“Nah, they wouldn’t do that. Obviously, like he said, they’ll warn people not to leave the boundary first,” Shaw said.
“You think so?” Jim said. “Just what the hell are they doing with all that fire power over at Claymore? Maybe they have it as a contingency to blast Breakers Pass into another dimension by reducing it to ashes.”
Shaw slapped his palms on his desk.
“You’re both talking out of your asses. I’m going for a shower.”
Shaw scuttled out of the office and trudged up the stairway, hauling his weight with the handrail until he reached his apartment door. His thoughts turned to Amy. All he hoped was that Logan and the FBI had found her. Cox greeted him as he entered the living room.
Shaw relayed the details of his meeting with Summers.
“Well I don’t intend leaving the apartment,” Cox said. “Anyway, listen, I’ve had word back from the cryptographers. Those symbols Amy scribbled are Egyptian. It’s binary code.” She handed Shaw two sheets of paper. “This is the best they can come up with as a translation for now.”
He dropped his backside on the sofa.
“What about the gang bust?”
“They’ve hauled ass. Got them all in custody, but they haven’t found her. Hopefully they’ll break someone into giving them information.”
He planted his palm on his forehead and grasped his hair.
“Damn, damn, damn.”
He skimmed through the translation, then dropped the papers onto the coffee table.
“Looks like some sort of history school project,” he said. He pushed his back into the sofa cushion and closed his eyes. His mind wandered. Shaw sat up straight, leaned forward and opened his eyes.
“Cleo!”
“What about Cleo?” Cox asked.
“The woman at the sanctuary. Coincidence or what?”
“What coincidence?”
“I don’t know, but she’s Egyptian. Everything about the place is Egyptian. That project of Amy’s is all about the reign of Akhenaten. Cleo has stone artifacts all over the walls, and most of them of this guy, Akhenaten,” he said, picking up the papers, then dropping them back on the table. “Not only that, but the dog-s file on the missing girls at Ted’s cabin had—”
“What file? What missing girls? Who is this Ted?”
He dropped his head in his hands and shook his head. He realized his mistake. It was that coincidence thing again that bugged him. Ted, the file, the Egyptian connection to Cleo, the missing girls, Amy’s project. His mind was in meltdown. It started as a lump in his throat, then a tear rolled from the corner of his eyes. Broken, he started to blubber, soft at first, then the tears and sobbing followed. Cox was seated at his side. She put her arm around him and pulled his head to her chest.
“That’s it, let it out. It’s not the first time I’ve seen it happen on a kidnap case, and it won’t be the last. Carla, make a strong black coffee.”
Shaw made no attempt to pull away, unashamedly sobbing until he had nothing left to give.
“Your coffee,” said Carla.
He lifted his head and drew his shirt sleeve over his eyes.
“Sorry.”
“No need, you’re grieving that’s all,” Cox said. “Listen, all this talk of the Egyptians started this. Drink your coffee. Then tell me about this file and the missing girls. Let’s see if we can connect up the dots.”
Shaw picked up his cup and took a sip. He knew he’d have to tell them everything and suffer the consequences. He needed more than his head wrapped around the situation for Amy’s sake, or his brain would fry. All his working life, he’d preferred to work solo, but Amy going missing made him realize that finding her would need more brain power than he possessed. Shaw recounted everything from the details of the missing girls to the vet’s death, apprehending Ted, the file, and his connection to the missing girls and Amy. He left nothing out.
When he’d finished, Cox stared at him, stroking her chin with her fingers.
“So this Alice Fuller who was in charge of the missing girls’ investigation, the one you saw visiting the sanctuary after Amy had gone missing, where is he now?”
“I don’t know. The last I saw of him was just before you hacked his cell phone call with Cleo.”
“Interesting. And you say this sanctuary is outside the boundary?”
“Yeah.”
“What a pity, I’d have liked to visit this Cleo. Something doesn’t seem right. I’d never heard of all those girls going missing. Maybe we should ask Summers if he’d allow us to pay a visit to the sanctuary. If he was involved with the missing girls, then maybe he’ll understand.”
“I wouldn’t trust him, just like I don’t trust Fuller. If he takes the file away from Ted’s cabin, that’s the last we’ll ever hear about the missing girls. If there is a connection to Amy’s kidnap, then we’ll be at a dead end. I suppose you’ll have to report back to your headquarters about what I did with Ted?”
Cox glanced at Carla. Carla shrugged her shoulders.
“Is that a yes, or a no?” Cox asked Carla.
“Well, by the sound of it, our agency wants the missing girls’ case dead and buried. No sense in us resurrecting it, considering what Brett has to suffer with Amy missing.”
Someone tapped on the living room door.
“Who is it,” Shaw said.
“Frank. I have some news.”
“Come in.”
Frank stepped into the room.
“Can we talk in private?”
“No need. I’ve told them everything about Ted. We don’t need any more secrets.”
Frank huffed, shuffling his feet.
“I put word out to the boys over the radio. Fuller has been seen heading along the highway toward the boundary.”
“Where?”
“It only leads on one direction if he can get past the road block.”
“And where is that?”
“The road that passes the sanctuary. There’s nothing between him and the boundary, so he must be heading outside wherever he’s going.”
Cox and Shaw exchanged glances.
“Thanks, Frank, keep me posted. Damn, I wish I could follow him. I have a hunch that’s where he’s going, the sanctuary.”
“Well, you have three hours to get out there if you’d a mind to,” Frank said.
“What, with the roads blocked and the likelihood of being shot?”
“They ain’t blocked the bridleways and the woods yet. You’d just need a horse. If you get out, I doubt they’d shoot you if you came back in. We could go to my home and saddle up.”
If I get out?
Chapter 45
COX took hold of Shaw’s arm. Shaw was chewing over what Frank had said.
“I could go with you and take the scanner. I’ve found their frequency. I could listen in and I’ll hear them if we’re spotted.”
“Whoa, hold on. You can’t be serious. We don’t know if he is going to the sanctuary. Even then, maybe there isn’t any connection to the sanctuary and the missing girls, or Amy, and all this Egyptian crap is what it is; a coincidence. It’s not worth getting shot over.”
Cox set a stare in Shaw’s direction.
“I thought I had a handle of where you stood with coincidences?” Cox said. “So the possibility of finding out if Fuller and Cleo could have a connection to Amy’s kidnap is not worth the risk?”
Her words stabbed at Shaw’s mind and his chest tightened.
“You sure you’re a federal agent?” said Frank, and set a cheesy grin at Cox.
Cox mimicked his smirk and sent it back to him.
“You sure you’re a deputy?”
“That’s what it says on the badge. Listen, Rodger Baines lives outside the boundary near the sanctuary. I could radio him now before they realize we can still communicate and get him to watch the entrance.”
Shaw chewed on his lip.
“Okay, do that. Do it now. There’s no risk in that as long as you make sure to use as
much code as possible. This CONOP crew could have ears too.”
Frank turned on his feet and headed back to the office. Cox put on her earphones.
“I’ll monitor the CONOP frequency. See if I can’t find out what they’re up to.”
Shaw nodded. Carla swayed her head in the direction of the kitchen. Shaw stood and followed her.
“Listen, I know I don’t say much, but I listen, watch, and take it all in. I studied Egyptian history at college, and what it says in that translation is not what we were taught. But first there’s something you should know. Mandy and me work as a team. We don’t always go by the book, and the way we operate stays between us, like it’s stuck up constipated rats’ asses. I hope we can trust you to keep it that way?”
“Yeah, sure.”
“Good, just so I know we’re on the same page for if we all go out on a limb for you.”
All of a sudden, her words had given an edge to her character that he hadn’t seen since they met. Maybe, he thought, it was because she looked as though she should be working a catwalk audience for a living.
“So how does the translation differ?”
“Well, unlike the translation, which says Akhenaten’s wife Nefertiti came from the gods, history books say no one claims to know her lineage, save for a sister. They had six girls, and a boy. Nefertiti disappeared from history with no record of her death, and they’ve never found a mummy of her. The translation says she went against Akhenaten and plotted his death for the gods to return, pretending to go along with his new monotheism religion. He found out, and she went into exile. What I learned was that when they were together, Akhenaten destroyed all the temples of the gods and proclaimed only one god. He built a city called Amarna, and dedicated it to the sun god, Aten. In the translation, it claims him to be that god. The strange thing is that in the history books, there are images of the same Pharaoh from different periods, and they are different in stature in the later period. The translation says that he came from the gods and took over the body of a Pharaoh and changed his name so that he could rule Egypt himself. It’s like the images were two different people. He only ruled for seventeen years until he is supposed to have died, but there is no record of his death, and they’ve never found a mummy of him. The translation says he disappeared into hiding during an uprising orchestrated by Nefertiti, for Tutankhamun, to rule and restore the old multiple gods’ religions. Especially the god Amun, who Akhenaten had sought to destroy as the most powerful of the gods. The translation finishes off saying that Akhenaten promised to return one day and annihilate most of humanity, and to enslave the rest for him to rule once again.”
“Thanks for the history lesson, but what’s all this got to do with the price of corn?”
“Not got a clue, but it’s passed the time of day,” she said, and laughed, glancing at her wristwatch. “At least when Amy is back, you’ll know what it is that interests her. My dad never knew my interests.”
He knew she was right. The last few years he didn’t have a clue where her interest lay, except for Ted, and passing exams. He couldn’t help wondering if Ted had told the truth about writing a book and the codes were his scribble to keep the plot secret. Amy had never mentioned an interest in history. Cox walked into the kitchen, scratching at her head.
“I can’t work out what’s going on. It’s like they’re preparing for an assault at twenty-hundred hours. But on what? It doesn’t make sense. Anyway, Frank’s in the living room. He says Fuller has entered the sanctuary.”
“Assault? Maybe you’re reading their code wording wrong.”
“Maybe.”
Frank popped his head around the kitchen doorframe.
“Grimes has gone AWOL. Scared rat. Probably frightened he’d get the sickness.”
“How come you found that out?”
“Baines saw him exit a field on his Harley when he was watching the sanctuary entrance, and then he saw him scoot off down the road. He must have cut across country to avoid the roadblocks. He’ll be long gone now.”
“Slime ball. I’d expect that of him, trying to save his own neck and leaving his wife behind,” Shaw said.
Frank turned to Shaw and said, “At least we know there’s a way out. That is, if you have a mind to spy on the sanctuary. Baines said he has to go home.”
Shaw recalled Cox mocking him for discounting any coincidence between Fuller, Cleo, the Egyptian connection to the missing girls in the dog-s’ file, and Amy. He already had Cleo down as weird. Her insistence on him bringing Gyp along, then convincing him to leave him there troubled him. It was the leaving him there which had seemed innocent enough at the time. Now he wondered if keeping Gyp there was to keep Amy company and placated. Shaw hummed and ahhed.
“Oh well, I suppose at least we’d get to know the results of Cleo’s autopsy on the cat, and the tests on the water, if nothing else. Damn it. Okay, let’s do this.”
Chapter 46
CARLA and Cox donned their black jackets with FBI plastered on the back in large white letters. They were leaving nothing to chance that they would be recognized as FBI. He watched them pin their badges to their top pockets. For good measure, they both placed their FBI baseball caps on their heads. Carla dropped the magazine from her Glock, inspected it, re-clipped it in place, then slipped it into her shoulder holster. Cox placed the scanner in a backpack, hauled the straps over her shoulders, then turned to Shaw.
“We’re clear on this?” said Cox. “Our cover is that we’ve heard some townsfolk were planning to get out of the boundary through the woods.”
“Got it,” said Shaw. “If the CONOP troops see us, they won’t mistake us in our uniforms, I hope. If challenged, we stop and turn back.”
Shaw frowned. He knew it wasn’t a problem driving around with SHERIFF signed on the vehicles, but saddled up was a different proposition. He picked up his scanner from the coffee table and headed to his SUV. He stopped at the bottom of the stairway and popped his head around the office door.
“Jim, keep the taskforce frequency open, and don’t leave the office.”
“Jim tipped a salute. Shaw headed through the exit door, out on to the veranda and turned to Frank.
“Give it ten minutes, then set off to your place with Carla. Cox will come with me. I’ll use the radio if we hit a road block.”
Shaw watched Cox and Carla taking out their FBI issue automatic rifles from the rear of their SUV. They high-fived, then Cox climbed into the passenger seat of Shaw’s vehicle.
“You sure you want to do this?” Shaw said.
“Nothing is going to happen here. It’s all in a day’s work. Let’s go. Nothing ventured and all that crap.”
Firing up the motor, he stroked the gearshift, located first gear and set off. Driving past Grimes’ bar, the street was empty, save for a truck and trailer outside the general store. Two guys wearing surgical masks were stripped to the waist, unloading fresh supplies of water cooler bottles. Shaw eased on the brake pedal and stopped. He recognized one of them as Mike. Shaw pressed the button on his dash, opening his window, and called out.
“Hey, Mike. We’re running short of water at the office. Can you drop off a bottle for the cooler?”
Shaw looked at the sign livery on the truck door. It was one of Grimes’ vehicles from LA.
“Sure, as soon as the truck is emptied,” said Mike.
“How did the delivery get through?”
The driver stepped forward.
“Grimes arranged for special dispensation, but I got through before they blocked the road anyway. Trouble is, now I’ve found out they won’t let me back out,” said the driver, wiping his hand across his brow, then he spat phlegm on the road.
Shaw shrugged his shoulders, then set off down the road, thinking it typical of Grimes making sure he was still earning while he’d deserted the town.
Cox sat with her headphones over her ears, and a map on her lap. Driving past the opening to Mrs. Fletchers home, Shaw couldn’t help but turn his head to loo
k in her direction. When he turned to look ahead, he saw the road blocked. He tapped Cox’s shoulder. She took off her headphones, and stowed her scanner under her seat, then folded her map. A soldier in full biohazard clothing, and cradling an automatic rifle with one arm, waved them to stop with his other hand. Shaw slowed and stopped, winding down his window. They were nowhere near to the boundary. Cox opened her door and climbed out onto the road. Shaw listened.
“Agent Cox, FBI. Why stop us here when we’re nowhere near the boundary?”
“Orders, ma’am. I need to know what business you have driving along here toward the border?”
“I’m with Sheriff Shaw. We’re investigating his daughter’s kidnapping. Now be an angel and let us through. There’ll be a second deputy’s car along shortly with another FBI agent as backup. Let them through when they arrive.”
“Wait here, ma’am.”
The soldier walked to his vehicle, and reaching into his cab, he picked up a radio microphone. Shaw could hear his own heart pounding. Cox glanced back at him and shrugged her shoulders. She hadn’t stuck to the story. Her improvising with the truth wasn’t something he wouldn’t have thought of. The soldier leaned out of the cab and waved them on. Cox climbed onto her seat.
“Stop when you get to the side of him,” she said.
Shaw crawled toward the soldier and stopped.
“You will wave our backup through? Only our lives could depend on our cavalry arriving on time,” Cox said.
“Yes, ma’am. Already have clearance. Good luck finding your daughter, sir,” he said, and saluted
Shaw set off down the road, fumbling to locate his radio microphone.
“Blue Leader to, Fox Two. Blockage ahead. You have clearance to be waved through as backup for investigating Amy’s kidnapping, but slow down and stop if required, over.”
“Fox Two, copy that. Over and out.”
Cox hauled her scanner from under the seat, put on her headphones, and pushed her back into the seat.
Shaw said nothing, but smiled at her ingenuity. He stopped at the entrance to Frank’s homestead. Cox removed her headphones.
The Killers Amongst Us: Chimera Dawn Chronicles Page 29