Wednesday, December 30, 2020

How to Spot a Liar Immediately


This is not perfect science, but these are clues.  I remember many years ago a co-worker was giving a presentation about how to recognize lying.  I told him about some recent research I had read that demonstrated that if you shook someone's hand it decreased the chance they would lie to you by 50% and asked if he wanted to include that in his presentation.  His response... "nah."
Unfortunate, in my opinion.

 

Thursday, December 24, 2020

Saturday, December 19, 2020

Chapter 4: Carl Stuki

 

Chapter 4: Carl Stuki

         

          That night I had another troubling dream.  This time it was all four of the Lings; but they looked like they did in the pictures I had seen, with Tye about 7 and Mia about 5.  I could see them all clearly.  We talked for a little while.  Cara Ling said I would understand everything if I wanted to badly enough and continued to search.

 

          I was up again early Sunday morning and started right on my homework.  I knew my mom and dad would be up around nine, so I decided to make breakfast.  I could read my history book while I was cooking.  This may have been more than necessary to get back in my mom’s good graces; but I wanted to make sure there would be no problems when it was time to go to Bekah’s house.  This could be my only chance to learn about the clues the police knew and may have covered up or kept secret.  My dad was the first to come into the kitchen sniffing and smiling. 

“Is that French toast you’re making?  What’s the occasion?”

“Oh, nothing really, I know I haven’t been much help lately, so I thought I’d try to do better,” I answered. 

“Dinner last night, now breakfast, that really is a nice change, thank you Anna.  Your mom’s awake and will be down in just a few minutes.  T.J.’s still asleep, but it won’t hurt him to get up and have breakfast with the family.  I’ll go get him,” my dad then turned to go back upstairs.  Just a couple minutes later, my mother came down. 

“Your dad said you were cooking breakfast.  I was going to set the table, but it looks like you’ve already done that.  Can I do anything to help?”  “No, I’ve got it under control.  Orange juice and French toast.  Just have a seat and I’ll get it on the table,” I replied cheerfully.  “I brought the paper in too, it’s on the counter behind you, if you want to take a look.” 

“Thank you, Anna,” my mom got her coffee going then took the paper and sat down.  I could see T.J. coming down the stairs, rubbing his eyes with my dad right behind him. 

“Good morning, T.J.,” I said as I greeted T.J. as cheerfully as possible without overdoing it.  “Everyone have a seat and dig in while it’s hot.”  I then placed the French toast and juice on the table.  T.J. still seemed half asleep as he began to eat.  My mom and dad started to discuss what was in the paper that morning and I continued to read my history book.  As everyone was finishing breakfast, I got up and when I started to clear the table my father raised his left hand in a motion telling me to stop as he finished swallowing, “T.J. can clean up and put everything away, you made breakfast.  Besides, I helped him finish his homework and it looks like you still have some to do.”  T.J. groaned as he, still looking half asleep, got up and started clearing the table. 

“Thanks T.J., thanks Dad,” I said as I took my book and returned to my room.  I would wait to ask about going to Bekah’s later.  I didn’t want to be too obvious and ask right after breakfast.  My parents weren’t stupid, especially my mom.  Finishing my homework just before noon, I thought about who I should ask.  I knew my dad would be easier; but, I also knew that if I asked him, my mom would think I was being manipulative and that could cause more problems so I decided it best to just ask her directly.  As I was walking through the den and into the living room, I saw both my parents reading.  “Mom, I’m all done with my homework and one of the girls I met in science asked me over this afternoon.  Would it be ok if I went… and” with a slightly imploring look, “would one of you take me and pick me up?  It’s right here in town, just a couple of miles away.” 

My mother looked up and with a grin that said she knew what was going on; but, was going to allow it anyway, as reinforcement, for positive behavior, she said; “sure, I’ll take you and can pick you up, but I want you to take my cell and if anything changes I want you to call the house phone.  And if I need to get a hold of you, I want you to answer.  What time do you need to go?” 

“About quarter to one” I answered, with a smile. I understood I wasn’t really fooling my mom; but, that didn‘t really matter because I was getting what I wanted.  “Thanks,” I continued, “I’ll go call Bekah and let her know.”  The cell phone was still a point of irritation for me.  I used to have my own, and my mom and dad both had one of their own.  Now the only cell phone was my mom’s.  Dad didn’t seem to mind, but I sure wasn’t happy about it.

          I returned to the living room with my coat and boots on and my backpack ready at 12:40 and took a seat in the overstuffed chair opposite where my mom was sitting.  Very politely I said, “I’m ready when you are.” 

          “Ok, let me finish this page and I’ll be right with you.”  My mom continued to read for only a minute or two and then, placing a bookmark in the book, she was reading, placed the book down and got up from her seat.  I didn’t quite catch what mom was reading, I thought it said something like Uncommon Therapy; but my mom was always reading some sort of psychology book.  All this psychology had been quite annoying at times and it rather irritated me that my mother always acted like she knew what I was thinking, even when she didn’t.  Unfortunately, sometimes she did know, but… sometimes she didn’t.   

          Grabbing her purse, mom said; “ok, let’s go” as she picked up her coat, which was already placed on another chair next to where she had been sitting.  “Here’s my cell,” she said as we walked out the door and handed me her phone.  “Do you have the address?” 

“Yes, I’ve written it down for you.” I gave her a piece of paper with the address.

          As we drove to Bekah’s my mom asked, “so who is Bekah?” 

“Oh, just someone I met in science my first day.  I’ve had lunch with her a couple of times.  She’s lived here most of her life but was born in Denver.  Her mom works as a dispatcher for the Sheriff’s or Police department and her mom’s boyfriend works for some environmental organization.  She wears Lucky a lot.  She’s really cute, and popular.  Seems like she’s pretty smart.  That’s about all I know, right now.  You can come to the door and meet them if you want.”

          “Oh, that’s ok, I’ll just wait to make sure you get in ok.  What time do you want me to come back for you?”

          “Would 3:00 be ok?  I’ll call if it’s any different.”

“Yes, that will be fine, I’ll be here right at three o’clock sharp.  If you need to change the time, call at least 20 minutes before 3.” 

          “OK, thanks mom,” I responded, as I got out of the car and walked up to the house.  Bekah’s house looked kind of new and about medium size.  It was a one story with a two-car garage.  There were evergreen trees and shrubs all around.  When I got to the door, I rang the bell and Bekah quickly answered.  I turned to wave to my mom, knowing she was probably waiting to make sure I got in ok before leaving. 

          “Hi, come on in.  You can hang your coat on one of the hooks.”  She pointed to a row of hooks attached to some kind of strip on the wall as I walked in.  Immediately I noticed beautiful pictures of wildlife, forests, and flowers on the walls.  One large picture showed a rain forest somewhere with the words Love the Earth.  Some pictures said something about saving this or that animal, bird, fish, or something about the earth. 

          A very attractive woman, who looked like a, just barely older version of Bekah appeared and said; “hello, I’m Sue.  Have a seat; Carl will be out in just a few minutes.  I’m going to send some e-mails while you and Carl and Bekah talk.” 

          “Nice to meet you.”  I was a little surprised because I thought I would be able to talk with both Sue and Carl 

          “My mom doesn’t want to be in the room while you talk to Carl,” explained Bekah.  “She still works for the Sheriff’s department and doesn’t want anyone to be able to say she had anything to do with this.  She’s afraid she might lose her job if she were involved in any of the old Ling stuff.  Let’s sit down.  Carl will be right out.”  Moments later a tall, blond, ruggedly handsome man came out of what appeared to be the kitchen. 

          Smiling, he extended his hand and said; “hi Anna, it’s nice to meet you.  I understand you live in the old Ling house and would like to know what happened.  I’ll tell you everything I can.  You need to understand, that knowing a lot about murder, especially when the killer is still on the loose, can be dangerous.  Are you sure you want to hear all this?”

“Yes!” I answered with great anticipation as I removed the pad and pen from my pack. 

          “It all started soon after the Lings moved to Logan and started teaching at the university.  They were mostly well received by the people at the university.  Like us, most of them aren’t from around here anyway, so they didn’t have a lot of the prejudices like the old-timers do.  Mostly they associated with people from the university, but problems started when they became friends with a local family, a crazy old Indian, and one of their students.  The student’s name was Bobby Sekaquaptewa.  He was a hot head, and a troublemaker.  I’ve heard his father was too.  Bobby had quite a temper.  In my mind, there were three people who may have been involved with their disappearance, and I believe the murder of at least Alan Ling.” 

“When I was with the Sheriff’s department there were quite a few times I found Bobby Sekaquaptewa drunk.  I’d take him home just to keep him out of trouble.  Tried to be his friend.  He started spending a lot of time with the Lings.  From what I learned in the investigation; they were doing all kinds of research into the occult.  Bobby was really into Native American religious beliefs and rites.  I guess it was a part of their work at the university, but it seemed pretty strange to some people who got wind of what they were doing.  They were trying to find some kind of magical healing or something.  Almost more mystical than mythological.  Bobby was a radical and I think he got the Lings involved with some of his personal issues.  He was one of those anti-government, anti UN types.  One of those people that if he was still alive, some federal agency would be keeping a close eye on him.  The other person, who really got involved with the Lings, and originally my second suspect, was an old man by the name of Charlie Blackeagle.  He lives alone in a small place out in the county.  He’s a crazy old coot.  Some people thought he had something to do with the disappearances.  Anyway, he was up in Fort Hall when they disappeared…  visiting some relatives or something like that.  He had pretty good alibis for that whole time, so he was dropped as a suspect.  I’d be surprised if he doesn’t know more than he’s saying though, but, then again, he’s so crazy, it’s hard to know what he does and doesn’t know.  He’s a first gulf war vet and lost a leg, probably has psychological problems from the war, so maybe it’s not completely his fault.  Whether he had anything to do with the disappearance or not, he’s crazy, dangerous, and owns a bunch of guns.  Right after the Lings disappeared Charlie came back from Fort Hall.  One morning, pretty early, the police were driving by the Ling place.  Still had yellow tape around to keep people out because it was a probable crime scene.  They saw a light on and stopped to investigate.  When they got close to the house, they heard noises, it was Charlie talking to himself, wondering around the house.  Said he just wanted to take a couple of pictures for memories.  They just took him home.  Didn’t even take his camera to find out what pictures he was taking.  They said they checked him and he hadn’t taken anything from the scene.  Shoddy police work if you ask me.  There was another time or two he was in the house early in the morning after the tape was taken down.  He was warned not to go back.  Neighbors would hear something or see a light and call the police.  He finally stopped going sometime in the spring, and to my knowledge hasn’t been back.  You watch yourself, he’s real crazy.  Like I said, an old man like that shouldn’t have guns, and I wouldn’t be surprised if you hear in the news sometime that he’s shot somebody.  I warned the department, but they just ignored me.  Old Charlie and Bobby Sekaquaptewa were good friends.  Bobby was the troublemaker and Charlie was the crazy one.  Bobby disappeared right about the same time the Lings did.  There had been some kind of altercation in the Ling house with blood spots on the carpet in the den.  Most of the blood was confirmed to be Alan Ling’s but they weren’t able to match the other spot.  Personally, I think it was Bobby Sekaquaptewa’s… it makes sense, he disappeared with all his things.  Like I said, shoddy police work.

          Now my third suspect is Max Teeples.  He didn’t actually kill Alan Ling, but he was involved.  He was having an affair with Cara Ling.  It’s well documented that he would go out of town with her for a day or two at a time.  Credit card statements, eyewitnesses, you name it.  He and Bobby were involved in some of the same radical groups.  Maybe Cara didn’t want Max so much as she just wanted out of the marriage.  I think Max Teeples planned to be out of town.  Maybe Charlie Blackeagle did too, so Bobby could do the dirty work.  Cara and the kids hadn’t been seen for a couple of days before they were discovered missing, so Bobby could have easily taken them someplace to wait for Max, or just leave town.  Hell, she might have even known what was going to happen and decided to just leave.  I understand she had a lot of relatives in Kenya.  Maybe she and the kids are there now.  After getting Cara and the kids out of there, Bobby came back to the house and killed Alan, disposed of the body, and just disappeared.  He must have known that if he was ever caught, they could match his blood.  I’m sure Max knows what happened and I bet his wife knows something too.  She’s just one of those dutiful women who wouldn’t dare say anything against her husband.  She’d be afraid she’d go to hell or something and of course, she can’t be forced to testify as long as they’re married.  I tried to get the police and sheriff’s department to follow up on leads; but that only got me fired.  They could have matched the blood with something from Bobby, but like I said, damm shoddy police work.  The Teeples put on a good front, I’ll give them that.  They’ve got this whole town fooled.

          Charlie hasn’t gotten into much trouble since the disappearance, except for the trespassing and poaching, people just complain but nothing ever happens.  Teeples is another story.  He’s really involved in a lot of right-wing activities.  Both he and his wife went to one of those Tea Parties last summer.  Did you get all that?” 

“Yes, thank you very much,” I answered as I frantically took notes. 

“Well, do you have any questions?”

“No, but if I do can I talk with you again?”

“Sure, any time.” Carl then got up from his chair and returned to the kitchen.”

          Bekah and I just talked for a while.  She told me what she liked to do.  She said she often visits family in Denver and really loves it there.  After chatting for a while and knowing my mom would soon be here, I asked; “Can I say good bye to your mom before I leave?” “Sure, she’s in their bedroom, we can stop in for a minute.” She got up and led the way down the hall and into the room.  “Mom, Anna wanted to say goodbye before leaving,” said Bekah just as we entered the bedroom.  The room was decorated in dark rich colors and looked very comfortable, very nice.  It reminded me of my parent’s bedroom back in California. 

“I just wanted to thank you for letting me come over and say goodbye before I leave.”  I smiled and gave a little wave to Bekah’s mom. 

“Nice to meet you Anna,” she responded with just a slight smile, “come again anytime.” 

As I turned to leave the room, I noticed an object that caught my eye on the dresser.  It looked like a small Nazi symbol; I had seen something like it in history books.  The four lines were much thicker than usual, and colored, but that was sure what it looked like.  It appeared to have a small hole toward the top and a small black bird towards the bottom on the right.  It looked so out of place that I wanted to get a picture of it.  I then remembered I had my mom’s cell, so I quickly pulled it out and said; “I’d better call my mom and let her know I’m ready.”  As I pulled the cell out of my pocket, I pointed it at the object and with my back to Sue and Bekah, discreetly took a picture before calling my home phone.  “Hi dad, is mom on her way?  Great, thanks, I’ll go outside and wait for her.  Thanks again.”  I then turned back towards Sue and Bekah and walked back into the hall and towards the front door.  Bekah followed me to the door.  Grabbing my coat, I turned towards Bekah to say; “thanks again, see you in the morning.” Opening the door, I could see my mom’s car just as she was driving up.  Before getting home, I had the picture e-mailed to my account and deleted from my mom’s phone.

          The next week was much too busy with school to spend any time on the investigation.  I had my first dream about Bobby Sekaquaptewa.  I didn’t understand or remember most of it.  It was the most frightening dream so far, causing me to wake up in a cold sweat.  I also had another dream about Tye.  Similar to the first one.  During the week I was able to sit with Bekah and her friends a couple of times, Amanda a couple of times and another girl, Vicki, I had just met. I think some guy named Paul was hitting on me; but I didn’t give him any encouragement.

Arrangements were finalized with Amanda and Beth to visit the Teeples; but that was the extent of my investigative progress.  Unfortunately, I didn’t even have enough time to review my notes until the following week.  I was a little nervous about the Teeples visit, but I didn’t think it was anything I couldn’t handle.


 


Friday, December 11, 2020

Morningstar: Chapter 3: The Ling Collection

  

          Friday evening seemed to slow to a crawl.  My homework was finished, and my mind was totally focused on Saturday’s trip to the university library special collections section.  I could hardly think about anything else.  This was my first, and probably only opportunity to learn about the Lings directly from the Lings.  I knew that their writings, the books they collected, and the things that belonged to them would tell me a lot about who they were and perhaps even offer a clue to their disappearance.  Sleep came slowly that night as my imagination went wild thinking about what the collection might contain.  With the first light of morning, I awoke and dressed quickly.  I was still tired, but way too anxious to stay in bed.  This was silly, I thought to myself since the library wouldn’t be open for a couple of hours.  Cooking myself some eggs and toast I returned to the den to get back on the internet and make some additional notes from the articles I found.  I found a few new articles, but pretty much the same information as I had before.  I decided I probably had everything I was going to get from the internet.  Just as I was about to shut down, thinking I still had a half hour to kill before my mom would be ready, I decided to see what I might find on the Johnsons.  I had learned from a previous article; they were both immigrants from Sweden.  Their names were Hans and Kristen.  From that information I googled their names and found an archived article from the local newspaper, written in 1980.  (Another article told me that the Lings purchased the home in 1991.)   The Johnson’s had built the house in the spring; but had only completed a parlor, one bedroom and a small kitchen.  Mrs. Johnson was a physician.  She had intended to add an examination room on to the parlor the next year.  The article also mentioned that women doctors were not uncommon in Utah in the late 1800’s… which really surprised me.  It was during the Johnson’s first winter, in January (same month the Lings disappeared) when the Johnsons disappeared.  There were a few reports of strange noises coming from the house during the early morning hours, and then the noises stopped with no further reports of anything strange.  ‘Probably the imagination of superstitious people,’ was the opinion of the writer of the article.  After the Johnsons, another family moved in, remodeled, and added on.  This family, their children and grandchildren lived in the home and raised families of their own with no indication of any problems or irregularities.  I didn’t see how it could be related, but it was kind of strange, so I wrote notes.  My mom was finally ready so I just stuffed the notes in one of my binders and forgot about them for the time.
          The ride to the university library seemed to take forever, I was both excited and nervous, I hadn’t really felt either emotion in months.

          “Here it is Anna, do you want me to come in and show you around.”

          “No, I’ll be fine, thanks mom.”

          “Ok, remember I have a tight schedule and need you to be watching for me when I get here. I’ll pick you up in front in exactly four hours,…… right?” stressed my mom sternly.

          “Sounds great! Thanks mom,” I replied, hardly thinking at the time about what she said, as I got out of the car and headed for the library.  Locating Special Collections on the directory just inside the front door, I quickly found what I was looking for.  With just a little nervousness, I entered and walked to the front desk.  “I understand you have the items donated by the relatives of Dr’s Cara and Alan Ling.” A smartly though conservatively dressed middle aged women with short light brown hair acknowledged me with a huge enthusiastic smile.

          “Yes, we do, in fact, I have LOTS of things I can show you on the Lings.  I have a lot of other very interesting things too. I'd love to show you everything.  If you don't have time today, please come back soon. We have pieces of pottery that are thousands of years old with Sanskrit writing.  Old manuscripts.  Valuable personal items donated by famous people.  Did you know that we have a pair of glasses worn by Teddy Roosevelt?  We have a saddle that was used by the pony express and some Egyptian Hieroglyphics.  The list goes on and on.  This is the BEST part of the library.  I hardly ever get students in here, not even many college students. Actually, I hardly get anyone in here; they have no idea what they’re missing. Special Collections is a lot like a museum with all kinds of treasures…”

          “No, just the Ling collection, thank you,” I interrupted. She was one of the most enthusiastic, animated, fast talking people I had ever met. She either absolutely loved her job or was starved for any kind of social interaction.  It looked like she was the only person in this part of the library.  I knew I was going to have a really hard time keeping up with her, but would just have to do the best I could and fill in the rest of the notes as best I could when I got home.

          “OK!  We have their books, art, and some antiques which were provided to the library about a year after the disappearance.  Their writings and other donated personal effects were only turned over by the courts about a year ago.  I wasn’t here when the first part of the donation arrived.  The books, art, and antiques have mostly been placed out on the floors with some of the more valuable items here in Special Collections.  Their family donated so many things to the library because, as their relatives said; The Lings loved it here, so much.  It was all so interesting I read everything I could find on the history of their disappearance, and I’ve read all their writings probably four or five times.  There are strict rules about how things in special collections are handled.  You can’t touch anything; but I can show the items to you.  I’ll make a copy of the list of donated items which you can have and then I’ll get the other items.  Oh, before I go, if you turn around and look a little to the left you will see a beautifully carved and painted piece of art that belonged to them.  It was created by a local artist;” explained the librarian, who then continued; “follow me, I’ll take you into a viewing room where I‘ll bring the items I can show you.”

          I first turned to look at the item she had mentioned.  It was absolutely beautiful. There were flowers and birds carved into a piece of wood and painted with the words; “They do not love that do not show their love.  Shakespeare.” I then followed her into a small room.  There was a solid wooden table with nice leather chairs and paintings on every wall.  In the corner of the room was a bust of some man I had never heard of.  The paintings looked very old, something I would expect in a library.  I actually liked one of the landscapes, and thought it might have been done locally.  I wasn’t at all surprised that she had read everything many times, what else would someone do back here with no visitors.  After just a few minutes, the librarian returned.

          “Here’s a copy of the list for you. I’ll go get the collection.” She then turned and retreated back through the door.
          I was surprised at how long the list was. There were replications of two paintings by Renoir. Dance in the City and Oarsmen at Chatou.  There were a number of traditional African art pieces.  According to the list, two were very old and kept in special collections.  I wondered if I would be able to see those.  The Lings must have loved books.  There were pages of books that had been donated.  The list was divided into three categories.  Children and Adult books that stayed in the library and dozens of books donated to Deseret Industries.  I recognized this as the name of a local thrift store.  My dad had taken T.J. there once to purchase some clothing.  T.J. seemed happy with it.  I refused to go.  Among the books that remained in the library was a large collection of children’s books in Chinese.  According to the list, these included proverbs, poems, and traditional stories. There was also a smaller collection of children’s books from Kenya.  These were in English and contained traditional stories. There was one book of traditional English nursery rhymes as well as a book of traditional English fairy tales, myths, and legends. This list also contained a few books that I recognized; Goodnight Moon, (I remembered my mom and dad reading that to me over and over again.  It was a very good memory), Aesop’s Fables (we had read all of those together as a family when I was younger), The Velveteen Rabbit (that had been one of my mom’s favorites), and what looked like probably the complete collection of Dr. Seuss.  There was also a large collection of books on Death and Dying for children (I wondered why and thought it kind of morbid).
          Among the adult books there were a few I recognized; The Bible, King James Version, Paradise Lost (my mother has that book), Sherlock Holmes (my dad loves Sherlock Holmes and tried to get me to read the stories a couple of times), The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (my mother had read them all).  There were some other things that caught my attention and even though I had no idea what they were about, I thought they might be important and underlined a few.  I would do an internet search later to find out more.  There were books on Quetzalcoatl.  I had no idea what that was but would find out in case it was anything important.  Some of my favorite criminalists on TV had found clues from stranger places. The Talmud and Torah, (I thought I had heard of the Torah), were also listed, along with books on Mercury, Hermes, the Caduceus, Aztec, Mayan, and Toltec mythology, including the 2012 prophecies.  I had seen a preview on TV about that but hadn’t watched it. The list also contained several books on comparative religion, (not one of my favorite subjects).  This was all going to take a lot of time to research. No social life, but that was ok, I really didn’t want one now anyway.
          After just a few minutes the librarian returned to the room wearing gloves and pushing a cart with boxes of items.  Picking an item out of one of the boxes the librarian began.

          “I have some very interesting things to show you. This first one is a sextant.  It is a very old tool for determining where you are, by the stars.”

          “Yes, I’ve read about them.” 

          “And here is a paper Dr. Cara Ling and one of their students, Bobby Sekaquaptewa, were working on.  As you can see, it’s titled From Ancient Religious Stone Altars to Native American Rock Cairns. They believed that Native American Rock, Cairns had their origin in ancient religious stone altars.  Some altars, as you may know, were used in Central America for human sacrifice, but in some parts of the world they were used for animal sacrifice and a place for people to communicate with their gods.  They seemed to believe some altars and some cairns actually had some kind of extra-natural power… personally I think they came to some wild conclusions… Here’s another paper written by Dr. Alan Ling and Bobby Sekaquaptewa.  This one talks about the religious history of this area.  According to them the Shoshone believed a local hill to have healing power. They would bring their sick and wounded to the hill to be cured.”

          Still pulling more papers out of boxes the librarian continued; “here are drawings and plans for the house they lived in.  It starts with the original structure built by the Johnsons, then there are drawings that show the additions added by the next family and then more drawings showing the remodeling and additions by the Lings.  By the way, did you know the Johnsons disappeared too? No one ever found out what happened to them either.”

          “Yes, I heard about that,” I responded, as I stared at the drawings.  I thought my dad would love to see these.  I might tell him so he can come back sometime.  I could clearly see the parlor that we were now using as a den.  My bedroom was next to the parlor and was one of the original rooms. The drawings also contained landscape drawings showing small lilac bushes which had been planted by the Johnsons on the east side of the parlor.  The house was on a corner with the original front door facing east.  With the additions, there was a living room that connected to what was now the den and my bedroom which was connected from the den. (I hate having to walk through a room to get to my bedroom.)  The living room faced south and that was now the main entrance.  According to the drawings those same lilacs grew much larger in the next hundred years and then were cut down.  Then new lilacs and vine were planted against the same east wall by the Lings.  Those lilacs and vines were still there and were even blocking some light to one of the windows.  My father had talked about either trimming or cutting them down completely; but they covered a rock wall that really needed a lot of work and so that would have to come later.  I could clearly see the fruit trees that had been planted through the years.  Most of which were still standing.  I liked apples and hoped the tree had good apples.  Normally I wouldn’t have cared about such things, but since we didn’t have the money we used to, good free apples would be nice.  I took detailed notes on all of this.
          The librarian then pulled out a pile of papers that seemed to just contain notes, nothing really organized, just notes about the research they were doing. She was able to explain everything pretty well, at least as far as she understood.  Even though she was very serious, she was also very excited about sharing information.  There were notes about the Morning Star, listing both the planets Venus and Mercury.  There was also a strange rock statue kind of thing.  The librarian said this was the Mesoamerican god Quetzalcoatl, she showed me how he looked like a snake with feathers and then pointed out a symbol she said was the Morning Star.  There was a statue of the Greek god Hermes and a picture of Moses holding what looked like a long stick or pole with a snake on it.  There were notes saying what they were.  At the bottom it said: Numbers 21: 6-9. I thought that might be something from the Bible. There were a couple of pictures of the medical symbol, the Caduceus.  I didn’t know what that was but the librarian explained that it was an ancient Greek symbol and represented healing.  I then remembered and realized it was the symbol now used by doctors.

          “I believe the Lings were obsessed with ancient symbols of healing,” she said, as she was showing me more pages, pictures, and items.

          There were pages and pages of notes about the stars and planets; but, mostly on the planet Mercury.  A lot of the notes were about when the planet could be seen in the East.  None of this made much sense; but I took notes on everything I thought might contain even the slightest clue.  There were also a bunch of notes that some believed the Mayans believed the end of the world would occur in 2012.  The librarian said that from her reading of the comments made by the Lings, they didn’t believe the world would end, but that something significant might happen then or not too long after.  There was also a replica of a Mayan calendar with three circles and symbols.  The librarian then brought out two framed and glass covered pieces of woven cloth that had a beautiful though faded image of women and children in what appeared to be an African village.

          She then showed me a very old hand-written piece of music and said, “This is a very early hand-written version of an American Folksong, ‘Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing’ it would be worth quite a bit of money except someone highlighted the word Ebenezer for some reason.”
One last item brought out by the librarian was a single piece of paper with a drawing.  She said that had it been her decision she probably would have thrown it away.  It just looked like doodling; however, law enforcement told them they had to keep everything that had been with the Lings notes.  I agreed with the librarian.  It looked worthless; but, some words at the bottom caught my eye and I replicated the page as closely as possible in my notes.
          Towards the top of the page were drawn four circles with colors written next to them.  Three of the stones formed a triangle and had the word ‘‘white’ next to them. The fourth was in the middle of the triangle with the word ‘jade’ next to it.
        ○ White
        ○ Jade
○White  ○White

          At the bottom were the words, Three stones to see, the jade to pass through.  Seemed like nonsense and the writing didn’t look like either of the Ling’s; but, I didn’t want to overlook anything that might be important so I drew what I saw and added it to my growing collection of notes and stuck it in my back pack.  Just as I was about to hand the last page back to the librarian and as I turned it over, I noticed some almost illegible notes.  Written were, I believed, Mayan Zaztun, Serpent Mounds/Dragon, and Plumed Serpent God.  I quickly added those to my notes and handed the final page back to the librarian.
          Just as I was putting this final page in my pack, I noticed the clock. My mom would be furious!  I was almost 40 minutes late and though my mom knew I was in the Library she didn’t know where.  I quickly threw my pack over my shoulder and thanked the librarian, apologizing and telling her I had to run and excused myself then ran through the library to the front door.  I could see my mom sitting in the car at the curb and knew she would be fuming.  As I ran, I slipped and dropped my pack in the snow, but grabbed it as fast as I could.  As soon as I had my footing again, I was on the run and reached the car door moments later.

          “I’m so sorry mom,” I blurted out as I opened the door and sat down and buckled as fast as I could. My mom didn’t say anything as she put the car in drive and drove away from the curb.  She was breathing slowly, deeply, and deliberately, which I knew meant she was calming herself. Finally, she started in on me.

          “Anna, we have cut you a lot of slack lately.  We know this has been very difficult for you.  Unfortunately, you haven’t been mature enough to understand how difficult this has been for your father and me.  And… you haven’t been very nice to T.J. either…  The business failing was partially our fault.  We made mistakes.  It was partially because of the super high cost of gasoline last year, partially because of the economy, but neither of us decided,” her voice was getting louder and she was talking more slowly now, “to just run the business into the ground and go bankrupt just to put our family through hell.”  Then after a pause and continuing at a little more normal pace and a little quieter, “it’s just not all about you Anna.  You’re going to have to realize the whole world doesn’t revolve around you.  You’re new to this area and you’re not going to be the queen bee in your new school and you’re not going to be the prima-donna in our home.  You may still be mad about everything and that’s fine, but I expect you to treat us with respect and that includes respecting our time.  You are very intelligent Anna.  Lots of things are easy for you; however, it might be that this is one of the reasons you seem to lack empathy.  Without empathy and humility, you may know things, but you will never really understand much.”

          After another pause, I responded, “I really am sorry mom, I got caught up in what I was doing and I’m sorry about the way I’ve been acting.” I was sorry I was late, partially because I had to listen to another of my mom’s lectures; but at the time I didn’t think I had been acting all that badly.  I thought my mom was just being oversensitive and mad about having to wait a few extra minutes.  I could think of lots and lots of times I had waited for my mom, and my dad, and especially T.J.
          The rest of the ride was in silence.  When we drove up to the house, my mom just drove up to the front curb and said rather curtly; “I’m late for an appointment.  Tell your father, I’ll be home by six.” As I entered the front door, my dad was working on the fireplace in the living room. T.J. was helping, as they replaced some of the stones and the grate at the bottom.

          “Mom said to tell you she’d be home by six,” I called to my dad.”

          “Thank you honey,” my dad called back. “Did you have a good time at the library?” he asked.

          “Yeah, thanks,” I said, as I quickly went through the den and into my room. I was very worried about my notes and hoped they hadn’t gotten wet from my fall.  When I opened my pack, I saw the pad was soaked.  I took each page and laid them in order on my desk and on the floor to dry. I didn’t want to lose all the work I had done today.  Some of it was a little smudged but I thought it would be ok.  As I was working, it dawned on me that my mom would still be furious when she got home.  Maybe I had been a little grouchy and besides, I needed to go to Bekah’s house tomorrow.  I thought about what I might do to soften her up a little.  My dad would probably cook dinner, but he wouldn’t get the kitchen clean with everything he’s working on in the living room.  I would clean the kitchen and cook dinner and then clean up afterwards…… and act pleasant about it.  That was sure to get me back on my mom’s good side.


Monday, November 30, 2020

The Art of Lazy Composting | How to Make High-Quality Compost the Simple Way


 

"THERE IS MORE TO YOU THAN YOU THINK" - Jordan Peterson Motivation


 

Morningstar Chapter 2: The Distraction

 

Chapter 2: The Distraction

 

 

          When I started, this was just a distraction. An investigation into something that occurred ten years ago. Something that would amuse me and help pass the time in my mountain prison until I was old enough to return to the home and friends I left behind. I had no idea my actions could have such horrible consequences.  Frankly, I hardly ever thought about the consequences of anything I did, except for how it might impact me personally, and I didn’t always even think through that very well. The next morning, I still hated everything about my life and everything here; but, now at least, I had a purpose.  I would find out everything I could about the Ling family. I would have to get to know people who knew them and people who might know something about their disappearance.  I was always good at getting what I wanted out of people and I figured these people would be no different, probably easier.  I intended to find out why there were so many contradictions between the newspaper stories and what some people had told me.  If there was a murder, and that seemed the only logical conclusion, I would find out who it was and why they did it.  This might even help me get a scholarship into a good school back in California.  I sure didn’t want to stay in Logan past high school (and wished I didn’t have to be here at all). I would be 18 and I wanted out-of-here.


          Starting with my second day at school and until I had everything I wanted from people, I would need to make a better impression. That morning I showered and put on my very hot Citizen jeans.  I have only two good pair of jeans that still fit.  The other pair were some super distressed Luckys and it was way too cold for them.  My Citizens were just a little out of style, but no one around here would know.  I had thought a lot about the look I needed.  Later I might have to wear something different to make the right impression, but on this day, I decided on my Dolce & Gabbana shirt, curled my hair, put on just the right amount of makeup and added just a touch of the right fragrance.  When I went to the kitchen both my mom and dad looked amazed. 

          T.J., looking up from his oatmeal said, way too loudly; “wow, you look GREAT Anna!” While spitting out his words, he also managed to spit some of his oatmeal out at me, only missing me by about six inches,

          ““THANKS for spitting on me” I replied with a frown so that mom and dad would only hear the first word. I didn’t really notice, but he probably started pouting like he so often does.

          Almost in unison, both my parents said; “yes, you look great dear!”

          “Thank you, ” I answered again. I guess it had been a while since I really cared what I looked like. “Mom, would you please take me to the university library sometime soon?”

          “Sure, dear” my mom responded with some surprise.

          Gesturing for me to come into the next room, my dad said; “Anna, I made some calls last night and this morning. I really didn’t know anything about this, but apparently the family that lived here did just disappear. Some people thought it was a murder but there was no hard evidence. After a few years, the estate put the house up for sale but by that time it had run down so much no one wanted it.  With the economic problems the price was dropped really low, which is why we were able to afford it. I’m sorry if it bothers you.”

          “No, not really, ” I replied with a big smile.

          My dad looked surprised by my response and with a slight stammer asked; “b-but yesterday?”

          “Oh, no, I’m fine now, just caught a little off guard,” I cut my dad off before he could go on and on… he could really go on sometimes.  I had the information I needed and didn't want to waste any time. After breakfast I helped T.J. get ready and into the car. After all, I reasoned, I was in a hurry and wanted to get to school early to talk with some of the other people in school and find out if they knew anything, or if they knew who might know something.
          As soon as I was at school, I walked about as fast as I could to my locker and smiled and said: “hi” to just about everyone I saw.  I had no idea who might know or have something I needed.  After taking care of my books and coat, I headed for my first class hoping to speak with Mrs. Young and the two girls who asked me about the house the day before. As soon as I entered the room, I greeted Mrs. Young as pleasantly as I knew how. “Good morning Mrs. Young, how are you doing today?”

          “I’m very well, thank you Anna” she replied.

          I think I actually felt a little nauseous talking like this, but followed by asking; “Mrs. Young, how long have you lived here in Logan?”

          “About twelve years, why do you ask?”  

          “Oh, I’d like to get to know a little more about the area and the people who live here. Where did you go to school?”

          “Right here, but I grew up in Wyoming, moved here for college and just fell in love with the place, and someone who lived here.  It’s really beautiful, fall, winter, spring, and summer, there’s a beautiful lake close by and I love to ski.” Mrs. Young went on.  Most of this wasn’t anything I was interested in but the part about going to the university pricked my interest.

          “Did you know Dr. Cara or Alan Ling?” I asked, wondering if I had been too quick to ask the question.

          Looking a little surprised, Mrs. Young responded, “so you’ve heard about the Lings? … I didn’t know Dr. Cara Ling but I had a class from Dr. Alan Ling my sophomore year. I really enjoyed him; he was one of the most enthusiastic teachers I ever had.  I was very sad… really upset, when the family disappeared.  A lot of students from the university helped the community search the area.  The Lings liked to hike, but it would have been unusual for them to have gone into the mountains in the winter.  We searched there anyway.  What happened to them still really nags at me sometimes, and a lot of my friends.  Sometimes we talk and speculate, but that’s all it is, speculation.  No one really knows what happened, or at least no one that’s talking.  Are you concerned about living in their old home?”

          “Oh… it was a shock at first, but I’m ok now. I’d like to know more about them.”

          About then, the room started filling with other students. The two girls that I wanted to talk with didn’t come in until right before the bell so I would have to wait for another chance.
          Class seemed to go really slow that day. We were studying chemistry, one of my favorite subjects, I found myself having to take a lot of notes because there were lots of things Mrs. Young was talking about that I was unfamiliar with. That was ok because since I wanted to be a forensic scientist all of this would be helpful.  As soon as the bell rang I had already put everything in my bag, and almost running, caught up with the two girls who had asked me about the house yesterday.

          “I’m sorry,” I said, almost out of breath, “I know I heard it yesterday but I’ve forgotten your names. Could you please tell me again?”

          Both girls smiled, one said: “I’m Amanda” and the other quickly chimed in, “I’m Bekah.” Bekah really looked like a cowboy, or in this case a cowgirl.  She had the boots, Lucky bootleg jeans and a western Lucky shirt, long blonde hair with a perfect mix of multiple colored highlights, in a ponytail of course, sparkly blue eyes, a small nose with a slight almost upturn.  Her figure was thin, but not too thin, and an almost enchanting smile.  She was an obvious flirt, as she checked out a few boys and flirtatiously said “hi…” and their name as they walked by. Most responded with a smile and said “hi! Bekah.” A bunch of girls said “hi” to her too; but she rarely responded.  Amanda had thick long black hair, distinct small Roman nose, broad smile, full lips, and noticeable cheekbones.  She was strikingly beautiful and as my mom would say, a little more ‘busty’ than either Bekah or me.  Amanda seemed quieter than Bekah, and many other kids, both boys and girls, said “hi” to her, but she mostly just smiled in return.

          “Good to meet you,” I responded. “I think we have the same lunch, could I sit with you today?”

          “Sure” answered Bekah, “We’ll sit by the outside door, right Amanda!? See you at 11:30.”

          “Great, ” I responded with just the right amount of enthusiasm, “See you then.”
          The rest of the morning went quickly, I met and talked with a lot of other people but didn’t bring up the Lings.

          One kind-of good-looking guy, nicely dressed, about 5’7”, in a layered sweater and jeans, and with short brown hair and glasses introduced himself; “I’m Tom, you’re the new Granola,… Anna, right?”

          I had absolutely no idea what a Granola was or if it was good or bad, so just answered; “Hi, I’m Anna.” 

          “Thought so, welcome to Logan, see ya around;” he said, as he smiled and walked off.  This was just one example of unfamiliar vocabulary, there were lots.  I hoped I didn’t have to learn a new language while I was here!  

          For now, I would start with Bekah and Amanda and find out who else I needed to know.  I was going to do everything I could, to get in good with my teachers and anyone else I might need without being too obvious. I may not be the prettiest girl around; but I had adorable hair and I was cute enough.  I was also very smart and had lots of personality.  I did have some physical attributes including a super cute haircut from just before we left San Francisco.  It was a Christmas present from one of my aunts who felt sorry for me.  My short brown hair was perfect with dark red highlights.  Having money used to help me get what I wanted; but I was absolutely confident in my eventual success even without it.  There wasn’t anyone I thought I might really like here, except maybe Bekah, who in-spite of the whole “western” look, seemed like she might be kind-of cool.
          I had gym class right before lunch on Wednesdays, as far as I was concerned, a lousy schedule, and I had to hurry as quickly as I could to look even half way decent and get to lunch, I even decided to skip the food and go right to the table where Bekah and Amanda were already sitting.  Amanda waived and said, “Hi Anna, we were looking for you” then Bekah said “hi” and smiled.

          “Thanks for letting me sit with you” I responded. It seemed like every time I talked to them today, I was out of breath. “Yesterday you both asked me about the Ling house. That was the first I’d heard of the Lings or their disappearance.  Last night I went home and looked them up on the internet.  I found some things in the Herald and the University Press; I think that’s what the papers were called.  I even found some information in the Tribune and Deseret News.  I learned a little, but there really wasn’t much.  My dad hadn’t heard about them either. What do you think happened?”

          Bekah jumped in first; “I think they were murdered.  All four of them. There is just no way a family just disappears and then… nothing!  Some kids think they were spies or smugglers or something like that because they traveled a lot the year before they disappeared.  I think that’s just stupid.  Why in the world would any spy or smuggler live in Logan?” Then pausing and talking a little slower and more quietly, Bekah continued; “unless they were hiding from something.”  She then talked faster and looking straight at me said with emphasis; “I heard the police found a lot of blood in the den but that fact never made it into the newspaper. Some of the blood, even matched Alan Ling’s DNA. There was blood from someone else, but it was never matched.  My mom is one of the dispatchers here and her boyfriend used to be in the sheriff’s department and that’s what they both told me.  A lot of the other kids have never even heard of the Lings and most of the adults seemed to have forgotten or don’t care. Carl, my mom’s boyfriend, thinks the police did a lousy job investigating.  He made quite a stink about it and the Sheriff’s department got rid of him.  He even knew who did it.  That was the problem, he tried to get the murderer arrested, and HE got fired.  He and my mom could tell you a lot. Because of the way they disappeared, he thinks it had to be someone they trusted. Someone they would have gotten into a car and driven off with. Carl’s from Delaware and used to be a detective there.  He thinks these small-town cops are pretty stupid.  He and my mom met in Colorado, that’s where she’s from.  He moved there because he likes to ski, and then got a job here when I was about one.  He helped my mom get her job as a dispatcher right after he got hired.  I could go on and on and tell you a whole lot more; but there isn’t enough time right now.  Lunch is just about over, but they were murdered and the murderer is still here in Logan.  I’m sure of it.”

          Just then the bell rang and after a couple of quick “bye’s” and “see ya later,” we all went our separate ways.  Monday, Wednesday, Friday schedules were different from Tuesday, Thursday, and I was pleasantly surprised to find Amanda in my history class.  It was our last class of the day.  Amanda motioned to me to sit next to her, and after all the introductions, something I was trying to be more pleasant about, we settled into the lecture.  After class, Amanda quietly asked me to wait a minute as we walked towards our lockers.

          “Anna,” Amanda began slowly, “something really strange happened to the Lings in that house; but I don’t know what it was.  My father’s uncle, Uncle Charlie, knew the Lings really well. He was very close to them.  He’s a very private person, but from what he’s said, I don’t think he believes they were murdered. Carl, the guy Bekah mentioned, says Max Teeples had something to do with it, with the help of Bobby Sekaquaptewa.  Bobby was a friend of the Lings and Uncle Charlie too. He disappeared about the same time the Lings did.  Max Teeples was a suspect, but he was cleared.  That’s kind-a how Carl got fired.  He kept pushing the police to arrest Mr. Teeples even after he was cleared.  The Teeples family has lived in the area for more than a hundred years and even though they’re not rich, they seem to know just about everybody.  I know Beth Teeples a little, she’s in our grade and in one of my classes. She’s nice. She’s kind of a cross between a Molly and a Jock.”

          “A Molly, what’s a Molly?” I asked.

          “Oh, sorry, tries to be super good,… but she’s not conceited like some, does all that domestic stuff, goes to church, like every day, gets along really well with her family. Sometimes dresses old style. Never swears.  Nice to everybody.” then after pausing and looking like she was deep in thought she continued, “kind-a peculiar, but I guess in a nice sort a way.  Mrs. Young is kind of an adult version. Uncle Charlie knows the Teeples really well, and says the Lings were really good friends with the Teeples.  He told me, there is no way Max Teeples would hurt anyone. Their family likes to hunt and sometimes they go with Uncle Charlie.  Even though I don’t know Beth that well, part of my family has known the Teeples as long as they’ve lived in the area.  Carl and Sue, Bekah’s mom, really hate hunting and hunters, so that’s another conflict, they’ve had with the Teeples and Uncle Charlie for a long time.”

          “Could I meet your father’s uncle sometime” I asked.

“I’m sure you can; but he’s pretty reserved and I doubt he’ll tell you much, if anything.  He was in the first Gulf war where he lost a leg and since then he’s retreated into himself and his work even more than before.  He’s Shoshone, and a quarter Nimiipuu, I think.  It takes him quite a while to trust people.”

 Really surprised, I asked; “are you Indian?” And with a little stutter and a lot of embarrassment, “or… a… Native American?” I felt kind of proud of myself for having remembered and used the more politically correct term. “I’ve never known anyone who was Native American.”

          “I’m a quarter Shoshone, with, I guess, a little Nimiipuu.  Most people call Nimiipuu, Nez Perce.  I’m also one quarter French and one-half Sicilian.  That’s enough to be registered with the tribe, but I look more like my Sicilian mom, than my Shoshone relatives. There used to be a lot of Shoshone around here, but not so much anymore.  By the way, Bekah doesn’t think much of my uncle Charlie so you probably don’t want to bring him up around her.  I don’t even know if she knows we’re related.”
          The next morning, I caught up with Amanda on the school steps and asked; “Can you introduce me to Beth? I would like to meet her family and ask them about the Lings.  Perhaps you could come with me since you at least know her.”

          “Sure, she should be here in just a few minutes, in fact, there she is…” as Amanda gestured towards a tall girl walking from the parking lot, coming towards us… We both looked at Beth as she started up the steps. She was wearing jeans with light blue snow boots and a light blue winter coat with a hood.  The hood was down exposing her long curled red hair. As she reached the top of the steps, I realized she must be 6’ or 6’’1”. She had very distinct freckles and though not ugly, was not especially cute. “Hi Beth,” said Amanda, “I wanted to introduce you to Anna. She just moved here. Do you have a couple of minutes?”

          Beth smiled and said, “sure, nice to meet you Anna. Can we go inside? I’m kind-a cold.” “Sure,” both Amanda and I answered as we walked in the school door.  I didn’t waste any time and quickly started the conversation again.  I think I either sounded nervous or cold as we unbuttoned our coats in the hall.

          “Beth, I just moved into the old Ling house and everything I’ve been hearing has been kind of freaky. I heard you and your family knew the Lings, and I know this might sound kind of weird, but I was wondering if I could talk with your parent’s sometime about the whole thing. I’m hoping Amanda will come too.  It would really help me if I understood more about what happened.  My parents were even surprised when they found out. Would that be possible?”

          “I’ll find out,” responded Beth. “When would you like to come over?”

          “Well, I’m going to the university library this Saturday with my mom. How about Sunday or next Saturday?”

          “Sunday’s are usually pretty busy for us and we try to do family things when we can, but I’ll ask about next Saturday.  I’ll text my mom and should be able to let you or Amanda know by the end of the day.  I’ve got to talk to a teacher before school starts.  I’ll talk to you soon, nice to meet you Anna.” Beth smiled, then turned and walked down the hall. I then looked at Amanda again.  “I’m sorry, I guess I didn’t really ask if you wanted to come. Would that be ok?”

          “Sure, I’ll check with my mom to make sure. The Teeples don’t live far from either of us.  If it works out, I’ll walk to your place and we can walk over together. I’ll let you know in the morning.”
          I was late to the cafeteria that day and didn’t see either Amanda or Beth.  Bekah was sitting with a group of friends and was just about ready to leave when I saw her. “Bekah,” I said, loud enough so she could hear as I again ran to catch up.  I was out of breath again and thought she might think I was stalking her or something.  Not very cool, I needed to control this better. “The other day you said there was more you and your family could tell me about the Ling disappearance. Could I come over sometime?”

          “Sure! My mom works Saturday night, but Sunday afternoon should be ok. I’ll text my mom right now and ask.  Both she and Carl should be home. It should just take a minute. … Yeah, that will be fine.  Anytime between 1 and 3.  Here’s my address and phone number in case you get lost.  It’s on the other side of town so you’ll probably need to get a ride. Gotta go.”

Bekah handed me the piece of paper with the address and phone number she had just written as she took off with her friends, and I finally sat down to eat. I was pretty pleased with myself.  I would take a look at the Ling collection Saturday morning, talk with Bekah’s family Sunday and if all goes well, see the primary suspect, Max Teeples the next Saturday.  I just needed to meet and talk with Amanda’s Uncle Charlie.  I was sure I could get him to talk to me.  After all, I could charm just about anyone if I wanted to, bad enough.
          The next day went just about exactly the way I had hoped.  All the appointments were lined up except Uncle Charlie, but no worries, just a matter of time.  I did have a lot of homework and some of the classes were harder than I expected.  But, if I really focused, and T.J. didn‘t bother me, I’d get it all done this weekend, even with the investigation.