Run into Trouble

“I recognized your jackets when you came in. Now I see that you look just like your pictures, except you’re not in running clothes. It’s so nice to meet you. I’m Thelma. We’ve been following your progress in the Giganticorp newsletter. A lot of us are rooting for your team. How did you do today?”
    “Thank you.” Drake turned on his smile. “We finished first. We’re very close to the second place team, overall, within two minutes, I think. I don’t know how the first place team did today, but we weren’t within striking distance of them this morning.”
    “Good luck tomorrow.”
    “Thank you again. The reason we’re here is because we heard that one of the participants in the meeting that’s taking place is my father, Admiral Drake. We came to see him.”
    “Right. Let me call Mr. Messinger’s executive assistant. Just a minute. Have a seat.”
    Thelma pointed to several chairs in a nook a few feet away. When Drake and Melody started toward them, Thelma sat down at her desk and made a short phone call they couldn’t hear. Then she came out from behind the counter and walked over to them.
    “Melinda is coming down to help you.”
    They thanked her. Thelma turned to Melody and started asking her questions about the race. It was obvious that her interest in their team was because of Melody. Several elevators stood in a row on the wall behind the round counter. Within a few minutes, one of the elevator doors opened, and a perfectly groomed, middle-aged woman with dyed blond hair stepped out wearing the skirt-and-jacket uniform.
    She came toward them with her hand out.
    “Hello, Mr. Drake, Miss Jefferson. I’m Melinda Gage. I’m very pleased to meet you.”
    Drake and Melody stood and shook hands with her.
    “Congratulations are in order. I hear that you’re only five minutes behind Tom and Jerry going into tomorrow’s final run.”
    Drake was stunned. “Where did you hear that?”
    “We get a report from Fred immediately after each day’s run. Tom and Jerry got lost in the wilds of Pacifica, and by the time they sorted themselves out, they had given up a lot of time to you and the Phil and Brian team.”
    Melody was ecstatic. “I don’t wish them any bad luck, but it’s nice to have a shot at the big money.”
    Melinda smiled. “It will be an exciting finish, with three teams vying for the crown. Now, how may I help you?”
    Drake suspected she already knew the answer to that. “We’ve come to see my father, Admiral Drake.”
    “Did he tell you he was going to be here?”
    What should he say?
    Melody spoke first. “When we heard about the meeting, we assumed he’d be here.”
    “Who told you there was going to be a meeting?”
    Her tone was matter-of-fact, but her overall demeanor had chilled considerably. Drake was on his guard. “Can’t remember. Did we get it wrong?”
    “I’m afraid so. I’m sorry you came all this way for nothing.”
    “Is Casey, er, Mr. Messinger here?”
    “Mr. Messinger is out of the office. But, of course, he’ll be at the finish of Running California tomorrow. A big celebration is planned. You can talk to him then. Good luck tomorrow.”
    “Thank you.”
    Drake and Melody exchanged a quick look. Melody made a barely noticeable movement of her head toward the door. There was nothing more for them to gain here.
    They thanked Melinda again and made as graceful an exit as possible. Once outside, they headed for the rental car. They climbed into the car, which was facing the front door of the building.
    “What do we do now?” Melody asked.
    “Maybe Slick had his information wrong. We should probably go back to the motel and get ready for tomorrow. Not to make too big a deal out of it, but we’ve got a million dollars riding on whether we win or lose.”
    “Let’s check in with Slick or Blade first and tell them what happened. I saw some pay phones inside.”
    “Bad idea to go back in there. Melinda’s already suspicious of us. In fact…who’s that coming out the front door?”
    It was a stocky man in a somewhat ill-fitting suit. Melody put their thoughts into words. “He’s another Peaches, and I don’t think he’s a friendly Peaches. He’s looking for us. I think he just spotted us.”
    “I think we’re outta here.”
    Drake backed the car out of the parking spot and slowly but steadily drove away. They exited the Giganticorp campus and headed for a commercial part of town a few blocks away, stopping in front of a small