There was none of it on the road, either. In fact, the whole road looked like it had been steam cleaned. The shell casings were all in the weeds on either side, as if the same force that had scoured the blood had swept everything to the sides. Even our spike net was over in a drainage ditch.
“Who came and cleaned this up?” asked Top.
I shook my head. A shiver whipped through me and then I rubbed my face vigorously with my hands and then clapped in front of my face. Hard and loud.
“Okay,” I said, forcing my voice to sound normal. Or, normal-ish. “We don’t know what happened, but we have the vehicle and we have a forensics field kit. Let’s start acting like professionals instead of Victorian ing énues with the vapors.”
“I think that’s sexist, boss,” muttered Bunny.
“Fuck it,” I said.
“Yeah, that’s a good point.” He held out a hand and allowed Top to haul him to his feet. Then he blew out his cheeks and nodded, turned, and went to fetch the forensics kit that is built into every DMS vehicle. I checked the time on my watch and froze.
“Hey, Top… what time do you have?”
He studied his watch, frowned, tapped the crystal face, and shook his head. “It stopped. Must have happened when I fell.”
We compared our watches. They’d all stopped at the same time. To the second. I checked my cell phone, and then the dashboard clock. They’d all stopped at exactly the same time. Calpurnia was offline, too.
“Okay,” said Bunny, “this is freaking me out a little.”
“A little?” Top hit the reset button on the AI system and the digital clock was one of the first systems to come online. We looked at the time. Then we looked around at the road, at the day. The sky was too overcast to see the sun, but we knew that the online time was telling the truth. We’d lost time.
We’d lost two whole hours of our lives.
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
I called it in. Or tried to. My cell phone was acting funky, so I turned it off and back on again. While it rebooted I tapped my earbud, but it gave me a lot of painful static. So I took the booster pack out of my pocket and hit Reset on that, too.
I slid into the driver’s seat and said, “Calpurnia, open a line to the TOC.”
Calpurnia did not do that. Instead she began singing a Barry Manilow song. Not playing one — singing one. Top and Bunny stared at the car as if expecting it to suddenly break out into a dance routine.
“Cancel,” I growled.
Silence.
“Calpurnia,” I said with great patience, “open a line to the TOC.”
She said, “Playing Top Forty hits of the week ending May 26, 1973.” Immediately the song “Frankenstein” by the Edgar Winter Group blasted out with the volume turned to 11.
“Cancel!” I roared.
“I think Calpurnia’s having a moment,” murmured Top.
“I love working for the DMS,” said Bunny, not meaning it.
My cell finished rebooting and that worked fine, so I called the DMS and got Doc Holliday on the line. She listened while I went over everything.
“That’s amazing,” she cried. “Ever since I signed on to this rodeo I’ve been waiting for something fun to happen. I’m happier than a tornado in a trailer park.”
“Yeah, well, Doc, you wouldn’t have enjoyed it all that much if you just had your ass handed to you by guys who I’m pretty sure aren’t from a local zip code.”
“Point taken,” she said, but the excitement was still in her voice. Even a hint of a giggle. “You said they bled green? Could the green fluid have been gel from their body armor?”
“Well, I sure as hell hope so.”
“But you don’t think so?”
“Ah, jeez, Doc, I really don’t know. I mean, this is weird, even by my standards. I saw facial lacerations and did not see red blood. I don’t know what that means. Maybe they’re taking some kind of drug, maybe a compound that gives them enhanced strength or something like that. Maybe they’re men from Mars. I don’t know. If I did know I’d call to tell you what’s going on instead of calling to ask for help.”
Top shifted fully into my line of sight and made a small patting gesture in the air, and it was only then that I heard, like an afterthought, the rising panic in my own voice. I took a breath, let it out slowly, nodded acknowledgement to him.
“We’re collecting evidence now,” I said more calmly, “and then there’s a good chance we’re going to find a bar and get drunk. And, no, that’s not a true statement but can I get an amen from my team?”
“Amen,” said Bunny under his breath. Top merely nodded.
“So, please get a forensics team rolling ASAP. It’s raining on the scene and we don’t have the right supplies to maintain integrity.”
“I’ll have a team there faster than the babysitter’s boyfriend when the grown-ups drive away,” promised Doc.
“And we still have to get to Washington,” I said. “Auntie was heading to the Capitol Building to ambush some congressmen, and if she’s still there I’ll—”
“Well, damn,” said Doc, “you haven’t heard?”
“Heard what? Far as I know I’ve been nowhere for two hours. I think those men in black hit us with one of those flashy-forgetty things.”
“Well, then… buckle up, Cowboy,” Doc said, and told me about the dramatic suicide of the Speaker of the House. I exchanged a look with my guys.
“What’s the bottom line?” I asked. “Are we thinking this is something else? A murder, or—?”
“So far, no,” said Doc. “Local law’s coordinating with the Secret Service and other agencies. The wheels are turning, but no one’s talking about this being anything but a tragedy. But… Aunt Sallie was there. She saw it. D.J. thinks it really rattled her, too. Pretty horrible thing to see, though I expect she’s seen worse, from what I’ve heard.”
“I’ll check her out when I get there,” I said, “and give you an update.”
Top leaned into the cab and nodded for me to mute the call. “You might as well go, Cap’n,” he said. “The Farm Boy and me’ll stay here and secure the scene until the techs get here. Take the Betty Boop and get on your way.”
Bunny snorted. “Thought you weren’t going to call it Betty Boop.”
“Why don’t you keep your mouth shut when grown folks is talking?”
Bunny flipped him the bird.
I unmuted Doc Holliday and put her on speaker. “Okay, I’m heading out now.”
“You fit to drive?” she asked.
“Far as I know. Got some scratches and burns, but nothing major. But, listen, Doc… Church gave us a big speech about how outside the box you are when it comes to this kind of stuff. So, if you have any insights, maybe now might be a good time to start.”
She gave that a beat. “Fair enough. Okay, what do we have? Green blood, MPP pistols, and missing time. That builds a certain kind of case. Tell me, Joe, did you see anything in the sky before you blanked out?”
“No…”
“Really? Because you don’t sound like you’re sure.”
“I’m not sure,” I admitted. “Actually, I’m nowhere near sure.”
“Then do me a favor,” said Doc. “Don’t ask questions, just do it, okay?”
“Sure. Whatever. Call it.”
“Close your eyes. Don’t ask why, just do it.” I sighed and closed my eyes and she immediately asked, “What color was the aircraft?”
“It was black,” I said. And then stopped. I opened my eyes and looked at Top, then Bunny. They wore expressions of astonishment that were probably a mirror of my own. We all glanced up at the sky. “I never said we saw an aircraft.”