FP-S2: “What in Tarnation?!”

Saturday, 20 Oct, 5pm: With Mary offering fresh fish, they had an hour to kill before dinner. So, Clive got on the phone to call the university while Marcus and James checked with the General Store one last time. Leaving Harold and Bryon to check Dr. Baker’s room.

• Clive called the Cincinnati Paleo Dept, “Good evening Joanne. I’m glad I caught you before you left. We arrived on time but no-one from Dr. Baker’s team is here to meet us. We’re surprised to learn they are actually camping onsite instead of returning to the hotel each night. He’s probably so excited about his finds that he completely forgot. I’m surprised Victoria or his staff didn’t remind him. [Teasing] See there, you let him out of your sight, and everything falls to pieces. Sure you don’t want to be out here? Ha. I’ll update you by phone or telegram once we meet up with him.”
• Marcus and James stepped into the General Store, “Hello Ma. We’re also from the new dig team. Just wanted to add a few things to our order. Like oatmeal.” Ma ambled over to the large bags to scoop their order. “What in tarnation?!” She dumped the scoop in the trash and opened another bag causing Marcus to ask why. “We got mealie-worms. This newer bag looks OK.” Marcus joked to James, “We’ll let Bryon eat first to see if he finds any ‘raisins’.” James commented to Ma, “We heard about your spoiled eggs. Do you have a refrigerator or moisture problem?” Marcus added, “How about including a couple jars of Peanut-butter and Honey. Those shouldn’t spoil.”
• Harold and Bryon climbed the hotel stairs, “Which room was Dr. Bakers?” Harold jiggled room#9’s knob finding it locked. Byron announced he’d go ask Jonathan for a key, “I’ll make an excuse why we need in.” Harold confirmed, “You do that. I’ll see just how locked the door is.” Byron knew what that meant and hustled off, wanting none of that burglary. Why Harold had a hairpin…the door opened and he stepped in, closed the door, and turned on the light.

Byron rung the desk-bell, “Jonathan, can I get Dr. Baker’s room key please? The professors want to see if he left us a note in his room or if there is anything we should bring along, he forgot to retrieve.” Jonathan hesitant as he questioned the young student’s intent, “We’re a respectable hotel. Guests wouldn’t like us letting anyone into their rooms.” And that’s when Clive rounded the corner from the phone booth, “Anything wrong? Mr. Phillips is right. Dr. Baker takes medication. Since he hasn’t returned, it probably best we bring his extra med.” Jonathan accepted that explanation, “Well, I guess that’s OK. But I’ll escort you to make it proper.”

Harold surveyed the room: clean, bed made. And a large site map pinned to the wall. Which fit nicely folded inside his vest. 

As he continued to scan, he saw bones and an oddly shaped stone on the nightstand. That had a glyph etched on one end and patterns etched across its surface. And that’s when he heard footsteps approaching. Jonathan paused at the door, “Here’s Dr. Baker’s room.” Quickly stuffing the stone into his pocket, Harold looked for a place to hide. He opened the wardrobe closet and pushed the cloths aside to climb in and close the door just as the room door opened.

Jonathan surprised, “Hum, the light is on. I’ll have to talk to the maid.” Byron trying to distract Jonathan from finding Harold asked, “Could you show me to Henry Bates room? The poor boy suffers asthma and might have his extra Epineprine shots in his room.” Jonathan excused himself to the front desk to look up which room. Which gave all a chance to search the room. The bones on the nightstand caught Clive's eyes, “Are these the bones from our university?” As  he picked one up to examine, moist dirt stained his fingers, “He must have found these onsite. Strange ridges. Reminds me of spinal vertebra. Dr Coppersmith, care to take a look.”

James inspected the bones, “I’d guess them from Therapods which have opposable-thumbs. 2-legged meat-eaters versus your plant-eating quadrupeds found in those Nebraska Ashfall Fossil Beds.” As Clive scanned the desk [Spot-extreme] he noticed a crumpled letter in the wastebasket. “Looks like our young fisherman is a playful scamp, throwing stones at the professors as they dug. Dr. Baker must have been interrupted while he wrote the letter to Mr. Penman. The letter incomplete. Or he changed his mind and decided not to get Matthew in trouble.”

And that’s when Harold exited the wardrobe closet surprising all. Just before Jonathan and Byron returned. Jonathan felt uncomfortable with the large crowd, “I think you’ve gathered what you need. If you’ll please follow me out. Professor Hall, please leave those bones on the doctor’s desk. He brought those in from the field; so, I can’t see a need for him to want them out there.” Clive caught red-handed trying to pocket the bones. Locking the door, Jonathan escorted Byron to Henry’s room #11. Marcus retired downstairs to the fireplace. Leaving the professors alone. Harold spoke up, “If you’ll join me in my room, I’d like to show you some other interesting finds.”

Harold removed the strange stone from his pocket and only now realized it cold. Shifting it hand-to-hand. Unconsciously rubbing his now-empty pant pocket (his thigh behind the pocket). The paleontologists immediately recognized the potato-sized stone, “That’s coprolite, dinosaur poop. The etchings are additions.” James pondered, “Maybe the neighboring Indians from the reservation found the coprolite and carved it as a token. My mother was Navaho, but I don’t remember them doing anything like this.”

Harold emptied his vest, “And Dr. Baker was kind enough to leave us a map of his dig progression. I don’t think we’ll need Matthew anymore to guide us.” A long discussion whether to go site-to-site or straight to site 4. “Their tardiness has me concerned. I say go direct site 4 to confirm they are OK. We can always retreat to the other sights.”

Byron entered the lobby finding Marcus before the fireplace, “Where are the others?” Marcus grumbled, “I saw them enter Dr. Wrathmore’s room. I could hear them whispering. Just like academia to leave the students out.” Byron adding, “Assholes. Not treating us like part of the team. And Harold being so secretive and conniving; he broke into Dr. Baker’s room. Fuck em. Let’s go start dinner early and get the best pieces for ourselves.”

As they rounded the corner toward the dining room, they both overheard the kitchen commotion, “I don’t know what I’m going to do.” Jonathan comforted Mary, “Just throw it out and fix them something else. They’ll understand.” Byron called out before stepping into the kitchen, “Is everything OK?” Mary ashamed so Jonathan explained, “As Mary gutted the fish she found them rotten. I’ve heard of live salmon rotting but not trout. Darndest thing as Matthew just caught them today.” Marcus theorized, “There’s logging in the area. Any mining? Maybe runoff has contaminated the water and thus spoiled the fish. Come to think of it, Ma Peter’s commented some of her fresh eggs also spoiled. Maybe the chickens drank contaminated river water.” Byron tried to be consoling, “If it will be easier on you, we can dine next door. It’s not your fault.”

And that’s when they ran into the professors finished with their little clandestine meeting. Marcus announced, “Fish is off the table. Way off.” As the professors looked puzzled, Byron manned up about being left out-of-the-loop, “I know we’re only students, but why keep secrets? Why weren’t we included in your little meeting?” Now Clive acted sheepish, “Didn’t mean to leave you out. Both of you had left. Your input is valuable.” Harold tried to be funny, “Yeah, we’ll need your help tomorrow loading the truck and packing our gear.” Byron’s sour face his laughter.

Just then, the sputter and bang of an old engine announced the delivery of their 1910 Mack Truck. Clive continued, “We’ll back-brief you later, away from our hosts’ ears. But for now…Mr. Phillips, I seem to remember you drove an old jalopy on campus. If you’d please go have a look at our transportation. Mr. Zundel, we have a map; so, if you could go tell young Matthew we don’t need his services.” James offered his service with the truck, “I’m no mechanic but I can help look over the truck and ask Simon what parts he’s most concerned about.”

Marcus stepped into the kitchen, “Do you mind if I speak with Matthew?” Soon the boy entered, “You got a map? But how you going to find them? There ain’t no roads; they drove cross-country over rocky terrain. There ain’t no tracks.” Marcus changed his mind, “Good point young man. Seems you’ll need to miss church after all. Now tell me, did you happen to see where Baker’s team dug-up some bones? Only shale? Yeah, that might hold clues of footprints but no bones.”

So it was, the group entered Hungry Jack at dinner rush-hour. Lumberjacks filled most tables. The waitresses run ragged table to table as their customers complained, “Something’s wrong with my food.” Sheepishly Nina seated them, “Good news and bad. Seems we don’t have a lot of this but do have that. I think our frig is on the blink; some of our meat has gone bad. Bear with us.” Clive concerned, “Ma’s spoiled eggs, the wormy oatmeal, rotten fish. Now the diner food spoiled. And it all started about a week ago when Baker came back to town. I think Dr. Baker may ‘put West Haven on the map for the wrong reason.’ Could their digging have released some deadly spores?”

Byron took the initiative to go check the diner trash bins. Gagging as he retrieved some spoiled meat. “I’ll take these back to my room and microscope to see if there are any spores or viewable cause. I’ll gather some of Mary’s fish too. But that doesn’t explain the mealie-worms.”

As the others cautiously ate their dinner, expecting the worst, they compared notes. Marcus offered, “I think it best if we stick with canned goods. And peanut-butter doesn’t spoil.” And then it dawned on Clive, “You know, while I was handling those bones in Dr. Baker’s room, I now remember them lightweight. Hollow? Birdlike?” Now James intrigued and remembered, “Now that you mention it, I realize the bones not calcified.  Not fossilized with mineral replacement of the marrow.” Marcus asked, “Are you saying everyday cow bones?” Clive corrected, “These had strange ridges along the spine. Definitely a different animal.”

So intent on the conversation, all thoughts to their food taste absent. “I can see why Dr. Baker was so excited. But that still doesn’t explain the food spoilage. I wonder if his team ate spoiled food and all sick in their tents. We need to get out to them as soon as possible. I HOPE it’s only forgetfulness.” 

NEXT SESSION: https://rigglefp.blogspot.com/2020/10/fp-s3-sica-holler-means-bad-place.html