Nomadic:Sessions:20041120:Day 3

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DAY 3 – Wednesday May 10, 1972

Over the radio comes a “breaker” sound. Argus raises it and says “Yeah?” It’s Valerie, who’s still with Rick watching the bikers outside the Rowdy Rooster. Since it’s been over half an hour since Zed made his phone call, it’s likely he’s going to do something soon. Argus tells her that Beth Ann gave Greg a necklace that messed with his mind. Just then Valerie sees Zed go into the club, then he emerges with two other bikers and a redneck-looking guy. While one of the bikers holds a knife on the redneck, Zed and the others start manhandling Zed’s Harley into the bed of a pickup truck. Argus says “I’m on my way,” and proceeds to set a land speed record from Sanders to Carrollton.

Valerie slips back in through the restroom window and goes over to the tables where the bikers were congregated. Several of them left their jackets on their chairs, and Valerie rifles through their pockets. In her erstwhile dance partner’s jacket she finds a snub-nosed .38, which she confiscates. Other jackets contain a large wad of cash, some loose marijuana, and a quantity of heroin.

Argus reaches a gas station near the Rowdy Rooster; Zed and his bunch are still there. Vicente asks, “What’s the play?” Argus: “I’m thinking of shooting Zed in the knee and taking it from there.” He maneuvers the Impala into position as Zed jumps on his bike and kicks it into life.

As Zed roars out into the lead, Argus tells Vicente and Max, “You two cover the yahoos in the pickup. I’ll take care of Zed.” He guns the Impala and squarely t-bones the bike. Zed goes flying, bounces on the pavement, and doesn’t move. The redneck, who is being forced to drive his pickup, alertly stomps on the gas, hits the bike, slams on his brakes, and bounces a biker out of the pickup bed and onto the hood.

The other biker emerges from the pickup and draws down on Argus. He freezes, though, when he hears Max making that unmistakable cha-chunk. “You any good with that shotgun?” Max: “I don’t need to be.” The biker wisely drops his gun, then asks if he can see to Zed; Argus orders him to “lie down by the curb and don’t move.”

Max tells the redneck to take his truck and leave. Then he radios Rick to come to the gas station. Valerie says “Race you” and takes off running.

Argus checks on Zed. He is alive, but only barely. He has a concussion and a broken leg. Max tends to the hood guy. Argus performs enough first aid to stabilize Zed.

Max shakes his head at the damage to the Impala’s front end. He performs a feat of mechanical magic to rig the car so it’ll run… barely.

Over the scanner Argus hears that a couple of police cars are on their way. Max and Valerie empty out the Impala, and Valerie drives it away to dispose of it in the Ohio River. Vicente and Argus warn the able-bodied biker to get out of town. The hood guy is left lying on the ground. Zed is loaded into the back of the truck, and JT is radioed that he’s about to have to patch someone back together. Argus displaces Rick behind the wheel of the truck, and he peels out and away from the gas station just as two more bikers come running up.

It is about 1:10am on Wednesday, May 10.


{1/29/2005}

1 10 A.M.

Argus drives away from the gas station, evading a police cruiser that is responding to the disturbance call. Over the police band comes a report of forest fires at the boat wreck area. Max has frisked Zed and turned up another silver chain. Argus radios JT to meet them a block from the hospital; “Make sure no one sees you.”

After ditching the Impala, Valerie floats about fifty yards downriver, then comes ashore and creeps back toward the gas station. The town’s fire siren is sounding. A crowd of curious people, many of them from the Rowdy Rooster, cranes their necks to watch what’s going on. One cop holds a gun on three bikers, declaring them under arrest; his partner examines the scene. A civilian car has pulled up, and a man with an authoritative air orders the crowd to stay back. Valerie guesses that this is the chief of police, Frank Tolbert. Several minutes later, an EMT unit arrives to transport the injured biker (the one who had bounced out of the back of the redneck’s truck).

Valerie notices Randy Close fading back from the scene and leading four other bikers back to the Rowdy Rooster. She slips in through the restroom window in time to overhear his side of a phone call, as the other end rang for over a minute before being picked up. “Yeah… Get your ass down here. I know you don’t want to be associated with us, but… Meet us four blocks from the Rowdy Rooster. Be here in fifteen minutes or I’ll come find you.”

Around 1:30 Argus pulls the truck up to the house in Sanders, scene of the Palmer family massacre. JT hands out vials of the “symbol deactivator” he concocted. Zed is carried into the no-mana zone and JT tends to him, setting his broken leg, treating his concussion, and binding other wounds. Vicente studies the silver chain, but he can’t make out the tiny symbols.

After forty minutes or so, JT announces that Zed is stabilized and could be awakened. Rick positions himself as a sentry; Vicente stands just outsize the no-mana zone. JT passes smelling salts under Zed’s nose, and the biker regains consciousness. Disoriented, Zed gradually focuses on Argus looming over him. Argus growls, “Who are you working for?” “Myself,” Zed replies. “Liar – Who’s the lady?” “I’m just helping out Parsons.” “Do you know Bethane?” “Yeah, cute girl that works at the dime store.” “Ever get anything from her?” Zed cracks a grin: “Hoping to.” She gave him a silver neckchain right after he got to town. The chain is strong; he’d used it to strangle a drug dealer in Cincinnati. Parsons has a grudge against the city, Zed says; she will take vengeance. “The town needs to suffer” because they “haven’t treated her right.” He trails off with the words, “Trio… trio.”

Argus asks Zed about Harvey and Randy. Zed replies that Randy would go to their “business associates”… then it occurs to him, “Wait, you’re talking like a cop.” Argus: “Cops have rules – I don’t have any of those. Awfully convenient.” Zed claims not to recognize the house they’re in. When told it’s the Sanders murder/suicide house, he says, “I’m surprised more of these people don’t go psycho. If I didn’t have a project, I’d go psycho.” Argus presses, “What are you going to blow up?” Zed gets a crafty look on his face; “You were driving the car that hit me!” He asks if Argus is a wheelman, and apologizes if he unknowingly ran afoul of the Mob. “I’ll cut you in on the deal,” but he won’t reveal the operation.

Vicente asks about the January tractor-trailer accident. Zed seems proud of it. “He just cut the wheel too hard to avoid a poor biker. It was just for fun… but on purpose.” Zed denies involvement with the Prestonville gas explosion: “I prefer hands-on work.” Argus asks, “What did Dan Field see that he had to die for?” “Redneck… spying on us… insulted her.” Argus: “What are you gonna do next, hit the baseball game?” Zed: “Nothing, for another month.” Vicente asks about rituals; Zed says he’s making the other bikers Hell’s Angels so it binds them to him. Again Zed offers, “I’ll cut you in… I don’t care so much for the money; I mainly want a rep out of this… it’ll be a couple hundred thou for me.” Argus shakes his head and says, “You’re being played, Zed.”

Vicente asks about marksmen. Zed says Harvey is okay, and “I’m decent with a rifle,” but then says, “I was among the elite.” Argus, with his US Army background, recognizes that Zed is using the wrong terminology, and calls him on it. Zed: “All the rules just wasn’t for me… Things were different when I got back from ‘Nam.”

Zed asks Vicente if he is the enforcer; Vicente says Argus is the enforcer. Zeb tries again: “If you’re the boss, I’ll cut you in.”

Max checks Zed’s arm tattoos; the Hell’s Angels tattoo is there, but no Recon One or anything. Vicente asks Zed, “What unit were you in?” JT throws in, “Before the dishonorable discharge?” Zed protests, but admits he was infantry. “I have trouble with authority.” JT: “You’re about to have more,” and flashes his badge. Argus rolls up a sleeve and reveals his genuine Army tattoo.

Vicente asks Zed, “Is Miz Parsons a witch?” After a long moment, Zed says, “I don’t think so.” He says he has trouble concentrating, that “at times I have two memories.” JT injects Zed with more painkillers, which makes him mellower. Vicente: “Who took the shot at the boat? Did you?” Zed: “No, I don’t – I couldn’t.” JT: “So Miz Parsons doesn’t have anything to do with this?” Zed: “I have memories of talking to her… but I don’t think I really have. Bethane’s made suggestions to me, encouraged me to do what I want to do… Saturday I intend to harass Warsaw [a small community on the Ohio River some 20 miles from Carrollton]. It’s not time to get the police chief’s and sheriff’s attention. I’m going to hit the jewelry stores in Carrollton next month and cause destruction. I’m paying the police chief a grand a month to look the other way, and I’ll set up a distraction for the sheriff.”

Argus presses, “Who is the Trio?” Zed names “Miz Parsons, myself, and Harvey.” Harvey has a Recon tattoo; JT concludes, “he’s the shooter.”

JT examines the silver chains under a magnifying glass. Some of the arcane symbols have the “flavor” of Cthulhu, but they’re more mainline magic than occult. Vicente determines that the magic involves charm and memory modifications (as in forgetfulness or false memory), with the Cthulhu symbols enhancing, supporting, and making the wearer more susceptible. Vicente explains all this to Zed, who exclaims, “But Bethane gave me that chain!” Argus comments, “Bethane learned a lot in California, didn’t she?” Zed says it was Bethane who suggested he leave the county this weekend and not bother the police chief or the sheriff. He admits, “She’s got me wrapped around her…” JT finishes, “… little silver chain.” Zed recalls seeing Bethane with Harvey and some others from the plant.

Vicente asks about the dogs; Zed shrugs and says, “They seem to hang around this county.” Argus asks about the wolves; Zed saw them while doing “scout work” north of the Ohio River; “Two silver wolves paced my bike for about five seconds… and I was doing 40.” JT, Argus, and Vicente tell Zed he will not be going to Warsaw this weekend.


Returning to an earlier topic, JT asks, “Our good friend, Mr Field – what did he see that he had to die for?” Zed: “Bethane told me… I caught him following me… sneaking up on the roadhouse… Bethane warned me… Bethane wanted him dead for some reason.” JT: “So you dragged him?” Zed: “We shot him, he didn’t soften up.”

Zed says, almost to himself, “I have two memories laying side by side… I see what Bethane wanted me to.”

Vicente takes a deep breath and asks, “What are we going to do with him?” He draws his .22 for emphasis. JT: “Turn him over to the sheriff – he’s just confessed to killing three people.” Vicente, pointing his gun at Zed: “Are you sure we shouldn’t take care of him?” JT: “He’s going to put away the chief – he’s been paying him off.” Vicente, JT, and Argus proceed to “argue” among themselves. Zed speaks up and says he’ll confess. Vicente: “I won’t shoot you in the head if you don’t get off.” JT adds, “He talks to ghosts, and he wants to keep talking to you.” JT: “I can shoot him so full of stuff he’ll never leave this house.” Vicente: “So can I.”

“The Trio,” Zed says, “was Miz Parsons, Harvey, and me. I don’t know how Greg was involved, except as an alibi.” Harvey works the day shift, and considering it’s now 3:30am, JT suggests that sometime within the next hour would be the best time to talk to him. However, he does have a wife and a six-year-old daughter.

Vicente asks JT and Argus to step with him outside of Zed’s hearing range. “When the sheriff asks me – how did we get Zed?” A big discussion ensues. JT: “He’s not going to ask you any questions he doesn’t want the answers to. Don’t lie to him, just tell him he doesn’t want to know the answers.”

They load Zed and Greg into the LTD. Argus drives the Ford and Vicente follows in the truck. They drive to the Ford dealership and leave Greg’s LTD there (after Max carefully wipes off all prints). Vicente reluctantly lets Argus behind the wheel of the truck with the admonishment, “Don’t hit anybody we don’t want to hit.”

A little past 4:00am they arrive at the sheriff’s office; Powell’s cruiser and two other cars are parked outside. Max unties Greg, who sees where he is and wisely doesn’t raise a ruckus. Rick walks Greg inside, while Max and Argus help Zed. Vicente finds the sheriff sitting at his desk across from a man in a business suit. Vicente announces, “I have something you’ve been looking for.” The sheriff responds, “You have Zed?” As he leaves the room with Vicente, the sheriff tells the man in the suit not to move; “I don’t care if the guy was rich, I don’t want the governor involved.”

The sheriff orders Zed and Greg into jail cells. “Let’s keep this simple – where did you find Zed?” “On the road,” comes the reply; he confessed to killing Dan Field and bribing the chief of police. You pointed out that someone would kill him if he didn’t repeat his confession. JT says, “We need to talk to Harvey Carson, so we can go after the person who set all this up.”

Powell says a fire started around midnight, centered on the boat wreck. The deputy who had been watching the site was found unconscious with bite marks on him. JT and Vicente describe various folks’ memory problems and show one of the silver chains to the sheriff. Powell says Harvey was a “foot-pounder” in ‘Nam. Powell proceeds to deputize Argus, Rick, and Max and issues them rifles. Vicente and JT will ride with the sheriff. Vicente goes to the men’s room and casts Missile Shield on himself. Argus explains to Max, “When I say ‘reload’, hand me a clip. When I say ‘reload’ again, hand me another clip. When I say ‘reload’ again, start running like hell because I’ll be out of ammo then.”

At a quarter past four, the sheriff pulls up in front of Harvey’s house. A truck and a Fairlane 500 are visible in the garage, and Vicente can see someone slumped over the wheel of the truck. With the sheriff covering him, Vicente approaches the truck. The man is unconscious, and the sheriff identifies him as Harvey Carson. Vicente pulls a silver chain off of Harvey’s neck. JT thinks Harvey’s been drugged, and they should go check on his wife and kid – after all, why wouldn’t his wife have come looking for Harvey when she heard his truck pull up and he didn’t come in? The sheriff pulls the keys from the truck’s ignition; Vicente draws his 9mm. Inside the house, a woman lies on the hallway carpet, unconscious; Vicente finds a needle mark on the back of her neck. The child lying in bed appears to be asleep, but she has a needle mark, also.

JT checks Harvey’s truck. It has recently been driven through woods and on a dirt road. There is the odor of gas or kerosene in the truck bed. JT hears someone coming around the corner of the house; he pulls his gun and waits, then hears Argus’ voice coming over Max’s radio. Vicente mentions his discoveries, and JT finds a needle mark on Harvey’s neck. The glovebox contains a box of shotgun shells and a county map. JT turns on his radio and says that since we don’t know what substance was injected into these people, they should be taken to the hospital right away. “We don’t want the wife and child held for ransom.” (It doesn’t seem to have occurred to Sheriff Powell that these three people should be placed in protective custody.) Vicente checks around for occult symbols and finds none. Ambulances arrive and JT describes the puncture wounds and tells the medics to run blood tests. Max sees no necklaces on the EMTs.

The guys decide they need to get some rest and to check on Valerie, so they head back to the bungalow. Valerie isn’t there. Rick says she was going to dispose of the Impala in the river. At this, JT is incredulous that she had been left to fend for herself. Argus is unconcerned – “she’s a stuntwoman.” JT: “On a stage where everything was set up, she still got blown up."” Vicente is also unworried, believing that if she died, she’d just wind up back at the conference room; “We’ll fuss at her when we see her.” Argus comments that “she’s a little cracked;” Vicente agrees, and admits he had told her to “improvise.” Max, Argus, and Rick head straight to bed; a few moments and several unvoiced thoughts later, so does JT. Vicente, his conscience perhaps pricking him slightly, locates Valerie’s hairbrush (which contains a few of her hairs) and casts Seeker, which fails. Having done what he could, Vicente goes to sleep.


About an hour later, Max, who is a light sleeper anyway, awakens with a prickly feeling that for him presages danger. He immediately rolls out of bed and thumps onto the floor, shouting, “Wake up!” Hearing noises from outside the bungalow, he adds, “Dogs!” Everyone else but Rick awakens right away. Then the blast from a shotgun blows open the front door, and a half-dozen dogs charge into the room. Argus shouts, “Dogs! Shoot!” Inside the bungalow, the dogs fan out. Behind them but still outside is a bobcat. Max aims at a dog that is heading for Rick. JT draws his 9mm. Two dogs rush toward Max. A dog climbs onto a coffee table toward Rick; Argus shoots at it but it dodges. Rick dives out of the way and the dog’s teeth barely miss him. Vicente fires but the dog dodges. One dog stops in the middle of the room.

Argus fires and hits a dog twice. JT moves to the bedroom door. Vicente fires his shotgun and tears through a dog’s chest. Max fires and hits one the dog trying to get Rick. Max pumps in another shell and calls out, “Bring it to the Max!” His danger sense kicks up again, warning him of a new peril outside. He fires between two dogs; one of them takes the full blast. One dog bites Vicente, but its teeth don’t penetrate his skin.

Argus glances through the door and sees an object lying on the ground past the bobcat. Max grabs a dog and flips it into the bedroom, bouncing it off the doorframe. Rick aims. Vicente takes a step back and fires twice. Argus warns, “Cat, Rick.” Rick looks that direction, then shouts, “Dynamite bundle!” JT goes to a bedroom window and unlatches it. Argus heads out the front door, screaming; still, he can hear the fuse burning on the dynamite eight yards away.

Argus grabs the burning fuses of the eight or nine sticks of dynamite. Vicente ducks down behind a couch, concentrating on a spell. Rick starts to stand up. Max runs toward a window, shooting out the glass. JT climbs out the bedroom window and starts looking around.

Argus yanks out the fuses. Vicente casts Hawk Flight and zooms past Argus, brushing the door on his way out. JT heads toward the woods. Max leaps through the window. The bobcat attacks Argus, who drops his gun and flips the cat aside with a judo parry; the cat hits the ground and takes off running.

Vicente flies up and circles the area. Rick finishes off the last dog. Argus yells that the TNT has been defused; he searches but finds no sign of any person. Vicente sees the bobcat streaking toward the woods. Argus goes and grabs his night-vision gear, then runs toward the woods. Vicente lands, hears something rumbling in the woods, and hides. Argus hears an engine rumbling, then the sounds of a motorcycle headed away fast. Argus radios, “Someone on a trail bike heading away northeast.”

Argus climbs into the truck, but it won’t start; the distributor cap is missing. He radios the sheriff and tells him quickly about the dynamite, the shotgun blast at the front door, and the trail bike. Two units respond, including Powell. Argus asks if all the suspects are in their cells; the dispatcher will check.

A few minutes later, a city police car arrives. “What the hell happened?” Argus gives the cop the short version. Cop: “Wow.” Argus: “Yeah, wow.” The cop examines the dead dogs.

On the radio, Argus hears, “In pursuit – oh my gawd, he’s throwing dynamite.” Argus tries to commandeer the cop car, but no dice. He asks the gawkers who have gathered around – no takers. Flashing a wad of cash, he offers, “I’ll reimburse double whatever damage I do.” Finally a tall skinny hick steps forward and says, “You ain’t gonna like my car” – indicating a VW Beetle. Argus turns him down.

Max locates the distributor cap in the back of the truck, installs it, and starts the truck. By then, though, the fugitive has shot the police car’s tire and gotten away. Argus, cursing profusely, wishes out loud for a helicopter, but the nearest ones are too far away.

Argus announces he’s going to the sheriff’s office to ask some questions – and then to sleep there. Vicente goes inside and gets his stuff and moves to another bungalow. Max hangs the “Please Clean” sign on the remains of the front door, then goes with Argus. JT makes sure no one was hurt, watches one of the cops butcher the crime scene while the other tries to pull him back, then he and Rick retreat to one of the other bungalows to sleep.

Vicente emerges and waits to be talked to. The police chief arrives and goes straight to Vicente. “I’m Chief of Police Tolbert; who are you?” Vicente describes the six dogs, bobcat, bundle of dynamite, and a guy on a bike with a shotgun. Tolbert sneers that it was sheriff’s men who let the bike get away. “What hornet’s nest did you stir up?” Vicente: “I came turkey hunting and found a bunch of turkeys.” Tolbert wants statements from everyone, and advises Vicente to be careful, in case the attacker might persist.

At nearly 9:00am, Valerie finally reaches the bungalow and finds it cordoned off with police tape. She lets herself into one of the other bungalows. She finds her stuff piled in the front room, and Vicente sound asleep in one of the bedrooms. She takes a shower and crashes on the couch.

Sheriff Powell awakens Argus at 10:30. “The guy’s good. He shot out my tire – on a trail bike. I think he’s the shooter.” He wore camouflage makeup and a wool cap. He had shot clear through another car’s engine block with a powerful semi-automatic pistol. They found the bike on the riverbank; “looks like he jumped in.” “What did you find to draw an attack?” Argus: “Vicente found some occult stuff, and indications that the ‘accidents’ weren’t accidental.” Powell doesn’t know whether he’ll be able to get to a judge today so he can have Tolbert arrested. Harvey Carson and his family all awakened around 6:30am with no ill effects; Harvey hasn’t been interviewed yet. The fire burned almost thirty acres around the boat wreck area. Two media crews have been constantly underfoot. As for possible sharpshooters in the area, Powell mentions that Troy Clark did a couple of terms in Vietnam. Argus wants to sleep until half-past noon, then get JT and have Troy Clark brought in for questioning.


{2/12/2005}

12:30 P.M.

Early Wednesday afternoon, a sheriff’s deputy very gingerly awakens Argus, who groans, “Is it 12:30 already?” Having retreated to a respectful distance, the deputy offers, “There’s coffee in the breakroom. Want me to wake up your friend?” “Let’s see how the coffee is first.” Argus gives it a taste – well, it’s certainly not Starbucks – then draws another mug and carries it to the room where Max is sleeping. Max wakes up as soon as Argus enters and accepts the coffee. Argus dials the number to one of the bungalows.

The phone rings in the common area, right beside the couch where Valerie was sleeping. She manages to pick it up after one ring. Argus greets her and briefly fills her in – Zed and Greg are in jail; the silver necklaces are mind-control devices; there’s a new suspect sharpshooter, Troy Clark. Valerie recognizes the name: “He’s Bethane’s boyfriend.” Argus asks, “So what did you do last night? We thought you would have gone back to the bungalow.” Valerie gives a synopsis of her activities. Argus asks her to awaken the others; he will call back shortly.

Valerie taps at the bedroom door to awaken Vicente, the only other occupant of this bungalow. Vicente indicates he’s pleased to see her, then upbraids her for not checking in last night. She retorts, “What was I supposed to do? I saw you guys drive off; I didn’t know where you were going. Then I was doing stuff where I didn’t want to be talking on the radio.” She goes on to tell him about the crowd at the gas station and the authority figure who was likely Police Chief Tolbert; Randy Close led three or four other bikers back to the Rowdy Rooster and made a phone call, and some fifteen or twenty minutes later someone picked them all up and drove away from town; she got into the five-and-dime and found out Bethane’s address and that her last name is Troy; she searched Bethane’s house and found no magical or occult paraphernalia (also, Bethane didn’t come home last night); she waited until Ms Parsons left for work, then searched her house which also came up clean, learned that Bethane was dating Troy Clark, and played with Ms Parsons’ two cats. Vicente says, “Bethane is the puppetmaster.”

Vicente showers while Valerie starts some coffee and calls the other bungalow to wake up Rick and JT. Vicente muses that most of the members of their group aren’t used to working with others (“I’m certainly not… in my line of work, I go it alone”) but they needed to become a team.

Argus calls. Based on the license plate and description Valerie gave him, he found out that the car that drove away with Randy and the bikers is registered to a lawyer named Neil Parker. Since Argus and Max currently have the group’s only vehicle, they will go buy another car, then come get the others and we’ll all pay a visit to Troy Clark. Valerie runs up to the lodge and convinces the chef to make a large breakfast (although it’s almost past lunchtime) to go.

Around 2:00pm Argus and Max arrive at the bungalow (Argus driving their latest acquisition, a burgundy Chevrolet Caprice), where JT and Rick have also gathered. JT hands out vials of “symbol destroyer” to those who don’t yet have it, then he and Rick scan the bungalow area for symbols.

Troy Clark works the day shift as a security guard at the Melton trailer plant. Argus, Max, and Rick go to the factory. The gate guard looks sleepy; he’s having to pull an extra shift because Troy went home sick and Harvey didn’t come in today. Via radio, JT suggests that Argus look for Bethane.

Vicente, JT, and Valerie arrive at Troy Clark’s modest house. A car is parked beside it. Valerie goes around back while Vicente strides up the front walk and rings the doorbell. A sleepy-sounding male voice responds. The man who opens the door stands about 6’2” and has a muscular build, dark red crewcut hair, green eyes, and a light tan. Right now his skin is pale and his eyes are bloodshot. He wears a gray sweatshirt and blue jeans; no jewelry. Troy says he’s dealing with a bout of food poisoning. He lets Vicente and JT into the house. “Does your girlfriend know you’re sick?” Troy acknowledges that “her last name is my first name – we always thought that was kinda cute.” In the living room is a photo of six men standing beside a helicopter; JT recognizes them as an elite Army Ranger unit, with Troy in sergeant’s stripes as their leader. Vicente tells Troy that the sheriff wants to talk to him about Harvey Carson, so Troy goes back into his bedroom to get dressed. Vicente checks the dining room and kitchen and even the trash bin (which contains remnants of a chicken dinner) but everything seems normal. When Troy returns to the living room, Vicente is twirling one of the silver necklaces on his finger. Troy doesn’t wear jewelry; “You could catch it on something and hurt yourself. You could even kill someone else. There’s lots of ways to kill somebody.” Yes, he had spent four or five years in the Army; he had thought he was going to be a career man, but…

Vicente and JT tell Troy that Harvey is in the hospital, drugged. “Aren’t you a marksman?” Troy acknowledges that he was considered an expert shooter, but “you get rusty if you don’t use it.” Asked about last evening, he relates that he got off work at 5:30, spent some time with his buddies at the Rowdy Rooster until 7:00; got home where Bethane was awaiting him (“She has a key to my place – I know some people around here don’t think that’s proper”); they had chicken for dinner around 8:00. She spent the night, then left for work this morning. He went in to work but started feeling sick; he went to see Dr Dunn, who diagnosed him with food poisoning and sent him home.

Argus reaches the five-and-dime. Debbie Moore, the manager, says Bethane was ill this morning and she had told her to go see Doc Burgess. Bethane had phoned a little while later and said it was food poisoning. As Argus returns to the car, Valerie radios him and says that Troy Clark is at his home “acting normal”.

Troy says that he and Bethane have been dating for four or five months. He is three years younger than she. Vicente remarks sympathetically, “’Nam ages you.” Yes, she has given him some gifts, some knickknacks, but not jewelry; he doesn’t wear jewelry. He had known who Bethane was for quite some time, but he didn’t really meet her until he got a tattoo in San Francisco. It was sheer coincidence that two young people from the same small town in Kentucky happened to meet in a San Francisco tattoo parlor.

With Troy’s permission, Vicente has a look at his bedroom. He immediately notices the gun rack, a number of New-Age-ish items that seem quite out of place, and a picture of Bethane. In answer to JT’s question, Troy says yes, at the peak of training and “given the right equipment” he could shoot and hit a target a mile away. He’d heard a rumor that “the big biker” had been in the Army.

Argus knocks and Vicente lets him in. “Mr Clark – Argus. Pleased to meet you.” Argus doesn’t offer to shake.

Vicente asks to see the tattoo Troy got in San Francisco; it’s his initials, TC, on his upper thigh. Troy looks askance at the three strangers, even though Vicente had assured him a jesting tone that Troy could easily take out JT and himself. Vicente’s tone hardens: “Drop ‘em.” Sure enough, the tattoo is there, but Vicente doesn’t see any magic on it.

Argus checks the washer and dryer, which don’t appear to have been used recently; there’s still lint in the dryer trap. He unlocks and opens the back door and waves at Valerie, who asks him about the camouflage face paint and wool cap worn by the attacker on the trail bike.

Vicente asks and Troy replies that a couple of local hunters are pretty good shooters. “Why are you looking for a shooter?” Vicente, confidentially: “Shhh – somebody shot the boat.” Troy offers two names: Walt Wells and Lefty Grog, the latter being the foreman at the trailer plant. JT asks, “What kind of weapon would it take to put a bullet 50 yards through a pane of glass and leave it in the target’s head?” Troy says it would definitely take a special, custom-made gun. Yes, he could build one, if given the time and tools.

Vicente levels with Troy: “All things point to you as the shooter.” Troy admits he has no alibi for last Sunday morning. He was home alone; Bethane hadn’t stayed the night because Ms Parsons had talked her into going to church in the morning. “I don’t like to talk about religious stuff.” Neither is Bethane religious, but she occasionally attends church to make Ms Parsons happy. “Everybody had Ms Parsons for English in high school” and she is known as a strict teacher. She makes Troy nervous – “a ghost from my past.” “Some people don’t think ghosts exist – but they’ve never been to ‘Nam.” Bethane’s calming influence “helps me lay my ghosts to rest.”

Vicente tells Troy that there’s no need for him to suffer the bump-and-grind of a drive to the sheriff’s office, for which Troy and his digestive tract are grateful. As they take their leave, Argus tells Vicente that he thinks they should take Troy into custody. While JT exchanges a few words with Troy, Vicente (shielded by Argus) casts a spell to read Troy’s aura. To him is revealed a callous, hard-edged, harsh-tempered man, who keeps attacking until the enemy is dead. There is great anger close to the surface. He has combat reflexes and is somewhat unbalanced mentally. Vicente sees “the darkness of big secrets” and a weird glow he doesn’t know how to interpret (but figures out a little later is a Blessing). However, there are no spells on Troy.

Meanwhile, Troy is telling JT that Dr Dunn told him it would take 24 hours to get over the food poisoning. JT: “Food poisoning is a wonderful excuse not to have to work.” Troy comments that if you want a special weapon built, you’d have to go to Cincy or Louisville, as there’s no gunsmith near Carrollton.

In the car, Vicente tells the others, “He was about this far from trying to kill us.” Argus: “I think we ought to take him in.” Vicente: “I don’t see a reason.” Argus: “How about so he doesn’t shoot at us later?”

There’s no car at Bethane’s place and no answer at her door. There’s no car at Ms Parsons’. Argus insists again on taking Troy into custody. When JT and Vicente say we have to act within the law, Argus bursts out, “I don’t care about the law!”

The group drives out to the abandoned Spurlin house, but it’s soon obvious that no one else has been out here since their previous visit. Valerie suggests that Argus get Sheriff Powell to put out an APB on Bethane’s car (a 1970 Nova).

Around 3:30 the group reaches the boat wreck site. Water trucks are still in the area in case of hot spots or flareups. There’s also a news crew from Cincinnati. And Vicente sees a new ghost, a state trooper with his throat torn out. Vicente greets the ghost: “Hi.” Startled, the ghost exclaims, “You see me!” The ghost, whose name is Tim Taylor, excitedly blurts out his story: he heard something rushing through the bushes, then he and the sheriff’s deputy were attacked by at least two dozen dogs; he managed to wound at least one of them, but they overpowered him. He saw a man chasing after the deputy. Tim had stayed staring down at his own body for a long time. Vicente says sympathetically, “I’ve been dead, too.” Tim: “So that reincarnation crap is true?” Vicente: “No.” Tim describes the clothes the man was wearing, which sound just like Harvey’s. The man was driving a pickup, and had set the boat afire. Vicente invites Tim along with us. Tim isn’t sure he’s able to leave the area, but Vicente says, “Why not?” Tim asks, “Are you a spirit guide or something?” Vicente chortles, then says that Tim will hang around in ghost form until either his own task is complete or Vicente banishes him.

Valerie stands quietly near the remains of the tree under which the “ghost lites” Tom and Elaine Ennis had taken refuge. She silently implores them to help her group find out who was responsible for their deaths. She murmurs a Latin phrase from a requiem Mass, and feels a sensation of peace.

JT talks to the firefighters, who say there’s no question that the fire was arson. Gallons and gallons of accellerant were used, probably gasoline.

Over the radio comes the word that Bethane’s car is at the hospital. JT: “We need to get someone to protect the Carson family.” The family is fine but getting antsy. They have had no visitors. The sheriff does have cause to place Harvey under arrest and put his wife and daughter in protective custody.

As she slides into the back seat of the Caprice, Valerie can feel a chill beside her. She puts out her hand to touch it. Vicente grins and tells her that what she feels is a ghost.

The group arrives at the hospital. Argus and Valerie examine Bethane’s car. In the trunk are some greasy rags and some empty brown bags that smell somewhat of fish. In the glovebox they find a St Christopher medal and some kind of New Age protection symbol. The tire treads contain bits of gravel and red dirt.

JT and Vicente (and Tim the ghost) reach Harvey’s room. Tim says that Harvey is dressed like the guy who set the fire. JT checks with the head of housekeeping, Clara Jenkins, and verifies that Harvey’s clothes weren’t laundered. Vicente takes out a silver necklace. “Who gave you this, Harvey?” “Miz Parsons did. Said it was a memento.” All he remembers from last night is that he went home from work, ate supper, watched TV… and woke up in the hospital. He denies carrying gasoline in his truck. JT: “Your clothes may keep you from being arrested.”

JT asks Harvey what he thinks of Troy Clark. “Dangerous man… ‘Nam left him scarred.” But he’s never witnessed Troy having an outburst at work. Troy has been in his security job for four months; his predecessor, Barry Ellison, moved to Louisville.

“So you, Zed, and Ms Parsons are a trio?” Harvey replies, “It is an odd trio.” Then quickly he adds, “Trio’s gotta be linked, you know.”

Yes, on some patrols in Vietnam Harvey had to wear camo makeup, but he doesn’t have it or use it now. JT says he doesn’t think Harvey set the fire. Tim, however, insists that those were the clothes the arsonist wore. JT turns back Harvey’s collar, and quite visible on the inside are traces of camo paint and bits of forest debris. The shirt smells faintly of smoke. JT asks Harvey to remove the shirt. As Harvey hands it to JT, the latter gets a sudden flash, a vision of a needle coming over the collar, then the shirt being removed and put on by someone larger than Harvey.

The deputy sheriff arrives to transport the Carsons. JT: “I just don’t understand the trio.” Harvey responds as if by rote, “Trio – linked with one purpose, of course. If you can find the link, you’ll find the trio.” Ms Parsons was the focal point, the one helping them, getting them to talk about things, “making it easier in our lives.” Vicente shows him the medallion that had been retrieved from the Spurlin place, but it has no significance to Harvey. Mrs Carson verifies that Harvey has been having bad dreams since January or so. Harvey abruptly speaks: “Understand the trio, you understand the purpose… Whoa, where’d that come from?”

“That hippie who runs the tattoo parlor” opened shop in February. The place is called Suncoast Tattoo. A lot of kids have been getting tattoos, mainly against their parents’ wishes. Bikers go there, too.

Meanwhile, Argus has learned that Bethane came into the hospital this morning, went to visit her nurse friend Wilma, and was resting in the nurses’ lounge until about a half-hour ago. She left after getting a phone call. Argus visits the wounded deputy, who remembers hearing someone chasing him to his car before he lost consciousness.

Argus, JT, and Vicente meet up. JT and Vicente want to get Zed, Harvey, and Greg together in the same room and see what happens. The idea takes form that this trio is a decoy for the real Trio – Bethane, Troy, and the hippie. Argus: “The only thing better than killing the people who are after you is to get the people after you to arrest someone else.”

Around 4:30 the group drives by the tattoo parlor. There’s a Closed sign in the window. On either side are a clothes store and a sandwich shop. JT visits the latter. “I’m with the state,” he announces. “I want to know if your next-door neighbor is licensed to perform medical procedures.” The deli owner doesn’t have any great liking for the hippie. The tattoo parlor had been open this morning until 9:00, then closed. “Sometimes interesting aromas come from there. They claim it’s ‘incense’.” He says the clientele is mostly kids and bikers, but he thinks one of the younger teachers recently got a tattoo.

While Max and Rick watch the front, Vicente, Argus, and Valerie go around back. Argus finds the back door unlocked. Inside are boxes and various tattoo equipment. Vicente doesn’t see any magic. Valerie examines the various tattoo designs and finds many that contain a “three” pattern, including one with three links of a chain and another with three roses entwined. Vicente finds some occult designs. Argus locates the proprietor’s name – Clark Tinnel. Valerie says slowly, “Bethane Troy… Troy Clark… Clark Tinnel.” The Trio.

Back to the cars, then away to the high school. Ms Parsons’ car is still there. She’s in her classroom grading papers. Vicente asks her about Zed, Greg, and Harvey. “Yes, those fine young men,” she says. She’s shocked to be told they’re in jail. She’s been trying to talk to them and help them. “Even Zed can be redeemed.” Bethane? Yes, she was a very spiritual child. JT brings up the odd coincidence – Bethane and Troy meet in a tattoo parlor in San Francisco, they return to Carrollton, and the deaths start.

Vicente casts Aura. Ms Parsons has strong magic potential. There is a swath of gray across her aura. Vicente: “Would you know Evil if you saw it?” Ms Parsons: “I would like to think so.” She had sensed evil at the funeral for Bethane’s uncle and aunt, who had died in December of heart attacks one after the other.

Troy Clark seems “twisted” to Ms Parsons. JT: “Not evil?” Ms Parsons reflects, then says, “Evil.” He doesn’t have much care for other people, and is a bad influence on Bethane.

Yes, Ms Parsons had given the necklaces to Zed, Greg, and Harvey… but she had gotten them from Bethane. The silver chains gave them a cohesiveness, something to focus on while trying to overcome their problems. When Vicente holds up one of the chains, she can see an “effervescent” glow. Sometimes Bethane wears a ring that gives her that same glow, though Bethane tries to conceal the ring when she’s wearing it. Vicente shows her the medallion; it has that same kind of glow, but the symbols make Ms Parsons queasy.

JT checks Ms Parsons’ neck for punctures, and finds indications of several.

The purpose of the trio, Ms Parsons says, is “to make a better place for her… them.” She’s not certain why she said it just that way.

Normally Ms Parsons would be going to prayer meeting after work, but she agrees to drive to the sheriff’s office. Valerie rides with her. JT radios the sheriff’s office to get the sheriff back to the office, as they’re bringing in a material witness. As they leave, everyone can hear the sounds of baseball practice on the field behind the school.

At the sheriff’s, JT requests a conference room and Argus, recording equipment. Sheriff Powell arrives as Argus goes to retrieve the trio. They are brought into the conference room. Harvey states, “The one that finds the link has to understand.” Ms Parsons says that Harvey doesn’t think he’s a good father; Greg has no self-confidence and a gambling habit; Zed had bad experiences in Vietnam and wants to be someone important.

Ms Parsons says, “Bethane pointed out that they needed help… to change the world to make it a better place for…” Her words come more slowly, with effort, “…will further Bethane’s goald to make the world what she needs it to be…” Ms Parsons claps her hands to her temples. “Oh, my head hurts… help me get the words out!” Valerie steps behind her and begins massaging her temples, murmuring softly a phrase in Latin. Tim the ghost moves forward and puts his hand on Ms Parsons’ shoulder. Ms Parsons closes her eyes and recites, “The world is an evil place / Until the evil overflows the brim / you cannot make the world a better place.” Bethane wrote that poem in high school. Since she lost her fiancé in Vietnam, the poem has taken on great meaning for her.

Zed says his way to get to a better world is “Smash and grab, get what you can, be one of the big dogs in the pack.”

Sheriff Powell speaks up. “You say these people committed murder many times over. Put the physical evidence in my hands and I can get them electrocuted.” Powell has met with the district attorney and a judge, and he has a warrant to arrest Frank Tolbert tomorrow morning. Argus names Neil Parker as a person of interest, also.

Powell orders one of his units to drive by Troy Clark’s house. The response soon comes back that Troy’s car isn’t there. Vicente: “His arrogance is a killing field.”

Powell tells Argus “if Tolbert interferes, arrest him.” He will find out if any of his men had befriended the Trio, as they seem to know too much about their movements. Vicente pauses the recording tape, then suggests that the Trio had used divination to find out about the Bolton party. JT stops the tape again. “And they saw the wrong party. They were looking for us… and found them.”

It is 6:00pm Wednesday, May 10.


{2/26/2005}

6:00 P.M.


The sheriff’s office has issued APBs on Troy Clark’s car and Clark Tinnel’s VW van, as well as for attorney Neil Parker. Zed, Greg, and Harvey have been taken back to their cells.

Vicente asks Ms Parsons if she knows where Bethane is. She wonders “How would I know?” and he encourages her to use her mystic talent. She closes her eyes and tries to concentrate. Tim the ghost looks at Ms Parsons, glances at Vicente, then shrugs and places his hands on her temples. Ten… fifteen… twenty seconds tick by. Ms Parsons opens her eyes and shakes her head.

A report comes in to Dispatch that Deputy Barrows has spotted the van on Route 55 within the Carrollton city limits. Vicente and Argus both say he should follow it until it leaves town.

Max calls around to various feed stores in the area, asking about customers who buy a great deal of dog food.

Deputy Barrows’ panicked voice comes over the radio. “There’s blackness across the road! I’ve lost them! It’s like a huge black wall!” Argus growls, “Back the f*ck up, dumbass!” Argus, Vicente, Valerie, and Ms Parsons run for the Caprice. Max and Rick head for the pickup; JT says he’ll wait with the sheriff. Barrows wails, “They’re chasing me!” Argus weaves the big Chevy through traffic. Before long we see the blackness across the road, and Argus wheels the car around and heads back north.

Max and Rick cruise by the tattoo shop, but it’s dark. They go to Troy’s house. Max knocks firmly on the door – no answer. Max then kicks the door open, shouting, “I thought I heard someone call for help.”

Barrows reports that the blackness has gone away. Someone with Absolute Timing determines that the effect had lasted for 18 minutes.

JT asks Sheriff Powell about Police Chief Tolbert’s second-in-command. Powell allows that Kirk Wainwright “is an okay guy.” JT suggests that he notify Wainwright, then go and place Tolbert under arrest. Powell wants JT to back him up in case Tolbert decides to cause trouble.

Vicente levitates out of the Caprice, floats up a ways, and looks around, then radios that he doesn’t see the van. Via radio, Argus asks for the lawyer’s address, and JT soon supplies both home and business addresses. Vicente finds himself rethinking Bethane Troy’s abilities; she didn’t require a ritual to cast the Darkness spell, and she doesn’t seem to suffer the minuses that he does when he tries to use his magic in this place.

Max, saying to the others “We should help the sheriff – we wouldn’t want anything to happen to our doctor,” calls up Elaine Hartman, a news reporter from WAVE Channel 3 in Cincinnati, who has been in town covering recent events. He simply says, “Something’s going to happen at the police station in fifteen minutes.” She’s there in less than ten. Tolbert arrives and parks his car; JT pulls the sheriff’s car in behind Tolbert’s. With the TV camera rolling, Powell arrests Tolbert on several charges, including accepting bribes. Clearly outnumbered, Tolbert gives up his service gun, ankle gun, and switchblade. As Powell puts the handcuffs on Tolbert, JT asks Powell, “Did you get the search for Bethane Troy and Clark Tinnel sorted out?” Tolbert reacts slightly to Tinnel’s name.

As the sheriff’s car pulls away, Elaine Hartman goes over to Max and asks him about the situation. The interview is brief, and as she turns away she says, “You don’t sound all that different on the phone.” Max says quickly, “That wasn’t me.”

The search continues for the van. In some woods off of Carlisle Road, Vicente espies a glint of metal. Valerie leaps out of the car, runs up to the van, pulls open the door… empty. Vicente finds the tracks of three people – two men, one of them supporting a woman – heading north. Argus pulls the distributor caps off of both the van and the Caprice, then follows Valerie as she follows the tracks. Vicente casts Levitation spells on himself and Ms Parsons, and they soar upwards.

In transit, JT asks Tolbert if he wants to make things easier on everyone and tell them where Clark Tinnel is. Tolbert says only that he wants to talk to his lawyer. At the sheriff’s office Tolbert phones Neil Parker and says, “I’ve been arrested.”

Max borrows the police chief’s cruiser and heads for the Rowdy Rooster. He finds that Randy Close and four of his biker buddies have just arrived. Max tells Randy that the police chief just got arrested for bribery. Randy sneers, “All cops are either stupid or corrupt.” Max tells him pointedly, “It would be smart to have an alibi for tonight,” then lays down a $100 bill and tells the bartender to keep the bikers in beer. Randy gets the point.

From his overhead vantage, Vicente spots another camouflaged area, and vectors Argus and Valerie toward it. It’s a dock off of an inlet, with a shed that could hold two or three boats (none are there now). Valerie radios Vicente “Check the river” and JT “Does the sheriff have any boats?” Argus requests a helicopter. Across the river lies the small town of Lamb, Indiana. Valerie, saying “I gotta do something!” takes off running along the riverbank. Argus, Vicente, and Ms Parsons return to the car.

At Vicente’s request, Argus hotwires the VW van, and Vicente drives away, paralleling Valerie. He radios her and asks her to come back toward the road so he can pick her up.

JT, after pondering the matter, says, “I don’t think we need to look in Indiana.” Our instructions had been to prevent something from happening in Carrollton. JT wants people watching the houses of Bethane, Troy, and Clark, as well as the old Spurlin place.

Max, having covered the river for about twelve miles west, reports that no fishermen saw a boat go by. Everything indicates that the fugitives are still on the river somewhere. Max rents a fast bass boat and a guide named Jim Bob (“Sorry, the county can’t pay much – only $50 per hour”) who knows the river well.

Vicente pulls up next to Bethane’s house and sends Tim inside. Tim returns and asks, “Can cats see ghosts?” Valerie wonders how a cat got in there, since Bethane didn’t have any pets. Vicente and Valerie enter the house, and Valerie recognizes the cat as one of those belonging to Ms Parsons. She (the cat is female) allows Valerie to pick it up and cuddle it. Vicente can see that the cat is semi-magical (and has the potential to be a mage’s familiar). Valerie lets the cat down; she walks right to the door and appears to phase right through it. Valerie gets the idea that the cat is looking for Ms Parsons. “We’re looking for Bethane – she’s been running your mama’s life.” Vicente takes some hairs from Bethane’s hairbrush.

Neil Parker shows up at the sheriff’s office. “I’m here to see the police chief.” JT asks him, “What’s your connection with the bikers? Just on retainer?” “I’m just there in case they get harassed.” JT: “Are you Zed’s attorney? That’s why you’re in a bad spot… why the police chief’s been arrested.” Parker: “Zed’s been talking?” JT: “Sometimes a lawyer with clients on opposite sides of a case has to make a choice. Can you choose the winning side?” Parker: “I’ve done nothing wrong.” JT: “It’s nothing you’ve done; it’s what you know.” Parker admits he’s afraid of the Mayor. JT ticks off on his fingers all the people the mayor is connected to. Parker: “Lawyer/client confidentiality covers most of that.” But under JT’s verbal persuasion, Parker starts to yield. The mayor pays Parker a retainer, but also somehow knows some dirty secrets about Parker’s past. Finally Parker says, “I’ll have to withdraw my services from several clients.” JT: “All of them, I think… I’ve seen lawyers go to jail for maintaining confidentiality.”

Sheriff Powell, who has overheard most of the conversation, enters the room. “I’m afraid you can’t meet with the chief tonight.” Parker tries to phone Clark Tinnel and gets the answering machine. Parker: “I will be – careful – as you suggested.” JT: “Circumspect. Why does the mayor scare you? Off the record.” Parker: “He’s corrupt as the day is long. I think that’s why some people have had ‘hunting accidents.’” JT: “I can take him down. I can take them all down. We can get rid of the bad stuff. If you want to stop being crooked, there’s a way out. I hate crooked cops.” Parker has set up various shell corporations for Weber, the mayor. He mentions that the mayor’s daughter got a tattoo at the end of February.

A deputy reports that Troy’s car has been located behind the barn at the old Spurlin place. JT sends the man who has been watching Troy’s house over there.

Vicente has Valerie drive by the bungalows, where he picks up weapons. For lack of a better idea, Valerie drives toward the Melton trailer factory’s storage area, where barges can be loaded. The guard on duty, John Tidwell, asks, “Do you have a warrant?” Vicente replies, “I have a shotgun.” Valerie observes that the cat seems agitated about a certain guard shack.

Argus and Ms Parsons reached the boat just as Max and Jim Bob were about to embark. Max gives his flak jacket to Ms Parsons. Argus notices that as they pass a certain point, Ms Parsons gets a sudden chill. Max senses that they’re sliding around something; he feels like his sight is being averted. He says to Jim Bob, “Head back to the Kentucky side and hold us still. Something’s screwy here.” Ms Parsons shivers again as they cross an invisible line; Argus has Jim Bob follow it. It stops about 80 yards downriver.

Argus radios Vicente. “There’s a line in the river that makes Ms Parsons feel all shivery. What the hell is it?” Vicente: “It could be a mana boundary.” JT: “They’re on the line of power.” Vicente asks Ms Parsons, “Does it make you feel bad or good?” She replies that it makes her feel stronger, but it has a bad taste. Argus takes the tiller and follows his own inner compass.

Valerie unlocks the door to the guard shack and has Tidwell open Troy Clark’s locker. Inside are some clothes, a gun, and some ammo. The bullets match the description of the one found in Brad Bolton’s head, and have a “creepy” feel to them. Valerie pockets the ammo.

Suddenly Max’s Danger Sense redlines. He throttles up the boat’s engine and jerks the wheel away from Argus. The boat brushes against unseen rocks. Jim Bob passes out. Ms Parsons stands up, says “Oh, my word…” then turns pale and sits back down, then she leans over the side of the boat and throws up. Argus sees the foggy outline of something in the river. He radios, “I think you should get here right now, Vicente.”

As Valerie speeds toward the river, Vicente loads a clip of the magic bullets. JT radios the sheriff, “I commandeered your car. We found an island. Keep your people away from the northeast corner.” Ms Parsons describes what she saw on the island – dark trees with tentacles and horrible faces.

Valerie and Vicente arrive at the dock. The cat runs to Ms Parsons, who has shakily disembarked from the boat. Valerie gets a shotgun from the trunk of the sheriff’s car.

The mystic zone is about 200 yards long. JT, after hearing the description, says, “It’s Cthulhu.” Vicente: “They’re making a bigger hole.”

Tim takes one look toward the island and turns even paler than a ghost. “I’m dead, so I don’t think I’m a state trooper anymore. Bye.” He calls the island “a sucking mass of evil.” He points out a structure that looks like a dock at one end. Max hands binoculars to Ms Parsons and asks her to look at the water line. She describes a large docking area, grayish, big enough for a large boat; a bass boat is docked there.

JT has Vicente take a look at Jim Bob’s aura. He shows as having level 1 mage potential. JT hands him two large industrial-grade diamonds in payment for piloting us all to the island.

Max comments, “Tim’s never going to get to Heaven that way.”

Jim Bob lines the boat up on the island and gets up to speed. Vicente, feeling the transition from low mana to normal, goes “Ooh.” JT can see water flowing around an obstacle in the river. As Jim Bob slides the boat into the dock, the island begins to come into view for all of us. Max has Jim Bob turn the boat around for a faster getaway. There are paint markings on the dock that could have come from Brad Bolton’s yacht.

Three faint paths lead off into darkly menacing, moss-hung trees. Valerie heads straight up the middle path followed by Argus and Vicente. Max ties some gas cans to a rope. JT carries several flares in his pockets. It is about 8:50pm on Wednesday, May 10th.


{3/12/2005}

It is 8:50pm on Wednesday, May 10th, 1972… and getting darker every minute.

Valerie, Argus, and Vicente trot along a six-foot-wide trail. They hear the sounds of many small feet among the trees that loom overhead. Argus, wearing IR goggles, hangs back a little, scanning for snipers. Among the branches he sees dozens of large squirrels leaping, many seeming to be paralleling them.

Max keys his radio to make sure they work, and they do.

The number of squirrels increases. Argus notices a larger furry blob, bobcat-sized, jumping from limb to limb. It seems to be trying to get ahead of Valerie. He says into the radio, “The wildlife is following us.”

Valerie slows momentarily as she reaches a narrower trail that crosses the one she’s on at a 45° angle. Hearing something growl from behind her and to the right, she cuts abruptly to the left and spins around, raising her shotgun. The bobcat lands where she would have been had she not changed course. Squirrels begin swarming down from the trees and filling the crossroads area; the creatures’ eyes glow red, and they have saber-teeth. After a moment’s concentration, Vicente casts a Flash spell (with such skill that neither Valerie nor Argus are blinded).

Valerie fires at the bobcat, killing it. Vicente shoots at the squirrels and kills three of them.

Valerie shoots and kills four squirrels. The remaining squirrels on the ground scatter blindly into the underbrush, but others skitter down from the trees. From a tree Vicente sees another bobcat leaping at him, fangs and claws bared; confident in his Missile Shield spell he lets it strike him, and it bounces to the ground, confused.

Argus fires twice at the bobcat, but it dodges. Valerie, figuring that the animal problem is under control, turns and continues on down the three-foot-wide path. Vicente fires twice and kills four more squirrels. The remaining squirrels and the bobcat flee into the underbrush. Argus fires once at the cat, knocking it down.

Valerie comes to a clearing near one end of the island. To her right are dog pens, but they are empty. A nearby shed contains a large quantity of dog food. She cautiously opens the door to a large hut and discovers it’s a well-equipped armory. Among the many weapons she recognizes an M16 with a grenade launcher. She keys her radio.

Vicente continues north. The trail jogs 45° left and widens for a distance, then narrows again and angles back north. As darkness sets in Vicente pauses and casts Sound Vision. He resumes moving along the path until he reaches an intersection with a narrower trail. Argus catches up with him.

At this point Valerie comes over the radio and tells everyone about the armory. Argus and Max want weapons, so they head that way. Valerie pockets a handful of shotgun shells.

Vicente can see the prints of combat boots and a woman’s shoes going east, so he heads that way.

Max passes Valerie as she leaves the clearing. He checks the building’s perimeter, then fires up the generator in back. Rick stands guard in the clearing. Argus arrives and immediately grabs the M16, clips, and grenades. He notices that the M16 has been booby-trapped and is able to clear it.

Vicente reaches the end of a trail. Ahead of him, in a clearing beyond some underbrush, rises a stone platform approximately 15 by 18 feet and one foot high. At each corner stands a three-foot-tall column carved with horrifically lifelike Cthulhu figures. To the north beyond the platform rises a three-story stone building. Vicente keys his radio.

Valerie arrives at a different clearing. In the distance she can see a stone building to the north and a trail leading off northwest. Just to her south stands a large wooden hut of recent construction. Listening, she thinks that someone may be inside.

In the armory Max opens several containers, finding everything from firing pins and gun barrels to ammunition and dynamite. He takes a gunnysack and fills it with dynamite. JT finds several military pieces among the civilian weapons; none of them have had the serial numbers filed off.

Vicente reports the big building and the evil platform with the demon columns. “Don’t be afraid, but they’re pretty scary looking. I’m heading for the building. If you hear a scream, that would be me.” JT replies, “You could wait for us.” Vicente doesn’t answer.

As Max fills the gunnysack, JT asks him if he knows how to use that dynamite. Max responds, “I know that after you light it, it’s no longer your friend.”

Valerie approaches the wooden hut. The door is barred… from the outside. Putting her ear to the door, she hears the faint sounds of two people. Quietly she raises the bar, then pulls open the door, pokes in her shotgun, and peers within. She can make out two blanket-covered shapes lying on cots. There are no windows in the hut. She ventures inside. Her flashlight reveals a teenaged boy and girl. They are breathing regularly but do not react to her presence, nor can she awaken the boy, so she concludes that they are drugged. She keys her radio.

Vicente moves up to the platform and sees all kinds of occult signs carved into its floor. The center, however, is blank, and he gets the impression that a chair could be set there. For some reason, he feels an aversion to looking east. He gets the prickly feeling he’s being watched.

Max loads another sack of dynamite for Rick (whether he wants it or not) and borrows two flares from JT. Argus warns that his M16 was booby-trapped, so they should check anything they take. JT finds no lock on the door, or anyplace to put one. Max checks the dog pens; they have not been used recently.

Valerie reports that she has found the kids. JT says to lock them back up for their safety. He asks and Valerie responds that there is another building in the clearing. It occurs to Valerie to look for some way the teenagers might be drugged (or poisoned) remotely. Under a table she finds a device set up to release a gas after a certain amount of time. She detaches the device and sets it outside. Then she re-bars the hut and heads toward the building.

Vicente wills himself to look eastward and sees a large, three-tiered platform lit by ghostly flames. At the two corners he can see stand columns twenty feet high; the carvings upon them appear to be crawling. An intense feeling of EVIL emanates from the scene. He senses crosshairs trained on him but he can’t see any person. He sees something in the center of the inner platform. Vicente walks toward it.

Max: “JT, do you think we should start after Vicente?” JT: “Yeah, he won’t wait for us.”

Valerie checks the other building, which is not locked. It’s pretty obviously a chemistry lab. Various smells linger in the air, including marijuana. No one is hiding inside.

Argus reaches a T-intersection and follows Vicente’s IR spoor.

JT says to Max and Rick, “You guys don’t have to wait for me.” Max replies, “We can’t leave you here. I think we should go back to the boat.” JT: “In case we can’t finish this, has anyone tried to radio the sheriff?” Max: “I’m sure our boat person will go to the sheriff if we don’t show back up.”

Vicente reaches the platform, his sense of EVIL intensifying. From behind a column twenty feet to his left steps Troy Clark, shotgun and rifle slung on his back, holding an M16. “I’ve been looking for you,” says Vicente. “You found me.” “Are you coming along peaceful?” In answer Troy brings the M16 around and fires once. Vicente charges straight toward him.

Everyone on the island hears the crack of the M16. JT says to Max, “Go.” Valerie heads north at a full run, vectoring on the shot.

Vicente, running, gets closer to Troy. Troy slings the M16 and draws a combat knife. JT tunes his radio to the sheriff’s department frequency and says, “County dispatch.”

Argus reaches the point where he can see the clearing and platform beyond some underbrush. Troy closes with Vicente, grabbing at the latter’s shotgun with one hand (but failing). Vicente casts Levitate on Troy, raises him three yards in the air, and faces him away. Over the radio comes the response, “Dispatch.” JT begins, “This is JT…” Vicente is also levitated about a foot into the air and spun around with his back to Troy.

Troy cries out, “Cthulhu aid…” Vicente can hear the light scrape of cloth or leather on stone about four or five yards behind him. JT continues, “Tell the sheriff Ms Parsons is…” Vicente raises Troy another three yards and concentrates on another spell. Argus breaks into the clearing, slowing a bit and curving his path to avoid the platform. He sees a heat signature eighteen feet in the air, Vicente a foot off the ground facing south, and a possible heat signature near a column some 75 feet away. Valerie, running at full speed, sees some underbrush and a clearing beyond it, and prepares to jump.

Argus aims at the distant target. Troy concludes, “…me now!” and raises his arms to the skies. Vicente levitates him another three yards, then casts his Sunlight spell, trying to illuminate Bethane. JT: “…at the crossing; she knows where we’re at.” Making a tremendous leap, Valerie lands on the platform. She can see Vicente’s light… and a long-haired man, presumably Clark Tinnel, standing behind a tall column. Something flies out from the column, just misses Argus to the left, and hits in the trees behind him with a splat.

Argus avoids another glob flying towards him. Valerie sees that the hippie is spitting at Argus. Argus fires a grenade toward Clark, which lands a few yards left and a yard back of the column and explodes. Clark staggers away from the column, bleeding from his mouth, ears, and nose. Vicente is levitated three yards. He raises Troy up to 12 yards, then casts Levitate on himself so he can try to counter Bethane’s spell. Valerie reaches the far corner of the platform, looking for Bethane. JT: “We’re engaged with the perpetrators.”

Argus fires twice and blood gushes from Troy’s body. Max has reached the point where he can see the clearing beyond the underbrush. Vicente feels something rise from the center of the platform and snap his Levitate spell on Troy. Troy teleports to the platform and collapses. Valerie sees Clark suddenly heal considerably; she still doesn’t see Bethane. Vicente turns around and sees Troy lying in a heap, Valerie moving along one edge of the platform, and someone with long hair near a column. He aims. JT sets his radio down and opens his bag.

Argus fires a burst at Troy of which one bullet hits, then steps toward him. Vicente fires his shotgun at the shape near the column; several pellets hit Clark and he staggers. Something liquid splats on the platform near Valerie. Max digs in his sack for a stick of dynamite. Argus feels a bullet slam into his protective vest – Troy had shot him. Valerie leaps and spins to her left, landing just a yard from Bethane. JT digs out the vial he had picked up off of the “junkpile.”

Bethane slaps at Valerie who grabs her arm; some kind of energy sears through Valerie’s body. Argus takes another step forward and shoots Troy, hitting three times. Troy stops moving. Vicente fires at Clark, who dodges. Valerie judo-flips Bethane face-down into a hammerlock. Max reaches the platform, burning flare in one hand, dynamite in the other, his Danger Sense reacting. JT opens the vial and tastes it. He feels his fortitude increase, and realizes the elixir will give others that same effect temporarily. Clark steps out from behind the column. Dispatch responds on the radio, “Confirm reception, passing on information.”

Vicente levitates toward Clark. Argus starts reloading. JT heads for the hostage hut. Clark spits at Argus, misses, and pops back behind the column. Argus shouts, “Come out with your…” [John: “…mouth closed.”] Valerie gets hold of Bethane’s hair and slams her face into the ground, bloodying her nose. Rick peels off and aims toward Clark. Valerie gets a lesser jolt of the painful energy.

Vicente steps down to the platform a couple of yards from Valerie, facing Clark’s column twelve yards away. Argus kneels and continues reloading, continuing “…hands up or die…” Max throws a stick of dynamite, which bounces behind Clark’s column. Valerie slams the butt of her shotgun behind Bethane’s ear, kneeling atop her.

Bethane reaches back and grabs at Valerie’s foot; as Valerie slaps her hand away, she gets another small jolt. Argus concludes “…dumbass!” as he finishes reloading. Max pulls out another stick of dynamite. Valerie hits Bethane with the shotgun butt again, and Bethane goes limp. Vicente moves to within three yards of the column, watching for a target of opportunity. He gets it when Clark dashes away from the column; Vicente fires and hits, but none of the pellets penetrate Clark’s vest. Rick fires but also does no damage.

Argus aims at Clark. He can see that Clark is running toward something behind the platform that is camouflaged. Valerie rips off Bethane’s blouse with the intention of tying the woman’s arms behind her. Vicente slings his shotgun and draws the 9mm pistol that he had loaded with the magic bullets. The first dynamite stick explodes. Valerie, luckily, is right at the edge of the blast radius. Clark, however, is picked up off his feet and thrown like a rag doll. Max runs across the platform toward Valerie. Rick moves around the corner of the platform.

The fight is essentially over. Valerie ties up Bethane. Troy and Clark lie unmoving. Argus shoots Clark twice anyway. As Max reaches Valerie, the second stick of dynamite explodes. Argus fires at Troy… who rolls out of the way and fires back at Argus, who dodges. Vicente fires his 9mm three times at Troy; one bullet hits, and Troy goes limp, dropping his gun. Argus growls, “I’m not falling for that!” and shoots Troy’s arm, practically severing it. Even with being Hard to Kill, Troy is very dead now.

Max warns those on the platform, “Be careful up there! That thing’s dangerous to all of us.” Argus, after learning that Valerie is the only person in the group who actually has Demolitions skill, asks her to take care of blowing up the platform. She says, “I’ll need more dynamite,” and someone says, “Oh, there’s plenty.”

Vicente examines Bethane; the Cthulhu symbol she wears on a chain around her neck radiates great evil. Valerie starts stripping off the rest of Bethane’s clothing, but finds no more jewelry and no tattoos.

Argus first-aids himself. “Need a new vest, that’s for sure.”

JT, who hasn’t heard any shots or explosions for many seconds, does a radio check. He receives assurances that Bethane, Troy, and Clark are down and his group members are relatively undamaged. He reaches the teenaged prisoners and begins treating them.

Argus investigates the camouflaged area (that Clark had been trying to reach) and finds a small boat dock and a boat.

Vicente casts Aura on Bethane and reads: fanatic for Cthulhu, Blessed, sadistic, curious, delusional, good with animals, Magery (same level as Vicente), Hard to Kill, Danger Sense, and a few other unknown powers. He relates these to Valerie, then tells her, “Go on – I’ll take care of Bethane.” Valerie looks him in the eyes, cocks an eyebrow, and says, “Exodus 22:18?” As Valerie walks off to start laying the dynamite, Vicente pinches Bethane’s nose and mouth shut.

Max discovers Bethane’s space on the top floor of the three-story building. Here he finds a crystal ball, other crystals, New Age paraphernalia, and so forth. He also discovers Bethane’s journals and handwritten plans.

JT gets on the radio. “Sheriff, are you out there?” “We’re with Ms Parsons.” “Can you see the island?” “Not as well as Ms Parsons can, but she says it’s not as ‘fearful,’ whatever that means.” JT calls for a couple of ambulances.

A little while later JT arrives at the platform. Indicating Clark, Troy, and Bethane, he asks the others, “How’d they die?” Troy and Clark died of “natural causes… that is, lead poisoning,” and Bethane “just stopped breathing.” JT checks over the corpses, frowning in thought.

JT then studies the platform, concluding that it was under the river until about six months ago.

Max brings Bethane’s master plan and journals to JT. They include details of Bethane’s torture of various hunters. The most recent entry in the journal indicates that the remaining bikers are supposed to attack the city jail at 10:00pm (it’s 9:15pm now), free the prisoners, then go attack the county jail and kill the sheriff. JT radios the sheriff with this warning, adding that Randy Close and the other bikers are probably at the Rowdy Rooster.

The two teenagers are carried to Jim Bob’s boat. Troy’s remains are wrapped in a tarp, and his and the other two bodies are moved to another boat which is tied behind the boat the group will take.

From the journals Vicente learns that through the chain she wore, Bethane was able to draw magic power from the island. He goes looking for the ring that Ms Parsons mentioned previously, and finds it hidden in a bedpost in Bethane’s area in the three-story building.

The sheriff reports that he and his men as well as the city police are on their way to the Rowdy Rooster to arrest the bikers. JT warns him there’s about to be a pretty big explosion in the middle of the river.

The group sets sail across the river with Argus piloting boldly (although he lacks experience steering boats). It takes about nine minutes to reach the riverbank. Everyone climbs out of the boat, and most of them turn along with Valerie to watch. It is a glorious explosion, and the island begins to sink back under the river. A number of small furry creatures can be seen floundering about in the water… as well as one more bobcat. Uttering oaths, Argus and Rick shoot the creature.

As the rush subsides, Valerie sits down on the riverbank. She shows Vicente the marks on her skin where Bethane touched her, and asks about them. Vicente replies casually, “Oh, that’s something called Deathtouch.” JT checks Valerie over, but there isn’t really anything he can do; she’ll just have to heal naturally.

The sheriff arrives and reports that the bikers are in custody. JT warns him that the sunken island will have to be guarded against divers and treasure hunters. Hearing this, Argus and Vicente approach Jim Bob, the one other person who knows the exact location of the island. Argus: “You don’t want that island coming back, do you?” Vicente: “You don’t want us coming back because of you.” Jim Bob vows to forget the island ever existed.

Sheriff Powell suggests we all adjourn to his office. JT, Vicente, and Valerie spend some time studying Bethane’s journals and reading aloud many interesting passages. Her plan for this coming Saturday baseball game was to dynamite the stands and set loose a pack of dogs, then frame the teenagers, Vic Daniels and Gail Price. The other missing children had already been sacrificed. Bethane had “messed with” Mayor Carl Weber, police chief Frank Tolbert, and teacher Dorothy Parsons, among many others. Her plans extended out to December, when the “big event” would occur. She had organized two covens of high school kids, with tattoos used to link them together and to inject them with drugs; Ms Parsons was to be the scapegoat. Clark Tinnel had been paying off both the mayor and the police chief so he could deal in illicit drugs.

The 11pm news out of Cincinnati carries Elaine Hartman’s report about the arrest of the Carrollton, Kentucky police chief. Max features prominently. Sheriff Powell cracks, “You oughta be a TV star!” The others reply, “He was!”

JT addresses Sheriff Powell. “I don’t know any other way to ask this. I truly don’t know the answer. Is magic admissible in court?” The sheriff’s reply boils down to “no.” “So the mayor can’t claim he was under a spell?” “Well, things like hypnotism and brainwashing do exist.” Powell thinks he has enough on Weber to prevent him from being re-elected in two years, but that’s not good enough for JT or Vicente. Vicente says, “Let me go talk to the mayor. Come on, Argus, you look intimidating.”

Around midnight, as JT, Max, Valerie, and Rick return to the bungalows and prepare to sleep, Vicente and Argus arrive at Carl Weber’s house. The porch light is on. A lady answers the door, and Vicente introduces himself and Deputy Armstrong. The woman says that the mayor is in a meeting with some councilmen, adding, “Carl has been pretty stressed today.” She shows them into a parlor.

Carl Weber comes in. He isn’t wearing a silver chain. He recognizes the name Bethane Troy; “she works at the five and dime.” Vicente, brandishing a sheaf of photocopied pages, informs the mayor that Bethane’s journal mentions him prominently, “and it paints you as a corrupt individual – smart, but corrupt.” He goes on, “Bethane thought she was a witch, and your daughter was part of a coven.” The mayor rejoins, “She had a rich fantasy life.”

Vicente lays out three options. “Number one, the sheriff arrests you and you go quietly. Number two…” Here Vicente pulls out his .22 and levels it at Weber, whose eyes widen. “You fight and win. Number three, you can resign. If you choose number two, however… I’ll come back without Mr Armstrong.” Weber asks Argus for his opinion, and Argus states, “As an officer of the law, I believe people should obey the law and spend more time with their families.”

Vicente concludes, “I think you’re corrupt, but I don’t think you’re evil. If I thought you were evil, only two of us would walk out of this room.” Weber responds, “It’s a deal.” He will announce his resignation as mayor within the next few days.


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