Chapter 9

Present – Ben, Bernie, Liz and Desiree – Meeting Mabel

We pass through the still destroyed front door and begin to walk toward the front gate.

Bernie asks, “Ben, when are you going to get the front door fixed.”

I think for a moment and reply, “Bernie, replacing the door isn’t going to be a simple matter...”

Looking back at the door I pause for a moment and swear, “Son of a...”

Liz saves me by interrupting, “ ... Sea Biscuit.”

Desiree remarks, “That was a close call Mr. Blaine! You almost owed another quarter to the swearing jar.”

I dash back to the door, look at it closely and ask Bernie, “Please have Inga come out here immediately.”

Bernie runs inside while Liz asks, “What is it Ben?”

I point to the edge of the door and continue, “I can’t believe all the experts missed this. The door is designed to prohibit forced entry by manual means. They used Primacord¹ to breech the door.”

¹ Primacord - genericized trademark for any detonating cord. Primacord consists of a continuous core of PETN, RDX or other high explosive, bound by textile yarns and finished with plastic and wax as waterproofing agents.

Inga arrives, I point at the door and ask, “How did you all miss this?”

Inga quickly recognizes it and responds, “Ben, they used and explosive device to breech the door.”

I reply, “That’s right, and from the looks of it I would say it was primacord. This door was designed to withstand normal entry methods, so they needed to blow it.”

Inga continues, “But Primacord requires a blasting cap to detonate it - I don’t see the remains of one anywhere.”

I concur, “Yes, they probably took that with them.”

Inga says, “Let me get our bomb experts to look at this.”

Inga leaves and Bernie suggests, “Ben, why don’t Liz, Desiree and I continue to go meet Mabel.”

I smile at them and reply, “Thanks. I want to stay here and see what the bomb expert says.”

They leave and finally Inga returns with the FBI explosives specialist. They begin to examine the door and one of them says, “We would really like to take this door back to Denver for analysis.”

I inform him, “You’re going to have a hell of a time getting the door out of the house. It’s set in concrete.”

The agent expresses surprise, “I thought this was a log cabin.”

I knock on the wall, it makes a thunk noise and then I reply, “The walls were designed so people think it’s a log wall. In reality, it’s faux logs made out of concrete. I can call our contractor and see when he can replace the door.”

I take out my phone and call the contractor. I explain the problem to him, declare it’s an emergency and he says, “You’re lucky I have a replacement door in stock. I can be out in a few hours to replace it. Until we get there, make sure no one fucks with it.”

I relay the message to the agent, “He will be here in a few hours to replace the door. He also asked that you don’t try to remove it yourself.”

The agent says, “Okay, let me know when he shows up.” Then he wanders back inside.

Bernie and his entourage arrive. Mabel runs up to me, hugs me and says, “Ben I’m so sorry about what happened.”

I smile at her and say, “Don’t worry, we will get them back.”

Mabel says, “Well, I’m here to cook for you. Now, I heard you haven’t had anything since breakfast.”

Desiree remarks, “That’s right Mr. Blaine - I told her.”

I tease Desiree and say, “Hey, I thought we were friends.”

Desiree replies, “We are but you need to eat. If you get sick, when Fiona, James and Ms. Blaine get back from vacation, you will be sick and then we can’t play.”

Mabel emphatically states, “Don’t worry Desiree, I will make sure Mr. Blaine eats. Now how many people am I cooking for?”

I shrug my shoulders and answer, “Mabel, I have no idea. Perhaps Inga knows.”

Mabel says, “Don’t worry, I will find her and figure it out myself.”

Mabel, Bernie, Liz and Desiree leave and I’m left staring at the front door. Damn, I really wish Destiny was here because I want to go over the area around the front door again to see what else was missed.

Gretchen announces in my com unit, “Ben, your wolf is returning.”

I make a call to the front gate, “Do not shoot the wolf that is coming in.”

As she runs up to the front of the house, I reach down, pet her and say, “Destiny, they blasted the front door open and I want to make sure we didn’t miss anything.”

She stays in her wolf form, begins to search the ground, and growls as she finds something.

I walk over and she’s found some pieces of the blasting cap. How the hell did we miss these in the first place? I call Inga on the com, “Inga we found some of the blasting cap pieces.”

Inga replies with obvious surprise, “How did we miss those? I will be right there with the FBI agent.”

Inga and the agent arrive, he sees Destiny and says, “Is that a real wolf?”

Inga answers, “Don’t worry, she’s tame.”

He warily walks over, keeping an eye on Destiny the whole time. I point to the ground and remark, “She found them right here.”

He bends down, looks at them and says, “I can tell you how we missed them, they were stepped on. This might be the first break we’ve had in the case. If I can recover the ID of the detonator, we can determine where it was purchased.”

He carefully removes the pieces using a wooden dowel and places them in an evidence bag.

He turns to me and asks, “Any more news on the removal of the door?”

I shake my head no...

Present – Samantha – Eating Lunch with Stacy

I arrive a little early at the restaurant and Henri takes me to our normal table. It’s so nice having the restaurant again so I comment, “Henri, it’s good to see you again.”

He smiles and answers with his French accent, “Oui, however Miss Mabel left temporarily today to go back to the Blaine’s cabin to cook for them. So our menu today is limited.”

I remember when Mabel first came to work at the restaurant, Henri and she had huge fights. It was good to see they finally worked things out.

Stacy arrives, waves at me and comes right over. I stand, we hug each other, then we take our chairs as Stacy says, “Ben Blaine would not accept any of my men to help him, however he did accept Mabel to cook for him.”

I smile and comment, “That was nice of you to let Mabel go.”

Stacy confides in a whisper, “I really didn’t have a choice, it was let her go or she was going to quit.”

I reply, “And losing her would probably cause a loss of the five star rating this restaurant has.”

I forgot to mention that fact. The addition of Mabel and her dishes made the restaurant world class. Hell, it was booked months in advance and people came up from Denver just to eat here and of course to sample some of the beer from the local brewery. The food critics raved about the restaurant. It was a boon to the local economy as many people booked romantic getaway weekends in the local hotels. At first Stacy considered purchasing one of the hotels, but Alexi had dissuaded her.

I finally worked up the nerve to ask Stacy, “So, what do you think about the kidnapping?”

Stacy smiles and says, “First. Samantha I didn’t have anything to do with this situation. Second, the people who did perpetrate this were very smart because they wore masks so Jennifer couldn’t put a spell on them and third, even though this sounds bad, they did me a favor.”