“What is wrong?” Ava asked. “Nina was what?”
After Purdue took Sam’s direction, he folded the piece of paper. “I have no idea who the boy is Sam is referring to, but Nina was abducted along with him early this morning,” Purdue briskly explained as he pulled on some casual clothes and hiking boots. From his bedside drawer, Purdue scooped up his palm-sized tablet and slipped it into his front jeans pocket. A disappearance was never a case for chino’s and Italian shoes. He knew that. Purdue grabbed a bottle of mouthwash and rinsed his mouth, while Ava pulled on her dress from the night before.
“I am coming with you,” she said.
“No time,” Purdue replied as he grabbed his wallet and keys. But she was ready to go. Ava tied her damp hair in her shawl and grabbed her purse. She was barefoot, holding her shoes in her hand. “Let’s go.”
They raced past Charles and Lillian. “We are taking my Jeep, Charles. If he calls the house, tell him we are on our way,” Purdue rambled as he came to the front doors. “Security is to let nobody in, understand. I shall tell them. You just hold the fort.”
“Of course, sir,” Charles replied, following them to the door and locking it. He turned to look at Lillian, who was still frozen in shock. “Put the kettle on, Lillian. I need some tea.”
It was almost midday, when Purdue and Ava arrived at the Strathclyde Country Park, where Sam wished to meet up. They headed to the bowling alley and found him sitting in the corner with a Coca Cola. His trousers were torn to accommodate a leg injury, bandaged thickly, and his face was a mess.
“Sam!” Purdue exclaimed, hurrying to his side. “What in God’s name happened?”
“Cut myself shaving,” Sam replied with no humor. He was still stewing about Purdue being unavailable, but he was relieved that he had finally arrived. “Sit down. Get cozy. We have to sort this shit out right now.”
They obliged. Sam looked like he had been through hell. After recounting the kidnapping, he gave them a concise description of the atrocious incident he had endured after he lost Nina and the boy. With Ava’s sensitivity to violence, Sam omitted the more gory details, but Purdue got the gist of it.
“Did they say anything that could indicate where they are keeping them?” Purdue asked.
“Nothing,” Sam said. “We have to do something.”
“What do you suggest?” Purdue asked.
“I cannot think straight. My bladder is drowning me,” Sam said. “I am going to the restroom.” As he said the words, he looked at Purdue in a certain manner, a speechless language the two men had cultivated through their years of allegiance.
Purdue winced. “Actually, I have to take a leak as well. Ava, my dear, do you mind waiting here for us?”
“Of course not. Just hurry up. I am not keen on places like this and the idiots who hit on me,” she said casually.
“Don’t blame them,” Purdue winked and kissed her cheek. He jogged to the men’s room and disappeared behind Sam. Together they hit the urinals for a piss and a quick discussion.
“You do not want her to know the details,” Purdue said.
“Not that,” Sam answered. “I just do not trust her.”
“Oh God! You never trust the women I sleep with,” Purdue sighed.
“No, think with your brain just for a moment, Purdue. I am not saying she did anything wrong. I just need to run this by you in private.”
“Alright, run it by me,” Purdue said, washing his hands.
Sam spoke in a hushed tone. “Look, I wonder how the kidnappers knew where I lived. How did they know Nina and I have that boy with us?”
Purdue shrugged. Sam answered his own question to clarify. “Only if they followed us, they could know that. Question is… who could follow us all the way from Wrichtishousis to Glasgow and back to my place?”
Sam glared at his friend, waiting for the penny to drop, but Purdue was ahead of him. He smiled at Sam. “I do not always let my cock do my thinking, old boy. You and Nina… and Charles… underestimate me greatly in this regard.”
“Look at your track record with women,” Sam advised. “I rest my case.”
Purdue reached into his jeans pocket and showed Sam his trusty tablet.
“Ah! The magic match box,” Sam said. “For why?”
Purdue smiled deviously. He pressed the slider that opened up the tablet to a bigger size and adjusted the resolution. With elegant sweeps, his trained hands navigated the super-technological device. A map screen opened up, marked by several colors, indicating routes taken.
“You see these lines? Each color traces the time and route of Bernard’s car,” he grinned.
Sam’s mouth was open in disbelief at the fortunate turn of events. “You fucking genius!”
He clutched Purdue’s head in the bend of his arm and gave the playboy a proper kiss on the forehead, just as two high school boys came into the toilets. They looked surprised and a little spooked, but just kept walking to the nearest stalls.
“Now we know where to find him, so we can ask him ourselves where he is keeping Nina,” Purdue said.
“Oh, I intend to talk with my knuckles today,” Sam replied. “I am certain we will find Court’s family and the scabbard there too.”
“His car has not moved in twelve hours, so he is still there. Just do not tell Ava about Bernard’s involvement. Let her see for herself,” Purdue cautioned, as they exited the men’s room.
“No wonder she wanted to get out of the business they were in,” Sam remarked. He saw the pretty woman sipping dreamily on her Coca Cola at the table.
“How can you even walk with those stab wounds?” Purdue asked.
“They were mostly superficial. The emergency room nurse told me so, but geezuss, did it hurt at the time!” Sam cringed, reliving the pain. They joined Ava at the table.
“Ava, we have an idea where to start looking. Do you want us to drop you off at home?” Sam offered.
“No, thank you. I think we should start as soon as possible,” she suggested.
“You are not going home?” Purdue asked.
“No, my darling. I am going with you… to find Excalibur,” she said nonchalantly.
“Um, no,” Sam argued, “we are going to rescue Nina from the ape who took her.”
Ava scoffed. “Sam, that ape is sitting in David’s Jeep right now. He will be my bodyguard while we join you and David on a little excursion to find Excalibur.”
“Excuse me?” Sam sneered. Purdue listened in amazement at the unbelievable things coming from his beloved Ava. She nodded with a gentle smile.
“If we do not deliver the scabbard to our superior, Major Rian, he will have my brother killed, you see. On the other hand, he does not know that Warkadur’s etchings point the way to Excalibur, the fool! We are going to find Excalibur before we hand over the scabbard to Major Rian, understand? I was not going to leave this wretched business without the ultimate artifact — the very object of sovereignty and power.”
“Excalibur,” Purdue gulped. “My God. This is what all this was about?”
“Told you so,” Sam quickly slipped into the conversation, earning him a defeated leer from Purdue.
“Thanks to Court’s stalling in searching for the scabbard, Bernard has won some time to hand over Warkadur to Major Rian,” she explained the timeframe for them. “Major Rian will not know that Court is dead and he will not know that Bernard already has the scabbard. While he waits for my brother to obtain the scabbard, we will procure Excalibur for ourselves. Bernard will babysit the Callany family and dear, sweet Nina until I return with Excalibur. If I do not, well… you do the math.” Sam and Purdue wanted to obliterate her at once, but in the public venue they chose to meet, they had to stifle their eagerness — or just postpone it. Her smile faded and she laid her pristine eyes on both men. “Am I beginning to make sense here, gentlemen?”