Page 44 of One Knight Stand

I turned to Wally. “Pull up Google Maps and see if you can get a view of the old train station here in town. Does it have an abandoned boxcar there?”

Wally returned to his laptop and within a minute had an aerial view of the train station. “Bingo. Angel, there’s a single boxcar there. It’s sitting behind the train station, to the east. And get this…there’s a covered walkway attached to the train station.”

“‘You’ll be through,’” I murmured. “That’s where he wants to meet.”

“The boxcar?” Frankie asked.

“The boxcar.”

“But what time and when?” Jax pulled up an empty chair and sat next to me. “Are you meeting him at nine in the morning or nine at night?”

“We have the number twelve in the mix, too,” I said. “I think that’s the time. He wants to meet me at either noon or midnight.”

“It says adark3-D smooch,” Wally pointed out. “I vote for midnight.”

“There’d be fewer people around at midnight,” Jax agreed. “That makes more sense to me, too.”

“So midnight, at the old abandoned train station, in or near the boxcar,” I said. “But we still have one more verse to figure out. Wally, you got anything else on Ilion, New York? How does that verse figure into things?”

By this time, the entire team had come into the living room, listening to us work on the riddle. I felt like we were close.

Wally switched screens on his laptop, pulling up his research. “Not much, Angel. Ilion, New York, seems to be the most boring town in the United States. There’s nothing going on there. It’s located south of the Mohawk River and the Erie Canal. Its main source of income is agriculture, some small farms and a few mills. It has no major landmarks, no historical significance, and no industry other than a small rifle factory.”

“A rifle factory?” Mike said. “What kind of rifles?”

“I don’t know, does it matter?” Wally irritably tapped on some keys and pulled up the information. “Apparently, in 1816, some guy named Eliphalet Remington created his first rifle. The factory, Remington Arms, is named after him. Supposedly it’s the oldest factory in the US that still makes the original product. So, maybe Ilion is famous for something after all.”

“Remington?” I exclaimed and leaped to my feet. Mr. Toodles who was snoozing near the fireplace, woke from a nap and glared at me.

Wally looked at me in alarm. “Yes. Eliphalet Remington made a rifle.”

“That’s not a coincidence,” I said, pacing. “A man named IsaacRemingtonwas my dad’s and J. P. Lando’s boss at King’s Security. He even gave the eulogy at J. P. Lando’s funeral. He still works at the NSA. He’s now the director of research there. His name is in the directory I found when I hacked into King’s Security.”

“I saw his name in the clippings, too.” Jax leaned forward, his eyes gleaming. “‘Ilion, New York, is starting a war.’ If Remington is our guy, maybe he’s starting some kind of war or division inside the NSA.”

“Is he the one that took your mom?” Hala asked.

I pressed my hand to my forehead, thinking. “I don’t know, Hala, but we need to focus our research in that direction. If my dad named him in the riddle, he must be an important player. If he’s starting a war, presumably, he’s not on the good side.”

“In that case, we should also look at his deputies and what he does for fun,” Kira added. “Everything we can about him.”

“Everything,” I agreed. “And as quickly as possible.”

“So, does that mean you’re still meeting your dad tonight at midnight at the old train station?” Kira asked.

“Yes.”

“Are you certain about that, Red?” Jax watched me thoughtfully, perhaps gauging my confidence and commitment.

I wanted to be sure, but was I? How could I be one hundred percent certain? I couldn’t, which meant I had to trust my gut.

Only you should be able to decipher the riddle, which will contain memories that will be significant to you, and you alone.

I held Jax’s gaze and nodded firmly. “I’m sure. Tonight at midnight.”

Chapter Twenty-Three

ANGEL SINCLAIR

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