by S. J. Braden
“Is there any progress on determining his whereabouts?” Court asked.
“No. The person who checked into that hotel room didn’t leave the room for three days, went out once and never returned. We have some CCTV photos but nothing distinguishable enough to promote or broadcast. He’s still a ghost for now.”
“Could you keep me up to date with any findings and if I come up with anything I’ll let you know?”
“Sure Court, thanks for your help. I hope everything is okay with your family. I’ll message you if we uncover anything.”
Court didn’t respond about his family and just thanked Billings before disconnecting the call. He double checked his phone to see if another message regarding Colleen came in and he somehow missed it. There was no message but Jake took off running for the front door of the business. When he got there he began barking ferociously.
“Jake, what’s up buddy?” Court yelled and turned to address his friends, “He never barks like that at work. Something's up!”
Chapter 17
While Jake barked ferociously at the locked door to the Explosives Academy, Court looked at his security camera images and saw there was a delivery van parked in front of the office. He went to the door.
Court commanded Jake to sit and stay before unlocking and opening the door. He still was surprised at Jake’s most unusual reaction and he greeted the delivery man from the overnight delivery company and signed for the package. But waited until he was back inside his office before opening the box. He went to the training lab and retrieved a hand-held x-ray machine to scan the box for explosives before opening it. It looked like only a sheet of paper inside, so he opened it cautiously. Inside was his next clue. He used a napkin off his desk to hold the clue.
Mr. Explosives man, remember No Cops! Here is the easiest clue you will get. You have until 4:30 p.m. this afternoon before all the little kiddies go boom.
My Teddy Bear is a friend to me
He’s so cute and cuddly
I feel better when he’s near by
He makes me happy I want to smile
Now Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear shake your tail
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear hop on the trail.
Court be nimble
Court be quick,
Court jump atop the candlestick at the museum where the kiddies play.
“Son of a bitch! He IS involving the children.” He handed the clue to Frankie who gingerly took it by the napkin to avoid any contamination and read the clue aloud to the others.
Court looked at his watch. 11:00 a.m. He had five and a half hours to find a bomb at the Memphis Children’s Museum. He thought for only a moment before turning to his laptop and looking for the phone number and the name of the director. He placed the call. Court explained who he was and that he had a new graduating class of K-9 detection dogs and their handlers. He offered to give the children an impromptu demonstration with the dogs this morning if the director would like. She agreed and was excited for the children. Court told her his team would be there at twelve.
He then went out to the work area where the dogs were training with their handlers. He called over three of his best handlers and explained what he needed.
“I have some friends in town. I’ve offered to give a demonstration of the dogs at the Children’s Museum today. With your permission, I would like to take your dogs and let my friends handle them for the day as a trial. They are all in law enforcement from Louisiana, Florida, and Virginia and may be interested in dogs from our academy and training. These guys are prospective clients, I would like for them to get a taste of how well our dogs perform, the dogs will get an exercise with an unknown handler including one with a funny accent and it will be good publicity for the community as well.”
Both men and the one woman handler all agreed. Court found Polo shirts with the Jake’s Explosive Academy embroidered on the front for his new team. He replaced the dog’s training harnesses with harnesses used in the field and put Kevlar vests on each of the dogs. He placed an extra day box in his truck to be on the safe side. He hoped the construction of the device and ample timing would allow him to remove the bomb from the scene to disarm off-site away from the children and any parental or museum staff prying eyes. He also hoped arriving at the traditional lunch time would mean the crowd at the museum would be smaller. Court first introduced each of his friends to their dog for the day then to the dog’s owner/handlers and to the rest of his staff.
He knew he was taking a chance if anyone he worked with was responsible for Colleen’s situation, but he had to do what he had to do. He wrestled with knowing he should contact authorities when children were in harm’s way and reminding himself, he was capable of doing this. He had every bit as much expertise and experience as anyone on the MPD force with explosives. But he reminded himself that the first thing MPD would do is evacuate the building and he couldn’t do that.
He trusted his dogs. He had to trust them. Between the dogs, his friends and himself, he had to believe they could accomplish this task without anyone getting hurt and without compromising Colleen’s safety. He felt in his heart that it might possibly be wrong to put Colleen above the safety of the others involved, but God help him, he had no other choice. He tried to take a deep breath and slow his heart rate from the rat a tat tat pounding against the wall of his chest and in his ears as the four men lead the dogs out to the two SUV’s to drive the few miles to the museum.
The men might be full of trepidation and uncertainty but the dogs were excited and ready to go.
Chapter 18
This is so hard. Acting like I’m not in a hurry and I have nothing better to do. I hate thinking it, but at this time I can’t afford to rule anything out. I hate to think this could be someone who works for me. Works WITH me. But I’m not willing to take any chances.
Court and Frankie with Jake and Sambo loaded into Court’s truck. Trent and Pierce with Dasher and Nickel loaded into the rented SUV and they headed to the Children’s Museum. Court called Trent’s phone as they drove and told him to put him on speaker. He explained to the three men the commands they needed to use and the basics of how to handle the dogs to give the appearance they had been through the training. He told them the dogs were trained well enough that with a few simple commands they would appear highly trained.
When they arrived, Court met the director of the museum, Mary Cornwall and introduced her to his team and to all the dogs. She was impressed with how friendly the dogs were and commented that she expected most of the children were going to love this demonstration. She explained she had an area set up for them to meet and greet the children and tell them about the dogs and their work. Court explained after the presentation, if it was all right, they would set the dogs to search, so the children could see how they work. He had also brought along an inert explosive used in training. It was completely harmless and he would hide it in the museum for the dogs to find. She agreed and Court sighed with relief.
Court conducted the exercise with the children. Most of them loved petting the dogs, although a few were shy. Even the shy ones seemed to enjoy watching the dogs. They enjoyed watching Jake drink from his water bottle, and Court passed out the paw autographed pictures of Jake, The Sniffer the academy gave to knew enrollees for training. Court also demonstrated the day box. He explained when explosives were found they were transported in these safe boxes. Then they all moved out of the room where the demonstration was held. They positioned the dogs, one at each section of the museum. As the children played, some watching the dogs, others ignoring them, the four men commanded the dogs to seek and removed their leashes. The dogs did what they were trained to do.
For over an hour, Jake, Sambo, Dasher, and Nickel scoured every inch of the museum. They searched the fire engine, the police car, the motorcycle, the airplane cockpit, the miniature scale grocery store, and the arts and crafts room. Nickel, a border collie, was small and agile enough to climb through the wood and fence skyscraper. While the children loved
watching the dogs, especially the black and white border collie climbing through the vertical tunnels, none of them alerted. By now the children had forgotten the important task the dogs were supposed to be doing. But the dogs had not. They simply weren’t finding anything.
Court, Trent, Frankie and Pierce all grew more nervous and more concerned with every passing minute the bomb wasn’t found. They huddled together to discuss what to do next, while the dogs kept looking.
“It’s not like we can say, oh well end of demonstration and go home. The clue was very easy, no doubt about where it was, unless it’s in a specialized area of another museum I don’t know about.”
“The clue was a nursery rhyme, correct?” asked Pierce.
“Yes.”
“Are there other areas of the museum not open to the public? Maybe offices or storage?” asked Frankie.
“I’m sure there probably are. That rat bastard, how can we explain that to the director, that we need the dogs to go there?” Trent asked.
“I have an idea!” exclaimed Court as he set off to find Miss Cornwall.
“I haven’t hidden the inert explosives yet. Do you have offices or storage areas the dogs could search, while I hide it?”
“We don’t have offices, but there is a storage and receiving area, it’s attached to the room where we can hold birthday parties. Will that work?”
Court sighed with relief that she didn’t seem at all suspicious of his request. “Yes, that would be perfect. Two of my team will take the dogs there if you could direct us, the other two will hide the bait.”
That’s exactly what they did. The dogs didn’t alert to a find in the storage, receiving area, or party room either. So when they returned to the main section of the building and found the inert explosive, Court was relieved and felt certain there was no bomb inside the museum. He gently lifted the inert material from its hiding place and slowly and gently placed it into the Day box with great theatrics for the children and the director’s entertainment. Then they said goodbye. Before leaving, Court and the others let the dogs run on the museum grounds to make sure nothing was outside the building. The men then loaded the dogs into the vehicles and were silent returning to the office. As they pulled into the office parking lot, Court’s phone indicated a message. He read it and exclaimed “Son of a bitch!”
Frankie looked at him inquisitively and Court said he would tell them all inside.
They gathered in Court’s office and Court shut the door. “I got a message as we arrived back here at the office. It said, Ha ha gotcha! Wait for more info. You have the rest of the day off, next clue tomorrow.”
Court then replied to the message, Come on! Let’s do this if we’re going to do it. What are you waiting for?
Immediately there was a reply: Patience Mr. Bomb man. Timing is everything. Ha ha, do you like my pun?
Court growled, “UGH! I’d like to pun him alright. Let’s return these dogs to their handlers and go back to the house. Everyone can get settled in, and we’ll get ready for another day of this.”
Trent put his arm around Court and quietly asked him, “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I am relieved that we found nothing and no children were harmed. But I’m tired of waiting. I need to find Colleen.”
“I know, my friend, I know. We will.”
Chapter 19
In Ecuador, Abby missed talking to Trent. She was accustomed to so much more time with him. She didn’t resent not being able to talk to him, she was worried. She worried about Colleen, Court and all the guys. She too reminisced about the fond memories of their trip just weeks ago to Ecuador.
Following the long travel day and the anniversary party Monday, the group of expats and visitors decided a relaxing day was in order. They all also wanted to spend some time getting to know Colleen and Court, so they decided to take the short trip to a small town outside the city called Banos. The large group descended upon a beautiful spa called Piedra De Aqua and spent the day relaxing in the thermal pools, enjoying massages, music therapy and delicious food from the spa restaurant. They watched as several species of hummingbirds unknown to the North American residents flitted around, diving into the multicolored blooms in the spas landscaping. Above them, they could see the crests of mountains and occasionally the minuscule movement of a person walking along the edge. It was a relaxing day with plenty of time to visit and plan activities for the following days amid the beautiful landscaping and elegant spa.
Court and Colleen expressed interest in touring the churches and cathedrals of the area, Missy wanted to do some shopping, and Frankie said he planned to act like a tourist and take lots of photos. He had already filled a memory card with photos of the mud baths, steam pools, blossoms, birds and hills around the spa. They made a schedule so the newest members of the group would have a great vacation and adventure taking into account the resident’s schedules of activities so Abby and Sarah Frances could also spend time with their men.
Abby sure wished they were all relaxing again at the spa, or that she was in Memphis helping to find Colleen.
Colleen sat in her empty room. She was exhausted and stiff. She hurt from being in the same position for almost twenty-four hours. Her captor had been back once to let her use the restroom. He came in later, set a bottle of water at her feet and left.
He knows damn good and well I can’t get to that water bottle. It's tormenting me that it’s sitting there and I can’t reach it. Of course, that’s what he wanted. I’m hungry and thirsty but I refuse to think about it. If I drink it, I’ll just need to go to the bathroom again. I must occupy my mind with something else. I know something is going on. He moved my chair and changed directions this morning. I wonder if there was some other explosion I was supposed to see. I haven’t seen anything yet. I wonder if I missed it. Or maybe it won’t happen again until it’s almost dark like last night. I hope Court is okay. I’m sure by now he knows I’m missing. I’m sure he’s been home or tried to call. I wonder what the case is he’s working on. It’s unusual, well come to think of it, it’s never happened since he left the force that he was called in to assist police, what could that possibly be about? If it was terrorist related they would have called the feds and not Court. None of this makes any sense. I really need to find a way out of here. I guess my only chance is if I can figure out a way to take this guy down while he’s in here with me. And who is he anyway? I’m sure it’s because of a case I tried, but which one? The latest one? I know Maden has a wide network. We arrested a lot of his network and they are waiting for trial. Some are out on bond others are being held and of course, I’m sure there are a loose few we don’t have yet and they all have friends and family members. Why did they blow up The Mari? How did they know about the boat? Could this be someone who knows Court? An employee or former employee? They would be likely to blow things up. One thing is for certain, the man I’ve been talking with doesn’t have a southern accent. His vocabulary indicates he’s well educated. I’m both disturbed and elated about the mask. Does the mask mean it’s someone I know? Does it mean he doesn’t intend to kill me and doesn’t want me to be able to identify him? Oh! Was that an explosion? No, just lightning, a storm is moving through. I’m sure the police are involved now, and the FBI and Marshal’s too. It’s not a light thing to kidnap a federal attorney. I shouldn’t have refused that detail. Hindsight, hum? Speaking of hindsight, before it gets dark I need to look around and see if there is anything I can use to my advantage. I’m facing a new direction, maybe there’s something I can see now I couldn’t see before.
As Colleen looked around, the room was starkly bare. Most of the room was carpeted with a small hardwood dance floor. There was no furniture, except for the chair she was strapped to, there were no tools lying around. The bar was on one side. She wondered if there was anything useful behind the bar. There wasn’t anything out here. Not so much as a piece of paper or a pen. Colleen decided to try to move closer to the bar knowing she must do so carefully. She didn’t want to
tip over and take a chance on jarring the explosives around her neck which now felt so heavy. She tried to stand but her feet were numb and her legs were tied too tightly to the chair. She began working her legs and ankles to see if it was possible to loosen the ropes that bound her. She needed a little more play to even be able to attempt to scoot the chair. As she worked her legs, she stared at the door the man come through. She wondered if it was even locked. If she could get there, could she get out?
I wish I had my purse. If I had my cell phone, even if I couldn’t call maybe the cops could track my location. If I had my screwdriver I could break a window, or get out the door. I could start a fire. Keep working your legs Colleen. There has to be a way out, or a way to let someone know I’m here. I know I can’t hear anything in the building. By the time I hear the footsteps he’s only a few feet from entering the room. Screaming will do me no good. But it might feel good. If only my throat wasn’t so dry. Oh, Counselor, don’t go there again, there are many other things to think about. How about Ecuador? What a lovely place, such a pretty town and not at all what I expected it would be like. The murals on the walls and the stairways are so creative. Wait a minute. Murals.
She looked at the bar again and realized the front of it was mirrored. If I can get there and can break the mirror I might be able to use the shards to free me from this damned chair or as a weapon against my captor. She tried again to move the chair and actually moved it a little.