Joe stood at the window and watched first Mayhem, and then Frank, leave before dressing. Once he had his clothes on he headed downstairs. He had given Mayhem's bedroom a fairly good going over last night while the steaks had been cooking and saw no need to go over it again. He decided to begin in the library and work his way to the kitchen. If he had found nothing by then, it was time to uphold his end of the deal although he knew Mayhem was up to something. And if I find nothing, Joe vowed, I'll help Frank finish this mystery and then get on Mayhem's trail again.
Almost three hours later, Joe was standing in the kitchen with a disgusted look on his face. He had been all over the house and discovered nothing suspicious. Joe gave a low growl then ran back upstairs and grabbed his backpack. Coming back downstairs, his stomach growled and he promised himself he would swing by the cafeteria for something to eat before heading to the science building. He exited the house, locking the door after him.
Joe looked toward the street, his stomach beginning to hurt because he was so hungry. Why was he so hungry all the time lately, he wondered? Wolves eat about twenty pounds of meat daily. The sentence flashed into his head. He shook his head. "I watch way too much Animal Planet," he mumbled. He looked toward the back of the house and figured it would be a short cut to campus if he simply cut through Mayhem's yard and the yard of the apartment complex next door. Grinning, he headed in that direction, coming to an abrupt stop when he spied a window at ground level behind the house.
Mayhem had said there was no basement. But if there was no basement, then why was there a basement window? Joe laid his backpack down and fell to the ground so he could get a good look into what the basement held but it was too dark to see anything. Standing, Joe walked around the house to see if there was an outside entrance to the basement. No. Picking up his backpack after he had made a full circle, Joe went back inside. There had to be an entrance in here somewhere and he wasn't going to leave until he found it.
Joe looked around the kitchen. Their basement was accessed through a door next to the laundry room but this one had no laundry room. Would it be in another room in the house? Possible, but still, he had seen no door when he had looked around. No. Dr. Mayhem had hidden the entrance with something. But what? His blue eyes fell onto the hutch against the wall. It was filled with dinnerware but maybe Mayhem unloaded it before he moved it.
Joe stepped up to the hutch and peered behind it. It was too close to the wall to see anything. Maybe, if he could scoot it just a little, he put his hands on the edge near the back and pushed with all his might. The hutch went sliding toward the kitchen table. Surprised but not motionless, Joe rushed forward and stopped it before the two pieces of furniture could collide. "Gliders," Joe said, grinning as he looked from the hutch back to the now visible entryway to the basement.
He tried the knob. Locked. Of course he would lock it, Joe thought. In case it was discovered. Which means Mayhem really does have something to hide.
Joe reached down into his sock and pulled out a nail file which he had filed down to resemble a skeleton key and set about opening the lock. Like Frank, his father had also given him a professional lock pick kit to keep on him for this type of use but then, his dad had no idea he was capable of picking locks without it.
When Joe was four, he had been abducted from a carnival funhouse. His abductors had tried many things to keep him from crying and one of those things had been to teach him how to pick locks. Over the years, he had fine-toned this knowledge so that he could open just about any door with his handy nail file. Occasionally, he would carry and use the kit but only because it was a gift from his dad.
In no time at all, the basement door opened and Joe flipped on the light switch located just inside and to the right. He went down the steps and gave a low whistle. The place had been transformed into a laboratory that rivaled the ones in the science building at Bayport University.
On one side there were fluorescent lights situated in front of the basement window that Joe could now see had been painted black. Below the lights were two tables. One held various test tubes some empty and some with different colored fluids inside them. Two looked like they held blood. The other table had a lone folder lying on it. Joe walked over and flipped it open. There was a picture of him and a file. It was the fake file his dad had made for his admittance to the university except, he noted on closer inspection, it listed his blood type. That hadn't been in the original. How had Mayhem found out?
Joe looked around some more. There was a file cabinet next to a large cage that Joe went to next. He pulled open the top drawer and saw two files there. One was labeled Craig Deyman and the other one was labeled Jonathan Ambrose. Joe opened the folders and glanced through them. Craig's was a bit like his own except it had even more detailed medical information. Jonathan's folder was entirely in Mayhem's handwriting and was filled with various test names and the results from those tests. Joe kept looking through the folder and felt his blood run cold. Mayhem was using them as lab rats.
Joe put the folders back and looked at the empty cage. "Almost empty cage," Joe corrected his thoughts. He pulled the door open and stepped inside. Lying near the base was a black cord necklace with a silver medallion on it.
Joe lifted the cord and held it up to eye level. The initials CD were carved onto it. "Craig," Joe said, his tone grim. He let the necklace fall into the front pocket of his shirt as he stood up. Now he had proof. He had to show Frank. He had to tell him about the lab and the folders.
Joe hurried back upstairs, turned the light off, locked the door back and slid the hutch back into place. Leaving, he locked the door and took off for campus at a run. As he reached the convocation center on the outskirts of campus he saw Aliem getting behind the wheel of a blue Colt Vista. "No," Joe moaned. How was he going to follow him without wheels?
"Hey!" shouted a familiar voice as a red truck pulled up beside him. "I thought that was you," Elie said. "You shouldn't just stop in the middle of the road. You could get hit."
"Elie!" Joe said gleefully. "I need a BIG favor."
"Uh-huh?" she asked, narrowing her eyes at him.
"I need to follow Professor Aliem," Joe said.
"Why?" she demanded. "Are you some kind of stalker or something?"
"Something," Joe replied. "I'm a detective. Look, I'll explain it to you on the way." He gave her the same look he gave Frank when he wanted his way. Unlike Frank who was so used to Joe's ploys he could deny him, Elie had no such experience.
"Climb in," Elie said with a sigh. "This had better be good."
Joe jumped in the passenger side. "Don't let him see us," Joe directed as he buckled up.
As Elie followed the Vista at a safe distance Joe told her about the case.
"I don't get it," she said, interrupting him halfway through his dialogue. "If you are trying to help Professor Aliem then why are you following him?"
"Because we think he stole his own research," Joe explained.
"Why would he do that?" she demanded. "He would lose his grant."
"I don't know," Joe admitted. "But it does have something to do with the natural gas pocket you found that Friday."
"But it was a pipe that burst," Elie refuted.
"Was it?" Joe asked. "Aliem told us that the natural gas pocket was probably the reason his research was stolen. He told us this Sunday. From what you said, he would have known a week ago Saturday that the pocket wasn't real."
"But if he were involved, why wouldn't he have just lied to you about it?" Elie asked,
Joe shrugged as the Vista came to a stop in front of a restaurant. "Probably because the dean was there." Elie pulled to a stop down the street and Joe unbuckled his seat belt. "Thanks for the lift," Joe said, opening the door.
"Want me to wait?" Elie asked.
Joe shook his head. "Aliem has to be on campus soon. If he isn't meeting someone here then I doubt he will go anywhere else afterwards. Thanks," he said, getting out.
"Anytime," Elie told him. "Be careful," she cautioned as Joe closed the door.
Joe went inside, spied Aliem and another man sitting in a corner booth and headed in their direction. He stopped at a nearby booth and gave the waitress his order when she arrived.
As Joe ate he listened to the two men talk. They had been right. Aliem and Anderson were responsible for the stolen research. Aliem was talking to a representative of an oil company and discussing the sale of the land on which the natural gas pocket had been found. Aliem was assuring the man that as a geologist he had done all of the necessary tests to assure this was going to be well worth the investment.
"You realize we will have to have our own geologist investigate the land," the man said.
"Of course," Aliem agreed at once. "However, it will be at least a month before you can do this," he continued. "My associate has an..er... field trip planned to discuss the rock formations found there."
"Understood," the man said. "Now, if you will excuse me, I must be on my way. Please, call me when you are ready for our men to arrive."
"I will. Thank you," Aliem said, standing to shake the man's hand. Aliem's smile vanished as he spied the blond head in the booth nearest to them. "Waitress, check please," Aliem said as his guest walked away. The waitress arrived promptly and Aliem pulled out a fifty and handed it to her. "Keep the change," he said. He headed out of the building, not turning toward Joe as he left.
Joe paid his bill and left the restaurant. This mystery was so over. All he had to do was tell Frank and his dad and they could get the representative's testimony and that would be the end. He was sure Aliem had to of shown the man something to convince him the find was on the level and if the rep didn't have it them Aliem still had it in his possession.
Joe arrived on campus in record time. He hurried to Aliem's lab, wondering if Frank was already there. It was still over a half an hour before Aliem, Frank and the other interns were supposed to be present but Joe could think of no better place to wait. He couldn't talk to Mayhem about Craig since Mayhem was in class and besides, that would have given away the fact that he knew something about Craig's being at Mayhem's. No, he would wait in the lab.
Aliem was in the lab when Joe arrived. "Uh, hi," Joe said. "Frank was supposed to meet me here," he lied. He didn't think Aliem had spotted him but just in case, he wanted to make sure he knew he wouldn't have time to do anything.
"That's good," Aliem said, smiling. "I would like to hear how you two are doing on this case," he continued, pouring a soda into a cup. "Here," he offered the rest of the bottle to Joe. "You look thirsty and I never could finish a whole one."
"Thanks," Joe said, taking the soda. As Aliem lifted the cup to his lips, Joe tipped the bottle and let the contents slide down his throat. He was thirsty after running to campus.
"So, tell me," Aliem began. "When did you realize I was behind the stolen research?"
Joe spun around and headed for the door but his movements were slow and Aliem was holding his arm tightly before he reached it. The world started spinning and everything faded to black.
Almost three hours later, Joe was standing in the kitchen with a disgusted look on his face. He had been all over the house and discovered nothing suspicious. Joe gave a low growl then ran back upstairs and grabbed his backpack. Coming back downstairs, his stomach growled and he promised himself he would swing by the cafeteria for something to eat before heading to the science building. He exited the house, locking the door after him.
Joe looked toward the street, his stomach beginning to hurt because he was so hungry. Why was he so hungry all the time lately, he wondered? Wolves eat about twenty pounds of meat daily. The sentence flashed into his head. He shook his head. "I watch way too much Animal Planet," he mumbled. He looked toward the back of the house and figured it would be a short cut to campus if he simply cut through Mayhem's yard and the yard of the apartment complex next door. Grinning, he headed in that direction, coming to an abrupt stop when he spied a window at ground level behind the house.
Mayhem had said there was no basement. But if there was no basement, then why was there a basement window? Joe laid his backpack down and fell to the ground so he could get a good look into what the basement held but it was too dark to see anything. Standing, Joe walked around the house to see if there was an outside entrance to the basement. No. Picking up his backpack after he had made a full circle, Joe went back inside. There had to be an entrance in here somewhere and he wasn't going to leave until he found it.
Joe looked around the kitchen. Their basement was accessed through a door next to the laundry room but this one had no laundry room. Would it be in another room in the house? Possible, but still, he had seen no door when he had looked around. No. Dr. Mayhem had hidden the entrance with something. But what? His blue eyes fell onto the hutch against the wall. It was filled with dinnerware but maybe Mayhem unloaded it before he moved it.
Joe stepped up to the hutch and peered behind it. It was too close to the wall to see anything. Maybe, if he could scoot it just a little, he put his hands on the edge near the back and pushed with all his might. The hutch went sliding toward the kitchen table. Surprised but not motionless, Joe rushed forward and stopped it before the two pieces of furniture could collide. "Gliders," Joe said, grinning as he looked from the hutch back to the now visible entryway to the basement.
He tried the knob. Locked. Of course he would lock it, Joe thought. In case it was discovered. Which means Mayhem really does have something to hide.
Joe reached down into his sock and pulled out a nail file which he had filed down to resemble a skeleton key and set about opening the lock. Like Frank, his father had also given him a professional lock pick kit to keep on him for this type of use but then, his dad had no idea he was capable of picking locks without it.
When Joe was four, he had been abducted from a carnival funhouse. His abductors had tried many things to keep him from crying and one of those things had been to teach him how to pick locks. Over the years, he had fine-toned this knowledge so that he could open just about any door with his handy nail file. Occasionally, he would carry and use the kit but only because it was a gift from his dad.
In no time at all, the basement door opened and Joe flipped on the light switch located just inside and to the right. He went down the steps and gave a low whistle. The place had been transformed into a laboratory that rivaled the ones in the science building at Bayport University.
On one side there were fluorescent lights situated in front of the basement window that Joe could now see had been painted black. Below the lights were two tables. One held various test tubes some empty and some with different colored fluids inside them. Two looked like they held blood. The other table had a lone folder lying on it. Joe walked over and flipped it open. There was a picture of him and a file. It was the fake file his dad had made for his admittance to the university except, he noted on closer inspection, it listed his blood type. That hadn't been in the original. How had Mayhem found out?
Joe looked around some more. There was a file cabinet next to a large cage that Joe went to next. He pulled open the top drawer and saw two files there. One was labeled Craig Deyman and the other one was labeled Jonathan Ambrose. Joe opened the folders and glanced through them. Craig's was a bit like his own except it had even more detailed medical information. Jonathan's folder was entirely in Mayhem's handwriting and was filled with various test names and the results from those tests. Joe kept looking through the folder and felt his blood run cold. Mayhem was using them as lab rats.
Joe put the folders back and looked at the empty cage. "Almost empty cage," Joe corrected his thoughts. He pulled the door open and stepped inside. Lying near the base was a black cord necklace with a silver medallion on it.
Joe lifted the cord and held it up to eye level. The initials CD were carved onto it. "Craig," Joe said, his tone grim. He let the necklace fall into the front pocket of his shirt as he stood up. Now he had proof. He had to show Frank. He had to tell him about the lab and the folders.
Joe hurried back upstairs, turned the light off, locked the door back and slid the hutch back into place. Leaving, he locked the door and took off for campus at a run. As he reached the convocation center on the outskirts of campus he saw Aliem getting behind the wheel of a blue Colt Vista. "No," Joe moaned. How was he going to follow him without wheels?
"Hey!" shouted a familiar voice as a red truck pulled up beside him. "I thought that was you," Elie said. "You shouldn't just stop in the middle of the road. You could get hit."
"Elie!" Joe said gleefully. "I need a BIG favor."
"Uh-huh?" she asked, narrowing her eyes at him.
"I need to follow Professor Aliem," Joe said.
"Why?" she demanded. "Are you some kind of stalker or something?"
"Something," Joe replied. "I'm a detective. Look, I'll explain it to you on the way." He gave her the same look he gave Frank when he wanted his way. Unlike Frank who was so used to Joe's ploys he could deny him, Elie had no such experience.
"Climb in," Elie said with a sigh. "This had better be good."
Joe jumped in the passenger side. "Don't let him see us," Joe directed as he buckled up.
As Elie followed the Vista at a safe distance Joe told her about the case.
"I don't get it," she said, interrupting him halfway through his dialogue. "If you are trying to help Professor Aliem then why are you following him?"
"Because we think he stole his own research," Joe explained.
"Why would he do that?" she demanded. "He would lose his grant."
"I don't know," Joe admitted. "But it does have something to do with the natural gas pocket you found that Friday."
"But it was a pipe that burst," Elie refuted.
"Was it?" Joe asked. "Aliem told us that the natural gas pocket was probably the reason his research was stolen. He told us this Sunday. From what you said, he would have known a week ago Saturday that the pocket wasn't real."
"But if he were involved, why wouldn't he have just lied to you about it?" Elie asked,
Joe shrugged as the Vista came to a stop in front of a restaurant. "Probably because the dean was there." Elie pulled to a stop down the street and Joe unbuckled his seat belt. "Thanks for the lift," Joe said, opening the door.
"Want me to wait?" Elie asked.
Joe shook his head. "Aliem has to be on campus soon. If he isn't meeting someone here then I doubt he will go anywhere else afterwards. Thanks," he said, getting out.
"Anytime," Elie told him. "Be careful," she cautioned as Joe closed the door.
Joe went inside, spied Aliem and another man sitting in a corner booth and headed in their direction. He stopped at a nearby booth and gave the waitress his order when she arrived.
As Joe ate he listened to the two men talk. They had been right. Aliem and Anderson were responsible for the stolen research. Aliem was talking to a representative of an oil company and discussing the sale of the land on which the natural gas pocket had been found. Aliem was assuring the man that as a geologist he had done all of the necessary tests to assure this was going to be well worth the investment.
"You realize we will have to have our own geologist investigate the land," the man said.
"Of course," Aliem agreed at once. "However, it will be at least a month before you can do this," he continued. "My associate has an..er... field trip planned to discuss the rock formations found there."
"Understood," the man said. "Now, if you will excuse me, I must be on my way. Please, call me when you are ready for our men to arrive."
"I will. Thank you," Aliem said, standing to shake the man's hand. Aliem's smile vanished as he spied the blond head in the booth nearest to them. "Waitress, check please," Aliem said as his guest walked away. The waitress arrived promptly and Aliem pulled out a fifty and handed it to her. "Keep the change," he said. He headed out of the building, not turning toward Joe as he left.
Joe paid his bill and left the restaurant. This mystery was so over. All he had to do was tell Frank and his dad and they could get the representative's testimony and that would be the end. He was sure Aliem had to of shown the man something to convince him the find was on the level and if the rep didn't have it them Aliem still had it in his possession.
Joe arrived on campus in record time. He hurried to Aliem's lab, wondering if Frank was already there. It was still over a half an hour before Aliem, Frank and the other interns were supposed to be present but Joe could think of no better place to wait. He couldn't talk to Mayhem about Craig since Mayhem was in class and besides, that would have given away the fact that he knew something about Craig's being at Mayhem's. No, he would wait in the lab.
Aliem was in the lab when Joe arrived. "Uh, hi," Joe said. "Frank was supposed to meet me here," he lied. He didn't think Aliem had spotted him but just in case, he wanted to make sure he knew he wouldn't have time to do anything.
"That's good," Aliem said, smiling. "I would like to hear how you two are doing on this case," he continued, pouring a soda into a cup. "Here," he offered the rest of the bottle to Joe. "You look thirsty and I never could finish a whole one."
"Thanks," Joe said, taking the soda. As Aliem lifted the cup to his lips, Joe tipped the bottle and let the contents slide down his throat. He was thirsty after running to campus.
"So, tell me," Aliem began. "When did you realize I was behind the stolen research?"
Joe spun around and headed for the door but his movements were slow and Aliem was holding his arm tightly before he reached it. The world started spinning and everything faded to black.
