Chapter Four: Plans
It was dusk when Julie finally arrived at the estate. Lawn lights have been switched on bringing a soft glow on the driveway leading up to the front door. She biked past the main entrance way and continued until she reached the shed and stored her bike on its proper place. As she was about to leave the shed, she took a moment by the doorway and looked around the azaleas in full bloom. They looked beautiful. The smell of newly trimmed grasses filled the area. She breathed in deeply and slowly glanced up the sky. Little by little the stars began to peek out for the evening.
Julie crossed the kitchen and was surprised no one was there. So, she made herself some dinner and brought it up to her room. She flopped on her bed turned on her CD player and began downloading her emails. When she had finished her dinner and answered all her emails she went to the bathroom and took a bath. When she came out half an hour later, she was dressed in a neat green sleeveless blouse and soft shorts. She was toweling off her damp medium length brown hair to dry before going to bed. Her gaze fell on the reflection of her birthmark on her shoulder while combing her hair. She hadn't thought much of it before but now it looking oddly as a star. Later on, she prepared for bed.
At the Douglas residence, the family was also preparing to retire for the night. The boys' had already gone upstairs while Mrs. Douglas rose from the reclining chair in her husband's study and went beside him.
"Why don't you go ahead, Jess." Her husband said. "I'll be right up."
Mrs. Jessica Douglas embraced her husband. "Still catching up on the paperwork?" she inquired and glanced at the papers and pictures on his desk.
"Sort of." He answered while shifting through files and held a surveillance photograph to his wife. "That's Louis Davenport," pointing at the middle of the photograph. "These are his daughters. Amanda, Agatha and Julie." Sam said as he emphasized the last name.
Mrs. Douglas was surprised at the announcement and felt there was something more.
"Davenport's a very shrewd yet shady business man. His tastes vary from expensive yachts to Monte Carlo get-away, from paintings to antiques around the world. He name's himself as a modern industrialist and so forth. What we've been trying to pin him down at the moment is his dealing of priceless paintings to the highest bidder. Unfortunately, he manages to be at arm's length from the law until now. We have an informant working as one of his house staff and it will be a matter of days now when we will catch Davenport red-handed." Mr. Douglas said.
"This is her father." Mrs. Douglas remarked somewhat sadly. Her heart began to go out for the girl.
Mr. Douglas nodded. He wasn't also keen with the idea if the time came to zero hours for Davenport when he has to be taken in custody by the FBI. He hopes Julie will be strong to make it through a harsh reality for her family.
"Would she know about her father's ' preoccupations'?" asked Mrs. Douglas sympathetic to the girl's situation.
"No. Our informant told us that he's not very close with his children. These two are in college. One in New York while the other one in Milan both studying fashion." Mr. Douglas stated.
"Poor kid." Mrs. Douglas commented. "What about her mother?"
"We can only guess that she may have ideas about Davenport's businesses but for now we know that she's living in Hawaii and has remarried. She's well off anyway since they have pre-nuptial agreement. It was the courts decision to arrange time with both parents on a regular schedule drawn out by the concerned parties." Mr. Douglas related.
"That's horrible. You can't raise a child like that. Who took care of her after all this time?" asked Mrs. Douglas; shocked at the circumstances Julie has been experiencing.
" A nanny named Katsumi Tanaka," answered Mr. Douglas. " She was already with the family before the marriage completely crumbled."
"Julie doesn't resemble her immediate family," Mrs. Douglas noted while studying the picture. Julie had a different hair color than the Davenports'. She had dark brown hair and wide poppy eyes.
"Julie's adopted. She was only three when she came to be a part of the Davenports'." Mr. Douglas supplied. "The story was Mrs. Davenport visited an adoption center and was doing her usual charity runs when she was smitten with this little girl. Soon the adoption papers were drew up and Julie came to live with them."
"Did she try to get custody of Julie during the divorce proceedings? Mrs. Douglas asked.
"She did but eventually she lost." Her husband replied.
"What happens to her if your operation goes down?"
"Most likely, Julie will be under legal guardianship with one of their relatives. Welfare will be sticking to her like glue for the next two years after which she can be on her own." Mr. Douglas told her. They were silent for a while, each busy with their own thoughts. "Let's go," Mr. Douglas squeezes his wife's hand. " Why don't we call it a night." And began switching off the lights. Mrs. Douglas nodded in agreement and stood up. They soon left the study and went upstairs.
In someone else's study, the door cracked open. It widens admitting a figure into the room. The intruder was wearing black clothes and had a facemask over his face. He stealthily walks to the desk and immediately goes through the computer files saved on the hard drive after deciphering the passwords. There was nothing interesting on the computer so he began examining the disks kept to one side of the desk. Still there was nothing on the disks too that he began moving around the room and poking on the desks for hidden compartments or behind paintings for a safe and pressed sections of a wall to determine any false borders. Nothing legitimate came out from his search until he came upon a personalized refrigerator or so he thought. He tried to open it but it won't be pull outward. This piqued his curiosity and directed his pen light on the lid and its face. There, at the right hand corner, he saw a cleverly decorated keypad interface. It was a password driven system. He knelt on the floor and took out a kit. He began dusting the interface with a special powder. Under the penlight, it shone the numbers was pressed. He had one problem, he doesn't know which numbers were pressed first. He studied the series of numbers and from what he could glean, the password was Davenport's birthday. He followed the sequence and soon the lid automatically swung outward. Inside was another interface. He used again the special powder and shone with his penlight, a sequence of digits were tabbed and a click sounded from the inside.
He saw stacks of folders neatly arranged to one side of the safe and behind was the disks. He took out the files and began shifting through the papers. There were papers mentioning about the art deals and the likely drop points but nothing specific. Nevertheless, he was interested on them that he took out a handheld scanner and passed the documents under it. He soon, reached the last files and sat perfectly still. What he found was a Janine Douglas adoption papers that related an incident of abandonment from a previous family. She was put under the care at a Missouri adoption and spent a year at the establishment before coming to the Davenports' to become Julie. The papers also noted that it was Mrs. Davenport's decision to have the child's name changed so as not to cause too many traumas on the child's adjustment. The man stopped reading and checked his watch. He has stayed far too long in Davenport's study. He had to leave. He took Julie's files, which were three files in all. This told him something of an importance. He tucked the file inside his jacket and started to close the safe. He stood up, surveyed the room for anything taken or placed out of their usual positions. Satisfied that nothing was disturbed he proceeded to the door and checked the corridors. When he heard no one, he made his way out of the house.
The man ran towards the house staff quarters and quietly snuck into his room on the second floor. Once inside, the man only opened his bedroom lamp light after pulling down all the shades. He removed his mask revealing a tense countenance of Gus Morse. He sat on the bed and took out his laptop from the drawer. After getting an Internet link up, he started to upload files to a fellow net user. Finishing his tasks, he next began studying Julie's files. The night wore on until the sky changed colors from mauve blue to light blue of the new morning.
It was dusk when Julie finally arrived at the estate. Lawn lights have been switched on bringing a soft glow on the driveway leading up to the front door. She biked past the main entrance way and continued until she reached the shed and stored her bike on its proper place. As she was about to leave the shed, she took a moment by the doorway and looked around the azaleas in full bloom. They looked beautiful. The smell of newly trimmed grasses filled the area. She breathed in deeply and slowly glanced up the sky. Little by little the stars began to peek out for the evening.
Julie crossed the kitchen and was surprised no one was there. So, she made herself some dinner and brought it up to her room. She flopped on her bed turned on her CD player and began downloading her emails. When she had finished her dinner and answered all her emails she went to the bathroom and took a bath. When she came out half an hour later, she was dressed in a neat green sleeveless blouse and soft shorts. She was toweling off her damp medium length brown hair to dry before going to bed. Her gaze fell on the reflection of her birthmark on her shoulder while combing her hair. She hadn't thought much of it before but now it looking oddly as a star. Later on, she prepared for bed.
At the Douglas residence, the family was also preparing to retire for the night. The boys' had already gone upstairs while Mrs. Douglas rose from the reclining chair in her husband's study and went beside him.
"Why don't you go ahead, Jess." Her husband said. "I'll be right up."
Mrs. Jessica Douglas embraced her husband. "Still catching up on the paperwork?" she inquired and glanced at the papers and pictures on his desk.
"Sort of." He answered while shifting through files and held a surveillance photograph to his wife. "That's Louis Davenport," pointing at the middle of the photograph. "These are his daughters. Amanda, Agatha and Julie." Sam said as he emphasized the last name.
Mrs. Douglas was surprised at the announcement and felt there was something more.
"Davenport's a very shrewd yet shady business man. His tastes vary from expensive yachts to Monte Carlo get-away, from paintings to antiques around the world. He name's himself as a modern industrialist and so forth. What we've been trying to pin him down at the moment is his dealing of priceless paintings to the highest bidder. Unfortunately, he manages to be at arm's length from the law until now. We have an informant working as one of his house staff and it will be a matter of days now when we will catch Davenport red-handed." Mr. Douglas said.
"This is her father." Mrs. Douglas remarked somewhat sadly. Her heart began to go out for the girl.
Mr. Douglas nodded. He wasn't also keen with the idea if the time came to zero hours for Davenport when he has to be taken in custody by the FBI. He hopes Julie will be strong to make it through a harsh reality for her family.
"Would she know about her father's ' preoccupations'?" asked Mrs. Douglas sympathetic to the girl's situation.
"No. Our informant told us that he's not very close with his children. These two are in college. One in New York while the other one in Milan both studying fashion." Mr. Douglas stated.
"Poor kid." Mrs. Douglas commented. "What about her mother?"
"We can only guess that she may have ideas about Davenport's businesses but for now we know that she's living in Hawaii and has remarried. She's well off anyway since they have pre-nuptial agreement. It was the courts decision to arrange time with both parents on a regular schedule drawn out by the concerned parties." Mr. Douglas related.
"That's horrible. You can't raise a child like that. Who took care of her after all this time?" asked Mrs. Douglas; shocked at the circumstances Julie has been experiencing.
" A nanny named Katsumi Tanaka," answered Mr. Douglas. " She was already with the family before the marriage completely crumbled."
"Julie doesn't resemble her immediate family," Mrs. Douglas noted while studying the picture. Julie had a different hair color than the Davenports'. She had dark brown hair and wide poppy eyes.
"Julie's adopted. She was only three when she came to be a part of the Davenports'." Mr. Douglas supplied. "The story was Mrs. Davenport visited an adoption center and was doing her usual charity runs when she was smitten with this little girl. Soon the adoption papers were drew up and Julie came to live with them."
"Did she try to get custody of Julie during the divorce proceedings? Mrs. Douglas asked.
"She did but eventually she lost." Her husband replied.
"What happens to her if your operation goes down?"
"Most likely, Julie will be under legal guardianship with one of their relatives. Welfare will be sticking to her like glue for the next two years after which she can be on her own." Mr. Douglas told her. They were silent for a while, each busy with their own thoughts. "Let's go," Mr. Douglas squeezes his wife's hand. " Why don't we call it a night." And began switching off the lights. Mrs. Douglas nodded in agreement and stood up. They soon left the study and went upstairs.
In someone else's study, the door cracked open. It widens admitting a figure into the room. The intruder was wearing black clothes and had a facemask over his face. He stealthily walks to the desk and immediately goes through the computer files saved on the hard drive after deciphering the passwords. There was nothing interesting on the computer so he began examining the disks kept to one side of the desk. Still there was nothing on the disks too that he began moving around the room and poking on the desks for hidden compartments or behind paintings for a safe and pressed sections of a wall to determine any false borders. Nothing legitimate came out from his search until he came upon a personalized refrigerator or so he thought. He tried to open it but it won't be pull outward. This piqued his curiosity and directed his pen light on the lid and its face. There, at the right hand corner, he saw a cleverly decorated keypad interface. It was a password driven system. He knelt on the floor and took out a kit. He began dusting the interface with a special powder. Under the penlight, it shone the numbers was pressed. He had one problem, he doesn't know which numbers were pressed first. He studied the series of numbers and from what he could glean, the password was Davenport's birthday. He followed the sequence and soon the lid automatically swung outward. Inside was another interface. He used again the special powder and shone with his penlight, a sequence of digits were tabbed and a click sounded from the inside.
He saw stacks of folders neatly arranged to one side of the safe and behind was the disks. He took out the files and began shifting through the papers. There were papers mentioning about the art deals and the likely drop points but nothing specific. Nevertheless, he was interested on them that he took out a handheld scanner and passed the documents under it. He soon, reached the last files and sat perfectly still. What he found was a Janine Douglas adoption papers that related an incident of abandonment from a previous family. She was put under the care at a Missouri adoption and spent a year at the establishment before coming to the Davenports' to become Julie. The papers also noted that it was Mrs. Davenport's decision to have the child's name changed so as not to cause too many traumas on the child's adjustment. The man stopped reading and checked his watch. He has stayed far too long in Davenport's study. He had to leave. He took Julie's files, which were three files in all. This told him something of an importance. He tucked the file inside his jacket and started to close the safe. He stood up, surveyed the room for anything taken or placed out of their usual positions. Satisfied that nothing was disturbed he proceeded to the door and checked the corridors. When he heard no one, he made his way out of the house.
The man ran towards the house staff quarters and quietly snuck into his room on the second floor. Once inside, the man only opened his bedroom lamp light after pulling down all the shades. He removed his mask revealing a tense countenance of Gus Morse. He sat on the bed and took out his laptop from the drawer. After getting an Internet link up, he started to upload files to a fellow net user. Finishing his tasks, he next began studying Julie's files. The night wore on until the sky changed colors from mauve blue to light blue of the new morning.