Campus Bones (Dead Remaining)

by Vivian Barz

  “When we need to,” she said.

  He wanted to ask more, but Rodent was waving them over to a large square structure that seemed to be the central meeting place. Rodent introduced Jake to some doters, who gave him a quick nod because they were hard at work folding pamphlets. Jake picked one of them up and read it: CALIFORNIA NEEDS ACTION NOW! Beneath the tagline were two side-by-side photos: one was of a dam, and the other was a pile of lifeless, rotten fish covered in flies. “What is this about?” he asked one of the doters.

  The girl, who appeared as if she might still be in high school, sneered, “Gruben Dam is a representation of everything that is wrong with consumerism. It’s disgusting how people can sit idly by and do nothing as the environment is raped just so that greedy corporations can have the power to run their malls, their hotels, their factories . . . while artificial lakes are created so that rich, greedy pigs have a place to park their decadent yachts. We make these pamphlets so that people are forced to pull their heads out of the sand and face the devastation they’re wreaking just so they can watch TV at night.”

  The girl had really worked herself into a frenzy. Jake wondered if she’d stood in front of the mirror practicing the speech until she’d perfected it just so, because it sounded unnatural and corny as hell. “Right on,” he said, though she was no longer looking his way, as her eyes were trained on Rodent with unmasked lust. Perhaps she’d delivered the speech for his benefit, though he seemed to be paying her no attention as he chatted with yet more doters in the doorway, which led off to a separate room. What must he be, Jake wondered, twenty, twenty-five years older than her? He’d heard that it was lonely at the top, but apparently that didn’t apply to budding terrorist leaders. But surely he wasn’t sleeping with this girl—this child. He noticed Kimmy also observing the girl’s behavior with a mixture of worry and disapproval.

  Rodent called Jake over so that he could meet more of what he called his “best foot soldiers.” Jake was no expert on bomb-making supplies, but that appeared to be what he was seeing scattered on the tables before him: several pressure cookers, brass caps, and various fuses and switches. He also saw other tools of ecotage: hoses with nails in them, metal spikes, and flags with the DOTE emblem painted on them. There was also a copy of what looked like the original seventies version of the Anarchist’s Cookbook, which he believed included recipes for bomb making, among other things.

  “Liberating Earth through annihilation,” one of the foot soldiers smirked.

  Jake glanced at Kimmy, noticing that she seemed uneasy with the statement, but she said nothing.

  “We’ve got something big planned, Jake, and I think you’d be perfect for the mission,” Rodent said. “We’re—”

  “You’ve got company,” yet another armed guard said as he burst into the room. “It’s him.”

  “Christ,” Rodent hissed, and he hurried outside after the guard.

  “Come on, Jake, I’ll show you my home,” Kimmy said, looking relieved to be away from all the weaponry.

  “So, what’s the deal with Rodent?” Jake asked Kimmy once they were inside her yurt.

  “What do you mean?” she asked guardedly.

  Jake shrugged. “I don’t know. It kind of seemed like you were a little upset in there, with all those weapons laid out.”

  “No, I wouldn’t say I was upset. It’s . . . Rodent, he’s a genius. A visionary.”

  “That he is,” Jake agreed. He sensed there was a “but” coming from Kimmy.

  “Sometimes, though, he can take . . . ideas above and beyond what we discussed. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but Rodent isn’t the sort of guy who seeks permission from anyone. He likes to do his own thing.”

  “You mean he doesn’t always have the full approval of the group.”

  “I don’t know. I guess. And God help anyone who dares go against him,” she muttered.

  “What happens if someone wants to quit DOTE?” he asked casually. He pointed at a large dream catcher hanging above her bed. “That’s stunning. Where’d you get it?”

  “I made it,” she said bashfully.

  “No, you didn’t—you did? Wow, you’re talented.” And hopefully willing to keep talking, he thought.

  After a moment, she said, “Once a person gets to the point where they’re invited to our little community, they don’t want to leave DOTE.”

  “So, you’re telling me this is the point of no return?” he asked in a joking fashion, wiggling his eyebrows at her.

  She didn’t seem like she was joking when she said, “Yah, pretty much. I mean, being here, you’re committed to the cause.”

  “Have you ever known anyone to leave DOTE?” he asked, trying to sound as offhand as possible.

  “Not alive,” she said quietly under her breath—so quietly that it was nearly a whisper.

  “What’s that?”

  “Oh, I was kidding . . .” She trailed off at the sound of raised voices coming from outside.

  Jake glanced out the door of Kimmy’s yurt indifferently, seeing Rodent arguing with a handsome, middle-aged man in a snazzy business suit. The older man was angrily jabbing his finger at Rodent’s chest.

  “Speak of the devil,” she said, unimpressed by the visitor’s appearance. Actually, she seemed almost annoyed by it.

  “What do you mean?”

  “The wealthy benefactor we were talking about earlier.”

  “Ah, he owns the land. Well, that explains it; nobody is ever happy to see the landlord,” he commented, though it wasn’t as if they were paying him any rent. Perhaps that was why he was so pissed off. He couldn’t imagine what this man could be possibly getting from their squatting.

  “If you’re into handmade goods, come have a look at this other stuff I made,” she said, indicating a collection of bongo drums and beaded jewelry she had spread out on the table.

  “Actually, I’m wondering if I might use your bathroom? That coffee from earlier is kicking in.”

  “Sure, but I hate to tell you, we don’t have indoor plumbing here.”

  “That’s cool; I’ll just go off into the trees.”

  “That’s pretty much what we all do. But stay away from the poppies. I don’t think anyone would like it if you peed on those.”

  He laughed. “Gotcha.”

  Jake exited the yurt and hung a left toward a cluster of trees that was nearer to where the two men were arguing. He instinctively reached toward his back pocket for his phone, frowning as he remembered that they’d taken it at the gate. He would have loved to snap a photo of Business Suit, but it was probably good he didn’t chance it. If he were to get caught, he would expect one of the more overzealous foot soldiers to kill him. Maybe even Rodent himself.

  In truth, his bladder really was bursting, but that’s not why he’d gone outside. As he relieved himself, he tilted his head so he could better listen to the argument the two men were having. However, between the trees shifting and the voices of others, it was difficult to hear and he was only able to catch snatches of conversation.

  Business Suit: “ . . . only him . . . I don’t recall asking you to also . . . security guard . . .”

  Rodent: “He had to go . . . getting greedy . . . I don’t apologize . . . my actions . . .”

  Business Suit: “FBI . . . suspicion . . . any idea what you’ve done . . .”

  Jake jerked his head back when Business Suit scowled in his direction. He didn’t seem too happy about being overheard.

  Jake scowled back at him and said the first thing that came to mind. “What, haven’t you seen a little person before? Didn’t your mother ever tell you it was rude to stare?”

  Rodent smirked when the man muttered a quick apology.

  Jake slowly let out his breath. “Didn’t mean to interrupt! Was just draining the lizard,” he said as obnoxiously as possible, so that Business Suit would dismiss him as just some punk idiot. He zipped his pants up and walked away.

  The last thing he heard was Rodent telling the man tha
t he was cool.

  CHAPTER 27

  Jake sounded manic in Eric’s ear when he answered his call. He was still miffed about his participation in the vandalism on campus, so he did not provide his friend the warmest greeting. “I’ve been wondering where you were. I’ve been trying to call you. I’ve got a stack of papers about a mile high for—”

  “Eric, listen!” Jake butted in. “You are never going to believe what I’ve been doing.” He sounded out of breath.

  “Let me guess, you’ve gone to the biology lab and broken a few beakers? Or maybe you’ve gone to the library to burn a few books?” he said dryly.

  “I’ve just come back from the DOTE compound—”

  “What?” Irritated or not, now Jake had his full attention. “Where is it?”

  “I have absolutely no idea. It’s far outside the city, off in some wooded area down a dirt road. They had armed guards at the gate. I mean, they were holding automatic rifles like they were staging a revolution or something. And, on the inside? I think they’re making a bomb, Eric.” Jake took a swig of what he was guessing was booze. He normally would have chided him for his drinking, but he could hardly blame him on this one. Jake sounded wholly freaked; he’d be, too, if what he was saying was accurate. “I tell you, man, it’s been a long time since I’ve been that scared. If they found out why I was there, you probably never would have seen me again. These guys aren’t messing around.”

  “And why were you there?” Eric asked. “Jesus, Jake, you’re going to get yourself killed.”

  “Look, I don’t want to get into that now. I’m calling because I want to meet up with you and Suze to talk about all this.” He paused to take another swig. “While I was there, I overheard them discussing the FBI. I think they’ve got something big planned.”

  “Okay, I’ll give Susan a call now. But, if I do this, I absolutely do not want you going anywhere near these doters again. Do we have a deal?”

  “You don’t have to worry about that. After what I saw today, I’m so freaked out I feel like moving to another country. These guys are seriously scary, Eric, and as you know, I’ve seen some pretty bad shit in my day.”

  A couple hours later, Eric, Jake, and Susan were sitting around Susan’s tiny kitchen table, sharing a pepperoni pizza. Susan’s studio apartment was about the size of a shoebox, which was all the more shocking when she revealed that it cost her three times the rent of her place in Perrick. “But, I’m far happier here,” she assured them.

  While he was happy that she was happy, the declaration hurt Eric. Was she saying that she was also happier without him? They’d shared some good times in Perrick, before they’d both moved to San Francisco, or so he’d thought. Perhaps he was being a trifle sensitive.

  Jake’s attention, however, was on less romantic things. “I don’t understand why you can’t bust in on DOTE right now, Suze, based on what I’ve told you.”

  Susan finished chewing on a thick hunk of crust. Out of habit (or maybe it was nostalgia), Eric reached over with his napkin to wipe a smear of sauce that was on Susan’s face. He snapped his hand back about halfway there, once it dawned on him what he was doing. She gave him a strange look. “Um, you’ve got some sauce on your chin,” he explained.

  “Oh, thanks.”

  As pathetic as it was in his mind, he was relieved to note that there didn’t seem to be any signs of a male presence in her apartment—no razor, second toothbrush, or aftershave on the bathroom counter. Not that he’d looked. He still wondered if she’d been with anyone since their breakup, but he forced himself to push that ugly thought right out the back of his mind. If she had, she’d been well within her rights to. It wasn’t his place to question her.

  Susan said to Jake, “Being in the FBI doesn’t give me complete autonomy. I can’t just go and raid a private property because someone tells me there’s bad stuff happening there. Imagine the sort of lawsuits I’d face if I did something like that.”

  “So, tell your boss and other agents and get a proper warrant or whatever you need,” Jake said with frustration. “I’m telling you, some seriously bad shit is going down there.”

  “It’s not that simple, Jake. Come on, you know that,” she said.

  “Yah, yah, I know,” he said sullenly. “But, for the record, I find it utterly ridiculous. What if they kill a bunch of people while the FBI are messing around with red tape?”

  “Unfortunately, that’s the way it goes,” Susan said. “I need to have some kind of solid proof I can bring to Howell before I can even think about organizing a raid. It would help if you could give me even the location of this compound.”

  Jake shook his head. “I can’t. They made me wear a hood.”

  Eric said, “Paranoid.”

  “Tell me about it,” Jake agreed. “They also took my cell phone away at the security gate, so I couldn’t snap any photos. This ain’t their first rodeo. These guys, they’re paranoid but they’re smart. And organized. There’s a reason they haven’t been busted yet. I’m not surprised they keep getting away with whatever illegal things they’re doing.”

  “Tell me about the guy you saw. Mr. Business Suit,” Susan said.

  “He was your standard old, rich white guy, you know? Cocky posture, expensive clothes. There is one thing. Kimmy—she’s one of the higher-ranking doters who I suspect is also in Rodent’s harem—said that the guy owned the land the compound is on. She said he’s letting them use it for free, though she wouldn’t tell me why.”

  “Could be a tie-in with the opium poppies you saw,” Eric said. “Did you see any indication that they were manufacturing heroin?”

  Jake shook his head. “No, but I didn’t look around that much. I only went into the main building and Kimmy’s yurt. But there were a few other buildings and a couple storage-shed-looking things that I didn’t go into. I wanted to, but I was afraid of arousing suspicion if I was too nosy.”

  “What’s a yurt?” both Eric and Susan asked and then laughed.

  “Yah, I didn’t know what the hell it was either. It’s an ancient form of housing used by nomads.”

  “I uncovered some interesting things on Tori’s computer,” Susan said. “She seemed pretty convinced that they were dealing in illicit drugs. She also mentioned the possibility of an underground prostitution ring.”

  “She was definitely onto something with the prostitution thing,” Jake interjected. “I saw it with my own two eyes at a party DOTE threw. I still get skeeved out when I think about those young girls draping themselves all over those old dudes. Though I can’t be positive that they’re actually getting paid.”

  “Either way, it’s pretty gross,” Eric said.

  “I don’t know where or how Tori got her information, but she seemed to be on the right track. If that was her who was pulled from the river—which evidence seems to suggest—then she was probably killed simply for being too good of a reporter,” Susan said.

  “Maybe she snooped through Samantha’s things or listened in on her phone conversations,” Jake suggested.

  “It’s very possible. Tell me more about what this guy looked like—Mr. Business Suit,” Susan said.

  Jake thought for a moment. “He was attractive for an older dude. He had kind of a Robert Redford thing going on—sandy hair, in shape. He was really yelling at Rodent, so he must’ve done something major to piss him off.”

  “That sounds like someone I’ve been investigating for this case I’m working, Marcus Zelman. Did he give you his name?” Susan asked.

  Jake shook his head. “If he did, I wouldn’t be calling him Mr. Business Suit.”

  “Right.”

  “They weren’t exactly big on names around there. Rodent called most of his minions foot soldiers, like they’re staging a coup or something. I’m telling you, this guy Rodent, though you wouldn’t believe it just looking at him, he’s got a major screw loose. But I think it’s a good possibility that it was this Zelman guy, because he said something about the FBI—which could have very
well been a reference to you paying him a visit.”

  “Tell her about the campus ecotage stuff,” Eric said.

  Jake outlined the destruction they’d done to the engineering lab, and ended with the detail about Rodent drugging Professor Pascal’s water with opium.

  “And I’ve got two murder victims sitting on the slab with heroin in their systems,” Susan said.

  “And don’t forget about Samantha Neville,” Eric said.

  “If the guy I saw is Marcus Zelman, the big question is how they’re all related,” Jake said. “A CEO, ecoterrorists, a young college girl, a bartender, and a security guard and environmental engineer at a dam.”

  “I’ve been wondering the same thing,” Susan said. “What I can’t understand is why a rich guy like Zelman would associate with an unhinged group like DOTE, especially because the group stands against everything Zelman represents. And that conversation you overheard, Jake—you’re sure he said something about a security guard?”

  “That’s what it sounded like to me.”

  “I’m looking into Zelman further tomorrow,” Susan said. “There’s something up with the guy.”

  “And this all seems to connect with the dam,” Jake said, getting up to toss his plate into the trash. When Susan glanced away, he gave Eric a pointed smile. “Listen, guys, I hate to pack it in early, but I’ve got some homework to catch up on. But you two kids should keep bouncing ideas off each other. I’ll keep my cell on, so feel free to call me if you think of anything else.”

  Eric and Susan rolled their eyes at each other as soon as Jake walked out the door.

  “Smooth, Jake,” Eric laughed.

  “Yah, he really needs to work on that delivery. He’s about as obvious as a house on fire,” Susan agreed.

  “He’s like a kid trying to get his parents back together after a divorce,” Eric said, and Susan cracked up.

  She nervously began clearing the trash from their dinner off the table. “He was right, though. It might be a good idea if you stayed here longer, so we could bounce ideas off each other.”

  “Sure, I could do that.”