“Of course,” Chamberlain stated, “they are mayors, senators, doctors, lawyers, governors, presidents and priests and cardinals and popes. Over the centuries, these Druids have covertly and cunningly made themselves indispensable to the highest strata of every global society that wields either influence or affluence.” He lifted a finger. “And they also have a very formidable army of highly trained soldiers who will exactingly execute orders without any hesitation whatsoever. They are not without the means to purpose their will by force if they cannot do it by more subtle means.”
“Like money,” said Marvin.
Chamberlain waved; “Money. Power. Fame. Land. Security. Howard Hughes reportedly said every man has a price, and he could double it. That would be their motto, as well. But, if all that fails, they are not hesitant to leave a trail of dead bodies that would encircle this world. Because one commonly suspected factor about the original Druids was true then and there is no reason to believe that it is any less true today: They are ruthless. And human life is of no concern to them whatsoever.”
Joe Mac asked, “What is their concern?”
“Secrecy,” Chamberlain said frankly. “That should be obvious to you by now.”
Tapping slowly, Joe Mac found an empty chair, and sat. He leaned forward, elbows on knees – a black-draped, hulking shape.
Jodi watched him as he turned his head to the right as if staring. Then he reached into his coat and removed the paper he’d taken from the house of Jacob Statute. He offered the paper to Chamberlain, who received it.
“Can you tell me what that is?” asked Joe Mac.
After staring over the paper, Chamberlain muttered, “This is a map to their place of ritual.” He waved a hand at the page. “These are means of measurement used before metrics were invented. You see these signs? Each sign is one league. A league is an ancient Celtic unit used to measure distance. One league equals three miles.” He pointed. “This is the spine of a wagon. Twenty feet. And there are six of them used here, so you’re talking about one-hundred-twenty feet. And all this leads to a modern replica of Stonehenge – something I have long believed they had rebuilt.”
“Here?” asked Marvin. “In New York City?”
“Yes.”
“But Stonehenge wouldn’t serve its purpose in the United States,” Marvin objected. “Stonehenge only works because it’s set at the fifty-first parallel. And the fifty-first parallel doesn’t even pass through the United States. It passes through Canada.” He raised a hand into the air. “Way up in Canada.”
Chamberlain frowned as he shook his head. “They would not require it for celestial purposes. They would only need it for ritual – especially for the Wicker Man, the most savage of all the sacrificial horrors of the Winter Solstice.
“My father told me thirty years ago that this sect had begun building a replica of Stonehenge in some kind of abandoned bomb shelter located beneath New York City for the Wicker Man, and that is exactly what I believe they have done. And tomorrow night I can promise you that there will again be the most hideous sacrifice of human life when they surrender another poor soul to that cursed idol. Even more, if they kidnap another child, they will not hang him from a tree. They will surrender him to the flames. Their evil ritual is far too precious for them to waste it if they have a Messiah. They will rejoice forever if they can surrender Christ to the Wicker Man.”
Jodi blinked, “I’ll get back to that in a second, Mr. Chamberlain. But are you telling me there’s a bomb shelter beneath New York that’s big enough to contain Stonehenge? And we’re not actually using it as a bomb shelter? Like we don’t need a bomb shelter?”
Joe Mac mumbled, “After the Cuban Missile Crisis, the government began hollowing out big caverns under New York to make them mass bomb shelters. They cut out quite a few but some of them didn’t fit the bill, so they abandoned them. They eventually built one that worked out but it’s under heavy guard.”
“What happened to the caverns that didn’t work out?” Marvin asked.
“Nothing,” Joe Mac shrugged. “The Army just left them. So if these fools found one of those old caverns then, yeah, they could have built something as big as Stonehenge. And it wouldn’t matter that it’s underground because – like Chamberlain says – they wouldn’t need it to read the stars. They’d only need it for rituals. And it’d be perfect for that. You could murder people all day long and never get caught. You wouldn’t even have to worry about disposal of the bodies. Just drop it in an old pit and throw in some dirt.” He looked at Chamberlain. “You said they started building this thing thirty years ago?”
“Yes. They waited until the government abandoned a few caverns. Then they waited an additional period until they felt it was completely forgotten. After that, they moved in and began building their version of Stonehenge.”
“And your daddy told you all this?”
“Yes, my father told me of it shortly before his death.” Chamberlain nodded slowly. “But he didn’t know its location because he was not one of them. He was only close enough to remain aware of their activities.”
Marvin raised a hand. “How did they lift forty-ton stone slabs twenty feet into the air in an underground cavern? We don’t even know how they did that when they built the original Stonehenge. But we’re sure they used a lot of people. And these guys don’t have a lot of people, do they? I mean, what do they have? A couple hundred? They’d need a thousand.”
“They would have used construction equipment,” said Joe Mac. “When the Army abandoned the shelters, they left the bulldozers and forklifts and front-end loaders in the caverns. It wasn’t cost effective to take all that stuff back to the surface. So, if you knew how to use the equipment, you could build anything you wanted. It wouldn’t even be hard to do. One good man with a dozer and a front-end loader could build a modern version of Stonehenge in a couple of months. He’d just need somebody to tell him where to put this or that. And I’m sure they got plenty of those guys.”
Jodie walked to the desk and regarded Chamberlain. “Mr. Chamberlain, do you know where the entrance to this cavern might be? I mean, according to this map?”
He lifted the map. “This seems to indicate that the entrance is underground. Perhaps a subway tunnel. But there’s nothing to indicate which tunnel.”
“Do you know anybody we could talk to that might be able to help us out?”
“No,” he said frankly. “Anyone familiar with these particular Druids will be far too terrified to help you.” He nodded, “You can put them in jail, yes, but these Druids would still kill them in the most horrible ways imaginable – even in jail. And everyone knows it. And that’s why no one will cooperate.”
Joe Mac stood. “Take me to this cemetery.”
With no reluctance Chamberlain lifted his coat and stood.
“It’s your funeral,” he said.
EIGHT
“How long ago was it that you saw ‘em here?”
Joe Mac’s truculent question seemed unnaturally absorbed by the deep mossy softness beneath their feet, and Jodi couldn’t help but wonder what obscene sustenance fed this overgrown jungle of a graveyard.
“Twenty years ago,” Chamberlain answered as he pointed. “They were over there when I saw them. It was night. And they were walking toward the road.”
“Where were you at?”
“I was over there inside that tree line.”
“How did you recognize your robes if it was night, and you only saw them at a distance of two hundred feet?”
“There was a full moon.”
“Did they have lights?”
“Yes. They had lanterns and flashlights.”
“But they wouldn’t have needed lanterns and flashlights if it was a full moon, and they were on top of the ground,” Joe Mac said slowly. “They would have only needed flashlights if they’d been under the ground.”
Jodi leaned forward, staring close into Joe Mac’s dark glasses. “Are you thinking the entrance to this tunnel is in this
graveyard?”
“I’m thinking that it’s inside one of these tombs.” Joe Mac nodded once. “That’d be an underground entrance. Let’s take a look around.”
“There’s no reason to look around,” Chamberlain commented. “There is only one mausoleum, and it’s back in that ravine. That’s where people used to bury family members that they were ashamed of.”
Joe Mac: “Marvin!”
Marvin stepped up. “Right here, Joe.”
“You got a gun?”
Hesitation. “What?”
Joe Mac pulled a .45 from his coat. “Take this. I ain’t leading you back in there without you being able to defend yourself. We don’t know what we might run into. Do you know how to use this?”
“Just point and pull the trigger?”
Joe Mac reached out, found Marvin’s hand, placed the .45 in his grip.
“I’ll only say once, so listen up. This is a semiautomatic .45. This is the safety. You push down this safety, and this weapon is ready to fire. Then all you do is pull the trigger, and you’ve got eight bullets before you’re empty. But do not push down this safety unless you are ready to fire this weapon. And never use this weapon unless you seriously mean to kill somebody. You understand?”
“Uh,” Jodi began, “Joe, I’m not sure this is such a good –”
“He’ll do fine,” said Joe Mac. He clapped Marvin on the shoulder. “I got faith in you, kid. Just remember: Don’t use this thing unless you mean to kill somebody. You don’t aim for somebody’s arm or leg.” Joe Mac placed a hand over his own heart. “You aim center mass. Got it?”
“Got it.”
With a shrilling screech, Poe landed on Joe Mac’s shoulder, and instantly the raven’s jet black head was turning in every direction, clearly searching. He seemed to see something every tenth of a second, evaluating and dismissing, before he sighted something else in the next tenth of a second. And it was never ending, never ceasing.
Jodie laughed; it was amazing how much sheer physical and mental energy it took this gigantic raven to remain so alert to every movement and sound both near and far and at such a relentless pace. Poe seemed to hear and see everything for miles and miles – everything behind them and everything in front of them. He was like a guardian spirit that never sleeps and never reveals fear or fatigue.
Joe Mac reached up to briefly caress Poe’s head before he said, “Stay alert, boy.”
With a shrill, Poe exploded into the air. In seconds he was circling, and at his low altitude – just slightly above the trees – Jodie could see that the magnificent raven was searching, always searching, and she did feel safer with him up there.
Joe Mac began walking.
“Come on, Chamberlain.”
* * *
Before the tomb, they stood.
It was a square granite and cement crypt built into the side of a slope that rose on the east side of the hollow. Wide, brown steps led up to the black gaping entrance framed by two marble lions green with gloom.
Above the door was written a single name …
… FORTINUS …
“Yep,” said Jodi. “This is where the map begins.”
Joe Mac frowned, “Or ends.”
Gazing down, Jodie wasn’t surprised to see that there was a well-worn, weedless path up the steps much the same as the path they had soon discovered in the woods that led them to this very spot. It was more than obvious that this was not merely a mausoleum; it was almost like a subway station.
Shrilling, Poe settled above the mausoleum door, perched on the lintel. He glanced into the door before jerking his head up, searching the woods behind them, the sky, the path they’d walked. Jodie knew she didn’t need to look back; if there were something behind her, Poe would let her know.
She took out her Glock as Joe Mac used his cane to climb the steps. He rose with strong, fearless, balanced strides and entered the tomb with absolutely no hesitation. But Jodie needed a moment, standing close, before she stepped into that corporeal darkness. Then she was standing beside Joe Mac, her hand tight on the pistol.
“What do you see?” asked Joe Mac.
She removed her flashlight from her coat and saw that the upright crypt was as well-worn as the door to her apartment. If there was a dead man in there, he sure had a lot of friends.
“Well?”
“Over here.” She guided Joe Mac to the crypt. “It’s right in front of you. It’s the door to a crypt. But it’s straight up and down like they buried him standing up.” She paused. “I’ve never a grave like this before.”
“Any other folks buried in here?”
“Nope. Just this guy.”
Leaning his cane against the wall, Joe Mac began feeling the door with both hands pressing and pulling and searching. He pried at the crypt as if it would open like a normal door but it wouldn’t budge. He struck it with his fist. Then he struck the wall beside it.
“It’s hollow, all right.”
“Aren’t all graves hollow?”
“Not as hollow as this one.”
Joe Mac lifted his nose. Then he stretched up his arm, holding it aloft without attempting to touch the crypt or the wall. And he slowly began to move his hand through the air, shuffling forward. Finally, he reached a place on another wall and by now Jodie understood; she could feel a faint draft from a niche in the stone.
Joe Mac stuck his hand inside the crevice and jerked.
The crypt behind Jodie clicked and she whirled, gun raised.
The door to the tomb swung open.
Trembling, Jodi raised the flashlight.
“WOW!”
Jodi screamed as she leaped into the air. When she came down, Marvin was standing where she’d been, peering into the tomb. She landed on her feet and it took her several seconds to recover before she shouted, “Jesus, Marvin! Don’t do that!”
Marvin turned toward her. “This is great, Jodi!”
Shifting from foot to foot Jodi breathed, “Oh, man. Oh, man …”
“Look at this!” laughed Marvin. “This is an archeologist’s dream! Hey! Can I borrow your flashlight?”
Marvin reached for her flashlight, and Jodi found herself in an amateur wrestling match. “Wait a minute!” she shouted as she pushed him back. “Marvin! Think about what you’re doing! We’re looking for murderers. Do you understand! We’re looking for murderers! This is not archeology!” She pushed back her hair from her face. “I’m sorry, but I can’t let you go in there alone.”
He smiled, “Come with me.”
Jodi found herself staring.
“We’re going in,” said Joe Mac.
Turning, Jodi looked up into Joe Mac’s fearless, frowning face. Although Joe Mac couldn’t see what was before him, it obviously didn’t matter.
“What do you see, Marvin?” he asked.
Marvin stretched out his hand. “Jodi? Please?”
“Oh, man,” Jodi moaned. “I give up. Here.”
Taking the flashlight, Marvin smiled spectacularly before he said, “I’ll be right back.” In seconds, he was swallowed by the gloom.
Jodi knew this was her big chance to talk some sense into Joe Mac. She gathered herself, then said, “Joe, great job. Now, let’s go back to the station, and we’ll get some men and equipment. We’ll come back here with SWAT – those guys live for this kind of thing, ya know – and we’ll go get these heathens. Whattaya say? Sound like a plan?”
“We’re going in,” said Joe Mac.
Jodi leaned her head back, hand on her forehead. “Joe, we can’t go in there without backup. This is extremely unsafe.”
“Why is that?”
“Why?” Jodi stared. “Why? Are you kidding me?”
She turned as Marvin emerged from the tunnel brushing off dust. He clicked off the flashlight as he turned to Joe Mac. “The tunnel runs straight as an arrow toward the city, and it’s been used so much that there’s not even any footprints. The path along the floor is smooth as stone, so if we use this tunnel and come back
out this way they’ll never even know we were here.”
“Joe,” said Jodi. “Listen to me. Please.”
“Go ahead,” he said.
“We are ‘unarmed.’”
Joe Mac removed another .45 from his coat. “I got another .45. Marvin’s got his .45. You’ve got your Glock. We’re packing.”
“Wait, wait, wait, wait!” Jodi held up both hands. “Hey! Look! We are not that well-armed! I’ve never been in a single gunfight, and Marvin’s never even shot a gun! And you’re blind! We’re like the gang that couldn’t shoot straight! What if we go in there and run into a whole coven of these guys? We’re gonna die and blow this entire investigation! And I wanna catch these guys!”
“I just wanna take a look around,” said Joe Mac.
“You’re blind! What are you gonna look at?”
“Chamberlain!”
Realizing she had forgot all about Ben Chamberlain, Jodi turned as the old man stepped forward as calm as the dead surface of a pond without fish.
“Yep?” he asked.
Joe Mac presented the map, “How many … what did you call them?”
“Leagues?”
“Yeah.”
Chamberlain accepted the map and walked to the light of the door. He gazed down a full minute before he returned. “If I’m reading this right –”
Jodi: “If?”
“… it’s less than two miles to the place where they’ve built this thing. But don’t get off the path. Just go straight on. You’ll know it when you see it. Then come straight back the same way you go in.” Chamberlain nodded. “You should be fine.”
Jodi: “You’re not coming?”
“You crazy? I’m not getting killed in there.”
Joe Mac stepped forward. “Listen, Chamberlain, I need you to make me two robes, and I need ‘em ready by tomorrow morning.”
“I guess I can do that if I have to. I can do two robes. I couldn’t do three but I reckon I can do two of them.”
“Have them ready for me.”
“It’ll be ready.”
Joe Mac turned back to them as Chamberlain sauntered toward the mausoleum’s gaping door, which never seemed more like the mouth of a skull than it did to Jodi in this moment. Seconds later he was gone, and Poe descended from the lintel to land where Chamberlain had stood, staring into the crypt.
DARK VISIONS Page 18