Deadly Secrets
Chapter 5
V
Jim watched, with Deputies Hansen, Carter, and Davis right behind him, as Judge Lewis picked up his golf club and stepped into the sand trap.
"Jim, I wouldn't let you reopen that girl's grave if you did have some kinda proof that something wasn't right… And you don't! Right now you're just ruining my handicap. And that's all I have to say on the matter."
Jim shook his head in frustration. "You don't have one good reason not to allow me to check the DeLuca girl's grave, Judge. If I'm right…"
"If you're right, Jim… That's a mighty big 'if.' You're grasping at straws to try to salvage your reputation at that young girl's expense… at her family's expense."
"You're letting your feelings about me cloud your judgment, Judge. Maria DeLuca only had her mother, and her mother's a good friend of mine."
Judge Lewis stopped and looked up then leaned on his club, as he wagged his finger. "That's right! You and her mom had a thing together once, didn't you, Jim? That's just all the more reason I won't permit you to do this. You're obsessed. This whole thing with this girl is an obsession with you."
"Judge, you know if it was anyone else but the DeLuca girl…"
"If it was anyone else, you could do what you wanted, Jim. But it's not anyone else! You're obsessed with this girl, and I've said No! That's the end of it!"
Jim looked at his deputies and gave a nod. "Let's go, guys. Thanks, Judge."
Judge Lewis swung his club, sending up a powder of sand and dropping the ball just outside the sand pit. He groaned and glared at Jim as he walked away, then he stepped out of the sand pit and shook his head. "Imbecile! Made me ruin a perfectly good shot. Don't thank me, Jim! I ain't done you no favors… and I ain't goin' to." But Jim was already out of earshot.
"What are you plannin' to do now," Hansen asked.
"…Open Max Evans' grave, Deputy. And then I'm gonna open Isabel Evans' and Michael Guerin's graves."
"But Judge Lewis…"
"…said if it was anyone else but the DeLuca girl I could do what I wanted. You heard him, Hansen."
"Yeah, but I'm not sure he meant…"
"Carter? Davis? What'd the judge say?"
"That you could do what you wanted, sir, as long as it wasn't the DeLuca girl," Deputy Carter replied. "But, Sheriff, I don't think he expected…"
"Shhh! We're not going to second guess the judge, are we, Carter?"
"Well, no sir…"
"Then let's go check out those other graves."
"You set the judge up, didn't you, Sheriff," Hansen said quietly. "It was the other graves you wanted to open all along." Jim smiled but didn't answer.
**********
~Las Cruces, doña Ana County, New Mexico~
Alex sat down at a desk in the second row and looked around. He was early, and only a few other students had arrived yet, so he opened the class textbook. As he began to thumb through it idly, a voice got his attention…
"Hi. You new here?"
Alex looked up at the blonde haired girl who had just sat down in the seat beside him and smiled. "Yeah. You, too?"
The girl smiled and nodded. "Yeah. Where you from?"
"Roswell. How about you?"
"All around. We moved a lot. Daddy works for the government."
Alex nodded. "Any place you call home?"
"Virginia… well, at least it was for a while. We spent a couple of years there. Dad could be close to D.C. there. We lived a couple of years in San Francisco, too… near the Air Force Base."
"Kind of a 'Military Brat' huh," Alex said with a grin.
"No, not really. Daddy wasn't in the military. He just did contract work for the government."
"Ah."
"What's your name?"
"Alex… Alex Whitman."
"Hi, Alex. I'm, uh… Angie. Angie Lee."
"Nice to meet you, Angie Lee."
The girl smiled. "I guess we've got calculus together."
"Looks like it," Alex said. He motioned toward an old, leather-bound book that the girl was carrying between her other books. "What class is that for?"
"This? Oh… I brought it from home. It's not a textbook. Well, it might be a textbook… in a way. But it's not for my classes."
"It looks old."
"Yeah. It is."
"Can I see it?"
The girl looked at the book for a moment then closed her eyes. As she did, four pictures in the book disappeared. She handed it to Alex. Alex opened the cover and thumbed through several pages.
"What is it, Egyptian or Native American or something? Looks like old runes."
"I think it's a forgotten language," the girl said.
"Do you know what it says?"
Angie shook her head. "I've tried to find out, but it seems to be unknown."
"You don't know anyone who can read it?"
"Well, I think my Dad could… but… he's…"
"Oh," Alex said, "I'm sorry. Wasn't there anyone else who could read it?"
The girl shook her head again. "I don't think this language exists here anymore. It's totally unknown."
"Really," Alex asked, starting to show a considerable interest in the book. "Totally unknown? You know, they have a great new computer here that might be able to help you translate it."
"Yeah, I heard that," Angie said. "But I'm not the world's greatest computer expert."
"Well… if you need any help…" Alex said, "I might be able to help you."
The girl smiled. "Are you good at math and languages?"
"I did okay. I know a little Swedish and a bit of Spanish. And I got A's in Algebra and Trig."
The girl raised her eyebrows. "I'm impressed. I was going to go over to the Litvack computer sciences building tonight at around eight. If you want to, you could join me… if you're really interested."
"Sure! I like figuring things out. This looks like it could be a real challenge!"
"I guess it's a date then."
"Yeah, I guess so," Alex said. "I never could resist a good mystery. I hope you don't think I was hitting on you…"
The girl smiled. "Actually, I kind of hoped you were."
**********
~At about the same time, somewhere in Area 51~
"Mathers! What the hell are all these alarms and horns going off for? I don't see any fires or any foreign armies attacking!"
"No, sir! It's the 'guests', sir."
"What about the guests?"
"They're gone, sir."
General Hawkins stared at Colonel Mathers for several moments with an intensity that left Mathers feeling uncomfortably warm. "Gone? How could they be gone? That's impossible!"
"I don't know how, sir. They just are."
"Did they get off the base?"
"Unknown, sir. We don't think so."
"Okay… Make sure that they don't! And Mathers… find them! Otherwise, our 'guest' facilities will be open for new occupants… Am I making myself clear?"
"Yes, sir."
"Good!"
As the alarms continued to blare, soldiers and guards were dispatched to all the perimeters of the base to seal off the exits and any potential escape routes… not that there were very many of these to begin with. But the problem that faced the General was admittedly a little unusual for Area 51. The guards and soldiers posted at the fences usually had to prevent unwanted "snoops" from sneaking in to see what went on in Area 51. It was almost inconceivable to the General or to anyone else inside that anyone or anything could escape from the "guest quarters," much less get off of the base. But now it appeared that something had at least done the former.
General Hawkins walked swiftly to Containment Area B. Stopping only momentarily to submit to a fingerprint and eye scan at the entrance, he passed quickly through, escorted by the guards.
"Lieutenant! Is everything in order?"
"Yes sir!"
"Have extra guards posted around the craft… as a precaution."
"Already done, sir."
"Good." General Hawkins looked around the large hangar-type room. Everything appeared to be secure. He nodded and left as quickly as he had come, heading for Containment Area A, which was usually referred to internally as the "guest quarters" or "guest facilities." The name was misleading, even sadistic in its own way. It implied a benign purpose, but the truth was somewhat different. No "guest" who had ever stayed there ever did so willingly, and no guest -ever- had checked out… at least not until now.
**********
Liz sat nearby watching from her wheelchair as the men dug. Her father and Kyle Valenti stood beside her on one side. Alex Whitman stood beside her on the other side. Jim Valenti had been less than happy with Kyle's decision to return to Roswell to be present for this, or with Alex's decision to be here for that matter, but he understood. These were their friends. Kyle and Alex had been there when their friends were killed. They wanted to be here now. Jim knew that in Kyle's place, he would do exactly the same thing, and nothing could stop him. He doubted that his son was any different. Jim had also been less than enthusiastic about Liz being present. The last thing he wanted her to see was what he hoped he would not find. He knew that Liz was firmly convinced that Max would not be here. He hoped to God that she was right.
"Let's stay busy here, guys," Jim barked. "We are pressed for time."
"What's the rush, Sheriff," Deputy Carter asked. "We've got five and a half hours left before the sun starts to go down." Jim didn't respond.
The diggers dug quickly into the soft ground, and it wasn't long before they reached Max's coffin and placed belts around it, which they attached to a small crane-like hoist. Then they began to raise the coffin. As the coffin cleared the grave, Jim and the others were suddenly confronted by a group of men rushing to the site. At the front of the group was Judge Lewis. Without saying a word, Judge Lewis produced a written order barring the unearthing of any of the graves of those killed at graduation. Behind Judge Lewis stood eight state troopers and someone else whom Jim recognized.
"Dan Lubetkin! Don't tell me you have an interest in this, too!"
"Jim, the state police board investigated you before. This time, they're probably going to take your license. You're out of control."
Jim nodded. "If doing my job is being out of control, Dan, then I guess I'm guilty as charged."
"You're not doing your job, Jim. You're living in a fantasy here… chasing aliens… imagining empty graves…"
"Then prove me wrong, Dan. Just let me open this one casket."
Dan shook his head. "You know I can't do that, Jim."
Judge Lewis motioned to two of the state troopers, and they placed handcuffs on Jim's wrists.
"Jim, you are hereby under arrest," Judge Lewis told him somewhat sanctimoniously.
"Shall I read myself my rights, Judge, or do you know them?"
"You have the right to… to a trial… to an attorney… to, uh… Oh hell, Jim, you know your rights!"
Suddenly, a loud crash brought everyone's attention back to the suspended coffin. But it was no longer suspended. It lay on the ground, half open.
"Sorry," Kyle said. "I must have accidentally pulled on one of these cinches.
Judge Lewis stood with his mouth open, as Alex rushed to help Kyle set the coffin back upright, accidentally rolling it over. As they did, a body rolled out, coming to rest face up. There was a collective gasp, even among the state troopers. Liz turned white and buried her face in her hands then began to sob.
"You happy now, Sheriff," Judge Lewis said, somehow seeming not at all unhappy with this turn of events. Jim stood speechless.
"Arrest him," Dan said to the troopers. "Take him to county in Albuquerque. We'll book him there."
"Uh, gentlemen…? Gentlemen, can I have your attention for a moment?"
Everyone turned around, and Kyle tossed an apparently mangled and bloodied hand to Judge Lewis, who gasped loudly, turned white, and brushed it away as though it were an attacking swarm of ghosts.
"My God, Sheriff! Does this run in your family! What are you?"
"The question, your honor," Alex said, "might ought to be, 'what is this?'" Alex twisted the head off the body and held it up, and Liz began to laugh uncontrollably, unable to stop herself, as she realized the truth. It was hard to tell if Judge Lewis was amused or not. He was lying sprawled out on the ground, passed out cold.
Jeff Parker looked at the body and the severed head, then he carefully peeled a latex mask off the face. The mask looked like Max's face. Jeff was willing to bet that all the rest of the mannequin precisely matched Max's measurements and appearance, too.
"Dan? Can you explain this," Jeff asked Lubetkin.
Lubetkin shook his head, his mouth open but nothing coming out. Jim raised his wrists behind his back, and Dan motioned to the troopers who had placed the handcuffs on him to remove them.
"Thank you, gentlemen," Jim said. "Now, Dan, how about we check out these other graves."
tbc
Coming Next: Agents from the FBI and the army visit Judge Lewis again, and their request is more pointed this time. Judge Lewis looks for other ways to have Liz "neutralized" or turned over to the army's control, as Liz begins a search for Max and the others.