other night. What did he make you do?"

"You don't know?"

"I wouldn't be here if I did," Nancy said. "I saw the news and he told me his version, but I want to hear it from you."

"He told me we had to find those girls and he needed me to go to the party," Rose said. "If I did, he'd tell me where Eric was."

"We saw something on the news a few days back in St. Louis, but nothing since... did he tell you that?"

"I haven't heard from him since that night," Rose said. "Those things almost killed us. They would have if he hadn't shown up..."

Nancy blew more smoke to the side and handed Rose a slip of paper. "If he calls you again, call me first. Now before you tell me what he made you do, I need a favor."

"How are you and Maggie feeling, Ted?" Tim asked. It was late. The newsroom was quiet and only a few tired, groggy souls were around.

Drew's dad, Ted Goodson, was a slight man, unshaven, and hunched. He leaned on his elbow on his desk and didn't look at Tim. "We're getting by."

"Anything I can do for you?"

"The only thing I want, you can't do," Ted said. "But what can I do for you?"

Tim sat down at the empty desk in front of Ted's. "That frat, ZUS... what have the police found?"

"The kidnappers?" Ted said. "Why are you asking?"

"I'm a concerned citizen."

"Okay... They're keeping it close to the vest. They found the girls in the basement. Some sources are telling me there was some kind of ritualistic shit."

"Maybe I can help you here," Tim said.

"What do you mean?"

"I have a friend who was there. You'd call him a source, I guess. Those girls were not in the basement; they were in a chamber off a tunnel leading from the basement. But the ritual thing is about right."