LONDON CALLING

"Let's go," Michael told him, drawing his portkey out of his pocket.

When Michael arrived back at Edward's estate, he looked at how beautiful and peaceful it looked here. The flowers were spectacular and in full bloom. It looked like something one would see in some architectural magazine.

"Hard to believe a place looking this perfect and beautiful could ever be the spot of such carnage," Michael said to Jack. "I don't see anything amiss from out here. I think the children had their own houses on the grounds. If that's the case, we need to find Benjamin's house and check there if we don't find her in Edward's house. But, if we're chasing werewolves, i'd prefer we stay together. That old strength in numbers thing, you know."

He walked up to sidewalk to the front door of the main house and picked the lock and easily opened the door.

"And we're in," he told Jack.

Jack ported with Michael and looked around the estate as they stood. " yeah, its too nice looking" he said then followed him when he opened the door. " easy for you hey" he said chukaling. " okay let find bens place." his head looekd around and remebered what had happened that night. " well I know one thing we don't need to check the biillard room." he said and walked won the hall with Michael.

He looked around and began fortifying the security spells and alarms around the building as he moved. Pushing open one door he recoiled at the smell of death, opening it more he saw animals taxidermy annimals all over the walls " found the hunting room" he said in disgust wrinkling his nose.

"Funny," Michael said, "Edward doesn't like hunting, but he make exceptions for the werewolves he gets hire to taken on." Michael walked over one of the taxidermy animals and read a tag on the display. "Jack, this tag says it was purchased just one month ago in London at a shop in a muggle neighborhood. That does not sound like Edward to me.

"How much you want to bet this was some of Benjamin's doing? Edward did mention that when he's gone Benjamin comes in and redecorates the house because he wants to take it over so badly. And the reason the odor bothers you so is that they're all so fresh. I'll lay you odds that if we mention taxidermy, Edward isn't going to know a bloody thing about it. Angus's parents are first class jackasses. I really, really don't like them. How he came from them is beyond...wait." He went over and saw a wall painting that was crooked. He checked the picture and found a safe behind it.

"Safe's been cracked recently," Michael said. "I'm gonna open it and see what's in it." It took him a minute to open the combination lock, and when he did, he found the contents inside were a complete wreck--all disordered and chaotic. "Look here. Clearly been broken into. Edward is a bit of a neat freak. He would never have left this."

Jack looked at Michael and nodded " oh yeah there fresh allright" he said then noticed the same picture and heard his words. He stood watching as Michael opened the safe and frowd "yeah hes super organised " he said " thats not Edwards doing at all." Jack looked at the safe and saw the marks it had been cracked. " great wonder what they were looking for, a will maybe?" he asked glancing around the room again.

"all this isn't Edward, think you could be right that He changed things to suit his style." Jack shook his head " glad hes gone." he looekd at Michael and sighed " okay on to the next room." he said walking towards the door.

"I don't know. Let me see what's here," Michael said. He started to look at what was there. "There was a seal on the envelope the will was in, and that's been broken, but the will is still here. Someone read it and then put it back. And, yes, it leaves everything Edward owns to Angus, and apparently Edward has six children because it specifically mentions every one of them and disinherits them. It does say Angus can decide to give them some sort of bequest, but they get nothing from Edward's will." He put the will back in the envelope and put it back in the safe.

"Let me see what else---that must be Caprice's wedding rings. There's an engagement ring and wedding ring in here--well worn. Deeds to the winery and the olive oil and yacht charter businesses. Birth certificates of his children. Most of the important things are still here. But you know what i'm not finding--bank books. No pass books to savings accounts, no checks from his checking accounts. Someone is going to try to drain his assets. We've got to stop them. We have to send word to Edward immediately so Edward can get to his banks straight away. For all I know, the damage may already have been done."

He went to the fireplace and flicked his wand into it, lighting a fire, and then he opened up the floo and put his face in the fire and called for Robert.

"Michael? It's Kate. What's up?" she asked.

"Edward's safe has been broken into. Most of the important things are still here--except Edward's bank books. Someone may be going for his bank accounts to drain him. He needs to get to his banks straight away."

"Oh no! I'll tell him. Have you found the pack?"

"No, not yet. But clearly Benjamin was redecorating. The room that has the safe has fresh taxidermy hanging all over the place. Stinks, that's for sure."

"Eww," Kate replied. "He's not going to like that. Robert says if you find much more, you should make a list of the changes and bring it back so we can undo it all."

"Understood," Michael said.

"Be careful, both of you," Kate said.

"Always," Michael replied. He put out the fire and continued his search. He went to the desk, and started looking through the desk. This was not Edward's office, but there was a desk here all the same. In the desk, Michael found paperwork that was a marketing packet from a home for senior citizens that promised it had 'safe accommodations' for seniors who needed more protective care, and there was an agreement that Benjamin had apparently signed that was due to come into effect in the next week that would put Edward there in one of the 'safe rooms.'

"Jack," Michael said, "Edward cannot come back here until we get this undone. We can't let him come home right now. Look at this. Benjamin signed papers committing Edward to a locked unit in a care home. If Edward were still here, Benjamin might have already placed him there against his will by now. Benjamin was clearly trying for a take over.

"I can't help but be relieved that he's gone, but we don't know if his wife is involved or not or if Gelding was actually involved in the takeover. There's no way to know yet how deep this goes. But it makes sense. If he still has ties to James, it would be quite a coup for James to actually end up with the children of Edward Donohue in his pack or even Edward himself. That might help him build a significant sized pack. And then think of the sheer brute strength he would have by having a enormous pack. He could certainly then mount a massive offensive against us to try to get Khaat. He could mount, in effect, his own war. We'd be outmatched. Benjamin was a truly bad egg, through and through." Michael took the paperwork and put it in his pocket. He wasn't leaving it here for someone else to find.

"Let's find Benjamin's house," Michael said. "Let's see if Eileen Donohue has shown back up yet looking for her husband. I thought I saw a map of the grounds somewhere in here that shows where all the kids' houses were...." He continue to filch through the desk. "Well, here's a couple maps of some sort...oh boy...Jack, one of these maps is a topographical map. Benjamin had a couple secrets. He's found this land has some evidence of some mineral deposits. There are places in this region of Italy that has some gem mines of several different types semi precious stones, and it looks like Benjamin found there is a place on Edward's land that might very well be ripe pickings for a significant gemstone mine. That could be a lot of motive for an evil, greedy man. Oh, and look. One of the bigger deposits should lie right under this house. That explains a lot.

"And--here's a map of the other buildings in the compound. There are three houses off to the east and three to the west. And then, apparently off towards the northern side, there are some other houses, but they look a bit smaller. Maybe houses for the grandkids? Looks like Edward's children live closer to the main house, and the grandkids might be further away from the main house. I'm gonna 'borrow' these maps."

Jack listened to Michael and looked at the map " wow, wish we'd got rid of him all those years ago but makes sense he'd lay low to gather as much strenth in his pack." Jack said he walked over and looked at the maps he could see what Michael was talking about and the geological servay of the grounds and caverns. "yeah, looks like we found his reason for wanting Edwards lands." Jack ran his finger anlong a line " looks like theres an entrance to something in the basement." he said pointing to a symbold against one wall " wonder if he modified the foundations to get at those gems?" he said watching as Michael took the maps and reports.

Turning to the door he was glad to step back into the hallway away from the taxidermy annimals. He moved to the kitchen and found it to be just that a modern professional kitchen. "Nothing unushual here , other than its clean." he said chukaling.

"Yeah, we should check the cellar before we move on. You have a point. Alright, I'm coming. You know, it occurs to me that the other thing we haven't found are his staff. Edward said there are three staff people here. A butler, a housekeeper and a groundskeeper. Why haven't we seen them? Where are they? They should be here. Edward says they've been with him for years, and he believes they're trustworthy. So why aren't they here trying to find out why we're going through the house. And where were they last night?"

Michael took a good look around, basically trying to figure they layout of the room and where the cellar door was. He saw a walk in fridge and a walk in freezer, and he ignored them at first. And then he found the pantry. He found a back door, and then he found the door to the cellar. Then, for some reason, he turned back and opened the freezer. He found nothing of note there and closed the door. Then he opened the refrigerator and found all three of Edward's staff bound and gagged sitting on the floor in the refrigerator, all badly chilled and shivering hard, and only partly conscious, all clearly victims of hypothermia.

"Jack! Come quick. I found them. And they're going to need immediate first aid for hypothermia," Michael called. He hurried inside to cut them loose and remove the gags. "We've got to get them out of here and get the kettle on. First things first. Tea--immediately--with milk and sugar. They need the sugar. And blankets. We've got to warm them up straight away. And once we've tended them, we should send for Robert. They're going to need to be taken to St. Mungo's.

Jack nodded to Michaels sugestion and recomendation. He followed him around " I don't think they were part of the pack." he said it was then he watched as Michael move around the kitchen then return to the fridge and freezer, moving back to the fridge he saw in shock the staff tied up moving qickly he hellped take them out of the fridge grabbing some blankets from a cupboard he'd found he wrapped them in it then put the kettle on. "God he was sick to do this." Jack said rubbing the buttlers arms to warm him up.

Once all of them had warm sweet tea's he moved and lit a fire writing a note he sent it to Robert threw the floo. " I've sent for Robert he shouldn't be too long." Jack said and returned to help a maid warm herself by adding more tea to her cup as they waited.

The instant Robert got the note, he and Nigel and Brian and Khaat all flew to grab med kits. Robert told Edward, and Edward and Angus ported immediately to Tuscany, with Robert, Nigel, Brian and Khaat following right behind. They all hurried to the kitchen, and Michael was glad to see them.

"Have they told you anything?" Robert asked.

"Not yet. They were only semi conscious when I found them. They are more alert now. We've given them tea with milk and sugar and wrapped them in blankets."

"Well done," Nigel said. "We'll take it from here." They began to work to try to do some initial treatment of them, and as the housekeeper woke steadily, she was able to communicate with Edward in Italian. Michael, Robert, Brian, and Angus all understood what was being said since they also could speak Italian.

"She's telling him that it was Benjamin and some of his friends who shoved them into the fridge and deliberately disabled to latch on the inside of the door so they couldn't get out," Michael translated quietly for Jack. She states that Benjamin and Eileen have been 'crazy' because of the moon for the last two or three months. She knows they're werewolves but she doesn't know who bit them. She remembers they were gone overnight one time and returned with severe bite wounds that took awhile to heal, and after that, they lost all their humanity at the full moon. She says these new 'friends' of theirs have been coming to Benjamin's house at the full moon for the last couple of months and says that house has become pretty much unlivable. She said Benjamin threatened to kill them if they breathed a word of any of it to Edward, so they were too afraid to tell them." Edward just listened, and then spoke to her in Italian. The housekeeper fell against Edward, sobbing.

"Edward told her that Benjamin is dead, and that he killed him last night in self defense," Michael said. "I think that's relief you're seeing from her right now. But we still have to concern ourselves with Eileen and the pack."

"Angus," Michael looked at him, "what do you know about the topography of this land? Did you know there are mineral deposits on this property?"

"Oh, sure," Angus said. "A huge deposit right under this house, and some other substantial pockets around the property. I can just about tell you where those are. Edward's always known about those, but those aren't important to him. He honestly just wants a home, his family, his gardening, and the things that, really, money can't buy him. Edward taught me about those a long time ago because he knew, as his heir, I would need to know about them."

"Did your father know?"

"No, I don't think so. I don't think Edward thought it was important enough to tell anyone else."

"But it might have been a handy reason to try to mount a takeover of your father's assets," Michael replied. He took out the paperwork from his pocket and handed it to Angus. Angus read it and was livid.

"I'll be straight back," Angus said, turning and leaving. Edward looked up and saw Angus heading out the back door, and he frowned.

"Where's he off to?" Edward asked quickly.

"He didn't say," Michael said. Edward didn't say much, except a momentary reassurance to the housekeeper, and then he excused himself from her and he stepped outside to try to watch where Angus was going. Michael followed Edward out to the porch.

"Edward," Michael asked, "where is Benjamin's house?"

"Well," Edward said, "I can give you directions or you can follow Angus because that's exactly where he's heading."

"Uh oh," Michael said. "Jack, I'm following Angus."

"I'm coming with you," Edward told Michael, falling into step with Michael, and they headed out follow Angus. "Angus, stop," Edward told him sharply. Angus stopped and whirled around, and Michael could see that, for the first time, Angus was starting to feel the rage about the criminal his father had become and the rage about what a poor father he had always been, his rage about his father getting mixed up with Gelding, and his rage about his father trying to kill him.

"What!" Angus whirled around and, not meaning to, had become angry with Edward. Edward wasn't surprised, and Michael expected a strong confrontation between them. Edward, to Michael's surprise, kept his cool.

"What are you going to the house for?"

"I need to see what the hell he was up to--what they both were up to," Angus said. "Look! Look at this! Look at what he wanted to do to you!" He shoved the care home papers at Edward who scanned them and then handed them back to Angus.

"I know all about that," Edward said quietly.

"What? How can you..."

"I have lawyers and connections of my own," Edward said. "You didn't think I got old and stupid both, did you? Who do you think put the papers in that drawer? I did. I found them, took them to the lawyers, and they handled it, and I put the papers there to let Benjamin know in no uncertain terms that I knew all about it. They're not taking me anywhere. Calm yourself. The only one who has any legal status to make any decisions about me and my health other than me is you. Period. Right now, though, I have three people in my kitchen that need to be transported to a hospital emergency department. We will deal with Benjamin's crimes and any others we find out about--all in due time, but I have to get the staff to the hospital first."

"Do you object to us going to Benjamin's house?" Michael asked Edward.

"No. I only object to Angus going off half cocked," Edward replied. "Be my guest, but just don't let him do anything stupid."

"Agreed," Michael replied. Angus turned and walked away from Edward, continuing onward to Benjamin's house, and Michael fell into step with him. Edward turned and went back to his own house to help with his staff that Benjamin had tried to kill.

Jack listened to Angus, Michael and Robert talking and couldn't argue with his logic and just staid quiet till Angus and Michael left he glanced at the basment door and moved to it while Robert was busy with his patiants. Opening it he went down the stairs to look around. A first he saw nothing out of place old boxes and a bike that looked realy old. He switched on a light and saw over in a far courner piles of dirt. Moving over to it he shook his head finding a hugh opening in the wall bejond that was a tunnel every wall sparkled with gems.

Heading back up he sighed " well they were digging in the beasment, and found the gems" he told Robert closing and locking the basement door with a padlock. He moved back to Robert. " best to keep that locked."