A Dubious Race: The Phoenician Stones (A Colton Banyon Mystery Book 14)

by Gerald J Kubicki

  “Well, we were, but now that we have the constraints of the will, we have a lot to do before we leave,” Previne informed him. “We need to close up the house and pack a lot of clothes, you know, stuff like that. We’ll probably leave tomorrow afternoon. Pramilla has arranged for the Indian Government to provide us with a private jet that will be available then. It’ll take us an entire day to get there. Her palace is in the Himalayas.”

  “How would you guys like to go on a treasure hunt tonight then?” Banyon quickly asked as he thought about the current hole in his plan.

  “What do you have in mind?” she responded in a suddenly cheery tone.

  Banyon explained that a supply of Vril was hidden somewhere near Portage, Wisconsin and he had directions to it. He further filled her in on the situation and what Lisa had uncovered. He told her if she couldn’t go he would find another way to collect the Vril.

  “You mean that stuff has surfaced again?” Previne said like she was mystified. “We need to get it before anyone else gets it.”

  “It would really help us out,” he replied with a nudge.

  “After we get the Vril,” Previne announced with excitement. “The girls and I could deliver it to you on our way to India. I’ll get to see you one more time before we get sent to isolation. Perfect.”

  “Previne,” Banyon said. “There may be others after the Vril. They could know where it is too — you need to be careful. This hunt could be dangerous,” he chided her.

  “Wow!” Previne said with glee. “This is just the tonic I need and I’ll get to see you too. I can’t wait to tell the rest of the clan. Will Wolf be able to help?”

  “Of course,” he said confidently. “We can be in phone contact all the time,” Banyon assured her.

  “We’ll do it then.”

  “You’ll need to bring some shovels,” Banyon informed her. “There’ll be some digging involved.”

  “That’s why we have Eric,” Previne said with a laugh.

  “I understand,” Banyon chuckled.

  “Besides, what could go wrong?”

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Heather turned off her phone. She rode in the back seat of Lisa’s rental car. Steve drove and Lisa sat in the passenger seat. Colton Banyon had just called them and gave them the good news. The Patel clan would collect the supply of Vril from Wisconsin and would bring it to Banyon in Las Vegas.

  “Well, we’re starting to unravel the mystery and make some progress,” Heather noted happily. She started to recap their progress on her fingers. “Loni and Joey Brownwater are now safe. We have identified the people who are after the land and why they want it. We even know how they are frightening people by using high tech devices.”

  “But Goblin needs to be persuaded to walk away from the land,” Steve pointed out. “That’s going to be tough.”

  “You’re right, of course,” Heather said in support of her man. She then continued. “We also have part of the team able to collect the supply of Vril. I also think we understand you a little better Lisa.”

  “I’m sorry that I have been so difficult,” Lisa cut in. “I just haven’t known who to trust in all this mess,” she admitted. Heather acted like she didn’t hear her. It was not the time for self-pity.

  “But we still don’t know who stole the stone artifact — or even why. We also don’t know how they did it or where it is right now,” Heather said thoughtfully. “I hope Colt can uncover who is behind all this.”

  “I’m sure he can do it,” Lisa said encouragingly. She knew that Banyon had an eye in the sky, but didn’t want to admit it to anyone.

  “Lisa, do you think it is one of your colleagues at UNLV?” Steve blurted out.

  “Well, they are very competitive to be sure, but I don’t think either of them has the moxie to put this together.”

  “Why’d you say that?” Heather inquired.

  “Remember, I told you they didn’t want to join the Vril Society because they were too afraid of being nude for the séances.”

  “Yeah, tell me about the nude séance with Loni and the Patel’s,” Steve quickly said enthusiastically.

  “You’re going to be seeing real stars if you don’t stop bringing that up,” Heather threatened.

  “Okay, I’ll be quiet,” he sulked and returned to driving.

  Lisa was amused by the mini-fight. She remembered the séance well. It had actually been quite fun with everyone stripping off their clothes and throwing garments at each other in a classic clothes fight. She also understood that Steve had a thing for Loni. She found that out on their Lake Mead adventure. She decided to throw fuel on the fire.

  “It’s okay Heather,” Lisa said sweetly. “I don’t mind talking about it. Did you know some of us have tattoos? Loni has one on her ass,” she said with a sly smile.

  The car swerved slightly on the road as Steve absorbed that thought. “Did you say you have one too?” he asked in a low voice.

  That was when Lisa caught him glancing at her long legs.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  The first thing that Colton Banyon did when they got on the airplane at the private airport was to make an excuse and head for the bathroom in the back of the plane. He pulled out a pad of paper and pen from his carry bag on the way to the head. Once inside, he locked the door and addressed Wolf.

  “Wolf, are you there?”

  “Yes, Colt, I’m here.”

  “Do you have an update on the people from Goblin?”

  “They are currently licking their wounds in a warehouse they own in Barstow, California. They have not discovered the tracking devices yet, but they are plotting, Colt. They intend to strike again.”

  “Can you give me their exact address?” Banyon asked as he got ready to write on the pad. Usually, Loni took the notes, but this time he needed to be the note taker.

  Wolf replied with the address. “You need to know that the warehouse has a fair amount of security.” Wolf had already suspected that Banyon wanted to take action against the men from Goblin and Wolf had done the research.

  “Got any idea of what they are planning?”

  “They are planning to attack again this evening after it is dark — at nine o’clock. They are going to bring twenty men and two Cobras next time.”

  “Do they intend to kill everyone at the ranch?”

  “That’s the plan they are discussing. But you’ll get there well before the attack, so you’ll need to collect Loni and be gone before they arrive with all that firepower.”

  “I’m not sure I want to do that,” Banyon said firmly. “Running won’t resolve this problem.”

  “These men are proven killers, Colt.” Wolf said as he attempted to reason with Banyon.

  “Can you tell me who’s behind the attacks? Who is giving the orders?” Banyon quickly asked.

  “His name is Tony Rider. He is the vice president of new ventures at Goblin. But he is taking directions from a Vice Admiral at the Pentagon by the name of Thomas Leghorn. He wants the rare earth for some new weapons the government is planning. I’ve also discovered that Leghorn secretly owns a piece of Goblin International, Inc. through a shell corporation in the Cayman Islands. He stands to make a huge profit if Goblin gets the land.” Banyon immediately wrote down the two names.

  “But doesn’t Vice Admiral Leghorn understand that people are getting hurt by his actions?”

  “He is an old-time warrior. He sees everyone who is hurt or killed as necessary collateral damage.” This both frightened Banyon and pissed him off.

  “I’m going to make sure he gets some heavy fallout from this mess,” Banyon uttered under his breath. “Have you learned anything about Joey Brownwater?”

  “As a matter-of-fact I have,” Wolf said clearly. “Joey Brownwater has a special gift you should know about.”

  “Uh-oh!” Banyon let sneak out of his mouth. “What’s his gift?”

  “He has premonitions. He can — at times — see the future. He was born with the gift, but his grand
father has refined it with a ceremony. It was done as soon as he moved to the ranch. In addition, all the rare earth around him has made his gift even more powerful.”

  “More powerful?”

  “He has the ability to change the present and that can change the future.”

  “How?” Banyon questioned. He knew that even Wolf couldn’t see the future.

  “He actually gets the premonitions early enough so that he can act on changing what will happen.”

  “And that changes the future, right?” Banyon filled in the rest.

  “Correct. He needs to be watched,” Wolf warned. Banyon knew about premonitions. In his past life his mother-in-law often had them. She would say that she was going to find a watch in the church parking lot today, or that somebody was on the way to their house. The premonitions always came true. They came with no set pattern, but they were real. If Joey could see things in the future and make adjustments in the present, he would effectively change the future, especially for his benefit.

  “How does the rare earth on the land make his premonitions more powerful?” Banyon was not clear on that.

  “All the rare earths emit radiation of some form or another. They magnify his brain waves giving him the ability to decide what he wants to view in the future. Once he learns how to control his gift, he could turn out to be a formidable adversary.”

  “Or someone could take advantage of his gift to do bad things,” Banyon noted.

  “Yes, of course.”

  “Does anyone know about his premonitions?” Banyon asked with concern.

  “Yes,” two people know.

  “Who?” Banyon frantically asked.

  “Lisa Lange and Joey’s brother, his name is Bobby Brownwater.” Banyon wrote both names down.

  “I didn’t know he had a sibling. Are they close?”

  “They are actually twins, but are totally estranged. Bobby took another road and has a long criminal record. He’s a drinker and has a violent temper. He was recently in the state penitentiary for nearly killing a man in a knife fight.”

  “Did you say was?” Banyon quickly asked.

  “He just got out of prison two days ago.”

  “Is he a problem for us?”

  “While in prison, he was contacted by Tony Rider at Goblin in an attempt to get Bobby to sell his portion of the land, but they both found out that he is not entitled to any of it when the grandfather died. Everything was left to Joey. I’d say he has become very dangerous to Joey’s safety.”

  “Hmm,” Banyon thought. “That explains why they have gone from trying to capture him to trying to kill him. Is Bobby Brownwater working with Goblin?”

  “No,” Wolf replied. “But if Joey were to die, Bobby Brownwater would inherit the land and sell it to Goblin. He’s the only living relative and Joey has not set up a will yet.”

  “Do you think he could kill his own brother?”

  “Bobby is the black sheep of the family. His grandfather shunned him because of his violent nature in favor of Joey. He is unstable enough to blame his brother.”

  “What’s he know about the stones?”

  “Only that the Brownwater family has a hidden secret. The secret was never explained to him because his grandfather believed that Bobby has no honor.”

  “So, it’s only the people at Goblin who are after the stones, right?” Banyon asked.

  “They are not concerned with the stones.” Wolf replied.

  “Did you say the people at Goblin are not after the stones?”

  “The people at Goblin and Bobby Brownwater have no idea that they exist.” Wolf said with finality. This confused Banyon because someone had actually stolen one of the stones. He knew Wolf had the answer, but he hadn’t revealed it yet. Why? Banyon thought.

  “Can you keep an eye on him? He sounds like a wild card to me.”

  “I already have him on my screens,” Wolf answered.

  “But you’re sure about the attack from Goblin tonight?” Banyon knew that his first priority was to keep Joey and his people safe.

  “They are collecting the men for the attack right now.”

  “I’ll have someone call Chase as soon as we are through here,” Banyon announced. “He’ll make sure that we have a plan. Can I move onto other topics right now?”

  “As you wish.”

  “Have you located the exact place where the supply of Vril is buried?” Banyon wanted to get the information to Previne in advance.

  “I have,” the spirit replied. “But I can’t tell you if it is still there. It was buried thousands of years ago and I don’t have x-ray vision. I can’t see into the ground unless I see it deposited there on the time line,” he replied with a touch of frustration. “It’ll be several months before I can determine if it is actually there and who knows, it might not even be stable.”

  “Well, we’ll find out tonight when Previne gets there to dig it up,” Banyon said with resignation. “Can you give me the exact directions? I’ll need them for tonight to help guide Previne to the site.”

  Wolf recited the directions and Banyon wrote them down on a separate page. “I’ll be watching the area until they retrieve the item,” Wolf added.

  “Have you found out anything more about the stone writings?” Banyon next asked.

  “Only that they were written a long time ago. There is no reason to believe that they are not authentic. But I have read all the translations. There is some history changing information on the stones.”

  “Lisa said that the Phoenicians became the Cherokee Indians,” Banyon said as he remembered the last thing that was said before they had left the office. “Is that true?”

  “From what I know so far, it appears that she is correct. But once again, it was so long ago that I can’t give a definite answer just yet. It will take me months to do the research, but I’m working on it now.”

  Banyon mentally went through his list of information needs and then asked Wolf another question. “How many people have Lisa’s colleagues told about the stones?”

  “There have only been three,” Wolf replied.

  “Okay, I’ll need their names to Freud-a-size them. Is one of them responsible for stealing the stone?”

  “Yes, indirectly,” the spirit vaguely replied. Wolf sometimes told Banyon what he wanted him to hear and not always what Banyon asked.

  “Explain that?”

  “One of the professors, Kathy Manson, made a call to confirm some information written on the stones. That person sent someone who actually stole the first stone.”

  “So, you have found where the missing artifact is located, right?” Banyon said in an attempt to get a straight answer.

  “I have,” Wolf commented. “But I’m not sure why it was taken.”

  “What do you mean?” Banyon asked in confusion.

  “It was taken by someone from Joey’s tribe.”

  “The Cherokee Indians stole it?” Banyon exclaimed.

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  A few miles from the Brownwater ranch, a young twenty-two year old woman circled the inside of her dingy motel room. She was deep in thought. She displayed the graceful movements of a hungry panther stalking her prey as she moved about the small room. She was dressed in blue workout shorts and a white tank top. Both were sweaty from her morning workout. She wore nothing on her hardened feet as she pounded the dirty carpet. He black hair was fashioned into a long braid and hung halfway down her broad back.

  She was not beautiful. Her cheek bones were too high and prominent on her face. Her dark eyes were a little too intense and her five foot six inch muscular hard body was built more for fighting than for fashion. Four years in the ROTC had made her into a warrior and part of the reason that she had been chosen for the mission. Men did, however, consider her darkly exotic and sexy.

  Her first name was Kayah, which meant “wise child” in Cherokee. Her last name was Lightfoot. Her family had taken on the name in the 1600’s. Originally, the family had no last name but adopted L
ightfoot to satisfy the settlers need to identify them back then. She was one hundred percent pure-blood Cherokee.

  As she paced the floor she recalled her conversation with the elder. He had told her that her mission concerned the very survival of the Cherokee Nation — it must be completed at all costs. He had provided her with the layout of the ranch and the underground tunnels. He had explained where the secret entrance was and where the stones were located. He told her that all she had to do was take the stones and to bring them back to him. It seemed easy enough at the time, but now she realized that it had become much more complicated. If only I was stronger, she thought, and stamped her foot on the hard floor in frustration.

  On her first trip inside the tunnels, she had discovered that the stones weighed over forty pounds each. She was only able to carry one on that trip. When she went back for the rest, she noticed more people and they were shooting guns. One of the people was Joey Brownwater, her ex-boyfriend. The elder hadn’t told her that he would be there. She had decided to abandon her quest and return to the motel.

  She wondered if this was some kind of Cherokee test set up by the tribal elders to evaluate her strength and loyalty to the tribe. Or was this a trap to discredit her and make her ineligible to become an elder. She wanted to become the first female elder of the tribe, but there was much opposition to her goal. Was the elder one of them, she wondered. Of course, maybe the nation was actually threatened. But if that was the case, why didn’t they tell her that Joey held the stones? They obviously knew that she could handle Joey Brownwater and she did too.

  She decided she needed to place a call to the elder and get further instructions and maybe some more help.

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  When Colton Banyon left the airplane’s bathroom, the first thing he noticed was that Steve was passing out sandwiches left on the plane by the caterer. Someone had already put a diet Dr. Pepper, his favorite drink, in a holder by his usual seat in the back of the plane. He realized he was very hungry.