by Herb Hughes
“People were disappearing from the beginning?”
“Without a trace, according to the diary. At first, they thought people were wandering off and getting themselves killed in hard to find places. But after several disappearances, they began to suspect something sinister was afoot. They thought, perhaps, there was a serial killer amongst them. After all, the colonists were prisoners back on Earth. But they eventually realized the disappearances were happening all over Agrilot. It was virtually impossible for one serial killer to be responsible.”
“Disappearances without Rhinos. I always suspected that Rhinos were not eating people.”
“It doesn’t appear so. The man who wrote this,” she said, holding up the little book, “Said there had been no trace of a Rhino for almost six years, no hole, no nothing. But people had been disappearing right from the start, often enough not to look accidental. I don't know, Jack. Rhinos always leave such a mess, don't they? The torn bodies of their unfortunate victims lying around in all that blood. But when someone disappears, there's nothing. No body or parts of a body, no blood, no blood stains, nothing at all.”
“Exactly,” Jack said. “Every time I’ve been where a Rhino has killed someone, the animal never took a bite of flesh. They rip people to shreds with their horns, but all the body parts are still there afterward. It’s a creature that kills for the sake of killing. I’ve never seen proof of any kind that a Rhino eats people, regardless of what Greg Bonner or anyone else says. In fact, I’ve never seen or heard of a Rhino eating anything, let alone people. They grow in the ground, but it seems like when they come up, the growing is over. They either get killed, or they die on their own in a matter of days. Rangers have tracked Rhino’s for several days only to find them dead and with no wounds.”
“I think people assume Rhinos eat the missing people because they don’t have any other logical explanation.”
Jack shrugged. “Looks like your little book is the proof we need to show everybody that something else is going on.”
“But what? What IS going on? Why do people disappear? That’s so frightening. There is something strange happening on this planet, strange and sinister. And it’s been happening since we first arrived.”
“Yeah, but it’s not often. It could be that every once in a while someone wanders off and gets lost and dies. They deteriorate before anybody can find them.”
“Perhaps, but what about their bones? They would still be around, wouldn’t they?”
Jack shrugged. “Maybe one of the plants? Is it possible that one of the trees or bushes can devour flesh? Bones and all?”
“Possible, but that seems so unlikely. Over a century and a half later? Surely someone would have seen something like that by now. Listen to the beginning of the diary.” Sheffie started reading aloud from the small book:
'The ships that brought us here are many months gone. The supply freighters were due far too long ago and have not been seen. They’re not coming. I look around, and all I see is an untamed planet. The only evidence that we came from an advanced civilization is a few thousand books, empty boxes from our dwindling food supplies, seeds and farm animals, some personal items each of us has brought along, and a handful of laser rifles which are completely useless on a planet with no animal life. The books are mostly novels and nonfiction. They’re not technical at all. Except for a few on farming and gardening, there is nothing that tells us how to do things. Thank God the farm animals were with us. Without them, there would be little hope.
‘All my life I've been a useless drunk, in and out of jail. They say I killed a man, but I have no recollection of it. I was passed out drunk and may even have unwittingly taken the blame for somebody else. I've never held a regular job, and I've never done anything worthwhile. Now, there is nothing to drink but water from a stream. I don't know how to make alcohol, so it looks like I'll stay sober. Maybe that’s a good thing. It's going to be a hell of a job, but we've got to turn this planet into something. For once in my life, I'm going to have to roll up my sleeves and go to work. I guess now is as good a time as any to start.'
“Isn't that amazing? Can you imagine being put in a situation like that.”
“That would be a sobering experience,” Jack said then smiled at his unintended pun.
There was a loud knock on the door, Dokie’s knock. Jack let him in. The little man was red-faced again, but this time he was excited instead of mad. And Avery was with him.
“I found out who owns the newspaper!” Dokie announced loudly. “Oh,” he added, removing his hat, “Very pleasant to meet you again, Miss Sheffie.”
“You, too, Dokie,” Sheffie said. “So who owns the newspaper?”
“It’s tangled up in an almost endless line of holding companies and sham corporations with no physical address, but one of my friends untangled it. Guess who!”
“Not McGurke,” Jack said, but at the same time, he was the only person who came to mind.
“You got it. The one and only sleaze master himself, Jonathan McGurke.”
Jack and Sheffie stood there silently then turned and looked at each other. They turned back to Dokie and asked at the same time, “Are you sure?”
“Yep,” Dokie said, “He’s the owner all right. My guy said he was one hundred percent absolutely certain. No reservation whatsoever. McGurke’s the guy calling the shots on all this bad publicity.”
“But why?” Sheffie asked.
“It doesn’t make sense,” Jack said. “He acted like he genuinely wanted me here to protect his businesses. He even paid all our expenses.”
“Chess game,” Dokie said. “Your expenses are less than pocket change to McGurke. I went back to Avery’s and told him, and we figured it out. A few months ago McGurke lost the mayor’s race to Davis. Spent a fortune on the campaign and lost by the thinnest of margins. Well, guess what! Tell them, Avery.”
“I, ah, overheard Jonathan McGurke and Mayor Davis talking at the reception honoring your arrival. I wasn’t eavesdropping, mind you. Well, not too technically eavesdropping. I was merely…”
“Go on, go on. Tell them,” Dokie urged.
“Yes, well, McGurke told Davis that he had gone along with the Mayor’s plan to have you brought up here only because Davis had won the election and the people in the streets were screaming for you. McGurke said he had no faith in your ability to get the job done because it was too big a job for one man. And, ah, I have to add that I reluctantly agree. It is an impossible task. There is no way…”
“Go on, damn it,” Dokie interrupted.
“Oh, yes, well, McGurke said that Jack Wheat was Davis’ last chance. He made the Mayor agree that if you and the rangers could not get the job done; he would fire Andropov and hire McGurke’s hand-picked man to run the rangers.”
“And,” Dokie added, “Being a person from the streets, well, so to speak, I remember when everyone was clamoring for Jack Wheat to come save them. They weren’t doing it because their heart told them you were their hero. It was well organized. Enough of us were told what to say so that everybody else heard us, and then everybody else began to take up the cause. So the people clamoring in the streets for Jack to come help were orchestrated behind the scenes by someone, and the only someone that could have been was Jonathan McGurke. He maneuvered Davis into getting you here knowing all the time you would not be able to solve the problem, especially since hundreds of rangers had failed to do so. And through his newspaper, he is making sure you do not succeed. Once you fail, he gets control. Like I said, a chess game. I went along at the time because I thought it might help. Like everybody else, I never stopped to think it through. You got a Rhino problem, you get the best Rhino hunter there is. Made sense back then. I am ashamed to admit I was merely a pawn in McGurke’s evil plans.”
“That’s astonishing,” Sheffie said. “And maybe a little far-fetched and a little hard to believe?”
“Yeah,” Dokie replied, “But true. That’s the way he works. And you can bet your shoes that if McG
urke gets control of the rangers, then it’s a hop, skip, and a jump to a special election. And with Davis’ plan discredited, the plan McGurke tricked him into, Davis will go down to defeat. Guess who our next mayor will be!”
“Surely that isn’t the case,” Sheffie said, still not wanting to believe.
Dokie shrugged. “Sad but true. The mayor of Lisbon is the highest office on this planet. McGurke says checkmate, and from then on he’s calling the shots, all the shots. And when he shoots, the bullets knock down their targets, so he wins all the kewpie dolls. He gets richer and richer. Sure, he’s losing money now. But it’s an investment. Once he gets all the power, he will more than make up for what he’s lost. Many times more. There’s only two kinds of money: not enough and none at all. Unlike us, McGurke is in the first category.”
“I’m going to dinner at his mansion tonight. I’ll ask him about it. To his face.”
“If he is as calculating as Dokie makes it appear, are you sure you want to confront him?” Jack asked.
“I find all this hard to believe,” Sheffie said, “But even if it’s true, I will be perfectly safe. A man like that would never be a danger to a lady guest. He would risk far too much if he did something to me. Besides, I can ask in subtle ways.”
Jack held his tongue a moment, but the short silence was broken by a gentle rap at the door. Jack opened it to see a bellboy. The young man was distressed, jittery nervous with sweat breaking out on his forehead.
“Mr. Wheat, sir. There’s a strange gentle… ah, person in the lobby who says he’s a friend of yours. He’s demanding to see you and is creating quite a ruckus. He is… well, he’s quite horrid, sir. Old and filthy and cantankerous. We wish him to leave the premises and are requesting that you make him leave. Immediately, please.”
Jack turned to the others and said, “Crazy Mac! What the hell is he doing here?”
They all rushed down to the lobby. Mac was being restrained by three bellboys who held towels in their hands so they wouldn’t have to directly touch Mac or his filthy clothes. The hotel manager, fuming mad, was standing in front of Mac.
“Jack Wheat!” Mac’s voice whined loudly. “It’s unbelievable, Jack. I’ve got to tell you about it.”
“About what? Come on up to the room.”
“This filthy, pathetic excuse for flesh is NOT going into any of my hotel rooms,” the manager stated emphatically. “I want him out of my hotel right now! And as far away as possible.”
“Okay, okay,” Jack said. “Come on Mac. Let’s go outside and talk.”
“Gladly,” Mac whined. “I don’t want to stay in an inhospitable hovel like this.”
The manager stared a moment longer, his red face apparent even through his dark skin, and then turned to Jack and said, “And I have to ask you and your lady friend to leave tomorrow, Mr. Wheat. Your reputation has become, well, uneconomical for my hotel.”
Sheffie gasped and put her hand to her mouth. Dokie started shouting, “Hey! You can’t talk to Jack Wheat that way.”
Jack put his arm out to restrain Dokie. “It’s all right. We were leaving anyway. We’ll be out tomorrow. Come on, Mac. Let’s go outside.”
Sheffie, tears forming in her eyes, said, “I’ve got to get ready for my dinner engagement.” She turned and walked back to the stairs as Jack stared after her.
Mac stuck his middle finger up to the hotel manager, and Dokie followed suit. Avery did his best to give an evil stare. The four of them went out the front door.
“And get off my property!” the manager shouted at them as they left.
“Mac, this is Dokie, and this is Avery. They’re friends of mine.”
“Any friend of yours is a good man,” Mac said as he reached out to shake Dokie’s hand then Avery’s, with his quick, one-pump shake.
“Likewise,” Dokie answered.
“How did you find me?” Jack asked.
“Well, sir, when I got to Lisbon I asked a guy on the street where you were. He said you were staying at the Lisbon Hotel then he goes and spits on me. What the hell was that about? Now, Jack, no offense, but after that, I didn’t ask for you anymore. I asked for where the Lisbon Hotel was. I found it, but when I got here, that dadgum hotel manager started screaming before I could ask a word about you. Why that rascal… ”
“Why did you come all this way, Mac?” Jack interrupted. “It must be important.”
“Huh? Oh, yeah. Let’s see… What was it? Oh, yeah! I remember! It’s the craziest damned thing I’ve ever seen. There’s stuff everywhere, and it’s all gone to dust and trash. There’s one of those little square tank things left with water in it and this funny gray lump inside. It ain’t mostly or all black or powder like the rest of ‘em. I’ve never in all my live-long days seen nothing like it.”
“What are you talking about, Mac?” Dokie asked.
“Maybe you should start from the beginning and take it one step at a time,” Jack said.
“Oh, yeah, sure, Jack. I’ll do that. Let’s see. Why was I up there? Oh, yeah. I had to prove you didn’t kill that Rhino with a laser like Bonner said you did so I went to find the Rhino where you said it was. Well, where he said it was. But it wasn’t there because he was lying. He was trying to kill me. But I fooled that son of a lying dog bitch! I’m still alive, and I’m still here, and he’s somewhere smirking cause he thinks I’m dead and he tricked me into it. Why that sorry piece of crappy flesh… ”
“Mac?” Jack interrupted again.
“Uh? Oh, yeah. I went all the way to the north end of the Spine. There’s a hole in the ground a little ways beyond the Spine. It goes down into this huge, great big old room that’s full of messed up stuff. It’s a brand new, caved-in hole that hasn’t been there all that long. That’s why nobody never found it before. And that one room is far bigger than anything we’ve ever built. There’s a lot of rooms like that down there. They’re all full of messed up stuff, but you can tell all the messed up stuff is much better than anything we’ve got. Leastways, it used to be before it got messed up. Why, the light in there comes right through the walls like magic. There’s no torches or lamps anywhere. It’s like it’s part of old Earth or something. Maybe it was something they were building for us, but they never came back to tell us about it.”
“Possible,” Jack said. “But not likely. I think the colonists would have known about a construction project of that size.”
“Yeah,” Mac said. “Maybe so. There’s lots more rooms. I went through twelve of these great big giant rooms before I got to the end. And there’s more rooms off to the side and maybe more rooms off to their side, but I don’t know ‘cause I didn’t go to the side. Best I can tell, they’re all full of trash except the last room where not everything has collapsed into trash and dust piles. There’s a bunch of them tanks left in a corner but only one with water still in it. There’s wires and tubes and all sorts of fancy stuff and this place used to be something way different from anything we’ve ever seen on Agrilot. It’s way different now even though it’s all trashed.”
Jack turned to Dokie. “You ever hear of anything like this?”
“Nope. This is a heckuva tale. Does your friend have a drinking problem?”
“Damn right I had a drinking problem!” Mac said. “I was in that infernal desert so long that I ran out of water. Twice.”
“Sounds like a mirage to me,” Dokie said. “People who run out of water have a tendency to see things in the desert that aren’t there.”
“Just maybe I’ll take back what I said about any friend of Jack’s,” Mac shot back, squaring off and lifting his hands as though the old man was going to start a fight. “See the scratches on my arms? I got this climbing down into that mirage. Do they look real to you?”
“Is this on the level, Mac?” Jack asked. “You’re sure what you saw was real?”
“Why, hell yeah, Jack. You know I wouldn’t shit you. Besides… Here.” Mac reached around in the filthy rags that passed for his clothes and pulled out a piece o
f rubber tubing. “See? I brought this from down in that room. We ain’t got nothing like this on Agrilot.”
Jack and Dokie felt the tubing. This was unique, a material that was, to their knowledge, unavailable anywhere on the planet. And the quality of the work was exceptional. In fact, it was perfect. There were no flaws.
“I’ll be damned,” Dokie said as he handed the tube to Avery. Have you ever seen anything like this?”
The scientist rolled the tubing in his fingers. “My God! The things I could do if I could make a material like this. It’s so light weight. This is… It’s beyond anything we can do.”
“Okay,” Jack said. “We believe you, Mac. We’re no longer welcome here. Avery, how about we go to your house? We’ve got to figure out what to do.”
Chapter 35
“You’ve been quiet tonight, my dear,” McGurke said as he pushed away from the dining table. “You ate little of your dinner. Was something wrong with the food?”
The dining room seemed large enough to hold an outdoor sporting event. They were seated across from each other at an exquisite, intricately inlaid wood table large enough for twenty. The ends of the table were so far apart, they had to sit on the sides so they could talk. In the middle of the room, directly over the center of the table, there was a crystal chandelier twice as wide as Sheffie was tall. There must have been a hundred oil-burning lamps built into it. Every one of them was lit, but they were small, each burning dimly so that the room was not too bright.
The walls and ceiling of the huge room were made from hand-carved, dark, tight-grained wood. The carvings in the wood were intricate and beautiful, but Sheffie only took passing notice. She had more on her mind than the elegance of Jonathan McGurke’s mansion.
“Oh, no. Of course not. I’m sorry, Jonathan.” Sheffie twirled her fork on top of her uneaten dessert. “No, the food was exceptional. It’s just, well, I have no appetite tonight. The newspaper has been so harsh on Jack.”
