The 15th Star (A Lisa Grace History - Mystery)

by Lisa Grace

  Keiko looked at Julian, “Yeah, Jacks could. He’s getting his degree in computer software security engineering. But I don’t want to put him in danger. Can’t we just go to the police?”

  “Sure we can, but if they are as highly connected as you think, they can have you arrested and framed so they have time to find the star at their leisure. Your life will still be in danger as long as you have the letters,” Ray said.

  Julian said, “Without the star, and the rest of the story, there are only a few facts. We have to find the star and the name. We’re toast until we know who is behind the secret of the star.”

  “We need to get to the star before they do. They probably will be searching the Flag House tonight,” Ray added.

  “We need to figure out the rest of the clue and get into Claggett’s Brewery tonight. We have to find that letter, and the star,” Julian said.

  Ray interjected, “ Do you have Jacks’ phone number or know where he’s at? We can have him run a tracer to spy on those spying on you.”

  “No, I never had his number,” Keiko said, “Wait! He hangs out in the evenings at the Palace of Wonders, you know, that bar in the Atlas district? He invites me to stop in all the time. Should we call or show up?” Keiko asked.

  “Let’s call. We’re running short on time,” Julian answered.

  “Okay,” Ray brought back a phone, punched in a call block number, then handed the phone to Keiko. Ray got on line and looked up the number to the Palace of Wonders bar. Keiko read the number off his screen and punched it into the phone.

  On the other end, “Palace,”

  Keiko heard the band in the background playing some sort of loud rock, so she spoke loudly into the phone, “Is Jacks there?”

  “Who?” the bartender asked louder indicating by his volume how loud Keiko would have to speak to be heard. She spoke louder, “Jacks!”

  She heard the bartender yell out above the music, “Jacks, hey Jacks! It’s a girl, get over here! A girl’s on the phone for you.”

  Keiko said to Julian and Ray, “He’s there. He’s coming to the phone.”

  “Hello?” Keiko can tell it’s Jacks.

  “Hi Jacks, it’s Keiko.”

  “Keiko? Hold on, Let me get some place quiet.” Suddenly the background noise drops down in volume, “Okay, I’m just outside the front door so I can hear you. Hi, Keiko, I didn’t think you’d be calling me. What happened to the doctor Indian?”

  Keiko decided to ignore the question, “Jacks, I need a favor. Can you get online and see who’s been snooping into my computer files? Can you run some kind of trace to check that?”

  “What? Hold on…you want a trace put on your computer and your files?”

  “Yes, I need your help. Someone maybe going in and deleting some important files. Can you find out who it is? The thing is, I know this sounds paranoid, but I need you to trust that I’m not. Please buy a laptop that can’t be traced back to you, use that. I’ll pay you back in the next few days. I promise. Use it in a public place then throw it out. Take the battery out and ditch it in a different location from the laptop.”

  “Keiko, you know you’re sounding crazy, right? You know you work at a museum not exactly a cloak and dagger type environment.”

  “I know Jacks. I know this sounds crazy, but can you do it? Can you run a trace and use an untraceable computer, please?”

  “Sure, sure no problem. I’ll find out who’s giving you a hard time, but you owe me a drink and dinner out, Okay?”

  “Sure Jacks, thanks.”

  “How can I reach you when I know whom it is?”

  Keiko asked Julian, “How do we get the tracer information from Jacks?”

  “Can he print it out and leave it back at the bar?”

  Keiko asked, “Could you please leave it up at the bar in an envelope with just my first initial on it?”

  “Sure, no problem. The bartender’s a friend of mine. I’ll see you at work tomorrow, right?”

  “I might be taking a few days off until I get to the bottom of this.”

  “Okay, well, I’ll see you then. Don’t forget you owe me a dinner out.”

  Keiko smiled, “I won’t forget. Thanks Jacks.”

  “Sure Keiko, anytime.”

  They both hung up.

  “I think I’ll be going on that dinner too,” Julian added.

  Keiko laughed, “Of course.”

  Ray said, “Okay, thirteen by two, in the basement. Now what is the reference, “Point from the star to a star?”

  “I’m hoping this part will throw them off, thinking it’s another measurement. Maybe they’ll even think it’s a distance amount away from the Flag House.”

  “Well isn’t it?” Julian asked.

  “No,” Keiko smiled, “the clue is something Grace would have seen.”

  “Please explain,” Ray said.

  Keiko got up from excitement and started pacing back and forth, clearly in her element. “We have to remember Grace was illiterate, she wasn’t going to be leaving measurement clues. Most math would have been way over her head. Grace would use landmarks. Things she would see everyday. Things nobody could miss.”

  “Well I’m missing it. I would think it would have been a measurement, for instance she would have to know math and angles to cut a perfect star.”

  “No. She didn’t need to know any of those things. Ray, do you have a piece of paper and a scissors? Watch.”

  Keiko took the piece of paper and cut it in half from the top, then she folded the rectangle in half each way to make crease lines. After this, she took it back to the first fold and took the bottom corner so it was offset half-way. Then she folded just that flap back over in the opposite direction so it made a triangle. Keiko took the bottom piece, folded it over the other, and then, keeping that fold over itself, again. Keiko was now holding a funny dunce cap shaped piece of paper with the unmatched corners hanging out the bottom. Keiko took the scissors and from the bottom right, cut off most the paper with one diagonal cut, leaving a thin triangle shaped paper. When Keiko unfolded it, she had a perfect five pointed star.

  “This is how Grace, Mary, and all the other women cut perfect stars every time, without any measuring or math skills. A trade secret,” Keiko said as she sat down.

  “Okay now that you proved that it’s probably not a measurement clue, then what is it?” Julian asked.

  “It’s a direction!” Keiko said.

  “A direction? You can’t be talking about her navigating by the stars. If Grace wasn’t sophisticated enough to do simple math, there is no way she was doing any navigation by the stars,” Julian said.

  “You’re right,” Keiko smiled.

  “There was a star in Grace’s life a reminder of her past, and unless you are a war buff, it would probably escape your notice,” Keiko smiled.

  Well tell us, don’t keep us in the dark,” Ray said.

  Keiko savored her knowledge for a few more short seconds, “Fort McHenry.”

  She sat back and looked from Ray to Julian with a look of triumph on her face. “You don’t get it?” Ray and Julian looked at each other, shook their heads no, then they looked at her, waiting for the explanation.

  “Fort McHenry is shaped like a star! Only someone who has driven up to it would realize that. Both Grace and Louisa would have noticed on a long wagon ride in. No one pays attention to old forts except historians who study that bit of history. But Louisa and Grace may have discussed it. The fort wasn’t even fully finished when they were there. It was still under construction. Most people assume forts are square. But Fort McHenry is shaped like a star. And more importantly, I bet one of those points,” Keiko gets up and pulls a piece of paper off the copier and takes a pen out of the coffee mug holder and draws a star with a line to a square, “points right to one of the walls down in Claggett’s Brewery basement.”

  Keiko looks triumphantly from Ray to Julian, “I know that flag is down in that basement buried behind a stone, thirteen spaces from the wa
ll and two up.”

  “I just know Grace hid it behind that wall. We have to go there tonight and dig it out before the bad guys figure out it’s not at the Flag House.”

  Ray looked at Julian, “She’s right. Whoever these guys are, they’re going to figure out by the end of the evening it’s not there. And when they do, they’ll call in their own historians who will research it and figure out it has got to be at Claggett’s Brewery. None of the information we have is rocket science. It just takes someone with some knowledge of the time period and the area to figure it out.”

  Julian looks at Keiko, “We better pack and get going. We have to find the flag tonight.”

  Julian looked at Keiko with a new found admiration in his eyes, “You figured all that out from the letters?”

  Keiko felt her face get hot from the way he was staring at her, “I told you I love history. I just put myself in Grace’s shoes and then it didn’t seem so hard to solve. It’s just what Grace would have known to do with the information and the clues coming from the way she lived back then. Really there is nothing mysterious about figuring it out.”

  He was still looking at her as if she was the most amazing woman. She hoped he never stopped. Ray got up and walked out to the garage, both Keiko and Julian could hear him rummaging around for supplies. They heard the car door open and close, and then he came back in.

  “We need to prepare and then we better head out,” he said.

  *

  ***

  *

  Chapter 12 - Congressman Rivers

  Congressman Rivers found the letter stuck between the pages of the old family Bible. He had burned his ancestor’s journal where Stanton detailed with pride, some of the more heinous acts he took pleasure in. Congressman Rivers had always been proud of his ancestors. He was a direct descendent and he carried on the family name. Many unsavory things were done in the early days of United States. Acts that were best buried in the romance of history. Rivers knew from this letter that there were other letters out there detailing his ancestor, Stanton Rivers’ crimes.

  Benton Rivers was finally being offered by his party the chance to run for President. Benton couldn’t take the chance of Major Rivers’ crimes against society coming to light. Especially now. The man had been a psychopath. How many crimes were revealed in the letter buried with the flag? The diary detailed every sick thought and act committed against anyone he found vulnerable. Benton destroyed it to ensure no one would find out how sick old Stanton had been. One of America’s first true psychopaths. The rumors released from the letters buried with star would damage his standing in the party and he might lose their backing. Not to mention the social stigma. Now he dined with Presidents, Ambassadors, and heads of state. All of this would be lost if the star was found and the truth was out. The star must remain buried or better yet, be destroyed and the truth of the past with it. Rivers would see it stayed that way.

  When Cecelia had called him from the Flag House, he kicked in a plan of action he’d been preparing for years. One phone call took care of Cecilia and the girl looking for the letters. Her name was Keiko Zorben, an intern at the Smithsonian. He should be getting a call any hour now that the problem with the girls was taken care of. Next, he called his contact in computer security to hack into her records, send him a copy of her latest research, and then erase the records in her computers, the Smithsonian’s, and their backup data storage company. Rivers made another call to put a tracer on her cell phone, laptop, and credit cards.

  If she wasn’t dead yet, she soon would be.

  Congressman Rivers placed another call. There were only so many places Grace could have logically buried the flag. He couldn’t afford the bad press that would come with finding the star. Stanton Rivers had gone down in history as an honorable founding father. One of the first congressmen who had almost risen to the position of President.

  Now it was his turn. He almost had his party’s nomination locked up to support his run for President. The hint of a scandal including a rape and worse—(from what Stanton’s journal had indicated before Benton wisely burned it) even from over two-hundred years ago, would kill his chances. The other side would slam home TV ads, “Will you vote for the heir apparent of a rapist and a murderer?” Benton knew his enemies would exploit his past because that is exactly what he would do if he were them.

  “Hello?”

  “John?” Benton said, as the person on the other end of the line answered. “A ‘Keiko Zorben’ from the Smithsonian is out now on the search. Look at her files on her PC at work and at home. Find out what she knows. Put out as many men as you can. We need one at the Flag House, Claggetts, the port, and over by the church. Put a net out within a six block radius of the Flag House. I don’t think Grace would have stashed it far from home. Call me as soon as you are on their tail. I want to be there when they find it.”

  ***

  “Claggett’s Brewery has to be near the Flag House, within a carriage ride distance,” Keiko said.

  “Let’s get going. We’ll take my car. It’s less noticeable and infinitely safer,” Ray said as he came out carrying hi tech looking vests. “Here, put these on under your shirts, they’re light weight and they’ll stop a hollow point. They’re the best money can buy even the President wears one.”

  “He does?” Keiko asked. The vest felt a little thicker than flannel and a little stiff like canvas. It was hard to believe it could stop a bullet.

  “Yep, they’ve come a long way with all the new force absorbing polymers and carbon nano tubes. These are old prototypes that I picked up for a song. I think the last President’s oldest daughter used to wear yours Keiko,” Ray said. He headed toward the back wall and took down two guns. Ray handed both to Julian who reached in a drawer, took out an ankle strap, put one on, and then buckled the second around his waist. Ray took down three for himself, one to wear around the ankle, a shoulder holster, and one around the waist. Ray held out a box of ammo clips for Julian and took one for himself. Ray turned to Keiko, “Would you like one?”

  Keiko nodded yes.

  “Have you ever shot one before?”

  “No.”

  Julian took the gun from his Dad, “Then here, take this,” He handed her a small gun. “This is a .22 loaded with hollow points. If you have to shoot, you shoot to kill.” Julian opened the chamber, and checked to make sure it was loaded. He then put the safety on.

  “This is the safety. On, off.” He looked at her and Keiko nodded.

  Julian stood behind her and put the gun in her hands. He wrapped his hands around hers, which were now holding the gun.

  “You hold the gun with both hands because it’s going to kick up when you pull the trigger. Aim for the body. Don’t pull the trigger unless it’s your life or his. These bullets don’t wound, they kill. Got it?”

  Keiko took a breath and leaned back into Julian. She was nervous, but with his arms around her, even while holding a gun for the first time in her life, she was calming down. The thought of someone trying to rob her of her life just when things were getting where she wanted them to be, made her mad. Julian slowly let her hands go and gave her a gentle hug, then walked over to help Ray finish loading supplies.

  Keiko just watched in silence.

  “Don’t worry. I just like to be prepared,” Ray said. He took down a couple of other things she didn’t recognize then nodded at her as the three of them headed for the garage.

  Out in the garage he walked over to his black limo-like car. A diplomat’s car, dark with tinted windows, anonymous in the big city.

  Julian turned toward Keiko and gave her a hug, “Dad’s car has bulletproof glass and reinforced sides, undercarriage, and roof. He bought it used from a retiring ambassador. His paranoia knows no bounds. Lucky for us.”

  In the front window he had a Pastor’s placard, which made all the defense somewhat ironic. He noticed Keiko looking at the placard, “My reinforced hedge of protection,” he joked.

  “Nothing like a man of pe
ace driving an armored car,” Julian added.

  Keiko smiled at the jokes as Julian held the door for her while she climbed in.

  Keiko reached out for Julian’s hand, but he did one better and put his arm around her shoulders instead. “Don’t worry it’ll be okay. We couldn’t be in better hands.”

  “Ray’s?”

  Julian smiled, “Sure him, but I meant…” Julian pointed skyward.

  Keiko smiled, “You’re right we couldn’t be in better hands.”

  Still Keiko’s sense of foreboding wouldn’t go away. The star was important to history but now even her survival depended on it, just as all those years ago, Grace’s did too.

  Ray’s next stop was a bar. “Wait here, I’ll be back in a minute.”

  Keiko and Julian sat, and then Julian reached over with his free hand and gently touched Keiko’s face. He looked into her eyes and kissed her deeply just the way she had wanted him to in the dusty storage room. Keiko melted into his arms and felt her heart race. They were interrupted by Ray's quick return to the car.

  “I guess you two were keeping an eye out for anything suspicious,” he said with a smirk in his voice, “If you are at all interested, this is a fourth generation family tavern that carries Claggett’s Brew so I was able to get directions to the original Claggett’s. At least I know where we are going. You two can resume your previous conversation, just forget I’m here.”

  Julian smiled, “I think we can agree to let it rest for now.”

  So they drove into the night, back into the heart of old Maryland.

  *

  ***

  *

  Chapter 13 - July 1819

  July 4th,1819

  Dear Grace,

  I have happy thoughts from when George was alive. I dreamed the other night that we were standing in the courtyard of the freshly built fort. I could even smell the newly hewn logs and I remembered your flag being raised, going on up and up. It just seemed to rise forever. I have never seen anything made by human hands go so high in all my life. I remember the loud cracking the flag made as it whipped back and forth in the breeze that day. And how happy I was, so newly married, and happy to have made you as a friend. I wish I could feel the way I did in that moment forever. Proud of George, my country, you, and in love with everything. A special hour, a special time. When I left the fort a few days latter, I noticed while going up a hill in the distance, the fort looks just like a star. They built it like a star! I am sure you must have noticed on your way home, if you looked back—I can not help but look back, because that is where my dear George is. I cling to the past, even when I cannot hold onto it. It is air now, just a dream. Thank you dear friend for listening. I hope the star has been a help to you. I have received your clue. I choose to forget your unhappiness at times as it makes me sad. I have cried and prayed many times on your behalf to God for justice. I pray now for your protection and for God to surround you with his guardian angels. If anything should befall you, I will proclaim loud and long who has hurt my dear Grace. For the sake of your son, I keep quiet at your request. I am not afraid of death and I will seek justice for you. I love you Grace,