The Night of the Obvious Solution
Chapter 10
"What the….?"
California – the basement of the Presidential Building
Jim groaned and put a hand to his head. Then he heard and felt the presence of a chain around his wrist. "What the….?" He said.
"I'm afraid that's my fault," Artie's voice came to him out of the fog in his brain. "I destroyed the lock on the door so Loveless had us chained up to stop us escaping. How are you feeling?"
"Ask me tomorrow," Jim replied. "It'll take me that long to come up with an answer." He ran a hand through his hair in an attempt to kick-start his brain. Then he tried to move and realised that there were chains around his ankles as well. "What the…?"
"Same reason as before," Artie said. "I'm sorry you ended up down here as well."
"Down here?"
"Yes, we're in the basement of the Government building," President Loveless said. "I was conscious when I was brought down here by a large woman."
"Kitten Twitty," Artie supplied.
Jim looked at him questioningly.
"Ah yes, I forgot, you haven't met her. I don't know what Kitten Twitty is doing in your dimension but in ours she's one of Loveless's minions. My Jim reckoned that she once famously carried Loveless around in a carpet bag."
"That's why Loveless brought her here then. He needs someone to carry diamonds back for him and he couldn't bring too many people with him. He must know about the danger of unbalancing the dimensions. It also explains the drugged coffee."
"You were drinking coffee?"
"Yes, Loveless invited me to dinner. I suspected he was not the real President but I didn't know he had decided to dispose of me."
"Good grief, Jim. What were you thinking?"
"Well I only had the evidence of Doguelito growling at him to put me on his scent. I couldn't be sure he was Doctor Loveless."
"Is Doguelito alright?" the President asked.
"I don't know," Jim said. "I haven't seen him. I'm sorry, Sir."
The President looked crestfallen but then he looked up at the two men and when Artie saw his expression it was just as if the evil Loveless was in the room. "If he has harmed my dog….."
"I wouldn't worry," Artie said. "I've known him a while and he would never harm a living creature, except humans of course."
"Thank you for that, Mr Gordon, I feel a little better now."
"I wish I did," Jim said, looking a little green round the gills. "What did that woman put in my coffee?"
"Close your eyes!" Artie suggested. "You don't want to bring it back up, not the way you are chained up."
Jim groaned and did as Artie said.
ooooooooooo0ooooooooooo
Upstairs in the President's Residence
"Kitten," Doctor Loveless said, "I want you to go to Wyoming and help Dr Shelby. The diamonds need to be crated and shipped here by train. He's taking far too long and I want to get out of here as soon as possible."
"What about the prisoners in the basement?"
"You can help me deal with them when you get back."
"You're not going to kill them are you?" Kitten asked with a quiver in her voice.
"Of course not," Loveless replied. He knew Kitten had scruples but he needed her physical strength to help with his plan, so he had to keep her sweet. "I need to know I can trust you, Kitten."
"Of course you can, Doctor," she all but cooed, love for him in her eyes. People were always so cruel to her but the Doctor understood and was kind to her. Look at the way he had forgiven her after she let West and Gordon escape. She had been so foolish.
"I'm glad to hear that, Kitten, now don't let me down."
"I won't, Doctor."
Loveless watched her leave the room and then chuckled to himself. "Now I can go to the basement and have some fun," he said. Just then he heard Kitten's voice.
"Doctor Loveless, oh Doctor Loveless!"
With a frown Loveless turned and saw her enter the room again.
"Dr Shelby is here," she said and behind her Loveless saw the grey head of the man whom he had thought was still in Wyoming.
"Shelby," he said, moving toward him. "Have you got my diamonds?"
Shelby slowly removed his hat to reveal his grey hair, which matched his moustache and neatly trimmed beard. He waited for some reaction from Loveless.
"Well, spit it out, Shelby!" Loveless said impatiently."
"The crate is at the railroad depot," the man said, sure now that Loveless had not spotted his imposture. It had been a matter of seconds to render Doctor Shelby unconscious but took a lot longer to prepare a mask of his features. The hair had also been a pains-taking task. "I had to leave Wyoming in a hurry; Artemus Gordon showed up, poking his nose in."
"Didn't you see Mr West?"
"No, was he there too? He must have left before I returned from the diamond field."
"Yes of course. You had no trouble evading Mr Gordon?"
"No, the diamond elixir saw to that. He never even knew I was there."
Loveless chuckled but then a look of frustration came over his face. "If only I could employ the substance myself," he said. "But my calculations have ruled it out. It's not the air friction but the speeding up of the metabolism that is the problem. Someone with my physical limitations would soon find his skeleton so racked that it would cause multiple dislocations."
So that was it, Artemus thought. That was why Loveless had had to pose as the President so that his presence in this dimension wouldn't be noticed.
"Yes, I too find it a little wearing on my old bones," Shelby said. "We must remember that Morgan Midas was a man in his youth."
"Quite," Loveless replied.
"By the way, where are the Secret Service agents? I know Mr Gordon is in Wyoming but there were two others running around," I believe."
Loveless smiled. "I am holding them prisoner in the basement of this building. Don't worry," he added at the (fake) look of alarm on Shelby's face. "They can't escape. Mr Gordon thought he could and got as far as blowing off the door lock. But Kitten was there to prevent his escape. Now they are chained up."
Shelby looked across at the big female. He had never seen her before but he supposed that Shelby had. "Well done Kitten," he said.
"Miss Twitty to you, sir," she replied.
"I beg your pardon," Artemus said.
"What do you want me to do now, Doctor Loveless?" Kitten asked. "Now I don't have to travel to Wyoming."
"Why don't you go down to the railroad depot and have the crate of diamonds brought here. We can leave from the President's laboratory. Oh, and before you go, I've just remembered that I shut his dog in the closet in his bedroom. Would you mind letting him out and taking him to the kitchen for something to eat?"
"Of course, Doctor. Poor little Doguelito! I'll see to it at once."
Kitten sped out of the door in the direction of the President's bedroom and Loveless looked at Shelby.
"She's been a great help to me and she will be even more help in carrying the diamonds back to our dimension. But she is far too squeamish for the job we need to do now."
"What's that, Doctor Loveless?"
Doctor Loveless grinned at him. "Why disposing of those meddling agents of course. I'd be pleased for you to join me in the basement….unless you don't have the stomach for it either."
"On the contrary, I've been wishing to meet Mr Gordon again for some time and to make the acquaintance of Mr West. Shall we go?"
ooooooooooo0ooooooooooo
To be continued