Conspircaies

Revelations.'

'Really.'

'That glowing figure you saw in the woods? That could have been an angel—the Book of Revelations mentions angels appearing to the Righteous near the End Times. Are you righteous?'

'I sure hope so.'

'And that light you saw? Some will claim it was a UFO peopled with aliens. Don't believe them. UFOs are not from outer space—they're the chariots of Satan.'

She was working herself up. It was almost as if she were talking to herself. Jack could only watch and listen, fascinated.

'Yes! Satan! For isn't the Dark One, after all, referred to as 'Prince of the Air?' The lights in the skies are proof that Satan is here. He and his forces are at this very moment working to hurl America into anarchy by destroying religious freedoms. That's why there's been so many church burnings recently—and don't forget Waco! But he'll also try to undermine from within by striking at us through our children! Even now his minions are teaching those innocent minds about evolution and life on other planets, trying to convince them that science proves the Bible wrong! And it's working, trust me, it's working. And what is Satan's purpose? Just before the End Times, he is going to join the USA and Canada into a single government and install the Antichrist as overall leader.'

Jack listened raptly. He loved this stuff.

'Any idea who this Antichrist is?' he said when she took a breath. He could think of a few politicians who fit the description.

'No. Not yet. We'll know soon enough, though. But not all of us are going to sit around and just let this happen. The Righteous Faithful will resist to the end. The Devil is going to mark his billions of followers with a special microchip. It will run at six hundred and sixty-six megahertz—six-six-six is the Number of the Beast, you know. His followers, those who have the chip, will be able to buy food and roam free; the Righteous who refuse the chip and stay faithful to God will starve or be rounded up and put into camps.'

Got to make sure I get me one of those chips, Jack thought.

'It will be a terrible time,' she said, shaking her head as she wound down and her voice softened. 'A terrible, terrible time.'

'How did you learn all this?' Jack said.

'I told you: it's right here in the Bible, and in the papers every day!'

'Right. Of course.' He knew she hadn't been born like this. He wondered when she'd gone off the deep end. And he wanted to know if she was far enough gone to make a move against Melanie Ehler. 'But when did you first begin putting it all together?'

Olive leaned forward. 'I can tell you the exact date I became aware of Satan's evil hand in world affairs. Up till that time I was just like everybody else, blithely going about my business, thinking everything was fine—well, I had a bad weight problem and couldn't seem to do anything about it. But I had no idea my obesity was related to Satan.'

Jack couldn't resist. 'The Devil made you eat?'

'Are you mocking me, Mr. Shelby? Because if—'

'Call me Jack, and no, I wasn't mocking you.' Had to tread softly here. 'Go on.'

'All right. As I was saying, I was getting nowhere with my weight until I went to this wonderful therapist. She took one look at me and said, 'You were abused as a child—that's why you're overweight. Your mind has forced you to build up that layer of fat as symbolic insulation against further abuse.''

'She made the diagnosis first, before she started interviewing you? Isn't it usually the other way around?'

'She's an exceptional woman. At first, of course, I thought she was crazy, but she convinced me to go through memory recovery therapy. And, to my everlasting horror, I found she was right. I recovered memories of Satanic ritual abuse when I was a child.'

Jack said nothing. He'd read an article in the Times about memory recovery therapy and how it tended to create more memories than it supposedly recovered.

Olive pulled a tissue from the pocket of her flowered vest and dabbed at her eyes. 'My parents denied it all till their dying days, so I couldn't find out if they'd implanted one of those 666 chips in me.'

'What makes you think—?'

'Because they hurt me!' she said, her eyes puddling up again. 'I remember that! I can see those black robed figures standing over me—you hear about men in black, and there was that so-called comedy movie about them, but these were the real men in black, and believe me, there was nothing funny about them!'

'Easy, Olive,' Jack said, fearing she was about to lose it. 'It's all right.'

'It's not all right! These Satanic cults sacrifice most of their victims, and so for a while I thought I was lucky because I'd survived. And then I started thinking maybe I was allowed to live for a reason. Maybe I'd been implanted with the 666 chip. If that's true, it will control me during the End Times. I'll be marked as unfaithful. I'll miss the Rapture and suffer the Tribulation.'

'A simple X ray ought to—'

'They don't show up on X rays! I've had countless pelvic exams, plus CAT scans and ultrasounds and MRIs, but they all supposedly come back negative.'

'Supposedly?'

'I'm beginning to suspect that the medical profession is in league with the CIA and Satan, implanting these chips in everyone they can. That's why I've got to know when the End Times are coming…so I can prepare myself…purify myself. If you hear from Melanie again, ask her about the End Times, will you? Please? I've got to know.'

Jack's sense of derisive amusement with Olive melted away in the face of her genuine anguish. Her fears were whacked out, but the deeply troubled woman before him was real, and she was hurting. He would have liked a few minutes with the so-called therapist who got her started down this road.

'Sure, Olive,' he said softly. 'If I hear from her again, that's the first thing I'll ask her.'

'Thank you,' she said, brightening. 'Oh, thank you. And tell her I've still got the disks.' Her eyes widened and her hand darted to her mouth.

'What disks?' Jack asked.

'Nothing,' she said quickly. 'It was nothing. Forget I said that.'

Jack remembered the empty 'GUT' folder in Melanie's computer.

'Computer disks, Olive?' he said, improvising. 'Melanie told me she had large computer files on her Grand Unification Theory. She said she made copies for safekeeping and that she was giving them to someone she trusted.' He was stabbing in the dark here. 'Was that someone you?'

'Her theory? All her work?' Olive sat frozen, staring at Jack. 'She told you?'

Jack nodded. 'You've got them in a safe place, I hope.'

'Yes, but I don't know anything about computers, so I have no idea what's on them. And I was wondering why she didn't give them to Lew. Do you think she doesn't trust him?'

Good question. Why hadn't she given them to her husband?

'I can't say, Olive. I never met her, and I've only known Lew since Tuesday.'

'Melanie and I are very close. She's such a good, warm person. She'll always listen to me, always comfort me. She never has a bad word to say about anyone. She's been like a sister to me.'

That didn't jibe with Lew's description of a woman with few friends or social contacts.

'If something's happened to her…' Olive sniffed and blinked back tears.

'You know,' Jack said slowly, cautiously, 'I know a little about computers. Maybe I could help you get into those disks and—'

Olive was shaking her head. 'No.' Her eyes narrowed. 'Why should you care about what's on those disks?'

'Well,' Jack said, improvising again—this was one suspicious lady. 'Melanie seemed to know about my, um, experience. I want to know how. Those disks might give us a clue as to—'

'No-no!' she said, her voice rising. 'No one can see them! I promised!'

'Okay,' Jack said, raising his hands in a conciliatory gesture. He didn't want her getting worked up again.