ANOTHER CLUE
-Dis/Claimer- x x x . Chapter Nine . Riley started to laugh nervously. “Ben, what do you mean another clue?” he asked. “We’ve already discovered the treasure! What… what if this is one of those dead end clues to distract the British? Huh? Remember those?” “And what if it isn’t?” Ben asked, looking over the sets of numbers on the portrait’s edge with a light in his eyes. Riley rolled his own exasperatedly. “Ben!” “I know, I know,” he said loudly, not wanting to accept Riley’s logic. “It probably is a fake, and you’re probably right.” “I am right,” Riley stated confidently. “Wait,” Carolyn said before Riley could walk away. She looked from the numbers on the edge of the canvas to the duplicate of the first page of the Constitution in confusion. “If this was a clue to mislead the British, why would it be in with the treasure? You said you found the portrait amongst the treasure in New York, didn’t you?” Riley had now gone quiet as Ben looked back down at the canvas and broken frame. He saw the wheels turning in his head again, and he started shaking his head. It was like trying to convince him that the Declaration couldn’t be stolen again. But he had been wrong about that. Okay, so that was a bad example. “Ben-“ “I did find it in the treasure,” his friend said slowly in thought. “Ben-“ “I think she’s right, Riley,” Ben said to him. Riley sighed, and Ben got defensive. “Come on,” he said. “Why would they take a fake clue intended for the British to find and put it with the treasure? It doesn’t make sense.” “Maybe the genius in charge accidentally put the wrong one in,” Riley said. “Maybe the original painting was supposed to go into the tomb instead, and this one was went in by mistake. They were just misplaced.” Ben sighed in defeat again. He wanted Riley to be wrong. “There’s only one way we’ll know for sure,” he said. He looked up at Carolyn and Riley meaningfully, a look Riley recognized oh too well. “Oh come on…” he muttered miserably. Ben was determined. They were never gonna stop him now. “Carolyn, look through the coffee table drawer for a sheet of paper and something to write with,” Ben instructed her. “There’s bound to be something in there. We need to write down these numbers.” Carolyn nodded and got up. “Oh, and clear off the coffee table, too. We need to lay out the Constitution.” “Ben-“ “Riley, help me move this,” he said, ignoring him again. “No!” Riley said. “This is wrong! You’re kids are missing, Ben!” “I heard you the first four times, Riley.” Ben stared him down, and Riley started to hate himself for feeling guilty. Of course he didn’t need reminding. But now, Riley was beginning to think Ben was having withdrawal symptoms. He moved forward, helping Ben place the hand-written copy of the first page of the Constitution on the back of the broken frame. “I hate it when you get all serious,” Riley muttered. “I hate it when you drink all of the milk before breakfast,” Ben countered. Riley scowled. “Now help me lift this.” Over at the coffee table, Carolyn pulled open the little drawer at the top of the small oak table. A pencil, two pens, and a couple of crayons rolled to the front of the drawer over opened envelops, little pads of paper, and a leather planner book. She took out one of the pads of paper and a pen, shut the drawer, and was about to call over to Ben when something on the television caught her eye. Her brother’s photo was next to the head of the local news anchor. “-say this man is suspected of kidnapping the Gates twins and killing FBI Agent Peter Sadusky. Ten days ago, Howe escaped from Federal prison-“ Carolyn panicked, looking around frantically for the remote. She grabbed it off of the sofa cushion beside her, quickly changed the channel, and shut it off as Ben and Riley moved beside the coffee table with the copy of the Constitution page. She cast the remote back onto the sofa as calmly as possible, and the two men gently sat the document down in front of her. Neither of them really seemed to care that she had turned off the television, and she quickly collected herself as she sat on the couch. That was almost too close. Thank God they hadn’t seen that. Carolyn cleared her throat, readying her paper and pen on her lap as Ben went back over to the fireplace to retrieve the canvas. Riley was staring at the document with a scorn. “This is stupid,” he said. “Why?” Carolyn asked. “Because we already found the treasure,” Riley said shortly. His patience was getting thin. Stress and no sleep, and now his best friend’s persistence. That’s all he needed to complete the night. Ben came back over with George Washington facing them. “Okay,” he said, sitting on the couch next to Carolyn with it. “The first thing we need to do is write down these numbers and transcribe them.” “Transcribe?” Carolyn asked uncertainly. “Yes,” Ben said. “See the numbers on the edge of the canvas?” Riley came around the table and leaned forward to have a look with Carolyn. “It’s another Ottendorf cipher,” he said. Riley frowned. He knew the numbers looked familiar. “Just like the ones we had to use on the Silence Dogood letters?” he asked, just to make sure. “The same,” Ben confirmed to his dismay. Carolyn only looked on in interest. “You see, the numbers represent the page, line, and letter,” he explained to Carolyn. “But in our case, we may have to go smaller.” “Smaller?” Riley asked skeptically. “We’ve only got one page to work with,” Ben said, motioning to the copy of the Constitution. “So in this case, I’d guess it’d be the line, the word, and the letter.” “The word?” Riley asked. “I didn’t think the code could do that.” “The code can’t, but the Masons could,” Ben reasoned. “Maybe it is page, and you are just missing them,” Riley said. “Look. All of the first numbers are either one, two, or three.” “There were four pages to the Constitution,” Ben said. “Maybe they didn’t feel like using the fourth page,” Riley said sarcastically. “You know, you’re really irritating. Maybe you should go to bed,” Ben told him. Riley threw him a look. “Just get on with it, Mr. Know It All,” he said. “Thank you,” Ben said as Riley walked around to the other side of the coffee table with his arms folded. “What if other pages are missing?” Carolyn asked Ben. “Then, as Riley said, this is a false clue made for the British that accidentally got put in with the treasure. It’s entirely possible.” “That’s because it’s what happened,” Riley said. Again, Ben ignored him. He turned the right edge of the canvas to face him where eight sets of numbers were in a straight column. He glanced over at Carolyn quickly. “Write these numbers down,” he said to her. Carolyn was poised and ready, pen hovering over the paper. Ben read the numbers off. 3 – 13 - 2 2 – 4 - 4 1 – 7 - 1 2 – 3 – 5 2 – 20 – 9 1 – 17 – 1 3 – 7 – 3 2 – 12 – 4 “Now what?” Carolyn asked, looking at the numbers on the paper in front of her. “There’s still more on the other side,” Ben said. “They’re separated, so separate them on the paper in case that’s significant.” Carolyn nodded as Ben turned the canvas around until the left side faces him. Nine sets of numbers were now visible with two white gaps separating them. “Are those different words?” Carolyn asked. “I don’t know,” Ben said. “Write it how it is on here, though.” She nodded again as Ben read off the next set. Riley stood there somewhat angry, but he was getting curious. He was sitting on the other side of Carolyn with new interest by the time she had finished. 2 – 20 – 7 1 – 1 – 1 3 – 4 – 1 1 – 16 – 4 - 2 – 18 – 1 2 – 3 – 5 - 3 – 9 – 12 1 – 16 – 9 2 – 17 – 1 Carolyn looked over at Riley. “Welcome to the couch,” she said. Riley dismissed her with a small laugh as he leaned over to see how Ben was going to make this work. “So you think it’s the word instead?” he asked him. “Yeah,” Ben said. “The first number would then represent the line, and as you said, the first numbers are only one, two, and three.” Riley looked down at the page of the Constitution, mouth opening. “The first three lines are just the Preamble,” he said. “Exactly,” Ben said. “The Preamble. That’s what we’re to draw our message from.” Riley couldn’t believe it. It was suddenly falling into place. Ben sat with a smug look on his face as Riley slowly began to grasp hold of his theory. He had fun proving him wrong most of the time. “But… it could still be a fake,” Riley said, though the likeliness of that was now diminishing. “We aren’t going to know for sure until we uncover the message,” Ben said. He looked up, and Agent Kinley was making her way over to them. Ben sat the canvas down against the coffee table gently as she approached. “I guess we’ll have to do it later,” he mumbled to Riley and Carolyn as they looked up, too. Ben stood. “Mr. Gates, I was wondering if I could speak with Mr. Poole and Miss Fairholm about a description on the intruder,” she said. Riley looked over at Carolyn. Fairholm? “Sure,” Ben said to Agent Kinley as her eyes fell on the objects on the coffee table. “Mr. Gates, that portrait was to remained untouched,” she said. “We now have no chance of recovering fingerprints if he left any.” “He didn’t,” Carolyn suddenly said. The three faces turned towards her. “The man was wearing white gloves,” she told them quietly. “Well, this still should not have been moved whatsoever,” Kinley said. “And- is that the Constitution?” she asked. “A hand-written replica,” Ben provided as the FBI agent looked at it curiously. “We found it behind the canvas. We think we’ve found something. I think he had a motive other than the painting.” “Such as?” “A clue to another part of the Templar treasure.” Agent Kinley looked uncertain. “You think that the intruder knew that this painting concealed a clue to an already discovered treasure?” “Rumors go around,” Ben said. “How many times have you heard that there’s more treasure than what we found? That we’ve only found a portion of it?” Agent Kinley now understood where he was going. “So you believe the man knew this clue was here and he thought it might lead him to this other part of the Knights Templar treasure?” she asked. “Yes, ma’am,” Ben said respectfully. “What do you mean he knew?” Riley asked Ben suddenly. Ben ignored him yet again while Carolyn was beginning to feel ill. “How would he know it was there when you didn’t even know it yourself?” Agent Kinley asked Ben. “I don’t know.” “And how is a replica of the Constitution a clue to another treasure?” “We found an Ottendorf cipher,” Ben told her. “We wrote down the numbers, and it has a message, more than likely leading to another clue.” “Or a dead end,” Riley muttered from beside Carolyn. Carolyn glanced sideways at him uneasily. This whole conversation was trying her. How long was she going to be able to hold her façade? What if they found out she was in on it? Agent Kinley looked from the page of the Constitution on the coffee table to Ben. “Well, we will have our agents look this over with you, Mr. Gates. Until then, will either of you be able to give me a description of this man?” she asked, turning to Riley and Carolyn. They supplied her with a height and agreed that the figure was pretty big and athletic-looking even in an evening suit. Carolyn, having known exactly what Walt looked like, tried to give as much information as possible without seeming suspicious herself. She couldn’t tell them the color of his eyes since it was too dark to see them anyways, but she did tell them that he had shoulder-length black hair and that he had a scar on his right cheek. “Thank you very much,” Kinley said. “We will send this out right away, and we will send out a national alert to be on the lookout for him and the children.” Carolyn and Riley nodded. “Thank you,” Riley said, shaking her hand. “We’ll help you in anyway we can,” she said to them. “Thank you again for your cooperation.” Agent Kinley walked away briskly, calling over to the agents that were sitting with Ben. They followed her outside as she talked about having Sadusky’s body removed from the premises. Riley and Carolyn went back over to Ben. He was leaning over the Constitution counting carefully with the pen. Ben stopped, now writing that letter ‘S’ next to the third set of numbers on the left side of the paper. Riley screwed up his face. “T, V, and S?” he asked. “That doesn’t make any sense.” “It probably won’t until we write it all down,” Ben said, starting on the fourth set of numbers. “What did you tell the FBI?” Riley asked. “What I told Agent Kinley,” he replied simply. “They said they’ll look into it.” Riley watched as Ben stopped again and wrote the letter ‘Q’ next to the fourth set of numbers. He was halfway done with the first part, and it still made no sense. Ben was about to count again when the telephone suddenly rang. He sighed, putting the pen down. “Finish that,” he said, pointing back at the paper and pen as he walked out of the living room and into the kitchen to answer the phone. Riley and Carolyn exchanged looks before sitting down on the couch beside one another. Carolyn took up the pen and paper again as she read the numbers off and Riley did the counting on the Preamble. In the kitchen, Ben had finally reached the phone and picked it up with annoyance. Who was calling them at 5:15 in the morning? “Hello?” he said impatiently. “Daddy?” x x x “What does it say?” Riley asked in utter confusion. “T, V, S, Q, S, J, T, F,” Carolyn read again, getting stressed out herself. “That makes absolutely no sense,” Riley said. “It’s a dead end. Or it’s completely wrong. We’re missing the other pages!” “We still haven’t deciphered the other set of numbers yet,” Carolyn said, pointing at them with the pen on the pad. “Maybe after we’re done, we’ll have to unscramble them to reveal a word or something.” Riley stared at her. Ben’s persistence was rubbing off on her. He shook his head. He was getting a headache. “Or maybe we’re missing the other pages,” he said again. Carolyn sighed with great annoyance. “You know, Ben was right. You are getting extremely irritating. Just go to bed and I’ll finish it myself.” “Oh no,” Riley laughed. “You aren’t getting me that way.” “If you stay, I just did.” Riley stared at her angrily. He was tired, and she and Ben were not helping. He swung his head down and looked at the Preamble. The things he did just to prove Ben wrong and then have himself proven wrong instead… For once, Riley was going to show Ben he had messed up. “What’s the next set of numbers?” Riley asked Carolyn boredly. “Two, twenty, seven,” Carolyn said. “Okay, let’s see,” Riley said. “Two.” He went to the second line of the Preamble, now murmuring ‘twenty’ as he counted the words. He stopped at ‘ourselves’ and counted seven letters in. “V,” he told Carolyn. She wrote it down as Riley looked up. He now saw Patrick and Abigail coming around the couch towards them, Abigail out of her dress and in a set of maternity clothes looking rather curious at the scene in front of her. Carolyn looked up after writing down the ‘V’ to see them coming to face her and Riley. “I thought you went to lie down?” Riley asked. “She wouldn’t,” Patrick said. “What’s all this?” Abigail asked. “Is that… the-?” “No, it’s a duplicate,” Riley explained. “Where did you get a du…? What happened to the painting? All those black marks on the edges. Is that from the fall?” She picked up the canvas to look closer at the black marks. Numbers appeared. She slowly looked back at Riley and Carolyn. “No,” she said. “Yes,” Riley assured her. “Riley-“ Suddenly, from in the kitchen, they heard Ben slam the phone down on the receiver. The four of them looked over in surprise as Ben leaned his arm against the wall and put his head on it, closing his eyes. He looked upset, flustered, and angry. Abigail hadn’t seen him this way very often, so she was naturally concerned. “Ben?” After a moment, Ben pushed himself away from the wall and started walking over to them briskly. “Ben? What’s going on?” Riley asked. “I just got off the phone with Sally,” Ben replied. All eyes lit up except for Carolyn’s. Her breath quickened as she looked at the coffee table. What were they doing to those kids? “What do you mean?” Patrick asked. “Ben, where is she?” Abigail pleaded. Ben leaned over the table and took the remote off of the sofa, turning on the television. He turned it to the news, and Ian’s picture was again on the screen. Carolyn’s mouth fell open. Riley and Patrick looked on in shock. Abigail was paralyzed. “Residents of the D.C. metropolitan area are still on the lookout for this man after he escaped from federal prison ten days ago,” the same news anchor repeated. “The escape was said to be aided after investigators looked over the assigned cell last week. He is said to be armed and dangerous. If you have any information…” “Not him again,” Patrick muttered. Abigail looked at Ben. “He been out of prison for ten days?” “And we never knew it?” Riley asked incredulously. “He’s got Sally? And Charlie?” Abigail asked carefully. “Yes,” Ben said regrettably. “Did you speak with Ian?” “Yeah.” A stunned silence followed. Riley couldn’t believe it. Ian was out of jail and had the kids. The kidnapper and murderer didn’t look like him, though… he must have gotten himself more cronies. He didn’t remember anybody on his previous team with long black hair. “We need to tell the FBI,” Abigail said. “We are,” Ben told her. “I’ll take care of that while you get us ready to go to New York,” he said, turning around and pointing at Riley. He looked around cluelessly for a moment. “New York?” Riley asked loudly. “What do mean New York?” “That’s where Ian is,” Carolyn said, now remembering that is where he had fled after the escape. “Exactly,” Ben said, acknowledging her comment. “Ian’s in New York, and he wants the portrait and the clue in exchange for Charlie and Sally. Typical of him.” “Clue?” Patrick asked. “Ian thinks that there’s another part of the treasure somewhere and that the portrait has the clue,” Ben said. “And to me, it doesn’t look so far-fetched anymore…” “Well, you aren’t just going to give it to him, are you?” Patrick asked his son. “If you think you’re on to something-“ “I have to, Dad. It’s the only way to get them back.” Riley looked back down at the Constitution replica somewhat sadly now. He was starting to get into it. “Do you want us to at least finish the cipher, which, by the way, is making absolutely no sense…” “Yeah, finish it, and roll that up. Get your laptop, too. You can finish in the car. Carolyn, find something to wrap the canvas in,” Ben instructed. “I’m going to go talk with Agent Kinley, and then we need to be out of here in an hour.” x x x “Could you open the trunk?” Carolyn stood next to the silver Audi in the driveway while Riley stood laden with two large bags next to her. She rolled her eyes, moving to the back of the car and opening the trunk for him. He fell forward in it, the bags falling off his arms. “Thank you,” he said, brushing himself off. “Just get out of here,” she said impatiently. Ben walked out of the house, his father, wife, and Agent Kinley following. “An agent will be there to meet you in New York,” Kinley said. “We’ll keep in contact with them, and they’ll be providing lodging for you upon your arrival.” “Okay,” Ben said. “We should be there about two o’clock.” “The agent will meet you in the lobby of the Marriott Suite in Brooklyn,” Kinley said, handing him a piece of paper. Here’s the address; it’s not far from the bridge.” Ben nodded, pocketing the paper in the back of his jeans while Patrick got in the car. “We’ll be keeping in touch with you, Mr. Gates,” Kinley said. He shook her hand before she went back into the house to oversee the rest of the investigation. Abigail walked up to him. “I can’t believe you’re going to leave me here with these people,” she said miserably. “Carolyn will be here to ward them off,” Ben assured her, wrapping an arm around her. They looked over at Carolyn who was arguing with Riley next to the trunk. “I don’t think separation anxiety will be a problem,” he said. Abigail looked up at him. “Bring them back, Ben.” “I will.” He kissed her before walking toward the car, yelling at Riley to shut up and get in. He protested about Carolyn starting it, but Ben was threatening to pull out without Riley, so he dove into the back seat. Carolyn took her place beside Abigail in the driveway while riley rolled down his window and made a face at her. She scowled while he simple smiled and waved at Abigail. “I am so glad he’s leaving,” Carolyn murmured in agitation. “How do live with that in your house?” “Lots and lots of patience,” Abigail said with a smile as the Audi left the driveway in a hurry. x x x “I’m tired!” Sally whined at the blonde-haired man as he hung up the phone. He was getting very short tempered over these passed six hours since their arrival, and he suddenly turned and tossed a gun to the balding man in the corner. “Do not let them leave those spots whatsoever,” Ian said to the man. “If they do, use your imagination.” Charlie and Sally sat scared on two identical chairs in an old abandoned fish market. Ian suddenly walked away, climbing a ladder up to the wharf. Charlie looked over at the man with the gun. “What’s your name?” he asked. The man remained silent. “Do you have a funny name like the other to men?” Sally asked now. “Your hair is missing on top,” Charlie said. “And your nose is crooked.” “Are your eyebrows connected?” Suddenly, the man leapt forward, holding the gun inches from Charlie’s face. They immediately quieted down. “My name’s Carl,” he said. “Anymore questions?” He clicked the gun. Charlie shook his head. “When can we eat lunch?” she asked. Carl sighed, standing up and looking this girl in annoyance. Walt appeared over his shoulder. “What’s going on?” he asked. “The kid’s hungry,” Carl said in disgust. “Do you have any grilled cheese?” Sally asked. Walt turned around, and when he came back, he threw a dead fish onto her lap. “Eat up, kid,” he said. “Eww! Get it off!” She picked it up and held it arm’s length away, pinching her nose shut. “Can’t I just have grilled cheese?” Then, Ian came back down the ladder. He walked over, looking at the girl holding the fish while his men stood there doing nothing. “What’s this?” he asked. “They’re hungry,” Carl said. “For grilled cheese,” Walt added. “What’s wrong, darling?” Ian asked, kneeling in front of her. He took the fish from her hand. “Don’t you have a taste for seafood?” “I’m allergic,” she said, still holding her nose shut. “Can we please have some grilled cheese?” Ian looked up at Carl and Walt. “Get her some grilled cheese,” he said. “Where are we gonna get grilled cheese?” Carl asked. Ian stood. “There are plenty of restaurants up there, gentlemen.” “But people are looking for these kids.” “Get them new clothes. There are shops on every street.” He looked down at Sally again. “You’d like a new dress, wouldn’t you?” “Yes please!” Sally said eagerly. “There. Settled. Take them to get new clothes and some lunch.” “What do we do after that?” Carl asked. “Meet me at Fort Greene Park in three hours,” Ian said checking his watch. “Four o’clock. Make sure they aren’t seen. Get the girl’s hair cut or something.” “No!” Sally said. “Mommy likes my hair long!” “Mommy’s not here, now is she?” Ian asked. He looked back up at Carl and Walt. “Get them out of here.” . Please Review .
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