CHAPTER FIFTY SIX

 

 

Henry, Mr. Culberson, and Mr. Alexander gathered at a diner. It was 5 am, and most of the morning crowd hadn't arrived yet. They had been up all night celebrating their reunion with their daughters and the end of the nightmare of the previous weeks. Henry still had a few questions.

"What I am having trouble wrapping my head around is how you found me and knew I would be up to it."

Mr. Alexander said, "We had been worried for most of December. Mr. Culberson said we needed a plan in case we were discovered."

Mr. Culberson replied, "Which we were. I was busy coding the information that had been found when he called me and said someone had been through his office."

Henry asked, "Who?"

Mr. Alexander said, "I don't know. Somebody at the firm, I suspect, but I have no idea. As you figured out, I am meticulous, and the journal was always kept hidden. But I made a mistake when I overheard a couple of the lawyers discussing some work they were doing for Tommy. I went back to my office and quickly wrote down all the details though I didn't include names. I put the piece of paper in my right desk drawer, under three files, and placed a tiny pencil sharpener near the bottom right, such that it was approximately one inch from each edge of the corner."

Henry said, "And if the sharpener were moved, you would know someone had opened the drawer."

"Yes."

"But isn't it possible someone could just be looking for a pencil or something? Couldn't it have been completely innocent?"

"Oh, yes, it is rare, but sometimes my secretary will put something away or look for a file. On this occasion, though, she was taking dictation from me for an interview with a new client. We were in the meeting for two hours. The first thing I did upon returning was to get ready to head home. When I opened the drawer, I was careful not to do it too quickly and, thus, move my marker. I noticed it was gone."

"Gone?"

"Well, it turns out someone had gone through the drawer, lifted the files, and found my paper underneath. They refolded it and returned everything but the sharpener. It was in the back of the drawer under the files."

Mr. Culberson said, "Mr. Alexander called me immediately and was rather frantic. I told him to tell me what they had seen, and he read me the notes. The notes were very general and didn't mention Tommy at all, so I calmed him down. We then decided to meet to discuss our next move."

Their food arrived. Henry worked on a patty melt and fries while listening intently to them tell their tale. "What was your next move?" he asked.

Mr. Culberson took a bite of pancakes and chewed it slowly. Mr. Alexander smiled. He knew Mr. Culberson wanted to tell the next part because it was his idea.

Mr. Culberson said, "I was worried about the safety of our daughters, and I had been contemplating this day arriving from the beginning. Winston knew a little bit about the plans, and I told him our next move. We blew up the lab, and I went into hiding."

Henry asked, "Why didn't you tell your daughters?"

"They are both strong-willed women, and, well, we were worried about telling them. Their safety came first. We agreed that if they knew, they would be in far greater danger. I made Winston promise not to tell Sylvia anything, and I went to a hotel. I had plenty of cash and moved every day for a week until I decided it was best to get out of the city."

"Where did you go?" Henry was on the edge of his seat.

"I ended up taking the train to DC. I met a man who had a place for rent, and he traveled back and forth a couple of times per week. He was very helpful in our plans." He looked at Mr. Culberson.

"So you were still going to work?" Henry was amazed.

"Yes, every day while we figured out our next move."

"What was that?"

"We needed someone to entrust with the journal. But we needed to know they were smart and honest."

"Is that why you kept the codex and journal separate?"

"Yes."

Henry finished his fries and started to work on his patty melt.

Mr. Alexander said, "The first clue was my idea. I reasoned that if you found it and made it to the address where we hid the journal, you were clever."

Henry asked, "But what if someone had bought the cabinet before I found it?"

Mr. Culberson replied, "Somebody did buy it. Me. I purchased it, paid cash, and gave them an extra hundred to hold onto it. I told them I was going to be out of town."

Henry asked another question. "So how did you pick me?"

They looked at each other with sort of blank expressions. "It was fate. I just happened into a guy at a bar one night, and he was telling the bartender about this great detective who had helped him out. I asked him who it was; he fumbled through his pockets and dug out your card."

"Was that the card Sylvia gave me?"

Henry couldn't stand it anymore; he had to ask the one question that had been bothering him more than any other. "How does the closet work?"

They both looked at each other. Mr. Alexander asked, "What closet?"

"The closet where you sent the stuff." Henry didn't say from the future as there were people in the booth next to them.

"Which stuff?"

"The books and the DVD."

Neither man knew what to say. Finally Mr. Alexander said, "What's a DVD?"

Henry could tell they were being genuine. He had assumed the explosion had been part of some sort of time travel experiment. His guess was that Mr. Culberson had been hiding out in the future, but those theories all evaporated. He decided to brush off the question with one of his own. "How did you get the clues to me?"

Mr. Alexander said, "I did the pencils before I went into hiding with Mr. Culberson."

Mr. Culberson also said, "The clever bit in my library - well, I had Winston take care of that for me with instructions not to help you find it. I wanted to be sure you were as clever as we had hoped."

Mr. Alexander added, "The clue we hid at MOMA, well, that was a very clever one. I decided it was worth the risk to come back into town..."

Henry asked, "The clue at MOMA? What clue at MOMA?"

Mr. Culberson looked disappointed, "You didn't find the instructions behind the bear display in the gift shop?"

"No. What are you talking about?"

Now everyone was confused. Mr. Alexander said, "I gave specific instructions about where to hide the clues." Now both Mr. Alexander and Mr. Culberson were arguing about clue placement and that they shouldn't have trusted the guy from DC. They were both getting upset until Henry pointed out that he had figured it out anyway. This seemed to satisfy them. Henry was glad they didn't ask how he had done it.

They finished their food and went their separate ways. Henry was tired, too tired to worry about how the closet worked or who had sent him the clues. If the person or persons wanted him to know, they would tell him. Maybe he would just have to wait until he got to the future to find out.

 

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Dear Reader,

 

Thanks so much for giving Henry Wood Detective Agency a try. I hope you enjoyed yourself. I have a favor to ask. Would you please leave a review on Amazon or Goodreads. Reviews are like gold in the publishing business and for new authors they are especially precious.

 

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Brian D. Meeks

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About the Author

Brian D. Meeks is a graduate of Iowa State University with a degree in Economics. He is the author of the Henry Wood Detective Series and has also written a book about the 1986-87 Iowa Hawkeyes Men's basketball team titled Two Decades and Counting: the Streak, the Wins, the Hawkeyes Thru the Eyes of Roy Marble."

He lives and writes in Eastern Iowa.

 

The author can be found at his blog, http://ExtremelyAverage.com or on Twitter @ExtremelyAvg. His bio on Twitter sums him up well. " I have delusions of novelist, am obsessed with my blog, college football, and occasionally random acts of napping. I also Mock! Will follow cats & guinea pigs.

 

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