02/17/2019
Do you ever get the feeling that time is standing still because you think that certainly what you are experiencing cannot be real life? That's exactly how I felt after reading the words to our next challenge. Our instructions are to "find the lock to this key." That's it. No hints, no idea of a location, nothing. Ranger's as good as dead with a clue like that. We didn't even know what type of key the lock opened – was it a storage locker, a door, a diary? I couldn't think, I couldn't see, I couldn't breath.
I hadn't even realized I was having a panic attack until I heard Tank say, "I think she's having a panic attack." "Breath, Steph, just breath." It was Julie's voice. Little Julie, the voice of reason. "Thanks," I said, waiting for my heart rate to return to below stroke level.
"Does anyone have any idea where to begin?" I asked. We were all huddled in one of the Rangeman conference rooms. "If he really wanted us to solve this, he'd give us more to go on." Sylvio had taken photos and a video of the key and was plugging it into websites to try and get a beat on the origin. It was a skeleton key, which meant it was designed to open numerous locks. That didn't help us at all.
"The origin of the key seems to date back to the late 1800's," Sylvio said. I've connected with a locksmith on a blog site I found and he claims to be somewhat of an expert on historical locks and keys. He's going to analyze the picture and get back to us with some more information. In the meantime, I found something on Jane. We know she was in a mental health facility for quite some time and we also know she left treatment about a year before she took over the firm. I was able to find the records of other patients who left within a year of Jane and came up with three names: Dave Morris, Jonathan Cross, and Teddy Gorcs. Any of those ring a bell?" Sylvio asked.
"No, not a one," I said. "Check all of them to see if they had any contact with Jane after she left treatment." Sylvio nodded and started hacking away at his keyboard. I looked over at Julie. "You doing ok?" I asked her. "Yes," she said. "I know that everything is going to be ok. If my dad doesn't kill this guy first, he's got both of us next in line." I smiled at her but secretly thought she was exactly right about that. I didn't usually harbor any hatred towards people, and I definitely didn't go around thinking about murdering them, but I know if I got my hands on a gun I'd pull the trigger on this guy.
A short while later, Sylvio's computer pinged, indicating he had received a message. "It's from the locksmith," Sylvio said. "Ok so this type of key is definitely late 1800's, and he's thinking it's around the 1880's. He can tell by some of the markings on the key. He thinks it may have been used with a padlock – he sent a photo of one from that era. He also says that the metals used to make the keys during that time period would have been found in the Eastern US, but that doesn't really mean anything unless we are to assume the lock is in the same area that it was fashioned." "Too big a stretch," I said. "So what does all of this tell us?" I asked. "Unfortunately not a whole lot other than we are looking for some type of padlock," Sylvio said. "Great," I said.
Sylvio continued to search the records on the released patients. "The first two patients, Dave and Jonathan are coming up clean," he said. "One lives out in California and the other one in Dallas. Both have families and seem to have steady work history, and I can't find any connection to Jane or her family. Now this Teddy Gorcs is interesting. I'm not finding any history on him prior to his release from the treatment facility. I don't see a driving license, prior work history, not even a rental application. Which makes me think that Teddy isn't really Teddy." My spidey senses started tingling big time. "Can you find a photo?" I asked. "Maybe there's a reason Teddy is trying to hide his true identity." "I'm on it," Sylvio said.
Tank was busy pacing the floor when he got a phone call. "Yea," Tank said. "Where?" he asked. "How far could you trace it? Ok thanks." Tank disconnected his phone and turned to us. "Our guys picked up the plate of the van that took Ranger on a security camera. They tagged it heading west on Interstate 66 and then they spotted it again on Interstate 81 south. That was the last they saw of the van so either it was ditched or they turned off. The task force that's been looking for Ranger is headed in that direction."
"About this lock and key thing," I said. "There's no way we would get a clue like that and be expected to find some random lock in some random location. This guy wants to play a game, but he doesn't want it to be impossible. He wants to win, but this is deeply personal for him I think. So what if Ranger is the lock and the key is this guy? Meaning that the only way we find Ranger is by finding the identity of the man who took him." I paused and looked over at Tank, Sylvio, and Julie. They were staring at Sylvio's computer screen and their faces had all turned white. "What?" I said.
"I was able to pull a photo of Teddy from the treatment center's records office," Sylvio said. "Let me see," I said. Sylvio turned the laptop towards me and I gasped. OH MY GOD. EDWARD SCROG?!