Chapter 40

 

 

Jillian showed up at Red’s office a half hour late and with a somewhat mischievous smile on her face said, “I’m sorry for being late, but do I have an earful for you. Let’s go. I’m starved. I’ll fill you in over lunch.”

 

It was a beautiful sunny day, the sky was cloudless, the temperature in the low 80s but moderated somewhat by a gentle cool breeze blowing across the deck from the river, so they decided to grab a bite to eat at one of the on deck snack bars out by the pool.

 

When Jillian finishes telling Red about her little ride with the Chameleon, Red is staring at her in amazement. Once again he’s impressed by her courage, but his growing affection for her compels him to chide her for taking such a risk.

 

“Jillian, it took guts to get into that SUV, but it was a very foolish thing to do. This guy’s behavior is so unpredictable and he’s getting more and more aggressive with each passing day. He’s teetering on the edge of losing all self-control and if that happens berserk won’t begin to define what he’ll become. Please don’t take any more chances like that. I want you to be around, so I can get to know you better.”

 

“Now you’ve done it, Casanova. When are you going to learn to keep your big mouth shut and not make a fool of yourself?”

 

With a slight raise of an eyebrow and casual tilt of her head to the side, a very provocative grin broke out on her face as she said, “Well, that’s sounds interesting.”

 

“Okay, chowder head, it’s your move. What’s it going to be?”

 

Fortunately, Red’s saved by the bell, literally, when his cell phone rings. It’s Bill Kieffer calling to tell him he picked up Red’s mail at his house like Red asked him to and it appears that Red has received a summons to report for jury duty.

 

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

 

“Nope, it’s the real deal.”

“Where are you now?”

 

“I’m heading over to Chuck’s office to finish our discussion on the best stake out scenario for the little charade we’re putting on for the Chameleon. We got interrupted yesterday by the robbery at the Go For It.”

 

“Okay, Bill, thanks for touching base. I’ll get back to you with the time our little show will go on. It will be sometime tomorrow afternoon. Jillian and Sylvia still have some work to do on the dialogue which they should finish by, hold on a sec.”

 

Looking at Jillian to fill in the blank, she says, “We should be done by four this afternoon.”

 

“Bill, the ladies should be ready to go by four this afternoon. Nate and Clyde Crowley should be here by that time as well, so we can get right at doing some practice reading. Try to be here by then, okay?”

 

“Will do, Red. Bye.”

 

With a questioning look on her face Jillian asks, “What was the surprising news Bill had for you? The look on your face when you heard it wasn’t a happy one.”

 

“I’ve been summoned for jury duty. The way my luck’s been running lately I’ll be picked for one of those long running trials that lasts for months. Ah, nuts, nuts, nuts!”

 

With a soft laugh she says, “Hey, Red, stay cool. If it wasn’t for bad luck or bad timing once in a while, we’d never appreciate the good. We’re going to get this guy. We just have to hang in there.” Slapping the table she added, “I’ve got to get a move on and get back to Sylvia’s office so we can finish up with the dialogue. Thanks for lunch and I’ll see you at four in your office.”

 

With that she rose and quickly disappeared down the promenade, leaving Red to wonder what the hell was going to happen next?

 

He didn’t have to wonder long. As he was walking back to his office, Popeye comes running down the deck behind him and yells, “Hold up a minute, Red.”

 

When he catches up with him he says, “I just got a call from a reporter at the Bettendorf Bugle. He said he just received an anonymous phone call from some guy claiming that he has planted a bomb on the Floating Fantasies that’s set to go off in one hour. The caller said he didn’t want to hurt anyone. He just wants to destroy the ship. When the reporter asked him why he was doing this, the caller hung up.

 

“I’ve told Bill what’s happened and he’s called Chuck who is having the bomb squad dispatched as we speak. It’s going to take them way more than an hour to search this ship, so I’ve got to evacuate her. It could be a hoax just to create havoc. There are a lot of kooks out there who get off on something like this, but my money’s on the Chameleon. No matter who’s behind it, I can’t take the chance that there’s no bomb and do nothing.”

“You’re right, Popeye, you can’t gamble with people’s lives. I believe you’re also right in thinking that this is another of the Chameleon’s tricks. What really scares me is that he might be getting desperate enough to bring me down that he would actually plant a live bomb on the Floating Fantasies.

 

“Okay, Popeye, do what you have to do. I’ll get ahold of Jillian, Sylvia, Bill and Rex and we’ll head over to the Go For It and wait to hear from you there. I’ll call Nate and Clyde Crowley and let them know there’s been a change in plans and to meet us at the Go For It.”

 

Red hightails it back to his office and manages to alert everyone about the latest development and instructs them to meet him at the Go For It in the main lounge ASAP.

 

A half hour later there all assembled and Red says, “This is where we stand folks. It’s going to take the bomb squad awhile to search the Floating Fantasies. Popeye knows we’re here and will keep us informed as to what’s happening with the search. In the meantime, Jillian and Sylvia can continue working on the dialogue for the meeting. Did you ladies bring your notes with you?”

 

Sylvia said, “Everything we worked up so far is on my laptop which I’ve brought with me, so we can pick up where we left off.”

 

“Good. Bill, let Chuck know what’s going on and that we’ll get back to him when we’re ready for some practice reading. I know you didn’t have any time to talk with him since I called you back here while you were on your way to meet with him. How long do you think it will be before you guys get the security arrangements worked out?”

 

“We discussed the arrangements over the phone during my drive back to meet with you folks. We’ve worked things out as best we can with the manpower that’s available. With Popeye’s buddies blocking all possible avenues of escape, we should be able to get the job done.”

 

“I sure hope so.”

 

Red paused for a moment as he was in the process of making a decision and then he continued with, “I was going to call Nate and Clyde Crowley to let them know what’s going on and ask them to meet us here at the Go For It, but I realize now that they’re probably in the process of boarding their flight for the trip down here.

 

“I could call the airport and try to arrange for someone to get a message to them when they arrive to call me here, but the way my luck’s been running lately it wouldn’t get to them. The next best thing for me to do is meet them at the airport, so that’s what I’m going to do. Rex, since events have probably totally screwed up the rest of your schedule for today, would you like to join me?”

 

Rex nodded his head and said, “Let’s go.”

 

On the way to the airport, Rex was quiet and Red decided to break the silence by saying, “I’m sorry I’ve brought this kind of trouble down on you, Rex. I know how much you love that fifteen million dollar lady of yours and, if there was any way I could changes things, I wouldn’t hesitate for a second to do so.

 

“Unfortunately, the only course open to me is to deal with this maniac head on. Just like the bomb he may have planted on the Floating Fantasies, he has to be defused, disassembled and made harmless.”

 

Looking over at Red, he responded with, “Don’t be misled by my silence, Red. I’m not sitting here worrying about what might happen to the Floating Fantasies although it would make me extremely unhappy if she was damaged in any way. She’s fully insured. What I’m thinking about is what I’m going to do to this guy if I ever get my hands on him. I don’t care about what his personal problems are. He’s messing with me and what I care about and he’s going to regret it.

 

“I told you when I hired you that I would stand behind you in this one hundred percent. I’ve told you this before and I don’t want to have to say it again, you got me?”

 

“I got you.”

 

“Good, now I do have one concern that’s rapidly swelling into a major tumor of apprehension. What do we do if the time required to sweep the Floating Fantasies for a bomb or, God forbid, they find a bomb and it has to be defused or delicately removed to be defused someplace else, what do we do if either one of these scenarios doesn’t leave enough time for the hologram techs to set up for the meeting tomorrow afternoon? Do we go live? If we do, the risk level is going to go through the roof.”

 

‘I don’t have an answer for you. We’ll just have to wait and see. If we’re left with the choice of going or not going live, I’ll put it up for a vote. The only way we’ll go live is if everyone is willing to take the risk.”

 

Not completely mollified by Red’s response, Rex went back to being quiet and staring at nothing in particular.

 

The flight arrived as scheduled and Red and Rex met his brother Nate and Clyde Crowley in the Arrival Lounge.

 

“Hi, big brother, it’s good to see you again.”

 

“And hi to you, little brother. It looks like I’ve got to bail your butt out of a jam again. Aren’t you ever going to change?”

 

“I’m trying, Nate. I really am, but I just can’t seem to pull it off”

With big grins on their faces, they gave each other big hugs and several hardy slaps on the back and then stepped back to exchange introductions.

 

Clyde looked a lot like his brother, but that’s where the similarity apparently ended. On the drive back to the Go For It, after Red had filled them in on the bomb threat, they all had a chance to engage in a little getting to know one another chit chat. Unlike his brother Curtis, Clyde seemed to be a laid back kind of guy with a keen sense of humor and a genuine people person who didn’t always put himself first. Red liked the guy right off the bat.

 

“Red, I can’t tell you how sorry I am about what you’re being put through. Your brother and the rest of his arson team did everything imaginable to uncover any wrong doing in connection with the fire. They worked very closely with the insurance people and found nothing to indicate that the fire was deliberately set or that poor maintenance was at fault.

 

“A while back we did have an electrical problem caused by wiring that wasn’t up to code. The insulation on the wire was substandard and cracked after many years of temperature changes which caused the wire to expand and contract. When the insulation cracked, bare wire was exposed and intermittent shorting occurred and sparks flew out of outlets. The wiring was done before I bought the building, but as soon as I became aware of the problem I hired electricians to rewire the entire building. It cost me a small fortune, but I had no choice. It was a very dangerous situation.”

 

“My troubles with the Chameleon aren’t your fault, Clyde. We’re dealing with a guy that isn’t playing with a full deck. He’s obsessed with the idea that the fire wasn’t the result of an act of nature and that there has been a cover up of the real cause by Nate and you and perhaps your family connections with the local Chicago political establishment.

 

“When we get to the Go For It, I’ll give you and Nate a complete rundown on everything that has transpired since the Chameleon launched his campaign to bring me down. That way we’ll all be on the same page.”

 

The rest of the drive back to the Go For It was spent by all of them withdrawing into themselves, dwelling on what lay ahead of them.