Chapter 28: Black Gold

That night Dawn could not sleep. The stakeout raised more questions than answers. She couldn't put her finger on it, but she knew that Jenny was up to something shady. She knew she needed to find out what was across the street from Jenny's house on the Stoneybrook Day property. She knew she couldn't tell anyone, Logan's reputation would be on the line if she got caught, not to mention Jessi's. But she knew she had to act fast. This stakeout still just wasn't working.

Suddenly, she shot up. She knew she could text Jamie. Maybe set up a date. They could go down to the barn with flashlights undetected and find something. Quickly, she texted him.

"Care to help me save the environment tonight, and possibly Stoneybrook?"

"Sure. What's up?"

Dawn had been keeping him informed about all the clues and information up until now. 

"I need to find out what is in that barn. I can't let Mary Anne and Logan know what we are doing. I'm telling them we are going to the midnight showing of Rocky Horror Picture Show at Stanford. That will give us plenty of time and explain why we are wearing all black."

"Ok. I will pick you up in 30 minutes. I've got flashlights."

Dawn raced to get dressed and hurried down the stairs. She found Logan and Mary Anne snuggled on the couch watching Stranger Things. 

"I'm going to Rock Horror with Jamie Anderson. I will be back late."

"Ok," they both said just as the bell rang. 

Dawn and Jamie got into his car and slowly make their way around the block. They parked down on the corner in the parking lot of the new church. They just pretended they were a couple out for a jog until they got up a few houses before Jenny's. They could see her backyard was lit up with bright lights and trucks parked all up and down the driveway, spilling into the backyard.

They slowly crept into the woodsy area of the Stoneybrook Day property. Dawn had only visited Stoneybrook Day a few times but she knew she could find her way directly to the barn. They moved slowly and accurately as to not create any noise to alert anyone close by that they were there.

As they got closer to the barn they could vaguely see that it was lit from inside. You could barely see the light seeping through the cracks of the old thick wood walls, and heavy greenery that had grown up and around it over the decades that it had sat there.

Dawn and Jamie moved from tree to ancient tree until they approached the dirt clearing around the gigantic barn. The doors were closed and they could hear voices muffled from the inside the building along with the sounds of movement. They couldn't hear anything that was said in clear words. Dawn and Jamie looked at each other wondering what to do. Dawn crept around the back of the barn that had no windows or doors. Jamie quickly followed.

They sat there in silence a good 30 minutes or so when suddenly they heard the barn door open and Alan and Cary came out wearing hats with lights attached to them, plus carrying lanterns and talking.

"Did you close up?" 

"Yeah. Even if someone came snooping around they wouldn't suspect a thing."

"Great. Let's collect our wages for today. Once we move the boxes to storage tomorrow, we can start digging for samples. We know it's there now all we need to do is get a good reading from a sample and we are good to go."

"Well, this will be our last trip for a few days. We have to secure the uranium in storage until we get word back from The Boss Lady. As long as the right of capture goes through we are good or it's Plan B."

Plan B? Thought Dawn. She made a mental note to find out what the right of capture laws was in the state of Connecticut. 

She and Jamie waited until they knew that Alan and Cary were long gone. Then they casually walked back to the car and drove away. 

Dawn was already looking up right of capture on her phone. "We're sunk. Jenny has every right to pump oil from the Stoneybrook Day School property from her well. She will drain it dry and keep all the money from it for herself."

"And use it in every way possible to best Pete in the election. There is no way he could compete financially, could he?"

"I honestly don't know. He was some kind of specialist doctor that still has a few clients here in Stoneybrook. That's all I know. But I can find out."

"Good. Keep campaigning with him. We need to organize a committee with as many volunteers as possible to assist in every way possible. If we lose this election, we will lose the funds in recycling and parks and recreation. I heard she wants to cut the budget down to nothing and expand on the cliffs over by the lighthouse and cut down all the maple trees adjacent to the property."

"It's worse than I even thought", said Dawn. " At least we have some time to think and plan."

The next day Dawn slept in. She decided to dedicate the day entirely to coming up with a plan. She needed to organize the BSC and other people she had on hand for availability to help Pete campaign whenever possible. She met with Pete for lunch to go over plans and then started texting people to see if they could volunteer for certain days.

The first thing on the agenda was to visit places of worship within the city to talk to them and get a better grasp of their concerns and needs. Dawn would go along with Pete and kind of act as his assistant along with the various stops along the campaign trail.

She hadn't mentioned the oil to Logan or Mary Anne. She and Lewis had been getting along really well lately and she didn't want to ruin it. She did, however, tell Jessi who was working at Stoneybrook Day, and Claudia and Mallory. 

"This will be fabulous for my channel!" Claudia said.

" Claudia, remember you can't expose this until it is time."

"I know. I know. But when it does, it's going to be like liquid gold!"

Dawn made plans to go to Watson's to meet up with Claudia, Jessi, and Mallory that afternoon. They all piled into a lounge on the third floor. Mallory and Claudia had their laptops out.

"Jessi, what do you know about the group on the edge of town that Jenny bought the land from for the storage building? Tell me everything. The more we know, the better."

"I know it started in the 50s or 60s. It was when an incident happened with a doctor experimenting with both new and holistic healing methods within his practice. I think it started with the parents of a child that was killed in his care. They were convinced that the doctor was conducting medical experiments. They managed to sue him for malpractice. They became so consumed with keeping things the way they were they rejected new technology, and once they had a good following of people, they purchased a big amount of land on the outskirts of town. They built a huge village there, kind of like a compound. They reject anything made after 1969. They drive around in these old classic cars and wear these old-fashioned clothes. Sometimes you can see them protesting things down in front of city hall. They mostly keep to themselves and keep their heads down when passing people and won't talk to you."

"That sounds like a cult," said Dawn.

"It is. They call themselves The Nifties and they still recruit people."

"Has anyone ever escaped?"

"Not that I am aware of. But I don't follow it or pay attention."

Mallory had been sitting in thoughtful silence. Suddenly, she spoke." The doctor must be Humphrey Porter. There is no other doctor it could have been."

"Claudia, try to talk to Karen about Humphrey and the cult. Whatever you do, don't let her know why, just say it's for Watson's project on the history of Stoneybrook. Text me and let me know what you find out."

"Ok. And Mallory and I will go through all the old records we got from the hospital. Maybe we can find some names of members of the cult in there and previous patients."

Dawn hung out with Mal, Jessi, and Claud the rest of the afternoon into the night. When she got home she was feeling satisfied and refreshed. It was bothering her about Humphrey Porter, but she knew that she would learn more after visiting with the Nifties with Pete. 

Meanwhile, on the other side of town, Jessi's phone pinged. It was Derrick Masters.

"Start preparing to get famous. Netflix has picked up and ordered 12 episodes of the show. We will start filming you and your students in August. I will be coming down early to help with the preparations."

Jessi beamed. This was just what she had always wanted. But with all the stuff with Jenny going on she knew she was going to have to be transparent with Derrick about what his ex-wife was up to. 

"Awesome! I can't wait! But Derrick there are some things you should know about Jenny..."

 Chapter 27: Don't Beleive The Hype

The next day they were ready for the stakeout. Dawn was a little surprised that Logan was coming, but glad because she knew lawyers did a lot of this sort of thing for their jobs sometimes.

The first plan for the day was to have Mallory and Jessi walk down to the open field by Alan's lighthouse and pretend to do yoga and keep an eye on any activity at his house.

Dawn, Bart, and Mary Anne we're going to jog around the neighborhood by Jenny and pick up Claudia. From there they were going to have Lewisnring the doorbell and introduce himself as a new neighbor, which technically he was. Once inside, he would figure out how to get her talking about the campaign so he could observe and see if he could find any clues at the house. Then, according to anything they uncovered they were going to meet back at Logan and Mary Anne's for lunch and regroup for phase two that afternoon. They were hoping by that night they would have enough information.

First, they all met at the Bruno's for breakfast except for Claudia. Jessi and Mallory arrived, along with yoga mats. 

"I just made a batch of smoothies. There is bacon, sausage, and eggs for the carnivores," said Mona.

Logan had printed out paper copies of maps of Stoneybrook to keep in their pockets and mark down any location they saw, any unusual activity. Mallory was ready with a writing app to add any clues. 

"Ok everyone, group text if you see anything unusual. The rest of us will be standing by if anyone needs us while Lewis is in Jenny's house. The most important thing is to stay safe and act casual," said Logan. They scarfed down their meals and Mallory and Jessi headed out first.

Next, Dawn, Bart, Logan, and Mary Anne set out to pick up Claudia. They hoped since they had been seen jogging together so often they would not seem unusual. They rounded the corner in unison and texted Claudia. When she caught up with them she was wearing camo yoga pants and a camo 80s style off-the-shoulder shirt with a black sports bra and G.I. Joe earrings. "I am ready for war," she said. Her new camera was tucked away in a fanny pack so she could document everything. 

"Claudia, do not post any of the footage you get today until we know more. We don't want to alert them to what we are doing," said Dawn.

"I won't. I would have to edit it all first anyways, and I need to have the entire thing before I can edit it. It is going to be a masterpiece."

As they neared Jenny's house, the others decided they would be able to hide behind the big manicured hedges and bushes near the property. They had to be careful in case there were security cameras. 

"Here goes nothing," said Lewis and bravely walked up and rang the doorbell.

Meanwhile, Mallory and Jessi settled in their yoga spot. Jesse instructed Mallory on the breathing exercises, so they could keep an ear out on the lighthouse. They had been there a good 30 minutes or so when a truck came pulling up at the lighthouse. Cary Retlin got out and knocked on Alan's door. 

Slowly, Mallory and Jessi made their way closer to see if they could hear any of their conversations. They couldn't hear anything through the thick walls, but Cary and Alan finally came out on the lighthouse railing.

"When should she let us know?" Jessi couldn't tell which one of them was talking. 

"We can't start until it gets dark. She is doing what she can from her end until then. Hauling out all that storage is going to keep us in steady work for a while. She said she was building some storage buildings just outside the city on a property she bought from those people on the compound."

Jessi knew which people he meant. There were this strange group of people on the outskirts of town that like to wear old clothes and rarely came into town unless it was to protest outside the courthouse or to do various unavoidable necessities. 

"She better finish it soon if we are going to start the real dig in a few weeks. At least after tonight, we will know more about what exactly we are dealing with."

"She just texted me. She said the results came out good. The real orientation starts tonight at sundown in the barn." 

They gave a high five as they cackled ominous laughter.

The others couldn't believe Jenny answered the door and Lewis had walked in. There were a lot of workers going in and out of the property with hard hats and trucks. "I don't remember the Home Owners Association approving any work on Jenny's house lately. I wonder if she filed for a permit," Logan whispered. 

Lewis stepped into the doorway. He couldn't believe he had made it inside. The house was beautiful with big windows and a beautiful red oak wood floor with teal-painted walls. 

"Nice to meet you, Lewis. Would you like something to drink? Water, coffee, tea?"

She was nicer than he had anticipated. The way the BSC had talked you would think she was some sort of shallow and superficial person. This girl was kind and down to earth and friendly. Lewis noticed a stack of campaign yard signs in the entryway. "Coffee thanks." He wanted to stretch out this visit as long as possible to get as much information as he could.

Jenny returned with a coffee pot and beautiful cups with a colorful design on a serving tray and set them down on the marble coffee table. "So, you are a new neighbor?"

"Yes, I live just down the street with my cousins. I moved here from Kentucky. I don't know how things are done here, but in Kentucky, we introduce ourselves."

"Kentucky...oh, you must be related to Logan Bruno."

"Yes ma'am."

Jenny hugged Lewis and explained that Logan used to babysit her when she was younger. "Let's go out in the backyard. I am having some work done and need to keep an eye on the workers."

They stepped out onto the porch and Lewis suddenly realized that the backyard was filled with trucks and digging equipment.

"I just recently discovered oil on my property. Luckily I do have the mineral rights."

"That must be nice. So you are running for mayor?"

"Yes. I grew up here and after quite a while in LA I have returned. I am concerned about maintaining our small town and its wholesome charms. I was surprised at how much of it had already changed in the time I had been gone."

"I know what you mean. I have visited Logan through the years and I remember there was just a Sonic. Now there is a Starbucks on every corner."

"Exactly! And it's things like Bill's Donut Shoppe that make the town unique and I would hate to see these major corporations phase out our small businesses."

Lewis could see her point. He was starting to think they were barking up the wrong tree. Sure, she cheated in the marathon but he hadn't seen anything suspicious other than that. But if Jenny wasn't working with Alan and Cary, who was?