"Anyway," Canfield continued, "Tesla starting building this tower way out on Long Island in a little town called Wardenclyffe ... "
Canfield's voice trailed off as his face went pale.
"Wardenclyffe, Long Island?" Jack said. "Never heard of it."
"That's because it doesn't exist anymore," Canfield said slowly. "It was absorbed by another town. It's now part of Shoreham."
Jack felt a cold tingle rush down his spine. "Shoreham? That's where Lew and Melanie live."
"Exactly." Canfield slapped a palm against his forehead. "Why didn't I see this before? All these years I've never understood why Melanie left Monroe to live in Shoreham, but now it's clear. She's been living near Tesla's old property. She must have thought some of his wilder theories and never-executed plans had to do with the Otherness."
Jack remembered what Lew had told him that first day out in their house in Shoreham.
"Lew said she was buying and selling real estate, saying it had something to do with her 'research.'"
"I knew it!"
"He said she'd buy a place, hire some guys to dig up the yard, then resell it."
Canfield was leaning forward. "Did he say where she'd buy these places?"
"Yeah. Always in the same development ... along some road ... " Damn. He couldn't remember the name.
"Randall Road?'
"You got it."
"Yes!" Canfield pumped his fist in the air. "Tesla's property ran along Randall Road in Wardenclyffe! That's where he built his famous tower. The old brick building that housed his electrical lab is still standing. No question about it. Melanie was definitely searching for old Tesla documents."
"You think she found something?"
"Most definitely." He nodded and pointed to the crates. "And I think it's sitting right in front of us."
"You think Melanie sent this stuff?"
"I do."
"But why to me? Why not to you?"
Only Repairman Jack can find me. Only he will understand.
Was that why?
"I wish I knew," Canfield said. He sounded hurt. "I certainly wouldn't have left it sitting around for days. I can tell you that."
"Really. What would you have done?"
"Assembled it, of course."
"Maybe she thought you might have ... " He glanced at Canfield's blanket-wrapped lower body. "You know ... trouble putting it together."
"Maybe," he said. He seemed cheered by the thought. "And she was probably right. But now there's two of us, so let's get to it."
"Whoa. We don't know what this thing is, or what it does. We don't know how it got here and we don't even know for sure it's from Melanie."
"It's from Melanie," he said. "I'm sure of it."
Jack wasn't sure of anything about these crates. Assembling the pieces might seem like the next logical step, but something inside him wasn't too keen on taking it.
"I only have one wrench and a couple of screwdrivers. We'll need"
"Never fear," Canfield said, reaching around the back of his wheelchair. He removed a tool kit from the pouch back there. "I never travel without this. Let's get to work."
Still Jack hesitated. He could buy that this contraption was linked to Melanie, but he was far from convinced she'd sent it. Figuring there was safety in numbers, he decided to get some other people involved.
He pulled Kenway's pager number from his wallet and started dialing.
"What are you doing?" Canfield said.
"Calling in some help."
"We don't need help."
"Look at all those pieces. Sure we do."
"Who are you calling?"
"Miles Kenway."
"No!" He seemed genuinely upset. "Not him!"
"Why not? What's that old expression? Many hands lighten the load."
"He won't understand."
"Then we'll explain it to him."
When Kenway's beeper service picked up, Jack left a simple message: "Call Jack. Urgent." He was sure Kenway knew his room number. Everyone else seemed to.
"You shouldn't have done that," Canfield said, almost sulking. "Kenway doesn't belong here."
What's his problem? Jack wondered.
"He doesn't, but you do? How'd you reach that conclusion? The crates wound up in my room, remember?"
"He isn't part of this. We are."
"If what you've said is true, we're all part of thiswhatever 'this' might be."
The phone rang. It was Kenway.
"Get up to my room," Jack told him. "I've got something to show you."
"Be right up," Kenway said. "And brother, have I got something to show you."
"Bring Zaleski," Jack told him. "And if you've got any tools, bring them along too."
"Will do."
Canfield groaned as Jack hung up the phone. "Not Zaleski too!"
"The more the merrier, I figure," Jack said as he dialed Lew's room number.
"Who now?" Canfield said. "Olive Farina?"
"Olive?" Jack said, watching Canfield closely. "She's been found?"
"No. Where have you been? She still hasn't shown up. A missing person report has been filed. Everybody's still looking for her."
Jack sensed that Canfield didn't know any more about Olive than he was saying.
No answer at Lew's room.
"I was going to ask Lew Ehler too," Jack said, hanging up. "But I guess he's gone back to Shoreham."
"Just as well." Canfield grunted with annoyance. "Zaleski and Kenway will be more than enough to handle. Whatever you do, don't mention the Otherness or that this device may be a link to it."
"Why not?"
"Because proof of the existence of the Otherness will expose Zaleski's UFO's and aliens and Kenway's New World Order for the shams they are. Who knows how they'll react. They might not be able to handle it." He pounded his fist on the armrest of his wheelchair. "I wish you hadn't called them!"
"Relax," Jack told him. "We'll order pizza and beer. We'll make this a party. Like a mini barn raising. You'll see. It'll be fun."
9
Kenway and Zaleski arrived less than fifteen minutes later. They both knew Canfield who finally seemed to have resigned himself to sharing the stage with the two newcomers.
"Take a gander at this." Kenway said, holding out a folded sheet of fax paper.
Jack opened the flimsy sheet and stared at the photo of a portly young man, blond, with a fuzzy attempt at a beard.
"Our mutual friend, I presume?"
"Exactly!" Kenway's grin was shark-like, his gray crewcut more bristly than ever as he took back the fax. "Oh, brother, is the shit ever gonna hit the fan when I pass this around tomorrow. I knew there was something phony about our fearless leader!"
Zaleski tried to get a look. "Who? Roma? What've you got there?"
"You'll find out tomorrow," Kenway said.
Jack's thoughts drifted as they argued. If Roma was a bogus identity, who was the guy running the show? Why had he created SESOUP and organized this meeting? Was he connected to Melanie's disappearance? To these boxes? And if so, why had they wound up with Jack, when he hadn't even known he was coming until the night before?
Jack's head was spinning.
"Whatever," Zaleski finally said to Kenway, then grinned at Jack as he displayed an elaborate ratchet set. "You want tools, man? We got tools. What the fuck for?"
Jack explained what he could. Neither of them needed any introduction to Nikola Tesla, it seemed. Zaleski and Kenway were awed by the prospect of assembling a contraption designed by him.
They divided the workload. Jack and Zaleski would assemble the base while Kenway and Canfield tackled the dome. The contents of each crate were dumped onto one of the two double beds, and they had just begun to work when Canfield lifted his hand.
"Shhh! What's that?"
Jack listened. Something scratching at his door. He went to the peephole but saw nothing. Yet the sound persisted. He pulled open the door