by David Kersey
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT – “Whew”
Joshua rushed into the workroom to make sure there was no telltale evidence. He noticed that he had left his cell phone on the counter, and it was blinking.
A text was sent by Adele, reading……. ‘They just showed Tracy’s and Namanda’s pictures on the local television. Where are you’? The text was sent nearly an hour ago. He quickly erased it.
Joshua walked half way down the basement steps. The Ball jar boxes were pulled shut, fully enclosing the ladies. He could not hear them breathing or shuffling around. Loud knocking at the front door.
One squad car, all black, a single yellow stripe from headlight to tail light. Two cops, grey uniforms, flat brimmed Mountie type hats. When Joshua opened the door, they did not offer a handshake. One, whose name badge read Hartley, carried a manila folder. The other cop was named Rodgers.
“How can I help you?” Joshua was calm, but apprehensive.
“May we step inside?” Hartley, apparently the senior rank, asked.
“Certainly.” Joshua led them, but they both took only two steps before the astonishment halted their progress.
“What in the world is this?” Hartley again.
“It’s my workshop. I make a health drink from what you see in here. It’s called NIL, if you’ve heard of it. Would you like to sit down?”
“That shouldn’t be necessary,” Hartley said while Rodgers took the liberty of inspecting the various plants.
“Anything in here illegal?” Rodgers said from the far left side, near the aqua station.
“No sir. It’s all legal.” Joshua thought that was a stupid question. No wonder the guy was outranked.
Hartley spoke again. “Do you know a Gladys Simmons?”
“No, I don’t think I’ve ever heard that name, let alone know her.”
“I see.” Hartley opened the manila folder. He produced an eight by eleven glossy photo. It was a picture of Tracy Dobbelaere. “Have you ever seen this woman?”
“Yes sir, I have.”
“Tell me about it.”
“She was in town Saturday, coming here from Florida. She was a chaperone to a teenage girl. They both were right here in the barn Saturday evening.”
“Do you mean this girl?” Hartley showed a picture of Namanda, only she was quite a bit younger in the photo.
“Yes sir, that’s the teenager.”
“What were they doing here?” Hartley asked. Rodgers had disappeared into the workroom.
“The teenager is autistic, and had heard about my product. She thought it could help her. She took some of the NIL with her. Would you like to see what I mean?”
“Let me ask the questions. Your name is Joshua, right?”
“Yes sir.”
“Where are these two individuals now?”
“Oh, well, they split up. I mean, I think the blonde lady is headed back to India. The teenage girl, well, her parents were here also. They left too, and I’m not real sure, but I think they are driving out west somewhere.”
“Care if I take a look around?”
“No, I don’t mind.”
Rodgers, from somewhere out of sight, yelled…… “Hey Jim, come take a look at this!”
Hartley joined Rodgers at the back door. There were three deer in the valley, all staring up at the troopers.
“How big is this place? Isn’t this an old Park Service property?”
“Yes sir. It’s right at three hundred acres. Goes all the way to the Cumberland River that wraps around those hillsides. This building was the equipment barn for the Park Service at one time. And the adjacent building was one of the Ranger’s dwelling.”
“We’ll need to take a look at that directly. What’s down these steps?” The three had re-entered the workroom.
“Storage. It’s where I keep the containers for the NIL.”
Rodgers took a few steps down the stairwell aiming his flashlight at the basement contents.
“What’s up there?” Hartley pointed toward the loft.
“It’s where I sleep, and read. I store some things there too.”
Hartley climbed the vertical ladder and peeked into the loft, shining his flashlight from right to left.
“Let’s go take a look next door.” Hartley and Rodgers had regrouped.
“Is this where you live?” Joshua had led them into the cottage.
“I hardly am ever in here. Once in a while I’ll sleep in here if it gets too hot or cold in the loft.” Joshua noticed the whitening cream on the bathroom sink, and the shaker marked with a ‘P’ on the kitchen counter.
Rodgers inspected the bedroom. Joshua could hear him open the closet door. Hartley looked in the kitchen sink, probably looking for lipstick on a glass.
“Why are you dressed like that? You a Jesus freak?” Hartley did most of the talking.
Joshua pulled up his sleeves and showed the burn marks. “I have to wear loose fitting garments. I was burned pretty badly in a forest fire out in Arizona.”
“So you are hardly ever in here, is that right?”
Joshua noticed the wet washrag in the bath, and knew Hartley had too. “I was in here earlier to use some cream on my burns. I don’t come in here much.”
“Let’s go back inside the barn. Maybe we will sit a spell.”
The three sat in the Arabica lounge. Hartley said, “Show us this NIL stuff.”
Joshua excused himself and went in to the workroom. He listened for any noise coming from down below. There was none. He returned with a full Ball jar.
“Open it, please.”
Hartley stuck his index finger inside the opened jar, wetted it, then stuck it to his tongue. Joshua knew why he did it. Moonshine is prevalent in this part of the country.
“What’s this stuff supposed to do?”
“It improves memory, mental clarity, gives energy, and is beneficial to most every organ inside the body. It fights disease and tumors too.”
“I’ll need to take this jar with me to have it tested.”
“Of course, be my guest. Make sure you don’t pour it out. It is really good for you. We are using it to fight the avian flu outbreak in Somerset. In fact, the television station up there is on their way here to get a story about it.”
“So let me get this straight. The blonde woman was here together with the teenage girl. And that was on Saturday. Right?”
“Yes, that is correct.”
“When did they leave?”
“Sunday morning. I took the teenager to church, then they left.”
“The blonde is headed back to India, and the others are headed out west. Right?”
“Yes sir.”
“And the reason they were here is because of this stuff. You didn’t know them beforehand?”
“That is correct.”
“Will any of them be coming back here for more of this stuff?”
“No. I sent them off with a year’s supply.”
“How much does it cost?”
“It is free, sir.” Hartley and Rodgers made eye contact.
“Free?”
“Yes sir, for the time being. I’ve given out well over three hundred jars so far, at no charge.”
“Why?”
“It’s a ministry of mine, you could say. I want to see America restored to health and hope.”
“Are you planning on going anywhere in the next few days?”
“No sir. I’ll be right here. Can you answer a question I have?”
“What’s that?”
“Who is Gladys Simmons?”
“We showed these pictures down at the Kroger store. She was the one who sent us up here.”
“I see.”
“OK, we’ll be going, but don’t be surprised if you see us back up here.”
“I hope I have helped you in whatever it is you are doing.”
Joshua watched the troopers leave. He overheard Rodgers say “Now there was a Jesus freak if there ever was one”. Joshua stayed at the front door, making sure the policemen did
not double back. Satisfied the police car had reached the paved road below, he called for the stowaways to come out of hiding. He needed to transfer them to the cottage since it was now going on three o’clock. It was imperative they not be noticed by the television people. The ladies each carried an armful of their belongings as they scurried from the barn to the cottage.
“So what do ya think, Jim? Think he was shooting straight with us?” Rodgers asked.
“Maybe, maybe not. The church deal on Sunday jives with the old lady’s story. Three hundred acres, that’s a big place, lots of places to get lost. We’ll keep an eye on it just to make sure.”
“We shoulda gotten more of this, seein’ how it is free.” Rodgers examined the jar of NIL.
“Pop the lid on that and let me have a swig. If the stuff works like the freak says it does, we’ll be goin’ back for more of this, if nothing else.” Hartley gulped two huge swallows, then handed the jar back to Rodgers, who did the same.
“Look Jim. There’s the TV people headed up his way. So he wasn’t lying about that, was he?”
“Maybe he’s legit. We’ll do some more checking up on him.”