Jack dragged Conrad across the barn floor to the open door of the pit and pushed him in. He heard Conrad hit the cement floor. There was silence. He listened for a minute, heard no sound, and closed the trap door, slipping the locking rod into the hasp. He found Kathy and Shadow watching over a glowering woman. Jack said, “God, she is ugly. Must be a witch. Her husband wants her. Bring her along.” Kathy lifted her by her hair and said, “Walk bitch. Don’t make a wrong move or you and our bear will have another session.”

Inside the barn Jack asked her what she wanted to tell them.

She responded, “My husband’s friends will kill you.”

“That’s almost exactly what he said. We’re running out of time. Anything else?”

“I want to see Conrad.”

“Good. We can do that. Bring her along.”

Jack opened the pit trap door slowly and said, “Conrad, your wife wants to see you.”

He heard some groaning and cursing and said, “Good. You too. I’ll send her right down.”

The trapdoor was fully open and Jack motioned to Kathy who dragged the woman over to the pit and said, “Climb down or fly down. It makes no difference to me.” She took one look at Kathy and started down the ladder, screaming obscenities. When her head was below the barn floor, Jack closed the door. With the trap door closed no sounds came from the pit. Kathy started to lock the door but Jack stopped her and said, “What happened here is that the two of them went down into the pit with the door pushed back leaning against the stack of heavy hay bales. The stack of bales tipped over and smashed the door closed. The door with its steel plate is heavy enough to lift from the ladder. With hay bales on top, they just couldn’t get out. Are you okay with that?”

“She mistreated Kelly and kept her in that pit to sell her into the modern slave market. I doubt there is any evidence admissible in court that would get them convicted to do serious time. An arrest would also tip off Marshall and the cop in Baltimore so they could get away clean and rich. Justice can be hard. Let’s clean up any evidence we were here, search the house and get out of here with Lou and his team.”

“Let’s go. Dawn is coming soon.”

They entered by the open back door and began a quick search. Shadow ran all through the house and came back to Jack who was just opening the door to go to the cellar. He told Shadow to stay with Kathy, knowing that Shadow would protect her while she concentrated on searching. Kathy was the expert in searching a place for hidden compartments or rooms. She knew Conrad must have kept some records and went immediately to a banged up desk overflowing with stacks of outdoor magazines and paper. Believing the stuff she wanted would not be out in the open, she checked for a locked drawer. The bottom right drawer was locked. Rather than search for a key, she picked the lock in less than 30 seconds. There was a loaded .38 chromed Smith and Wesson Revolver, a box of ammunition, and a stack of files containing names of girls, records of payments, and business contacts. A quick check of the rest of the drawers revealed nothing of interest. She was collecting the files when Jack called for her to come down to the cellar. Leaving the pile of files near the back door she and Shadow went down the steep stairs.

Down in the musty cellar strewn with generations of cobwebs, Jack put his finger to his lips. She stopped and was about to say “what” when she heard a faint sound. Moving over to Jack’s side. He whispered, “I think someone is down here. I’m sure I heard a faint human voice.”

“Those inhuman bastards could be keeping another girl locked up down here,” Kathy said quietly, scowling.

Jack released Shadow and he ran immediately over to cluttered shelves covering part of the cellar wall.

“This is not a big house. I don’t think the cellar goes beyond the lines of the house. We should be able to find a place big enough to hold a person captive,” Kathy said, “Two of the walls are lined with sections of shelves. One of them must be covering an entrance to a hidden room,” Kathy said, pointing.

“Look at Shadow. He’s sitting in the dark by a section of those shelves. He’s already found the hidden area,” Jack whispered.

Moving to the shelf-covered wall, Kathy heard a very faint voice. She called Jack and said, “Shadow is right. I heard a voice.”

Jack joined her and they began struggling to move a section of shelves. Jack looked down at the floor and said, “Look at those marks on the floor. They form part of an arc. That section right in front of us must move.”

“We tried to move it already.”

“Yes, but the section must be locked in some way. The marks indicate it must swing from here on some kind of a pivot.”

Sweeping the shelves clear of paint cans and the hubris of generations, Jack found a six-inch lever on a middle shelf. When he pulled it down the section released from the wall and was easy to move. Kathy moved up with her gun drawn and her red light filtered flashlight. Jack swung the door open and Kathy shone her light inside the small cell like room. A screaming shape lunged out of the darkness. Kathy threw her SOCOM forward. Jack knocked her weapon aside and yelled, “No!”

The shape fell to the floor. Jack pinned it down. Shadow leaned in close and licked the writhing shape. Kathy watched Shadow and put her weapon away. The beam of her light showed a thin naked woman covered with bruises and abrasions clutching a tattered, smelly robe. Her long blond hair was tangled and the woman smelled like she hadn’t had a bath in weeks. Each rib was prominently displayed, her shoulder blades looked like little elbows sticking out of her back, her shrunken breasts were bruised. Her dark eyes gleamed with a feral fury. Her hands looked like small claws. The nails were all broken. Some were bleeding.

Jack asked Kathy to get some drinking water. He held the woman and talked quietly to her. When Kathy returned with water, the woman was racked with sobs and clinging to Jack. Kathy knelt down and held a glass of water to her lips. The woman drank deeply and with tears running down her face said, “Save me.”

Jack said, “You’re safe now. We’ll take you out of here.” Kathy ran up the stairs to get a few blankets. Jack asked the woman her name. “Jody. Jody Miller from Richmond. Who are you?”

“Right now that’s not important. Are other people being held here?”

“Yes. Other women are being held in the barn. Can you help them?”

“The dog sitting beside you and licking your shoulder found them and they are safe. Is there anyone else held here in the house?”

“I don’t know. I never heard or saw anyone else. I’m here for punishment. I fought them and fought them. I’m not sure but I’ve been here for almost 50 days. I marked every time I got my once a day meal. I hate those people. I’ll gladly kill them. Where are they?”

“They’ll never bother you again.”

“For sure?”

“Positive.”

Kathy came back with blankets and some clothes she found with labels still on them.

Jack said, “Take her to the car. She thinks she can walk. She can’t weigh more than 80 or 90 pounds. Get everyone ready to go. I have some things to do here first.”