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Scene #8
NO VISIBLE MEANS, Chapter 1 - Conversation between Jack and Morgan
Something in his dream
nudged at him; the symbol in the petroglyphs, suddenly looked
familiar. Pulling on his jeans, he started for the phone. Only one
person could help him with this puzzle. The one person who was an
expert in ancient mythology, folklore and unusual symbols, more to
the point she was an expert in the odd and unusual. Dialing, he
prayed she would be home. He glanced at the clock, 2:35A.M.
"Hello, who ever this is, this better be good." The voice was full
of sleep and a familiar grouchiness. Jack couldn't help but
grin, "Morgan, it is Jack Spur." He heard a groan, "Don't hang up!
I need your help!" Click. He redialed the number, "Morgan,
don't hang up, I'll keep calling until you take my call. And if
you..." Again click, redialing, on the tenth ring she answered
the phone, "What the hell do you want, Jack!" "Rafe's dead
and I need your help. Don't hang up! If you hang up; you'll find
me outside your door tomorrow morning; and I'll be banging on it."
Morgan bit back a snide comment concerning Rafe deserving a
nasty death. The intensity of his voice caught her attention enough
to stop her from hanging up the phone though she wanted to very
badly. "I don't do murder investigations, Jack." "I know,
but this is a special case. Please just listen. A week ago I was in
the mountains south of Flagstaff at a dig, an ancient Native camp
site, with some Mayan petroglyphs. Last weekend when all of the
students and I were gone someone took dynamite and blew the cliff
wall where the glyphs were. The four who did it were all killed
that night in a cave behind the rock face. They looked like
mummies. The Coroner couldn't tell what killed them or who they
were." "Jack, what does that have to do with you calling me
in the middle of the night, I'm not the X-files, nor am I the local
woo-woo patrol." Morgan sat up in bed and glowered at the phone
knowing that if she didn't hear him out he'd carry out his threat.
"Tonight Rafe died in the same way as those four people in the
mountains south of here. The police told me that at least four more
have died here in Flagstaff. Clearly there is a connection between
all of them. I came to Flagstaff because there is another Mayan
site with the same kind of glyphs just south of here. I was hoping
to investigate the dig before I headed back home. What if these are
related and they hold something murderous we don't know about?"
"Jack, just stop right there, I don't want to get involved
with anything you are. I learned my lessons a long time ago and I
have no desire to be in the middle again. Good bye." Morgan
dropped the phone back onto the charger. Before she could
turn it off the phone rang again, "If you do that one more time
I'll be on the next flight to the closest airport to you. I'll be
on your doorstep before morning breaks over the horizon."
"Why, Jack, why me? It's been five years, five blessed years. If
you're worried about the second site then don't open it. I warned
you a long time ago that if you mess in things you don't understand
bad things would happen." Morgan resisted the urge to hang up
knowing he'd carry out his threat about being on the next flight
north. She muttered a few colorful words under her breath.
"They already opened the tomb; nothing unusual has happened no one
has died. But now a delegation of Mayans came north and slapped us
with an injunction so we can't even dig in the area until they are
willing to negotiate." Jack was relieved because at least she was
talking to him. Something deep inside told him she was his best bet
to find out what happened to Rafe and to those four at his dig in
the deep mountains. "Jack, I don't know what you want me to
do? I'm not an investigator nor am I a psychic to tell you what
happened to these people..." "No, but you know more about folklore,
myth, and unusual symbology than any one I know. Please come, see
the symbols and writing on the cliff walls and tell me what you
think." "You said the glyphs at the dig were blown up?"
"Yes but we have pictures of them." "Then email them to me
and I'll call you back when I get time to look at them." "No,
Morgan, I need you down here, I want you to see the bodies. I think
you can tell me what kind of creature would do this kind of damage
to a body." "Jack, that only happens in the movies not in
real life." Morgan fought the urge to hang up. "I'll have a
ticket for you waiting at the airport, please, Morgan come down
here. I need your expertise in this matter." Morgan
stared into the distance for a long time, her mind stunned and full
of chaos. A ghost from the past had just reentered her life. The
words of an old friend touched her mind. He'll call again; he'll
reappear, mark my words, girl, he'll turn up. She remembered her
reply. A wry smile touched her mouth as she climbed out of her bed.
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