Phantoms

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    The computer went on at considerably greater length, flashing up the findings for every substance that might ordinarily be detected. The results were the same. In its undistilled state, the water contained absolutely no traces of any elements other than its two components, hydrogen and oxygen. And complete distillation and filtration had left behind no residue whatsoever, not even any trace elements. Autry’s sample couldn’t have come from the town’s water supply, for it was neither chlorinated nor fluoridated. It wasn’t bottled water, either. Bottled water would have had a nominal mineral content. Perhaps there was a filtration system underneath the kitchen sink in that apartment—a Culligan unit—but even if there was, the water that passed through it would still possess more mineral content than this. What Autry had collected was the purest laboratory grade of distilled and multiply filtered water.
    So… what was it doing all over that kitchen floor?
    Bettenby stared at the computer screen, frowning.
    Was the small lake at Brookhart’s liquor store also composed of this ultrapure water?
    Why would anyone go around town emptying out gallons and gallons of distilled water?
    And where would they find it in such quantity to begin with?
    Strange.
     
    Jenny, Bryce, and Lisa were at a table in one corner of the dining room at the Hilltop Inn.
    Major Isley and Captain Arkham, who wore the decontamination suits that had no names on the helmets, were sitting on two stools, across the table. They had brought the news about Corporal Velazquez. They had also brought a tape recorder, which was now in the center of the table.
    “I still don’t see why this can’t wait,” Bryce said.
    “We won’t take long,” Major Isley said.
    “I’ve got a search team ready to go,” Bryce said. “We’ve got to go through every building in this town, take a body count, find out how many are dead and how many are missing, and look for some clue as to what the hell killed all these people. There’s several days of work ahead of us, especially since we can’t continue with the search past sundown. I won’t let my men go prowling around at night, when the power might go off at any second. Damned if I will.”
    Jenny thought of Wargle’s eaten face. The hollow eye sockets.
    Major Isley said, “Just a few questions.”
    Arkham switched on the tape recorder.
    Lisa was staring hard at the major and at the captain.
    Jenny wondered what was on the girl’s mind.
    “We’ll start with you, Sheriff,” Major Isley said. “In the forty-eight hours prior to these events, did your office receive any reports of power failures or telephone service interruptions?”
    “If there were problems of that nature,” Bryce said, “people would generally call the utility companies, not the sheriff.”
    “Yes, but wouldn’t the utilities notify you? Aren’t power and telephone outages contributory to criminal activity?”
    Bryce nodded. “Of course. And to the best of my knowledge, we didn’t receive any such alerts.”
    Captain Arkham leaned forward. “What about difficulties with television and radio reception in this area?”
    “Not that I’m aware of,” Bryce said.
    “Any reports of unexplainable explosions?”
    “Explosions?”
    “Yes,” Isley said. “Explosions or sonic booms or any unusually loud and untraceable noises.”
    “No. Nothing like that.”
    Jenny wondered what in the devil they were driving at.
    Isley hesitated and said, “Any reports of unusual aircraft in the vicinity?”
    “No.”
    Lisa said, “You guys aren’t part of General Copperfield’s team, are you? That’s why you don’t have names on your helmets.”
    Bryce said, “And your decontamination suits don’t fit as well as everyone else’s. Theirs are custom tailored. Yours are strictly off the rack.”
    “Very observant,” Isley said.
    “If you aren’t with the CBW project,” Jenny said, “what are you doing here?”
    “We didn’t want to bring it up at the start,” Isley said. “We thought we might get straighter answers from you if you weren’t immediately aware of