George’s cell started to ring. Since he had hooked it up to the Escalade’s Bluetooth system, all he had to do was tap a button on his steering wheel.
“Detective George Donovan speaking.”
“Detective, this is Agent DeCapristo. I hope this is not a bad time?” The agent’s tone suggested what answer she wanted to hear. George took the off-ramp and followed the GPS along a road with signs indicating the lake was only three miles out. He saw Andi stiffen and knew what his partner’s answer would be. Not wanting to burn what was left of the bridge he had with the agent, George decided to be amicable even though DeCapristo’s tone grated on his nerves. Being driven was one thing. Being an asshole about it was something else.
“It’s fine, agent. Detective Hayes and I are on our way to Lake Craig.”
“And what do you hope to find there?”
Yes, there was no reason to be an asshole. George grabbed the steering wheel harder. If things went well, they wouldn’t have to put up with the agent for much longer because there wouldn’t be a case. He hoped so against all odds. “We’ll tell you when we find it.”
The answer clearly annoyed DeCapristo. “Watch it, detective. I’m still the leading agent here.”
“Not according to what we know.” Andi’s voice was just loud enough to be heard over the connection. For a blessed moment, a sharp intake of breath was all the reaction they got. George enjoyed this moment because, sure enough, the agent went off.
“How dare you? I’m from the FBI and have seniority in this case! Without me, there wouldn’t even be a case, and I’ll be damned if I let some obscure detectives who came crawling out of I don’t know which hole take liberties!”
George wanted to answer, but Andi, clearly at the end of his patience for the day, was faster. “At the moment, there is no case as you well know, Agent DeCapristo. We are here to determine if your hunch has any merit. And let me say, for somebody who is dependent on what we’ll decide, you’re awfully impolite.”
Another sharp intake of breath. The agent clearly wasn’t used to Andi’s special brand of charm. “Are you suggesting you will say there is no case just to spite me?” Her voice had turned into a hiss.
“No, don’t put words in my mouth.” Andi was completely unruffled. “I’m just saying that for somebody who’s trying to make a name for themselves, you’re leaving a lot of scorched earth in your wake. It wouldn’t kill you to be polite, yet you decide to be blunt. Let me tell you, a strategy like that will only get you so far before you piss off somebody who has the means to cut off all your dreams.”
“And now you’re threatening me?”
“You really don’t listen, do you? This was just friendly advice among colleagues. You’ll hear from us once we’ve come to our conclusion.” Andi ended the call by tapping on the phone itself.
“Let me say I love your people skills.” For a moment, George put his hand on Andi’s thigh.
“She was getting on my nerves. Yours as well, I could tell from the way that vein in your temple started to pulse. And there is no working with her. Not with that attitude. It’s better to have clear lines in the sand from the beginning.”
“You’re right. I just wonder if I’m ever getting used to your complete disregard of social norms.”
“Give it time.” Andi stroked George’s forearm, his hand lingering a bit longer.
George smiled at the touch. He loved it when Andi initiated contact. And of course, his partner was right. If there was a case, working with Agent DeCapristo would be a nightmare. It was better to clear up any misunderstandings before there was an explosion they couldn’t contain. The agent now knew not to underestimate them and wouldn’t be blindsided when they took the lead. She might not like it, and she surely would dig her heels in, but she couldn’t claim they had worked under false pretenses.
Another sign at the roadside told them they had reached Lake Craig and to turn left for parking. George found a spot in the shade of some trees, which he gratefully took. Air conditioning aside, entering a car that had been baking at eighty-six degrees was never fun. They exited the car and took their first look around. The parking lot was adjacent to the woods surrounding the lake. From their vantage point, they could see glimpses of water between the branches of Angel Oak trees, pine oaks, and red maples. Andi was standing very still. George knew his partner was trying to cope with the input he was getting. Without hesitation, George went over to and put his hand on his shoulder. For a moment, there was no reaction, then Andi took a shuddering breath.
“Let’s get this over with.”
George stopped him when he tried to walk toward the path that supposedly led to the water. “How bad is it?”
Andi hesitated. “Not too bad yet, but I won’t be sad if we get out of here quickly.”
Meaning Andi hadn’t yet adapted to this environment fully enough to make a deep dive into the minds of the arthropods a pleasant experience. Not that it ever was, but the word ‘bad’ had an impressive amount of nuances as George had learned since he’d met Andi.
“Then let’s try to be quick.”
They followed the gravel path to the lake where it forked in both directions. George checked the geotags and turned left. If the coordinates were correct, they had to walk for about half a mile before they reached the spot. Andi put his hand on George’s left forearm, keeping the contact light while he started immersing himself in the minds of the arthropods around them. It was always better when he could do it slowly instead of jumping in headfirst. Because they were alone, he also verbalized the input he was getting, which was another outlet to soften the impact of all the information battering against his senses.
“Hatching, too dry, have to get out, crawl, crawl, pfsht, fly is gone, there’s a dead fox ahead, so much food, all warm, have to lay my eggs, bzz, bzz, prey all over, just have to pick it up, gonk, under the bark, fat and ready to become a pupa, predators in the woods, high in the tree, loud, so loud, death on wings, coming down, I’m so hungry, the flesh is rotting, delicious, can’t, need more, never stop, it will be gone soon, eggs, more, follow me—” Andi veered off the path into the woods and George followed without questioning him. If Andi had already picked up on something, they might get their wish to leave the lake sooner than later.
Andi marched through the underbrush, almost tripping when his trouser leg got caught on a branch. The nearby hum of too many flies in one place as well as the awful stink of rotting flesh riding on a breeze coming from the lake told George they were close to the unlucky fox. He thanked the heavens when Andi changed course, leading them away from the busy scavengers. The farther they went, the denser the woods became. People didn’t usually venture this deep, and it showed in the lack of recognizable pathways, small as they might be, and the chaos of branches on the ground that weren’t picked up by children to be played with.
Finally, after a fifteen-minute walk, Andi stopped under a huge red maple, staring up into the branches. George followed his gaze. It took him a few moments, but then he saw it. A brownish sphere the size of a soccer ball, about ten feet up, nestled into a hole on the stem of the mighty tree. Apparently, the hole wasn’t big enough to hide the entire nest as part of it was on the outside, which made George assume this was a successful hive. The warm summer so far had surely helped with its growth. Once his brain had confirmed that this was indeed a hornet’s nest, his ears caught the steady buzzing coming from it, and he recognized the tiny dots swarming around it, darting toward it and away. They had found the killers.
“Busy, busy, brood is hungry, the queen is laying her eggs, a good year, not too wet, the larvae are healthy, growing fast and strong, more fodder needed, back to the fox, so much prey there, hungry, always hungry, what?—”
