Free Three by William C. Oelfke Page B

Here the
people seemed much more relaxed, and frequently greeted one another with
“howdy”, even if the other person was a complete stranger such as Oliver.  The
“howdys” helped him relax somewhat as he waited for his rental car to be
brought up to the check-out location. 
    The drive from the DFW
airport in Grapevine, south through the suburban Arlington area and toward
Waxahachie, offered a pleasant view of North Texas suburban ranch-style homes
and eventually North Texas ranches interspersed with stands of scrub trees and
grass-land.
    As Oliver began to drive out
into the open country-side, he soon became aware of patches of blue flowers he
recognized as Texas Bluebonnets.  Driving up over a rise he was overwhelmed at
the sight of a sea of Bluebonnets spreading as far as he could see to the
distant tree-line.  What made the field of blue and green so stunning was that
randomly throughout the field were spots of red, where Indian Paintbrush
blossoms randomly burst forth.  Without them, the solid mass of Bluebonnets
would become monotonous; however, these irregular splashes of red broke up the
sameness of the display and made it spectacular.  Maybe this is another
example of breaking up the symmetry of a pattern, just like the time I took a
red crayon to my grandmother’s flowered wallpaper , Oliver mused, as he again
thought of Peter and their days together at Princeton.  He continued this drive
into a perfectly normal and beautiful countryside.  As he drove, it was hard
for him to believe somewhere nearby an ISIS cell might be hiding.
    The town of Waxahachie
appeared like so many other older towns in the Southwest, with plain but
functional one and two-story buildings spread out along its streets as he drove
toward the central commercial district.  Downtown Waxahachie also displayed the
same western small town ambiance: small family-owned stores huddled around a
town square, un-noteworthy except for one magnificent exception.  The Ellis
County Courthouse, at the center of the square, not only loomed over the
surrounding buildings, but completely overwhelmed them with its grandeur.  A four-story
alien spacecraft in the same location, at the town center, would have been less
conspicuous. 
    The courthouse, now mostly a
museum, was constructed of red brick and carved stone in a heavily ornate
Victorian style.  It would have been beautiful placed on main street Disney World,
but here it seemed definitely out of place.  Oliver drove a few blocks further
to the edge of town and found his motel. 
    He freshened up, sat down at
the small desk in the corner of his room, and called Maxine to let her know he
had arrived.  “Max, you can’t believe this town.  It’s surrounded by fields of
Texas Bluebonnets and Indian Paintbrush producing a panorama of red, blue and
green. If that’s not spectacular enough, it has a castle, complete with towers,
smack dab in its middle that looks like something from medieval Europe.” 
    “Take pictures, Oliver; after
all, you’re supposed to be a tourist as you snoop around.” 
    “I have my cell phone at the
ready.  By the way, can you give me any additional information about my mission
that could help me in my search?” 
    “Well, careful analysis of
cell tower links to the suspect transmissions has pinned the location to a
region a few miles south-west of town in an area that appears to be open
farm-land.  So maybe you’ll be taking pictures of Texas cattle as well as Texas
castles.” 
    “Very funny, Max,” chuckled
Oliver, “I’ll bring you back souvenirs from each.  Right after lunch I’ll start
at the courthouse and then check out the south-west side of town, cows and
all.”
    On his drive back towards the
center of town, Oliver found a Mexican restaurant that looked like it had been
there for at least twenty years.  Its parking spaces were filled with a mix of
cars and pick-up trucks belonging to locals.  Oliver entered the restaurant and
was shown