Seed of Evil by Greig Beck (great reads .txt) 📕

friends swam in it. But I didn’t.” His words tumbled out fast. “Neither did Isabella.”

“Okay.” Mitch turned in his seat. “Who did go in?”

“James, he went in first, then Kenny, Gemma, and also fat Alf.”

“Don’t call him fat.” Karen frowned. “He’s just well fed.”

No wonder she’s in politics, Mitch thought. But alarms went off in Mitch’s head at hearing the kid’s name.

“Alf is Alfie Bell, Hank’s son, right?” Mitch asked.

“That’s right.” Karen stared, hard now. “What is it?”

He held up a hand. “So, just four kids, huh? I remember there were a lot of footprints up there for just four of them. When did you say you went in?”

Benji thought for a moment. “Weeks and weeks back, when it was real hot. Maybe they went back there, or it was some other kids. Everyone knew the pond was full again. It was real nice.”

“A few weeks back.” Mitch seemed to remember seeing the kid, James, come in with a mild rash, but that was it. He turned to Benji again. “Hey, have you seen, uh, James, Gemma, or any of the others since?”

Benji tilted his head and his brow furrowed. “Nah, not for a long time.”

Mitch frowned. “Not even at school?”

“It’s school holidays,” Karen said.

“But out of school, or anywhere?” Mitch pressed.

Benji shook his head and Mitch rubbed his chin for a moment. “Maybe I should visit them then, just to check they’re okay.”

“Mitch?” A deep line appeared between Karen’s brows.

He shook his head. “Probably nothing.”

“You need to see them,” Karen pronounced.

“I could come…show you where they live,” Benji pronounced.

“We should go, now,” Karen said. “If it was Benji, I’d want him checked out, like yesterday.”

“I agree, but it might panic Mom or Dad if the town doctor turns up with the vice mayor.”

Karen snorted. “I know just about everyone in the town. You’re more likely to scare them than me.”

Benji shook his head. “He’s not that scary, Mom.” He swung to Mitch. “She can stay in the car, and we can go and see them. They all know me.”

Mitch grinned. “Hey, maybe your mom and I should stay in the car so just you can examine them.”

“Sure. Can I wear one of those listening things around my neck?” Benji immediately was onboard with the idea.

“It’s called a stethoscope. And the only people who wear them around their neck are actors playing doctors.” Mitch pushed his coffee mug back onto the table. “Okay, gang, let’s go and pay some people a visit.”

CHAPTER 32

Town of Jasper, Pickens County, Georgia

Greg Samson got out of his rental and stretched his back. The town was small, even smaller than Eldon, and colder, with a range of white-peaked mountains lying like slumbering leviathans just to the north.

Greg bet that on a clear and cloudless day, they’d seem like they were right in your backyard. In fact, he’d read that Jasper was nicknamed The First Mountain City, and he could see why.

But what brought him here was that it was just 50 miles north of Atlanta, the headquarters of the Center for Disease Control, or CDC. He doubted many people cared about that. But what wasn’t too widely known, at least from the public’s perspective, was it was home to one of the CDC’s test and storage laboratories. It was an out-of-the-way, secluded place, where they could conduct research experiments or store the results of those experiments that might not have thrilled the locals if they knew what was going on.

His CDC contacts had given him the location of the lab after he had pressed them hard about the people taken from Eldon in 1977, and it seemed this is where they ended up.

The Jasper CDC facility wasn’t used much anymore and seemed to have been mothballed. But Greg was betting that its secrets lay undisturbed, and given that the only security was an occasional drive-by from the local sheriff once or twice an evening, he knew he’d be able to take a little look-see to satisfy his, and Mitch’s, curiosity.

Greg climbed back into his car and drove off the main street, heading to the outskirts of the town, and soon he came to a small and well-maintained road with a single signpost telling him to, Keep Out – Private Property.

Greg slowed but kept on going. It was afternoon, and he’d been driving for many hours. He’d grab a bite in town and just hang-out until dusk, and then pay them a little visit then.

He’d been given access codes and slide keys, plus a warning—don’t get caught. And if he did, to flatly refuse to tell them about where he got his information.

He grinned—he already had his story straight: blame the dead guy. He could simply say that Eldon’s old Doc Wainright had a notebook that detailed what happened to the missing people. He was just following the old guy’s lead.

Greg drove back into town, pulled up down the road from a burger joint, spent a few hours having the best hamburger, fries, pie, and endless coffee he’d had in years. He knew why Mitch liked Eldon; there was something about small towns that weren’t as rushed, were friendlier, and much better value.

He sat staring out the window for a while. I could live in a place like this, he thought. He straightened. And why didn’t he? Life was too short to be stuck in an office in a big city forever.

“More coffee?” the pretty waitress asked, breaking his reverie.

“Yes, please.” He smiled up at her. “I like this town.”

She smiled, showing a row of perfect teeth that would have been at home in a toothpaste commercial. “So do I.” She held his eyes for a moment, and then headed back to the counter.

Greg watched her go. I am definitely looking into this when I get back, he thought resolutely.

In a blink, he folded the newspaper, checked his watch, and looked out through the large window. The sun was hitting the horizon and he wanted to check out the facility then be on the