The Rhode Incident - Ch 8

It was about a year later when Eamon had saved up enough to go to Thailand. In the meantime, he had tried to talk to other people about the case he had been on and whether they had any opinion about Michael's innocence. While some agreed that the evidence presented an impossible picture of a mass killer committing suicide in the way he did, most others were absolutely convinced that Michael was the killer, many accusing him of faking some of the evidence so that Michael could get off easier. Even so, nobody knew what the symbol was about or why it appeared there.

The man's name was Sean Furlong. He lived in Udon Thani, Udon Thani Province. Eamon had spent the year befriending him in any way he could and today was the day  he was going to Udon Thani to see him for the first time. He could've called, but it would not be so easy to get away from him if he was there in person.

He had since moved to Birr, solely for the Aerodrome there, gotten himself a comfy little dwelling, and earned a job as a PC support technician working in a little shop. He told them how long which was a week.

He needed answers, especially about the symbol and Sean just may have them. There was no way to be sure of course, but his gut led him to something major last time, maybe it can do so again.

The flight was long. A total of a day-and-a-half spent in the air and in airports just so he could talk to Sean. Nothing of note happened, Eamon mostly read, listened to music and slept on the planes, and read and ate everywhere else. It was slightly uncomfortable, but that was to be expected.

He barely made it to his hotel bed before collapsing upon it; he was so exhausted from jet lag that he decided that he should take a full day of rest before going anywhere. He would talk to Sean face-to-face tomorrow.

Sean's residence was an apartment that was part of a multi-shaded 4-storey building. He could walk right on in and knocked on the door of room 203. A black-haired man swung the door open and said "Hello. Who are you?"

"It's Eamon. Did you forget I was coming?"

"Oh Eamon! Come in, come in! I didn't expect you for a couple of more days."

"Better to come earlier than later."

"Indeed."

"What have you been doing the last couple of days?"

"Not much, just, uh, trying to enjoy myself at work, like always."

"Ok. That part of the culture around here?"

"What is?"

"Enjoying yourself?"

"Yes."

"And-"

"Is there something you wanted to talk to me about, Eamon?"

"Uh..."

"C'mon, spit it out."

"Well, I suppose I wanted to talk to you about Michael."

"Oh. Well, lets try to keep it down shall we? Don't want our neighbors eavesdropping!"

"They don't understand us. Even I know that!"

"...Right, right. Nevermind then. What about Michael?"

"I've been trying to tell people that Michael was framed then murdered by someone else."

"Really? How so?"

"When I found the body... actually, is there a way to use a spike to pin both of your hands together onto a tree 40 feet high while leaving your palm print on top of said spike? Because that's how I found him."

"Not in any way that I know of, in fact, I'm not sure if that's even possible to do by yourself."

"That's what I'm saying, there would need to be another person there and if i remember correctly, all the victims had died before he did."

"Strange."

"You know what's stranger? The more I think about it, the more I am convinced that that pile of bodies simply appeared there out of thin air, there was nothing leading to it and nothing leading away. Why would the police close an investigation even though the evidence when put together makes no sense?"

"Maybe it was just out of simple laziness or-"

"No! There is a reason and I will find out! I will!"

"Are you done being crazy?"

"No I am not! I also discovered a symbol carved into Michael's forehead. It was two ovals, one on top of the other, the one on the bottom had a dot on either side, while the one on top didn't. Would you know anything about that?"

"I would unfortunately have no idea what it would mean, but I do have a friend who on top of being a storekeeper, studies symbology."

"Let's go then!"

"Eamon, you should really wait until tomorrow, he's rather busy today."

"Alright then, I'll do that!"

"Say, where are you staying?"

"Udon Hotel."

"Good, that's not too far from here. See you tomorrow."

"Good-bye!"

For the rest of the day, he decided he should enjoy himself while he was here before going back to the hotel for the night. He read for a little bit before turning out the light. The next day, at 8:00 am, Sean picked him up and they drove halfway across town to meet his friend.

Unsurprisingly, the shop was very small and full of miscellaneous stuff. A Thai man walked out from the back room and greeted them smiling. Eamon glanced at Sean and saw him with his palms pressed together also with a smile on his face. He nudged Eamon, signaling to him that he should do the same.

"Good day to both of you. How may I help you?" the man said in fluent English.

Sean replied "This friend of mine would like to know about a certain symbol."

"Ah, do you have any picture that can be shown?"

Eamon casually replied "No."

"That's fine. You can simply describe it to me and I will tell you what you need to know."

Eamon then described the symbol and the man replied "Hmm, the symbol itself does not represent anything but it does have a short albeit dark history. It is associated with unusually violent events that can be dated back to 1946 in India. Would you like to know?"

"Yes."

"Good. It first appeared during the Week of the Long Knives on August 19, 1946 on a building in Metiabruz, Calcutta. It then appeared in Nookhali during the genocide and another place that is only mentioned. 2 years later, it was found in various places in Colombia during the 10 years of La Violencia before disappearing for about another 10 years or so.

It was found on the walls of huts at the focal points of massacres perpetrated by the warring parties during the Vietnam War and its related conflicts. 5 years after, they found it in a burnt out cell during the New Mexico State Penitentiary Riot. It then appeared in Guatemala under the Montt regime from 1983 - 1984 while at the same time, the symbol was found in the attic of the house where the New City Village Massacre took place, about 35 people died. It didn't appear again until the Sukhumi Massacre during the War in Abkhazia in 1993; it had been burnt into the ground in the town center. 

The Rwandan Genocide, the Maracaibo National Jail riot of '94, the Nixon Arson of '95, the mass killings during the Algerian Civil War, it follows the LRA wherever they go, both Chechen Wars, Gujarat, Bogoro, the Mexican Drug War, and your case. It has continued several times a year, every year since then."

"Is it getting worse?"

"Not necessarily. It seems to cycle between activity and inactivity approximately every 10 years, though it seems the period between the incidents and breaks are getting shorter."

"Is it possible that it could be the cause of these incidents?"

"It's possible, though I highly doubt it."

"Thank you." The man nodded.

With this pattern in mind,  he began his own research almost as soon as he got back to the hotel. He soon found that the association of the symbol was evolving. At the start, it appeared during mass riots and full on wars and as the years went by, it started following isolated incidents. In fact for 60 years, it appeared during our most savage moments up until 2008. They still appeared savage but much more methodical now. What did that mean? Was there something else at work here? He needed to find the truth.

Unfortunately, this would be the first and last time Sean would see Eamon. It seemed the world had other plans for him. After Eamon got back to Thailand, he took a cab ride for the relatively short ride back home but the cab never arrived. Eamon McDonagh is still missing.