Page 69 of Hell's Gator

“Me, too,” Emmalyn said.

“Hey, do you think once you move into your new house, we could buy Barron’s from you?” Hellen asked.

“Why?” Analise asked.

Emmalyn’s expression sobered and she smiled sadly at the memories the mention of Hellen’s house brought back. “I’ll ask, but I’m sure it will be alright as long as he can still store his boat and his jet skis there on the water.”

“Well, talk to him and tell him that it’s just a thought. I haven’t been completely at ease in my house in a while, and I know that Lucien would prefer to be on the water anyway. Just makes sense if you two want to get rid of it. At least that’s my thoughts. If he doesn’t want to sell, that’s fine, too. No pressure,” Hellen said.

“What will you do with your house?” Emmalyn asked.

“I don’t know. I don’t think anyone wants to live in it. Maybe we could turn it into a play area for the kids. Or maybe a community pool or something?” Hellen suggested.

“Oh! I love that idea!” Emmalyn said.

Hellen’s phone rang, and she started digging it out of the small backpack she used as a purse when she had to. She looked at the screen and seemed puzzled for a moment before she accepted the call. “It’s my boss,” she said. Then she identified herself. “Hellen McCullen,” she said into the phone.

Emmalyn and Analise sat quietly and listened to the conversation.

“Yes, sir,” Hellen said, then listened for a little while as her boss obviously brought her up to date on something.

“When was that, sir?” Hellen asked. Hellen nodded as she listened.

“Of course, yes, sir. I can go take a look and see what I can find.”

Hellen listened for a few more moments before she nodded once more. “Absolutely. I’ll get my things together and go right away. Yes, sir. I’ll take care. I’ll be in touch in a day or two.”

“Yes, sir. I will,” Hellen said. “Thank you, sir. Goodbye.”

Hellen ended the call and returned her phone to the small back pack at her feet. “Well, that’s that.”

“What’s going on?” Emmalyn asked.

“A report of poachers a couple of hours north of here. They want me to check it out and see if I can find any traces of the evidence the caller told them about.”

“Is that dangerous?” Analise asked.

“Can be, but it’s okay. I can handle it. All I need to do is to identify the area if the caller was accurate, and report back to the office so we can plan a raid and hopefully stop the bastards.”

“When are you leaving?” Emmalyn asked.

Hellen chewed her lip for a second. “Now,” she said with a shrug. “The sooner I leave, the sooner I can get back.”

“You have to tell Lucien first,” Analise said.

“Well…” Hellen said, reluctantly.

“Hellen!” Analise exclaimed.

“You don’t understand! He’s not fully healed yet, and if he knows what I might be wandering into, he’ll think he’s got to protect me and he could get hurt all over again.”

“You’re not telling us everything,” Emmalyn said, eyeing her shrewdly.

“He was almost killed by poachers. It’s entirely possible these are the same ones. Which makes me want to catch them more than even I usually would. He doesn’t need to be there. If he’s seen with me, they’ll know I’m an agent and blow the whole thing. I really need to go alone.”

“He’s not going to like that,” Analise said.

“Sometimes you have to do what you have to do,” Emmalyn said, fully understanding.

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