Read Online Falke’s Captive by Madison Layle & Anna Leigh Keaton - Free Book Online
Authors: Madison Layle & Anna Leigh Keaton
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flopped down in her chair. Then she rubbed her forehead and sighed. “They’re mad, the lot of them.”
“It’ll be okay.” Tim came up behind her and laid his hands on her shoulders in what she assumed was a friendly gesture, but when they began to slide down her arms, she shrugged him off. His touch was a little too friendly for her peace of mind.
“I need you to get some supplies.” She swiveled her chair so she faced him. “With the professor arriving first thing tomorrow, we need to work fast.”
“Sure. What?”
“I need you to find a hardware store to get a new side door for the trailer.”
“Why?”
Because I don’t want to have to answer the professor’s questions about claw marks on the damn door of a mobile lab we don’t own. She clenched her teeth and forced herself to breathe. “Actually, you know what? I’ll do that.”
“No, I can go get it. What else?”
“All right. Make sure the new door has a deadbolt built in. This flimsy doorknob lock obviously isn’t very effective, and we’ve got a lot of expensive equipment in here.” She waved her hand at the door. “Oh, and get whatever you need to install the…whatever it’s called to latch the deadbolt into the doorjamb. I don’t want to wake up to another call like the one this morning. Since we’re going to have to move the trailer to a more remote area soon, I think a few extra security measures are needed.
“Also, I need you to take that door off the cage and see if you can bend the bars back into place so that the latch works again. Can you do that?”
“Yeah. No problem.”
“Then, get online or call around. Find the nearest big retail store or someplace where you can get a camera.”
He wrinkled his brow.
“I want some surveillance equipment. Like a nanny cam or something. A webcam might work. Something with wi-fi so I can view it from my laptop when I’m out.”
“I’ll see what I can find.”
“Thanks. It would have been nice to know exactly how that big boy got out of here last night. Also, get a sturdy padlock for the cage. I didn’t think about it before, but I guess the slide latch doesn’t cut it for a domesticated mountain lion. If we’re lucky enough to land a wild one, I don’t want it getting out.”
Tim grabbed a notepad from the desk and started scribbling, then looked up at her and around the lab. He cleared his throat.
“What?” she asked, irritated. Not really at Tim, just in general. This whole expedition had not started out well. She prayed the rest of the summer went better.
“Doesn’t it seem odd that a mountain lion was loose in here and the only damage is to the door? I mean…” He trailed off with a shrug. “I would have thought a ticked off cougar would do a bit more destruction before figuring out how to open the door.”
She glanced around the lab. He was right. It was odd, and she was surprised it hadn’t occurred to her before. With a frown, she sighed. “It lives with those guys. Maybe it’s house broken and didn’t want to pee in the cage.” She chuckled. “Hell, Tim, this is only day two, and things aren’t going well.”
“Don’t worry. Professor Whitmore will be here tomorrow. Everything’ll be fine.”
“Sure. Here, use this to pay for everything.” She dug into her purse and pulled out her credit card. “Just bring me back the receipts.”
“Okay.”
“I’m going to do the lab work on the blood samples we took from the cat and get them into the database. I’ve also got to contact the forestry department again and set up that meeting with one of the park rangers to see if there’s a good place we can move the lab.”
“All right.”
She nodded and dug in her pocket for the car keys. “If you have to go all the way into Seattle for the equipment, bring me back some McDonald’s fries.” She grinned. “If we’re heading into the woods soon, it’ll be my last splurge for a while.”
He chuckled and took the keys. “Sure thing,
“It’ll be okay.” Tim came up behind her and laid his hands on her shoulders in what she assumed was a friendly gesture, but when they began to slide down her arms, she shrugged him off. His touch was a little too friendly for her peace of mind.
“I need you to get some supplies.” She swiveled her chair so she faced him. “With the professor arriving first thing tomorrow, we need to work fast.”
“Sure. What?”
“I need you to find a hardware store to get a new side door for the trailer.”
“Why?”
Because I don’t want to have to answer the professor’s questions about claw marks on the damn door of a mobile lab we don’t own. She clenched her teeth and forced herself to breathe. “Actually, you know what? I’ll do that.”
“No, I can go get it. What else?”
“All right. Make sure the new door has a deadbolt built in. This flimsy doorknob lock obviously isn’t very effective, and we’ve got a lot of expensive equipment in here.” She waved her hand at the door. “Oh, and get whatever you need to install the…whatever it’s called to latch the deadbolt into the doorjamb. I don’t want to wake up to another call like the one this morning. Since we’re going to have to move the trailer to a more remote area soon, I think a few extra security measures are needed.
“Also, I need you to take that door off the cage and see if you can bend the bars back into place so that the latch works again. Can you do that?”
“Yeah. No problem.”
“Then, get online or call around. Find the nearest big retail store or someplace where you can get a camera.”
He wrinkled his brow.
“I want some surveillance equipment. Like a nanny cam or something. A webcam might work. Something with wi-fi so I can view it from my laptop when I’m out.”
“I’ll see what I can find.”
“Thanks. It would have been nice to know exactly how that big boy got out of here last night. Also, get a sturdy padlock for the cage. I didn’t think about it before, but I guess the slide latch doesn’t cut it for a domesticated mountain lion. If we’re lucky enough to land a wild one, I don’t want it getting out.”
Tim grabbed a notepad from the desk and started scribbling, then looked up at her and around the lab. He cleared his throat.
“What?” she asked, irritated. Not really at Tim, just in general. This whole expedition had not started out well. She prayed the rest of the summer went better.
“Doesn’t it seem odd that a mountain lion was loose in here and the only damage is to the door? I mean…” He trailed off with a shrug. “I would have thought a ticked off cougar would do a bit more destruction before figuring out how to open the door.”
She glanced around the lab. He was right. It was odd, and she was surprised it hadn’t occurred to her before. With a frown, she sighed. “It lives with those guys. Maybe it’s house broken and didn’t want to pee in the cage.” She chuckled. “Hell, Tim, this is only day two, and things aren’t going well.”
“Don’t worry. Professor Whitmore will be here tomorrow. Everything’ll be fine.”
“Sure. Here, use this to pay for everything.” She dug into her purse and pulled out her credit card. “Just bring me back the receipts.”
“Okay.”
“I’m going to do the lab work on the blood samples we took from the cat and get them into the database. I’ve also got to contact the forestry department again and set up that meeting with one of the park rangers to see if there’s a good place we can move the lab.”
“All right.”
She nodded and dug in her pocket for the car keys. “If you have to go all the way into Seattle for the equipment, bring me back some McDonald’s fries.” She grinned. “If we’re heading into the woods soon, it’ll be my last splurge for a while.”
He chuckled and took the keys. “Sure thing,
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