Hauntings (24 page)

             
Oswald was never really a friend, but as an acquaintance at the University he had aways been a decent fellow,
Aleister hoped he would see reason about the altar, but he had his doubts it would work out well. There was a knock at the door.

              “Who is it?”

              “Portillo's delivery.” Aleister opened the door, paid the man, gave him a not too frugal nor too generous tip, nothing that would cause the delivery man to remember him. Aleister took his food to the table near the window, closed the drapes and began his meal. The weather report was next on the local news. They are predicting snow.

              “Just what we need, it will make for a beautiful contrast.” Aleister said aloud to himself. Then took another bite of his sandwich.

              In Dixon the sky was overcast and the wind was cold. Clara drove up slowing her car to a stop at the curb just outside of Sam & Ella's. She got out of the car and hurried inside. Freida was behind the counter rolling flatware into paper napkins to be used to set the tables later. Clara joined her step mother, wrapping place settings just like she did when she was a young girl still living at home.

              “Well look what cat dragged in,” Freida said with a smile, looking directly at Clara.

              “He's coming to town,” Clara stated flatly without emotion or expression.

              “Who is coming to town?” Freida asked.

              “Aleister Dyer. He will be here tomorrow. He wants to have a meeting.”  Freida threw the last little bundle of flatware in the plastic bin.

              “Shit, shit, shit! I new that man coming to town would stir the shit and come to no good. Now what the hell are we supposed to do?”

              “You know as well as I do, but who knows maybe he'll surprise us.”

              “That's doubtful, Ed said coming out from the kitchen.”

Chapter Ten

              Aleister was awake at dawn. He had some eggs and French toast from the breakfast buffet before grabbing  his bags and checking out of the Holiday Inn.  Dixon was only a two hour drive away. He'd stop at the cabin first and have a little talk with Oswald. If that went well there would be nothing more to do. He could enjoy the day in the country maybe make a long weekend out of it. On the other hand if Oswald wouldn't see reason, he would have to meet with the townsfolk after all. He performed his morning hygiene, packed his bags, and checked out of the hotel. It took him a moment to remember where he parked the rental car, but once he found the car he was on his way west to Dixon.

              Oswald awoke early this morning full of excitement. He felt absolutely young again. He now had something to give meaning to his life. He started a pot of coffee on the old wood burning stove, then went to the bathroom to prepare for the day. As he shaved, he reviewed, with excitement the progress he had made last night.

              The photographs of the altar all complete with descriptive captions, the standing stones however bothered him. What was  he to make of the of the holes in the top of the stones? With Stone Henge he knew many suspected that if the standing stones were to be moved one would find the crushed remains of sacrificial victims beneath. He wondered if these could likewise be burial markers of some sort: smaller, but fulfilling the same purpose.

              He looked forward to showing his find to Aleister, he only wished he could show it all to him in person, but a drive back to Leicester now was out of the question. There is too much work to be done. Oswald would have to settle for sending the report to Aleister via email, that is if he can find someway to connect to the Internet nearby. Otherwise, it would have to go via the post office. The post office simply would not do, way too slow for something this critically important. Oswald decided if he had to drive to Sterling to find a Wi-Fi connection he would, but he would get this report to Aleister as soon as it was complete no mater what.

              Of course Oswald would have to confess to taking the Druid's book from Orney Library, but as a member of the faculty he may be let off with a slap on the wrist. They probably haven't  noticed it is missing yet. 

              Oswald wiped the last of the shaving cream from his face. Brushed his teeth and spit a mouthful of toothpaste foam into the sink. He realized he should bathe, but he couldn't resist getting back to work.  He settled for clean shaven with fresh breath and went to the kitchen, poured himself a mug of coffee, sweetened it to his taste, and went to work at the desk in the living room. Soon the sound of the click clacking keys of the laptop filled the room as he worked on typing his report.

              He began with a brief summary of what was commonly known among the academic community regarding the Celts and their priests, the Druids. Following this introduction he discussed the similarities between the beliefs of the Celts and the Sauk. He mentioned what he found about the myths of the Sauk regarding sparrows, and the rituals that were performed to protect the tribe when sparrows gathered under certain circumstances. He discussed the discovery of the stone altar, obviously designed for human sacrifice. He described the altar in great detail specifically mentioning the carved spouts at the four corners of the altar carved into the shape of sparrows with their beaks open to let the fresh blood flow during a sacrifice. He continued by adding the data he recorded: the size and shape of the altar, the size and position of the standing stones, the size of the holes in the top of the standing stones, and of course the distance between one stone and another. He was tempted to add some conjecture regarding the alignment of the stones to the heavens, but decided against adding any conjecture at all, better to leave that to the reader. He wanted enough information to whet the reader's appetite for more so the regents would be in a favorable attitude for further funding and further exploration.

              There was a loud knock at the door, Oswald startled at the sound looked to the door. Before he could utter a word or get up from his seat, without invitation the cabin door creaked open. “Oswald, are you there?” It was Aleister. Oswald jumped to his feet, almost knocking the chair he was sitting on over, and hurried to the door to greet his friend.

              “Aleister, you came! I'm so glad. I hoped you would be as excited about this find as I am. I just completed the first draft of my report. Here have a seat, read it, tell me what you think.”  Oswald stood up from the desk chair and motioned for Aleister to take his place.

              “Oswald, we need to talk.”

              “Oh, don't I know it. Don't think I would leave you out of this discovery. After all, it is your land. For that matter if it wasn't for your generosity, I wouldn't be here to find the site in the first place.”

              “It's not that Oswald. It's about my family. The Dyers have a checkered past in this area. At one time, they tried to drive us out of town. Now if you publicize that there is a Druid altar for human sacrifice on my property only God knows what will happen. I don't think it would be safe for us out here anymore.”

              “Aleister, I've met a few of the people out here and yes they tell some wild tales about your family and the cabin, but even they would have to see that the altar is at least hundreds of years old and has nothing to do with the present.”

              “Maybe, but I've tried to use this cabin as a summer getaway, I know how they can be,” Aleister complained remorsefully.

              “There is a girl here named Clara, she doesn't seem to let what the old timers say bother her. She has even offered to help me out while I am completing my research here.”

              “What did you do put an ad up on the bulletin board at Sam & Ella's?”

              “Nothing like that. She came out and found me at the site. I was a little dizzy, not quite myself, and she got concerned and offered to help. She wanted me to go to a doctor, but it cleared up before we even got back to the cabin. I did agree to her helping out around here though.”

              “I see. Is there anything I can say or do to prevent you from going on with this. I mean maybe we can just let it be for a few more years, and then send a team in quietly to do a little research.”

              “Aleister, I am already here. The research is already started. I'm sure we can keep it quiet. Even when we publish our findings I don't think anyone in Dixon is going to be reading the academic journals to review our find.”

              Aleister began to pace back and forth from the kitchen to the living room and back again to the kitchen. He clasped and unclasped his hands over and over again as he paced. Oswald didn't like the look of this, but he was not about to give up on the greatest discovery of his career.

              “Let me sleep on it. There are always options, maybe one of us will come up with an idea that will suit both of our needs.”

              “Yes,” Oswald quickly replied, “a win-win solution.”  Oswald grabbed at this hopefully. While he didn't want Aleister Dyer as his enemy at the university, he knew his years there were coming to a close either way. If the research was allowed to continue, he would retire as soon as it was complete. If not he would retire now.

              “That's right Oswald. We're two reasonably intelligent men; I'm certain we can come to a win-win solution. You continue your research, but keep it top-secret. Don't send any reports to the regents yet. Is that agreeable to you?”

              “Yes absolutely. I'll continue working here with Clara assisting, and I will not send any results to the regents without your prior approval.” Oswald replied, relieved to continue to have the opportunity to work on his find, yet discouraged with the delay.

              “So then we are agreed for the time being.” Aleister replied without showing any emotion. “I will be leaving you to your work then Oswald. 

              Aleister left without another word spoken between them.  Oswald felt a little ashamed of himself, he never considered the effect discovering the altar and standing stones would have on Aleister and his family. Of course Aleister would be reluctant for this to be public, Oswald realized as the sound of Aleister's rental car faded as he drove down the dirt road towards Bloody Gulch Road.

              At Sam & Ella's Roadside Cafe, Freida and Ed were busier than they had been in years. The restaurant was nearly packed with local patrons waiting to meet with Aleister Dyer. Clara was seated at the counter waiting impatiently, ignoring the comments of the restaurant's patrons. After what seemed like hours passed closing time, the front door opened, and there he stood.

              “We have a situation that we need to face,” Aleister began, addressing the gathered town-folk.

              Later that evening as the sun was setting, Clara arrived at the cabin. She parked her Mustang near the front porch, got out of the car and headed straight inside carrying a white paper bag from Sam & Ella's. As soon as Clara opened the cabin door and the aroma of the fresh hamburgers wafted inside making Oswald's mouth water.

              “I thought you might be hungry, so I went ahead and got us a couple of their steamed burger with French fries. I brought a couple cans of coke too,” She called into the house.

              “That's great Clara. I am famished,” Oswald replied. “I saw Aleister Dyer today. “

              “He came to the cabin?”

              “Yep, at first I thought he was excited about the find as I am. I should have know better.” Oswald grabbed one of the burgers from the bag and opened the paper wrapping to take a bite.

              “What do you mean?”

              “He wants me to let it go. To forget about it. To wait some years, and then maybe someone else will be able to come back and take a look at it. He's afraid the find will tarnish his family's name.”

              “Oh my.” 

              Oswald took another bite of his sandwich, swallowed hard, then continued. “I only thought of myself. How this find would be the capstone of my career. I never thought about what it would do to him. It could be the end of his career and certainly would bring shame to his family. I'm sure no one at the University knows anything about his family's past out here.”

              Clara opened her burger and took a bite.

              “So what are you going to do? Are you going to let it lie?”

              “He and I argued, no negotiated is a better word. We negotiated. I will continue using the cabin and continue my project, but I will not submit any reports to the regents or anyone until I have Dyer's blessing.

              “You realize that blessing may never come, don't you?”

              “I do, but it is his cabin, his property and his family history we are talking about. I imagine If I published without his consent he would have every right to sue me for whatever I'm worth. Which I have to say isn't much.”

              “So what are you going to do?”

              “The only thing I can do, I'll complete my research as far as I can, with your kind assistance, of course. Then give it all to Aleister to do with as he pleases. Then I'll retire. Perhaps I'll write. At least I'll know what I found and that I did all that I could with it. Maybe someday, someone else will come along and take it a step further.”

              Oswald took another bite of his burger and then focused his attention on his French fries. Clara ate in silence mulling over what Oswald had said. Oswald quickly finished his meal, excused himself and went straight to work on the Druid's book. Even though he knew the book, the Druids, the altar, and the sparrows were all connected he believed he could at least complete the translation of the book from runes to English could be done without violating his agreement with Aleister.

              He could hear Clara, cleaning up in the kitchen as he worked. He appreciated her help. Her working around the cabin keeping everything running smoothly allowed him to focus all of his attention on his project. The laptop, she encouraged him to buy, increased his productivity, and helped him keep the material organized. 

              It occurred to Oswald that there was no real reason for him to stay at the cabin much longer. He could work on the Druid's book anywhere. He had the photographs of the altar and the circular site complete with the standing stones. If there was not going to be a team to properly research the site, there was really no reason to stay other than he enjoyed the time away from the university and Clara's company.

              “Clara, I can't help but wonder what the rituals at the altar were really like. Of course I can imagine, but there is no guarantee that what I imagine would be correct. Just as I can translate the runes in this book into English, but do I know what the words would sound like spoken by a Druid performing the ritual? Absolutely not. That is lost to us.  As far as anyone knows the language of the Druids is no longer spoken just as the rituals once performed are no more. I can only guess what it must have been like.”