Page 11 of Refuge for Flora

For a second, Barrett thought someone was trying to pull a joke on him. “Alligators?”

“Yeah. They counted eighteen. Called us because, game wardens. Hell, we didn’t know what to do with them, so we called Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to find out how to handle them. Got that all sorted out. But we started interviewing the guys, and we were just sure they’d tell us they got the gators in Florida. Nope. We finally squeezed them enough that they admitted they picked them up from somebody who’s raising them in Kentucky.WesternKentucky.”

Barrett could feel the blood draining from his face. “You’re shitting me.”

“Nope. That’s what they said. Know anything about that?”

“Uh, no. Nothing. Haven’t heard a word. About to cooperate on a drug bust where they’re also trying to breed coyotes to dogs, but alligators? No, man, nothing. Not a peep.”

“If somebody’s doing that there, do you know where they might be?”

“Oh, hell, there are hundreds of places they could be. I mean, ponds and lakes all over the place. Swamps too. We’ve got four rivers right here in our area, so there’s plenty of bodies of water, especially when the water’s been up and goes back down. It creates a lot of brackish, swampy areas that would be perfect for raising gators.”

“Don’t you have a couple of big lakes down there? I’ve been down there. GravesCounty. That in your jurisdiction?”

“Yep.”

“Yeah. Was there when they found the body of a missing woman.”

“Oh my god! Yeah! RenitaAnderson! I remember that.”

“I was the one who found the body.”

Barrett couldn’t forget the case. It was one of the saddest things he’d ever known of. “I can’t imagine.”

“I couldn’t either. Sometimes I still have nightmares about it.”

“I bet. So yeah. I’m in this whole end of the state. Work out of Kentucky State Police Post1, but I spend a lot of time in the south and west ends of McCrackenCounty.”

“Paducah.”

“Right. But about those lakes… If you think that’s where they’re coming from, that’s federal. Forestry Division, Department of the Interior. The land between them is a national recreation area. I really doubt somebody raising alligators would do that on federal land. That would be some long, hard time in a federal pen if they got caught.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right. So… swamp?”

“Most likely. Probably in some river bottom land,” Barrett said, using the common term for the areas that flooded when the rivers were up. “I’ll keep an eye out and see if I can find out anything. Did they give you any information?”

“No. Matter of fact, they seem scared to death for whoever it is to find out they screwed up and lost that shipment. When that money doesn’t show up, somebody’s gonna be pissed.”

“Oh, hell yeah. Well, if you find out anything else, give me a call, and if I hear anything, I’ll call you.”

“Thanks, OfficerQuarles.”

“That’s Barrett.”

There was a laugh from the other end of the phone. “Okay, Barrett. Talk to you soon, I hope.”

“Sure thing, Conor. Later.” The call ended and Barrett sat there, stunned. Somewhere in his jurisdiction there was someone raising alligators.Alligators.

Nothing surprised him anymore. Absolutely nothing.

* * *

“Well? How is it?”

“It’s right good. Tasty. You done a good job,” Mrs.Murphy told Flora as they sat and ate at the dining room table. That was a new thing. Until three days earlier, the dining room had been a repository of junk and stuff. While Mrs.Murphy slept in the chair in the living room, Flora started throwing things out, and soon she had the dining room and laundry room totally cleaned out.

Within an hour after dinner, she was asleep again, so Flora slipped out the front door and went to the mailbox. She was standing there, thumbing through it, when a truck passed her, stopped, and backed up. A brilliant smile greeted her when she looked up, and she smiled back. “Hey.”

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