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Part Four
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"In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falleth upon men, in slumbers upon the bed; then he openeth the ears of men, and sealeth their instructions." Job 33:15
"The soul in sleep gives proof of its divine nature." Cicero
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It was 10:45 P.M. The night sky was lit only by the Speed Hawk Motor Inn motel sign. Hawkgirl, hovering just below the skyline, had assumed a surveillance position that allowed her to see the back of room four and the back of room fourteen. In the distance, she could see the lights of the other bed and breakfast lodges and the quiet town of Red River.
Mrs. Waters was in room nine with the lights and TV on and the volume up so that it could be heard through the front door.
The Flash had stationed himself outside and in the shadows of room ten, so that he could not be seen from the walkway but could see the entrance to room four.
Lion sat in the Mercedes Benz SL600 convertible which now had the convertible top up. He had moved the car so that he had an unobstructed view of the front of room four.
At 11 P.M., the French doors facing the pool of room fourteen opened. Hawkgirl dropped to the ground from her surveillance position and whispered into her comm link notifying the Flash of the movement. A man walked out of the room fourteen French doors that opened onto the pool area and looking around walked slowly to the back of room nine and started listening through the French doors for sounds.
"Go," Hawkgirl whispered to the Flash in the comm link. The Flash raced to the front of room nine and tapped on the room door three times. With this signal, Mrs. Water started talking to the TV.
"Ronald, lover. Wake up dear. Your big mama needs some loving. Come on, wake up..."
The man listened at the French doors for a couple of minutes and then moved to the French doors of room ten. There were no sounds coming from that room. He paused outside room ten for a few minutes and then slowly made his way back to room fourteen and closed the French doors behind him.
"He's back in room fourteen," Hawkgirl announced over the comm link. The Flash acknowledged her transmission and raced to the front door of room ten and tapped on the door twice. Mrs. Waters stopped talking and turned off the TV and the room lights and waited.
At 12:30 A.M., the French doors of room fourteen opened again. Again, Hawkgirl from her surveillance position whispered "Go" in her comm link and the Flash raced to the front of room nine and tapped on the door three times. The same man again walked to the French doors of room nine and listened for sounds from the darken room. Hearing none, he moved on to the French doors of room ten where he also heard nothing. He returned to room fourteen.
"He went back into room fourteen." Hawkgirl whispered into the comm link. "Wait a minute - he coming out the front door of fourteen and walking around the front of the building."
The Flash gave Lion, sitting in the car; a sign and Lion shrank down in his seat so he would not be seen. The man walked past the car and to room four. Pulling a key from his shirt pocket, he opened the door, turned on the lights and closed the door behind him. He switched on the air conditioner.
Seconds later, the French doors of room four opened and the man walked across the pool area and back to room fourteen. He and a second man appeared a few minutes later carrying buckets. He opened the French doors of room four and they both entered. He closed the French doors and drew the curtains.
"Now" said Hawkgirl into the comm link. The Flash raced to room nine and tapped on the door four times and then flashed a sign to Lion in the car.
Mrs. Waters, keeping the lights off, opened the French doors in room nine and enter the pool area where she was met by Hawkgirl.
Lion got out of his car and walked to room four. He carried an opened wine bottle inside a brown paper bag. Standing outside of room four, he splashed a little of the wine on his shirt, then pulled out a cigarette and banged on the door.
"Open up!" Lion shouted, slurring his words "I need a light and...the old fat lady done kicked me out." He banged on the door again.
The door to room four opened a few inches and Birks, the owner/manager, peered out.
"Quiet" Birks said. "You want to wake everyone up."
"Nah... I don't wake up the old fat lady and hear her whine and whimper about pineapples and clams and crap like that. Buddy, I need a light...you can help a war veteran, can't you? Share some of my hooch with you? Hey...what's making that noise?"
Lion swayed unsteadily back and forth continuing his act of drunkenness. He leaned against the partial opened door.
"Oh, man, what's that smell?" Continuing to slur his words, Lion shouted at Birks, who was inches away. "Reminds me of the stuff my grandmother use to give me every time I got sick...hey, I know you. You're the owner, right? Hey, didn't you tell my pal, Gertie, the air conditioner was broke. Seems like it's working now. I got to wake up Gertie and tell her she can get this room now."
Birks opened the door a little wider. "Buddy, you're drunk. No need to wake up your pals. I got a light inside and I'll share that hooch with you. How's that?"
Lion staggered in front of the door. "Okay, but I got to tell Gertie about the room first. Be right back."
Lion turned his back to the open door and started to stagger down the walkway. He had only taken a couple of steps when Birks hit him from behind. Lion didn't lose consciousness but he was stunned enough to dropped the bottle. Birks grabbed him and pulled him back toward room four.
The Flash sped toward the stricken Lion in a red blur and knocked out Birks with one blow to the chin. The second man in the room, hearing the commotion out front, ran out the French doors and into a blast from Hawkgirl's mace. He dropped softly to the ground with a groan.
Hawkgirl looked at Mrs. Waters and said, "Just think – DEAR. I was nowhere near as angry with him as I was with you – DEAREST!"
"Can you stand up?" the Flash asked Lion who was sitting on the ground outside of room four.
"I can." Lion answered. "I'm okay. He did what I wanted him to do but it still hurts like hell."
"Hawkgirl, are you okay?" Flash asked into the comm link.
"I'm fine. Not a hair out of place," she answered.
"Look, I don't want you or Mrs. Waters to go into room four until I tell you too – AGREED?"
"Flash, I've had four days of warnings about this room. Trust me...I'm not going in."
The Flash pushed the door of room four completely open but didn't step inside. The malodorous smell of castor oil whiffed out of the room. Looking inside he could see at the center of the room what looked to be a hydraulic cold press. The hotel room furniture had been stacked in a corner. The mattresses were laid against the back wall. One of the mattresses had a large dark red stain at the bottom.
The press was on and emitting a loud electronic hum. The press was four feet high and had a barrel in the center with a single rod attached to the lid coming down the center of the barrel. The rod pushed the lid into the barrel, squeezing oils from the contents of the barrels into a drip tray which emptied into a clear container. There was a quart of yellowish, translucent liquid in the clear one gallon container.
That must be the castor oil the Flash thought.
On a table, against the wall, in a cardboard box, sat an open case of 24 jars of baby food.
The outside of the case read: Bassinet Brand Baby Food - Applesauce.
The Flash stepped away from the doorway and dragged the still unconscious Birks toward room five. Lion followed. The Flash called Hawkgirl on the comm link,
"I found the apple, the clear liquid and the bassinet. How about if you check out room fourteen. Don't go inside, but see if the room is a "hothouse" for growing plants.
"I'm on it." She answered back.
A few seconds later, the Flash heard a loud "BOOM" come from the direction of room fourteen.
"Hawkgirl!" he screamed into comm link. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. The curtains were drawn so I couldn't see into the room. Now the doors are gone and I can see just fine. Yup. It is...or was a hothouse. Growing lots of tall plants. Mrs. Waters says they're castor bean plants. Lots of buckets in the room. Looks that the buckets are full of beans."
Lion turned to the Flash and said, "Is she always like that? I mean - blowing up stuff."
The Flash winked and said, "Nahh, some days she's worse. That's what makes her so special. Here take this card and call Detective Holcomb in Taos and tell him we may have found the source of the ricin that Parker had on him. Then call the marshal's office and let them know that you were assaulted by Mr. Birks here and you want to file a complaint.
Lion smiled. "Got it. I'll be back in a few minutes."
Lion had been gone about minute when the Flash heard Mrs. Waters screaming, "Put me down...please - put me down."
He looked up and saw Hawkgirl carrying Mrs. Waters. She was traveling fast and at rooftop level. She landed next to him.
Hawkgirl winked at the Flash as she set Mrs. Waters down.
Then turning to the heavily breathing Mrs. Waters, Hawkgirl said, "I have been patient but my name is Hawkgirl – not wings. Please remember that from now on."
Mrs. Waters sat down on the walkway and clutched her hands to her chest, "Honey, you can be called whatever you want, but you really did frightened this old lady so. Now, be a dear, wings, and get me a glass of water."
"Ohhhhh," Hawkgirl screamed as she stomped off in the direction of room ten to get water.
Mrs. Waters winked at the Flash. "Old age and cunning can defeat youth and aggression every time."
The Flash laughed.
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It was nearly dawn when Detective Holcomb arrived with a search warrant. The Red River Marshal had arrived earlier. Upon seeing the baby food jars and the hydraulic press in room four and hearing the complaint of assault, the Marshal arrested Birks and his co-hort. The marshal called for the local county hazardous material team to come and sealed off room four.
Detective Holcomb, the Flash, Hawkgirl and Lion were at the pool as the hydraulic shovel brought in by the Detective gingerly broke apart pieces of the still curing concrete in the pool.
Holcomb looked at the Flash, "You people did good work. That was pretty clever getting Birks held on the assault charge."
"Actually, that was Mr. Lion's idea," the Flash said.
Lion smiled and rubbing the back of head said, "Yeah and some ideas are more painful than others."
Turning to the Flash, Lion said, "Look, I have to help Carolyn pack up the car. I'll see you before I go."
Then turning to Hawkgirl, he said, "That ride you gave Carolyn last night...this morning must have shaken something loose in the old girl. She told me we were going to waive our fee to the Hill family. That's not like her...I mean, she's never been a softie before."
Hawkgirl smiled back and said, "We'll meet you at your car."
As Lion walked toward his car, Holcomb continued, "We think Birks was going to run an extortion racket against the baby food company. You know - tell them he put poison in the jars and then demand a payoff. We now think Parker & Hill stayed here last week and somehow stumbled into this. We need to type the blood found on the mattress in room four, but I'm guessing that it will match Parker. And just..."
"Detective," a police officer interrupted as he rushed up to Holcomb. "We opened up room five and there was blood all over the bed. Looks like someone definitely died there, too. We found this under one of the pillows."
The officer held up a plastic bag containing two small nude action figures. One had the painted mask of the Flash and the other the painted masked face of Hawkgirl. Both of the figures had dried blood on them, with the Flash figure on top of the Hawkgirl figure.
Flash and Hawkgirl looked at each other in stunned silence.
Finally, the Flash said, "Detective, you'll find two more action figures just like those in Peter Hill's room. If you're lucky, you find Hill's print's on the figures proving he was here."
"Hey Detective," shouted the shovel operator. "Think, we found something. Think it's a body."
"Be right there." shouted Holcomb at the operator.
"If this is who I think it is, there will be no doubt Hill and Parker were here and we'll charge Birks with murder," he said to the Flash and Hawkgirl. "It's been a pleasure to meet you both but I have to get back to work and...maybe prepare myself to give Mrs. Hill some bad news."
As Holcomb left, the Flash asked Hawkgirl, "Are we ready to get back to the Watchtower?"
"In a couple minutes," Hawkgirl said walking toward the parking lot, "I want to say goodbye to Mrs. Waters."
Hawkgirl and the Flash met Mrs. Waters and Mr. Lion at their car as they were packing the car to leave.
"Well, you didn't get cheated out of your fee, did you?" asked Hawkgirl smiling.
Mrs. Waters got in the passenger side of the car and said to Lion, "Lover, you drive. Wings, here scared me so bad this morning."
She tossed Lion the car keys.
As Lion got in the car, Mrs. Waters smiled at Hawkgirl. "Wings, if Carolyn Waters gets cheated out of something, she didn't want it in the first place."
Mrs Waters then smiled at the Flash, "Here's how we make it, honey. Parker and Hill stayed in room five. We think both boys went to room four to complain about the noise coming from the room. Birks killed Parker in room four and Hill ran back to room five where Birks killed him there. Birks and his co-hort bagged Parker and all the stuff because he was in the room with the castor beans. Hell, he may have even fallen into the beans or the mash. Anyway, he gets trace ricin on him. Birks probably thinks Hill will be blamed for the murder if he never is found. So Birks makes Hill part of the pool. Not pretty- but that's it."
Mrs. Waters paused, flashed a glance at Lion and then looked at Hawkgirl, "You know what, tell you what I going to do, Wings, I'll waive my fee to the Hill family if you allow me to continue calling you 'Wings'. How's that? We got a deal?"
Hawkgirl flashed a glance at Lion and then smiled broadly, "Deal. You two take care of each other."
Mrs. Waters slapped Lion on the back and said, "Come on, lover, we got to get another case so I can make up the losses on this one. Take care, Wings. You too, Red. If you're ever in Los Angeles, look us up."
As the car drove off down the road, the Flash was grinning broadly. "Are we ready now, Wings?"
"If you ever call me that again or tell anyone about this," she snapped, "I'll light you up redder than your suit."
"Yes ma'am," he replied trying to suppress his laugh.
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The next morning, Hawkgirl met the Green Lantern for breakfast in the dining area of the Watchtower.
"How did you sleep?" he asked.
"Well, I dreamed I was in bed and nude again," she replied. Then she smiled and winked. "But this time it was with the right person, Marine."
The Lantern smiled back. "Well, I'm glad to hear that."
The Flash walked in and said, "Hawkgirl, can we talk?"
Hawkgirl's eye narrowed, looking at the Green Lantern, she said, "Lantern, would you excuse me?"
Not waiting for an answer, Hawkgirl grabbed the Flash by the arm and escorted him to another table where they both sat down. The Lantern left the dining area to give them some privacy.
"What's wrong?" she asked. "Did you have the dream again?"
"No." he smiled, "At least not that dream, but I did have a dream that you were in and while it was similar to the other dream, it turned out like my dreams about you are supposed to - really good."
Hawkgirl rolled her eyes and cleared her throat. "Okay. So, what's the problem?"
The Flash got up and walked to the Plexiglas window and stared at the Earth rotating below. He then looked out toward the stars.
He said softly, "I've been asking myself since we got back yesterday, why we had these dreams in the first place. I mean did some kid who died days ago or some toys put into motion events that caused us to act to prevent a madman from poisoning babies."
He turned to face Hawkgirl. "I there have been some sort of divine intervention at work?"
Hawkgirl walked to window and stood next to the Flash. She looked out to the stars and then back to where the Green Lantern had been seated.
She looked up at the Flash, shook her head and smiled weakly, "I don't know. I'm not sure I believe in divine intervention. I mean sometimes the order of the universe is chaotic and other times the chaos of the universe is orderly. I believe in the finality of death but I can't explain what happened either."
The Flash returned the smile and looked at the Earth below. "Maybe young Peter Hill saw a crime so great in the making that even in death he thought that the only ones who could save the day were his heroes – Flash & Hawkgirl."
Hawkgirl put her hand on the Flash's shoulders and said slowly, "In that case, I'm glad we didn't let him down."
The Flash reached across his body and put his hand on top of hers and looked into her eyes and said, "So am I...So am I."
END
