Pariah Lafferty, Texas Ranger Ch 10: Bad Vibrations

1430

Mcgregor Residence, Killeen

Jamie was agreeable to helping Jesse with witness interviews. She had been forced to admit to a certain amount of curiosity, but she had no desire to drive all the way out to the ranch to satisfy it after dealing with harrowing events of the morning and the tedium of dotting lines and crossing T's for the incident report.

Jesse had been furious about the scratches on the black walnut stock of her Winchester, evidently one of the thugs had started to grab it when Jamie interrupted them and he took off in such a hurry that it clattered to the asphalt. She informed everyone that would listen that her rifle was worth not less than a month's wages. Thankfully, they'd not taken anything of consequence so far as either could tell.

The first of their interviews would be at the Mcgregor Residence, a suburban household in a community not far from one of the main gates and just off from the main road. A middle aged couple living in two bedroom house straight out of Leave It To Beaver-ville minus rugrats. The duo stripped the stars from their Ranger hats so as to be unofficial with their visit, though the appearance likely still startled given the matching hats and aviator glasses when they knocked on the door.

A brown haired lady of fine boned build dressed in a white blouse and khakis answers the door, her voice mousey from nervousness at the appearance of her guests,"Yes, can I help you?"

Jamie takes the lead so as not to startle her further, being more the people person,"Yes ma'am, we're sorry for the intrusion but we're here about that power outtage four days ago now."

The lady rightens at that,"Oh certainly, and you are?"

Jamie smiles pleasantly as she offers,"I'm Jamie O'Connelly and this is Jesse Lafferty. We're doing an independent follow up investigation. Are you by chance Missus Sandra Mcgregor?"

She nods, welcoming them inside as she confirms,"I am. I've been wondering if anything was being done about that, it was terribly strange. Nobody had power that night!"

The investigating duo steps in with her welcome, doffing hats and glasses as they go. The lady of the house offers,"I've got sweet tea if you care for some, do they know what caused that outtage? The news hasn't said a thing since the day it happened!"

Jesse replies, declining the offer even as Jamie accepts,"They honestly have no idea, but whatever happened has cleared."

Sandra quirks her lips, not happy at the notion of the power companies being befuddled as to the cause of the biggest power outtage in recent Texas days."Well...as long as its past I guess, so what are you trying to find out?" She asks as she brings a glass of iced tea to Jamie.

Jesse explains,"We've ruled out terrorism as an explanation, we're trying to determine what it was that exploded that night. You placed a call to the Sherriff's station saying you saw something that night, can you elaborate?"

Sandra clears her throat as she collects her thoughts, Jesse pulls out her pen and pad to take notes while she starts,"It was some time between eight and eight thirty that evening, We stepped outside because of a rumbling. We thought it was thunder, but it had been clear all day!"

Jamie and Jesse exchange glances at this, Jesse offering a hrm as she jots down notes. After a moment she asks Sandra to continue,"Well, we stepped outside and you may think I'm crazy for saying this, but it sounded like a rocket shooting overhead but it wasn't! It was this ball of light, all different colors and it was trailing a blue jet like...I don't know, plasma or something. Everything shook until it was gone,"

Jesse jots down a few more notes, then asks,"You said it was a ball of lights trailing a blue jet..."

Sandra interrupts her at that,"No no, light. It was one egg shaped ball, and it was cascading. I'll never forget that."

Jesse nods a couple times,"Was the rumbling like thunder, or was it like a series of explosions? Can you describe it?"

Sandra has to think about that. Jamie stays out of this, letting Jesse handle things which turns out to be good since she gets a phone call from El Paso that she steps outside to take. Sandra replies,"I think it was like explosions, when I heard it inside I thought it was thunder but when I went outside it hurt our ears really bad. It was terrific! And there was this whoosh that went with it, or maybe it was a hissing, I'm not sure but my ears rang for a while after it was gone. I feel like Mark and I had to shout at each other just so we could hear ourselves."

Jesse quirks a brow, knowing that feeling well. Her ears had rung a bit that morning from the report of her big pistol. She twirls her pen a bit then asks,"Could you tell exactly which way it was going?"

Sandra hmms as she thinks, then points,"It came from that way and passed right over our house. It had to have gone over the base a ways. Was that the thing that blew up?"

Jesse shrugs a bit,"That's what we're trying to figure out."

Jamie comes back in about that time, setting her drained glass down.

Jesse inquires,"If we need you to do so, would you be willing to sign a statement regarding these details? Most likely you won't be asked, but just in case."

Sandra nods,"Oh of course."

Jesse rises to her feet with that,"Then I think that's everything. I appreciate your time, Missus Mcgregor."

Jamie offers a thanks for the tea then, and Sandra shows them both to the door. They headed off to enjoy a lunch on gift card dime with Jesse meditating on the correlating data between what she had to say and some things the rancher mentioned. It seemed to her that the direction was right for the radar data.

***

1600

Whataburger, Downtown Killeen

Their late lunch is at a Whataburger in town, Jamie says in between bites,"Ok. I admit it. This is very likely one of your martian crashes, I owe you a drink."

Jesse quirks a raven brow as she feigns surprise,"Really? And what got you believing all of a sudden?"

Jamie shrugs nonchalantly as she sits back in her seat. After a moment she offers,"I think it's a bit much to swallow otherwise. You said it yourself, you've never heard of anything that can take a 60 degree turn at Mach 2 without banking. Too much is going on around here, why didn't they want us to check with the airport where they tried to wipe the intercept data? Why warn a rancher from his own section of land at gunpoint? It's a bit much. The only terrorists are the yanks here." She sips from her soda with that thought.

Jesse nods with an audible exhalation from her nose as she polishes off a mound of ketchup with a fry. She offers,"Well, we'll swing by the package store so you can pick us something up. I'm not saying anything sober." Jesse doesn't smile, not that its common for her anyway. She gets a knot deep down any time she contemplates the subject to come.

Jamie finishes off her drink and burger. Electing to bring her fries along, they dump their trays and head off to the package store. The drink of choice for the night would be Goldschlager.

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