Case of the Mouse Trap Legend

by Jean Marie Wiesen

  “Are you kidding me?” Reggie asked, puzzled.

  Crosby chewed on a straw and nodded. “I would have really liked this guy. It’s pure genius.”

  “Wow, it really is genius,” Mike agreed.

  “Can you imagine if a design guy did such a thing today, he’d be laughed out of a job. He wouldn’t be given a job. It’s pure elegance, is what it is,” Greg said.

  Annie and I said simultaneously, “Stunning,” then elbowed each other.

  Kai sat, cross-legged with his elbows in his hands and said, “Can you please tell it again, it was the most fascinating story I’ve ever heard. Beats any history class I was ever in.”

  “It doesn’t end there; Jack was a wonderful fisherman, too. He fished with General Hap Arnold, who founded our Air Force, and Chief of Staff, George Marshall.” Adelaide pointed to a photo of them standing on a boat together Henry Sr. must have taken.

  “Would have been scary if the War had started while these guys were out fishing,” Reggie commented.

  “Not like they had cell phones in those days,” Mike agreed.

  “I love old stories like these,” Kai said.

  “I do too. You don’t hear this in school, or read about this kind of information in books. You only know it if you were there or someone like Henry Sr. tells you. You’re very fortunate to have these photos and to have heard first-hand accounting, Adelaide,” Greg said.

  “I wanted to share it with you so you’d have some real understanding of the B 2. It’s not an ordinary plane; it holds an extraordinary place in our nation’s history. One additional piece is due to Congress’ stupidity, all the original planes Jack built were destroyed before they were ever flown. They were still on the tarmac. It was decided they weren’t required since it was the end of WWII. Fortunately, the mock-up of what we know as today’s B 2 was completed prior to Jack’s death in 1981, even though he never saw her fly. I’d like to believe he’s seen her fly, in spirit.”

  “If I remember correctly,” Greg offered, “Jack was with Douglas Aircraft and responsible for many designs there as well?”

  Adelaide smiled and nodded. “Yes, indeed.”

  “Makes me wonder where we’d be, if it hadn’t been for the likes of a man such as him.” Mike sighed.

  “We wouldn’t have the B 2. We need to get back to work so Jack’s gift doesn’t get in the hands of an insane dictator.” Greg closed one of the albums and placed it gently on the table.

  Reggie stood up, pointed to his phone and walked into the other room. He came out a few minutes later and said, “They’ve checked the rosters of every damned base in the States for outside contractors as well as outside the country and they’re coming up empty, so far. The next list they’re going through is those of the newly enlisted and new recruits.”

  “You do know a path to citizenship is gained by joining the military, right? If I were you, I’d ask my contacts to start with that kind of list.” Greg glanced at Reggie.

  “Damn it, I hadn’t considered it.” Reggie redialed, spoke a few words, hung up and said, “They’re on it.”

  “Good, ‘cause I just got a text from an old military buddy of mine and guess who’s coming to town?” Crosby said.

  “How could you possibly know this? My contacts would have told me.” Reggie grabbed Crosby’s phone and read the text in disbelief.

  “When?” Grady asked.

  “Next week,” Crosby answered.

  “Mets are losing and the Thunderbirds are coming. It doesn’t get any worse.” Mike leaned back in his chair.

  Chapter 20

  The sun rose far too early the following morning. The best news was the Army Corps of Engineers had worked all night and were able to complete the necessary repairs to get a temporary two-lane span up over the Norwalk River.

  Cho, Viktor and Jelly’s explosive placements had only caused minimal damage to the Rail Bridge and the bridge over the river, not taken down the entire bridge as initially feared. Nor had it completely destroyed the rail bridge. According to the State Engineers, had they added more C4, or, as initially suspected, or properly placed it, the destruction would have been total.

  Mike and I sat in our office reading the same article written by Annie in the Soundview Times, drinking our coffee while waiting for word from Greg and Reggie.

  “You suppose Professor Ditka’s reading this, crying in his tea over his failed students and how they shoulda brought down the bridge?” Mike asked.

  I nodded, and replied, “Every teacher wants their students to succeed.”

  “Jensen, you’re sick.”

  “I know, O’Malley, it’s why you love me.”

  “The poor professor, so tied up with his students, he had no idea who they really were or what they were up to. No way could he know they were soaking him for his knowledge on how to blow up bridges as a diversion, only to get at the Stealth.” Mike sighed and poured more coffee. “I can’t believe Adelaide has all those photos. What an incredible history lesson we had.”

  “I love old photos, seeing how people dressed,” I said.

  “Alright, enough with memory lane, we need to figure out how they plan on getting the Stealth, who the pilot is and how they’re getting out of here,” Mike said.

  “My money’s on Jelly being the pilot,” I commented as I folded the paper.

  Mike sipped his coffee and asked, “Why? ‘Cause she’s a girl?”

  “Nope, she’s Kim Jong Un’s niece and there’s no way he would trust anyone else to fly the plane back to North Korea besides her. The boys are along to make sure she accomplishes the mission, and it goes without saying one of them is the co-pilot.”

  “The Russian?” Mike asked, while he refilled both coffee mugs.

  “It’s a toss-up. It depends how much he trusts Putin. He’s crazy, so if I were to hazard another guess, I’d go with Cho and say he’s got something over Viktor’s head, such as bring them back or it’s your family.”

  Mike sat down and asked, “So, you’re saying Kim Jong Un is strong-arming Putin, in so many words, to get his way?”

  “First time for everything,” I replied.

  “Unless they have plans to share it,” Mike offered.

  “A partnership?” I asked.

  “Like you said— a first time for everything.” Mike sipped his coffee.

  Reggie walked in and asked, “Can anyone join this theorizing session? Uh, strong cup of coffee, first, please.”

  “Have a seat, pal.” Mike pointed to the spare chair and handed Reggie a full mug.

  Reggie sat back and nodded. “I love what you did with the place, it came out great. Terrific job, Jensen.”

  “Hey, it was my idea,” Mike said.

  “Right, but Laura instituted it. Therein lies the difference.” Reggie grinned.

  Mike asked, “You see this morning’s paper?”

  “Yes, I did. Annie writes one hell of an article. Thank God the Professor isn’t as good as he thinks he is, otherwise those bridges would have been blown to bits. I’m afraid to ask what you two were conjuring up. You’re hanging around Crosby too much.” Reggie sipped more coffee.

  “Well, I think Jelly’s the pilot and Cho’s the co-pilot,” I said.

  “You’re probably not too far off the mark, with her being the niece. Makes sense to me. It’s who Kim Jong Un would place his trust in to get the bomber back in one piece. I don’t suppose you’ve heard from them, have you?” Reggie asked.

  “If I had, I would let you know right away,” I replied.

  “I’m surprised you asked Laura a left-field question.” Mike leaned forward.

  “I have to cover myself. Please don’t take it personally. After everything we’ve been through, I trust you Laura, but you may have told Greg or Grady and not me. It’s all I meant by it, I promise.” Reggie put his hand on my arm.

  I smiled, took a sip of coffee and replied, “I know you trust me, we’ve been down a long road. Had it been a while ago, you might have hesitated. I
have a feeling I haven’t heard the last from our three friends though. I’m surprised they haven’t contacted me simply to annoy me.”

  “Careful what you ask for,” Mike suggested.

  Grady poked his head in the door and added, “He’s right, you never know what kind of trouble may follow you. I’ve no idea what you’re talking about and I don’t care, I’m dying to see tonight’s game. The Mets are back at Citi Field in New York and Noah Syndergaard’s pitching.” Grady slapped Mike on the shoulder, poured himself a mug of coffee and sat on the edge of the desk. “Ain’t life grand.”

  Mike glanced up at Grady, grinned and said, “Yeah, it sure is. Let’s hope we get a lock on these bastards before the first pitch.”

  “I hear you, buddy,” Grady said.

  Crosby burst through the door, “I just got a text from Greg, and he’s at the landfill.” He took a breath, “They found a body, some trash hauler with someone else’s ID on him. You’ll never guess where this other guy’s key card came from?” Crosby gestured impatiently as he waited for a response from one of us. “Not one of you is going to take a stab at this? Oh, come on. Really?” Crosby made a flying motion with his arms.

  “The Air Force?” I asked.

  “Gold star for, Laura!” Crosby jumped up and down.

  “We’re now reducing a serious investigation to charades?” Reggie asked.

  Crosby smiled, and said, “You don’t like my theories, so I thought you’d like this more.”

  “Grady, where did you find this guy?” Reggie asked.

  “He was sitting on the bench, in front of the station one day, looking sad and cold. I brought him inside, gave him a blanket and a sandwich and he never left.” Grady sipped some more coffee and asked, “Crosby, can you give us a bit more info, or is that all you have?”

  “Thanks, LT, I’ve got more. I did text Greg back and he wants us up there pdq, but here’s what we know so far—the two guys are brothers. As Greg originally conjectured, they’re not U.S. citizens; they appear to be from Canada. The trash hauler was attempting to hide the evidence in the landfill when he became stuck underneath his own truck. I’m guessing he didn’t get the brains in the family. It appears he was out in the cold for the night and perished from hypothermia, which isn’t too bad a way to go, you mostly go to sleep after you hallucinate a bit. Okay, it’s a weird way to go.” Crosby waved his hands in excitement, something he was prone to when he was close to solving a case.

  “No coffee for him,” Mike commented.

  Crosby waved Mike off and continued, “So, the cool part is he had his brother’s passport in his hand along with a key card to some unknown secured area on Whiteman Air Base in Missouri. He must have visited him recently and walked off with it without his brother’s knowledge. I repeat, not the brains of the outfit.”

  Reggie put his mug on the desk, and asked, “The garbage guy messed up before he could bury the evidence of who his brother was—the link to Cho, Jelly and Viktor?”

  “It’s the only thing we’ve found which remotely makes sense Reggie, as to how the Stealth’s itinerary could be funneled to those three in secrecy,” Crosby responded.

  Mike shrugged. “He could have walked away with it accidentally.”

  “Or he hid some other things we need to find,” Grady said.

  “I love ransacking first thing in the morning.” Mike stood up and stretched.

  “Do we have the names of the darling siblings?” Reggie inquired.

  Crosby tapped his phone. “Thought you’d never ask. The little dears are, Teddie and John Drango. John is currently deceased.”

  “Since John’s no longer among the living, I suppose he won’t mind us going through his things, after we obtain a warrant. I shall call my favorite Judge and acquire such an item,” Grady said.

  “Looks like we’ve got our morning cut out for us.” Reggie sighed. “Where is Kai?”

  “Right here, Sir.” Kai ran through the door. “I apologize for being late, the alarm failed to go off.”

  “No excuses, Rookie.” Reggie stared straight at me.

  “I’m not his alarm.” I felt my face turn about twenty shades of red.

  Reggie slapped the desk. “I knew it!”

  I bent down and put leashes on both puppies, and said, “Kai and Koa need to be walked before going to the landfill.”

  Mike put his hands across his stomach, bent over and began laughing. “I’ll bet they’re not the only ones.”

  Crosby smiled and reached his hand out to shake hands with Kai. “Treat her well or I’ll hunt you down.”

  “He’s got great aim.” Reggie grinned. “I’ve seen him take out—oh, you don’t want to hear it. Get a move on, we have business at the landfill.”

  Kai’s mouth fell open.

  “Don’t worry, Rookie, we’ll bring you back, the Mets are playing tonight.” Grady patted him on the back and headed out the door.

  Chapter 21

  Mike and I followed Grady, Reggie, Crosby and Kai on the way to the landfill. Mike spent the first few minutes of the ride on his phone, texting Crosby about the game and where we were going to watch it. It was agreed Adelaide’s was the premier viewing spot and Mike was nominated to ask permission. He then texted Adelaide, who was honored to host us once again, but Mike insisted on providing the bulk of the meal. He managed to do so without insulting Adelaide.

  Mike put the phone down and said, “Wow, got the major problem of the evening solved. Adelaide’s agreed to have us all over for the big game tonight. You and I are gonna bring most of the food and Crosby’s bringing the dessert. Does it work for you?”

  “Oh, come on, it means we’re having pizza and nothing else?” I answered.

  “No, I said Crosby’s bringing dessert,” Mike responded.

  “I heard you. It means he’ll come up with an apple pie or ice cream.”

  “Hey, sounds good,” Mike said. “Okay, you’re distracted, and it’s not because you don’t know where you’re going, you’re following Grady. What gives?”

  I turned to look at Mike.

  “Hey, eyes on the road. We can have a conversation while driving, only you gotta keep your eyes front and center. I’d like to get there in one piece. If it helps any, it’s not exactly news you and Kai were gonna end up together. It was only a matter of time. You two were together in high school. I mean, I don’t know if I’d date any of my high school girlfriends, but it’s not the same. What you two had was special.”

  I smiled. “Thanks, Mike, but it’s not how I wanted you to find out.”

  “It almost never works out the way you want it to. I can’t wait until Adelaide finds out. She’s gonna have the wedding planned before you know it. Wait until after the game before you tell her, otherwise she’ll be talking about where to have it all night. Oh, she’ll insist on having it at her house,” Mike said with a laugh.

  I glared at him and said, “Don’t you dare mention the wedding word in front of Kai, do you hear me. Promise me you won’t, O’Malley.”

  “I promise, Jensen, and we’re here. Stop the car and let me out.” Mike laughed again.

  I braked hard, put the car in park and turned to Mike. “You have to swear to me you won’t say anything in front of Kai about us getting married, even if you’re kidding around.”

  Mike’s eyes widened. “You guys have already talked about it, haven’t you?”

  I put my hands over my face for a minute, then gently placed my hands on Mike’s shoulder. “Kai and I have been, alright, we were in love years ago and it didn’t work. His family moved back to Hawaii and I didn’t think I would ever see him again. It’s exactly as Annie described it. Who knows why he came back into my life, but he did. We spoke about it and we know we’re meant to be together. No, we’re not getting married tomorrow or the next day, we need to spend time together, to get reacquainted with one another. Does it make sense, Mike?”

  “Yeah, it does.” Mike leaned over and kissed me on the forehead and said, “You soun
d like two grownups making an adult decision. I’m happy for you, so let’s go, ‘cause we got a body in the dump.”

  I opened the car door and stepped out the same time as Kai. “Next time, get your lazy butt out of bed, Rookie, and arrive at the office on time. We can’t hold the investigation up. Understood?”

  Kai looked me in the eye and replied, “Yes, Ma’am.”

  I nodded and walked over to Greg.

  Reggie grinned. “Rookie’s got respect. Let’s get this show going.”

  Crosby inhaled and said, “I love the smell of the dump in the early morning. I especially love the respect of rookies.” He put his arm around Kai’s shoulder and walked in Greg’s direction.

  Greg stretched his arms out and said, “Whenever there’s such a talented group gathered together, there must be a body involved. Being downwind, I’ve brought just the thing to assist with the odor.” He handed us each a mask and waited until we’d put them on before he continued. He pointed to a pile of jumpsuits and said, “They’re one size fits all, or close enough.” He raised one hand up to keep the morning sun out of his eyes, and squinted at Reggie, “Except for this guy. I suppose if we duct tape two suits together, it will work.”

  “Funny guy, Hendricks,” Reggie said, as he reached down to pick up one of the suits. He bent down to pick up another, and proceeded to rip one apart and somehow managed to come up with the semblance of a working jumpsuit.

  “I’m not so sure I’d post it on the cover of GQ Magazine, but it’s close enough for government work.” Mike grinned.

  Reggie pointed his finger back and forth between the two. “If Letterman weren’t off the air, I’d recommend you two as guest hosts.”

  “Hey, Greg, what about our feet? I’m not in the mood to trash my shoes,” Mike said.