The Delta Chain (39 page)

Westmeyer was a brilliant young
mind, but with a somewhat maverick soul.

Perhaps that explained why
he
’
d become involved with a weirdo like
Vender and why he
’
d gone troppo out in
the jungles.

Asquith often wondered what the
hell had gone on out there.

Asquith prepared profiles of
Vender and Westmeyer when he was creating Nexus.

Joseph Vender had been born to
Dutch parents who emigrated to Australia at the end of the Second
World War. The family settled in the coal mining town of
Herefordvale in South Australia. Sullen and moody as a child,
Joseph was raised by strict parents. His father, Carl, was an
enigmatic character who belonged to a pseudo-religious/political
group called White Dawn. Bitter, disenfranchised men and women,
they were ultra right wing, wore ceremonial robes when they met and
considered themselves a breakaway from the Roman Catholic
Church.

Joseph found life in the
small town depressing and often went hiking, alone, in the woods.
It was on these walks, he later revealed to Westmeyer, that he
first imagined an isolated community, free and unhindered in
practicing their religious beliefs, in harmony with nature
–
and quite unlike the bitter group with which his
father was so obsessed.

It was also during these
formative years the young Vender developed an interest in cults
around the world, their beliefs, their leaders, their communal
structures, and he read book after book on the subject.

He became involved in
local churches. But with his bizarre ideas none of the churches
would encourage his leadership aspirations. In
’
73, although not drafted, he volunteered to the Australian
Army. To Vender it represented an escape and he had no intention of
returning to South Australia.

In the Sun La Province, one year
later, he met Westmeyer and they formed their unlikely
friendship.

During his early months at Sun
La, Vender first heard stories about the obscure sect somewhere in
the jungles and when he sought them out he persuaded William to
join him.

Westmeyer
’
s brilliant, ordered
and adventurous mind was affected by Vietnam in ways he would never
have imagined. After recovering from several weeks of fever, his
actions became erratic, his mind toying with
Vender
’
s unusual beliefs.

Following him into the jungle to
live like a native, he had fallen in love with a beautiful young
Vietnamese village girl.

They experienced a totally
different and mystical lifestyle as guests of the cult.

Vender used his charms to
persuade the leader to accept them. There was nothing manic or
oppressive about this group
’
s ways, as
Vender thought there might be. They were simple, honest people with
a faith in God that mixed Christian views with Vietnamese jungle
folklore and the fanciful ideas of the leader himself. As time
marched on, Vender pushed his own ideas for austere leadership,
strict living regimens and heartless punishments for the
children.

Many of the elders began to keep
a cautious distance from him.

Westmeyer noted, with
interest, that some of the younger members were seduced by
Vender
’
s charisma. They spent increasing
amounts of time with him, supporting his ideas, performing small
tasks for him.

William had never been
religious in any way, but he saw how Joseph
’
s manic energy rubbed off on those who were easily
influenced. It meant Joseph could persuade others to his way of
thinking.

This meant power.

Westmeyer was determined
he wouldn
’
t be trapped by an ordinary,
uneventful life, like that of his father. He was fascinated by
Vender; by his manic energy; and by his power and influence over
others.

Years later, with the formation
of Nexus and the launch of the Operation Babel projects, Westmeyer
pointed out to Asquith that Vender could be useful.

Asquith bankrolled
Vender
’
s idea for a sect. The
self-deluded leader set up his Keepers Of The Faith and established
his remote compounds, or “Coms” as his enlisted Keepers came to
call them.

Nexus gave Vender and his
balmy followers assistance in “obtaining” the babies and young
children who would be raised on his Coms as pure, new age souls,
the only ones fit, in Vender
’
s opinion,
of being accepted by the returning Christ.

Vender saw his destiny as
raising and preparing them. Even though Vender became increasingly
disturbed and his views distorted, he
’
d
posed no threat to Nexus.

And each year, as his “pure
souls” grew older, just a few were made available to Nexus for
their own projects. It was a small price for the First Keeper to
pay. Vender was never told the purpose of these projects. Instead,
he was fed various vague stories, which he simply accepted without
further interest.

His only concern was that he and
his growing sect would be left alone.

Kate phoned Betty Joel on her
cell as she sped toward the Institute. The coastal road offered a
view of a restless ocean beneath a sky of dark, swollen clouds.

‘I suppose a “welcome
back” is in order, young lady,
’
said
Betty.
‘
I
’
m
sure you know you created quite a stir with your little
disappearing act.
’

‘Betty, I know I owe you
an apology, for not letting you know what I was up to.
’

‘Understood, honey. God
knows you
’
ve been under more stress than
anyone deserves…
’

‘James knew but I did ask
him to keep quiet.
’

‘But he
didn
’
t know the full story, did he,
sweetie? You kept him in the dark as well-
’

‘Okay, you got me. And
I
’
ve got some explaining to do to James,
as well.
’

‘Yes you have. My view is
that, secretly, James probably expected you to do something
outlandish. Wouldn
’
t be the first time
now, would it?
’
There was a hint of
mischief in Betty
’
s voice.

‘I don
’
t know what you mean,
’
Kate
quipped.

‘Of course you
don
’
t.
’
Betty
laughed.

‘I suppose
you
’
ve heard the news about the murders
here last night.
’

‘Yes. Spoke to James
earlier this morning and he
’
d already
heard from Westmeyer. I gather they
’
re
all in a state of shock.
’

‘I
’
m on my way in now, so I
’
ll see
James soon. He told me he
’
d solved the
virus problem.
’

‘No doubt
he
’
ll fill you in on the details. Seems
we were both wrong about Rhonda being behind that, Kate. Melanie
Cail was the culprit.
’

‘Betty,
there
’
s more going on here than I can say
right now. But when I
’
m back in Brizzie
I
’
m going to talk through the whole damn
thing with you.
’

‘You bet you will. I
wouldn
’
t have let you off that hook
anyway.
’
She gave another brief snort of
laughter.

‘I didn
’
t know this when I took off for the Territory,
’
Kate revealed,
‘
but…it
has to do with what happened to Greg.
’

‘What does?
’

‘The
Institute.
’

There was a silence, hanging
briefly but thickly between the two women.

‘What do you mean
by
that
?
’

‘The Institute
isn
’
t exactly what it appears to
be…
’

‘Lately you have this
habit of really worrying me, girl.
’

‘Got to fly, Bette. Almost
there. But before I do, there
’
s something
I wanted to ask, something you
’
ve
probably got on record there…
’

Betty Joel
didn
’
t like the anxiety she detected in
Kate
’
s tone.
‘
Ask away, Kate,
’
she
said.

Betty
’
s reply hovered in Kate
’
s mind as
she walked into the Institute. A picture was forming in her mind, a
jigsaw she didn
’
t like. But the pieces
were falling into place.

The receptionist greeted
her warmly, the conversation turning to the dramatic news.
‘
You
’
re not going to
believe-
’

‘Already heard,
’
Kate said.
‘
Couldn
’
t believe it. I know
it
’
s early but…what have you been hearing
around here?
’

The receptionist was eager
to gossip.
‘
The whole
place
’
s abuzz. Some say this Melanie Cail
sent those saboteur faxes, and that Tony went out there to confront
her and it turned ugly. Someone else reckons they
must
’
ve been having an affair because
otherwise Tony wasn
’
t the type to go off
to someone
’
s home and challenge
them.
’

Kate shook her head,
incredulous.
‘
Is James in?
’

‘Yeah.
He
’
ll be glad to see you.
’

Kate smiled and headed for the
lifts.

The motel room was
pleasant but Jean Farrow couldn
’
t relax.
She
’
d lost count of the times
she
’
d paced back and forth, finding
trivial things to do
–
making tea, then
coffee, then tea again, listening to snatches of radio and TV,
leafing through the motel-issued Northern Rocks tourist
brochure.

She
couldn
’
t have cared less about any of it.
She wanted to know what was happening with the police
investigation; she felt suddenly useless; if she
couldn
’
t play an active role in
uncovering the links between her son
’
s
killers and the scientific institute, then she at least wanted to
be close at hand. To observe.

Hank, on the other
hand,
was
busy. He
’
d only recently returned
from a meeting with the editor of the local newspaper.
He
’
d organised to share their facilities
for a small fee. Now he was tapping away on his laptop and planning
to call his old employer in Chicago.

Although a strong and
independently minded woman, Jean had never been impulsive. Well,
she thought, there
’
s a first time for
everything.

She picked up her handbag
and, as Hank spoke on the phone, his gaze settled on the view
beyond the balcony, she left the room and went to Reception
.
‘
Could you call a taxi for me?
’
she asked the girl behind the
counter.

‘Where
’
d you like to go?
’

‘The Westmeyer Research
Institute.
’

Adam and Markham arrived at the
Institute at 10AM and called first on Reardon. The A.B.C.S. boss
was glued to his bank of monitors, one hand holding a mug of
coffee, the other darting over mouse and keyboard.

‘It
’
s incredible,
’
he said to the two
men as though they
’
d been with him for
hours,
‘
we installed the network here
with specially created “firewalls”. Melanie Cail
must
’
ve sneaked on to the laptop in
Stephen
’
s apartment, and created the hole
through which she later launched the virus.
’

‘So she certainly knew
what she was doing,
’
Markham
commented.

‘That
’
s the thing. She must
’
ve been a
real cyber- head to handle this. It
’
s the
kind of thing I
’
d expect from people like
Rhonda and Kate, but not your average small town journo. And
that
’
s exactly what she intended, that
once our investigation reached this stage we
’
d believe it was the work of one of our own. Goes to show
you can never be sure….
’
He swivelled in
the chair to face them.
‘
Heard about
these deaths. One mystery solved, another one rears its head for
you guys.
’

‘Did Collosimo say
anything to you,
’
Adam asked,
‘
about suspecting Melanie of the sabotage, or
about confronting her?
’

‘No.
’

‘Could he have
known,
’
Markham wondered,
‘
that the ping ID was traced to
Melanie
’
s PC?
’