Chapter 22: Chaos in the Garage

Carol tried all day to tell her siblings about Schlegel, but she never had a chance.  Renee had gone straight to the billiards room to find someone else to thrash.  Carol could have tried going to her brothers’ room and telling them what she’d heard, but Schlegel had gone back to his room right across the hall.  Carol couldn’t risk being overhead, so she decided to wait.  Before she knew it, it was dinnertime, and that was hardly a secret opportunity.  After dinner, Blaine complicated matters by suggesting they all go out in the backyard and watch the sun set over the ocean.  Then, Bourdon asked Drew and Edward if they wanted to watch a movie.

After that, Carol decided she’d just have to handle this herself.  When they finally retired for the evening, she pushed her bed across the room until it was almost right next to the door.  Renee looked at her quizzically.

“What—”

“Shh!” said Carol, giving her sister a look.  “It’s a surprise.”

“Oh,” said Renee.  “Good night.”

“You too,” sighed Carol, climbing into bed.  She wondered whether or not to tell Renee what was happening, now that they were alone.  She decided she would, but as she started to get out of bed, she saw that Renee was curled up, eyes shut.  She wasn’t asleep yet, but Carol would have to go across the room and wake her up to get her attention.  If the room was bugged, Carol didn’t want to take that chance.  Especially after Renee had asked about the bed.  That was enough of a risk for tonight.

Settling back down, Carol pulled out a book.  If she fell asleep, there was no way she’d hear Schlegel get up.  Fortunately, it was a pretty exciting book.  Sea Gold by John Blaine (no relation to their host).  It was about a project to extract minerals from seawater, such as gold.  Of course, there were saboteurs, and series star Rick Brant was hot on their trail.  Carol had just gotten to the part where Rick and his friend Scotty had been left for dead in the water eight miles offshore when she heard the unmistakable click of a doorknob.  She slammed the book, sat bolt upright, and listened.  A door creaked open, and she heard a few footsteps.  Then, there was a click as the door shut.

Someone across the hall was up and about.

Slowly getting out of bed, Carol counted off five seconds.  Then, she gently opened her door and peeked out.  There was Schlegel, heading down the stairs.  Carol slipped outside and closed her door, holding the knob as she did so the latch wouldn’t make as much noise.

Schlegel descended the stairs, not once looking back.  Then, he opened the front door and strode outside.  Once the front door had shut, Carol hurried down the stairs after him.  She opened the door just in time to see Schlegel walking briskly towards the driveway.

Carol stepped outside, shutting the front door quietly.  Then, she ducked down behind some bushes.  Her head up, eyes on her quarry, she followed in silent pursuit.

Just as she thought, Schlegel went straight to the garage.  It was open, and the moonlight gleamed off the shiny cars inside.  Schlegel went straight to a BMW; the light inside came on as he opened the car door.

Carol reached the garage and crawled in at the side, crouching behind a Porsche.  She peeped over the hood in time to see Schlegel stuff a large bundle of papers into the glove compartment.  He closed the compartment, took his keys, and started the motor.  All at once, he snapped his fingers, got out of the car, and ran back towards the house.

Ah-ha! thought Carol.  Now’s my chance!  She ran over to the car, opened the driver’s door, and hopped in.  Leaning over, she tried the handle of the glove compartment.

Unlocked!

Carol reached in for the papers.  This is so easy, she couldn’t help thinking.

“Hey!” came a voice off to her left.  “What are you doing?”

Carol stiffened.  That was Schlegel’s voice!  She turned her head and saw him running towards the garage!

“There’s only one way out,” thought Carol.  She sat up and slammed the door to the BMW.  Fastening her seatbelt, she gunned the motor.  The German luxury car darted out of the garage and down the driveway, past the astonished German diplomat.

Phew! thought Carol.  That was a close one!  I’ll just drive down the road a bit and find a spot to pull over.  Then, I’ll check and see if these are the plans.  If so—

Carol’s thoughts sort of trailed off as she saw the gate approaching.  It opened automatically, but she was already going forty miles per hour—faster than she would have liked.  Better not go through there that fast, she thought, hitting the brake pedal.

The car lurched forward!

Shoot, wrong pedal, Carol thought, switching to the other one.

The car went even faster!  Now, it was at sixty, and the gate loomed ahead!

Frantically, Carol spun the wheel to the right.  The car jerked, almost flipping over.  With a crack!, the right rearview mirror snapped off as she shot through, much too near the side of the gateway.

Carol took her eyes off the road and glanced down at the pedals.  That bigger one on the left was the brake.  Right?  Yes.  Yes, she was sure.  She jammed her foot down on it.

The car sped up!

Carol’s heart leapt into her throat.  She’d tried both pedals, she was sure of it.  Ahead was a winding road with steep cliffs on the left.  It was tough enough in the daytime for a good driver, but Carol was far from a good driver.  She’d taken three tries to pass her driving test.  She’d stalled in parking lots.  She’d had traffic violations named after her.  Now, two thousand feet in front of her was one of the toughest curves she’d seen in her life.

It was getting closer.

“AAAAHHHH!!!” screamed Carol.

Chapter 21: They're in the Glovebox

Peter Coffman’s shooting proved quite inconvenient for the Lawrences.  As the only four witnesses to an attempted murder, they had to tell the police what happened.  That meant going down to the police station, which meant they were nowhere around when Mr. Hallett got done looking over property records.  The worried couple dialed Drew’s cellphone number.

“Sorry,” said Drew, “I should have told you.  We’re at the police station.  No, we’re not in trouble.  It’s OK.  We’ll probably be another twenty minutes.”

They were, plus another six minutes after that.  Once they could leave, they were very happy to get home.  It wasn’t the first time they’d seen someone get shot, but that didn’t make it any more pleasant.

“What were you doing at the police station?” Mr. Hallett asked.

This was one of those times when Drew was really glad to be a spy.  “Oh, you know!” he said.  “Stuff.  Important stuff.”

“It’s not anything you need to know,” Carol reassured the couple.

The Halletts knew better that to ask any more questions, so they didn’t.  “By the way, Drew, I went by Broadman and Sons.”

“Really?” said Drew.  “What did you find out?”

“Nothing, I’m afraid.  They were closed.”

“Oh, I see,” said Drew.  “That’s too bad.  We’ll try again tomorrow.”

Drew and his siblings weren’t mentioning the shooting to anybody, in order to keep the shooter from finding out they’d been there.  Had they been spotted?  It was possible.  If not, though, they certainly weren’t going to give it away.  They acted as natural as possible when they got back to the house.  “Phew, it’s hot out there!” said Drew.  “I’m going back to our room to set the thermostat to sixty.”

Carol laughed.  “You’ll get too chilly,” she said.  “I’ll just have a glass of lemonade.  Want one, Renee?”

Renee shook her head.  “No thanks.”

“Suit yourself.”  Carol wandered off to the kitchen.  She popped open the refrigerator door and found a nice, large container.  “Minute Maid,” she muttered to herself.  “Good stuff.  I think I might have a snack, too.”

“I’d better go tell Steve what I found out,” Mr. Hallett told his wife.  “Then, naptime for me.”  He headed down the hall towards his boss’s office.  Mrs. Hallett, meantime, headed back into her room, nearly running into Schlegel on the stairs.

“Oh, excuse me!” she said.

“Quite alright,” said Schlegel.  “Ladies first.”

Blaine’s door was open, and Mr. Hallett wandered in.  “Come in, John!  Tell me what you found out.”

“Well, it’s just what I’d expect with a property like that…” Mr. Hallett spent the next ten minutes telling his host about his findings.  The last owner had died intestate (without leaving a will), and there were five siblings that all had to agree if the course was to be sold.  However, the property tax hadn’t been paid for some time, which opened another possibility for getting a hold of the property.

“Fascinating,” said Mr. Blaine.  “I’ll think about it.  I think I’d like to just get all the heirs to agree.  Then, we can go ahead and buy it.”

“Sensible,” said Mr. Hallett.  “Just keep in mind that that’s easier said than done.”

“I certainly shall,” said Mr. Blaine.  “Take the rest of the day off.  You deserve a break.”

Mr. Hallett laughed.  “This is turning into quite a vacation for me.  Thanks, Steve.”  He closed his host’s door and turned to go back upstairs.  Right at that moment, he heard a voice.  It came from Schlegel, who was on the phone just down the hall.

“Tonight,” he said.  “I’ll put the plans in the glovebox.  They’ll be here when you arrive.  Sounds good?  Got it. Goodbye.”

Mr. Hallett nodded to the German diplomat and started back up the stairs, whistling to himself.  “Hmm,” he thought.  “The weather’s beautiful today.  I wonder if Sally’ll want to go for a walk tonight after dinner.”

He didn’t notice Schlegel staring after him as he mounted the stairs.  As a matter of fact, he’d already forgotten Schlegel’s little conversation.  He was just a retired lawyer.  It wasn’t his job to notice things like that.

But John Hallett hadn’t been the only guest in the area.  Down at the other end of the hallway, Carol had finished her snack.  She’d heard every word of the conversation.

And she wasn’t going to forget it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BOOK 9 in THE ANDERSON FAMILY MYSTERY SERIES now available!

When Nancy Anderson went to visit a girl who’d been in a coma for six months, she had no idea she was getting her family into another adventure. It soon turns out, however, that the girl’s family has disappeared without a trace. The exciting search takes the Andersons to Charlottesville, VA, where it’ll take more than addresses or car registrations for them to track down these relatives. Secrecy meets them at every turn. Read their exciting new adventure in THE FAMILY THAT DIDN’T EXIST!

Available at  https://www.amazon.com/Family-That-Didnt-Exist-Anderson/dp/1536977640/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1474283208&sr=8-1&keywords=The+Family+That+Didn%27t+Exist+Zisi

Chapter 20: To Town with a BANG

Next day, for a change, the entire Hallett “family” was together.  Mr. Hallett was going to the courthouse to make sure nothing had changed in the status of the golf course property.   His wife was going along to be with him.  As for the kids—well, they had their own plans.

“Once we get to town,” said Drew, “please drop us off at the Fairmont Building on Fleet Street.”

“What are you planning to do there?” asked Mr. Hallett.

“We’re just going to call on someone,” said Carol.  “Peter, Hannah’s boyfriend.  His office is there.”

“I see,” said Mr. Hallett.  “How’s the—the work going, if I may ask?”

“We’re making progress,” said Drew.  “In fact, we’ve got something we’d like your help with.”

“I hope it’s not too dangerous,” said Mrs. Hallett.

“It shouldn’t be,” said Drew.  “This morning, I went by Mr. Blaine’s office.  I found out there was a small fire in the library three months ago.”

“A fire?” said Mr. Hallett.  “I didn’t notice any damage in there.”

“No, you didn’t,” said Drew.  “Broadman and Sons, Contractors, came in and repaired the mess.  They finished up about a month ago.  However, the renovated area now includes a secret room.”

“A secret room?” said Mr. Hallett.

“Yes,” said Drew.  “Blaine doesn’t know about it, which means two things.  Either Broadman and Sons discovered it when they were fixing the library, or they installed it.  The room is accessed by tugging a book on the bookshelf, and I don’t know of any construction firm that would leave books on the bookcase while doing renovations.  That company must know something about it.”

“So what do you want me to do?” asked Mr. Hallett.

“Here’s their address,” said Drew.  “Swing by there sometime while you’re still in town and ask about the room.  If they admit to installing, ask who told them to do it.  It wasn’t Blaine.”

“Anything else?” said Mr. Hallett.

“That’s all you need to do,” said Drew.  “Oh, take a right here.  The Fairmont Building’s off this street.”

Mr. Hallett turned and soon found the building.  It was two stories tall and smack in the middle of a bunch of other office buildings.  “I’ll let you all off here,” he said.

“Thanks!” said Drew.  “Call us when you’re done.”  He and his siblings got out and waved as the car pulled away.

“Now, what’s the name of Peter’s company?” asked Drew.

“It has to be Osgood Jets,” said Renee.  “That’s the only airplane company besides Boeing in town.  I checked.”

“Osgood Jets,” said Drew.  “Ah.  Office 214.  Let’s go.”

Up a dingy, smelly flight of stairs they went.  “This must not be the newest building in town,” said Drew.  “Smells like McDonald’s.”

“It’s actually Burger King,” said Carol, “based on that wrapper.”

“I hope the office is cleaner,” said Drew, opening the door to the second floor hallway.  “207-214.  To the right.”

They walked down the hall and found 214, all the way at the end.  “Here we go,” said Drew, opening the door.  He walked in and went right up to the receptionist.

“Hi,” he said.  “We’re here to see our friend, Peter Coffman.  Is he here today?”

The clerk, a short, middle-aged lady with sharp-cornered red glasses, stared at Drew questioningly.  “Peter who?”

“Coffman,” said Drew.  “Peter Coffman.  He works here, doesn’t he?”

“There’s no one here by that name,” said the lady.

“Are you sure?” asked Carol.  The woman fixed her stare on Drew’s sister.

“Look, miss, I’ve been working here for thirty years.  I’ve seen three different buildings, two mergers, and a couple hundred different employees.  There is not, and there has never been, a Peter Coffman working for us.”  She scowled at the four youths.  “Do I make myself clear?”

“Quite,” said Drew.  “Thanks.  You’ve actually given us a lot of information.  Come on,” he said, leading the way out of the office.

Out in the hallway, Renee said, “I don’t understand.  We know he doesn’t work for Boeing, and Osgood Jets is the only other aerospace company around.”

“That’s weird,” said Drew, leading the way back to the staircase.  “Are you sure you didn’t miss any?”

Renee thought a moment, then shook her head.  “I might have,” she said.

“I checked too, though,” said Edward, “and I couldn’t find any others.”

“You checked?” said Drew.

“Sure,” said Edward.  “I was remembering that other time, when Renee couldn’t find a fire hydrant company—”

“That article said they went bankrupt!”

“But they were still in business,” said Edward.  “I just wanted to make sure something similar didn’t happen here.”

“If you’re going to do all my jobs,” said Renee, “then why should I even—”

“Look!” said Carol.  They’d reached the first floor, and she was pointing out the door.  “Isn’t that Coffman across the street?”

“Where?” asked Drew, staring through the glass.

“Coming out of that coffee shop?  He’s heading to the right—”

“That’s him!” agreed Drew.  “Come on, everybody!  Let’s find out where he’s going!”

The four spies rushed out the door and started down the street on the opposite side, keeping just back of their quarry.  Coffman obviously wasn’t worried about being followed.  He walked at a normal pace, never looking back.

“If he gets in a car,” said Drew, “call a cab.  I think there are enough—”

“He’s going in that office building,” said Carol.  “Over there!”

“Quick, Edward!  Go figure out where he’s going!”

Edward bolted across the street, almost getting hit by two cars but making it across in one piece.  He darted into the building just in time to see Coffman get in an elevator.  The building was five floors tall, and Edward watched the lights blink.

1—2------

Nothing more happened, and Edward darted up some stairs to two.  He reached it just in time to see Coffman disappear through an office door. He sped down the hall, read the sign, and ran back downstairs, where he found his siblings working for him.

“Got it!” he said.  “Room 207!”

“Great!” said Drew.  “Is that an airplane company?”

Edward laughed.  “Uh-uh.  Just wait till you see.”

“It’s not?”

Edward laughed even harder.  “I can’t even say it.  Just follow me.”

Curious, Edward’s siblings followed him up the stairs and down the hall to room 207.  Edward stopped and gestured at the door.  “See?”

At this point, the rest of his siblings burst out laughing.  “Coffman’s Clowns, Inc.” read Drew.  “He sells clown materials?”

“Maybe he makes their outfits,” said Edward.  “Size 18 shoes, water-squirting ties, funny noses—”

“If that’s his office, that’s a far cry from airplane parts,” said Carol.

“I’ll say!  Let’s go in and ask him about it.”

They wandered into the office, where they were greeted by another secretary.  This one looked friendlier than the last.  “Welcome to Coffman Clowns!” she said.  “What can we do for you?”

“We’re here to see Mr. Coffman,” said Drew.  “Is he available?”

“Why, certainly,” said the secretary.  “Who should I say is visiting?”

“Never mind,” said Drew.  “We’re friends; we’ll surprise him.”  Walking past her, he pushed open the door to Coffman’s office.

“Mr. Coffman!  Fancy meeting you here!”

A horrified expression came over Peter’s face.  “You’re one of the Hallett kids!”

“We all came,” said Carol.  Edward and Renee followed her in, much to the prospective son-in-law’s chagrin.

“Yes,” said Drew.  “Dad’s doing something in town in connection with the golf course, so we thought we’d call on you.  We would have been here earlier, only we thought you worked at Osgood Jets.”

Coffman pushed past the four kids and sped to his door.  “Elena,” he said.  “Don’t let anyone into my office until I’m done with these kids.  Thank you.”  He slammed the door and turned to his visitors.

“I don’t know how you figured out I work here,” he said, walking back behind his desk, “but I guess my secret’s up.  Blaine sent you, didn’t he?”

“No!” said Drew.  “We just thought we’d pay you a call while we’re in town.  Of course, it looks a little suspicious, you claiming to work for an airplane company when you really work here—”

“I know,” said Coffman.  “Go ahead.  Tell Blaine.  I might as well kiss my chances of marrying Hannah goodbye.”

“Oh, come now, Mr. Coffman,” said Drew.  “I’m sure you had bigger things on your mind than Hannah.”

“What could be bigger than the most beautiful woman in the world?” asked Peter, looking up.  “When I first met Hannah, I knew there was something special about her.  There’s no one else so kind, so patient, so loving.  After a few months, I knew I had to marry her.

“Her father was a big man for Boeing, and he disliked me from the start.  I couldn’t tell him I sold clown accessories!  There’s no way he’d have given her permission!  So, I told him I worked for an airplane company too.  I even pretended to be interested in his project.  He wanted to keep it quiet; that was fine with me.  I could care less about it anyway.  But by acting like I knew about planes and worked in that industry, I felt I would be more acceptable to him.”  He sighed and put his head down on the desk.  “If he finds out I sell clowns, I guess my relationship with Hannah is over.”

Drew shook his head.  “I don’t know, Mr. Coffman,” he said.  “You’re future father-in-law works on some pretty important stuff.  It’s a little hard to believe you had no interest in it.”

“I didn’t—I swear I didn’t!” said Coffman.  “Wait a minute—what does it matter whether I had an interest in it or not?  I’m through the minute Blaine finds out what my real job is.”

“This is more serious than you think,” said Drew.  “If you’re plotting to steal Blaine’s project—”

“Plotting to steal it?”  Coffman looked up in surprise.  “Why would I be planning to steal it?  I just make clown accessories.  What would interest would an aerospace project have for—oh, wait a minute!  You thought I was trying to steal something from Mr. Blaine?”

“Posing as an employee of a jet company would make nice cover, wouldn’t it?” said Carol.

“No!” said Peter.  “I’d never steal!  Lie, maybe, but stealing’s another thing!  I can’t think of anyone who—wait a minute!”

“What?” asked Drew.

Coffman didn’t answer right away.  He looked towards the ceiling, as if he was thinking hard about something.  When he spoke again, it was as if he wasn’t fully there.  But only for a moment.

“Once he’s done, we’ll get out…it’ll be too late for them by then…know exactly where they are…Listen!” said Peter, snapping back into focus.  “If someone’s after the project, I think I know who it is!  This morning—”

He never finished his sentence.  There was a BANG!, the window shattered, and Peter fell to the floor!

“Mr. Coffman!” exclaimed Drew, running around the desk.  Renee gasped.

“Is he—” started Carol.

“Unconscious,” said Drew, “but he’s been shot.  Quick, call the police!  Use a cellphone; this one could be tapped.”

Carol quickly dialed a number.

“Should we go after whoever fired the shot?” asked Renee.

“No, don’t!” said Drew.  “We don’t want them to know we’re here.  If they want to silence Peter, they’d want to do the same to anyone who might have overheard.  Edward, peek through the window and see—”

Edward was already at the window.  He put his head on the wall and shifted it sideways until he could see out with one eye.

“See anything?”

“Nope,” said Edward.  “There’s a two-story building with a flat roof next to us.  The shot could have either come from the second floor or the roof.”

“No trace,” said Drew.  “That doesn’t surprise me.  Whoever we’re up against is tough.  We’d better be careful when we get back home!”