Lightning Strikes Twice

By Ric Frances

Lightning Strikes Twice, From the Urbanax Files is an action-packed, adventure, detective story full of suspense, mystery, romance, and twists. When a kidnapping occurs in the Michaels’ home for the second time in two years, chaos ensues. The father and husband of the victims, an 8-year old and her mother calls former New Orleans Police Detective Richard Urbanax, widely considered the best in Southeast Louisiana. He is assisted by his 18-year old daughter and protégé, and his genius, 15-year old twin sons, whose sci-fi inventions are far more advanced than any other crime-fighting team in the world.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ric Frances
• Release date: Nov 27, 2020

Book preview

Dedication

To the Lord, my God, Who makes all things possible.

To Mary, my wife,

and children, Hilary, Eric and Reid,

who love me, encourage me, and,

as you will read, inspire me.

And to Connie,

whose kindness and warmth touched

so many of us during her brief time on earth.

1957-2002

Acknowledgment

Thank you to my editors at Ghost Writing LLC, and to my contributing editors: Amanda, Haidee, Hilary, Mary, Max, Michele, Reid and Rosalie. Their candid assessments of this book to Parran, Ricky, Dad, Ric and Uncle Ric made this an even more enjoyable book for me.

While this book is fiction, there are incidents based on truth. Eric and the Cheerios, Hilly and Reid with the tennis racket, Eric and the peacock, and Reid’s belly flops are just a few instances. Also, Mary, my wife, has beautiful green/hazel eyes and a most unusual shade to which I was immediately attracted. Yes, I do tease Rosie, my mother-in-law, and she loves it. Come back and read this paragraph after you read the book. It will make more sense and make you laugh.

The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious or are used fictitiously. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination, or are used fictitiously, and any similarity to real persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental and not intended by the author.

About the Author

Ric resides in the Greater New Orleans area, where he has spent his career in Radio and Television broadcasting. He opened Frances Partners LLC in 1992. Lightning Strikes Twice, From the Urbanax Files is his first published book. Believing in the adage write what you know this thrilling mystery (with a splash of sci-fi fantasy) is set in New Orleans. When not relaxing with a migraine, Ric enjoys writing, and several hobbies, but most enjoys spending time with his wife, children and grandchildren. He also likes referring to himself in the third person. If you’ve already read the book and are curious, Ric’s blood type is AB+.

Preface

Lightning Strikes Twice, From the Urbanax Files is an action-packed, adventure, detective story full of suspense, mystery, romance and twists. When a kidnapping occurs in the Michaels’ home for the second time in two years, chaos ensues. The father and husband of the victims, an 8-year old and her mother, calls former New Orleans Police Detective Richard Urbanax, widely considered the best in Southeast Louisiana. He is assisted by his 18-year old daughter and protégé, and his genius, 15-year old twin sons, whose sci-fi inventions are far more advanced than any other crime fighting team in the world. Racing against the clock, a maniacal kidnapper(s) and even one member of the NOPD, can the hostages be found before they are harmed? With so many suspects to investigate will there be enough time? Can you figure out if it’s one kidnapper or more? Is it the same kidnapper(s) as two years ago when 6-year old cousin Cora was abducted? Is the husband and father above suspicion? Will nerves shatter as they await a ransom demand? Each chapter reveals new clues and ends with a question that propels you into the next chapter. Whether you’re 16 or 65 you’ll get involved and try to solve the mystery.

Contents

Dedication

Acknowledgment

About the Author

Preface

Chapter 1- Monday, Monday

Chapter 2- Don’t Try This At Home

Chapter 3- What a Day for A Daydream

Chapter 4- How Do You Take Your Coffee?

Chapter 5- The Kidnapper’s Back in Town

Chapter 6- A Crowd of People Stood and Stared

Chapter 7- She is Just 18, You Know What I Mean

Chapter 8- Staying Alive

Chapter 9- Telephone Line, Give Me Some Time

Chapter 10- Material Girls

Chapter 11- Hilly’s Turn to Try

Chapter 12- Take This Job And Love It

Chapter 13- Right Place, Wrong Time

Chapter 14- Hilly’s Day Is A Winding Road

Chapter 15- Mrs. Trudeau You’ve Got a Lovely Daughter

Chapter 16- With Great Power Comes Great Expense

Chapter 17- High Noon

Chapter 18- Hide and Seek

Chapter 19- Money Can’t Buy Me Love

Chapter 20- Summer Lovin’ Happened So Fast

Chapter 21- Father Knows Best

Chapter 22- Taking Care of Business

Chapter 23- Time After Time

Chapter 24- Suspicious Minds

Chapter 25- UrbanAX to Grind

Chapter 26- Show Him the Money

Chapter 27- Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend

Chapter 28- Richard Is Dead Wrong

Chapter 29- 50 Ways To Leave Your Brother

Chapter 30- Hail to the (Retired) Chief

Chapter 31- Bad Mood Rising

Chapter 32- Don’t Go Breakin’ My Legs

Chapter 33- The Phone Always Rings Twice

Chapter 34- The Heat Is On

Chapter 35- We Don’t Need No Stinking Badges!

Chapter 36- Stand By Me

Chapter 37- He Came In Through The Warehouse Window

Chapter 38- Looks Like We Made It

Chapter 39- I Will Always Love You

Chapter 40- Two Out of Three Isn’t Bad

Chapter 41- Seal It With A Kiss

Chapter 42- Teach Your Children Well

Chapter 43- Mother and Child Reunion

Chapter 44- And In The End

Page Left Blank Intentionally

Chapter 1

Monday, Monday

It is a typical Monday morning. At 7:30 a.m. sharp, the weekday routine begins in the Michaels’ home. The family members all get dressed and arrive in the kitchen by 7:30.

Like every morning, Chris Michaels, 44, puts two pieces of bread in the toaster. Normally, he would pour a glass of orange juice for his daughter, Audrey, 8, but since it is January, and one of the few cold days a year in New Orleans, he pours her a cup of hot cocoa. After that, he makes a pot of coffee and pours two cups: one for his wife, Michelle, 40, and the other for himself.

Audrey prepares her mother’s specialty coffee – half milk, half coffee, and lots of sugar. It is a New Orleans style known as Café Au Lait. After that, she runs into the living room with her lunch box and her cup of hot cocoa. She gathers her schoolbooks and searches for her mother’s keys and cell phone, which are often misplaced.

Michelle makes it to the kitchen in time to spread the margarine on the toast. While the family is rushing through breakfast, Chris suddenly realizes he is running late for his usual Monday morning meeting. He takes a sip of coffee, and then leaves about 7:40, but not before giving his girls hugs and kisses.

Audrey goes back to look for her mom’s keys and cell phone but with no success. If she is to be on time for school they must leave no later than 7:50. Today, they are running late.

Any other day Chris would work in his home office, but Monday mornings he regularly meets with his client, Patrika’s Purses. On his way to his 8:00 breakfast meeting Patrika calls to cancel the meeting. At 7:59 Chris is back home, but he has encountered something peculiar on his way.

Chris sees what appears to be Michelle’s van on a road that does not lead to Audrey’s school. In fact, Audrey’s school is in the opposite direction. This small bizarre turn in the routine of her day initially concerns Chris, but he finds it more comforting to assume that Michelle is picking up a schoolmate of Audrey’s. One thing is certain: Audrey is going to be late for school.

Upon reaching home he finds that his wife forgot to set the house alarm – something else that rarely happens.

Chris is uneasy, but tries not to become alarmed. He picks up his cup of coffee, now gone cold, and puts it in the microwave to heat it up, but never retrieves it. His workday begins as an advertising and marketing consultant for his company, Michaels Partners, a business he established eight years ago.

The bad news is yet to come.

At 9:00 Chris gets a call from school, asking him why Audrey is missing from class. He phones the hospital and learns that Michelle has not reached work for her 8:30 shift. Now he’s worried. An accident?

Chris calls Michelle’s cell phone and then tries Audrey’s, but neither his wife nor his daughter answers. Panicking now, he calls them repeatedly and becomes so frustrated that he begins pacing back and forth in his home like a caged tiger.

He runs outside to see if the van is parked anywhere nearby. This time when he calls his wife’s phone, he hears it ringing. His heart beating frantically, he finally locates it near the bushes. He then calls Audrey’s phone in the hope of finding it, too, which he does several feet away from Michelle’s. Both phones are so far from the front door and from where the van is normally parked it almost seems as though somebody threw the phones there. But who threw them and why?

Chris examines the phones, tapping on their screens to stumble on any clues that might help him find his family. He sees a text message on Audrey’s phone. It says something that shakes him to the bone. He reads it over and over before calling the police. The enigmatic text reads: I’m baaack.

Chapter 2

Don’t Try This At Home

New Orleans is a city that is below sea level. If you are looking for water, you can dig a one or two-foot deep hole on your property, and likely discover it. When a house has a basement, it normally is not underground. It is the first floor of the structure, which is above ground. Based on this, the second floor is called the first floor, as it is the first floor of the living area. This is the main reason many houses in the uptown and garden district neighborhoods in New Orleans are three-storied.

The first floor of the house is a basement, and the top two floors make up the living area, where people carry out their daily activities. In most homes, the basement is typically used as a garage, a storage room for tools, a workout area, or a home office. The latter is the case at the Urbanax’s house.

With as much as 2,400 square feet of living area on each floor, the Urbanax house also has quite a spacious basement, 2400 square feet, and it is perhaps the most interesting basement in New Orleans, though it was initially designed to be a garage. The previous owner of the house had installed two garage doors for his cars. However, this basement is no longer a garage – in fact, its doors are now permanently locked. Exercise equipment rests against the doors, effectively sealing them. The walk-in door has a pull-up bar, and in that same corner is the workout equipment, complete with a workout bench, and the finest climber available for students of parkour.

Along the west wall is a lab bench, extending from the driveway wall and stretching up to the back house wall. The east wall shares the staircase and features typical tools used for repair, gardening, and other household needs, and some rather unusual tools and items are stored there as well. The back wall has two oversized single beds, sitting against the wall, and someone is sleeping in one of the beds.

Reid Urbanax, 15, appears to be fumbling with what looks like a skateboard, as he nervously keeps an eye on the entrance door and the stairs leading to the two stories above. He also watches the bed of his fraternal twin brother, Eric, who he thinks is still sleeping soundly. Though his brother is the closest in proximity, he is the least of Reid’s concerns right now. All Reid is thinking about is his test project, a test he plans to finish before someone catches and stops him. Reid’s test project looks exactly like a typical skateboard from the top, but modifications on the bottom clearly show that it has been customized with many adjustments made to its original design. There are larger spring-loaded wheels, and a hole with a technological device, which from the looks of it, may become frustrating for Reid.

Although all the walls have something along them, Reid is in the middle of the basement where there is free space. Here the Urbanax family is introduced to gadgets, software, and many kinds of futuristic inventions.

Reid finally sets his test project, the skateboard, which is called a Flyboard, on the floor. Next, he steps on it and then presses what appears to be a remote. However, the Flyboard remains still, not moving at all. Reid shakes his head while becoming more frustrated by the moment.

At this point, a voice from the bed speaks out to him. You know you could test it without standing on it,

Eric tells him. "That way, you wouldn’t get hurt and no one would be blamed for the injury. And by no one, I mean, of course, me."

Eric had previously disabled a tentor on the remote, which is necessary for the skateboard to operate. A tentor is similar to a computer chip but far more advanced; it can only be found in the twins’ inventions. Reid looks all over the Flyboard and tries to locate the missing piece. But the piece is not missing; Eric has just disabled it.

Eric believes that if Reid wants to test inventions and get hurt in the process that is his prerogative. However, he is bound by special directives from the two people who live in the house above, his father and his sister, to keep Reid from injuring himself.

Reid seems irritated with Eric’s interference. He is impatient and wants to test the Flyboard immediately.

You know it’s not ready, and you know, of course, you’re going to get hurt while testing it, Eric warns Reid as he sits up in bed.

Yeah, Reid responds. So?

Why don’t you cut up an apple and slice your finger? Eric asks. That way, when you get hurt, they won’t blame me. You will face all the blame, which makes everyone happy, and by everyone, I mean, of course, me.

Eric gets out of bed and grabs the remote from Reid, who gives it up easily.

I’ve looked. All the components are on it, but it still won’t work, Reid complains.

Eric smiles. Yeah, that’s because I didn’t take anything off the Flyboard. All I needed to do to stop you was disable a tentor on the remote.

Reid slaps himself in the head for not even considering the remote as the problem.

Reid and Eric are both geniuses with advanced degrees. Eric has a master’s degree in chemistry, with a bachelor’s degree in biology. Reid has a master’s degree in forensic science, with a bachelor’s degree in computer science. The two brothers purposely studied different majors, so they would have more education to help them with their inventions. However, they learned and discovered more on their own, as school did not provide many challenges to them.

While studying for their bachelor’s and master’s degrees, Reid and Eric used all of their electives on other studies that would help them invent and create futuristic gadgets and software. They have all the books in their possession that are needed to apply for a doctorate, and they have read them. Neither of them has pursued a doctorate because classes move at a pace that is just too slow for them. They became so bored getting their master’s degrees that they slept more in school than they did at home. This is because they create their inventions using their brain and intellect, and not their education or course books. They think 30 to 40 years into the future. A good example is the animated television series The Jetsons.

Both Reid and Eric learn quickly and easily, usually without consulting a book or the internet. They learn mostly from each other. Eric prefers to take time to analyze and think about a test project or an experiment, unwilling to test that experiment until he is fully convinced it will operate at 100%. It is not that he is afraid of getting hurt. He is just that logical and pragmatic. Why get hurt if you do not have to?

Reid, on the contrary, is more impulsive. He takes the trial and error approach in almost all scenarios. He is always prepared to test inventions and formulas, even when he knows they are not ready. He has the bruises, the scrapes, the cuts, and the healed bones to show for it. Tests are no fun on the lab table. He believes that if he tests an experiment and something goes wrong, he and Eric will know exactly what to fix. His impatience and impulsiveness add to his preferred method.

If the twins are not outside playing a sport, they practically live in the basement by choice. They do go upstairs for showers and food, but they have their beds in the basement for the little sleep they need. They have a mini refrigerator to store energy drinks and even installed a restroom. This saves them the time that they would otherwise be wasting going up and down the stairs. They value every second that the clock ticks away.

Just tell them you tried to stop me, Reid says, as he rips the remote back out of Eric’s hand. Now, knowing it is the tentor that is disabled, Reid enables the remote in a matter of seconds. During that very moment, they hear someone coming down the stairs. It is their 18-year-old sister, Hilly. She is the third member of the future private investigators’ firm they plan to form once they finish helping their father, Richard, with a case. Richard, 48, is a former New Orleans Police Detective and is now a Private Investigator.

Hilly has just returned from morning Mass, and immediately after coming down, she snatches the remote away from Reid.

Careful, Reid says sarcastically. You might spill your best friend: coffee.

I drink a little coffee, she replies casually. Big deal.

The boys reply in unison. A little?!

That coffee cup might as well be an appendage to your body, Eric laughs.

We should buy stock in K-cup companies, Reid roars with laughter.

As you might expect, Hilly is quite different from her brothers. Though all three resemble their mother, Hilly has inherited more of her mother’s personality, temperament, and patience. She has slightly wavy, auburn hair that falls about six inches below her shoulders. Hilly never really lets her hair down on ordinary days, mainly because it is too hot. It is much cooler and easier to wear her hair in a ponytail. When she has to go to a party or an important event, she will either curl it or straighten it to make it appear neat and stylish. However, her hair would usually return to its normal texture before she gets home. She is not as tall as Eric, who is about 5 feet, 11 inches, and Reid, who is 6 feet tall. She is about 5 feet, 7 inches, and slender, despite her robust appetite.

Can’t you hurt yourself by playing football or basketball instead? she asks.

Those sports aren’t possible as they need more people to play with them and other kids their age are in school. There is only one sport in which the boys can participate without friends: parkour. Hilly never knew what parkour was until she saw a video on YouTube. Then she watched her brothers, and as they progressed, they would take more chances, attempt longer leaps and climb higher than the people in the online video. This is why she prefers that they play some other sport – even tackle football, of which she used to disapprove. Though she cannot stop her brothers from parkour, she can still nag them, and as much as she dislikes nagging, sometimes it works.

Overall, the three siblings get along well, and there are only two things they argue about: parkour and Reid testing inventions that can hurt him. One reason for that is Hilly is as protective of her two brothers as their mother was and tries her best to protect them from getting hurt.

For their part, they may be younger, but the boys consider themselves as her big brothers. The way they see it, only they are allowed to mess with Hilly. If someone else does, there