“The Elders told me that an accidental discovery finally turns this compound into Cunecao. Because they have lived in trees for an eternity, they have always suffered casualties during electromagnetic storms. Many of these caused fatalities. An observation was made over five hundred years ago, and at first it was treated with suspicion, but it was in the fullness of time, proven beyond doubt. If some high-ranking official within the tribe was authorised to be treated with the root powder and berry juice compound, and was then close enough to a lightning bolt to receive even a mild but non-fatal shock, a very strange effect was conferred to them. Pretty much all of their scarred memories were erased. This is however not a completely temporary effect. The process seems to take many stored experiences from the brain, but although the good ones gradually return, the darker ones remain submerged. I can testify to this, as I have experienced it myself. They didn’t tell me of the odds of being killed in this practice before I agreed to volunteer; apparently one in three become charred effigies, and are erected in the surrounding jungle to act as sentries to ward off predators. I hope you aren't going to ask to take this trip because they won't allow it, and I am already risking arrest by the government if they learn of your presence in the Manakalia village."
Frank began to think of how the lightning phase could be controlled. He was pretty much convinced this could be done by twenty-first century shock therapy.
"Relax, I’ll just ask if I can take the natural ingredients with me."
"I advise that we talk to the Elders about this. I will explain to them that you have recurring stomach pains with the foods from the forest, and they will hopefully prescribe the root and berry mixture, as it cures this as well as many minor ailments. If they accept this because you are my friend, I will then ask if you can take some to cover the rest of our journey. I will, if they agree, be sworn to pledge that there would be no revelation of the method of progression to Cunecao, even though they trust me. Because the conversation will be in their tongue, you must show no interest in what I am requesting. I must stress just how important this is because they won’t hesitate to kill us if they think I’ve betrayed them."
The quantity given freely to the care of Eisel was judged to be sufficient to cover the remainder of the trip and no more. When the two of them departed, Frank told the Elders he was feeling better, which was a complete lie. Eisel had warned him that the compound would make him throw up continuously for a few hours, and he would believe death was imminent.
He had said, "You’ll wish you'd never taken it, but it will pass. Despite feeling unwell you should thank them for the gift of their medicine. Then we get the hell out of here."
It all went smoothly until the son of one of the Elders had asked if Frank would let him keep his digital camera until their next visit. Frank protested, but then Eisel intervened.
"Listen, they don't know the relative value of your camera, otherwise he wouldn't have asked for it. You wouldn’t be in this mess if you hadn't shown him the pictures in the first place. Chalk it up to experience. They have given me almost one hundred grams of the Pannevava compound to treat your stomach condition, and that is worth a small fortune to them. I have to come back here, so my reputation must be maintained. Just give the boy the damned camera."
On reflection Frank thought he was getting the better of the bargain. He had never thought it possible to have such a tool in his possession. This inadvertent meeting with the Manakalia was the key to the problem he had to share with the world. He could begin to heal the unfortunates; those who had become his mission in life. Experimentation was a price worth paying to release his friends from the plague of their nightmares.
In the intervening years he had employed the best chemical technologists he could find and trust. Success in synthesising the Pannevava root came at a tediously slow pace, unlike the experiments to check its potency in converting to Cunecao. The berry constituent showed analytical similarity to gooseberries - however the Pantothenic Acid content was many times higher. In addition to this the reaction with the root enhanced the properties of the finished compound. Pantothenic Acid was commonly known as Vitamin B5, and in small doses is thought to help the nervous system communicate with the brain. Excessive doses cause a number of side effects, including depression, diarrhoea, low energy, memory loss and nausea. The ‘Manakalia concentrate’ was many times more potent than the regulated dosage level of Pantothenic Acid, and that was without the enhancement by the Pannevava root. When this cocktail was ingested and the human body was then subjected to controlled electric shock treatment, the results were astonishing.
The two chemists proved to be unwilling but effective guinea pigs. Frank gave them a choice – research with a generous reward, or termination. They both suffered increasing dosage and as their memory was effectively wiped, they became totally compliant. They died before Frank had optimised the dosage, so he reluctantly recruited some of the unfortunates he wanted to help. Eventually, the finessing process yielded a relatively safe procedure.
He and Eisel were now the only people outside the Manakalia tribe to know the secret, and Eisel did not know of the synthetic version, which was much more powerful than the original. Frank was ready to engage the world with his obsession.
Having possession of such a new, powerful narcotic did not ring any alarm bells with Frank, as his ability to reason beyond his mission was disabled. He failed to connect the import of the world-wide focus he was trying to create for his cause, with the potential revelation of the secret of Cunecao. If and when he was apprehended by the police, the practice may be unintentionally revealed, and the market potential assessed. Kurt Eisel could become a dangerous and resourceful foe. Frank was oblivious to this in his advance from a laboratory recipe to the potential of an industrial process of manufacture. He was simply driven by how many thousands of lost individuals he could convert to Friends in the future.
Chapter 7
Renton, Adams and Friend approached the walkers at the clearing. On arriving there they detected unease in the trio. They seemed to be evaluating Friend before they had been introduced to him. Friend smiled as he was informed of their names and that they could help in pinpointing the location from which the photo had been taken. Then Adams suddenly realised Friend had not been shown the picture. As soon as this occurred he started marching away from the clearing. Renton was first to react.
“Wait Friend, we need to go together.” It made no difference and they simply followed. After a mere fifty yards or so, Alan Atkinson shook his head.
“We’ve never been down this path. We couldn’t have passed him along this route.”
Twenty yards further on and Friend stopped and pointed back toward the clearing. When Adams checked the view it was evident that this was the point from which the photo was taken. Renton asked where he was when this picture was shot.
“This is where Best Friend took the picture of us. You had an envelope for me, the Inspector, but Best Friend came back to tell you not to give it to me until another time didn’t he?” Friend nodded. “Can you take us to where he told you this?” He nodded again and set off.
He led them around a dense thicket and re-joined a pathway which Atkinson did recognise, and said this would take them to an intersection with the route they had taken on the day in question. They duly arrived at this point and Friend positioned himself on a slope, obscuring a route marker. All three walkers nodded and asked him to move to one side of the marker, and when Friend sat down on the bankside it came back to them.
“Are you absolutely sure?” said Adams, “take all the time you need.” The response was firm and they recalled that they had probably been distracted by keeping an eye out for the rogue cyclists, as Terry Featherstone had first thought. The group decided to search the immediate area. Friend seemed confused.
After ten minutes or so, they were about to give up when Renton asked Friend if he had the finger with him at this point. He nodded and pointed back up the main path
. Renton gestured for him to proceed in that direction. He led them to a point which was less than a hundred yards further into the woods than the point at which the photo was taken. Adams proceeded to the photo point and snapped the group, then asked all of them except Friend to reassemble at the original photo point. He took a further picture, as he wanted both views on the evidence board. They returned to Friend, who had already recovered a toe from somewhere in the vicinity. He gave it to Renton, who put on a pair of plastic gloves to cradle it until he could retrieve an evidence pouch from the car. Before he set off Friend made him aware of an inked ten digit number on the underside. It was barely visible after lying in the undergrowth and attracting attention from insects. More scavenging by the group produced no more interesting finds, and Adams thanked Atkinson, Featherstone and Jameson for their cooperation before returning to the station.
*
Renton insisted that Cousins should support his decision to keep the match of Rory Davenport’s DNA with one of the victims within the investigation team.
“Sir, we’ve worked hard to get this information and we need every possible advantage over Frank that we can muster. He doesn’t know we have this lead and I want it to stay that way as long as possible. He believes we’re totally dependent on his charitable hand-outs, so let’s go along with him for now. I know Old Nige would love to broadcast something which shows the force in a better light, but this isn’t a P.R. exercise – it’s a murder investigation.” Cousins said he would sleep on this and call him back. This only served to make Renton nervous. “Frank told us we had the opportunity to save lives if we demonstrated respect for his assistance, and more bodies if we didn’t. I believe him, and so does Eva Roberts. We can review the disclosure of Davenport regularly. This ‘Friend’, who gave us the finger and now the toe, could be a crucial buffer in dealing with Frank. The number on the toe must mean something, as there was no identifying mark on the finger. I want to see if Frank asks about it, after all he photographed us in the woods when his intention was for Friend to give me both of these items together. He was close to us then, and we don’t know that he wasn’t watching us today.” Cousins relented and Renton breathed a sigh of relief.
*
Sam Gibson had not obtained the positive lead he was looking for in London or Manchester. His consolation rested in those on his list which could be eliminated for various reasons, such as skin or hair colour from photographs, which were at odds with the body in question. His original list had relied almost exclusively on written reports. He was left with only one contender, but this was not evidence. He needed to find Reginald Powell. His parents could offer nothing which could clinch a match with the DNA profile of the legs from the composite corpse. He asked if they would be prepared to submit swabs with their own DNA so that Donoghue could check for any filial link, or as a disqualifier. They were happy to help in any way they could. Sam left Manchester trying to think about where he would look next if these tests proved negative. He conceded that it could be more productive to look for the identities of the other three ‘less important’ contributors to the corpse. After all they were only less important to Frank, not to the police.
There was unease that Frank had not been in audio contact as regularly as anticipated. However he had been busy on the web. The original photograph of the police in Chopwell Woods had been posted on a few sites and a more recent one with the walkers and Friend. There was no comment to say he had taken the pictures himself and the dialogue was directed more to the admission that Friend was indeed the owner of the face which peered through the Alpha-Omega symbol, and that he was helping the police. These posts generated a new rush of threads and Renton suggested to Eva Roberts that they should filter some of these into groups.
“This may be what he wants – to periodically stimulate interest of anyone who has the curiosity of mind to ‘solve’ the riddle and therefore the mission he’s on. In this way he may be trying to build up involvement of site visitors in the same way sites like Facebook did, before unveiling his cause.”
“Inspector Renton, I’m impressed. If a self-confessed cynic like you can be convinced that profiling is an important tool then there is hope for all of us. Let’s get started right away.”
Stephanie joined them and was much better than either of them in constructing an analytical database from the rapidly increasing threads. She also appended a ‘site type’ to the filter because some were much more popular than others. She effectively told the two of them that she would complete the task in half the time if they weren’t standing over her while jabbering about all manner of possible premature conclusions.
“How about getting me a coffee and doughnut Sir? You might fancy one yourself if you have nothing better to do. I’ll let you know when I have this all set up.”
Half an hour later the LED blinked ominously. “Renton.”
“Good afternoon Inspector. I just wanted to let you know that there are some interesting discussions on the internet right now. They are in relation to the photos of your team in Chopwell Woods. Many bloggers are being rather unkind in assuming your approach to the case is positively Victorian. They can be forgiven for this because they don’t know everything that you and I know, yet some of them are applying more lateral thinking to the situation than you have mustered so far. This is why I am calling, to see if you have questions. I may not be able to furnish detailed information on certain aspects but you can call me on this number and you will be redirected.”
“I see. Well then, first things first – we aren’t tracing this call. Does that give me more time to think laterally?”
“I’ll know within a minute from you answering the call if there is tracer activity, so we have about eighteen seconds to see if our mutual trust is growing. It is an essential part of the script if I am to remain in contact with you. No need for countdown, I can confirm there is no trace activity. Fire away Inspector.”
“I’ve decided to let you know we have both the finger and toe now, with the help of Friend. You’ll know that we are going to run DNA tests for the evidence file and look for any match with other evidence related samples.”
“That would be a very nice gesture if those appendages could be classed as evidence. If you recall, I said that Friend had ‘presents’ for you. I seriously doubt that you will find anything which will connect them to the case via forensic science. Detective work avails of such techniques for the benefit of the law, and safe conviction. Deduction is surely still the primary foundation which directs your case, and indeed directs those who offer this scientific back-up. The finger and the toe are not material to your investigation until much later in proceedings, but they are important. I repeat that you would be wise to heed some of the theories on the web. It is clear that my invitation to exercise your creativity in this respect is somewhat premature. I will call back another time.”
“No, wait, I wanted to ask if…” The call was terminated. “Shit, I’m sorry Eva. I wanted to humour him before bombarding him with questions. It seems he’s really intent on pushing us around until we join the rodents which follow the pied piper.”
“I see it differently Jack; I don’t think he is trying to show you in a bad light. He wants you to progress ahead of the pack. Perhaps he feels this is necessary for some dramatic revelation which is connected to his cause. His tone has become decidedly encouraging since the hostility he showed when you told him the hierarchy had vetoed two-way communication through the Intranet. I’m pretty confident that he believes you are trustworthy, as you have said you will protect Friend, and scrap the tracer programme. Be patient for now.”
Stephanie had a first cut at sorting the internet threads which Frank had referred to, and she spread the various charts over Renton’s desk.
“By far the most common remark is targeted at us Sir, and they range from sarcastic to scathing regarding the progress, or rather the lack of it. Another popular theme is the realisation that Frank has an ‘insider’ apparently helping us –
Friend is being portrayed as the blind leading the blind. There are so many different angles being discussed it’s hard to see why Frank persists with the items he posts. There’s no standout thread which borders on any logical motive from our perspective, they all seem to identify with his cause without knowing what it is. It’s all rather sickening.” Eva Roberts picked up on the conversation between Renton and Frank.
“He didn’t actually say that you should take note of the most popular threads, he merely remarked that there were many. He said that some comments could help us and I would expect him to be telling us this because they are the more obscure remarks. He is only using these sites as a means of keeping his cause in the news, and probably picking out those comments which demonstrate what he refers to as lateral thinking. He is not interested in what the average internet addict pumps out if it has no hallmarks of having been thoroughly considered.” Renton had remained quiet, mulling over Frank’s exact words.
“He quickly corrected me when I said the finger and toe were pieces of evidence, but admitted they were important. Surely this can only mean that they have no physical connection to either the composite corpse or those from which the parts were taken. They must be more related to his cause. He said they would become relevant later. His call was made in relation to the photos, not the ‘presents’ as he refers to them. I take your point Eva; we should look through the threads for insightful remarks about the two pictures, almost certainly taken by him. Let’s try to pick out things which are common to both photos and others which are different – such as Friend is only in the second and the armed response boys were only in the first.” Stephanie remarked that the analysis of the actual sites indicated that Frank had concentrated his posts on cruc-efiction.com and maryshelley-fr.biz Renton latched on to this immediately.
“Let’s look through these first, if he posts there he must have a reason. I’m sure he originally posted on lots of sites, probably to achieve some kind of momentum, now he may feel he can be selective.” Stephanie agreed and returned to her desk to narrow the analysis to only the two sites.