Chapter 19

Present – Jack, Destiny, Glen and Hammer – solving a problem

As we approach the clearing where the bodies were, we hear a hell of an argument between Glen and Hammer. They are making so much noise they can't hear us as we approach

..."Ah am tellin' ye Glen th' god damn bears took th' bodies. We need tae hunt th' bastards doon an' kill them."

Glen replies, "Ur ye a bampot? Th' bears wooldnae tak' th' bodies."

Hammer answers, "An' hoo th' heel dae ye ken they didne?"

We are almost to them and Glen makes sense when he answers, "Coz feckin' bears dornt use Tasers. While Ah tried tae keep ye frae rapin' th' body ay Megan, some law doon dobber got th' jump oan baith ay us."

Destiny bravely jumps into the fray, "Glen is correct - bears did not take the bodies."

I have to bite my tongue to keep from laughing because Glen and Hammer must have jumped about ten feet straight in the air.

Hammer counters, "Hoo in th' heel dae ye ken 'at th' damn bears didne tak' th' bodies?"

Destiny laughs and answers, "Because I asked them, that's why. And Glen is correct, bears don't use Tasers and from the Taser confetti¹ on the ground it's obvious that two Tasers were fired at you almost simultaneously."

¹ In June 1994, a non-firearm version of the Taser was developed, allowing it to bypass federal and state laws that only apply to firearms while a tracking system (the "anti-felon identification" or "AFID" system) was created. This enables the Taser to disperse confetti with serial numbers when it is fired and links a specific Taser to the scene where it is used.

I provide information, "Guys, this is Destiny and she's here to help us track the person or persons who took the bodies."

Hammer, who is still irate, complains, " Fa th' heel ur ye sayin' yoo're talkin' tae bears ye main be a bampot."

Destiny laughs, points behind Glen and Hammer, and counters, "Well, here comes one of the bears right now perhaps you would like to ask him."

Hammer spins around, begins to reach for his claymore while Destiny cautions, "I don't think he will like it if you draw your sword on him."

I add a confirmation, "That's right, look at what happened to Evelyn and Megan."

Destiny shocks all of us when she walks between Glen and Hammer, goes right up to the bear and begins to scratch him behind the ears. He moves his head to just the right spot because he obviously loves it. Destiny orders, "Please leave this area because you are scaring the men."

The bear snuffs a few times, growls at Hammer, turns around and heads back into the woods.

Hammer challenges, "Ah can track better than ye wi' a body yak closed."

Destiny points to the ground and complains, "Then why haven't you done that? Oh I understand, you were too busy fighting and destroying many of the clues. Now stand still and don't disrupt any more of the area."

I reiterate, "She's right - now stand the fuck still and let her do her job."

We observe as Destiny first picks up some of the Taser confetti and explains, "This might help identify who took the bodies." Then she begins to circle the area carefully placing each step. She stops a couple of times, gets down on her knees and looks at things, gets back up and continues walking. The circles get larger until she finally gets down on her knees, then stands back up, looks at us, points and says, "The man who took the bodies came from that direction." She points in another direction and adds, "And he left in that direction carrying both of the bodies over his shoulders. He was wearing military style boots and had Megan on his left shoulder and Evelyn on his right shoulder."

Hammer laughs and attempts to insult Destiny, "Hoo in th' bludy heel dae ye ken 'at? Yoo're nae Sherlock feckin' Holmes."

Destiny laughs and declares, "That's right, I'm better than Sherlock Holmes because he was merely a fictional character. All the clues are right here if you just look. The boot prints show the right print is deeper than the left which means he carried the heavier Evelyn on that shoulder."

I've heard all I need to hear so I order, "Well I'm satisfied, so are we going to stand around and beat our gums all day long or are we going to go find the bodies."

Destiny volunteers with a taunt, "I will come with you so you don't get lost or attacked by one of the body eating bears."

Glen laughs and Hammer mutters under his breath as we follow Destiny...

Present – Stacy and Samantha – heading to the cabin on the Truth Network private jet.

I look at Samantha and reveal Bill's idea, "Sam, Bill says the body of Megan had been mutilated almost beyond belief."

Samantha's eyes grow larger and she asks, "Stacy who would do something like that to a body?"

I respond, "Bill guesses it was probably Hammer, but it might have been Glen in retaliation for getting Evelyn out of the mental hospital and then getting her killed. Bill says there are laws against defacing bodies and suggests we turn the bodies over to the authorities for possible prosecution."

Samantha blinks her eyes and asks, "Stacy are you telling me you would put Jennifer's father in prison?"

I explain, "Sam, that's the dilemma I find myself in. I can't give the bodies to the authorities without causing problems for me and even though I don't like Jennifer..."

Sam giggles and interrupts, " ... don't like her, I would say you hate her."

I reply, "Okay you're probably right, I do hate the bitch for taking Ben! But I don't want to do anything which would hurt Ben and I don't want it to appear that I'm being petty about his wedding. When Ben's marriage fails I want it to fail of its own accord, not because of something I did. I just want to be there to help him pick up the pieces."

Samantha smiles at me and comes up with a great plan...

Present – Liz and Bernie – heading back to the destroyed cabin

I look at Bernie and suggest, "How about I change out of this fucking outfit and we catch a flight back to the cabin?"

Bernie asks, "Well just where are we supposed to stay?"

Gretchen walks up with a tablet and responds, "Hey guys, I was kibitzing on your conversation and I have it all taken care of. The tunnels survived just fine so we can stay in them while the cabin gets rebuilt."

I ask, "How do you know the tunnels survived?"

She smiles at me and answers, "I borrowed this tablet from one of the photographers, used my mobile phone to connect to the network and verified the status of the tunnels. You might also be pleased to know that Mira, Ira, Safia and Alexi are already back, have entered the tunnels and have taken up their old rooms. Now I have to get this tablet back to the photographer and I'll meet you at the helicopter landing area."