The Adventures of Will Irving: Automaton Trouble

Chapter 10

"That's quite a story," Hank said after Will had finished relating the previous night's events to him.

"So what do you say? You in?" Will asked.

"Of course I'm in!" Hank replied. "When have I ever said no to a case? Besides, if Moe is involved, you're gonna need all the help you can get! Got any ideas on where to start?"

"For starters, take a look at this photo," Will said as he slid a small picture across his office desk toward Hank.

"Claire's father?" Hank asked as he examined the picture, which showed a friendly-looking older man wearing a white lab coat.

"Yeah. His name is Arthur Ferryman...goes by Art. Memorize that face," Will said.

Hank handed the picture back to Will, and then Will dropped it into a metal wastebasket next to his desk, took out a matchbook from one of his desk drawers, lit a match, and then dropped the match into the wastebasket. A moment later, the picture was nothing more than a little pile of black ashes.

"We gotta play this one close to the chest. No one can know we're involved. Given Julius' visit yesterday, Moe's probably got eyes on everyone and everything. And with Claire hiding out at my place..." Will said seriously.

"Agreed," Hank interrupted, nodding.

"And I think it would be best not to tell Jennifer anything either," Will added. "It's a good thing you gave her the day off today to recuperate from the trip. You might want to tell her to take the rest of the week off too. We'll still pay her, of course."

"You're probably right...at least until we know what we're getting ourselves into," Hank replied.

"Alright...so here's my plan," Will said, sitting forward in his chair. "I'm going over to the automaton factory where Claire's dad works. I'll pretend that I'm taking Max in for repairs to avoid any suspicion. I have a friend who works there. I'll check in with him and see if he knows anything about Art's work or whereabouts."

"And me?" Hank asked.

"You can stake out a few of Moe's joints, and see if you spot anything unusual," Will replied. "Just make sure you don't get made...What do you think?"

"As good a start as any," Hank answered.

"Meet you at Millie's for dinner? Say, around 4?" Will suggested, looking at his watch. "That gives us about five hours to snoop around."

"I'll be there," Hank stated, rising from his chair and turning to leave.

"Hey, Hank," Will said, pushing back from his desk and standing. "Thanks for doing this...I don't think she'd stand much of a chance without us. We're all she's got right now."

Hank turned back toward Will, smiled, and gave him a nod.

"Be careful out there," Will cautioned.

"You too," Hank replied.