Chapter 12
CHAPTER
Don’t be alarmed,” Kendra said quickly as Stevie stiffened warily on the couch where she was sitting when Kendra entered the sunroom.
“I realize that I might have seemed a little antagonistic when I left here with Lynch, but I have no intention of causing you trouble. From what I understand, you’ve had enough of that and have been handling it well.
Please believe me when I tell you that I only want to help you. ”
“Lynch helps me,” Stevie said quietly. “And you did not treat him well. Why should I trust you?”
“Good question. Lynch and I have certain disagreements that have nothing to do with you or your father. I promise that neither of us will permit them to interfere with bringing your father back home to you.” She made a face.
“But you really don’t want to get involved with our personal lives.
You have your own worries, and Lynch and I are very talented at solving other people’s problems. I hope you understand the difference. ”
Stevie stared at her for a long moment. Then her face lit with a smile. “Of course. My father and I don’t always agree. But I have no trouble with solving much more complicated issues with Archie.”
“I don’t believe it’s quite the same thing,” Kendra said dryly. “But I’d be interested to hear your view on the subject.”
Stevie shook her head. “I recognize the difference but sometimes it strikes me as close to the same thing. Archie is constantly changing with all the improvements I constantly install, and I have to keep up with him.”
“And your father?”
“My father is a brilliant man and a fine scientist. But he usually leaves me alone to work out any of my problems by myself. He feels more . . . comfortable that way.”
“Does that bother you?”
“I like it better when we’re together. It’s not as lonely.
” She added hurriedly, “But I understand why he does it. He explains everything so that I’m able to see how a daughter like me can be a hindrance in certain situations.
It was important that I understood all the disadvantages as well as the advantages of being the way I am.
I’m sure it’s probably the same in many families.
What about you? I’m sure you’re very clever.
How did your father treat you as you were growing up? ”
“He wasn’t around.” Kendra suddenly chuckled.
“It just occurred to me that we really did have similar upbringings. Neither one of us was actually wanted when we appeared on the scene. I was blind from birth and didn’t gain my sight until I was twenty.
You had the opposite handicap. Because of that high IQ, you saw too much around you, and some things you weren’t meant to see. ”
“That’s true.” The idea appeared to intrigue Stevie. “You know, somehow it makes me feel less alone to remember that there’s an entire world of people out there who have their own problems and lives to worry about. Did your mother leave when you were young, too?”
“No, she’s a university professor who stuck with me through thick and thin and gave me all the love and support in the world. I’d like you to meet her sometime.”
“Me, too.” Then Stevie shook her head. “But my father doesn’t allow me to go many places. He says it’s best that I remain isolated for the most part so that I can work and be safe.”
“He could be wrong. You followed his rules and he turned up missing with you as the grand prize. I’m just saying that the situation may be changing, and you ought to remember that as you go forward.
” She paused. “As we go forward, if you’ll allow me to be on the team to make sure that you and your father come out of this alive and well. ”
Stevie was slowly nodding. “I think we might be able to work together. You believe you can help us? What would you do?”
“Principally, be there when needed. But I also have a gift for noticing and identifying what I see around me that’s evidently quite rare. Even Lynch commented on it quite recently.”
“He did?” Stevie chuckled. “That’s impressive considering that the last time I heard him speak to you, he was not in the best mood. How do we go about tapping that particular skill?”
Kendra wasn’t about to miss this opportunity.
“You tell me what you’ve seen and noticed about places and things to do with the Highlands during the past weeks.
You also try to remember details about those scumbags who shot Lynch and took your father.
” She frowned thoughtfully. “I think I remember quite a bit myself about the hills, as well as the footprints and the dead bodies I saw at the gas station.” She shuddered.
“That would be hard to forget. If you’ll give me a notebook and pen, I’ll start taking down notes as you give them to me. ”
TWO HOURS LATER
“Well, it seems you’ve been adopted,” Lynch said as he came into the sunroom. “I hope you allow me to sit in on this little session? I wouldn’t want to disturb you.”
Kendra looked up from the heap of notes in front of her to see him strolling toward the couch where she’d been working. “No disturbance,” she said, “as long as you don’t create it. Stevie and I have been working too hard to let you toss our notes aside.”
“I wouldn’t dare,” he said. “She just marched into my bedroom and told me that the two of you were making progress and I wasn’t to put any roadblocks in your way.
When I meekly acquiesced, she continued to tell me how much she liked you and that you could have been sisters or cousins, or something.
” He gazed at her quizzically. “I’m not even going to ask where she got that.
I just accepted it. Somehow you’ve managed to persuade her that if there is a bad guy, it must be me. ”
“It didn’t go like that at all,” Kendra said. “I just told her who I am and what my role is when we work on cases together. Then I asked her to let me help. I like her very much, and I think she liked me.”
“What’s not to like,” he asked softly. “Next she’ll probably want to enroll as one of your students.”
“I doubt it. She’s trying desperately to get her father’s approval, and I don’t think she knows exactly how to do it.
I got the impression he might be a bit jealous of his little girl’s capabilities.
She said he doesn’t like the idea of her going to any public places.
” She shook her head as she dismissed that thought.
“I told her she should decide what she wanted to do herself after we get her father away from that bastard.”
“Good. Then since you’ve started making suggestions to alter Stevie’s life, may we go back to the request I made to be able to join your little party?”
“Are you sure that’s what you want? You didn’t seem to think that the last time we spoke.”
“I still have reservations. But I’ll work around them to get what I need.
” His lips tightened. “And I’d never let you go into this alone if I see a way to keep you from doing it.
When I mentioned changes, that’s not the direction I was talking about.
Now. Just what have you been doing, and how can I help? ”
“Right now we have to determine what information we need,” Kendra said.
“In this case we have to know who the victim is and if he’s a prisoner or has already been eliminated.
Ideally we hope he has not been eliminated.
We can’t be certain of the name of the victim, because no ransom has been requested.
Though we’re assuming that it’s Stevie’s father because of the circumstances and because he disappeared from his home about the same time.
He could be a prisoner, but if he is we’re not sure where he could be.
They might have even sent him out of the country.
” She looked up at Lynch. “Not a lot of information. We have to ignore the fact that he might be dead if we want to keep Stevie’s hope alive.
Which means we have to concentrate on assuming that he’s a prisoner and start searching where he might be.
Then we start checking out air, sea, and ground transportation sources.
If those come up nil, we get closer to home. ”
“That’s where I like to start out,” Lynch said. “Indulge me.”
She grinned. “Just like the usual cases we work? Do the homework and then zero in on the bad guys and find her father and bring him back to Stevie. Piece of cake.”
“Not really. Just efficient. I don’t want to waste time on this one.
There are too many people I like and admire having to deal with this scum.
They could get hurt. But I’ll see if I can strike a balance.
” He leaned back and said thoughtfully, “We do have a number of valuable assets that we can call on if we find we need them. Let’s see .
. . We have a computer and AI genius and a robot that can be almost anything he wants to be with a few switches of mechanics and electronics.
We have Jessie, an expert on cycles and weapons and phones.
Then there’s you, a person remarkable at observing the world and then making it theirs.
And I can’t forget my humble self, who does have a few talents that many people find useful when they need something .
. .” He was searching for the correct word. “. . . completed.”
Kendra had a lightning memory of Lynch in the tall grass firing at those killers. Yes, he was superbly good at completing things, and sometimes ending the chaos of the world around him.
“What’s your point, Lynch?” she asked slowly.
“That I’m a simple man who can’t stand the idea of any of you being hurt, and I might suggest we band together and make certain Korkil can’t hurt anyone else in the universe, either.”
“And how would you do that?”
“I’m not certain yet. I’d have to think about it. But there is always a way. May I see those lists you’ve been making?” He sat down on the couch beside Kendra and picked up one of the lists in front of her. “Now, what do we have here . . .”
TWO HOURS LATER