“Here you go, Laura, just how you like it, not too much milk.” Mike handed me my cup and sat down taking a sip from his coffee. “Ah, hits the spot. Now, where were we?”
Larry looked up, his eyes red. “I can’t believe you’re asking such a ridiculous question? Are you mad? I’ll be the laughing stock of the entire school. My life is over.”
I took a long swallow of my coffee before replying, “Larry, I do believe you’re overreacting. You didn’t cause this. Cho, Viktor and Jelly acted independently of your teaching skills.”
“They used every bit of what I taught them. Every single thing! I taught them how to build bombs, can’t you see it?” Larry waved his arms back and forth.
Mike nodded and rubbed his forehead. He then tilted his cup toward me.
I coughed, took another sip of coffee and said, “I think you’re being too hard on yourself, Larry.”
“Really?” Larry asked. “Who else taught them engineering?” He waved his arms once more.
I stood up, faced Larry and said, “To begin with, you’ve no idea how much training any of them had prior to coming to Soundview Technical, do you? Did they receive any engineering education previously?”
“My partner brings up a great point, Larry. What do their transcripts show?” Mike asked.
“Well,” Larry hesitated while he booted up his laptop. He squinted at the screen while it hummed to life. “I know Cho came from a top school in North Korea, as did Jelly. And Viktor came from an excellent school in Russia. We only accept honors students. I’ll prove it to you.” He scrolled around until he came to the page he wanted, and continued scrolling. He narrowed his eyebrows and said, “How odd, each of their respective transcripts is missing. They have to be backed up on our main server. Let me call over to our Admissions Office, they must have the information. No one is admitted to our institution without the proper credentials and paperwork. Absolutely no one.”
While Larry made the call, Mike and I eyed each other, anticipating what the answer would be. This wasn’t the crew’s first rodeo, so to speak. Any trail which would lead us to them had been meticulously cleaned, or so they thought. It was up to us to find one crumb unintentionally left behind.
“I don’t know what to say, Karen in admissions checked the main server numerous times and there’s no evidence of the three of them having ever attended Soundview Technical, or even submitting applications.” Larry wobbled as he crossed to the other side of his office. He leaned against the door and said, “It’s as if they never existed. The best pupils I’ve taught have vanished, or worse yet, are international criminals and I increased their knowledge base. I’m culpable. Arrest me.”
Mike got up, walked over to Larry, and as Mike was putting his hand on Larry’s shoulder, Larry held out his wrists.
“Larry, you’re not under arrest. Put your hands down. I was coming over to console you, it’s not your fault,” Mike said. “Listen, you had no idea what they were up to. As far as you were concerned, they were regular students, here to learn. Okay, as you said—exceptional students.”
“Exactly, Larry,” I said. “How in the world could you possibly know what their intentions were?”
“You’re not going to arrest me?” Larry asked.
“Why would we do so when we need your help in capturing them?” I asked.
“My help?” Larry asked.
“Yes, your help. Remember I said we needed to know if they had left anything behind, such as backpacks?” Mike asked.
“Yes, yes I do. I suppose due to the urgency and the fact lives have been lost I can show you their lockers as well as their dorm rooms. If they had the presence of mind to clean the server, I find it highly unlikely they left any of their personal belongings behind, but one never knows, does one?” Larry stated.
“Even geniuses make mistakes,” I said.
“I suppose,” Larry said, filling up a bottle with filtered water. “Follow me, it’s a long walk across campus to the dorms, and then we can go back to the lab where they spent an inordinate amount of time working on assignments. I require a lot from my students.”
“I’m sure you do,” Mike agreed.
“Yes, you come across as a precise individual,” I said.
“Science is exact, Laura. There’s no room for error,” Larry said.
Mike and I exchanged looks.
Larry led us down the dorm hallway, which was relatively quiet since most of the students were attending classes. A few wandered in and out of their rooms, none of whom paid any attention to us. One young man smiled, waved and disappeared into his room. I wanted to talk to a few of them and ask what the trio was like, but first we needed to inspect the rooms. With any luck, they had interactions with their dorm mates and had left an impression with them, something we could pass on to Grady which might help locate them. Someone had to be aware of something, even if they didn’t realize it.
“Viktor and Cho shared a room and this is it,” Larry announced as he stopped in front of a nondescript door and proceeded to unlock it. He pointed further down the hallway, and said, “Jelly’s room is three doors down on the right. I’ll unlock hers as soon as I’ve let you in this one.”
“Did she share with anyone?” I asked.
“Interesting question, she roomed alone,” Larry answered.
“Is that typical?” Mike asked.
“No, not at all. I’ve never considered the question prior to this, but it is indeed quite odd.” Larry hurriedly walked down the hallway.
“Also interesting he’s not hanging around to see what’s in the room,” Mike said.
“I’m guessing the poor guy is completely humiliated and feels responsible for this,” I said.
“That’s ridiculous and you know it, Laura.”
“I know it and so do you, but he’s completely attached to his students. He takes whatever they do personally. Go ahead and say it,” I said.
“Why, you just did. He’s gonna take all the injuries and deaths from his students’ actions to heart. Poor guy.” Mike sighed as he swung the door open.
Mike turned his flashlight on, stepped inside, found a light switch and flipped it on. “I wonder what the girl’s room looks like. I’m calling Grady pronto, ‘cause I’m guessing the State boys are gonna want to see this, as in yesterday. Laura, don’t let Larry back in here, and chase him out of Jelly’s room real quick if there’s anything of value in there. You got your Glock on you?”
“Always,” I answered.
“Good girl. If he gives you a hard time, just show it to him. Leave it in the holster. Got it?” Mike said.
“Loud and clear,” I responded.
“I can’t believe they wiped their transcripts clean and left these maps behind,” Mike said.
“Me either. Maybe they thought it would be all over by the time this was found,” I said.
“Interesting point. Okay, I got Grady,” Mike said.
“And I’m on my way down the hall,” I said.
I walked out the door and bumped right into Larry. I reached behind me and pulled the door closed.
Larry stepped around me giving me a gentle shove to the side and grabbed the door handle.
I pulled my jacket open putting my holstered Glock Nineteen in plain view and said, “Two things, Larry: The room is off limits and never shove me like that again. Are we clear on both counts?”
Larry backed up and said, “I believe we are. I can call campus security.”
“You do that, Larry because the Connecticut State Police Major Crime Squad is on their way, and I’m fairly sure they’ve got jurisdiction over your campus security. Your security guys need to step off. Mike and I are helping with this investigation, got it. You’ve been both helpful and cooperative, so let’s keep it that way. Now, I’d like to see Jelly’s room and make sure it’s secure until Major Crimes gets here, okay.”
“Right. It’s down the hall, third door on your right,” Larry said.
“Thanks Larry, you’ve been gr
eat,” I said. I turned and fast-walked down the hall, before any students could poke their heads out of their doors and quiz me about what was going on.
Jelly’s room was the same set-up as the boys, except there was only one bed and the refrigerator was a bit bigger. Her desk was the same size and extremely neat. Shelves had been added over it and they were filled with a variety of notebooks and reading materials pertaining to her classes. In this day and age of nearly everything being online, some things still required actual books.
I pulled down one notebook and was about to begin reading when I heard the door open. My instinct was to reach for my gun, but this was a school not a danger zone. A white flag, attached to a ruler poked through the door and waved up and down. I heard a man’s voice say, “I come in peace, please don’t shoot. Oh, and I’m a friend of Grady’s. I forgot I was supposed to say so first.”
I laughed and asked, “Does Grady’s friend have a name?”
“Greg Hendricks. May I enter?”
“As long as it’s really you, yes, you may enter,” I answered.
“I bring reinforcements from the FBI. May they enter, too?”
I could hear laughter and a deep, gravelly voice I hadn’t heard in some time, but was unmistakable.
“It all depends. I’m kidding!” I ran to the door and threw it open and gave my old friend, Reggie Martin a big hug. As big a hug as was humanly possible considering I insisted he looked like Reggie White’s African American twin, the greatest Green Bay defensive end to ever play the game. Reggie was just as huge a man as the now deceased Reggie White, so it was nearly impossible to hug him, but I gave it my best. I had learned so much from our first case, I couldn’t believe my luck in having another opportunity to work with him again.
Reggie smiled down at me and said, “You look great, kid. I can’t wait until we go fishing again.”
“Oh, no you don’t. It’s going to be a long time before we ever go fishing,” I said.
“Wait a minute, I love fishing stories,” Greg said. He was almost as tall as Reggie, but more lanky like Grady with closely cropped brown hair. Mike had told me the State Police were strict with their dress codes, more so than local police departments.
“It’s a great one, Greg, Laura caught a body her first time out,” Reggie said with his deep, hearty laugh.
“I heard about this. This story has become legend. Pleasure to finally meet you,” Greg grinned and extended his hand.
We shook hands and I said, “I’d rather have a reputation for having caught a shark on my first trip.”
“Not nearly as dramatic as a body though,” Greg said with a chuckle.
“Right,” Reggie said, “anyone can catch a shark, but how many people hook bodies?” Reggie put his arm around me, and said, “I’d like to take credit for teaching her how to fish, but it was Crosby’s boat.”
“That explains it.” Greg nearly doubled over with laughter. “You name a boat, Please Bite, and you’re asking for it.”
Mike poked his head out of the boy’s dorm room and said, “Hey, when you’re finished swapping fish stories, you want to swing by and see what I got to show you? I think we’ve got enough to hook those three once we find ‘em.”
“Good to see you, old buddy,” Greg said. “First we’re going to search the young lady’s room, then we’ll be down your way. Give us a few—we owe Laura after all the razzing. She’s been a good sport.”
“Why do you think I partnered up with her?” Mike grinned. “Take your time, Reggie brought along an FBI sidekick who can help me out until you finish up in there. Then we can compare notes and see what we got.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Greg responded as he and Reggie began flipping through notebooks, desk drawers and other papers while I waited and watched for instructions. Prior to moving anything, they took pictures and asked if I’d touched anything. I pointed to the one notebook I’d pulled from its spot on the shelf as Greg had approached the door. Neither had a problem with that; time was of the essence.
While waiting, I wondered who Reggie’s FBI sidekick was.
Chapter 15
It didn’t make sense for our trio to wipe clean their past, but why leave behind so many clues leading us in the direction of their next attack. I leaned against the wall and considered another ugly alternative; it was so obvious as to be absurd, they wanted to draw us in as casualties. I rubbed my eyes in disbelief; did they honestly believe this group of highly trained professionals would fall for the oldest trick in the book? Or were they the highly trained ones sent here to fool us? I believed they were sent here by Kim Jong Un, and at this point, Putin having a hand in things wouldn’t surprise me. Soundview was a small town surrounded by vital military installations, but nothing of this magnitude had ever been visited on our community before.
I felt a tap on my shoulder, and without looking up, said, “Oh, Mike, I was trying to piece this together and I think I’ve got some good stuff figured out.” I wheeled around and screamed, “Kai!”
Mike came running out of the guy’s dorm and asked, “How did the puppies get out of the car?” He looked up and down the hallway, scratched his head, and began opening doors calling for Kai and Koa. Next, he whistled for the puppies.
Kai turned to me and asked, “Why is Mike going in and out of rooms calling my name when I’m standing right here? And why is he asking how I got out of the car? Who’s Koa? I’m not a puppy. Wait a minute…you didn’t. You got a puppy, didn’t you?” Kai stepped back and brushed his hand through his black hair, put the other hand on the wall and laughed.
“Why’s Kai sitting on the floor, busting a gut, laughing?” Reggie asked, stepping out of Jelly’s room. “And why is Mike going around looking for puppies when we’re investigating bombers?” Reggie shrugged, and continued, “Glad to see things are the same around here.”
I looked at Reggie, and started to explain, decided against it and sat alongside Kai. “It’s great to see you again, Kai. I can’t wait to introduce you to Kai. Oh, and Koa, too.”
Mike walked over, stood there with his hands on his hips, peering down at the two of us grinning and asked, “Care to explain?”
“Mike, I’m sorry, this is, Kai Halstead.”
“I know who he is; I was working with him in Cho and Viktor’s room. Wait a sec, Kai, as in Kai, your old high school pal?”
“One and the same,” I answered.
“I’ve got puppies on the brain. I never put two and two together,” Mike said.
“And I never thought Laura would name a puppy after me,” Kai said.
“Oh, this is gonna be interesting,” Mike said. “Especially when she has to take them out for a walk, and it’s time for them to do their thing.”
“How about when she’s calling Kai, how am I supposed to know who she’s calling?” Kai asked.
“That’s easy; if Koa comes then you know it’s the other Kai, right? Wait a minute, that won’t work either because Koa’s not gonna know the difference. Kai is Kai to him; he’s gonna come either way. Man is he gonna be confused,” Mike said.
Reggie stuck his head out the door and said, “Kai, do yourself a favor and when you hear your name called, show up.”
From inside the room, Greg said, “I’m not coming out there, but I agree with what Reggie just said.”
“That concludes the good citizen training, you pass Kai. You can sit and stay.” I laughed and stood up.
“Bingo! I found Jelly’s real name,” Greg announced.
Mike, Kai and I did our best to fit through the doorway at the same time, but Kai beat us. His lean six foot one frame took advantage and he did a slight leap frog over us.
“Kai, you haven’t changed one bit, always using the gymnastic moves to get there first,” I said.
“Why not— served me well in surfing, too.” Kai grinned.
“Okay kids, if you’re finished, do you want to hear?” Greg asked.
“We’re all ears,” Mike said.
“Okay, I�
�m expecting Kai to help with the meaning, not that it’s important, but it could help. Jelly left behind a social security card, granted, it was a fake. It was taped to the bottom of the desk drawer, but she used it to apply for a few things, such as a credit card and driver’s license, under: Nari Kim. We already knew Kim was her surname. Who knows why she chose Jelly as a first name,” Greg said.
Kai raised an eyebrow and said, “Nari means deed in Japanese. I know because it was my mom’s aunt’s name. It’s a popular name in Japan and it means deed as in something you do. It’s a good thing. In Korean, give me a second while I cheat and Google. Here it is—it’s Lily, like the flower, so it’s also good. Like my name, it has various meanings. My dad, being Hawaiian liked it because it means ocean and my mom liked it because in Japanese it means basically the same thing. Win win for me.” He smiled.
“Now that I think about it, Halstead isn’t Hawaiian, but you look like an Islander to me, Kai, albeit a displaced one.” Greg smiled.
“You must be a detective, Greg,” Kai said.
“Not only a detective, I’m a Trooper, a Lieutenant to be accurate, in charge of Major Crimes,” Greg said. “It was a curiosity question, sorry if I’m prying.”
“No problem, I’m the new guy, so it’s only natural. My dad’s last name was, Kaapana, but he was killed in a surfing accident. A large wave took him and we never found his remains. Other surfers witnessed it otherwise we would never have believed it possible. From what we were told, it was a rogue wave, a monster wave is what they called it and he was never seen again. My mother remarried a hotel owner by the name of, Halstead and since I was a toddler, he adopted me. I have vague but fond memories of my father. I’ve often wondered if I should change my name back to Kaapana but it might offend my mother and stepfather.”
Reggie cleared his throat, put his arm around Kai and said, “Piece of advice kid, get used to the friendly jabs, okay. If a guy by the name of Grady was around, the greater than thou remark wouldn’t have gone unanswered.”
Case of the Mouse Trap Legend Page 7
