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When she stepped out from in front of the web cam and Beverly got a look at the situation she whistled again. "Damn! Here I thought you were going to be up there enjoying being snowed in for a week of Butch bonding. I expected you to find boxers and a sports bra. You definitely do not have a Butch on your hands there! Now, lets get this done."
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Carrie opened her eyes and tried to get them to focus. Her head felt like it was filled with a swarm of angry bees and she was so nauseous she feared she was going to throw up on herself. She was in just her bra, thong, a cast on her right arm and a bandage around one throbbing ankle.
Finally able to focus, she looked around the room and realized she must be in the wildlife clinic. She was on a cot in a room filled with counter tops and veterinary equipment. A large owl sat on a perch in the corner staring at her with it's one eye and puffing it's feathers out, an Opossum with a leg in a cast was in a large cage on the wall to the right and there were several neonatal style incubators on her left.
The entire wall in front of her was one big window covered with some kind of see through netting. She saw Bobbie come out from around the side of the building and head to one of the four big wire enclosures in a cleared area between the clinic and the woods. She was carrying two buckets, and let herself into the enclosure through a double door alcove.
The enclosure was filled with small trees and logs set up so that they resembled a sort of jungle gym and as soon as Bobbie entered young squirrels began to pour from nest boxes situated around the tops of the walls. Bobbie sat the buckets down and held her arms straight out to her sides as the squirrels jumped to her from limbs or ran up her legs. She was covered by a swirling gang of fuzzy tailed cyclones running around her body in all directions.
Carrie could almost hear her laughter as the squirrels realized she had brought food and began to bail off left and right. Some went into the right bucket to come back out with a nut, just to run off and begin to bury it. Others went into the bucket on the left to come out with chunks of fruit or vegetables and run off to find a good place to enjoy their prize. One squirrel smaller than the rest stayed with Bobbie and ran up to her neck burrowing and butting it's head up under her chin looking for all the world like it was begging for affection.
Bobbie scratched it gently for a moment tucking her chin down close then reached into her pocket and came out with what looked like a 2 ounce baby bottle but the nipple was small and thin. The squirrel immediately flopped onto it's back on her chest and began nursing on the bottle, holding it in it's front paws and kicking at it with it's back feet.
As soon as it was empty Bobbie pulled the bottle away and held the little guy by the scruff of the neck wiping his face with a tissue to rid him of his milk mustache. She then bent to reach into the the bucket and pull out a pecan. She presented it to her little friend and then sat him over on the roof of a nearby nest box. He stuffed the nut, easily half the size of his head, into his jaws and literally squirted into the nest box.
Carrie laid back on the cot and closed her eyes. She was not sure exactly how to handle this situation. She was supposed to be undercover investigating this woman not lying injured in her clinic. Oh, she knew by now that Bobbie was completely innocent and had no idea that there were Native American sites on her land or that they had been plundered recently and the artifacts sold on the black market but that didn't change why she was here.
In fact, Bobbie Huskey had been investigated and watched on and off for the past 20 years by various government agencies. First there was suspicion because a bright up and coming young computer programmer had suddenly quit her job, sold everything she owned, and started traveling extensively abroad. They had determined that she had simply worked long hours, in windowless rooms, staring at computer screens, just long enough to build up the funds to be able to go into wildlife photography. Then, it seemed she had an uncanny knack for being able to get into countries and their deepest wildernesses when no one else could get the approval of the government. She had been into countries that were not friendly to the U.S. on many occasions and it landed her on a watch list.
Being watched had actually saved her when the accident had happened. Bobbie had been filming rhinos when an inexperienced member of the crew had set off a huge male rhino. It had charged and Bobbie had almost made the leap into the back of their fleeing film truck to safety, almost. The rhino had broken off the charge just as he reached the moving truck but slid sideways to slap the truck with it's flank. Unfortunately Bobbie had been trying to jump into the truck and her lower body had been caught between moving truck and sliding rhino. Her pelvis had been broken and both of her knees had been badly dislocated. The State Department had quietly arranged for her to be flown out to a U.S. Military Hospital and then back to the U.S. for treatment.
The Securities and Exchange Commission had stepped in to investigate when during her rehab she had sold the large portfolio of tech stocks she had been amassing through the years. Her experience with the beginning of the computer age had given her the insight to invest well and she had cashed out millions of dollars worth of tech stocks. The tech bubble had burst within three months of her cashing out, so naturally they had to investigate and make sure nothing illegal had occurred.
Everyone had been interested when she had put out feelers and finally located a 6,437 plus acre tract in her home state. What in the world was one woman going to do with so much land? Environmental groups had been up in arms fearing she was going to clear cut and sell all the timber or begin drilling for gas and oil which was known to be found in the area.
It turned out that Bobbie had simply wanted to give back to the wild things that had made her a very rich woman. After all, it had been the photography that had paid for the stocks. She had set up a wildlife rehabilitation center, managed to limp through enough college classes and seminars to get it licensed by the state and then set up her estate so that when she died all the land would go to a nature conservancy and the wildlife center would be funded perpetually by a trust.
Truth be known, Carrie had a huge crush on Bobbie. A lot of the background info she had looked into was more from her own curiosity about the woman than any real need related to her investigation. Now, laying here in her clinic she secretly hoped she could get close to her during her stay, very close indeed.
Hearing Bobbie enter another room in the clinic Carrie decided to play opossum for a while and see what she was up to. She heard buckets banging and then water running, it sounded like she was cleaning up from preparing the squirrels meal.
Bobbie reentered the main clinic room carrying a small bottle and several syringes with little rubber nipples attached. Glancing over she saw Carrie was still out. Leaving her supplies by one of the incubators she walked over and pulled a sheet up over Carrie worried she would get cold in so little clothing. She would go and get her a T-shirt and sweat pants as soon as she finished with feedings.
Reaching into the incubator she pulled out a tiny, barely furred, creature the size of her thumb. Filling a syringe with one hand she proceeded to slowly feed the infant formula, stopping once to refill the syringe. These little guys could barely take 2 milliliters. After the baby had taken it's milk replacer she wet a paper towel in warm water and began rubbing it briskly. Normally it's mother would give it a good bath after it nursed but now Bobbie was it's mother, thanks to the house cat that had found it's mother's nest in an old blue bird house. Of all the injured and orphaned creatures that went through her clinic and were released every year, house cats allowed to roam free were the most frequent cause of their plight.
Carrie sat up with a groan and startled her.
"It's so tiny! What it is it?"
"Baby flying squirrel. They have to be fed every 2 hours around the clock and I am a little late with this feeding. So, how are you feeling? Going to stay awake this time?"
"My head feels like it will explode any minute, my arm and ankle are throbbing. What the hell happened?"
Bobbie replaced the flying squirrel in the incubator and pulled out one of it's two siblings.
"Well, I'm not sure exactly why you were up on the bluff at the back of my property but I arrived just in time for you to somehow manage to break off an old dead tree and fall with it half way down the bluff. You landed in a crevice with it on top of you but I managed to get it off you and get you here. I've been teleconferencing with a doctor to treat you as best I can. As a matter of fact, she wanted to speak with you as soon as you came around. Let me finish with these little ones and I will get her back online for you. I also intended to run over to the house and get you some clothes as soon as I finished. Sorry about that but the little ones needed food first."
Carrie suddenly realized she had no idea where her gun and badge were and began scanning around the room.
"It's OK, your gun and badge are in your backpack, locked in my Jeep, in the garage. If it will make you feel better I will get them for you when I go for the clothes."
"Thank y
ou, I just feel strange without them."
Bobbie smiled and turned around showing her other side and the .44 on her belt. "Oh, I understand, believe me. Living out here one never knows what is going to happen. I have a permit and carry from the time I put on my pants in the morning till I take them off at night, even then it's just on the bedside table. Unfortunately this area has been hit hard by the prescription drug abuse boom and everyone knows there is an animal clinic up here. I think the main reason I haven't been hit yet is that they are afraid of what kind of animals they may run into. I've considered posting a warning sign about skunks and rattle snakes for added security."
