Entrance to Nowhere Page 20

  “Think emergency,” she said. “We should use the food up here first, just in case we had to stay downstairs for any reason and for any length of time.”

  “That’s not going to happen,” I said with finality.

  “Remember, this man still wants Andrew and the boys. He’s not going to give up easily.”

  “But we have the upper hand, to some extent. Pete could be looking him in the face even as we speak.”

  “Then again, maybe Danger, as Greta likes to call him, isn’t the right man.”

  “Where’d you get so smart, Auntie?”

  “It came naturally, plus I worked with teenagers for twenty-five years. I always had to try to out think them.”

  Chapter Thirty-six

  With the sandwiches ready, we traipsed back down to the Safe Room. Bubba dogged my steps and Clem almost tripped my aunt. The dogs were feeling needy and staying close.

  “I feel kind of guilty about the dogs,” I said. “This really isn’t fair to them, but I couldn’t just drop them in Dolly’s lap. We didn’t know how long we’d be gone.”

  My aunt studied them for a moment. “I’ll bet they’d let us know if someone was sneaking around here.”

  “Normally, I’d say you’re right. Unfortunately, there are so many people and there’s so much going on, I’m not sure.”

  Trap took the plate of sandwiches from my aunt while Mason took a bag of chips out of my hands.

  The billionaire picked up his little Chiwienie. “Your big dog might warn of impending trouble, but Clementine would simply start licking – manically. Of course, she does that whether she’s tense or not.”

  “Does that bother you?” I asked.

  “Sometimes. My concern is keeping her way out here. It seems like she should have a yard and another dog for company. I’ve been thinking about finding her a new home for quite a while. I think I need a bigger dog, although not one as big as yours. I’d really miss Clem. She’s the sweetest dog I’ve ever been around, but being out here isn’t fair to her. She deserves more than lying around while I work on my computer all day. I might want visiting rights, though.” There was no doubt in my mind that he was hinting about Clem coming home with Pete and me.

  Before I could open my mouth, my aunt jumped in with both feet. “I’m sure Sandi and her husband would adopt Clementine. After all, the little thing has such a crush on Bubba. I don’t think she’d want to leave him.”

  She reached over and patted my hand.

  “Isn’t that right, Sandra?” Somehow her question came out sounding more like a statement.

  “I’ll have to talk to Pete about it.”

  Yes, I adored Clem already, but I wasn’t sure how Pete would feel about having two dogs. And there was always the issue of Dolly. When Pete and I were on a case, would she be willing to take care of two dogs?

  “I’ll be back in a minute,” I said, taking my cell phone and walking to the security room.

  I called Dolly and asked her what she thought of the idea.

  Scott was listening and grinned at me.

  “Oh, Sandi, that little dog is just the cutest thing I ever saw,” Dolly said. “Of course I’d be willing to dogsit her. She did the funniest thing when she was here. A fly got inside and she chased it all over the house. She seemed to think it was a small toy. Didn’t you say she was a rescue dog from a puppy mill?”

  “Yes, and – “

  “Well, maybe that’s the only entertainment that poor little girl had. Flies.”

  I cringed, thinking about Clem probably spending most of her time in a cage.

  “So when will you and Pete be home?”

  “I don’t know yet, Dolly, but hopefully it won’t be much longer.”

  “And I suppose you can’t talk about what you’re doing?”

  “No, I can’t. I’ll tell you all about it when this is over.”

  “I’ll be waiting.”

  We hung up.

  Without taking his eyes off the screens, Scott said, “There’s a sucker born every minute.”

  “Oh, I don’t know – “

  He turned and interrupted me. “Just kidding, Sandi. We’d actually miss Clem around here. She’s become almost a mascot. She kind of grows on you.”

  “She’d have a good home with us,” I said.

  “I know she would.”

  “I’ll talk to Pete.”

  I returned to the living room to finish eating my sandwich.

  The conversation in the living room had turned to The General.

  “Do you really think Greta’s boyfriend could be the man we’re looking for?” Trap asked.

  “We’ll know soon enough,” my aunt replied. “I wonder how long the men will be gone.”

  We finished eating and the geeks used Trap’s computers to do whatever it is they do. He seemed to have computers all over the mansion.

  My aunt and I threw away paper plates before rejoining Trap in the living room. The three of us leaned back and tried to relax.

  While they talked, I actually nodded off for a while. I finally opened my eyes and looked around.

  “Feel better?” my aunt asked.

  “Much,” I replied, glancing at my watch.

  “It seems like Pete and the others should be back by now, don’t you think?” Maybe it was because I’d just awakened, but I felt a little unsure about what was going on.

  “They’ll be coming back via the helicopter,” Trap said. “We’ll hear them when they fly in.”

  I nodded and glanced at my watch again, wondering if I’d read it wrong.

  We waited.

  Bubba and Clem started acting antsy, so I fed them and they settled back down. Hunger will make a dog fidget. I checked their water and they had plenty.

  Aunt Martha and Trap talked about the good ol’ days, although he didn’t sound like there were many happy memories for him to think about.

  “I didn’t come into my own until I was in my thirties,” he said. “I knew I’d be involved in Internet technology, and I developed a few programs that set me on the right path. From there everything seemed to fall into place. It wasn’t just the programs, but how to best use them that made me what I am today.”

  “And what are you today?” my aunt asked.

  “A self-made billionaire.” He laughed at his own reply. “The problem is that I don’t know what to do with all of the money. I don’t need it. I’m happy just putzing around on the computer.”

  “Well, Andrew, you’ve got a very successful business, you live in a mansion, and you’re doing all the putzing you want to do. I’m surprised that you enjoy working on cars, too. I never would have thought that would be one of your interests.

  “The only thing you’re missing is a wife.”

  And there it is, I thought. She’s been wanting to bring that up all along. Wait for it. I know exactly what she’s going to say next.

  “I heard that Christine is divorced now. Maybe you should look her up.”

  I was right in a way, although I didn’t think she’d bring up someone specific.

  Andrew shook his head. “Maybe I’ll look her up someday, but not anytime soon.”

  “I’ll remind you about her after a little time passes.” I was sure she would. Now that she and Trap had reconnected, I had a feeling she’d become involved in his life. Maybe she needed a cause, and he was it.

  My aunt turned to me.

  “It’s getting late. We’ll need to think about dinner soon. Why don’t you try to call Pete on your cell phone?”

  “He’d have called me if he had something to report. Besides, I’m sure the sound of the cell phone is probably the last thing he wants to hear right now.”

  “Wouldn’t he put it on the vibrate setting?” Trap asked.

  “Probably, but if there’s anything going on, he wouldn’t answer it. Maybe we should think about having a late dinner for a change.”

  “If anything were wrong, Layne probably would have called in the troops,” Aunt Martha s
aid.

  “I’m sure everything is fine.” I glanced at my watch again. It was nearly five o’clock. I didn’t want to let on to anyone that I was beginning to worry. Honestly, I’d have thought Pete would have called to let me know how things were going.

  Around six o’clock, my aunt and I carried some food down from upstairs and cooked it in the Safe Room kitchen. Scott didn’t want any of us upstairs until Pete, Griz and Layne were back.

  “Aunt Martha, I’m going to talk to Scott. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

  “Okay. You can prepare a salad after you speak to him.”

  I passed through the living room and saw that three of the boys were still doing something on computers, as was Trap.

  I found Ethan in the security room with Scott.

  The young man was giving some tips on security. “Things are changing almost daily,” he said. “If it weren’t for Mr. Trapper, you probably wouldn’t even know about some of these programs.”

  Scott nodded and glanced up at me. “Something I can do for you?”

  I looked at Ethan and decided he could be trusted before answering Scott.

  “I’m getting worried. It seems like we should have heard something from Pete by now. You’re a security expert. Do you think it would be okay if I called him on his cell phone?”

  He didn’t even have to think about it. “I think you should wait. Since they’ve been gone longer than we expected, they may be in the middle of something.”

  “I suppose you’re right. Under normal circumstances I could call Pete, but nothing about this situation is normal.”

  Ethan and Scott looked at each other as though they were sharing some unspoken thought.

  I started to leave the room, but stopped and turned back. “You’ve heard from them, haven’t you?”

  Ethan looked like he felt guilty, but Scott had a great poker face. Neither one replied.

  “Let’s have it,” I said. “What’s going on?” My annoyance level had soared.

  The only thing that saved their bacon was my cell phone ringing. Pete! It had to be him.

  But it wasn’t. I heard Stanley’s voice when I answered.

  He sounded upset. “Sandi, I’ve been doing the research you asked for and I don’t like what I’ve found.”

  Uh oh. “What’d you find, Stan?”

  “My research took me to the dark side of the Internet, and I think I may have found your man. Everything fits, but I’m having trouble following the trail to a name. Actually, I’ve found a few names, but I can’t pin down which one he is. He’s hidden himself quite well.”

  Chapter Thirty-seven

  “Stanley, did you run across anyone named Gerard?”

  “Just a minute. Felicity has the list of names.” His voice was muffled when he covered the receiver and spoke to Felicity.

  After a brief conversation, he returned to the phone.

  “Sandi, there’s no Gerard on the list, but don’t read too much into that. I have more research to do, and – “

  “No,” I interrupted, “don’t do anymore. This is more dangerous than we realized. I want you and Felicity out of this. I’m going to put someone named Scott on the phone. No, make that Ethan. I want you to tell Ethan everything you’ve learned and answer any questions he has. He can take it from here.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes. I don’t want you any more involved than you are already. You and Felicity should go do something fun and get your minds off of this. Give me a minute and I’ll put Ethan on the phone.”

  “Uh huh. I don’t think we’re going to be able to disassociate ourselves from your issues. Keep us posted. Please.”

  I briefly explained to Ethan what I’d had Stanley doing and explained that I wanted the geek squad to take over. Stanley was pretty savvy, but they were better. I handed my cell phone to him and he left the security room.

  “Okay, Scott, now tell me what you know,” I said. I used my don’t-give-me-any-trouble voice.

  He sighed before speaking. “Pete was able to get close enough to Greta and this character to hear at least part of what they were saying. They started to get suspicious of him hanging around, so Griz moved in and Pete acted like he was leaving the park.”

  “And? Get to the point.”

  “They were able to ascertain that his name is Gerard Compton. While you were, uh, napping, Ryan and the other kids did some deep research. This is one very bad guy, and apparently he’s got quite a following.”

  I was speechless, but not for long. “Stanley’s been researching, too. Maybe he can add to what they found since he was researching everything he could find, not just one specific person.”

  “This guy can be very persuasive, and he’s been recruiting followers for a long time. Our geeks are the only ones he’s had to force into service. The rest are following him willingly.”

  “Did you call Pete back and tell him what you found out?”

  “I can’t. They’ve moved into an area where there’s no cell phone service.”

  “Oh. This is bad. Very bad.”

  Scott looked frustrated. “I wish I was with them instead of sitting here watching computer screens.”

  “Me, too. I mean I wish I was with them.” What were we going to do now? “If you hear from him again, let me know right away.”

  I returned to the living room and sat down next to my aunt. “I’m worried. Pete and Griz are out of cell phone range now. I sure hope Layne has some good connections.”

  She and Trap had been talking and both looked tense.

  “What’s going on?” Her eyes were full of questions and her expression was troubled.

  I glanced at Ethan. He was still on my cell phone while he worked on the computer.

  “Pete called and spoke to Scott. He said they found out the guy’s name is Gerard Compton. I have a feeling that Pete and the others are following him. Oh, and they’d recognize Pete if they saw him again. They got suspicious of him hanging around so he had to leave the park. Griz took over from there.”

  Trap tipped his head and narrowed his eyes, appearing to look inward. “Gerard Compton. That name sounds familiar. I can’t think where I’ve heard it, but it’ll come to me.”

  “Who’s Ethan talking to?” Aunt Martha asked.

  “Stanley. He found out a few things, and so did the geeks. They’re filling each other in,” I explained.

  “What kinds of things did they find out?” My aunt glanced at Trap, but he was lost in his own thoughts.

  “He’s been recruiting followers over the dark web. Obviously we don’t know how much of a following he has, but he’s got one. It’s hard for me to understand why these idiots would want to harm their fellow man. I mean, if all electrical power was gone, this country would be in deep trouble.”

  Trap was listening again. “Chances are it would take a year or more to get things back up and running. Griz is the one who got me started preparing for any kind of emergency. Can you imagine if there was no food on the shelves at the grocery stores? Little access to water? No gasoline? The electric cars wouldn’t be of any value. And – “

  “I have to admit, Trap, you’re scaring me,” I said. “No, I can’t imagine any of the things you’ve mentioned. It sounds too far out there. I’m starting to feel like I’m in the middle of a science fiction movie.”

  “It does feel that way, doesn’t it?” My aunt shook her head.

  She glanced toward the tunnel.

  “I sure wish the boys would come back. I feel safer with them here. Even the old goat makes me feel good.”

  “The old goat?” Trap looked confused.

  “Griz,” I said.

  “Oh.” He studied my aunt for a moment. “Ohhh,” he repeated, with light dawning in his eyes.

  Honestly, my aunt and Griz were the last things on my mind at the moment. Somehow we needed to put a stop to The General and his followers and what they were planning. Unfortunately, I had no expertise in this area. This wasn’t a typical case
, and I had to keep reminding myself of that fact.

  I voiced my thoughts. “Okay, Trap, you were kidnapped for your expertise. I’m not even going to ask how extensive that expertise is. What surprises me is that they left you with some computer geeks who aren’t followers of The General. They were simply too frightened not to do as he ordered.”

  Trap lifted his hands, palms up. “How could they do otherwise? He threatened their lives. In all honesty, I could have escaped – I think. However, something was telling me to stay put and try to throw a monkey wrench into their plans.”

  “Were you able to do that?” I asked.

  “To some extent. At this point I merely slowed them down, but I don’t think they’re aware of what I did. I might not be here now if they’d figured it out.”

  My aunt reached out to him and he took her hand in his. “You did the right thing, Andrew. I always knew your moral compass was of the highest caliber.”

  He smiled at her.

  “Thanks to Pete and Griz, we were able to rescue all of you.” I lowered my voice. “By the way, are you sure these boys are trustworthy? Could they be putting on an act?”

  “I have the fullest confidence in them,” he replied. “I got to know them well during my so-called incarceration. I was serious when I told them I have their futures in my plans. They’re young men of honor, with our country as their first concern.”

  I thought for a moment. “How do you think The General knows where the mansion is located? I thought that was a well-kept secret.”

  “I can’t really say for sure. Maybe I was too careless and someone from their group followed me out here.”

  “The helicopter!” I said.

  “What about it?” Aunt Martha asked.

  “It sits at a small airport. Maybe someone was able to install a GPS tracker on it. Or maybe one was installed in one of your vehicles. Don’t ask me why, but the helicopter would be my first guess. Just a gut feeling.”

  Trap didn’t say a word, but picked up his cell phone and made a call to Bill, the pilot. He told him of my suspicions and asked him to do a thorough search of the aircraft, and then call him back.