Chapter Twenty
Edna woke up abruptly. She didn’t know why, but her heart was pounding and she was in a sweat. She sat up and looked around her room; it was dark yet she could make out a soft greenish glow coming from the chest of drawers across her room. She likened the soft light to those luminous sticks that kids run around with on Independence Day. In that particular drawer, Edna kept her sacred stones, feathers and charms and of course, the Goomeri Pointing Bone that she still had to return to Alex. Instinct told her that the glow would be coming from the bone; she knew that there was some unfinished business, loose threads and postponed activity involving the woman in red. She quietly tiptoed over and slowly pulled the drawer open; the Pointing Bone indeed, was pulsating with green light. There’s nothing more urgent than a ringing phone or boiling kettle, or a darn Pointing Bone.
“Ok, Ok,” she said to it, “Good Golly, don’t you know that I’m from a totally different culture and race; I don’t know what you’re on about; and why the hell did you pick me out to do whatever it is you need me to do?” No answer, just the glow which had stopped pulsating and was now a constant green light. She picked it up and felt a warm sensation. “Hang on, let me put on my robe. Right, let’s try again Goomeri, go on, do your thing.”
Edna felt the Bone directing her to the lounge room, and instinctively knew that it would lead her again to the painting. If that woman wants to talk to me I’ll need Aggie to help me out; but she so needs her sleep and it would be cruel to drag her out of bed for the sake of one of my whims.
She turned on the lights and removed the painting from behind a lounge chair where she had left it facing the wall. Clasping the Goomeri tighter, she looked at the woman in the picture and concentrated. As was the experience before, Edna quickly felt that she was part of the scene, complete with the heat, the smells and noises.
The Aboriginal woman again looked directly at her, but this time she held her baby in outstretched arms; towards the direction of where she said the Old White Man was supposed to be. She had a look of despair on her face, and began to stomp her feet in a frenzy. Then, with theatrical movements displayed, what seemed to Edna, to be a game of tug-o-war between the Old White Man and herself; the baby was obviously the object of all this pushing and pulling. She then cried out Obson! Na, na, Obson! At that, the woman placed the baby on the ground, covered her eyes with her hands, turned and walked away sobbing. Edna watched the baby crawl away, out of her view. Nothing else was happening and she was glad to withdraw from this disturbing scene. She had some deep thinking to do; see had to get to the bottom of all of this. Well I’ve had my Sherlock Holmes moment back in France with old van Gogh’s ear; I’ll go do some detectiving tomorrow. She opened her fist and saw that the Goomeri was once again white. “Now please let me get some more shut-eye” she whispered to it, as she gently placed it back into her drawer.
-oOo-
“Shef, I need you to find out exactly where that painting came from. I know you said Cottonwood, Minneapolis but I want to know who were the auctioneers, all about the deceased estate; anything that will help me to find this J. Robinson whose name is on that painting. Will you do that for me? It’s really important.”
“Edna, afen ya left Shef’s Gallery, Ah gone and went trew more paperwork..wait a bit...got it ere. Auction to be conducted by Blain General Stock Agents and Auctioneers, on behalf of estate Cleaver. Says ere, under authority of David Cleaver as executor of same. All Ah ken git ya is da telephone numer of the auction place; will dat be OK wit ya Edna?”
“Yes, dat...that will be fine Shef; and thanks for helping. Did you know I now have the painting? It was given me as a present; how lucky was I? and it didn’t cost me a cent.”
“Gess dat pitcher was a ment for ya’ll Edna.”
Edna began her search by ringing the Auctioneers in Minnesota. A few little white lies later, she had the telephone number and address of David Cleaver in Cottonwood. She called the number but the woman who answered the phone, told her that David was at work. “This is his wife, may I ask you the nature of your call?”
“I know this will sound strange Mrs Cleaver, but my name is Edna and I am a psychic investigator out of Vermont. I’m looking to follow a trail which hopefully will lead to some missing persons. I came across David Cleaver’s name because of property he sold at Auction. If you feel uncomfortable talking with me I will understand and call later when your husband returns.”
“Ooh psychics and mediums...ooh, I love that stuff...I’m Erin, go right ahead Edna? What is it you want to know?”
“Well, maybe I should ask your husband first, after all it’s his name on the auction paperwork.”
“No, fuck him; go on Edna, ask me anything.”
“Does the name Robinson, J. Robinson mean anything to you?”
“Arr, Nope.”
“There is a signature on a painting that I now have, I believe it came from that auction that Mr Cleaver organised. It was signed Robinson and I’m having danged trouble finding out who he is, or who he was. Erin, how about the name Bruin?”
“Hmm, yes, getting warmer, Edna, that’s my maiden name.”
“Erin, do you have any brothers or sisters?”
“Nope, can’t help you there. I was born and bred in Minnesota; never left the state; well not till July next. Got some money from the old man’s estate and I’ve promised Dave a trip to Disneyland and Universal Studios.”
“It was your father’s estate that was sold at that auction?”
“Sure was Edna. My mom died years ago. Dad had so much junk and stuff and a huge shed of tools, engines and bits and pieces of motorcycles. Got rid of most of it. We still need to clean out the old man’s house and put her up for sale as well. Have to do that before long; damn government and their damn property tax. Dave’s really pissed off that he was nominated as the executor, but at least we’ll both get something from it all. Not interested in a nice country homestead to buy? It’s going cheap.”
“Well Erin, I may just be interested. How about I come over to check it out in a few days? Don’t bother about emptying or cleaning it out...don’t want to disturb the aura around it, if you know what I mean. And I really do want to talk to you a little more about your family history.”
“So what about my maiden name? Why did you ask about the Bruins?”
“It’s a name that came up in some of my research. Hell, there sure are a lot of Bruins in this country Erin. I’m just trying to find a connection with a Bruin, maybe from a Dutch background. Would you know if your ancestry hails from Europe?”
“Hardly Edna, both David and I are descendents from slaves who escaped via the Underground Railroad to Minnesota. Can’t exactly tell you where the name originates; maybe my great, great grand poppy used it first. I always wanted to get a family tree organized but you know, time and research and a little laziness on my part.”
“OK Erin, I’d still love to meet you and your husband and look over things. How about Wednesday next week? around noon?”
“Sounds good to me Edna; sure enjoyed talking with you.” Edna gave Erin her telephone number and hung up. She was pleased and proud and chuckled to herself.. Another clue hey what, Sherlock?
Aggie’s pink telephone rang. Strange, thought Edna, all these calls would normally be diverted to Aggie’s cell while she’s working at HQ Lebanon. It kept ringing and much to Edna’s chagrin she stepped into Aggie’s office to answer it. “Hello, Edna Kellor speaking.”
“Edna, thank God I’ve reached you at last; I’d just about given up all hope of finding you. I don’t know what’s going on but please get me out of here.”
Edna recognized the voice but her mind could not come to grips with the sense of it. “Rienus? is that you Rienus?”
“Yes of course it is Edna. For some reason or other, I’ve woken up in a place called Murgon; it’s in Australia, yes Australia. One second I was walking to my cabin in Reggane and the next I fi
nd myself in another part of the world. Don’t know what in blue blazes is going on. Got arrested, locked up in the town jail and now I’m all but kept in a padded cell in Brisbane. I can only assume that something went berserk with the capacitor and I must have passed out. Anyway here is the telephone of my special needs carers. Can you see to it that I can get the hell out of here and back to the Sahara?”
Edna tried to collect her thoughts. “Rienus, do you realize just how long you’ve been missing?”
“From what I can figure, a couple of days Edna. God what a shock to just wake up naked and alone in another country. And why the hell in Australia? Anyway, I’ve lost enough time already; I’m sure Aggie will have it all worked out by the time you rescue me. I’ve got nothing Edna, no money, ID, documents, nothing. Luckily I was at least allowed to call this number.”
“Rienus, I’m on it now; hang up and I’ll get straight onto Aggie; be brave, treat this like having a little vacation.”
“Hurry up Edna, I’m not getting any younger; as you constantly keep reminding me.”
Edna looked at the telephone, took a deep breath, picked it up and dialled. “Hi Aggie, is Professor Lien with you right now? He is? Can you speak without his listening in? Ok? Well do you remember telling me about S.S.J.H?. guess what?. it’s S.S.J.H time.”
-oOo-
“What’s up Aggie? Bad news from home?. Edna’s all right?” Rienus was looking at a very worried Aggie.
“Er, no; aunt’s fine Rienus; it’s something personal that I have to attend to.” She placed her hand on his. “Can I leave you with the circuits while I go home to sort it out?”
“No problem Aggie, take all the time you need, I think I’m finally on top of the schematics now.” He watched her walk away and thought to himself, I feel as though I’ve just gone through the “Aggie Kellor Experience” again...wonder what’s up now.
Aggie made her way to the KR security office. “Ernie, how goes it with tracking down Nic Melczarek?..Never mind. Ernie, I need for you to go to Australia after all.”
“Yes ma’am; some unfinished business with the Professor’s rescue from there?”
“You could say that Ernie. I need you to go collect Professor Lien and bring him back here.”
Ernie had an unbelievable amount of respect for Aggie; after all, she was his boss. This was one time where he wrestled with himself, not to question her motives, or worse, her sanity. Although he was not emotive, Aggie could see he was, as he should be, thoroughly confused. “Don’t you just love mysteries Ernie? Another puzzle has been thrown our way; time to get those problem solvers to work; your adrenalin should be pumping and looking for the next challenge.”
“Who’s the old guy upstairs then?”
“Oh, that’s Professor Rienus Lien, no doubt; I’ve had his DNA checked by an independent authority, no offense Ernie. But there appears to be another chap who claims to be one Professor Rienus Lien, recently of Reggane, Algeria; he’s a bit miffed at being found naked and alone somewhere in Australia. He wants to come home here and continue his work with the capacitor.”
“Right, you want me to go get this imposter then?”
“Here’s the rub Ernie. You’ll find he’s no imposter; he will be Professor Lien. Bring your DNA kit with you Ernie; just in case, but I just know we’re going to have to deal with a situation, not to our comfort and certainly not of our understanding...yet.”
Ernie studied Aggie’s face; no sign of a smile. Shit, he thought, she’s actually serious. What the hell am I getting into now?
“Shall I warn Jade and Phoebe ma’am?”
“Again I find myself having to keep secrets from people – I really hate doing that. Aunt Edna, you and I are the only people who know; I will tell Alex when he gets back. I would like it kept that way until you confirm that person’s identity. So let’s say that you are going for a short vacation down under. I heard there are wonderful surfing beaches, many theme parks, sun and good beer in Brisbane.” Ernie was still trying to make some sense of it all. “If you find it’s not Professor Lien, well and good and maybe worth a bit of investigating as to how and why he contacted us; and who is behind it. Worst case scenario; he is a clone, a doppelganger, a twin or heaven knows...an alien reproduction. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. What are you thinking Ernie?”
“Hard to put it into words ma’am; anyway, if the DNA profile is positive, and my GSR confirms his story, I take it you want me to escort him back here...where the other Professor is. Shit...oh beg pardon, this is stuff straight from the twisted minds of goofy science fiction writers.”
Aggie nodded. “I warned you all those years ago that you wouldn’t be bored with being the Security Chief for KR. Don’t forget to take Professor Lien’s passport with you. Here’s the address where you’ll find him; I’ve already spoken with his carers and opened a line of credit for any of his needs; he should be happy with the top floor penthouse overlooking the Brisbane River for the next few days or so; and let’s not tell him about his other.. his other...whatever, just yet. Again with the worried face Ernie? Out with it.”
“Er, no offense ma’am, but might there be any more Professor Liens out there?”
“Oh shit, I hadn’t thought of that.”
The Goomeri Pointing Bone : Sequel to Dwarg in the Seventh Dimension Page 20