“I really think something is going on here at the Blue Coyote. All of the guests have returned to the motel because, when they came here before, they were troubled with one thing or another. All of them felt wonderful when they left. The good feelings continued for a substantial period of time and then suddenly, all of the negative feelings returned. I have done work with drug addiction and the situations are very similar.”
Jorge sat in his chair, very still and very quiet. Sean could tell he was giving the matter a great deal of thought. Finally, he spoke. "I noticed a strange smell the first time I visited here. It smelled like sandalwood. That is used throughout the world in incense and often, to mask a chemical odor. I think you may be right. Something must be going on here. We all had problems before we came here. After we left the Blue Coyote, all of us felt better, much, much better. Now our problems are reoccurring. We've all come back and all of us seem to be feeling great once again. That cannot be coincidence. But if that is so, how are we getting this drug?" Jorge was clearly giving Sean his full attention.
He went on, "We are not knowingly ingesting drugs. That leaves the drinking water, the food, or the very air we are breathing. I would have to rule out the water because Luisa and I only drink bottled water. It's a habit we got into because of my travels in the Amazon. That leaves either the food or the air we are breathing. We have our choice of whatever food we want and it would be very hard to standardize the amounts of a foreign substance planted secretly in the food. Weights vary, appetites vary, and some people are even on special diets and bring their own food. If what I’ve just said is true, then the only thing left would be the air. I suppose drugs could be piped into the rooms somehow. I can’t think of any other rational explanation," Jorge concluded.
Sean spoke again. "I have been doing a little research. I googled the motel and found that it's owned by Jeffrey and Maria Brooks. Maria is the woman at the front desk. You were still in Brazil when the news story about her husband broke. It was quite a story, particularly here in California. Jeffrey was rumored to be in line to win the Nobel Prize for his research on an anti-aging hormone and had actually formulated a compound for it. When he left the company he worked for, Moore Scientific Laboratories, they released a statement saying he was leaving for health reasons.
"The underground press wrote that he had given the drug to his wife, Maria Brooks, while he was an employee of the lab, in violation of his contract with them and that he was actually fired by Moore Labs. Supposedly, they gave him a large financial settlement. Apparently, Maria and Jeffrey bought this motel and retired out here. A couple of things interest me.
“First of all, have you really looked at Maria? She's gorgeous and I don't think she's aged a day since I saw her the first time. Based on the Internet search, she would have to be well into her thirties by now and she doesn't look a day older than twenty-two or twenty-three. Secondly, with Jeffrey's intellect and his knowledge of drugs, it's entirely possible he could invent something that would make people feel good; some sort of a feel-good drug. I suppose, like all drugs, it would have an expiration date, after which it would no longer be an effective remedy. From what I read, no one has seen or heard of him in well over a year. If we're going to get to the bottom of this, maybe we should start right here with Jeffrey. Why not try to set up a meeting with him? Everything points to him."
Sean didn't know where all this was going, but he had a hunch he was on the right track. But even if he found out that Jeffrey had been administering some kind of "feel good" drug to all of them, so what? All of the guests had come back to the Blue Coyote so they could once again feel good. They probably didn't know or realize it, but it might be they needed the drug. Their desire to regain their good feelings was really a craving for an addictive drug. Perhaps even if they knew they had been drugged, would they care, as long as it made them feel good?
Jorge sat back in his chair, digesting what Sean had told him. "Sean, I think we should tell the rest of the people what we're thinking and then maybe have a joint meeting with Jeffrey."
"You're absolutely right." Sean said, "Let's get the others and meet back in my room. We're all leaving tomorrow, so tonight is the best time to do it.”
They agreed that Sean would go find Jill and Doug, while Jorge would bring Luisa and Sam back with him. Within a few minutes they were all assembled in Sean's room. They sat on the bed and the floor, wherever they could fit. The rooms at the Blue Coyote were large, but seating was limited.
Sean began, "Jorge and I have been talking about a certain situation here at the Blue Coyote Motel and we'd like to share some of our thoughts with you. You may disagree with us, but we feel that we need to bring some unusual things to your attention."
He went on to tell them about Jeffrey, what he had found out from his search on the Internet, and his suspicions about why they all felt so good when they were at the motel. At first, their faces registered disbelief. This was the United States. It was against the law to administer a drug without a person's consent. They seemed shocked to realize that maybe the drug was an illegal drug as well. They couldn't believe that the owner of a motel in the middle of nowhere would have the wherewithal to do something like that. Clear and simple, it was a violation of their rights and definitely illegal. The more they listened to Sean and then to Jorge, who had come to agree with Sean, the more they were forced to consider that what they were hearing just might be true. Sean told them he thought they all needed to meet with Jeffrey to find out if his suspicions were true. They agreed.
Sean and Jorge walked over to the reception area where Maria was closing up for the night. "Maria, the other guests and I would like to talk to your husband. None of us has met him. We have some questions we'd like to ask. Would it be possible for us to meet with him tonight?" Sean asked.
Maria had noticed the other guests going to Sean's room and could only guess what was going on. There really was nothing she could do. If she didn't call Jeffrey and request the meeting, there was a chance that they would go to the county sheriff. After growing up in the barrio, Maria had a deep-seated fear of anything related to law enforcement. The last thing she wanted was the police nosing around the motel. She had heard horror stories of how they could close down a motel for small things, such as the mirrors in the rooms not being low enough for a disabled person in a wheelchair.
After quickly weighing the options, she decided it would be best for her to call him on the intercom connected to the basement lab. "Jeffrey, the guests would like to meet with you. Evidently they have some questions. Is it okay if I send them down to the lab in a few minutes?"
Jeffrey was surprised at the call, but not concerned. In fact, he had no concerns about anything, as he believed he was on the road to greatness. There was nothing that could stand in his way. He had thought about meeting with the guests and had even mentioned it to Maria. He was proud of his invention, Freedom, the new drug he had developed, if that's what they wanted to talk about. Unfortunately, the longer he took the drug he had created to control his bipolar condition, the less he was able to filter the real world from his delusional reality. In his present state, he was sure that the people would recognize his genius. This was the manic side of being bipolar.
"Of course, send them down. I'd like to meet with them. I'd like to share my discoveries with them. I'm convinced that the things I've accomplished here in the lab will change the world as we know it today. Why not share the medical breakthrough with the very people who were the first to receive Freedom and experience the miracle of 'feeling good' all the time," Jeffrey said.
Maria had a bad feeling about the meeting. In Jeffrey's present state of mind, he was not capable of realizing that what he was doing was illegal and that potentially, he could be arrested for it. She had no choice but to lead the assembled guests to the stairway that led to the secret basement laboratory. She hoped they would want the drug enough to keep quiet about it.
CHAPTER 33
Maria opened the door le
ading to the basement lab, cautioning her six guests to watch their step as the stairway was not well lighted. It was just as Sean had remembered it. The "Emergency" and "Keep Out" signs were still on the door. There was a collective gasp as they opened the door to the laboratory. In front of them was a state-of-the-art scientific laboratory that stretched the length of the motel. A huge computer screen, which doubled as a microscope screen, was over a desk in the center of the room. Beakers, tubes, and bottles filled with different substances were spread everywhere.
Through a doorway, they could see cages housing the hundreds of rats Jeffrey used in his experiments. Sophisticated electronic apparatus was mounted on custom-made tables and stands made especially for their use. A huge glass-front, walk-in refrigerator dominated one of the short walls, housing plants and herbs of all types. Track lighting dimmed by switches on the walls covered the ceiling. A large electric range and a microwave took up one corner of the room. Racks fitted with various microscope slides were laid out on a counter. Clear plastic pneumatic tubes were arranged on a wall in order of their size. A small glass front second refrigerator was filled with food items.
As they tried to absorb the spectacle in front of them, a side door from the small office opened and Jeffrey stepped into the main lab. His hair was unkempt, a dirty shirt was half tucked into his pants, and his beard was shaggy, but his eyes told the full story. They were the eyes of a madman, red-rimmed and gleaming with an unnatural light. It was hard to look into those eyes and not think that you were looking at a person who had gone over the edge.
Sean took over. He had experienced madness before and he knew he was looking at it now. The first rule when confronting a person displaying symptoms of madness is to act as if nothing is wrong, even if the person is obviously mad.
He extended his hand to shake hands with Jeffrey and said, "Hi, you must be Jeffrey. I'm Sean. Let me introduce you to the other guests." They took their cue from Sean and acted as if meeting a madman in a state-of-the-art laboratory in the basement of a motel in a godforsaken place in the middle of nowhere was the most natural thing in the world.
Jeffrey gave them a tour, explaining the purpose of each piece of equipment and even showed them some of his most recent experiments. As mentally unbalanced as he was, they soon realized they were in the presence of a genius. His experiments were light-years ahead of anything any of them had ever heard of or read about. The two who were the most knowledgeable about science, Sean and Sam, were clearly in awe of the man's mind and his accomplishments. If there were any lingering doubts as to whether or not Jeffrey was capable of introducing some unknown substance into the air supply in their rooms to make them happy, those doubts quickly disappeared. That thought alone was terrifying. If he could do that, what else could he be capable of doing or had already done that they didn't know about?
After he finished the lab tour, Jeffrey spoke to them. "I understand you wanted to meet with me. Actually, I had thought about asking you to meet with me, so this works out perfectly. Tell me, how have you been feeling?”
Sean began, “Jeffrey, I think I can speak for all of us. When each of us came here the first time, we were dealing with various different life issues, and not handling them well. After spending the night here, we all awoke feeling great. The feelings continued and all of our lives changed for the better. Then, for reasons that are still unclear to us, our lives have begun to unravel. All of us have returned to the Blue Coyote hoping to regain those good feelings.”
“Let me explain and show you something," Jeffrey said. He asked them to step to the side wall where there was a large cabinet door. He opened it, revealing nine pipes. Below each of them was a large, clear glass beaker and adjacent to the beakers, a series of switches.
"I developed a gaseous drug, which causes people to feel good, and I don't mean just sort of good, I mean really good. The beakers are filled with a compound, which becomes a gas and flows into the pipes. I've mixed the compound with the scent of sandalwood to mask any odor. Using the switches next to the beakers, I can select which of the rooms in the motel I want to introduce the drug into. It causes no side effects. It simply makes people feel better.
"I pipe it into the motel rooms, the reception area, the refreshment area, my home, and the lab. Maria decides which guests she thinks will benefit from the gas and then I pipe it into their room. I call this new wonderful drug that I have invented Freedom. You have been my clinical trial ‘test rats.' Different dosages were given to each of you, which resulted in some of you receiving the benefits of the drug for a longer period of time than others."
Sean could feel the eyes of others directed at him. His instincts had been right. They had been drugged without their knowing about it. The guests looked shocked and dismayed. A ragged edge of fear was starting to show on each one of their faces.
Jeffrey continued, "After I started making the drug and after I administered it to you the first time you came to the Blue Coyote, I suspected you might want to continue with the drug. I also thought it would probably be difficult for you to come back to this remote desert location for a 'pick-me-up' whenever the drug wore off. For the past few months I've been working on converting the drug to a pill form, which can be taken monthly. Just recently, I successfully tested the new pill and my tests indicate it performs as well as the gas form of the drug.
"The raw materials for my drug come from some unique and relatively unknown plant substances that are shipped to me by a dealer in Mexico. Although I can combine the products and make the drug, I can't grow the plants here so I'm forced to pay an exorbitantly high price to get the raw materials I need to make the drug. I know that what I'm doing would not be considered legal by the authorities, but here is the offer that I have for you. The price for a year's supply of the drug is $25,000. If you're interested, you can send me an annual check and I'll send a supply of pills to you."
Jill was the first to speak. "How do we know that the pills are safe to take? Have you ever tested them on humans? And what about the aging process? I know when the drug began to wear off, I experienced depression, lack of energy, uncontrollable shaking in my hands and premature aging. It was horrible."
The others vehemently nodded in agreement. Not only had they experienced symptoms ranging from chills to vomiting, each of them had experienced the aging problems as well.
Jeffrey began, "Yes, it's true that one of the side effects of even a slight withdrawal from Freedom is premature aging. However, many years ago I developed an anti-aging hormone, which Maria has been taking. If you look at her, she looks exactly as she did when I met her when she was twenty-three. I have put a small amount of that drug into the new pill form of Freedom. I think that will take care of the aging problems and also keep you looking younger.
"As to the side effects on humans, no, the pill has not been tested on humans. I can tell you that I have been giving these pills to the rats in the cages and they are fine for a month or so and then they begin to show signs of depression and aggression. But as soon as the pills are re-administered, they become happy once again. I made this pill to act as fast as the drug that was piped into your rooms. Within a short time of taking the pill, you will start to feel good again. The good feeling created by the airborne variety lasts for several months, depending on the dosage, while the pill variety lasts about a month. As to aging problems, as long as the rats take the pills, they show no signs of aging. Is it experimental? Probably. Will it work? I have every reason to believe it will and I have never had a failure. I refuse to accept failure.
“Let me tell you something else. I’m going to share this drug with the rest of the world. After that happens, there will be no more wars, terrorism, or inhumane actions, because everyone will feel good. Soon, every place where people gather will have Freedom. I alone can and will change the world.”
Jeffrey was becoming more and more agitated. His voice had been rising as he talked to the guests and now he was literally shouting at them. His facial muscles had
developed a nervous twitch and spittle was starting to come out of the corner of his mouth. His eyes began rolling around in their sockets. Sam and Sean were certain he was in the throes of a complete mental breakdown.
Sean became concerned for the safety of the group. It was time to get away from this madman. He acted as the spokesman for the group once again and said, "Thank you, Jeffrey. The tour was fascinating and I think I speak for each one of us when I say that it was one of the most interesting things I've ever seen. As far as your drug proposal, we need some time to think about it. It's getting late and I would suggest we meet here at 8:30 tomorrow morning. That will give us at least an hour before some of us have to leave. Would that be all right with you?"
Jeffrey had no doubt that each of them would want the drug, but he agreed to meet them in the lab at 8:30 the next morning. He told them that the pills were ready for them, neatly counted out in batches of twelve. He had already put them into small white vials.
The assembled group of guests closed the lab door behind them and made their way up the dark staircase. When they shut the door to the basement, Sean turned to them and said, "I suggest we meet in my room at 7:30 tomorrow morning. Each of us has a lot of thinking to do and I'm sure that the longer we think about it, the stronger some of our feelings will be. As a therapist, I think it might be a good idea to share our feelings, thoughts, emotions, and yes, probably our anger."
They agreed to meet in his room the next morning and with hardly a word to each other, the guests hurried to their rooms, wanting to be alone and to digest what they had just seen and heard.
At 7:30 the next morning, they met once again in Sean's room. From the looks of them, they had slept little, if at all, during the ten long hours since they had left one another.
Sean was the first to speak. "I don't know how any of you feel, but the more I think about it, the angrier I get. I'm ready to call the police and tell them what we know. What is happening here is horrific. I'm speaking both as a therapist and a person who has had a bit of a bout with an addiction to the bottle. I was a priest before I became a therapist. I was defrocked for reasons I won't go into, but a lot of my problems stemmed from my addiction. I made wrong choices, but at least I was the one making them. What Jeffrey is doing is addicting people who have no choice. We did not even know we were being given an addictive drug.
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