“They’re numbers that are the sum of their divisors,” Dare explained, and when we still looked confused, he grabbed a piece of paper to show us. “The easiest one to explain is 6. What is it divisible by?”
“Two times three equals six,” Phil offered.
Dare wrote down 2 + 3 = 6.
“That only equals five,” Jill pointed out.
“One. Do we count one when doing this?” Phil asked.
“In this case yes,” Dare said as he wrote 1 + 2 + 3 = 6.
“That only has four digits,” Sun said, looking defeated.
“Try 28,” Cassidy suggested.
Dare wrote 1 + 2 + 4 + 7 + 14 = 28
“The keypad only is one through nine,” Don pointed out.
“Punch in 1, 2, 4, 7, 1, 4,” Jill suggested.
Don put the code in, and it opened the wall safe.
Cassidy had said I couldn’t help with this next room. That lasted for the first forty-five minutes; then they allowed me to play. They were stumped on a four-digit lock. The group had figured out the first three digits. Cassidy threatened to hurt me when I began spinning the last dial at each number until I hit seven, and it opened. The others sent me to my corner again.
I chuckled because this reminded me of what JD had taught us Wednesday: don’t let your biases get in the way of the solution. They were so caught up in solving clues they hadn’t stepped back and used common sense.
We failed on the last one, but everyone had a great time. Even Don was happy. He’d made it clear that he really wanted to take Cassidy out alone. If that was what he wished, he would have to step up and face Coach Hope to get what he wanted. I doubted Cassidy would ever defy her father.
I gave Sun high marks on planning our first date even though it turned into a group date. It had all the elements I felt made for a good first date. We had fun, we learned more about each other, and there were no expectations. I realized that I wanted to go out with her again. My night was complete when Sun agreed with me, and we planned a date for the next weekend.
◊◊◊
Chapter 13 – Set Up Saturday February 11
When I came down for breakfast, I had a pleasant surprise: Fritz was there with Paul.
“Hey, stranger, what’s new?” I asked.
“I wanted to give you an update on Chuck’s travels, and I understand young Darius is going to show you his latest in drones,” Fritz said.
“He’s calling it a flock of drones. Personally, I think it’s just an excuse for him to buy more of them,” I said.
Mom and Dad came down while I ran upstairs to get the boys for Peggy. When I came back, Fritz was showing my parents pictures of my properties. Fritz had sent Chuck to survey them to determine their security needs. While he was at it, he’d taken pictures we would send to Cindy for decorating ideas.
“… it overlooks a clothing-optional beach,” Fritz said, catching my full attention.
I bit my tongue when my mom gave me a warning look.
“Is that typical in Greece?” Dad asked, saving me from having to dig into which property Fritz was talking about.
“There are a couple,” Fritz admitted. “David just got lucky that it isn’t the men-only beach that’s two beaches down the coast from his condo.”
“It’s not a bunch of old people, is it?” I asked without thinking.
“What do you consider old?” Dad asked.
“Like that nudist camp you were taking Phil to in Canada.”
My dad gave me a look that told me we would talk later while my mom stared lasers into the side of his head. I didn’t feel bad because he had served me up to my mom’s wrath with the age comment. It didn’t help my dad’s cause any when Paul barked out a laugh.
Paul had been on the trip where we pulled the joke on my younger brother. The website I had printed out had had pictures of older people playing volleyball. It just confirmed my belief that after a certain age, you should cover up.
Thankfully, my mom was more interested in spending my money decorating than in worrying about the view of the beach. After breakfast, she went to the office to call Cindy and go over the pictures Fritz had come back with.
◊◊◊
When we arrived at Dare’s apartment complex, we found him already in the parking lot with a man I vaguely remembered. I suspected he was the mysterious Hunter who had been helping Dare.
I got a better look at him. He looked to be in his late 50s and still had an athletic build. To be honest, he could be a model. He was my height, with blond hair and piercing blue eyes. I only hoped I would look that good when I got to be his age.
“Hey. I’m David Dawson, and these are Fritz and Paul, two of my security people who will be operating the drones,” I said by way of introduction.
“Hunter Jacobs. I’m an engineering professor at State. I like to tinker with drones as a hobby. Darius and I met at the flight school when they were selling a few of their drones, and I found a kindred spirit,” he explained.
I had a sneaking suspicion he wasn’t telling me everything for some reason. I think he picked up on that and changed the topic.
“Dare, why don’t you show them what you’ve done,” Hunter suggested.
