by Nic Saint
“Finesse,” muttered Rick, as if it was a dirty word. “What do you suggest?”
“Look, we’re all members of this community, right? People know who we are.”
“So?” Rick asked.
“You’re a reporter, Rick, and a very good one. Can’t you just say that you’re doing a story on the plant? You do have your press card, right? Doesn’t that give you access to all kinds of exclusive places? War zones, backstage parties, nuclear plants…”
“It might,” he agreed, though he sounded doubtful.
“And you, Virgil. You’re a police officer. Just tell them that you’re investigating.…”
“What?”
“Something! Use your imagination!”
It was obvious from the way Virgil was scratching his scalp that he didn’t possess much of that elusive quality. “I could try,” he finally said.
“And then there’s you, Fee. You’re a baker. Just tell them you’re on a bread run. You are driving a delivery van.”
“Actually that’s not a bad idea,” she said, appreciatively. “So let me recap. I’m delivering bread, Virgil’s investigating…something, and Rick is doing a piece on the plant.”
“Exactly.”
“And you? What are you doing here? Picking up a dead body?”
Alice held up her hand. “For instance.” She hadn’t thought that far.
“And you forgot to bring the hearse, right?” asked Rick skeptically.
“The hearse is in the shop for repairs.” She swept up her arms. “Does it matter? We just need to get inside. Once we’re in the mission is a go!”
There was silence in the van for a moment, as they all mentally prepared for the task at hand, then Felicity swerved the van onto the access road to the power plant, and they watched as the twin cooling towers loomed up ahead.
The plant was illuminated, and smoke wafted from the towers. The sight was a grim one, and Alice thought how important this mission was for all of Happy Bays. For a moment the idea of her broken relationship with Reece Hudson was wiped from her mind. What they were about to do was more important than herself, or Reece, or Dorothy Valour.
Still, she couldn’t help taking a peek at her phone. The timer was still there. Then she stuffed the phone into her pocket. They’d arrived at the security booth and Felicity drew the van to a stop, rolled down her window, and waited for the security guard to make his way over.
Chapter 38
“Hello, sir,” Felicity sang when the thickset man ambled over. He looked very officious, his thick, bulbous head adorned with an olive green cap, and wearing khaki fatigues, just like a soldier would. She didn’t recognize him, and assumed he belonged to some private security outfit. Then she noticed the tag fastened to his vest pocket. ‘Jerome—Corrick Security Solutions.’
“Ma’am?” he said by way of acknowledgment.
“Bread run, Jerome,” she announced pleasantly.
He fixed her with a suspicious glare. “Bread? I don’t have you on my list, ma’am.”
“Are you sure? We got an order for a hundred flapjacks. Special delivery.”
He swallowed, the thought of fresh flapjacks an appealing one, but he was well-trained, and shook his head. “I’m sorry, ma’am. If it’s not on the list, I can’t let you in.” And for good measure he tapped the clipboard he carried under his arm.
“Maybe I’m on your list,” piped up Rick. “Rick Dawson? Reporter with Time Magazine? I’m doing a piece on the exceptionally well-run nuclear facilities of this country.”
Though flattered, Jerome furrowed his receding brow. This time he actually checked his list. “No, sir, Mr. Dawson,” he finally said. “You’re not on the list either. I’m afraid there must be some sort of a mix-up.”
“I’m Virgil,” announced Virgil. “Detective Virgil Scattering with the Happy Bays Police Department? I’m doing an investigation into the death of…into the suspicious demise of… Anyway, I’m here to investigate a homicide.”
Jerome’s eyes widened. “A homicide?” He quickly checked his list.
“And I’m Alice Whitehouse,” Alice added. “I’m with Charlie’s Funeral Delight. I’m here to pick up the dead guy Detective Scattering’s investigating.”
“Oh, my,” said Jerome, staring from Felicity to Rick to Virgil to Alice. “So let me see if I understand this correctly. You’re delivering flapjacks, you’re here to do an article, you’re here to investigate a homicide, and you’re here to pick up a dead body.” He pushed his cap back on his head, visibly flustered. “And you’re all traveling together…why, exactly?”
Felicity gave him her best smile. “We’re carpooling, Jerome.”
The guard’s mouth opened, but no sound came out. He seemed to feel he’d inadvertently landed himself in a bad joke, and his eyes started darting around, looking for the candid camera. When he found none, he nodded once, returned his clipboard to his armpit, and hit a red button. The automatic barrier went up, and he gestured for Felicity to drive on.
“That went well,” she said as she maneuvered the van into a visitor’s space on the parking lot.
“Too well,” said Virgil, always suspicious. “I’ll bet he’s calling backup.”
“Don’t be a spoilsport, Virgil,” remarked Alice. “We’re in, and that’s what matters.”
The four of them exited the vehicle, and walked up to the nuclear plant. Rick had his camera ready to snap shots of the cracks, and the others were there to run interference, in case they would suddenly be chased off the property by some of Jerome’s less credulous buddies.
“What a mastodon,” said Felicity, expressing what the others were thinking. She’d visited the plant as a kid, but even in her recollection it had never looked this formidable. They walked past the main building, and circled the water reservoir, until they finally ended up as close as they could to the cooling towers. They craned their necks to look up at the imposing structure, a massive amount of concrete towering over them, and Rick placed his camera against his eye, and zoomed in.
“See anything?” asked Virgil. The policeman was clearly not at his ease. Of course he had the most to lose: his job.
“Not yet,” murmured Rick, as he scanned the structure. “I see some spots that were patched up, as if cement has recently been applied to fix some holes in the concrete, but that’s not unusual, I guess.”
Felicity stared around nervously. She could hardly believe they would be allowed to be out here for too long without an escort. Jerome must have transmitted their presence to whatever security team was on guard inside the compound, and if they didn’t show up soon they would come looking for them. “Hurry up,” she urged.
“I need to get closer,” said Rick.
Virgil snatched the camera away from the reporter. “Let me take a look.” He peered through the viewfinder. “I don’t see a thing.”
Rick snatched the camera back. “We need to get inside that tower and take a closer look.”
The four of them stared up at the tower. The prospect didn’t really thrill Felicity. “You mean…inside the nuclear plant?”
“Isn’t that dangerous or something?” Alice wanted to know. “Aren’t we supposed to wear some kind of protective suit?”
Rick shrugged. “I don’t care. This is our one shot at this. We need to get in there now.” And he set foot for the entrance.
“Wait up!” cried Felicity, and fell into step beside him. “They’ll never let us get inside, Rick. This is as far as it goes.”
“Nonsense,” he insisted. “We didn’t come all this way just to turn back now. We’re going in.”
Virgil and Alice were trying to keep up with Rick and Felicity. “Listen, this is crazy,” opined Virgil. “Let’s get out of here. Mark was wrong. There are no cracks. Everything is perfectly in order.”
“No, it’s not,” Rick insisted. “I have a hunch.”
The policeman rolled his eyes. He didn’t believe in hunches, only in cold, hard facts. “I really think—”
Suddenly an imposing figure appeared out of nowhere, and thundered, “You’re not going anywhere, Mr. Dawson!”
Chapter 39
Rick stared from the man to the gun he was holding, and wondered where he’d seen him before. He was tall, and dressed in black from head to foot, and had a scar on his face that made him seriously creepy to look at. “Who are you?” he asked.
The man laughed. “Straight to the heart of the matter. That’s the reporter in you, huh, Rick? Who I am is of no concern to you.”
“Are you a security guard?” Felicity wanted to know.
The man tsk-tsked. “Always with the questions. Why do human beings question everything? Can’t you just—you know—go with the flow for once? Accept what’s coming without having to know what’s around the corner?” He grinned. “Have a little faith?”
The long overcoat was swishing around the man’s feet, and Rick saw that he was wearing a special kind of shoe. He was also limping a little. It added to the mystery of the man’s identity, and his investigative reporter’s brain was working overtime trying to figure out who he was.
“Follow me—all of you,” the stranger said, waving the weapon.
“Where are you taking us?” Virgil demanded. “I am a police officer. You can’t just—”
“I can do whatever I want, Officer Scattering,” the man interrupted, and gestured with the gun. “Because I have one of these, and you don’t.”
“I could have brought my service pistol,” Virgil countered.
“But you didn’t, did you? Because you’re not on duty. You’re trespassing, Mr. Scattering—and so are you, Felicity Bell and Alice Whitehouse.”
“Okay, how do you do that?” Alice asked. “How come you know us but we don’t know you?”
“Yeah, have you been spying on us or something?” Felicity added.
The man smiled, a very enigmatic smile, and once again something jolted Rick’s memory. A flash—an association with…doctors and hospitals.
“I know so much about you because I’ve been studying your small community closely, Miss Bell. For instance I know all about that neighborhood watch committee of yours—oh, yes, a bunch of nosy parkers with too much time on their hands.” He laughed. “Though I’m afraid this time you bit off more than you can chew. Inside.”
He gestured to the entrance of the nuclear plant, and they followed the order, heading in. Rick was surprised that no guards were at their station, and the place actually looked deserted. “Where is everyone?”
“Home. There’s a strike, didn’t you know? Seems to have affected the entire plant, except for the few poor souls manning the control room.” Once again, he gestured with the gun. “Up there. Go on.”
They followed his directions, and found themselves in a narrow corridor brightly painted orange, several doors leading away from it. Arriving at the end, he saw that they’d reached an elevator. The man pushed a button and smiled amiably. “You know that your bagels are the very best in the Tri-State Area, Miss Bell? A pity I’ll be the last person ever to taste them.”
Alarmed, Rick protested, “Hey, what’s all this? Where are you taking us?”
The man looked surprised. “Me? I’m not taking you anywhere, Rick. You’re the one who wanted to see the tower up close. Well, now’s your chance. This elevator will take us straight to the top. Unfortunately I can only offer you a one-way ticket, but then that’s what you get for sticking your nose into other people’s business. An occupational hazard for people of your ilk.”
The elevator arrived and they all filed in. In the small space Rick calculated the odds of overpowering the man. Not good, he felt. Even if their attacker got off one shot, someone would be grievously injured or worse.
The man seemed to have read his mind. “Don’t even think about it, Rick. I assure you I’m a very good shot, and at least one of you won’t make it out of here alive.”
Rick eyed the man fiercely, his eyes shooting fire, but was helpless. The elevator jerked to a stop. They’d arrived at some sort of concrete platform, only protected from the elements by a concrete superstructure to the left of them. Like the man had promised they’d arrived at the very top of the tower, and a cold breeze hit them in the face. They had an excellent view of the surrounding landscape, and could scan the vicinity of the plant. The man gestured to the floor, where a pile of ropes lay. “Tie up the men, Miss Bell, Miss Whitehouse. And don’t try to fool me.”
Felicity and Alice did as they were told, and soon both Rick and Virgil were tied up like mummies, unable to budge. Then it was Alice’s turn, and finally the man did the honors of tying up Felicity himself. He gave all the ropes a good tug, and finally seemed satisfied.
“I could have killed you, of course, but I’m not really much of a murderer, I’m afraid.” He chuckled. “I guess you could say I’m more of a mass murderer.” He gestured to the view. “Enjoy these precious few moments, ladies and gentlemen, because I’m afraid they will be your last.” He checked his watch. “In exactly two hours you will die, and so will the rest of Happy Bays. And now I must leave you, because I don’t plan on hanging around when the end comes.”
“Tell us who you are!” demanded Rick.
“And why you’re doing this!” added Felicity.
The man merely emitted a fruity chuckle, and said, “Au revoir, mes enfants. I hope a pleasant time was had by all.” And with these words he swept from the platform, and they were alone, the thin fabric of their clothes doing little to protect them from the wind raging around them.
Chapter 40
“So can you tell me again how we’re supposed to get out of this predicament?” Virgil asked, a little peeved.
“We don’t,” said Felicity gloomily. She’d been wrestling with the restraints, but to no avail.
“Couldn’t you have used some secret knot?” lamented Virgil. “You know, the kind the Girl Scouts use? One tug and you’re free?”
“I was never a Girl Scout,” grumbled Felicity in her defense.
Rick, who’d been submerged in thought, uttered a surprised cry. He looked like Archimedes after his bath, and would have probably danced in the streets naked if not for his predicament. “I know who he is!”
“Mephistopheles?” Alice ventured a guess. “Straight from hell?”
“Not exactly. Remember the last thing he said?”
Felicity thought back. “That we’re all going to die a horrible death?”
“No. ‘Au revoir, mes enfants.’ That was his line! He was an actor on Medical Hospital, one of my mom’s favorite soaps. He played a French doctor. That was his signature line each time he made his rounds.”
“Wasn’t that the soap Mayor McDonald was in?” Alice asked.
“Yep. That’s the one.”
Ted MacDonald, before going into local politics, had played one of the head doctors on the same show for years. His line had always been ‘We can fix this.’ His character was a magnet for medical malpractice claims.
“What’s an actor doing blowing up a nuclear plant?” Virgil demanded. He seemed to feel there was something seriously wrong with the world when soap opera actors started dabbling in terrorism.
“There was an accident on set. MacDonald was supposed to shoot this guy with a prop gun, which turned out to be loaded with live ammunition. Glenn Roke—that’s his name—was between life and death for weeks but finally pulled through. One bullet lodged in his brain, the other smashed up his foot real bad. They retrieved the bullet from his brain, but never managed to repair the damage done to his face, and Roke lost his career, his wife, his kids…”
“Sounds like the plot of a bad soap opera,” Felicity muttered.
“Sad story, but does he really have to blow up a nuclear plant to avenge his misfortune?” Alice wanted to know.
“Well, the propmaster got off with a slap on the wrist, and Mayor MacDonald resigned from the show and went into politics. So the only one who really suffered was Roke. I guess he’s out for revenge.”
<
br /> Alice rolled her eyes. “Can’t he just, I don’t know, sue Ted?”
“Yeah, why blow up the whole town?” Felicity chimed in.
Rick shrugged. “Hey, I’m not a psychologist.”
“Could he be behind the abduction of Moe?” Virgil asked.
“That’s Jerry and Johnny,” Felicity pointed out. “And unless those two are now working in cahoots with Roke I don’t think this is related.”
“This doesn’t help us,” Alice grumbled, tugging at her ropes again.
Rick gave Felicity a watery smile. “I’m so sorry for bringing you out here, honey. I should have listened to you.”
“That’s all right,” she said softly. “You know I would follow you to the ends of the earth, Rick.”
They stared at each other for a beat, and Felicity knew that if this really was the end, at least they would face it together.
“Hey, why don’t you apologize to me?!” Virgil demanded. “I wouldn’t follow you to the ends of the earth!”
“I know you wouldn’t,” Rick said, “and I’m sorry, buddy. If it’s any consolation we’ll be the first to die, and I promise you it will be quick.”
Alice groaned. “Some consolation. At least if Reece had been here…” Her voice trailed off.
Felicity gave her an encouraging smile. “Don’t think for one second that Reece never loved you, honey. I know for a fact that he did.”
“Perhaps he did and perhaps he didn’t, but in the end he chose glamour and class over me,” she said softly.
Virgil emitted a delicate cough. “I’ll bet this woman hypnotized him. No one could ever choose Dorothy Valour over you, Alice.”
Alice looked up in surprise. “What are you saying?”
The cop’s Adam’s apple bopped. “If this is the end, I’m gonna put all my cards on the table.” His expression resembled a lovesick puppy’s. “I love you, Alice Whitehouse. I’ve loved you since the day we met.”
“We met in kindergarten.”