Hattie and the Main Street Bomber - Matchmaker Chronicles Volume 1C – O 4/9
This version is rated PG-13
This story is a sequel to Hattie Kaplin - Reporter – Matchmaker Chronicles Volume 1C - N
By KenJ <ken.janney@kjanney.com>
* * denotes emphasis
< > denotes thoughts
/ denotes telepathic communications./
Previously
As soon as they walked into the newsroom, Hattie looked into the editor’s office and spotted Lois. Lois was gesturing for them. They changed course from heading for their desks to heading for the editor’s office. When they entered they sat side by side on the couch.
Lois asked, “Okay, I didn’t have to pay your bail to get you out of jail so I guess it went well. What was the beef?”
Chagrined and ashamed to have to admit it she quietly said, “I forgot all about the traffic cams.” As she was saying this she held up the disk Cardona had given her.
Lois barked out a laugh, “You mean they got you on video in a stolen truck, obstructing traffic downtown in the middle of the night?”
“Yeah, something like that.”
Lois was laughing as she said, “All I can say is learn from your mistakes. I guess the coveralls weren’t enough. The red hair is kinda distinctive, on both of you. Next time, wear a wig or a hat or something.”
Hattie and Lois both laughed in relief and Hattie said, “Yeah, we will.”
Shocked, JJ blurted out, “Next time?!?!?!”
Lois looked at JJ and said, “James Bartholomew Olsen, Junior, if I know this girl, and I think I do, there will always be a next time for her, just like there was for me.” She winked at Hattie who proceeded to break up in laughter while JJ paled.
JJ said, more to himself than to anyone else, “Oh well, no pain, no gain.”
And now
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Chapter 04 – Wednesday afternoon
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Universal Locator designation
Alpha 023 x Gamma 004 x Tau -120 Canon universe also called – Prime
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Later that afternoon Hattie was in the conference room with JJ. They were in front of the board looking at the map. Hattie was thinking aloud as she said, “How could the bomber be certain that his victims would be where he wanted them?” She stepped up to the map and put a finger on the intersection of Main and tenth and another on Main and fourteenth. Turning to JJ she said, “It is obvious that he was targeting this section of Main Street. How could he be sure of hitting his target?”
“How accurate is one of those timers?”
“Accurate enough, I mean an electronic timer would be more accurate, but a mechanical one should be good to within a few seconds.”
JJ asked, “In order for the bomber to have the bombs all go off, where he wanted them to, how close to the target when he planted the bomb would they have to be?”
Hattie had been thinking about other things and the fact that JJ was talking to her took a second to register. She finally asked, “Huh, what?”
“How close would he need to be to his target area in order to ensure that he hit his target?”
“HHhmmmmm, that’s a *
good* question. How *
could* he be *
sure* to hit his target?” She started looking at the map again. The arrows made a colored patchwork between tenth and fourteenth along Main Street with one on eleventh and one on twelfth.
Suddenly, JJ broke the silence that had reigned for several minutes while he and Hattie contemplated the map, “What is the traffic pattern on eleventh?”
Absently Hattie replied, “Odd numbers east, even numbers west.”
JJ said, “That kinda makes sense. It looks like one car turned off of Main onto eleventh. It was almost a whole block off Main and if it had continued on Main it would have fallen into the zone. The same with the one on twelfth. That one only made it half a block.”
Hattie snapped around and grabbed JJ and in her exuberance kissed him.
It happened so quickly that JJ didn’t have time to respond. Afterwards he found himself wishing that he was from the Kent side of the family and not the Olsen side and that he had superspeed and would have been able to gather her into his arms and hold her there so that they would linger in the kiss. As it was, the only thing that lingered, was the feel of her lips on his and that was the only thing that confirmed it had actually transpired.
She said, “That’s it! That’s the key! The point that the bombs are put on the cars has to be somewhere on Main and it has to be near the target area. The timer has to be set for, oh, five minutes at most.”
She took a marker and drew a big circle with the most distant blast point on the outer edge using the intersection of tenth and main as the center point.
Stepping back she said, “The bomb has to be planted somewhere within that circle, but how?”
JJ looked at his watch. Noting the time he said, “Robbins is having a press conference in a few minutes. He may say something about the rash of bombings. I’ll be back in a while.”
Thinking only for a second, Hattie said, “JJ, wait, I’ll go with you. I need to get away from this for a while. Just let me grab my bag.”
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
A short time later, at the press conference.
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Hattie and JJ arrived a little early and had an opportunity to be greeted by Robbins’ staffers who were schmoozing the press. As they entered they were greeted, “Hello, I’m Jack Crane, I’m special assistant for special projects for Councilman Robbins.” He offered his hand which JJ shook and then Hattie. Mr. Crane was a young rather good looking guy just a little taller than JJ with sandy colored hair.
Hattie was wearing a smart business suit in maroon. The skirt was short, the hem riding at least six inches above her knees which showed off her shapely legs. She had on a light burgundy shell under a short jacket that matched the skirt. She was wearing her favorite medium high heels, the ones that had been repaired after her spill off the roof.
Obviously liking what he saw, Mr. Crane eyed Hattie up and down as he greeted her, holding her hand perhaps a little longer than would be considered appropriate. Hattie knew that she was a rather attractive woman with her naturally wavy red hair and her peaches and cream complexion. She knew that she was fortunate, for a red head, she had very few freckles. She had become accustomed to the appreciative looks she received from the men she met.
Mr. Crane continued to hold her hand as he asked, “Who do I have the pleasure of speaking with?”
“Hattie Kaplin, Daily Planet and this is my partner, James Olsen.”
He was still holding her hand as he glanced at JJ then back at her and asked, “Business partner, or … otherwise?”
She smiled and said, “So far, just business.”
Crane smiled and finally released her hand. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a business card. He wrote a number on the back and handed it to her. He said, “My private cell number. Give me a call.”
Hattie smiled as she accepted the card and dropped it into her bag. She and JJ moved over to stand with the rest of the press corps.
A few minutes later Councilman Robbins came in and was introduced by his Chief of Staff.
“Thank you Dave for the introduction. Ladies and gentlemen of the press, recently there has been a rash of bombings in center city. There has been terrible loss of life in a rather short time.”
“It has been brought to my attention that the businesses in that area are suffering a drop in revenue as a result of people avoiding the area. It is my understanding that these explosions have all been perpetrated by person or persons unknown by sending them into the area in cars.”
“In response to this continued threat, I am proposing legislation to the council which would restrict businesses in that area to chain franchises because they have the sales base of other outlets to withstand a slight downturn in revenue in a single area whereas independents would not have the resources.”
Hattie put her lips close to JJ’s ear and whispered, “That confirms the tip Graham gave us.”
“Further, I am proposing that the area be turned into a walking mall within center city, rerouting traffic around the area and adding new landscaping. This will call for additional funding which would be provided by a bond sale.”
JJ and Hattie looked at each other. Hattie said, “We can talk about that later.”
The Councilman finished up with, “That is the extent of this announcement. I have another commitment so there will be no questions. Thank you for your attention.” He stepped back from the podium and exited behind his Chief of Staff who led the way out.
After he had walked out, Hattie turned to Jimmy. She was holding her hand up to her head as she said, “Wow. My head suddenly hurts and what do you make of this?” She motioned toward the podium, indicating the announcement.
Soto voce, JJ replied, “It seems to fit with the tip and it sure looks like it meshes with the bombings. Man, I think I need to get some aspirin. Suddenly I have a splitting headache. That’s weird! Why did we both get headaches at the same time?”
Hattie nodded her head and said, “Yeah, me too and my heart feels like it’s pounding out of my chest. I wonder what’s going on. I don’t usually get headaches and why would my heart be doing flip-flops? It seems to be getting worse by the minute.” Looking around she saw that there were a number of others showing signs of distress such as she and JJ were experiencing. She filed that piece of information away for further research. She said, “Let’s get out of here and back to the office. If we have to we can send Frank out for aspirin. We have more research to do.”
“I’m with you, partner.” He stuffed his pad and pencil in his pocket and placing a hand in the small of her back, ushered her from the building.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
On the cab ride back to the Planet, neither of them spoke. Hattie had her head back and her eyes closed, obviously in a lot of pain. By comparison, JJ apparently was handling his pain better, or else his was less.
By the time they were in the bullpen the headache and other symptoms had peaked and started to abate. They moved into the conference room.
Hattie turned to JJ and asked, “What do you think about that bond issue?”
JJ replied, “Sounds like a big pot of money that could wind up missing.”
“My thoughts exactly.” Hattie replied. She turned around and looked at the board. She stood there, staring at the map. After what seemed like ten minutes she said, “Where would they have to attach the bomb to make sure it went where they wanted it to?”
JJ replied, “You know, when we were examining the blast marks, they were all on the same side of the street.”
Hattie had been leaning back into the conference table, but when he said that she pushed upright and moved to stand in front of the map. She said, “Yeah, they were all on the northbound side, those that weren’t on side streets at least. Okay, that means that the bombs were placed somewhere south of the target area. The variations in detonation locations could be accounted for by differences in the speed of traffic flow.”
JJ added, “It would have to be fairly close to the target so that they could be certain that most of the bombs would go off where they wanted them to.” JJ stepped up to the map and drew a smaller circle, more of an ellipse, encompassing Main from tenth to eighth. He narrated as he did, “In order to be sure that the bombs were delivered on target they would have to be placed close to the target to minimize divergence like we saw with those two that turned off. I’d say it would have to be somewhere within the two blocks before the target.”
“That sounds reasonable to me. We need to go down there and time the movement of the traffic to be sure. JJ, has your headache gone away yet?”
“Not completely, no.”
“I wonder what could have caused it. Did you notice that we both got them at the same time? I thought I saw several others at that press conference that looked like they were getting headaches as well. What could have caused all of us to get headaches all at the same time? It’s interfering with my ability to think straight. I say, let’s call it a day. I’m going to tell Lois that we’re both sick and are headed home.”
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
As JJ was dropping Hattie off at her door she said, “Give me a call later. If we’re up to it, I’d like to go time the traffic flow.”
JJ countered with, “If you get hungry later give me a call. We can go out to get something.”
Hattie smiled and asked, “This wouldn’t have anything to do with Jack Crane, would it?”
“Well, what if it does? I think we can be more than just work partners. I’d like to give it a try. How about you?”
“Yeah, we can give it a try. I’ll call you later.”
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Wednesday evening
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Later that evening found Hattie and JJ at Travaglini’s. She was still wearing the burgundy outfit; however, she had removed the jacket because of the July heat. They were seated at an outdoor table with a candle in the neck of a Chianti bottle with wax of numerous colors dripped down the outside with a new string of red being added as the light breeze flicked the flame around.
While they waited for their orders to be delivered JJ offered a toast, “To more than work partners.”
Smiling, Hattie clinked her glass against his and they each drank.
JJ said, “You know, we have Aunt Lois and Uncle Clark’s approval.”
Hattie said, “Really?”
Chuckling JJ replied, “They begged me to jump ship at the Gotham Gazette and join the Planet. I think it was done just so that they could put us together.”
“They were playing Matchmaker?”
“Initially, they were saying how our writing styles would complement each other’s the same way that theirs did. We can both see how that worked out.”
“Do they expect us to fall in love the way they did?”
“I’ve talked with Jon about that. It seems like they weren’t alone in this. That was also why we were paired up in the wedding party. That was Jen’s idea. I, for one, would hate to disappoint them. I’ve liked you for years. You spent so much time with them, you were almost a member of the family. Any time we were together at Aunt Lois and Uncle Clark’s I enjoyed the time with you. I have to say that right from rehearsal night, I’ve wanted a serious relationship with you. The time we spent together at the reception was fantastic. You had to have known I was attracted to you.”
With a shy smile, Hattie replied, “I really enjoyed my time with you too and yeah, I guess I did know. I really hadn’t considered dating. That had taken a back seat to winning a Kerth. Now that we are together, I’m starting to think there’s more to life than awards, at least a little bit.”
“Are you saying that you would be willing to date me?”
Shyly Hattie bobbed her head in the affirmative.
JJ smiled and said, “That’s great! Oh, here come our orders.”
They chatted over dinner and planned what they would be doing after dinner.
When they finished, JJ paid the check and hand in hand they walked down the sidewalk, in the direction of Main Street where it intersects with ninth.
When they got there Hattie pulled out her earpiece and turned it on. After tapping it she heard, “Say a command.”
She said, “Call JJ.”
JJ almost didn’t have time to grab his earpiece and get it on before there was a buzzing coming from it. He tapped it to accept the call.
Hattie said, “I’m going to go up a few blocks. When I’m in place you can give me an ID on a car that is passing. I’ll time it.”
He nodded his understanding as she turned and walked up the block. Since it was near the midpoint of the detonations she walked to the intersection with twelfth and stopped. Speaking to her earpiece she said, “Send me one.”
The reply came immediately, “Late model, red, Toyota, passing … now.”
Hattie started the timing it and watched the traffic as it flowed by. When the target vehicle passed she looked at the time. It was almost three minutes. She noted the time in her notebook. She spoke again and said, “Let’s do it again. I want to clock at least five for an average. Once we have five, I’ll need you to move back a block and we’ll do it from there.”
She heard back, “Gotc’ha. Here’s the next one, blue convert … now.”
Hattie timed this one and three more before JJ moved a block away. They repeated this process until they had a good average for the travel. In the course of their survey they found two cars that passed JJ’s location that didn’t pass Hattie indicating that they had turned off somewhere.
Finishing up and putting her pad away, Hattie spoke again and said, “Care to join me partner?”
“Be right there.”
A few minutes later JJ walked up. She said, “I think that’s enough for tonight. Would you like to escort me home?”
Laughing he replied, “Since we live in the same building, where else would I be going?”
Hattie smiled coyly and said, “You just took all of the romance out of my offer.”
“Oh, sorry, how about, my lady, I would be happy to escort you home. Door to door service and all that.” Crooking his arm at her he made a slight bow.
She hooked her arm through his and giggled as they turned in the direction of home.
When they arrived at her door, Hattie unlocked the locks on her door and partially opened it. She turned to him and putting out her hand said, “I had a lovely evening. Thank you.”
He took her hand and started to lean in for a kiss.
She shied away and coyly said, “I don’t kiss on the first date.”
He was disappointed and it was evident on his face, but he made the best of it by taking her hand which he still held and bringing it to his lips, kissed the back of it.
After he released her hand she slowly withdrew it and he said, “Until the next time.”
In a dreamy tone she said, “Yeah, the next time.” She disappeared into her apartment. Closing the door, she leaned back against it for a few seconds. Coming to a sudden decision she whirled around and threw the door open, only to find an empty hallway. Disappointed she again closed her door, this time she threw the locks.
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