12 Days (pt. 4/12)

street_ViewLila and Ian walked despondently through the rest of the museum before ending their visit next to the exhibition of Google Maps with Street View.

“I wonder how many people have been caught in compromising positions by this,” Ian said gesturing at the car kitted out with a camera and computer.

Lila raised her eyebrows. “More than one, I’m sure.”

“C’mon.” Ian held out his hand to her. “Let’s walk across and get some coffee at the Starbucks across the street.”

Lila took his hand and they walked the short distance together to the coffee shop.

Fishing around in her purse for the Starbucks gift card she had received from a friend, her hand encountered a tightly folded piece of paper. Her eyes widened and she quickly handed the square of paper to Ian before completing her transaction.

The seated themselves outside on the patio at a distance from the other patrons, and Lila turned eagerly to Ian.

“Well, what does it say?”

“Nothing of interest,” Ian said deadpan and then grinned. “I waited until we could look at it together.”

“Aw, you’re such a thoughtful guy.” Lila leaned over and gave him a peck on the cheek.

“I know,” Ian replied cheekily. “Anywho, here it is.” He unrolled the paper and held it down so they could both read it.

“This is just like a scavenger hunt,” Lila murmured.  The paper instructed them to drive to a public beach just north of Monterey.

“Bit of a drive,” Lila commented.

“We can make it there in about an hour,” Ian said confidently.

Grabbing their coffee and treats they walked quickly back to their car and headed south.

Ian pulled into the public beach parking lot just north of a hotel. Lila hopped out of the car to join him in walking over a log that crossed a stream and allowed them access to the beach area.

Strolling on the beach hand in hand, Lila kept glancing around trying to identify the person directing them.

A man approached them and gestured to his family who appeared to be from somewhere in South Asia. “Please could you take our photo?” He pointed to the ocean view behind them.

day_5

“Sure,” Lila agreed readily. The man showed her how to use the camera and after taking the quick photo, he thanked her, and gratefully gave her his business card, before taking back his camera and promenading away with his family members. Lila stuffed the business card in her purse.

After a few minutes of waiting around, Lila turned to Ian disappointedly. “Looks like whoever it was, isn’t going to make contact.”

They stood a minute enjoying the view before turning to make the trek back to the car.

Lila pursed her lips after settling into the passenger seat. “Where do we go next?”

Ian shrugged. “How about heading into Monterey for some sightseeing?”

“All right,” Lila said unenthusiastically. “I’m hungry. Maybe we can stop somewhere and pick up something to eat,” she said while digging into her purse for some mints to stave off the hunger for a little longer. Her hand encountered the business card the South Asian man had given her and she drew it closer to look at the small print:

STATUE OF LITTLE BOY WITH SAILBOAT

Lila looked puzzled and held it out for Ian to see. His eyes brightened. “I think I know where it is.”

“Great, because I have no idea. Oh, and food,” Lila reminded him.

statue2They arrived a short time later at a lookout area. Ian parked the car and walked purposefully up to a statue depicting a boy holding a sailboat. “See?” Ian asked triumphantly.

“Very good,” Lila applauded him. “Now, where’s the next clue.” She walked carefully around the statue examining it for clues. Tucked in between the boy’s arm and sailboat was another piece of paper. Lila sighed. “I’m getting a little tired of this. And I’m ready for dinner.” Nonetheless she plucked up the paper and smoothed it on the boy’s back.

WALK NORTH TO THE STAIRS AND OVER TO THE BREAKERS

“O—kay,” Lila drew out the word. She pointed to the sun disappearing into the horizon. “At least we’re getting some good views. Sunset is coming.” They began walking toward the stairs that would take them down to the beach.

12 Days (pt. 3/12)

day_3
Cooking in the 1960s @ Computer History Museum

 

Ian and Lila entered the Computer History Museum cautiously and watched their reflections on the glass surfaces to see if anyone followed them into the building. From what they could see, they were alone.

After paying the admission fees, Lila and Ian meandered their way over to a series of laptops set up in the entrance hall leading to the main exhibit. Volunteers wearing nametags sat beside the computers, available to assist visitors with the Hour of Code event taking place that day.

Lila seated herself in front of one of the computers on display and smiled broadly at the older female volunteer sitting across from her. “Great day to try coding, eh?”

The woman returned her smile. “Would you like to try one of the programs?”

Lila scanned the menu interface on the computer screen. “Maybe Python,” she replied, suggesting one of the many programming languages.

“By the way,” Lila mentioned offhandedly while navigating the program’s software, “a friend of mine was supposed to leave a note for me. Did anyone leave something for Lila?”

The woman’s face wrinkled up and she turned to the elderly man sitting next to her. “Do you have a note for the young lady? Lila, right?” she confirmed, asking Lila once more.

The man looked thoughtful. “I believe so.” Creakily he stood and walked to a small round table that stood apart from the others. Picking up a manila envelope, he walked slowly back to Lila and held out the envelope to her.

Lila smiled her thanks and quickly finished the short programming assignment on the computer. Ian rose from his seat beside her and together they walked toward the first exhibits. As soon as they descended a set of stairs that placed them out of view of the hall tables, Lila tore into the envelope. On it was written:

GO TO THE KITCHEN COMPUTER

Lila looked puzzled. “Kitchen computers?” She turned in a slow circle and seeing nothing that fit that description, tugged on Ian’s hand and pulled him along with her through the exhibit, following the direction of the arrows painted on the floor.

They finally reached a section representing computer inventions from the 1960s. Lila stopped stock still, pointing toward a picture of a woman standing next to a computer embedded into a kitchen counter. “That’s it,” she said in a hushed voice to Ian.

Feigning intense interest in the kitchen setup, Lila watched the reflections on the glass case while Ian strolled over to examine a nearby exhibit. Together they waited.

Within a few minutes Lila felt someone bump her arm as she leaned in to look at the exhibit. Quickly she looked up, however it was only in time to see the silhouette of a person vanish around the corner. She immediately turned to Ian and motioned toward the route the individual took. Ian nearly ran around the corner following the lead, but soon appeared again. He shook his head in answer to her questioning look.

12 Days (pt. 2/12)

upAbove
“Up above the world so high…”

 

Lila sat there for several minutes thinking about this new information. Pearson continued to purr and knead his claws on her leg.

“Ouch,” she exclaimed as his claws cut through the material in her pants to the skin underneath. Carefully dislodging the cat, she set him gently on the floor.

The time until Ian arrived home passed quickly. Lila settled into the couch to read a research article that she was co-writing with a friend of hers to boost their academic street cred. Hearing the door creak open, she set aside her laptop and petted Pearson, who had nestled in next to her leg.

“Hey,” Ian greeted her tiredly.

“Hey, yourself,” Lila replied. She hoisted herself up off the couch and followed him into the bedroom, where she sprawled on the bed to watch him change out of his work clothes and into his workout gear.

“So how did your day go?” Lila asked casually.

“It was okay,” Ian said dismissively. “Nothing special. How about yours? Did you get your paper proofread?”

“Not quite. Still working on it.” Plucking at the quilt cover, Lila inquired nonchalantly, “When did you see that drone demo last month? Was it the 23rd?”

“I think so,” he said sitting on the bed beside to lace up his running shoes. “Why?” He turned to look at her.

Lila announced bluntly, “Someone got murdered that day.”

That got Ian’s full attention. “What do you mean?” His eyes sharpened on her.

“The guy visiting from HQ, Todd Regelmeister. There was an explosion during the exhibition that apparently killed him.”

“It’s tragic,” Ian paused. “But that doesn’t mean it was murder.”

“I got this in the mail.” Lila passed over the paper that she had brought in with her.

Ian studied it carefully and handed it back to her. “Who do you think sent it?”

“I don’t know, but it seems to have something to do with that project you were working at the time.”

“You know I can’t talk about that,” Ian remonstrated.

She held up her hand in a stop gesture. “I know, I know. I’m just saying, maybe you can think of someone who may have wanted to stop that project or keep that company from moving forward with its design.”

“There are lots of people who would fit that bill,” Ian said looking pensive. “Every competitor they had would’ve killed…” His voiced trailed off. “I see what you mean. I’ll give it some thought.”

The doorbell rang at that moment and Ian rose up to answer it. The FedEx employee handed him a standard paperboard express envelope and pushed the signature pad at Ian. Before signing his name, Ian examined the address on the envelope.

He closed the door and walked back into the bedroom where he sat beside Lila. Opening the envelope quickly, he fished out a single sheet of paper and read aloud the writing on it:

San Jose. Computer History Museum. Hour of Code.

Ian looked at his watch. “That’s tomorrow.” He quickly pulled up the details on his Smartphone. “How about a trip to San Jose this weekend?”

“Sweet.” Lila perked up. “I’ll bring my article and edit on the way.”

“Looks like we’re in for a December surprise,” Ian said, smiling slightly.

Lila leaned in and kissed the corner of his mouth. “Always an adventure.”

“Pack your bag and catch a few hours of sleep before we head out,” he suggested.

Lila reached for her mobile phone, which sat on the bedside table. “I’ll call Josie,” she said referring to the cat sitter, “ since I’m figuring we’ll be gone at least through Sunday.”

Ian took Lila’s hand in his. “How about making an early anniversary weekend of it? We can stop in Monterey on the way back.”

“Nice idea.” Lila returned his smile. “Never a dull moment with you.”

12 Days (pt. 1/12)

crow
Who talks?

 

Lila trudged her way up the stairs toward her front door where she nudged aside the usual conglomeration of fliers and other useless items thrown onto the doormat. Reaching into her large handbag, she scrabbled around finding nothing but a bunch of old wrappers, receipts and packets of instant coffee mix.

Rolling her eyes and muttering epithets under her breath, she glanced around to see if anyone was watching before reaching up to run her hand along the piping that ran next to the door and up to the roof. She pulled loose a magnetic key holder from behind it, quickly removed the key, and unlocked the door, hurriedly replacing the holder to its former position.

Sighing, she pushed open the door, and deftly sidestepped her cat Pearson, who as usual was waiting at the door to greet her. Lila dropped the mail she had tucked into her elbow onto the table and plopped down into a chair. Pearson stared fixedly at her lap, waiting patiently for her to notice. She leaned back to make a place for him, and he leaped up to walk in a circle, kneading and purring before settling onto her lap.

One of the letters on the table caught Lila’s eye. It had her name written in wide black letters in black marker, with Ian’s name scrawled underneath in blue ink. Hesitantly Lila reached for the letter, examining it carefully before ripping the flap open with the tip of her finger.

She drew out a piece of paper with a series of numbers printed on it. On the left side of the paper was the column title “Expenses,” while on the right appeared the word “Contractor.”

The figures were astounding; it was more money than she would see in her lifetime she was sure. Some of the names looked familiar to her – she had worked on projects for a couple of the organizations. As she scanned the list, she noticed a phrase written with a bold flourish at the bottom of the paper:

WHO PUSHED
THE BUTTON?

She wrinkled her forehead confusedly. What did that mean?

Pulling off the top sheet of paper, she found a printout of a news article beneath. The main gist of which was that a minor contracting firm had gone out of business due to putting all its money in a project to develop small drones for deployment in hostile environments to gain atmospherics before troops or civilian groups moved into the area.

Apparently there had been a fatal accident with one of the drones exploding directly over the seat of a senior official during a product demonstration. Lila pulled out her Smartphone and keyed in the official’s name. Immediately she pulled up a list of conspiracy theory sites from which she randomly selected an entry.

A few minutes later, Lila gazed into the distance and scribbled a name beneath the phrase:

Ian?