Chapter 18: Setting the Bait

After breakfast the next morning, Mr. Blaine invited Mr. Hallett into his office.  “I’ve got some stuff I want to talk to you about in connection with the golf course,” he said.

“Certainly,” said Hallett.  “I’d be happy to.”

“May I watch, Dad?” asked Drew.  “I’d like to see how you do your work.”

“Why, sure,” said Mr. Hallett.  “I don’t know how exciting it’ll be—”

“That’s alright,” said Drew.  “I’m sure it’ll be very interesting.”

The three stepped into Mr. Blaine’s office; their host closed and locked his office door.  He motioned for Drew and his “father” to be seated, then went around to his desk and sat down himself.

“I’ve got the papers right here,” he said, reaching into a drawer.  “By the way, I hope you slept well the rest of the night.”

“Oh, yes, we were fine,” said Mr. Hallett.  “Don’t worry about it.  I know that snake wasn’t your fault.”

“That doesn’t make me feel any less responsible,” said Blaine, “and I hope you don’t have anything else like that to deal with on this trip.”  He noticed that Drew had grabbed a notepad and started writing.  Drew looked up, winked, and went back to what he was doing.  Mr. Hallett continued.

“So, here’s the status of the property in 1948,” said Blaine.  “It wasn’t all one spot back then.  There was a landfill over here, in the largest chunk,” he said, pointing to a spot on the map.  “Right here, there was a row of houses, and this was a laundromat.  These railroad tracks running through the land have since been rerouted.”

Drew finished what he was writing, ripped off the piece of paper, and handed it to Blaine, who took it and continued talking.

“By 1972, the landfill was complete, and the golf course had been developed.  It opened that year, but it only covered the landfill part.  The houses and the laundromat—”

Meanwhile, as he spoke, Blaine read the paper.  Want to test something.  Tell Hodgson you’ve finished your project.  Also tell Bourdon, but mention that you’ve hidden it in the grand piano in the music room for safekeeping.  Be subtle.  Do this today.

“—were torn down in 1989,” said Blaine, nodding at Drew.  “All clear so far?” he asked Hallett.

“Uh, yes—yes, I think so,” said Hallett.

“Good!  Then let’s continue.”

The conversation lasted another hour, but it wasn’t particularly interesting.  Drew had no more secret messages for Blaine, and the same went from Blaine to Drew.  Mr. Hallett still wasn’t sure what was going on, so he wasn’t even trying to figure it out.  He played his part until they finally finished the conversation.”

“That’s why this’ll be tough,” said Blaine.  “Because of the last owner dying intestate.  I’m sure you can work this out, though.”

“It shouldn’t be too hard,” said Hallett.  “I’ll review the California laws today, and maybe tomorrow I’ll head into town.”

“Fine, fine,” said Blaine, winking at his “friend.”  “Thanks for the help!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The first person to hear that the plans were finished was Jean-Luc Bourdon.  “Jean-Luc, you old son of a gun!” Mr. Blaine exclaimed, upon running into the French spy in the hall.  “Congratulate me on my success.”

“What success?” asked Bourdon, looking confused.

“My project,” said Blaine.  “It’s finally done.”

“Oh—oh, that!” said Bourdon.  “It’s done?”

“Finished this morning,” said Blaine.

“Well, congratulations!” said Bourdon.  “It’s terrific!”

“It is, isn’t it?” said Blaine.  “I’ll send it in tomorrow.  In the meantime, I’ve got it hidden in a very safe place.”  He laughed.  “If anyone’s interested in stealing it, I don’t think they’d think of looking in the grand piano in the music room, do you?”

Bourdon laughed.  “Of course not,” he said.  “No one would look there—except the piano tuner.”

“That’s the beauty of it,” said Blaine.  “The piano was tuned last week!”  He started down the hall, a big smile on his face.  “Oh, by the way,” he said, turning.  “You won’t mention this to anyone else, will you?  I’m only telling people I trust.”

“I understand,” said Bourdon.  But once his host was out of sight, Bourdon yanked a notebook from his pocket and wrote something in it.  Something that had to do with a grand piano and a music room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hodgson stayed in his room all morning, not coming down until 1:00 for lunch.  That made him easy, though.  Everyone else had already eaten, and the room was empty except for him.

Blaine walked in, pretending to be carrying on a phone conversation.

“Just finished last night,” he was saying.  “What?  Yes.  Yes, the plans.  I checked them over and everything.  It’s kind of a relief to get done.  One more night, and they’ll be gone.  What’s that?  [Pause.]  Sure.  Sure.  I know.  Well, I just wanted to let you know.  No sense keeping you in suspense.”

Hanging up, he turned to Hodgson.  “Oh, good day, Walt.  I thought you’d never get up?”

“Huh?”  Hodgson just kept eating, as if he hadn’t heard.  Mr. Blaine couldn’t tell whether he was acting or not.  Had he been hiding in the library the other day, he would have been in a better position to guess.

Chapter 17: This Is the Pacific

“Don’t panic,” said Drew.  “There’s another way out of this!”  With that, he put the car in drive and gunned the motor.  The car lurched ahead of the one pushing it and sped the rest of the way down the dock.

“What are you doing?” gasped Carol.  The car reached the edge, flew into the air, and plummeted straight towards the water below.

As it fell, Drew turned on the radio, set the station to FM 107.9, and hit the hazard lights button.

Splash!  The car landed in the water and plunged under the surface.  Then, it stopped sinking.  New headlights that cut through the water came on.  Drew adjusted the gearshift and began speeding through the water.

“Didn’t the CIA tell you about this car?” said Drew.  “Oh, never mind.  I guess they didn’t want you driving it.”

“It’s a submarine?”

“Among other things,” said Drew.  “Remember?  Like the one we used on the last assignment?”

“Oh, that one,” said Carol.  “I remember that.  That one was a Chevy though, right?”

“A Maserati would have looked out of place in Billings,” said Drew.  “Anyway, they’re still repairing that one.  We got this car for this trip.”

“I see,” said Carol.  “Well, it came in handy.”

“Yes,” said Drew.  “I wonder who rammed us.”

“Don’t we have a camera?” asked Renee.

Drew shook his head.  “It was in the left-rear backup light, and that broke when they hit us.  No footage.”

“I couldn’t really get a look,” said Edward.  “All I noticed were the headlights.  Then, I was too stunned to see anything else.”

“Same,” said Renee.

Drew shrugged.  Then, he grinned.  “Someone’s going to be surprised when we get home.  Let’s go.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If anyone was surprised at the Blaine residence, they did a good job of hiding it.  The butler merely sniffed at the Lawrences when he opened the door.  (Renee asked if he had a cold.)  Philip yawned at the four before heading upstairs to his room.  Hannah and Peter were out in the gardens, gazing up at the moonlight.  Hodgson had gone to bed, and Schlegel and Bourdon were playing billiards.

“Shall we go look in on them and let them know we’re still alive?” Carol whispered.

Drew shook his head.  “Let’s make ourselves scarce.  Remember, we’ve got something going on tonight.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

At one in the morning, Drew tapped on his sisters’ door.  It opened immediately.  Carol and Renee had been watching the clock.  Edward was up, too.  Without a word, the four started down the stairs.

Reaching the first floor, they made their way down the main hall to the library.  Drew stopped the group at the door.  Silently, he motioned for Edward to watch it.  Then, he took Renee through the library to the other door and stopped her there.  He looked at her, and she nodded.  With that, Drew and Carol got to work.

Drew walked to the table in the center of the end of the room with the secret door.  He set a large flashlight on the table and turned it on, illuminating the bookshelves.  Then, he walked around to the bookshelf in the center and yanked a book on the third shelf from the ceiling, towards the right.

It came out.  Nothing happened.

Carol stared at Drew, a quizzical expression on her face.  “Forgot,” Drew mouthed.  He put that book back and grabbed another one.  It slipped out too, nicely.  So did the next, and the next, and the next.  Drew looked visibly perplexed as he reached for another one.

It didn’t come out.  Instead, the bookshelf swung slowly open.  Drew stepped out of the way of the shelf and peered inside.

Suddenly, Edward opened his door.  “Psst!” he said.  “There’s someone upstairs!”

Drew turned out the light.  “Make sure no one goes in here,” he whispered.  “I’ll go find out who it is.  Be right back.”  He slipped out of the library and darted down the hall towards the front steps.  Before reaching them, he flattened himself against the wall and slid along until he was almost in the entryway.

Then, he stepped out nonchalantly.

“Ah, Mr. Bourdon!  Fancy running into you this time of night!”

Bourdon stopped in the middle of the stairs, a surprised expression on his face.  “Drew!  I thought you’d gone to bed.”

“I had, but I couldn’t sleep,” said Drew.  “What about you?”

“Same.”

There was an awkward silence.

“You should take a look outside,” said Drew.  “I hear Orion’s really clear tonight.”

“Yes,” said Bourdon.  “Plenty of time for that later.”  He paused.  “What were you really doing?”

“Walking around,” said Drew.  “Why, what about you?”

“Oh—just wandering,” said Bourdon.  “Uh—find out anything?”

“I found out I’m not the only one who can’t sleep,” said Drew.

“I mean about—you know.”

“I know what?” said Drew.  “Who can’t sleep, you mean?”

“No—not that at all,” Bourdon laughed, a very hollow-sounding laugh.  He looked nervous.  “Would you—”

“Would I what?” said Drew.  He gave Bourdon a funny look.  “What’s up?  Is there something you want?”

“No—I mean—well, it’s nothing pressing, but—”  Drew kept silent, forcing Bourdon to finish.

“What do you know?” Bourdon finally said.

“About what?”

“The project.”

“Project?”

“Mr. Blaine’s project.  We both know he’s working on something.  Have you found out anything yet?”

“Not much.”

“What do you mean, not much?”

“Nothing outside common knowledge.”

“What’s that?”

Drew smiled.  “Like I said, not much.  Nobody knows anything about it, except Blaine’s working on something.”

“Something related to aerospace.”

Drew thought a moment.  “That’s plausible,” he said.  “After all, he does work for—”

“It involves a missile, doesn’t it?  A big, self-guided missile, powerful enough to wipe out a whole county?”

“Go on,” said Drew.  “You intrigue me!”

Worry crossed Bourdon’s face.  “You mean you didn’t know?”

“I didn’t say that,” said Drew, “but I’d appreciate hearing more.”

“Er, no,” said Bourdon.  “No, no—not now.  Not—just pretend I didn’t say anything.  Goodnight.”

With that, the flustered spy ran back upstairs, slamming his door behind him.

Drew stared after him, grinning.  Then, he turned to go back downstairs.

“Aaaah!”

The scream came from the Halletts’ room!

Drew rushed back up the stairs and flung open the door to his “parents’” room.  Mrs. Ames stood against the wall, a look of fright on her face.  Mr. Ames rose up from the other side of the bed, something small in his hand.  He looked over at Drew.

“Snake,” he said.  “There was a snake in the room.”

The scream had drawn attention.  Bourdon and the Schlegels darted out of their rooms, and the Blaines followed close behind.  “What is it?  What’s the matter?” asked Mr. Blaine.

Drew pointed past the bed.  “Dad killed a snake over there,” he said.

The throng milled their way through the room until they reached the other side of the bed.  Sliced neatly in two with Mr. Ames’s pocketknife was an ugly, tan snake with little diamond patterns on its back.

Mr. Blaine drew in his breath.  “A diamondbacked rattler,” he said.  “Now, how did that get here?  I’ve never seen one on this property before?”

“There’s something unusual about this snake,” said Mr. Hallett.  “No rattler.”

“That’s right,” said Drew.  “Someone removed it.”

“Why would someone do that?” asked Mrs. Hallett.

“So it wouldn’t make noise,” said Mr. Blaine.  “That’s the only explanation.  Without a rattler, there’d be no warning of its presence.”

“If this is some kind of a joke,” said Mr. Hallett, “I want you all to know it’s not very funny.”  He stared accusingly around the room.

Schlegel leaned over the bed and stared at the snake’s body.  “I’m going to make sure there aren’t more of these crawling around,” he said.  “Come on, Karla!”

Mrs. Schlegel didn’t look too enthusiastic.  “I think I’ll wait here while you search our room,” she said.  “Ooh, how ghastly!”

“I’ll send Godfrey to clean this up,” said Mr. Blaine.  “That is, unless you want a rattlesnake carcass on your floor all night.”

Mr. Hallett shook his head.  “Take it away,” he said, leaning against the bed.  “I’d rather not have to look at something like that.  I didn’t think this trip would be so dangerous.”

Drew knew it would be dangerous.  He just didn’t realize how dangerous it would be for the Halletts.  “Hopefully we can get this cleared up before something else happens,” he thought.

Chapter 16: Have Car, Will Follow

That night, the Lawrences went for another drive, supposedly to see the lights by the beach.  In reality, they were out to avoid being overheard.

“Well, Renee wasn’t kidding,” said Drew.  “Mr. Hallett’s glass was poisoned.”

“I thought that was your beeper,” said Edward.

“I had to do something,” said Drew.  “It killed that beetle.”

“I wonder what it was,” said Carol.

“I don’t know,” said Drew, “but that’s not important.  What is important is that we have two very suspicious actors so far.”

“Hodgson and who else?” asked Renee.

“Bourdon,” said Drew.  “Don’t forget about him.  We know he’s a spy, on spy business.”

“That’s right,” said Carol.  “You had that run-in with his contact at the theater.”

“He would be my top suspect after that,” said Drew, “only we know Hodgson can walk.  Which brings us to the first thing we need to do: search that secret room.”

“You didn’t do that earlier?” asked Carol.

Drew shook his head.  “Hodgson was in the library most of the afternoon.  Even when he left, we didn’t want someone to catch us checking that room.  I suggest we wait until around one in the morning.”

Carol nodded.  “Sounds good.  Should we all check it?”

“Yes,” said Drew.  “Someone had better guard the hall, just in case someone gets up.”

“We’ll figure that out tonight,” said Carol.  “What else?”

“Next, and we’ll wait until tomorrow to do this, but I think we should set a trap for Bourdon and Hodgson.  We’ll tell both of them that Mr. Blaine’s finished his project and see which one tries to steal the plans.”

“Wait a minute,” said Edward.  “How’ll we know who tries to steal them?”

“Simple,” said Drew.  “Hodgson already seems to know where it is, especially since he knows about that secret room.  We’ll have someone hide in the room with the plans tomorrow night and see if anyone tries to steal them.  Bourdon, on the other hand, doesn’t even know what the plans are, so we’ll tell him Blaine hid them in the grand piano in the music room.  We’ll also leave fake ones in there.  If those get taken, we know Bourdon’s responsible.”

“I see,” said Carol.  “Sounds like a good plan.”

“What if neither gets taken?” asked Renee.

“Then we’re right back to square one,” said Drew.  “We’ll see what happens.  If we don’t find our culprit with this plan, it’ll at least thin out the field a bit.

“Another thing,” he continued.  “We’ll have Mr. Blaine let Bourdon and Hodgson know about the plans for us.  If we do it ourselves, it’ll make us look too suspicious.”

His siblings nodded.

“Good.  We might as well head back,” said Drew, pulling up to the edge of a pier.  “I’ll see if we can turn around.”

That wasn’t an option.  Crash!  A car rammed into the back of the Lawrences.

“Uh-oh,” said Carol. “Trouble!”

“Let’s get out!” said Drew.  Before the Lawrences could do anything, the second car’s motor revved.  It started down the pier, pushing the crippled Maserati in front of it.

“What’re they doing?” said Edward.  “There’s nothing down here.  This pier ends in five hundred—”

Oh, yes.  The pier ended in five hundred feet.  Beyond that was the ocean.  And unless things changed in the next few seconds, the Lawrences were about to go for a voyage!