The Eulalie Park Mysteries Box Set 1

by Fiona Snyckers

They looked at each other.

  “You really don’t know why we’re here?” asked Uriah.

  “I really don’t.”

  “Then you’re not one of us.”

  Eulalie thought that went without saying but waited for more.

  Blossom shook her head. “We thought your reason for pursuing the Jessica Manilow case was the same as ours.”

  “I was hired by a client to investigate her disappearance.”

  “That’s the ostensible reason,” said Blossom. “But what is the real reason?”

  “The real reason is that I get paid an hourly fee plus expenses.”

  The couple looked baffled.

  “Let’s try this again,” said Eulalie. “Assume that I really am just a private investigator with a case to solve. Why have you come to see me?”

  “Okay.” Uriah reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a wad of paper. “If you really don’t know anything, you might not be aware that Monk’s Cay is regarded in certain circles as one of the earth’s epicenters.”

  “Epicenters of what?”

  He spread out a piece of paper and showed it to Eulalie. It consisted of a series of wavy lines converging on a small dot. When she looked closer, she could make out a rough drawing of Prince William Island with its chain of little cays to the east. The wavy lines converged on Monk’s Cay. There were more wavy lines converging on what she estimated would be the center of the deep forest to the west of Queen’s Town.

  “Those are ley-lines,” explained Blossom. “They are lines of mystical energy that are naturally more concentrated on certain parts of the earth than others. Wherever the ley-lines converge you get a powerful epicenter of energy.”

  “Right.”

  “Naturally, when otherworldly beings visit us here on earth, they are attracted to these potent sources of energy.”

  “Naturally.”

  “I hear the skepticism in your tone, Ms. Park,” said Uriah. “But how do you explain this? Another powerful epicenter of ley-line energy lies here.” He pointed. “Right over the deep forest and the mysterious village it houses. How do you explain the fact that several of the villagers show signs of enhanced abilities, like second sight?”

  “I don’t know. How do you explain it?”

  “The most persuasive theory we have is that the villagers themselves may originally have been of extraterrestrial origin.”

  Eulalie couldn’t help smiling. “I thought they came over in longboats from the area now known as Kenya. That’s what the historians say, anyway.”

  “Oh, history!” Blossom waved this away with her hand. “History is a tool used to keep people ignorant. History cannot account for the fact that we have an unusual cluster of enhanced individuals living in a small area – namely, the village in the forest. One of them lives right here in Queen’s Town. Her name is Angel de la Cour and she is a particularly gifted fortuneteller.”

  “Or a particularly gifted showman.”

  “How can you say that?”

  “Forgive me, but you’re not from around here, are you?”

  “No,” said Uriah. “I’m from Salt Lake City and Blossom is from Glastonbury in England. We were drawn here by the ley-line energy.”

  “Then you don’t know that Angel de la Cour is my grandmother.”

  They stared at her for nearly a minute without speaking.

  “So, you are from there too?” asked Blossom. “The village? Do you also have the Sight?”

  “The only sight I have is of that clock on the wall over there. It tells me it’s getting late.”

  Uriah unfolded more documents and showed them to Eulalie.

  “Here are some contemporary articles about the disappearance of Jessica Manilow five years ago.”

  Eulalie glanced at them. Tales of alien abduction screamed out at her from large headlines.

  “CO-ED kidnapped by aliens!” “Police probe alien link in girl’s disappearance!” “They snatched Jessica like they snatched me – mom of four”. “Strange light spotted in sky just before Jess vanished!”

  “Well, I’m convinced,” said Eulalie.

  “Once again, your skepticism is noted,” said Uriah. “We acknowledge that people like you aren’t likely to be persuaded by publications such as these, but we value them because they are more open to possibilities than the traditional media.”

  “They are open to the possibility of selling advertising space through clickbait like this.”

  “Of course, you would think that,” said Blossom. “Of course, you wouldn’t open your mind to other possibilities.”

  “Tell me about the lights in the sky,” said Eulalie, tapping the headline.

  “Ah, now that is interesting,” said Uriah. “Those lights have been drawn to Monk’s Cay for years.”

  “Years.” Blossom confirmed. “Even before Jessica’s disappearance. We believe they are attracted to Monk’s Cay by the potency of the ley-line convergence.”

  “What do they look like? Have you seen them?”

  Uriah and Blossom looked at each other and laughed.

  “Many times,” he said. “Oh, many, many times. This is what we do, you see. We sleep as much as possible during the day, so we can scan the skies at night looking for signs.”

  “And what do you use for scanning the skies? Do you have any special equipment?”

  “The naked eye should never be underestimated,” said Blossom. “But we have telescopes too.”

  “Can you describe the lights?”

  “Oh, they’re beautiful. There is something so inviting about them. It is as though they are beckoning us to leave our mundane lives behind and follow them wherever they may lead. You can detect the spirituality behind them – the intelligence.”

  Eulalie turned to Uriah. “More specifically?”

  “They appear at night, rather than during the day, but that’s typical. Extraterrestrial visitors have always chosen to reach out to us under the cover of darkness. The times are unpredictable. We have never been able to establish a pattern, and we’ve tried, using various algorithms. Nothing worked.”

  “Do they flash in particular colors or patterns? Perhaps something to suggest a warning, like an SOS?”

  The UFO enthusiasts looked affronted.

  “They are not of human origin,” said Blossom. “Quite the contrary. If any of their patterns happened to resemble an SOS, it would be completely coincidental.”

  “Have you kept records of these sightings?”

  “We have indeed,” said Uriah. “Going back years.”

  “May I see them?”

  “Hmm. We don’t usually share the fruits of our research with skeptics. It’s part of the oath we took when we joined the society.”

  “Okay, look. I’m not going to pretend to believe in UFOs – or ley-lines, for that matter. I won’t insult your intelligence by lying to you. But I do believe in these lights. I think they are real, and I think you are the only people who have paid enough attention to them over the years. I would like to access to your records because I believe they might be helpful in finding out what happened to a nineteen-year-old girl five years ago.”

  They shook their heads.

  “We’ll have to think about it,” said Uriah. “Like I say, there’s the oath to be considered.”

  “We’ll let you know our decision in due course,” said Blossom.

  Eulalie had no choice but to accept this.

  When she had shown her visitors out, she mimed wiping sweat from her brow.

  Mrs. Belfast clucked sympathetically.

  “I don’t know how you put up with them for so long. I would have shown them the door long ago. For such a respectable looking couple, they seem a bit unhinged.”

  “I’m not sure they’re a couple,” said Eulalie. “I didn’t get that vibe from them. Or maybe they’re not a couple yet.”

  “Unhinged,” Mrs. Belfast repeated. “Couple or no couple.”

  “The UFO angle is nonsense, obviously, but I think
they’re onto something. This is the second time someone has mentioned flashing lights in connection with Monk’s Cay. I wonder if the harbormaster’s office knows about it.”

  “They believe in UFOs. No one would ever take them seriously.”

  “They’ve spent the last five years with their telescopes trained out to sea monitoring what’s going on at Monk’s Cay. I’d give a lot to get my hands on that record.”

  Mrs. Belfast opened Eulalie’s diary on her computer screen.

  “You asked me to get you an appointment with Peter Costello for this afternoon, but you’ve got a fitting with the audio guy from City hall. That’s at four, remember?”

  Eulalie groaned. She had completely forgotten.

  “I suppose that can’t be moved?”

  “Not easily. Chief Macgregor has booked him for back-to-back slots this afternoon to get all security personnel wired up for the parade.”

  “Okay, fine. I don’t want to make his life difficult. See if you can get Peter Costello for tomorrow morning. I’ll do the audio thing now, and also check out the territory I’m supposed to cover at the parade. The Chief wants me on the roof of City hall.”

  “The roof?”

  “I’ll be able to see everything from up there.”

  “How do you do it?” said Mrs. Belfast. “How do you walk along the edge of a rooftop so high above the ground? Aren’t you afraid of falling?”

  “Of course, I am. That’s why I’m careful.”

  This struck Mrs. Belfast as amusing. “That’s why you’re careful. Naturally it is. You’re the soul of caution.”

  “I am, actually. Listen up, Mrs. B. - I need to speak to the person from the harbormaster’s office who rescued the boys after they left Monk’s Cay. Can you set that up for me?”

  Mrs. Belfast stopped chuckling to herself and got on the phone.

  Chapter 8

  The audio guy was called Phillippe. He spoke French with a Parisian accent.

  “You are originally from France?” Eulalie asked.

  “That’s right. My wife is an islander. I met her in Paris when she was studying at the Sorbonne. We got married and moved here a few years ago.”

  He fitted her with a hands-free headset that included an earpiece and a mouthpiece.

  “I feel like a wedding planner,” said Eulalie when it was in place.

  Phillippe laughed. “That’s our biggest market for these headsets, actually – event planners. This one has an expanded range. You should be able to get clear sound for more than two-thousand feet.”

  “Good.”

  “We’ll start with a sound check first. Then I’ll ask you to get into position at your post, so I can make sure the sound is being relayed to the base. You will mainly be talking to Chief Macgregor, is that right?”

  Eulalie confirmed that it was, and they performed the sound check

  “All good. That’s a go. Where will you be stationed?”

  “On the roof. It’s the highest point overlooking Lafayette Drive.”

  “We’ll do a sound check from there as well. If there’s a problem, I’ll have to come up to you. Is it safe?”

  “I don’t know. I’ve never been up there. If you don’t like the look of it, just call me from the stairwell and I’ll come to you.”

  Eulalie took the elevator up to the top floor of City hall and then a series of stone steps leading to the roof. She emerged onto a platform at the top of the dome that made City hall such a landmark. The famous weather vane that was shaped like a swallow flapped next to her. The sides of the dome sloped downwards to end in a low concrete rim. There was a narrow flat area between the bottom of the dome and the rim where Eulalie planned to station herself. The slope of the dome was gentle enough that one could walk to the edge, especially in rubber-soled shoes.

  As Eulalie walked down the dome to its bottom lip, she noticed a prevailing wind blowing steadily from the south east that might interfere with communications. When she got to the lip, with its low concrete parapet, she walked all the way around, looking for patches of rust or other damage that could make it unstable. The dome was cast-iron and covered in gilt that gave it its golden appearance and made it a landmark in Queen’s Town. She was pleased to see that everything appeared solid and in good repair.

  Her view of Lafayette Drive was excellent. She looked down and tried to imagine the boulevards on either side of the drive crammed with people and stalls. She imagined the parade going past, and the noise of the marching band. She could see already where troublemakers would hide, and also where they would flee if they were being pursued. Finger Alley was an obvious candidate. The point at which it joined Lafayette Drive was little more than a gap between buildings, but it widened into a street that was the favored hangout of Queen’s Town’s underworld.

  Eulalie could see the entrance to Finger Alley from her vantage point but seeing it wouldn’t help. She would tell Chief Macgregor to post security guards at the entrance to discourage pickpockets from fleeing that way. The road to the docks could also do with a couple of guards. Anyone wanting to hide themselves in Queen’s Town could do worse than to head for the docks. It was a twisty maze of a place, where it was almost impossible to find someone who wanted to stay hidden.

  Eulalie started when she heard a crackle in her ear. The headset was so lightweight, she had forgotten she was wearing it.

  “Hello?” she said cautiously.

  “Can you hear me?” Phillippe’s voice reached her on a wave of static.

  “Not very well.”

  “It must be the wind. I’ll come up and make adjustments.”

  “Don’t leave the stairwell. Just call me and I’ll come to you.”

  She didn’t feel like explaining to Chief Macgregor why his audio guy was having to be scraped off the sidewalk.

  The only disadvantage of her position, she decided, was that she was so noticeable from the street below. On the one hand, that could be a good thing, because visible security made people feel safe, and discouraged criminals from trying anything. But it also meant that the element of surprise was gone. People would know she was up here keeping an eye on things.

  A sharp gasp made her turn around. She saw Phillippe’s head sticking up from the stairwell at the top of the dome.

  “Are you crazy?” he shouted in French. “Get back from there. You’re going to fall. Folle. Insensée.”

  “I won’t fall. This is my post. This is where Chief Macgregor put me.”

  “He doesn’t like you very much.”

  “On the contrary. But he knows I am safe.”

  “A circus acrobat would not be safe there.”

  “I’m fine. I just… what are you doing?” The rest of his body emerged from the stairwell. “Get back inside. It’s not safe up there.”

  “If you’re safe down there on a little rim that is as wide as your foot, then I’m safe up here on this platform.” He turned a complete circle, admiring the view. “Hey, you can see the lighthouse from here!”

  He took a step backwards and Eulalie shivered as his foot neared the edge of the platform.

  “That’s far enough. Keep still and I’ll come to you.”

  She scrambled up the side of the dome, almost slipping in her eagerness to get to him before he did something stupid. It had always been like this. She had no fear for herself, but when other people got near the edge of a high place, it made her nervous.

  “I can see why you like it up here.” He stretched his arms out wide. “Look, you can see all the way to the cays. Normally you have to take the cable car to see that.”

  “Stand still a minute.” She took a firm grip on his elbow while she looked out to sea. Just two of the cays were visible.

  “You can see them from the top of some of the taller Dockside buildings as well,” he said. “But this is even more awesome. You can see for miles.”

  “The one on the right is Logan Cay, isn’t it?” asked Eulalie.

  “That’s right. You can tell by its jagge
d shape. And the one on the left must be Monk’s Cay.”

  “I never realized how close they are to each other.”

  “It’s about a half-hour boat ride.”

  “Interesting.” Eulalie looked out to sea for another moment. Then she turned back to Phillippe, still keeping a grip on his arm. “Let’s get this headset adjusted and go downstairs. You are making me nervous prancing around up here like a big pigeon.”

  Man, he was wasted.

  He shouldn’t have had so much to drink. He wondered if the others were feeling as bad as he was. And now they’d lost the girl. He stumbled up and down the beach, calling her name.

  “Jessica! Jessica!”

  All he wanted to do was lie down on the sand and sleep. Or maybe barf. Or maybe both. If only it weren’t so dark. Why was it so dark?

  He blinked at the camp fire. It was dying down fast. Soon it would be nothing but a pile of ash. He looked up at the sky as he stumbled across the beach. The moon had gone behind the clouds.

  Damn, it was dark.

  He could hear that moron, Damien, yelling for Jessica somewhere on the cliff path. And Chuck. That asshole. The one who’d caused all the trouble in the first place. He was yelling for her too.

  What the hell had Chuck been thinking, trying to get off with Jessica the moment their backs were turned? He was the one that had come up with that stupid rule in the first place. Pete was both indignant that Chuck had broken the rule and annoyed with himself that he hadn’t thought to do so first. Then maybe it would have been Pete who was kissing her and feeling up that gorgeous body instead of the idiot Chuck.

  Where was she anyway? She couldn’t have gone far. Not in this darkness. She was probably standing just out of sight laughing at them all stumbling up and down the beach looking for her.

  Bitch.

  “Jessica!”

  There was Damien the Dumbass again. He was lurching along the cliff path looking for her. Next thing, he would wander off into the forest. Just when you thought he couldn’t get any dumber, he proved you wrong. Why would she have gone up there? Especially in the dark. She wasn’t nearly as wasted as the rest of them. She had been pacing herself by drinking water in between beers all day. She wasn’t going to go running up some stupid cliff path.