The Bovine Connection (40 page)

For a moment Angelica felt confused. Maybe he was right. She contemplated giving up the story for a moment, and then quickly made up her mind. “I understand, and I’m trying to be sensitive to your feelings, as well.” Angelica sighed. “I want to be happy… and being with you makes me happier than I’ve ever been. The last thing I would ever want to do is upset you, but you have to trust me. I can’t explain it… I have to see this to the end or you won’t get all of me – there will always be a piece missing. I’m not the same person I was before this story – it’s changed me.” Angelica took a deep breath and waited for Michael’s response.

Angelica heard Michael sigh, releasing a deep breath indicating his frustration. The long moment felt like eternity… It was obvious he was unhappy. “Please understand, sweetie, I’m expressing my feelings for what I see in us – our future. I have never felt this way for any woman before. It saddens me you won’t listen.”

Angelica shook her head and tightened her lips. This was a new side of Michael. She was starting to see how he worked all angles in an attempt to get his way. And he was determined.

“So, change your mind. Don’t go to Nevada! Leave the story where it is – walk away and be done with it,” he whispered.

Angelica looked up and raised her fist in the air. Why couldn’t he understand? She marveled as she shook her arm in irritation. “I can’t,” she whispered.

There was silence on the other end, and after another long moment, Michael replied. “Okay, Angelica… Have it your way.”

Angelica looked down. His tone was odd. Her head was starting to ache and she felt charged with emotion. The conversation had turned so quickly. “Are we having an argument?” she asked half-jokingly.

“No… sweetheart, of course not,” he murmured.

“Okay, I’ll call when I can. Good-bye.” Angelica said softly.

Michael leaned back in his chair, looked out the window at the skyscrapers of the New York skyline, lifted his index knuckle to his chin, and clinched his lips. “Good-bye beautiful,” he whispered.

Angelica glanced at her cell phone before hanging up and saw a missed call and voicemail from an unknown number. She pushed the button and listened to the voicemail.

“Hello, Angelica, this is Dr. Hamilton Howell. My friend has agreed to meet with you at the Cosmopolitan Hotel at nine o’clock tomorrow morning. Her name is Dr. Olivia Wallace. She will be alone in the front lobby wearing a brown blouse. She has black hair.”

Angelica put her cell phone in her purse and then glanced at the clock to notice the time was four twenty-two. It struck her as odd that the time was either twenty-two or thirty-three after each time it was brought to her attention. And even more odd was that it was usually twenty-two after when she was either with Michael or thinking of him.
What was going on?
she wondered. She considered it too strange to be a coincidence.

Angelica wondered if Michael was right. Should she quit now before going to Nevada. She knew she was under their surveillance. However, she was a good journalist… it seemed the only logical next step. She gathered her things and left her office.

A
ngelia pulled into the long-term parking lot at the airport. Grabbing her bags, she wondered if she was being tailed and glanced around. After glaring around suspiciously for anyone out of the ordinary, she quickly shut her car door. Angelica hit the lock button on her remote causing her car to chirp as she hurried toward the United Airlines terminal to find Dr. Bishop.

As Angelica approached the entrance she saw Dr. Bishop standing outside the automatic glass doors, facing in the other direction. He was wearing blue jeans and a light-blue dress shirt. As he turned and noticed Angelica, his face softened into a sincere smile.

Angelica picked up her pace and extended her hand to wave as she passed over to the taxi curb to where he was standing by the outside check-in stand.

“Hey! You’re here! Great, let’s get checked in.” Dr. Bishop didn’t hesitate; he grabbed her duffle bag and turned towards the man in a United uniform.

“Have you been waiting long?” Angelica attempted to make conversation and be polite. Dr. Bishop looked back at Angelica as he handed the man his boarding pass and a two-dollar tip. “No, not too long… I was early. We can grab a bite to eat closer to our gate after we check our bags here. The line is too long inside. This will save us enough time for an extra drink before we board.”

“Perfect,” Angelica whispered.

After they checked their bags and made their way through security, they found a crowded sports bar and were able to grab a table just as a young family was getting up to leave.

Dr. Bishop appeared more relaxed and ordered a Bloody Mary. Angelica ordered a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. Dr. Bishop smiled, amused at Angelica. “Nice one!”

Angelica smiled playfully. “Why not… I like beer every once in a while. I also like symbolisms, even silly ones.” She laughed softly and shook her head. “The truth is I’m not much of a beer connoisseur; it just happened to be the first one that came to mind,” she quipped. “So, are you ready?” Angelica asked.

Dr. Bishop looked as if he were confused. “Ready for what?” he asked. “Oh yes -- our adventure into the unknown. I don’t know… but I have a funny feeling this will be an interesting trip.” Dr. Bishop put his glass down after taking a sip and removed the celery, placing it on the cocktail napkin.

“I agree. I’m actually a little nervous, if you couldn’t tell?” Angelica glanced around before taking a sip of her beer.

“Do we have a plan?” Dr. Bishop asked as he narrowed his eyes and leaned in.

Angelica contemplated for a moment, “I thought
you
did, Marc.” She laughed.

Dr. Bishop was obviously surprised. “Oh, no, I…” He stumbled over his words. Angelica watched him closely as he shifted in his seat. He was your typical intellectual, she thought. His expressions indicated it took him a moment to register her jokes.

Angelica relaxed her hands into her lap and leaned back. She was becoming comfortable with Dr. Bishop and could tease him playfully a little but decided not to go any further. She knew it would be more comfortable for him to unwind at his own pace.

“Well, we are meeting Dr. Olivia Wallace in our hotel lobby at nine o’clock in the morning,” Angelica stated confidently. “She should be a good source since she claims to have worked at the aerospace facility. I thought the hotel would be perfect since it will be crowded with tourists and gamblers. I guess we could be included in both categories.” Angelica continued enjoying the fact that she was taking charge. “Staying in crowded places just feels safer.”

“Yes, I agree. Wow! That is great. How did you find Dr. Wallace?” he asked, astonished.

Angelica had taken a bite of her club sandwich and then a sip of her beer. She raised her palm to cover her mouth as she swallowed. “The scientist… Dr. Walter Goolrick. He was the expert on the Elberton mutilations,” she answered with her hand in front of her mouth, trying to hide the food she was chewing, and then lifted her napkin and wiped her mouth. 

“So, Dr. Bishop… I know we spoke at great length about your interest in Mr. Giano; however, going to the facility could be dangerous. It’s not too late to turn back, you know. Are you sure you want go forward with this?”

“First, you called me Marc earlier, please continue. I believe we are certainly on a first name basis by now. Second… yes, without a doubt. I’m not letting you go alone. And, I live for this Indiana Jones stuff!” He chuckled.

Angelica laughed. “That’s funny. Well, here’s to Indiana Jones and his sidekick. Am I the cute girl with freckles in the first movie or that blonde bitch in the ‘Temple of Doom?’” Angelica winked playfully as she lifted her beer and Marc met her toast.

“You are neither. You are Angelica Bradley, journalist extraordinaire. Here’s to you and our safe return back to D.C.,” he announced.

Just as Angelica was lowering her beer, she caught a glimpse of the large flat-screen television hanging on the wall behind Dr. Bishop. A national news medium was reporting a woman’s body had just been found floating in the Potomac River.

Angelica looked down from the screen and met Dr. Bishop’s eyes with a worried expression on her face.

“What is it Angelica?” Dr. Bishop turned and looked at the screen as a woman’s photo appeared. He turned slowly and looked back at Angelica to see her mouth wide open and her face in shock.

“What is it? Did you know her?”

Angelica looked at Dr. Bishop, and then around the bar, blankly. “Can someone turn this up, please?” Angelica shouted, her face ashen.

Dr. Bishop quickly jumped up and adjusted the volume so that it was much louder than the background noise in the bar.

Everything became still and frozen in that unspeakable moment. Angelica couldn’t move. “Oh my God…,” she stammered as she looked down at Dr. Bishop, bewildered and then back up to the screen. “Oh, my God! It’s Gail! They’ve killed Gail!”

Dr. Bishop tried to keep Angelica calm by reaching over and patting her hand. Angelica pulled it away and placed it over her mouth, her eyes wide, dazed.

“Angelica, are you okay?” Angelica started to shake her head continuously, almost involuntarily. “No, no… no.”

Dr. Bishop turned around and looked back at the monitor. “Holy hell!” he whispered in a deep breath and listened.

“All right, they are saying there doesn’t appear to be foul play. The police said either accidental drowning or suicide,” he restated, after the newscaster finished each sentence.

“No! Not possible!” Angelica snapped.

Angelica’s cell phone rang. Dr. Bishop looked at it on the table. Angelica was mute watching the T.V. and hadn’t noticed it. His gaze suddenly was drawn to the faces around the bar staring at them.

He turned back around. “Angelica, okay, calm down!” He glanced around the bar and noticed everyone was still staring. The two bartenders were leaning in and whispering to each other, peering in their direction.

Angelica glared absently into Dr. Bishop’s eyes. “No!”

Dr. Bishop lowered his head. “Okay, okay… breathe.”

Angelica snapped her hand up quickly, “Shush, what did they just say? I missed it.” She looked up and then back at Dr. Bishop with tears streaming down her cheeks.

“They said her golden retriever was found at the bank of the river, and that is apparently how they discovered her body. Okay, wait, they just said… someone saw the dog and thought he was lost. They tried to get him to go with them so they could locate the owner, but he wouldn’t move. He kept looking out into the water.”

Angelica appeared fragile, about to break at any moment. Her eyes were red and watery. Her face was pale and vacant. 

As the commercial came across the screen Angelica grabbed her cell phone from her purse and dialed Carl. “Carl, Carl… Gail… They found Gail… they found her body in the river!”

Carl’s disembodied voice answered calmly and firmly. “Angelica, I’ve been trying to call you! We don’t really know anything yet. I’m on my way to the station now.”

Dr. Bishop was sympathetically observing Angelica’s face as she met his eyes while she was on the phone with Carl.

“I can’t believe it! No, that is just not possible, Carl! We both know Theo wouldn’t do that. It’s a lie! You know it!” Angelica was silent for a moment, listening to Carl, as Dr. Bishop continued to try to listen in on their conversation.

“No, I’m at the airport. Yes. Okay, I’ll call you when I get there. Yes, please find out what you can. Thank you!” Angelica hung up the phone, looked at Dr. Bishop, and then took a large gulp of her beer before getting up and walking over to the bar. Dr. Bishop watched her as she said something to the bartender. Then the bartender returned with a glass half full of brown liquid and a single ice cube.

Angelica with the glass in her hand walked back over to the table and sat down. She lifted the glass and started taking several slow sips. Dr. Bishop was concerned that after the news of Gail’s death, Angelica may not be stable enough to make the trip.

“Should we cancel the flight?”

Angelica looked at him with a blank stare and after a moment shook her head. “No, we go! We fucking go! They are not going to stop me! They killed Matthew and now my best friend!”

Dr. Bishop nodded his head. “I’m so sorry about your friends, Angelica,” he said softly and then tightened his lips.

Angelica managed a slight smile. “Thank you. I’m sorry about the language… I just don’t know what I’m going to do without her. I can’t even think about that right now.” Angelica’s eye watered and tears once again slid down the sides of her cheeks.

They sat quietly for a few minutes, finished their drinks, and paid their tabs. Angelica appeared to still be in a daze, and Dr. Bishop wasn’t sure what to say to her.

As they got up to leave, Angelica noticed several people staring at her. She realized she must have caused a scene, but at that moment, she was oblivious to the world and to what anyone thought of her. Her only thoughts were of Gail.