Return To Point Hollow Ch. 02

Jolene continued: "We were making our wedding plans, and Lawrence wanted to start a family so I was getting off the Pill. And then one day he didn't come to church, and a couple of days later he came to see me and told me that he had to call off the wedding and that he was going away for a while. He said it was for a 'sabbatical', and he wouldn't be able to contact me."

"What was his background?" asked Theo.

"He grew up in a fairly tough area of the City." Jolene said. "He never said much, but I think he was part of a bad crowd in high school, drug distributors, stuff like that. But he walked away from it all, put himself through school, came to World Outreach Church and was devoted to it for years."

"Did he have contact with any of the old gang, that you knew of?" Teddy Parker asked.

"No, not that I know of." said Jolene. "He was with me most of the time. We went out with other couples from our study group and the church, for the most part. He never introduced me to anyone outside the church, come to think of it."

"Did he talk about The Revelation?" asked Theo. "About the End Times?"

Jolene rolled her eyes a little bit, then said "Oh yes, he talked about the Revelation. But not so much about End Times. He just talked about the characters in the Book of Revelations. In the last couple of weeks, he was reading stuff online about the demons, like the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. He started getting quiet after that."

"Did he ever mention a Dr. Westbrook?" Teddy asked.

"Uhh..." Jolene said, then looked up past the Detectives. They turned to see Brother Terence Ballard standing there, listening in. Jolene said "Not that I remember. if you'll excuse me, I think Brother Ballard needs my help."

"Thank you for coming by, gentlemen." said Ballard, a clear dismissal. The Detectives left.

"What did you think of that?" asked Theo as he drove the car onto the University Highway, heading home.

"Everything was fine until the name of Dr. Westbrook came up." said Parker. "And then everything changed, like reading the Bible and starting to read The Revelation... sudden, shocking change."

"Did you notice that Jolene was pregnant?" asked Theo. "Is that Lawrence's baby? Or someone else's?"

"I noticed the baby bump." said Parker. "But I'm no expert on how far along she is."

"I'd say four to five months." said Theo. "And Jolene said she was getting off the Pill in anticipation of her marriage to Lawrence. But what if there was another rooster in the henhouse? Like... Brother Terence Ballard, maybe?"

"Ohhhh, I see where you're going with that." said Parker. "Maybe Ballard knocked up Jolene, and Lawrence found out about it?"

"Or just found out about the affair." said Theo. "But yes, it makes even more sense for him to break off the relationship and go away if another man impregnated his fiancée..."

Part 9 - The Painting

3:30pm, Thursday, October 3rd. Lt. Myron Milton came to my office.

"Sir," he said, "I just wanted to let you know that we've intercepted and taken down four drones trying to penetrate Point Hollow airspace. One was KXTC's. The other three... are Federal Government drones."

"And that's not all." said Commander Teresa Croyle, coming into the office without knocking. "Our drones spotted FBI Agents on the other side of the State Line, at first walking parallel to it, but then trying to cross the line into Point Hollow. But they retreated when I deployed our armored SWAT Team to confront them at the State Line."

"How do you know they were FBI?" I asked.

"The windbreakers with 'FBI' on the back was my first clue, sir." said Teresa, flat deadpan. I broke out laughing. Teresa and Myron looked amused, as well."

"Have a seat." I said to Teresa. She sat down. "So this was Rovers's BAU unit?"

"We couldn't tell for sure, sir." said Myron. "They wore baseball caps with visors low over their eyes, sunglasses, and they kept their heads down, so we couldn't get good images of them."

"Damn them." I said. "Part of me wonders if they're doing this crap just to force us to put manpower out there to stop them."

"It wouldn't matter, sir." said Teresa. "We're going to be deploying that manpower anyway, especially at night. We've already had a hundred people show up... some just out of curiosity, some saying things about the End Times and chanting things."

"Okay." I said. "I don't know what's going on, but I'm getting a sick and tired of the FBI. So I'm telling you this with Lieutenant Milton here as your witness: lethal force is authorized. Anyone trying to come in, especially if they can be identified as FBI? Shoot to kill."

"No problem, sir." Teresa said with alacrity. Myron nodded, also.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

At 4:00pm, I walked into my wife Laura's office in the Psychology Building at the University. Carole and Marie were on the two sofas, drawing. When Carole saw me, she jumped up with a cry of "Daddy!" and came over and hugged my legs. Marie then came up and hugged me, too.

"Hello, ladies." I said. "Why don't you go draw in the back room while I talk to your mom for a minute."

"O-kay!" said Carole. She and Marie took off to continue their drawings. I just hoped they weren't new polls of household six-year-olds not getting the bedtimes they wanted.

"Where are the boys?" I asked.

"At daycare at BOW Enterprises." Laura said. "And Stephanie (Steele) picked the girls up after school, but she has a class to teach today, so I'm keeping them."

"Cool beans." I said.

"You asked me to look up Dr. Charles Westbrook." said Laura as I pulled a chair around to sit beside her and see what was on her monitor. "I had heard of him, though vaguely. Dr. Westbrook graduated from Missouri with his doctorate in Psychology. After that, things get sketchy. In fairness, if you look up my past, it's kind of sketchy."

"So is your Police record." I said with a grin. "What's this guy's history?"

"He was employed at Truman State University, in Kirksville, Missouri." said Laura. "That's just north of La Plata, Missouri, where the Amtrak Station is. He was there for about 20 years, then went on a sabbatical to the Holy Land, and also to Mecca. When he came back, he pretty much packed up and left. He ended up at the University of Missouri-St. Louis."

"It was there that rumors about him began circulating." Laura continued. "He was accused of being associated with a Student Group dedicated to Occult practices. He denied it, and was left in his position, but he was closely watched. And rumors cropped up again a few years later after two students, both women, were murdered in what Police there thought was a Satanic ritual. Both girls had taken Dr. Westbrook's classes and spent a good amount of time with him, per Police reports at the time."

I nodded. "Did they fire him then?"

"No," said Laura, "but he was on thin ice, and the ice was cracking under him. He tried to get a position at the University of Georgia, but they didn't hire him. Then he applied for a position here, which I think is where I heard of him, but we didn't hire him, either."

"Hmmm." I said. "The University of Georgia is not far from Elberton, Georgia, where the Georgia Guidestones are. And the University here is near Point Hollow."

"You think he's the 'R.C. Christian' that just gave all those grants?" Laura asked, peering at me.

"No." I said. " He doesn't sound like a guy who is that rich, and able to do that. And he definitely does not sound like someone with a philanthropic disposition. So... what else?"

"Publicly, nothing." said Laura. "Amidst mounting pressure, and his grant money being cut off, he resigned from Missouri-St. Louis, and had not been heard of since. That was about five years ago."

"When Angela Harlan left St. Louis." I said.

Laura said: "I'm not as sure as you are about that. But Dr. Westbrook still rents the apartment he had all the time he was in St. Louis, his bills are automatically paid out of an account that has a couple hundred thousand dollars in it, just under the FDIC limits. But he hasn't been seen there in over two years. I know that because the alarm company said his alarm has not been activated nor deactivated in all that time. Except for the auto-payments, he's completely off the grid."

"Hmmm..." I said. "Okay, what did your more 'private' research tell you?"

Laura said "He never was a Federal Agent, nor a C.I. for the Feds. As I said before, he was closely scrutinized by both local Police and the FBI after those two girls died. Nothing was ever found, but the FBI reports at the time suggested he was part of a Satanic cult all along."

I nodded. "So, changing the subject... how does it feel, now that you're not in the loop with the Company anymore?"

Laura gave me a brief, pursed smile, then said "I remember hearing stories of how Presidents changed, and how it affected them. For example, one morning President George W. Bush was getting the national intelligence brief from the CIA, and then a couple of mornings later he was at his home in Dallas, Texas, reading the newspaper like the rest of us. It's a lot like that for me. It's just something to get used to, I guess."

At that moment, Carole came out of the back room and up to me. "Daddy," she said, "can you take me to see Father Romano?"

The look on my face must've matched Laura's look of surprise as I asked "Why do you need to see Father Romano?"

"So I can ask him to go to Point Hollow with us." said Carole.

"And why do we need to go to Point Hollow?" I asked, perhaps with a bit more concern in my voice.

"To see the painting." Carole said.

"Who told you about the painting?" I asked, not even pretending to not know what she was talking about.

"Nobody." said Carole.

"Okay, then." I said, which I think shocked Laura. "Let's go to Headquarters." To Laura I said "How much later will you be here?"

"Not much longer. Just bring her home." Laura said, not even questioning anything she was seeing and hearing...

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

We went to Headquarters, where Father Romano was at his desk in the Chaplain's offices. Carole very politely said "Hello, Father Ro-ma-no. Will you come with us to see the painting at Point Hollow?"

"I guess I can do that." said the Catholic Chaplain. "But why do you need me there?"

"Because the evil spirits are afraid of you." Carole replied. Captain Romano just looked up at me. I just shrugged.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Father Romano rode shotgun in my Police SUV, and Carole was in her safety restraint chair in the backseat. Yes, my Police SUV is well-equipped. It was a beautiful Autumn day, not a cloud in the sky, and I felt good as I observed it. But that feeling diminished somewhat as we drove past the security at the gate to Point Hollow and onto the property.

When we pulled up and stopped, Father Romano opened the back door for Carole to get out. She hopped down to the ground and looked around. I could sense no fear from her, just wariness as she looked at the copse of trees, then the front yard and the house.

Carole pointed to a spot and said "That's where you beat the Slender Man, isn't it, Daddy?" The spot she was pointing to was indeed the exact spot where I engaged the Slender Man in personal combat and lived to tell about it.

"That's the spot." I said. "Let's go inside and see the painting."

We went inside, where Carole led the way and unerringly led us to the great room. "There's the painting, Daddy." she said, pointing to the painting of the young blonde woman over the mantle. "Her name is on the back."

"If we can get it off the wall." I said. I went up to the painting and tried to remove it again, but it was solidly secured to the wall.

"Carole," I called out, "are there any secret spaces I can get into to unbolt it from the wall."

"No, Daddy." Carole said. "But she's here, and she'll let you take it off."

"What do you mean, 'she's here'?" Father Romano asked. "The girl in the painting?"

"Yes sir." said Carole. "She's here." And with those words, I heard the wind howl outside. We looked out the windows to see dark, ugly clouds forming outside.

*CR-RRACCK!!*

The bolt of lightning right outside the window was blinding in it's intensity. Father Romano began chanting prayers. As I looked outside, wondering where in the hell this storm had come from, Carole said "It's loose, Daddy!" I turned to see that the painting was hanging at an angle!

I went over and grabbed the frame, and the painting easily came off the wall. "Wowwww." I whispered. Father Romano was holding his rosary and saying something in Latin.

I sat down in a chair and Carole came up alongside me. "See, Daddy?" she said. "Where the paper is torn." Indeed, the heavy paper that was on the back of the painting was torn. I gently pulled it back and saw words on the canvas underneath.

"Hmmm." I said. "Nellie Blye Westbrook, 1882. That must be this girl."

"It is, Daddy." said Carole. "But she's not here anymore now." I nodded.

"Okay, why don't we take this painting to Headquarters, and let them analyze it---"

"No, Daddy, you can't do that!" Carole exclaimed. "You have to leave it here!" She was emphatic about that, I noted.

"Okay." I said. I went and hung it back up over the mantle, thinking I'd come back and get it when I didn't have Carole here with me. I had a strong desire to get my firstborn child out of this place...

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Laura and Marie were home when I brought Carole and Father Romano by. Bowser and Buddy were very happy to see Carole, though Bowser was wary of the Chaplain.

"Obviously a Protestant dog." I said when Bowser wouldn't let Father Romano pet him. Father Romano chuckled, and I picked Bowser up. "It's okay, Bowser. Father Romano is our friend." Bowser sniffed at the Chaplain's hand, then allowed himself to be petted. Still, once I put Bowser down, he raced over to Carole.

As Carole excitedly told Marie about Point Hollow, Laura and I talked with Father Romano as we headed back to my Police SUV. Laura said "How is Dr. Mickelson doing, Father?"

"He's... doing okay." said Father Romano. "We've had some long conversations, which are privileged, of course, and he does better after each of them. Physically? That's another matter." Laura nodded, then said she'd tell me about that later.

As we drove to Headquarters, Father Romano said "Dr. Mickelson has been having hallucinations. He's tested negative for any drugs, but he believes the Devil is trying to possess his soul. When we pray together, he feels much better, but it doesn't last." I just nodded.

Back at Headquarters, I called Sr. Detective Joanne Warner into my office. "I need you to research a name. Nellie Blye Westbrook. And the year 1882 may figure in prominently."

"That name never showed up in the Town Archives or Census reports." Joanne said. "And the University didn't have women students back then."

"I think there was an associated Women's School that became part of the University in the mid-20th Century. "Agnes Wesleyan College. She might've been enrolled there. Also, check with Alison McFarland at the Town & County Examiner. See if they have archives, and if there's any story from 1882 about Nellie Blye Westbrook..."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

10:00pm, Thursday, October 3d. I was busy at my desk, typing away at my computer. I heard a knock on my door and looked up and over to see Teresa Croyle in the doorway.

"Your wife called." Teresa said. "She wants you to come home. She wants me to enforce that happening."

"Okay, then." I said. "I'm alll-most done here." I kept typing.

"Whatcha working on?" Teresa asked.

"A web site." I said. "Thomas Hall, one of the survivors, was a Computer Science major. Theo Washington's notes of his interview in the City mentioned that Lawrence Evans was on a website about The Revelation and demons. So I began checking what Myron downloaded from the various laptops and tablets we confiscated. And there is one website in common... but I'm having trouble accessing it."

"Needs a password?" Teresa asked. "Myron can break that in minutes, can't he?"

"He's working on it, as is Mary." I said. "They think the security is a lot like what BigAgraFoods used: there has to be a jump drive or something plugged in, and only then do we need the username and password. I suggested they look at the tablets, since it's not so easy to plug in a jump drive..."

*BRING!* *BRING!* *BRING!* *BRING!*

It was Teresa's personal iPhone. "Yes, he's right here." she said. She handed the phone to me. It was my wife Laura, and she made herself abundantly clear what her immediate expectations of me were... my presence at home. And with the Iron Wolf ready to back my wife's expectations up, I did the smart thing and packed up to go home...

Part 10 - Data Points

"This is Bettina Wurtzburg, KXTC Channel Two News!" said the redheaded MILF reporterette from the southern border fence of Point Hollow at 7:00am, Friday, October 4th. "Commander Donald Troy and the Town & County Police remain befuddled and unable to solve the deaths of six persons and sickening of 12 others at Point Hollow!"

Bettina began: "Police have no new leads regarding the mass casualty case, which claimed the lives of six young persons, including two University students." She rolled off the names of the dead, then the living persons, then said "While the families of the deceased have been notified, several parents of the survivors complained to Channel Two News that the Police did not notify them nor have updated them with any information. The TCPD has also not updated Channel Two News, and Commander Troy continues to avoid repeated requests by Channel Two News for comment."

Bettina: "Doctors at the University say the twelve survivors are all recovering and could be released over the weekend. Assistant Public Health Officer Stella Waters gave a statement to Channel Two News, saying that there there is no danger to the Public, but people should avoid the Point Hollow area until more is known about the attacks and the chemicals used." As she read the statement, a photo of APHO Waters was shown, wearing her formal Public Health Department jacket with one star on each collar.

"And now," said Bettina happily, "let's go to trusted reporter Lester Holder for important news about the District Attorney's Office. Lester!"

"That's right, Bettina!" said Lester Holder, who was on the roof of the building at Riverside and College, with City Hall in the background. "Multiple sources confirm to Channel Two News that District Attorney Miriam Walters, who is white, intended to demote Paulina Patterson, who is black, and Dwayne Gregory to Deputy District Attorneys, with Savannah Fineman remaining an Assistant District Attorney over them."

Penis Holder: "Multiple sources also tell Channel Two News that Ms. Walters altered the plan to demote all of the Assistant DAs to Deputy DAs after ADA Franklin Washington, who is black, threatened a Civil Rights racial complaint against D.A. Walters. And Channel Two News has learned that D.A. Walters changed that plan only after Channel Two News reported her plan on the air, then falsely accused Channel Two News of inaccurately reporting the story. Neither D.A. Walters nor Assistant DA Paulina Patterson responded to Channel Two News's repeated requests for comment."

"Thank you, Lester! Excellent reporting, as usual!" said Bettina as she came back on the screen. "In other news, the Town & County Fire Department is very divided on whether or not to go on strike after Chief Patrick Quinlin was forced to retire as a Captain, Battalion Chief Tucker was summarily fired, and a new EMS that is independent of the Fire Department was created. The Fire Department Captain's Union and the Fire Department Union have encouraged their members to consider going on strike, but there may not be majority support for that action. The Unions will meet with Fire Department leaders over the weekend..."