The Bovine Connection (15 page)

As Matthew backed out of the driveway, he caught a glimpse of Angelica. She was staring warily out of the passenger window. “Are you all right?”

His words took a moment to register. Angelica looked over at Matthew. “Yes… interesting afternoon. The McKinney’s are out there. Aliens… Hybrids… wow! This is all so crazy!” Angelica drew a sharp breath.

Matthew bellowed a laugh. “Hey, I was going to meet the guys for a beer after I dropped you at the lodge, why don’t you come along. It will help you unwind -- change of pace.”

“Okay, why not,” she said, barely making eye contact with Matthew before she turned back around to look out the window toward the old house.

Ellen pulled back the dated curtains and watched as they drove away. Blake stepped up and peered motionless behind her.

“Why didn’t you tell her? You should have told her everything,” Ellen said in a whisper while watching Matthew’s car drive away. Blake moved in closer and carefully squinted over Ellen’s shoulder as if he were looking through the scope of a sniper rifle. “Don’t worry. She’ll find out soon enough.”

A
ngelica turned to see the sunlight fade into the darkness as the door to bar glided softly shut behind them.

The RUFA crew was playing pool. Angelica noticed Matthew’s face had lit up. He looked different, younger in the dim light, as she imagined he had looked in his college days meeting up with his frat brothers. Matthew waved his hand and shouted across the loud pool hall, and then peered back at Angelica. “Look, the guys are already here!” Angelica smiled, amused at Matthew.

The pool hall smelled heavy of tobacco smoke. The only lighting came from red and white stained glass pool table lamps and the rather dull neon signs on the walls. It appeared to be a happening place though, probably for the simple fact that it was the only bar with pool tables in Elberton, she thought.

“Hey there, man!” Paul said,
turning around to face Matthew
just after knocking a ball in the hole. The other men heard Paul and sauntered towards them as Matthew and Angelica approached the table.

The sound of pool ball strikes was piercing and all around her. She started to feel it was a mistake to accept Matthew’s offer to grab a beer. Her nerves were on edge. She realized she would have been more comfortable unwinding back at the lodge, soaking in a
hot bubble bath, sipping Scotch, and listening to her favorite iTunes playlist.

Angelica felt a sharp tap on the back of her shoulder, her heartbeat spiked. She turned around to a conspicuously intoxicated man in a cowboy hat smiling devilishly at her. Angelica flushed scarlet.

“Would you like a drink, pretty lady?” The man slurred as
he swayed ominously toward her. By his appearance, he looked as if needed a shower. Angelica noticed oil stains around his fingernails and in the creases on his hand as he clutched
a beer bottle in front of his chest.

“Oh great, can this get any worse,” she wondered. Angelica stepped back and smiled out of uneasiness rather than politeness. “No, thank you!” she responded harshly as she squirmed at the thought.

Matthew turned around and caught a glimpse of the cowboy swaying back and forth, staring Angelica up and down with a look of desperation on his scruffy face.

Angelica was leaning back. Her eyes bored into the man. Matthew laughed and nudged Paul. “Look at
Hal
! We better save her. Or maybe save him… she has that look.” Both Matthew and Paul laughed simultaneously. “Hey
Hal
, leave the lady alone! Isn’t
K
el
l
y gonna be looking for you soon? If she comes in here and sees you talking to this pretty young lady, she’ll have your ass!”

Hal
shot a look over at Matthew, and then his head started wobbling back and forth. He raised his fat dirty index finger and pointed at Matthew as he slightly lost
his balance. “Yep, you’re right…
Kell
y.” He looked back at Angelica… “
Kell
y’s my crazy wife,” laughing, he then turned and swayed off.

Angelica looked at her small team of body guards, “Thank you!”

Paul stepped over to Angelica. “You’re a long way from D.C.,” he announced with a wry smile. “It’s quite a bit different here in Montana, not the same sophistication.”

“Yes, it’s quite different from D.C., but similar in ways you might not imagine.” Angelica shot an irritated look back over at the drunken cowboy stumbling his way back to the pool tables. “It’s beautiful though and the scenery is amazing.” Angelica relaxed her shoulders.

Paul put his pool stick down and one of the other guys grabbed it. “How long are you here?”

Angelica remembered her meeting with Michael Anderson the next day. “I guess I’ll be leaving in a day or so. I haven’t booked my return flight yet. I need to interview Dr. Walter Goolrick, so I’ll hopefully be heading to Colorado next.” Angelica thought a moment. “I’ll head back to D.C. after I meet with Goolrick. I should be back in my office Tuesday at the latest,” she said with blank eyes appearing to be working the details out in her head.

“Anyway…” she snapped back and refocused on Paul. “I’d like to ask you some questions as well, since we’re here. Would you mind speaking casually over a beer?”

“Of course not, I was wondering when you were going ask.” Paul appeared polite and easy going.

“Great, let’s grab that table,” Angelica pointed to the booth beside the guy’s pool table.

Matthew walked over and set down two shots of tequila on the table. “Thought you two would like a shot,” he said. She picked up the glass, licked the salt off the rim, and tilted her head back drinking it in one swift gulp. Then she picked up the lime wedge and sucked it, making a sour face.

“Wow, it’s been awhile since I’ve done that. Thank you.”

Paul laughed while shaking his head. “You did it like an old pro.
”

Angelica turned and looked around at the bar patrons and then back to Paul, “I‘d better not have any more of those, I tend to…” Before she could finish her sentence, Paul was already calling over to the bartender for two more. “Well okay.” She nodded in approval and smiled nervously.

“It will relax you.” Paul smiled and winked.
“You seem a little tense.”

“Well, I’m more of a wine girl… and Scotch on occasion, but okay.”

Angelica grabbed her digital recorder, turned it on, and sat it on the table in front of them. “I’m not sure if the background noise will interfere, hope not.” She pushed it to the middle of the table between them. All right Paul, What’s up with the mutilations?”

Paul, taken aback, “Boy, you get right to it – direct and to-the-point, I like that! Well, no one seems to
know for sure.” He smiled with kind eyes as he leaned back into the booth.

“I think it could have something to do with genetics. I’ve learned cattle blood …”

Angelica interrupted Paul. “My apologies… I did not mean to interrupt you. Did you also speak with Dr. Walter Goolrick, the veterinarian scientist the police called in?”

“Yes,” Paul said. ”He talked about how bovine hemoglobin closely matches human blood. However, you know, the police didn’t call the doctor. He called them… for whatever
it’s
worth. Not sure why it was turned around like that… anyway, he told them he had been independently investigating cattle mutilations for some time and thought he could assist them with the case.”

Angelica looked intrigued. She envisioned the stiff carcass with all four legs in the air at the Keller ranch.

Paul took a sip of his beer and shifted in his seat. “Back to my conversation with Dr. Goolrick--He said cattle DNA could be used to fill in the gaps of the genetic sequence codes that do not have enough DNA on the human strand.” Paul paused at the sound of laughter erupting from Matthew and the guys over at the pool table. “Matthew is a funny guy. Bet he has you laughing a lot,” Paul mused.

Angelica thought for a moment. “Yes, he has a great sense of humor. Go on about Dr. Goolrick.” Angelica leaned in closer.

“Well, that would suggest they are doing something with human DNA,” Paul told her, “like possibly highly evolved hybridization.”

Angelica laughed impulsively. “Here we go again with this outlandish theory. Let me guess. They’re creating hybrids by combining extraterrestrial DNA with human DNA… oh, and just for good measure, filling in the gaps with cattle DNA. And the military is monitoring it, right?” Angelica dropped her hand down on the table, leaned back in the booth, looked around the room and then back curiously at Paul.

“Wow, you seem to be a step ahead of me for some reason,” Paul said. “Yes, I do believe that’s true, and I’m obviously not the only one that believes this theory. Continue with your research, Angelica,” Paul said sharply, while trying to stay polite. “You’ll probably come across the theory that not only is the cattle DNA assisting in the experimentations, the cattle DNA is used to feed the ETs.”

“What?” Angelica thought aloud.

“By the way,” Paul added, “humans have been genetically altering DNA in seeds and animals for years to feed themselves,” he finished sarcastically and then smiled warmly.

Angelica buried her face down into her hands for a moment and then looked back up. “Okay, let’s talk about the mutilated cattle on the ranch. You don’t believe someone or something else could have done it?” Angelica examined his face while biting down on her lower lip.

“Angelica, think about it… let’s say the military is killing these cattle… they’d have to drop down and harness these animals. That is a lot of weight for a military helicopter to lift and transport without being seen.” A startling thought hit Paul. “Well, I’m sure it’s possible, but hard to hide. There’s absolutely no evidence at the scene to suggest it, such as boot prints, tracks and so on. I just don’t believe that’s the case. With that being said… the area under the animal always appears depressed, as if the animal was dropped on the site from the sky. The fractures to the animal’s bones are consistent with a dumping injury. Furthermore, there are usually reports of a small black military helicopter showing up after strange lights have been seen in the sky. Whether they are trying to cover up the activity by deflecting the focus away from the sightings, we don’t know… all speculation right now. I personally believe they’re monitoring them, you know, keeping an eye on the ETs.”

Angelica’s eyes narrowed as she took a sip of the beer Matthew had quietly snuck in front of her.

“I’m sure Matthew mentioned the high levels of radioactivity around the carcass,” Paul said.

“No, I don’t believe he did,” she replied wryly and shrugged.

“Well, anyhow, you wouldn’t think radiation would be present with a military helicopter,” Paul told her. “And one researcher found reports of animals coated with an ultraviolet substance after lights were seen in the sky… and some of those coated were later found mutilated.
”

“No, Matthew did not give me that much detail,” Angelica murmured.

“I’m sure Matthew’s probably covered as much ground as he could with you so far,” Paul said. He glanced briefly toward Matthew and then added:
“He’s been researching this for over a decade. For example, in ninety percent of the cases, the cattle are between the age of four and five years old.”

Angelica thought for a moment. “Perhaps that’s a coincidence?”

“Yes… maybe,” Paul said, as he nodded.

Without even thinking, Angelica had reached down and taken her second tequila shot causing her to squint and shiver. “Whoa!”

Loosened up just a little by the booze, Angelica did her best to summarize her understanding.
“So, the cow is sucked up by a light into an alien craft… organs are removed, blood is drained. Why?” Angelica tilted her head.

Paul looked curiously at Angelica. “I’ve sat in heated conversations on numerous occasions and asked the very same question… opinions differ. Some say they are replacing the human race due to how we treat the planet. Others say they plan to inhabit our planet, alongside humans with their DNA.”

Angelica thought for a moment. “What about other races. Are there others out there?” Angelica paused… “Say a benevolent race? Does this ring a bell?” Angelica shifted
--
conscious of how uncomfortable it felt to utter those words.

Paul smiled. “You’re doing your research. Yes, there are supposedly many races, interesting you are bringing up a race allegedly considered to be helping us. The race we investigators refer to as ‘
The Benevolent,’ are said to resemble humans. A lot of people have reportedly come in contact with these beings.”

“The way it’s been described to me is this…” Paul continued.  “They are what biblical accounts and religious beliefs throughout the centuries refer to as Angels, and technically, they would be right. Now think about this: How would someone from early biblical times describe an encounter with one? The Old Testament defines Angels as superior beings created by God, living in another realm, which is described generically as Heaven. For instance the Bible talks about Angels appearing to adults as strong and powerful beings, startling those they visit.”

Angelica raised her elbows to the table and rested her chin in her dainty fingers. “So it seems reasonable to conclude that you are mak
ing
some sort or comparison here… Okay, please continue,” she whispered and narrowed her eyes. She had started slurring her words.

“Angelic beings,” Paul reflected, “supposedly have been around since the beginning of mankind and you will find them referenced in all religions around the world. In fact, if you looked through the Bible, you would find countless examples of extraterrestrial encounters.”