Chapter Twelve
Sky rose early, ate a quick breakfast, and headed into work, eager to find out about Crandall Thompson. For safekeeping, she entered the ID tag as evidence and then logged the find into the murder book.
Next, she typed in Crandall Thompson’s name into the database and tapped her foot while the computer ball spun on her screen. Sixty seconds later, it came up empty. Damn. He’d been in the service, so why wasn’t his name showing?
As she pondered why his name didn’t show, her email dinged with the results of the dead man’s fingerprints. Ah, ha! That’s why. His real name was Randall Tyler. He’d been commissioned at Hill Air Force base in Ogden, Utah, and was still listed on active duty at his death. So why did he have a swipe card with a different name on it? Was he working undercover?
After further investigation, his death brought up more questions than it solved. Sky found his home address and debated how to proceed. Even though Randall Tyler aka Crandall Thompson was no longer among the living, he might have confided in a neighbor or a girlfriend about what he was really doing.
Sky pushed back her chair, and then explained to Harriet where she was going. “I don’t think I’ll be gone long.”
“You should take Kane with you.”
“Why’s that? I can handle myself.”
Harriet shrugged. “Just saying. You start poking your nose in where it doesn’t belong, and the next thing you know the killers will come after you, or worse, the U.S. Government.”
“I’ll be fine. Don’t worry.”
As soon as she stepped outside of Harriet’s hearing, she forwarded the information to Kane, thinking this might help the senator. It was possible the senator knew this Randall Tyler and what kind of undercover work he was doing while working at the perfume factory.
Once Sky arrived at his address, she was a bit disappointed that he lived in a rundown area about fifteen miles from town. No one was on the street to talk to, so she’d have to go door-to-door.
One hour later, she left, having learned that Crandall Thompson was an honest and helpful guy. None of the neighbors had ever seen him with a woman and said that he kept to himself. Only one elderly gentleman had been aware Randall aka Crandall had been in the military at all.
After running into that dead end, she returned to the office.
“How did it go?” Harriet asked.
“No one knew anything.”
“That’s a shame.”
All during the ride home, Sky couldn’t help but wonder how the perfume factory was connected to some secret operation. Even the senator didn’t know. While it was a farfetched idea, she wondered if the factory was a front for some kind of deep underground military base, or DUMB for short. Many of the locals claimed there were several in Arizona.
Time to do more research. She searched Google for anything related to these military bases. On the third link, she hit pay dirt. Someone listed as whistleblower2 authored one site. He said he’d worked at a place called Blackthorn Base, off 89, near Page. No address was listed, but as outrageous as it appeared, it was possible there could be an underground base below the perfume factory. The many air handlers outside the greenhouse made that seem possible.
She read on. When this person learned of the atrocities conducted there, he decided it was time to quit. While he was now in hiding—which was why he couldn’t reveal his identity—he wanted the world to know what the military was really up to.
She read the introduction. “Oh my God.” Blackthorn was five levels deep. Six, if she counted the underground parking level. That made sense since a secret operation wouldn’t want a lot of cars parked right above it.
Not that everything she read on the Internet was correct, but this was detailed enough to give her pause.
Level 1 was plain creepy. Apparently, all of the workers first weighed in, were given a navy blue jumpsuit, and had their weight logged into the computer. If the worker gained or lost more than three pounds in a day, they were subjected to a physical exam, most likely because the base believed their workers were capable of stealing stuff.
Level 2: This was where the human research was conducted. Shivers crawled up her spine at that concept. Among the topics were mental telepathy, mind control, hypnosis, remote viewing, and out-of-body experiences. Okay, that last one was actually kind of cool. She’d like to learn more about that. Intergalactic space travel wasn’t included in this list, but perhaps that happened at another military base. There was mention of a laser weapon that could cause some major discomfort to its target. Thank God the military men who shot at her and Earl weren’t from this Base. Bullets seemed benign compared to a laser that burned holes in its victims. Also on this level was a section where the scientists could lower a person’s heartbeat to put him into static shock. Sky wasn’t sure exactly what that meant, but apparently, this condition enabled them to reprogram the brain. “Jesus.” Had this happened to Dan Joe or the Senator?
Level 3 – Alien housing. Her fingers nearly slipped off the mouse. Was this for real? Sky leaned closer, not wanting to miss a word. This level was circular in order to house the electro-magnetic generator, which was nearly two hundred feet in diameter. There were five entrances, plus an escape door to the fourth floor, though she couldn’t figure out why they’d build such a thing on the floor where the aliens were housed. The article went on to describe the intense security, probably like Kane was used to. Armed guards patrolled constantly. To move about, one had to use a handprint or a retinal scan station.
She leaned back in her seat, recalling that the greenhouse had some kind of scan. Oh, shit, maybe the entrance to the Base was through the greenhouse. She’d have to ask the Senator how he got in—assuming he remembered that part of his experience.
Level 4 – This was given the name, Hell-hole Hall. It held the genetics labs. Experiments were done on fish, otters, birds, and mice, which made them different from their original forms. Using otters, however, made little sense given this was Arizona.
She scrolled down. “Holy crap!” she whispered.
There were pictures, probably doctored in Photoshop, of multi-armed and multi-legged humans, as well as those of bat-like creatures up to seven-feet tall. She read out loud. “Aliens have taught the humans a lot about genetics, things both useful and dangerous.” The article went on to say that people, usually drugged, were kept in cages, often crying for help. She had to admit this seemed too ridiculous. What was even more absurd was the reference to shifters—people who could change into an animal at will and then change back again.
Level 5 – Prison cells.
She couldn’t finish reading. This was too gruesome. Kane would laugh at the article, stating whoever had created this had a vivid imagination with too much time on his hands. He might be right, but what if he wasn’t? Sky decided it wouldn’t hurt to check out the perfume factory tonight and see for herself—without Kane’s skeptical help.
* * *
Right before her shift ended, she’d asked Harvey to drive her to the garage to pick up the repaired cruiser. She wouldn’t have bothered, but in case she needed to investigate something at the factory without them shooing her away, she needed to look official.
Once she picked up the cruiser, she began having doubts about going to the perfume factory alone at night—a factory that could possibly be hiding Blackthorn Base underneath it.
Don’t be a wuss. She was an officer of the law, duty bound to find out who’d killed Randall Tyler. It wasn’t as if she planned to sneak around; she’d be in her cruiser.
Since she and her dad had planned dinner together, she’d eat with him and then head over. As much as she wanted to ask him if he knew anything about any military base nearby, she feared he’d do something to stop her.
She called and asked if he wanted to come over to her place assuming he didn’t have something planned.
“How about we eat out? There’s a new place that opened I’ve wanted to try out.”
“Sounds great.”
It was a new steakhouse. A good meal would help settle her stomach. A half hour later, they met and had a really nice meal. “I broke up with Chris,” she announced, wanting to keep the conversation off her job.
“I’m glad. I never did like the guy.”
Now he tells her? “A long distance relationship was never going to work. So what have you been up to?”
For the next hour, he told her about what was going on with the City Council. She always learned something. And knowledge was power.
Just as they finished, his cell rang. Apparently, he was needed for some emergency. She didn’t like that he put his job above family, but if she didn’t have something to do, she might have complained.
Once they hugged goodbye, she headed toward Page. Gray clouds scudded overhead, covering the moon for most of her drive. The winds, with nothing to block their path, made her cruiser shake as she fought to stay in the lane.
Spotting the factory up ahead, she drove past the entrance and parked a short distance away. The cop in her said to call Kane, but her emotional side said she wasn’t ready for his ridicule. Kane also wouldn’t leave the Senator just to do a stake out for hours on end with probably nothing to show for it.
It wasn’t as if she’d need his protection anyway. Sky had already decided that this was a reconnaissance mission only. A rookie might have charged into the parking lot and looked around but not her. She was fairly certain there were cameras trained on the lot. She merely planned to take notes on who came and who went. A dirt road turnoff on the far side of a hill provided the perfect location. The headlights from any vehicle coming from the factory wouldn’t spot her. If they did see her and asked what she was doing there, she’d claim she was on official business. What that business was, she didn’t know.
Her stealth position, however, was unwarranted. By eight, only three delivery trucks had driven by, and none of them had even slowed as they passed by the factory. If something secret were going on, it might happen later. It didn’t matter. Sky was determined to stay here for as long as was needed.
When her cell rang, she nearly jumped, adrenaline jacking her heart. She checked the screen. It was the gossip queen herself. “Hi, Harriet.”
“I am glad I caught you. After you left, Kane stopped by to say that some lab called with the results you wanted.”
Sky sensed Harriet only called because she was dying to know which lab results. Sky could lie and say they were Randall Tyler’s tox screens, but dishonesty wasn’t her thing. Her pulse raced and she sat up straighter. “Did he say what was in it?”
“I tried to pry the information out of him, but his lips were sealed tighter than a frog’s ass.”
“Har-ri-et.” The woman didn’t have a censored bone in her body.
“Sorry, but it’s true. He told me he’d tell you and only you. Listen, I’m on my way out and just wanted to let you know.”
“Thanks.”
Sky pocketed the phone and leaned her head back to take a quick break when the rumble of large cars sounded up ahead. She sat up and lifted the binoculars to her eyes. Holy shit. Three camouflaged Hummers were pulling into the factory lot.
She waited a few minutes for something to happen but nothing did, though she wasn’t sure what she expected—that they’d storm the perfume factory with their guns blazing?
She had to assume these men worked in the underground Base. They would probably sneak in through the greenhouses, take an elevator down a few levels, and replace the other guards on duty. If so, those guards might be exiting soon.
Her stomach tumbled at the thought there might actually be captives below ground. In cages. Drugged. Needing help.
She rolled down the window, hoping to hear either voices or perhaps a door opening and closing. In the cold, dry Arizona air, sound traveled far. She waited for anything to indicate the occupants had left their vehicles or a new shift had started. After another fifteen minutes of sitting in the dark, she figured it was time to get a closer look at the mystery vehicles and check out the greenhouses that might be used for more than just growing plants to make perfume.
She drove to the factory. Except for a few emergency lights in the entranceway, the place was shrouded in darkness. She hadn’t noticed it when she and Kane had visited, but there were no street lamps illuminating the parking lot, nor did the sign stay lit to advertise its existence to passersby.
She headed up the driveway, but before she could put the car in park, three sets of bright lights flipped on and blinded her. Stunned, she sat there and blinked.
A man, dressed in a camouflage uniform, exited one of the trucks, the light from inside the cab illuminating the rifle slung over his shoulder. Oh, shit. He walked toward her, shoulders erect.
I got this. Sky eased out of her cruiser and stood tall.
“Can I help you?” he asked.
Think. “I received a call about a disturbance.” Sky looked around.
“Everything’s quiet here, officer.”
She smiled, hoping he couldn’t tell her lips were trembling. “I can see that. It must have been a false alarm. Probably some kids thinking it was a fun prank. Good night.”
Sky spun on her heels, pulled open her door, and eased in. As if this had been a routine check, she turned the cruiser around and left, keeping an eye on the rear view mirror. Thankfully, they seemed to have bought her story and didn’t follow her, but as soon as she turned left out of the lot, she floored it, trying to put as much distance between them as possible.
After two miles, she relaxed and slowed. Her mind spun, trying to figure out who those people were. A curve up ahead forced her to slow, and as she rounded the bend, the road narrowed, pinched by two cliffs of red rock. Suddenly, her car lurched, and her foot instinctively hit the brakes, her neck snapping forward. Sky managed to brace herself from hitting the wheel, but barely. What the hell was that?
Pulse jackhammering, she checked the side view mirror then the rear view mirror, but no one was behind her. She must have hit something. Once she caught her breath, she slowed, ready to pull over to check it out.
Without warning, a loud bang was followed by a clang. Someone had slammed into her. Shit. Then that someone, or something, hit her again, forcing her hands to slip off the wheel. She pressed on the brakes, trying to stop, but the pressure from behind pushed the car off the road straight into the rocks.
As she crashed, the airbag exploded, smashing the material into her face. Her nose pressed in, and for a moment, she couldn’t breathe. Her body continued its forward momentum, and stopped only when the seatbelt pinned her. A huge pain stabbed her chest and shoulders. Finally, the car halted, and her head slammed back against the seat.
Nothing registered at first. Then like an unexpected tsunami coming ashore, a huge ache rushed in. Sky didn’t move a muscle, fearing something terrible had happened to her. Blood rushed to her head and hammered against her temple.
Her vision blurred and she blinked. What looked like a larger than life wolf darted back across the road. For a split second, she wondered if that had been a shifter like the article claimed existed.
No, it couldn’t be.
Then feeling returned to her feet and hands, along with the belief the damage was not as severe as she’d first thought. Anger devoured her. Someone had run her off the road and it wasn’t her having swerved to miss some animal. The rearview mirror was askew but the side view mirror showed no one was behind her. How the hell had they disappeared? It had to have been one of those Hummers with the black tinted windows with its lights off. Fuckers. If the airbag hadn’t exploded when it did, she would have seen them speed on by.
Sky grabbed the door handle and pushed hard to get out, but that only caused her shoulder to scream in pain. Damn it. Nothing better be broken.
On second thought, she wouldn’t be able to drive out of there, so she might as well stay warm inside the car. The first thing she needed was help. She wanted to call Kane, but her dad would be royally pissed if he weren’t able to play big man on the scene, directing the tow truck and the paramedics. On the other hand, he might be upset if she interrupted him during his emergency meeting. But hell. She was injured and needed help.
Fortunately, her cell phone hadn’t dislodged from her top pocket. When she dialed her father’s number, his voicemail picked up after the first ring. Ugh.
“Dad, it’s Sky. Someone ran me off the road, but don’t worry, I’m fine.” Blood dripped down her nose, and she wiped the mess away with the back of her hand. “I’ll call after I get towed out of here. Bye.”
She leaned her head back against the seat, and her neck muscles tightened. “Ouch.” Rubbing her neck didn’t even help. Perhaps her prognosis wasn’t as good as she thought. Steam hissed from the radiator, and she couldn’t imagine the cost of this repair.
She didn’t want to call her boss and tell him the just-fixed cruiser was once again headed for the shop, but she was duty-bound to report the accident, so she called the office. Harvey answered on the third ring. Using energy to keep her voice from shaking, she briefly told him what had happened. It didn’t surprise her that he asked only about the cruiser, and not if she had been injured.
“I’ll call Morton’s and then let the Chief know you messed up his car again,” he said. “He won’t be happy.”
“I know.” She didn’t need him to tell her that.
“I’ll send Elmer to write up the report and take your statement.”
She was pleased Elmer was well enough to return to work, though by the time he made his way out there, she might bleed to death. “Thanks.”
Once she disconnected, she dialed Kane’s number, wanting his expertise and comfort. A wave of lightheadedness swamped her, and she inhaled deeply to make sure she sounded strong. She had the sense Kane would freak if he thought she was injured.