The Flock by James Robert Smith Read Free Book Online

extremely wealthy man. A billionaire. His fortune is certainly hefty enough to give anyone pause. However, even he can’t successfully fight a corporation like Berg Brothers. Them and their damned town.” She scowled at something he couldn’t see, but could imagine.
    â€œSaaaaaaaaal-yew-taaaaaaaaaaaay-shunz,” Ron squeaked.
    Kate looked at him, and she laughed, showing a lot of straight, white teeth. He laughed along with her.
    â€œWhat are you doing?” she asked him. “I mean, after lunch.” She reached into her bag and came out with another handful of fruit.
    â€œJust heading back to my truck. Why?”
    â€œWould you like to come back to the compound?”
    â€œCompound?”
    â€œHolcomb’s place. The research center.”
    â€œThe Eyesore!”
    She laughed again, and Ron found himself liking her.
    â€œYes. The Eyesore. We hear that one a lot. You’d be surprised at the glares I get when I go into the market in Salutations and someone recognizes me as one of Holcomb’s people.” She sighed. “But I’m used to that from way back. Anyway…you want to come back with me? Vance might want to talk to you.”
    Ron finally took a bite of his sandwich and chewed, thinking. “Hell. Why not? I’ve never met a billionaire.”
    â€œBillion and a half,” she corrected.
    â€œWow. I’m impressed. Sure. I’ll come.”
    As Ron sat and ate his lunch, Kate began to run down her list of ninety-three endangered and threatened species living in the area. He listened, giving her his undivided attention.
    And they were not aware of a brief flash of scarlet that glimmered behind them, off in the trees, and then was gone.

Chapter Six
    Damn it, he was lost.
    Tim Dodd was a pretty good reporter. The editors had really liked his work covering the lost doggies and the snakebite victims and the alligator problems at Salutations. So he had figured he’d find something else to crow about if he followed the officer who had been sent over by Fish & Wildlife. There was nothing to it, really. Just park a quarter mile away and wait until the guy walked off into the woods. And then get out and follow him. At worst, he’d be good for a few photos and some Q & A.
    Dodd had been pretty sure the guy had gone down a foot trail that led off into the woods. In fact, he had watched him take the trail past that brick enclosure with all of the electrical doodads inside of it. Following at a discreet distance was something he did well, so he faded back a bit and plunged down the path, thinking he would come upon the other man sooner or later.
    But sooner had certainly turned into later, and he still had not caught up to the wildlife officer. Riggs his name was . Well, he would be happy to see Riggs, if he could just find him. Unfortunately, all Tim Dodd had seen since he’d gone down the trail were trees and bushes. The air was alive with the sound of insects. Things whined and buzzed and chirped all around him, but he was ignorant of the source of each sound. It all was like a bothersome noise to him, and he wondered how anyone who lived out here could concentrate long enough to form a coherent thought. The constant chirping was maddening, he thought. Thank God for air-conditioning, else he would have had to listen to that crap through an opened window whenever he had to use his laptop or steal a few hours sleep at The Executive.
    He paused to take in the land for a moment and make certain Riggs wasn’t standing nearby laughing at him. He peered around. Pines and other trees stretched off and off. Bees and wasps made patterns in the air. Butterflies floated here and there, some of them quite pretty he thought. And then a deerfly took a nip at the base of his neck and he swatted it and cursed. “Dammit.” Examining the palm of his hand, he saw the crushed insect and a smear of blood. The little bastards weren’t hard to kill. Not like