broken
black-framed glasses.
“Nothing but a tablet inside, a fancy one,”
Chevez answered and retrieved the bag for Tom.
Tom pulled the digital tablet from the
leather pouch and touched his hand to the screen. It illuminated.
The polished black casing was smooth, felt like some sort of metal,
while millions of pixels gave the light blue screen a sharp, clear
appearance. “Amazing it’s not broken. This is sleek, a model I’ve
never seen before.” Tom looked up at the guys. “Think where we’d be
if that craft hadn’t crashed here all those years ago.”
“I know. I love our technological toys. I
don’t know what we’d do without them,” Carver agreed.
Tom nodded and his fingers navigated to the
settings menu. “Son of a bitch.”
“What is it?” Kattic asked.
Tom read aloud, “This tablet is property of
US Military Operations, issued December 9, 1966. Last software
update, March 3, 1977. Contents within are above top secret.”
“Chevez, clear the scene,” Kattic
instructed.
“Everyone in. We’re pulling out. Uniforms
back to the station!” he yelled. “Let’s go!”
The three investigators waited patiently, as
the officers removed themselves from the area. The red flashers on
the roofs of each car slowly snuffed out, as the units disappeared
down the block.
“If you need me, call.”
“Thanks, Chevez, and good work,” Tom said,
as the officer retreated to his squad car.
The three men stood alone in the street with
the dead body and the banged-up Pontiac. Carver glanced over to the
nearby houses to find Mrs. Meyers peeking out her living room
window.
“So are we all on the same page?” Kattic
asked. “Are you guys all thinking what I’m thinking?”
“That this man isn’t from here? Yeah, we’re
on the same page,” Carver answered.
“I don’t know what the military is doing,”
Tom said, searching through the digital tablet for any clues. “I
can’t access anything on here. Every folder is password
protected.”
“This is obviously some kind of military
operation. Maybe it’s best if we stay out of it. Does this really
concern us?” Kattic hinted. “We sure as hell don’t have
jurisdiction, and we don’t know the circumstance that surrounds
this incident.” Kattic’s voice was stern, and he spoke with subtle
hand gestures. “Unless there’s a reason to think otherwise, I don’t
think we should get involved.”
“Agreed,” Carver said. “We’ll call the army,
tell them about the accident and deny any further knowledge. Once
we saw the victim was a military man, we contacted them. That’s our
story.”
“I’ll make the call,” Tom said, pulling out
his communicator.
“Let me see the tablet. I’m not 100 percent
sure one of our guys didn’t touch it without gloves,” Kattic said.
“Odds are the army’s very thorough with their investigation.”
Tom handed him the device, and Kattic
immediately used his shirt to remove all the fingerprints.
“Nice morning for a conspiracy,” Carver
said, scanning the sky.
Chapter Ten
Wake Up
Daniel Wallace was a war hero. His grave
site in Arpac Hills Cemetery was 157 years old. He fought and died
bravely in the Battle of Arpac Hills. Out of that battle came the
city’s name: Sorrow’s Sky.
Back then the small settlement was just
getting started, and a feud began between the men trying to build
the town and the looters and crooks who lived a county over. Both
parties wanted the land. The thieves began murdering the settlers’
young children, succeeding in sending a fierce message. After a
bloody fight that lasted seven hours, the thieves were finally
dead, and the land was earned; the thieves’ bodies were set ablaze.
That night Daniel was buried on a nice patch of land with the other
settler casualties. So when he awoke in his casket on October 20,
1962, the mourners for the newly deceased being buried at the
cemetery this day were mortified to see Daniel crawling out of his
nearby grave.
Most people