I went into the gloom of the big building, which was designed to hold a couple of tractors, and a combine. There was hay on the concrete floor, as insulation. One tractor off to the other side. A workbench. Those I could see in the light provided by my flashlight. I needed more light. This was a very large building. I reached over to my right side, feeling for a switch. Not likely I'd find one at the machinery entrance, but there should be one over by the walk-in door. I shined my flashlight to my right, and saw the switch at the end of a length of steel conduit, on the other side of the "people" entrance. I moved toward it, stepping over what I thought was some lumber, covered by a tarp. I glanced down to avoid tripping, and in the shadowed gap between the tarp and the wall, I saw a human hand.
4
Tuesday, January 13, 1998, 0057I recoiled, moving back so fast I nearly lost my footing. I caught my breath, and let the effects of the adrenaline rush subside a bit. Okay, Carl. Get it together. This is what you were looking for. Just not quite where you'd expected to find it. Yeah.
Standing there in the large opening at the sliding door, I felt those eyes on me again. Stronger. I turned and looked back toward the house. Nothing. "Just what I need," I said to myself. "You're turning into an old lady, Houseman." But it bothered me.
I fumbled with the microphone for my walkie-talkie with my gloved hand.
"Mike, why don't you get Nine here, and hand your passenger over to him?"
"Ten-four… I think he's comin' over here anyway. So what's up?"
"I think we're into a real seventy-nine situation. And… uh… you might want to get alert here."
"We got company?" He sounded almost happy.
"Not sure, just don't take a chance. You… uh… might want to hand your passenger over to Nine back up the lane. Out of sight of the residence." I just couldn't shake the feeling of being watched.