Blue Coyote Motel (34 page)

I know what you mean," Sean said. "There seems to be a bit of magic here. I think everyone feels it."

Jill continued, “I happened to come here a few months after my husband's death. I had no plans to stop and spend the night. It just happened because I was too tired to drive anymore and I was afraid I might fall asleep at the wheel. I wasn't coping with life very well and I really didn't feel there was any reason to live. In fact, I was seriously contemplating suicide. I couldn't imagine that I would ever feel good again, but after spending the night here, I felt wonderful. Everything changed. My life had meaning again and I fell in love with a wonderful man that I subsequently met. Then, starting a few weeks ago, my old sense of nothingness returned and I seemed to be aging much faster than normal. My doctor gave me a complete physical and can't find anything wrong with me. On a whim, I decided to return to the place where I had felt so good, right here at the Blue Coyote Motel. I feel much better. I think it's working for me again."

"I'm sure you'll find whatever you need," Sean said. "There must be a little magic here for everyone to feel so good. I feel it myself. Well, I think I'll go in and take a nap. Any more sun and my skin will be fried. I enjoyed talking to you, Jill. I'll see you later."

Sean couldn't wait to be alone. He needed to think about everything he had learned. Something very strange was happening here. He had spent a lot of time in therapy sessions and facilitating groups of recovering drug addicts. What he had heard this afternoon was not unlike what he often heard from his patients. There definitely seemed to be some nexus between the motel and the good feelings people got when they stayed here. All of the guests had been having problems before they came. Then, all of a sudden, for some time they all felt better after coming to the motel, but for reasons that were unclear, they all reverted back to the feelings they had before they had come to the Blue Coyote the first time. All of them decided to return and all of them for the same reason; they wanted to get back the "feeling good" sensation they had after the first time they visited.

What was happening here didn't seem to be much different from the garden variety of the drug abuse cases that Sean had seen on many previous occasions. The usual cycle of events with a drug-dependent person started with unhappy feelings alleviated by taking a drug. When the drug stopped working, the drug-dependent person looked for a stronger drug to get back the good feelings. The cycle continued to repeat itself, oftentimes in a downward spiral.

In theory, his thinking worked. In reality, it didn't. No drug had been given to him. There had been no magic pill, nothing. He had simply come to the motel, stayed, and felt better.
What
am I
missing?
He asked himself.

As he had been getting ready to go back to his room, Sean had overheard Luisa talking to Sam, telling him about Jorge and a little about the Amazon. Sean wondered if Jorge knew anything about drugs, if something could have been given to them without them knowing. He promised himself he would talk to Jorge and see what his thoughts were as to why they were all feeling so good.

All of this heavy thinking made Sean sleepy and he quickly fell into a deep and dreamless sleep. He awakened feeling refreshed and ready to get back to Denver and Jeanne.
What
is
making
me
feel so
good
? He again asked himself.
Do
the
others
feel
it
? He dressed and headed for the refreshment area, hoping that Jorge would be there. He felt a pressing need to talk to him.

The refreshment area was empty and Sean spent some time looking over the dinner choices. Meat loaf, lasagna, chicken, and a beautifully composed salad were arrayed before him, along with some vegetables and fruits. For dessert, there was chocolate mousse in the refrigerator. He had just picked up the lasagna when the door opened. As if answering Sean's unspoken call, Jorge walked in.

Sean turned to him, held out his hand, and said, "I'm Sean Moriarty. We haven't met, but I talked to your charming wife earlier today. I understand you spend a lot of time in the Amazon. It's always been an area of the world that fascinates me. I was wondering if you could spare some time to chat with me later this evening."

"Of course. I couldn't join everyone out by the pool as I had to take care of some business, but my wife told me of your wonderful work at your clinic in Denver. It would be an honor to talk to you. Let me get something for Luisa and me to eat and I'll come to your room in about an hour. Will that be all right?" Jorge asked.

"Certainly. Take your time. I'm in room 3 and I look forward to talking with you."

Sean went back to his room and thought about what he was going to say. He hoped Jorge would understand and agree with him, that something strange was definitely going on at the Blue Coyote.

An hour later there was a soft knock on Sean's door and he opened it to see Jorge standing there smoking a cigarette. "I hope you don't mind, but Luisa has become a true Californian. Now she won't let me smoke around her or in the house and an after dinner cigarette is a must for those of us who enjoy them. When I travel, there is always the cigarette dance between California and Brazil. In Brazil no one cares if you smoke, while here in California, you feel like an outcast or worse. This is the one thing I have had a hard time adjusting to since we moved."

"I understand," Sean said. "It was not too long ago that I, too, had to have that wonderful after dinner cigarette. Enjoy! If that's the worst habit you have, you're still better off than most of the people I know.”

Sean invited Jorge into his room and closed the door. They sat opposite each other at a small writing table in the room. "What I'm going to say to you may sound strange, but please, just take a moment to listen to me. I wanted to talk to you because of your knowledge of the Amazon and I would like to hear your perspective based on what I have read about the Amazon and the addictive, mind-altering drugs, which I understand are readily available in that area of the world.

“I really think something is going on here at the Blue Coyote. All of the guests have returned to the motel because, when they came here before, they were troubled with one thing or another. All of them felt wonderful when they left. The good feelings continued for a substantial period of time and then suddenly, all of the negative feelings returned. I have done work with drug addiction and the situations are very similar.”

Jorge sat in his chair, very still and very quiet. Sean could tell he was giving the matter a great deal of thought. Finally, he spoke. "I noticed a strange smell the first time I visited here. It smelled like sandalwood. That is used throughout the world in incense and often, to mask a chemical odor. I think you may be right. Something must be going on here. We all had problems before we came here. After we left the Blue Coyote, all of us felt better, much, much better. Now our problems are reoccurring. We've all come back and all of us seem to be feeling great once again. That cannot be coincidence. But if that is so, how are we getting this drug?" Jorge was clearly giving Sean his full attention.

He went on, "We are not knowingly ingesting drugs. That leaves the drinking water, the food, or the very air we are breathing. I would have to rule out the water because Luisa and I only drink bottled water. It's a habit we got into because of my travels in the Amazon. That leaves either the food or the air we are breathing. We have our choice of whatever food we want and it would be very hard to standardize the amounts of a foreign substance planted secretly in the food. Weights vary, appetites vary, and some people are even on special diets and bring their own food. If what I’ve just said is true, then the only thing left would be the air. I suppose drugs could be piped into the rooms somehow. I can’t think of any other rational explanation," Jorge concluded.

Sean spoke again. "I have been doing a little research. I googled the motel and found that it's owned by Jeffrey and Maria Brooks. Maria is the woman at the front desk. You were still in Brazil when the news story about her husband broke. It was quite a story, particularly here in California. Jeffrey was rumored to be in line to win the Nobel Prize for his research on an anti-aging hormone and had actually formulated a compound for it. When he left the company he worked for, Moore Scientific Laboratories, they released a statement saying he was leaving for health reasons.

"The underground press wrote that he had given the drug to his wife, Maria Brooks, while he was an employee of the lab, in violation of his contract with them and that he was actually fired by Moore Labs. Supposedly, they gave him a large financial settlement. Apparently, Maria and Jeffrey bought this motel and retired out here. A couple of things interest me.

“First of all, have you really looked at Maria? She's gorgeous and I don't think she's aged a day since I saw her the first time. Based on the Internet search, she would have to be well into her thirties by now and she doesn't look a day older than twenty-two or twenty-three. Secondly, with Jeffrey's intellect and his knowledge of drugs, it's entirely possible he could invent something that would make people feel good; some sort of a feel-good drug. I suppose, like all drugs, it would have an expiration date, after which it would no longer be an effective remedy. From what I read, no one has seen or heard of him in well over a year. If we're going to get to the bottom of this, maybe we should start right here with Jeffrey. Why not try to set up a meeting with him? Everything points to him."

Sean didn't know where all this was going, but he had a hunch he was on the right track. But even if he found out that Jeffrey had been administering some kind of "feel good" drug to all of them, so what? All of the guests had come back to the Blue Coyote so they could once again feel good. They probably didn't know or realize it, but it might be they needed the drug. Their desire to regain their good feelings was really a craving for an addictive drug. Perhaps even if they knew they had been drugged, would they care, as long as it made them feel good?

Jorge sat back in his chair, digesting what Sean had told him. "Sean, I think we should tell the rest of the people what we're thinking and then maybe have a joint meeting with Jeffrey."

"You're absolutely right." Sean said, "Let's get the others and meet back in my room. We're all leaving tomorrow, so tonight is the best time to do it.”

They agreed that Sean would go find Jill and Doug, while Jorge would bring Luisa and Sam back with him. Within a few minutes they were all assembled in Sean's room. They sat on the bed and the floor, wherever they could fit. The rooms at the Blue Coyote were large, but seating was limited.

Sean began, "Jorge and I have been talking about a certain situation here at the Blue Coyote Motel and we'd like to share some of our thoughts with you. You may disagree with us, but we feel that we need to bring some unusual things to your attention."

He went on to tell them about Jeffrey, what he had found out from his search on the Internet, and his suspicions about why they all felt so good when they were at the motel. At first, their faces registered disbelief. This was the United States. It was against the law to administer a drug without a person's consent. They seemed shocked to realize that maybe the drug was an illegal drug as well. They couldn't believe that the owner of a motel in the middle of nowhere would have the wherewithal to do something like that. Clear and simple, it was a violation of their rights and definitely illegal. The more they listened to Sean and then to Jorge, who had come to agree with Sean, the more they were forced to consider that what they were hearing just might be true. Sean told them he thought they all needed to meet with Jeffrey to find out if his suspicions were true. They agreed.

Sean and Jorge walked over to the reception area where Maria was closing up for the night. "Maria, the other guests and I would like to talk to your husband. None of us has met him. We have some questions we'd like to ask. Would it be possible for us to meet with him tonight?" Sean asked.

Maria had noticed the other guests going to Sean's room and could only guess what was going on. There really was nothing she could do. If she didn't call Jeffrey and request the meeting, there was a chance that they would go to the county sheriff. After growing up in the barrio, Maria had a deep-seated fear of anything related to law enforcement. The last thing she wanted was the police nosing around the motel. She had heard horror stories of how they could close down a motel for small things, such as the mirrors in the rooms not being low enough for a disabled person in a wheelchair.

After quickly weighing the options, she decided it would be best for her to call him on the intercom connected to the basement lab. "Jeffrey, the guests would like to meet with you. Evidently they have some questions. Is it okay if I send them down to the lab in a few minutes?"

Jeffrey was surprised at the call, but not concerned. In fact, he had no concerns about anything, as he believed he was on the road to greatness. There was nothing that could stand in his way. He had thought about meeting with the guests and had even mentioned it to Maria. He was proud of his invention, Freedom, the new drug he had developed, if that's what they wanted to talk about. Unfortunately, the longer he took the drug he had created to control his bipolar condition, the less he was able to filter the real world from his delusional reality. In his present state, he was sure that the people would recognize his genius. This was the manic side of being bipolar.

"Of course, send them down. I'd like to meet with them. I'd like to share my discoveries with them. I'm convinced that the things I've accomplished here in the lab will change the world as we know it today. Why not share the medical breakthrough with the very people who were the first to receive Freedom and experience the miracle of 'feeling good' all the time," Jeffrey said.