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Agent Madison was stubborn. "You only answered the first half of my question,"
he reminded her.
"Oh. Why were we the ones who found the body? I don't know what to tell you.
Dumb luck is the only thing I can think of. It wasn't good luck, either."
"We think it was," Senior Agent Jefferson said. "It shows that treason has
reached even out-of-the-way places like this. Treason is a disease worse than
the one Ohio turned loose on us, but we'll fix it." He sounded grim and
determined. But then he eased just a little. "I don't believe you were
personally involved in it, even if you are from California. Thank you for your
time." He and the other two agents left.
Even if you are from California. They assumed she was a radical just because
she'd grown up in L.A. By their standards, they were right, too. California
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ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
and Virginia weren't only two different states. They were two different
worlds. But she was stuck in this one now, no matter how much she wished she
weren't. She'd got through this first grilling. What was coming up next?
In movies and on TV, the knock on the door always came in the middle of the
night. Justin and Mr. Brooks were getting ready to go the the grocery when it
came in Elizabeth. They both jumped. They weren't used to company in their
motel room.
Justin was closer to the door, so he opened it. He didn't expect to see three
somber men in this alternate's somber business suits. "Who are you?" he said
foolishly.
"Senior Agent Jefferson, VBI." The one in the middle flashed a gold badge.
"With me are Agents Tyler and Madison." The other two men showed silver
badges. Jefferson went on, "You would be Justin Monroe, correct?"
"That's right."
"And your uncle is Randolph Brooks? Is he here now?"
"I'm here," Mr. Brooks said from behind Justin. "What's this all about?"
"We have some questions for your nephew, Mr. Brooks, regarding his discovery
of the body of Charles Clark," Jefferson answered. He gave his attention back
to Justin. "May I see your identification, please?"
They were in a state called Virginia. It was a democracy of sorts. They spoke
an English not much different from that of the home timeline. Even so, Justin
couldn't tell them to get lost, not unless he wanted to see the inside of a
cell in nothing flat. He'd already found that his forged documents were good
enough to pass muster. All the same, his heart thumped as he handed them over.
Senior Agent Jefferson examined them with a lens and with an electronic
gadget, then nodded and passed them back. Justin tried not to show how
relieved he was as he stuck them in his wallet and put the wallet in his
pocket.
"Thank you," Jefferson said, plainly not meaning it in the least. "Please
describe how you found Charles Clark's body. You were not alone on Jephany
Knob when you did is that correct?"
"Yes, uh, sir," Justin answered. Jefferson had to know that. He would have
talked with Sheriff Cochrane. If he hadn't, he wouldn't be in Elizabeth at
all. Had he already talked to Beckie? Justin wouldn't have been surprised. He
said, "Do you people want to come in instead of standing in the doorway?"
"Thank you," the senior agent said again, this time with a little more warmth
in his voice. The three VBI men walked into the motel room and sat down on the
ratty couch. Without missing a beat, Jefferson continued, "Who was with you?"
"Beckie Royer," Justin said.
"From California." That was Agent Tyler. In the home timeline, people from
states like Virginia sometimes looked down their noses at Californians and
vice versa. It seemed all the more true here, where the two states really were
separate countries instead of just acting that way.
Justin only nodded. He couldn't very well deny that Beckie was from
California. "Nice-looking girl," Agent Madison remarked, as if cutting him
some slack. He nodded again. Madison asked, "Why did you go up onto the knob?"
"Just to have something to do. It was nice to get out after the rain." Justin
made a face. "If I knew we'd find a body up there, we would have gone
somewhere else, believe me."
He got a thin smile from Madison, a stony stare from Jefferson, and a dirty
look from Tyler. "How did you find the body?"
"We smelled it." Justin would never forget that odor for the rest of his life.
"He must have been dead a couple of days by then. The smell led me to the
body, and I saw the gun by it. That's when I called the sheriff." They
couldn't think there was anything wrong with that. . . could they?
"You were not on Jephany Knob while the thunderstorm was at its peak?" Senior
Agent Jefferson asked. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]