Maclean tapped Grant on the arm. “I hate to say it, but I’m beginning to wonder if we should have stayed locked up in Kuwait for the rest of our lives.”
Grant chuckled. “It’s all just folklore and legends. Professor Hayes is probably right. Two days from now, all of the excitement will be gone, and we’ll be heading home with nothing more than a good story about an alleged UFO sighting and a wayward meteorite.”
Chapter 14
Robertson’s Mine - Alaska
Patrolman Bill Scott turned off the highway and drove down a dirt road filled with water-filled potholes, until Ellen Marshall’s old log cabin came into view. His partner, Sean McCartney, sat beside him, stewing.
“Jesus, Sean, I told you to let it go,” said Scott. “It’s not worth getting upset about.”
“I just don’t get why the FBI turned me down again,” groused McCartney.
“For the same reason as last time, your education isn’t good enough. I told you to ask the boss for some time off to upgrade your marks, but you wouldn’t do it. You’ve no one but yourself to blame for failing to get into the FBI.”
“I know…I know. But it still pisses me off.”
“Drop it this second and get a grip on yourself. You need to look and act professionally while we see what Mrs. Marshall’s problem is.”
“Didn’t dispatch tell us her dogs have gone missing? Ten to one they tried taking on a hungry black bear and lost the fight.”
Scott parked their car and got out.
Ellen Marshall was already on the front steps of her home, waiting to meet the two officers. “Morning, officers,” she said in greeting. Mrs. Marshall was in her late sixties and was wearing an old green housecoat, with red slippers on her feet. She had pink curlers in her white hair. A smoldering cigarette hung from her lips.
“Morning, Mrs. Marshall,” said Scott. “What appears to be the problem this morning?”
“It’s my dogs, they’ve gone missing,” she replied. “They woke me up around four this morning, barking and howling to be let outside, so I got out of bed and opened the front door. The next thing I knew they took off as if they had the scent of a deer.”
“Have you try looking for them, ma’am?” asked McCartney.
“No. My feet aren’t as good as they used to be,” Marshall replied. “They’ve taken off before but always come back an hour or two later, looking for their breakfast.”
“You have a pair of Great Danes, don’t you, ma’am?” asked Scott.
“Yes. Their names are Beau and Stanley.”
“Okay, we’ll take a look around, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re over at your neighbor’s house, waiting for you to come pick them up.”
“I tried calling Ronald earlier this morning, but the phone wasn’t working.”
“We had some problems earlier with our phones, too,” said McCartney. “But everything seems to be working just fine now. Why don’t you give him a call, while we take a look behind your home?”
Mrs. Marshall nodded and shuffled her way back inside her house.
“No point dragging this out any longer than we have to,” said Scott to his partner.
They walked to the back of the house and looked around for tracks.
“Here,” said McCartney, pointing at the dirt. “These paw prints look new.”
Scott examined the tracks and saw they led into the forest. “Let’s see where these lead.”
The narrow trail through the woods meandered back and forth until it came to a shallow creek, which ran through the middle of Ellen Marshall’s land.
McCartney swatted a black fly, which had just landed on his arm. “Man, I swear, these things get bigger and hang around longer every year.”
“Your skin’s just getting thinner,” said Scott.
“I can’t see which way the tracks went… can you?”
Scott knelt and pushed some ferns aside. “They turned south toward Ronald Deering’s place.”
“You called it, Bill. He probably fed them some fresh venison for breakfast, and now they don’t want to leave.”
“His place isn’t that far from here. Let’s carry on and see if the dogs are with him.”
They had gone less than fifty meters when the two men spotted droplets of blood, splattered on the undergrowth.
The hair on Scott’s arms stood upon end. He instinctively placed a hand on his pistol, but didn’t draw it from its holster.
“What the hell?” muttered McCartney, when he stepped in a puddle filled with blood.
Scott scanned the area, noting several shattered tree branches, covered in blood. At the base of the tree, the grass and brush was flat, as if it had been trodden upon by something very heavy. He took a step toward the tree and froze. Lying just a few meters away were the mutilated carcasses of the two dogs. Flies and other insects swarmed over the bloody remains. What was left of their bodies looked as if they had been fed through a shredding machine.
“What the hell could have done that?” said McCartney.
“I don’t know,” replied his partner. “Let’s spread out and look for tracks.”
Scott kept his hand on his pistol as he walked forward. He had grown up in Alaska and had served in the army before coming back home to be a police officer. An accomplished hunter and tracker, Scott had never seen anything like what had happened to the dogs in his entire life.
“Bill, over here,” called out McCartney.
Scott ran to his partner’s side. “What is it?”
“Check these tracks out,” said McCartney, pointing at a paw print in the muddy ground.
Scott bent down to examine the imprint. His eyes widened when he saw the size of the track. It was two, almost three times the size of a normal grizzly bear’s paw print. By the depth of the track, the animal must have weighed more than one thousand kilograms.
“I’ve never seen a bear’s track that large. I bet this bastard is as long as a truck, and is as tall as a man when it’s walking on all fours,” said McCartney.
“We’re going to have to call in the State Wildlife Troopers to go looking for this animal,” said Scott. “It’s clearly not afraid of dogs, and it won’t be long before it bumps into someone living around here.”
“What are we going to do about the dogs? We can’t just leave them out here.”
“I know. Let’s go back to the car. You can call this in while I break the news to Mrs. Marshall. I’ll ask her for some old blankets so we can come back for the remains.”
“Sounds like a plan.” McCartney hesitated for a moment. “Bill, do you think we should bring the shotguns with us next time?”
Scott nodded, and turned around to walk back.
In the woods, a pair of large brown eyes watched the two men leave. It lifted its head, sniffed the air, and took in the men’s scent. They smelled different than the other creatures it had just killed. It waited until the officers were out of sight before turning its head and looking down the creek. Its stomach growled. It had just eaten, but was hungry again. A new smell wafted on the wind. Right away the animal began to salivate. The only thought in its mind was food. It turned away from the mangled corpses of the dogs and began to walk slowly in the direction of the new find.
Chapter 15
David Grant brought his eight-year-old, ex-U.S. Air Force, blue Ford Mustang to a halt outside of the police station at Robertson’s Mine. Maclean pulled over and parked his identical-looking vehicle in the next open spot. They had broken into two teams, each with a military and a civilian member. To ensure a lively exchange of ideas, Grant chose Elena to ride with him, while Hayes and Maclean rode together. Maclean quickly coined the two groups as Team USA vs Team Commonwealth.
While everyone else wore blue jeans, and loose-fitting tan or gray shirts, Hayes had insisted on wearing slacks and a white shirt, with a blue-and-white striped bowtie.
“Okay, Elena and I are going in to pay a quick visit to the town’s Chief of Police,” said Grant to Maclean. “While
I’m gone, why don’t you walk to the nearest convenience store and get us a couple of days’ worth of bottled water and some bug spray. I think we’re going to need both in this heat.”
“Got it,” replied his friend.
“What about me?” asked Hayes, looking around. “What do you want me to do?”
Grant pointed at the café right next door. “You keep telling us you’re the expert; pop inside and introduce yourself. Maybe someone saw the meteor coming down.”
Hayes walked off, mumbling something to himself.
“So what do you normally do in these situations?” Grant asked Elena.
“Follow my lead,” she replied, reaching for the station’s front door.
Inside the air-conditioned building they were met, the station’s receptionist, an elderly woman whose desk nameplate identified her as Sheryl. At the sight of them, Sheryl put her hardcover book down on her desk. “Good morning, and welcome to Robertson’s Mine police station. Can I be of assistance?”
Elena smiled, and held out her hand in greeting. “Good morning to you too. My name is Elena Leon, and my friend’s name is David Grant. We’re with the North American UFO Investigation Society, and were wondering if the sheriff was in so we could pay him a courtesy call.”
“Did you say UFO?” said Sheryl, looking over the top of her reading glasses.
“Yes,” Elena replied, handing Sheryl a business card. “We’re investigating the mysterious object that flew over your town late last night.”
Sheryl skimmed the card. “This says you’re from Colorado Springs. Boy, you sure got here in a hurry.”
“You know what they say. The early bird gets the worm.”
Sheryl got out of her chair and smiled. “Please wait here a minute while I fetch the sheriff.”
Grant leaned over and whispered in Elena’s ear, “I thought that woman was going to break out laughing when you said UFO.”
“I’m used to it,” she replied. “I’d be more concerned if they welcomed us with open arms.”
Sheryl returned and ushered them to Robin Black’s office.
“Please come in,” said Black.
They walked in and right away, Grant liked what he saw. Robin Black exuded confidence and had a no-nonsense look about her. She looked like she was someone he could rely on to get things done.
After Elena had made the introductions, they sat down across from Black in a couple of old wooden chairs.
“Sheryl told me that you’re here in town to investigate a possible UFO sighting?” said Black, as she read Elena’s business card.
“That’s correct,” said Elena. “My people and I flew up here to gather information on your close encounter of the first kind.”
“Our what?”
“Sorry. I’m so used to speaking as if everyone knows all there is to know about UFOs. There were reports of a power outage, and a strange object flying over your town late last night, and we’ve come up here to interview anyone who may have seen something in the night sky which they cannot explain.”
Black raised an eyebrow. “Word sure travels fast.”
“In our community, nothing stays a secret for very long. Everyone wants to be the first person on site, in case there is something to the story. You don’t get a television special made about you by being the second or third person to investigate a possible UFO sighting.”
“As far as I’m aware, the only person so far who claims to have seen anything is old Edgar Bedard. However, I wouldn’t put too much faith in what he has to say.”
“Why not?” asked Grant.
“Edgar tends to drink too much, and spends a fair bit of his time in my cells, sobering up.”
“Where might we find Mr. Bedard?” said Elena.
“He lives in the small trailer park we have on the outskirts of town. I’ll give you his address,” said Black, scribbling the information down on a piece of paper and handing it to Elena.
“Thanks. Trust me, we won’t be a bother to the town’s citizens while we’re here. If people don’t want to talk with us, that’s fine. We’re not known for being pushy.”
“That’s good, because most folks who live in and around the town like their privacy. Are there more than just the two of you?”
“Yes, there are four of us altogether.”
“Do you have somewhere to stay while you’re here?”
“Yes. We called ahead and reserved a couple of rooms at a place called Aunt Rebeca’s Inn.”
“It’s far from being a five-star hotel, but it’s the best you’re going to find for hundreds of miles. As an added bonus, they serve some really good food there. Try the steak and eggs for breakfast. It’s one of my favorites.”
“Thanks for the heads-up. I’m sure we’ll try it. However, I doubt we’ll be here very long.”
“Sheriff, would it be possible to get a couple of town maps from your office?” asked Grant.
Black nodded. “Sure, just ask Sheryl on your way out, and she’ll provide you with them.”
“Well, all I wanted to do was pop in and say hello,” said Elena as she stood up. “We really should get going. The last thing we want to do is to keep you from your duties.”
Black got out of her chair. “Aside from the power outage and a couple of dogs being mauled to death last night, things here are as quiet as always.”
Elena brought a hand to her mouth. “Oh my, how horrible. What happened?”
“We think there’s a grizzly bear on the prowl. The dogs must have attacked it, and were killed in the ensuing fight.”
“Did this happen close to town?” asked Grant.
“No. It happened on Ellen Marshall’s property. She lives about ten kilometers north of here. If you’re thinking about going out there, be careful. This isn’t the lower forty-eight. We’ve got bears up here that won’t think twice about attacking and killing a man.”
“Thanks for your advice, Sheriff. We’ll be careful.”
With that, Grant and Elena exited the station, stopping briefly to pick up some maps from Sheryl on their way out.
Robin Black watched the pair of newcomers head toward the café next door, before freshening up her coffee and making her way to Sheryl’s desk. “So, what do you make of our visitors?”
Sheryl shrugged. “They seem harmless enough. I’m not sure I buy into all this UFO hokum, but in this economy, if they want to spend some of their hard-earned cash here in town, who am I to complain?”
Black looked down at the card in her hand and shook her head. “If that man isn’t in the military, he’s definitely ex-military.”
“What makes you say that?”
“His mannerisms gave him away. He sat far too straight in his chair, and didn’t look like any UFO investigator I’ve ever seen on the television. As my late uncle used to say, you can take the boy out of the army, but you can’t take the army out of the boy.”
“If they’re from the government, what are you going to do?”
“For now, nothing. As long as they don’t break any laws, I’ll let them be. Earlier, I was curious if the military had something to do with last night’s blackout. Now, I’m almost sure they did. What I’d like to know is what they find so damn interesting about a meteorite.”
Sheryl giggled. “Maybe a real UFO crashed in the woods, and they’re here to find it?”
Black smiled, but inside, a knot formed in her belly. Her gut was telling her that something had gone wrong, and she wondered if she was being kept in the dark on purpose.
Chapter 16
Grant and Elena linked up with their friends in the café next door to the police station. They all ordered some lunch, and as they waited for their food, they discussed options for their next course of action.
“I got us a ton of water and bug juice,” reported Maclean. “The guy at the store also sold me some noise-makers and some bear repellent. He said they’ve been coming real close to town this year.”
“The sheriff told us the same thing,” said Gra
nt. “In fact, a couple of dogs were mauled to death earlier in the day by a bear.”
“Did you say a bear ate some dogs?” said Hayes.
“You’re not in sunny old England anymore, Professor,” said Maclean. “The store owner also told us to watch for moose near the lakes and ponds that surround the town. He said if we hit one with one of our cars it could end up going through the windshield and killing whoever is in the front seats.”
“On a far more pleasant note,” said Hayes. “While you were all away, I ran into a fellow called Edgar Bedard.”
Elena smiled. “What a stroke of luck. He’s the man Sheriff Black told us to speak with about last night. What did he have to say?”
“When you get past the revolting smell of alcohol on his breath, he’s not a bad eyewitness. He recalled when and where he saw the object in the night sky. From his description of an orange glowing ball passing over the top of the town, I’ve been able to roughly plot where it may have come down.”
Grant was impressed. “How did you manage that?”
“By using geometry, that’s how. He took me outside and showed me where he first saw it and when he lost sight of it behind the hills outside of town. Combine those together and I was able to determine its rate of descent.”
“I hate math,” said Maclean. “Thank God you’ve got a mind for it.”
Grant placed a map on the table. “Do you think you can you plot the landing site on this?”
Hayes reached into a shirt pocket and withdrew a small black book. He re-read his notes from the interview, and began to jot down the calculations on the map. A few seconds later, he grabbed a pen and marked an X on the map. “That should be the location, give or take a few hundred meters.”
Grant turned the map around so he could read it. The spot Hayes selected was near a lake about twenty-five kilometers outside of town. There was only one home marked on the map near the lake. “Are you sure this is the spot?”
Fallen Star (Project Gauntlet Book 1) Page 9
