And you’re sure he said “Dominion?” Amanda Shores turned back to the desktop computer in her office at the Deseret Bugle. The desk was cluttered with notes, a framed picture of what looked like Amanda and some friends in college, and a coffee-stained paperback fantasy novel. A framed graduation certificate from Colorado State University hung above the desk next to a small white board.
No boyfriend picture is a good thing, Bones thought.
“Yep,” he said, picking up the picture to get a closer look. She had been cute in college, but was definitely better-looking now. “The Dominion. Orley said it like some movie voice-over, like I should know what he was talking about. Ever heard of it?”
“I think so,” she replied, her attention fixed on the screen. She tapped a few keys and sat back. “Take a look.”
Bones scooted the rolling chair closer. The website to which Amanda had surfed was royal blue with a beehive logo in the top, left corner. The heading read, The Deseret Dominion.
“The Deseret Dominion, also known as simply, ‘The Dominion,’ is a para-political organization that supports independence for the former state of Deseret,” Amanda explained. Seeing his blank stare, she continued. “In 1849, settlers in Utah proposed the formation of the state of Deseret. The proposal was basically for most of the land acquired in the Mexican Cession of 1848 to be included in the new state: all of present-day Utah and Nevada, and parts of Colorado, New Mexico, Wyoming, Idaho, and Oregon, and large chunks of California and Arizona. The United States didn’t act on the proposal right away and the provisional government actually existed unofficially for two years before the Utah territory was created.”
“So this… Dominion,” Bones said, “thinks it can start a new country inside the US?”
“It’s complicated,” Amanda replied. “Officially it’s a small political organization that lobbies for Mormon interests. Take a peek beneath the surface and you’ll find all sorts of interesting things: rumors of training facilities for paramilitary troops, chemical weapons facilities, religious nuts… Who knows how much of it is true?”
“So you think these are the guys Orley was talking about?” Bones asked. “Why would they care about a farmer and an archaeological dig?”
“That picture you found. They’re calling it the ‘Jesus Image.’ Anything in the historical record that could help support the Book of Mormon would be of interest to the Dominion.”
“So they went after Isaiah to shut him up,” Bones said, realization dawning on him, “because he wouldn’t say that the image was of Jesus. But why would they go after Orley?”
“I don’t imagine they were after Orley,” she said. “But instead, they were after whatever was in the cave. Or maybe to keep what was in the cave from coming into the public eye. Those pictures you took suggest we’re talking about a Spaniard rather than Jesus.”
“I’ve got to do something to make sure Isaiah is safe from these guys,” he said.
“I’ll wager he is safe,” Amanda said. “First of all, they haven’t come back to finish the job. Also, they’ve gotten him off the project. The new foreman is probably their man, and if Isaiah comes out against him publicly, he’ll just look like the envious professor who is angry because he didn’t get to finish the dig he started.”
“I hear you,” Bones said, “but I still think I’ll talk to Isaiah about getting out of town. How about Orley? Have you found anything out about him?”
“Whoever followed you two into that cave didn’t try to hurt him. They subdued him and took him to a hospital. They claimed he had a fit. I also found out he’s been transferred to a psychiatric hospital for evaluation. They can’t hold him for long unless they can find something wrong with him. Problem is…”
“If the Dominion has connections in the hospital, his evaluation might not be the most honest or accurate,” Bones finished.
“And,” Amanda added, “they would have the drugs and know-how to question him in great depth. Anything Orley knows about that cave, the Dominion will learn sooner or later.”
“My to-do list keeps getting longer,” Bones said.
“Would you like to share it with me?” Amanda asked. “Maybe I can help.”
“My list mostly consists of people I’m gonna’ kick the crap out of,” Bones said. “What you can do is help me find out exactly who to punch first.”
“I can do that,” Amanda said, her eyes glistening with excitement. “No one’s ever really investigated the Dominion. Most of their critics are raving conspiracy theorists, but if Orley is correct, this is something worth pursuing.”
“It could be dangerous,” Bones said. “If we’re right about this, they’ve already come after two people.”
“I know,” Amanda said. “But I want to do it anyway.”
“All right,” Bones said. “See if you can find out who it was that brought Orley to the hospital. They could be our link to the Dominion. Also, see what you can dig up about the guy who’s taken over Isaiah’s dig. Even if he’s not one of them, we might be able to find out who’s pulling his strings.”
He removed the golden disc, now wrapped in cloth and hidden inside a plain, brown paper bag, from his jacket pocket. “So what do you think we do about this?”
“It’s a tough call,” she said. “The Dominion has members everywhere: in government, in business, even in universities. It’s hard to know who to trust. We need someone we can complete rely on who has a background in local Native American history.”
A sudden thought struck Bones. The girl who was working with Dane might fit the bill.
“I think I know of someone who can help us out on that end,” he said. “I’ll also send the cave pictures and pictures of the disc to a friend of mine. He’s sort of an über computer geek. If anyone can make something of the writing, it’s him.”
“Sounds good to me,” Amanda said. “What do you want to do first?”
“First, we break Orley out of that hospital.”