As he turned into his driveway, he saw that all the security lights were on. Parked by the house were cars from both the Security Company and the sheriff’s office. Greg was able to weave his way through the cars and put his car in the garage. He came back out through the garage door rather than go directly into the house. As he stood looking around, the security company supervisor came around the corner of the house. He walked toward Greg and as he came up he said,

“Dr. Manart, The outer two rings of the security system were breached tonight by two men wearing night camouflage clothing. They were headed in the direction of the house from the direction of the road. When they breached the first ring we sent two patrols and notified the sheriff’s office. They also sent two patrols. One of our patrols we left on the road, the other came in here. We also brought the van with the monitors on it. One of the sheriff’s cars stationed itself at the point where your property comes nearest the subdivision. The other car came here. According to the camera recordings, when the men heard the sirens they moved toward the subdivision, but when they heard the sheriff’s car in that direction they changed direction and moved toward the river. We lost them in the marshy swampy area.” About that time, one of the sheriff’s deputies came around the corner of the garage and moved toward Greg and the supervisor. The supervisor greeted the deputy.

“According to our cameras they went into the swamp heading for the river,” the supervisor said.

“In that case,” said the deputy, “if they don’t know that terrain, they’re in real trouble. However, I don’t expect them to try to come back toward the house. They’ll be expecting us to be searching for them. There’s no sense in our going into that area looking for them tonight. We’ll be patrolling the roads watching for anyone out around. We’ll also check the highway-bridge over the river. We’re sure they had accomplices who dropped them off and expected to pick them up. They were probably scared away by the sirens. The deputies in the subdivision report the electric lines cut coming into your place. They weren’t expecting to be interrupted by any alarm being sounded. It obviously was a well-orchestrated attempt by professionals. They couldn’t have expected to carry away anything heavy, because they obviously were on foot. Do you have any idea what they were looking for Dr. Manart?” the deputy asked.

“It was probably what you would term as industrial espionage. I think they may have been looking for a formula, which we are in the process of testing. While I was working on it, a copy was here. However, that copy hasn’t been here for the last month. Of course, they might not have known that it was no longer here,” answered Greg.

“But it is still attempted robbery,” said the deputy. The deputy turned to the security company supervisor. “Will you have any one here in case they try to come back?”

“Yes,” the supervisor answered. “We’ll keep the van here to monitor the cameras and two other men in case they try to double back figuring we’ve left.”

“Good.” the deputy said, “We’ll keep in touch. The subdivision has two or three nighttime security people. We’ll try to get them to have one patrol this end of the subdivision in case the men try to come out that way.” Then he turned to Greg. “We may be back out in the morning.”

“That’s fine,” said Greg. “I may not be around later in the morning. However, if there are any questions you need me to answer, I’ll be available later in the day.” Greg didn’t think of it until later that it was the following morning he was planning to have lunch with Christy. Actually it really didn’t matter. The second deputy came at that time and they left. The supervisor went back to the van to contact his men. Greg went into the house. As a precaution, he made the tour of the house to see that nothing was disturbed. Everything was fine, so he went to bed.

Next morning he was up early, but the security company van was already gone. He checked his security monitor, but none of the cameras were reporting any movement. He figured the sheriff and the Security Company were reviewing the video tapes from last night before coming out to look around again. He doubted if they were going to need him. After breakfast, he went to his studio to do some painting. Painting always relaxed him. He really enjoyed it and never considered it work. Writing was work. Painting was not. So he spent a relaxing day painting in his studio. The sheriff and Security Company came and went. Except to check in with him and let him know they were there, they didn’t bother him. Tomorrow he was planning on going in early and check in with the science department at Ballard University before meeting Christy for lunch.

Thursday morning he was up early and in to the University by around eight o’clock. After putting his head in a couple of laboratories to see what was going on, he went to the chairman’s office. He found several of the senior faculty gathered and holding a discussion on some of the new information in their several fields. Although the discussion was beginning to wind down toward lunchtime, Greg had to excuse himself, when he found he was in danger of being late for his luncheon date with Christy. As it was, he saw her go into the restaurant when he was nearly a block from the restaurant. He hurried to catch her before they ushered her to a table. He hurried through the door just as Christy was being escorted to a table.

“Ah, just in time,” Greg said as he hurried to catch up, trying not to seem like he had to hurry.

“Almost didn’t make it,” said Christy over her shoulder. “The conversation must have been interesting. Or was it the legs?”

“Why should I be looking at other legs? Actually, it was the conversation. I stopped at Dr. Callendar’s office and got into a middle of a discussion on a couple topics I was interested in. Come to think of it, Dr. Kline does have nice legs.” Christy laughed. Greg quickly changed the subject.

“How’s the new job going?” he asked. “I assume you are now on the new job.”

“Yes, and it is going very well. I’m still trying to get my feet on the ground and learn the way the agency operates. Everyone has been very helpful. Even the people who technically work for me. I think I’m really going to enjoy it.”

The waitress came up and asked them if they had made up their mind. They discussed some of the entrees and then made their choices.

Then Christy said, “This one’s on me. It’s actually kind of a business luncheon.” Greg looked at her questioningly. Christy continued. “I have a client. A specialized computer software/hardware company whose customers are large and medium sized national companies. Personnel from these companies often come to the headquarters of this client of mine. It is a very nice building, but as you enter the foyer you see a blank wall. They would like you to do a painting to hang on this wall. They would like a large painting of a wooded wildlife scene. What exactly it will be, they leave up to you.”

“Did you suggest that I do the painting,” asked Greg.

“No. I didn’t have a chance. Two of the principals in the company have seen your paintings. They decided you were the one they wanted to do the painting. They said they would pay you whatever you wanted to paint that picture for them. They would like it by fall sometime, if at all possible, although they assured me they would not push you. They plan to frame it and have gallery type lighting to make the painting the focal point. They did not even ask for sketches of what the picture would be about.”

“I suppose they know that we are friends,” began Greg. “If I refused, would that cause you problems with that client?”

Christy thought a moment. “No. I really don’t think so. However I’m new at this game and my analysis may be faulty. But don’t let that be a factor in your decision.”

“Oh, I knew you’d say that. Actually I think I will accept that commission and I know just what I want to paint. This Spring I’ve been working on a couple of paintings. One of a mother fox and her kits, and the other of a large hawk that is nesting out in the woods near my house. I think I’ll combine the two into a picture of a mother fox carrying one of her kits to a safer place under the watchful eye of the large hawk who would like nothing better than to snatch up the baby for a nice meal. Mother’s love pitted against the dangers of life. How does that sound?” asked Greg looking at Christy.

“Oh. That sounds wonderful. Can I tell them that?”

“You can tell them that I accepted and I will tell them what it will cost them when I bring them colored sketches of the picture I intend to paint. Don’t tell them what I said I’m going to paint. Also get me the dimensions of the wall and is there anything at all in front of that wall. I would like to make the size of the painting fit the perceived dimensions of the wall. Oh. And I expect that you will go with me, when I show them those colored sketches and tell them how much they are going to pay. By the way, do they have any concept what it might cost them?” asked Greg.

“When we were discussing this, one of them said ‘I suppose it could be upward of several hundred thousand,’ the other one nodded in agreement. No one in the meeting looked shocked,” answered Christy.

“Well in that case, I can assure you they won’t get sticker shock.”

“I have no intention of telling them that. I’ll let them wait until you tell them the price,” said Christy. “I already told them that I never knew of you ever taking commissions to paint a picture, because you definitely were not hurting for money, as far as I knew. When I tell them that you agreed to paint the picture, they’ll be ecstatic. I don’t want to give them all the good news at one time. That would spoil them.”

Greg laughed then said, “You learn real fast, Christy. I think you’ll do just great at the agency.”

“Which reminds me. They insisted the deal would be between their company and you. They’re essentially paying for my time and expenses to set it up and follow it through,” Christy said. Then she hastily added, “They are a very reputable company.”

“In other words, they will pay me what they say they will pay me. They just don’t want the agency adding a fifteen per cent profit on the top of what I will charge them.”

“That’s it in a nutshell. But they won’t balk at my charging them for my regular hourly fee plus expenses for the time I put into the project. It is good public relations on our part, and we will be able to build good public relations around the picture, so the agency has no objections.”

“Was it the company’s idea to have a picture for that wall?” asked Greg.

“Actually they were thinking of a mural painted on the wall. I suggested that it would be much more dramatic and have much more class if they had a picture painted by a recognized artist,” said Christy. “They picked up on that almost immediately. Then one of the owners said ‘Can we get Greg Manart to do one of his scenes. Maybe a wildlife scene.’ It kind of grew from there.”

“If they like the result, that should be a real feather in your cap, Christy. The agency will think they got a real barn-burner.”

“Well they did.”

“Nothing modest about you,” said Greg with a smile. “Oh I agree wholeheartedly,” he quickly added. About this time their food arrived, so the conversation drifted off to occasional small talk about Greg’s garden and Christy’s job. Greg did not mention the excitement of Tuesday night at his place. He decided to wait and see if anyone else said anything about it. Surprisingly, he hadn’t seen anything in the papers or on the broadcast media. He hadn’t even gotten a call from Lynn or Anton. Maybe the Sheriff was playing it close to the vest, for reasons of his own.

After lunch, Christy looked at Greg and said, “Has anyone made any overtures about having a dinner in the near future, Greg?”

“No, and I’ve been too busy to even wonder about it. We had a dinner and breakfast in close succession, so maybe everyone is figuring a longer wait would be good.”

“That’s right, the breakfast and dinner were unusually close together, especially when they both included most of the group.” Christy agreed. “I wasn’t pushing anything. I was just wondering. I’m going to be doing a lot more traveling, so I may not be able to get to the gatherings every time.”

“That’s okay. If you miss too many, I’ll hold a special breakfast for you when you can make it.”

“Oh. That would be sweet of you.” When the check came, Christy picked it up as she said she would. Christy headed for her office to call her client with the good news. Greg headed home.

CHAPTER SIX

When Greg arrived home, he had a message to call the Sheriff. None of the other calls were urgent so he called the sheriff’s office and identified himself. In a few minutes the Sheriff came on the line.

“Dr. Manart.” the Sheriff began. “We found out the house closest to where your property comes near the subdivision, has been empty for a while. A young couple rented it for a month. The name they gave is an alias, we are sure. We are trying to get the description, from local residents, of the young couple who was in the area for a while. If the descriptions are close we will have a reason to get a warrant to search the house. We’re checking with the county attorney now. We lucked out and found the night camouflage clothing they ditched in the swamp. Between that and the pictures on your video cameras we can put together a better description of the two people. We may even get a clue as to where the outfits were picked up. We have some other leads on which we are following up. We’re checking out reports of stolen cars in the area, just in case they never made contact with their accomplice driving the getaway car. We are also checking to see if anyone noticed a strange van in the area that evening and night. I thought you would like to know how things are coming.”

“I really appreciate your calling me and keeping me up to date,” said Greg. “I noticed there has been no mention of this in the papers or on newscasts.”

“We’ve been keeping it under wraps as much as we can. We haven’t figured out how to down play your security system. Luckily the two reporters, who got wind of the story, agreed to hold off breaking it for a few days.”

“I knew that if something like this would happen, I wouldn’t be able to keep the security system under wraps any longer. So don’t worry about it,” said Greg. “They’d have to trespass to discover where the cameras are. Even then they’d really have to know where they are because there are no wires leading to them. It’s not going to compromise the system. ”

“Oh, we’ll keep any information like that to a minimum,” said the Sheriff. They both said good-bye and hung up. Greg checked out his other calls and answered those necessary. He figured he would wait and see what the newscasts and newspaper carried about the incident. He’d have to figure out an excuse for not calling Lynn and clueing her in. Greg was hoping, it would all blow over and would never be a story.

The following day, there was a small story about an attempted break-in, out in the country. It was foiled by quick action of the sheriff’s department. The sheriff did a good job of down playing it. The media didn’t see it worth much more than a mention. However, Lynn was able to determine it was his place they were talking about so she called.

“So who tried to get through your security system and why?” Lynn asked when Greg answered the phone.

“Lynn, I haven’t the slightest idea who would want to break in to my place. What I have here, they could get much easier from a lot of houses in town. You know that. Your guess is as good as mine as to what they thought they would find.”

“I take it they didn’t get into your house.”

“Actually they didn’t really get close to the house. The Security Company and the sheriff’s department responded too fast. The intruders, who ever they were, must have heard the sirens and took off. They never came back.”

“Do you think they’ll try again?”

“Now that they know there’s some kind of security system, I doubt it,” answered Greg. “Until we can figure out what they were after, we’ll never really be sure. I’m not going to worry about it.”

“Didn’t they figure you’d have some kind of security system. They must have figured you had something valuable enough to steal?”

“Oh they figured that was a possibility because they cut the electric lines coming in from the subdivision area. They didn’t figure on a back up electrical system. Obviously that caught them by surprise.”

“It sounds like you’d prefer this story died like right now.”

“Well I would prefer no further information on the security system got into the media,” said Greg. “ The only way that is possible if the whole story just dies.”

“If something does start to develop, I expect to be the first to know,” said Lynn.

“Don’t worry. If anything breaks, you’ll find out as soon as I know.”

“In that case, I’ll let you off the hook for now. I want to sit down with you in the near future. Off the record, you can fill me in on the whole story as you see it.”

“Okay. You have my promise. Let me know when you can get away,” said Greg. He was hoping he could put it off until next week at the earliest. Having survived relatively unscathed, he went to his office and started to do some work on his book.

Saturday morning he decided to go into Montrose. He wanted to see if anyone wondered about the sirens in the area Tuesday evening. His entrance into the cafe didn’t bring any more than the usual interest. However he overheard talk of the sheriff’s deputies asking some people if they noticed any strangers around that evening. Grant Graider, who owned the motel came in to the café. Spying Greg sitting alone, he came over and joined Greg.

“Did you hear the sirens, Tuesday evening?” asked Grant. “I understand there was an attempted break-in the sheriff foiled.”

“I didn’t hear the sirens.” Greg answered. “I was in town that evening.”

“I heard the sheriff has been asking some people in the area if they saw any strangers or a strange van around that evening. Heard there was a car stolen from one of the places on the other side of the highway. Someone said the sirens were on this side of the highway. Course sounds like that are misleading, especially at night,” Grant continued. He wasn’t waiting for Greg to answer. He just continued talking. “We don’t have much of that around here. Haven’t had a break-in for over two years in Montrose. I’ve never had that kind of trouble since I bought the motel. I guess we’ve been really lucky that way.”

“Yes it has been nice and peaceful around here,” said Greg. Lilly came up to get their orders. Greg said he’d have the usual and so did Grant.

“Well that was easy,” said Lilly. “Now if I can remember who ordered which when the orders come up, every thing will be fine.”

“Are you having problems remembering things these days, Lilly?” Greg asked

“No, not particularly, but you never can tell.”

“That’s Lilly’s way of excusing herself if she ever does foul orders up,” said Grant after Lilly had walked away.

“But she never does, does she?”

“Not that I can remember.” Then Grant laughed, “But you never can tell.” Sam, the cafe owner, came over and sat down beside Grant.

“Do you think that attempted break-in could be tied-in to those four men or the young couple who were here a while back? Nothing like this has happened around here for years,” Sam said.

“I wouldn’t think that was likely,” Greg broke in. “We know who the four men were representing, and the young couple seemed only to be interested in the hiking and biking trails.”

“That’s true,” chimed in Grant. “But it’s a strange coincidence that something like this should happen only after strangers are here for a while.”

“That’s what I was thinking,” said Sam.

“Well if you think that, why don’t you tell the sheriff about your ideas,” said Greg.

“Well, I guess I don’t have anything concrete to base my ideas on,” said Sam. Greg smiled to himself. That probably won’t stop him from telling someone else in town what his ideas are, Greg thought. No one, so far, seems to have tied in the incident with his place. The sheriff’s cars were on the road near the highway-bridge over the river and in the subdivision. They could put the scene of the action anyplace in the area. If nothing new developed, maybe the whole thing would die down. After eating breakfast, he did a little shopping then headed back. He had found out what he wanted to know.

On Wednesday he got a call from Margo Cellini.

“Greg. How well did you know Jason Timore?”

“Not very well really, Margo. Why do you ask?” said Greg a little puzzled. He assumed Margo knew Jason fairly well.

“Yesterday I called the restaurant and asked for Jason. I was informed he was no longer with the restaurant. Nobody knew where he was. Naturally I started asking some questions and found out that Jason did not have an interest in the restaurant. If I had known that, I would not have invested in the restaurant.”

“But I thought you were well acquainted with him.”

“No,” said Margo. “Guy knew him somewhat. I only knew him as the chef in our favorite restaurant. Now I’m beginning to think he was more of a con man.”

“Are you afraid your investment is in jeopardy?”

“I don’t really know. Right now I’m just puzzled. I don’t understand why he told me he had a major interest in the restaurant when he didn’t have any money in it at all. I wonder if the other investors got the same song and dance.”

“The restaurant is still operating isn’t it?” asked Greg.

“Oh, yes.” said Margo. “I talked to the manager and he said, the fact that Jason was no longer there, wouldn’t affect the operation of the restaurant. I think he kind of implied Jason hadn’t been there at the restaurant too much of the time. Which confuses me even more. I guess I’ll turn all this over to my lawyer and let him dig in to it.”

“So no one seems to know why Jason left or where he went.” Greg said. He said it more as a statement than a question.

“That’s as far as the few I have talked to. I really haven’t pursued that too far yet. I may try to find out something more on that score.”

“Let me know what you find out,” Greg asked Margo. “You’ve got me interested. I assumed Jason had a major interest in the restaurant, the way he talked to me.”

“I’ll let you know if I find out anything.” Margo said good-bye and hung up. Greg sat for a few minutes digesting that news and trying to figure out what that might mean. That evening he decided to give Lynn a call. After a few rings she answered.

“Lynn, this is Greg. Part of our discussion, on who we might invite, is no longer relevant. Apparently Jason has left town, and no one knows where he went.”

“You mean he just left his restaurant and took off?”

“Apparently, according to what Margo found out, it wasn’t his restaurant. He didn’t have any financial interest in the restaurant. He had implied to me he had a major interest in it. He apparently told Margo the same thing.”

“That sounds real strange. I thought Margo knew him.”

“That’s what I assumed, but Margo said she only knew him as the chef of the restaurant she liked. She said her husband knew him slightly better. I wonder what game he was playing, and has it played out, so that’s why he left.”

“Why did Margo call you about this?” Lynn asked all of a sudden.

“She asked me how well I knew Jason. Then when I asked why, she told me about Jason not being at the restaurant any longer and what she subsequently found out. She said she was totally confused by this turn of events. She was trying to get a handle on it. She figured I might know something about Jason. Unfortunately I wasn’t much help. I really didn’t know him that well. Come to think about it, no one seemed to know too much about him.”

“He sounds like a real shifty character.” said Lynn. “Maybe some of my contacts in the media in the town he came from could give us a clue. There might be a story there.” said Lynn, her interest picking up. “I’ll give it a try.”

“Let me know if you dig up anything.”

“Are you thinking all this may have something to do with the attempted break-in of your place?” asked Lynn reading Greg’s chain of thought.

“It crossed my mind.”

“Well, I’ll be sure and keep you informed. And don’t forget your promise to me.”

“I won’t.” answered Greg as he prepared to hang up. This is getting stranger and stranger, he thought. Just where does Jason fit in, if at all. He probably should clue the sheriff in, but not until he had something more concrete. He’d wait and see what Margo and Lynn dug up. He decided to head for the woods. Maybe, he could get an idea for that picture he was supposed to do, for Christy’s client. He knew he would never be able to keep his mind on his book, if he stayed in his office. The woods always relaxed him and calmed him down.

Friday, Penney McDermot called and caught him in his office. Penney asked how his day was going, then she said,

“I was talking to Claire Gordon and Mark Janes and we decided we were ready to host another dinner get-together. I think I can get Jeremy Lee to go in with us. We thought a week from today would be a good day if it fits your schedule.”

Greg hesitated for a few moments, then said, “Friday is fine according to my schedule.”

“You sounded less than enthusiastic.”

“It’s not that, Penney. It’s just that things have gotten kind of confusing lately. By the way, we probably should invite Celeste Drewman, Marks’s fiancee. I also have another name to throw in the hopper, Andy Wirrens.”

“I know Andy.” said Penney. “His firm did some work on my townhouse and they also did some work on our office. I didn’t know you knew Andy.”

“I don’t. Mark Janes mentioned his name and Lynn knew of him. I’m tossing his name out because we need a few new males to go with all those new females we’re considering.”

“Since when did you object to having a lot of good looking females around?”

“Come on now. Lynn already did that number on me.” Then he heard Penney laugh.

“I thought you might suggest Jason,” Penney said.

“That’s a long involved story best left for another time, but Jason has apparently left town.” There was silence at the other end of the line.

Then Penney said, “It sounds like it was very unexpected.”

“It’s more involved than that.” Then Greg asked, “Do you and your group want to extend the invitations to the new people as well as the regulars?”

“We can do that. I’ll work it out with the rest and let you know what the count will be. I’ll be in touch.” Then Penny hung up.

The first part of the next week, Greg found out the host group had just assumed that Margo was to be invited for the second time. That kind of threw the plan Greg and Lynn had discussed into a cocked hat. Nothing could be done about it now. It was a done deal. They could still invite Serena the following time, but now they should probably come up with another male who might fit into their group. But that could wait, this next get together would have to be handled first. Any way a week was a long way off. Lots could happen in between time. Margo might decide to pass this time.

But Margo didn’t, Penney reported, and neither did anyone else. There would be a full crew on Friday. That would mean fifteen for dinner. With four hosts plus Greg that would be plenty of manpower. Celeste would probably be coming with Mark, she might pitch in also. While he was gone most of Thursday, Greg got a call from the Sheriff who said he had some new developments Greg might be interested in. Greg decided to wait until after the Friday dinner. The sheriff didn’t seem to imply it was urgent he call back.

Friday dawned bright and balmy. Greg decided to do some preliminary color sketches of the wildlife picture he was commissioned to do. That took him all morning and into the first part of the afternoon. Then he started to get things ready for the hosts. Penny came early. They sat down with a cup of coffee, to plot things out. They figured they would have to change the seating arrangements. Mark Janes was one of the hosts who traditionally sat at the foot of the table. His fiancée would be sitting at the head of the table. So for tonight, one of the hosts would be sitting at the head of the table. Christy or Lynn could help the other three hosts during the dinner. They arranged the seating so both of them would be seated close to the foot of the table.

“Do you realize we’re getting real formal,” said Greg. “This started out as a real informal dinner gathering.”

“Maybe next time we should go back to the informal, find your own places, type of arrangement. As long as we don’t bring in any new people in at that time,” Penney suggested.

“Couldn’t we stick the new person at the head and then let everyone else find their place?”

“Sure, but we’d have to clue everyone in ahead of time.”

“Let’s clue them in this time for the change for next time,” said Greg.

“Let’s go for it,” said Penney enthusiastically and Greg laughed.

“Well that was an easy decision.”

“That’s because there was only two of us making it. It’s known as executive decisions.”

“I wouldn’t know about that. I’ve never been an executive,” laughed Greg.

Two cars pulled into the yard. It was Claire Gordon followed by Mark Janes and Celeste Drewman. Penney greeted them as they came in the door.

“Welcome to the animal house, Celeste,” Penney greeted her. “You’ll really get a good look at what goes on at these dinner gatherings coming this early with Mark.”

“Mark clued me in on what it means to be a host at one of these dinners, and I’d really like to be a part of that if you don’t mind,” Celeste said. “I even brought a working apron.”

“You mean not one of those dainty frilly ones,” said Claire.

“No. She really means a working apron,” said Mark. “The kind she uses when she does her sculpting.”

“Oh a real working apron,” said Greg as Celeste showed it to them. They all laughed.

“Well let’s get busy,” Penney said. “Jeremy should be along any minute.”

Penney and Mark set about getting the meal going and Claire and Celeste with Greg’s help set the table. They had just begun when Jeremy came in the door.

“Your timing was perfect,” said Mark. “You can scrub the potatoes and clean the carrots, Jeremy.”

“Lead me to them,” Jeremy said grabbing the apron Greg held out to him.

Things got busy in the kitchen and conversation lagged. They had planned the menu ahead of time and even divided up the tasks of preparation. Celeste pitched in, with everyone clueing her in on where everything was in the kitchen.

“Everyone seems to be familiar with your kitchen and where you keep things, Greg,” said Celeste as everyone busied themselves with the meal preparation.

“That’s because everyone has worked in this kitchen a number of times at both dinners and breakfasts. It would probably be a disaster if I ever decided to rearrange the kitchen and didn’t tell anyone about it.” Celeste laughed at that thought.

Things were almost ready when cars began pulling into the parking area. Tim and Gwen were the first in the door, followed closely by Lynn and Margo. They greeted everyone and moved on into the conversation room. Tim, Gwen and Lynn claimed Celeste as a guest, got her out of her apron and took her along. Joan and Jim came next, bringing with them Andy Wirrens.

“This is a really beautiful place you have here,” he said to Greg. “I had heard something about it from the contractor that did some of your rewiring.”

“Thank you,” said Greg as Lynn came up to introduce them. Greg then took Andy into the conversation room where the others were gathering and introduced Andy to the rest of the group. Anton and Christy came about that time and Greg and Mark ushered the group into the dining room and indicated their places.

When they were all seated Greg said, “Tonight we specified places for everyone as we have been doing for a while at these dinner gatherings. As Penney and I were talking this afternoon, we realized that things have become formalized. This was not what was intended when we started these dinner get-togethers. From now on, there will no longer be a formal seating arrangement. Everyone will just find a place to sit at the dinner table.”

“Does that also mean you will not be sitting at the head of the table?” asked Tim.

“That’s right. Anyone who wants to sit here can do so.”

“What about someone here for the first time?” asked Joan.

“We could make an exception in that case and have someone of the group seat that person but not necessarily in a particular spot,” said Penney. “We’ll just go back to having it be an informal gathering like it used to be.”

“I like it,” said Claire. “I can’t think of a single person here I wouldn’t mind sitting next to.”

“I feel the same way,” said Anton.

“Good,” said Greg, “so let’s get on with the meal.”

As was normal during these dinners, the conversation became small talk and good-natured kidding. By half-way through the meal, Margo, Celeste and Andy were joining in. After the dinner was finished and most of the food was cleared away, Anton turned to Greg and said,

“I understand crime has raise its ugly head in your area finally.”

“I was in town that evening having dinner with Lynn,” Greg answered, “So I missed all the excitement. Apparently, an attempted break-in was thwarted by the deputies. Then the same night they tell me, a car was stolen from a house a short distance on the other side of the highway. I haven’t heard if those two incidents were connected or not.”

“I always thought someone would eventually try to break-in to your place, because you’re so far from any other house,” said Gwen.

“But why would they come way out here, when it would be so much easier to steal the same things from some place much easier to get to,” said Greg. “I think by now every one in the area knows I don’t keep anything valuable out here. Even my paintings that have a price put on them are kept in a dealer’s gallery.”

“Well you have a security system that’s tied into a security agency in town, don’t you?” asked Andy Wirrens.

“How do you know, Andy?” asked Margo.

“I know one of the contractors who helped wire this place. He said they wired the power for the system when they rewired the house for Greg,” Andy said.

“That’s right,” said Greg. “It’s really not a secret that I installed a security system at the same time I wired the stereo system and the house-wide communications system. I figured I might as well do it all at one time.”

“Do you think it will stop your place from being broken into?” asked Jim.

“Not by a real professional,” said Greg. “But a real professional would have cased the place and would know there wasn’t anything here worth the effort.” Greg was wondering if anyone outside of Lynn knew it was his place where the attempted break-in was foiled. No one seemed to indicate that so far. Apparently the sheriff was not releasing the address. Anton did not indicate he knew exactly where the incident took place.

During the evening, Margo was able to briefly isolate Greg and suggested they get together for lunch either Tuesday or Wednesday. They agreed on Wednesday. Lynn joined the group cleaning up after the rest had left and then Penney and Lynn waited until everyone else had left.

“Penney and I have decided to stay over night in your other downstairs bedroom,” Lynn said. It was said in a tone that told Greg they didn’t want any argument from him. He waited to hear the reason for this decision. Penny was the one who gave it.

“Lynn and I have been talking and doing some checking on our own,” said Penney. “We want to sit down and discuss this with you and get the complete story. Strictly off the record, of course.”

“I suspect you came prepared to stay over night. And I have nothing to say about it,” Greg said with a slight smile on his face.

“You read it exactly right,” said Lynn. “And, yes, we came prepared to stay the night. I’ll move my car closer and we’ll bring in our over-night bags. Then we want to sit down and talk.” They went out and brought in their bags and put them in the other bedroom. Then they all went in and sat down by the fire.

“I suppose you locked up,” said Penney.

“I locked up and set the security system, which I will tell you in strictest secrecy is much more sophisticated than anyone suspects,” said Greg. “And the only reason I am telling you, is because you are both good friends I can trust. Now why are you apprehensive, because I can feel that in your manners.”

“We think there are things going on that you are not telling anyone, and that you may be in danger.” said Lynn. “And if anything happened to you, we decided we would sorely miss you.”

Greg laughed, then said. “Number one. I am in no physical danger. I am far more valuable alive to everyone concerned, than I am dead. There has been things happening lately, but no one has been able to link them together. We don’t even know if some of the things had anything to do with me. Now, tell me what you have found out.”

“Lynn, you go first.” said Penney.

“Okay. What I found out is that apparently Jason was suspected of using his cover as a chef to work with what my informants called an industrial/business espionage group. The speculation was the group was hired to do some work in this area and seed money was put up to start up a new restaurant in Barton. Jason promoted some legitimate investors to put up some money apparently including Margo. This is all suspicions and speculations and no one has determined who might have hired them.”

Penney picked it up from there. “I found that the group was suppose to have connections to some underworld characters who could be hired to do break-ins and burglaries to get plans, formulas or even make copies of contracts. Apparently these people drew the line at any violence. They were second story men and safecrackers. My information sources said they were professionals so what they were after must have been very valuable.”

“I hope the sheriff has as good information sources as you two apparently have.” Greg said. “What you two have found out confirms my suspicions. No one was after me. They were after a formula. Now they’ll probably be after the blueprints of the security system that foiled them.” and Greg kind of laughed. “The humorous part is that they were wasting their time. The formula hasn’t been at my place for at least a month. No it’s closer to two months. If Jason really is tied in with this, then he probably was warned by the driver of the get-away car after sirens erupted all over the place and the driver had to abandon the men he was suppose to pick up. Unless Jason was that driver.” After a moments thought, Greg added, “No, that doesn’t compute. I can’t see Jason sticking his neck out as the driver of a get-away car.”

“I didn’t think you were still working in the scientific fields,” said Lynn questioningly as the import of what he had said sank in.

“That’s something else you are going to have to keep quiet about,” answered Greg. “For reasons of my own, I spread that story that I abandoned my active work in science. Actually I have a fully supplied laboratory in the basement of this house. I could keep it a secret because the contractor who did most of the work was a close friend from my hometown. We just brought in local people to do some final work up top. People from the research lab I work through moved in all the equipment. All correspondence in the scientific area goes to that research lab, not my home here. So far, I have been able to keep the two separate. Someone apparently suspected I kept some information here. I don’t think they realized I did some experimental research here, however.”

“How were the sheriff and security people able to respond so quickly, the would-be robbers never got to the house. And how did you know that they headed for the river?” asked Lynn.

“Well it probably will get out sooner or later, but please keep it under your hat for now.” said Greg looking closely at the two of them. They both said they would.

“The security system is set up in three rings. Sixty yards from the house. Thirty yards from the house and immediately surrounding the outside of the house. In addition there is an internal security system. Each ring has movement sensors that can send signals to self-contained small video cameras that have a 360 degree sweep. The cameras send the pictures to a recording and sending unit in the house that is in contact with the security company office. In other words, the person monitoring the system saw the men the minute they came in range of the closest camera or cameras, knew they were moving in the direction of the house and knew they had night camouflage clothing on. They immediately sent two cars out and notified the sheriff who immediately sent two cars. They also sent a van that had monitors receiving pictures from the cameras. They knew all the time where the intruders were and where they were going. The van had contact with the men and the sheriff. The intruders fled into the marshy area and the sheriff had to call off the pursuit in the dark. They were then beyond the range of the cameras. So in spite of the fact they didn’t catch the intruders, the system worked exactly as it was suppose to. The sheriff is still working on the case.”

“Is that security system another one of your brain-child’s?” asked Lynn.

“Yes. We are evaluating it to see how and when we can market that system. I’ve had some high-powered technical people working on certain aspects of it. By the looks of it, we may be ready to build and market it pretty soon.”

“This incident wasn’t set up for publicity purposes, was it?” asked Penney.

“No.” said Greg rather vehemently. “I swear it was not. We had planned to run a rather elaborate trial of the system, but we hadn’t ironed out the details completely. This real-life trial came as a real surprise. I didn’t think any one would want to try to break in to my place. I thought by now it would be well enough known I didn’t keep anything of great value on these premises. And I really didn’t think I had any enemies who hated me enough to do me in.”

“Didn’t you think someone might try to steal the formula.” asked Penney.

“Six months ago, I considered that possibility, but discarded it. We’re not far enough along in the testing to be absolutely certain it could be valuable.” answered Greg. “Apparently someone thinks we are and they want to get their hands on it. Obviously their information is not very good, both as to how far we are in the testing process and also as to where the formula was now kept. That is why I don’t think I’m in any physical danger at all.”

“Do you think any of the group are involved in this in some way?” asked Lynn. “Would any one in the group suspect you were still involved in scientific research.?”

“There is only one I think might possibly suspect that. Gwen Talbot. There is also a very remote possibility that Jeremy Lee could have some how gotten wind of that fact. That, however, I doubt.” After he thought a moment, he added, “I would really hate to think Gwen would be mixed up in something like this.”

“But you can’t rule out that possibility, can you?” said Lynn watching Greg very closely to see his reaction to that thought.

Reluctantly Greg said. “No, unfortunately, I can’t.” There was a heavy silence hanging over the three of them as they sat watching the fire in the fireplace.

“Why would Gwen know?” asked Penney.

“Gwen has connections to the same private research laboratory I have been using as my office address for my scientific activities. No one was suppose to know this except for the two senior principles in the company. My office was apparently broken into one weekend. Nothing was taken, but we’re sure copies were made of certain mail and files. A young male lab assistant was suspected and fired. A couple months later he turned up in Gwen’s lab. That may be a coincidence. I didn’t think any thing of it at the time. I just remembered it as we were discussing things now. Some of the mail could have mentioned the formula, I’m not sure. But that is real flimsy evidence. It never happened again.

“Didn’t they know about the security system? Weren’t they suppose to be professionals?” asked Lynn.

“Apparently they at least suspected there was one, because they cut the electric lines running in from the subdivision. They didn’t figure I would have back up power.”

“Or thought that the back-up power wouldn’t be enough to power the security system,” chimed in Penney.

Greg thought for a minute. “That would mean there would have to be a separate person or persons in the subdivision, because there’s no direct way to get from the subdivision to the county road in front of my place.” Greg hesitated, “The more I learn, and the more I think about this, the more confused I become. It sounds more and more like a full-blown production. But who would go through all this planning without making sure that the formula was still here.”

“Maybe they didn’t see any reason for you to move it any place else,” said Lynn. “Besides, how would they find out whether it was still at your place, if you were the only one who knew?”

“The same way they found out there was a formula, and figured out it might be valuable enough to try to steal a copy,” answered Greg. “There’s still something wrong with this whole scenario.”

“The way you’re describing it,” said Penney. “It does look like a badly bungled job.”

“Are you sure that what they were after was the formula?” asked Lynn. “Or are you just assuming that?”

“Well I suppose you might say that I am assuming it. But look at it. There were two persons on foot coming in from the county road. We assume they were to be picked up again on the county road. That would offer the best possibility for a quick getaway. They couldn’t carry any thing heavy or bulky that far. Therefore, the most logical thing would be something that would be on paper. The only thing in that category I would have, that they might have thought valuable enough to go through all this trouble and planning, would be the formula. It is in the process of being patented.”

“Yes, why didn’t they drive a car into your place? There’s no locked gates,” said Lynn. “Did they think a car would be easier to detect? Or was it because you have one drive and it is a long one? They might get trapped more easily,” theorized Lynn.

“It could be all of the above,” said Penney. “Especially if Greg is right and what they were planning to carry away was some type of valuable paper.”

“You don’t have any valuable jewelry laying around the house, do you?” asked Lynn.

“You know I never had any desire to collect baubles,” answered Greg.

“Well I just thought you might have a secret stash you never told me about.” Lynn said. Greg laughed.

Then he said, “The only secret I had from you was that I had that laboratory.”

“How did you keep that from me?”

“I only worked in it when you were gone.”

“He just can’t be trusted,” said Penney laughingly.

“Are you through with your third-degree?” asked Greg.

“For now.” said Lynn. “So I guess we’ll let you get to bed. Good Night.”

Next morning they had breakfast together and then Lynn and Penny headed back into town. The conversation did not touch on what had been discussed the night before. That formula was what made him keep on with the scientific research. He had intended to really stop working in that field and concentrate on his writing and his painting as soon as that work was completed.

He decided to take a walk through his gardens and then out into the woods. He would take a camera along and his sketching pad. He might see the exact spot to base that picture on. Then he could sketch in the fox and the hawk. Or he might catch the fox or the hawk. You had to be ready to capture the moment.

Monday Greg got a call from the sheriff.

“We got the search warrant for that rented house in the subdivision. We think it is tied in to the attempted break-in of your place. But we found something else we don’t think is directly connected. We found a dead body in the basement hidden away. It had been there for quite a while. It might be tied in to the mystery of those shots that were fired in the wildlife area. There was a small bullet hole in the jacket. He may have died in the house. We’re checking on the bullet that killed him and whether it matches either of the shells we found out in the woods. So we now also have what we think is a murder. There was evidence the back basement door was forced open. If that were the case, then it would appear the young couple who rented the house were not necessarily connected to the dead body. On the other hand, that taint necessarily so. This whole thing is getting real interesting,” said the sheriff. “We’re calling in the state crime laboratory. By the way, have you discovered anything that might be of interest to us?”

“No. Nothing concrete that might help you. I’m still pursuing the idea that they were after a copy of a formula. But that is purely speculation on my part at the moment. I don’t see how the shots in the wildlife area and a possible murder would be tied into the attempted break-in.” Greg said.

“Actually, neither do I.” said the Sheriff. “But we can’t take anything for granted, so we will pursue that possibility along with all others. We do think the car that was stolen that night was tied in. We have an explanation for the fact that no one saw a strange van around that night. A Cooperative Electric van was stolen and abandoned on the outskirts of Wilton. An Electric Cooperative van driving around the area would not be viewed as strange. Oh, and the identification provided by the couple renting the house was false. I’ll keep you informed. If you discover anything that might be useful to us, call me right away.” Greg said he would and the sheriff hung up.

Tuesday Greg checked with the research laboratory to see if anything unusual had happened there lately. They said nothing had. He also checked with the company doing the testing on the formula. They informed him they had very strict security, and nothing unusual had occurred there. There had been no attempts to get the copy of the formula they had. Now he would wait and see if Margo had found anything interesting. He was going to meet her for lunch on Wednesday.

Wednesday he went into Wilton early to have breakfast at a restaurant near the University. On occasion, some of the science faculty met early for breakfast there. He was in luck and found four professors ready to find a table. They invited him to join them and he gladly accepted. He wanted to see if there were any rumors floating around that might have a connection to the attempt to break-in to his place. He didn’t think any of them were connected to that, but they might have heard something. He threw out some leading questions, but none of them produced any information. This looked like barren ground, but he had to give it a try. After breakfast, he walked with them to the Science Building and spent some time with several of his friends there until it was time to meet Margo.

Greg arrived at the same time as Margo, and they were shown to a table.

“What did you find out about the restaurant situation?” asked Greg.

“It apparently is a confused situation, but there are three legitimate investors. One is a former restaurant owner and chef. Jason apparently told different stories to each of us. The former restaurant owner, who holds fifty per cent, was told Jason was a consultant who was helping establish the restaurant. He moved here to take over and run the restaurant. The other investor was told Jason had a small interest that he was going to turn over to the major investor as soon as the restaurant was up and running. Both of them were surprised Jason left so soon without any advance notice, but they weren’t surprised he left. Neither apparently really knew Jason except as a chef of a good restaurant. My lawyer says there is talk that Jason had some strange connections, but he didn’t elaborate any further yet.” Margo said.

“So your investment is safe?”

“So far as we have determined. My lawyer is looking more deeply into that to make sure. What have you heard?”

“There seems to be a possibility that the restaurant was a cover for Jason to come here with some other entirely different purpose in mind.” said Greg. “But at the moment that is really mere speculation. That might explain why the three entirely different stories to the three of you. It also might explain why he left without advance notice to anyone, and without apparently letting anyone know where he was going.”

“But what was the other purpose?”

“Well until we can get more information on Jason, we can’t be sure,” answered Greg. “I was hoping you would have more information that would help to clear things up. Apparently he lied to me also, but I can’t figure out for what reason. I realize now that when I was acquainted with him previously, quite a few years ago, I really knew very little about him. He seems to be a very shadowy figure. I’m beginning to think that was on purpose. He didn’t want anybody to know anything about him.”

“You know,” said Margo. “I’m beginning to think you are right.” At that time the waitress came to take their order. The talk then turned to the past dinner and breakfast of the group.

“I didn’t realize that Celeste and Mark were engaged,” said Margo. “I wonder why they kept it quiet.”

“I didn’t know they were engaged either. I have a hunch that it had to do with the fact that Celeste was up for tenure at the University, and Mark was up for a promotion that would solidify his status at the bank. When those two things came about, I think they thought it was time to announce their engagement. I think it’s great.”

“Will that mean that Celeste automatically becomes a member of the group?”

“If Celeste wants to and Mark wants to stay with the group, that would probably be so,” Greg answered. “I see no reason any one would object. She fits the diversification philosophy of the group.”

“Was Andy Wirrens brought in to improve the male/female balance of the group?” asked Margo with a slight smile on her face.

“To be honest with you, yes. It seems we were getting a greater proportion of women appearing on the scene, and we men had to seek reinforcements.”

“Is Andy your recommendation?”

“No. I didn’t know him. Actually Mark suggested him and it turned out that Lynn and Penney knew him somewhat. Come to think of it none of the new people lately, are people I suggested. Actually I haven’t suggested anyone lately, nor have I objected to any.”

“You’re easy to get along with. You go along with the group.”

“I have, because I’ve thought they’ve been all good suggestions.”

“Even me?”

“Even you,” said Greg laughingly. “Actually it might be said I had something to do with suggesting you. Claire asked me if I thought you might be someone to invite to one of our group dinners. I concurred that you were a good possibility. So we jointly suggested you to the group.”

At this time, their lunch came and they turned to the task of eating. Any serious conversation ceased. After lunch, Margo said she would keep him informed if anything new came up about Jason. Greg said he would let her know if he heard anything of importance. Greg decided what she told him didn’t get him any farther toward figuring this whole thing out. All he had was speculation that Jason might have something to do with the attempted break-in. The only bright, positive thing in this whole web of happenings was that the security system was proven out to work exactly as planned. It apparently foiled an attempted break-in.

When Greg returned home, he had a message to call the Sheriff. When Greg reached the Sheriff, he was told they had good news. Apparently, they got a good set of finger prints from the stolen car. Those fingerprints had been traced to known criminals. A warrant had been issued for their arrest. They were not from the area. The van did not produce any prints. The Sheriff also reported the two young people who rented the house had used fraudulent credentials. They did get a fair description of them. Nothing was left in the house that might help to identify them. They had not yet identified the person who was shot. Greg thanked the Sheriff for the information. The Sheriff said he would be in touch again.

After he hung up the phone, Greg went into his studio to work on the color sketches for the picture for Christy’s client. He decided to call Christy and invite her to come out Friday to see the sketches to get her reaction. He decided to give her a choice of breakfast or lunch. He figured she’d probably opt for breakfast. That would give him Thursday to complete the color sketches of the painting he had in mind. That night he called Christy. When she answered he asked her if she was real busy Friday.

“No.” answered Christy. “Friday looks real light for me. What do you have in mind?”

Greg laughed. “Nothing very romantic. Actually I wanted to know if you would like to come out to the house and see some color sketches of the proposed painting. You could come for breakfast or lunch which ever fits your schedule best.”

“Make it breakfast, if that’s okay with you, Greg. That would fit right in with my schedule. There may be a staff meeting later Friday afternoon.”

“Fine. That will give me time Thursday to finish the color sketches so you can get a better idea what I am proposing. You can also tell me how finished looking the sketches should be that we will show your clients.”

“That will be super.” Christy said rather excitedly. “I’ll be anxious to see the sketches. See you for breakfast Friday.”

Greg decided to take his sketching equipment out into the woods early Thursday morning. He wanted to finalize his ideas of the background setting for the fox and kit and the hawk in the tree. He had an idea exactly where he could find most of what he wanted. He could then come back into the studio and sketch in the animals and the bird.

Early Thursday he had a quick breakfast and took off for the woods. By late morning he had pretty much what he wanted and he headed back for the studio. He worked until about one thirty before he decided he could stop and have a light lunch. That over, he was back in the studio to do the sketches he planned to show Christy. He had decided to do four sketches to show her, with changes in lighting and variation in the action of the figures. He worked into the evening before he was satisfied he had what he wanted. Then he went into the kitchen to prepare his dinner and to get things ready for breakfast with Christy tomorrow. He felt he had put in a full, profitable day.

He was up early the next morning. He knew Christy was an early riser and would probably be out around seven-thirty. She was right on time.

“Did you bring your appetite, Christy?” Greg asked as he greeted her at the door.

“If I didn’t, it just caught up to me, when I smelled those delicious odors coming from your kitchen,” Christy gave Greg a hug and a kiss. “I really didn’t think you would have anything to show me so soon. This is wonderful.”

“Better wait and see what I have to show you, before waxing so enthusiastic. You may not like what you see.”

“Oh, I’m not afraid of that. I’m sure I’ll love it and the client will too.”

“Well let’s eat breakfast first. Then we’ll see what your reaction is.”

They sat down in the nook and started eating.

“I’m going to show you several sketches. We can combine various parts of each sketch to make the final sketch we want to show your client. Or we can take two sketches made from those sketches. Frankly I would prefer to make a decision on what should be in one sketch and take that to them to view. Then they can tell us what they like and don’t like about that one and we can go from there. I took the dimensions you gave me of the unobstructed portion of the wall. I made the sketches to fit that and I made the sketches large enough so we can view them as you would the finished painting on the wall as you enter that foyer. This will give you a better idea of how it would look.”

“When you do things, you do them up right,” said Christy. “It sounds wonderful.”

They finished the meal, cleared the table, tidied up and then went into the studio where Greg had the colored sketches set up on easels for viewing. Christy looked at them. She silently looked at each of the sketches several times before speaking.

“But Greg, they’re all beautiful. I love them all,” she said. Then putting her hands on either side of her head she said. “How can I decide one over the others.”

Greg laughed. “You don’t have to decide one over the others. We just have to decide what we think the strong points of each are, that can, or should be, included in the final sketch.” Greg said. “For instance, should we have the sun streaming through the trees, or should we have it look like the sun is behind a cloud? Should we have the fox with the kit in its mouth running, or shall we have her poised listening? Look at the details in each sketch and think of which strikes you best for the final sketch.”

“ Oh,” said Christy, looking at the sketches again. “I guess I like the fox running and the hawk with its wings spread as if to take off. I do like the sun streaming through the trees like it is in the third sketch.” They went on discussing various aspects of the sketches, going back and forth as to which best fit their collective idea of what the final painting should look like. Greg had set up a tape recorder, to record what they were discussing. He also was taking notes as they talked. Once he had gotten her focused on what was needed, she got into the spirit of trying to figure out what might look best for the final painting. They finally came to a consensus of most of the elements for the final sketch. Greg then began to make a rough sketch of what he thought they had agreed on. Christy watched somewhat in awe as Greg quickly began to fill in the picture.

“This will be a very rough indication of the various elements we thought would make the best scene. This way we can see, if we think they all fit together and they do make the best picture.”

Christy watched as he continued to fill in the scene with color and definition. Then he stepped back.

“I like it. I think that’s it,” said Christy enthusiastically. “I think it will be a wonderful painting and will be just what they want.”

“Well let’s hope they are as enthusiastic as you. I’ll put together a final large color sketch and have you come and view that. Then if you like it we’ll set up a meeting with your client. We can unveil the representative color sketch and see how they react. If it meets their approval, I’ll start on the painting.”

“Sounds great. I’m getting more excited about this all the time.”

They left the studio and went back into the main part of the house. Christy got her coat and started for the door.

“I’ll wait until I hear from you and then I’ll call the client and set up a meeting. You can let me know at that time what time would b