Chatsworth Royalty by Michael Botz

Author:Michael Botz [Botz, Michael]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Michael Botz
Published: 2022-03-27T22:00:00+00:00

22

The sun was beginning to set when we arrived at the idiosyncratic edifice known as Mayflower Hall. The structure was so over-the-top avant-garde that I had to believe that private money had funded it. Depending on your perspective, it was either a brilliant and bold piece of architecture or a painful eyesore. I counted four stories with each ascending story significantly larger and more spread out than the one beneath it—an upside-down pyramid. The entire outside was made of shiny steel and different shades of black and gray glass. At the front entrance a distinctive granite plaque graciously thanked the benefactor for making Mayflower Hall possible.

Charlie Mayflower, the founder of Charlie’s Discount Mufflers, a nationwide auto service chain, had put up the cash. I remembered buying a muffler from one of his shops when I was in high school. I vowed to never go back after they charged me way more than their estimate and then refused to give me back my car until I paid them in full. Accusations similar to mine were rampant and several states threatened legal action. Charlie must have done something to make amends as his shops were still around. Perhaps Mayflower Hall was part of his California reparation.

Mayflower Hall was quiet inside, which was no surprise since it was late in the day, and most classes had ended hours before. I counted only twelve students buried behind their computers throughout the entire building. We decided against approaching Dr. Mirek before class. We wanted his undivided attention, and we didn’t want to give him an excuse to break away if, for some reason, he didn’t want to talk to us.

With so few students in the building, we didn’t have to be Stabler and Benson to find his class. The first and second floors had nothing going on. When we got to the third floor, we heard a voice speaking in the distance. We followed the sound, and it led us to room number three hundred-twelve. We peeked inside and saw a class in session.

The room had the appearance of a small movie theater. Eight rows slanted downwards with each row consisting of seven seats. In all, fourteen bodies, predominantly male, were seated in the room. The man at the front of the class held a laser pointer in his hand. He’d regularly point it at a flat screen television while he elaborated. His voice was deeper than I would have expected, and he was even taller than I anticipated. However, the face was unmistakable. It was Dr. Gregory P. Mirek.

I felt like we’d jumped a huge hurdle. We had Mirek in front of us. The only discouraging part was that Jana wasn’t in the room. It would have been phenomenal had she been sitting quietly along with the students listening to his lecture, but after what Kevin had told us at lunch, neither Laurie nor I had any expectations. Still, I felt relief and excitement. After four days of wondering and worrying, we were only minutes away from finding out what happened to Jana.

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