The Travelling Detective: Boxed Set

by Joan Donaldson-Yarmey

  "Your breakfasts will be ready shortly," Beverly said, as she placed them on the tables. "Help yourself to some orange juice or coffee. The kettle has hot water in it for tea."

  While Sally went to get some coffee, Elizabeth headed over to look at the newspapers. The Whistler Question was dated last Thursday so it must come out once a week. The Vancouver Sun had today’s date. She returned to her table. She wasn’t interested in the Vancouver paper and would read the local paper later when she came back this evening.

  Breakfast was a plate with a shish kebob of sausage, tomato, onion, and mushroom, and scrambled eggs and toast. Each plate was delivered to the tables by Beverly.

  The room was quiet as everyone ate. The meal was very good and Elizabeth ate extra because she knew it would be a long time until lunch. After breakfast they returned to their room and Elizabeth made her lunch while Sally put her retreat papers into her backpack, then stepped out onto the balcony to enjoy the sunshine. Elizabeth gathered up her research equipment said goodbye and she and Chevy headed to her vehicle.

  On the way she stopped in at the kitchen to see Beverly. "On the highway coming here I noticed the Village Gate Boulevard goes to the visitor information centre. Is there any parking there?"

  "There is," Beverly said. "But you have to pay for it. If you get back onto Highway 99 from Nancy Greene Way and turn left onto Lorimer and then right onto Blackcomb Way you will find some large parking lots. Some of them are free and if you park there you can walk across Blackcomb Way to the Village.’

  "How do I get to the Upper Village?" She’d looked at the maps she had but hadn’t been able to figure out the way there.

  "Go to parking lot #1 and just as you enter it you will cross a walkway. If you follow the walkway to your left you will reach the village."

  "Thank you," Elizabeth smiled. Again the bed and breakfast owner had come through for her.

  As she loaded her stuff she could see that a crew with a front-end loader had come in to start cleaning up the site next door. She felt a twinge of disappointment that no body had been found but then grinned. That was good. It meant that she wouldn’t be trying to solve anything during her research and thereby having to put off her article writing until she returned home. She would get her research done and her article written in the first week she was here. And once that was completed she would be able to relax by the pool and catch up on her reading while Sally was at her retreat. Her holiday would go as planned.

  She started her Tracker and headed to her first stop, the Village.

  * * *

  I'm barely out of bed when the images and flashes of light begin. I quickly bring up my Terrene file.

  * * *

  Mikk left his apartment early each morning, arriving at work an hour before everyone else. As soon as he entered the building he headed to the sixth floor to check on the chamber even though an alarm was set that would ring on the pager he had strapped to his arm if something went wrong with the instruments. It wasn't that he mistrusted the alarm, it was that this was his project and he wanted to maintain control over it. He didn't want a machine deciding to shut it down or to change settings.

  On this morning Mikk turned the two dials and watched the temperature of the chamber rise to the freezing mark. The frost gradually melted off the glass and he could see the prisoner lying in the frozen state. He now had to slowly raise the temperature in the chamber so the body thawed evenly.

  He looked at the tracing machine hooked to the electrodes on the outer body and the body thermometer he'd inserted through the belly button before freezing. It showed that the body temperature inside and out was at the freezing point. This was the crucial time. He'd learned that the temperature had to rise so minutely as to almost not move at all. It would be another 24 hours before the prisoner's body temperature would be normal.

  As the day wore on Mikk could feel the tiredness creep up on him. He needed some sleep and something to eat but there was no one he trusted enough to work the dials. He'd had a cot installed after the first successful thawing but, because of the one flaw in that thawing, during the second experiment and this one he seldom took the time to relax or sleep on it. He went over to the cot now and stretched out. He had time for a short nap before he had to raise the temperature again.

  But he didn't get to sleep. As soon as his mind was off the chamber his thoughts turned to Gwin. How was she doing? Was the colony being established as planned? Had she really murdered that person and if so, why? There were so many questions he needed answered.

  According to the law, no one could visit a prisoner once they had been charged. Everything was left up to the courts to sort out and then make a decision. If the person was found guilty they were immediately sent to the Orbital Prisons. After a year of good behaviour they were allowed visitors.

  He hadn’t been able to see Gwin because just after her conviction, she’d been sent to the colony planet. He knew the Space Organization was receiving messages from the spaceship Lederer that had been left with the colony. He'd contacted them many times under the pretext of finding out how the tools he'd helped design were working. They'd only been able to tell him that the construction of the buildings and the planting of seeds was progressing. There was nothing about anyone specific.

  He'd even asked about any space ships flying to the colony planet but had been told that none were scheduled. There just wasn't any way that he could contact anyone there or even fly there himself. He felt so powerless. He missed Gwin so much and he wanted to do something to find out what happened and to bring her back. There must have been a mistake, for he never believed that she could kill someone.

  All he could do now was hope something happen either here or on the colony planet to make a flight necessary. Then he would apply to go along.

  An hour later Mikk rose and adjusted the temperature again and he did it every hour until the body began shivering. Once the shivering started he raised the temperature at a faster rate until the body was at its normal state. He'd been instructed to contact his superiors just before the awakening so they could watch the final moments of the prisoner returning to life. He let them know the moment was imminent and they hurried over.

  According to the pulse instrument and the body temperature gauges the prisoner should be opening his eyes soon. Mikk leaned over the chamber to watch for movement. He'd finally hit on the amount of glucose needed to keep the body from dying while frozen and the last two bodies had return to life just the same as before the freezing. The pulse, breathing, heart rate, and bodily functions were normal. The problem had been that their minds were dead. Their bodies had nothing to direct them. He'd made some adjustments after the first but the same had happened in the second thawing. This was his third attempt and he hoped this one worked.

  "How is the research going on separating the mind from the body and transporting it?" Mikk asked his superiors as they hovered over the chamber.

  "They haven't been able to overcome the mind fighting that goes on when it enters another body."

  Mikk still felt that he had been right to pursue his idea of freezing the whole person. He just had to get the mind to thaw intact, though. When that finally happened they'd only have to make sure the temperature of the compartment sent to a far off planet could be controlled from here. That way it would only thaw when the space ship had securely landed. But that part had nothing to do with him. It would be up to the technicians to build a chamber that would fit in a spaceclipper.

  Mikk undid the latches on the chamber and lifted the cover. He felt the body and it was warm. He removed the electrodes and probe but the contact failed to make the prisoner move. Mikk had a sinking feeling as he lifted the lid of one of the eyes. Behind it was a blank stare, the same as the first two volunteers. Mikk let it close.

  He turned to his superiors. "It didn't work. The body thawed but his mind is lost."

  "What do you mean lost?"

  "It's gone. The body is alive but there is no mind to operate it.
"

  "So you won't be able to freeze a scientist and sent him to explore another planet?" one of his superiors said.

  "His body will make it but his mind won't."

  "So what are you doing now?"

  "I'm still trying but I don't think I can do much more."

  "Perhaps you can offer your help with the mind separation experiment."

  * * *

  Again Gwin continues her story.

  The leaves on the trees had begun to turn a bright yellow and orange colour. One day, while most of the other prisoners wandered aimlessly up and down the streets, Gwin decided to search for the inhabitants she had seen. Making sure no one was watching her she headed into the bush. When she reached the spot where she had seen them she stopped unsure if she should wait to see if they came or follow the path. They had acted as if they didn't want her to go any further the first time, however, her curiosity won out and she walked into the bush. Some of the leaves had begun to fall from the trees carpeting the forest floor and sending up a pungent odour. Gwin inhaled deeply, liking the smell.

  She came to a meadow and could see where the trail meandered through it to the hills beyond. There was still no sign of activity.

  "If they are in the hills, they'll see me coming," Gwin mused. "And they'll either come to meet me or hide."

  As she walked her nerves were on end, expecting them to jump out of the grass at any time. This is getting spooky, she thought. They should have seen me by now. She followed the path up the slope to the crest of the hill and looked down on a lovely valley. In the middle, the waters of a small lake shimmered. Golden grass waved softly in the breeze. Wild animals, which were small in the distance, grazed contentedly. The trail continued along the slope to a cave in the hillside.

  Gwin looked around but could not see any of the inhabitants. She headed to the cave. As she drew nearer she could see where rock had been placed to form a small terrace in front of the opening. A large pit with ashes in the bottom was to one side and a huge pile of bones lay halfway down the slope.

  "Hello," Gwin called. "Anyone here?"

  There was no answer.

  She stepped closer to the cave opening and called again. No reply. Gwin walked up to the opening and peered inside but because of the sun all she could see was darkness. She stepped in and waited until her eyes adjusted to the dim light. She saw many small hearths with wood beside them and ashes in them. There were animal skins spread out on the floor and various tools, some similar to the one she'd seen in the inhabitant's hand, leaned against the wall. Baskets wove from grass or carved from wood sat near the hearths. Long bones shaped as spoons rested in the baskets. The cave didn't look abandoned. It looked as if the inhabitants had left but expected to return soon.

  Gwin didn't touch anything. When she stepped out she looked down at the valley, shielding her eyes against the sun with her hand. Far in the valley where the wild animals had grazed, she could see figures with long spears in their hands chasing one of the animals. As she watched one of the people threw his spear and hit the animal in the side. The animal stumbled and that was enough for the other figures to crowd around it stabbing with their spears. When that animal was dead, two others hurried over and began to remove the hide. The hunters headed after the herd again.

  The skinners were fast. They had the hide off and the animal gutted in minutes. Another group began to cut up the meat as soon as they were finished.

  They were hunting for food. That was why the place is empty. Gwin watched for a while then headed back to the colony.

  * * *

  I look at my watch. Geeze, if I don’t hurry I’m going to be late for the first class.

  Chapter 4

  After breakfast with Elizabeth, Sally got out the map of Whistler that had been supplied with all her papers and looked at it again. It was a four block walk from their bed and breakfast back to Nancy Greene Way and the private school where the retreat was being held. She could go that way or she could wander through the neighbourhood. Today, just to make sure she got there on time she decided to go the route she knew. She placed the map in her backpack with her notebook and the bare bones outline for her course.

  When she’d received the information, she’d been given the choice of four different sections: writing novels and short stories, writing scripts for movies or television series, designing games, or writing plays for theatre. Since she’d already started a novel, she’d chosen novel and short story writing.

  There would be lectures in the morning with the afternoons left free to write, to work on assignments, or to explore Whistler. Each of those who had sent in their short stories or the first three chapters from their novels would have their one-on-one time with the instructor in the afternoon. She hadn’t signed up for that. She was new to this and just wanted to sit back and gather information for now.

  The course ran from Monday to Friday. The first weekend was left for the students to do as they pleased. The second weekend was reserved for a large SciFi/Fantasy Convention to end the retreat. During the day on Saturday there would be a number of panels with science fiction or fantasy writers who would talk on different subjects. These panels were included in the students’ package but were also open, for a fee, to anyone of the general public who was a science fiction or fantasy fan. There would also be two agents to answer questions about how to send query letters and proposals to an agent.

  Saturday evening was for a supper followed by a dance where everyone who wished to do so could dress up as their favourite hero or alien. Prizes would be given for the best costumes in different categories. Sally had gone looking for a costume to rent but found that there weren’t many for women unless she wanted to wear a mini dress with metallic trim, or a two piece Amidala with a sexy top, or a red or blue Star Trek mini dress. She decided against a costume. She wasn’t sure if she even wanted to go to the party. Sunday was reserved for a final class with the instructor giving each student suggestions on how better to approach their writing.

  Sally turned right when she got out onto Ambassador Crescent and walked to the end where it curved and became Nancy Greene Way. She passed Toni Sailor Lane and came to the crossroad where Fitzsimmons Road North and South met, then crossed Fitzsimmons Creek. Finally after passing Blackcomb Way, which she had noticed seemed to wander through much of Whistler, she reached the entrance for the retreat. She stopped and looked down the driveway. The building wasn’t visible from the street but she could see cars parked in a lot.

  "Don’t be afraid," a voice said behind her.

  Sally jumped and turned to see a tall man with graying hair smiling at her. She tried to think of a quick come back but nothing suitable came to mind so she just smiled back. "Are you going to the retreat?" she asked. It was obvious that he was but she couldn’t come up with anything else.

  "Yes." He held out his hand. "My name is Michael Wolf."

  "Sally Matthews." She shook his hand, which felt very soft. She wondered what he did for a living.

  They started down the driveway.

  "Have you been to a retreat before?" Sally asked.

  Michael nodded. "This is my second one. You?"

  "My first."

  When the trees ended they came upon a large two storey building with plenty of gables. Some covered small patios, others windows and doors, and one seemed just for decoration. The lower storey was gray brick while the second one was white siding. Two people were having a smoke and talking at the far corner of the building.

  Michael opened the door for her.

  A polite man, Sally thought as she thanked him.

  In the foyer was a map showing the four rooms where the different sections of the retreat were being held.

  "What part are you taking?" Michael asked.

  "Novel and short story," Sally answered. "What about you?"

  "Script writing."

  "I thought about that but figured I should have a story first."

  Michael nodded. "I took the novel writing course h
ere with Kat Mac two years ago. I finished my novel and have found a small press to publish it. Now I want to make it into a screenplay."

  They studied the map. Sally’s classroom was down the hall to the right while Michael’s was upstairs.

  "Congratulations on getting published and success with your script writing," Sally said, when they parted.

  The classroom, with tiered platform seating, was almost full when Sally arrived. She stopped inside the door and looked around. Tables with chairs behind them were set on the raised sections so that three people shared a table. She climbed to the top and took an empty chair at the end of a table. There was a man at the other end and a woman in the middle. Both appeared to be about her age. From where she sat she could look down on the heads of the rest of the students. She figured she could watch what was happening without getting too involved. Usually the ones who wanted to interact with the instructor sat in the front row.

  It was a mixture of students with twice as many males as females. Some were introducing themselves to the ones next to them. Others were organizing their laptops or their notebooks and pens on the table. Some were like her, observing. She recognized two of them from breakfast at the bed and breakfast. When the instructor entered the room, all noise ceased. They looked at her expectantly.

  She was dressed in a calf length multi-coloured peasant skirt and matching vest with a long sleeved white blouse. Her dark blonde hair was knotted in a braid that hung down her back.

  "Good morning and welcome to my class," she said. "My name is Katherine MacKenzie and I will be your instructor for the next two weeks. You may call me Katherine, Ms. MacKenzie, or even Kat Mac, which is the name I write under. If you looked at the material I sent you, you will have noticed that I didn’t give you any idea of what my lectures would be about. That’s because I didn’t want you rushing to the Internet looking it all up. I wanted you to come here with an open mind so that you listen to what I have to say."