AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Bert was trembling. Jake's mind raced. This guy was clearly unhinged, but even Jake hadn't expected this from him. Bert clearly had a secret he wanted to protect. A secret he'd sacrifice everything to hide.
And that secret, Jake was sure, had to be murder.
"Bert, you don't want to hurt all these bees," Fiona said. "I can tell how much you care about them. You provide them with such good homes. You don't want to hurt them."
Bert hesitated for a moment, the canister still hovering in the air. Jake could see the conflict playing out on the man's face, the fear and desperation warring with his love for the bees.
"You don't understand," Bert said finally, his voice barely above a whisper. "They're all I have left. I can't let you take them away from me."
Jake took a step closer, his hand reaching out in a gesture of peace. "We're not here to take anything away from you," he said gently. "We just want to know what happened to Carrie Puglisi."
Bert frowned. "Carrie--who?"
Jake saw his chance and lunged forward, trying to wrestle the canister from Bert's grasp.
As they grappled, Bert's grip on the canister slipped, and it fell to the ground with a loud clatter. The gasoline inside splashed out, dousing the ground around them.
Jake's heart was pounding in his chest as he struggled to keep Bert under control. The man was strong, but Jake was determined.
"Fiona, get the canister!" he barked, his arms straining with the effort of holding Bert down.
Fiona darted forward and grabbed the canister, pulling it away from them and setting it aside.
Bert's face was twisted in rage as he thrashed beneath Jake's grip. "You'll never understand," he growled. "You'll never know what it's like to lose everything."
Jake's mind raced as he tried to make sense of Bert's words. What had happened to this man to make him so desperate? What was he hiding?
"Tell us, Bert," Jake said, his voice low and calm. "Tell us what happened to Carrie Puglisi."
"I don't know who the hell that is!" Bert spat out, his eyes wild with fear. "Why do you keep asking me about her?"
Jake tightened his grip on Bert's arms, holding him still.
"You're lying," Jake said firmly. "You know exactly who she is. And you know what you did to her."
Bert's eyes widened in fear as Jake spoke, and for a moment, the man seemed on the verge of breaking down. With Bert subdued, Jake grabbed his handcuffs and cuffed him.
CHAPTER TEN
Fiona's heart pounded as she stared at Bert Collins. The sterile lights of the interrogation room glinted off his glasses, making him seem even more suspicious than before. Fiona suppressed a wince as she felt the throbbing pain from the bee stings on her arms and neck – an unpleasant consequence of their pursuit, but she was trying to keep it together. Jake, on the other hand, couldn't stop fidgeting and scratching at himself.
"Mr. Collins," Jake began, his voice firm but slightly strained, "why did you run when we approached you?"
"Look, I didn't kill any girl!" Bert insisted, his voice in tremors. "I don't even know who this Carrie Puglisi is!"
"Carrie and her boyfriend, Jason, visited your farm two days ago," Fiona reminded Bert, her eyes narrowing. "You threatened to release bees on them if they didn't leave."
"Look, I wasn't being serious!" Bert shot back defensively. "I've got a business to protect here! People trespassing on my property, trying to sabotage me... I didn't want any trouble."
"Trouble seems to follow you around, Mr. Collins," Jake countered, leaning forward. "Especially since Carrie happened to be killed by hornets not long after your confrontation with her and right after another man was found dead under similar circumstances."
"Coincidence!" Bert snapped. "I don't have anything to do with those deaths. I'm just a simple beekeeper trying to make ends meet, nothing more, nothing less!"
Fiona studied Bert's face closely, searching for any sign of deceit. Bert's body trembled, his face full of desperation. Fiona could see the fear in his eyes but also the weariness of a man pushed to his limits.
"Mr. Collins," Fiona said softly, hoping to coax him into telling the truth. "We understand that you may have had a difficult past, but we're here to help you. We want to know the truth so we can help you."
Bert's eyes flickered, and he seemed to consider her words. Fiona kept her gaze steady, hoping to show him that she was there to listen.
