The Secret of the Stones by Ernest Dempsey (reading fiction .TXT) 📕

We might get lucky and be able to trace exactly where he is.”

“Okay. Anything else? Fries? Milkshake?”

Trent released a forced laugh. “No. I’m good.”

“Sir, if you don’t mind me asking, why are you so interested in Sean Wyatt’s whereabouts? Do you think he might be connected to the Schultz kidnapping?”

Deciding that it would be okay for the younger cop to know a little, he simply answered, “Possibly. Just get me that info as soon as possible. You have my cell number?”

“Yes, sir. Got it right here.”

“Good. Call me when you get something.”

“Okay.”

“Oh, and Lynch…” Morris added.

“Yeah?”

“Don’t mention this to anyone. I’m not sure what is going on, but I don’t want too many people to know where we’re snooping.”

“Ten four.”

Morris hung up the phone as he pulled the car into his driveway. A few moments later, he was stumbling through the door like a drunk on a binge. He laid his keys down once again on the counter in the kitchen. “What a day,” he sighed, making his way into the bedroom without even turning on any lights. He let the softness of the mattress take him in as his body collapsed onto the bed.

27

Cartersville

Allyson looked skeptical, squinting her eyes slightly.

“There’s something else you need to realize about the Mormons’ relationship to the Indians,” Joe went on. “Remember, I mentioned they believed that Native Americans were actually the lost tribe of Israel.”

“What do you mean by lost tribe?” She was apparently unfamiliar.

Sean turned to her to explain. “The Church of Latter-day Saints believes that American Indians were actually a lost tribe of Israel from Biblical times. Although there are only a few vague scriptural references to such a group, the founding fathers of the church believed this firmly.”

Joe nodded in agreement. “Joseph Smith, the man who created the Mormon doctrine, claimed that while he was out in the woods one day, an angel came to him and told him to dig a hole. The angel said that he would find something amazing if Smith would do as he was told.

“Smith said that he eventually found two golden plates with strange inscriptions on them. On these plates, were supposedly the lost scriptures about Christ’s ministry to the Americas.”

“So what happened to these golden plates?” She asked.

“No one knows,” Joe replied. “In fact, Smith claimed that only he was allowed to see them. Many people were suspicious of such a claim. Smith had been a known charlatan. But some did believe him and supported his new ideas. This was essentially how the Church of Latter-day Saints came about.”

The picture was becoming a little clearer. Still, neither Sean nor Allyson was certain.

Joe could tell they weren’t sure, so he nailed home his main point. “You see, whether the Mormon beliefs are correct or not doesn’t matter to us. What matters is that they basically revered the Native Americans, almost as if they were gods among men. Some Mormons even believed that the Indians were actually angels.”

Sean put it all together to make sure he understood. “Ah. So if the people of the church helped the Indians or angels, as was believed, they would be rewarded by God.”

“Correct.” Joe smiled as he saw the realization on both of their faces.

“Now, the final piece of the puzzle is also the first piece,” he went on. “You see, it all comes back to the four Golden Chambers. Thousands have fought and died, searched and sacrificed, all to find the lost rooms of Akhanan. I would say that you two are probably closer than anyone has been in two thousand years. But before you can take the final step, you have to learn why it is that the chambers exist.”

“I thought you said they were ceremonial, used by the ancient Indians of the land,” Sean stated.

“Nope,” the grin never left the scruffy face. “I only said that was what everyone else believes. The real reason they are here goes much deeper.”

He turned all the way around, facing his computer. “How do you think the Native Americans got to this continent?”

The guests waited, unsure if the question was rhetorical or not. Sean decided to answer. “The mainstream historical theory as to how the Native Americans arrived is that they came across an ice bridge up in the Bering Sea.” He felt no reason to ask any more questions since there was a creeping feeling answers were coming soon anyway.

“Correct,” Joe said, a mischievous look on his face.

Sean continued, “But Tommy never believed that. In fact, when he discussed it with me several years ago, I had to agree that story did not make a whole lot of sense.”

“And why is that?”

Allyson leaned in closer to listen.

“Well, it would take extremely low temperatures, even for an ice age, to cause that amount of sea water to freeze over to the point where those two particular land masses could be connected.”

“Good point.” Joe took a sip from his fresh cup of coffee. “And it hardly seems that anyone would have been living up in Siberia at that point, much less have been able to survive the temperatures in that area during an ice age. And then, of course, the crossing of an ice bridge in itself would have posed many dangers. It is much more probable the Natives that settled in this part of the world would have arrived by a different means than some fanciful frozen ice overpass.”

At this point, Allyson had to speak up, “What exactly are you saying? If the Indians didn’t arrive that way, then how did they do it?”

“Sean, you want to take this one, or should I?” The man’s voice had somehow become even livelier with the current discussion.

“By all means, you’re the