“Oh really.. thought her sister, Liz would be the bennie fish ary.”
“Her sister is the beneficiary in case of death…”
“Mmmmok. How much is it?”
“Fifty seven thousand dollars and change.”
There was long silence, and Keith could hear crying. Keith asked, “Mr. Parsons, are you alright?”
“Oh jesus. Yeah, yeah. I tell you what, better than ever. How do I get the money?”
“I’ll deliver it to you, tomorrow good?”
“Oh hell yeah.”
“11AM?”
“Any time is good to get money.” he was cackling with glee.
“Alright, see you tomorrow.”
Chapter Eleven
Tracy led the group down a steep trail into the valley behind the farm. Tall sandstone rocks were like enormous green sentinels that stood guard around a spring fed pool. The pool fed a stream that spilled down the sandstone toward a waterfall.
She said, “In the winter, this is all frozen on top and the stream continues underneath.”
Berto looked over the pool, “looks deep…”
Tracy said, “Yeah, I’ve only just dipped my feet in there on really hot days. It seems bottomless.”
Chloe said, “this place is really great… When we moved here from Nashville, I worried there’d be nothing going on, but wow! I was wrong.”
Richard said, “looks like there’s all kinds of caves and tunnels around through here.”
Tracy answered, “yeah, there are a couple of actual caves… hard to get into… but mostly there are big fissures between rocks and when they lean against each other it makes a tunnel.”
They heard a distant airhorn bleating. Tracy’s face lit up. “Uncle Robbie didn’t mention that!”
“What?” Chloe asked.
“That’s Johnny and Dana. C’mon!” she was walking fast up the trail. She got out her phone to text her Uncle to see what was going on and saw the message from Morgan.
“Hey! Sorry I missed U!” SEND
“NP where @?” he wrote back.
“Home; w Chloe, Richard Golden, and Berto Marquez.” SEND
“time to talk?” he wrote back. The phone rang.
“Hey! What’s up?” she answered, out of breath. “We’re heading up from the spring.”
“Nice! Hey, There’s a guy who’s interested in the coin… Get this. Flying in from ITALY. Tomorrow.”
“Whoa! How’d that happen?”
“From a craigslist post… like in five minutes… says he monitors everything all the time for certain items.”
“You know, my Uncle’s the one to talk to on this thing....”
“Yeah… I didn’t think of that.”
“I texted you his number… I’m on the way up to the house, now.”
“I’ll call him. I dunno if I can make it tonight. Dad’s on the war path…”
“OK. Talk later…” she hung up.
Once she got onto the flat, Tracy started jogging up toward the house. She was well ahead of the others.
Chloe smiled and stopped the boys, “I’ll race you two up to the side of that barn.” she pointed at the side of Robbie’s shop.
“Alright…” Berto laughed. “You don’t stand a chance. I won’t go easy on you.”
“Me neither.” Richard said, getting down in a crouch. “You count it down.”
“3… 2… 1… go” she said. She let them get a little head start. Berto was pulling ahead of Richard. She started loping and closed the gap on them. She looked over then waved and turned on the afterburners. She came to a stop and waited for a second for them to get close to the wall, then slapped it.
Berto slapped the wall second, and crouched over. Richard stood up then tapped it with his head.
“...holy shit, girl!” Berto said. “I run 100s in track... I thought I was fast!”
“I guess it’s good genes.” She shrugged and walked over toward the driveway.
Chapter Twelve
Johnny and Dana’s motorhome rolled down the driveway. It was a vintage Red and White Flxible Clipper with the name Flying Fox painted in script on the side beneath a picture of a fox with wings. A satellite dish was folded down on the top of the bus, and a few other antennas and sensors were attached to the top. The bus pulled over into the field in front of the house. The door opened and Dana ran out. Johnny climbed out more slowly and stretched his arms and back all the way over to the group.
Dana and Tracy saw each other and hugged.
“Girl! Look at you. You are a woman now.” Dana exclaimed. “That face would launch 1000 ships… and that ass!” she smacked her butt.
Tracy threw an arm over her shoulder. “It’s so good to see you Aunt Dana.”
“Oh man, if you call me ‘Aunt’ I’m going to puke. Call me Dana.”
“You can still call me Uncle Johnny, though” he hugged her. She tugged the biker beard.
“ZZ Top cover band?”
He laughed. “Nah, I just like to cover up this baby face so I don’t get carded as often.”
They did introductions all around. The Wells farm had been quiet for a few years, since Tracy’s parents went missing, but Tracy was starting to feel the familiar crunchy and funky vibe that permeated the place for her whole life. She stayed glued to Dana and they disappeared into the house.
Berto said to Chloe, “We gotta get going. It was fun. Let’s talk tomorrow.” She gave him a quick hug.
“Say bye to Tracy.” Richard added. They drove away in the GTI.
Chapter Thirteen
The whole group gathered in the library. Everyone except Chloe had a beer. She had an iced tea, since she was driving home soon.
Robbie’s phone rang.
Tracy said, “Oh… that’s probably Morgan.”
Robbie answered the phone. “Hey Morgan, what’s up?”
“You know I have that gold coin?”
“Yeah sure.”
“Well, I’ve got a guy flying into Cleveland tomorrow from Italy.”
“Whoa! That’s really interesting.”
“Well, I don’t have any way to pick him up… And really, I don’t have anywhere to take him… Plus it’s during the day.”
Robbie laughed. “So you want me to do what?”
Tracy mouthed, “help him out…” to Robbie.
“Hmmm….” Morgan said. “Can you pick him up?”
“Look, Morgan. If you want, you can borrow my truck and go get him. You’re always welcome to come here, any time. You know that.”
“I can’t drive…” Morgan said.
“Can’t? Do you know how?” Robbie said.
“Well, sure. I just don’t have a license.”
“License schmiscence.” he waved dismissively. “If you want to, you can borrow the truck, just don’t get pulled over. If you do, well, just leave the truck and run like hell and we’ll pick you up in the evening.”
“Ummm….” Morgan said.
“Well?” Robbie prompted.
“OK. I’ll do it. I’ll be there in the morning.” Morgan said with conviction.
“Good! I like that. See you then.” Robbie hung up.
Chapter Fourteen
“I learned to play guitar.” Johnny said. He had a beat up acoustic guitar and he started playing, first a rhythm, then shifted to a flamenco tune, then back to rhythm.
Tracy was sitting on the floor in front of an armchair and Dana was braiding her hair. Dana said, “Can you believe he learned that in about two months?”
Robbie smiled, “He’s quick!” Dana got up and walked around to Chloe’s seat. She was in an armchair, just absorbing the scene. Dana sat down on the arm rest and put her hand on Chloe’s shoulder.
“Hey sister. We’re the only black hairs in the room!”
“Yeah, look at all these red heads! It’s like a convention.”
“Well, I think Johnny’s more of a blonde, but there’s some red in there, too.” she ran her fingers through Chloe’s hair and f
elt her skull. Chloe arched an eyebrow but didn’t move away. “Girl, even though it’s dark, your hair shines like honey. Like dark buttered honey. Mind if I braid it?”
Tracy walked over to the two. “Chloe’s new to Chardon.”
“Could you sit on the floor?” Dana asked Chloe. She moved to the foot of the chair and Dana climbed in behind her. “You two girls, you shine! It’s like you’re sisters from another mother.”
Tracy sat on the floor next to Chloe and leaned against her. “Dana’s psychic. She can do Tarot and what else…”
“Girls, I don’t need the room to be dark to see your aura. I’m glad you’re here Chloe. You belong in this place.” She had finished braiding and was just massaging Chloe’s head. Chloe decided to go with the flow and just relaxed.
The pause in conversation prompted Robbie to bring up the Sheriff’s visit. “Hey Tracy, just to let you know, someone installed cameras on the property. You can hardly notice ‘em in the trees. They’re monitoring the house.”
Tracy stiffened, “What! that’s weird... Who?”
Robbie scratched his head. Johnny looked at him to take the lead.
Dana put her hand on Tracy’s shoulder, “don’t sweat it… why we’re here.”
Robbie said, “We’re trying to figure it out… I didn’t want to alarm you, but I think you should know about it.”
Chloe leaned forward and looked back at Dana. “Are you guys also part of this…. thing?” she asked.
Dana said, “Ohhhh good. So you know.”
Robbie held up his hand. “I haven’t told the whole story.”
Tracy frowned, “Ugh, there’s more?” she stood up. “I’ve almost gotten back to normal life…”
Robbie said, “If you want to stay out of it, you can. We’ll take care of everything. You just go on with normal.”
Chloe was intrigued. “I have to say, I thought everything you told us before was totally crazy. I thought maybe you guys were part of some strange religion. I’m from California--we had neighbors, really nice people, that were Satanists. No biggie. I’m curious to hear the rest.”
Tracy sat down by her again. Chloe’s strength gave her a boost.
Robbie sat down and leaned forward in his chair.
“Remember the Egregore?”
“How could I forget?” Tracy said and tapped her head.
Chloe answered, “Yeah, the ‘thought entities’.”
“Well, when I introduced this, I focused on the idea aspect of them.” Robbie said.
Johnny added, “really in a lot of ways that’s the most important part.”
“Right, that’s true, and I also said these things are basically attached to our world through humans. Really through consciousness…” he waved his hand, “but that’s getting too complicated.”
Dana was getting impatient and said, “My god, why hold back?”
Robbie looked at her and held up a hand. “Dana, go easy…”
Dana furrowed her brow, and acknowledged him and tried to stick with generalities. “Our world--the human world--and their world are like this.” She entwined her fingers together. “They enter our world, through people, take them over like a virus.” She was getting angry. “When they’re totally infected, they look and sound like any other person. Over time--thousands of years--they’ve built up organizations. So, they’ve got helpers and hangers on. It seems like some of their minions are focused on the farm right now.”
Tracy deflated; she leaned on Chloe.
Robbie said, “Look, it’s not as bad as it sounds.”
Tracy said, “It sounds really bad.”
Robbie made a diminishing motion with his hands and said, “They’re almost always extremely careful and try to accomplish their goals indirectly. We believe they won’t hurt us--certainly not you.”
Dana looked at Robbie and frowned. She said, “You need to know they can be dangerous. They’re not human…. they don’t give a shit about anything human.”
Johnny said, “nothing’s going to happen. You’re safe.”
Dana followed up, “I look like a hippie chick, Johnny looks like ZZ-Top, and Robbie looks like a mechanic, but we are bad asses.” She patted Chloe’s shoulders, “and this one. This one is a lioness-to-be.”
Tracy sighed.
Chloe said, “You want to stay at my place? I’d have to ask my dad, but he’ll say OK. I’m pretty sure you could stay, ya know, however long.”
Tracy’s face brightened. “Sounds like fun.”
“Can your dad give me a call?” Robbie asked. Chloe nodded.
Dana said, “just make sure you girls hang around here, some!”
Chapter Fifteen
Morgan woke up extremely early. He was a bundle of nervous energy. He waited until the sun came up, then rode as hard as he could to get to the Wells house. Robbie was already out on the patio going through his slow motion morning routine.
“What time’s the guy getting here?”
“10:30” Morgan was pacing back and forth.
“Morgan, sit down.” Robbie couldn’t take the pacing. “You’re a good kid, and that’s why you’re nervous. Being nervous isn’t all bad, either. But it is bad if it gets in the way of what you’re trying to do.”
“Yeah, so much on my mind doing this…” Morgan said. He breathed out.
Robbie folded his paper and closed his notebook. “When I was about your age, I worked at a bicycle shop… There was a mechanic there who was so deliberate and slow when he worked we called him Mol-A, as in molasses. Plus, he had thick ass glasses, so like a mole.”
“Huh?” Morgan asked. “What’s this got to do with me?”
“You’re spazzing. Spazzing is always bad. It’s a habit. If you were a mechanic, you’d be flinging wrenches all over the place and breaking stuff.”
Morgan nodded. He tried to calm down.
“It’s good to have that nervous energy, but apply it toward your goals. Think about what you’re trying to do.”
“OK. First problem, I don’t know how much the coin is worth… Not at all.”
“Alright.” Robbie took a sip of his coffee. “What else.”
“Well, getting to the airport. Driving without a license.”
“Billions of people drive. You know how to drive. Believe me, there are worse drivers on the road with a license than you.”
“What if I get caught.”
“Like I said, leave the truck, run like hell. The odds of you getting caught are slim to none. Does your phone do GPS?”
“Yeah.”
“Just listen to what it says. It’s easy peasey. You’ll need some cash for parking--there’s some in the glove box.”
“I’ll pay you back.”
“Don’t sweat it.”
“Well… I guess I’ll go. Is Tracy around?”
“She’s staying over at her friend Chloe’s.”
Chapter Sixteen
Keith Marte put on a suit and tie. The girls were sitting on the living room couch eating breakfast and getting ready for school.
Chloe said, “ooh, Dad, when did you start selling cars?”
He chuckled, “Very funny. Gotta look sharp for work today--need to impress someone.”
She nodded. “I was just kidding about the salesman thing. I’m impressed.”
Tracy said, “Me too. I think it’s a nice suit.”
Keith nodded, “Thanks.”
Chloe put her hand over her mouth, “Oh dad! I almost forgot to tell you: call Tracy’s Uncle. He wants to talk to you.”
Tracy knitted her brows, “that’s a little weird.”
“Hey don’t kill the messenger.” Chloe said.
Keith said, “I’m sure it’s nothing. I’ll let you know what he says?”
She nodded. “Sorry to be paranoid. I’m not used to being a kid.”
Keith said, “Well, I’ll do my best to respect that. Heck you two are basically adults.”
Chloe laughed, “Oh I should have recorded that!”
&nb
sp; He said, “Well, it is true… I haven’t totally accepted my little girl’s all growed up, but I’m getting there.” He kissed Chloe on the top of the head. “I’m outta. Lock up?”
“‘kay.” Chloe waved. He left. “See? I told you he’s cool.”
“Yep. I was wrong.” Tracy shrugged.
Chapter Seventeen
Keith went to the office and printed out a fake check paid to the order of Dickie Parsons. He put the check in a black folder and printed a label for the front. “Office of Unclaimed Wealth: In-Prison Transfer”. He printed out some boilerplate legal documents and stuffed them in the other side of the folder.
He got back in the car and headed toward Windham. He called Robbie on the way.
The Chardon Chronicles: Season One -- The Harvest Festival Page 16
