A Dubious Curse (A Colton Banyon Mystery Book 8) Read online

  “I’m going to sleep,” Banyon had announced, rolling onto his left side. He wasn’t so sure they did the same.

  Banyon now faced Previne alone. He knew she still wanted him as her mate, but never showed it in front of Loni. Loni, however, was in the shower. “Previne, you know I love you and always will but this isn’t right.”

  “Then how come you are getting excited, Colt?” she replied. Previne was a patient woman who took advantage whenever she could. She believed Loni and Colt would someday cease to be a couple and she waited for her opportunity to strike. In the meantime, she needed to keep him interested.

  “You know you are very desirable,” Banyon replied. “But I can’t do this. Do you want to be a home-wrecker?”

  Before Previne could reply with a yes, the shower stopped running. Banyon looked at Previne with alarm. Previne reluctantly let go and bounced out of bed without saying anything. She went to her luggage and extracted a bra and panties. She headed for the bathroom and gripped the handle to the door. She turned to Banyon and whispered, “At least Loni still likes me,” disappearing into the doorway.

  It was almost eight o’clock in the morning before Banyon exited his bedroom fully dressed and showered. He followed the smell of bacon to the kitchen. When he rounded the corner, he saw that the other four women were all up and dressed for the day in jeans and pullover shirts, just like he was. They were preparing breakfast. After Banyon had received a return call from Bart at Dewey & Beatem, Eric and Maya had left around ten o’clock the night before, so it was just Banyon and all the women.

  “Where did you get the food?” Banyon asked, pouring himself a cup of coffee and adding a little milk.

  Pramilla answered, “Hope you don’t mind, but Lisa and I went to the store before you got up. We took your jeep. Food will be ready in a second.”

  “It smells good,” Banyon acknowledged. He moved to the kitchen island where Loni was busy reading something on her laptop. He touched her shoulder and she looked up. He took her in his arms and kissed her. She looked surprised.

  “Colt, I want to go with you today,” she pleaded in her little girl voice. “It could be dangerous and you might need some protection. I’ll bring my guns.”

  “We’ll only be gone a few hours, and I need to keep Lisa near me, in case we have to outmaneuver Barry and his men.” He stroked her silky hair and she hugged him.

  “Colt, you know there have been some devastating fires recently up on Mt. Charleston. Much of the top of the mountain is just charred ground. Are you sure you want to go there?” Loni had looked up the damage on the Internet.

  “We need to find that transmitter. Wolf told me it is still active.”

  “I want to do something,” she said with frustration.

  “Well, you can drive us over to the rental car place at Red Rock, so we can get an extra car.”

  “Yes, master,” she replied dejectedly.

  “Pramilla and Lisa, wear shoes for hiking, and bring a jacket,” Banyon called out. “We’ll need water, as well.”

  anyon rented another jeep. This one had four-wheel drive, just in case they needed it on the mountain. They took the Summerlin Parkway east, I-95 north and finally Banyon turned west on Route 157. The mountain looked huge from the low, flat desert road, seeming to stand alone against the sky. It took them less than forty-five minutes to reach the foothills from Banyon’s home.

  “Colt, what can you tell us about this mountain?” Pramilla asked from her seat next to Banyon. Lisa was seated behind Pramilla.

  “I’ll tell you what I know,” Banyon responded. “Mt. Charleston is about 12,000 feet high, making it the highest mountain in this part of the country. The temperature is usually anywhere from twenty degrees to thirty degrees cooler than in the Vegas Valley. As we go up the road, the vegetation will change from desert to forest. They have four seasons up there. Most of the area is wild and open—only about 500 people live on the entire mountain. There is a ski resort at the top and the Mt. Charleston Lodge is around 7,000 feet up the mountain. There are over fifty miles of trails, several waterfalls, and many caves on the mountain.”

  “Where are we going?” Lisa asked from the backseat.

  “We are going as high as we can and then, we will walk,” Banyon informed her.

  “What if we get lost?” Lisa worried.

  “I’ve got a very good GPS,” Banyon laughed. Wolf was his GPS.

  “You won’t be able to use it up here on the mountain,” Lisa replied as she punched buttons on her phone.

  “Why is that?”

  “We just lost cell phone reception.”

  t about the same time that Banyon had been showering that morning, a figure emerged from a small cave in the desert near the small town of Rachel, Nevada. Rachel is in the middle of nowhere. It was about 110 miles northeast of downtown Las Vegas and at the very edge of the huge Nellis Air Force Reserve. It is so small that it doesn’t even have a gas station. Rachel’s nearest gas station is over fifty miles away. Only about one hundred people inhabit the low, flat town, mostly in trailers with plenty of acreage between them. There is a small all-in-one general store that serves food. It was there that the figure dressed in only a loincloth and leather sandals headed.

  The figure moved stealthily, ducking behind the few shrubs and stunted trees in the town, sliding along the desert-facing sides of the few residences. No one had seen it so far. When the figure finally reached the general store, it circled around to the back and began sifting through the trash bin. It was clearly looking for something. Since it was still very early in the small, dusty hamlet, the store wasn’t open yet.

  Unfortunately for the figure, Dale Unger was already on lookout. Unger had moved to Rachel about three years ago from St. Louis, Missouri, after he had retired from a Budweiser beer plant. He was following his lifelong dream. He had decided that Rachel was the best place to pursue his passion, based on all the stories that centered on the isolated town. His goal was to see and film an alien.

  He was absolutely certain he was looking at one now. He always carried a video camera when he was on watch, and he had recorded the figure for over five minutes already. He now moved in for a better shot of the creature.

  When he was only about five feet away from the dumpster, his foot hit a rock and made a noise. The creature suddenly raised its head from out of the metal bin. Black hair frizzed around its head, and some sort of food hung from its mouth. It stared at Unger for a few seconds, and then it leaped out of the dumpster and bolted out into the desert.

  Unger was both shocked and elated. He couldn’t wait to send the video to a TV station in Las Vegas. It was clear proof there were aliens in this part of the desert, as advertised. He wondered if he would make any money on his recording as he hurriedly dialed a contact at the television station.

  The town of Rachel, Nevada is quite unique. It is the only town located along the 98-mile stretch of the straight and barren Nevada State Highway 375, which was officially renamed the ‘Extraterrestrial Highway’ in 1996. It was also the closest hamlet to the entrance to Area 51. The entrance to Area 51 was 25 miles south on highway 375. Part of the super-secret, highly restricted area was just outside the Rachel town limits, separated by a chain-link fence that ran through several backyards.

  Area 51 has been, for many decades, a testing ground for ultra-secret government projects, especially aircraft testing. The stealth bomber and many of todays’ combat aircraft were tested there. There have been many documented jet crashes in the desert, but there have also been many reported sightings of flying saucers and strange objects in the sky. The UFO craze in the area took off in 1989. Since then, tourists have flocked to the surrounding desert in an attempt to see the actual aliens that many claim visit the restricted government area. The government beefed up security and added many more restrictions, which has only fortified the notion that aliens are there. The general store in Rachel was even renamed “Little A’Le’Inn” by its new owners, and it had a flourishi
ng business selling alien-related items as well as serving food.

  Dale Unger was sure he had recorded an alien sneaking into town to spy on the local residents. He was sure, because the color of the alien’s skin was the color of the sky. It was light blue.

  olton Banyon parked the jeep in a tiny parking lot just off the small, paved road. They were high on the eastern face of the charred mountain. Most of the damage from the recent fire was on the western slope, but they passed burned out areas on the way up. It looked like a war had taken place on the big mountain.

  Once parked, they headed along a marked trail, winding through heavy woods and past a small waterfall. They soon spied a big, ugly tree, which looked as though it had been hit by lightning sometime in the past. The smell of ashes filled the air and they had trouble breathing, but they pressed on towards the tree. Their clothes were already covered in black dust.

  Wolf had given Banyon precise directions and markers. The tree was one. Banyon told the women they would now head straight up the slope and off the path. He pointed up the mountain. The climb was steep, and they all strained to catch their breath and to keep moving upward. Very little was said between the climbers as they forged through the fire damaged forest. The climb was more difficult than Banyon expected— he hoped he didn’t run out of energy before they found the cave.

  Lisa was wondering about Colton Banyon. In the jeep, when she had said they had lost cell phone reception on the ride up the mountain, he had revealed that he didn’t need a GPS locator to find the cave. She had asked why.

  “I told you I had a secret too,” he explained. “You must promise to never tell anyone about it.”

  “I promise,” she swore sincerely. “You already know enough about me to ruin my life forever.”

  “Only a few friends know this, including Pramilla,” Banyon said. “And the President of the United States,” he added.

  “Any others who have discovered his secret are all dead,” Pramilla intoned a threat, even though it wasn’t quite true. She turned in her seat to see Lisa’s reaction. Lisa did not react to the threat.

  “Several years ago,” Banyon started. “I became involved with a man named Walter Pierce. He had grown up in the same house as I had on eastern Long Island, except he’d grown up there many years earlier. For some reason, when he was dying, he chose me to help him find and eliminate old existing Nazis. He enlisted Pramilla’s grandfather, a shaman named Abu Patel, to cast a curse on Pierce. Now Pierce, who goes by Wolf, is somewhere up there.” Banyon pointed to the sky. “He can see anything he wants to view and he can also research history. All he needs is a place, a person, and a time and he can retrace everything that has happened. Wolf and Harold Bass are in the same place. In fact, they are right next to each other. The difference is Wolf is there to stop evil, and Harold is there to start evil.”

  “Can we stop him?” Lisa was concerned about more than the mayhem Harold Bass posed on the world.

  “Wolf is very experienced and Harold Bass is not,” Banyon replied evenly.

  “What’s it like to talk to a spirit?” Lisa inquired.

  “He’s more like a super-computer,” Pramilla commented. “Colt can talk to him and get answers.”

  “But I have to ask a question. That is my secret,” Banyon said. “I use the information to solve mysteries, help my friends, root out old Nazis and the Effort, collect artifacts, and help the United States government. We have solved many mysteries.”

  “So you are a good guy,” Lisa offered.

  “Most definitely,” Pramilla assured as reached over and rubbed Banyon’s leg.

  “Only to my friends,” he replied.

  “There is the final marker,” Banyon said, attempting to gulp down oxygen. The altitude and the steep climb were quickly sapping their strength. He pointed to a narrow crevice about ten yards up the slope. With renewed energy, they clamored into the tiny canyon. Pramilla quickly produced three small flashlights from a fanny pack. The crevice was so narrow they had to turn sideways and shuffle their feet to enter. After ten feet, they emerged into a cave-like tunnel. It was eight-feet-high and curved on a downhill slope into the mountain.

  “We are close now,” Banyon said.

  “This tunnel looks almost manmade,” Pramilla noted as she shined her light around the tunnel.

  As they turned the first corner they could see a chamber ahead. In the middle of the open space was a big rock that was shaped into a ledge. Sitting on the ledge, they could see some sort of metallic object covered in dust. It looked like a metal ball. Two other smaller, circular forms flanked the ball and a slim sleek three-foot, tapered tower sat off to the right. The metal object in the middle emitted a dull blue, blinking light.

  “Is that the transmitter?” Lisa asked as they closed in on the rock ledge.

  “Yes,” replied Banyon. “But I think it also acts as a receiver.”

  Lisa walked near the ledge and began blowing the dust from the devices. Both Banyon and Pramilla did the same. After a few minutes, the equipment was free of dust and shined like polished chrome. The blue light was much stronger and lit up the entire chamber as it blinked every few seconds. There were no cables connecting the devices, but Banyon was sure they worked in tandem.

  “What do we do now?” Pramilla asked, shrugging her shoulders.

  “Let me take a few pictures of it,” Banyon said. He pulled out his nonworking cell phone and snapped several shots. On the back side of the ledge he noticed markings. He called the women over and they studied the writing.

  “I don’t recognize it,” Pramilla admitted.

  “It could be Latin,” Lisa said. “But I’m not sure.”

  Banyon quickly snapped several shots of the writing. “Wolf could help identify these markings and maybe, identify the transmitter.” He had asked Wolf to research the cave and the transmitter earlier.

  “This cave is giving me the creeps,” Lisa commented. “I feel like someone is watching us.”

  Banyon stood up and addressed Wolf. “Have you found out anything about the transmitter and the cave, Wolf?”

  “I have only been able to research the items for thirty years since you gave me the assignment. Nothing has changed since then. That transmitter has been there for some time. This may take a while.”

  “What should we do then?”

  “There is nothing more to learn there and something more urgent has come up. You need to leave the cave as soon as possible. Travel down the mountain until you get cell phone reception,” Wolf quickly replied.

  “Why?”

  “Several things have happened, Colt. Maya and Eric are in jeopardy— you need to help them immediately. Also Harold has stopped watching the rerun of his life; he knows we tricked him.”

  “Has he sent men after us?” Banyon was very concerned as they had no guns and were far away from help.

  “No, he is not after you, but you need to help everyone else. Hurry, Colt,” Wolf added for emphasis.

  “What about the transmitter? Should we take it with us?”

  “You can come back later. I will continue to research it. Talk to me as soon as you have cell phone reception.”

  Banyon turned to the two women who stared at him in wonderment. “We need to get out of here now and get into cell phone range as soon as possible. We are going to leave the transmitter for now.”

  “Can’t Wolf tell us anything about it?” Lisa pleaded.

  “He told me to get out now, but as soon as we handle the current crisis, I’ll send the pictures to a computer geek I know and see if he can help.” He grabbed Lisa’s hand and began to run down the tunnel.

  ric and Maya had landed at the German military base in the small city of Berchtesgaden, Germany in midmorning. The United States still had a presence on the base. They were met by the base commander, who told them that they were assigned two Army Rangers for protection. The order had come from the Pentagon. The men were very fit and stood at attention. They wore civilian clothes, which did l
ittle to camouflage their bulging muscles. An unmarked car had also been issued for their short trip. One Ranger was assigned as the driver. He showed them to the dark blue BMW sedan.

  Not wanting to reveal their mission or to be bogged down by formalities, Maya said, “We are in kind of a hurry.”

  “Well, you need to hear this,” the commander replied sternly. “You are in a foreign country without proper documentation, so listen.”

  “Yes, sir,” Eric quickly replied, nudging Maya.

  The commander explained that the government would deny their existence if they were caught. They would be treated as spies. No one would be able to help them.

  Their destination was only 15 miles from the base on a lonely, heavily wooded road. Maya told the driver to pull over as soon as they had crossed a wooden covered bridge, which looked like it had been built before the war— World War I that is.

  “You guys stay here,” Maya ordered. “We’ll only be a few minutes,” she said as she opened the door.

  “Our orders were to stay with you until you return to the base,” the big Ranger in the passenger seat barked.

  “We are going, and you are staying,” Maya responded.

  “I’ll have to report that in,” one of the Rangers said defensively.

  “I’m okay with that,” Maya replied. “Report all you want, but you are not going with us into the forest.”

  “At least take my cell phone number,” the big man replied. “In case you need us just call.”

  “Alright,” she replied, slipping the phone number into her pocket. “Come on Eric, let’s get going.”

  She and Eric left the road and headed into the thick, dark woods, leaving the Rangers sitting in the car. She pulled out the directions from the back pocket of her jeans and started counting their steps. The woods were dark, damp, and spooky. The trees and bushes seemed ancient and sinister, some swaying in the slight breeze. It reminded Eric of every Brothers Grimm tale he had ever heard or read. The forest was spooky.