Points West (A Butterscotch Jones Mystery Book 5) by Melanie Jackson Read Free Book Online

went
wrong like you said? Or maybe the bears have something like rabies? We haven’t
actually seen one yet, so how can we know what’s wrong with them?” Chuck was
catching on.
    “Do bears get rabies? I thought about that right off but….”
    “Of course they do.” I had no idea if they did but it seemed
likely since they were mammals. “We need to consult with a vet. In fact…. Horace, once the snow stops, would you be willing
to head back to Seven Forks? Parris Grant is the nearest vet and someone we can
trust to be discreet.”
    “But—”
    “I don’t want to discuss this matter over the phone. You
know we’re on a party line and we don’t want to cause panic with our
speculation. Or alert the zoologist. That might just lead to a bigger
cover-up.” I turned to Chuck. “Maybe Doc could send down a blood sample for
analysis.”
    “But, is this Parris Grant discreet enough?” I looked at
Chuck with disbelief. “Sorry. Yes, I’m sure he’s great, but should we risk it?
It would have to go to a lab somewhere and what if….”
    “But if it’s frozen and if he’s warned….”
    But could we really warn the people at the lab without explanation?
How the hell else were we going to know how to put Brian’s screwup back in the bottle? We were working blind.
    “Let’s think about it. I’m too tired to make decisions,”
Chuck said. And he looked it. Chuck was never going to be completely at home in
the outdoors and today had been especially grueling.
    “You’re right. And we won’t be doing anything until the snow
stops. We have time to plan.”
    “Except eating dinner. That you
must do,” Big John said and then stood as the Flowers approached our table. Though
I had felt ill a while ago, at that moment food had never smelled so good to
me.
    “Big John, could we borrow your computer later?” I asked.
    “Surely. But it has no Internet.”
    “That will be okay for the first thing we need to do.”
    “My phone has Internet,” Horace said proudly. “You can use
it if you want.”
    “No,” Chuck and I said together.
    “Cellphones can be traced,” I added. “We can’t risk it if
the zoologist is government. He knows you were on the plane after all and might
be monitoring your calls.”
    Horace nodded, looking solemn. I could see that his
imaginary world was expanding.
    “But not Sasha’s portable thingy,” Big John said after a
moment of thought. He clarified the comment. “He was telling me it has some
kind of thing on it that confuses anyone who’s listening. Makes them think he’s
in Istanbul or something. Anatoli got them for the
boys for … uh … business.”
    “That’s handy,” Chuck said. “Because I find that for once in
my life I actually need Google.”
    “Let me warm up your coffee,” Big John said as I picked up
my cutlery.
    I nodded and fell on my steak. Chuck wasn’t shy either.
Almost dying burns up a lot of calories.

 

Chapter 10

 
    Chuck didn’t feel bad leaving his father at the pub.
Fiddling Thomas had come in and was tuning up his violin, and Sasha had put off
his apron and was teaching Horace a Russian card game. He would be entertained.
    And Chuck was looking forward to bed with Butterscotch even
more than he had his dinner—and he had wanted that pretty badly.
    There was a lot to think about, but it would have to wait
for morning. It wouldn’t do to act carelessly in this matter. A period of rest
and reflection—and perhaps a little recreation—was called for. Suffice it unto
the day the trouble therein.

 
    *   *   *

 
    Some snows are joyous, others oppressive. This snow was of
the latter variety. Fortunately it was in a rush to reach the States and
smother Chicago and so it sped by us in a hurry.
    Chuck shed his lingering exhaustion and worry fairly quickly after I got some breakfast in him, and his father and Sasha were
dispatched to Seven Forks with instructions to act normally but to visit Anatoli and pick up all the gossip about the