Race for the Flash Stone (The Anlon Cully Chronicles Book 2)

by K Patrick Donoghue

  Arriving at Anlon’s, she walked across the driveway and passed around the large, lodge-style home to reach the back patio. There, she spied Anlon lounging on a chaise under the shade of two dozen pine trees.

  “Hey there!” she said with a wave of her hand.

  Anlon waved back. “Hey. How was the run?”

  She stuck out her tongue. “Awful. The altitude is still killing me.”

  “Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it soon enough,” he said.

  Jennifer plopped onto a chair facing Anlon. “I’ve been here for three weeks now. Shouldn’t that be enough?”

  “Nah, takes most people a bit longer than that.”

  “God, every time I finish a run I sound like a barking seal!”

  “So that’s what I heard! I thought it was a dying fox!”

  “Haha,” Jennifer said.

  Anlon smiled and pointed toward the kitchen door. “There’s some fresh lemonade in the fridge if you’re thirsty.”

  Jennifer kicked off her shoes and peeled off her socks. Rubbing a foot while gazing out at the lake, she said, “Okay, thanks. I’ll get some in a sec. How’s your leg feeling today?”

  Anlon raised the spindly limb and adjusted the straps of the elongated brace before replying. “Pretty sore,” he said. “Lots of leg lifts in physical therapy this morning.”

  “Well, you’re moving around a lot better than you were last week. I know the PT is painful, but it’s paying off.”

  “Yeah, can’t wait to lose the brace, though...and the walking stick.”

  “Hey, it’s better than the cast and wheelchair, right? At least you can take the brace off when you’re chilling.”

  “Yeah, I guess that’s true,” Anlon said, massaging his thigh.

  “Pebbles already head out?” Jennifer asked, now rubbing the other foot.

  “Yep. She wasn’t in a good mood when she left, so fair warning.”

  “Why? What happened?”

  “I had a few packages delivered when I was at PT. She wasn’t happy at all about the ‘early’ wake-up doorbell.”

  “That’s funny, I didn’t hear anyone ring the doorbell early this morning.”

  “He came at ten-thirty.”

  “Ah. Well, I bet she’s stoked to go pick up the Sinethal. What time was she meeting with Antonio?”

  “Um, that’s another thorn in her side. Antonio hasn’t returned her call yet.”

  “I’m sure he’ll call back sometime today,” Jennifer said. “You taking the boat out?”

  “Nah, I’m enjoying relaxing right here. You can take it out if you want,” said Anlon.

  “Hmmm…it’s tempting, but I’d rather get my assignments,” Jennifer said with a smile.

  “Ah, so you’re eager to start, are you?”

  “I’ll go grab my notebook and be right back,” said Jennifer. She stuffed her socks in her running shoes, jogged up the slate steps and disappeared through the kitchen door. A few minutes later, she poked her head out the door and asked, “I’m getting some lemonade, you want another glass?”

  “Sure, thanks,” Anlon said.

  Jennifer reappeared through the door with pen clutched in her teeth, notepad crooked beneath one arm and a full glass in each hand. She padded down the steps, handed one of the drinks to Anlon and repositioned herself across from him.

  With pen poised, Jennifer said, “Okay, fire away. What do you need?”

  “I need your sleuthing skills to help find some pieces of information that are missing from Devlin’s records,” Anlon said.

  “The Sinethal, right?”

  “Yep, that’s the most important one.”

  Jennifer rattled the pen in her hand. “Do you think he found it on a dig?”

  “Certainly possible, but I’ve been through all his expedition notebooks and didn’t find anything. You’re welcome to look through them yourself. A second pair of eyes wouldn’t hurt.”

  “Okay, I will. What about a private collector?”

  “That’s another possibility, but tracking down a collector might be tough. I’m afraid there’s not much to go on in Devlin’s records.”

  “And you said last night we don’t know when Devlin found it, right?”

  “Exactly. Best guess is five to six months before he died.”

  “How’d you come up with that?”

  Anlon pointed at the table with the three expedition books. “The earliest of his expeditions to hunt for the Stones, at least the earliest one I can find any record of, was a trip to Guadeloupe in January,” he said. “And I’m certain he went there looking for something to do with the Stones. It’s possible he went on expeditions before then, but like I said, I haven’t found a record of any.”

  “Right,” Jennifer said, scribbling down a note. “So, I’ll start with the idea he somehow acquired the Sinethal in the December–January time frame.”

  “I’m not sure I can help you much on where to begin.”

  “That’s okay, I’ll figure out a strategy,” Jennifer assured him.

  “Great, thank you. One less loose string for me! You have carte blanche for whatever you need. Travel, money, whatever. The sooner you can find out the answer, the better.”

  “Sounds good. I’ll get cracking as soon as I take a shower.”

  The assignment excited her. It was exactly the kind of detective work she enjoyed — finding the missing link. Already, ideas were flowing into her mind. Go through Devlin’s inventory records, look for any artifact loans, purchases or sales within the last year. Contact the parties involved in the transactions. It seemed reasonable to assume Devlin might have stumbled across the Sinethal while in discussions about other items.

  Anlon watched Jennifer jot down a flurry of notes and smiled. “Something tells me you’ve already nailed a strategy.”

  “Not yet, just thought of a couple ideas,” she replied as she continued to write.

  “I do have two suggestions, for what they’re worth.”

  “Great. What are they?”

  “George Grant,” Anlon said. “Devlin left the Sinethal with him before he was killed. Maybe he told Grant where he got it?”

  Jennifer nodded. Devlin’s attorney was a decent possibility. Devlin might have said something in passing when he asked Grant to hold the Sinethal for him, something that didn’t seem important to Grant at the time. In her experience, the biggest breakthroughs often came from the smallest detail.

  “I’d also check with Anabel Simpson. She told me she didn’t know anything about the Stones, but who knows. Maybe I didn’t ask the right questions,” he said.

  That reminded Jennifer about the pictures of Anabel and Devlin she found at Devlin’s house in Stockbridge. She jotted down Anabel’s name in her notepad and said, “Sounds like a trip back east is called for. It’s too bad Dobson’s and Pacal’s laptops were impounded. Maybe while I’m back in Mass, I can get Nickerson to take a look at them. Want me to try?”

  Dan Nickerson was a detective lieutenant for the same Massachusetts State Police detective unit as Jennifer. She and Nickerson had worked on several cases together when Nickerson was just a detective-trainee and they had formed a good friendship.

  “Think he’ll talk to you given your suspension?” asked Anlon.

  “Who, Dan? We talk all the time. He knows I got a bullshit slap on the wrist. It might cost you some Patriots tickets, but I think I can persuade him,” she said, grinning.

  “Say the word, I’ll make it happen,” he said.

  Jennifer flipped to a new page. “That’s a good start. Lots to chew on. Anything else?”

  “The statues,” said Anlon. “Same drill. I want to know where they came from, especially the dragon-head statue that Devlin drew in here.” He lifted the Dominica book, flipped to the page with the dragon-man drawing and handed it to Jennifer. “There’s no reason I can figure to explain why this drawing is in this notebook. If we knew where Devlin acquired it, that would give us a lead to follow.”

  “Oka
y, that’s on the list now too.”

  “The only other thing I’d love to know is where Margaret Corchran is hiding. She killed Devlin and I want her ass to pay for it. Navarro and Thatcher are of less concern. If you can find out anything about where she is, that would be helpful. I can’t do anything about it personally unless I meet her face to face…which seems unlikely to happen. But I’ll spend any amount necessary to help capture her. Reward money, whatever,” Anlon said.

  Jennifer added that to her list. It would be a little dicey trying to nose in on Devlin’s murder investigation given her suspension, but maybe Nickerson would be willing to give her a glimpse at the latest inside scoop.

  “Sounds good, I’ll see what I can do,” she said. “Well, I’ve got a full plate. Better get started.”

  She rose from the chair and headed for the stairs. On the second step up, she heard Anlon call, “Oh, by the way, ‘Bones’ dropped off a little something for you. It’s in a bag on your bed.”

  Jennifer froze in midstep. “Excuse me?”

  “Yeah, he stopped by a little while ago. Nice guy, we had a good chat. He said you left something at his place a couple nights ago. Wanted to return it,” Anlon said with a wink.

  Red-faced, Jennifer dashed in the house without a word. She was certain she hadn’t left anything at Griffin’s, but, then again, she had been a little tipsy…

  When she entered the guest room, she spied the shopping bag sitting near the foot of the bed. With one eye closed, she spread open the handles and pulled the garment out.

  Anlon heard a happy squeal echo from inside the house.

  In Jennifer’s hands was an autographed Ice Zombies limited edition T-shirt from the Frozen Dreams tour. The autograph read, “Book ’em, Jenno.”

  CHAPTER 6

  SEYBALROSA

  Incline Village, Nevada

  August 7

  Anlon and Pebbles lounged on the aft bench and watched the last glint of sun pass behind the mountains. When it dipped below the horizon, Pebbles nuzzled up to Anlon and said, “Mmmm, that was a good one.”

  “Sure was,” he replied. “The colors were awesome tonight.”

  Pebbles raised herself up briefly to adjust the blanket covering their legs, and then reclined back against Anlon’s chest. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and kissed her cheek. Together, they looked upward and waited for the sky to fill with stars.

  It was a clear night and already dots of light began to twinkle above. At Tahoe’s altitude, there was always a spectacular array of visible stars and constellations, even when the Moon was full. But tonight, it appeared as a thin crescent, and it was already edging toward the western horizon. Once the Moon set, there would be no competing light to obscure the heavens, and that meant tonight’s sky would be chocked with more stars than usual.

  The setting pleased Pebbles greatly. She had become an avid stargazer after Malinyah’s telling of the great flood saga. In fact, it was now one of her favorite rituals. She would come out on the lake, with or without company, and stare up at the constellations.

  She would first orient herself to Cassiopeia and then watch the other constellations wheel around it, just as the Munuorians had done for thousands of years. Though Cassiopeia appeared in different places in the night sky throughout a year’s time, Malinyah had said it rarely disappeared from view. To Pebbles, it felt comforting to know it was always there.

  Pebbles pointed to it and said to Anlon, “There she is, Cassiopeia.”

  “Yep,” he said. “What did Malinyah call it?”

  “Breylif,” Pebbles said. “It’s their word for ‘butterfly.’”

  She held up her hands with palms facing the sky. Then she touched the tips of her thumbs together and said, “If you hold your hands like this, it makes the shape of a W.”

  With her thumbs acting as a fulcrum, Pebbles rotated her hands so that the palms touched each other. Then, she reversed the rotation outward. As she repeated the motion, she said, “See, it’s a butterfly flapping its wings.”

  “That makes a lot more sense than naming it Cassiopeia. Somehow, a big W doesn’t look like a woman sitting in a chair to me,” Anlon said.

  “No kidding.”

  After a moment’s silence, Anlon asked, “Speaking of Malinyah, did Antonio call back yet?”

  “No, his assistant said he’s traveling,” Pebbles sighed. “But she promised to give him my message.”

  “I’ll email him,” said Anlon.

  “Nah, don’t bother. I can deal with a few more days’ waiting,” said Pebbles. “Besides, you said you wanted to do your ‘experiment’ before I talk with Malinyah again. That gives us some time.”

  “You want to do it now? Won’t take very long.”

  “Hmmm…Depends. What’s involved?” Pebbles asked.

  “It’s simple. I ask you some questions, you answer them. Easy as pie.”

  “Sounds too easy. Is it some kind of trick?”

  “No tricks, I promise,” Anlon said, crossing his heart.

  “What’s the experiment supposed to prove?” she asked.

  Scratching his head, he said, “If I tell you that, it will skew the results.”

  “A.C., if you want me to be your lab rat, I want to know what the test is about,” Pebbles said, crossing her arms and legs.

  “‘Lab rat’ sounds a little harsh. How about we say you’re my test partner?”

  “You can call me anything you like, but I ain’t doing any experiment unless you tell me more!”

  “Okay, okay. Take it easy. I’ll explain.” Anlon said with a laugh. After a brief pause to gather his thoughts, his demeanor turned serious. “So, among the many things I’ve been thinking about, I’ve been wondering how the Munuorians stored their memories on the Master Stone, er, Sinethal. At the same time, I’ve been trying to understand how it’s possible for us to interact with Malinyah’s memories. And why the memories seem so real.”

  “Go on, I’m listening…”

  “Well, figuring out the ‘how they did it’ part is still murky, but I think I understand the other two pieces.”

  “So…?”

  Anlon stroked her hair and gazed at the glittering lights from homes along the shoreline. “I think the Sinethal experiences were designed to achieve something very important to them.”

  “Like what?”

  “I think they wanted to ensure the most important memories were never forgotten. That their people, and anyone who used the Sinethal, would retain the core of important memories in a way that was less likely to be forgotten.

  “Think about it. Paper decays, stone weathers, oral stories get changed with each telling. Think about how hard it is to retain important cultural memories in the context they occurred. Take a story about an important event in our history, say, man walking on the Moon. How would you learn about that today?”

  “Hmmm…I guess I’d go on the Internet,” Pebbles said.

  “Good starting point. What would you do?”

  Pebbles sat up and turned to face Anlon. “Well, I’d do a search, get a bunch of hits. Read some articles, watch some videos, look at some pictures, stuff like that.”

  “How long do you think you’d retain what you saw and heard?”

  Tossing aside the blanket, she stretched out her legs along the bench. “I don’t know. Some parts I’d remember for a long time. Like the famous photo of Neil Armstrong’s footprint on the Moon, that’s the first thing that pops in my mind when I think of the story. And the scratchy recording of him saying, ‘One small step…,’ but other parts would probably fade pretty quickly. Facts and figures, those kinds of things.”

  Anlon said, “Okay, so, now imagine Neil Armstrong was a Munuorian, and he saved his memories of walking on the Moon on a Sinethal, and you interacted with his memories. Imagine asking him to show you what it felt like to step on the Moon? To not just hear his words, but to feel your foot touch the Moon’s surface just as his did. To know the odor of space and the sound of your own
breathing inside the helmet. To know how cold it was inside the capsule, or how dark space really is. To see little blue Earth over the horizon. To feel his elation, pride and wonder. Would you ever forget that experience?”

  Pebbles shook her head. “No way.”

  “Even if you forgot parts of it, don’t you think you’d remember more of the story from experiencing his memories than you would from web research?”

  “Absolutely,” she said.

  By now, Anlon was up and limping around the deck. He laced his fingers through his hair and said, “I think it was done purposely. The Munuorians intentionally embedded multiple cues, sensory cues, along with stored memories. I think they did it to improve the odds the memories would endure over time.”

  “Okay, I’m sold,” said Pebbles. “What do you want me to do?”

  “I want to test your memory. I ask you some questions, you answer them. The first questions are aimed at quick recall.”

  “Sounds easy. Let’s do it,” she said.

  “Great, hold on a sec. Let me get a piece of paper and a pen.”

  Anlon limped to the stairs leading below-deck. He poked his head in the small chamber and grabbed a pen and paper from the galley counter. Returning to the bench, he asked, “You have your cell phone handy? Good, turn the flashlight on and give it to me. Great, now take the paper and pen. Okay, now draw me the Sinethal etching.”

  “Easy peasy,” said Pebbles.

  She drew a circle with six rays. Two of the rays were placed on a horizontal plane opposite each other. With even spacing, or as best as she could approximate, she drew the two lines above the horizontal plane, one at eleven o’clock, the other at one o’clock. She did the same for the two lines below the horizontal plane, one at five o’clock and the last one at seven o’clock.

  Next, she filled in the various symbols. Starting with eleven o’clock, she moved clockwise and inserted each of the symbols: the leaf, followed by the sound waves, followed by the star. Then came the two hands, the rhombus, and finally the fish symbol. As a bonus, she included the names of the Stones associated with each symbol, the names Devlin gave them and the original Munuorian names.1