Braeland

Chapter 39. The Hunt for Priscilla

Peter wished there was a video link with Greenwold as there had been no visits from Prudence and his father for over a week.  There was a war going on and he was missing it.  The one compensation was that he was alone in the house with Charlotte, getting to know her better and helping her with her studies.  He wished that she wasn't quite so conscientious about studying high school subjects but there was no convincing her otherwise.  At least she asked him questions and they spent a lot of time in the same room.  

As far as his assignment to keep an eye out for Priscilla was concerned, that was going well or poorly depending on how you looked at it.  The newspapers and television news reported on a rash of weapon thefts in the city – hunting rifles, handguns, automatic weapons, even military weapons. The thieves seemed impossible to stop.  They could get through any security system, steal the weapons and escape without leaving a trace.  Also, they were brash and smart.  They shot out security cameras first thing on reaching the site of their thefts.  However, one camera recorded a brief picture before being destroyed – people wearing hoods and long flowing robes. "That for sure is Priscilla and her gang," Peter had said to Charlotte on seeing the report on TV.

His father had been clear that Peter was not to hunt Priscilla but monitor what, if anything, she was doing, and then do one of two things: give the police enough information that they would be able to capture her or wait until the rest of the family was back who could then develop a capture plan together.  But Peter was restless.  Reading newspapers and watching TV was not enough.  

"What can we do that we are not doing now?" Charlotte asked, observing Peter walking the floor and saying, "Hmmm" repeatedly.  

"Have you noticed that the robberies are slowing down?  I figure that Priscilla and her gang have enough fire power to beat any army in Greenwold if they could only move them there.  That means the wicked P and her gang will be desperate to get on the next bus that's going there."

"You mean Prudence.  When she comes here we should warn her to return immediately to Greenwold," said Charlotte.  

"Yes, I suppose we should.  Priscilla will be sniffing out that medallion and, no matter how quickly Prudence puts it in the sheath, she will eventually wind up here."

"Armed?"

"To the teeth, as they say in the movies," answered Peter.  

"That sounds bad but, as I said before, what can we do?"

"We can try to set a trap for her before Prudence returns.  It likely won't work but it's worth a try.  There's a lot of danger in it.  Are you up for that?"

"Yes," said Charlotte without hesitation.  

"Then you're my man!" said Peter, a joke that went flat and that made him wish he had said "girl" instead.  He explained his idea.

"I bet that Priscilla gets a happy jolt over the news stories about the gun robber.  The paper is full of stories and editorials about her, even on days when no robbery has occurred.  What if there was something in the paper that drew her to this house when the police were waiting for her?

"Dad has left me lots of money. I can place a big ad in the newspaper right next to the editorial page.  It will appear in two days.  On it will be a big picture of my sister with the words 'Happy Eighteenth Birthday Prudence Jamieson!'  In fact, Prudence will turn eighteen next week and that is what gave me the idea.  I have checked and there is only one Jamieson in the phone directory.  The other ones are spelled with no 'i' in them.  That way she gets our address and I will bet you a dollar that she will show up without delay," Peter said.

"I can see that but how do the police capture her?"

"The night before the ad is run I phone the police and say we received a threat from a woman who says she is going to kill us all with a machine gun.  So far, the police haven't connected the gun robbers with the four women who disappeared in front of the police station.  But they will have Prudence's report on their records, put two and two together, and take this more seriously than they might otherwise. We'll ask for their protection and I think we will get it," Peter concluded.