but, mercury's not in retrograde!

by McCarthy, G. L.

  “Okay, so now what?” TJ was truly glad no one was home.

  “Remember the ruts on the road? It’s a good chance he isn’t here at all so let’s take a look around the cabin.” Sam led the way up the stairs. “If he does show up we’ll say we knocked but no one answered.”

  “Okay.” TJ wasn’t that crazy about trespassing, even if it wasn’t his property.

  It was obvious someone was living there. Empty containers of pre-made sandwiches filled a small trash can. Pictures of Alex, Cyn, and Frederick talking together were pinned to the wall. There was also a picture of Alex and Dez at some function with a circle around Dez’s head and a big black X through it. A work bench, with wires and electrical connectors scattered all around, was against one wall. A diagram of what could be a bomb was folded up and lying off to the side. TJ reached in her pocket and pulled out two pairs of latex gloves that she wore at work to keep her hands clean. She handed one pair to Sam, put hers on, then carefully unfolded the diagram. It had to have fingerprints of whoever lived there and possibly it would be enough to have them arrested.

  Suddenly they heard Anna making a terrible racket. Sam peeked out the window and saw a man coming from the direction of where they had parked the truck. She folded the map and put it in a Ziploc bag that TJ produced from her back pocket. They removed their gloves and quickly went down the stairs, making their way back through the tunnel as quickly as possible with the limited amount of light. As they approached the opening they were able to see better and move a lot quicker to get through the door. Deciding to risk it, they pushed the door closed and made their way back to the truck. Anna was flying ahead of them, and as they neared it they could see another vehicle a few hundred feet behind. It was the same car Frederick had described, but there was no front plate. Looking back, Sam didn’t see anyone coming, so she went to check the back plate and it wasn’t the same. After noting the number she ran to where TJ had parked and realized Richard probably hadn’t seen their truck. There was a large overgrowth that blocked his direct line of vision and unless you knew it was there, you wouldn’t notice it. Hoping that to be the case and that he hadn’t see the tire tracks they’d made, their plan was to come back with the Sheriff and surprise him.

  “Let’s get that diagram to the Sheriff and make sure Frederick is all right.” Sam would try to call as soon as she could.

  “Did Alex’s dreams have any timeline that would tell us when Frederick gets hurt?” TJ was driving as fast as she could and still have control in the mud.

  “No, but I believe it was Dez, Frederick, and then Cyn. At least that’s the order she recalled them.” As the truck approached the main road Sam checked her phone and still no service. “Let’s go straight to the Sheriff’s office.”

  “You got it. Now that we want a cop, we won’t see one until we hit town.” TJ loved this part.

  “Easy, Girl. We need to get there in one piece.” Sam glanced at the speed-o-meter and eighty was a little too fast for her.

  “Right. I’ll keep it closer to the speed limit.” TJ smiled at Sam as she slowed to seventy-five.

  As they approached the backside of town, Sam was finally able to use her phone. She called the Sheriff and he told her he would meet them at his office. He had the arson investigator with him and they would take a look at the diagram before going over to Taylorwood to check out the boilers. Pulling up in front of the Sheriff’s office and jumping out of the truck, Sam and TJ were pumped. They wished the Sheriff would hurry up. Being very proud of themselves, they didn’t realize they were being watched by someone who had saved their collective butts and they hadn’t realized it yet. Flapping her wings several times, Anna spoke up and finally got their attention.

  “Oh gosh, Anna, you saved our asses big time. Thank you so much.” TJ was a true believer now and wondered if she could get her own guardian spirit.

  “Absolutely, we owe you so much. Alex told me you’d be there for us and she was so right. Thank you, thank you.” Sam could hardly wait to tell Jessie about their little adventure too.

  A few moments later the Sheriff pulled up with a white-haired fellow wearing red suspenders who totally looked like Santa Claus. Motioning them inside, the Sheriff led the way to his office so they could have some privacy. He introduced Sam and TJ to Calvin Nedermeyer retired fire fighter and arson investigator from Boston who now resided in Hastings. TJ handed her gloves and then the bag to the Sheriff, who opened it as Sam gave her pair to Calvin. It only took him a second to recognize the design and informed the Sheriff that they needed to get to school and look for this bomb.

  “It’s simple, but effective. Have there been any reports of dynamite being stolen in the last months?” Calvin knew there were road crew as well as tree stump removers that still used dynamite.

  “No, but then he would only need one stick, not a whole case. I doubt if it would have been obvious to anyone.” The Sheriff would have to make the rounds and make sure every piece had been accounted for and that his office was being informed of any shortages, no matter how small.

  “The remote trigger may be small, but it’s still effective. He could set it off whenever he sees anyone enter the room with the boilers. You said you believe he’s watching the school. So, if he has a time frame when the boilers are checked he could just stay close by and wait. We should get going and see if we can disarm it before he realizes you’re on to him.” Calvin would need to find a pair of wire cutters to cut the trigger wire.

  “We spotted him coming back, and that may have been where he was. I would think that during school hours he wouldn’t risk being seen, but then who knows how his mind works.” TJ figured he would have done all this at night or before dawn.

  “Right. He had been driving his car and he’s changed his license plate because it’s not the one Frederick gave us. I would think that his little bomb is already in place at Taylorwood since he has keys to the whole place. He may have just run an errand. We didn’t stay around to ask him where he’d been. In fact, he may have been carrying a bag. I didn’t get a good look. I only saw a man coming our way and we split, so maybe he went to the store.” Sam wrote down the number she remembered and handed it to the Sheriff.

  “All right. I think we have more than enough to pick him up and hold him. I’ll call Bob and see if we need to get a search warrant. Richard isn’t the legal owner of that cabin so technically he’s trespassing. Calvin and I will head for Taylorwood and see what we find.” The Sheriff was grateful for the help but now he needed to tell these two they were done and to go home.

  “Is there anything else we can do to help?” Sam was hoping there was.

  “No. You both have done more than you should have, and I appreciate the good work. But until we have Richard under lock and key, stay close to Alex and Cyn. Even though Alex didn’t see herself getting hurt, she’s changed the events of her dream which means the outcome is going to be completely different. If Richard realizes we’re on to him and he runs, who knows what he’ll do.” The Sheriff wanted this to have a happy ending so he could have his nice quiet little town back.

  Chapter 36

  After seeing the Sheriff off, TJ and Sam headed for the hardware store to pick up Jessie and tell her and Carol all that had just happened. As TJ drove, Sam called Alex to leave a message they were all right and that the Sheriff was on it. Since lunch was over she figured she’d get it when she checked during the next class break. Walking into the hardware store, they found the two women going through a stack of pine 1 x 4’s and giggling. Upon seeing the two muddy archaeologists approaching, Carol ordered them back outside to scrape off the excess mud. Not realizing how mud-soaked their boots and pants were, they apologized and carefully backtracked picking up chunks as they went. Kicking the curb, they left the majority of the mud in the gutter, then Carol handed them a stiff brush to get the rest. Not wanting to talk until they could get inside, Sam and TJ worked quickly and cleaned off enough to pass inspection. Going back in, they were ready to
fill both women in on their little adventure.

  “It was so cool. Anna showed me where to dig and she warned us when Richard was coming back.” TJ was giving the condensed version and leaving all the exciting parts out.

  “It was a lot of digging, but Anna did help us a lot. Alex will be thrilled when I tell her.” Sam gave the blow by blow version of what happened with TJ adding a little color commentary as she replayed the morning’s events. Carol wanted to call Bob and hoped he had been able to give the Sheriff the go ahead to arrest Richard. But the major concern for the moment was whether or not the Sheriff and Calvin would be able to find the device they believed Richard had planted to harm Frederick when he checked the boilers on Friday.

  Carol opened a credit account in Alex’s name and then helped load the lumber into the truck. After saying their goodbyes, the three women stopped at the burger joint for lunch. TJ was famished as she had gone to work early and had been so excited she’d forgotten to eat breakfast. Sam and Jessie, who’d had a late breakfast, decided to just have iced tea. The plan had been that after lunch they would all go back to Alex’s and wait for her and Cyn to come home from work. Sam wondered if they could just go to school and make sure everything was all right. TJ was game as they both looked at Jessie waiting for her objection.

  “What do you intend to do  sit in the parking lot until the final bell?” Jessie wasn’t so sure they had thought this little plan through.

  “No. I thought we may give the Sheriff and Calvin a hand looking for the bomb.” Sam knew that was the last thing Jessie wanted to hear.

  “Four pairs of eyes are better than two.” TJ gave Jessie a hopeful smile.

  “All right, but you better make sure the Sheriff wants your help and you two aren’t in the way.” Jessie wasn’t thrilled with this plan, but was willing to go along with it.

  “Well, he did tell us we’d done enough. But I just want to be around in case he needs some back up.” Sam had always wanted to be a police officer, but her parents wanted her to work a nice nine to five job that was safe. Having put them through a lot of grief after she got out of high school, she went along with their request. Working in accounting and with horses was as much excitement as she was allowed to have.

  “Then we will be sitting in the parking lot unless he asks for your help. Okay?” Jessie didn’t want her last day spent visiting her cousin in the hospital.

  “Great. Let’s go. I think we should all go in TJ’s truck and leave the Ford here. Richard will know we’re connected to Alex if he sees us arrive in it.” Sam wanted to get a move on.

  “How about we take it back and park it in front of Carol’s. We’ll tell her what we’re doing, just in case we don’t talk to the Sheriff. She can keep an eye on it and if we don’t come back for it by closing time she’ll know to call the Sheriff and find out what’s going on.” Jessie wanted the whole town to know what they were doing.

  “Sounds good. No one will mess with it there.” Sam would throw the tarp over the lumber in the back so no one would see it.

  Returning to the hardware store, Jessie had decided to stay with the truck and wait for them to return when they were ready to go home. Sitting in a parking lot all afternoon wasn’t at the top of her to do list. She would hang out with Carol and do some more window shopping at the local stores. Sam and TJ were okay with Jessie’s idea since they really didn’t want to have to explain every action before they did it. TJ drove the speed limit as Sam kept an eye out for the Sheriff or Richard Greenway. Not wanting to assume he would proceed with his plan in a normal manner, both women were running different scenarios by each other hoping they could foresee any possible problem. TJ drove into the parking lot from the back entrance and parked in the spot furthest away from where the tunnel exited. The school was quiet as classes were in session. TJ headed for the maintenance shed where she hoped to find Marty or Don to have them tell her where they could find the boilers. Not seeing the Sheriff’s car didn’t mean he wasn’t there. If Richard saw the patrol car he would suspect something was up. TJ figured he may have parked in front of the school and walked around. Stopping in their tracks just about twenty feet from the truck, they saw Anna sitting on a fence post looking at them both.

  “Wow, how did she know we’d be here?” TJ felt the hair on the back of her neck rise up.

  “She knows everything before we do.” Sam wondered if this was a good sign or bad. “Anna, is everything okay or do you need to take us somewhere?”

  Anna cocked her head and poked at the fence post hoping they understood her meaning.

  “What is she doing?” TJ hoped it wasn’t some kind of code.

  “She’s tapping the wood post. I think she’s telling us we’re being watched from the woods. It’s the same message she gave Alex. We need to be a distraction and keep Richard busy watching us just in case he was headed for the area near the boiler room.” Sam hoped she had read Anna right. “Okay, so I’m going to start pointing at different things like I’m showing you something. Do you have a road map in your truck?”

  “Of course, I’ll get it.” TJ walked back and thought she saw movement in the direction of the tunnel exit. “Sam, I think I just saw him duck behind a tree.”

  “Okay, let’s pretend we’re trying to find something and keep his attention on us.” Sam kept looking in the direction of where TJ had seen the movement.

  The women took turns pointing at different parts of the map, but never turning away from where they figured Richard was hiding. Just as they were thinking about how long they could continue this charade, the bell rang, sounding the end of class. Sam grabbed her cell phone and called Alex. Not knowing her schedule, she wanted to make sure that if she saw the two of them she and Cyn stayed away. Fortunately, Alex was checking for messages and answered.

  “Sam, what’s up?” Alex hoped everything was all right.

  “Listen, Darlin’, TJ and I are in your parking lot right now. We believe we spotted Richard and want to make sure he stays put until the Sheriff can finish checking the boiler room. Did you listen to my message yet?” Sam continued to act like she was talking about the map.

  “Not yet. I was just about to when you called. Is everything all right?” Alex knew the Sheriff might stop by, but now it sounded official.

  “Listen to it and then call me back. Anna has been amazing. We couldn’t have done this without her. Call me back, okay? Love you.” Sam said it before she realized what she was saying and clicked off.

  Alex would have liked time to say goodbye herself, but hit her voicemail command and waited for Sam’s message to play. She felt a wave of nausea come over her as she realized what could have happened if Anna hadn’t warned her. Regrettably, she hadn’t gotten the info soon enough to warn Dez, but Frederick and Cyn would be safe. Calling Sam back, she wanted to make sure everyone was going to be okay.

  “Sam, where’s Jessie? Isn’t she with you?” Alex wanted everyone accounted for.

  “She’s back at Carol’s with your truck. TJ and I came in her truck. Listen, when class is over for the day you and Cyn keep to your routine and ignore us if you see us. We’ll catch up with you two later, okay?” Sam wanted to keep an eye on Richard. She thought that if he realized his diagram was gone he might panic a little, thinking someone was on to him. Not suspecting anyone other than Alex and her buddies, he was liable to make a move later when they left.

  “Okay, whatever you say. But please be careful whatever you two do.” Alex wasn’t feeling panicked. She trusted Anna would watch over them and keep them safe.

  “No worries. We have the best guardian spirit in these parts looking after us. Talk to you later. Bye, Darlin’.” Sam thought one ‘I love you’ was enough for one day. She didn’t want TJ to think she was one of those sappy, mushy lesbians even if she was.

  Chapter 37

  When the Sheriff and Calvin entered the boiler room, they checked for video surveillance cameras. Nothing was obvious but they used hand signals just in case the pla
ce was wired with another microphone. It was possible the sound of someone in the room would be Richard’s signal to push the button, although tomorrow was the day Frederick had scheduled for service.

  They checked each pipe as it came out of the boiler and made its way down the wall and out towards the dorms. Nothing was obviously wrong until Calvin looked closely at the steam pipe nearest the pressure gauges. He motioned to the Sheriff, who slowly walked towards him to see what he’d found. Calvin was able to place the stepladder, which was stored in the corner, next to the pipe. He climbed up without making too much noise and cut the wire to the detonation cap. Luckily it wasn’t as sophisticated as other devices or it could have been booby trapped. The Sheriff motioned to reach in and pull it out, but Calvin shook his head no, motioning they should go outside where he would explain.

  “Why didn’t you take it out? There has to be plenty of prints on it.” The Sheriff wanted to finish this today.

  “Because if he comes back tonight to check on it, you can be waiting and catch him with the evidence still where he left it. He seems to feel safe, since he’s familiar with the comings and goings around here, so he may just slip up tonight. If he doesn’t come back, then tomorrow when he pushes the button and nothing happens he will be sure to come check it out. Either way you can catch him with the trigger remote in his hand.” Calvin was hoping the Sheriff had enough manpower for a stakeout.