Chaingang

* Jurisdiction: Waterton. Attempt to cover up murders. Stated reason: to control possible panic situation.

* Jurisdiction: Maysburg. No further follow-up known by Tennessee authorities after liaison with federal and Missouri authorities.

* Jurisdiction: county (Missouri)—No further follow-up.

* Jurisdiction: federal—FBI agents investigate two crime scenes. Request other lab work. No follow-up known.

* Suspicious element: initial approach by Christopher Sinclair for mysterious holding company's nonexistent front.

* Suspicious element: ecological research & development center/theme park building in remote Missouri small town. (Reasons such as ‘underdeveloped real estate within easy driving distance of several major population centers, ready regional pool of inexpensive skilled/unskilled blue-collar labor force, acceptable climate factors, etc., not convincing.) What is reason for location?

1. Mineral rights? Oil? Gold? Other?

2. Low density of population: toxic waste dump? Missile silo? Nuclear power plant? Other?

3. Cover for government-sponsored production or manufacturing of some type?

* Suspicious element: the lack of available information on violent mutilation murders—a multijurisdictional ongoing investigation of deaths and perhaps related disappearances in a community of less than seven hundred persons has generated only gossip and street rumors. Yet World Ecosphere, Inc., was able to investigate privately and conclude that a serial murderer was operating in the Waterton-Maysburg area. ‘Has targeted the Waterton area’ were Joseph Fisher's exact words. Slip of the tongue or did he have reason not to say ‘Maysburg-Waterton area'? Same conversation: Fisher said he wanted to help us, ‘but I've been asked by the chief of police not to divulge certain information our investigator obtained from another law enforcement agency.’ Is this the Maysburg police department or a federal agency such as the FBI? Why does the chief executive officer for a Washington-based (or New York-based) company know more about a possible serial murder/ missing-persons case in the Midwest than the immediate families of victims?

Conclusions: Based on the known facts, it appears that ‘World Ecosphere, Inc.’ and their hush-hush land development project could be responsible in some way for at least elements of Sam's disappearance, such as the subsequent cover-up of related information. The big question is—what is their motive?

Best guesses as to possible motives:

(a) They have learned about the serial killer and are afraid that adverse publicity about such a widespread spate of (unsolved) murders might have an unfavorable effect on public's acceptance of the proposed theme park.

(b) They have learned about the killings and abductions and fear a possible adverse effect on whatever is really behind the land deal, such as creation of a nuclear dump, strip mine, or whatever (possibly a government-funded. project).

(c) They themselves are directly responsible for the disappearances and/or deaths. The least likely possibility.

Bottom line: the project itself must be investigated further. We need to know if Ecoworld is what the company purports it to be."

She went over and sat down on the dusty bed, suddenly quite cold.

On the way to town, they were both in their own world. Royce was concentrating on playing detective, telling himself he was paying Mary back—for a lot of things—and Mary was trying to sort out her weird emotions.

Her world was upside down, yanked inside out. She was hiding—from what, she wasn't completely sure, a serial murderer, she supposed, trying not to second-guess the man beside her—sequestered in the Perkins vacation cabin at Whitetail. It was all too strange, and a no-win cruise for all hands aboard. Nothing good could come out of this mess.

Royce had spoken with Cullen Alberson, and they were going to see him today. The man had been open and seemingly unguarded, which was more than one could say of most of those involved even peripherally in the land deal. They'd gone by the Alberson house and he'd left for town already, and Royce had used their phone to call the hardware store and left word for Cullen to wait for them there.

Horvath's, one of the town's thriving all-purpose “general stores,” was located under the Waterton water tower, a distinctive silver and green onion standing tall above the north edge of the city limits. They pulled in to the parking lot and saw Cullen standing near the bed of his pickup, in animated conversation with another farmer. They waited until the other man walked away. Then they got out and said hello.

“Thanks for letting us pick your brain about this, Cullen,” Royce said.