Entrance to Nowhere

by Marja McGraw

  “Better idea,” Griz said. “Trap has a Safe Room under the house and there’s an underground entrance. We’ll drive away and come back through the tunnel and be waiting for them.”

  “Well, for crying out loud, why didn’t you tell us?” Aunt Martha was on a tear. “Did anyone think to see if Trap was hiding out in his Safe Room? Maybe he’s been here all along.”

  Draper gave her a scathing look. “Of course we checked the Safe Room. That’s the first place we looked.”

  My aunt returned his look. “And did you check the tunnel?”

  “I, uh, well, no,” Griz said.

  Draper remained calm but managed to look disgusted, and yet somehow respectful. “I checked it the day he disappeared.”

  Griz looked relieved.

  Draper picked up his rifle and headed for the door. “Let’s go.”

  “Won’t we all need guns?” Aunt Martha asked.

  “Aunt Martha – “ I started.

  “Don’t Aunt Martha me, Sandra. I know how to use a gun.”

  And there it was; the given name.

  “Have you ever had to shoot someone?” I asked. “It’s not like the movies, you know.”

  I turned to Pete.

  “Help me out here, would you?”

  He crossed his arms and looked me straight in the eye. “I think you’re doing just fine on your own.”

  “Sandra, I’ve never had to shoot anyone and I don’t plan to start now. I could probably scare someone if I wanted to, though.”

  “I don’t like all this gun talk,” I said. “I don’t even like to carry mine, except in emergencies.”

  “Wouldn’t you call this an emergency?” My aunt looked at me as though to say, Have I made my point?

  I remembered an incident a few years ago. “Stanley had to shoot someone once, and now he won’t even look at a gun. Sometimes there are other ways to deal with bad guys.”

  Draper mumbled something I wouldn’t want to repeat and walked out to the motorhome.

  “It’s time,” Griz said. “Let’s go. Pete, you follow me out in the Jeep.”

  Chapter Twelve

  We left, not making an issue of our departure. We wanted to look as natural as possible. Bubba and Clem rode in the motorhome.

  I turned to Pete. “Guns, guns, guns. Why do so many people think they’re the answer to everything? I’ll be honest. I would not like to see a gun in my aunt’s hands.”

  Pete didn’t reply.

  “It’s kind of a scary thought.”

  “Your aunt with a gun?”

  “Yes.”

  “Griz has a regular arsenal in his motorhome.”

  “I wish you hadn’t told me that,” I said.

  “Oh, come on, Sandi. We’re not going to go in with guns blazing if the intruder comes back, but you’d better be sure that if he has a gun, you’ll be glad that we do, too.”

  “Enough. I don’t want to talk about it anymore. My aunt seems to think she’s a warrior, and she’s not.”

  I shut my mouth and watched the scenery as we drove out of the hills and up again, around to the backside of the property.

  Pete and I had differing views about guns, but that was to be expected. He’d been a cop and a weapon was part of his uniform. Until becoming a private eye, I’d done clerical work. My weapon of choice had been the Delete button on a computer. However, in my current line of work I’d decided it was best to keep a gun handy, and there were times I was glad I’d made that decision, as much as I hated to admit it.

  Griz parked his motorhome in among some trees, and we followed suit.

  He and Draper led the way to some bushes on the side of the hill.

  I had to keep calling Bubba because he found so many things to sniff, and Clem wanted to follow him.

  “I left the remote in the motorhome.” Griz sighed and turned to walk back down to the motorhome.

  “I’ve got mine,” Draper said.

  He pushed a button on a small remote and the bushes turned out to be camouflage on an electric door. It opened silently and we saw an entrance to a tunnel.

  “One of Trap’s creations,” he said, over his shoulder.

  “Well, I’ll be darned,” Aunt Martha said. “I never would have noticed that door. Pretty slick.”

  It was a decent-sized tunnel and we walked two abreast, following Draper, with plenty of room on each side. After we’d entered, he closed the door and flipped a switch to turn on lights.

  “I don’t get it,” I said. “We’re out in the middle of nowhere and Trap has all the amenities, like electricity.”

  Griz spoke from behind me. “Think solar power, wind power and generators. This place has it all. Everything is camouflaged so you wouldn’t notice any of it. Trap is ready for The Big One, too, although he figures it’ll be a natural disaster.”

  “Did anyone remember to hide the thumb drive?” I asked.

  “It’s upstairs in the toe of one of my shoes,” Aunt Martha said.

  “We put a blank drive in the toe of Trap’s slippers, in case he tells them where it is.” Pete smiled at me. “Are we good now, or are you still upset?”

  “I’m fine. I get over things quickly. You should be used to that by now.”

  We walked in silence for a while, making our way back to the house. I glanced from person to person in our little group. Everyone had a weapon except me and my aunt. I hoped no one needed them. After all, they were just a precaution, right?

  When we were closer to the Safe Room, I noticed shelves along the wall filled with canned goods, jars and large containers. I saw a lot of freeze dried goods, too. Fruits, veggies and the like, and there were boxes of batteries and propane containers. There was too much to take it all in.

  There were some cabinets, too.

  “What’s in the cabinets?” I asked.

  “More guns,” Griz said.

  Clem ignored the shelves, but Bubba’s nose twitched and he had to inspect everything he could reach.

  I turned to Griz and walked backwards for a few steps. “Is this what prepping looks like?”

  He laughed. “Only if you’ve got plenty of money. My stuff isn’t nearly as ample as what you see here.”

  “Is your motorhome your house?” my aunt asked.

  “No. I’ve got a small house, also off the grid. I guess, in a way, I’ve got two homes. One that I can take with me and one that sits on a nondescript piece of land.”

  We walked in silence until we reached a door. Draper pulled out his little remote again and pushed a button, opening it.

  Safe Room, my patootie. This area was huge and had all the comforts one could ask for, and there was more than one room.

  “Y’all get comfortable while I check the communications,” Draper said, walking into another area.

  “Communications?” Pete seemed surprised.

  Griz nodded. “Yeah. Draper and I spend a lot of time down here. The whole property is rigged to let us know if there are intruders. Too bad one of us wasn’t down here last night, but we weren’t expecting uninvited guests.”

  He motioned for Pete to follow him so he could show him what the latest technology was.

  Aunt Martha and I began walking around the room, examining things. There was an old record player, the kind you had to wind up, and stacks of old-fashioned vinyl records. Speaking of winding things, there was a small combination radio and television with a hand crank on it. I didn’t know what good it would do if there was a solar storm and no power – to anything.

  Clem claimed a spot on the couch while my big lug made the rounds. He was in doggie heaven with so many new things and so many new scents.

  We found a propane stove, among a lot of old-fashioned kitchen utensils.

  “You know,” I said, “this is actually kind of scary. It’s difficult to imagine an emergency of this magnitude.”

  “It’s making me rethink a few things, too,” my aunt replied.

  “Well, let’s not get carried away. We’re here for an
entirely different reason. Let’s concentrate on finding Trap.”

  Of course, there was a fully stocked and up-to-date kitchen in the Safe Room, too.

  She looked around the room in wonder. “Yeah. Good idea, but when we find him, I have a lot of questions. This doesn’t remind me of the Andrew I knew as a young man.”

  “People change.”

  “Or maybe he was a lot more intelligent than I gave him credit for.”

  Pete and Griz returned.

  Griz pointed toward a couch and chairs. “Okay, let’s settle in for the long haul. Draper is watching things, and there’s an alarm he reset in case someone comes back.”

  “I feel like I’m in the middle of a Twilight Zone episode.” My aunt was still examining things around the room.

  “There’s plenty of fresh food down here if anyone is hungry or thirsty,” Griz said. “Any takers? I’ll even do the cooking this time.”

  “Will wonders never cease?” My aunt looked at him with something akin to respect, and yet there was a note of sarcasm in her voice.

  “I’m talking sandwiches,” he said, “like peanut butter and jelly. Don’t expect a seven course meal. Draper’s an iced tea nut, and he said he brought down a couple of fresh bottles yesterday. Anybody thirsty?”

  I held up my hand. “I’d like some, please.”

  “Me, too,” Pete said.

  “Fix your own tea while I make sandwiches.” Griz opened a refrigerator and pulled out a loaf of bread.

  He looked at me.

  “Would you make some tea for Draper and take it to him? You might enjoy seeing the technology he’s working with anyway.”

  I lifted three glasses out of a cupboard and found the tea in the refrigerator. I glanced at my aunt and she nodded, so I pulled out a fourth glass.

  “Griz?”

  He nodded and I retrieved a fifth glass. After filling them with ice, I lined them up along a counter and poured tea into each one.

  After passing out the tea, I carried mine and Draper’s to the security room, or whatever it was called.

  Yeah, I was used to a computer and a large screened TV, but I’d never been around this kind of technology before. It wasn’t earthshaking, but it was all new to me. The closest I’d been to anything like this was seeing it on my TV screen.

  There were monitors with split screen viewing, showing the grounds and every room in the house. There was a monitor that was rolling headlines, and below the headlines were images that took one on a trip through countries all over the world.

  Draper took the tea from my hand. “Thanks.”

  “How can you keep up with all of this?”

  “You get used to it.” He leaned back in his chair. “It’s kind of like watching a really boring show on the television. Sit down and I’ll show you everything.”

  He reached over and flipped a switch and suddenly we had surround sound music.

  “As long as I live, I’ll never forget this place,” I said. “I honestly don’t think I’d want to get used to it.”

  “Trap’s taught me a lot. I’ve been with him for a long time. I’m sure you can tell I’m a loner, and Trap has given me something huge; knowledge. He’s a good teacher and mentor.”

  I pulled up a chair. Getting to know Draper – I’d start trying to think of him as Scott – was interesting.

  He booted up another computer.

  “What’s this one for?” I asked.

  “I’m going to send out a couple of drones so I can check out some of the property where there aren’t any cameras.”

  “Drones?” My stomach started feeling funny. “This isn’t a lifestyle I’m used to, Scott, and I’m not sure I like it. Does Griz know how to do all of this?”

  “Some of it. He likes the drones. He’s like a little kid with a new toy when I deploy them.”

  “Do you live here full-time?”

  “No. Trap supplies me with an apartment in a town not too far away, although I spend most of my time here. Between me and Griz, we have things covered.”

  Miss Nosy stepped forward. “Were you ever married?”

  He kept his eyes on the screens. “I was.”

  I decided it would be more prudent not to ask what happened, but he gave me an answer anyway.

  He touched his throat. “After I came home, my wife said I’d changed too much. You can figure out the rest of the story yourself.”

  “I’m sorry.” I meant it, too. I liked this guy.

  He shrugged and tapped some keys. The extra monitor came to life.

  “Now you’re seeing what the drone is seeing.”

  “You know, I’d hate to think it’s that easy for someone to watch me without me knowing it.”

  “We live in a new world.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  I watched Scott do his magic for a while before returning to the other room to eat my sandwich. He wasn’t interested in eating at the moment. Too many things to keep track of on the computer screens, I would guess.

  I’d watched the drone screen for a few minutes, but everything was quiet and I was bored. Having done numerous surveillances, I should have known better. It’s all about patience. In this case, there were five of us and I didn’t feel like I had to take on all of the responsibility.

  Pete and Griz were sharing old war stories from their time as partners, while Aunt Martha listened intently.

  Bubba was lying on what was probably a very expensive rug, and Clem was snuggled up next to him. Every once in a while she’d lift her head and lick his nose or his eye. Yeah, that little dog was smitten, all right.

  I sat down at the breakfast bar and began eating. I hadn’t had peanut butter and jelly in years, and it hit the spot.

  “What did you think of the security room?” Griz asked. “Kind of mind boggling, huh?”

  “Yeah. And you can work all of the equipment?” I asked.

  “For the most part. Draper knows a lot more than I do, but I get by well enough.”

  “I’d like to see it.” Aunt Martha patted her lips with a napkin. “I’m somewhat computer literate.”

  I studied her and saw an expression of enthusiasm on her face. “Are you really?” I asked.

  “Of course. I’ve taken classes.”

  I nodded and turned back to my sandwich. I tend to worry when someone talks about taking classes, but not about experience.

  Griz looked skeptical.

  Pete pushed his plate away. “So what happens if someone breaches the property?”

  “An alarm goes off, but it’s not loud enough for the intruder to hear. It only sounds in the security room.”

  “What about last night?” I asked.

  “No one was down here last night,” he replied. “An alert comes across on our cell phones, too, but it seems there was a glitch. Draper found the problem and rectified it.”

  “Good to know.” I glanced at my watch. It was ten o’clock. On one hand the day was flying by, but on the other, it was dragging. It was going to be a long day, especially after having been awakened by Griz at four-thirty.

  “So Andrew could have hidden out down here?” Aunt Martha seemed to be genuinely concerned about her old student.

  “That’s the idea. Unfortunately, Trap sent Draper into town for some supplies, and I was out at my place doing some repairs when they took the boss. I can only suppose they took him by surprise. He sometimes enjoys walking the property, but normally he doesn’t do that unless one of us is here.”

  “How could they have known he was by himself?” I asked.

  “Pete and I talked about that. The only thing I can think of is that they have drones, just like we do. They must have been watching the place, waiting for an opportunity to take him.”

  “Are you sure this has something to do with his cybersecurity company?” I needed more information before I could process everything.

  “It’s the only thing that makes sense. They haven’t asked for money, or anything else. And they’re after the thumb drive.
It has to be someone who wants to pull off a major coup in cyber terrorism. Maybe they want to hack into governmental agencies or something like that. Then again, it could be some nutcase who wants to rule the world.”

  I turned to Pete. “I take it Stanley hasn’t called back yet.”

  “No. It shouldn’t be much longer, though.”

  It was quiet for a few minutes. I figured everyone was contemplating who was behind the kidnapping and what they’d gain from it. A foreign power? A domestic terrorist? Someone who wanted to take over the industry? Or maybe, like Griz had said, a nutcase. It might even be a disgruntled employee.

  “Now that I think about it, what good will it do if they come back and steal the blank thumb drive?” I started picking up our paper plates and throwing them in the trash. Griz was into shortcuts; no plates to wash.

  “If nothing else, it should buy us some time,” Griz said. “If we lived in a perfect world, we’d catch someone in the act and they’d lead us to Trap.”

  “Yeah. In a perfect world.”

  I glanced at my aunt. So far she’d been just as I remembered her, obnoxious, and yet there was more to her.

  “Let’s go for a walk,” I suggested.

  “Where? We can’t go outside right now.”

  “Okay, then how about through the tunnel. I just want to get to know you better. We can talk. Maybe if we look at Trap’s prepper supplies we’ll learn a few things. You said you’ve been stocking things in your basement.”

  “We should get to know each other better.” She agreed with me. Miracle of miracles. She and my mother – her sister – were very different women.

  We left Pete and Griz to talk while we walked out to the tunnel and started perusing the shelves, taking a closer look.

  “Here’s something I might not have thought of,” I said. “He’s got an abundance of jerky. That should have a long shelf life.”

  My aunt stopped looking things over and turned to me. “Sandi, something makes me feel like I can talk to you, on a personal level. I know I’ve been a miserable woman to be around for a very long time.”