Page 67 of Rough Ride

“What?”

“I don’t want to say anything until I confirm it. I also want you to make sure there isn’t anyone from your past that might be popping up.”

He hesitated. “What do you mean by that?”

“I know you were SASR. Joe told me when I took over the security of the ranch. By what he said, you might have some enemies in that realm.”

“There was only one person. She died in prison from what I was told.”

Dillon grunted. Eli could tell he was thinking that over.

“I’ll do some checking.”

“What’s that mean?”

“You know as well as I do that governments lie. I’ll just make sure what they told you was true.”

“Joe told me. He checked it out.”

“Ah. Okay, well, I will double check, but it’s probably going to be another dead end. This is getting on my nerves.”

He smiled despite the situation. “There hasn’t been a damned thing that happened since then. Of course, we tightened up security, but no breaches, no issues. It’s odd.”

Dillon sighed and Eli heard the creak of his office chair over the phone. “It is. I’m beginning to wonder if it’s just a weirdo.”

“Ah, Agent Dillon using the word weirdo. Is that allowed?”

“That’s former agent and, in this case, it is.”

“Have you tried checking into the animal rights activists?”

“That was a long shot and not very likely. Like we discussed, they are about saving the animal. It would be kind of stupid to try to save animals by killing them.”

The frustration in his voice was mirrored in Eli’s gut. He knew Dillon was right. Animal rights folks protested out of their love of animals. It would be illogical.

It was odd. The whole thing. Still, there was something there, lurking in the shadows. Eli could feel it.

“I’ve got a contact who used to infiltrate some of the more radical groups. I’ll double check.”

“But you don’t think so?”

“No. They are for saving the animals, so why would they hurt them? I just hope it isn’t something bigger. Like…a serial killer or something.”

He snorted. “A serial killer running around Hawai’i? I doubt that.”

“You would be surprised. It’s happened before. And, it is the kind of thing that many of them would do, you know that. They go after animals first.”

“Okay. I guess you’re going to check out cow mutilations?”

“Did. It was a dead end. But according to Jillian, it could be something else.”

“And what did your wife suggest?”

“Aliens.”

Eli didn’t say anything for a second. “As in foreign?”

“As in outer space.”

---