The night before, the Indians lost to the Yankees in extra innings with the Bronx Bombers coming from behind, and over in the fantasy league Lucas’ Red Lions lost to the Kitty Hawks by a run. Nevertheless, in that particular morning those results felt perfect for they gave Lucas a good excuse to contact the Hawks’ manager again.
He sat down on his computer and wrote the man a message while sipping his first cup of morning coffee.
“Congratulations on the win. Looking forward to our next match. By the way, I’ll be in Houston on a business trip next week, and I see you chose the Astros’ logo for your Kitty Hawks. Are you familiar with the city? Any recommendations as to where to go for a good dinner?” he wrote.
The Houston trip was a lie but it was the only thing he could think of to get the man back on the topic which could lead to the information he was interested in. He had been to the city once for the wedding of a college friend hence he felt confident he could answer with credibility any questions regarding the fake trip. He looked once more at the written message to make sure it was perfect, and then clicked on the send button.
After showering he started his day’s work. An hour or so later he got a call from Vega.
“Hey Sweetie, good morning! What’s up?”
“Well, Mr. Dashing you,” she said in a sassy tone, “I just talked to Dalia and she told me that in her aunt’s opinion you were a real life Prince Charming during last Friday’s date(1). Not bad for a man who’s not interested.”
“Well, you know me, I always try to make the other person feel comfortable.”
“Oh come on, you’re not a sofa. You were enjoying her company and couldn’t help being your adorable and fascinating self.”
“It wasn’t on purpose Moonbeam.”
“Sure Dad, whatever you say. It’s just nice to hear about you having a good time on a date. It makes me happy. Anyway, I thought about you a lot last night.”
“Oh really! What about?”
“I was going through the old patch collection.”
“No kidding? The Apollo mission patches?”
“Yep, I could hear you explaining them to me like it was yesterday. It was a nice trip down memory lane.”
“Funny you mention that because last night I was poring over my old Space Race notebook. Weird, don’t you think?”
“We’ve always been connected. Listen, I’ve been wondering…” said Vega, “is there any way you could find out the real name of the Kitty Hawks’ manager?”
“Already on it. I’ve had a couple of exchanges with him through the fantasy league’s messaging system.”
“Oh really? Anything interesting?”
“Well, for starters, he told me he grew up near Dayton, Ohio. Do you know who else was born an hour away from Dayton?”
“Well, John Glenn, Neil Armstrong and Jim Lovell were born in Ohio…”
Yes, but only Armstrong grew up near Dayton.”
“Hmm, don’t jump to conclusions just yet Rocket Man. Keep talking to him. My advice is, don’t be direct. Try to make the man paint himself into a corner by asking innocent sounding questions that allow you to discard other identity options. Oh, and don’t forget, if he is who you think he is, you’re dealing with a very smart person. Don’t try to reel him in with transparent stuff. Listen, I got to get ready for a deposition, but keep me posted. Ok?”
“Sure Moonbeam, have a great day.”
It wasn’t until after lunch that Lucas got an answer from the Kitty Hawks’ manager.
“A close one, but I’ll take it any day :-)”, he wrote. “If you like the classic steakhouse menu your best bet is Brenner’s. It’s been there forever and for good reason.”
Lucas didn’t want to waste time in idle chat so he went straight to the point.
“What about the Kennedy Space Center? Is it worth a visit?”
“I’m guessing you mean the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, right?”
“Yep, sorry about that. The ‘Houston we have a problem’ one.”
“Don’t worry about it, it’s a very common mistake. The LBJ Space Center is a nice visit if you’re into that sort of stuff.”
Lucas decided to go for all the marbles.
“The Space Race has always been one of my favorite topics. As a matter of fact, Apollo 14’s lunar module was called Kitty Hawk,” he wrote. “Funny that you chose the Houston Astros H logo for your Kitty Hawks. Where you aware of the connection?”
Lucas waited for an answer but the minutes passed and nothing came back. Should he interpret that as good or bad news?
Over in southwestern Ohio an old man stared at his computer pondering his next move.
(1)Vega talked to Lucas about this date in Chapter 1: Moonbeam.