While men searched for answers below, Eric and the occupants of the Svar space ship tried to solve their own problems. Food was not their main consideration. They still had a supply of pills that would last quite a while. But their energy was getting low. They’d have to land to use the means necessary to recharge. And somewhere down there was the archenemy Eric feared.
What Eric did not know was that his hiding place on Earth was occupied. He was not even aware of the other complications that brought a bevy of law officers and curious citizens to the gully. All he was concerned about was avoiding a confrontation with the planetary enemy. The Earthlings posed no threat as far as he could tell.
Eric’s band from Svar considered avoiding an encounter with Torpi by choosing a different landing place. Mona could not offer much help. She pondered over where they might go, but each spot she thought of promised no assurance of privacy or even a spot large enough to land in. In her travels as a reporter, she found that an area she passed one day as farmland quite often would have a shopping center being built on it the next. Mobile was growing incredibly fast. Not too many unoccupied parcels of land still existed. The country was fast becoming the city. With the many new subdivisions popping up in every section of town, too, not many totally isolated areas were left — unless you went way, way out in the country.
But there was one such place. It was a secluded section around a college where ghosts and strange lights had reportedly been seen for years. Mona had once gone out there to do a feature story. For two nights, she sat poised with pen in hand, ready to write. A photographer came along to take pictures. Nothing happened. So, she wrote the story calling the whole thing a farce and instead of ghosts ran pictures using shots of the beautiful tree-laden terrain. The story was humorous and interesting, but Mona considered the effort a complete waste of time. Worse yet, when an amateur photographer came up with “documented” photos of an eerie inhabitant lurking near the spot, her paper published it. Mona was outraged.
Now, though, she thought perhaps it wasn’t a waste of time. But she wasn’t sure she could find the spot. They risked it anyway, and when they re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere, Mona tried to direct Eric to the proper area. As they neared the college, Mona felt fairly safe in letting Eric lower the ship because the stories of a sighting in that area would be taken with reservations. As soon as they came down close, she was disappointed to see that it wasn’t going to work. From the ship, she read the words aloud that appeared on a brand new brick building. It said, “National Guard Armory.” They had done it again.
Eric took command. “We will have to go back to the gully, even if it means a fight. We can no longer stay up here. It is a chance we will have to take.”
Nobody disputed his judgment. Marcus wondered if they would not be better off going to Svar, but he knew it was doubtful that their energy would take them that far. Even so, what good would that do? All they gained would be lost. They might never reach Earth again. Each time they came, they thought that trip would be their last and they would be able to stay. Somehow, this time, they had to make it or give up. So, Marcus did not speak out against Eric’s decision.
When another space ship appeared in front of them, it came as a complete surprise. It turned and started chasing them, forcing them to the outskirts of town. As they reached a spot near the airport, Mona remembered other stories she’d heard of sightings in the woods. Speeding along, she could hardly tell where they were. Actually, she knew that it wasn’t far from the gully; it was just on the opposite side. While she mused over that, Eric slowed and let Torpi’s ship pass over them. He dropped down below the level of the trees and seeing for himself that the area was deserted, he landed the ship. The Aliens ship turned and searched for them. It passed over twice before Torpi discovered their landing spot. When he did, he dropped his ship right beside them.
Neither ships’ occupants got out. For the time being, it was a standoff. Nobody wanted to make the first move. Eric seemed prepared to outwait them. He waited by the radio and gave them the chance to speak first. No sound was heard. When they didn’t speak, he turned down the volume.
Mona spoke up. “Would it be all right if I turn the police radio on?” she asked. When Eric assented, she set it on the UHF band and listened to see if either space ship had been spotted.
At first, static prevented their hearing the transmissions. Mona tuned it and voices began to come across.
“One-fifty-two. I’m still ten-twenty at the site of last night’s murders and I need a replacement to go off-duty. Ten-four.”
“One-fifty-two your man’s en route now. Is the F.B.I. on the scene yet?”
“That’s ten-four. Three of them are here. No report yet.”
“One-fifty-two move over to channel thirty-two. One-fifty-one wants to talk to you.”
From listening to the police radio at the paper and also at night when she was lonesome and could not get to sleep, Mona knew “One-fifty-one” was the lieutenant. But right now, she had little interest in something as common as a murder, even two. They happened every night in Mobile. The Aliens were much more threatening. However, when she heard the next transmission, her ears perked up.
“One fifty-one. Bob come on up. Meet me over in the bushes where that Buick that belongs to that female reporter was parked. Two men are dead and she’s missing. And she leaves a brand new car out in the woods. Looks suspicious.” He added something that should not have been on the air. It illustrated just how upset he was. “Did you see those two men before they were moved out of that gully? All chopped up. Most gruesome thing I ever saw. Cut like a slicer got them. Ten-four.”
Mona shivered. How could she be a suspect? She had no record. Only once in her life had she even gotten a speeding ticket.
Lydia broke the silence and asked the inevitable question in her unassuming manner? “Mona, what does this mean? How can they possibly suspect you?”
Mona shook head in a hopeless gesture. When sounds of voices came from the ship’s radio, Eric turned up the volume.
“Well,” said Torpi, wickedly taunting them. “I heard that. So the Earthling may be blamed for our misdeeds. Ha, and it was our slicers that got them on lift off.” As he cleared up exactly what happened, his voice held no remorse.
Eric thought of how the ship’s blades — which were designed to dig down and grip the surface on which they landed, thereby enabling the cone to remain upright — maimed and killed the two men who unwittingly got in its path.
“It’s sad,” he said. “Those blades’ purpose is not to do injury, but they effectively served as a death weapon.”
Torpi spoke again. “Now we will get you next.” He cut off communication before Eric could reply.
Eric wondered what Torpi’s plan was, but rushing to find out might put him in a precarious position. No, he would wait. The more time he had, the better he would be able to handle the situation. However, the others looked downcast, and Mona seemed completely distressed, so Eric explained his actions.
“For the time being, you do not need to worry. You are safe in this ship with us. We know the Aliens committed the crime. We know you are innocent. It is more than the Earthlings know, so you are better off with us.” He patted Mona on the shoulder and walked over to gaze out the window at the other ship.
Despite Mona’s trepidation, she knew Eric was right. It was foolish to worry about being accused of murder when she might never leave this ship alive. First things first, girl, she told herself. If this ship recharges and goes back to Svar, Earth will be left behind. Either way, she told herself, I may never have to be concerned about anything on Earth again. She laughed aloud at the pun while the others stared at her, not understanding why she suddenly changed to a lighter mood.
Insisting upon standing guard, Eric told the others to rest. Days and nights blended to the point that Mona didn’t know whether she was tired or not. Even the date and the day of the week escaped her. But she did as she was told; she laid down and fell asle
ep almost immediately. Pep curled up beside her and slept, too. Warm and comfortable in his ignorant bliss, the little dog was not concerned in the slightest.
Mona’s rest was disturbed when she felt the ship being tossed from side to side. In a half-stupor, she felt as if she were in a boat rocking on waves. For a moment, she thought she rode in one on Mobile Bay. She awakened and came to her senses. That was not what was happening, far from it. The voice coming over the radio apprised her of what was really happening.
“This is but a sample. We are rocking your ship. How is that for new developments in technology? Does it give you an inkling of the advances we have made on our own? This is not the only thing that we have learned to do. Does that frighten you? I hope so.” Torpi laughed and said no more.
Lines appeared in Eric’s forehead as he furrowed his brow. As their leader, he had to find a way to save them. He went for the guns. It was a step he would rather not take, but he had no choice. This ship contained gases that could cause an explosion if the rocking caused a combustion. It was unlikely, but possible. He could not take that chance. Now was the time to act, while he still could.
Without a word or an order, they all followed Eric and loaded guns. Mona was the most reluctant. Here I am indignant because I’ve been accused for murders I didn’t commit — well, practically accused — because I happened to be where they happened, she thought. Yet, here I am loading a gun and planning to kill as many people as necessary to save my own skin. It’s ironic. But she kept right on putting the cartridges in place.
More noises emitted from the police radio. “One-seventy-one, One-seventy-one.” The voice sounded urgent.
“Go ahead, One-seventy-one,” replied the operator.
“There’s been a ten-twenty-six four miles past the airport. A man in a car reported it first. Two residents of the area have called in since. Now, the entire neighborhood’s buzzing in an uproar. I’m ten-twenty on the scene and need at least one backup. Advise.”
“One-seventy-one, we got that call on the air. One seventy is on the way. Wait for your backup. Ten-four.”
It was bad news. Mona understood the code, and she explained to the others that it meant a U.F.O. had been sighted — maybe two. Evidently several people had spotted them.
She turned to Eric. “What do we do now?”
“We wait.”
“Wait? Suppose they come down here and find us?”
“Ah, but if they do not, we would have risked the danger of leaving and running out of energy for nothing. If we wait, we can at least leave with more energy. It is building up every minute. Anyway, what good would running do? Since we know we have been sighted and the Aliens are unaware of that fact — since we moved the radio out of their range to pick up transmissions — it may give us a chance to escape — leaving them here to be caught. One ship would probably satisfy the Earthlings.”
Mona conceded. “I suppose you’re right. I guess as things stand now, we have a slight advantage, don’t we?”
It was all so unreal. She couldn’t believe this was really happening to her. Now, another burden might be added. If their ship were found, they’d have to contend with the Earthlings as well as the Aliens. Things seemed to be closing in on them.
The waiting was unbearable. The do-nothing life of the Svarians made it more tolerable to them than it was for Mona. Pacing the floor restlessly, she felt like a trapped animal. If only she could get out of this ship a few minutes, she thought that would relieve the tension. Of course, that was too risky. Pep was the only one who left the ship. Mona let him out to take care of his needs and he dutifully returned right away. Nobody else came or went. Yet, it was all for naught. Nobody found their hideaway. After eight hours, the two ships still sat in the brush alone.
Chapter 4
TAKING TIME OUT ONLY to sleep and eat, Rob Parker spent three full days searching for clues. He interviewed Mona’s boyfriend and definitely cut him out of the running as a murder suspect. He decided that the only thing Lee Black thought about was himself. The man was so conceited that he wouldn’t take time out from combing his hair to commit murder. He was an obnoxious egotist in Rob’s opinion, but he was no killer. Black may have broken Mona’s heart and caused her to run and hide, but Rob was thoroughly convinced that he had nothing to do with the deaths in the valley. His ironclad alibi that he was shooting pool at the time proved solid. He had four witnesses. Rob struck him from his list.
After investigating all of his leads, Rob became disturbed when some things made no sense. For example, Mona just wasn’t the type to move out in the country. Many times, Rob heard her brag that she was a “city girl.” So, why would she look at property so far out in the boon docks? She simply wouldn’t. In his quest for more information, he talked to one of the secretaries at the paper and found that Mona also frequented a coffee shop near her home. He went there, hoping to uncover something new.
Hopping on a stool at the coffee bar, without saying what he wanted or who he was, he managed to get a good bit of information from a petite waitress who looked like a Barbie doll in her red and white striped uniform with a skirt that barely covered her thighs.
“Hi, there. Haven’t seen you here before, have I?” she asked in a squeaky little voice that matched her appearance.
“No. First time. I’ll have a mocha.”
“Coming up.”
Rob didn’t waste time. Gazing around, he asked, “I’m looking for Mona Stewart. Do you know her?”
Placing her elbows on the counter, she rested her chin in them. “Oh, yes, I know Mona, but I haven’t seen her today. She comes in here almost every week. Has one cup of latte and one cinnamon roll. Never a takeout.” She wrinkled her nose. “Heh heh, so I was kinda surprised when she came in the last time and bought a whole bunch of food — nothin’ fancy — like six sandwiches and a dozen doughnuts. I asked her if she was havin’ a party or what, but she just stared and didn’t answer me. That was kinda odd ’cause Mona’s always friendly and cheerful.”
“When was that?”
The waitress stood up and pulled on a silver earring. “Gee, I don’t know exactly. I guess about a week ago. Gosh, she hasn’t been back since. I hope I didn’t run her away. I didn’t mean to be nosey, but you know how it is with chit-chat. You can’t really talk unless you ask questions.” She rambled on and on, trying to keep the conversation going. She was a regular talking machine. But Rob was through. He paid the check and walked out of the door with the tail end of a sentence echoing in his ears.
Back at the paper, he reported what he’d discovered to Frank. Dees couldn’t make any sense of it, either.
“You know,” he said, “if she had company, it’s odd that she wouldn’t mention it to any of us.”
Rob shook his head. “No, she didn’t. I’m sure of that. For one thing, she only had one bed. Oh, somebody could have slept well, er, with her, or in one of the two chairs in the living room, but there was no evidence of that. Mona’s neat — her bed was made, and I didn’t even find one coffee cup in the sink. Nothing much in the trash, either. And the food she bought was for more than just a couple of people. Something strange is going on, Frank. I tell you, that girl would not start buying that many tacos and sandwiches without a reason. I don’t know where to turn. Maybe we’d better give this information to the police and see what they can do with it.”
Frank banged his fist down on the desk so hard that Rob thought the wood would split. “No, damn it! If we can’t figure it out, they sure as hell can’t. They’d bungle the whole thing.”
This wasn’t the first time Frank had expressed his unflattering opinion of the Mobile Police Department. Every time a case went unsolved, he went into a tirade, claiming that they were inefficient.
“They’ve got two unsolved murders on their hands. Mona’s car was on the scene. Some hotshot cop will slap her in jail if they find her, even though they haven’t got a shred of real evidence against her. Right now, this is a hot issue and they’re looking fo
r a patsy. If we can just find Mona first and let this thing cool off, maybe we can avoid a hassle.”
Frank’s low regard for some members of the police force left no opening for argument. Rob returned to his desk and looked over his notes. Mona left all her clothes in her closet. He knew that she only had one suitcase because last month at the press convention she’d joked about it. “I’m the only one here with one rinky bag, Rob.” She’d laughed it off by adding that she liked to travel light anyhow. And that suitcase was right on her closet shelf. Wherever she went, she had only the clothes on her back. That thought consoled him. Without extra clothing, Mona could not have gone far. He quickly undercut that thought — unless she was taken away.
Rob sighed. The fact remained that two men were murdered in a bizarre fashion. No matter how he tried to deny it, Mona was suspect. The area had been combed, and no signs of anyone else having been there existed. An autopsy ruled out an animal. Because of the nature of the cuts, they first said that no man or woman could have done it, either. The report was revised to read that, with the right tools, a surgeon or a butcher might have been the culprit.
Shoving his chair back, Rob stood. “I’ve got to get back on the street.”
He jerked on his jacket, not realizing that he’d left his cell phone on his desk. As he passed the newsstand out front, he saw the headlines of his paper: “Sightings Reported in Airport Area.” It shocked him. He hadn’t paid attention to other news since he’d been on this assignment. He looked at the story and wondered if it had any bearing on Mona’s disappearance. Speculation ran through his mind. If someone was here from outer space, it might explain the murders. They could have a weapon unknown to man. And if they were frightened — well, they would use whatever they had.
Time Will Tell Page 6