IT STARTED IN ROSWELL – PREVIEW –

CHAPTER 1

IT WAS THREE A.M. ON a brutally slow Friday morning. No drunk drivers, no calls on my police radio, not even an inebriated Native American to break the monotony.

I was sitting in the parking lot of Momma Tuckers Donut Shop, a half-eaten bear claw in my hand, when I wondered, not for the first time, “What the hell was I doing here?” Coming to Roswell, New Mexico, seemed like such a good idea considering the mess my life had become. I had given twelve years of my life to the U.S. Army, twenty more to the LAPD, thirty years to Lillian, my childhood sweetheart, and not enough time to work on my desire to be something…more. My thirty-year marriage came crashing down when Lillian decided she wanted a divorce and a chance to meet someone that more closely matched her intellectual ideal of a man. The fact that I never saw it coming, nor did I anticipate the moving company that showed up to remove all of her belongings, started me on a gradual slide that ended in Momma Tucker’s parking lot in Roswell.

Alimony wasn’t a concern since Lillian was a tenured professor of mathematics at UCLA earning far more in salary and perks than I ever did. I got along fine with income from renting out my former family home, a bonus that Lillian granted me, plus a modest pension from my tenure on the police department. What I thought I gained was the ability to finally write full time and amaze the world with my pending science fiction masterpiece. That was one of my reasons for relocating to Roswell, site of the infamous alien invasion and UFO crash landing. What better place for me to begin my new adventure than being surrounded by all that alien culture.

The bear claw hadn’t moved an inch for several minutes while my imagination wandered when a tap on my car window followed by several more, each harder than the last, broke in to my self-absorbed contemplations.

“Officer Sands, are you all right in there?” Crazy Joe Farris, a senior citizen of undetermined age, self-cut gray hair streaming out from under his baseball cap, was crouched down from his over six-foot height, seemingly replacing the little gray alien on the billboard sign behind him advertising the upcoming Annual UFO Festival. He was staring in my patrol car looking like he thought I was the crazy one. “You ain’t moved an inch in almost ten minutes. If you’re not too busy I need to have a word.”

Okay, I said I was in Roswell to write and that was my intention. Except to write you need inspiration and that seemed to be missing once I made it my primary occupation. But good old Mike Sands had always found a way to change direction and that is what I did after arriving in New Mexico just over a year ago. Several years before, Walter Boone, a partner of mine from LAPD, had taken the job as Chief of Police in Roswell. When he learned I was in town he offered me a chance to be a mentor to the many young officers on the force. The pay was shit compared to L.A. but once I had accepted his offer, I realized how much I missed being in uniform. An almost fifty-year-old Lieutenant Sands, Graveyard Watch Commander, was born.

“I ain’t got all night, Officer. Get your ass out here.”

He wasn’t going to go away so I climbed out of the new Ford Explorer, four-wheel-drive, patrol cruiser that Walt had issued to me as an inducement to enlist. I faced Joe, took a final bite of the bear claw while waiting for him to finally tell me what was so important.

“You ever see anything that looks like this?” he said pushing a blue plant that resembled a succulent in my face. “I been studying things in this desert for nearly thirty years and ain’t never seen another plant like this one.”

“I’m not a botanist or a landscaper, Joe. Why is this so important?”

“I studied agriculture back when I was a student and I never saw a plant quite like this growing in nature.”

“Damn, Joe, I can’t picture you being a student. I thought you were born in the desert and raised by coyotes.”

“You’re not the only one needing a reason to move here, ex-LAPD Officer Mike Sands. I was born in Detroit, studied at the University of Michigan and worked for a major Ag firm before heading west. Now, if we have our personal lives out of the way can we have a discussion about this blue whatever it is?”

“Sorry, I was feeling sorry for myself when you interrupted my introspection. My question remains the same; why bring this to me?”

“No one takes me seriously in this town and that includes the idiots at Eastern New Mexico University. I’ve tried to talk to the teachers in the Ag Lab, but most of them aren’t any brighter than a burned-out light bulb. They basically told me I would be arrested if I showed up on campus with one of my wild stories. Don’t ask me why but I had a feeling you would at least listen to me.”

“Man, you might have me wrong. Everyone thinks I’m an outsider and unable to understand the way things are done in a small city. Who am I supposed to take this plant to if you can’t approach folks who have a similar background?”

“They got a new gal teaching Ag up at the school. I heard she was a hot shot botanist at Ohio State before coming here. Probably another lost soul like you and me but you might be able to get this thing to her for an opinion. I wouldn’t ask none of the other shitheads on your Department because they would just as soon slap me in handcuffs and cart me off to the state hospital again.”

“You just keep coming up with tidbits that encourage me to trust you, don’t you Joe?”

“Here’s another thing, Officer; we need to take a drive out to the hill country so I can show you where all of these plants are growing.”

“You mean there are more of these things?”

“There are acres of them and even better, they weren’t there two months ago.”

“I’m definitely way out of my element on this. Okay, I’ll try to get up to the college at the end of my shift and get some answers. Now go find a place to sleep off whatever you are on and let me finish my coffee.”

Crazy Joe put the blue plant on the hood of my cruiser, smiled and jumped on his bicycle without saying thank you or anything else for that matter. It was still at least three hours before I could approach anyone at the college so I leaned back against my car and studied the plant. It was very smooth and oily feeling but nothing came off on my hands as I examined it. I wondered about a plant that could grow and spread so fast but not even a web search on my smart phone gave me any clues.

I finally looked up and realized that I was not alone. My graveyard partner, Lee Anne Hart, had pulled up next to me and was smiling, not exactly a happy smile but one like she was a hunter and I was the prey.

“I thought I caught you sleeping standing up, Lieutenant. Damn my surprise when I realized you were smart enough to use your phone for something other than making calls. Are you watching porn or kiddie cartoons?”

“Neither, actually,” I remarked trying to regain control of the moment. “I was researching reasons why a good-looking Mescalero Apache woman wanted to be a cop in Roswell. Turns out there was no good reason.”

We both laughed and I watched a very shapely thirty something officer as she walked over to get her cup of coffee. She seemed to be swaying her behind and making sure I noticed as she walked. It made me think that if I hadn’t been the watch training officer. . .I stopped that thought before it grew legs and took me where it was dangerous to go. Besides, I wasn’t sure I was ready for any kind of romantic involvement.

“So, you going to tell me why you have a cactus in your hands?” was the first thing Lee Anne said as she walked back stirring her mostly milk flavored coffee.

“Crazy Joe gave it to me. He said there was a lot of it growing in the hill country but he had never seen anything like it before. What does it look like to you?”

“I can’t say I ever saw any plants that blue on the Res or anywhere else for that matter. What’s Joe think it is?”

“That’s the crazy part; Joe has an Ag background and he’s just as puzzled as we are. He wants me to take it up to the college.”

“Ah, it looks like you have a second job running errands for a crazy man.”

“Except for arresting intoxicated Native Americans, it may be the most exciting thing I’ll have done in weeks.”

“If more local businesses were interested in hiring all the folks my people put through technical schools you wouldn’t be arresting so many. Hey, I’m taking my coffee to the station, old man,” Lee Anne quipped, giving me that sardonic smile again, “so don’t go falling asleep, unless you call me first to tuck you in.”

CHAPTER 2

THE REST OF THE SHIFT was spent in a futile on-line search for a plant that resembled the one I held in my hand while also wondering why Lee Anne was acting so strangely. As seven o’clock approached I put my improper thoughts away and drove to the university. I was at the campus security office hoping the day shift wouldn’t give me shit for being out of my jurisdiction.

“Well, if it ain’t Mister LAPD come looking for some higher education,” spewed out of the mouth of Lieutenant Abel Gomez. “What you need this time?”

Not a friendly greeting but at least he wasn’t ordering me off the campus like he did almost every week. Gomez didn’t mind my being on campus as long as I was out of uniform and showing up for a class but his blood ran hot every time he saw my new patrol car. His team was driving used cars donated by the Roswell PD and that seemed to be an insult to the proud officer.

“I got a problem that needs an opinion from the Ag Department, Lieutenant, and I heard you have a whiz bang instructor straight out of Ohio on staff.” I was going to be as solicitous as possible to keep Gomez from going off on me for no reason.

“Yeah, she’s a doozy all right. Her name’s Alice Moore or Morrison or something like that. Her resume says she’s a botanist, some kind of plant scientist, but she’s teaching a biology class. You can find her in the Arts and Sciences Building on the south end of the campus.” Figuring he had said it all, Gomez started to walk away but stopped.

“Don’t park that shiny new car on my campus, Sands,” he yelled over his shoulder. “There are plenty of spots on the city streets for you to use.”

I fought a late arriving student for the last spot of street parking before making my way to the Science building. Alice Morrison was listed on the faculty roster, posted outside the main entry, as being in Room 235. I was not sure what I was expecting, maybe a gray-haired old harridan. I stood silently outside her open office door looking at a very attractive blond, probably near my own age, having an animated conversation with a very unhappy student. When he finally stopped ranting and bolted for the door I was still standing outside and looking in.

“Are you going to stand there all day, officer, or do I have to walk over and drag you inside?” She chuckled at her joke so I did too.

“Sorry, Ma’am, it’s been a long night.” I couldn’t wipe the smile off of my face as I approached her desk. It suddenly felt like I was a school boy standing in front of his teacher.

“Well, what is it Officer?” she said impatiently as she stared at my uniform.  “I have a class to teach in forty minutes.”

“One of Roswell’s old-time citizens found this plant out in the hill country,” I said as I started to hand it across the desk. “He wanted to know what it was. He somehow coerced me into bringing it up here hoping to find some enlightenment.”

As soon as she reached for the plant in my hand a mild discharge of energy, seemingly coming from the plant, caused both of us to jerk back letting the plant drop on her desk. I got a strange look of fear and anxiety from her as she rubbed her hand and turned her attention to the plant. She carefully rotated it every way it could be viewed, tested its texture and finally, figuring she wouldn’t receive another shock, picked it up.

“I’ve never known of a plant to do that. Let’s go next door to my lab so I can get a better look at its structure,” she said coolly as she lifted the plant without waiting to see if I was going to follow. I had gone from surprised student to puppy dog as I trailed behind her.

“It’s not much to look at,” she muttered glancing around the room while she prepared a slide, “but it’s all the school can afford.”

“It reminds me of my old chemistry lab in high school,” I offered lamely. “Is there anything I can do to help, Miss…?”

“Damn, how embarrassing, I never did introduce myself. I’m Alice Morrison and you are…?”

“Mike Sands, late of Los Angeles and relatively new to Roswell P.D.”

“Why bring this curiosity to me, Officer Sands?” Alice stopped slicing thin pieces of the plant as she looked up at me.

“Like I said before, one of local desert rats, a man who claims to have some interest in Ag work, found a field of the stuff north of here and said you were the one best suited to examine it. He claims that he has never seen anything like it and wanted me to go with him to see the field so I wouldn’t think he was crazy.”

“Who is the desert rat? He was right when he said the plant is unique.”

“An old guy named Farris; said he studied Ag in Michigan.”

Alice stared at me as if I had just discovered the second unaccounted artifact in the space of one night.

“Was that Joe Farris?” Alice asked almost in a whisper. When I nodded yes, she yelled, “He’s a fucking PhD from Michigan State. Oops, pardon my language. Folks around here aren’t used to a woman swearing like a man. It freaked out my student just before you walked in. Are you sure the guy said he was Joe Farris? Everyone assumed he had died because he disappeared off of the face of the earth.”

There was a pause as Alice thought over what I had said while viewing her specimen on the microscope.

“So, Doctor Farris is puzzled by this plant,” she finally remarked. “Well, so am I. There is nothing on earth with this kind of structure, at least there wasn’t until now. When can we go see the rest of it?”

“Whoa, slow down. I’m off duty, right about now actually, but I need a few hours of sleep before I go exploring. I’d need to find Crazy Joe so he can guide us in.”

“I have classes until three and then I am free for the weekend. What’s your schedule?”

Somehow, I was being roped in to making a crazy field trip and couldn’t explain why it didn’t bother me. What was worse was that I couldn’t explain why I was willing to let her go with me. Miss Morrison was attractive, in an older sort of way, but I was trying hard not to be drawn to her.

“I don’t have to be back at work until Monday night so, against my better judgement, I’ll set aside some time to go exploring. All we need is our crazy guide.”

“I hope you don’t mind but my daughter Jeannie has to come along? She’s a very precocious ten-year old but I can’t leave her at home alone.”

“Sure, why not add one more to our expedition? I remember taking neighborhood boys on camping trips back when they were young and I kind of miss the interactions.”

“So, I guess you’re married,” Alice said oddly with a reduced level of enthusiasm.

It made me wonder if she was suddenly becoming reluctant to take a road trip with a married man, or any man for that matter.

“Divorced, like a lot of cops, but gradually getting over the shock of it.”

It took a minute for her to make up her mind but she finally nodded.

“So, are we on for this afternoon, say around four?” she said as if she were taking charge. “I’ll pack some sandwiches so we can hang around until the sun goes down. I want to see what happens to these guys when they don’t have any sunlight.”

Alice thought for a minute and then wrote out her address and phone number. She passed me the note as if she was doing something unpleasant. I looked at her note, smiled and then passed her my business card and cell number. She made me wonder why I was suddenly happy I had walked in her office. I gave her my stupid puppy dog look as I prepared to walk out. We shared a professional handshake and promised to see each other later that day.

Crazy Joe was definitely going to get an earful about sending me to the college. I didn’t have long to wait as he was leaning on my car when I finally managed to make my way outside.

“What did you find out and don’t say the botanist is good looking? You’ve been in there almost an hour. How long does it take to hear the plant is not of this planet?”

“Have you become my mother, you old fart? She agrees with you and also told me you are far more deceitful than I thought. Doctor Joe Farris, for god’s sake? What the fuck are you doing out here in this wilderness?”

“That girl has a big mouth. I suppose she agreed to go with us, too. What did you set up?”

“Be at my place no later than three thirty and I’ll drive to Alice’s apartment to pick up her and her daughter. I assume you know where I live since you seem to show up wherever I am.”

“I’d just as soon take Miss Botanist and leave you and the little girl here, except my vehicle’s low on gas. Can I trust you to look after my bicycle?”

“Three thirty, doctor, and don’t be late.”