Pop Travel (40 page)

When the trio entered the large, bright office, Cooper saw Geri with one leg up on the corner of a massive desk, laughing with an older gentleman. Cooper wrinkled his forehead until she turned to him and gave him a warm smile.

“Hey, Cooper,” she greeted.

“Hi, Geri. Fancy meetin’ you all here,” he said, mocking her accent, which he missed now that it was gone.

She lowered her chin and looked up at him with a playful pout.

“Take those cuffs off, boys. They aren’t necessary,” ordered the gentleman. His accent was genuine. An honest to goodness good ol’ boy with clean-cut, white hair, a crisp, white shirt with a red tie, and gray suit pants. “Thank you. You can wait outside, fellas,” he said and the agents left.

Cooper rubbed his wrists. He wanted to demand the truth, but waited for the man in charge to speak first.

The gentleman walked over to Cooper.

“Hello, Mr. Cooper. I’m Axel Taylor, head of the Atlanta Bureau. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” He shook Cooper’s hand and with a firm grip.

“The pleasure is mine. Thank you for having me,” he said with a trace of sarcasm.
Against my will.

Mr. Taylor nodded.

“I’ve heard so much about you from Geri, here. I hope it’s all true.”

“Like what?”

“Now, don’t be modest, Mr. Cooper. You’ve uncovered the scandal of the century! The mystery of the disappearing celebrities, solved!” Mr. Taylor put his hands in the air, displaying the imaginary headline.

“Is that so?”

“Come, my boy. This is big news. Did you tell the world yet?”

“I never got the chance. My secretary laid me out.” Cooper touched his head.
What a lump. Thanks, Miki.

Geri laughed.

“Sounds like quite a girl. I’ll have to meet her. So where’s the drive?” she asked.

“I don’t know. It was gone when I came to.” He looked at her, wondering why she didn’t have the two copies he gave her.

She gave him a silent shush with her eyes.

Mr. Taylor touched his desk.

“Ms. Wiley, would you send Agent Hammill in, please?”

“Certainly, sir.”

The older agent came in.

“Agent Hammill, did you go through Mr. Cooper’s belongings?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Did you find anything?”

“No, sir. He was clean.”

“Thank you, Agent Hammill. That will be all,” said Mr. Taylor, dismissing the agent with a swish of his hand. When the agent left, he turned to Geri. “This poses a bit of a problem, Geri.”

“I know.” She looked at Cooper with a hint of worry in her eyes. He shrugged at her.

“Why don’t you two have a seat.” He tapped his desk again. “Ms. Wiley, you can send Ed in now.”

“Yes, sir.”

Novi, MI
8:30 a.m., Saturday, July 27

“Owwwooooo!”

“Honey, go let the dog out,” Chelsea mumbled and nudged her husband.

“He can wait,” Dawson murmured back and rolled over.

“Ow, ow, oowwwoooorr!”

Chelsea lifted her side of the covers to get up.

“I’m going. I’m going,” Dawson said. He slowly lowered his legs to the floor and rubbed his face. He would never sleep past 9:00 a.m. again. Throwing on some sweatpants, he shuffled down to the kitchen.

“Hey, Louie,” he said and rubbed the dog’s head. The two-year-old beagle shook all over, wildly wagging his tail. Dawson had to smile as he let the dog out the back door into the fenced yard.

On the counter, he noticed his QV had a few messages. He had come home early from his whirlwind of campaigning the day before. Three cities in two days.

Skimming over who left messages, he lingered on the face of a strange woman. She looked vaguely familiar. When he played her message, she sounded choppy, with long pauses and emphasis in odd places. Too confusing to comprehend the first time, he played it twice.

“Hello, Representative…
Cooper
. My name is…
Es
-
ther…
O
l-
es
ky. I hate to…
trouble
you but…
your brother
gave me your number. He said you could…
help
me with my son. He is on the run and has…
popped
up to Detroit. He…
is innocent
and I have…
evidence
to prove it. I work at…
Joe’s
but I’ll be on break at…
11:00 a.m…
I hope you can…
help
me.
Please
call me back at 555-1234.”

Dawson wrote down the words the lady stressed on the noteplate by the fridge and pieced together a covert message.
Is this about Cooper? Why would he…?
Then he remembered his last conversation with him and figured it out. He erased the message and scribbled a quick note for Chelsea. After letting the dog in, he jumped into his car, leaving his QV on the counter.

Devising a plan while he drove, he sped to a nearby friend’s house.

Mowing the lawn, his friend cut the motor when he saw Dawson.

“Dawson? What’s up?”

“Hey, Ken. Sorry to bother you on a Saturday morning. Can I borrow your QV? It’s an emergency.”

“Of course. Come on in,” Ken said, becoming more alert at Dawson’s urgency.

Dawson called the airport where he had a small private plane and had them get it ready for him.

He thanked his confused friend and headed for the Oakland Southwest Airport.

When he arrived, he wrote up a flight plan with his destination, Monroe-Walton County Airport, just outside Walnut Grove. Before he left, he also made arrangements for a car to be waiting when he arrived.

Cooper, what have you gotten yourself into?
Dawson wondered as he completed his checklist and got ready to take off.

FBI – Atlanta Division
9:15 a.m., Saturday, July 27

“That is preposterous!” Ed exclaimed. “I have no idea what they are talking about. I just discovered the Creator’s disappearance this morning. Mr. Saffioti said they found him and brought him back safely. One of our agents is with him for added security, at their request.”

Cooper grinned and shook his head at Ed.
What a crock!

Geri spoke up.

“Are you kidding me?
I
brought him back!”

“Really? You weren’t assigned to the Creator. How did you even know he had escaped?” Ed asked.

“Escaped? Was he a prisoner?” Cooper asked.

“Whoa, there. Just hold on now. Let’s start from the beginning, shall we?” Mr. Taylor held up his hands between them.

“You should start with Pop Travel International.” Cooper stared at Ed. So this was Geri’s boss. The guy who wanted him dead.

“Or with the missing travelers,” Geri added.

“That’s ludicrous! What connection do those have to do with each other? Unless you have some evidence?” Ed looked from Geri to Cooper.

“I have to agree with Ed, Geri,” Mr. Taylor said.

“Then why am I here?” Cooper asked. “Why did my secretary knock me out and turn me in to you guys?”

“I could easily explain everything, but it looks like Ed is not going to back me up. I don’t think we need to detain Mr. Cooper any longer, as far as I’m concerned,” Geri said.

“Ed? Why
is
Mr. Cooper here?” Mr. Taylor tilted his head toward Ed.

All eyes focused on Ed and he cleared his throat.

This oughta be good.

“A routine surveillance a few days ago alerted our quarknet monitors that Mr. Cooper might have a reason to kidnap the Creator. Mr. Cooper had done extensive research on the Creator and Beasley Hills Plantation. Then he managed to get into the party yesterday,” Ed said.

This guy is quick on his feet. Unless he had this backup story in his pocket just in case. Nah.

“How does this sound, Geri?” Mr. Taylor asked.

“I’m with him so far.” She crossed her arms as she listened to the rest.

Ed glared at her. She glared back.

“Geri was assigned to get close to Mr. Cooper and find out what his intentions were. When we lost track of Mr. Cooper and Geri at the party, we contacted his secretary and asked her to help us bring him in for questioning. Knocking him out was of her own devices.”

“What about it, Mr. Cooper? Did you have anything to do with the Creator going AWOL?” Mr. Taylor asked.

Cooper lowered his head with a sneak peek at Geri for a hint of how to answer. She just shrugged.

“No, he didn’t,” Ed said and took a step forward. “We have since discovered it to be a misunderstanding. Mr. Cooper had been investigating for a client and came up empty-handed. Geri must have caught wind of the Creator leaving while at the party and took it upon herself to help.” He stuck his chin up and looked out of the corner of his eyes over at Geri as if daring her to contradict him. “Mr. Cooper is free to go.”

“Thank you.” Cooper knew he wasn’t free.

“Well, Mr. Cooper. We are sorry for the circumstances that brought you here.” Mr. Taylor smiled as he walked over to shake his hand again. “I am glad to have met you. A shame Geri’s tale wasn’t verifiable. If you do find something for us, please ask for me personally and I assure you I will take care of it.”

He patted Cooper on the back, then turned to Ed. “And if we need to speak with Mr. Cooper further, we will use a more direct approach. Right, Ed?”

“Of course, sir.”

“I expect full reports from both of you on these recent events. By 5:00 p.m. today,” he said, holding his gaze on Ed, then Geri. “And they’d bettah be consistent.”

They answered simultaneously.

“Yes, sir.”

“Good. You are all dismissed.”

As soon as they entered the elevator, Ed laid into them.

“If there is
anything
floating around you’d better
find it
and bring it directly to
me, a-s-a-p!
”

“Is that a threat?” Geri asked.

“Sounded like one to me.” Cooper sniffed.

Ed pointed a finger at Cooper.

“You have no idea how deep this goes.” Then he aimed at Geri. “And I want your report sent to me by 3:00 p.m. Got it?”

“Yes, sir,” Geri answered.

The doors opened at Ed’s floor. Before he got off, he finished his tirade.

“Keep your noses clean and watch your backs.” He stomped away shouting, “Somebody get me some coffee!” And the doors shut.

“That was definitely a threat. Did he seem a little on edge to you?” Cooper asked with a big smile.

But Geri held her stoic expression.

“I’ll find you a way home, Mr. Cooper,” Geri said formally.

“What, you aren’t coming?”

Rolling her eyes upward, she kept her head aimed at the doors. Cooper finally understood, following her gaze, and noticed the camera in the corner of the ceiling. After being watched for so long, he had forgotten about them. He nodded and followed her lead.

When they reached the garage, Geri spoke to the manager and he gave her a remote key.

“Follow me,” she said to Cooper.

They got into a sporty, white Econ Car. As soon as she sat down, Geri whipped out a small, pen-like gadget from her pocket and waved it like a wand over everything inside. When Geri was satisfied, she started the car and pulled out of the garage.

“Okay. We should be able to talk now. So what happened to the drive?” she asked.

“I really don’t know. I planned to take it to the news station and have them send it over the satellite. I noticed Miki’s car and the lights on in my office, so I went to check on her. That’s when she clobbered me.”

They looked at each other and it dawned on them at the same time.

“Miki has it!”

“As Hasan says, it’s time to blur!”