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DRAKE AND ALLIE WANDERED back down the stairs and found the Beasley brothers already in the parlor. Brandon looked up from the pool table, slouched over, stick in hand, ready to sink the eight ball.
“Either of you like a game?” Brandon asked as he stood erect.
Drake nodded and headed for the stand rack that held the pool cues while Brandon circled the table and removed the balls from the pockets.
“You can break,” Brandon said as he racked the balls.
While the men started the game, Allie nodded to Ben, who was busy watching a soccer match on television, and made her way to the wall of bookshelves. Allie stopped in the center and scanned through the books. When a title caught her attention, she picked the volume from the shelf, read a few pages, and put it back where she found it.
Andy showed up with the last group of geocachers at ten minutes after five, and at five-thirty, he entered the parlor, cleared his throat, and spoke. “It’s time for dinner. Everyone, please follow me.”
Drake and Allie held back and followed behind the group that had assembled in the parlor. The number of geocachers swelled to twice as many in the lobby, and Andy stopped everyone there and did a quick count. Once satisfied he had everyone, Andy escorted the large group outside into the warm October sun. They turned left out of the hotel and walked past a doctor’s office and a bakery before they arrived at the restaurant.
Inside, the staff had pushed most of the four-person rustic wood tables into the center of the room to make one large table. The table sat twenty-two people, ten on each side, and one at each end, and each place setting contained cloth placemats and napkins, and heavy cutlery. Andy stopped at a spot at the table’s head and invited everyone else to sit. Before he sat, Andy gestured to the empty chair at the table’s opposite end. “Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the owner of Cacheland and your host for the week, Mr. Bruce Wiens.”
The geocachers applauded as Bruce stepped over to his chair. Bruce was tall, standing a couple of inches over six feet. He had sparkling blue eyes, and hair the color of fresh-fallen snow with a neatly trimmed beard to match. He wore khaki pants and a dark-blue t-shirt with a white compass on the front breast pocket.
“Please, no, stop. You’re embarrassing me.” Bruce waited until the clapping ended. “First and most important, congratulations for being here and competing in what I hope will be an annual challenge.”
A woman at the far end of the table raised her hand to get Bruce’s attention.
“Yes?” Bruce asked.
“Can I ask a question?”
“If you could, please hold all your questions for now. What I’d like to do is go around and have you introduce yourselves, and then we’ll do the questions and answers during dinner. Let’s start with you.”
Drake liked the idea of summing up the competition, so he leaned back and focused on the people gathered around the table.
“Of course, I’d have to go first,” the woman said, unsure of herself. To her credit, she regained her composure and smiled. “Hi everyone, I’m Penny. I’m from Henderson, which is a Las Vegas suburb. And this is my best friend, Cindy.” Penny gently placed her hand on Cindy’s shoulder, and in response, Cindy gave the table a half-wave.
Drake looked at the two women. Penny had long, dark brown hair pulled into a tight ponytail and dark brown eyes. She was thin, yet based on the biceps straining against her t-shirt, she looked to be physically fit. Cindy looked shorter and less physically imposing than Penny, and had the same color hair as Penny, but hers had hints of gray throughout. Her eyes were hazel, and she wore red-rimmed glasses.
Next to Cindy were the Texans, Mike Gallagher and Ricky Barker. Both men dressed in sleeveless t-shirts to show off their muscular upper bodies, and both wore blue jeans featuring oversized belt buckles. As they introduced themselves, Drake thought they were the most physically fit team at the table by far. He didn’t fear them though, because he also knew that geocaching often involved more than having the ability to bench press a Volvo.
Drake followed along as team after team introduced themselves. After the Texans came a nice, older married couple from Seattle, Jodi and Zach Collier. Drake guessed they were in their upper fifties, or early sixties, and were both soft speakers. If Drake hadn’t been sitting right next to Jodi, he probably would have needed to strain to hear her. Drake liked them immediately. Zach wore glasses a little too large for his face, and they kept slipping down his nose as he introduced himself.
Next to the Colliers were Drake and Allie. Rather than do the speaking for the team, Drake nudged Allie in the ribs and prompted her to do all the talking. The last team on that side of the table were another married couple, Will Landry and Julius Connor. As they introduced themselves, they mentioned that besides geocaching; the couple ran ultra-marathons, but Drake could guess that based on the runner’s build that each man had.
To Andy’s left, who sat at the opposite end of the table from Bruce, were an engaged couple, Marina Blake and Tito Leija, from Los Angeles. Next to them were three sets of friends: Geneva Benson and Ingrid Snyder from Boston, Gilberto Foster and Roy Pace from Des Moines, and Kerry McElroy and Emma Sosa from Raleigh. The Beasley brothers were the last team at the table.
Bruce welcomed everyone individually with greetings and nods as they circled around the table. After Brandon introduced himself and his brother, Bruce rang a small silver bell and five servers came out of the kitchen, each pushing a small cart. Four carts held salads on fine china that were dispersed among the guests. The fifth cart contained several bottles of wine and pitchers of water and tea. When everyone had a drink and a salad, Bruce tapped his fork against his glass to get everyone’s attention.
Bruce set down his fork and picked up his wineglass. “Again, I welcome you all, and I offer a toast. To a fun week, and new friendships. Now, dig in.” Bruce had a sip, took his seat, and found his fork. The others around the table took the cue and soon silverware clinked against plates as the diners started in on their salads.
Penny put down her fork and raised her hand again. “Excuse me, Bruce. You said we could ask questions during dinner.”
Bruce was in mid-chew, so he swallowed his food and set down his fork. “Sure, go ahead.”
“What’s the story behind Cacheland? Why would you build a place like this?”
“Ah, that’s a brilliant question. About ten years ago, I was more than ready to retire, so I sold off all but one of my businesses. Something I hadn’t accounted for was what I’d do next. You know, when I didn’t have to go into the office every day. Or spend countless hours at board meetings. Or attend those ghastly social events in the evenings that I never wanted to attend to begin with. Just by happenstance, I was sitting on a bench in Central Park in New York, enjoying a warm spring day, when a young man walked by me staring at this phone. At the time, I thought nothing of it, because everyone stares at their phones these days. But the unusual thing was, he wandered over to a nearby tree and started doing circles around it. I realized that was odd, even for New York, and I was curious, so I went over and asked him what he was doing. He said he was geocaching. Of course, I didn’t know what that was, so I asked for more information. After he explained it to me, I asked if I could help him find it. To my delight he said yes! Together we looked all around that tree for a good ten minutes, then he recommended we spread out and look at other trees in the area. Can you believe I found it before he did? It turned out to be a pill fob, wrapped in tape that matched the color of that tree’s bark perfectly! Let me tell you, from right there I was hooked. The next day, I signed up for my geocaching account and started out on my own adventures.”
“Have you found many caches since then?” Roy asked.
“Oh, sure, thousands of them. Since I started, I have geocached in all fifty states, and probably half the countries on the planet. That sound about right, Andy?”
“I’d need to check your profile, sir, but that seems accurate to me.”
Marina raised her fork instead of her hand. “But what about Cacheland? How did this happen?”
Bruce grinned and took a big bite of his salad and chowed it down.
“Well, Marla,”
“Marina,” she corrected.
“Sorry, Marina. I apologize. I should have passed out name tags. Andy, take a note to add name tags.”
Andy nodded, picked up his phone, and noted the request.
“I’d have to blame Cacheland partially on Clint Eastwood. I’ve always loved those old Clint Eastwood westerns. You know, like The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, or High Plains Drifter. I loved the western town sets with the old buildings, wooden sidewalks, the saloons, even the horse troughs in front of the buildings. I’ve always wanted to live in one of those towns. Then, as if willed by the universe, I heard from a friend about an old ghost town that was up for sale, and at a bargain at that! So, I bought it. Then, I imagined how fun it would be to dedicate that town to geocaching. To make it a destination that every geocacher would want to visit. So, over the course of three years, I had a construction team come in and repair and update the buildings to make it an experience people would enjoy.”
“Besides the hotel and this restaurant, are any of the buildings functional?” another geocacher asked.
“Oh, yes, um,”
“Emma.”
“Emma, of course. Andy, we need nametags. Make a note of that, will you? Most of the buildings are. Inside the general store, you can buy basic supplies and souvenirs. The bakery next door produces the baked goods for the restaurant, or you can go in there and buy things like cookies and other treats. I’d recommend the macadamia nut brownies. In the livery, there are a few horses to take out. At the church, I’ve arranged for a preacher to come in for Sunday services for those who want to attend. The doctor’s office is a fully functioning clinic to handle those geocaching mishaps, anything from a splinter in the finger to a broken leg.”
“What about the jail?” Kerry asked.
Bruce laughed. “Actually, the jail can function as a holding cell if there is a need for it. I have a small security team, and the head of it recommended we have the cell as a contingency, although I hope we never need to use it.”
The service team came through and cleared away the salad plates, then returned a few minutes later with dinner plates. The server slid a meal in front of Drake, and his mouth watered when he looked down and saw the Cornish Hen paired with a mushroom rice and glazed carrots.
Allie leaned over toward him. “Looks delicious, doesn’t it?”
Drake nodded, then grabbed his knife and fork. He cut into the delicate bird, sliced off a piece of meat, and ate it. He leaned back in his chair as he chewed. “This is amazing,” he said as he grabbed his wine and drank.
The questions died off as the participants enjoyed the main course, but as they polished off the meals, more hands rose in the air.
Tito’s was first. “Mr. Wiens, how were we selected? I mean, to come here and take part in the challenge.”
“First off, I insist you all call me Bruce. To answer your question, it was a pure chance. We had over twenty thousand entrants from all over the country, and we randomly drew your names. It turns out we ended up with quite a mix of geocachers. Some of you have geocached for only a year, others have a good decade of experience. Several of you have a few hundred finds, others, ten thousand or more.”
Cindy raised her hand. “Won’t the geocachers that have a lot of finds over several years have an advantage in the competition?”
Bruce shook his head. “No. We think we’ve added enough twists and things to make sure that you all have an equal chance of winning the cash prize. For example...” Bruce trailed off his thought, then grinned. “You almost got me to give away a secret or two there, but it will not work! You’ll learn how everything will play out after breakfast tomorrow.”
“Can we explore the town after dinner?” Drake asked.
Bruce smiled. “Sure, with some limits. I ask that you don’t go past the buildings or venture out into the desert. Tomorrow, I’ll go over just how big the area is, and until then, I don’t want you getting lost. Also, I ask everyone to be in the hotel by ten. Andy will take attendance, and if you’re not in the hotel, he’ll disqualify you from the competition.”
“Why?” Drake asked.
“After ten, my crew will set out tomorrow’s geocaches. Each night the game board will change, so we ask that you be inside when that happens. I feel that will keep the game fair for everyone.”
Bruce rang his bell again, and the servers appeared and cleared away the dinner plates. A few minutes later, they returned with slices of cheesecake covered with fresh raspberries and a chocolate drizzle.
Once again, forks met the plates, and after she took her first bite, Jodi raised her hand. “Sorry, one last question.”
Bruce looked up from his dessert. “Yes?”
“Are we going to eat like this all week?”
If there was any tension in the room, that question broke it, and everyone laughed.
Thirty minutes later, Drake and Allie were back at the hotel. They spent a few minutes after dinner investigating the buildings, but since everything except the hotel was closed, it didn’t take long.
At the hotel, the bartender wheeled a portable bar into the parlor. There, the bartender opened a beer bottle for Allie and a can of cola for Drake, and together, they found a small table.
Allie took a long draw of her beer, then swallowed it and let a burp loose.
“That was a good one,” Drake said.
“Oh, hush. So, what do you think about the competition?”
Drake shrugged. “Not sure. It’s kinda hard to tell, isn’t it? Obviously, the Texans are the most athletic here and could possess the clear advantage.”
“Yeah, but that doesn’t always translate well to geocaching. I mean, look at this morning, for example. The brothers had quite the jump on us, and although they were strong enough to conquer that hill, we still made the find before they did. Brains over brawn will probably be better. Let me ask you this question: how would you feel about teaming up with some of these guys?”
“What? You mean like an alliance?” Drake asked.
“Sure. Who would you take if you could?”
Drake sat back in his chair and took a drink of his cola. He turned the can in his hand as he thought. “Well, I think the first couple I’d take are the married guys. What were their names? Will and James?”
“Julius. Why would you pick them?”
“I liked how they run marathons, and they’re experienced cachers. Who would you want?”
“Emma and Kerry really impressed me. He’s like a scientist or something, right? And she’s a teacher, so they’re probably both pretty smart. We could use some smart on the team to make up for what you don’t have.” Allie laughed.
Drake nodded. “Yeah, we could use more smart for sure. Should we talk to them now?”
“The sooner the better.” Allie finished her beer and headed to the bar for another. She soon returned to the table with a fresh bottle in hand. “I don’t see any of them. Maybe they retired to their rooms for the night.”
“Could be.” Drake removed his phone from this pocket and checked the time. “It’s a few minutes after ten, so they need to be here in the hotel somewhere. I’ll go check with the front desk.”
Drake set his cola aside and went to the front desk. When he arrived, he found Andy setting up gold stanchion posts on either side of the front door. Once they were in position, he clipped a red velvet rope between them.
“What are you doing?” Drake asked.
Andy turned around when he finished. “It’s after ten, sir. This is just a reminder to not leave the building.”
“What if there’s an emergency or something? Or we need something to eat?”
“Not to worry. We didn’t lock the doors. If there’s a fire or something, everyone will get out just fine. If you have another type of emergency, Heather will be at the desk tonight, and she’ll be able to help you, or contact the doctor if you need one. As for getting hungry, there’s a room service menu in the drawer by your room phone.”
“Okay. Sounds like you’ve got it all worked out. But how do you know someone won’t sneak out when Heather uses the restroom?”
Andy pointed toward the ceiling above Drake’s head. Drake turned around and spotted the small video camera built into the crown molding in the corner. He would never have noticed it had Andy not pointed it out.
“We have eyes in the sky by all the doors. There are also cameras outside to give us a live street view. So we’ll know right away if someone is out and about.”
“Seems like you thought of everything.”
“We tried to, sir.”
“Drake.”
“We tried to, Drake. Is there anything Heather and I can help you with right now?”
Drake shook his head. “No, thank you. I guess I’ll go grab my partner and head off to bed.”
“Great idea. Tomorrow’s a big day, Drake. Good luck.”
Andy shook Drake’s hand, then disappeared down a hallway. Without being overly suspicious, Drake walked past the front desk and scanned the hooks where the keys hung and saw all the hooks were empty.
“Have a pleasant night,” Heather said as Drake walked past.
Drake returned to the parlor and scanned the faces in the room before he rejoined Allie. “It looks like a couple of people have left. I’m pretty sure the ones we want are in their rooms already.”
Allie finished her beer and set her bottle next to the first one. “We’ll catch them after breakfast then and see about an alliance, unless you know for sure which rooms they’re in.”
“I have no clue, and I’m not about to ask the desk clerk. Let’s hit the sack for the night. I have a feeling tomorrow’s going to be a tiring day.”
