Hot Springs Murder

by Wendy Meadows

  “Once upon a time I did, long ago,” Noel confessed without making eye contact with Sarah. “Once I had family and friends. But then I turned bitter and pushed away everyone I’d once called a friend. I became a loner, determined to kill the man who murdered my parents, and becoming much like the monster he was in the process.” Noel finally raised her eyes. “I became a very cruel woman, Sarah. I—don’t deserve friends.”

  “I wouldn’t say that,” Sarah offered. “You were hurt and angry over the death of your parents. When you lose people you love, the heart grieves—and becomes angry, and even bitter. You set your mind on killing a monster. That doesn’t make you a horrible woman, Noel. It makes you human.”

  “This coming from a homicide detective who has witnessed the very worst people can do to one another,” Noel pointed out.

  “I've seen my share of murders and those murders still haunt my dreams,” Sarah explained. “I’ve seen the evils of man’s heart running free across a city full of a lost people trying to find themselves. And through it all, somehow, I managed to maintain my sanity—by faith in Jesus and nothing else. But there came a time for me to leave that city and relocate to a quiet location and begin healing. Perhaps if we live through this, you will find a place to begin healing as well.”

  Noel put her coffee mug down. “I’m worried that we may be the first of many victims,” she confessed. “The White Cell won’t rely on the virus spreading from three people who may never leave this location alive. I fear that the man who stole the virus will release it into a large location—such as Fairbanks or even Anchorage. Once the virus is transformed into a mist-like form, it can be sprayed into the air at any location—undetected.”

  “Isn’t that the objective of the White Cell to begin with? To spread the virus?” Sarah asked, confused.

  “In a controlled environment,” Noel pointed out. “The virus is meant to be used as a weapon, to target a certain enemy.” Noel locked eyes with Sara. “Alaska was to become a science experiment, so to speak. The White Cell wants to understand how the virus lives within a certain environment—how fast it spreads—how quickly it actually kills. Right now, test results are the only eyes and ears they have into the virus. It is believed that it takes twenty-four to forty-eight hours for the virus to mature, and once the virus matures it will kill its victim within a twenty-four-hour time period. That is the primary data—hard data—that has been collected. In reality—no one can actually predict how a virus will react once activated. Every living person is different—each body is different. Is any of this making sense?”

  “Yes,” Sarah nodded her head. “Continue.”

  Noel looked around the kitchen. “Amanda lives in a small, rural town. The town was chosen to become a testing ground. But when Dr. Kraus failed to infect Amanda and her husband, the White Cell came down hard on him, and Amanda was lured back to this location to be sprayed with the virus, as you know.”

  “Tell me why you believe the man who stole the virus will infect a large city,” Sarah put down her coffee. “Will the White Cell order him to do so?”

  Noel shook her head no. “The White Cell would not risk a global epidemic that they cannot control,” Noel explained. “If the virus can be weaponized—which is the end goal—they can control governments. No more war, no more bombs or guns—fear will be the ultimate weapon. However, they will present their weapon—the virus—on battlefields to make their enemies fall into submission and then fear will become power.”

  Sarah bit down on her lip. “Noel, the US government has been conducting secret experiments on the American public for many years. I’m aware of an experiment that was carried out in the New York City subway that made hundreds of people very ill. In 1975, the government contaminated Los Angeles with a new strain of flu that made three-quarters of the city sick.”

  Noel nodded her head. “You are speaking the truth.”

  “How is it that the government isn’t aware of the virus that was stolen? It’s been my understanding that the government is the one creating deadly viruses to use in global warfare. Surely someone—anyone—would be aware that Dr. Kraus was operating a secret virus lab in Alaska.”

  “Sarah,” Noel explained, “the White Cell is a terrorist group—a group composed of hidden people from many different countries. Like Russia, Canada, England, Switzerland and China, and we’re talking about shadow agencies that deceive their very governments.”

  “For example?” Sarah asked.

  Noel hesitated. “I can’t tell you more than that.”

  “Why?” Sarah asked. “I’m going to die anyway, right?”

  Noel looked into Sarah’s worn-down face. The woman deserved to know the truth. “The CIA is an intelligence agency,” she told Sarah in a calm voice. “Within the CIA are shadow agencies—spies who work under an invisible cloak, following different agendas. The CIA has no way of controlling these people because they are undetectable. The world has become so tangled up in secrecy that no government agency can trust another—even in the same country. The FBI is always at war with the CIA, and the CIA is always at war with the Defense Intelligence Agency—it’s a very vicious cycle. And in other countries, the same plague continues.”

  “I’ve heard rumors,” Sarah told Noel. “When I worked in Los Angeles as a homicide detective, I heard lots of things.”

  Noel took a sip of coffee. As she did, her eyes went to Sarah. The woman impressed her. Sarah was a normal woman with a healthy fear of death, but she was also a fighter—a thinker—and a person who didn’t go down in the first round. Sarah was also a woman who understood how to divide the truth from crazy conspiracy theories; and the truth was that there are dangerous people in the world who spread evil from ruthless hearts. “You cannot track the White Cell,” she told Sarah. “It is impossible.” Noel took another sip of coffee. “The White Cell began within the League of Nations and transferred their poison to the United Nations after the League of Nations dissolved. It’s a cover for all their movements across world borders. The White Cell has infected world banks, world governments—and even small-town police stations.”

  Suddenly, Sarah froze. “Did you say—small-town police stations?” she asked, in a weak voice.

  Noel nodded her head. “The White Cell has people everywhere and—”

  “Noel,” Sarah said, “my husband—he’s a detective in Snow Falls. He told me last week that a new deputy was due to arrive in town after one of our long-time deputies decided to move his family to Fairbanks.” Sarah put down her coffee. “Amanda visited the hot springs with her husband—and then a stranger arrives in town,” she whispered to herself. “Could the stranger belong to the White Cell?”

  Noel listened to Sarah whisper to herself. “It’s very possible,” she answered. “The White Cell might have sent someone to be a monitor.”

  “A monitor?” Sarah asked.

  Noel nodded her head. “This person would have been inoculated with the antidote, something to protect him from the virus.” Noel felt sadness enter her heart. “Yes, I’m sure that could be the case.”

  Sarah looked at Noel with worried eyes. “Noel, what will this person do now if Amanda and I—don’t return to Snow Falls as infected subjects?”

  “Leave,” Noel replied. “The person sent to Snow Falls would have no logical reason to stay. Certainly, the White Cell would cancel his mission and relocate him.”

  “Unless,” Sarah stated in a desperate voice, “a new person was injected with the virus.” Sarah felt confusion grab her mind. “Why would the person who stole the virus release it into a large city? Why would this person go against his orders? Wouldn’t the White Cell kill him?”

  “Exactly,” Noel pointed out. “The person who killed Dr. Kraus and stole the virus certainly knows that he risks the possibility of elimination—as I mentioned, White Cell is composed of people from every nation. There is even betrayal and murder within the ranks of the White Cell itself. It is very possible that the man who stole the virus m
ight have taken a very high pay-off. I’m certain this man was injected with an antidote.” Noel stopped talking for a minute. “Sarah, my thoughts are only an assumption. It is very possible the man who stole the virus will obey orders and take it to whatever location he was ordered to.”

  “I hope you’re wrong,” Sarah told Noel in a shaky voice.

  Noel nodded her head. “Me, too.” Fortunately, what Noel didn’t know was that her assumption was wrong. The man who stole the virus and killed Dr. Kraus was still very close by, lurking in the woods—waiting and watching.

  Sarah grew very silent as her mind contemplated a horrible thought. “Noel, let’s assume you are wrong—and let’s assume the White Cell takes another course of action—such as infecting the entire town of Snow Falls. Is that possible?”

  “Yes,” Noel answered honestly.

  Sarah hit the table with her fist, nearly spilling her coffee, and then stood up. “We can’t just sit here like this. We have to act. There has to be some way to contact my husband.”

  “There is no way,” Noel told Sarah in a disappointed voice. “However,” she said, trying to add a hopeful note, “if seventy-two hours passes and we are still alive—then perhaps we can leave.”

  “You don’t believe that.”

  “No,” Noel confessed. “You were left alive for a reason—you and your friend were left alive to return back to your town. You two will act as the invisible ‘spray.’ The tools with which the White Cell infects your town—at least, that was the plan. I prevented you from unknowingly killing innocent people. However, I didn’t catch the man who killed Dr. Kraus. I failed, and for that, innocent people will die.”

  “Don’t give up the fight yet, sister,” Sarah begged. “There has to be a way. You’re a virologist for crying out loud—you have to know of a way.”

  “The virus that could be maturing within us, Sarah, is very deadly. If we are infected—and we let out a single sneeze—” Noel shook her head. “We cannot leave this location.”

  Sarah felt extreme frustration rattle her nerves. “There has to be a way.”

  Guilt racked Noel’s lovely face. “I failed to capture the man who stole the virus. I’m sitting here worrying if this man will betray his mission and infect millions or obey his orders. If this man infects millions—it will be all my fault. At least I can keep us secure at this location, and prevent us from making anyone sick.” Noel looked at Sarah with desperate eyes. “There is too much confusion, uncertain variables, and assumptions. We’re fighting a powerful group of terrorists who won’t hesitate to kill each other; killers who want world domination through murder—cold-blooded murder. The virus that was stolen is nothing more than a machine gun that will gun down innocent people. I tried to snatch the machine gun.” Torment captured Noel’s voice. “But I failed.”

  “Did you?” Sarah asked. She ran over to Noel and bent down. “Did you fail?” she asked again and grabbed Noel’s hands. “You’re just one person, Noel—a very brave person who threw her punches as hard as she possibly could. You didn’t fail—because you cared enough to act. Those who know the truth and don’t act—those are the people that fail.”

  Noel felt tears begin to fall from her eyes. “I let a killer escape with a virus capable of killing millions.”

  Sarah pulled Noel into her arms and held her the way only a true friend could. “Noel, honey,” she whispered, “we can't give up the fight,” she begged and then, without understanding why, her mind began to think about the basement. “Noel,” she asked, “why didn't the killer steal all of the tubes? Why just one?” she asked, in a confused voice.

  Noel leaned up and looked at Sarah. “I've been wondering about that myself. And I don’t have an answer.”

  Sarah stared into Noel’s watery eyes and pulled the woman into her arms again as her detective mind went to work.

  Amanda wasn’t keen on the idea of Sarah and Noel going back down into the basement. She wasn’t keen on wearing the same clothes she had worn the day before, either, but all she had in her backpack was some silly resort wear that was not enough to keep her warm in the drafty, deserted lodge. But most of all—she wasn’t keen on the idea of dying. That is why she agreed to stand guard at the top of the stairs while Sarah and Noel ventured down into a dark hole. The idea, Amanda was told, was to see if Noel could try and create an antidote herself. The idea was a reach because Noel assured both Sarah and Amanda that she didn’t have the resources to create an antidote. Sarah insisted that Noel had to at least try. Amanda agreed, even though she secretly agreed with Noel. “I’ll stand guard,” she promised, as Sarah and Noel descended into the basement.

  Sarah made her way to the back of the basement and showed Noel the miniature steel rack holding two tubes. “The third tube is missing,” she pointed out.

  Noel picked one tube up and studied the liquid inside. “I know,” she said. “I explored the basement before you arrived.”

  Sarah backed away from Noel. “Who do you truly work for?” she asked in a voice that was calm only through significant effort. “Noel, we need to be truthful with one another.”

  Noel carefully returned the tube she was holding back to its place in the rack. “Sarah, I can never tell you who I work—worked for. You wouldn’t understand if I did—and you would hate me.”

  “Try me,” Sarah challenged Noel.

  Noel walked over to the lab bench and studied the equipment with doubtful eyes. “Do you really want to know the truth about me?” she asked.

  “Yes.”

  Noel kept her eyes on the table. “Very well,” she said, and slowly began to allow the truth to trickle out. “I worked for a private agency within the CDC specializing in viral ecological warfare. There is a very long complicated name that was assigned to my area specialty, but to make it simple, just think of it as viral ecological warfare. Viruses designed to kill and infect plants and crops.”

  “I appreciate it. Long, complicated names get me tongue-tied.”

  Noel hesitated and then continued. “Dr. Kraus was the leading virologist in viral ecological warfare. That is, he was assigned to this area of the world.”

  Sarah leaned against the work desk and folded her arms. “You were trying to create a virus that would kill crops and plants in order to create famines in other countries, right?”

  Noel felt guilt sting her heart. “My parents were virologists,” she explained. “I was brainwashed into believing I was—performing a beneficial service for my country. But, yes—I was part of a secret agency trying to create a virus that would starve millions. A virus that would lie dormant when sprayed and be activated only using a secondary chemical agent.”

  “And did you?”

  “Dr. Kraus did—however, he altered the virus to attack the human immune system instead of vegetation. I don’t know why he did that. Maybe it was simply an accident of science. The virus—if we are infected—has to mature under certain temperatures inside of the body.” Noel finally raised her eyes. “The virus enters the body in a frozen state. Once it comes to body temperature, to state it in simple terms, it hatches, if you will, and comes to life, reproducing and devastating the body in a very short time.”

  “I understand,” Sarah assured Noel. She looked down at her hands for a minute and then raised her eyes and focused on Noel. “I can see why a terrorist group like the White Cell would want the virus. The virus, once sprayed, according to you, is odorless, tasteless, and undetectable. The perfect weapon.”

  “I fear my enemy succeeded in acquiring the virus.”

  “Maybe,” Sarah sighed, and pointed at the table. “Noel, you have to find a cure—please try,” she begged.

  “Sarah,” Noel replied, keeping her voice calm, “look around. There is not enough equipment, tools and data present in this basement to begin a research project. Antidotes usually take years, sometimes decades to create! If there was adequate equipment, it would still take me weeks—months really—to even get remotely close to creating an experi
mental cure.”

  “But you worked on this virus with Dr. Kraus. You have to know—”

  “I worked on a virus that was being created to kill vegetation—not humans,” Noel pointed out. “He took that last step without me.”

  “Maybe so, but you seem to know a lot about this virus we may be infected with,” Sarah fired back.

  “Enough to scare me—yes,” Noel confessed. “But not enough to create a cure. You see,” Noel explained in a very scared voice, “the virus inside of us—it’s like a chameleon, it adapts and changes when it detects a threat, making it nearly undetectable. Sarah, Dr. Kraus was a genius. He wasn’t some random doctor pulled in off the street. When he was ten years old, he began his higher studies in Switzerland. Albert Einstein would have been envious.”

  “He must not have been too smart if he allowed himself to be shot and killed,” Sarah told Noel.

  “Dr. Kraus became involved with a very deadly terrorist group that no one escapes from—that was his one mistake. Dr. Kraus had one weakness—pride. He always protected his pride with money. Money was power, and power destroyed those who insulted his pride.”

  “Dr. Kraus is worm food now,” Sarah pointed out. “I don’t mean to sound so crude, but that awful man deserved a bullet.” Sarah pointed at the table. “Come on. You have to try.”

  “I’ll only waste what valuable time we have left,” Noel sighed, “but I’ll explore each box in this basement and see what I find. Perhaps I’ll come across something of use.”

  Sarah nodded her head. “It’s better to take action rather than—” Suddenly, Sarah stopped talking. A strange look came over her face.

  “What is it?” Noel asked, alarmed. “Are you feeling ill?”

  “No, no. I feel fine,” Sarah promised. “I was just wondering why this location was chosen to begin with.” Sarah turned and looked north. “Close to the hot springs, I mean.” Sarah rubbed her chin. “You said Dr. Kraus was a genius. Surely the man had some say in the location Viral Green chose to build their research center, right?” she asked herself. Sarah continued to rub her chin. “Surely Dr. Kraus was in charge of the research station—and chose this location for a reason.”