Criminal Continuum: Teen Criminal Investigation Unit - Ch 13

Birds, Bugs and Barbecues

The park was a great place to be, especially if you arrived very early in the morning before the normal crowds of people did. The Tea Garden opened very early and was a favorite place where many folk started their day by touring the luxurious garden. With so many unique places of interest in Golden Gate Park, it could take a lifetime to enjoy them all.

With picnic items retrieved, Felicity, Sara and Mrs. Chow began setting up the tables with a delightful spread of snacks, including potato chips of numerous varieties. George Walkinhawk and his father arrived and joined the festivities. They had arrived early in San Francisco to have breakfast at Fisherman’s Warf; a very tranquil place with very few people around at 6 a.m. on a Sunday.

Mrs. Dance announced, “We will start the Barbecue about noon and plan to start eating around 12:30 or so.” She said this with the authority of any mom who had ever planned meals for a large family.

“Ok, mom,” the kids answered, “Can we go exploring?”

“Sure, but be back for lunch on time. Remember to keep an eye on the clock.”

The three Dance children and their cousin Philip decided to check out the old cabin before they crossed over to the Stow Lake area to search for things of interest there.

Mr. and Mrs. Chow and their daughter sat down to visit with everyone, tasting a few of the potato chips in the process.

“I understand you will be going to Norway soon,” Suzie said to James.

“Yes, I will be in the capitol city of Oslo at the American Embassy.”

Suzie’s father asked, “What will you do there?”

“I will be responsible for the security of the embassy compound as well as its numerous owned and leased properties throughout the area.”

“Sound like quite a task to me,” commented Mrs. Chow.

“Quite an important job,” George Walkinhawk said.

“Yes, I am sure there will not be very many dull moments for me.”

“Well, that’s good,” Cadet Connors added.

“Just be careful and keep warm,” the elderly Walkinhawk stated, “I hear it gets mighty cold in the winter over there.”

“Yes, I have heard that also, and I will do my best to be careful and to stay as warm as possible.”

“You are a noble man, sir,” replied the elderly Walkinhawk.

The Dance parents started the Barbecue by setting in the coals and placing a bucket of water next to the grill in the event that they may need it for some unforeseen reason.

“Looks like Suzie and James are hitting it off well, dear,” observed Mrs. Dance.

“That’s good,” Mr. Dance replied, “It would be a bit awkward if they hadn’t.”

“And her parents seem to be enjoying him also.”

“That is also good, my dear.”

“I hope things work out for them.”

“I have high hopes,” Mr. Dance said, setting down the can of Barbecue fuel next to the grill.

“Suzie,” James asked his new friend, “How long have you worked in homicide?”

“Just about two years now. I was a lieutenant for two years before I transferred to homicide.”

“You must be very proud of your daughter, Mr. and Mrs. Chow.”

“We are,” responded the mother, “She has always accelerated in everything she has done.”

“Our daughter is a wonderful young lady,” her father said proudly.

“It seems that the both of you have been so busy with your careers that you have never had a chance to begin a family,” commented Suzie’s mother.

“Busy is a good word for it,” James answered, “Sometimes a bit too busy I think.”

“Yes, I can say the same,” agreed Suzie.

With the birds chirping and the smell of the flowers and trees in the air, everyone felt a sense of peacefulness. It was a very relaxing atmosphere for people to get to know each other better.

“And how about you, Zekenia,” Suzie’s father inquired, “Do you also have a family, sir?”

“My wonderful wife passed away a number of years ago, but my grand-daughter and great-granddaughter visit me regularly. My daughter lives down in San Diego with her husband and they come up when they can.”

“So sorry to hear about your wife,” moaned Suzie.

“It’s been a while now, but I treasure the decades of memories we shared together. No one can ever take those away from me.”

Mrs. Chow added, “A wonderful way to look at things, Zekenia.”

“We had over sixty years together. We married when we were quite young.”

“I hope I can just make it to sixty years of age,” remarked Cadet Connors.

“I’m sure you will, young man. Just remember to be very careful in your police job at all times.”

“My wife also passed away some years ago. George’s mother, she was such a nice person to be with,” the elderly Walkinhawk said to the group.

“Mom was great,” affirmed George.

Meanwhile, the kids found some gopher holes in an area of trees near the lake, but none of the little creatures seemed too anxious to poke their heads out for the kids to see.

“Do you want to check out the lake?” Robert asks the rest, hoping that they did.

“Ok,” Philip said quickly, “I don’t think the gopher family is coming out yet.”

While walking toward the road, Philip noticed another fascinating creature in the grass.

“What’s that?” the scared boy questioned.

Kelly looked down to see a very scary bug; one that frightens most children and even some adults. She explained to her cousin, “That is a Jerusalem cricket, Philip. Many people just call it a potato bug. They are not really true crickets or bugs, but are part of the group of insects called Stenopelmatidae.”

“Too much info, sis,” Robert said. “He is only nine.

“I was reading about bugs like this when I was nine, Robert.”

“Oh, yeah, never mind, Steno... “

“Stenopelmatidae.”

“Got it,” he replied, knowing full well that everyone knew he did not.

Growing impatient, Rebecca said, “Let’s hurry to the road.”

The group prepared to cross over to Stow Lake, so Kelly held little Philip’s hand.

Robert shouted, “It’s clear.”

The placid lake was as smooth as glass when they arrived.

“Look at all the ducks!” Philip said, with all of the excitement of a nine-year-old boy out with his older cousins.

“Yes, and see that?” Kelly pointed.

“What?” questioned Rebecca.

“The Ring-necked Ducks, over there.”

“Oh, yes. Isn’t it too early for them to be here already?”

Kelly responded to Becca, “It’s possible that it is going to be a cold winter where they came from.”

“They got a head start, huh?” Philip questioned, hoping to sound like a grown-up boy.

“They sure did,” Kelly replied.

The quartet of young explorers made their way around the lake enjoying every little oddity their eyes discovered. A couple rowed by in one of the rental canoes disturbing a pair of black swans swimming nearby. Their stomachs were getting the best of them and food was all they could think about, so they decided to walk back and join the rest of the family and grab some snacks. A bit more exploring on the way back yielded a fun view. A family of three squirrels was playing in a tree. Philip especially enjoyed watching the small animals. His cousins do not seem to mind that much either.

“Hi, kids,” greeted Mrs. Dance, as the four arrived back at the picnic area, “Are you starving?”

“We sure are!”

“Have some snacks everybody, but don’t eat too much. It won’t be much longer before your father starts barbequing,” Mrs. Dance said, hinting to her husband to start cooking.

As the youths sat down around the table, Mr. Brown asked, “How’s that code coming along? Were you three able to figure it out?”

Yes, Mr. Brown,” Rebecca said, “Well, we have almost all of it finished.”

“You do?” asked George Walkinhawk.

Little Philip’s eyes grew big and wide with excitement, “Secret code?”

“Did you happen to bring it with you?” inquired Cadet Connors.

“Yes, we can show it to you if you like.”

“What code is this?” a curious Suzie Chow asked.

Kelly responded, “I found a letter in a Viking book I had checked out from the library for my brother, Robert,” Robert raised his hand quickly, “and it had a coded message written on a piece of paper inside of it.”

“I am so happy you have made so much progress,” the elderly Walkinhawk said.

“This is very intriguing,” Suzie’s father said with great interest.

“I agree,” Mrs. Chow added, supporting her husband’s comment.

“Here it is,” Kelly said, pulling her copy of the letter out of her pocket and passing it around for everyone to see.

The group glanced over the letter with great interest and scrutiny. Jonothan and Felicity were busy barbequing, so the smell of the food cooking was enough to drive anyone with a hungry stomach almost crazy.

“I am amazed,” remarked George Walkinhawk, “You three have almost finished deciphering the entire letter.”

“We are not quite sure of a couple of things,” Robert said, “We chose the days based on the U. S. calendar rather than a Scandinavian one. But in the first, second, third, fourth, ninth and seventeenth lines, it looks like,” he took a breath, “that maybe numbers go there, or something.”

“That would be my decision too,” George assured them, “I think those question marks are probably the number two, since they refer to a specific date, as well as the two ‘>>’ symbols.”

“Yes, they must be,” Mr. Brown said, looking over the message carefully, “Or the book is very, very old.”

“Very old?” inquired Mrs. Chow, “What do you mean?”

“You’ll notice that the symbols ‘?>>?’ are directly after ‘Thursday – February =/  –  ?>>? ‘... see here,” he pointed to the first line in the message.

“Yes, I see what you mean.”

Mr. Brown continued, “So if the ‘=/’ is the day number, since it has two digits, then the four digit sequence must be the year ‘2002’. It is highly unlikely that it would be the year ‘1001’ or ‘3003’, that I am sure of. And that would mean that the ‘?’ in lines four and seventeen are also a ‘2’.

“Then,” George Walkinhawk added, “you can check calendars to see what dates in the past twenty-two years were Father’s Day holidays. You should go back twenty-two to twenty-seven years, just in case the letter was already in that library book for a few years before you discovered it. Once you figure those things out, I believe these smiley faces will also make more sense.”

“Ok,” Kelly said, “We will, thanks, Mr. Walkinhawk and Mr. Brown. Thanks to everyone.”

“You are welcome.”

Mrs. Dance approached the table and informed the group that the food was ready and to grab a plate. She noticed that the group was very focused on something.

“Can I have a peek?” she asked.

“Sure,” Kelly said, setting the letter on the table for her mother to see.

Thursday – February – 

5 – NCOSMESX –  =/  –  ?>>?

I – Placed – this – secret – code – note – in – this – book – at – 

W – HFEICV – YAWQ – QCISCY – IJVC – UJYC – WU – YAWQ – OJJB – EY –  ==  –  J

I – wrote – it – on – Wednesday – January – 

W – LSJYC – WY – JU – 4 – ZEUMESX –  =+  – ?>>? – EY –    à – L

     – Years – ago - on – Fathers – day – Sunday – June – 

?? – XCESQ – ETJ – JU – NEYACSQ – VEX – 1 – ZMUC  –   =\   –  =àß>

I – made – a – large – fortune

W – PEVC – E – FESTC – NJSYMUC

I – like – to – share – this – fortune – with – those – who

W – FWBC – YJ – QAESC – YAWQ  –  NJSYMUC  – LWYA – YAJQC – LAJ

Study – and – increase – their – education

QYMVX – EUV – WUISCEQC – YACWS – CVMIEYWJU

Solve – this – code – and – you – will – get – special – reward

QJFKC– YAWQ – IJVC – EUV – XJM – LWFF – TCY – E – QHCIWEF - SCLESV

You – must – also – write – a –    – page – book – report

XJM – PMQY – EFQJ – LSWYC – E –  <  – HETC – OJJB  –  SCHJSY

About – the – book – you – found – this – code – in

EOJMY – YAC – OJJB  –  XJM – NJMUV –  YAWQ  –  IJVC – WU

Once – you – are – finished – you – must – give

JUIC – XJM – ESC – NWUWQACV – XJM – PMQY – TWKC

The – report – and – the – code – translation

YAC –  SCHJSY – EUV – YAC – IJVC – YSEUQFEYWJU

To – the – head – librarian – who – will

YJ – YAC – ACEV – FWOSESWEU – LAJ – LWFF

Notify – me – to – award – you – your – prize

UJYWNX – PC – YJ – ELESV – XJM – XJMS – HSWRC

There – are – many – more – of – these – codes

YACSC – ESC – PEUX – PJSC – JN – YACQC – IJVCQ

In – books – all – across – the – US – and – the – world

WU – OJJBQ – EFF – EISJQQ – YAC – MQ – EUV – YAC - LJSFV

No –    – codes – are – the – same

UJ – ? – IJVCQ – ESC – YAC – QEPC

And – the – requirements – to – win – the – prize – are – always - different

EUV – YAC – SCDMWSCPCUYQ – YJ – LWU – HSWRC – ESC – EFLEXQ – VWNNCSCUY

Sincerely – Jason – Tiflon – III – educational - philanthropist

QWUICSFX – ZEQJU – YWNFJU – WWW – CVMIEYWJUEF – HAWFEUYASJHWQY

“Wow, a reward,” Mrs. Dance said, “I wonder what the reward is.”

“As soon as we complete the rest of the code and go back to the library, we’ll talk to the head librarian, and then we should know,” responded Rebecca.

“I hope it is a pirate treasure,” Philip remarked, with a dreamy mist in his eyes, “I wouldn’t want to write the book report though.”

“I have already written an outline for the report and once we know how many pages I must write I can finish it in a jiffy,” commented Robert.

“That’s good, Robert,” replied Philip, sounding relieved.

The elderly Walkinhawk noted, “Some kids love to read and convey what they have read in a nicely structured report while others would rather not write the report at all. To some it feels like an insurmountable mountain to climb to complete a book report. But, they can actually be quite fun to do.”

“Here we go,” Mr. Dance said, placing large platter of hot Barbecued food down for the hungry group’s feast.

The kids examined the final few mysteries of the code they had worked to solve over the past weeks, Kelly made some notes on the code letter and then quietly tucked it away into her pocket once again. Now she was ready to eat her lunch and enjoy her family and friends.

“Umm, this is good,” Kelly moaned to herself, sinking her teeth and whole heart into her meal.

The rest of the family congratulated Mr. Dance on the outcome of his efforts. Jim Connors enjoyed talking to Robert and Rebecca. Uncle Jim, Suzie and her parents, Mr. Brown and the Walkinhawks were at the other end of the table busy talking and eating with the Dance children’s parents. Everyone enjoyed the wonderful day.

Next Chapter

Chapter Fourteen: Whispers in the Twilight