One of my favorite things to run across during construction is old newspapers inside the walls. It’s a peek into the people’s lives from that era.
—HAMMER GIRL BLOG
Grayson couldn’t remember the last time he’d been at a woman’s house this often. Most dates he’d been on through the years were dinner and a movie. Ellie’s place with its soothing colors was beginning to feel a bit like home.
Ellie came through the garage door holding a box. “Here are the mah-jongg tiles. I put them in the toolbox in my truck and forgot to take them out.”
She joined him on the sofa and handed the box to him. “Mah-jongg is Mac’s favorite game.”
“I’ve never played it.” He turned the box over and examined it before he lifted the lid. The tiles looked similar to dominoes in shape and material, but instead of dots, the graphic on each tile was Chinese characters and symbols in red, green, and blue on an off-white background.
“Bingo.” He reached for a paper folded in half and taped to the inside of the top of the box. “I hope this isn’t just instructions.” When he unfolded it, his heart rate picked up.
Ellie lifted a brow. “A Peanuts cartoon?”
“I suspect it’s steganography. A message encrypted into a picture.” He smoothed out the paper, then snapped a picture and uploaded it. “I’m sending it in to be looked at. The FBI has a program that will decipher it. I think we’re on to something, though. Steganography is often used by terrorist cells. Most people would have looked at the cartoon and laughed. If we had the pass code to decipher it, we’d know something sooner.”
Ellie’s eyes widened. “Wait a second. Mac taught me a lot about these tiles, and the top row is a little unusual, almost deliberate.” A frown crouched between her eyes. “Mandarin is read from right to left and often runs vertically, then to the left.” She touched a green tile at the upper right. “This is the green dragon, which means ‘to begin.’” She ran her finger down to the next tile, a red one. “This is the red dragon. It often represents hitting a target or achievement.”
“So the first two tiles might mean ‘begin hitting the target.’” This felt important, almost momentous, like they’d stumbled into something huge.
Ellie continued to frown and study the tiles. “The next ones are the duck and peacock bamboo tiles. They stand for an enduring partnership and success.”
“Between North Korea and ISIS?”
“There’s no way of knowing that.” She touched the next tile. “This is the pine tree circle tile. It means ‘firmness’ or ‘strength.’ This next tile is the insect circle tile for ‘busyness’ or ‘a short time.’”
“Short time? Like maybe whatever they are planning will be soon?” He knew he was guessing, but headquarters would know more. He snapped a picture of the tiles and the way they were laid out, then sent it off too. “Anything else? This might be an indication of their intent, but I’d sure like to find a pass code.”
She took off her glasses and set them aside, then continued to study the tiles. “Have them try ‘east wind heaven’ in some combos. There’s a blank tile, then those two and another blank. It might mean something or it might be nothing.”
“Will do.” He shot off the request, then put his phone away. “You’re really something, you know. I wouldn’t have even thought to look at the combo of tiles.”
“It might not lead to anything,” she warned him.
“I know, but we have somewhere to start at least.”
She caught her full lower lip between her teeth. “I’ve been trying to think of what we can do to investigate Mac’s activities lately. She became really interested in ham radio and has been learning about it from our former coroner. I don’t know what triggered her interest because it came out of the blue about three months ago.”
“It’s a place to start. How about you talk to him tomorrow?” Ham radio might be something the terrorists used to communicate in cryptic messages. “I’d go with you, but I have a conference call with headquarters, and I’m hoping they’ll have some information about the mah-jongg tiles.”
“It’s probably nothing anyway.”
He yawned. “This time change is kicking my butt. I spent too much time in North Carolina.”
He didn’t want to leave, though, not with her looking at him with those blue eyes. He liked being around her. He’d never known a carpenter, let alone a female one. He hoped to have enough time to learn her different layers and depths. She was just plain interesting.
“So this probably explains why that woman was so adamant about getting the mah-jongg tiles,” she said. “And if we find out it’s a message between terrorists, it would also explain why I was run off the road, and the break-in too.” She glanced at the clock on the wall. “It’s ten, and we’ve had a busy day. Go on home and get some rest.”
Her mention of the attacks on her sent a chill up his spine. “Did you talk to Jason yet about staying with you?”
“When would I have had time? I’m fine to be here by myself. I’ll keep my can of bear spray on my bedside table.”
It wasn’t safe. “I’m going to stay. I can sleep on the sofa. It looks comfy.”
She shook her head. “Don’t be silly. There hasn’t been anything else since Tuesday night. Nothing last night or today. Maybe they got their message through another way, or maybe it was all a coincidence.”
“I can’t take that chance. Where do I find an extra pillow?”
She chewed on her bottom lip. “If you’re determined to stay, you can sleep in the guest room. There are clean sheets on the bed.”
And it was upstairs, while her bedroom was down here. “I’d better stay down here. It might take too long to get to you if someone tries to break in. I’m fine on the sofa.”
Amusement lit her amber eyes. “Your feet will hang off the end.”
He grinned back. “Won’t be the first time.”
He put the mah-jongg box into his computer bag for safekeeping. He wouldn’t get much sleep anyway, not with all the thoughts whirling in his head.
Ellie parked on the street at the former coroner’s home. He lived in a tree-lined subdivision that had been built in the sixties. Most were sprawling ranches, but Monte Bennet’s cute cottage had a front porch reminiscent of a Craftsman style. Roses bloomed in the flower beds and sent their sweet fragrance out over the walk to the door.
No one answered the doorbell, and she started to leave when she heard voices in the back. She went around the side yard with its bed of purple pansies and black-eyed Susans. The flowers would hang around until the first frost in November, and they appeared to be trying to make the most of their last few weeks of blooms. The backyard wasn’t fenced, and a large deck took full advantage of the trees lining the back of the property.
Monte sat at a table with a coffee mug. A woman Ellie assumed was Mrs. Bennet bent over the flower bed by the steps to the deck. She had stylish gray hair and wore a blue-and-white top over navy capris.
“I told you these flowers would take over the bed. I shouldn’t have planted them,” the woman said.
“I was trying to help,” Monte said. “I thought a ground cover would make you need less mulch.”
“Next time let me buy the plants, Monte.” She looked up, and her bright-blue eyes widened. “Well, hello.”
Monte straightened and looked her direction too. In his seventies now, he had an erect posture and hair that used to be red but had dulled to brown with gray wings at the temples. His mustache and eyebrows were completely white. “Ellie, isn’t it? Nelson and Lora’s girl.”
She advanced a few more steps into the perfectly manicured grass. “That’s right. I hope I’m not interrupting.”
“You’re only interrupting coffee, and I have plenty to share. Doris, would you mind getting our guest a cup?”
Doris wiped her hands on a towel she had around her waist. “Would you like some breakfast, young lady?”
“No, thanks. My name is Ellie. Ellie Blackmore.”
“I used to play golf with your mama, Ellie. You’ve grown up since I saw you last.” The screen door banged behind Doris as she went into the kitchen.
“Have a seat, young lady.” The coroner pointed to the blue flowered chair across the table from him.
“Thanks.” Ellie pulled it out and sank down as Doris came out with a mug of coffee that smelled wonderful.
Doris set the mug down in front of her. “Monte and I like Guatemalan coffee. I brought some cream and sugar in case you take it that way.”
Ellie poured in a bit of cream and took a sip. “Wonderful, thank you.”
“If you don’t need me, I’ll get back to yanking out that dratted ground cover Monte bought me.” She went down the steps and bent over her plants.
“Now, what can I do for you, young lady?” Monte asked.
“I wanted to ask you some questions about my sister, Mackenzie. You’d been teaching her all about ham radio.”
His rheumy eyes brightened. “Yep, I was her Elmer.”
“Elmer?”
“What we call a mentor in our world. Her enthusiasm inspired me. I’ve been involved in ham radio so long, I’d forgotten how exciting it is when you’re first learning.”
“Did she say why she was so interested in learning?”
He sipped his coffee. “I think she wanted to use it when sailing her tall ship. Other mariners do it too, and the fun thing about ham radio is you can talk to people from all over the world.” He frowned. “Though now that I think about it, she was here the first night because I kind of coerced her. I ran into her in the market and told her she should learn it. I promised her some of Doris’s famous coconut cream pie if she came over. That first night hooked her. She heard two men jabbering in an Asian language and got really excited. I think she said it was Korean.”
“Did she say what they talked about? She knows Korean well.”
He shook his head. “She was listening intently, though. She was so into it that she looked a little pale and tired when they stopped. She asked if she could come back and learn more. I’d guess she showed up three nights a week or so for more than three months. We’d turn the dial to listen in to all kinds of countries.”
“Did she ever talk with anyone?”
“Yeah, the Koreans. She said they were talking about things to see and do in Korea, but she sure got animated about it.”
Ellie decided to go with her gut. Hopefully she could trust Monte. “Listen, you’ve probably heard the rumor that she stole millions of dollars’ worth of cocaine.”
“I’ve heard that. Didn’t believe it, though.”
“It’s true. I saw the video. I found stuff on a computer she used about making an EMP bomb. The Coast Guard investigator I’m working with thinks she might have been involved with terrorists.”
Monte snorted. “I don’t believe it, and I have to wonder if the video you saw was doctored. That isn’t like Mac at all.”
“I didn’t believe it until I saw the video. I think it’s real. Did she ever say anything about EMP bombs or terrorists? Anything?”
“Nope.”
“That’s not exactly true.” Doris mounted the steps and wiped perspiration from her forehead with the back of a grubby hand. “I overheard her on her cell phone one night when you were in the bathroom, Monte.”
Ellie’s pulse jumped. “What did you hear?”
“She was arguing with someone. I heard her say the delivery should prove her devotion and loyalty. I didn’t know what she meant, but it makes sense now. Devotion and loyalty seemed odd words to tie with delivery, but I didn’t ask her, of course.”
“Do you know who she was talking to?”
“She called him Omar.”
Omar was a Middle Eastern name. Ellie felt faint. Could it all be true? She struggled to hold on to her faith in Mac. Maybe there was another explanation.
She sipped her coffee to wet her suddenly dry mouth. “Anything else?”
“Not that I can think of.” Doris smiled at her. “You look so much like your mother.”
“I’m not nearly as beautiful as she was. You said you played golf with her?”
Doris’s blue eyes went soft. She tucked her hair behind one ear and nodded. “I was so sorry not to be here for her when your sister died. I was visiting my mother who’d had a heart attack the week before. All that happened when I was out of town, including her suicide. I blamed myself for a long time. I think I could have helped Lora get through her grief if I’d been home.”
“Thank you. I’m glad you loved her.”
Doris swallowed and sniffled. “She was a good woman.”
“It was such a terrible tragedy.” Ellie managed to speak past the constriction in her throat. “It was my fault, and it’s been hard to deal with.”
“It wasn’t your fault.” She shook her head. “I’m just glad your mother isn’t here now to live through losing another child. She doted on Alicia.”
Ellie ducked her head, her face burning with guilt. “Thank you for the information.”
“Any time,” Monte said. “You might talk to old Ralph Hodges. He builds ham radios, and Mackenzie wanted to talk to him about electronics.”
Electronics, as in building bombs?