Tarizon: Desert Swarm Read online

  Chapter 31

  The Set Up

  At the conclusion of the news conference Jack looked at the others and frowned. “That’s a load of crock if I’ve ever heard one.”

  George shook his head. “Poor Reverend Little has been set up.”

  “And Principal Barnes too,” Dolly added. “I can’t believe it. Paul Barnes has to think twice before stepping on a cricket. There’s no way he’d participate in a murder.”

  “Right,” Jack said. “We can’t let the government get away with this.”

  “We better go tell Agent Sanders what just happened,” Cindy said. “She’s going to be steamed.”

  They started walking to where Sanders was waiting.

  “You think the media will buy it?” George asked.

  “Probably,” Jack said. “It was pretty creative bullshit, actually.”

  “Who do you think the undercover cops were?”

  “CIA probably. Sent in to orchestrate the cover-up.”

  “What about the Hollywood actress. Were they behind that too?” George asked.

  “No. Reverend Little may have been guilty on that front. He wouldn’t be the first preacher to hire an actor to fake a miracle to enhance his standing with his flock.”

  When they arrived at the top of the hill Agent Sanders looked at them expectantly. They told her what happened.

  “That figures,” Agent Sanders said with a sigh. “Now our job will be even harder. The government will be fighting not only to protect their secret but their credibility as well. So, I hope everybody has paid their life insurance premiums.”

  Dolly laughed. “Life insurance? I think my ex-husband is still the beneficiary. There’s no way I’m going to die and make him rich.”

  Jack laughed. “Don’t worry. I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”

  “So, what now?” George asked.

  “Well, we better get over to the Independence site and make sure the walls haven’t punched through their covering,” Agent Sanders replied. “All we need is a bunch of pilgrims descending on another location.”

  A few hours later they rolled up on the Independence site and were astonished at what they saw. The walls had not grown six inches like they had expected, but were nearly ten foot tall!

  “Holly chap!” Dolly exclaimed. “What do you have in that sand, Jack? Fertilizer?”

  Jack looked around nervously. “It’s a miracle nobody has spotted this yet.”

  “What could have caused such growth?” George asked.

  “I don’t know,” Jack said. “Maybe because we had the sand, gravel and clay all close by. It allowed the microorganism to work much faster.”

  “That makes sense,” Dolly agreed.

  “Boy, you’ve got to admire their work,” Cindy said looking at the beautiful crystal beginnings of another cathedral. “It’s different from the Living Desert Cathedral, though.”

  “Yes, it is,” Jack agreed. “You know. These structures are probably the natural home of this microorganism and each one is different.”

  “Like every snowflake is different.”

  “Right.”

  “So, what are we going to do,” George asked. “We can’t hide this anymore.”

  “That’s true,” Jack said thoughtfully. “I guess what I could do is send word to everyone that the project has been delayed for a few weeks. That will buy us some time.”

  “That’s good, but what is to prevent someone from wandering up here anyway.”

  Jack thought a moment. “Well, we could deter them by roughing up the road a bit and dragging some logs over it. I think I saw some fallen trees on the side of the road on the way up here.”

  After they’d admired the new construction for a while they left the site and stopped where Jack had seen the fallen trees. With a chain attached to the truck’s trailer hitch, they pulled the trees across the road.

  “There are enough trees and rocks in this area it will be difficult for anyone to get past. I doubt anyone will take the trouble to clear the road.”

  “Well, we better go check out the Death Valley Junction site,” Agent Sanders said. “I’m interested to see how the Army is handling it as it grows.”

  “Alright,” Jack said getting back into his truck. “It’s going to be dark. We’ll have to get a motel and check it out in the morning.”

  “Let’s go by Mona’s Café and I’ll buy you dinner,” Dolly said.

  “That’s nice of you,” Agent Sanders said.

  Dolly shook her head. “Don’t worry about it. I get the employee discount.”

  “So, Mona won’t charge you?” Jack asked.

  “Exactly.”

  Everybody laughed.

  When they got to Mona’s place an hour later, the place was packed, so Dolly went into the kitchen to see what was up. A moment later she came back with Mona.

  “So, it seems everybody is leaving town now that the murders have been solved,” Dolly said.

  “Yes,” Mona agreed. “That’s right. All these people are pilgrims on their way home. If you wait a moment, I’ll put a couple tables together as soon as they come open.”

  They all took a seat in the waiting area.

  “Well, Captain Winslow must be proud of himself,” Agent Sanders said.

  “Well, at least we won’t have to deal with the pilgrims while we conduct our investigation,” Jack said. “Security should relax a bit around the Bat Mountain Site, too.”

  “I just wished we knew what we are dealing with, “Agent Sanders said. “The situation is only going to get worse, pilgrims or no pilgrims.”