Diamond Sky Trilogy Box Set: Books 1-3

by David Clarkson

  ‘I was thinking that the explanation may be a chemical one. Is it possible that poison in the town’s water supply could cause this?’

  ‘What sort of poison do you have in mind?’

  ‘I don’t know. Do we know how many people have been affected so far?’

  The doctor briefly glanced at a notepad on his desk.

  ‘So far I’ve seen seven patients exhibiting symptoms of altered brain activity. How many are outside.’

  ‘I’m not sure; twelve, maybe thirteen.’

  ‘Sixteen,’ corrected Jimmy, much to the other men’s unease.

  ‘That makes twenty three,’ said the doctor. ‘That’s roughly fifteen percent of the population. Of course the real figure is likely to be much higher. There could be many more that are afraid to come or do not even know that they are suffering from anything.’

  ‘Have you taken any blood samples? I want to get one from Jimmy too. I think he was the first to become affected. Hopefully, the guys at the observatory can find something for us.’

  ‘Have you consulted with the professor already?’

  Lucas winced at the mention of the late scientist.

  ‘The professor will not be able to help on this one. He died this morning. The military have shut me out completely. From what I gathered, there was some kind of an argument between him and David Armareth. The latter fled the scene and was shot by one of the soldiers. They wouldn’t even let me see the bodies.’

  The doctor held his head in his hands and sat down at his desk, no longer able to support himself on his feet.

  ‘This is a tragedy,’ he said. ‘And Davo is dead too?’

  Lucas nodded.

  ‘Such a waste,’ said the doctor. ‘He had his problems, but I never for a moment thought that something like this could happen. Who pronounced the deaths?’

  Lucas shrugged. His closeness to the professor had caused him to overlook a great many details about the death.

  ‘Do you know why this happened?’

  ‘No, but it may be connected to what is happening in the town. If there is a way to tie the killings up at the observatory with the Coppersmith murders, do you think that you could get custody of the bodies?’

  ‘If there is a link, it may be possible. I was the registered surgeon for all of the deceased. We do need something more concrete to go on, though.’

  ‘In that case, let’s hurry up and get a sample of Jimmy’s blood. If there is anything unusual that matches with a sample from Wally; that may be the evidence we need.’

  The doctor opened his drawer and took out a syringe. He removed the sterile wrapping and gestured for Jimmy to take a seat.

  ‘Don’t worry, lad, this won’t hurt a bit.’

  ‘I know,’ replied Jimmy. ‘It will hurt a lot.’

  Chapter 29

  Lucy was startled by a knock on her door. With nothing to stimulate her in the stark, dormitory style room she had been assigned as her cell, she had drifted in and out of sleep for most of the afternoon. And without windows to offer any sort of a clue, she did not even know if it was day or night.

  ‘Who is it?’ she called, knowing full well that whoever it was would enter regardless of whether permission was given.

  ‘It’s Emmy Rayne; you and I need to talk.’

  In spite of the teary outcome of their earlier conversation, Lucy was glad it was the female scientist and not one of the soldiers. It seemed that this Dr Rayne was close to Lucas and if anybody was going to get her out of this awful predicament, she was the one.

  ‘Come in.’

  The door opened, but the scientist did not enter. Her posture was guarded and Lucy sensed this was more from nerves than a desire to deceive. She had a friendly face and there was a spark of chemistry between them that drew Lucy to this girl at the bar.

  ‘Not here,’ said Emmy. ‘Let’s take a walk outside. It’s okay, as long as you are with me those soldier creeps will keep their distance.’

  Lucy followed the scientist down the corridor and through a door leading onto the grounds at the rear of the complex. She was glad they did not pass by the courtyard where she witnessed the killing.

  Like the front side of the building, the grounds were well maintained and featured many brightly coloured plant species, which were incongruous to the sparse desert location.

  They passed by the flowerbeds until they came to a small fenced off section. At first, Lucy did not recognise the headstones for what they were, as they were hidden behind a chorus line of fresh bouquets. She did, however, suspect that Emmy had brought her to this place for reasons other than quizzing her on the killing.

  ‘I took this from the garage,’ said Emmy, handing the photograph to Lucy. ‘I assume this is the one you alluded to earlier.’

  She looked at the picture. It was the same photograph, except this time she saw something different in the two faces staring back at her. When Davo had died, she had been staring him directly in the eyes. For a brief moment, those eyes burned with more intensity than she had previously seen. That intensity was visible in the eyes in the photograph. They were the same eyes, which meant that the girl could not possibly be Emmy. She looked to the scientist, but her question was already anticipated.

  ‘Her name is Felicity Fox,’ said Emmy. ‘She was my mother.’

  ‘She looks so like you; she’s beautiful.’

  Lucy blushed, realising what she just said and not quite sure why she said it.

  ‘I don’t know for sure, but I am guessing that the picture was taken when she was about twenty. It would not have been long before she became pregnant with me.’

  ‘Forgive me if I am wrong, but today is the day that she died, isn’t it?’

  Emmy nodded.

  ‘How old were you?’

  ‘I was just a baby. I never got to know her.’

  ‘I’m sorry.’

  ‘That’s okay; I know that she is out there somewhere, watching over me.’

  Lucy briefly looked away; her thoughts turning towards her father and how she believed that she had felt his presence around her over the previous few days. She wanted to say something to the other woman to offer her reassurance, but did not know how to say it without sounding a little crazy, so instead she said nothing.

  Emmy took the photograph back from Lucy and then walked until she was standing between the two gravestones. Both were double plots, although one had not yet been filled.

  ‘My whole family is buried here,’ said Emmy. ‘My parents are on the left and on the right is my grandmother. She too died young, long before I was born. I sometimes worry that the women of my family are cursed. Suffice to say, I regard each day as a blessing.’

  The headstone marked out the second plot as the final resting place of Priscilla Fox. Beloved wife to Jackson and mother of Felicity - she died in 1980 and had been waiting, alone, ever since. Beside was a blank space that would soon be filled with a message of love for the man who died that very day.

  ‘It is sad that they were parted for so long,’ said Lucy. ‘There is nothing more heartbreaking than seeing so tragic a separation marked out in granite.’

  ‘Tragic?’ asked Emmy, genuinely surprised. ‘It is not tragic; it is heart warming. I often come here when I am feeling low. Seeing that message gives me hope.’

  ‘But she died alone; how can that not be tragic.’

  Emmy smiled. Lucy could not believe how well this girl coped with grief. When her father died, she had been a mess and that was after being given months to prepare for it. She did not know how Emmy did it.

  ‘Don’t you see?’ asked Emmy. ‘She did not die alone. She went first, which means that he was with her when it happened. In turn, when he died she will have been waiting for him. Neither of them was ever alone. You may not see it, but graveyards are the most inspiring and beautiful places on Earth. Nowhere else will you find so much love and goodwill.’

  A solitary tear ran down the side of Emmy’s cheek, but Lucy could see no trace of sadness
or fear in the scientist’s face.

  ‘You must have strong faith,’ she said. ‘I never thought that scientists believed in an afterlife; in God.’

  Emmy straightened her posture to a more rigid, uneasy stance as if the magic of the moment had been torn away like a blanket, letting the cold penetrate.

  ‘I don’t believe in God,’ she said, defensively. ‘Religion is for the faithless. I say that my grandparents have been reunited in death because I know it to be true. There is life after death.’

  ‘You’re confusing me,’ said Lucy. ‘How is what you are saying not faith and what is faith without religion?’

  ‘I never said I did not have faith, but to think that faith is tied to religion is complete nonsense. We have to have faith, because sometimes we have to trust in something when we are uncertain of the outcome. That is faith; believing in what you can never know. All scientists have faith. The religious, on the other hand, are not willing to trust the unknown. They demand answers and choose to believe what they are told in scripture for the simple reason that they lack faith in the unknown.’

  ‘That still does not explain how you can be so certain of an afterlife.’

  Emmy shrugged.

  ‘Maybe you need to have a little faith.’

  Her evasiveness was driving Lucy crazy.

  ‘Why can you never give a straight answer?’ she asked. ‘You’re worse than my kids.’

  ‘You have kids?’

  ‘Well – sort of. When I say “my kids” I just mean that I look after them. I’m a nursery teacher. At least, I was until I had to take time off to care for my dad.’

  ‘Did you like it?’

  ‘Yeah, I guess so. Having been through all that pain watching dad’s life slowly ebb away, I really miss the innocence the children have. Eventually, life forces us to stop believing in fairy tales, but that is not to say that pleasure can’t be gained from being around those that do.’

  ‘Maybe they’re the smart ones.’

  ‘Who?’

  ‘The children. Who’s to say that some fairy tales aren’t real?’

  ‘You’re doing it again.’

  Emmy smiled, mischievously.

  ‘Can you keep a secret?’ she asked.

  ‘What sort of secret?’ Lucy replied.

  ‘Well, now that I know you had nothing to do with what happened here, it is only a matter of time before the captain has to let you go. Before you do, there is something I would really like to show you.’

  ‘Does it have anything to do with fairy tales?’

  ‘Just answer the question.’

  ‘Okay, I can keep a secret.’

  ‘In that case; follow me.’

  ***

  Mike complained of feeling unwell and retired to his quarters, so it was Bradley who took the call coming through on the professor’s old line. The way his superior officer was acting, he was beginning to worry that he would have to relieve him of his duty. If there was anything he could do to avoid that scenario, he would gladly do it.

  ‘Lieutenant Schwarzmann speaking.’

  ‘This is Lucas Black. Can you put me through to Captain Peters?’

  ‘Mike’s a little busy right now, Lucas; is it something I can help you with?’

  ‘Maybe, we’ve run into some trouble down here in the town. There appears to have been some sort of mass poisoning. It’s already driven one man to kill and I think it could be linked to the professor’s death too. For that reason, I want to take possession of the bodies you have up there. If you won’t hand them over willingly, I’m prepared to take this to the courts.’

  Brad was a soldier, not a bureaucrat. As far as he was concerned, his mission was over and he could not wait to get reassigned. The sooner the bodies were taken away, he figured the sooner he could leave.

  ‘There’s no need to involve a judge. I’ll sign off on any paperwork you need. To tell the truth, I’ll be glad to get this thing over with.’

  ‘Is everything okay up there? I mean, nobody has been acting out of character or anything, have they?’

  Brad thought of how his normally laid back friend had shot an unarmed man in cold blood and then effectively locked down the observatory without any clear plan of what to do. If that was not uncharacteristic, he did not know what was.

  ‘No,’ he lied. ‘Everybody here is fine.’

  ‘Well, in that case you’ve probably got nothing to worry about. Whatever has affected people so far must have originated in town. I’ll escort the doc up soon and we’ll collect the bodies.’

  ‘I’ll be waiting.’

  He ended the call. As he turned to leave, he found a figure standing in the doorway.

  ‘Oh, it’s you,’ he said. ‘I thought you had already finished up today.’

  The other man did not answer. He just stood there; half hidden by the shadows. Bradley tried to get past him to reach the corridor, but he never made it. He neither saw nor felt the blade that pierced his heart. Having not taken an astral journey, there was nothing to prepare him for what followed.

  ***

  ‘Are you going to tell me what this is all about?’

  ‘It’ll be easier if I just show you. Trust me; you are going to be impressed.’

  Charlie was working alone in the lab when Emmy arrived to show Lucy the fruits of her work. He casually glanced up when they entered the room and his eyes were immediately drawn to the girl from out of town.

  ‘What is she doing here?’

  ‘Now, now, Charlie, that is no way to speak in front of a guest.’

  His eyes moved from Emmy to Lucy and then back to Emmy.

  ‘I was not aware that we had guests. Have I missed something?’

  ‘Lucy is a friend. The whole thing with Mr Armareth was all a misunderstanding. She had no part in what he did.’

  ‘That may well be, but I’m not sure that you should be bringing her here. I’m worried you are not as focused as you should be. Grief affects people in different ways. You don’t have to bottle it up.’

  She could not believe that after everything they had seen over the previous weeks, he still harboured such old fashioned notions of life and death.

  ‘I am not grieving. Sure, what happened came as a shock, but it could also turn out to be the best thing for us. Don’t you see? Now we have somebody on the other side. It tore Pops up that he could not take an active role in his own project, but now he will be able to finally unlock its full potential.’

  ‘Can we talk in private?’ Charlie asked.

  Emmy offered Lucy an apologetic sigh and then walked with Charlie to a far corner of the lab.

  ‘I really am fine,’ she said, pre-empting his concern.

  ‘It’s not just that,’ he replied. ‘I understand why you are trying to be positive about what happened and it does you credit. I am just worried there is an ulterior motive driving you. Your moods have been up and down ever since...’

  He offered a subtle nod of his head in the direction of the girl over the other side of the room.

  ‘You think I’m trying to impress Lucy?’

  ‘When a hole opens, it is natural to look for something to fill it with.’

  ‘That’s a cheap shot, Charlie. The reason I brought her here is because she can play a pivotal role in our research. It was her father I had the encounter with in the field. She is the key to finding a way to contact Pops.’

  He paused for a moment to think over what he had just been told. Emmy knew that ultimately his scientific curiosity would always outweigh his natural reservations.

  ‘You are planning on using her father as some kind of spirit guide?’

  ‘I’m not sure what I’m planning. I just know I’m not ready to lose Pops just yet. Is the machine ready for another trip?’

  ‘That’s what I really wanted to talk to you about. When the override switch jammed and Mike got stuck, I do not think that it actually did get jammed.’

  ‘What do you mean? Of course it jammed; we saw that oursel
ves. If not for the fact that Mike witnessed what happened to Pops, he may still be out there now.’

  ‘That’s just the thing; I ran a diagnostic check on the equipment and there was no malfunction. The abort did not jam, it had been overridden. Someone reprogrammed the computer to completely bypass it.’

  ‘Who would do such thing? Apart from you and I, there is only Bradley who had access and he lacks the knowhow.’

  Charlie looked nervously at his feet.

  ‘There was one other,’ he sheepishly told her. ‘Remember yesterday when the professor was playing around with the settings to try and extend Mike’s journey time. Perhaps he did this.’

  ‘Absolutely not,’ she told him. ‘Pops would never endanger anyone so recklessly. If anybody did this, it was the Americans. We have to be careful around them. Mike has a document supposedly signed by my grandfather, which transfers ownership of this facility over to the U.S. Military. Pops would never have done that without a good reason. I need to find him, Charlie, with or without your help.’

  ‘Okay, but would it not be easier for him to come to us? I mean, surely all we need to do is wait.’

  ‘We haven’t got time. Mike’s superiors are going to send more people here, it’s inevitable. Besides, I never told Pops about the encounters. He died without fore-knowledge of what would be next. We have to assume that his passing will be no different to any other. The only connection we have is through this girl’s father. I don’t know how or why, but for some reason he has found a way to bind his spirit to hers. I know that I can find him again.’

  ‘Okay, but you better know what you are doing.’

  Now she had Charlie’s co-operation, she ran over to explain her plans to Lucy. It did not occur to her that the news would be met with anything other than excitement. After divulging her plans she watched as Lucy ran her hand over the cold steel of her machine.

  ‘Well?’ she asked.

  Lucy looked at her, the sense of betrayal clearly showing in her eyes.

  ‘Why are you doing this?’