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When we pulled up in front of Chance's A-frame, I grabbed my laptop bag and purse, and headed up to the back of Tom's Truck.
"Do we want to take this in or leave it here until we get to that part of the story?" he asked.
"I'm thinking we leave it here. If not, I'm pretty sure everyone's focus will be on the feather. We'll get to it, but I think we should talk about the implications of the government facility first.”
I realized on the drive to Chance's that I didn't really know if we were dealing with two separate problems or just one. Was all of this, even the secret facility, somehow cryptid related, or was the cryptid thing an entirely different issue?
Chance came out on his porch, and he watched us as we talked beside the truck then walked up to the house. He shook Tom's hand and patted his back as men do. "Glad to see she didn't take you out too."
"It was close, but I survived," Tom said, throwing a grin my way.
The picture of him knocked off balance by the pine cone flashed before my eyes, and I realized I could have added another victim to my list.
"Glad you made it back safe," Chance said as he closed the door and followed me to the kitchen. "Was the trip worthwhile?"
"We'll let you guys decide, once you hear what we found," Tom said, pouring himself a cup of coffee from the pot on the counter. "Want a cup, Everly?"
"Yes, please," I said.
"Everly, can I talk with you in the other room for a minute, before Jim gets here?" Chance asked.
"Sure." I took my mug of coffee from Tom and followed Chance down the hall to the laundry room. Chance pushed himself up and sat on the dryer.
"Close the door, would you?"
I did. "What's going on, Chance? Did something happen, while we were gone?"
"All is well, City Girl. I just wanted a minute to find out how your trip was."
"It was fine. I don't want to replay the details twice."
"Did you find what Harry wanted us to see?"
"We think so."
"Were you OK with Tom?"
"It was fine," I said, happy that I heard Jim talking to Tom in the kitchen. I moved to help Chance down from his perch.
"I got it," he said as he lowered his feet to floor and my eyes locked onto his bulging biceps. His grin told me he knew I was looking.
Let's go," he said, as he opened the door and shepherded me out with a hand on my back.
Jim greeted me with a friendly hug and a whispered, "Are you OK?"
I nodded.
Jim brought a crockpot full of chili. He plugged it in on the counter and tested it with a spoon. "It's still hot, so help yourselves," he said. While we ate we only discussed the trip in generic terms. When we finished, Chance and I cleaned up while Jim set up the recorder on the kitchen table.
"I figured we would want to continue recording these sessions," Jim said. We all nodded.
"Tom, why don't' you start," I said. "I'll jump in."
There really wasn't much to tell until my breakdown, and I hoped Tom remembered our deal. "At one point, Everly thought something or someone was following us, but we took precautions and saw nothing until we got to the location Harry specified."
"Wait," I said, holding up my hand like I was directing traffic.
"What's up?" Chance asked. "We're just getting to the important part."
"Just give me a minute," I said, heading for the bathroom as an excuse for my interruption. In truth, I realized that I wondered if Chance or Jim knew about the facility we found. I'd like to be able to watch both of their faces when Tom told them about the fence, but the best I could do was pick one to focus on initially and hope that Jim's comments might let me know how surprised he was by the news. I thought about asking Tom to watch Jim's expression, but I didn't think he'd react well to the idea that I still didn't trust them completely.
When I was back in my seat, I told Tom to continue, and I focused my attention on Chance.
"We realized, with only the coordinates and no idea what we were looking for, we might have to do some searching," Tom said. "In the end, it was obvious. He pulled up the photo on his phone and handed it first to Chance and then to Jim. Perfect. I was able to watch both reactions. They were both surprised.
"There's some sort of secret government facility out there?" Chance said. "How is that possible? You know how the rumor mill is here. I've never heard any hint of something like that."
"Me either," Jim said. "I haven't lived here as long as you two," he said, nodding to Jim and Tom, but I've never heard a whisper of that kind of thing."
"That's it then. Harry and my dad must have stumbled across this place at some point and wanted to make sure someone knew about it. Any idea what they're doing out there?"
"Let me finish the story," Tom said. He told them about watching through the binoculars when the guards arrived.
"I had seen something big pass overhead and watched something fall from it," I said. "I went off to find what fell to the ground. I was in the woods, when the guards showed up."
Without telling them about the feather, I explained about seeing the guards with Tom. I told them I circled around to hear what was going on and my decision to stay hidden. They both told me I made the right choice.
Tom and I tried to remember every detail we could about the guards to answer the questions Jim and Chance asked. What color were the uniforms? Were there any patches on them? Any symbols on the uniforms or the signs? How tall was the fence? Was it electrified? Tom and I answered the questions as best we could.
Jim switched off the recorder. "Let's take a break. I think we need to regroup."
I went out to Snickety to retrieve the box of my favorite Earl Grey Tea I kept in there for emergencies. I hadn't realized that Jim followed me out. "How do you feel about all this?" he asked.
"I'm still not sure. I get that if Harry knew about that place he'd want to tell someone, but why not just put it in a letter. Why did we need to go see it for ourselves?"
"Maybe because he knew it would be hard for anyone who lived around here to believe."