Read Online Darkwind: Ancient Enemy 2 by Mark Lukens - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Mark Lukens
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then why leave all of those tablets behind, displayed like that in front of the body parts?”
Klein nodded like he could see that possibility, but Palmer could tell that he already had his mind made up about who he suspected and he couldn’t wait to tell him about it.
“And it doesn’t seem like any of the artifacts in the trailer were taken,” Palmer added.
“I noticed that, too,” Klein said.
Palmer thought it might be a lie.
“So then I thought it might be a group of eco-terrorists that did this,” Palmer continued. “Or possibly some local Navajo extremists who were opposed to this dig site on their land. I figured maybe they were trying to send a message and … and then maybe things went too far.”
Klein smiled at Palmer, staring at him and nodding. “That’s exactly what I’ve been thinking the whole time. But not tree huggers. I don’t think they would do something like this. But I could see a group of Navajo radicals sneaking down here and slaughtering these people. A warning for others to stay off their land, just like you said.”
“But the lack of blood in the cave and between the trailer and the cave bothers me,” Palmer said.
“Yeah, it’s a puzzle,” Klein agreed excitedly. “But I think they set this up to look like a mystery.” He lowered his voice a little. “You heard what Captain Begay said earlier, something about it not being people or animals that did this.”
So Begay’s words hadn’t slipped past Klein after all.
“I think these guys set this up to look like one of their mythical monsters did this,” Klein said. “There are still a lot of people around here who believe in witches and skinwalkers and corpse sickness, all of that kind of bullshit.” He looked away and shook his head. “You don’t know the kind of crap I have to put up with here.”
Palmer didn’t respond. It seemed like Begay wasn’t completely ruling out the possibility of some kind of supernatural force at work here. Palmer didn’t believe in that idea, he sided with Klein’s idea, but the clues were most likely going to come from Begay and locals like him.
“There are a couple of other odd things,” Palmer said. He nodded towards the line of vehicles a hundred yards away. “The dead batteries in those vehicles.”
“These people have been dead for two or three days at least. Maybe longer. It’s been freezing. Not impossible that the batteries in their vehicles died.”
“And the generator wouldn’t start,” Palmer reminded him. “And the laptop in the trailer was destroyed. What about the radio equipment in the trailer?”
Klein just shrugged.
Palmer was sure Klein hadn’t even looked at the radio closely.
“If these guys were attacked, then why didn’t they use the radios to contact someone right away?” Palmer asked. “Maybe the radio wasn’t working. Just like all of the batteries were dead in their trucks? But if they couldn’t call for help, then why didn’t some of them run out into the desert? How come some of them didn’t get away?”
“We can figure out the why later,” Klein said. “Right now I think we should concentrate on the who first.”
“What about the bodies in town?” Palmer said, looking at Klein. “You want to pin that on Navajo activists, too?”
“I’m not pinning anything on anybody,” Klein snapped. “I’m just exploring theories that make the most sense.”
Palmer waited patiently for Klein to answer the question.
He sighed. “I don’t know,” he finally admitted. “Could be another murder altogether that happened around the same time as this one. Husband could’ve killed his wife, and then killed himself.”
“And then skinned his own face off?” Palmer asked.
Klein didn’t respond.
“Or those two murders could have something to do with the slaughter here and we just don’t know what the connection is yet,” Palmer said. “You have to admit that the display of their bodies seems a little similar to those body
Klein nodded like he could see that possibility, but Palmer could tell that he already had his mind made up about who he suspected and he couldn’t wait to tell him about it.
“And it doesn’t seem like any of the artifacts in the trailer were taken,” Palmer added.
“I noticed that, too,” Klein said.
Palmer thought it might be a lie.
“So then I thought it might be a group of eco-terrorists that did this,” Palmer continued. “Or possibly some local Navajo extremists who were opposed to this dig site on their land. I figured maybe they were trying to send a message and … and then maybe things went too far.”
Klein smiled at Palmer, staring at him and nodding. “That’s exactly what I’ve been thinking the whole time. But not tree huggers. I don’t think they would do something like this. But I could see a group of Navajo radicals sneaking down here and slaughtering these people. A warning for others to stay off their land, just like you said.”
“But the lack of blood in the cave and between the trailer and the cave bothers me,” Palmer said.
“Yeah, it’s a puzzle,” Klein agreed excitedly. “But I think they set this up to look like a mystery.” He lowered his voice a little. “You heard what Captain Begay said earlier, something about it not being people or animals that did this.”
So Begay’s words hadn’t slipped past Klein after all.
“I think these guys set this up to look like one of their mythical monsters did this,” Klein said. “There are still a lot of people around here who believe in witches and skinwalkers and corpse sickness, all of that kind of bullshit.” He looked away and shook his head. “You don’t know the kind of crap I have to put up with here.”
Palmer didn’t respond. It seemed like Begay wasn’t completely ruling out the possibility of some kind of supernatural force at work here. Palmer didn’t believe in that idea, he sided with Klein’s idea, but the clues were most likely going to come from Begay and locals like him.
“There are a couple of other odd things,” Palmer said. He nodded towards the line of vehicles a hundred yards away. “The dead batteries in those vehicles.”
“These people have been dead for two or three days at least. Maybe longer. It’s been freezing. Not impossible that the batteries in their vehicles died.”
“And the generator wouldn’t start,” Palmer reminded him. “And the laptop in the trailer was destroyed. What about the radio equipment in the trailer?”
Klein just shrugged.
Palmer was sure Klein hadn’t even looked at the radio closely.
“If these guys were attacked, then why didn’t they use the radios to contact someone right away?” Palmer asked. “Maybe the radio wasn’t working. Just like all of the batteries were dead in their trucks? But if they couldn’t call for help, then why didn’t some of them run out into the desert? How come some of them didn’t get away?”
“We can figure out the why later,” Klein said. “Right now I think we should concentrate on the who first.”
“What about the bodies in town?” Palmer said, looking at Klein. “You want to pin that on Navajo activists, too?”
“I’m not pinning anything on anybody,” Klein snapped. “I’m just exploring theories that make the most sense.”
Palmer waited patiently for Klein to answer the question.
He sighed. “I don’t know,” he finally admitted. “Could be another murder altogether that happened around the same time as this one. Husband could’ve killed his wife, and then killed himself.”
“And then skinned his own face off?” Palmer asked.
Klein didn’t respond.
“Or those two murders could have something to do with the slaughter here and we just don’t know what the connection is yet,” Palmer said. “You have to admit that the display of their bodies seems a little similar to those body
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