Chapter 21: The Search

They had no plan—by design.  Frank knew that whatever they did depended upon the layout of the building, as well as who was around.  If the crooks weren’t there, the job would be a cinch.  If they were there, the job would not be a cinch.  All four of the structures looked uninhabited, but Frank knew full well how deceiving appearances could be.

Fortunately, he and Auburn had no trouble coming up with a plan.  Zach drove to a gas station, where Frank got out, called Nancy, and told her what was going on.  Then, the four in the car went to work.

At precisely one o’clock, a red Bel Air pulled into the Subway parking lot.  Zach wandered in, smiled at the lad at the counter, and quickly ordered a simple Black Forest Ham sub—wheat bread, white American cheese, pickles and onions—no lettuce—Dijon mustard.  There was no line, and the clerk set about to make it for him.  As he waited, Zach glanced around at all the empty seats.

“By the way, I’m supposed to be meeting someone,” he told the clerk.  “You wouldn’t know if Olga Kratz has been in by any chance, would you?”

The clerk gazed back at him blankly.  “Olga Kratz?  Who’s she?”

Zach had no idea—Frank had come up with the name a short time before.  “Well, she’s very tall—six-foot-four.  Long, reddish hair—freckles covering her face—and a laugh that sounds like a horse whinny.  You probably would have noticed if she’d come in.”

The clerk shook his head.  “Can’t say I’ve seen anyone like that.”

“That’s good,” said Zach.  “We were supposed to meet at 12:30—I’m running behind.  ‘Course, sometimes she’s an hour late.  I wonder what’s keeping her.”

He paid for his lunch, then took up a seat at the east end of the building.  From there, he had a clear vantage point of Rudolph’s.  Bob’s Salvage wasn’t quite as easy to make out, but if anybody ran out onto Stewart Drive, they’d be right in his line of vision.  Taking a bite of sub, Zach stared out the window and waited.

Ten minutes after he walked in, the other three made their move.

“Alright, gang!”  Frank and the girls were hiding in the trees on the north side of Tennessee Avenue, across from the long steel building with the broken Rudolph’s sign.  (Weather-beaten and worn, the half of the sign with “dolph’s” on it was still visible.)  Frank pointed to a hole in the left side where rust had eaten away the metal.

“Through there!” he said.  “I’ll go first.  No lights, and don’t make a sound once you get inside.  We’ll wait five minutes to see if anyone’s around.”

“How are you going to know when five minutes are up?” Ashley asked.

Frank pointed to his watch.  “It glows in the dark.  Don’t worry, I’ll cover it.”

Auburn smiled.  “Glad mine didn’t.  I needed to stay inconspicuous when I was the Purple Porcupine.”

Carefully, the three moved out of the shrubs, then ran across the road, flattening themselves against the building.  There, they checked to make sure no one was watching, then one by one shoved themselves through the hole.  It was tough going, and Auburn had to catch a chunk of metal knocked off by Frank on his way through, but they made it!

Once inside, they followed his command, remaining absolutely still as they listened for a sign of life.

No one spoke, nor could the kids detect any movement.  However, the room was not silent.  Very little separated them from the highway, and the rumble of tractor trailers and oil rigs penetrated through the cracks in the wall.  So too did the gusty Oklahoma wind, which was really sweeping down the plain on this particular day.  A clapping sound from above arrested Frank’s attention, until he realized it was a loose flap of steel moving in the breeze.

Tensely, the three waited for the five minutes to pass.

When no shadows loomed up out of the darkness, when no voices suddenly called out “Gotcha!”, when no bullets whizzed through the air, the three decided they were probably in the clear.  Frank was just about to put on his light when—

“Aaah!  Get it off me!”

That was Ashley!   Both Frank and Auburn switched on their flashlights, twisting them towards their friend.  They saw she’d just been attacked by—

“Meow!”  A fat, gray-and-white striped tabby cat stopped rubbing against the girl’s legs to stare disdainfully at the lights.  “Meow!” it said, angrily.  With a little hiss, it threw itself through the hole in the wall and sauntered outside, looking for a more quiet place to rest.

Ashley breathed slower.  “Sorry!” she said.  “When that thing touched my legs, I thought—”

“No worries.”  Frank’s voice echoed eerily as he swung the flashlight beam around, getting a look at the place.  “I don’t think we’re missing anything here.  This room is empty!”

“Not even a tire track on the floor,” said Auburn, moving her beam around.  “Oil stains, but they’re not fresh.  Look at the dust all over this place.  No one’s been in here recently.”

“Disappointing,” agreed Frank, “but we’ve still got the other buildings to check—douse your lights!” he suddenly exclaimed.  “If someone’s in one of those other buildings, they might have heard the scream!”