The Last Beekeeper by Jared Gulian

Author:Jared Gulian [Gulian, Jared]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-07-07T16:00:00+00:00

34

The pickup truck jerked and jolted down Miller’s Track as Jim drove towards the spot in the End Woods where he’d found Emmett’s body that morning. Gabby must still be there. She hadn’t answered her mobile, and Shirley, the receptionist at the station, had said that Gabby was still “out in the field.”

He slowed when he came across her patrol SUV, pulled off into the grass at the edge of the track, not far from the clearing where they had found Emmett’s remains. Just in front of it was another patrol car, most likely Eric’s, the summer deputy. Jim parked nearby and got out.

He could hear voices coming from the clearing.

He felt uneasy being here now. This morning Gabby had asked him to leave this place abruptly. In fact, in the past two days, her attitude toward him had fluctuated so much he was now frankly confused. After initially treating him with suspicion, for a time this morning she’d almost seemed to trust him. They were working together. Then, as soon as he’d found Emmett’s body, she’d reverted back to suspicion. He had no idea how she was going to respond to seeing him out here now, but he needed to talk to her.

The yellow police line was visible through the trees as he walked toward the clearing. From a distance he could see Gabby and Eric. There was also another man Jim didn’t know, a stocky Black man with a shaved head and a thin goatee. Jim stood far away from the police line and called out to her.

She looked up and saw him. Was that a look of irritation on her face? This wasn’t going to be easy.

“Can we talk?” he yelled.

She turned to the others and said something, then walked over. “What are you doing out here again?” she said. “I told you this is law enforcement business.”

“I know. I have to talk to you.”

“What about?”

“You have to arrest Lewis Wilson and Brad Kelly,” Jim said.

She seemed surprised. “Why?”

“A lot’s happened since we parted ways this morning.”

“Like what?”

He quickly told her about the raccoon attack, the sick dog, the hazmat suit, and the jerry cans and green foam in the back of the Hadley Agritech truck.

She watched him closely as he spoke, but she looked skeptical. When he was done she said, “Let me make sure I have this right. You’re telling me that a never-before-seen, genetically modified raccoon attacked your daughter, stung your dog, and gave him a strange illness.” She raised her eyebrows.

He paused. “I know it sounds a little crazy…”

“Are you sure it wasn’t just a rabid raccoon?”

“It had mandibles and a stinger. It was gray and hairless.”

“Wow. Can you show it to me?”

He shook his head. “It’s gone. Lewis has it. I left it at Hadley Agritech. I had to rush home to Ava.”

“Why did you take it to Lewis? Why didn’t you call Animal Services? They deal with rabid animals all the time.” She was watching him very closely now. It felt like he was being studied.

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