The Truth Is Out There

From: Mia Cope

The call from the security office came early.

“Ma’am, we think you should come down to the control room as soon as possible.”

I glanced up at Daddy reading in his chair and decided not to bother him.

“I’ll be right down,” I said.

Minutes later, I was standing in front of the banks of monitors that display live feeds from every square inch of Casa de Togo.¹

“What are we looking for?” I demanded.

“You can’t see it from our security cameras,” the officer explained. “We’re sending out a drone now to give you a closer look.”

The large main screen flickered on about that time. Every eye was transfixed as we watched.

Startled, I asked, “Is that what I think it is?”

“Yes, Ma’am. It appears to be a crop circle . . . or, in this case, a lawn circle.”

A junior security officer stepped forward and begin reading a hastily prepared briefing report:

Crop circles are a much-doubted phenomena with primary occurrences in the United Kingdom. Many theories exist as to their origin but they are largely thought to be hoax events staged to create fear of alien invasion — or perhaps to promote the ignorant story of space lasers . . .

“That’s quite, enough,” I interrupted. “How was this circle discovered?”

“Routine perimeter patrol, Ma’am,” the senior security officer explained. “We sent out teams to investigate and I’ve asked them to report as they’ve completed their sectors.”

Over the protests of my security staff, I was leading a team to the site of the circle within the hour. I have to admit, what we saw sent a shiver up my spine.

Clearly, this was the work of a maniacal hoodlum within the border of Casa de Togo. I personally measured the phenomenom and had my picture made with it to establish scale.

I felt certain the perpetrator would return to the scene and I decided to personally surveil the area for the next few hours. I picked a spot a little distance away.

Meanwhile, my ace security team begin contacting law enforcement, both domestic and foreign, to learn whether similar incidents had been reported. Neither my surveillance nor their calls turned up any new clues. Still waiting to hear from NASA.

Later that night, as Momma, Daddy, and I were enjoying a quiet evening, Daddy suddenly said, “I need to get new wheels for my mower. The old ones are so slick that the entire mower slipped sideways the other day because of the morning dew. Left a horrible gouge in the lawn.”

I quietly texted the security detail on patrol:

CALL OFF LAWN CIRCLE INQUIRY. STRONG EVIDENCE TO SUGGEST THAT IT WAS A DADDY-INVOLVED INCIDENT. NO THREAT TO CASA DE TOGO OR ITS CITIZENRY.’’

Or was there? Daddy looked up at me and winked. “The truth is out there,” he whispered.

1. The estate is named in honor of my predecessor in my role as General Manager and Chief Security Officer. Togo was a legend in his own time and I sometimes struggle to overcome his larger-than-life legacy.