After circling the structure a few more times, Bob Bergman’s increasing interest seemed surprising. He looked closely at an indention in one of the horizontal bars, pushed his index fingers inside and rubbed the edges a few times. Whether he knew what the edifice was, neither Ben nor Jenna could say, but Bergman was certainly giving the thing his complete attention.
“These symbols,” he began, “any idea what they mean?”
“We have a few ideas,” Manning admitted.
“And something must have been inserted into this space,” Bergman added, continuing to run his fingers along the edges.
“Any ideas?” Jenna asked. “We just assumed it was a natural space in the rock.”
“I think it’s more than that. These are sharp edges, deliberate incisions, probably cut by a laser—incised for an insertion of some kind. When I was a young boy, I carried a quartz crystal around with me. Always had it in my pocket, expecting it to strengthen my inner energies.”
“And did it?” Jenna wanted to know.
“Maybe, but it was hard to tell, since it was such a subtle thing if it happened at all. But I always believed there was something to it.”
“You think a quartz crystal went into that hole?” Ben guessed.
“Why not? This area is full of quartz veins. If not quartz, maybe some other stone was used.”
“Used for what?”
“I don’t know, Ben. Stones give off energies. And quartz crystals are capable of wider energy bands, which can amplify the more latent energies of other stones. They can even affect emotions. Remember mood rings?”
Manning nodded.
“Well, it’s just a hunch.”
“That’s interesting,” Jenna said, “and if you’re right, for what apparent reason was it done?”
“I know stones and a bit about crystalline structures, but I can’t answer that one.” Shaking his head, he smiled at them. “That’s a tough question all right.”
While listening carefully to Bergman talking about the properties of stones, and how crystals emit energies, Jenna examined the small depression. “Oh, my goodness,” she said, her face taking on the kind of excitement that comes with discovery.
“Did you find something, Jenna?” Ben called from a few feet away.
Even Bergman was startled by the sudden outburst and moved closer to see her drawing her fingers across the sharp edges of the incision. Ben watched Jenna carefully trace the edges with the fingers of her right hand. Both men were beginning to think she had discovered something. But it was Bergman who sensed what she was thinking.
Jenna turned abruptly to regard each of them before speaking. Her face was more relaxed, and the slightest hint of a smile was evident. “The brooch,” she said calmly. “Maybe it could be inserted into this space.”
Even as she spoke, Bergman pushed past her to have a closer look. “Why use an expensive piece of jewelry? For what possible purpose?”
“You said,” she continued, “that stones emit energies. Since this incision is not a natural anomaly, there has to be a reason why it’s there.”
Bob glanced at Ben who looked surprised to hear the brooch being mentioned in such an extraordinary context. “Strange as it sounds, she might actually have something, Ben. It’s a bold presumption, no doubt about that, and I have no idea why such a thought should even be considered with any seriousness.” He looked at Jenna. “We can always try it, I guess, see what happens—if anything.”
“You’re actually serious?” Ben laughed.
“I can’t explain it. I’m convinced this,” and he pointed to the space, “was cut for a reason, for an insertion of some kind. There’s an outside chance that with the right stones in place . . . ” He stopped abruptly to consider what he was about to say next, perhaps thinking he’d already pushed this idea too near ridiculous. Yet, he knew he’d not said much at all, only suggested Jenna might have an idea worth considering.
“What is it, Bob?” Manning asked.
“We know some current is passing through this thing, and it’s drawing it from somewhere, possibly from a vein of crystal or quartz cache beneath the ground. I have absolutely no idea if it’s complete or even reconstructed in the way it was originally built. But I can assure you that what’s there in front of us did have a purpose—as ridiculous as that sounds.”
“That much we know,” agreed Ben,” and even after digging it up, there is still confusion about what it is—and I don’t think we’re any closer to an answer now than we were then.”
“It sure does get your attention, doesn’t it?” Bergman smiled.
“We did run GPR over a wider radius but got nothing out of the ordinary.”
“Could be other pieces scattered farther out,” suggested Bob.
Pausing to regard both Jenna and Ben, he said with a hint of confidence, “I don’t think the brooch works—but possibly a deliberately incised piece of quartz crystal.” Again, a lengthy pause before he continued, “This is going to sound extreme, but crystals, especially galena crystals, can be used to construct a radio. Let’s suppose that when the crystal is placed into the depression, these vertical columns represent antennas. It’s nothing more than a supposition, but certainly possible. We would need to find a ground, possibly an underground water pipe, or any piece of metal buried near here.”
“You think this was a radio transmitter?”
“I don’t know, Ben. My mind’s working overtime on this one. I do think Jenna has the right idea though—and she might be right. Maybe the stones in the brooch would jump start this thing.” After another reflective pause, “I think the larger the stone or stones, the more energy produced, and distance will increase proportionately with a larger transmitter.”
“Lacey has taken your mineralogy class and said she learned a lot about gems,” Jenna offered as an affirmation of Bergman’s expertise with stones and crystals. “She told me it got kind of metaphysical at times. Are we dealing with metaphysics now?”
“To some extent, but first it’s the basics we’re trying to piece together. If the basics work, who knows where we go from there? If this thing could capture electromagnetic waves, even those that can travel great distances at a speed of 186 miles per second, then we’ve got a receiver. That could be significant. Again, that’s only a theoretical possibility, and critical pieces that should be here, as I’ve said, could still be buried.” After a sheepish smile, he said, “Probably best to keep these ideas to myself . . . leave this thing, whatever it is, to the scientists.”
“I suppose we could consider widening the perimeters,” Ben replied.
Bob looked in the direction of the creek before speaking again. “If the creek flooded, the water could have moved pieces of this thing to the other side of the bridge.” There was another pause during which he looked across the stream to a field that was nearly 20 acres of unused pasture. “Is that where the military dug?” and he nodded toward the field.
“Somewhere over there,” replied Manning. “Nearer the woods, I think, but don’t know exactly where.”
“There was never much information, not public information anyway, and I’ve often wondered exactly what they recovered all those years ago,” confessed Bergman.
“Maybe nothing,” Ben suggested. “Maybe this was a classic example of doing nothing more than moving equipment around—disinformation or diversion possibly. There are also those who think they dug in the wrong place.”
“And I’m sure that’s a possibility,” agreed Bob, “but why the pretense?”
“I don’t know,” admitted Ben. “It wouldn’t be the first time the military has overreacted.”
“Well,” Bob began, looking at his watch, “didn’t mean to take up so much of your time. Got to get on with the day. I’m driving up to Tell City to appraise some jewelry for an elderly couple. They are conscientious about leaving something valuabl
e to their daughter.”
Ben shook his hand and said, “I have to say that you’re leaving us plenty more to think about.”
“You got something here. No doubt about that,” Bergman replied. “Even if it’s a radio receiver, or even a transmitter, who put it here and why? Get a piece of galena crystal or even a piece of pyrite and fit it into the depression. See if anything happens.”
The sun had climbed higher in the sky and any shadows that were on the lawn earlier that morning were long gone. Again, Bergman made a couple of cursory remarks about how nice the house looked. A couple of minutes later, the Ferrari rumbled to life and Bob Bergman was on his way to Tell City, Indiana.
“I sure didn’t expect any of that,” admitted Jenna as the two of them walked toward the house.
“The man knows stones, not a doubt in the world about it.”
“What if he’s right, Ben? What if it is some kind of communication tower?”
“I guess the military is not in the habit of digging holes on private property. If something happened out there, somebody outside the military knows what it was. I think I know who that person is.”
“Larry Collins?” she asked.
“He’s a cautious man, Jenna. I don’t think he trusts anyone. He always seems to be holding something back, revealing just enough to keep you interested, but not much more than that.”
“He does seem to trust Adrian White,” Jenna reminded him.
“Maybe we’re too intellectually inferior,” Ben laughed.
She shook her head and smiled. “I’m surprised he ever agreed to talk to a couple of corncobs like us.”
Chapter 29
A few days after Thanksgiving it happened again. Jenna saw them as soon as they came into the library, another vase of flowers on the table, the entire room filled with sweet fragrances. On the table beside the vase was a small yellow envelope addressed in ink to Mr. Ben Manning. Jenna handed it to Ben who hesitated to take it.
“Go ahead, Ben,” she urged. “Read it.”
Ben slipped a finger into the envelope and opened it easily. Folded inside was a note neatly penned on yellow paper. He read it silently to himself before reading it again out loud.
“‘Dear Sir,
Winter jasmine were my husband’s favorite and were set each Christmas holiday in this corner of the room.
Yours, Anna’”
“Can you imagine that?” Jenna’s tone was slightly contentious.
“What?”
“Seems a little audacious, don’t you think?”
“Not at all. She’s only being polite.”
“Yours, Anna is more than polite. It sounds like she’s got a crush on you.”
“Come on, Jenna,” he smiled. “It’s nothing.”
“She could have said, Yours Truly or Happy Holidays, something more formal.”
He put his arm around her waist and kissed her lightly on the forehead, but drew back suddenly, “Better be careful, we don’t want to make her jealous.”
“Ben Manning,” she shouted. “You do think she’s flirting with you.”
“Maybe a little, but it really doesn’t matter, does it?”
“It does matter. She comes and goes whenever she pleases.”
“But she doesn’t come to see me. She wants the brooch returned.”
Jenna went across to the fireplace, got on her hands and knees, and immediately began to search for something.
“What’re you doing?”
“I found the brooch here in this niche,” and as she spoke, she pushed her fingers into a sunken space on the left side of the fireplace. “There’s something here, a small gap . . . an impression, and it looks like it was put there deliberately.”
“It’s probably a crack in the mortar?”
“She wants that brooch for a specific reason. It’s more than a sentimental gift from her husband. I would bet on that.” Kneeling at one side of the fireplace, Jenna looked thoughtfully at a space in the buildout just above the cantilevered hearth. There was an indention in a section of the masonry. “Look at this, Ben. Look closely, and you’ll see what I mean.”
Kneeling beside her to get a better look, he saw it at once. It was stone, not brick as he expected, and cut into it was a space about three inches wide, “It does look like this was intentionally done.” He scraped a fingernail across the surface only to see paint flaking off the stone. “This section has been deliberately painted to look like brick, but it isn’t really brick.”
“That’s right, and not easily noticed—deliberately concealed.”
“It sure looks that way.”
“I think the brooch fell out of this space.”
He observed the indention closely before suggesting that there would be no reason at all to keep an expensive piece of jewelry embedded in such an unusual place as a fireplace chase. Shaking his head to show his confusion, “It makes no sense.”
“It does if that brooch is more than a piece of jewelry.”
“I don’t know, Jenna.”
“Look at how this is shaped.”
“I see that. It could have held missing ornamentation. Maybe even a maker’s mark or construction date plate.”
“You have to get the brooch from Bergman.”
He realized she was serious and knew the only way to silence her curiosity was to do what she said, get the brooch. “It’s just plain odd.”
“Trust me on this, Ben. I don’t know how I know, but I know.”
After standing, he helped Jenna to her feet and gave her a hug. “I’ll call Bergman and arrange to get the brooch. But I don’t feel comfortable with jewelry that valuable in the house.”
“I realize that, but this could be important.”
Changing the subject, he said, “I have to go to Evansville this afternoon. Do you want to come?”
“I can’t. Rikki has two closings, and I need to be in the office. Probably won’t get away until after five.”
“Okay,” he nodded.
“You’ll get the brooch then?”
“I’ll stop by Bergman’s this afternoon.”
Around noon, he called Bob Bergman and asked to meet with him. Ben knew that when he saw Jenna later that day she would ask if he had the brooch, so he’d do what he told her he’d do—get the brooch and have it there when she returned. “Jenna has an idea that the brooch is more than a brooch,” he told Bob.
“And she could be right,” Bob agreed. “I’ll be here all afternoon, Ben. Stop by whenever it’s convenient.”
Glancing at the note Anna had written, he read it again slowly. Jenna was overreacting, and there was something about that he liked. But there was absolutely no reason at all for her to be jealous. With those thoughts still lingering, he was sure he heard someone in the foyer. Deciding Jenna had forgotten something, he went out to meet her. Instead of Jenna, it was Anna Atwood who stood in front of him. His jaw dropped. His eyes widened, and for several seconds, he was frozen to the floor, staring into eyes mysterious enough to momentarily frighten him.
“I did not mean to startle you.”
When he realized he was staring at someone who hadn’t come in through the front door, he quickly tried to pull himself together and regain his composure long enough to speak. “Hello,” was all he could manage.
“Do you like the flowers?”
“Yes, yes, of course, they’re quite beautiful actually. Thank you.”
“There were always flowers in the house.”
“I love flowers.”
“Please do not be nervous at my presence, sir.”
“It’s not an easy thing to relax in the presence of a gho—”
“Ghost?”
“I’m sorry,” Ben apologized.
“I can assure you that I am as real as you.”
“How do you c
ome and go without using the door?”
“It just happens sometimes. I cannot explain it.”
He reached out to shake her hand and saw her draw back. “What is it?”
“Please do not think me coy, so much as vigilant,” she said.
He was starting to relax, maybe too easily caught up with Anna’s beauty. He reached out again, and this time she slowly extended her hand. He took it in his, shocked at how cold it was. With her hand in his, he looked at her cautiously before saying, “I can’t believe this. Can it really be happening?”
Slowly, even reluctantly, she withdrew her hand, but did not lower her eyes from his. “You have a kind touch,” she told him, looking deeper into his eyes. “My husband’s touch was gentle.”
“Excuse me, but I don’t know what to say. Even though I want this moment to last, I know it cannot.”
“It is possible.”
Aware of the mesmerizing effect she was having on him, he could not lower his eyes from hers. Strange as it seemed, he felt compelled to regard Anna with both suspicion and fascination. “You appear so suddenly, out of thin air it seems, and as much as I want to believe and accept it, you must surely realize the improbability of this happening.”
“You have touched me. You look in my eyes. You see me standing before you. Is that not enough?”
“I . . . I can’t seem to stop my hands from shaking.”
Her smile, small, somewhat cautious at first, gradually became bolder, until pale delicate lips parted enough to reveal the tips of her teeth. He’d seen pictures of women dressed this way, thought the long dresses cumbersome and pretentious—until now. But it was his sudden inclination to hold her that occupied his thoughts. Did she know what he was thinking?
“May I ask about your husband?”
“He died in a motor car accident not far from this house.”
“I’m sorry. I don’t know what else to say to you.”
“The young woman is your wife?” she asked.
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