Ch 32 - The Quansah Hospital

Everything had occurred as smoothly as the noise

of a lubricated engine. The old woman was in the

hospital, about to kick the bucket, and the morning was

already approaching. After that unpleasant encounter

with the playboy, he felt the need to act faster, before one

of the brats got smart. — It's always good to have a

friend who owes you, — he thought, remembering old

Ferrel, whom he had supplied with arms and ammunition

on a previous occasion. Ferrel owned land and herds; he

had the money for it, but didn't want to get tangled up in

the courts. Now, for that small favor, all he required was

a good, strong sorrel and the best rope that the farm had.

His friend had gladly lent him the animal and as much

rope as he wanted, and then let him go. It had been a few

hours since this had happened, and all that remained was

to get to the ranch and put the second half of the plan

into practice. Mounted on his steed, Alexander Boseman

had left town at a slow trot, so as not to draw

unnecessary attention, and was now speeding, reaching

the dusty road that would lead to the ranch. It might be

necessary to give the animal a nice bucket of water to

cool him before work, but nothing that would take that

long.

Motivated by the endless straight line ahead, the

animal seemed to want to cooperate with Boseman,

because it shot like an arrow painted in a cinnamon tone,

thinning its profile to become streamlined, while the

rider shouted, excited by the wind blowing through his

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white hair, that had long since taken his hunter's hat.

Even at this speed, the ride seemed to take forever — an

expensive forever; the time he was not spending leaning

back in a beach chair.

When the curve to the road leading to the ranch

finally came around to the left, his spirits rose even

higher, but his mount seemed not to have coped well

with the distance and slowed down. With one swipe of

his spurs, Boseman cut the leather off his flanks, causing

the animal to neigh in pain and return to a steady speed.

— Better this way, — he said through gritted

teeth.

In the distance, the first rays of sunlight

illuminated the aluminum wires that served as the ranch

gate. It was closed. At the edge of the shore, the airboat

was resting on the still water. Great; that means that the

clown troupe would be inside the residence. Not to cause

any more commotion, he finally allowed the horse to

slow down and got off the saddle as he reached the gate.

Silently, he opened it and walked around the perimeter of

the house, trying to hear some sound or see any

movement through the windows and gaps. Nothing.

Sure, it was terribly early, but not even the playboy was

in the old rocking chair, as expected. — Strange... — he

said to himself. Had they gone back to the remote area?

He went to the back of the house and checked the

collection of canoes and noticed that none were missing.

— Where would those swines have gone? — he cursed.

Not that he wished they were around, that was obvious.

The girl was a bit too bossy for her age, the boy was a

doormat for anyone who gave him orders, the playboy

was just that, and the fat one...seemed too close to Alma.

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Anyway, no matter where they had gone, they were no

longer needed. At least not now that he had gotten the

information he lacked. So, after the animal had drunk

enough, Alexander mounted it again, now targeting the

Steppesaurus area. In his right hand, yards of rope ran,

wrapped in a large strangling loop. Wounding the horse

again, he proceeded at high speed, using the side road

that would lead to the lowlands. The plan was to cut

from the road to the hill leading to the plain, as the foot

of the hill is the most accessible point; well beyond the

clay walls, at least. Making a turn before he continued on

the path towards the lower slopes, he guided the animal

to climb the foot of the hill, which flattened out at the

base. Just a few more yards and he would reach the

meadow, where his profit awaited and...

— How are you, Mr. Boseman?

Alexander had to brake, pulling the halter as hard

as he could, stopping inches away from Lucy Lane.

— You? — he roared, regretting that he hadn't

simply run us over. Of course, on the slope of a hill that

could have cost him the life of a horse too expensive for

his income. — I thought you had left!

— Not before we finish here, — said Lucy.

Beside her, Keene and I imitated her posture, keeping

our arms crossed in a frustrated attempt to intimidate

someone.

— And what else do you intend to do? — he

questioned, enraged.

— I'm going to explain to my colleagues here

what shoddy theater we have been exposed to over the

past few days.

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With an impact pause, she took a few steps to the

left, where she could see the cuts on the horse's hips.

Obeying the instructions previously given, I covered the

spot where she was standing before, to prevent Boseman

from making his way.

— You know, — she introduced, moving her

eyes from Alexander's face to the still bleeding wounds.

— I don't believe you are the animal lover you would

have us believe you are. That pond pump. It was you,

wasn't it? You were indeed attacked by one of the

Steppesaurus on the first encounter and it took an

alligator from you. Since then you have dreamed of

using these animals to make money. It must have seemed

like a blessing that such treasure would appear right on

the edge of your land. Land that you must have bought,

not before the attack, as you told us, but after it. I bet you

trespassed on government-protected territory, only then

to get it legally, you cheap bastard! — At this point,

Boseman snorted with rage, reconsidering the price to

pay for a horse that had rolled down a hill and broken its

neck, killing some people in the process.

— But because these animals have a timid

nature, they refused to leave their territory, — she

continued. — I can imagine how frustrated you must

have been. So you came up with a plan to force them to

come to your land, where you could shoot them without

fear of the law. So you installed that pump, and

unfortunately, the animals were still afraid to come near

a human being, giving you enough time and space to dig

the hillside and run the hoses. After weeks, the animals

were giving in to thirst and would soon come to the

ranch waters. But then you needed someone to teach you

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anything about the creatures. Of course, how could you

sell the hide of a being whose name you didn't know?

You are a businessman, you know that advertising is

everything. And that's when you made the terrible

mistake of calling us, thinking that you could get the

animal identified without being bothered by the media.

After all, the name Lane has always been associated with

failure and rumors. Well, fame is not really our goal, Mr.

Boseman. When I told you that we had destroyed the

pump, I saw your eyes glow with hatred, like flames. As

the last act, you tried desperately to include your wife in

the plan, but she didn't want to. This is what Kevin heard

from the archway in the kitchen. You thought you would

make a huge profit with this rare skin, enough to retire

within two months, but she condemned your idea, calling

it immoral. When you realized that you would not have

her support, you also understood that you were in grave

danger of being denounced, not by her specifically, but

by anyone who heard her mention it in one of her

unconscious monologues. — A brief pause to admire the

effect her words had on Boseman's expression and she

continued:

— Jacob told me everything that happened in the

hospital yesterday, by the way. Indeed, some studies

point to cadmium poisoning through eating contaminated

alligator meat. Congrats; where did you learn this? In the

newspaper, perhaps? The problem is that a spike in the

metal's levels would require something more

concentrated, such as inhalation, an injection or...maybe

a simple candy. — The mention of a candy surprised us

more than the criminal. Smiling with satisfaction, she

went on to explain:

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— That's why Frost didn't mention any candy

when he listed what she had ingested — because she was

always eating coconut candy; no one would notice. The

next morning, you arrived calling your wife, as we were

getting ready for the expedition. It was your voice that

Kevin heard calling while he was taking a shower. Then

you handed her a complete package of chocolates, the

very thing she had complained about missing the night

before.

— But how can that be? — interrupted Keene. —

He came in eating one of the chocolates from the box!

— Wrong, — she corrected. — He came in

eating a truffle, but not one from the box. It had been

removed earlier and spared the deadly treatment. After

ingesting the poison, Alma Boseman became ill and had

to be rushed to the hospital, which he promptly did, like

the good husband he pretends to be. By the way, Mr.

Boseman, that doctor who was late in bringing the blood

test; you tried to bribe him. Well, the body was found in

the laboratory's freezer, bent over, with a cut on the back

of his head caused by a sharp object — a broken bottle, I

am sure. It seems to me that he refused to accept your

dirty money and you got rid of him. I just want you to

know that this whole plan is ending here, and that the

authorities will find your fingerprints at the scene and

the alligator poison that you used as a source of

cadmium to attack your wife. You don't think you need

her, do you? You always refer to the ranch as 'mine' and

not 'ours'.

Silent until the end of her speech, Alexander kept

a still, almost dead look in his eyes. The anger had left

him, and he felt confident in his planning again.

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— Yeah, you might have guessed all that, — he

said in a wry tone, — but I'm only going to jail if I'm not

enjoying a day at the beach abroad! — Saying this, he

pulled the reins, causing the animal to stand up on its

hind legs and swing its front legs in the air, dangerously

close to our faces. Running to avoid the attack, we got

out of the way, throwing ourselves to the ground in the

process. To stimulate the horse, he kept giving

commands, forcing the animal to speed into the dense

vegetation. In the same area that we had seen them

before, the animals now bathed in the still opaque

morning light. Jumping over the slender curve of the

lake, he reached the animals' resting point, causing a

huge commotion. Still unable to move swiftly, the

animals turned to him, roaring menacingly. With the rope

in his hand, he spun the snare precisely and threw it over

the head of one of the smaller animals, which, by

shaking its head, made it even easier for the noose to

wrap around its neck and close around it. Roaring, the

other Steppesaurus looked panicked, not knowing how to

react to the intruder, while the tied animal struggled to

free itself from the lasso. Finally feeling that the knot

was securely fastened, Boseman began to pull on the

rope, while forcing the horse to walk backwards,

dragging the Steppesaurus with him. The eupelicosaur

dug its claws into the ground and roared ferociously, but

could not free itself from the noose. When what little

strength it had was exhausted, its traction suddenly

stopped and it fell to the ground, being dragged like a

load. Still feeling the weight of what it was carrying, the

steed neighed loudly, but made slow progress in the

slippery mud of the plain.

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— Well done, good boy, — he said to the animal

lying on the ground. Still moving backwards, he felt

powerful again, young once more, boundless, as he had

once been. What he did not know, however, was that

eupelicosaurs did not depend exclusively on their sails to

produce heat, being able to produce some internal heat

themselves. As he followed his route walking in reverse,

Alexander did not notice what was happening around

him. For no apparent reason, the horse neighed loudly

once again, even though the load was no longer fighting

back, and began to kick backwards. When he turned to

look at the animal's legs, he was surprised by a huge

Steppesaurus that bit fiercely at the horse's calf, not even

yielding to the violent kicks that were delivered. Using

the strength it still had stored, the reptile then pulled

back its jaw, tearing the animal's flesh and rupturing its

tendons, knocking the rider to the ground. The beast of

burden already lay incapacitated on the ground, with

several Steppesaurus approaching, about to silence its

neighing. Boseman got up and tried to run back towards

us. In his eyes, you could no longer see the pride or

greed of before, only a mute cry for help. Before he

could reach the lake, though, an animal with an injured

sail caught up with him, biting his waist.

⬫⬫⬫

— On my bonbons? — she asked, shocked.

— I'm afraid so, Mrs. Boseman, — Lucy

confirmed. Sitting on the hospital bed, Alma listened to

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the tragic story we were relating, never getting overly

impressed, though.

— Alexander sought this, — she said, shaking

her head. — For several years I listened to his dreams

and supported most of them, but when he got too

greedy...his mood changed.

— By the way, — Lucy recalled, — that python

that attacked one of your alligators...it was killed, wasn't

it?

— And turned into a belt, my child. Yes, he lied

to you about that, too. Honesty was not his forte. Neither

was self-control...

— It's all over now, — Keene said, imagining

that this would be a consolation. — You have the whole

ranch to yourself. You can leave the place and live in a

safer one.

— Yes, yes, I'll do that. But first, I'm going to

buy the ditch where the animals live, too. You know,

Alexander used to complain that he never had any

money for his plans; the truth is that I had the money —

my share in running the ranch, but I was not going to

allow him to use it for selfish purposes. By the way,

there is one detail I don't understand. Mr. Frost, where

were you during the events Lucy described to me?

— Me? Well... — Frederick pulled the collar of

the wide suit he was wearing, his cheeks blushing with

embarrassment. — Well, Lucy told me that the trapping

would be done at night and I... fell asleep before they

left.

— And you, ma'am, why are you going to buy

the lowlands before you leave the area? — Jacob asked.

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— Because, dear, just as my husband was able to

buy government land, others can do the same,

threatening the lives of these animals. If the land is in my

control, there is nothing they can do to harm them.

— You mean you will act to...save this species?

— Keene looked thrilled.

— Why, of course, young man. It's not their fault

they're carnivores, is it? It's even less their fault they had

to fight back. When I heard the description, I thought

Alexander was going crazy. Unfortunately, I was right...

— But that's amazing! — exclaimed Jacob, now

holding Lucy's arm. — Someone in the world wants to

preserve nature!

— Well, well, — said a voice from the dark

corridor behind us. — You'll be better soon, — assured

Hakeem Geffery. — The lavage process is the best we

can do. I'm afraid there is no other treatment available,

but you have responded well and are recovering.

— Good, Doctor, — said Alma Boseman in a

sweet, motherly voice. — You know, I have been

planning for some time now, and in two months I'm

going to take a trip to the beach. I want to remember the

experience I had only once in my life.