B008IFNJZM EBOK (38 page)

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Derrick came out of the Merat cave and walked over the Sargent Major and they both sat down.  Derrick had no update on Tom’s condition so with Crosley’s blessing, Chelsea re-entered the cave.  The Sargent Major had no idea what was being said but he knew his orders and asked nothing regarding the strange comments.  Once Chelsea dropped out of sight, she shot through the passages and valleys to bring back an update for Elizabeth.  The satellite phone rang in the command tent and Elizabeth went over to answer it.  She picked up the receiver.

             
“Hello?”

             
“Yes this is Detective Wiggins, I am trying to reach Doctor Elizabeth Hart.”

             
“This is she.”

             
“Sorry to bother you Doctor, but I have a few routine questions for you.”

             
“It’s no bother Detective, what do you need to know?”

             
“Where are you right now?”

             
“I am at our base camp.”

             
“In Australia?”

             
“Yes detective.”

             
“And where is your brother at this minute?”

             
Elizabeth paused and thought about her reply.

             
“He is in the Outback Detective, several miles away from this camp.”

             
“So he is there with you?”

             
“Yes, what is this all about?”

             
“It’s just routine…  Tell me what are the two of you doing if I might ask?”

             
“We are on an assignment assisting the Australian Military.”

             
Elizabeth responded that way because other responses like looking for Bigfoot or trying to get her brother cured from the werewolf curse would sound like she had lost her mind.

             
“Really… Can you put one of them on the phone for me?”

             
Elizabeth looked out the tent and called the Sergeant Major over.  He took the phone. She now could only hear his end of the conversation.

             
“Sir, yes sir… Sargent Major Cooper, sir.”

             
There was a pause

             
“We are assisting Thomas Hart and Doctor Elizabeth Hart on a government matter.”

             
Elizabeth liked his response.  It sounded official.

             
“I am sorry sir, our government has classified this mission and I am not at liberty to discuss the details of this assignment.”

             
At that moment, Nathan walked into the tent and Elizabeth motioned to him not to speak.  He took a sip of his coffee and listened to the Sargent Major continue.

             
“Yes sir the professor is here as well.  Would you like to speak to him?”

             
The Sargent Major took out his wallet and began to search for something.  He found it and handed it to Elizabeth.  It was his military identification card.

             
“Yes sir.  I will give her the phone.”

             
Elizabeth took the phone.

             
“Yes Detective?”

             
“If you would be so kind as to fax the page on your passport showing your arrival in Australia along with the same page from your brother’s and Nathan’s passport I would be able to put this inquiry to rest.  Do you have my fax number?”

             
“Yes, it is on your business card which I have on me.  What is this all about?”

             
“Nothing really, oh and fax the Sargent Major’s Identification card as well… It’s just a routine check I have to make.”

             
“I’ll fax this to you just as soon as we get off the phone.”

             
“Thank you and sorry to bother you.”

             
“It’s no bother Detective.  Good Bye.”

             
“Good Bye Doctor.”

             
Elizabeth went over to the strong box and pulled the documents and then faxed the pages requested proving their location to the Detective along with the military identification card of the Sargent Major.  She walked back out to the campfire and handed the card to the Sargent Major.  Nathan looked up at Elizabeth.

             
“What was that all about?”

             
“He said he was making some kind of routine check.”

             
Chelsea came into the light covered in sweat.

             
“May I speak to you?”

             
“Yes of course.”

             
“In private?”

             
“Come with me into the tent and we will talk.”

             
Crosley handed his woman a towel and she followed Elizabeth into the tent.  Elizabeth hung on every word as Chelsea told her everything she had learned from Khu.  She was happy her brother was on the road back to being normal and had tears in her eyes regarding the painful process he was involved in.  Chelsea hugged her.

             
“Hey he will recover and be his old self… Remember the psychic, she is batting a thousand percent.”

             
The satellite phone rang again and Chelsea took it as a cue to leave.

             
This time is was Doctor Hunsinger her assistant who was in charge of her office until she returned.  It was now that the Detective’s earlier call made sense.  Three more murders very similar to the butler’s death at her late father’s mansion were on the stainless steel tables in the examining room.  She now knew that whoever was responsible for the groundskeeper to be transformed into a werewolf was still in the area back home.  She went back to the campfire and later after the Sargent Major returned to oversee his men, she filled them all in on what was going on back in Kentucky.

             
Chelsea listened to the story of the three latest murders back in Kentucky.

             
“This werewolf has three more days left in this full moon cycle.  He will kill again.”

             
Hadiya and Shawn came over.  Shawn had a large bandage over his chest and a new shirt on that still wasn’t buttoned down the front.

             
Nathan smiled and looked up at the lad.

             
“So how are you feeling?”

             
“Great.  I think I am in love.”

             
Hadiya smiled as she held on to his arm.

             
“I meant how do you feel physically.”

             
“Good… a little sore but I am getting back to normal.”

             
“Pull up a stump and join us.”

             
The pair sat down as Hadiya leaned in.

             
“I heard you talking about another werewolf attack?”

             
“Yes.  Three people died today back home.”

             
“Were any of them bitten?”

             
“No, they all look like they were slashed to death.”

             
“Then Chelsea is right, he will kill again sometime in the next three remaining days.”

             
Chelsea looked at Elizabeth.

             
“Look, suppose this is the creature that turned your father’s groundskeeper and caused his blood to infect your brother…  He is smart.  He will probably kill some animals during the rest of his cycle, but he will kill at least one more human by biting before it ends.”

             
“I don’t understand.  Why are you so sure that he will kill another person?”

             
“Because he has to leave the door open for the police to seek another person other than him.  He will probably focus in on killing animals far away from his current location while stalking a victim to turn into one of his own.  You see, if he succeeds in finding a suitable replacement for himself, at the next full moon cycle the other one will be set up as the area’s killer and he will be free to just move on and no longer be hunted.”

             
“Yes and then he can start all over again somewhere else.  It’s all about victims.”

             
“Why didn’t he just turn one of the three he killed last night?”

             
“I don’t know, maybe that was his initial plan… unless it was too close to sunrise and it was running out of time for the evening or maybe he was interrupted…  there could be a lot of reasons.”

             
“That is why I think you should call back there and order the tests.  Just in case...”

             
Elizabeth looked at Nathan.

             
“It will look like you are just being thorough.”

             
Elizabeth got up and returned to the command tent and placed the call.

             
“So Ed, how is it going?”

             
“Oh hi Elizabeth...  We got everyone in again and the FBI folks are here as well.”

             
“Have you found any bite marks yet?”

             
“No only deep gashes.  It would appear they all bleed to death, except for one of the men who was hung on that hook.  That looks like the spinal damage may have been his cause of death long before he bled to death.”

             
“Could they all be shown?”

             
“Maybe if the mortuary gave the female some type of turtle neck shirt or other covering to hide her neck injuries.  Her wounds are much higher to her face.”

             
“Would you mind if I asked for an additional test?”

             
“You’re the boss go ahead and ask.”

             
“I want the hearts extracted on all three and examined.”

             
“The FBI boys will love that.  They are always asking for all kinds of additional tests.  Why would you ask for that?  I mean it is pretty obvious what the causes of death are in all three cases.”

             
“I know but humor me and then bag the hearts and place them in the body bags without putting them back in the bodies with the other organs you must remove.”

             
“Are you following a hunch?”

             
Elizabeth didn’t like hiding the truth from her number one doctor.

             
“Do you want a cranial extraction and test as well?”

             
“No but maybe next time.”

             
“God, I hope there isn’t a next time.”

             
“If there is, then we will add a cranial extraction and test on the next victim.  I think if this continues to happen before the police find this killer we will have ran a full range of tests across all the victims leaving no stone unturned.”

             
“Alright, but do we need to do it to all three or just one?”

             
“Do all three for me just this one time.”

             
“Okay but I got to tell you we have had more work since you left than we ever had.  I hope you will be returning soon.  The paperwork you have to do is killing me.  I never knew how many forms are required.”

             
“That is because the FBI is there.  They tend to double the usual amount.”

             
“Well enjoy your vacation and please hurry back!”

             
Elizabeth smiled.

             
“I will my friend.”

             
She hung up and returned to the campfire.

             
“Are they going to do it?”

             
“Yes.  They will pull the hearts out on all three.”

             
“Good that insures that if the werewolf bit one of them and then covered it with gashes, without hearts in those bodies, they will not come back from the dead and turn.”