are going to be seeing how the place cooks up this head stuff. He asked her if Dad or the others knew what they were going there to find. Thatcher and Dawson know. Your dad doesn’t. Someone needs to be shocked when we find out—if we find out what they’re doing. All I can think about is that soylent green movie.
Now that was all he could think about. Laughing a little with her, he asked her if any police were going with them. She told him that Rogen was watching on a camera that they were all wearing. Also, of course, that she’d hacked into their system. Beck wondered why she’d not been able to find it if she had their cameras.
I asked her too. She said there is one part of the building that she can’t get into. No cameras. I don’t know how she figures we’re going to get in there, but I’m giving it my best shot. How are you doing there? Find the trouble? He said he was narrowing it down. I hope you remember you need to be home by Saturday. Conor has his physical, and he won’t let me go with him. Also, Jonas needs you to help him close up a couple of homes he is working on.
I have it on my calendar. I won’t forget. He was actually looking forward to having some time with Conor. I’m planning to leave here as soon as I get this figured out.
Good. He could feel her hesitating and waited. If they’re using an infrared reader on the boxes, look around the clogging area for a mirror. Or something equally shiny. Something that might reflect back the lights and mess with the reader. I’ve seen that happen before.
It only took him ten minutes to find the reflection. It was a mirror on the bathroom doorway, where a person could look at themselves for having things put back together properly after using the facility. It was newly installed and doing just what she said it was doing. Reflecting the reader back onto itself and giving a bad read.
It took him another hour and a half to get the management to see it was their problem and that it needed to be removed. By the time he left the plant, he was ready to murder someone. Who would have thought they’d have to call a board meeting to take a mirror down? He was half tempted to just paint over it himself. Save the glass and perhaps seven years of bad luck.
Driving home, he wasn’t in any kind of hurry. Allie and his family had left already, and he decided he wanted to spend some quality time with his mom. Calling her up, he first asked her where she was. If she was at one of her many committee meetings, he was going to beg off. He hated going to those things.
“I was just sitting here, contemplating if I wanted lunch or not. Your dad is off with Allie and Thatcher. I didn’t want to go with them.” Beck asked her if she’d like to have lunch with her favorite son. “I told you, Beck, Thatcher has gone with your dad.”
“Funny.” She laughed with him. “I can come by and pick you up, or if you’re out already, we can meet someplace. The sky’s the limit, my dear mom. Where would you like to go with your not so favorite son?”
Laughing still, she told him where she would meet him. After getting them a table, he watched the crowd of people as they picked up their lunch and left again. There wouldn’t be too many more days like this one. The fall leaves were just beginning to turn, and he loved the crispness of the air.
Mom kissed him on the cheek when she sat down. She started talking about her garden almost as soon as she got her sweater off. Beck loved his mom and wished that he’d remembered to pick her up some flowers. When she slowed down in her report to him, Mom smiled hugely at him.
“What are you up to while your wife is gone?” He said he had plans with Conor. “I so love that boy. And Holly is a rare treat too. She’s not very shy, is she? But Conor, he’s still adjusting, and my heart hurts for him.”
“Since he’s been going to practice after school, he’s calmed down a great deal. I think he wasn’t used to having so much free time.