Case of the Mouse Trap Legend Read online

  “I’m putting on a brave face,” I said as Annie and I walked into the office.

  Adelaide’s Cocker Spaniel, Chloe greeted me along with a bouncy black and tan puppy with floppy ears and a curly tail. Adelaide reached up and gave me a hug, her cane dangling from her arm. “I’m so sorry, dearie.”

  “I know you are. Thank you. Who’s this little guy with the tan eyebrows?” I bent down to stroke his ears.

  “I don’t know, someone left him on my doorstep this morning, so I brought him here,” Adelaide answered. “Interesting timing, don’t you think?” Her brown eyes sparkled.

  I glanced at Mike.

  “I had nothing to do with this. I swear. I mean it. I do swear,” Mike answered.

  “I know you swear. A lot. You ought to have a swear jar in here,” Annie said.

  “Hey, that’s not nice,” Mike said. “Besides, I cut down. Adelaide made me. Not to change the subject, or anything, but has anyone let the puppy out? That’s one thing. Has anyone talked to or seen Grady?”

  “Mike, I’ve been gone, so, no I haven’t seen Grady, and I haven’t heard from him. Give him a call,” I suggested.

  “He did his business before he came in, in answer to your first question.” Adelaide bent down to pet the little fella.

  “Okay, glad we got that covered. ‘Course, Grady’s still unaccounted for. Laura, if Adelaide says you got a puppy, then you got a puppy,” Mike stated.

  I picked the little guy up and said, “I don’t understand how anyone could leave a puppy on someone’s doorstep? Adelaide, are you sure that’s what happened?” The yet as to be named puppy wagged his tail.

  “Are you questioning my honesty?” Adelaide inquired, arching an eyebrow, as she did whenever she feigned being insulted. “I opened the door, first thing this morning, to the horrid headline, about nukes coming our way, and there was the puppy. It’s the other reason I’m here. What do you plan on doing about it and where’s Grady, Reggie and the rest of whomever is going to save us from Kim Jong Un?”

  “Leave it to Adelaide to cover all the hot headlines in one fell swoop,” Annie chimed in. “My article, by the way,” Annie continued.

  “I will name him, Kai,” I declared.

  “You can’t!” Annie said.

  “Yes I can, and I’m going to. It’s done. He’s never going to move back here, so he’ll be none the wiser,” I said.

  “Kai’s a great name. Why can’t you use it? Who’s Kai?” asked Mike.

  “A very old friend of Laura’s—more like a high school crush,” Annie responded.

  “Sounds like I arrived at the perfect time. Do tell more.” Grady poked his lanky six foot three frame through the doorway. “I love hearing about high school crushes, the days when hormones were flying all over the place, completely unchecked and parents were going nuts. Oh yeah, the wild and crazy days.” He couldn’t stop smiling. “Cute puppy.”

  Mike held up his hand. “I’m confused; I thought Matt was Laura’s boyfriend in high school?”

  “Annie, don’t you have an article, story, or book to write?” I asked, petting Kai. I could feel my cheeks turning red.

  “No, this is much more fun.” She grinned. “I’m all caught up for the next few days. Everyone take a seat and I’ll regale you with stories of Laura’s high school years and her warring boyfriends. It was an ongoing battle between Matt and Kai. The only real reason Matt finally won her over, well who really knows what would’ve happened, but Kai’s parents moved back to Hawaii. His father was originally stationed on the island of Oahu. He was promoted right up the ranks; it was a real opportunity for him. Like I said, no one will ever know how things might have gone between Laura and Kai had his dad not been re-stationed. They lost touch until he ended up with the FBI. You’re honestly going to name the puppy Kai?” Annie asked.

  “I already did. I think Kai would be honored. Thank you, Adelaide.” I leaned over and gave her a hug. “I was not planning on getting another puppy right away. Kai was meant to be.”

  “Welcome to solving cases, Kai,” Grady said, “I’ll bet you’ll be a great scenter of all things key to cracking major crimes. Maybe we should send Kai down to Mouse Trap Trail to see if he can sniff out the map legend.”

  “He’s a little young for that.” I hoisted him up. “Looks to be about three months old, if I were to hazard a guess. He needs a vet visit. My vet is going to wonder about me, getting a new pup so soon.”

  “It’s good for you, Laura,” Grady said. “You don’t know how to be without a furry friend. Listen, I don’t want to change the subject, and I know you just went through a major loss, but we need to jump on this. Anyone know where Crosby is?” Grady looked around. Everyone either shrugged or shook their heads. “I’ve been trying to raise him on his cell and it’s going to voice mail. I know he’s got some info on his Asian tenants. I really dislike profiling, but if it’s the real deal, then we do have to move fast on them before they go underground.”

  “Agreed. We have to figure out their means of communication with the rest of their group,” Mike said.

  “What if the team was put in place by one person and it’s not known by the Asian couple?” I asked.

  “How’s that even possible Laura? Do you realize what you’re implying?” Grady asked.

  “The young lady from John Jay certainly does, and it’s a pertinent question,” Crosby responded, peeking in through the doorway, grinning ear to ear. “I come bearing a gift.” He held a good sized cardboard box that something was attempting to make its way out of. Crosby gently placed the box on the floor, opened the top and out jumped a yellow Labrador Retriever. “One of the guys was giving away puppies, and it seemed reasonable to bring this little fella over here for you, Laura. Oh boy, someone beat me to it, you got yourself a little man? Well, now he’s got a buddy.” Crosby smiled. “I have a great name for him, too. It’s, Koa: It means brave and fearless in Hawaiian.”

  I laughed, first real belly laugh in days.

  Crosby tilted his head. “I don’t get it?”

  “I just named this little guy Kai, and it means ‘water’ in Hawaiian. It’s after a very old friend of mine. No coincidence, Crosby. Thank you. I guess I’ve got two little puppies to train.” I looked at Mike who was preparing rolls of paper towels for the impending accidental piddles. “Mike, it’s not going to be too bad.”

  “Says you,” Mike answered.

  “Here’s a spare leash for Koa, until you get one of your own,” Crosby said. “Now that we’ve got the puppy business set, Laura, I know you need to take the boys to the vet, but before you go, listen to my take on what I think is going on. Your assumption the team was put in place by one person or group which is unknown to the other members is quite viable and practical. If I were to put together such an outfit, I wouldn’t want any of the personnel to know who the others are simply because if any are caught by the authorities, they can honestly answer they’ve no information on any of the other members. So, you ask how do they receive their instructions as to when to detonate the bombs?” Crosby glanced around the room. “You were going to ask?”

  “Buddy, I’m glad you’re on our side, ‘cause you’ve got this well thought out,” Mike said.

  Crosby laughed. “I’m not finished yet Mike, but thanks for the vote of confidence.”

  Grady interrupted, “I’m following you, Crosby, and it all makes sense, but can you elaborate on how they receive their instructions without each other knowing? Also, any ideas if this is really coming from Kim Jung Un or one of his underlings?”

  “Okay Loo, here’s my theory.” Crosby waited.

  Everyone groaned in unison.

  “Thanks for your faith in me and my theories.” He smiled before continuing, “I definitely think Kim Jung Un is the director in this. Can or will it be proven? That’s the question. I think there’s a fall guy somewhere in his regime, and believe me there are plenty of disposable individuals around there. As to how they communicate, there’s an easy answe
r—encrypted e-mail.”

  “Leaving us at square one, finding the map legend,” Grady said, leaning both of his elbows on the desk.

  “That’s the size of it,” Crosby responded.

  “Good thing I’ve got my FBI man Reggie on speed dial,” Grady said as he pulled out his cell phone. “Last thing we need is something going boom. Let’s hope Reggie’s got some leverage with these bird and tree sanctuary people.”

  “Give him my best,” I said.

  Annie and I headed back to the vet with my new charges trundling behind us.

  Chapter 4

  While Annie drove, I was tasked with controlling two puppies focused on two things: playing with each other and ignoring me.

  “I’m fairly confident this constitutes distracted driving, Laura. Please restrain the fur balls.”

  “Uh, I’m doing my best. It’s been a while since I’ve had a puppy and now I’ve got two. After we leave the vet, we need to stop and buy a crate. I have one, buried in the garage. At least we can crate one for the trip home.”

  “Hold on a sec, dearest, they’re both riding with you—you’re the mom.” Annie glanced at me.

  “I thought, being the Aunt, you’d want to take one?”

  “Nope. Thanks for thinking of me.”

  My cell phone chimed, indicating I had an incoming e-mail. I tapped it to see if it was an ad, or something important prior to opening it. I didn’t recognize the sender, but it said, “Someone die,” in the subject line.

  “Annie, I just received a very strange e-mail. It’s probably spam. One of those chain e-mail things if you don’t respond, right away and send it out to ten people within three days, you and everyone you know will die a horrible death. Yup, that’s most likely what it is.”

  “Not so fast, especially in light of what’s going on.” She waved her hand, and continued, “The map thing!”

  “You don’t think this has anything to do with the trail, do you?” I opened the e-mail. It was from someone named Cho. I didn’t know anyone named, Cho. I took a deep breath, and said, “Okay, this is what it says, “Someone you not know well die in less twenty-four hour by bomb. Very big boom. No time for hunt mouse on trail.”

  “I don’t know who Cho is either, but his grammar is atrocious,” Annie said.

  “I have to call Grady immediately and let him know. This is our first real clue. As Crosby said, the e-mail is most likely encrypted, but there’s got to be some way of figuring out who Cho is.”

  “It can’t be as simple as being one of his tenants?” Annie asked.

  “A partner,” I suggested, while I tapped out Grady’s number. “If it’s encrypted, as they say, who knows? But Mike said Crosby had gone through their trash and pieced together some information. Maybe this guy’s name is on something.” Grady finally picked up, he’d been bringing Reggie Martin, our local FBI agent up to speed. As expected, Grady asked me to forward the e-mail to him so he could send it to his computer forensics expert. He explained, even though it was encrypted, there remained a slim possibility his guy might find some sort of cyber trail. He didn’t have a lot of hope since the entire point of encryption was to leave no trail. He did say there was a possibility of a hole, whatever that was. I thanked him and hung up.

  “Grady’s going to get his best guy on the e-mail, and experience tells me to have faith in his team. In the meantime, we’ll hope nothing in our area blows up. I wonder who this guy Cho is talking about,” I said.

  “Suppose it’s not a guy,” Annie said.

  “Okay, Crosby did say he’d rented to a couple, so you may not be far off the mark. But, we don’t know how many operatives there are in the area. We also don’t know who’s running this, and we’ve no idea who’s in charge of sending the e-mails, or instructions,” I countered.

  “I’m inclined to believe Kim Jong Un’s behind this and he’s got God knows how many underlings running around carrying out this devious plan of his,” I offered. “I’m not sure I believe he’s really planting nuclear warheads up and down the Eastern seaboard, small or otherwise. I don’t think he’d be so bold. North Korea’s a small country and we’d attack him in a heartbeat.”

  “If we could prove it was him pulling the proverbial strings,” Annie said, pulling into the vet’s parking lot.

  “That’s why Crosby and his theories come in so handy,” I said, lifting both puppies down, leashes in hand. “This isn’t going to work too well. Would you mind taking one of them?”

  “First, allow me to take a photo. Smile. Perfect! All right, hand one over.” Annie held her hand out, and took Koa’s leash.

  “This is so odd, I was only here a few hours ago, and now I’m back again,” I said.

  “It’s been an unusual day, my friend. I’m glad I’ve been a part of it,” Annie said.

  “Makes me wonder how the rest of it will go,” I said.

  Chapter 5

  Annie and I had finished at the vet and were walking out of the pet store, crate, treats and other supplies in hand when the call from Grady came in.

  “Where are you two, and how fast can you get back here? There are barricades up all along Main Street, so be advised. I’ve told my guys to be on the lookout for you. I want you back here, as in right now,” Grady demanded.

  “Sure, Grady, but what’s going on. Annie and I are leaving the pet store,” I said.

  “You picked a fine time to go shopping!”

  “We took the puppies to the vet and I had to get my car. Oh no. It happened, didn’t it?” I asked. I looked at Annie who was putting most of the things into my car. I touched her arm, and whispered, “It’s Grady.”

  “Where, Grady?” I was hardly able to utter the words.

  “Soundview First National. Whoever the bombers were, they placed three bombs, strategically around the perimeter of the property, in covered trash bins. We don’t yet know if they used timing devices to set them off, but according to several witnesses, they went off within seconds of each other, and the place was leveled. The only survivor is the manager, and it’s because she was in the vault at the time of the explosions. There’s only a couple of ways we’ll be able to ID bodies—either through dental records, any identifying jewelry—if there’s any remaining, or cars in the parking lot.”

  “It’s one of the busiest branches in town,” I said, in a barely audible tone.

  “I know, Laura, and they get a number of walk-in customers, as well as others who are driven in. It has the drive-thru which a number of people use as a walk-up. I don’t know if we’ll ever be able to account for everyone.”

  “Um, do you have any idea if it was a nuke?” I asked.

  “We’re treating it as such, Laura. Everyone is decked out in Bio Hazard suits until we know otherwise. I don’t suppose you’ve heard from your e-mail buddy Cho?”

  “Not yet. If I do, I’ll let you know immediately. We’re on our way.” I hung up. I stared at Annie. “I forgot to remind him to make Adelaide stay put.”

  Annie shook her head and tried to stand. Her legs buckled. I reached out, grabbed her, and we both sat on the ground. I looked up at the car to see Koa in the front seat, peering down at us, with a frown, and Kai doing the same from the back seat.

  I tapped Annie on the shoulder. “I think we’re worrying the youngsters.”

  “I think you’ve bonded with your new kids,” she replied. “I also think I’m going to get fired if I don’t get my ass back to cover this story. I keep forgetting I can’t afford to be emotional, as a journalist, at least not for more than a few minutes.”

  “That’s the spirit, and I believe we’ve used our allotted time. Oh my God! Another e-mail—only this one says, “Bomb Bridge Train Road.” And it’s not from Cho.”

  “Just great, Laura. How many weird friends do you have? Did you post your e-mail on some public blog? I don’t get it.”

  “Good question, Annie. I don’t give out my e-mail to everyone. This one is from a Viktor. That’s not Asian—that’s Russian! Doubl
e oh my God! What is: bomb bridge train road?”

  “Gimme your phone. I don’t have Grady’s number. I think I know what this is about,” Annie said. “He’s going to think I’m crazy as a loon. Okay, he already does, but hear me out,” She said as she hit Grady’s number. “What if the North Koreans and Russians are working in cahoots, Laura? Think about what’s up the I-95 corridor, from our small enclave.”

  “The Coast Guard Academy and one of their stations is first, followed by Groton, the Naval Submarine installation, where many of the nuclear subs are built and launched,” I responded. “Did Grady answer yet?”

  “Not yet.”

  “Give me the phone, I have another number. So the bank was a diversion while the bomber, possibly Viktor, takes out the bridge over the Connecticut River, where one major Coast Guard station is. Not only will the I-95 Bridge be knocked out, traffic won’t be able to get through, first responders, trucks and cars, but the Metro North Rail Road tracks are right there, too. So they’ve taken care of all major transportation in this part of the North East as well as blocked in the Coast Guard ships for any rescue and recovery efforts in the immediate area. We need to find that map legend to figure out what else they’ve got planned. And why doesn’t Grady pick up when you need him the most.” I sighed. “Ah, Grady, finally,” I said.

  “Laura, I’m kinda busy with the bank explosion. What’s so important? Did you get another e-mail?” Grady asked. “Oh, and Crosby’s tossing theories around like a wind storm in early fall, to add to the fun.”

  “Yeah, I know you’ve got your hands full. Funny you should mention theories, because Annie and I have one of our own. Ours is based on solid evidence. Okay, sort of kind of. Again, it’s interesting you should bring up the subject of e-mail because I did receive one.”

  “I don’t want to hear your theories. Why didn’t you tell me about the e-mail?” Grady demanded.

  “I did just mention it. Hey, Grady, you’re talking over me and way too fast.” I responded.

  “When did you get the damned thing?” Grady was becoming more insistent. “And who’s it from?”