Entrance to Nowhere

by Marja McGraw

  “I said, what’s new? You might as well chat with us while we wait. I’m not in the mood to read one of these computer magazines.” She pointed to a table covered with things that were all about Internet technology and smiled. “You must have a social life, a lovely woman like you.”

  “Oh, uh, nothing’s new.”

  “Oh? No boyfriend or hot dates lately?” My aunt was pushing it, a little too fast in my opinion.

  I felt like I needed to step in.

  “Aunt Martha, don’t you think that’s a little personal?”

  “What are women going to talk about, if not men? You’re younger than me and you should know how it works. Okay, you’re married, but you must remember what it used to be like.”

  Greta quietly turned back to her computer.

  “We talk about lots of other things,” I replied.

  “Like what?”

  That’s when I realized what my aunt was doing. If she and I had a little tiff, Greta might say anything – just to shut us up.

  “Like… I don’t know, just things. I’m sure this nice lady doesn’t want to discuss her dating habits with you. Give her some peace and let her get her work done.”

  “Certainly she can tell me if she has a boyfriend.”

  “I think you’re being a bit intrusive, Auntie.”

  “Don’t be silly, Sandra. I’m just showing an honest interest in her. It doesn’t seem to bother you when I ask about your life.”

  She winked at me. Thankfully, Greta was pointedly concentrating on her computer, because my aunt winked with the eye nearest the desk. She caught herself and suddenly winked with the other eye.

  “Like you show an honest interest in me? You’re just way too nosey, Auntie, especially when you ask about my life. This woman doesn’t even know us. Why would she talk about her sex life?” I made a point of sounding very annoyed.

  “Sex life? Sex life? I didn’t ask about her mating habits. I simply asked if she had a boyfriend.”

  She turned in Greta’s direction. “Or do you have a husband, dear?”

  The woman leaned forward, hovering over her keyboard, trying to act like she hadn’t heard the question.

  My aunt pushed harder. “Well, which is it? Do you have a boyfriend or a husband?”

  Greta ignored her.

  “Are you hard of hearing, dear? I can speak louder. I said – “

  The secretary turned her chair in my aunt’s direction and slapped her hands on top of her desk. “I can hear you just fine. I don’t have a husband. I do have a boyfriend. Would you like me to describe him for you? Or do you want his résumé? Would you like my history with him?”

  “A description would be nice, and how did you meet him?”

  “Oh, Auntie!” I knew I sounded disgusted.

  “It’s the teacher in me, Sandra. I’m just naturally inquisitive.”

  Greta gave me a sympathetic look before turning her fiery brown eyes on my aunt.

  “You don’t need a description, but I will tell you how I met him. I met him at a firing range. I’m an excellent shot, and so is he.” There was a threat behind her words.

  Aunt Martha chose to ignore it. “Now isn’t that interesting. I met my boyfriend at a Concealed Weapons class. We practice shooting often, and Donald loves the fact that I’m at Sharpshooter status. My Donald is retired and grew a very manly beard. My, my. Small world. What’s your boyfriend’s name? Not Donald, I hope. He doesn’t have a beard, does he?” She chuckled innocently.

  Both frustration and anger were evident when Greta replied. “His name is Gerard, but I call him Danger, if that tells you anything about him. And, furthermore I don’t like– “

  The phone rang, interrupting what I thought was a coming tirade.

  “Mr. Trapper’s Office,” she snapped.

  She listened for a moment and calmed herself down.

  “I apologize, sir.” She listened for a moment. “Yes, sir. I’ll tell them.”

  She stood and glared at us. “Mr. Trapper won’t be in today. Something has come up. I’ll show you out.”

  “Oh, we can show ourselves out, dear.” Aunt Martha stood and brushed at some imaginary lint on her dress. “I’ll make another appointment to see Andrew. I know he has such a busy life, but he’ll see me.”

  As we were leaving I heard Greta mumble something about a nosey old biddy.

  My aunt started to close the door behind us, but I put my hand up and stopped her.

  “What – “

  “Shh.” I leaned forward and listened intently.

  She understood and stopped talking.

  I couldn’t hear anything until Greta spoke, obviously having dialed a phone number. “We need to talk, Danger. There were two very inquisitive women here, asking a lot of questions about us – you.”

  She paused.

  “Okay, I’ll meet you for lunch. In the park?”

  She paused again.

  “I’ll see you there at noon.”

  She hung up with a bang, and I could hear her talking to herself as she neared the door.

  I shoved my aunt. “Get moving,” I whispered.

  Before we could take many steps, in my case painful steps, the door slammed shut behind us.

  We didn’t speak again until we were outside.

  “What’d she say?” my aunt asked.

  “She called her boyfriend and told him about us. She said they need to talk, and they’re meeting in the park at noon.”

  “Well, we need to follow her.”

  “Not on your life. She’d recognize us. It’s time to switch places.”

  “Ah, the old switcheroo.”

  I laughed. “Yeah. I’ll call Pete. The helicopter can pick them up and bring them here, and then take us back to the mansion.”

  We stopped at a nearby coffee house and took our coffee outside where I could talk to Pete in private.

  I called him and told him what we’d found out and suggested, after glancing at my watch, that they hurry to meet us.

  “It’s time for the old switcheroo,” I said.

  “Huh?”

  “It’s a new word my aunt taught me. She was great, Pete. She drove Greta nuts to the point where she told us more than I would have expected. Not much, but we’ve got a good starting place. Ask Trap if he knows anyone named Gerard.”

  “I knew your aunt would come in handy for something,” Pete said. “I’ll bring Griz with me and you can fill us in. See you soon.”

  We drove back to the small airport where the helicopter was kept. We didn’t see it so I knew it was already on its way.

  I looked at my aunt and started to laugh.

  “What?” she asked.

  “You used Griz as your boyfriend?”

  She looked flustered before she grinned. “I couldn’t think of anyone else. You won’t tell him, will you?”

  I took hold of my aunt’s hand. “No, I won’t tell. It was smart to use his given name instead of his nickname, though. I have to admit, I’m having fun with you. I’m glad you came to visit.”

  She blushed. “You’re one of the few.”

  “Few what?”

  “One of the few people who enjoys my company.”

  “Oh, Aunt Martha. I’m sure everyone would be glad to see you if you’d show this side of yourself more often.”

  “Some habits are difficult to break. Being a moody old spinster is one of them.”

  “You’re not an old spinster. Griz sure seems to have taken to you.”

  “Well, you’re both an exception to the Martha Rule.”

  “What’s the Martha Rule?”

  “Run if you see me coming.”

  I just looked at her and shook my head.

  We sat down on a bench and shared some family stories. She told about some of the things my mother did when she was younger, and I told her a little about my mother’s penchant for wanting to get involved in my cases.

  “I guess I’m more like my sister than I thought.” My aunt was enjoying
our, as she called it, little adventure. I vaguely recalled my mother calling my cases adventures, too.

  “Are we having fun yet?” I asked.

  “You bet we are,” she replied. “Now if we can only find out who this monster is that wants to get rid of electricity and hurt the boys. He really is a nasty man, you know, but I guess that’s an understatement.”

  “At least we know his name is Gerard and we know Greta can be a source of information when she’s pushed. I’ll bet Pete and Griz bring Layne with them, too. He’s not going to want to miss the opportunity to see Danger and figure out if he’s The General or not.”

  “Don’t you wish we knew who Layne works for?” my aunt asked. “I’m dying to know.”

  “Please don’t use the word dying at this point. Between The General and Greta, I think too many threats have already been made, and I don’t think this is the end of the story. Even if Layne figures out who Gerard is, there are still too many unknowns in the equation.”

  “I could pump Greta again.”

  “No. No more pumping. Enough pumping has already been done.”

  My aunt shrugged and took a sip of her now cold coffee.

  Chapter Thirty-five

  Aunt Martha grinned at me. “I arrived on Saturday and this is only Tuesday, and yet I feel like I’ve been here for a lifetime. I love Chicago, but somehow I feel so free here. I’m having a marvelous time.”

  “Free? We’ve been stuck in that mansion for a few days, trying to find Andrew and finding out about The General. I feel like we’re trapped under someone’s thumb.”

  “It’s all in your perspective, Sandi. There are wide open spaces here. It’s so different, not at all what I’m used to, and we’ll find that General before he can do any harm.”

  “You know, it cracks me up that he calls himself The General. He sounds like a pompous ass.”

  My aunt nodded. “Maybe he’s so full of himself that his attitude will be his downfall. Yes, I think he’ll be his own worst enemy in the end.”

  “I hope you’re right.”

  We wandered around the small airport for a while, killing time. We found a candy machine and each bought a chocolate bar.

  When we finally heard a helicopter overhead, we hurried back to the landing area.

  The wind from the copter blew our hair and my aunt made a point of patting hers back into place when Griz climbed down.

  I’d been right. Layne had come with them. He and my husband hurried over.

  Pete gave me a hug and asked, “Okay, what happened? What did the secretary tell you?”

  I gave him the thumbnail version because it was getting late, and I gave him her description. “You can’t miss her when she leaves the building,” I said. “She seems to be pretty proud of herself.”

  “I already know what she looks like,” Layne said, “and you’re right. She’s into herself. I hope she doesn’t recognize me, though.”

  I looked him up and down. “She’ll never know you without your hair slicked back and without your glasses. Your casual clothes make a difference, too. Actually, you did a great job of disguising yourself even though you did so little.” I didn’t want to mention that his height might give him away. After all, five foot four was noticeable in a man. It might call attention to him, not that there was anything wrong with being short.

  I gave Pete the keys to the car we’d been using and watched him and the other men drive away.

  I shook my head. “Greta hasn’t seen Pete or Griz. I only hope The General hasn’t seen them, either.”

  “Could he have seen them at the strip mall?” Aunt Martha glanced at the retreating car and looked nervous.

  “From what Pete told me, the men stayed in the dark, and when they had to move into the light they pulled hoodies up or put on baseball caps pulled low.”

  “Maybe they’re smarter than I give them credit for.”

  “This isn’t their first rodeo, Auntie.”

  “Oh, I like that saying. It must be a west coast thing. However, this is my first rodeo. Am I doing okay?”

  “Yes, you’re doing very well. In fact, I kind of enjoyed arguing with you in the office, since it was staged. You’ve got a knack for what we’re doing. I’m downright proud of you, Aunt Martha.”

  She beamed. “You’d be the first.”

  “No, Andrew may have been the first.”

  We climbed onboard the helicopter and our pilot took off.

  I tapped him on the shoulder. “What’s your name?” I had to speak loudly to be heard.

  “Bill,” he replied.

  “Well, Bill, I’m Sandi and this is my aunt, Martha. I just want to thank you for carting us all over the place. Are you ex-military?”

  “You’re welcome, ma’am, and yes. I’m ex-military.”

  “Thank you for your service, too,” Aunt Martha said.

  He turned to the controls and I leaned back in my seat.

  We relaxed on the trip back to the mansion. The helicopter was loud, so we didn’t try to carry on much of a conversation.

  On our way out of town, my aunt pointed to things as we flew over. “You sure don’t see terrain like that in Chicago.”

  “One of these days you’ll have to visit Pete and me at our vacation home in Battle Ground, Washington. You’ll love it.”

  “Your vacation home?”

  I nodded. “We plan to retire there one day. It’s a gorgeous area, but it sure rains a lot.”

  “Considering the amount of snow we have in Chicago, I don’t think a little rain would bother me.”

  “Think more than a little rain.”

  The trip back to the mansion didn’t take too long. We were feeling quite proud of ourselves and we enjoyed the knowledge that we’d done a good job.

  From the helipad, we trekked the short distance to the tunnel that led to the Safe Room. On our way past the prepper shelves, my aunt snatched two chocolate bars and handed one to me.

  “We need to keep up our strength,” she said, “but wait until after lunch to eat it.”

  Everyone was in the Safe Room when we walked out of the tunnel, including the dogs. Bubba and Clementine were frantic when they saw us. You’d think we’d been gone for days. I was surprised to see my big lug react the way he did. He was normally so laid back. Maybe it was Clem’s influence on him.

  Ethan was the second to greet us. “We figured we’d better stay down here, just to be on the safe side.”

  “Good idea,” I said.

  “Mr. Trapper has been very kind to us, under the circumstances,” Mason said.

  “Under the circumstances?” Aunt Martha asked.

  “Well, we did hold him prisoner.” Ryan looked upset at his own words.

  Trap smiled at the boys. “Come now. You treated me kindly and only did what you had to do to survive that bully. I know what happened wasn’t your choice.”

  “Thank you, Mr. Trapper,” Jason said. “I wasn’t sure you’d ever forgive us.”

  “As a matter of fact, I’ve been thinking a lot about what you boys went through.” Trap glanced at my aunt before turning back to the boys. “You showed me your true natures during our troubles. I believe, when this is over, we may have to have a discussion about your futures. I may have just the place for the four of you to hone your technical skills.”

  “Andrew, you always did have a good heart.” My aunt was uncharacteristically soft spoken when she spoke to her former student.

  Scott joined us before there was any further discussion. “So! What did you find out? Were you able to get her to open up to you?”

  “To a small extent,” I replied. “We have a name, another nickname, and a place where The General might be found. Pete and Griz are following her in hopes of finding out who this nutcase is. I mean, really, if he’s going to try to blackmail or take down our government, he must be a nut. Right? Anyway, maybe Layne will figure out who he really is. Apparently he’s got some good connections. With any luck, they may take him down at the park.”


  “The park?” Scott looked surprised.

  “Yes,” Aunt Martha said. “She was going to meet him there to tell him about me and my niece.”

  “I kind of thought they’d meet someplace more clandestine. Meeting out in the open surprises me.”

  I thought about that for a minute. “You know, you might be right. Either we’re following the wrong guy, or he has a contingency plan. I can’t even remember why we thought Greta was the key to finding The General, although her attitude this morning makes me think we’re on the right track.”

  Trap frowned. “It could have something to do with all the money she’s pilfered, and it’s a goodly amount. Layne and I spoke of it. We think it’s possible that to some extent she’s helping fund this maniac, although he must have other sources, too. I can’t stop thinking about the ramifications if people suddenly lost all electricity. The country would go mad.”

  Scott scratched his chin. “I can’t believe she thought she could steal that much and not get caught.”

  “She’s got guts. You have to give her that,” I said.

  “Now what do we do?” Ryan asked.

  “Now we wait. We can’t do anything until we hear back from Pete.”

  Aunt Martha took charge. “You all sit down and try to relax. Sandi and I will go upstairs and put some lunch together. We’ll bring it back down here. I do not want you young men upstairs. From what I understand, The General might know where the mansion is, but he certainly doesn’t know about the Safe Room.”

  “But don’t you think he’ll wonder if he doesn’t see any of us?” Mason asked.

  “No,” she replied. “He’ll simply think you’re hiding out somewhere else. Now will you all please relax?”

  Scott returned to the security room. “I shouldn’t have left the cameras unattended,” he said, over his shoulder. He seemed distracted and concerned that he’d left his post.

  My aunt and I climbed the stairs and went to the kitchen to fix sandwiches.

  The dogs followed us. They must have sensed something was going on because Bubba started to pace, with Clem on his heels. He didn’t even pay attention to the food we were preparing, although I managed to slip him a treat.

  “There’s food downstairs,” I said. “Why didn’t we just make lunch down there?”