Ghost Canyon (The John Decker Supernatural Thriller Series Book 7) by Anthony Strong (ebooks that read to you .TXT) 📕

“It flies too?” Now it was Fowler’s turn to look distressed. “How is that even possible?”

“How is a walking homicidal skeleton possible?” Decker countered. “Sometimes it’s better to worry less about the how, and a little more about the why. In this case, what purpose does the entity serve and who summoned it?”

“You think that abomination was put here deliberately?”

“I think it’s a strong possibility. How many other gold mines do you know that have their own resident murderous corpse?”

Fowler shrugged. “You’re the expert, I guess.”

“This is all very well,” Barnes said. “But it doesn’t get us anywhere. Regardless of its origin, we know there’s a creature that shouldn’t exist running around killing people, because we’ve seen it with our own eyes. Heck, it almost killed us. We know it can fly, which means it can cover longer distances than would be possible on foot, especially over this terrain.”

“We also know it didn’t leave the mine through this entrance,” Fowler added. “And if we work from Decker’s assumption that the creature uses the mine tunnels as its home base, that only leaves one conclusion.”

“It’s getting in and out through a second location,” Decker said. “One that must have also been opened recently, because the killings only started when the geologists entered the mine.”

“Robyn never mentioned blasting a second entrance, or even knowing one exists,” Fowler said.

“There would be no need for her to open another way into the mine,” Decker replied. “She only wants to run tours through the closest tunnels to the surface. She won’t be going deep, for liability reasons, as much as anything else. We can check with her when we return, but I don’t expect her to be any help in this matter.”

“That tears it, then.” Barnes peered past the locked gate into the dark tunnel beyond. “We could wander around this desert for six months and not find another entrance.”

“Which is why we aren’t going to conduct our search on foot.” Decker glanced skyward and watched the still circling hawk for a moment. “We need a higher vantage point. We need to be in the air.”

“A helicopter?” Fowler’s demeanor brightened at this idea.

“Precisely. It will enable us to cover a lot of ground in a short amount of time. I don’t suppose you’d have one on hand?”

“Sure. It’s tucked away in my desk back at the field office.” The sarcasm in Fowler’s voice was hard to miss. “I was kind of hoping your organization might arrange one. They appear to have their fingers in every pie.”

“I’m sure I could arrange it,” Decker agreed. “But we don’t have time to throw it up the chain of command and see what shakes loose. Besides, I’d rather keep my organization’s involvement in this under the radar.”

“What about LVMPD?” Barnes asked. “They have helicopters.”

“And you think they’ll just lend one to us? After all, they contacted us for help with this and we sent everyone home, including their SWAT team.” Fowler didn’t look convinced. “Against normal operating protocol, I might add. The FBI doesn’t take over, we assist.”

“They’ll lend us one if we give them a good enough excuse.”

“Like?”

“We’ll tell them we have a missing person, possibly abducted. We can say they’ll get credit for the recovery. They’re always looking for good press.”

“And if they prevaricate, we’ll remind them of the bad press if they don’t work with us and provide a helicopter.”

“My thoughts exactly,” Barnes said.

“Then what are we waiting for?” Fowler asked. “Let’s get back to town and make it happen.”

“And get some breakfast,” Barnes added.

“Naturally. Robyn makes a mean pancake.” Fowler looked at Decker. “You ready to go flying?”

“The quicker the better,” Decker replied. He hoped their plan worked, because if they failed, more innocent people would end up dead once the sun went down.

Chapter Fifty

Two hours after returning to town, Decker stood on the veranda of the Last Chance Hotel and Saloon and watched an Airbus H145 helicopter painted in the black and white livery of the Las Vegas Police Department fly into view over the scraggy peaks of the mountainous terrain.

As it circled and came in for a landing, the two FBI agents exited the hotel, along with Robyn. Further away, standing in the doorway of his shack, Decker could see Carlton shielding his eyes against the sun to watch the large helicopter touch down.

“Told you our cover story would work,” Barnes said with a grin.

“Never doubted you,” Decker replied as the aircraft came to rest on a patch of barren land at the far end of town. He stepped between the two agents, descended the veranda steps, and started toward the waiting copter. “Let’s get this taken care of.”

“You don’t need to tell me twice,” Fowler said, falling in behind.

Leaving Robyn to watch, the three men made their way toward the helicopter. As they neared, Decker ducked instinctively to avoid the spinning rotor blades, and approached the aircraft side door, which now stood open. A man in an orange jumpsuit and crash helmet appeared in the door to greet them.

“You must be the FBI team,” the man said, raising his voice over the helicopter’s twin engines.

Decker nodded.

“Great. Climb aboard.” He stepped aside and waited until all three were in the cabin before sliding the door closed. The noise level dropped by half.

“Welcome aboard,” a fresh voice said.

Decker turned to see a pilot sitting up front in an a glass cockpit that surrounded him like a bubble. “Glad to be here.”

“I’m Officer Michael Glendale. You can call me Mike.” The pilot replied. “My colleague is Officer Robbie Parsons.”

“Hey.” The man who’d met them at the helicopter’s door raised a hand.

“Dispatch says you’re looking for a missing person with a possible abduction element,” Glendale said. “You know which way they might be heading?”

“Not for sure. The Ghost Canyon Mine is close by. We think they might take shelter in an old entrance or ventilation tunnel,” Decker replied, sticking to the story details he and the two FBI agents