― Stefan Zweig
Who would have thought house whispering would lead me to uncover a sordid operation involving the Aryan Brotherhood with its twisted philosophy of Nordic superiority and racial cleansing?
Perhaps this was why nights were always hardest for me when I was alone, struggling to wall out images of Nazi perversions and atrocities.
The prospect of Cindy using her charms to seduce Hans Bauer with the aim of getting inside his mind made me sick. When I was in his shop I could barely stand looking at this pig and worse yet, watching him ogle her legs.
Unconsciously, my body had stiffened and my hands balled into fists. I pictured myself smashing and pounding his insipid face.
I came to my senses realizing I was being sucked into the same cycle of violence I detested in Bauer and the Brotherhood.
Frustration leads to aggression, I observed bleakly, aware that feeling powerless to protect Cindy was rousing anger and rage in me.
I began to despair as I saw the futility of an instinctual response.
We're not far from the cavemen, I mused, even in our attempts to protect and defend those we love.
I was suddenly startled by the loud buzzing of my cell on the side table. As I grasped for the phone I noticed my hands shaking and my whole body trembling.
I wasn't cut out for this kind of stress.
"Hey, Prof, got a minute?"
Nat's voice was somber on the other end of the call.
"Sure, what's up, Nat?" I asked, dreading what I was sure would be more bad news.
"I analyzed the GPS co-ordinates we found on the property and uncovered some strange results. What I found are co-ordinates for routes and tracks. What this means in simple terms is that the Brotherhood were keeping meticulous records of places they had visited complete with timestamps and all of these were in the Northwest Territories of Canada."
That's interesting," I remarked. "I wonder why they were scoping out places in the far north?"
"Well, actually those are called tracks― they're records of where they've been, but it's the routes that are the interesting part―places they intend to go."
"And where are they planning to land?"
"All the locations are in Nunavut, the most northern part of Canada's territory".
There was a moment of silence when I allowed the full impact of Nat's words to sink in. I was puzzled. It made absolutely no sense.
Nat spoke up. "I think I may have an idea of what they're up to, although I'm not completely sure why."
"Well, tell me Nat," I sighed, "I haven't a clue."
"Remember the house had no furnace and all the windows were covered except the north-facing ones? Well, all these locations in Nunavut have more hours of light in the winter and more hours of dark in summer."
"I feel like Winston Smith in Orwell's 1984," I told him. "I understand what's happening but don't understand why."
"For sure there's a puzzle here Prof, but the pieces are starting to come together, but what exactly they mean is not entirely clear just yet. We need a bit more info but I'm seeing a pattern."
"Good work, Nat. I'm not sure where this is heading but pardon the pun, we're on the right track."
"Ha, ha, I'll keep you informed Prof as I learn more."
After ending the call with Nat my brain was buzzing with possibilities of what these various threads could mean.
I was stumped. Who the hell were this shadowy group that the Aryan Brotherhood were representing and why did they need a northern location with diminished hours of sunlight?
I felt I was chasing the tail of my own mind but at least it distracted me from worrying about Cindy. I couldn't protect her but with Nat's help, I might be able to figure out what the Brotherhood was planning.