Joe found out that the police investigation into Luke Holmes whereabouts was no closer to finding him. The fact he knew the three missing couples had sent the investigation in a different direction. His father and his sister were looked at more thoroughly. They tracked down his few drinking buddies and found out about the weekend parties at his friend’s cottage near Truro, and it didn’t take long to uncover that Luke had holed up for several weeks at that cottage. His friend could end up as an accessory to murder and was now part of the investigation.
This information gave Joe a lot to think about. He couldn’t wait to share it with Harriet. He was learning not to underestimate Luke.
***
Harriet fitted in well in the research department at Bio-Tech. Tom Andrews felt that he’d made a smart move in hiring her. Her insights into their research astounded him and Harriet had to be careful not to reveal how much she knew about the outcome of their most promising research into viable artificial skin. She knew how close they were and wanted so much to tell the woman who ran the project what they were missing. But she stayed quiet, knowing their big break would happen soon. All they needed was the missing compound to stabilize the new skin. And it was right under the researcher’s nose. It was driving her crazy, so one day, when the lab was empty… she pulled out the labeled vial and set it on Mary Brownell’s lab table.
She told Joe about what she’d done. “Do you think that was a good idea?” He wasn’t so sure but could understand her impatience.
“Mary may never notice it. And even if she does, I wonder if she’ll recognize that this is the missing link. It made me feel better. No one will ever know I put it there.” Harriet was unconcerned. “But I can put it back if it bothers you.” She didn’t want Joe worried for her.
Harriet never got the chance. The next morning, Mary, reaching for another bottle on the table, knocked over the liquid compound next to it, popping the loose cork. Before she could grab it, some of the pinkish chemical splashed on her workstation and into the petri dish holding her latest experiment.
“Damn, damn, damn?” Mary set the bottle upright and shoved the cork back in, then reaching for the paper towel she cleaned up the rest of the spill. She didn’t notice the pink drops in her petri dish until later.
By then, the material in the dish had changed where the drops had hit. Mary looked closer, her heart beat faster. Scraping off some of the newly-formed material, she transferred it to a slide and looked at it under a microscope. When her head popped up, Harriet saw a look of wonder on her face. “Holy Mary, Mother of God!” she sputtered.
“Are you okay?” Harriet was closest to her.
“Yes, oh my God, I think we have skin! This is what I’ve been looking for.” Grabbing the bottle that had spilled, she read the name on the label. She stared at Harriet, holding up the bottle. “This is what’s been missing. I’ve made fucking skin!” By now Mary was almost shouting and was drawing a crowd.
The commotion in the lab drew Tom Andrews out of his office. He huddled with Mary and looked at the slide in the microscope. Grinning like a Cheshire cat, he hugged her.
Not much got done for the rest of the day and Harriet went home feeling satisfied.
Joe wasn’t too happy with her, but since she had done nothing more than move a bottle, he couldn’t stay mad.
Harriet laughed. “I can’t wait to tell Arthur 5 about this. I’ve always had a feeling that I would somehow have a part in Bio-Tech’s breakthrough.”
“I also have some news for them.” Joe went on to explain about the investigation into Luke’s family and friends, in particular, the friend who’d loaned him his cottage as a hideout.
They didn’t have to wait long. The next day, Joe picked up Harriet from the lab, as he did most nights. They pulled into the back parking lot behind their building with Harriet getting out of the car first. She stopped dead in her tracks and turned to Joe.
“Do you feel that?” She was trying to find where it was coming from. Joe nodded he was feeling it too.
“Hang on a minute—let me check our back deck.” Joe went up the steps to the covered porch.
“We have a visitor!” He wanted to shout but kept his voice down. Harriet ran up the steps to join him.
He carried the drone through their back door and down the steps to their apartment.
“I hope I can figure out how this thing works.” The device he had in his hands was far smaller than any drone he’d ever seen. It was not much bigger than a pocket novel.
After setting it on the dining room table, they locked the door behind them and closed the drapes.
The tiny delta wing drone was smooth on the top and bottom. Joe was careful, as he turned it over and saw only two small dots on the bottom. He touched one and then pressed down. Nothing happened, so he did the same with the second button. Martin’s voice came from the belly of the small craft, startling them.
“Good, you figured it out. If you’re listening to me, then you know we made it. Maggie recovered from our tumble through time, even though we were both shaken up. You know what it’s like.
“We changed into our modern clothes and found our way to the end of the passage and followed the small drainpipe to the outside. There was no evidence of any surveillance. We found the door that took us close to my building. My living quarters still had all my things there, so Arthur 5 did a good job covering for me. I contacted him and he came right over.
“He spent the next three hours with us while we filled him in but got called away before we could finish, so we had to wait until the next day to finish our story and to answer his questions. In the meantime, I explained as much as I could to Maggie about how everything in my suite operates. I didn’t think it wise to venture out with her until we got an all clear from Arthur 5.”
“Oh good. I hope he keeps her undercover until they’re sure she’ll fit in comfortably.” This lessened Harriet’s worry.
Martin continued, “When A-5 returned he explained what’s been happening. Oh, in case you’re wondering, that’s Arthur 5’s new nickname thanks to Maggie. He wants to talk to you to explain things. But first, I can say that Maggie is fitting in here and has caught on fast. No one has questioned her presence. But then, I haven’t taken her very far. Oh, and my parents love her already. We are telling our group she is a woman I met while I was away on vacation. We told them she came back with me, as we plan to commit to each other. Maggie wants us to hold off on the commitment ceremony, until you two can come and help us with our fight. Hang on… someone here wants to talk to you.”
“Hi, you two, this is Maggie. We miss you. Please come back to the future and visit us. We need you to witness our commitment. It won’t seem right without you. So if we have to live in sin, it’s on you.” Her great laugh made Harriet miss her more. “Hang on, Martin says, to wait… A-5 will talk to you now. Bye for now. I… we love you.”
“Jesus, I’ll cry in a minute,” Harriet said as she dabbed at her eyes.
Joe was quiet—he squeezed her, not breathing as he waited to hear Arthur 5.”
The big android’s voice boomed in, “We are pleased to have Martin back with us. He performed well in your century. I am sorry that we could not stop the commander’s men from kidnapping you. We were not aware of this happening. You foiled their first attempt brilliantly with Brian’s help. He sends his best regards. His partner, George, is functioning well with his new, sensitive prosthesis. They are making progress with these devices and I am encouraged.
“We have installed a camera at the portal and a warning system that will alert us of any activity there. If you have received this message, then you know that the drone is working. When you return it, tell me if you felt the warning device. It would not do to have our drone fall into the wrong hands.
“The six people Commander Weatherby ordered kidnapped from your century are locked away somewhere and we’ve failed to find them. The information Martin passed on to us about Luke Holmes was interesting, but until we make
contact with the kidnapped couples, we can’t guess if there is a connection. We know the commander has not yet transported them to the Luna-Tech project on the moon as we think he is conditioning them here first. What’s important is, they are alive and well and there is no reason to believe they are being abused. Somehow, we will stop the commander from transporting them off planet and rescue them. You have my guarantee they will get back to your century.
“I will say in closing, time is urgent for us. We do not have many more months before the inspectors will be here. If they attempt to close us down, the situation could become dire for your fellow time travelers. We will not give up trying to find them and to get them to a safe place, away from the SPA, long before that happens.
“You are fortunate to have Red there to help you. I remember him well. Martin’s guess about a blood transfusion blocking Red from transmitting a warning signal is correct.” Martin suggests that you ask Red to confirm that.
Arthur 5 continued with an explanation on how to project the photos that were at the end of the recording and how to record an answering message. There was nothing on how to download the photos, so they decided to use some low-tech by projecting them to a white wall. Then Harriet used her cell phone to capture the images. They turned out great. There were several shots of Martin and Maggie in his suite, and one of Arthur 5 towering over the other two.
They spent quite some time composing and recording a message to send back. Harriet was excited about her part in the discovery of artificial skin at Bio-Tech and could imagine Maggie poking fun at her. She so would have preferred to tell them in person.
They mentioned the police investigation into the missing three couples was no closer to being solved, and of course it never would be until they were rescued and sent back. That would present a whole new set of problems.
They explained that Luke was now a suspect in the case and could face several charges in connection with the kidnappings.
Harriet read the letter from Maggie’s mother and passed on as much information as she could think of about her mom who was down sick with the flu and her aunt. At the end of the long recording they sent their love to all of them. Joe took the drone to the back deck and followed the instructions to launch it into the future… with a short prayer it wouldn’t go astray.
Returning to the living room, Joe poured them each a small glass of wine. They needed to unwind and talk before they went to bed.
They rehashed much of what they had said on the recording about Luke. They both felt strongly that he was somehow connected with the kidnappings.
“The investigation files on Luke show that he’s connected to the three couples. But not what part he might have played in their kidnapping. The police don’t know what we know but there has to be a connection. It’s just too big a coincidence.” Joe had thought of little else. But he was no closer to answering the question.
“Do you think we’re wrong about this being the work of the commander? I can’t imagine how Luke got hooked up with that maniac. He was never in the SPA when we were there. At least I don’t think he was.” Harriet thought back to their two months there. She had no recollection, that he’d been anywhere near the SPA.
Joe thought about that for a minute. “You could be right, maybe they’re not kidnapped. Maybe they’re dead somewhere. That’s even more puzzling. The only thing I’m sure of right now is that Luke Holmes is connected to this case.”
“Wait a minute, Joe, do you remember when the two goons grabbed us and tried to take us to the cave?” One of them mentioned that the only one who knew the truth about us was… oh, jeez what where his words?” She thought for a minute… “I know, ‘The guy who raped your friend and disappeared.’ I remember thinking these guys had done their homework on us.” She sat back, thinking about that connection.
“The only way they could know that would be if someone told them.” She could see Joe’s eyes light up.
“Holy fuck! The only one who could have told those goons that, would be Luke! That little shit has connected with them!”
This new awareness gave them the same thought at the same moment. “Oh my God, he’s gone back to the future!” They almost shouted it.
“Oh, man, we can’t be wrong about this. It’s the only thing that makes any sense so far. Jesus, we have to get this information to Martin. Goddamn it, why didn’t we wait to send off the drone? Shit! I hope he contacts us soon.” Joe was shaking his head in wonder. Harriet had her mouth open. It was almost too much to digest all at once.
“It makes so much sense. What a perfect hideout. These kidnappings stink of him. He’s got to have connected with the commander. It sounds like something Luke cooked up to ingratiate himself. Ten-to-one, he went back with those two. That’s why we no longer get any tingles.”
“I couldn’t agree with you more. Luke and the commander are made for each other.” Harriet opened her mouth to say something and then shut it, her eyes the size of saucers. “Oh my God, Joe, Luke knows Maggie! If he spots her, her life could be in danger. We have to warn them. He might have her killed. Or worse, send her to the colony on the moon.” Harriet looked panicked.
“Goddammit, we have to go back and warn them. Joe, we have got to go back!” She grabbed Joe’s arms and shook him. She was close to tears.
He put his arms around her pulling her close. “It’s okay, Slick, we’ll warn them. They only left a month ago, we should hear from them again soon. If anything bad had happened, Arthur 5 would have contacted us. Take it easy… take a deep breath… it’ll be okay.” He prayed silently that the return flight of the drone was successful and Maggie’s impatience would push Martin into sending another message soon. Used to computers and instant messaging, the drone system would test Maggie’s patience.
She buried her head on his shoulder and cried. “Oh, hon, if anything happens to them I’ll die. There has to be more we can do. We’re so helpless here.” Harriet had said the same thing often. She grabbed a tissue and seemed to square her shoulders.
“We need to talk more about going back. But I won’t push it tonight, it’s late and we’re both tired. Just promise me you’ll think about it.” Her pleading look was enough to make Joe want to cave in. But he couldn’t do that. It was too big a move to make without a lot more discussion.
“Okay, I know how much this means to you. They’re my friends too. We owe them at least careful consideration.” He leaned over and kissed his wife, looking her in the eyes.
“I love you, Slick, and understand how important this is. I’ve dismissed it up to now, but these latest developments have changed everything. We will talk about it more tomorrow and map out a strategy. Tonight we’re tired and it’s not a good time to make decisions.” Joe was as tired as she was.
“Thank you, hon, I think we have run out of time. Maybe Martin and Maggie will make the connection. They’ve had some time to think about it. The main thing is, they are aware that Luke is their enemy. I guess we should be thankful, that right now we’re home safe and your mom and dad are not putting themselves in any danger by going to Washington.”
“If we do go back, Red will be here and we can send messages to him. And with all the early warning devices in place, we can stop any more kidnappings.” Harriet could see Joe was finally on board with her way of thinking. She would sleep well tonight.
“You’re right, Slick… I’ll feel better helping in the fight to get rid of the commander. We’ll never feel safe as long as he stays in power. We can only hope that our message gets back to them—our warnings should help. Although, they already knew before they left that Luke knows the six victims. I know Maggie will fill them in about Luke. And that’s some comfort.” He hugged Harriet close to him.
“I love you, Joe, I promise, I won’t worry about this until we work out a good plan. I love my new job at the research center, and I love my classes. Right now just about everything is right with our world except for the missing couples and the commander.” Harriet stretched, and ya
wned.
Joe set down his empty glass and unbuttoned his shirt.
“I think I can make our world a little more right, if you want to follow me into the bedroom.”
Harriet jumped up, grabbed the glasses, and dumped them in the kitchen. “I’m right behind you, big guy. Now, show me how you propose to make things more right with our world.” She was down to her undies by the time she hit the bed where her handsome husband waited, in all his freckled, blond glory, wearing nothing but a smile.
The End
To be continued…
The Future Series – Saving the Future – Book Three.
The question now… has Harriet truly convinced Joe to return through time, to help protect her best friend Maggie from the man who once raped her? Will Arthur 5 and his band of rebels succeed in stopping the evil head of the research center from engineering more kidnappings? Harriet wants to be there to help them depose John Weatherby and save the SPA. But more than anything else, she wants to get the three innocent couples safely back to their own time, and Luke put where he belongs, behind bars.
Follow the continuing story in:
Saving the Future, available in the new year.
Check the author’s website: http://www.gailpgriffiths.com for the latest information.
Join her Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/thefutureseries/
Acknowledgments
I’m grateful to my first and second draft beta readers, and especially Shalini Gopa, who took my story apart line by line. Her review helped me to build a better story. My cover designer, Rebecca Weeks Garcia, of Dark Wish Designs, who has gone so far above and beyond to make this work for me, her cover design and formatting has been outstanding. I am eternally indebted. And a huge debt of gratitude is owed my line editor/proofreader, Melanie Underwood, who has patiently waited and shuffled her other work around to accommodate mine.
Return From the Future Page 24