Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

I’m Lieutenant Deviled Yeggs.  I work homicide in the big city of Tracy.  Working for me are my old partners: Detective Sgt. Jim Wednesday and Detective Poached Yeggs, my nephew who is slowly becoming a good detective.

I had my ace codebreaker in the room with me.  With all the detectives in one squad room, Sophia had to stay with me.

Sophia said, “Dad, I have a confession and a discovery.  Which do you want first?”

I groaned, “The confession.  If you really screwed up bad, then your discovery might become moot.”

Sophia said, “No, Dad, you said that I am not to work on an active case, but this case is active.  None of you have worked on it for a month and no one checked to see if the alibi was valid.  And I got bored, so I looked at the security video from the liquor store across the street, all in the electronic file, I never left my chair.  Honest!”

I gritted my teeth.  “What is it, Sophia?  Quit making excuses.”

Sophia asked, “How can the suspect be on the far side of Tracy when he is leaving the liquor store with a bottle wrapped in a brown paper bag ten minutes before the estimated time of death to the jeweler across the street from the liquor store?”

I swallowed hard.  “Sophia, that would have normally been a job for Poached, but Jim and I did that case on our own since Poached has been up to his ears in Vice issues lately.  I love the paycheck of a lieutenant, and giving up the promotion does not save the department enough money to hire another detective.  We do not have the budget to handle the case load at the moment.  And now, I am making excuses for what Jim thought I would look at and I thought the same for Jim.  It seems we will have an arrest to make.  Go to Jim’s office and have him come in.”

Gisele said, over the box, “I have already buzzed him and three … two … one.”

Jim walked into the room, “You buzzed me?”

I moaned, “You know that Gisele is the only one with a buzzer.  And you know she loves eavesdropping on our conversations.”

Gisele protested, “I only acknowledge eavesdropping when you have something interesting to say.  Admitting that you screwed up is near the top.”

While Jim and Sophia studied the video and Jim confirmed that was the suspect, there was a commotion outside my office.  Gisele joined the argument.  Some people had entered wanting to talk to Sophia.  I recognized the voices.  Jim let himself out of the room to do the paperwork and obtain the arrest warrant.  Jacob and Dinah Levy entered my office with GrandPa, Elroy, and the entire Niblick family.

I asked, “Elroy, do we have a security issue and you want all the people you are protecting to be locked up?  I have the keys to the lockup.”

Jacob said, “This is not a joke, Dev, we need Sophie’s assistance.”

Dinah said, “Dev, they have Frankie.  He sent us a letter.  It is postmarked in Latvia.  Frankie put a series of dots on the letters.  I remembered them from when he and Freddie would pass secret messages to each other, but Freddie says this is just gibberish.”

By now, Sophia was studying the letter.  With GrandPa and Pauline Niblick in the room, the entire team of codebreakers was present, but they had not solved it.  “Aunt Dinah, what is the code supposed to be?”

Jacob answered, “According to Freddie, a dot directly underneath the letter means that is the letter.  A dot immediately above the letter means that is the exact opposite of the letter in the alphabet.  For example, a “B” with a dot directly above would mean a “Y”.  But their code got sloppy from that point on.  If the next letter in the message was not one of those two situations, a dot to the right or left would be any of the letters in that direction.  You had to get enough letters right for the message to make sense, and you can see that many of the letters have two dots.  They never did that.  Our request was that any message when they were in trouble had to have Dinah’s or my name misspelled.  Since the captors are after me, Frankie spelled his mom’s name S-e-u, as in Sue McAdoo.  These people do not know our present names.  And Frankie was supposed to be in Lithuania, not Latvia.  But Vilnius to Riga is only a four-hour drive.  Umm.  Those are the capitol cities.  The two countries border each other.  According to Frankie’s employer, he was negotiating a trade agreement for mineral oil shipments.”

Sophie said, “Can I go to the lab?  I need a microscope.”

Pauline nodded, “Would a jeweler’s loupe do?  Your eyes are a bit younger than GrandPa’s and mine.  I hope you can become more definitive.”

Sophie took the loupe. “Thanks, fellow teammate.  And it seems we were thinking of the same thing.”  After studying the map and writing things into her notebook.  “Dad, I need a map of Lithuania.”  She slapped her forehead.  “Never mind.  I’ll use the maps online.”  More searching, more studying with the loupe.  “He’s in Lithuania, not Latvia.  The city name is probably Klaipeda.  I am sure of half those letters and the other four are in the acceptable range according to the code.  I am thinking dzuku gatve. I am not sure with the umlauts and such.”

Dinah asked, “How can you be so sure?”

Sophie said, “Frankie put the message together without them watching or being careful when he added the code.  But his captor probably noticed the dots and added more using the same pen.  Frankie’s hand writing is light.  The captor was probably angry at Frankie’s attempt at sending a message so he thought he could obscure the message with dots that turned the code into gibberish.  But the captor’s pressure was a lot greater.  A few of the dots are guesses, but most of the wrong dots are easy to detect.  Maybe easier with a microscope.”

Mashie said, “Gatve is street in Lithuanian.  Looking over your shoulder, Sophie, it doesn’t look like a lot of houses.  Jacob, who do you have in Lithuania?”

Jacob talked through gritted teeth. “They already know Frankie tried to send a coded message.  He may be dead, or they may have moved him.”

Pauline went over and hugged him. “Maybe they aren’t that smart?  Maybe they do not have unlimited resources.  Too many maybes, but we have to keep our hopes up.”

Dinah came over to retrieve the letter.  As she walked away, Sophie shouted, “Aunt Dinah, please, can I have it back?”

Dinah gave her the letter, “Do you have another idea?”

Sophia held the paper at oblique angles and turned to cast the room lighting at different angles.  “Did your son have art skills?”

Dinah said, “He completed his architecture degree.  He designed several structures for the company he is now working for.  They were impressed with how he could close deals.  He still dabbles in architecture in his spare time.  Why do you ask?”

Sophia said, “He must have known that they would not send the letter if he drew what he saw out the window.  It seems he pressed the side of the pen against the paper to make an impression.  If this is what he ‘drew’, he is in a cul-de-sac, toward the left side, looking outward at Dzuku Gatve.  Play with the paper until you see a shine.”

Dinah took the letter and did the same that Sophia had done.  “He used to do things like that.  He was rather good at it.  Oh, yes, there are two buildings to the right, and three to the left.”

Mashie said, “Looking at the map, there is only one cul-de-sac that matches that description.  Now, we just need to confirm that he has not been moved.”

Dinah shouted, “No police!  We need to do this the old-fashioned way.  Get our son, and then let the local people know where to find the bad guys.”

Sophia asked, “Why do it the old-fashioned way?  That gets messy.  Blaise has his multitarget, long range stun gun.  Some kind of electromagnetic pulse or something.  I just make his gadgets look nice enough to sell, I don’t understand the technology half the time.”

Pauline moaned, “It’s not tested on humans yet.  It’s too much of a risk.”

Sophia shook her head.  “No, he was showing Margie how it worked a couple of weeks ago.  He targeted her and then he said, ‘Whatever you do, don’t touch this button’, but he touched it.  He just had enough time to catch her before she hit the floor.  She was out for about fifteen minutes.  Then, she was groggy for maybe five more minutes.  Then, she punched Blaise in the face.”

I suggested the day it happened, “He said he was looking at something with the microscope and Margie goosed him and the microscope left a bruise when he flinched.”

Sophia said, “Blaise is really good at covering up his mistakes, especially when Margie is involved, but the Rogue Scholars dreamed up this idea, and it has been accidentally tested.  This is why the Rogue Scholars were created.  That fifteen minutes gives someone with lock picking skills plenty of time to open the door and the infrared camera will know where everyone is, no looking around, no surprises.  Handcuff the bad guys and exit with the package.”

GrandPa said, “I am getting too old for this.  Pauline, you have the skills to pick the locks.”

Pauline nodded, “But the only one who knows the stun gun is Blaise.  The ransom demand is not for a lot of money, but they want ‘Hugh McAdoo’ to deliver it personally.  They would contact us in a week with more instructions and proof that the package was still alive.  That gives us more time to set this stuff up and find out from the field agents if Frankie is really in that harbor city in Lithuania.”

I sighed, “I am not letting Blaise go to Lithuania.  He’s just a kid.”

Sophia said, “Daddy, he can be far enough away from the target house that no one will notice.  There are several buildings around the cul-de-sac.  He can set everything up from there, maybe sitting in the back seat of a car.  The range of the stun gun is unknown, but it has been tested outside a building, using the infrared to identify the target.  At least that worked with the animals.”

Pauline said, “I am not ready to leave my children behind on this trip.  Sophia and Emmett have been good babysitters.  Dev, can we take your children for a little vacation trip?  Emmett will be the babysitter.  Sophia and Elroy will be security for the team, besides the local agents.  Blaise uses his stun gun.  If it doesn’t work, we’ll have the battering ram as backup.  Our agent in charge in Lithuania will have the evidence and statements from the victim, enough to convict the people left in the house.  Dev, your children will not be in danger.”

I sighed, “I feel jealous.  Other than a day trip into Mexico and a couple of days in the Canadian Rockies, I have never been outside the USA.  Okay, I will tentatively agree, but the hard sell with be Glyce, ummm, Naomi.”

Jacob held up a hand. “We are getting far ahead of ourselves.  Let’s confirm that Frankie is still there in that house.  Then, we can put a team together.  The Rogue Scholars was invented to be a think tank, not taking matters into their own hands.”

Sophia asked, “But do you want to leave it up to the Lithuanian police to take care of this?  If they are corrupt, and the corruption index is fairly high in that part of the world, but maybe not the police, we may be letting the captors know that we know their location.  And Blaise’s human testing has only been by way of one accidental discharge of whatever energy beam that his thing emits.”

GrandPa leaned into me, but he talked in a stage whisper, “I knew if we got with the leader of the codebreakers, we would get more than a cracked code.  You have a really smart cookie their grandson.”

I smiled, “Thanks, GrandPa.”

When everyone left, Sophia said that she wanted a hug.  It lasted a while, and she was shaking.

When she finally pulled away, she said, “I never wanted to be a spy or be part of what Mashie and Pauline get involved with, but Daddy, this involves the Rogue Scholars, Design by Tensie, and friends of ours.  I cannot sit on the sidelines, but remember when I lamented that my boyfriend had me to be his security guard, rather than he protecting me?”

I nodded, “And I have seen Samuel Farquharson and Emmett working out in the gym downstairs.  He can protect himself, but he may still not want to when he is carrying his musical instruments.  The money he makes playing at the Snazzy Taz is all going to his college fund, unless he is about to buy some jewelry for someone I know.”

Sophie groaned, “He says he is not ready for that.  Besides, I think GrandPa has given him a ring from his collection.  No confirmation, but I have overheard whispers that suddenly stop when I turn my head.  No, I want to run the clock back a few years.  I want to be that little girl that is not planning something in her head that could become a wet op if things go sideways.  Don’t worry, Blaise will be safe, and I do not intend on being part of the raiding party, but Pauline has to be.  She is the one who is picking the locks.  I have a burning desire to go home and watch tasteful cartoons, which are rare things these days, and play with dolls.”

I sighed, “Don’t we all, well not the doll part.  I am far too macho for that, and I apologize for allowing you to grow up too fast.  I was so excited when one of my children wanted to follow in my footsteps.  Unless Gigi decides to play soccer and become a therapist like your mother, your Mom has complained about not having anyone following her.”

Sophie smiled a crooked smile, “I never said that I was following in your footsteps!  I said that I am going to be your boss someday.”

I bowed, “Yes, boss, that is what you keep saying, but we cannot turn the clock backward.  I think C.S. Lewis said in the Narnian Chronicles somewhere about that would not be progress.”

That night, Naomi refused to let her babies get out of the country.  I think the words “over her dead body” were used, but then the next morning, a special courier gave Sophia an envelope.  In it was an official contract from a secret organization outside Washington, DC.  It placed Sophia Yeggs of Soapy’s Choice Investigations, Design by Tensie, and the Rogue’s Scholars of the Rogue’s Gallery as the contracted officer in charge of the operation.  The package was confirmed to have not moved from the cul-de-sac off Dzuku Gatve in Klaipeda, Lithuania.  She would have enough muscle to take down the location using brute force, but she would run the operation, hoping the experimental device did its job and no brute force would be necessary.  Her signature was required, along with both of ours, since she was only sixteen.  Naomi was the first to sign.  Sophia and I were confused, but then my wife said that she had not gone to sleep at all that night.  She was praying for something that said this made sense.  She did not want her babies to be in harm’s way, but a neighbor’s son would probably die if Blaise did not use his little gadget.

The courier left with the signed contract, and Elroy was in our living room an hour later with video and photographs of the surrounding buildings.  Sophia would run the operation, but she would have several experienced agents and spies helping her.  She was there to protect her brother and supervise the operation.

Credits

Dzuku Gatve is a short street in Klaipeda, Lithuania.  Please, I just used Google Maps to pick a spot.  This is all fictional.  There are probably no criminals living in the cul-de-sac, but then again, I have never been there.

The electromagnetic pulse or whatever kind of energy wave Blaise has invented is strictly fictional.  Then again, there might be something like it in some “mad scientist’s” blueprint files somewhere.

But the accidental pressing of the button was from an old story of my former employer.  They were commissioning a new furnace, and they were having one problem after another.  But finally, they got the problems resolved and the furnace was slowly coming up to temperature.  The slow measured increase in temperature was set to properly dry out the refractories, turning a “mud” into a ceramic.  At the same time, one of the other engineers was teaching the customer’s operators how to operate the furnace.  Part of that was to show them all the buttons.  One of these buttons was the Emergency Stop button which shutoff all fuel to the furnace burners.  In pressing that button, everything they had worked on all morning would be back at the starting point.  The instructor knew of the problems they had that morning, so he warned the class.  “Whatever you do, do not … touch … this … button.”  At that point, to emphasize what he was saying, he pointed to the button, accidentally touching it himself.  He realized what he had done when out the control room window, he saw his fellow employees cursing him and shaking their fists from on top of the furnace.  Note: This happened before I was hired as the training manager, and the story told to me with the added line – This will never happen again!  And it never happened again on my watch.

And why not have Sophia run the operation?  She’s the only one who figured out the code and noticed the artwork using compressions on the paper, and she was technically half-owner of Blaise’s gadget.  Besides, she knew how to run a bodyguard operation.  Her focus would be protecting the package, her brother, and herself.