Chapter 3

Thursday

Alex woke to a perversely overcast day and a cold westerly wind. She felt tired. It had been a long drive and then a late night as she and Philip had talked till nearly midnight. He had been only mildly shocked at the research she’d shown him.

“To be honest, I thought it was something like this,” he’d commented, leafing thru the printouts.

“Peri says it’s a bubble, but it’s invisible. It isn’t like .. I don’t know, a fast food restaurant. There’s nothing to advertise its presence, Philip.”

“So I can sleep easier knowing the Brompton family wasn’t tempted from the path of righteousness.”

She’d paused, understanding his frustration and helpless anger. “We’ll find them and we’ll free them. But, no matter how anxious you are to get this underway, you can’t afford to take any chances. I want your word of promise on that, Philip. Derek’s given me my orders – I’m not to go anywhere near that highway until Nick and Peri arrive. We use the time to find out as much as we can. We’re the advance guard. Let’s do our job.”

Philip had regarded her. “Whatever happened to working together but separate?”

“Philip, look at this evidence!” Alex had insisted, her dark eyes flashing. “Look at how many people have simply disappeared! Your missing family are just one of those dots. I understand that you want to find them but, if you go rushing in and get trapped as well, how can that help get them out? It’ll just mean .. another dot on the map, and it’ll mean I will have lost a dear friend and my ally in cracking open this trap.”

His eyes hooded, Philip had stared at the map.

“Sleep on it,” Alex had said. “We’ll talk again in the morning.”

And, now, the morning had arrived, bleak and cold. Alex threw back the blankets and padded into the bathroom to shower.

Well, I hope he did think about it and that his surliness was just down to jetlag. He was always so sure his place wasn’t with the Legacy yet he did good work when he was with us. Being out in the world has changed him. Not for the better, but not for the worse either. It’s just .. shifted his focus. He has to see I’m right. We can’t take the risk that I’m wrong.

She dressed and was wondering about breakfast when the knock came on her door. Alex opened it to see a bleary eyed Philip hunched in his jeans and sweater.

“I did what you asked. I slept on it,” he said. “You’re right. Where do we start?”

*****

Rachel rose early. “Kat! You have plans for today?” she called, opening her closet to decide what to wear.

Kat came to the bedroom door. “Is it okay if I go on a picnic with James?”

“Where?”

“We haven’t decided yet. Either Golden Gate Park or the beach. The deal is he pays for the travel an’ I provide the food.”

Rachel paused, considering what was in the cupboards downstairs. “Well .. sure, you can go. I don’t know exactly what we’ve got in the way of supplies.”

“That’s okay, Mom. I saved some money an’ we’ll go shopping on the way.”

“Fine. Look, sweetie, I have to see some patients today an’ tomorrow, then I have to go on a fieldtrip. I may be away for a few days, maybe even a week. Do you want me to call anyone to come stay with you? I’m guessing, of course, that you’d prefer to be here an’ not come with me.”

Kat watched her. “Do you want me to come with you?”

Rachel watched her just as carefully. “Not really, not this time.”

Kat hesitated. “Can I stay here alone?”

Rachel hesitated too. “There are rules which must be obeyed. No parties, that’s a big no way. James does not stay over, not even in the guestroom. He’s a nice guy, Kat, I like him but ... ”

“I understand.”

“He can come round during the day, you can spend time together, but at .. ten o’clock? He has to go home.”

“Thanks, Mom,” Kat smiled.

“Okay. I’m trusting you to be responsible here.” Rachel put her hands on her daughter’s shoulders. “You’ve grown up to be such a .. wonderful, special person. I feel very proud to be your mother.”

Kat blushed. “I’ll take care of the house, I promise. Lock the doors every night.”

“Okay. I’ll leave you some money for food shopping .. or pizza or Chinese every night,” Rachel laughed.

“When are you going?” Kat asked.

“I’m not sure yet. Saturday, if I can. If not, Sunday. But I’ll call, while I’m away.”

“You don't have to. I’ll be fine,” Kat reassured her.

“Just to let you know that I’m fine,” Rachel explained.

Kat sobered. “Is it going to be dangerous?”

“Oh, honey, I hope not,” Rachel sighed. “I really hope not.”

*****

“Derek, you got my cell phone number,” Nick said. “You need me, for anything, call. Okay?”

“I will. Enjoy yourself with your friend. Marriage is a big step but, if anyone can convince him that it’s a worthwhile one, it’s you. I’ll see you in San Stefano on Sunday.”

Nick nodded, then turned. “You all set, babe?”

“I believe so,” Merlin smiled. “Derek, you got my cell phone number. You wanna talk, call me .. but not at two thirty on Saturday afternoon or three fifteen on Sunday. Any other time, day or night, I’m here for you.”

“Thank you. Have fun.” He didn’t add ‘while you can’ because, while he didn’t say it, they all heard it.

Merlin had spent hours making calls the previous evening and had drawn a fat blank. No Enforcer had ever encountered such a phenomenon as this. When she’d told Derek, his reaction had been positive despite the bad news.

“This will set a precedent then. Another reason why you have to triumph – so you can pass on the lesson to the others.”

He stood on the step by the front door and waved once as they headed away down the drive. Then, knowing time was everything, Derek returned to the house and went upstairs to the library hall where he called Andrew for some coffee and ordered a sandwich for lunch. Then he entered the control room and began work.

The important thing was to keep busy and that should be easy enough. He had today and until around lunchtime tomorrow to gather his information. It would keep his mind occupied. A busy, focused mind wouldn’t hear the echoing silence of a house emptied of people. It wouldn’t dwell on the hard fact that he was alone. Derek refused to even go down that path because, once he set foot on it, he knew he would start to doubt his decision – not the decision to go there and investigate but the one agreeing to let Alex go.

Alex was special to him. She had grown so much since joining him here and she was strong. But she didn’t have as much experience in the field as he did. He blamed himself for that. A Precept’s role was to lead and to delegate. Derek had always led from the front and had delegated safe tasks. As a result, Alex was adept in the control room. Her fieldtrips were rarely undertaken alone and, when they were, the investigations were mild, routine. Not dangerous. Yes, once or twice, she had found herself in trouble but she’d always triumphed and learned from it. Alex was, in essence, a gentle soul with a steel backbone. Nick was the opposite. He was tough on the outside, could take a lot of punishment and he had a romantic streak buried inside .. despite what he told others. His backbone was steel as well but there were parts which were vulnerable to a sob story. Alex was all heart. This fieldtrip would do her good and she would learn but Derek couldn’t forget he’d deliberately sent her into the most horrible danger.

So he kept busy. He double-checked all Alex’s research, not because he thought she might have been sloppy but as an education for himself. He looked for more instances of what Merlin called bubbles. He hunted for references on how others had dealt with them. And, all the time, in the back of his mind, as it had been since he’d seen the vision, he could feel the hopeless, terrible resignation which drained energy and left people so weak they couldn’t resist. He could feel the mere echo of it start to weaken him – as it had done before. There was no other reason why he had felt such a sudden black depression. He couldn’t deny that there were times when depression got the better of him, when events came together in such a way that he felt overburdened. That had not happened on this occasion. There was no other reason why he had ordered Merlin not to send Aquila. That had been an error. They needed all the information they could gather.

A thought occurred to him. This bubble protects itself. It floods the mind with apathy and saps the spirit. The people trapped inside no longer have the will or the desire to escape. To even try.

All things come to an end. Life. Associations. Relationships. And situations.

Derek lifted his chin in bullish defiance. We will end this.

*****

“You think he’ll be okay?” Nick asked.

“So long as he keeps focused, he should be,” Merlin replied, her eyes closed against the sun. “It’s unfortunate Rachel can’t be there. She’d keep him occupied, stop him brooding. Man, Derek can brood with the best.”

“He’d prefer to call it thinking,” Nick commented.

“There’s a difference. There’s thinking, which is considering a problem, gathering the background and choosing the best solution. An’ then there’s brooding, which is all the above an’ then second, third an’ fourth guessing your choices. It’s running worst case scenarios until the end of the universe, an’ even thinking about that as a possible outcome. Don’t misunderstand – I like Derek, I think he’s a great Legacy Precept, destined to go down in Legacy history as one of the all time masters of the game. But, occasionally, he lets himself go too far an’ then action falls down the list, taking tenth place to research, fact finding, planning, thinking, an’ going back to square one to start over.”

“You think Alex will be okay?” he inquired, glancing at her.

“Honestly? Knowing her, an’ knowing Philip Callahan, I think they are both gonna run headlong into trouble. Maybe not deliberately but they will go take a closer look an’ they’ll go too close. We’ll lose ’em.”

“That’s a little cold blooded, even for you,” Nick remarked.

“I’m giving my opinion, Nick. The odds aren’t fifty fifty. They’re stacked against Alex because she is who she is. A human being going thru some emotional upset who cares about people, even people she’s never met. Pink dots on a map. That’s all they are but she cares that they’ve vanished, that the dots are on the map. Her conscience will override her caution. She’ll go too close because she cannot resist. This isn’t like the time you an’ Derek got trapped on the ship. Alex locked up, couldn’t move for fear an’ that was because it was people she’s close to. Fear of finding out you were both dead. This is more a mystery. It’s arm length stuff. An’ Philip … Well, Alex has gotten him marked pretty good. When he has the bit between his teeth, Heaven an’ Hell won’t force him off his chosen route, an’, if that leads him into danger, his reaction is ‘so what?’ I will put money on it that, by Sunday evening, despite all the promises, they will both be beyond immediate assistance.”

Nick hesitated, a worm of an idea nudging him. “You wanna go in after ’em, don’t you? You wanna go in there yourself.”

Merlin’s shoulders twitched in a slight shrug. “I don’t .. deliberately court danger but .. yeah, I’d like my chance to see this bubble up close an’ personal. I’ve read so many case files from Legacy houses all over the world where they’ve gone places I’ve never been. You’ve been inside one.”

“The New Eden colony,” he recalled.

“Right. I don’t know if I can even cross the threshold. My presence could be enough to collapse it. I may never get to go inside one of those things. But I’d like to try it, sure. Who wouldn’t?”

“So you’re not worried about being trapped.”

“Not in the least. I know I’ll get out again. May take me a while to figure out how but getting out has never been in question. I told Derek that but he does so love to brood on what can go wrong when he sends a woman into the thick. You’d think he’d’ve learned by now.”

“So Alex an’ Philip going in first .. really doesn’t worry you.”

“It concerns me. Time tends to run haywire in those places. Not always but it happens. A day out here could be a week in there, or vice versa. It’s what they’ll do in that time before we can get in after them which concerns me. But let me be concerned, Nicky. You have your friend to be with during his last few days of freedom.”

“Right. An’ what will you be doing while Jazz an’ I hit the bars an’ clubs?”

“What I always do,” she said, stretching. “Go training. Try to figure out a plan as best I can with what I know. Run a few worst case scenarios past my critical inner judge, an’ then send her to see what she can find out.”

He frowned. “Didn’t Derek tell you not to do that?”

Merlin smiled. “Derek isn’t here now.”

*****

Alex and Philip sat down in an interview room opposite a uniformed cop and a detective.

“You’re here to look into the disappearance of a family from Boston,” Detective Jon Redding began, opening a thick file. “You are?”

“Father Philip Callahan of Saint Dunstan’s church in Boston. Father Padraig Brennan sent me when the Bromptons never returned from their vacation.”

“Alex Moreau from the Luna Foundation in San Francisco.”

Detective Redding nodded. “Investigating the same case?”

“Investigating all the disappearances,” Alex replied. “Philip and I have worked together before so it made sense to pool our resources, although Philip’s main area of focus is the members of his church.”

“Okay. How can we help?”

Alex and Philip looked at each other. “What can you tell us?” Alex asked. “That seems a horribly thick file.”

“I inherited it from the guy who inherited it before me,” Jon Redding remarked. “No precinct house or sheriff’s office, or whatever, likes to have a dossier of unsolved cases, especially when those cases go back a long way. Officer Houseman an’ I work on this .. eighty five percent of the time. We’ve gotten nowhere.” He eased back and sighed. “Splinter group of MUFON says all these people have been snatched by flying saucers.”

“I read about that,” Alex nodded.

“Plain fact is, Ms Moreau, as far as we can discover, it could be the truth. I’m not one to believe in such things. I like my flying saucers on TV or in the movies. They got no place in the real world. But .. I can’t prove they didn’t take these people. I can’t prove anything.”

“The first case on record is Mr and Mrs Schiff and their son Benny. They were visiting relatives over in Mendota,” Rick Houseman went on. “They left at five o’clock. Nice, clear evening. They never arrived home. Apparently, other times they made the trip, they always called to say they’d gotten home. This time, they didn’t. Their relatives – a sister and her husband – drove here to check up on ’em then they reported ’em missing. The report states that the highway was searched extensively on both sides – there was no wreck, no sign that they’d burst a tire and skidded off the road. No one had been taken to the hospital. They’d just .. vanished an’ no one’s seen any of ’em since.”

“When was this?” Alex asked.

“Thirty four.”

“What’s the second case?” Philip frowned.

“A rerun of the first. Mom, Dad, two kids. Traveling back from Mendota around lunchtime. Vanished. Never heard from or seen again. That was thirty six.”

“Two year interval,” Alex remarked.

“It picked up. We’ve had three cases already this year to date,” Jon Redding commented. “Other places get serial killers but at least with them there is a body left behind an’ we can find clues, do a profile, get evidence, an’ have a chance to track down the perp. Here, there’s nothing. We don’t have a starting point to this investigation.”

“So .. what can you tell us?” Officer Houseman asked.

“Well .. it all seems to happen along a certain stretch of one particular highway,” Alex began. “Apart from that, the disappearances seem to be totally random. There’s no one time which can be pinpointed. There’s no specific day or date. No one season. There have been reports of strange lights in the sky. You say there’s been three cases reported so far this year … I assume you were here then.”

“Uh huh,” Redding nodded.

“What were the weather conditions at the time these people disappeared?”

“The weather? How does the weather make someone disappear?”

“I’m trying to find an explanation for the lights in the sky,” Alex replied.

“We had thunder,” Houseman recalled. “Sky was very dark. I don’t remember any lightning but I could hear thunder. It was oppressive. It rained quite hard for a while, then it stopped an’ the sun came out again.”

“On each occasion?” Philip frowned.

“Now I think of it .. yeah.”

“Even when it wasn’t thunderstorm season?”

Houseman nodded.

“Okay, so that seems to be another common factor. You didn’t see any lightning but, from a different angle, a different town, there could have been sheet lightning high in the cloud,” Alex said.

“But how is it relevant?” Redding frowned.

“It may not cause the disappearances but it may herald one,” Alex explained. “It could be a signal not to travel that highway until the sky clears again.”

“What about the vehicles?” Philip asked. “Were they ever found?”

“That would’ve been evidence,” Redding replied. “We could’ve investigated the vehicles. Dusted ’em for prints. They never showed up either. We have a note of all the license plates an’, every month, Rick an’ I run a check to see if any of ’em have turned up in another city, another state. They haven’t.”

Philip took the photograph from his pocket. “This is the family I’m trying to find. We know they were in this general area but they may not be part of this investigation. They may be perfectly all right somewhere else but, until I track them down, I won’t know. Have you seen them in San Stefano?”

Rick Houseman took the picture and studied it.

“The little girl has copper colored hair and the mother has brilliant emerald green eyes. Striking,” Philip added. “You’d remember them.”

“Yeah, I’ve seen them,” Houseman nodded. “They had a silver blue Toyota rental. They were here the sixth of this month. Stayed at the motor lodge.”

“How can you be so sure ..?” Philip wondered. “A town this size – ”

“I remember the little girl’s hair. It was so unusual to see that color in a kid. She was crying. Her dad was trying to calm her an’ he clipped the sidewalk as he turned the corner. I pulled them over. That’s how I know.” He handed the photo back. “Nice family. They told me they were on vacation, they were staying at the motor lodge an’ moving on in a few days. I didn’t realize they were the family you’re looking for.”

“It hasn’t been officially reported yet,” Philip admitted. “They sent me instead, to find them.”

“Even so, we’ll note it in the file. Rick, you still got a note of the rental license plate?”
“Yeah.”

“If you find anything, no matter how minor or apparently unconnected, will you tell us?” Redding requested. “The least thing could be a break.”

“You don’t sound hopeful,” Alex remarked.

“To be honest, I’m not .. but I have to follow procedure.”

“If we do, we’ll tell you,” Philip promised gravely. “Similarly, if the Bromptons turn up safe and sound.”

“Thank you, Father.”

“This piece of highway,” Alex said. “What’s it like? Country? Built up? Straight, flat, curved, sloping, what? Describe it to us.”

The two men looked at each other. “Well .. it’s fairly straight. Isolated. Country, not built up,” Houseman replied. “Grassland each side. Few trees. It’s a flat, straight piece of tarmac. No fences. As far as I know, no one owns the land on either side of the highway. It’s got a few slight bends in it but nothing major.”

“So you can see for miles,” Alex reasoned.

“Yeah. There’s nothing out there.”

“No buildings. I mean, it hasn’t been plowed for crops. Some farmers have storage barns at remote spots.”

He shook his head. “Nothing like that, no. Used to be, once, but long since fallen down.”

“Okay. Well, thank you for your time. And, like Philip said, if we find anything, we’ll let you know.”

They all rose. “Be careful, Ms Moreau, Father Callahan. It’s our job to try an’ locate these people. We have to go out there to look. You don’t have to but I suspect you will anyway. Be careful,” Redding urged. “I don’t want your name going in this file.”

“Of course,” Alex nodded.

Outside on the sidewalk, she stretched her spine and then studied the street. “I feel sorry for them,” she said. “It must be incredibly frustrating.” Alex glanced at her silent companion. “Where would you like to go next?”

“The motor lodge,” Philip replied. “If I can trace their movements, I’ll feel like I’ve accomplished something. All I’ve managed to do so far is feel fear in my heart.”

*****

The Mustang got into Santa Cruz late afternoon. Jazz was staying at the Holiday Inn on Third. Nick got a room at the same place. They carried their bags up to the second floor, unpacked, settled in, and then Nick called Jazz’s room.

“Yeah,” said a tired sounding voice.

“Hey, man, how you doing?”

“I’ll be better when you get here.”

“Well, I am here. Room two twenty four. Get your ass over here.”

The line went dead and Nick grinned to himself.

“Is he coming?” Merlin asked.

“I believe he is. He never actually said, just hung up on me.” He watched her. “Did you get a dress for the wedding?”

“No. I looked but I didn’t see one. I had to dig something outta the closet.”

“Not black.”

“Oh, no. Black isn’t suitable for a wedding. Don’t worry, I won’t embarrass you.”

He saw the small smile and wasn’t sure whether to be pleased or alarmed.

“Is he looking forward to Saturday?” Merlin asked.

“Yeah. I think what he’s looking forward to more is Sunday when it’ll be over. Jazz isn’t wary of marriage. What he finds irritating is the other people who have to be involved.”

There was a pounding on the door. Nick went to get it.

“Stormer! My savior!”

Merlin smiled and waited patiently for the hugging and backslapping to end.

“Jazz, this is Peri,” Nick finally introduced.

“Hi, Jazz,” she said.

“Whoa .. you are one good looking woman. Nick, you have done well for yourself.”

“I know,” Nick grinned.

“Thank you,” Merlin accepted. “Come on in, Jazz. Sit down. All set for Saturday?”

“Sure am. Wish it was Sunday though. I’d be on a plane to Mexico an’ then Acapulco.” He sat on the bed. “Wish I could take Janice to somewhere a little more exotic but I have to stay fairly close to home .. just in case.”

“I understand. So getting married is something you can take in your stride?”

“I’ve prepared for it. So has Jan. She knows what to expect. I was .. a little reluctant but then I met up with Stormer an’ he painted such a great picture of matrimony that, after, it didn’t seem so bad.” Jazz grinned. “Now I’ve met you, I can see why he was so effusive.”

Merlin grinned too. “Another top of the class graduate from smarm school. I can see why you two hit it off so well.”

“Brothers in arms, if not in blood,” Jazz replied with a slight shrug. “Peri, seriously, are you hitting the bars with us tonight?”

“I’m not. A sister has no place in the brotherhood. I’m gonna go do my own thing.”

Jazz slowly shook his head in disappointment. “Nick, persuade your woman to change her mind.”

“I’d have a better chance of persuading Mount Rushmore to grow another face,” Nick admitted. “Peri, how about one beer with us?” he suggested.

“Okay. One beer. An’, guys? I expect you to remember there’s someplace you have to be Saturday afternoon.”

“We’ll be back long before then,” Jazz commented.

“Sure. I believe you.”

Jazz got up. “Let’s hook up at seven.”

“You got it,” Nick agreed. “Good to see you again, man.”

“Yeah, likewise. Great meeting you at last, Peri. Later,” he winked and was gone.

Nick closed the door. “Stormer ..?” Merlin queried.

He hesitated. “Long story.”

*****

“So now we know they checked out the morning of the eighth,” Alex said.

“And that they said they were driving to Sacramento to get a flight home,” Philip added.

“The quickest route would be Interstate 5,” Alex remarked.

Philip nodded. “And to get to it from here … ”

“Would mean using that highway,” she concluded. “I think it reasonable to say they vanished.”

He sighed heavily. “Just once, you know, I’d like there to be a simple explanation.”

Alex shrugged. “Well .. they could have gone south.”

“And not called anyone? And, anyway, to head south,” he pointed out, “they would have used the Interstate and that highway to get to it. No, Alex, they’re trapped with all the others. I know it.” Philip shook his head. “That’s one for you and one for me. Your turn to choose.”

She consulted her notes. “The three cases so far this year … The family of one of the second victims lives in San Stefano. Let’s go see if we can find out anything from them.”

“Do you think they’ll talk to us?”

“Maybe not, but we have to try.” Alex smiled bravely. “Derek said that knowledge will be all we have if we get trapped as well.”

Philip sighed again. “He doesn’t have a high opinion of our judgment, does he?”

She laughed. “Oh, I think Derek knows us both better than we care to admit.”

*****

“Andrew.”

“Yes, sir?”

Derek hesitated. “Do you have any pressing social engagements this evening?”

“No, sir. I can stay over and keep you company.”

“Am I so transparent?”

Andrew paused. “No, sir. But .. with everyone else away and a tough fieldtrip coming up, it’s difficult not to worry. Actually, sir, if you’re free, I’d like to get your opinion on a fieldtrip I want to take in September.”

“Yes, of course,” Derek accepted. “However I can assist.”

“Thank you, Dr Rayne.”

“Don’t mention it.”

*****

Rachel felt drained. Two patients in one day, both with serious problems which had meant giving her undivided attention to them, had left her spent. The afternoon session had not gone well. Her patient, a woman named Alison Bentley, was on the very edge of a breakdown and Rachel felt she was making slow progress back to health but it would need another session soon. A week’s interval was too long so Rachel had scheduled her in for Saturday morning.

She made a pot of tea and began writing up her notes, focusing her mind completely on what she was doing. Once the case notes were done, Rachel started drafting a plan for Alison to follow while Rachel was away – daily exercises, changes in lifestyle, habits and diet. Then she read thru the file for her patient due at ten the next morning. Another difficult case. Low self esteem which, occasionally, bordered on suicidal combined with a gambling addiction.

“Well, if I have to, I’ll schedule a follow up for Saturday afternoon,” she muttered. “And now .. I guess I have five minutes to spare so I can start my packing.”

*****

“So .. c’mon, tell me. How’d you two hitch up?” Jazz asked.

“Nick hasn’t told you?” Merlin wondered, frowning slightly.

“Sure, an’ now I’d like to hear your side of the story.”

“We met upstate, near Mount Shasta. We were both taking time out. We met in a bar.”

“That’s Nick for you. Hangs out in bars way too much.”

“Lucky for me I did,” Nick commented.

“Well .. we hit it off an’, a week later, went our separate ways, thinking we’d never see each other again. And a week or so after that, we ran into each other at Berkeley .. an’ we’ve been together ever since. Animal attraction, Jazz. No other way to describe it.”

“You saw the beast in him.”

“An’ he saw the same beast in me.”

“You tamed him?” Jazz queried.

“No more than he’s tamed me. Look, Nick has strengths I lack an’ I have strengths he lacks so we balance each other. It works. It’s a great partnership.”

“I can see that,” Jazz nodded. “Nick told me once that he trusts you with his life. Are you strong enough to handle that kinda responsibility?”

Merlin smiled. “Yeah.”

“Lucky guy.”

Merlin drained her glass. “I’m outta here. Things to do. You guys have fun,” she said, kissing Nick’s cheek. “Saturday. You have to be back in time to change clothes.”

“I hear you,” he grinned, then grew serious. “Take care.”

“You have to ask ..? Later, Jazz.” She headed toward the door.

“Now do you believe me?” Nick asked.

“Yeah,” Jazz said. “Yeah, I do.”

*****

Alex sipped the coffee Mrs Ramirez had insisted on giving them. She kept two phones with her at all times – the cordless house phone and a cell phone. Her gaze often strayed to them. The woman was living in limbo, unsure whether to hope for a miracle or mourn. She ached to talk about it. The fact that Philip was a priest gave her immense comfort.

“It was my son, Rafael, and his girlfriend. Maria was attending an interview for a job in Fresno. Rafael drove her because Maria’s car was in the shop being fixed. Such fine young people,” she whispered. “You hear so many stories these days – gangs, drugs, guns. My Rafael is an honest, decent man. He graduated college. He works. And Maria is an honest, decent girl. They love each other. And, now, they are gone. No one knows where or why. They left here that morning .. and never came home.” She looked at the phones again.

She shook her head. “The police cannot help. They say they have investigated as much as they can but they’ve found nothing. There are no clues for them to investigate.”

“Mrs Ramirez, is it possible that Rafael simply decided to start over somewhere new?” Alex asked gently. “Did he have any reason not to come home?”

“No, none. He lives here, with me, but I’m not strict with him. He is a man, an adult. If he wants to leave home and make his own way in the world, I will not stop him. He packed no bags before he left. He had no money problems. He is doing well at work. He was promoted only two weeks before he drove Maria to Fresno.”

“I’m sorry, I had to ask,” Alex murmured, her heart moved by the woman’s quiet, tortured dignity.

“Can we ask you, ma’am, what might seem to be a strange question,” Philip began. “What was the weather like the day your son disappeared?”

Alex watched the older woman, wondering how she’d react. Alex knew it was an important question but Sofia Ramirez might misunderstand and think they were there only to mock her.

Surprisingly, she hesitated while she thought, then she looked up.

“You mean the weather snatched Rafael away ..? Like a tornado?”

“Yes, something like that,” Philip agreed soberly.

“Ah … Yes. I remember the day so well. It was bright. They left at nine thirty and should have been home by four. It was a beautiful day. Calm. Clear. Until around three that afternoon. I remember the time because it was like night was coming early. It was so unusual that I looked at my watch. The sky toward Mendota went black, like a huge storm was coming. The air felt .. so still and thick to breathe. It was very hot, damp. There was thunder in the distance. And then it rained so hard for about thirty or forty minutes. And then, just as fast, it stopped, the sky cleared and the sun came out. Within a half hour, everywhere was dry again.”

She looked at them. “Did the weather take my son and Maria?”

“I don’t know, Mrs Ramirez, but I can tell you that .. around the time of each of these disappearances, there was a similar weather event,” Alex replied. “Thank you. You’ve been very helpful.”

“Find Rafael and bring him home. I beg you, Father Callahan. Bring him home,” she pleaded, tears in her eyes.

“We’ll do whatever we can,” Philip nodded. “Go with God, Mrs Ramirez.”

“Thank you,” she whispered.

Alex led the way out and they didn’t speak again till they were in the car.

“It’s your turn to choose, Philip.”

“Back to the motel,” he decided. “We have a lead to follow up – cross checking the weather records with the dates of the disappearances.”

She nodded. “Philip .. does this weather pattern signal the arrival of the bubble .. or does a vehicle traveling along that highway cause it to happen and thus trigger an inevitable chain of events?”

Philip glanced at her. “You know how it goes, Alex. Research first, then you go and test your theories … ” His gaze shifted to the windshield and the view beyond, “ … out there, somewhere.”

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