Stone and the Ravens (Guardian Stone Book 3)

by Don Koch

  As she looked through the book, she found several more changes that were not as she had written them. She told Lyle what she had written and they discussed the changes she saw. Lyle expressed a willingness to help her with the review. She told Lyle that she would pickup a copy of the book from her publisher the next day and compare that with her manuscript to itemize the changes. She said she would send him a copy of her manuscript as soon as she arrived back home in Malone City.

  As she was driving back home she tried to reach her agent to discuss the unauthorized changes, but the call was not going through so she decided to save what little battery power was left on her phone and turned it off completely. Since it was late in the day and the weather was turning to thunderstorms, she decided to make a stop at a small country inn for a snack and give herself some time to cool off. She had known and been friends with the owners of the Long Lake Inn, Curt and Linda Foster, for many years and it would be nice to visit with them. When she arrived, they invited her to stay for the night since the weather was bad and they said they were concerned about her driving in those conditions. Lorena had a healthy respect for the weather conditions that frequently developed between Harris and the capital city, Malone City, so she did not need much convincing. Category 4 tornados were not an unusual happenstance in the flatland between Harris Borough and Malone City and she had no desire to be exposed to one. The best plan was to avoid driving until those conditions cleared up. Linda Foster noted that the Inn was empty and there were no reservations for the coming six weeks. They told her that she could have her pick of the rooms there and stay as long as she liked. Lorena thought that was a smart idea, besides she was due for a little down time. She had all her backup files with her so she decided to stay a while. She always traveled with a small luggage bag of clothes and toiletries as well as a larger bag that was one of her complete back-ups for all her research and writings. She carried both into the Inn and put them into the room she had decided upon. She could use her laptop to make a copy of her manuscript and send that on to Lyle the next day.

  While she was having her snack, she discussed the events of the day with Curt and Linda. Later as they were watching a show from the city, the broadcast was interrupted by a news flash. The news reported an apparent gas explosion at the address of her agent who was found dead in the ensuing fire. Lorena was shocked. She had not known the agent for very long but had considered her a friend.

  Lorena was not sure what to do next so she decided to call Lyle in the morning to see what he thought should be her next step.

  # At Long Lake Inn - March 20 – C Day 568 #

  After breakfast the next morning, she placed a call to Lyle. The call was answered by an intercept message from the Harris Borough Police Department and almost immediately a message stating, “Please stay on the line, your call has been traced to a number belonging to Lorena Wells. If that is the person calling please state, ‘acknowledged’, if not, please state your name.”

  “Acknowledged.”

  A few seconds later, “Lorena Wells, this is Chief of Police Charles Sanders of the Harris Borough Police Department, would you please tell me how you know Mr. Anders and why you are calling him?”

  Something about the tone of the query put her on guard so she said, “Chief, I will be happy to answer your questions but please tell me if Lyle is OK.”

  “Miss Wells, I will tell you some things shortly but first things first, would you please answer my question?”

  “Certainly. Lyle and I are long time friends and colleagues. We have collaborated on scientific articles together and in fact yesterday afternoon I visited with him to discuss a book I have recently authored. He was one of my professors when I was in college and we have stayed in touch.”

  “Ah, so you are that Lorena Wells, I have read some of your work. May I ask where you are?"

  “Why yes, I am with some friends, Curt and Linda Foster at Long Lake Inn, why?”

  I will explain in a moment but first I need to talk to Curt, and then I promise, I will explain.”

  From Lorena’s side of the conversation Curt realized that something was amiss. At Lorena’s request, he took the phone, “This is Curt Foster, how can I help you.”

  “Ah Curt, This is Charlie, I have not seen you since that incident with the military prison escapee. I am happy to hear you still have the Inn.”

  “Charlie, I didn’t know it was you. Indeed I do, I am not about to let this place go, what is going on?”

  “I am afraid I have some really bad news for Miss Wells. Two rather large male assailants killed her friend in his study around 11:00 pm last evening. Their actions were documented on surveillance tapes that I suspect they did not know about. They tortured him before putting a beamer to his head and finishing him. From what we can see, these apes were extraordinarily strong. We cannot determine if anything is missing but those assailants did a quick search of the place before leaving. They took something from the bookshelf in back of his desk and left. They did use his computer and it appears they installed some spyware. We went to the scene on an anonymous tip and found this mess. I suspect that the tip came from one of the assailants and that is most peculiar. We have not determined motive yet but it all looks pretty bad. This incident is one of the most bizarre I have encountered. I will explain that comment later when I see you. I have never seen anything like this. We really need to talk to Ms. Wells and it strikes me that your inn might be a more comfortable setting for her than my office. Do you think you can get her to stay a few days so we can talk to her in a less threatening setting? I am glad that you and Linda are with her because I am not sure how this will hit her. Oh and Curt, do you still have that scanning gear we built when I was last there?”

  “Yes, I do and it's Miss Wells.”

  “May I suggest that you use the scanner as soon as possible. Call it a gut feeling but I am getting some strange vibes and I would rather be safe than sorry.”

  “I can do that easily and we will help as best we can. I will also check her vehicle and her luggage. I will put Lorena back on.”

  “Chief, what is going on? Has something happened to Lyle?”

  “Miss Wells, please sit down. I have some really bad news for you. I am sorry to do this over the phone and there is no easy way to relate this. Your friend Lyle was murdered in his study late last night and I am conducting an investigation.”

  “Nooooo.”

  “You are not a suspect and we know what the assailants look like, but I am hopeful that you might have some clue that might help. Was there anything that you discussed that might shed some light on any of this.”

  “Oh God, Chief, there may be something. When I was there yesterday, I signed a copy of my latest book for him and he questioned my thinking on some of the parts of the book. When I read those passages, it was clearly not the material I had submitted to my agent and my publisher. In fact, they were exactly the opposite of my views. It changed the whole tone and direction of the book I had written. On top of that, last evening I was watching a news flash from Malone City that was reporting the death of my agent from a gas explosion at her apartment. This seems to be a bit much to chalk up to coincidence. I am not sure that I believe in coincidence anyway.”

  “Smart lady.”

  “Chief, do you have anyone at Lyle’s study right now.”

  “Indeed I do, it is me, but why do you ask?”

  “One more question, Have you checked Lyle’s house for listening devices, tracers, bugs and the like?”

  “Funny you should mention that. It is a habit that I have that many of my fellow officers tend to ignore or forget or attribute to paranoia. That is probably because such a scan rarely turns up any such device. I ran a scan when I arrived and found five distinct devices, all obviously installed very recently. I say this because the location of the various devices should have had some dust accumulation, but there was none. They were a mix of audio and visual devices. There was also spyware in his computer installed after
his murder and that we have on a video. That probably accounts for why they did not take the computer with them. I usually do a scan because I do not want unknown parties listening in on or watching my investigations. Since there were that many devices, I decided to also install a disruptor field and shield so that this location is pretty secure. The devices found were pretty advanced, so they have been removed to a secure and shielded location for further review. I suspect that the assailants installed them last evening. However, I still worry. For that reason we will be out to see you as soon as I can get there. Why do you ask?”

  “I have the feeling that someone must have been listening in on our conversation yesterday for this kind of action to result. I know this may sound a bit paranoid but I am going to go with my feelings anyway. I mentioned that I signed my new book for him yesterday. When I was leaving, I saw him place that book on the middle shelf of the bookshelf directly in back of his desk. It should be about the second or third book from the left. That book has my signature and some written notes on page 88 and 89. If that book is in anyway related to what is going on, his copy may not be there. The book is titled, “NOSI (Non-Organic Sentient Intelligence), Just Around the Corner”, is it there?”

  After a slight pause, the Chief came back on and said, “The book is not there and in fact we have a video of the assailants removing something from that shelf.”

  “Oh Gremlin Grits, I don't like where this is going. I left Lyle’s place about 3 pm and I told him I was going straight home and expected to be there by 10 pm but the weather was too bad to continue on home. Chief, is it possible to place a listening device in a book in a way that it would not normally be detectable, at least for the uninformed reader?”

  “Good Lord, I see where you are going with this and the answer is most certainly. I have a copy of your book at home. My house is on the way to your location. I will stop by and test that before I come to see you. Miss Wells, your present location is a pretty secure one, would you be troubled if I asked you to stay there for a few days, I will be happy to help defray the cost of your time there, but the pattern that appears to be shaping up suggests that you may be a target and I want you safe. I will be there in about 90 minutes and I will be taking precautions to avoid leading anyone there.”

  “Chief, I am really angry at what has happened to my friends. I will be here and available as long as you need me and do not worry about the expenses. I will take care of those. I am also worried about some people that were dealing with my book at my publishers office, in particular, there are 4 persons involved with me throughout the process.” She then gave the names to the Chief who indicated he would check on them.

  “May I please talk to Curt again, and I will see you in a few hours.”

  “Curt here.”

  “Curt, I am now convinced that Miss Wells is a target in what is going on here. Do you have any other guests just now or any coming in in the next week or so?”

  “No, I do not and before you ask, I am closing the Inn and activating the ‘backroom’. You are one of the few people that know about that feature of the Inn. I will scan all vehicles here and garage them out of sight. We have no employees on duty since this is our off season, so that will not be a complication. You can use the same code we have used previously to contact us when you arrive.”

  “Curt, are you sure you are not a mind-reader. That is exactly what I was going to ask you to do.”

  “It is the influence of my checkered past. I probably react to crises differently than most.”

  “Indeed, I think we will have to compare notes again. See you in a bit.”

  Following the call, Charlie contacted a friend at the Malone City Police Department about what was going on. Ten minutes later, his friend in the city called back to say that all four of the named persons were missing. Two were reported missing the previous day and the other two, the day before that. The publisher was pretty upset and unhappy. Charlie then indicated that he would check back later that day to see if there was anything new. He also asked his friend to check on the address where Lorena Wells lived without mentioning her name. At that, his friend reacted very strongly and said, “What are you on to. A fire started in that building this morning at about 3 am and it burned to the ground. Some kind of accelerant that we have not seen before was used and the building burned literally to the ground in three hours. It was a firestorm the likes of which our fire department has never seen. The surrounding buildings were unscathed and it appears that they had been treated with some kind of fire retardant, else the whole block would be gone. It was clearly arson and we believe we have the remains of at least 8 persons but they are so badly burned that there is doubt we will be able to identify the victims. I have never seen anything like this. It sounds like you think these events are connected. We need to talk. What are you on to?”

  “It just gets worse. I am investigating a murder here that is unusual to say the least and it appears that it is connected with your fire, the four missing persons are likely to be victims and a publishing agent killed in a gas explosion and fire in your city yesterday. I may be on to the motive but it is so far-fetched that I need to work a bit more on it. I will send you my notes as soon as I get back to the office. I am super busy with this today but I will keep you in the loop. This has links to that publishing firm that has all the missing persons but I am not yet clear how. I would suggest that you might want to keep an eye on them. I will give you a call tomorrow and thanks for the help.”

  The Chief stopped by his office where Henry Raven, an active duty Ranger with whom Charlie had worked previously was waiting for him. Before he could even verbalize a greeting Henry signaled him to silence and produced a note that indicated that he should go to the garage at the back of the parking lot two blocks away and say nothing until inside. Henry entered stealth mode rendering him invisible and left when the Chief did. Once inside the garage, Henry reappeared, flipped a switch and said, “There the building is now secure. Well, Charlie, what have you been up to, someone sure wants to hear what you have to say. What kind of Gilcat nest have you poked a stick into. I have not seen so many surveillance devices show up at one time and place since I was in training a bunch of years ago. I felt that I should show up unobserved when I received your fake birthday note. I have been in stealth mode since I arrived in town. This fake garage is one of the most secure places on the planet. Anyone trying bug this garage is going to receive a few unpleasant surprises. This is also the easiest way to exit town without advertising the fact since we will not be seen or detected. I think your case is related to one the Rangers have active right now. What can you tell me?”

  Charlie then briefed Henry on everything he had on the case.

  “Wow, that puts a different complexion on our case and they are clearly connected. What you have uncovered is clearly related to our case and even though it overlaps the Rangers area of interest we would like you to consider taking the lead on this case for us, so that it will appear to be a civilian effort. You were one of the best investigators we ever had so you would be an ideal choice. Someone is trying to discredit some of the concepts and research that must be part of the development of NOSIs and this has their paw prints all over it. The surprise is the level of technology they have and the lengths they are willing to go to in furtherance of their efforts. I hope you are not upset that we will look to you as a front man, but it will provide you with access to resources you could not hope to have otherwise and we will have your back. I would be less than honest if I did not confirm that you are probably in danger yourself. The question now is, are you willing to continue with this investigation?”

  “You bet your boots I am. Someone has killed a friend of mine and placed a lady in jeopardy. I can’t ignore that even if I feel a little over my head. Its almost like old times in the Rangers.”

  “That is right on target. General Raven has authorized me to reinstate your enhancements if you are willing to take them and we will leave them intact after this is c
oncluded because you have more than proven you can handle them discreetly. He asks that you consider accepting an independent commission with a rank of Colonel. He has reinstated your access to the tools a Ranger requires and that should help that little streak of inferiority you have been expressing. How you use the authority and access the tools will be up to you since the general has also emphasized that you will be independent. He will not order the direction you take. He may advise you of potential consequences but you will have a free hand. That is a level of trust and independence that he has previously only provided for my siblings and three or four others. This garage will be your base to use as you see fit. The garage is a functioning garage and workshop with an office, but the real base is about 200 feet below us and the elevator is concealed. The base is a regional 12-person facility that I also utilize. It has 8 stealthed vehicles and two shuttles capable of in-system flight out to the Oort cloud. The only catch is that you keep us informed. So I am more than happy to aid you in whatever way I can. We have been trying to stay out of sight on this but that is not going to be possible for long, so we are happy that you are involved and you should go ahead and continue with your investigation. General Raven is arranging a special system-wide commission for you so there will be no question of your authority as you move forward. That should be ready in an hour or so. Your authority will extend to all police agencies on the planet. Your police friend in Malone will be advised that he should continue his investigation but that he has been temporarily reassigned to you. Your best cover is to continue in your present position. The vehicles below all have stealth capability and hidden exits where they are not going to be detected. All the equipment is Ranger Grade. What do you think.”