Route 1 proved to be closer, in actual practice, to a parking lot than a major highway, but at least it gave the team plenty of time to compare notes. Derek patched in the other vehicle via cell phone, although he knew it would mostly be Mitchell doing the talking. Francis was typically more interested in shooting than research, whether it was with a camera or a gun.
Derek went over the basic details of the case. He knew everyone had read the briefing beforehand, but he always liked to make sure they were all on the same page, especially since they had a meet and greet scheduled at the state capital before being allowed to do their jobs.
“Probably want to make sure we dance like good monkeys,” Francis commented.
After Derek was done, Danni recounted her notes from the archive files.
“See what I mean about it being a dead end?” Derek remarked when she had finished.
“Yeah, I guess so,” she replied, still inching along with the traffic. “Although that whole town-wide exorcism was a little freaky.”
“Leave that stuff to the ghost hunters,” Mitchell said from over the speaker.
“Mitch is right,” Derek replied. “I’m not quite ready to chalk this up to the metaphysical. Besides, if there is a devil, I’m sure there are far more interesting places for him than some unoccupied marshlands.”
Danni shrugged. “I know. I’m not trying to suggest there’s anything supernatural here. It’s just weird. That priest put on a show for everyone and voila, the Jersey Devil mysteriously stayed quiet for sixty years.”
“Coincidence,” Francis said.
“More likely it was power of suggestion,” Mitchell offered. “The locals believed their personal boogeyman was banished, so he was. They told their kids and so on. Fast forward a couple of generations, people start to forget the stories. Tensions are running high. The U.S. is just pulling out of the Great Depression, and suddenly Germany is beating the war drums again. People needed a distraction so, much like magic, the devil showed up again.”
“And then people got distracted in a whole other direction by World War Two,” Danni surmised.
“Exactly.”
“I guess that makes sense.”
“Nothing about this cryptid makes a lot of sense,” Derek replied. “That’s why nobody takes it seriously. It has all the hallmarks of an urban legend that just won’t die.”
“Isn’t that why we’re here?” joked Francis, making a kapow noise.
“I doubt it. My guess would be those people simply got lost.”
Mitchell chimed in to agree. “The Barrens are half forest, half swamp. They could have easily fallen in a sinkhole or stepped in some quicksand.”
“Not a pleasant way to go,” Danni said.
Derek chuckled. “Contrary to popular belief, outside of dying in my sleep of extreme old age, I can’t think of too many ways to go that I would classify as pleasant.”
“Death by snu-snu comes to mind,” Francis replied from the speaker.
“What’s that?” Danni asked.
“You don’t watch much TV, do you?”
“Never have.”
“Your loss. It’s a damn funny show.”
Derek sighed. “Can we stay on topic, please?”
“Yes, Mom,” Francis replied with a laugh.
“The other possibility, as I see it,” Mitchell said, steering the conversation back toward being serious, “is human-related.”
“Murder?” Danni asked.
“Maybe.”
“What do we do if that’s the case?”
“Call America’s Most Wanted,” Francis replied. “That’s more their line of work.”
Derek nodded toward the speaker and said, “We call in the authorities and bow out gracefully. I don’t care who’s pulling the strings – we’re not anyone’s private police force.”
♦ ♦ ♦
The rest of the trip was spent discussing the flora and fauna of the Pine Barrens and considering whether any native species might be responsible for the disappearances. Alas, there weren’t many top predators to point the finger at. Black bears were known in the area, but encounters with them were usually easily avoided. Everything else was either too small or a prey animal. More and more, Derek began to suspect the true culprit was simply human error. People got lost in the woods and died. It was something that, unfortunately, happened. One didn’t need a swamp monster or living dinosaur to blame for ninety-nine percent of such happenings.
At last, they entered the Trenton city limits. Francis commented, “Lovely. Reminds me of Detroit,” right before Derek disconnected the call. It was time to focus on finding their destination amidst the winding streets.
A few minutes later, having been guided by GPS, Derek informed Danni, “Pull into that garage.”
“This the place?”
“We’re a couple of blocks south of the capitol building – close enough to meet with whoever wants to talk to us, but far enough away so that nobody sees us coming in.”
She turned on the lights so as to navigate the parking garage. “So we’re their dirty little secret?”
“Aren’t we always?”
They drove the SUVs to the top floor. There, standing in front of an elevator, were two men in suits. Upon seeing the vehicles, they waved them over and directed them to park.
Derek wasn’t looking forward to this. He just barely tolerated their producers back west. Politicians were often far more than he could stomach. That the governor of New Jersey had pulled strings and not been shy with his threats told him there was a better than average chance he was going to loathe the man.
The team parked and stepped from their vehicles. With Derek in the lead, they approached the suited men.
One of the duo stepped forward and addressed them. “Dr. Derek Jenner?”
“Yes. And this is my team.”
“I’m Eric Zeist, Governor Yarlberg’s personal security director.”
“A pleasure to meet you, Mr. Zeist. Now if you could just tell us where...”
“All in good time. For now, I must ask that you leave your possessions locked in your vehicles.”
Derek chuckled at what he presumed to be a joke. “We haven’t unpacked the cameras. Not much point looking for monsters in the middle of the city.”
“I meant whatever armaments you might be carrying. We’re aware of what you really do.”
“They told you?!” Francis cried from the rear.
Derek turned and gave him a warning glance before continuing. “That’s highly unusual. If you know what we do, then you know we’re considered undercover federal agents reporting to the Department of...”
“We are also well aware of that,” Eric interrupted. “You can rest assured that the governor has the proper clearance and has only informed those on his staff who can be trusted.”
Those who can be trusted? Derek was tempted to inform the man that this wasn’t the way items of a sensitive nature were handled. For all he knew, the good governor also included his drinking buddies as those he trusted. Derek made a mental note to discuss this in depth with Norah once he had a moment. Elected officials, including the one who’d summoned them, weren’t the only ones with friends in high places.
“Now, if you’ll please raise your arms, this will only take a moment,” Eric continued. He motioned to the other man, who produced a portable metal detector.
“Do you think we came all this way just to shoot your boss?” Danni asked.
“We don’t joke about those types of things, miss,” he replied emotionlessly. “Now, kindly do as you’re told.”
Derek spoke up before anyone else on his team could say something that would only make the situation worse. “It’s okay. When in Rome...” He lifted his arms and stepped forward to let the man scan him.
He finished the rest of his thought silently, reminding himself that just before the fall of the empire, Rome had become little more than a stinking cesspool.