Conspiracies and Stuff: A Dreamland Junction Mystery (5 page)

“So what’s up with you?”

“Have you heard anyone in your group mention an agency known as the FIA … Federation Intelligence Agency?”

“Actually, the FIA subject did come up a few weeks ago. Nancy mentioned something about a dream that she had. In the dream, she was taken in for questioning by some FIA agents. Most people in the group came to the conclusion that it was just a regular dream, or a screen memory.”

“Hmm … well I hate to break the news to you, but it might actually have been the government, or some people who are claiming to be these FIA agents.”

I now had Spencer’s full attention.

“What have you been holding back?” he asked.

“Well I’ll tell you, if you do the polite thing and offer your guest a drink.”

“Oh … sorry. You just don’t seem like a guest. It’s more like we live together,” he said, getting up from his chair. “Pepsi okay?”

God forbid! If I lived with Spencer, I’d have to rent a dump truck to haul away all his junk.

I nodded.

Following him into the kitchen, I told him what happened with Levan.

Handing me a glass of soda, he asked, “So what if this guy is telling the truth? I don’t think you should be so quick to write him off.”

No way was I going to admit to Spencer that I couldn’t write off Levan, but it wasn’t exactly his story that had me intrigued. True, his claims of being part of some galactic police force did give me something to think about, other than his cute behind. I’d barely been able to think of anything else, and this worried me. All I needed was to get involved with another nutcase.

My thoughts were interrupted by the sound of my phone ringing. It was Uncle Sonny.

“Hello,” I answered.

“Where are you?” he asked, not bothering with formalities.

“With Spencer … why?”

“Johnny Reyes was just found murdered in the parking lot of the Landing. According to witnesses, the two of you had an argument earlier.”

Great! The jerk’s mouth finally got him killed, and now I was going to be a suspect.

“Well kind of. He wanted to talk about me paying him palimony, or some crazy thing like that. What happened?” I thought I should at least pretend to be interested, for the sake of trying to stay out of jail.

“His heart was pulled right out of his chest.”

“Yuk.”

I really didn’t like Johnny these days, but I didn’t think anyone deserved to have their heart ripped from their chest.

“That’s not all,” Sonny continued. “His eyes and other internal organs are missing too. It’s like the cattle mutilations.”

That was a double yuk.

Sitting across the table from Detective Moss, I did my best to ignore his asinine attitude. The interrogation room was dingy green, and not very comfortable, which is exactly how it was intended to be. It was easier to break a suspect if they were uncomfortable. At least that’s what Uncle Sonny always said.

“So Johnny Reyes left the Landing and returned later … about noon?” he asked.

I nodded. “Yes. I guess he came back for lunch. I didn’t talk to him that time because Lavern got his table.”

“And why is that?”

“You already know why, Detective Moss. Because Rafe figured it would be less trouble if one of the other girls tended his table,” I replied, rolling my eyes.

“So who left first, you or him?”

“I did. Like I said, my shift ended at 12:30. On my way home, I stopped at the carwash and the grocery store. After putting groceries away, I went next door to talk with Spencer.” I grumbled, annoyed at the fact that I had to repeat the same story twice.

“Can anyone verify this?” he asked, his face a stone mask.

Moss thought he was so cool. He probably hadn’t had this much action since his last trip to Black Jack’s whorehouse. Two murders in two days had to be some kind of record for Dreamland Junction.

“I have a time stamped receipt from the store, and old man Johnson saw me at the carwash. Now can I go? I want to talk to the ME.”

“Like hell you will!” Moss scowled. “You’re a suspect in this case … so don’t go around trying to solve it.”

Yeah right. Like he really believed telling me not to do something was going to work.

* * *

After spending most of my afternoon being questioned by hotshot Detective Moss, I was left with barely enough time to call the Riverside police and get some info on Mister Peterson’s death.

Like usual, I pretended to be officially representing my uncle and the Dreamland Police. It was the only way I could get them to give me any information, especially when it concerned an ongoing investigation. Although they’d ruled it an accident, if there were any doubts, they’d probably keep the case open, at least unofficially.

Unfortunately, the investigating officer wasn’t in, but I left a message for him to call.

I then shot a text to one of my Area 51 contacts. They kept untraceable phones to keep in contact with me, so it might be a day or two before I received a response.

Apparently untraceable also meant they kept their phones hidden in a drawer, and rarely plugged them in. If this were a matter of life and death, I’d be in big trouble.

Spencer was gone by the time I made it home. I was a little hurt that I’d spent the afternoon in an interrogation room, while he was off to Las Vegas chasing leads, but I couldn’t really blame him. I was the one who asked him to go talk to his abductee friends about the FIA.

With Spencer gone, the rest of the evening was quiet. After putting up more pictures and getting my patio furniture arranged on my deck, I decided that what I really needed was a long hot bath and some candlelight.

I felt a little guilty taking some self time with Johnny’s killer still out there, but on the bright side, at least now all I’d have to worry about is finding my court papers from fathead and throwing them in the trash.

Maybe I’d make a party of it. Invite everyone over for a bonfire in my new barbeque.

Five minutes into my self-time, someone was pounding at my front door.

No way could Spencer be back already. He usually stayed in Vegas if it was getting late, and according to my fatigued and fogged brain, it was definitely getting late.

Ignoring whoever was at my door wasn’t really an option. It could be Uncle Sonny or Moss, ready to make an arrest.

Thinking about it like that, it was probably a good idea to ignore the knock.

Sighing, I got out of the tub and wrapped up in my neon green, terrycloth robe.

I was only mildly surprised to see Derek Sorenson when I opened the door.

“Let me in before someone sees me,” he whispered, pushing his way by me.

That was something I could never understand about Derek. He insisted on secrecy, but he could knock on my door so loud that every neighbor within half a block probably heard him.

“So you got my message?” I asked, shutting the door.

Derek nodded. “I didn’t think we should talk on the phone, just incase it is being tapped.”

“Okay then. Do you want something to drink … maybe some coffee?”

He shook his head. “I came as soon as I got your message about the FIA. Do you have any idea how big this is? How do you know about the FIA?”

“Just heard it mentioned in connection with the disappearance of Sean Peterson.” I shrugged. 

“Maybe I better take that cup of coffee after all,” Derek sighed. “This might take a few minutes.”

Any insight he could provide about the so called, FIA, was well worth making a pot of coffee.

Derek followed me into the kitchen and talked while I put some coffee on.

With his black-framed glasses and short-cropped black hair, Derek was definitely nerd material, but he was an excellent source of information when it came to black projects and Area 51. He’d worked there for two years on reverse engineering of alien technology. I wasn’t so sure he knew what he was talking about on that point, but he did seem to know a lot about the facility itself.

“When I was at 51, there were whispers about the FIA. The big dogs over alien technology say it is this agency that keeps earth in a no contact state. They represent some kind of confederation of planets,” he explained.

“But what planets?” I asked, still not ready to accept what I was hearing.

Even after spending most of my life around conspiracy theories and talk of UFOs, I still had a hard time swallowing some of it.

“That’s all I really know. I’d probably be dead if anyone found out I knew that much.”

I wasn’t so sure I believed that, but Derek liked the secrecy game so I let it slide. No sense in telling him that I might have actually met one of these aliens.

“I’ve spoken with someone who believes that Sean Peterson may have been taken underground at Area 51. Do you know anyone inside that might be able to check that out for me?”

Derek nodded. “I still have some contacts on the inside. If they’re holding a kid there, there is bound to be some talk.”

“I would really appreciate it if you could ask around … also, there was another murder today. Johnny was mutilated, just like a cow.”

Derek’s face drained of color. “That means there must be some Dracos around. They need internal organs to survive.”

I gave him a lopsided grin. “Don’t you think we might notice one of them hanging around town, especially since this occurred in the middle of the day?”

Taking the cup of coffee I offered, I sat at the kitchen table. “Not really. The Draco Alliance is made up of several species. One species known as the Camiles, can shift to look like other species.”

Now we were getting into an area that I wasn’t going to be able to choke down. “Sorry. I just don’t think I’m going to be able to get into all this crazy alien stuff.”

It wasn’t that I didn’t think there might be aliens out there somewhere. It would be stupid to believe we were the only intelligent life in the universe, but when it came to the belief that there were dozens of species visiting earth, I couldn’t quite grasp that one.

I mean seriously, you’d think if there were that many aliens popping in, you might run into at least one at the grocery store or something.

Derek shrugged. “Not everyone has the capacity to believe the incredible.”

I wasn’t sure if I’d just been insulted or not, but I decided to let it slide. Right now I needed Derek, and if I decked him, there wasn’t much chance of convincing him to help me.

Draining his cup in three gulps, he got to his feet. “I better get out of here. Be at the Alien museum payphone about a quarter after five tomorrow afternoon. If I get anything I’ll call. If I don’t, you won’t get a call.”

Well that was great. I had to go stand around the only payphone within a hundred miles and wait for a maybe call.

It wouldn’t do any good to argue with him. Derek did things in his own way.

* * *

I had the day off, courtesy of Rafe, and the ongoing homicide investigation into Johnny’s death. He figured it was bad press to have a murder suspect working his tables.

That was okay with me. I had more than enough to keep me busy.

Celeste didn’t see it that way. She figured I’d be at home moping, and trying to solve crimes. Like usual, my other best friend figured that it was a better idea if I went shopping with her.

Just like Spencer, I’d known Celeste Tafoya since kindergarten. The three of us had been inseparable while growing up. These days we didn’t see as much of each other, but were still just as close.

Celeste was one of those small, dainty Spanish girls that made you wonder how the hell she managed to find anything to wear outside the junior section of the clothing stores. She might have been small, but she had an attitude that put mine to shame. It wasn’t that she wasn’t a good person, but she didn’t take crap from anyone. I figured she needed the bad attitude to compensate for her lack of stature.

I was waiting for her on my deck when she drove up in her pride and joy, a red Jeep Wrangler.

“So what’s on the agenda?” I asked, climbing into the passenger seat.

“I have a doctor appointment, and then we can stop and get some lunch. They’re having a shoe sale at Shoe World today. I need a new pair of pumps. The heel on my blue pair gave out the other day.”

Celeste had more shoes than I had clothes. I figured it would be best not to mention that or she’d go into a lecture about how a woman needed shoes to match every outfit and every occasion.

Really, I had no idea where she kept all her clothes and shoes. Celeste still lived with her parents, who were elderly on account of her being a late life surprise for the Tafoyas.

Doctor Bruce Neely’s office was located in the new professional building near the Dreamland Junction Hospital. Celeste and I had the same doctor, but I wasn’t due for my checkup for months, which made me wonder why she was going in early. We usually scheduled for about the same time.

“Is something wrong?” I asked.

Celeste shook her head. “Just been feeling a little off lately.”

I wasn’t real fond of doctor appointments. It always seemed like I spent more time in the waiting room than I did with the doctor.

Why couldn’t they actually see you at the time of your appointment? It didn’t seem right that they could refuse to see you and still charge you for the appointment when you were late, but could keep you waiting.

I settled in the waiting room with a magazine, expecting I’d be there for a good hour. To my surprise Celeste was back in twenty minutes, looking like she’d just had a run in with a spook.

Alarmed, I dropped the magazine and stood. “Is everything okay?”

Shaking her head, Celeste started for the door, motioning for me to follow her.

“I’m pregnant!” she cried, as soon as we were outside.

My mouth fell open. I was expecting her to say just about anything except that.

After the shock wore off, I hugged her. “Well that’s not the end of the world. Hey … you’re going to have a baby!”

Again she shook her head. “You don’t understand. I can’t be pregnant.”

“Well that’s obviously not true. That’s what happens when you do the funky monkey without protection,” I pointed out.

“No … I
really can’t
be pregnant,” she insisted. “I haven’t been with Kevin, or anyone in over three months.”

Kevin Reed and Celeste had been a hot item during high school, and they still saw each other on and off.

“Well apparently the last time you were with him, you got pregnant.”

“I’ve had two periods since then,” she said, leaning up against her jeep. “It’s just my last period I missed.”

“That’s not that unusual. Some people still have periods in the beginning of their pregnancy.” I tried to comfort her.

She was really shaken up about being pregnant. Not that I blamed her, but I didn’t think there was anything all that sinister about it either.

“Damn it girl! You’re not getting this at all.” Celeste frowned. “I’m only three weeks pregnant, according the ultrasound Doctor Neely just did.”

Okay, she had me there. I couldn’t explain that one, but I had to try. “Obviously its wrong. I bet the next time you go in they are going to get it right and you’ll end up being like three months pregnant.”

This seemed to do the trick.

“You’re probably right. I’m freaking out for no reason.”

“Of course I’m right,” I said, wrapping my arm around her slender shoulders. “Even doctors can be wrong sometimes.”