Nighttime Colors
Sunset
12 Days (pt. 7/12)
Stopping off at their place first, Lila determined to do some research before they left.
“It looks like LACMA is running an exhibit on the Golem legend.” Lila paused. “This makes me think about our trip to Krakow. I really loved those bread circles covered in poppy or sesame seeds. Mmm…” She fell silent with a blissful look on her face.
Ian waved his hand near her face. “Earth to Lila. Time for another trip to Europe.”
“Yes!” Lila’s eyes brightened. “Let’s go in July. Don’t you have some time off coming up?”
“Okay, back to the subject,” Ian said gently. “Golems. What do we know about ‘em?”
Lila turned determinedly back to the computer. “Let’s turn to our favorite source, Wikipedia.” She pulled up the site and read silently for a moment. “Okay, so it’s a lump of clay that is essentially magically made alive. A relative of the rabbi who originally made a golem way back in the 1500s said that when the rabbi saw the golem growing too huge, he ended up getting injured while trying to put the kibosh on it. Sounds like at first the golem was pretty useful, but after awhile it got out of control.”
“What does a golem have to do with a drone?” Ian asked quizzically
“Maybe,” Lila said slowly, “it has something to do with this larger legend about Rabbi Loew making a golem to protect the Jewish community in Prague during the late 1500s. There’s even a World War II era legend about a Nazi going up to the attic where this original golem is supposedly stored to try to stick a knife in it, but then the Nazi operative mysteriously ends up dead.”
Lila took a breath. “Wasn’t the company that produced the drone called Magen?” She quickly typed in the word and searched. “That means protector in Hebrew. The company has an office here in Los Angeles that we should probably visit.” She tapped her fingers on the table, thinking. “Todd Regelmeister, the defense guy who was killed, he could have been a threat to someone. We need to find out more about him.”
12 Days (pt. 6/12)
Ian and Lila parked in front of their place and made their way to the front door.
“Pearson is going to be thrilled to see us,” Lila pointed out.
“I’m sure,” Ian replied dryly, carefully opening the front door to block any attempt by the cat to escape. As expected, Pearson greeted them meowing vociferously, and demanding an explanation for their absence.
Walking in, instead of almost tripping over Pearson as she usually did, Lila managed to skid across the bamboo floor on an envelope pushed under their door by someone. After catching her balance, she reached down and picked up the envelope.
Pearson nearly crawled up her pant leg in his excitement at their return, so she stumbled over to the kitchen table and took a seat. He promptly climbed into her lap, kneading it, before settling in with a loud purr. Ian sat beside her at the table.
Lila thoroughly examined the unmarked envelope before slitting it open with her fingernail. Pulling out a single sheet of heavy cream-colored paper, she placed it on the table where they could both see.
GOLEMS. 2ND FLOOR AHMANSON BLDG. 15:00.
Lila looked quickly at her watch.
“We only have a couple of hours. Let’s grab some tacos and head over.”
“Sounds good,” Ian agreed.
They walked up the street to their favorite taco place where they got their usual orders of fish and shrimp tacos with drinks.
Appetites satiated, they prepared to drive over to LACMA.
Vader in Hollywood
Home Again
Ian and Lila are back from their adventure. Ian went to work today only to find his desk covered in assorted paperwork. Lila also has a stack of work to wade through. For some post-work relaxation, they walked over to the Casbah Café, a Moroccan themed coffee/tea house in Silver Lake.
Lila got her favorite Moroccan mint tea, while Ian went with English breakfast tea. It was nice for them to relax together.
Halloween Surprise, pt. 8/30
“Okay, so that’s a bad thing,” Lila said halfheartedly.
“Yes, and the worst part is that we have very little time to delay the catastrophe.” Sergey pointed to Ian and Lila. “You two are familiar with things that go bump in the night and this is definitely going to be a big bump.”
“So what are we supposed to do?” Lila asked.
“We need you to go down to the research facility and spend the night there to give us a reading on the situation.”
“You want us,” Lila gestured to herself and Ian, “to spend the night at someplace that you think is the source of the next disaster of the week?”
“Exactly.”
“Sure, why not?” Lila got up from the couch and once again moved toward the door. “Can’t be worse than the place we used to live. Ghosts wandering up and down the stairs and hiding out in the attic.”
Ian nodded. “What’s the address?”
Sergey handed Lila a piece of paper on which he had written a series of numbers followed by the address of a parking garage.
“What’s this?” Lila pointed to the numbers.
“It’s the access code for the building connected to the parking garage. Take the elevator to the third floor. You’ll need to enter the first code at the elevator, and this second code at the access door to room 331. Also, you’ll need these.” Sergey produced a couple of ID badges with their names and photos.
“Awfully sure of yourself, aren’t you.” Lila commented as she tucked the badges in her handbag.
“We like to be prepared. We could only hope that such dedicated professionals would be willing to take the case and run with it.”
“Well, luckily you were right.” Lila looked at Ian. “Let’s go.”
Charlie remained by the couch and Sergey walked them to the door. “Good luck to you,” he said gravely and shook each of their hands.”
Lila walked into the stairwell and shook her head. “We are so trusting.”
“Trust, but verify,” Ian stated as he dialed his supervisor. “John, we just had a conversation… Really. You’re sure?” He hung up. “Before I even had a chance to say anything, John told me to take as much time as I need to help ‘our friends.’ Very strange.”
Lila looked down at the address with surprise. “I know this place. It’s where I did a summer internship when I was in high school.”
“You were already an intern in high school?” Ian asked incredulously. “You were a go-getter.”
“I was very advanced.” Lila grinned. “It’s a small contractor who works on special projects. They’re close enough to the Air Force Base to be convenient, but far enough away for deniability.”
They made it home quickly, then took only enough time to feed Pearson and pack up some treats and hot drinks for their evening’s adventure/sleepover.
They parked at the garage and made their way to the elevator, punching in the series of numbers given to them by Sergey. The elevator opened directly into a small room with a guard sitting at a desk. “ID’s,” he said in a bored voice.
Ian and Lila both handed over their badges and the guard buzzed them through a thick metal door.
“Ladies first.” Ian waved his hand for Lila to precede him through the door.
“Gee, thanks.” Lila said dryly.
“Hey, you wanted to do this,” Ian pointed out.
Lila led the way hesitantly through the entrance and they slowly strolled down the hallway looking for room 331.
”Smile, you’re on camera.” Ian murmured so only she could hear.
“I know,” Lila smiled. “I saw the display on the guard’s desk.”
Finally reaching the door, Lila entered the code and received a red flash on the keypad. Trying the door, it refused to open. “What the…” she began to gripe.
“Try it again,” Ian encouraged her. “Breathe.”
Lila once again pushed the series of keys and this time the small keypad light flashed green and unlocked with an audible click. Lila pulled down the handle sharply and pushed open the heavy door.
Halloween Surprise, pt. 5/30
“Crap.” Lila said, astonished. She looked from one side of the restaurant to the other, gazing into the distance contemplatively. “Why would he stick a Slinky in a box?”
Ian reached into the box and gingerly took out the plastic spring-shaped object. “I haven’t seen one of these since I was a kid. They used to be made of metal.” He passed the small cardboard box to Lila and drew out the toy for inspection. Engraved into the plastic rings was a series of what appeared to be codes.
“Can I just say, WTF?” Ian pronounced succinctly. “Why would anyone spend all that time to carve a Slinky?”
“Whatever’s carved there will stick around a long time, I mean, what are you gonna do, burn it?” Lila looked thoughtful, as though she would whip out a lighter and torch the Slinky on the table.
Ian contemplated the plastic toy. “Maybe it’s not what’s on the Slinky, but what’s inside it.”
Lila grabbed the Slinky and banged it on the tabletop.
“Whoa,” Ian said. “Hold on. Let’s wait until we know what it’s made of.”
“Plain, ordinary plastic.” Lila said and tossed it toward him, causing it to stretch out in classic Slinky form.
Ian gestured toward the box. “Anything else in there?”
Lila scrabbled around the bottom, pulling out a couple of credit card sized badges labeled in Russian. “Sergey Ivanov and Anna Sokolova,” Lila read the names aloud. She examined the lettering and coding on the cards before suddenly tossing them to the ground in alarm.
Ian looked at her as though she was crazy. “That’s evidence.”
“That’s a dosimeter!” Lila said in an concerned tone. “And according to the markings, Sergey and Anna already absorbed over 100 rads of ionizing radiation. You know, life threatening levels,” she continued pedantically. “And if those cards were exposed to that much radiation, I really don’t want to hold them in my hands.” She grimaced as she took a wad of paper napkins and used it to pick up the dosimeters from the ground, placing them carefully back in the box before closing it.
While she was doing this, Ian had been examining the Slinky close up. “There’s a word here. Looks like ‘trianon.’”
Lila uselessly spritzed a glob of hand sanitizer onto her hands and wiped it off meticulously before indicating for Ian to pass the Slinky to her. “Here. Let me see that.”
She held the Slinky close to the light emitted from her cell phone and made out the word “trianon” enscribed on the second ring from the top. Baffled, she tilted her head to think. “Trianon. Where have I heard that?” Her breath quickened. “The Trianon is an apartment building near Hollywood and Western. The one shaped sort of like a castle.”
Ian nodded his head and stood up. “I know it. Let’s head over there.”
Lila handed Ian the box containing the dosimeters and took the Slinky in her hands. As they walked, she let it cascade from one hand to the other in a soothing back and forth motion.
As they reached the Trianon, the Slinky abruptly seemed to crack apart in the middle, leaving the upper half edge in a jagged pattern lined with an inset that appeared to be metal. Lila ran the blunt edge across her finger consideringly, and held it up for a closer investigation. Once again using her phone light to cast a shadow on the metal tip, she saw the numbers 432 inscribed across the rim.
Raising her eyes to the Trianon, Lila then turned to Ian. “Shall we go in?” She held the Slinky’s metal lined tip toward him and quirked her eyebrows, “I believe we have the keys to the castle.”
Halloween Surprise, pt. 4/30
Lila took Ian’s arm and began walking with him toward the taco joint. As they entered, she watched the reflection on the glass door as it swung outward. She saw the dark haired man whom she dubbed “Charlie” start walking toward them.
Tightening her lips, she walked to the counter and made her usual order. “One fish, one shrimp taco, and a jamaica to drink.”
“I’d like two fish, one shrimp taco, and a Mountain Dew.” Ian ordered his favorites, and after paying they walked to the corner barstools to wait for their order. Lila leaned into Ian’s shoulder and whispered in his ear, “Is our friend having tacos too?”
“Looks like it.” Ian commented and patted her on the shoulder. “Order up.” He gestured toward the cooking area where their tacos awaited them. They loaded up on Sessy’s Salsas, Lila’s favorite being the Radish Relish, bright red and yummy, while Ian coated his in mild salsa.
Taking their drinks and food outside to the seating area, they waited to see what their new friend would do. Lila positioned herself facing the entrance, and Ian took the seat beside her. They proceeded to consume their tacos, Ian inhaling his at his normal pace, while Lila picked at hers, eating slowly while keeping an eye on things.
“Charlie” exited the restaurant and came toward them, sitting at a nearby table. He looked over at them and commented, “Great tacos.”
Lila nearly swallowed her tongue. “Yes. Yes they are,” she said in a strangled tone of voice. She glanced at Ian and saw him nodding in agreement.
“You from here?” Ian asked nonchalantly.
“Yep. And you?” the man replied.
“Oh, we’re from here and there.” Lila laughed uncomfortably.
“You know there’s a cool ride I’ve heard about at Griffith Park,” the man paused, “It’s called the Haunted Hayride. Heard of it?”
Ian coughed. “Yeah. You interested in going?”
The man took a bite of his taco and made an appreciative noise. After chewing for a moment and swallowing, he replied. “I was thinking about next Saturday.”
Lila nearly blew a chunk of taco out her nose. Choking, she took a long drink of her hibiscus tea.
“You all okay?” The man asked concernedly. “Seem to be choking on that taco,” he pointed out. “Spicy?”
“No, just super hungry.” Lila managed to say between wheezes.
Charlie continued. “I’m really interested in seeing parts of Griffith Park. I’ve heard it’s haunted.”
Lila joked, “Are you a ghost hunter?”
The man looked over at her seriously. “Actually, that is an interest of mine. I’m a big fan of history, and there’s lots of it there. Death, mayhem, murder.” He finished his taco, and rose to throw away the paper dish. As he passed their table, he pointed underneath it. “Looks like you dropped something.” He strolled around the corner and disappeared from view.
Lila leaned down to check under the table and saw a small package. Her head jerked up in surprise, and she stared at Ian. “I didn’t hear anything. Did you?” she said in an amazed tone of voice. “That wasn’t here when we got sat down. I’m sure of it.”
Ian shrugged in an I-don’t-know manner, and leaned down to pick up the package. Written on the box top were their names in large, black letters. Their eyes met across the table. He slowly pulled the tape from the top and they looked inside.
“Holy…” Lila exclaimed.
Halloween Surprise, pt. 3/30
“That’s what I see all those billboards for, right?” Ian pointed outside to Sunset Boulevard.
“Yes,” Lila replied. “I wanted to go last year, but you were out of the country — again.”
Ian flashed her a smile. “Occupational hazard.”
“I know, that’s why I was hoping this year,” she gestured toward the piece of paper, “we would be able to go together.”
“We still don’t know who sent this note, or what they really want.” Ian’s voice trailed off as he took a closer look at one of the photos. “I know this guy.” He pointed to the photo of a red haired man with a big grin. “I’m not sure where, but…” Ian paused. “Wait.”
He stood up and walked over to a box in the corner and began rifling through a bunch of papers. Picking up a dented Altoids box and flipping it open, Ian pulled out a stack of business cards. “I knew it!” he said triumphantly. He showed Lila a card with the man’s photo and company name on it. “We met last year at a disarmament meeting.” Ian looked puzzled. “So what does he want with a hayride?”
“A hayride?” Lila ventured to guess sarcastically.
“Hardey-har.” Ian joked. ”I mean besides that.”
“A visit to purgatory obviously. Here, check out this website.” Lila pulled up the Haunted Hayride website and showed it to Ian.
“Wow, ‘one of the most paranormally active sites in all of California,’” Ian recited from the website. “Sounds like our kind of place.” He gave a quick grin.
“I’ve been wanting to go for ages, but just under different circumstances.” Lila’s mouth twisted.
Pearson jumped onto her lap and settled in for a nap as Lila began sorting the photos and info pages into piles. “Did you see this one?” She showed Ian a picture of blond girl who looked to be about twelve. “Why would they — whoever they are — have photos of kids?”
Ian’s eyebrows rose. “I don’t know, but maybe,” he paused to rearrange the photos, “these go in families.” He nodded. “Yep, check it out. One set of parents per two to three kids.” He looked over at Lila’s laptop and nudged her shoulder. “Let me take a look.”
She picked up Pearson and moved to the chair beside him so she could watch the screen after he seated himself and began typing. “Russian families spying?” Lila read aloud his search query. She looked puzzled and then her face cleared. “Like in that Magnum episode when he meets up with the woman who was a plant. Her family had been stationed undercover in the U.S.”
Ian pointed to the screen. “Or a few years ago, those ten spies that got sent back to Russia. Eight of them had kids. What better cover than being a nice family?” Ian sat back in his chair. “When I saw this guy,” Ian touched the red haired man’s photo, “he looked much older than in this photo.” He turned to Lila. “What’s his name?”
“Sergey Ivanov.” Lila read, and then quickly began sorting the photos by name. “Good idea,” she muttered, “each of these is tied together by last name.” After she finished, they had four families and one individual.
“I’m hungry,” she announced, “and I think better with food.”
“Tacos?” Ian inquired.
“I’ll get ready.” Lila pushed back her chair, set down Pearson, and went to change out of her work clothes into something more casual.
As they left the building and walked up the street toward their favorite taco place, Ian had the feeling that someone was watching him. He took a casual look around as they were crossing the street, and murmured to Lila, “Don’t look now, but we’ve made some new friends.”
Lila’s eyes widened subtly and her breathing sped up. She pulled Ian to a stop in front of several shop windows, using the reflections to spot whoever might be following them. She took a quick breath as she saw a dark haired man who appeared to be studying an apartment building across from them.