Chapter Nineteen

Ransom followed Kathy intently. They made their way down a flight of stairs and into a shabby, dusty basement in the school. Light oozed out of aged bulbs, casting dim shadows of everything along the walls. The equipment stored in this place looked to be at least thirty years old and it littered the hallway walls like elementary school drawings. The smell of must permeated his senses. For the first time since taking the job with the tabloid, Ransom felt like a genuine snoop.

“You keep it down here? You're not just messing with me are you?” Ransom chattered a bit to ease his nerves.

“We keep it down here... and him.”

Ransom paused clearly confused, “Him?”

“Old man Philpot.” Kathy whispered.

“The janitor?”

Kathy was taken back. “You know, for being here such a short time, you sure have learned a lot. Now, hold it down, he’ll hear us.”

Ransom couldn’t let it go. He crept up closer to Kathy and whispered, “How does he fit into all this?

“He is the secret. He has the BLT.”

“What?” Ransom was still playing mental catch-up.

Kathy stopped and motioned Ransom to crouch down. “The BLT is our slang. It stands for Bulging Lucky Tumor. It got named before I was born. It's a tumor that sticks out of old man Philpot's belly and if you touch it, you have good luck for a few hours.”

“This town is even more whacked out than I thought!” Ransom spoke louder than he had intended.

“Shhh! We’re close. This is not a joke.”

They resumed moving through the basement. When the two reached the end of a corridor at a "T" section, Ransom looked both left and right. To the left, a flight of stairs led up and out of sight. To the right, a single door with a barred window could barely be made out in the shadows.
Kathy motioned for Ransom to approach to door with her. She moved with the grace of cat, so quiet Ransom was certain he couldn’t match her stealth, even when he was her age. Taking a position alongside the base of the door, she slowly stood up and peered through the bars on the window. A moment later she, she crouched again.

“I don’t see him.” Her voice was faint and barely audible.

It suddenly occurred to Ransom that maybe he was being snookered yet again by the beautiful temptress of Bethlehem. He felt his face swell up in embarrassment. “Oh man, you almost had me going.” He said with a chuckle. Ransom stood up and glanced inside the cell, ignoring the tugs on his jacket coming from Kathy.

As he peered inside, he was met with a ghastly sight. Philpot's wrinkled face flashed up a few inches away from his own. The old man’s eyes stared wildly at Ransom, and both men’s mouths were agape with surprise.

Ransom’s heart slid down into his stomach and he felt himself gasping for air; a vain attempt at screaming. In his panic, he fell backward to the ground.

“God have mercy!” He cried out,the sound of his words bouncing off the basement’s block.
Philpot was equally startled. “Nazis! Nazis!” The old man shouted, banging around his cell in fear and anger.

Ransom started to lift himself up from the ground. He watched as Kathy ran back down the hall at a full sprint. Philpot was screamingly madly, his voice so loud that he didn’t hear the footsteps rushing down the stairs behind him. Ransom was not quite fully standing by the time Barton drew a bead on him with his rifle.

“Ransom! Don't you move an inch.”

Beside Barton, Ransom noticed another man in a police uniform. The officer drew his weapon, but as he did, he fumbled it on the way up. In a flash, Ransom watched the pistol fall and in another flash, the gun discharged when it hit the floor. The bullet was sent out in a thunder that shook Ransom to the core.The bullet ricocheted twice in the narrow hallway causing all three me to duck and cover their heads.

In the commotion, Philpot started ramming his shoulder against the cell door. “Squad, covering fire!”