Chapter 2
An hour later the fisherman was back at the river’s edge. This time however he was accompanied by the Fire Department’s Emergency Response Vehicle and the local sheriff who insisted on having his flasher lights on. Their strobe was hypnotic and they cast an eerie blue-white-red reflection on both the river and the old growth redwoods that lined the far bank of the river. The fisherman had no intention of trying his fishing luck.

The Fire Department had a key to the gate so the caravan was able to access the logging road and the fisherman directed them right to the location on the river.

The rain had had subsided to a mist but a harsh chill in the air had descended upon the river. The wind was just strong enough to push the rain under protective wear, to increase the chill factor noticeably, and generally make things miserable.

The police car headlights shown out into the river and caught a steelhead rolling at the surface in mid river as if it intended to have a look at the strange goings on for itself.

Two seagulls had to be scared away from the body as the rescuers arrived. The gulls often traveled several miles inland from the Pacific looking for food. They had begun to peck at the body hoping for an easy-won meal. They had chosen the victim’s eyes first and by the time the police/investigation crew had arrived, the birds had completely removed one of them from its socket.

The investigators methodically worked through their checklists, collecting forensic evidence as best they could. The scene however would never compare to the CSI type investigations seen on TV. In some ways it didn’t matter. The river’s rising from the frequent freshets would have quickly washed away any shore side evidence and the fact that the body had been immersed in the river for an extended but as yet unknown amount of time, also eliminated much, if not all, of the remaining clues.

The fisherman was interviewed, and released. He quickly headed for home. There was no doubt that he would never return to this special secret fishing spot again. This turned out not to be the day of quiet enjoyment communing with nature and plying his fishing skills that he had planned.

Eventually the Fire Department rescuers placed the victim in a body bag and loaded him into the ERV for transport to the morgue. One last check with the Sheriff and they were gone. Finally the Sheriff too decided that there was no more evidence to be collected so he packed his equipment and left for his office to complete an incident report.

The victim had no identification on him and was wearing no ring or watch. He had no external extraordinary features like tattoos, piercings, or physical deformities, except for what appeared to be a rash on his hands and face. He was of average height and appeared to be in his late thirties or early forties. It was going to be difficult to identify him because of his “standard” features and the fact that that the river had waterlogged his skin so that finger prints were going to be of questionable quality.

The Fire Department workers estimated that he had been in the river for at least a day.

There were two things that no one realized while at the scene. The crime was actually much larger than the one body that was recovered. The floater was only one of three that all suffered the same end. The other two bodies had been swept downstream by the river’s relentless flow to the ocean.

And second, this group had stumbled upon a preview of the worst disaster that was ever about to happen to humankind. If only they had understood the seriousness of the situation.

Would this door that opened to the heinous plan shed enough light for it to be discovered and then stopped in time?