Read Online Eye to Eye: Ashton Ford, Psychic Detective by Don Pendleton - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Don Pendleton
Tags: Fiction, Paranormal, series, Occult, mystery series, psychic detective, don pendleton, metaphysical fiction
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moved between the two
vehicles, Souza was quick to get the first word in—loudly. 'Tom
says Jennifer isn't on the schedule anytime this month. But she
could be visiting over at the monastery."
I indicated her abandoned vehicle with a
jerk of the head and replied, just as loudly, "Then why'd she leave
her car here? I'm sure I saw her go inside the Hale."
The man behind the wheel of that other
vehicle, an amiable guy of about forty, commented, with a grin,
"Dr. Harrel is a walker. If I see her, I'll tell her you're here.
Uh...our observation period is just beginning. Let's please observe
dark skies. No lights, please."
Souza grinned and tossed him a salute.
"Right. Thanks a million, Tom. Good viewing. What?—are you on the
Schmidt tonight?"
"Yes. We're photomapping for the Hubble
space program. God, I hope those crazy hunters don't come back.
I've already lost six hours this week to weather and equipment
glitches." He pulled slowly away, running without lights.
I went around and slid
onto the seat beside Souza. He was grinning like a Cheshire cat.
"Lucky strike, eh? He is working the Schmidt. They came up to check
out the gunfire. I told em—"
"What is the Schmidt?" I asked, without
really caring.
"I just picked that up," Souza replied
smugly. "I guess it's one of the other telescopes; 48-incher, I
think. The 'monastery' is where these guys stay while they're on
the mountain. Or they call it that. I told 'em—"
I said, "She ran out the other side and into
the night, Greg. How big is this place?"
"Big enough," he replied, "that you're not
going to find her if she doesn't want you to. What the hell is
going on? What're you guys doing up here tonight?"
I replied, "Looking for Donaldson, I
guess."
He said, "Shit, that's a waste of time. He
hasn't been seen up here for months."
I asked, "So why are you here? And what is
this hot talk we need to have?"
"Just scouting," he
replied with a sigh. "I get a feeling the roof is falling in and
I'd sure like to know where I'm standing so I don't get buried in
it." He sighed again, produced a cigarette, lit it. "Something very
strange happened up here a few months ago."
I steeled myself for a Souza discourse and
lent myself to the game. "What kind of strange?"
"Don't know for sure, just
know...strange. Donaldson was in on it. He called the President's
science advisor, in Washington." A quick flash of the eyes, and:
"Yeah, that president. Quite a commotion got kicked up. I know the
National Security Agency got involved, also the Pentagon and the
CIA." Another flash of eyes. "Donaldson also made a few calls
outside the country, and it seems that he spent the next several
days flying around the country for very hush-hush conferences with
other scientists."
I said, "Very interesting."
"Yeah. But wait. It gets more and more.
Donaldson dropped out of sight, about that time. So did a guy from
M.I.T. and another from Yale. Both theoretical physicists. An
exobiologist from somewhere back there also has come up missing.
What exactly is an exobiologist? You know?"
I replied, vaguely, "Something about
extraterrestrial life, I guess."
"That's what I thought," Souza agreed.
"Okay. We also got a guy missing from somewhere out here on the
desert, one of those radio astronomers from, uh..."
"Socorro?"
"New Mexico, right. You know about
that?"
"Not much," I admitted. "It's called a VLA,
for 'Very Large Array.' It's a complex of, I don't know, a
couple-dozen large dishes linked together over a large area.
They're doing some kind of deep-space work out there."
"Military application?"
I shrugged. "What isn't, these days. Maybe
so. Star Wars ain't that far off, pal."
"Don't I know it," Souza
said glumly. "Well, listen..." He fixed me with a stem gaze. "Since
you and the beautiful doc have become so chummy...what did she tell
you about that incident up here?"
I smiled to myself as I replied to that.
"The only 'incident up here' that she mentioned had nothing to do
with the present
vehicles, Souza was quick to get the first word in—loudly. 'Tom
says Jennifer isn't on the schedule anytime this month. But she
could be visiting over at the monastery."
I indicated her abandoned vehicle with a
jerk of the head and replied, just as loudly, "Then why'd she leave
her car here? I'm sure I saw her go inside the Hale."
The man behind the wheel of that other
vehicle, an amiable guy of about forty, commented, with a grin,
"Dr. Harrel is a walker. If I see her, I'll tell her you're here.
Uh...our observation period is just beginning. Let's please observe
dark skies. No lights, please."
Souza grinned and tossed him a salute.
"Right. Thanks a million, Tom. Good viewing. What?—are you on the
Schmidt tonight?"
"Yes. We're photomapping for the Hubble
space program. God, I hope those crazy hunters don't come back.
I've already lost six hours this week to weather and equipment
glitches." He pulled slowly away, running without lights.
I went around and slid
onto the seat beside Souza. He was grinning like a Cheshire cat.
"Lucky strike, eh? He is working the Schmidt. They came up to check
out the gunfire. I told em—"
"What is the Schmidt?" I asked, without
really caring.
"I just picked that up," Souza replied
smugly. "I guess it's one of the other telescopes; 48-incher, I
think. The 'monastery' is where these guys stay while they're on
the mountain. Or they call it that. I told 'em—"
I said, "She ran out the other side and into
the night, Greg. How big is this place?"
"Big enough," he replied, "that you're not
going to find her if she doesn't want you to. What the hell is
going on? What're you guys doing up here tonight?"
I replied, "Looking for Donaldson, I
guess."
He said, "Shit, that's a waste of time. He
hasn't been seen up here for months."
I asked, "So why are you here? And what is
this hot talk we need to have?"
"Just scouting," he
replied with a sigh. "I get a feeling the roof is falling in and
I'd sure like to know where I'm standing so I don't get buried in
it." He sighed again, produced a cigarette, lit it. "Something very
strange happened up here a few months ago."
I steeled myself for a Souza discourse and
lent myself to the game. "What kind of strange?"
"Don't know for sure, just
know...strange. Donaldson was in on it. He called the President's
science advisor, in Washington." A quick flash of the eyes, and:
"Yeah, that president. Quite a commotion got kicked up. I know the
National Security Agency got involved, also the Pentagon and the
CIA." Another flash of eyes. "Donaldson also made a few calls
outside the country, and it seems that he spent the next several
days flying around the country for very hush-hush conferences with
other scientists."
I said, "Very interesting."
"Yeah. But wait. It gets more and more.
Donaldson dropped out of sight, about that time. So did a guy from
M.I.T. and another from Yale. Both theoretical physicists. An
exobiologist from somewhere back there also has come up missing.
What exactly is an exobiologist? You know?"
I replied, vaguely, "Something about
extraterrestrial life, I guess."
"That's what I thought," Souza agreed.
"Okay. We also got a guy missing from somewhere out here on the
desert, one of those radio astronomers from, uh..."
"Socorro?"
"New Mexico, right. You know about
that?"
"Not much," I admitted. "It's called a VLA,
for 'Very Large Array.' It's a complex of, I don't know, a
couple-dozen large dishes linked together over a large area.
They're doing some kind of deep-space work out there."
"Military application?"
I shrugged. "What isn't, these days. Maybe
so. Star Wars ain't that far off, pal."
"Don't I know it," Souza
said glumly. "Well, listen..." He fixed me with a stem gaze. "Since
you and the beautiful doc have become so chummy...what did she tell
you about that incident up here?"
I smiled to myself as I replied to that.
"The only 'incident up here' that she mentioned had nothing to do
with the present
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