Ellen sat down on a deck chair she had conjured up and invited us to join her. The docks were really a very noisy place. While the deck hands on our boat seemed bored, all around us were trucks and heavy equipment moving cargo to and from ships. The sea gulls were squawking overhead. Ellen said, “Roger has a lot of information to sort through. I don’t think I should burden him with any more for the moment. I do think I need to visit the computer techs at the CIA and help Ray with some work. I need you gals to help monitor Thornton. John has ordered extreme surveillance on him, and people are getting in place to monitor everything he does. I will provide a pink aura to the good guys, so you will know when it’s safe to leave Thornton alone. You will see the monitoring people in place.”
Ellen continued, “There is a skill I wish we had thought to teach you, but we didn’t. I don’t know if you guys can learn this on your own or not.”
Teresa asked, “What is it?”
Ellen said, “There are entities that could help you if you could communicate with them.”
We all asked at the same time, “Entities?”
In my mind, an entity is like in economics, the analytical study of the relationships that exist between entities that are numerically measurable. Or an entity is a privately or publically held business, or like the Post Office, a congressionally chartered entity for a specific purpose. I started laughing in my head, we are not the only group that can’t communicate with Congress!
Ellen was shaking her head, “One example of what I am talking about is what mortals call ghosts.”
Mary freaked out! “You want us to learn how to talk to ghosts?”
Teresa said, “Cool.”
Linda and I just looked at each other. I can’t speak for her, but I would rather learn Chinese. I don’t even have a good handle on English.
Ellen answered, “In a way, yes, and in a way, no. I think Mambo can help us, but we have a communication problem. I am sure she is willing to try. She can see you, but she isn’t hearing you. You can speak to animals, and so can she. I’m just not sure of the link.”
I had a thought, “Maybe we could talk through an animal. You know, take a squirrel with us, tell it what we want, and have it tell Mambo.” I thought that sounded pretty logical.
Mary asked again, “What’s wrong with you? A squirrel? What’s with you and squirrels? Are you going to carry it around like a cell phone to Mambo?”
Oh, that’s a thought!
Teresa asked if Mambo really communicated with Spirits.
Ellen answered, “I believe she does. It’s not in the way angels communicate, but Mambo is a protector of mortals and has the gift of drawing strengths from her Saints through prayer. You might say Saints work at a closer level to mortals than we do.”
Ellen looked thoughtful, “Well, let me think about this while you gals are with Thornton. Try to keep him from accomplishing anything until John’s people are in place. You will see pink auras around people and objects that have been secured by John’s people. Maybe after that we can work on the Mambo thing.”
Ellen left. We decided to try to locate Thornton by his aura. Linda was humming her song, “Hall of the Mountain King.” We all joined in as we flew. We passed a group of geese that really gave us some funny looks. Guess they don’t appreciate classical music.
Simon, Thor, Ray, and Jeanne sat in silence just looking at the blank computer screens in front of them. The CIA had taken over the problem. They had been thanked and dismissed in one sentence prior to the caller hanging up. Jeanne had been sitting in what Thor thought looked like a Yoga position. She untwisted her legs, stood and stretched. Thor and Simon both looked away as her top rose exposing her belly. Thor lost every single thought in his mind. Simon announced he was going upstairs to get something to drink. He asked if anyone else needed anything.
Thor hardly heard him. Ray kicked Thor’s foot from his chair, “You want some water?” Ray had a smirk on his face. Thor answered no and said he had to go upstairs to make some calls. He followed Simon.
When they were both gone, Ray looked at Jeanne, “You know Thor can’t even think around you, don’t you?”
Jeanne waved him off and started searching the money transactions again. She felt Ray looking at her waiting for an answer. Without looking at him she said, “Get back to work, or I’ll have to shoot you.”
Tourey had gone home to review the copies of Theodore’s address book George had given him and to watch the video. The professionally prepared video provided fifty separate interviews with the children. Each child told a little bit about themselves and their art entry. They ranged in age from six to ten both boys and girls. At the end of the video, like credits, were the names and addresses of each child. The names and phone numbers of club members in New Orleans along with a few out of state members matched the names and addresses Tourey had seen in Bernard Jacobs’ book. Tourey placed a call to John.
John answered on the first ring and told Tourey he should be back in New Orleans in about twenty minutes. He asked Tourey to get the video and the papers to Roger’s team before then. Tourey answered, “Ok. Will you have time to stop by the library later?”
John answered, “I’m not sure, but I do need to talk to you. Can I call later?”
Tourey said, “I have to talk to you by seven tonight. You might want me to go to a meeting of the sicko club.”
Tourey hung up, grabbed his saxophone, and headed towards Mickey’s bar. He laughed to himself as he checked to make sure he had a reed in his mouthpiece. It was over a hundred degrees outdoors and the tourists were pounding the sidewalks escaping into the air conditioning at each store front. Tourey cursed himself for not getting Jeanne’s cell number from her.
He dropped his hat on the sidewalk, leaned against the corner of Mickey’s and played to the building across the street. It was the sexiest, most beautiful rendition of ‘Girl from Ipanema’ he could play. Tourists stopped in their tracks and threw money into his hat. He was developing quite a crowd.
Halfway through the song Thor looked out the window at Tourey. Cute. Roger had told them at the bar when Devon was shot to get a good look at Tourey. It was John Barry’s undercover CIA guy. Thor walked to the top of the basement stairs and yelled down to Jeanne, “Oh senorita, I think you are being serenaded from across the street.”
Jeanne bolted upstairs, walked to the window, and laughed at Tourey. She could tell he saw her. She cracked the window open and shook her head at the beauty of his playing. Then she reached into her pocket for the cell number she had gotten from him yesterday.
Jeanne watched as he stopped playing and answered his phone. “Got something for ya. It’s under the new welcome mat at your door.”
Jeanne chuckled and left the room for the stairwell. Thor watched Tourey play another song to the crowd, take a bow, then go into Mickey’s. Thor nodded his head, the guy was good. He turned away from the window and went back downstairs.
Jeanne arrived a minute later and announced they had a video to watch. She put the CD in her player and began thumbing through the papers. She passed the papers to Simon and Thor and asked, “What are these?”
Ray turned up the volume on the CD player, and they listened to the sweet voices of the children eagerly showing off their artwork. Jeanne dialed Tourey and asked what they were looking at. Tourey couldn’t talk so he said, “You got the wrong number sweetheart. Ain’t no John at this here number.” And he hung up.
Jeanne repeated what Tourey had said and Thor commented, “I think he’s telling us to call John Barry.” Thor called John and asked about Tourey’s gift. John explained the club, the art contest, the web site, and the probability of what was going to happen to at least one child they were watching on the CD. John told Thor he assumed the names on the pages were suspected members of the club. At least the New Orleans branch. It was national. He told Thor he was going to get more information later tonight from Tourey but would appreciate if they could start gathering information and alert the appr
opriate field offices. John also confirmed Patterson was probably using the name Bernard Jacobs.
Thor repeated what John had said to the group and they all returned their stares to the screen. Just then a perky little six year old girl announced, “My name is Jamie Core, and I am six years old…” The little girl continued to talk and Simon reached over and hit stop and replay. “My name is Jamie Core, and I am six years old.”
Simon stood, “What are the odds?”
Thor had opened his phone and called Todd. “Didn’t you say you were tailing a woman and a kid from Core’s place?”
Todd answered, “Yeah, we got GPS on that car too. Followed them to a school and helped them carry in some boxes of costumes for a school play tonight.”
Thor asked, “Did you get the kid’s name?”
“Yeah. Girl, about five or six I think. Name is Jamie.”
Dusty had walked about half way home, lugging his box of pencils and pad, and dragging his easel. The heat was oppressive. When a truck blew its horn at him, he nearly had a heart attack. Dusty jumped and leaned forward to see the driver.
“Sorry man, didn’t mean to startle ya. You want a ride somewhere?” It was Alan, Jeremiah’s nephew.
Dusty answered, “Yeah!” Dusty put his load in the back of the truck and crawled into the passenger seat. He leaned back to let every pore of his skin soak in the air conditioning. He looked at Alan, “Looks like you got a shithouse full of supplies back there. They for your work tomorrow?”
Alan nodded and said, “Yeah, it’s a lot cheaper buyin’ materials this side of the bridge, save about thirty percent.”
Dusty thought about it, “Why would that be? Seems there would be a bigger demand for electrical stuff in the big city compared to Slidell.”
Alan shrugged and said, “I guess somebody wants to get paid for driving shit across the bridge. I don’t know.”
Dusty laughed, “Speakin’ of gettin’ paid, I haven’t even had a chance to cash my damn check from the Feds. You know one of them kidnapped me this afternoon and made me go on a stakeout? I don’t think these guys ever stop. Not exactly normal law enforcement for Nawlens.” They both laughed.
Alan asked, “Where am I takin’ ya?”
Dusty’s phone rang. “Just a sec, man,” as he looked at the caller ID. Dusty looked at Alan, “I got House of Voodoo callin’ me? What the hell.” Dusty answered, “Yeah?” Alan watched Dusty’s facial expression go from quizzical to fear in one minute. Dusty was yelling into the phone, “How’d you get my number? What the hell? Hang on a minute.” Dusty cupped his hand over his phone and told Alan, “This Voodoo lady wants me to take her and a friend to Mambo’s place. NOW! Says she’ll pay me a thousand bucks! I ain’t gonna live to spend all this damn money.”
Alan started laughing, “Why don’t I go too, and we split it? We can take Jeremiah’s boat, I’m going there now anyway. Tell her she has to get to Jeremiah’s now, and we won’t stay long ‘cause we don’t want to be on that swamp at night.”
Dusty looked at Alan like he had lost his mind, “Are you crazy? Did you forget the snakes?”
Alan answered, “Jeremiah said the snakes were bad because of the storm rolling in. The storm is gone now. Heat of the day we should be fine. I gotta tell you man, I think there is somethin’ to this Spirit stuff. If this lady is a Voodoo somethin’, I’m not wantin’ to piss her off.”
Dusty rolled his eyes and went back to his phone, “You still there Voodoo lady? You got a gun? You best bring it. Lots of snakes out there. You bring lots of ammo too!” Dusty spent another ten minutes giving Spicey directions and finally snapped his phone shut. “Why you smilin’ man? You’re goin’ too.” Alan turned his truck to head for the bridge to Slidell. Dusty looked out the window, “I can’t believe I’m doin’ this again.”
Roger placed a call to the Director and explained his plan. The plan was bold and unconventional and it would require extraordinary cooperation of agencies. It would also require authorization from the National Security Council. With the computer threat facing the CIA right now, Roger felt the climate was perfect for obtaining approval.
The Director agreed and stated, “You were correct about your expanded authority leaving Thornton no room to protest. He didn’t say a word, but I can tell you he is not happy.” Roger asked the Director to pave the way for the technology and manpower he was going to need. Roger wanted to put his plan in place tonight at nine o’clock. The Director agreed to make the arrangements and call back with an update.
Roger rejoined Paul and John at the work table on the jet. According to the pilot they would be landing in ten minutes. Paul said, “I just got an update from Thor. They are working on notifying our field offices about this club and opening those investigations. Also, Thor has been getting some surveillance information on Core. I called Agent Spelling in Virginia and told him you needed him in New Orleans by seven o’clock this evening. Frank Mass will have his guys there. Our team is still in the dark.”
Roger gave a short nod and looked at John, “Do we know if this computer issue is under control?”
John shook his head and said, “No word yet. I imagine there is a lot going on. I did get a call from the Director of OSI. Evidently we are on a first name basis now. Never met the man. I have been given some expanded authority myself for this mess. Seems he and your Director are BFF’s now.”
Roger chuckled, “It certainly narrows down who gets blamed if any of this goes bad.”
Paul smiled, “I told John about your problem solving technique of building an orchestra. Did you make any progress with that?”
Roger answered, “As a matter of fact I did. I think we are going to host a dress rehearsal and see who shows up.”
John asked, “At what point do you know what you are dealing with?”
Roger laughed, “When I see the percussion section show up, I get a feel for it.”
John and Paul looked at each other and John moaned, “I sense a somewhat unconventional plan coming.”
Roger emphatically nodded his head, “Exactly.” He proceeded to tell them his plan for the weapons deal. When Roger finished, Paul and John were silent.
Paul pushed his chin out in his nervous twitch, “One thing really worries me. I like it.”
John said, “I don’t think this has ever been done before.”
Paul asked, “And that surprises you?”
The three men laughed, and Roger asked them to help him make the appropriate calls to prepare for the plan. They had about five hours to prepare. Roger called Thor and told him they should be at the Star Ship within the hour. Roger wanted Thor to have the entire team there if possible.
Spicey was knocking on the bathroom door. “You can’t stay in there forever. Come on! I told that man we be there directly.” Spicey listened at the door and heard sniffling. “You in there cryin’ again? Girl! You make me miss my Mambo boat, and you be finding plenty more to cry about!”
The door slowly opened, and Sasha stuck her head out. She frowned at Spicey and said, “Somethin’ real wrong ‘bout havin’ to threaten your best friend to go see Spirits!”
Spicey straightened her shoulders and said, “I agree with that. You should be grateful I’m making sure you get protection too. Costin’ me a thousand dollars, plus this here basket of food for Mambo. Willie’s out front waitin’ to drive us there. Hurry up.” Spicey had walked to the door and was holding it open for Sasha to leave. Spicey had the keys to lock up ready in her hand. “You got your gun?”
Sasha’s eyes got big, “Why we need a gun to go to Mambo’s?” Spicey thought better ‘en tellin’ Sasha about the snakes.
“Case we get mugged somewhere. We in Nawlens girl. You should take your gun like you take your lip gloss!”
The name on the brass plate over the door said William C. Thornton. Teresa pointed and we all went through the wall and floated across the room from him to get a good look. Thornton was looking at his computer screen with a scowl on his face. He pulled
on his tie to loosen it some and answered his ringing phone. “How long will it be? This is ridiculous! I haven’t been able to email or log into anything.” After a minute of silence he barked, “What was your name? You ask your supervisor how patient I need to be. I want this up and running. While we are on topic, my cell phone still has static. How hard is it to get a decent cell phone?” Thornton slammed his office phone down and started pacing the office.
Thornton quickly turned around and hit an intercom button, “Sam, come in here. Bring your cell phone.”
Mary said, “I bet he wants to make a call. We’d better stop him!”
Linda asked, “How?”
Teresa had moved by the door. I was worried she was going to attack this Sam guy. Sam gave a quick knock on the door as he opened it. He had a bright pink aura. Thank god! He handed Thornton a phone and said, “Here you go. I got you a brand new phone and transferred your sim card for you. You have a secure frequency and should be okay.” Sam nodded and left the office. Obviously Sam was a good guy and had been brought into Ellen’s security loop.
Thornton walked to his door and looked down the hall. An electrical contractor was working on something and a janitor was wiping down the elevator. We could see pink auras around them both. Thornton walked over to the window at the end of the hall and looked down into the parking lot. He opened his cell phone and dialed Mathew Core.
“Everything okay on your end for tomorrow?…. Good…. Keep me posted.” He placed a call to Thomas. “Everything is set.”
The Director had his driver waiting outside his hospital room to take him home. Security guards flanked the door, and the Director could see a motorcade waiting outside near the Government exit. The Director had been on hold for five minutes already. Finally his contact answered the phone.
“Okay, sorry about the wait but it isn’t easy getting the Security Council to agree to anything these days. The CIA computer issue your people discovered went a long way in making people feel the need to cooperate. Frankly, scared the crap out of them. That could have been a real mess. I understand it is under some control now.
Extreme Heat Warning: A Shallow End Gals Trilogy, Book Two Page 27