Blue's Code

by James Abel

  “You’re getting ahead of me, but your instincts are right on point. The weird thing is that they were all ruled to be of natural causes.”

  Tears formed in Molly’s eyes as she said, “Oh my God, Pop was murdered?”

  Bennings nodded and said, “I believe so, but, unfortunately, we may never know for sure. Yesterday, my team was pulled off the case, and the case was closed.”

  Jordan asked, “Then why are you here?”

  Bennings turned to Molly and asked, “Molly, you’re getting letters from Jessie Warring, or should I say Blue, aren’t you?”

  “Just one so far. But how did you know?”

  “Not important, but would you mind if I take a look at it?”

  Jordan didn’t let Molly answer, interjecting a stern, “No.” Jordan then looked at Molly and said, “Molly, please wait in the other room for a minute while Mr. Bennings and I have a word in private.”

  Molly said, “Yes, sir,” and stood up and left.

  Jordan moved uncomfortably close to Bennings’s face and said, “Listen, Bennings, you’ve apparently gone rogue. I’m not going to put Molly in harm’s way unless you start telling me what this is really all about.”

  “Fair enough. Do you remember last year’s pandemic scare? The one that was predicted to be five times more deadly than Covid-19?”

  “Of course. But they nipped it in the bud—came up with an effective vaccine before it even got out of China.”

  “And the company that came up with the vaccine?”

  “Shit. That was Warring Pharmaceuticals. Wasn’t it?”

  “Yes, and they made a fortune on it with an exclusive government contract here in the U.S. and similar deals across the globe.”

  “So… how does this tie back to Blue?”

  “Just give me a minute! What you need to know first is that, around the time of that scare, surveillance footage out of China turned up evidence of a meeting between a senior member of China’s communist party and one of Warring’s top executives. Based on that, we were authorized to wiretap Warring’s external communications. Finally, two weeks ago, it paid off. We uncovered some text messages between Warring’s senior security officer, Willard Lance, and a less than desirable character, the kind that deals in murder for hire. And guess what? We’ve been able to place him in close proximity to where at least four of the suspicious deaths occurred. Oh, and one of them was here in New York around the time your dad died.”

  “Did the director know all of this when he pulled the plug on your investigation?”

  “You kidding? I think he pulled the plug because of it.”

  Jordan shook his head and said, “Seems crazy. Your boss was appointed by the incumbent President, and you’d think that the President, above anyone else, would want all the dirt he could get on Heather Warring.”

  “Yeah. You’d think so. But nothing in that town makes sense anymore. Just look at what happened to the last President. His own party turned on him simply because he was a political outsider. They fought him on health care reform, even fought him on closing the borders to illegals. Hell, they even fought him for trying to bring back jobs from China and make us energy independent. And then what happened? After that, we watched as local politicians forced the police to stand down while thugs in the streets were tearing down statues and looting stores.”

  “Okay, so maybe the country is turning to shit, but you still haven’t told me what that has to do with Blue’s letter!”

  “That day at Cornell, when Blue and Molly reunited, one of the few men I still trust was there in the auditorium. He’s an old friend who helped me work the case back in Savannah. You know, when I first met you.”

  “Yeah, not good times.”

  “So, he knows all about Blue and Molly’s past. When Blue invited Molly to be her pen pal, he took note that Warring’s security team was anything but happy. He said Warring’s top security officer, a guy by the name of Willard Lance, looked downright pissed off. And there was something else. He saw Blue whisper something into Molly’s ear. So, I’m guessing that Blue knows what’s going on at Warring Pharmaceuticals, and she’s trying to pass that information along to us, through Molly.”

  “That is one hell of a leap of faith.”

  “Maybe. But at this point, it’s literally all I’ve got. So, please, let me take a look at the letter. That’s all I’m asking, and then I’ll be on my way.”

  Jordan stood up and started pacing as Bennings watched and waited. Finally, Jordan stopped, looked at Bennngs, and said, “No. Not gonna happen. I am not going to put Molly in the middle of this. Now please leave.”

  Bennings head dropped, he took a deep breath, and then stood up.

  “I understand, but please…” as he reached into his pocket and handed Jordan his card, “Call me if you change your mind..”

  Jordan escorted Bennings to the front door where they said their goodbyes as Molly watched from her perch on the sofa. Bennings paused at the door, glanced over at Molly, and said, “Nice to see you again, Molly. You take care now.”

  Jordan closed the door behind him.

  Alone with Molly, Jordan walked over to her and asked, “What are you doing tomorrow morning?”

  “Nothing. Why?”

  “How about we both get a good night’s sleep, and tomorrow morning, we take a closer look at Blue’s letter?”

  CHAPTER 8

  Jordan sat at his kitchen table reading Blue’s letter as Molly watched and waited. When he finished, he put the letter down and looked up at Molly who said, “See, Dad, it doesn’t make any sense.”

  “Maybe, but let’s try looking at this from a different perspective. She told you that she was gonna use some sort of code. Other than the two of us, who would know that the Disney trip never took place?”

  “No one, I guess.”

  “So, don’t you think that just maybe, Blue’s code is hidden in….”

  Molly eyes lit up as she interrupted, “Of course. It’s in the stuff she made up! Why didn’t I think of that?”

  “Well, I am the detective in the family.”

  Molly smiled and said, “Okay, detective, then let’s get started. As I told you, I’ve already tried reading it backward, reading every other word, every third word, just the first letter of every word. You name it, and I’ve tried it.”

  Jordan nodded and said, “What if it’s simpler than that?”

  “How? In what way?”

  “I don’t know yet.” Jordan pointed toward the kitchen counter and said, “Go grab a pen and a piece of paper from the counter.”

  Molly walked to get the pen and paper as Jordan continued, “I’ll read the part of Blue’s letter where she’s talking about the Disney trip, and you jot down any key words or sayings that jump out at you.”

  With Molly taking notes, Jordan read.

  Anyway, your letter also took me back to that wonderful trip we took with your dad to Disney World. That’s my best memory of all. It was just the three of us in the happiest place in the world. Of all the parks, Magic Kingdom was my favorite. The Haunted Mansion, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, and the Pirates of the Caribbean still stick in my mind. Remember the end of the Pirates of the Caribbean ride when the boat goes under the bridge and there’s that cute little animatronic dog with the keys in his mouth? All the prisoners were all reaching out of the cell, trying to get the dog to come over with the keys so they could escape. I guess they were really desperate.

  And Animal Kingdom was my second favorite. Remember how embarrassed your dad was when we were waiting in line to see that 3-D movie inside the Tree of Life? I think the attraction was called “It’s Tough to be a Bug” or “Stop Bugging Me”, or something like that. Your dad’s cell phone rang, and that cast member made him turn it off.

  Tell you what! In your next letter, why don’t you tell me what your favorite rides were. It will help make me feel like I’m a kid again. Anyway, gotta run now. Love you!

  Jessie—aka Blue!

 
When he finished, Jordan looked at Molly and asked, “What did you write down?”

  Molly said, “Not much. You were reading too fast.”

  “That was intentional. Just read me your notes.”

  “Okay. I’ve got “haunted mansion, big thunder railroad, pirates of the Caribbean.”

  Jordan interrupted and said, “Stop. Skip the names of the rides. Just focus on Blue’s descriptions of them.”

  Molly looked at her notes again and said, “Okay, she only describes two of them, Pirates of the Caribbean and the Tree of Life. Let’s see, for the Pirates of the Caribbean, she used words like bridge, dog, keys, prisoner, escape, desperate. Wait! Now I see where you are going with this!”

  “Good. So, what is it telling you?”

  “She’s desperate—a prisoner. She’s trying to escape? Those security guards were all over her at Cornell. But, still. She’s 25 years old. How could she possibly be a prisoner?”

  Jordan said, “Hold that thought. What did she say about the Tree of Life?”

  “Let’s see. That was in Animal Kingdom. Words like, it’s tough to be a bug, stop bugging me, cell phone, cast member, turn it off. Does that mean that Blue’s cell phone is bugged?”

  Jordan smiled and said, “That would certainly explain why she has to write to you in code. She doesn’t trust using her phone, and she’s probably afraid they are also reading her letters. I think she is, in effect, a prisoner—a damn smart one at that!”

  Jordan studied the letter again and, without taking his eyes off of it said, “It looks to me that whenever she’s trying to pass along information in code, she starts the sentence with the word remember. And she’s also telling you how to communicate back to her. She’s asking you to tell her what your favorite rides were. She’s set up a framework so you two can go back and forth in code without anyone picking up on it. Blue, I am impressed!”

  “So, now what?”

  He looked at Molly and said, “I honestly don’t know.” Then Jordan pulled out his wallet and fished out Bennings’s card. As he looked it over, he said, “Tell you what. You work on a letter to send back to her. Try using her code so she knows you’ve figured it out, and ask how we can help. In the meantime, I’ll call Bennings. I guess it can’t hurt.”

  “Okay. Thanks, Dad. I love you.”

  “Love you too, pumpkin.” He winked at her and smiled.

  Molly smiled back, shaking her head from side to side. Every once in a while, Jordan still loved to call her pumpkin, her childhood nickname, knowing how much it embarrassed her. Deep down though, Molly still loved it—just not when anyone else was in the room.

  CHAPTER 9

  Peanut was lying on her bed watching TV in her new room. It was the smallest of the four bedrooms in the private living area of the governor’s mansion, and it sat just inside the hallway door that lead to the rear foyer. She heard a familiar knock and Blue’s voice from the other side of the door, “Hey, Peanut, it’s me. Can I come in?”

  Peanut sat up and said, “Yes! I’ve been waiting for you!”

  Blue opened the door, came in, quietly closed the door behind her, and locked it.

  Blue said, “Sorry I couldn’t go with you today. How’d it go?”

  “Pretty good. Travis took me all the way to Atlanta, to a specialist at the Winship Cancer Institute at Emory University. They have me scheduled for some tests in a couple of days.”

  “Good. I’ll go with you. Isn’t it amazing how quick they can see you when you’re staying at the governor’s mansion?”

  “Yeah, guess so.”

  Blue suddenly put her finger up to her mouth, whispered “hush,” and motioned for Peanut to follow her. Blue walked to the closet door, got down on her knees, and disappeared under some of Peanut’s clothes that were hanging on the lower of two rods that spanned the width of the closet.

  When Peanut got to the closet, all she saw was her clothes, but she heard Blue whisper from behind them say, “I’m back here, just crawl underneath.”

  Peanut followed Blue’s instructions and found herself in an open space running the full width of the closet for six feet to a rear wood paneled wall. Peanut grinned childishly and said, “This is really neat. Does anyone else know it’s here?”

  Blue, speaking very softly said, “They have to. Heck, when there’s no clothes hung in the closet, you can see all of this.”

  Peanut, disappointed with the answer, said, “Yeah, guess you’re right.”

  Blue smiled and said, “But nobody else knows about this!” She stood up and walked all the way to the back wall of the closet. Then, she put both hands on the top left side of the paneled wall and gave a quick, hard tug to the right. The wall moved, sliding almost all the way into the plaster wall beside it. Beyond the new opening in the wall was nothing but darkness.

  Peanut’s eyes lit up. She looked at Blue and asked, “A secret passageway?”

  Blue smiled and said, “Yup. Before my mother moved in, she had an elevator installed, the one out in the foyer, the one I’m not allowed to use. When they did that, they sealed off a doorway out there that led to a stairway down to the lower level. Supposedly, back when Governor Joe Brown lived here in the 1850s, the servants used that stairway to bring food and drinks up to the governor and his guests. But when they put in the elevator and covered up that door, they didn’t know that there was a second, secret way to get to the back stairs and...ta da! This is it.”

  “How did you find it?”

  “When I was a kid, I had my own little hideaway in a cubby-hole in my room. My dad built it for me. When my mom got sick, I’d go in there to be alone.”

  “That’s so sad.”

  “Yeah… so when we moved here, I took this room because the closet reminded me of my old cubby-hole. And then one day, I was sitting back here in the corner and leaned against the wall. I heard the paint crack, and then a rattle in the door, and that’s how I found it. My guess is that it was put here so that Governor Brown could sneak his favorite slave girl up here for you know what after his wife fell asleep down the hall.”

  “You mean, they did it right here, in my bedroom?”

  “Yup. Either that or it was set up for a servant to help with a baby or something.”

  Peanut smiled and said, “I like that explanation a lot better.”

  “Well anyway, tomorrow, I’ll show you some more. Are you up for an adventure?”

  “I guess so. Where are we going?”

  “Down the steps that are behind the door. When we do, we need to be really quiet, because if we get caught, we’re screwed.”

  “Then why are we doing it?”

  “Because I love a good adventure. Don’t you?”

  “I guess so.”

  “Good. We’ll do it together, early tomorrow night.”

  CHAPTER 10

  The sun was setting as dust filled the air behind the silver, 2010 Ram 1500 truck pulling an open trailer full of landscaping equipment down a Georgia dirt road. Behind the wheel was Taylor Riggs, a 34-year-old, six-foot-two African American. He had a shaved head, brown eyes, and high cheekbones. His sweaty T-shirt had been thrown onto the passenger’s seat, revealing a physique that looked to be straight out of a print ad for the latest home fitness gimmick. His upper left arm, currently resting on the truck’s window ledge, sported a tattoo of an American Flag waving in the breeze with the words Semper Fi directly underneath.

  Riggs turned off the road onto the gravel driveway of a modest mid-60s era red-brick ranch house. The house was more than 200 yards away from its closest neighbor and had three acres of farmland directly behind it that was full of fall corn. Riggs pulled to a stop and rolled up the truck’s window, quietly cursing the truck’s broken air conditioner, as well as the unusually hot October day he had just endured. He grabbed his T-shirt from the passenger’s seat, used it to wipe sweat dripping from his forehead and brow, and jumped out of the cab.

  As he turned toward the house, he heard several cars approaching. He turn
ed back to see two black BMW 750s with tinted out windows fly by, kicking up dust behind them.

  Slumming it. Must have been an accident out on 441.

  Riggs cupped his hands to his mouth and called out, “What’s the matter, Gov? Gotta mingle with us common folk today?” And then he turned toward the house as the door opened and a four-year-old boy ran out yelling “Daddy!”

  Holly, the boy’s mother and Riggs’s wife, appeared in the doorway to watch as Riggs kneeled down, said, “Devon, my man,” and scooped up the little boy into his arms.

  When Riggs got inside, he set Devon down and watched Holly carry a serving plate of steaming-hot roasted turkey into the room and set it down on the dining room table. Holly said, “Here ya go, honey. Just in time. It’s fresh out of the oven.”

  Holly was pure country girl, including the heavy Southern twang that politicians and late-night talk show hosts like to make fun of. She was on the thin side, with round cheeks, light brown skin, brown eyes, and a smile that made everyone who saw it feel like it was meant just for them. After the turkey was all but gone and Holly had settled Devon into bed for the night, she looked at Riggs and asked, “Do you really have to go to that meeting tonight?”

  Riggs nodded and said, “I’m sorry, honey, but I do. We’re losing our country, and we can’t just stand by and let it happen.”

  “But I heard the guys talking down at Kroger’s today, and they we’re saying some things that scare me. They’re good guys and all, but you are the only Brother in the bunch. If they do some of the things they’re talking about, you know who they’re gonna blame.”

  “You know better than that. These are my friends, and this is our home. No one’s gonna come after me. Besides, I’m the one trying to keep them out of trouble. I can’t let Eddie and the others go off the tracks. I’m all for protesting, but we’ve gotta do it the right way. And I won’t be late. Frank’s gonna be here early tomorrow with the harvester.”

  “Oh, that’s right. Heck, he’ll have our three little acres of corn done in an hour.”

  Riggs laughed and said, “I’ll bet it’s less than that. Gives him more time to sit down and eat some bacon and grits Remember, you’ve gotta feed him when he’s done!”