Trouble And Money #44

Beverly Farms, Massachusetts - The Home Of The Falters

The Falters were shocked.

Mrs. Falter started shaking and crying, saying, "Tom, this is your fault. He's crazy like you."

"Are you sure?" she asked.

"How could we not know until now?"

I explained the whole story again, adding that it was a bet and that alcohol and machismo were involved, and that their son thought he was being honorable.

I gave the Falters a list with contact information of the people I had spoken with.

In tennis clothes, Tom looked at the list and shook his head while scuffing a pair of Stan Smiths on the oriental carpet.

"When did he go to Warsaw, and when was the last time someone had heard from him?" Tom asked.

 These are two outstanding questions that added clear headed focus to the room.

 Mrs. Falter calmed down, looked at Tom, and said, "We have to bring him home, Tom."

 I'm not sure how I felt about this statement.

 If they expect me to Yomp all over an active Warzone playing Where's Waldo, my fee would go up immensely, and I wasn't sure how I would tell Tammy. Is there a surcharge for something like that?

 I was just getting used to a very happy homelife.

 Ellen and Tom talked hushedly while I sipped cranberry juice. I did not try to listen, but Ellen was angry.

 Tom once said, "Ellen, keep your bubble level. "Now is the time to be calm."

 I'm laughing inside because Hillary Clinton's mother said that to her. Keep the bubble in your head level.

 Ellen Falter does not seem like a bubblehead but...

 After a few minutes, the Falters turned to me, and Tom said, "Conrad, give me a day to make a few calls. We may have some work for you. You used to be a Marine, right?"

 I had to correct him. "Sir, a Marine is always a Marine."

 I left them a summary of my charges, also known as a bill, and walked out the door.

 Later that day, I got a call from one of Jason and Kevin's lacrosse teammates.

 He told me that a rumor was going around that Jason Falter was in a Ukrainian prisoner of war camp.

 How should I play this? It is an unsubstantiated rumor that I cannot prove. Do I tell the Falters?

 Determining whether this rumor is a fact would require help from two governments.

 I'll tell the Falters, but I will stress that it is unsubstantiated and I would pass on the source to them.

 I texted Ellen the specifications.

Gator and I went to the range, and I thought it would be a good time to practice with a rifle.

Later that evening, I started reading about the modern drone war that is happening in Ukraine. The Americans, the Chinese, and the Russians are in a proxy war at low altitudes.

Modern drones are photographing, using thermal imaging, dropping ordinance, confusing armament tracking and other radar systems, or diving to a one-way explosive death.

It sounds like they are getting good at it.

I need to read up on evading thermal imaging.

(Once a Marine, ALWAYS a Marine)

Trouble And Money is published Monday through Friday. It is a free serial fiction detective story with characters you will love. Read the adventures of Conrad Grange as he solves cases and contends with a harsh world.