Chapter 2: Westward

Halfway to Ohio, the two agents stopped at a gas station in order to buy something to drink. There was a young, beautiful woman behind the counter in the small store at the gas station. She had dark hair and a small but well shaped mouth. Mulder was obviously interested in her. He gazed at her for a while, then he went over to pay for the drinks.

"That's one dollar thirty, please", the well shaped mouth said.

Mulder fumbled out his wallet and searched for money while Scully was waiting in the background.

"Just a moment", he excused himself like a schoolboy.

"Mulder?", Scully called from the door since it took him so long to pay for two sodas.

"Just a minute. I think I…."

He finally found what he was looking for and handed the money to the young woman.

"Exactly one thirty."

"Thank you, Sir."

Mulder took the two cans, looked at her and said: "Do I know you from somewhere?"

It was a humble attempt to hit on her. Scully raised an eyebrow and watched the scene with suspicious eyes.

"Your dreams maybe", the woman replied while taking the money straight-faced.

Mulder however, looked staggered. He turned around as if he was looking for help. But Scully had quickly gone outside.

He turned back and stuttered: "That is…I mean I am…"

He paused and tried to gather himself.

"Good bye!", he just said then and hastily walked out the door.

Outside, Scully looked at him very honestly then just said: "Wow!" and started to giggle like a little girl.

"What?", Mulder replied as if that hurt him and added: "She wasn't my type anyway."

It was late afternoon and a cool wind blew when Mulder and Scully met with the local Sheriff in Loveland to inspect the site where the accident had happened.

"This is where it happened", the Sheriff announced.

They were standing in the middle of the road and at first sight nothing indicated that there had been an accident.

The two agents searched the ground. There were minor skid marks, that was all.

"The driver obviously stopped but it was probably too late because the car left the road right here."

The sheriff walked to the side of the road, following the way the car must have taken.

"And then they went down the embankment right into the river. And that's where we found them."

Mulder nodded and asked: "When did you find them?"

"Well, it must have happened between 10 PM on Monday and 1 AM on Tuesday because at around 10 PM on Monday Officer Andrews drove down Riverside Road and he didn't see anything. Three hours later he drove back the same way and saw this….thing on the road. It lay there, right where the skid marks end. He stopped to have a look, he thought it was an animal and that it had been injured. But when he approached it, it suddenly stood up and hobbled down to the river. When following it he spotted the car in the water and called for help. But as I said, it was too late, we could only recover their bodies."

"Did somebody perform an autopsy?", Scully asked.

"Oh, yes. Bobby Morris, the man who drove the car, used to drink a little too much. So we thought that maybe he drank that night. But he didn't. Not a glass."

"May I have a look at the documents?"

Sheriff Westward looked at her with questioning eyes.

"I'm a medical doctor", Scully explained and he smiled.

"Oh really? Yes, of course. We can drop by when we're done here."

"What about that Officer Andrews? I would like to talk to him", Mulder remarked.

"No problem. I can take you there now."

The Sheriff looked at Scully and added: "I mean, after you've seen the autopsy results, of course."

Officer Andrews was a tall man who obviously loved his job. There were more pictures of himself and his colleagues in the house than of his wife and children. Otherwise he represented the typical small town resident and even had the US flag in his yard.

"Alright Officer Andrews", Mulder began his first question. "Can you tell us what exactly you saw out there on Riverside Road?"

Brian Andrews nodded slowly which demonstrated that he was trying to remember.

"Well, I suppose Charly already described everything pretty well", he began referring to Sheriff Westward. "However when I drove down the road at 1 AM and saw that animal on the street, I thought it was hit by a car and wanted to have a look. At least I thought it was an animal. But when I came closer I wasn't so sure anymore. It looked like a frog with its green leathery skin and such but it was a lot taller. I reached for my gun and wanted to get closer but all of a sudden it stood up on its hide legs and got away. If you want to know what I think, Bobby saw this…whatever it was on the road and tried to evade it. Unfortunately he and his lovely wife ended up in the river. I just can't understand why he did not run over this creature."

Scully, who had listened carefully, suddenly interfered. The autopsy results had confirmed what Sheriff Westward had said. There was no alcohol in Bobby Morris' blood. Nor in Melinda's, Bobby's wife. But something else had attracted Scully's attention.

"I may be able to explain that. I'm not entirely sure yet and I need to speak to his doctor before I can really draw a conclusion but I found something interesting in the reports of the pathologist who examined Mr. Morris."

"Well", Mulder interrupted her impatiently. "And would you be so kind as to inform us what it was?"

"Sure. It seems like there was a temporary lack of oxygen in Mr. Morris brain. This is something that can be caused by anxiety. With vasovagal syncope, fear, pain, or sudden emotional changes can suddenly decrease the cardiac output and slow down the heart rate. The reduced oxygen supply to the brain results in syncope, or temporary loss of consciousness. Individuals usually regain consciousness within a few minutes and their prognosis is good, although the syncope has a tendency to recur."

Mulder nodded, bit his lip and then questioned: "So something scared him. Is that what you're saying?"

"This creature does look very frightening", officer Andrews interjected.

"What I'm saying is…", agent Scully quickly corrected her partner. "It is one option. As I said I don't want to jump to conclusions. But if Bob Morris suffered from vasovagal syncope his doctor probably knows about it."

Scully turned to Sheriff Westwood. "Who was his doctor?"

"That's easy we don't have that many. "It was Dr. Fuller I think."

"Alright, can you call him and ask him if he knows anything about this?"

"Of course", he took out his cell phone and left the room to call Dr. Fuller.

"What else can I do for you?", Andrews wanted to know.

"There have been several sightings of this creature, is that right?", Mulder inquired.

Andrews scratched his head, he didn't seem to like this question and he certainly didn't like to answer it.

"That's right", he said carefully. "But nobody could ever prove anything. So it might as well be a myth. You know? People want to be known, they try everything."

"So you don't believe in the Loveland Frog?"

"Don't get me wrong. I know what I saw, but I'm not one of those people who talk about it in each and every newspaper of the country. I just want to know what happened to Bob and Melinda Morris. That's all. I can't understand how people can camp at the side of the road just to see a frog-like creature that stands erected."
Mulder was astonished. "They camp out there?"

"Yeah, because all the sightings take place in the middle of the night. So people drive out there and stay all night. It's dangerous. I mean look what happened, imagine if someone had been in a tent where Bobby and Melinda's car went down the embankment."

Mulder nodded understandingly while Westward came back in. He turned to him and asked: "Sheriff Westward, can you tell me where we can buy a tent?"