That gorgeous June day, wind ruffling manes and Catherine’s long hair, no one knew if they would have a country that held together, but at that moment the Blue Ridge Mountains promised permanence: the rolling fields, shoots now above the ground offering a form of hope. In time Cloverfields would fall to the ground, the outbuildings and stables dwindle into disrepair.
None of them would live to see that, thankfully, but the mountains would stand. Each of those humans and even the corgi would live full lives, painful, joyful, complete, and their bloodlines would flow through the centuries along with the two stallions’.
Old people would say then as now, “Blood tells.”
And so it would.
46
February 24, 2017
Friday
“Just never ends, does it?” Harry glanced out into the early darkness as a branch’s high-pitched noise captured attention.
“A fire makes everything pleasant no matter what happens outside.” Tazio looked into the gathering night.
Cooper, hand on Pirate’s head as he sat by her chair, sighed. “You two nearly got killed. I’ve cussed you before and I’ll cuss you now.”
Harry defended both of them. “We had no idea. Admit it, neither did you.”
“We were closer than you think. The killer of both Gary and Lisa had to know their habits, which meant a close friend or a close coworker. We even hired a handwriting analyst to study people’s handwriting, including yours, and that opened the door a wedge.”
“How so?” Harry asked.
“The rental car papers for Enterprise. Remember the car left across from Legacy Market in the snowstorm? The papers were under a false name, false but with a really good counterfeit driver’s license. Raynell had incredibly well-made false papers for whatever she needed.
“We began to focus on her, Felipe, and the head of Nature First down in Richmond. Each of them had a work record that could be traced. Darla, Raynell’s real name, had a great cover. She really did work for other nonprofits.”
“So she’s a professional killer?” Tazio wondered.
“If she has to kill, she will. But she can root out whatever the company that hires her needs. She can also set up stings.”
“Like what?” Harry watched the flames edged in blue.
“Trap a rival executive or politician either with a drug setup or a gorgeous call girl. Obviously, she’s good at what she does. Born and raised in Des Moines, Iowa. How she got into this business…well, she won’t admit she’s in it.” Cooper shrugged. “They never do and their bills are paid by some of their former customers. If she takes the rap she will come out of jail even richer. Some system, right?” Cooper sighed.
“You have the 1984 files?” Harry wanted to know about the files, since she’d spent so much time going through the other years.
“Yes. September 19, 1984, by the Kushner project was a note, ‘E. E. missing for three days. Dinosaur bones found in his trunk. Disregarded as they were not human. Thrown away.’ ”
“Longer than his other notes.” Harry leaned forward. “Wonder why?”
“With Edward Elkins’s disappearance, I expect Gary realized Elkins’s gossip about Ali being killed may not have been gossip. Remember, Gary was fascinated by dinosaurs. Also he somewhat knew Ali, who died in 1983. An apparent heart attack, but so close to Elkins’s. He knew what those bones could mean for research and what it would mean to Rankin Construction or anyone hoping to build in Richmond. He got out while the getting was good. He didn’t tip his hand, but he must have gotten sloppy with Lisa. We’re hoping we can worm it out of Darla but she’s a tough nut.”
“The book?” Harry questioned.
“Brilliant. She brushed nicotine on the corners of the pages wearing rubber gloves before taking the book to Lisa’s office. In all my years of law enforcement this is the cleverest way I have ever seen to kill someone.”
“Bunch of bones. People are crazy.” Pewter expressed her opinion.
“People want to know about the past,” Tucker replied.
“Who cares? Doesn’t change anything,” the cat rightfully surmised.
“If humans understand something they feel better. Maybe they feel safer, even if they can’t control anything. They believe it helps them look into the future.”
“I’ve got news for them.” Pewter lifted her chin. “They’ll muck up the future no matter what they’ve learned about the past. They have no common sense.”
None of the other animals challenged this view, as there was some truth to it, but why let Pewter jump on her soapbox?
“Did you ever find the Ducati?” Harry would have loved to have that bike.
“No. What Rick and I think, especially after talking to the people who study organized crime, is this some form of highly organized crime? No, but Darla is part of a company, for lack of a better word, that destroys reputations and sometimes destroys people. We hope this may lead us to who those people are. We know they are enormously rich and they may be international. We strongly believe they also operate politically, ruining elected officials who might reduce the profits of their clients.” Cooper rested her hands on her knees. “The crime that gets reported in the papers is usually impulse crimes or crimes driven by drugs, lack of money, personal revenge, but drugs usually fuel most of what we see, that or alcohol. The truth is that crimes like this are thought out and carried out by highly intelligent people. It’s doubtful that Darla, smart as she is, came up with all of the plan. People higher up created it and, remember, this had to cover up the scientific treasure underground.”
“How can people stop building? Really?” Tazio questioned. “Ok, the area is incredibly important, not just for a short time, but as we’ve been reading at least two hundred and fifteen million years. There’s no easy answer.”
“No,” Cooper agreed.