Note: See Part 1 for disclaimers.
THE ONLY EASY DAY IS YESTERDAY
"The Journey of Jeremy Keller"
by Old Scout
Part 6
Agent Ropper was discussing the search plans with Sheriff
Bigalow when they noticed someone at the far side of the bridge. A
young woman was approaching the deputies working there. The Sheriff's
radio crackled to life "Sheriff, Mindy is here and insists on seeing you."
"Mindy?" Agent Ropper asked.
"That's my daughter, I wonder what she's doing here." Sheriff
Bigalow then radioed, "Would you bring her on over, Mike."
Five minutes later the young woman was at the command post.
Sheriff Bigalow looked over his daughter, she was slightly disheveled,
like she had been up all night, but other wise was bright and alert. She
even looked to be wearing the same clothes she'd had on yesterday when
she visited the bridge. "Mindy, what's wrong, you look like you've been
up all night."
The girl went straight to the Sheriff's personal thermos and poured
herself some coffee. "The guy from the car is still alive." she said after
drinking half of the luke warm coffee in one gulp.
"How do you know?" Agent Ropper spoke up immediately.
"I'm sorry," Sheriff Bigalow said "Mindy, these are Agents
Ropper and Bateman. This is my daughter, Mindy Ann." The Sheriff
turned back to his daughter "How do you know about the driver of that
car."
"I spent the night with him."
"What?!" the Sheriff said sounding very much like the typical over
protective father.
"Don't worry dad, I happened on him in Mr. Edwin's cabin. He
had a fire going and was drying out his clothes. He was a perfect
gentleman and didn't lay a hand on me." Mindy said then downed the rest
of her coffee.
"You said you spent the night with him?" Agent Ropper asked.
"Yes, he couldn't let me just leave before he was ready, so I sat
and talked to him while he dried and packed his things. Then he tied me
to a chair so he could get some sleep and a head start. He must have left
about six o'clock this morning.
"What did he look like, did you get his name?" Sheriff Bigalow
asked his daughter.
"He's about six feet tall, has a dark tan and short hair. Oh, he said
his name is Jeremy"
"What else, color of his hair is he fat or thin? any scars?" Anita
pushed.
"He's thin, but very well built and athletic. I think he had brown
hair, but its was hard to tell in the light and with it being so short."
"Anything else?"
"Yea, I think he was in the military or something."
"Why?" the sheriff asked.
"The way he looked, the clothes he wore the way he handled his
weapons, things like that?"
Sheriff Bigalow perked up "What weapons, did he threaten you?"
Mindy then described the pistol and shotgun and the few other
things she had seen.
Ropper looked at her watch 11 o'clock "He's got about five hours
on us, where's this cabin?"
As Ropper spoke the sheriff grabbed his hat and coat and headed
to his car. "Let's go see what he left us." The Sheriff was also on the
radio issuing an all points bulletin on the description from Mindy.
The cabin was clean with a full supply of freshly cut wood on the
porch. After looking inside from the door way, Agent Ropper stopped
everyone from entering. She could have forensics here by evening and
realistically didn't expect this man to be picked up hitch-hiking by one of
these local cops.
"Now Agent Ropper, I don't want to tell you how to do your job,"
Sheriff Bigalow was saying "but I don't think you'll need your
Washington boys. My men will have this Jeremy fella picked up by sun
down. We know this country like our own back yards. There's no place
for him to go. A stranger toting a big green duffel bag will stick out like
a sore thumb."
"Well Sheriff, no disrespect, but I've been chasing this guy for a
long time. If your men miss him this cabin is the only thing I have to
identify him with." Anita said waving her hand at the open door.
"Do as you wish, Agent Ropper." the Sheriff said tipping his hat
"I have a man-hunt to conduct."
"Dad" Mindy called to her father as he walked away from the
cabin. The girl had been talking with one of the deputies waiting for her
father to be available.
"Yes dear?"
"Please tell your men to be careful."
"Why, you don't want this man to get hurt? Darling don't worry
he's not worth it."
"No that's not it."
"What then?"
Mindy had a very serious look on her face. "Tell them to be
careful, Jeremy seemed like a very nice guy but he's dangerous, I could
feel it."
Sheriff Bigalow put an arm around his daughter's shoulder.
"Don't worry, I'll warn my men, they'll be careful, I promise."
After arranging for the forensics team, Agent Ropper called her
people in Virginia Beach for a report on Greg Newbury. What they had
didn't make any sense. Of the swords, two had fingerprints from recent
murder victims, all beheadings. But the weirdest part was the other
things in the storage room. Year books dating back to the early
twenties. Every single book had a picture of Newbury in it. In the sixty or
so issues, Newbury used only six different names. The agency had begun
an extensive background check trying to confirm the authenticity of the
year books and trying to track down the men pictured in all of the books.
The Brass wanted to prove one of the only two possible solutions,
either the books were forgeries, or Newbury came from a long line people
with a very strong family resemblance. Ropper considered the other
possibilities. Newbury may have been alive since the 1920s and going to
High School the whole time. Or perhaps a time traveler trying to make a
name for himself.
Ropper's gut told her that the year books were genuine, and that
Newbury did not come from a long line of look alike cousins. Some how,
the man they were chasing knew the truth. Ropper didn't know why the
answers to Newbury's secret's lie with his killer, but they did.
To be continued........................