And so Kelly drove to the barracks to interview Petty Officer Lancaster. She had been hoping to get college, because she enjoyed working undercover. Military men were usually not very interesting, especially enlisted men. She hoped he would be different.
After getting directions from the sailor at the desk, Kelly went to Petty Officer Lancaster's room. It was up on the third floor of the barracks. It was Saturday, and the sailor did not have duty this weekend. She knocked on his door.
Chris Lancaster had been told to expect someone from Charles Townsend Investigations, so when he heard the knock on the door, he put down his gaming books and answered the door. He was pleasantly surprised to see the drop-dead gorgeous Kelly Garrett standing there.
"Petty Officer Lancaster, I'm Kelly Garrett from Charles Townsend Investigations. May I come in?"
"Please do. Miss Garrett." He was definitely taken aback by the beautiful private eye. Being a nerd, he rarely saw any good looking women, let alone someone like Kelly, in a bra top and sarong.
Chris got a chair for her to sit in. He sat on his bed. There were two beds in the room, but Chris did not have a roommate.
"Petty Officer Lancaster..." she began.
"You can call me Chris, if you want."
"Chris," she began again, "can you please describe for me what happened at the Quickie Mart a few days ago?" It had taken a couple of days for the case to be referred to Townsend Investigations by the store owner.
"Well, um..."
"Kelly."
"Well, Kelly, it was like I told the police. It was two in the morning, and I was behind the counter pretty bored. These two really nice looking girls walked in. They were dressed in babydoll nightgowns, with nothing under them."
"How did you know that?"
"When they raised their arms, I could see, you know, everything."
"I see. Go on."
"Well one had a gun, and she pointed it at me. She said, 'You will open the cash register now, or you will be destroyed.' I opened the register immediately."
"That's a very odd thing to say."
"It was, wasn't it? So I opened the register and the other girl took all the cash out and put it in a plain paper bag. Like you would pack a lunch in. Once they were done, they backed out. The license plate was dirty, so I couldn't read the number."
"Is that everything?"
"Well, from the way they acted, it was like they were under mind control."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, Kelly, I am a bit of an expert in that subject. I have watched a lot of movies and television shows with mind control in them, and I know what I am talking about. I watched one where this girl was triggered to come to this guy's house in the middle of the night, in just her nightgown."
Kelly nodded. She remembered when that had happened to her. She had been posing as an heiress when she had been hypnotized. After the whole thing was over, she had had all the memories of the event restored.
"So you think that these women were hypnotized to commit this crime?
"For sure. I have no doubt in my mind."
"Thank you for your time, Chris. Here is my card in case you have any further leads."
Kelly had to admit that even though he was a little geeky, Chris had a winning personality. She wasn't sure why, but maybe after the case, she might go out with him.
|