Escape from Helmira: The Great Civil War Prison Escape (Dyna-Tyme Genetics Time Travel Series Book 2)

by Fred Holmes

  “Can we drop off my car at my brother’s house?”

  “Yeah, but we need to move it.” He nodded his head toward the car.

  Rainey waited at her brother’s while Vinnie drove to Lida’s suite at the Woods. After Lida heard all the details, she was glad to turn Bruno over to them, and they were soon on their way north on I-95. Bruno didn’t have much to say, except, “Too bad I didn’t get mine in the past like you did.”

  “Wadda ya mean, get mine?” Vinnie asked.

  “You know, when the Union Cavalry shot you, and they returned you to the present time. Lida did something called a reset, which fixed you up. It worked like a charm.”

  “I don’t remember a thing, except for … ” Vinnie paused, and a shadow crossed his face. “I just don’t know. It’s like I have a gap, a space in my brain, or in my heart. I feel strange sometimes, like I’m receiving a message.” He went silent, and Rainey slid over next to him, put her arm around him, and rested her head on his shoulder.

  “It’ll be okay, honey.”

  It took thirty minutes longer than usual; stops to change Bruno’s dressing slowed them down. They pulled up in front of Ferragamo’s Fine Meats, and a couple of Vinnie’s friends helped Bruno to a small apartment in the rear of the store.

  Rainey was confused. “Aren’t you going to take him to a hospital?”

  “No, we have our own Doc,” Vinnie replied. “He patches us up. Here he comes now. Hi, Doc, this is Rainey. Rainey, Doc Smith. Doc, you gotta hear her talk. She’s got the cutest little accent. Rainey, say something for him.”

  She piled on the accent. “Ahm paleesed to mock yo acquaintance, Doctah.” She loved to show off her southern accent, especially around Yankees.

  “Ain’t she something?”

  One of the other thugs, Roscoe, spoke up. “Vinnie, Tony wants to see you. He says to bring the broad, too.”

  Roscoe led Vinnie and Rainey into Tony’s office. Tony was at his desk, while his wife Bella stood beside him. Tony waved at a couple of wooden chairs. “Siddown.” They sat, and Rainey crossed her legs. “Well, you are a looker, aren’t you? Nice legs.” She blushed. “Thank you Mister, uh, Mister—”

  “Bustemonte, Anthony Bustemonte. You can call me Tony. Say, you do have a cute accent. My wife Bella is going to show you around while Vinnie and I chat.”

  Bella took a nervous Rainey by the arm and led her out of the office.

  Tony got up and paced back and forth. “Okay, let me have it.”

  Vinnie reported the conflict with the Koreans and Mike, and their subsequent suicide.

  Tony listened and then spoke. “Well, there is one little thing you’re omitting, Vinnie. Where’s the two million dollars? Where’s the briefcase?” Vinnie shrugged. “Got me, boss. I ain’t got no briefcase.”

  “Well somebody has the briefcase and the two mil. I want you to take Roscoe and get me the money.”

  “But it ain’t ours.”

  “It’s as much our money as anybody else’s. Now get going, and don’t take ‘I don’t know’ for an answer. Take my private plane, and you’ll be there in an hour, two at the most.”

  “What about Rainey?”

  “Don’t worry; Bella will take care of her. We’ll have a party ready for you two when you return with the money.”

  “What if I can’t—”

  “Unh-unh, that’s one of the two words I hate. Now get going!”

  Before they left, Vinnie took Rainey aside and gave her a roll of bills and a phone number. “If you have any problems, call this number. Talk only to Johnny Vitare. Make sure you tell him that Vinnie sent you. He’ll take you anywhere you need to go, just sign his bill. If you need more money, Johnny will give it to you. There’s a grand in that roll, but if you need more he’ll take care of anything you need. Got it?”

  “I got it. But what’s happening?”

  “Rainey, honey, don’t ask questions and don’t get involved. If you get stuck, just tell them you have to talk to me first.”

  “Can’t I go with you?”

  “Not this time.”

  “It’s dangerous, isn’t it?”

  He held his hand out, palm down, and turned the palm up two or three times in a sign of so, so. Then, pecked her on the cheek and waved to her as he slid into the passenger side. He said something to Roscoe, and they drove off.

  Rainey was left alone in Trenton, with a name, a roll of cash, and, for all intents and purposes, a chaperone.

  Chapter 29

  “GARY, Gary, come here, come here!” Sally, Gary’s wife of three months, screamed.

  Gary Smith pulled his exhausted body out of bed. A few minutes later, he approached Sally in his robe, right hand cradling a hot cup of coffee.

  “What’s up, honey?”

  Sally motioned him to the back door of his half clean car.

  “Maybe you can tell me where this came from?” She pointed to an open briefcase and the stacks of bills it contained. “How much is there? How did that briefcase wind up in the trunk of our car? Who does it belong to? Is it ours?” She was bouncing up and down with excitement.

  He took her by the shoulders and, with a little shake, slowed her down. “Unfortunately, it isn’t ours. Neither the briefcase nor the money. Sit down, and I’ll tell you the whole story.” She sat.

  “There’s about two million, mas o menos, in the briefcase.” He recounted the events of the previous night and finished with the tragic ending at the airport. “The little guy must have shoved the briefcase under the seat. I don’t think the younger one planned on ending that way. I think the older man talked him into it or ordered him to jump.”

  “How could someone jump to their death on somebody else’s command?”

  “One word. Kamikaze. I better call Mike.”

  Gary arranged to bring the money and meet with Carleton, Doctor Mark, Mike, and Ralph at the real estate office at nine that morning.

  * * * * *

  The five-some arrived at the Bailey Real Estate Office about nine. Ralph was surprised that Rainey wasn’t at her desk. Maud, one of Ralph’s agents, had the coffeemaker perking.

  “That’s strange. Rainey hasn’t been absent in two years.” He paused and shrugged. “Anybody for eclairs?”

  “Custard filled?” Gary asked.

  “I don’t think it’s real custard, but it’s tasty, for sure.” Ralph helped himself to an eclair.

  “Let’s get started,” Doctor Mark said. “I’ve got several patients coming in today.”

  The eclairs passed, Mike started. He explained how the two million, actually one million eight hundred thousand dollars, wound up under the backseat of Gary’s car. “We know who it belonged to, but who was the recipient? And what’s its use?”

  “What are we going to do with it?” Gary asked. “Technically, it belongs to North Korea. But I’ll bet it’s gray money … laundered till it’s squeaky clean.”

  “It has to be for the Time Travel feature,” Doctor Mark replied. “I can’t see North Koreans using the medical applications. If they wanted the medical feature, we would have made a better deal. And we wouldn’t negotiate surreptitiously. So we’re looking for someone with access to RTSL who would sell it to military power, thus becoming a traitor.”

  “Lida has to be mixed up in this,” Carleton alleged. “I haven’t trusted her since the Civil War fiasco. She’s also one of the few who’ll have a foolproof escape. She won’t even blink at the consequences should she get caught.”

  “How are we going to handle the bait?” Ralph asked, then paused.

  All eyes were on Ralph.

  “Oh no, I can’t get involved with Lida or be the bait. Ginger will kill me.”

  Doctor Mark spoke up. “We have two issues here—safeguarding the money and protecting RTSL. We know Lida is involved. If we can believe Erik Stenson, we have her, Vinnie, and maybe even Rummy, if he’s back—”

  Mike put his finger to his lips to signal quiet and then motioned for Carleton to follow him. H
e then put his hands down flat, in the “stay here” motion. At this last gesture, Mike headed to the door, waiting for Carlton.

  “I just can’t shake it,” Doctor Mark said. “This whole escapade smells of Rummy.” Carleton left the room quietly, following Mike.

  “I never met the man, Doctor Mark,” Gary said. “But he must have been powerful to develop a company like this.”

  Doctor Mark said, “Not to worry. We’ll keep our eyes open and report anything suspicious. We know where they’re holding Rummy. We won’t have any problem with him. If anyone has a plan to lure Lida out in the open, let Mike know first, before any implementation.”

  Gary, Ralph, and Doctor Mark got up with the normal “see you later,” “goodbye,” and “so long.” Ralph turned the real estate office over to Maud. The three executives returned to Dyna-Tyme.

  In the meantime, Carleton and Mike left the real estate office, turned left, walked down the street, and sat on a park bench in front of the D’Loris Dress Shop.

  They sat quietly for a few minutes and basked in the warm sun-sprinkled park. Beernersville was an anachronism, with a maximum two-story architectural limit for the buildings. The cobblestone Southern town square circled a Civil War monument with a statue of a Confederate cavalry trooper astride a rearing horse, with reins in one hand and a saber in the other. The architecture set the tone in Beernersville for many older residents who believed the War of Northern Aggression was still an unpleasant historical footnote in an otherwise proud heritage.

  “I know I seem a little mysterious, meeting at this park bench, Carleton, but I think someone’s bugging our offices.”

  “How do you know, Mike?”

  “There’s an easy way to track bugs. I just feed information that the suspect will be anxious to get. The information will create an action, which only the suspect would know, and I suspect we’ll find more with Nina gone. She was close to Lida and could have been feeding her information. Take the con at the Country Cub bar. I never could figure it out, but I’ll bet after the police get done with their work, we’ll find clues tracking from Nina to Lida. Then we spring the trap.”

  “So what do you think we can do for a trap? And what do we do with the culprits when we catch them?”

  “We use the money and the Ancient DNA. Then we spread the word that they’re in a place where we think we can intercept the thieves. Doctor Mark and I have a way to get rid of the culprits.”

  Mike explained Doctor Mark’s idea in detail, and Carleton agreed that, although the method was drastic, it would put the thieves out of commission. He said he would bring Ralph and Gary up-to-date and set the traps as soon as he could.

  * * * * *

  Ginger’s secretary, Inez, called Ginger on the interoffice phone, “Got a minute?”

  “Sure, come on in.”

  Inez entered and closed the door behind her. “A large bill came in from Legacy Woods, so I did some checking, and we’ve spent a fortune lately, renting suites and conference rooms. I normally don’t worry. I know how you like to let your department heads be responsible for their budget and spending, but these seemed excessive and were all signed by Lida Mitushi.

  “I was suspicious, so I checked with her office, and she hasn’t been around much for the last few weeks, yet she didn’t have any travel planned. I knew she was handling Memorial Hospital since we hired Beasley, so I took a chance and called a friend of mine. She hasn’t seen Lida in some time. In fact, she was a little miffed because she needed some RTSL programming. So that’s where I stopped, before I created any trouble.”

  Ginger stood and shook out her long blond hair that cascaded down the back of her expensive navy business suit. The suit encased an eye-stopping body headed by a model-quality face. There was no doubt about it; Ginger was a stunner.

  “Thanks, Inez. I’ll look into the situation and see where it goes. Don’t you worry, I have your back.”

  After Inez left, Ginger remained standing until she had a plan of action in mind. Not until she had all the details organized in her head did she sit down and outline her plan on paper. She always felt that if you couldn’t write your plan to a successful conclusion, the plan probably wouldn’t work.

  Ginger’s first stop was Doctor Mark’s office. She didn’t need his cooperation so much as she needed information. She knew he, Carleton, and Ralph were tight. Besides, he was cute … and she never passed up a chance to flirt. Men gave up more information when they were distracted.

  “Hi, Doc.”

  “What’s up, Ginger?”

  She sat on the edge of his desk and let her skirt hike up slightly to show a good bit of her shapely legs. She leaned toward him, and her blonde hair swung provocatively over the side of her face.

  “Lately, I’ve received some large bills from Legacy Woods. Lida signed the bills, but I wasn’t aware of any upcoming training events for RTSL medical system users. Are you?”

  She was close enough for him to smell her expensive perfume, and her position showed a bit of cleavage. He paid no attention to her ploy but seemed concerned with Lida’s activities.

  “I don’t think she’s involved in any subversive activities. We’ve been keeping a sharp eye on her since the time travel fiasco. We’re on top of it.” He paused. “Excuse me. I have a ton of work to do. I’m working a critical medical application. But hey, I’m always available if you do run into any unusual activities.”

  She left and headed upstairs to Ralph’s office. She carried with her a feeling that the good doctor knew more than he let on.

  Clancy was an executive secretary and handled Ralph’s office as well as taking care of what little work Carleton created. She just waived Ginger through to his office.

  * * * * *

  Ralph shot out of his chair as if it were hot. “Well, isn’t this a surprise?” He leaned over to give her a kiss.

  “Careful, darling, I spent hours on my face,” Ginger said. She sat in the nearest chair. “Ralph, do you know where Lida is and what she’s up to?”

  “Gosh,” Ralph said. “I thought she was spending most of her time on the Memorial Account.”

  “Nope, not there. She’s been spending most of her budget at Legacy Woods.”

  “Really? Maybe she’s holding a seminar on RTSL. She runs those frequently.”

  “Hmm. You might have something there. I’ll check it out. Be home for dinner tonight?”

  “Probably. What’s on the menu? Any guests?”

  “No, no guests. I’m planning on ribs. I’ll have them cooked. You’ll only have to put them on the grill for a few minutes. So, say, sevenish?”

  “You bet.”

  I’ll bet she’s heading for Legacy Woods, Ralph thought. I think I’ll make an unscheduled stop. If Lida’s there, I need to neutralize any situation that may arise. He lifted his arm and tugged the sleeve up, revealing a gold Rolex watch. It said three-thirty. He had time to run up to the Woods and get back before the plan would take effect at six o’clock.

  * * * * *

  Legacy Woods wasn’t a hotel in the strict sense of the word, and, when there were no company parties or trainings, Billy manned the office. He occasionally made a few extra bucks selling things that weren’t part of normal services. Ginger was aware of his sideline, she had even intervened on occasion and saved him from the law. Billy owed her, so it was easy to identify Lida and Rummy’s suite and to obtain a key to the adjacent suite.

  Subsequently, she cracked the connecting door and was privy to the discussions between Lida and Rummy. She heard enough to understand they had plans to ruin Dyna-Tyme and escape with a fortune. They planned to start by stealing the two million dollars. Lida had already stolen the RTSL program, the capsules, and everything else except the ancient DNA.

  Ginger waited until they left, then called for an taxi. A hundred dollar bill assured that she arrived before Lida and Rummy. On the way, she used her secure cell phone to call Katie Venable and Lorna. Sally Lewis was too green for this operation, so she ca
lled Scotty, the RTSL secretary, who was more than willing to help with Ginger’s plan. Doctor Mark was single, so he would be valuable, initially. She could guess the plan he and Carleton were working on, so a quick trip to the RTSL floor would interrupt them and put the finishing touch on her own plan.

  Of course, the thieves had to bite, or the bait would be useless. But thieves always took the bait, especially when it was two million dollars, and the RTSL system, which was worth equally as much.

  Chapter 30

  IT ONLY took Mike about an hour to work out his plan to set up the trap. When he finished, he called Ralph.

  “The money’s not secure at your office, Ralph. Bring it to Dyna-Tyme so we can put it in the secure room with the ancient DNA. I’ll call Gary and have him come to the real estate office and accompany you to Dyna-Tyme. He’ll come equipped, so he won’t be able to enter RTSL until I come down to the scanner and let you enter. Best to come through the garage, where there’s security. Let’s meet at 5 p.m. That gives us enough time to get ready.”

  “We all need to be cautious,” said Ralph. “Paul will be on garage security.”

  “Doctor Mark and Carleton are ready for their part, and Lou is busy taking Erik to jail. He and four deputies will be available, should we need them.”

  * * * * *

  Once Lida tied into Nina’s elaborate system of bugs and recorders, she was the first to intercept Mike’s plan. She called Vinnie and briefed him, and then Vinnie called Tony.

  “Tony, we caught a break,” Vinnie said. “The ancient DNA and the two extra-large will be in the same place.”

  “You got enough muscle and heat?” Tony said.

  “Yeah, we’re both hot. These boys are rubes. Only three or four. Roscoe and I can handle them.”

  “Bring it home, baby.”

  “You bet.” Vinnie hung up.

  The distance from Beernersville to Trenton was two hundred and seventeen miles. Depending on the time of day, it could take three hours and thirty-one minutes to get there. With Roscoe driving and the Caddy familiar to cooperative local law enforcement, Vinnie could count on arriving in two hours and forty-five minutes