Chapter 13- Ending
It was a hectic week.On top of everything else Helen needed to get done tracking the life and times of Swallowtail, the second bedroom was still unfurnished.The fourth bedroom, off the office near the kitchen and out of the line of sight of prying eyes, was her craft room.The half bath was also located off the office, making it easier for her to spend a lazy Friday making cutesy shit.
The third bedroom, down the hall and furthest from the master, was the one she had decorated already.Bedroom two needed some work.It needed a bed, a dresser, rugs, and curtains.She sighed deeply, thinking this afternoon she would make it happen.
“Maybe tomorrow,” she said, wanting to figure out what she was trying to wrestle with in her head.“Swallowtail will live in a high-end neighborhood with a lot of features to the home, a private drive and maybe water on one side?”
She began to type in locations in and around the Detroit area, landing on Grosse Point Shores.Helen searched property listings and found million dollar plus homes.Next, she searched caterers, wine distributors in the area, and recent large orders.A sly grin came to her lips when she thought about the girl Candace and made a timeline based on the child's departure, three, nearly four weeks ago.In the handy dandy Technician laptop, she looked for catering deliveries and wine deliveries three to four weeks ago for a function in Grosse Pointe Shores.
“Hot damn,” she said, finding the caterer and a wine wholesaler.“Now, to tap into the wholesaler’s database, a click here, and a click there.Delivery to an address in Grosse Pointe Shores, Grosse Pointe, and one other on the same day.Does she have a home and then a party pad, or all they both the same?”
Helen went on to search for caterers in the area and located two.She cross-referenced it with the wine wholesaler and found corresponding dates of delivery to one address.In her notebook, she wrote down the address and entered a new search of property records to find the home was owned by Quiescent Holdings.
“What the hell is that?”Helen questioned, searching the meaning of the word.“A period of inactivity or dormancy-like a cocoon or a pupa.Ha, not too clever, Swallowtail.”
Helen began researching Quiescent Holdings and found properties in Pennsylvania, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Michigan.Out of curiosity, she searched the paperwork she had on Kurtzwilde to cross-reference the properties.There were only two he shared with Quiescent, one in Indiana, the other in Minnesota.For Helen, the question popped out on Ohio and New York, which made up the Great Lakes, minus Ontario.
She picked up her Technician phone.Helen pressed three to hear the voice of the Operator.A request for connection was made, and the line began to ring.Moments later, she heard a growl in the line.
“How may I be of assistance to the Cranberry?”the voice said.
“Good morning, Mr.Yield,” Helen said, sounding chipper.“Listen, I know Mustang thinks he's the best tracker in the US, so please don't ever tell him I called for an assist from you.”
She held the line, waiting for Yield’s chest expansion, a sardonic grin which would be palpable through the phone, then a loud sigh.If she got that, the Alpha male in him would be on the hook.
“Listen lady, I'm married.Your little tricks don't work on me.What do you want?”he asked, laughing.
“Okay, fine!I am doing some tracking.I ran across Quiescent Holdings.I spell, Quebec, Uniform- India- Echo- Sierra- Charlie- Echo- November and Tango.They have some properties in Pennsylvania.I'm wondering, if you have a minute, could you do that thing you do, see if those properties match anything we saw that night in Wisconsin?”
“And if they do?”
“Then, Hornworm, the third member of the Chrysalis, may be in your backyard,” she told him.
“In Pennsylvania?”he asked, rising to get his Technicians’ tablet.“How do you figure that?”
“I found Swallowtail, who is in Michigan around the Detroit area,” she said.“Kurtzwilde is Imperial, which leaves Hornworm.Minnesota is too cold to traffic kids and the things they do to bring in customers.Operating costs wouldn't be profitable, and the Winter would be a shutdown of operations.The Archangel is in Ohio, so she wouldn't dare operate there.New York is very busy, and again cost, so I'm thinking she's in your neck of the woods.”
“Oh, you do, do you?And what is the plan if you're correct?”Yield asked.
“Can't make a plan if I don't know what I'm dealing with, I need hard data, facts, and locations to make plans, Mr.Yield.Will you once more assist me?I think I'm on to something, and if so, we can shut down these kiddie diddlers,” Helen said.
“Your Boss know you're doing this?”
“Calling you or the research?The research yes; calling you, I'm doing to reach out to a friend,” she said.
“We're friends?”
“You're friends with the Mustang, and you're also family, which means yes, you'll get to dance with me at the wedding,” she said, softly chuckling.
