Simple Genius (Sean King & Michelle Maxwell 3)

CHAPTER

55

MICHELLE DECIDED TO COMBINE her Viggie duty with a bold tactical move. There was still daylight left so she took the girl down to the boathouse after getting permission from Alicia. There she outfitted Viggie with a proper life jacket after ascertaining that the girl was only a fair swimmer. They pulled a kayak out and were soon on the water with Viggie in front with a paddle and Michelle guiding the craft from the rear while she instructed Viggie on the proper paddling motion.

She quickly mastered the correct motion and soon her cuts were smooth and efficient through the water. Viggie was certainly stronger than she looked, Michelle decided.

“This is fun,” Viggie said as the wind whipped through her hair.

“I love it,” Michelle said. It only took her two cuts in the water with her paddle before she was once more in the groove. When you’ve paddled, collectively, hundreds of thousands of miles in the water, the muscle memory is ingrained.

They quickly came, as Michelle had planned, to the area of the York across from Camp Peary. She stopped paddling and told Viggie to do the same. As they drifted in the current Michelle leaned back, and unobtrusively took in the shrouded-in-secrecy CIA installation. The perimeter fence gleamed back at her. There wasn’t a guard in sight, yet Michelle’s sixth sense told her that eyes were watching.

“That’s Camp Peary,” Viggie said suddenly. “That’s where Monk died.”

“You know about Camp Peary?” Viggie nodded. “Did Monk ever talk to you about it?” Viggie gave another nod. “What’d he say?”

“Stuff.”

“Codes and blood?”

Viggie turned to stare at her. “You’ve been talking to that other man.”

“Horatio Barnes, yes. He’s a friend.” Michelle had to bite her lip on that last comment.

“I don’t like him.”

“Well, he strikes some people the wrong way. So codes and blood? That sounds really interesting.”

One good thing about being on a kayak in the middle of the river, Viggie couldn’t just get up and leave, which was one reason Michelle had brought the girl here.

“Monk liked codes. He taught me about them. He was related to a very famous scientist.”

“And you’re related to him too of course.”

Viggie nodded with a proud look on her face. “Alan Turing was a homosexual. And people back then didn’t like that, so he ate a poisoned apple and died.”

Michelle was at a loss for words with this change in direction of the conversation. Monk really had treated her like an adult. “That is very sad,” she finally said.

“I hope I never have to eat a poisoned apple when people are mad at me.”

“I’m sure you never will, Viggie,” Michelle said firmly. “Taking your own life is never the right answer.” Michelle felt a stab of guilt as she said this.

“It’s like the wicked old queen in Snow White. She turned herself into a hag, got in an old boat and floated down the river to the cottage in the woods. Then she tricked Snow White into eating a poisoned apple. She didn’t die, but she went to sleep. It took a prince kissing her to wake her up. Yuck!”

“Counting on handsome princes to make your life better is not very smart. Right?”

“Right, but it also shows that whoever has the apple is pretty powerful.”

Michelle decided to change the subject. “Viggie, have you ever heard of a secret room at the mansion?”

Viggie turned around. “A secret room?”

“Yes. We were at another old house around here and we found some kids inside a secret room there. One of the kids said lots of the old places down here had secret rooms.”

“I’ve never heard of one at Babbage Town,” Viggie said.

“Okay.” Michelle waited a moment and said, “Speaking of secret stuff could you teach me some codes?”