“What you are about to see could put you in great danger. You will have to be very careful from now on. If anyone suspects that you know what really lies at the heart of my success … well, let’s just say they wouldn’t think twice about hurting you.”“What you are about to see could put you in great danger. You will have to be very careful from now on. If anyone suspects that you know what really lies at the heart of my success … well, let’s just say they wouldn’t think twice about hurting you.”
Henry fumbled with a key and then opened the door. He stepped aside so that Andy and his grandfather could go in.
“Wow. This room looks like it’s right out of a Frankenstein movie. It must cover the whole fourth floor.” Andy watched as a strange blue light danced across an electric wire. He walked past some counters with beakers full of chemicals and stopped at a computer terminal. “Do you know how to work all this? It looks like the cockpit of a jet.”
“Not only do I know how, I’ve instructed Henry. He’s been an able assistant, although it is a little hard on him to be the cook, butler, chauffeur, secretary and lab assistant. If I had someone I could trust who was interested in learning …”
Andy scratched his chin thoughtfully. “I might be interested. But before I decide, tell me what kind of stuff you make up here.”
“Why don’t you show him, Henry?” Andrew Hawkes sat on a stool and waited.
Henry touched a button and the computer terminal came to life. He punched up a list. “If you want to know more about any of these items, just use the arrow keys.”
Andy studied the list. “Is there anything you haven’t invented? There’s everything from women’s makeup to radiation-free cancer treatments in here.” He turned in his chair. “But I still don’t understand. Why would anyone want to take your inventions away from you?”
“I take pride in the fact that my inventions have always been used for the good of human-kind. But once I patent something, it usually makes a lot of money. The people who have tried in the past to steal my ideas are only interested in the money. Kingpins of the underworld have broken into my laboratories. They’ve made threats on my life … and on my son’s.”
“Wait a minute.” Andy sat back in his chair. He sighed heavily. “Are you saying that my parents’ deaths weren’t accidents?”
Andrew Hawkes’s voice was faint. “I don’t know. I did everything I could to distance myself from them to ensure their safety. But last week I received a letter. It simply said that I should start watching because someone was going to show me an example of how rough things could get if I refused to hand over my latest invention.”
“Did you go to the cops?”
“Not personally. I had Henry take the letter to the police station. Because of my reputation they practically laughed him out of the building.”
“But we can’t let these people get away with it! There’s got to be something we can do.”
Andy’s grandfather ran his fingers through his hair. “I had the letter analyzed for fingerprints. There weren’t any. I also had my lawyer hire a private detective agency. So far they’ve found nothing.”