The Mysterious Professor Laughlin

At 5:00, I reluctantly bid Brian goodbye and returned to my cabana to change for the feast. Given the warm weather, I decided to wear a white halter top and a light multi-colored skirt. And to bring my handbag, of course. I wasn't about to forget that. It was the only place I could hide my knife with this outfit, and I wasn't about to leave it behind. It wasn't anything fancy, just a four inch long blade, balanced so that I could throw it, if I needed to. It wasn't the same as having my gun, but it would do in a pinch, and after that conversation with Stroeker, I felt the need to have it close at hand. Hopefully, I'd be able to use it, if the occasion arose. I'd trained with it, of course, but I'd yet to be in a violent situation when I didn't have my gun, so I'd never had to use it. And if there was anything I'd learned from my experience since the Academy, it was that live-fire exercises were one thing, reality was quite another.

I arrived at the umu puaka toho at a little past six. There were many tables, and most of the resort, plus half the native village, appeared to be there. Most of the Congress attendees were not braving the fare, but were eating from the restaurant, instead. I privately wondered what the point was in going if you weren't going to try anything new. The food didn't look that unusual. There was pork, holoholo'ufi, which was some kind of coconut and yam dish that looked very rich, raw fish called vete and nga'a, raw shellfish marinated in miti, which turned out to be the native word for coconut cream, boiled crabs, and other exotic things. Kava, a mildly intoxicating drink made from a local root was being served to the few who wanted it. I tried some, but it didn't hold a candle to Brian's Kiwi Hangover. Scantily-clad island girls and brawny half-naked men served the food and played on drums while the tourists and Congress attendees laughed and talked amongst themselves. Among them was Stroeker, who had managed to corner a tawny blonde. I suppressed another shudder and did my best to blend in with the crowd, not wanting to catch his eye again. Not that this was hard to manage with all of the women around.

I continued watching Stroeker as I piled samples of the various local dishes on a plate, hoping I might catch him talking to someone not of the young and pretty female variety. He had to be contacting someone on the island, and the feast would be a perfect opportunity for him to do so. I suppose his contact could have been one of the various women I'd seen him hitting on, but somehow I didn't think so. Stroeker didn't strike me as the sort who worked with women. He just used them.

While scanning the crowd, I was surprised to spot the couple I had seen earlier in the lobby, minus their older companion. The woman looked somewhat better than before, although she still didn't look completely healthy. I decided to approach them, both out of curiosity as to what had been wrong with her, and to avoid standing out in the crowd. People by themselves tend to draw attention in an atmosphere like this. Plus, I was curious about her companion. This was the third time I'd come across him today, and all three times had been near either Stroeker or his cabana. It could be nothing, of course, but if there was even a chance that he could be Stroeker's contact, I had to follow up on it.

I approached the pair in what I hopped was a friendly manner, and addressed the woman. "Glad to see you're feeling better. We kind of passed each other in the lobby earlier today. My name's Jillian." I shifted my plate to my left hand and held out my right. "Are you attending the conference too?"

The young woman took my hand without hesitation. "Theresa. No, I'm just visiting. But Professor Laughlin is, aren't you?"

"Why yes, I am." Laughlin responded. "Haven't attended all of the lectures, but so far things have been fairly interesting," he added with a wry smile.

Laughlin. I had heard that name before, but where? I studied him carefully as he spoke, hoping to place him. He had sandy hair, blue eyes, and was above average height with a good build. He was dressed fairly casually in khakis and a white blousey shirt, the top couple of buttons of which were undone. If he was, indeed, a professor, I suspected he did not spend a lot of time in the classroom. Still, none of this helped me figure out why his name seemed so familiar. I decided to stop thinking about it for the moment, and hope that it would come to me on its own. Instead, I raised an eyebrow in response to Laughlin's comment about the lectures. "Really? I must admit, this morning's lecture seemed rather, well, dry, to put it politely." Boring as hell, would have been more accurate.

"I was referring more to the topics than the presentations. Some of these people really need to get out more." He smiled a quick smile. "I met Hector Bromowitz. The man is definitely off kilter. It was pretty clear that he doesn't have much experience with socialization. I would recommend against being alone with him. Though you do look like you could take care of yourself." He reached over for his drink. "I am afraid that I don't recognize the name. What is your area of expertise? Are you a fellow archeologist? Or more of a historian?"

Now we'd see how well my cover story held up. "Neither, actually. Not professionally, at least. It's more of a hobby, for me. I've always found things that can't be readily explained rather fascinating." Actually, I was more fascinated by the people who actually believed in that sort of thing, but I could hardly admit that here. "And which category do you fall into? Historian or archeologist? I'm guessing the latter."

"If this is a hobby, what do you do to put bread on the table?"

Nice of him to ignore my question. I smiled anyway. "Don't laugh, but I work as an executive assistant. It's not glamorous, but it pays the bills. What's your area of specialty?" Take two.

Theresa smiled. "And I'm a research assistant. I think only Kyle is his own boss."

Kyle. Well, now I had a first name, but I still couldn't place why it seemed familiar.

Laughlin responded to Theresa's comment with a big smile, conveniently ignoring my question. "No one is ever their own boss. There are always obligations somewhere, but I have tried to get as close as I possibly could."

I smiled as well. "So, what is your area of specialty?" I repeated. Again. I could be persistent too.

"I specialize in early and mid Greek and Roman mystery religions. I have a special place in my heart for the Aesaic cult that started in Egypt, and have spent a lot of time studying the Mithraic and the Gnostics as well. They are all fascinating."

"The Aesaic cult? I'm afraid I'm not familiar with that one." Hell, I wasn't familiar with any of them, but that one sounded the most unusual.

"An Egyptian formed cult that worshipped Isis and Osiris as paired deities. One of the first cults that had a significant female membership, including several church heads. Had an awful lot of influence in pre-Christian Rome. Often used as an argument for the early use of the Madonna image in Christianity. Great stuff that." He paused for a moment, then shifted the conversation back to me again. "Just curious, but are you here to support your boss? I can't imagine that you would pick this particular conference to go to as your yearly vacation. It is a rather long trip. Or do you work in the area? I assumed that you were American or European, but that is, of course, only an assumption."

I kept my smile fixed on my face, although I was beginning to get annoyed. My, but he was tenacious! Was he suspicious of my story? If he was Stroeker's contact, he was bound to be paranoid. On the other hand, he could merely be making conversation. "Actually, I did pick this as my yearly vacation," I responded. "Although, I must admit, the locale had something to do with it. If the Congress had been meeting in, say, Alaska, I think I would have gone elsewhere. I've never been to one of these before, so this way I get to see what it's like, and if it turns out I hate it, I still get a tropical vacation. So really, I can't lose."

"What the overpowering need to understand the supernatural isn't enough to get you to go to Alaska? You are obviously not nearly as devoted as most of the attendees. There might just be hope for you."

I laughed. "I guess my secret is out. Don't tell anyone." I smiled over at Theresa, anxious to shift the conversation away from me. "Did the two of you know each other before the Congress, or did you meet here?"

"We met on the plane," Theresa replied. "I work with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, and we happened to be on the same flight."

"Would either of you ladies care to join me for dinner?" Laughlin invited. "It seems to be about that time."

I smiled. This would be the perfect opportunity to learn more about him. Maybe with a little more time, I would figure out why he seemed so familiar. "Sounds good to me. Theresa?"

She shook her head. "I don't think I want to eat any of that, just now. You two go ahead."

And with that she departed, leaving me alone with the mysterious Professor Laughlin.

Jillian's Page | Jillian's Journals

Last modified on May 19, 2002 by Kris Fazzari.