Chapter 10 ; Sherlock Holmes "Rides" Again
"Nicholas ... I told him my name was Nick, not Nicholas. That's the first clue ... Then grandmother's detecting skills. That's the second, that is what really tipped me off. He doesn't mention my grandmother again.
"'How are you doing? Do you sleep well? What do you do when you aren't running around? Think about that.' So I thought about it, 'run around' we don't 'run around' we fly," He pointed to a rather sloppily written word, "Time," His finger moved down the page, "To find us ... That's easy, 'time to find us'."
Max nodded and watched in awe as the simple letter became something powerful, something ... Covert.
"Then he wrote 'three' weird, so I picked that up, as well as 'find David and Aaron' then later 'numbers'. Well that didn't make sense, and THAT'S when I realized he didn't mean the word 'numbers' he means NUMBERS.
"Three, fifteen, nineteen. Then he wrote 'little' and 'stop' which led me to believe that maybe this is a system of numbers like a date. Then there is 'ones' take the 's' off ... 'One'.
"He mentions the email I sent, and my Blog, so I'm guessing there are hints there too. He said something about Aaron and a group of his friends storming the Itex building in Mississippi, then he changed the subject completely ... 'I would have liked to see you though'?
"That made me believe something was wrong. Something wasn't right when he was writing it. He didn't say he would have liked to see Aaron, he said 'you' as in ME.
"Then there is this," Fang pointed to the next lines. The way the angle of the pen had changed in his father's hand on a few words.
"David and Aaron ... are ... being chased."
Max felt her stomach tighten, and Fang's finger slipped lower on the page. He inhaled sharply and she heard him biting back tears as he whispered the last few words into her ear. " 'My time is up ... I love you very much ... Keep your friends close.' "
"And your enemies closer..." Max turned to him and for half a second, such a short amount of time she wasn't sure she really saw it, that mysterious red light reflected in his eyes again.
"He said goodbye, Max. He wasn't alone when he wrote this letter. There was someone in that room with him and it wasn't one of my brothers. I ... I think he's-" He couldn't bring himself to say it.
She bit her lip and nodded. She knew what he was thinking, part of her was thinking it too.
Fang had finally found his father only to have someone steal him away.
They were silent for a long time and Max watched his hands tighten on the piece of paper, tempted to rip it to confetti in his anguished fury. But then he carefully flattened it, his fingers lingering over the slightly smudged words as if it would somehow make everything better.
She spoke quietly barely above a whisper. "When did you get the letter, Fang?"
He let out a strangled sigh, "This morning. That's why I flew off, I was trying to figure it out. I got the 'Nicholas' and detective parts but it took me all day to figure out the rest of it ... I've read that stupid thing about a million times and it hurts even more each time.
"I know he was telling me I need to find David and Aaron, that they're on their own and are being chased, but what I don't understand is the numbers ... three, fifteen, nineteen, one."
Max blinked. She'd never heard Fang talk for so long. It was amazing and scary at the same time. "Are there any other numbers in the letter?" She scanned the writing and pointed to the word September, "That's significant, September is this month. Why didn't he just say 'this month'?
"Three and fifteen come before September so let's add them together. Now, you have eighteen instead of three and fifteen," She continued down the letter and pointed to an extra 'one' in the last few paragraphs.
"Eighteen, September, nineteen, one, one!"
Fang's eyes went wide and he shook his head. "Three-fifteen is a time ... September nineteenth! Or September twenty-first if you add the two ones. He mentioned Saturday morning ... Which date is on a Saturday?"
Max's mind went blank for a moment and she made a hollow, 'uh' sound in her throat before she was able to jumpstart her brain. "Saturday the fifteenth, not the nineteenth..."
He went pale, "Max ... What's today's date?"
She grabbed his wrist and checked the glowing green dial of his new watch, "Thirteenth ... We'd have to leave tomorrow."
He shivered, his fingers were inches from her throat. He could almost feel her pulse.
"Fang, why are your hands so hot?"
His tongue felt numb and he gave his head a little shake. "Huh?"
She cupped a hand to his face, "You're hot!"
He looked down at his bare chest and feet then drew his hand away from her and wiped his palms on the legs of his jeans. "I know you think I'm hot, Max," He grinned and wiped at his face again.
She shook her head, "No ... I mean your temperature ... You're temperature is up!" She was blushing.
He put his hands over his face, "Is it?"
"Why are you so warm when it's only sixty-five degrees out here?"
He shrugged and climbed to his feet. He didn't feel any different, maybe she was just trying to take his mind off things. "We have two days to get to Montana ... Or Washington ... Or Mississippi, he mentioned all three and I don't know if he was telling the truth or sending whoever was with him on a wild goose chase."
Max nodded, "Where was the letter sent from?"
He glanced at the postmark on the envelope, "Washington."
"Then that marks Washington off the list ... He mentioned the Itex building in Mississippi that was too specific," She took the letter from him and scanned it again.
"Fang, you were never transferred ... Were you?"
He hesitated, his lip between his teeth. "No."
