WALKABOUT - Taking a Mulligan (56 - 60)

56

Ty Hamilton

I wasn’t too happy with Ollie’s shopping choices. I wanted some real shoes, and another couple of shirts and a pair of slacks. And some snacks. Chips. Cookies. Cokes. No one in the Lassiter Walmart seemed to notice that I was wearing flip-flops with a security uniform. I didn’t waste any time there, just grabbed what I needed, paid for it and headed for the library before it closed.

57

Ty Hamilton

If I was going to get any benefit from having Jared Mulligan’s computer, I had to figure out his password, or more likely passwords—plural. I decided that it wouldn’t be much risk to make a trip to the Lassiter Community Library to do some research on one of their computers.

A Google search on how to guess passwords yielded what I hoped would prove to be useful guidelines. With no regard for grammar or writing style, I typed the following notes:

Birthday; passwords on other accounts; favorite food; drink; sports team; phrase from a movie; title of a movie; favorite actor; band; etc.

If a number is required or desired: street address; person’s lucky number; something simple, like 1 or 123; birthdates;

A hint could help.

Interests; hobbies.

Case sensitive (Could be in a weiRd comBInatioN)

If you crack one, that could be where a new password is sent.

Try setting up a new account in order to see the requirements.

“Safety Valve” – 3 false attempts every 2 minutes. Too many fails could cause permanent shutdown.

Search the computer for folders named “accounts”; “info”; or “passwords”.

Look around for notes on the person’s desk calendar.

Forgotten password link.

i-Phone – just guess the 4-digit pin or if that is disabled … you are in!

easy to remember = easy to guess

hard to remember = hard to guess = easy to forget.

They write them down! Esp. if they change monthly or mix of upper and lower case / #’s, etc.

More common passwords: Dragon; baseball; passw0rd; last 4 digits of SS for pin.

Use unusual words with rare letter combinations.

I printed off copies to use later.

It might be a good idea to go to Messerton, Illinois to see what, if anything, I could learn. So, I did a Google search on Messerton.

Messerton was located in eastern Illinois. Basically a farming community with a population of 6,712 as of the most recent census. Its list of notable people was short. General Reginald “Slim” Chance had lived in Messerton until the age of seven, at which time his family moved to St. Louis. And Joel Brannigan, a highly recruited high school basketball star who went on to play in the NCAA Final Four, was drafted and played for a couple seasons in the NBA with the Milwaukee Bucks.

It turns out that Messerton holds the dubious honor of being the albino skunk capital of the world due to the fact that albino skunks exist in large numbers there. Yeah, I kid you not. Albino skunks. Who knew?

How do they decide such a thing—which town can call itself the capital of something like that? How many other communities were vying for the title? What a disappointment it must have been for them to learn that they had been beaten out by Messerton. Yes, I actually do think about these things.

Skunks are also known as polecats, in case you didn’t already know. According to the internet, they have two glands, one on each side of the anus, that produce a mixture of sulfur-containing chemicals, which have a highly offensive smell that is strong enough to ward off bears and other potential attackers. Muscles located next to the scent glands allow them to spray with a high degree of accuracy, as far as ten feet. The spray can also cause irritation, even temporary blindness, and the smell can be detected by a human nose up to a mile downwind. All of which was a lot more than I ever cared to know about skunks.

58

Ty Hamilton

On the way back to the motel, it struck me. Mulligan had an eagle, globe and anchor tattoo. That gave me an idea.

I pulled into the Lakeside Resort parking lot, anxious to give my idea a try. Ollie and Edie’s car was gone. The moment I walked into my room, I saw that the cash I’d left out to dry was gone as well. Likewise the backpack, the iPhone, and the iPad.

59

Ty Hamilton

For a millisecond, I thought of calling the cops to report the robbery. Like I said, just for a millisecond. Without the iPad and the phone, there really wasn’t much left for me to do in Lassiter. I couldn’t access any of Mulligan’s e-mail or financial accounts. They were gone, and that was that. So, where did that leave me, with regard to my assuming Mulligan’s identity, his life?

To tell you the truth, I was still on the fence about what to do. I mean, I really wanted to explore the possibility of changing identities. It was an exciting prospect. So long as I didn’t dive in without checking out the water depth.

I know, by now you’re thinking I’m wishy-washy. How many times already have I said that “this is the moment my life changed” or “there was no more turning back,” or words to that effect? I should just make a decision and stick with it. Crap or get off the pot. And you are right. You gotta admit, though, it is a HUGE step. A life-changing event, literally.

I wanted to learn more about Mulligan before I took a Mulligan.

60

Ty Hamilton

I now knew that Jared Mulligan/Michael Welch was from Messerton, Illinois. I had no place else better to be, so I decided to go there. See what I could learn.

Before I could do that, I had to attend to the rental car. I found paperwork from the car rental company in the console. It indicated that Mulligan had rented the Camry from the airport in Indianapolis, for three days. I assumed that he had flown in, but that didn’t really make any sense. It was closer to drive to Indy from Messerton than to drive to Chicago or St. Louis to catch a plane.

Then I remembered the parking stub. I gave it another look. On the back, the section and row were jotted down. Unfortunately, not the space number. I had no key to provide me a hint as to the make, so I was going to just have to wing it. And hope that Mulligan had stashed a key somewhere on the vehicle.

Dad used to say, “Do something, even if it’s wrong.” Not knowing if it was a smart move, I drove to Indy, to the rental car return lot, dropped off the keys, and walked to the ground transportation center just outside the baggage claim area. From there it was a short ride on the shuttle to the economy lot.