Jayne Krentz - Dawn in Eclipse Bay

The Heralds regarded Lillian and Gabe with serenely polite expressions.

Arizona took up a position at the head of the table and fixed everyone in turn with a steely look.

“Gabe, Lillian, meet Photon, Rainbow, Daybreak, Dawn, and Beacon.” She gave the Heralds a pointed look. “Gabe and Lillian are friends of mine. Take it from me, you can trust ’em. Fact is, in this town, you can trust anyone with the last name of Harte or Madison.”

Lillian nodded, determined to be polite. “Good morning.”

Gabe inclined his head in an easy greeting. He set his mug down on a nearby table and took a bite of one of the muffins on his plate.

“Great corn bread,” he said.

Photon, the man with the shaved head who seemed to be in charge, said, “Thank you. We do our best to introduce the light of future history into all our products. But we’re only human. Sometimes our negative thoughts get into the dough in spite of our best efforts.”

“Light’s your secret ingredient, huh?” Gabe picked up the remaining portion of the muffin. “Works for me.” He took another bite.

Arizona picked up a large rolling pin and rapped it smartly on the table to get everyone’s attention.

“Enough with the chitchat,” she said. “Got a briefing to get through here. Not like we have time to waste. The future of this town, not to mention the whole country, is hanging in the balance.”

Everyone obediently moved a little closer to the table.

Arizona cleared her throat loudly.

“Now, then, as I was sayin’ before I heard Lillian and Gabe out front, I’ve put the evidence together and it’s become real clear why they’re building the new wing at the institute. Official word, of course, is that it’s supposed to be additional office and conference space.” She broke off to give everyone at the table a meaningful look. “But I think everyone here knows that’s just another one of their lies.”

Lillian studied the map spread out on the table. It showed the hillside above town where the Eclipse Bay Policy Studies Institute was located. A handful of photos that looked as if they had been snapped with a long-range lens were scattered around the edges. They were pictures of what was obviously a construction zone at the institute. She could make out a truck and something that looked like electrical equipment.

Gabe leaned over the photos. “Good long-range recon shots, A.Z.”

“Thanks.” A.Z. allowed herself a proud smile. “Took ’em with my new surveillance camera. A genuine VPX 5000. Latest model. Replaces the old 4000 series. Telephoto lens, sniper grip shutter release trigger. Half a dozen filters for day and night photo work. And a real nice leather carrying case.”

“I hate to sound like just another naïve, innocent dupe,” Lillian said, “but what makes you think they aren’t adding office and conference space?”

“Number of factors.” Arizona motioned toward the map with the rolling pin. “First, increased volume of traffic in this sector during the past six months.”

“Are we talking out-of-town traffic?” Gabe asked.

“We are, for sure,” Arizona said.

“Huh.” Gabe took another bite of the muffin. “That’s suspicious, all right.”

“For heaven’s sake,” said Lillian. “Everyone knows the institute has been growing rapidly for some time now. They give seminars, receptions, and political theory retreats on a regular basis. In addition, they provided the springboard for Trevor Thornley’s campaign. It’s only natural that there would be a lot of traffic.”

Arizona squinted. “Cover, is what it is. All that political think-tank stuff and those seminars and such make good camouflage for concealing what’s really goin’ on up there. Furthermore, the traffic volume didn’t fall off for long after Thornley pulled out of the campaign. No sir. There was a brief lull, but by the end of November, there were more vehicles than ever going in and out of there.”

“Sounds serious, all right,” Gabe concurred. “What other factors besides increased traffic point to a clandestine operation?”

“Oh, geez,” Lillian muttered. No one paid any attention.

“Most of the construction work on the new wing is being done by contractors who aren’t from around here,” Arizona said ominously.

“Heard something about that.” Gabe examined another photo. “My brother said the Willis brothers didn’t get a chunk of the construction action.”

“No, they didn’t and that tells us a lot, doesn’t it?” Arizona said.

“Uh, what, exactly, does it tell us?” Lillian asked cautiously.

“That they didn’t want no one from around here getting a close look at what’s going on up there,” Arizona announced. “That’s what it tells us.”

“Probably knew the Willis brothers couldn’t be bribed to keep their mouths shut if they saw something suspicious,” Gabe said. “Everyone knows how Walter and Torrance talk.”

Lillian had an urge to stomp hard on the toe of his large running shoe. She managed, with an effort, to resist.

“Stands to reason they would bring in outside contractors when you think about it,” she said quickly. “Hannah and Rafe have been keeping the Willis brothers busy for months turning Dreamscape into an inn. They wouldn’t have had time to work on the new wing.”

They all ignored her. So much for being the voice of reason, she thought.

“Volume of overnight and regular freight deliveries has picked up recently, too,” Arizona droned on. “I staked out the loading dock for a couple of days. Took a whole series of shots with the VPX 5000. Amazing how much equipment and material is being moved into that place.”

“High-tech stuff?” Gabe asked.

“You bet. Tons of it.”

Gabe looked up from the photos. “What about heavy-duty heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning equipment?”

Lillian glared at him. He paid no attention. He was really getting into this, she realized with a shock. Enjoying himself.

Arizona gave him an approving look. “They started unloading HVAC crates last week. Got ’em on film.”

Gabe shook his head. “Not good.”

The Heralds murmured among themselves, obviously agreeing with that conclusion.

“What do you mean, it’s not a good sign?” Lillian knew her voice was rising but there was nothing she could do about it. She was getting desperate. “Any large, modern business structure needs a lot of computers and commercial-grade heating and air-conditioning equipment.”

This time she was totally ignored.

“I’d estimate their security level as Class Three at the moment,” Arizona said. “Fences have gone up around the construction perimeter.”

“Perfectly normal,” Lillian said. “The last thing the institute would want is a lawsuit filed by someone who happened to trip and fall over a pile of pipes.”

“Guards on the premises?” Gabe asked.

“Yep. Disguised as low-profile security, though,” Arizona said. “Didn’t see any weapons. Probably knew that would attract too much attention in a small town like this where there’s not much of a crime problem. Expect they’ll wait until after the big move before they go to Class Two status and arm the guards.”

Lillian clutched her untouched croissant. “What are you talking about? What big move?”

“We all know what’s happening up there,” Arizona said. “Problem is, we’ve got no hard evidence yet. I’m stepping up my surveillance work, though. I’ll try to get us some pictures that we can take to the media.”

“You’re a true hero, Arizona.” Photon looked at her with unconcealed admiration. “If it hadn’t been for you, we wouldn’t have had a clue. Who knows how long Project Transfer would have gone undetected?”

Lillian was amazed to see Arizona turn pink.

“Just doin’ my duty.”

“It’s people like you who keep this country safe for democracy,” Gabe said.

“Excuse me.” Lillian held up her hand. “As the sole representative of the naïve, innocent dupes of Eclipse Bay, I would like to ask a question.”

“Go right ahead,” Arizona said.

“What, precisely, do you think is going on up at the institute, A.Z.? What is this Project Transfer you mentioned?”

Arizona made atut-tut sound.

The Heralds shook their heads sadly at Lillian’s failure to grasp the obvious.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Gabe hide a quick grin behind his coffee mug.

“Thought it was as plain as the white lines out on the highway,” Arizona said. “The secret gov’mint agency in charge of Roswell and the Area 51 facility has decided it’s attracting too much attention. The Internet was what did ’em in, I reckon. After those satellite images of the old test site went online, they knew they had a real problem. That’s probably when they started making plans.”

Gabe nodded knowingly. “Had a feeling those mysterious fires in New Mexico a while back weren’t accidental.”

“You got that right,” Arizona said. “No such thing as an accident where this bunch is concerned.”

“Plans to dowhat?” Lillian demanded.

Arizona rocked back and forth in her boots and looked grim. “Pretty clear they’re gonna transfer the bodies of those extraterrestrials they’ve got in deep freeze in Area 51 along with the remains of their spaceship and all that alien technology right here to Eclipse Bay.”

Gabe got into the passenger side of Lillian’s car and closed the door. “Makes sense when you think about it.”

“What makes sense?” Lillian turned the key in the ignition and checked the rearview mirror.

“Transferring those frozen aliens and their UFO equipment here. Who’d ever think to look for them in Eclipse Bay?”