"The year is 2011. It is a dark time for cachers across the area. A killer is on the loose. His target? Creative geocache hiders and those who seek them. It appears the killer is shooting cachers just before they make the find as numerous cachers have been shot, wounded or killed with the unsigned log in hand…"
*beep* … … … *beep* … … … *beep* … … …
A steady beep wakes you as quickly become aware of a sharp pain in your shoulder and dull ache in your head. Your vision is blurry but you can make out three people standing over you as your realize you are laying in a hospital bed.
*beep* … … … *beep* … … … *beep* … … …
You hear a woman's voice, “We have a steady pulse. I think they’re starting to wake.”
As your eyes come into focus you see that you are laying in a hospital bed with a nurse and two men in suits standing over you. The taller man speaks with a polite tone, “We pardon the abruptness but we have some urgent questions for you.”
“Where am I?” you ask.
The shorter man speaks in a gruff tone, “You are in hospital. You’ve been shot.”
You react in a panic, “Am I alright?? What happened??”
The nurse quickly responds, “You’re fine. The bullet appears to have gone straight through you.”
She then props you up with a pillow behind you and leaves the room.
The short man quickly speaks again, “We need to know what you were doing there.”
The tall man speaks again as if he has been waiting on the short man to finish, “We... we are just trying to piece together the incident so we can locate the shooter. Once again, we apologize for questioning you so soon but we need to gather the facts while things are fresh in your mind.”
You rub your head as if deep in thought. “I don't quite remember what happened. I was out geocaching with a group of other cachers in north Charlotte. We had made a few finds in area. We were looking for a particularly tough micro. I had just found it and... and then I woke up here.”
The short man nudges the other man in the arm and the tall man leans over to whisper something in the other's ear. “Go on,” says the short man in an abrupt and matter of fact tone.
“That is all I remember.”
“Interesting,” the short man concludes as the taller man once again leans over and whispers in his ear.
The tall man then turns to you and speaks in an exaggeratedly slow manner, “We need to know who was with you. We think one of the other geocachers might have been the one who shot you. Can you please describe them to us?”
“Well, there were nine of us. I didn’t know the others too well. I am new to the group. We just met up to do some caching on the north side of town since it has so little geocaching activity but really great caches.”
The short man’s brow furrows as he gives you a puzzled look, “Can you describe the other cachers to us?”
The tall man pulls out a note pad and pen and stands poised ready to notate anything you say.
“Well, there was a quiet salt and peppered haired gentleman who smelled of wet paint. He was very polite.”
“Then there was a squirrelly looking fellow who looked like he might have enjoyed crawling under houses or into tunnels.”
“There was a man in a suit and tie who stated he loved beer but that he rarely ventured out of Mint Hill - especially after being attacked by an assailant in the past.”
“Then there was a gentleman who had an infatuation with Sherlock Holmes stories.”
The tall man speaks with a bit of a troubled tone, “We know these men as Therapaint, TermiteHunter, Rvstauff and David2400nc. Please continue.”
“Then there were two guys who said they worked nearby. They were both very out of shape.”
The short man grumbles, “That must have been FailedApparatus and Puttzy. We have a file on those two. Was a third guy with them - looked like he was nearly always covered in thorn and briar scrapes?
You nod as recall the man they are referring to and his little red car.
“That is SmithyPeaknuckle - a North Mecklenburg geocacher,” the tall man explained politely.
The short man interrupts, “That makes seven and with you - eight. I thought you said there were nine geocachers.”
The tall man pauses from his notation and for the first time gives you a stern look, “Yes, who was the ninth geocacher?”
You think hard trying to remember who you had left out, “There was a guy who kept to himself. He wore a shirt and tie and dark sunglasses the whole time. I got the impression that he was new to the group as well. He didn’t seem to know much about the creative ways caches are hidden in the area and always suggested we check under lamp post covers first. I thought this was ironic since he stated his geocaching name was 'BrightIdeas'. Another geocacher usually came up with the find nearby while he spent time getting the lamp post cover back on straight.”
The tall man leans over and speaks quickly to the short man in a hushed tone before diverting his attention back to his notepad. The short man nods and announces, “I think we’re done here. We’ll be in touch.”
The short man takes a business card from his pocket and places it on the bedside table. The two men then turn and leave the room just as a doctor enters. You look down to see a giant blood-soaked bandage covering your left shoulder. Just as you run your hand over the bandage you feel the pain return as the doctor speaks, “You are lucky. The bullet missed your heart by about three inches. The police just arrived and have a few questions for you.”
A puzzled expression fills your face as two uniformed officers enter the room. You look to the doctor as you quickly recall the two men who were just questioning you. One of the officers speaks, “Hello. We need to ask you a few routine questions. What is this geocaching that you were doing?”
“There were two men just here asking me questions!,” you proclaim.
Suddenly, you remember the business card and pick it up off the table beside you.
The card reads,
“Bright Ideas - Lamp Post Cover Sales and Distribution.
Shedding light on the importance of Lamp Post Covers worldwide!”
Released from the hospital a few hours later, you contemplate what all has occurred. Your memory is still fuzzy but you are determined to sign your name to that tricky cache you know you found... somewhere.
(The cache originally had you solve a quick field puzzle based on lettering on one of the nearby windows that read something to the effect of 'No Smoking, No Weapons on Premises.' This lettering has been changed so it is no longer part of the cache.)
The cache is located within 15 feet of the posted coordinates.
Congrats to Therapaint
and TermiteHunter on the FTF!