After getting off the bus from Raleigh, Liz took a cab to Duke University. The campus had changed a lot since the 50s and she wasn't even sure what building to go to. She also wasn't sure how much of Erica's story to believe. What she did know for sure is that the Crowson family had donated a lot of money to the University over the years. She saw their name pop up in a lot of different places. One building she passed had only their name on the plaque out front. She decided that would be as good a place as any to start. The place seemed pretty deserted so she was able to take her time snooping. The one part of Erica's story that seemed plausible was the fact that their laboratory would have to be out of the way. Liz finally found the door to the basement.
She made her way down the dark staircase feeling like she was in a very bad horror movie and at any moment the bad guy would leap out and grab her. She continued down one corridor and then another, quickly realizing she wasn't sure now, which way was out. This confirms Erica's story she thought. When she thought of Erica she wondered how she had become involved with the Crowson family. Was she related to them somehow? Liz stopped dead in her tracks. It wasn't anything she saw that made her stop, but one of those "Aha!" moments she'd heard people talk about.
When they were prosecuting Jim they had tried very hard to find Erica's family. They had all thought it strange that no family turned up. Liz had often wondered if that was one of the reasons for the hung jury. It was hard to humanize Erica when all the jury knew of her was her picture and testimony from a few of her friends. Now she realized she must be related to Jim somehow. She could be anybody, from any time period in his life or his father's, or even his grandfather's! She had been in on the whole thing. But why? What were they up to?
Liz had continued to wander through the corridors. She glanced behind her at what she thought was the sound of footsteps. It was then she noticed a light coming from under one of the doors. She had walked right past it she was so lost in thought. But the sight made her heart skip a beat. Almost immediately she realized why she had turned. She heard a noise from behind the door and realized there was someone in there. In a panic she tried to find someplace to hide until she could think of a plan. She only wanted to find their laboratory; she hadn't thought much beyond that point.
She turned to run around the corner but it was too late. Jim was out the door and had grabbed her before she had gotten very far.
"You are so predictable." He almost spit the words as he dragged her into the room.
It was then that it dawned on her that she had been set up. Erica had given her just enough information to lead her here but not enough to make it seem obvious.
Liz wanted to give the impression that she was in control, but knew if she spoke right now she'd give herself away. He threw her into a chair and tied her to it. She noticed though that he was angry. If this was what he wanted, why did he seem so furious at her? Let me give him some more rope, maybe he'll hang himself with it.
"Well, aren't you going to say something? Aren't you going to ask me 'why'?"
This tactic was working. She'd used this many times in the courtroom. Getting people angry makes them say things they wouldn't admit to otherwise. She stared at him, feeling that she was gaining the upper hand.
"You both think you're so smart. I'm sure she told you everything."
Liz was trying to come up with something to say when she noticed the room getting brighter and then the lights went out. When they came back on, to her astonishment there were 2 more men in the room. Their backs were to her. One of the men started yelling almost immediately. She would have thought that traveling in time would have taken some adjustment, but not to this man.
"You are incompetent! How could you have been so stupid to let her manipulate you like this?"
"Watch what you say, we have company."
The older man spun to look at Liz. This was obviously Jim's father, or was it his grandfather? What he said though brought everything together. Neither of these men was in charge of this situation. It was clear that Erica was calling the shots.
"This is priceless!" Jim's grandfather spit the words out using the exact same tone as Jim.
The third man turned to look at her a few seconds after Jim's grandfather. Gary looked a little dazed. Liz tried to smile confidently as the two men were forcing him into a chair and tying him up. By the time Gary came out of his stupor, he was tied up next to Liz.
"What are we going to do with these two?" asked Jim.
"We know how you get your money. Gambling." Liz felt they were starting to calm down and wanted to keep them on edge.
"You're brilliant," was the sarcastic reply from the grandfather.
He was going to be tough. She needed to focus on the tension between the two men.
"Erica wanted me to tell you that she has the island under control."
As Liz said this, Jim's grandfather was walking over to the computers. He stopped dead in his tracks. Now Liz felt she had some leverage. Erica was the one in control, now. Liz wanted them to tell her how she had gained control.
"I told you this was a mistake. I told you that she'd figure it out." The senior man was visibly shaking. "You ruined your future! You could have been one of the richest men on the planet if you had just let me kill her."
"I wasn't going to let you do that." It was then she saw that the younger man was no longer angry, but looked spent.
"What are we going to do with these two? We need to send them to a time they can't get back from. Any ideas, genius?"
Liz had figured out that Erica had stumbled on their project, somehow figured out how it worked and had gained control somehow. Did it have something to do with Jim's father? Other than the little boy on the beach, he had been strangely absent in this whole process.
"It takes time to set up a lab and you know we need power. We never dreamed Erica would be able to figure that part out on an island in the outer banks, in 1951." She could see that Jim was the brains behind the technology, but the grandfather was in control...until Erica came along.
While their backs were turned for a moment, she glanced over at Gary. He motioned for her to look behind him and she saw that his ropes were loose enough for him to get his hands out. He reached around behind her and freed her hands. With one motion he stood up grabbed the chair and flung it across the room in the opposite direction of the door. While the two men were distracted, they bolted for the door. The old man couldn't keep up with them at all and Jim didn't put up much of a chase. They soon found themselves out in the open.
"Where's Nancy?" She couldn't wait to ask.
"She's back.....she's somewhere in that building, but in our time. I think she was in the room across the hall. I managed to get caught snooping around and the grandfather caught me. By the way, is Erica who I think she is?"
"Yup. I found her on Emerald Isle in 1951. At first I thought they were holding her captive there, but now I realize she's holding Jim's father captive on the island. I don't know how she's doing it, but they're the ones who are scared."
"They all need to be stopped. Do you have any plans?"
"We're going to have to go back to Emerald Isle. But first we have to go back in that building and get a message to Nancy."