Chapter 5:

            The next few days were fairly uneventful. While waiting to hear back from Dan, they spent hours on end following the Joneses to no avail. This time was not totally wasted, however, as it gave them the opportunity to sample some of the local cuisine. Per August’s recommendation, they enjoyed pizza at the Elmton and Reubens at Kravitz’s Deli. One afternoon, on Griswold’s suggestion, they went on a short quest to the nearby White House Fruit Farms. They drove through the woods and across farmland tucked into the rolling hills of northeast Ohio and, when they arrived, ordered a dozen frosted blueberry doughnuts at the location’s bakery, devouring the entire box before leaving the parking lot.

            In order to trail Denny, Danny, and Donny, Jamie and Griswold would get up before the crack of dawn and drive over to the Youngstown police station. There in the dark, they waited expectantly until Griswold received a call from Dan letting them know that the three officers were on the move.

            Keeping a distance that prevented her from losing sight of the officers or being seen by them, Jamie would tail their car throughout the morning and into the early afternoon when the cops’ shift ended. She came to learn their beat fairly well and, over the course of multiple days, was able to familiarize herself with the city and surrounding countryside.

            By the sixth day though, Jamie and Griswold were beginning to believe that their efforts were completely fruitless. Even the once attentive Griswold had fallen asleep as they drove under the overcast sky of the early dawn.

            By 9:00 that morning, Jamie was prepared to turn back after reaching the limits of their usual route. It was then that Jamie noticed that instead of turning around and heading back for downtown, the squad car kept heading east.

            Jamie, intrigued and excited, continued to pursue them.

            After driving through a neighborhood full of post-WWII housing, they reached the outskirts of Youngstown, an area much more sparsely populated and rural. The road, winding through fields and woods, was in fairly good condition, but its location with regard to city infrastructure had allowed time to take its toll in some places. Nowhere was this more apparent than when Jamie hit a pothole, causing Griswold to hit her head on the car door and wake up.

            “Dude! What the fuck!?” Griswold groaned as she rubbed her temple.

            “Oh! Sorry, man,” Jamie replied as a pained expression crossed her face. “You woke up just in the nick of time, though. The Joneses are finally doing something.”

            Griswold shot Jamie a look of interest. “And what, my dear, would that be?” she asked.

            “We’ll see,” said Jamie. “They left their beat.”

            Griswold went silent, but nodded her head in understanding.

            They continued following the squad car east, then watched as it made a right turn onto a one-lane road. Jamie slowed and followed suit. With the cops a significant distance ahead of her, Jamie drove along a road with a forest on its right. To their left was a wide-open field that was overrun with knee-high grasses and plants, interspersed only by scatterings of saplings. They continued south for a few moments until they saw the cops come close to the road’s dead end. Before the squad car could reach it, though, it turned left onto a gravel road where a sun-faded sign pointed the way to a section of the field surrounded by a tall chain-link fence and barbed wire on all sides.

            Jamie pulled off to the side of the road, keeping a distance from the fenced-in area. She quickly rummaged in the backseat until she found a pair of binoculars. As she peered through them and focused the lenses, the layout came into view. Inside the enclosure, Jamie saw many cars parked near the entrance while there were a number of buildings at the back and to the right. In the very center was a seedy-looking building that was two stories high and built out of corrugated steel, the rotten wood siding and the windows providing the only contrast.

            “It looks like a used-car lot,” Jamie said as she handed Griswold the binoculars. “What do you think?”

            Griswold stared through the binoculars in silence for a few moments. Then a huge grin crossed her face. At last, still holding the device up to her eyes, she said, “I believe that you are correct. This appears to be the place we are looking for. I just saw the Joneses head inside.”

            A moment later, Griswold’s cell phone rang. As she continued looking through the binoculars, she asked, “Jamie, can you please answer that for me?”

             Jamie turned around and fished in the back pocket of her seat for Griswold’s phone, got it out, and answered it. Dan’s voice came through. “Hey Jamie!” he said. “Is Griswold there?”

            “Yeah,” replied Jamie feeling a spark of excitement. “Why? Did you find something?”

            “I did…” Dan said hesitantly. “She uh…she might wanna come see this. Any place she’d like to meet up and discuss it?”

            “Hold on a sec,” said Jamie as she handed the phone to Griswold.

            Griswold lowered the binoculars and held the phone to her ear, listening intently as Dan talked. After a few seconds, she said, “3:00 P.M., today. Same location as last time.” After a brief pause, she said, “See you there, Dan,” and hung up.

            “Well,” said Griswold, “it appears that we are heading back to Mill Creek Park later today.”

            “Did Dan say anything about what he found?” asked Jamie.

            “He couldn’t go into specifics,” replied Griswold with a sigh. “But it does seem to be of the utmost importance. Anyway, we should leave now. I wouldn’t want anyone to see us and get suspicious.”

            “On it,” said Jamie. She started up the car and made a U-turn back onto the road.

            Griswold nodded to herself in satisfaction. “First, we find some hint as to where these villains may be hiding thanks to you, Jamie. Now, it appears that Dan might have found a clue as to the identity of the kidnapper. Things are indeed looking up, my dear!”

            “Let’s hope,” Jamie said with a smile as they approached the main road. She then turned left and headed west back towards Youngstown.

*****

            After taking August out to lunch, Jamie and Griswold headed back to the sunken pool in Mill Creek Park with him in tow. Parking on the side of the road, they saw that Dan was already there, standing outside his car. He held the plastic bag with the miniature oxygen tank in it and had a worried expression on his face.

            When Jamie, Griswold, and August got out of the car, Dan briskly walked over and handed Griswold the bag. “You might want to put that away before we talk,” he said nervously.

            There was a moment of confused silence. “Uh…okay?” Griswold replied. After she put the tank in the backseat of her car, she turned back and asked, “So, what did you find Dan?”

            Dan took a deep breath and shook his head. “A lot,” he stammered. “A lot. Some good, some really, really bad.”

            Jamie and Griswold stared at him. “Alright….” Griswold said hesitantly. “Please proceed.”

            “Well, for starters,” said Dan, “I managed to get enough DNA evidence from the mouthpiece to confirm that Charlotte was wearing it at some point. So, you seem to be on the right track.”

            August’s face lit up. “That’s awesome!” he said excitedly. “What else did you find?”

            Dan put up his hand to silence August. “I’m getting there,” he said, his tone unchanged. “Unfortunately, this is where things get tricky.”

            “Meaning?” asked Griswold.

            “So,” said Dan, “I did find the identity of the kidnapper – ”

            “Wonderful!” interjected Griswold.

            “Let me finish,” said Dan. “It took a while, but I actually managed to find a fingerprint that wasn’t washed away by the water. But when I went through Ohio’s fingerprint database to try to find a match, nothing came up. Then I went through databases in other states – ”

            “Wait, you have access to fingerprint databases in other states?” asked Jamie.

            “YES!” Dan replied in an exasperated voice. “One of Griswold’s UC friends hacked the systems and gave me and her associates access to them! PLEASE STOP INTERRUPING ME!”

            “Oh,” Jamie said as she awkwardly looked off into the distance. “Sorry.”

            “Anyway,” began Dan, “the databases in the other states didn’t turn anything up either. I was about to give up when I figured I’d try Interpol’s database, just out of curiosity. Then I found something….”

            They looked at Dan in disbelief. “What?” they all said simultaneously.

            Dan took a folded piece of paper out of his pocket and handed it to Griswold. As she unfolded it, she, Jamie, and August saw the mugshot of a woman with pale skin and black hair cut into a shingle bob. Her lips were slightly pursed and her icy blue eyes had a glazed-over look that conveyed the hate and disdain she felt in that moment. She was nearly six feet and five inches tall by the markers on the wall behind her and her bulging muscles appeared to be straining the suit she was wearing.

            “Her name is Vivienne Andelay,” said Dan. “At least, that’s what the world knows her as. She’s a former KGB agent and is now a wanted assassin. Nobody knows her real name and rumor has it that she’ll only say it if she’s about to kill you.”

            The three went dead silent. After a few seconds of comprehending Dan’s information, Griswold took another look at the mugshot and said, “Well, that explains why everything’s written in Russian.”

            “Really?” Jamie asked contemptuously. “He just told us that we’re dealing with an assassin and that’s what you’re focused on?”

            Griswold silently shrugged her shoulders.

            “Anyway,” said Dan, “now you see why I wanted to tell you what I found so bad.”

            “No shit,” said Jamie.

            “Is there anything else we should be aware of?” asked Griswold.

            “Oh, right!” said Dan as he took a folder from his car. “I almost forgot to give you her profile. I didn’t read it since I wanted to get this info to you as quick as possible, but there’s probably some useful stuff in there.”

            Griswold gravely nodded her head. “Great job, Dan,” she said. “Thanks for the help.”

            “No problem,” he replied. As he walked back to his car, he turned and said, “By the way, Gris, do me a favor. Please stay safe. Try not to get in over your head.”

            “Unfortunately, my dear,” Griswold said with a sad smile, “that is exactly my business. That being said, I will do my best to keep myself and those around me safe.”

            With a sigh, Dan shook his head. “Do what you can,” he said.

            After Dan left, the three got back in their car. As Jamie started it up, she asked, “So, what should we do now?”

            “Let’s head back to August’s house where there are no distractions,” said Griswold. “Our situation just became exponentially more precarious, and dealing with it will require careful planning and the utmost attention to detail.”