51: The Series

51: The Beginning Chapter 13

Wren drove Dillon to school and then went shopping to stock up on the junk food he had promised Lindsay before she ever woke up. He found her favorite pizza, ice cream, chips, orange soda, and everything needed to make loaded nachos. Wren loved doing stuff like that for her and Dillon. He hoped that Lindsay would still be asleep by the time he got back to the house. When he got home, he carried everything inside and checked on Lindsay to see if she was awake. He was relieved to find that she was still asleep with Crook next to her. He began to cook and laughed at the fact that he was cooking pizza and nachos before 9 a.m.

Lindsay awoke to the smell of the food being cooked. She was sure there were better ways to wake up, but she could not think of any now because she was starving. She walked into the kitchen and found Wren pulling pizzas out of the oven. He had already finished everything for the nachos, and there were a dozen doughnuts on the counter. She picked her favorite out of the box and began to eat.

“You cops and your doughnuts,” Wren said, shaking his head and smiling.

“Yup, and I can’t help but notice that one was missing before I took this one,” Lindsay answered.

“That’s not my fault. I had to check the quality on the way home,” he said. “Everything is cooked, and I have a selection of movies and TV shows ready to watch whenever you are ready.”

“Then let’s get started. I think I will stick with a couple of doughnuts for now,” Lindsay said.

They made their way to the couch and began the TV marathon. Lindsay had stuck with her two doughnuts, but Wren made up for it. He had put most of a pizza on his plate and carried it, two sodas, and a bag of chips. When he had said they would have a day of junk food, he had not been joking.

They watched movies until noon, and by then, Lindsay was getting restless. She wanted to enjoy the last day she was taking off to heal, but not being at work was driving her crazy. They had just finished the second movie and had to go outside for some fresh air.

“Babe, I think I am going to get a plate of nachos and eat them on the front porch. Do you want to join me?” she asked Wren.

“That sounds like a great idea,” he answered.

They made their plates, went out onto the porch, and sat down. Crook had followed them outside and was lying on the porch between them. Lindsay heard a strange crunch and looked to see that Wren was feeding Crook chips out of one of the bags. Just as she settled in and took her first bite, she saw someone pulling into the driveway. It was Little Bob, and he was followed closely by the game warden. They both got out of their vehicles and walked onto the porch.

“Gentlemen, I can tell from the looks on your faces that this is not a social call,” Lindsay said, looking at them.

“No, it isn’t,” Little Bob said. “I thought you should know about a few things that happened last night and this morning.”

“OK. Let me have it,” Lindsay said.

Mike explained, “First, I have been finding some strange things. It is getting close to turkey season, so I have been out checking for anyone baiting them. I have been finding branches high in the trees broken off and on the ground. I found what looked like some kind of nest in one of the trees, but it wasn’t from anything I could recognize. There have also been some strange kills that I couldn’t even begin to tell you what did them.”

“What area have you been finding these things in?” she asked.

“That is the problem. I have been finding them all over the county,” Mike said.

“OK, and what about you, Bob?” she asked.

“Well, what I have is odd. Max came in this morning, and he was very excited. He said he saw something fly in front of his car. I don’t even know how to explain it to you. He went and pulled the memory card from the car camera, and I think you had better watch it,” Little Bob said, holding out a tablet for Lindsay to view the recording.

“You will want to watch between 03:12 and 03:16 this morning to see what he saw,” Bob told her.

Lindsay took the tablet and began to scan the files from the camera memory card to find the correct ones. She found it and started to watch. Everything seemed to be perfectly normal for being on patrol at 3 a.m. in the middle of nowhere. She had just reached the time stamp 03:12 in the clip when she heard a screech of some kind and could see something near the top of the windshield of Max’s car. She watched carefully and could hear more shrieks and see more movement above the vehicle at the edge of the camera’s view. Then she saw it but could not believe it. It looked like a flying monkey. She watched the clip a couple of more times and then began to laugh. She looked at Little Bob and Mike and handed the tablet over to Wren for him to watch.

“You two have got to be kidding me,” she said. “A freaking flying monkey? Max is just messing with you.”

“How could he mess with us like that?” Little Bob asked.

“You don’t know about Max’s hobby? He makes computer-animated short films that he posts online. He’s very good at it. Bob, did you see him take that memory card out of the car’s camera?” Lindsay asked.

“Well, no, but I had no reason to doubt what he said,” Little Bob answered.

“It is a video of a flying monkey. Unless you see a house flying through the air or a girl wearing red shoes asking for directions in the middle of the forest, you should doubt that it is real,” Lindsay told him.

“Mike, as for what you have been finding, I don’t have a good answer. But I can say with almost complete certainty that a flying monkey is not involved in that either,” she said to Mike.

They all turned and looked at Wren. He had begun to laugh so hard that he choked. After a brief coughing fit, he recovered.

“I would like to give you my professional opinion on this flying monkey. Max is very good at messing with you, but I can assure you, there are no flying monkeys anywhere on this planet,” Wren said as he handed the tablet to Lindsay, who then gave it back to Little Bob.

“Sorry, guys. I wish I could give you more help. Can you pass on that I will be back in the office tomorrow, and I would like to talk with Max in my office at 8 a.m.?” she said. “Are you two hungry? We have plenty if you want some,” Lindsay offered.

“Thanks, but no. We actually had the same thought as the two of you and stopped and had Mexican for lunch before we came up here,” Mike said.

“Seriously, Mike, if you keep finding weird things, will you please let me know? I would like to see some of it for myself. As strange as it sounds, it might not be a bad idea to take Cat out to see some of it, too. She has a background and education that might be a big asset,” Lindsay said.

“Do you mean your dispatcher, Cat?” Mike asked with surprise.

“Yes, she has bachelor’s degrees in biology, criminal justice, and forensic science and a master’s in forensics. Trust me. She could help. She also has amazing skills with computers and anything administrative,” she said.

“Wow. I just thought Cat was a stripper that the old sheriff hired because he liked the way she looked. I had no idea she had that kind of education,” Mike said.

“Most people don’t know, and I think she likes it that way. And she isn’t a stripper. She is, however, a dominatrix and alternative model,” Lindsay said.

“I think we need to go and let the two of you enjoy the rest of your day. I will make sure that Max knows he is to meet with you at 8 a.m. tomorrow,” Little Bob said.

Lindsay watched Mike and Little Bob walk to their vehicles, get in, and leave. She took a few more bites of the nachos she had been holding while they were there. She could not believe the flying monkey video Max claimed he had recorded only hours earlier.

“What are you thinking about, Linz?” Wren asked after a few moments.

“The craziness of that video. I mean, seriously, a flying monkey. What was Max thinking?” Lindsay said.

She looked at the food left on her plate. She carefully checked her plate, ensuring nothing could make the Crook sick, before setting it in front of him. He happily wagged his tail as he licked the plate clean.

“I want you to know that, as far as I know, there is nothing that would look like that. There are some unusual things in the woods around here, but flying monkeys are not on the list,” Wren told her.

“I am almost positive that Max made that video. He is good at it. I asked him once why he didn’t do it full-time. His explanation was it was fun as a hobby, but the only job he had ever wanted was to be a cop. I think that if he didn’t make that video, he knows who did,” Lindsay said.

“Why would he give it to Little Bob and Mike?”

“That is simple. Max wanted to pull a joke on them. I am surprised that you haven’t figured out by now that both Bobs and Max are just fifteen-year-old boys trapped in the bodies of adults. They have pulled pranks on each other for as long as I have known them, even before they all worked together. I doubt it will stop anytime soon, which is OK. Honestly, it is kind of fun to watch things between them. Two weeks ago, Big Bob put a snake in Max’s desk for him. Three days later, Max put a dead fish in the engine of Big Bob’s patrol car. It took him two days to find it, which also told me that he was not inspecting his car daily the way he should. That car still smells a little funny. At least I hope it is the car,” Lindsay told Wren.

“How does Mike Sims get mixed up in this?” Wren asked.

“Where do you think the snake and the fish came from?” Lindsay asked with a smile.

“That is just wrong. How could they waste a perfectly good fish like that,” Wren said, laughing. “I think it is time for us to stop thinking about work. I also think we both need ice cream and to watch something on one of the many educational channels we get on the satellite.”

“That sounds perfect,” she said as she picked up the plate, which was still in front of Crook. They all went inside and settled in to continue their day of watching TV and eating junk food.