| General Fiction posted June 27, 2012 | Chapters: |
...21 21 -22- 23... 
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Preparations For A Journey
A chapter in the book The Eden Tree
Preparations for a Journey
by vigournet
| Background If John Morgan were a tree, he'd be an oak; others find shelter from his strength. A character firmly rooted, drawing others to his circle of family and friends: under the shadow of the Eden Tree. |
Monday January 7th 2012
James appeared at breakfast with untidy hair, his shirttails hanging out.
A few minutes later, Aly came into the kitchen, combing her long black hair with a comb. Her black tee-shirt stated in white lettering, "It wasn't me...I didn't do it...I know nothing...NOW SOD OFF."
"Aly didn't sleep well?" my eyebrows rose.
Sean guffawed and nearly choked on his shredded wheat. Rachel hit him playfully on his arm.
"Behave," she said, and then announced that she was going with Liz and Becky to look at possible premises for Morgan Fashion.
I knew Aly had not slept in the study. I'd seen her enter James' room in the night.
"OK, OK, I get it," James said, his colour rising. "It's OK if we keep our clothes on," he added meekly.
"They sure look creased," Sean mocked.
After breakfast, Joseph arrived and James and Aly gathered us around his laptop to show us what they had discovered so far. He made the information onscreen intelligible. Aly's fingers moved across the keyboard like a pianist's. "Caleb's hard drive has been mirrored on James' laptop," Aly said.
"We needed to look at what started this off," James said, showing us images as he clicked on "notes" and "diary". I saw that anyone with access to Caleb's PC would have known all about his meeting with his nephews and the box. "There's no record of an intrusion on the PC but..."
"...we think what kicked this off, Joseph," Aly said, "is the theft of his desk diary last year."
Our Jewish friend looked over our shoulders. Aly continued, "Your uncle made extensive notes about the Tree of Life and the Garden of Eden, making drawings from his memory of the parchments. He also noted conversations with Simeon and detailed the arrangements with John on Feb 14th. We think the diary is the key."
"We have the images of the guys from Heathrow," James said.
"OK." Aly scrolled to another folder and images appeared.
Placing his finger on the images on screen, Sean said, "Here are the CCTV photos that Heathrow security emailed me. These are the bozos we tussled with."
"Yes, that's them. They tried to steal my case and the box," I said.
"The younger one is just a punk," Sean said. "But this older guy is a nasty piece of work. We know from Interpol he worked as a security guard for Leitz, a huge pharmaceutical firm in Strasbourg. He was fired because of his drug use. Interpol are not interested in finding him for attempting to steal a suitcase. But his drug peddling may get him extradited."
Joseph recounted his uncle telling them about the robbery in the university.
Joseph said, "Simeon tried to warn you. Caleb's desk diary was stolen. Some clues must have been in it. Since that desk diary theft the conspirators must be working with dangerous people, John, and they have my brother." Joseph sobbed, his shoulders quivering. "But my uncle lives in a plush retirement complex overlooking the Mediterranean. His laptop is next to him at all times."
"But that doesn't prevent cyber-theft," James said. "Industrial espionage is huge business. It's likely the man from the pharmaceutical company called in a few favours and is now working with others."
Sean agreed. "The two men at the airport luggage island were pushovers. They're not the sort to resort to kidnapping unless they're ordered to do so. Things have changed in the chain of command," Sean's voice grew with menace, "now we're dealing with some very bad people." Aunty growled.
An action plan was formed. Sean would have St Peter's box in his in-flight bag. The white cloth bag with the crushed leaves would be in my jacket, hopefully immune to sniffer dogs. James would bring his laptop, working from the hotel and liaising with Aly from our home.
"I've given Aly all my user names and passwords," James said. "It's better that she stays in my room. Mum, you OK with that?" Liz nodded enthusiastically. She seemed glad of the chance to spend time with her future daughter-in-law.
"You've given Aly your user names and passwords and she is sleeping in your bedroom?" I asked. "Without torture?"
Sean and I sang in unison, "It must be love, love, love."
James appeared at breakfast with untidy hair, his shirttails hanging out.
A few minutes later, Aly came into the kitchen, combing her long black hair with a comb. Her black tee-shirt stated in white lettering, "It wasn't me...I didn't do it...I know nothing...NOW SOD OFF."
"Aly didn't sleep well?" my eyebrows rose.
Sean guffawed and nearly choked on his shredded wheat. Rachel hit him playfully on his arm.
"Behave," she said, and then announced that she was going with Liz and Becky to look at possible premises for Morgan Fashion.
I knew Aly had not slept in the study. I'd seen her enter James' room in the night.
"OK, OK, I get it," James said, his colour rising. "It's OK if we keep our clothes on," he added meekly.
"They sure look creased," Sean mocked.
After breakfast, Joseph arrived and James and Aly gathered us around his laptop to show us what they had discovered so far. He made the information onscreen intelligible. Aly's fingers moved across the keyboard like a pianist's. "Caleb's hard drive has been mirrored on James' laptop," Aly said.
"We needed to look at what started this off," James said, showing us images as he clicked on "notes" and "diary". I saw that anyone with access to Caleb's PC would have known all about his meeting with his nephews and the box. "There's no record of an intrusion on the PC but..."
"...we think what kicked this off, Joseph," Aly said, "is the theft of his desk diary last year."
Our Jewish friend looked over our shoulders. Aly continued, "Your uncle made extensive notes about the Tree of Life and the Garden of Eden, making drawings from his memory of the parchments. He also noted conversations with Simeon and detailed the arrangements with John on Feb 14th. We think the diary is the key."
"We have the images of the guys from Heathrow," James said.
"OK." Aly scrolled to another folder and images appeared.
Placing his finger on the images on screen, Sean said, "Here are the CCTV photos that Heathrow security emailed me. These are the bozos we tussled with."
"Yes, that's them. They tried to steal my case and the box," I said.
"The younger one is just a punk," Sean said. "But this older guy is a nasty piece of work. We know from Interpol he worked as a security guard for Leitz, a huge pharmaceutical firm in Strasbourg. He was fired because of his drug use. Interpol are not interested in finding him for attempting to steal a suitcase. But his drug peddling may get him extradited."
Joseph recounted his uncle telling them about the robbery in the university.
Joseph said, "Simeon tried to warn you. Caleb's desk diary was stolen. Some clues must have been in it. Since that desk diary theft the conspirators must be working with dangerous people, John, and they have my brother." Joseph sobbed, his shoulders quivering. "But my uncle lives in a plush retirement complex overlooking the Mediterranean. His laptop is next to him at all times."
"But that doesn't prevent cyber-theft," James said. "Industrial espionage is huge business. It's likely the man from the pharmaceutical company called in a few favours and is now working with others."
Sean agreed. "The two men at the airport luggage island were pushovers. They're not the sort to resort to kidnapping unless they're ordered to do so. Things have changed in the chain of command," Sean's voice grew with menace, "now we're dealing with some very bad people." Aunty growled.
An action plan was formed. Sean would have St Peter's box in his in-flight bag. The white cloth bag with the crushed leaves would be in my jacket, hopefully immune to sniffer dogs. James would bring his laptop, working from the hotel and liaising with Aly from our home.
"I've given Aly all my user names and passwords," James said. "It's better that she stays in my room. Mum, you OK with that?" Liz nodded enthusiastically. She seemed glad of the chance to spend time with her future daughter-in-law.
"You've given Aly your user names and passwords and she is sleeping in your bedroom?" I asked. "Without torture?"
Sean and I sang in unison, "It must be love, love, love."
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