He did stand this time and thankfully the crawler slowed to, well, a crawl as they neared the company’s main headquarters. The box in his pocket gently buzzed. He pulled it out and adjusted the thumb wheel. The color on the top flowed and shifted from green to a soft amber. As the crawler lurched to a stop, he lost his balance and fell.
“What is it?” Betsy asked, helping him back up.
He showed her the amber color on the cube. “I think someone is here. I need to look and see if I can spot them.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” She put her arm around his waist to help him remain steady.
Of course she was right, but he had to see if the two men he’d recognized previously were in the area. This would give him more than enough evidence to explain to Betsy the two men were involved in some way.
Jack remained on his feet as the crawler worked its way around the building. There were several other cars, but what really caught his attention were the two large men extricating themselves from a spyder with strangely worded graffiti on the side. The machine was smaller and would be far faster than the crawler that delivered the shipment of piano wire.
“Jack, quit staring,” she scolded.
“You’re right.”
He pulled out his mask and encased his head in its comfort. After he replaced his hat, he prepared to leap from the crawler and chase after the two men.
Holding tighter to his waist, she pressed in closer. “That’s not what I meant. I mean, what are you staring at?”
“They’re here.”
She sighed. “Who’s here? Let’s pretend for a minute I have no idea what you’re talking about. You’ve got a buzzing box, and you’re looking up the street.” She gestured in the general direction of the two men.
“Those two men, right over there. I spotted them at the docks. I spotted them at the Waldorf Building, and I put a tracker on them. Now they’ve shown up here. I know they have to be involved somehow.” He felt silly smiling with his mask on, but hoped she could hear the excitement in his voice.
The two men focused on the crawler as it made its way around the corner of the four-story manufacturing plant and passed under an arch that took it to the rear loading dock. The men ducked into the neighboring building. Just before the crawler passed under the arch, he read the sign. “Dunn and Over Explosives Emporium.”
That was it. “Betsy! They might be here to blow up the plant. Put on your mask. We must get inside and warn them as soon as possible.”
Twelve
After the crawler turned and backed up against the dock it finally, blessedly, turned off and settled down. The rear sank until it leveled with the loading dock. Once the gate was lowered, Jack and Betsy walked out. They were greeted by two confused workers pushing a crane arm toward the crawler.
“What are you doing here?” one of them asked.
Jack tried to think of something witty to say, but Betsy beat him to the punch. “We’re here to take over the plant. Your boss is expecting us.”
The two exchanged confused looks.
“Take us to your boss,” she snapped.
Instead of guiding them into the building, the two shook their heads and moved to position the crane to unload the spools piano wire.
Betsy, who hadn’t donned her mask, grunted in disgust, stamped her foot, then headed inside. He could hear the dockworkers making remarks about the masked man. He thought he heard them say “Helmet Head” but couldn’t be sure.
Although tempted to attach a listening device to better hear the two men, he thought it would be best to follow Betsy into the building. After all, they did have pressing business that could very well save not only this building, but the entire piano industry in New York and possibly America. They had to take action.
As he stepped onto the manufacturing floor, he expected to see and hear the hustle and bustle of saws and hammers and cutters going through the motions of making pianos. Instead what he found was a quiet floor with men sitting around drinking coffee and smoking cigarettes. Nothing and no one made pianos. The men watched as Betsy strode across the floor toward a set of stairs.
Jack stopped her. “You should put your mask on. We’re here on official business.”
She halted and lifted a brow at the men staring at her. “I think it’s a little late to disguise my identity. Don’t worry. I’m sure my mask will come in handy later. You keep yours on, though. We can use it to help find out what’s going on here. Maybe this is an inside job. What do you have to see if someone is lying?”
“An inside job? A lie detector? I have a heart rate monitor. Hold on.”
He dug through his pockets. The tracker cube continued to buzz gently, but softer than when they were outside. It concerned him that the two they were following were outside and might have ducked into the Dunn and Over Explosives Emporium. Something he and Betsy didn’t need to deal with was more explosives.
“I think I left my heart rate monitor in my other jacket or in my satchel. I feel so stupid for not grabbing it on the way out. I have so many different—”
“Take a breath. I need you to keep an eye on the owner as I question him. Can you do that? Do you have lenses that will cover your eyes, perhaps?”
“Oh, I’ve got those and even better—they work as lie detectors. This has helped me—”
“Hey!”
He flipped a lever on the side of his mask and smoked lenses dropped into place covering the eyelets. Though they partially obscured his vision, they completely hid his eyes. If the person they interviewed had anything to hide, he would know by colors on the sides of the lenses. Green would show the person was telling the truth. Red meant lying. Not foolproof, but it would be effective enough.
“Perfect. Let’s go.”
He bumped into several things, including the rail to the staircase that led up to the offices. Each time she ‘tsked’, and he would, in turn, apologize.
A couple came from the office and started down the stairs. The first, a large man in a brown, tight-fitting tweed waistcoat and matching pants. He glanced at a pocket watch and frowned when he noticed Jack and Betsy at the bottom of the stairs. The second was a thin woman in a neatly tailored, black suit with a walking stick. Jack wanted to start asking questions straight away, but Betsy took the lead.
“Mr. Sohmer?”
The man put his watch into his waistcoat pocket and shook his head. “I don’t have time for this. I have work to do. You and the man in the iron mask can show yourselves out.”
“I’m Elizabeth Wilkes. I don’t think you understand, sir, we’re—”
“You’re intruding. I have a business to run. Leave now.”
“We’re investigating—”
“I honestly don’t care what you’re investigating. I have delayed shipments and men sitting around with no work to do. So unless you’re making a delivery, I’d appreciate it if you’d leave my premises before I have to call the authorities.”
“You’ll be thankful to know we made sure your piano wire arrived without incident.”
The man stopped and looked intently at Betsy for several long moments, then at Jack. “You look familiar. Aren’t you some sort of do-gooder?”
“I am. In fact—”
“He’s the reason your shipment showed at all. He tried to save your ivory that was sunk this morning.”
The color in the lenses turned a shade of red. Jack squinted.
“It was my understanding the shipment was sunk in the early morning hours.” Mr. Sohmer jerked his chin at Jack. “Are you telling me that, whatever his name is, tried to save my goods and now delivered another to me?”
She bowed her head. “Yes.”
“So I guess you’re looking for some sort of reward for helping me. I’m an honest businessman, and I don’t have money to give to vagabonds looking for a handout. Take my thanks, and have a good day.” He turned to leave.
“Sir, we’re not here for your thanks or your money. We need to find out if you have any
idea why someone might be targeting your company. Not only was the ship carrying your cargo sunk, but an attempt made to recover the ivory was also thwarted by a second explosion. The reason we came in with your piano wire was because we wanted to be there should someone make an attempt to stop that from arriving safely. We think that whoever has done this might strike again.”
Now she had his undivided attention, but the woman with the cane had Jack’s. She went from examining the eagle on the end of her cane to looking through narrowed eyes at Betsy. The color in Jack’s lenses flickered from green to red to amber to something between black and orange. Rather than concentrate on the man’s responses. Jack lost track as Betsy asked questions, but every now and again she would shift her glare to him. He hoped she wasn’t able to see him sweating.
The large man’s laughter brought Jack back to reality. The lenses glowed a soft green. Good, honest laughter. The woman’s shoulders dropped slightly, and she seemed to have let out a long-held breath. Jack felt as though he’d only begun breathing.
“Elizabeth Wilkes, let me introduce you to my lovely, and quite business savvy, daughter Eleanor Sohmer. You’ll have to forgive my initial rudeness. I’m afraid business has been good, but for some reason supplies have been slow in arriving. Eleanor and I were on our way to get some lunch. I was hoping that when we got back, I’d see some more materials arrive. It’s quite difficult to manufacture pianos without wood or ivory.”
“My partner and I quite understand, Mr. Sohmer,” Betsy said. “In fact, we were wondering if you were expecting any further shipments today that may be in danger. We’re hoping we’ll be able to capture the culprits in the act and stop any further interruptions with your work.”
Mr. Sohmer’s face darkened as he glared at Jack. “I don’t know that I can trust a man whose face I haven’t laid eyes upon.”
Jack flicked the lever to pop up the lenses on the eyelets. “I assure you I have your best interest at heart, sir. I wish to keep my identity a secret while I do so.” He dropped the lenses.
“I guess I can appreciate that. Don’t want any backlash on your personal life, eh? Fine. Fine. I do have another shipment coming in. It was supposed to be here a couple of days ago, but the train got waylaid. They assure me the maple is on its way. The first load came from Grand Rapids near Lake Winnipeg, then down into Minnesota in Saint Cloud. The other train went through Cleveland. I’m thankful it’s almost here. Should be here today, in fact.”
Betsy nodded at Jack. “I think we need to be at the station when it arrives. Which station will that be, Mr. Sohmer?”
“Ms. Wilkes, you know everything comes through the Park Avenue Station. They should be unloading it in a couple hours. I was hoping to have word once I got back from lunch.”
Jack perked up. “We should get over there right away.”
“Slow down, slow down.” She held a hand out to keep him from rushing out of the building. “Mr. Sohmer, we will contact you if there is anything wrong with your shipment. If possible we’ll follow it back here to ensure nothing happens to it.”
Mr. Sohmer’s daughter frowned and put her cane between Betsy and Mr. Sohmer. Ms. Sohmer held it by the foot, and Jack couldn’t help but notice the detailed eagle’s claw grasping a large, green gemstone. It captured his attention until Eleanor spoke in a clipped tone. “We can’t afford personal security for a shipment.”
Betsy placed a finger on the tip and redirected it toward the floor. Her tone was polite, but careful as she spoke. “It’ll be at no cost to you. We want to make sure that whoever is doing this is stopped and that things can get back to normal around here.”
“Back to normal. Right. That’s what I was thinking.” Mr. Sohmer tilted his head and looked at Jack. “And you say it’ll be at no cost to us?”
“Precisely.”
Betsy didn’t address this to Mr. Sohmer, but instead to his daughter. Both women were locked in a stony stare. Both were bathed in a soft, green glow. Both appeared to be as unmovable as the Waldorf Building.
Shaking his head, Mr. Sohmer cleared his throat.
With a flick of her hand, Ms. Sohmer flipped the cane and caught it by the gemstone headpiece. “It appears we shall be in your debt should this shipment of wood arrive safely. We have an agreement.”
“Very well. Jack, we should be on our way now.” Betsy started toward the door.
Mr. Sohmer smiled. “I’ll see the two of you out.”
“Hold on, Father. Please escort Ms. Wilkes. I wish to have a word with her nameless, masked friend.”
Betsy’s eyes widened, but Jack waved her off. He touched the button on the side of the mask and the lenses slid up to expose his eyes once again. He gave her another reassuring nod to let her know he’d be all right.
After a short pause, Betsy and Mr. Sohmer made their way to the main exit of the plant. Ms. Sohmer walked slowly in their general direction. Jack felt compelled to follow, but not too closely. He started to say something after Betsy exited while Mr. Sohmer held the door open, but didn’t get a chance as Ms. Sohmer whirled and poked her cane into Jack’s chest.
“I’ve seen you before. I know I have. You’re the one who’s been in the papers doing good deeds and such.”
Not knowing what to say, he nodded.
“You’re some sort of late night vigilante,” she continued. “Yet here you are, at my father’s piano company in broad daylight, escorting a woman who seems to be the one really running the show. Isn’t that interesting?”
Being a rhetorical question, he didn’t know how to respond. Once again, Ms. Sohmer grabbed her cane by the foot and shoved the green gemstone close to his face.
“Look at the stone on this cane. Look at how the stone shifts in color and shape. See how the claw lets go of the stone…”
The stone mesmerized him with the way it grew and shrank as well as shifted color and hue. He sucked in a deep breath with amazing at the exacting detail of the eagle’s claw as it opened and let go of the stone which then floated in mid air right before his nose. The spinning and shifting made his body feel as if it’d turned to marshmallow. His mind reeled. Ms. Sohmer’s voice echoed inside his head, but he couldn’t make out what she said or if she was, in fact, saying anything at all.
A waterfall appeared to his right. Not a waterfall like one would expect to see in New York by heading over to Niagara Falls, but something out of a storybook where one would expect to see a unicorn or centaur drinking as fairies flittered nearby in the colorful flowers and lush trees. The wind made musical sounds as it blew the perfumed air to his nose.
He found it difficult to keep his eyes opened. The peaceful tranquility of the place lulled him into a slumber. His legs started to give way, and the grass spread out before him as a large bed welcoming him in to its warm embrace.
“Mr. Kane! How dare you stand a lady up! How dare you stay here looking like an idiot while I wait for you outside? I’ve been waiting for you for nearly fifteen minutes. Jack Kane! Are you even listening to me? Hello!”
It took several blinks before he realized that not only was he still inside the piano company with Betsy in front of him and not Ms. Sohmer, he had one piece of his mask in each hand. He was at a loss.
“What happened in here? I leave you alone for a couple of minutes and what did you do?”
“I-I-I’m not sure what I did. Where is Ms. Sohmer?”
“She and her father left. She told me you’d be along right behind her, and I find you standing here with a faraway look on your face as if you were a million miles away. Were you that enamored with her?”
“With her? What do you mean?”
Betsy’s eyes shimmered as if she were on the verge of tears.
“I’m so sorry. I have no idea what happened,” he said, looking from her to the two halves of mask in his hands.
Tears ran down her face. He wanted to say something else, but she turned and strode out of the building.
He followed behind, putting his mask away. Somet
hing in his pocket vibrated. He pulled out the tracking cube. Its light glowed a soft red. He would make it up to her later. He had to.
~ * ~
There was something to be said for businessmen who didn’t ask questions of their customers. Especially businessmen who sold explosives to customers like Felonious. Lenny grunted as he threw the crate into the back of the spyder.
“Hey Lenny, look who’s over there,” Squiggy said, pointing. “Ain’t them the same two we seen on the Waldorf Building and over by the dock?”
He looked over to where Squiggy indicated. Sure enough, it was the same guy and dame they had already seen twice before. Twice when things had gone badly.
“Yes, that’s them again,” Lenny affirmed. “Nice job, spotting ’em like that.”
“Gee thanks.” Squiggy sounded pleased. “What should we do now?”
“You keep an eye on them while I get the spyder warmed up. I think we need to find out where those two are going like the boss ordered.”
“You got it!” Squiggy stepped around the spyder fully so he had a direct line of sight to the two.
Lenny shook his head and climbed into the cockpit. He pressurized the hydraulics and prepared to raise the machine. “Get in, Squiggy. I’m ready to get this beast moving. You see ’em?”
“Sure do,” Squiggy said as he scrambled in and sat beside Lenny. “They caught one of them zepcabs. See, that’s them leaving the street now.”
“I see them,” Lenny said. “Figures they would take a zepcab. They must have realized we’re onto them and are trying to lose us.” He raised the body of the spyder and put it into motion. “You keep those eyeballs of yours peeled. We lose ’em, and we’ll have nothing for the boss. He’ll demand an explanation.”
Squiggy shuddered. “That’s good enough for me. Turn right here.”
“That’s the way, Squiggy.” Lenny guided the spyder along the street and made the indicated turn. He could just see the zepcab meandering across the rooftop of a building. “Strap in. We’re going to have to go over buildings if we don’t want to lose ’em.
Squiggy clicked the straps closed. “I’m strapped.”
Jack Kane and the Statue of Liberty Page 13