Audrey was impressed with how Cid was mending. Whatever Mia did seemed to set him on course. Burt was also showing signs of being able to sit up. His leg was still encased in the temporary cast.
“Mia, did you bring the shotgun?” Burt asked.
“No, I didn’t want to take a chance and spoil all this new decorating,” she said.
“Do we have any weapons besides your sword and Murphy’s axe?”
Mia shook her head. She looked over and asked the PEEPs camera, “Jake, inventory what Ted brought, and see if you can Frankenstein anything, please.”
The camera light blinked twice.
“I brought Curly,” Ted whispered.
“You’re a genius. I think we can make use of him. Mike, do you think we can hole up in the lobby, or should we gather the equipment in here?
“I’m not nerdy enough to answer that,” Mike confessed. “Cid, Ted, Burt?”
“The lobby is too open. Too many windows and doors,” Burt said.
“If you guys are going to move the stuff, you better do it soon,” Ted said. “We don’t, as of yet, know who or what we’re dealing with. Remember to get the second generator. I’m surprised that Jake is still functioning; the first generator is running on fumes.”
Murphy pried the counter piece off the bar. Mia and Audrey carried it into the hall where they slid it over the trapdoor. The lobby was twenty feet down the hall from the trapdoor. Ted had the equipment set up on the near wall. Murphy went in first and tapped out his okay. Mia and Mike ran in and tossed as much as they could into two of the black transportation boxes and pulled them into the bar before returning for the rest of the gear. Audrey stayed with the invalids.
Once the lobby had been emptied of PEEPs gear, Mia pulled the large piece of polished wood away from the trapdoor. She, instead, placed it just inside the bar to discourage anyone from trying to sneak in via the hallway. By the time they were finished, both Mia and Mike were exhausted.
Audrey had climbed up and pulled the cable out of the security camera on Ted’s insistence. If they were dealing with humans, then they didn’t need them spying on the PEEPs. She went over the information she had gathered on the Nowicki clan. They seemed like a very industrious, large Polish family. The original Cyryl Nowicki immigrated with the canal diggers prior to WWI. He purchased what was thought to be an untamable, steep-hilled hundred acres of land. The father started off with sheep, letting them graze. His son Junior leased the land to an hotelier from Switzerland. Together, they built the ski resort. They made quite a profit from the rich Chicagoans who didn’t have the time to venture to the ski resorts in New England. Junior’s son invested the money well, and when the ski cliental went west, they shut down the hotel but held on to the land. Junior’s grandson, the fourth Cyryl Nowicki, led a life of idleness until his mother died. Cyryl the Third remarried, and the second wife produced twin boys.
“Mike, you said that it was Cyryl Nowicki that threatened you?” Audrey asked.
“Actually, it was Mia he threatened. The ID the security guys pulled confirmed that. Why?”
“I’m just trying to put the pieces together. How did this go from a paranormal investigation to a hostage situation?” Audrey asked.
“It’s more than that,” Mia stressed. “You were intended to disappear forever investigating, and I was to be driven nuts, furthering the rumors of the property being unsuitable for people, especially families, to stay here. This Cyryl wants his property back, and he wants it badly enough to kill for it. If we find out why it’s suddenly become so valuable to him, then we will have most of our questions answered.”
“That pit you found us in, it wasn’t a natural cavern,” Burt said. “The iron beams reminded me of old mines. Possibly, it collapsed at one point.”
“It doesn’t explained the rebar-reinforced cement,” Ted said
“But couldn’t the cement be from the foundation of the hotel?” Cid asked.
“That’s a better answer. Maybe it was a basement that collapsed into the mine,” Burt said. “Could be an old mine that still contains something valuable.”
“Gold, maybe silver?” Audrey guessed.
“Not here,” Burt said. “It’s not impossible but highly unlikely. I’m thinking something that is quickly disappearing in the United States.”
“Copper,” Ted answered. “It’s an old copper mine. It probably was too expensive to run when copper was plentiful, but now that it’s scarce…”
“They tried to kill us over pennies?” Cid questioned.
“And wire,” Ted reminded him. “It cost us a fortune to wire the extension on the farmhouse because of the shortage.”
Mia didn’t like the way her husband was looking. She felt his forehead, and her worries were confirmed. “Ted, you’re burning up. An infection has set in. I don’t think we can wait to be rescued. That rebar has to come out now.”
“But, Minnie Welby MD, you’ve never operated on anyone before,” Ted said nervously.
“No, but we don’t have another choice,” Mia said. “We don’t even have access to the internet at this point. I’m going to have to give myself over to a mage, Ted.”
“Don’t. As it is, you’re already showing signs of birdman. The more you use it, the more the gene takes hold,” he reminded her. “Mia, I want you to have a choice.”
“Ted, my freedom isn’t worth it if something happens to you. Don’t you see? Without you, there is no me,” she said softly. “Let me do this for you. You’ve shared and sacrificed for me. It’s my turn now.”
Ted grabbed her hand. “I can’t talk you out of this?”
Mia looked into Ted’s eyes, and this told him there would not be any further discussion. Mia had already summoned the mage.
“Audrey, I need the highest grade alcohol you can find, some sterile dressings, and…” Mia listed the
