YUM-YUM

Episode 1 – The Dream Job

I can’t believe it will be all over after eight years of study, thought Tracy Freeman. I’ll finally be getting my doctorate in veterinary medicine on Friday. I know Dad is unhappy that I am not going back to work for Dr. Mason after graduation, but Dr. Mason understands and knows it was not what I wanted to do.

Yes, I should feel obligated to Dr. Mason for helping me satisfy my residency requirement, and his salary offer was generous. However, the opportunity to work at the Idaho Wolf Sanctuary is just too appealing to me to pass up. Wolves are such beautiful and majestic animals.

And yes, I could have made $20K more each year working for Dr. Mason in Cheyenne than the sanctuary could afford to pay. But starting off at $75K a year with a new Jeep and a housing allowance is still pretty damn good.

Besides, Ketchum is so much more attractive place to live than Cheyenne. There are many more outdoorsy things to do there, such as hiking, biking, camping, and supposedly superb trout fishing. I am sure Dad will come around once he visits me and tries some of the local fishing spots.

Tracy and her parents have lived in Wellington, Colorado, for the last ten years. Tracy lived at home while she completed her bachelor’s in Biomedical Science at CSU and later while studying at the CSU College of Veterinary Medicine, where she will graduate on Friday. While Tracy was working on her doctorate and during the summers and occasionally on the weekends, she commuted to Cheyenne to work at Dr. Mason’s veterinary clinic.

Tracy had just turned twenty-five years old, and it would be the first time she had lived away from home. But, for Tracy, that is the only misgiving she has. She can’t wait to start her new job. It also helps that the co-director of the sanctuary, Eric Campbell, the person that recruited Tracy, was extremely handsome and, as she learned later, also single.

Tracy’s parents, Roger and Maria Freemen, are elementary school teachers. Roger teaches Mathematics and Maria Social Studies. Although they both loved their jobs, they discouraged Tracy from becoming a teacher as the salary they both made combined was less than a single person could easily make in many other professions. 

Since Tracy grew up loving animals, they were not surprised when she early on expressed a strong interest in becoming a veterinarian. However, they only wished that she had accepted the job with Dr. Mason as it was only about a half-hour commute, and she could have remained at home.

Two days after graduation Tracy’s parents drove her to Denver International Airport, where after tearful goodbyes, she took a flight to Ketchum/Sun Valley Airport. Eric had told her he would meet her there when she arrived and drive her to the apartment they had rented for her use. He also told her he would take her to the local Jeep dealer in the morning, where she could pick out the new Jeep Wrangler she had been promised.

After helping Tracy load the three large pieces of luggage she had brought, which her parents had paid extra to ship for her, into the back of his Jeep Gladiator pickup truck, they began the thirteen-mile drive from the airport into Ketchum. “Thank you for picking me up, Eric,” Tracy offered. “You didn’t have to do that. I could have taken a taxi or an Uber.”

“My pleasure Tracy. It is an easy drive, and I was looking forward to seeing you again and to begin bringing you up to speed on the sanctuary.” He was also looking forward to seeing Tracy again as Eric thought she was gorgeous and had to admit he was a bit taken by her when he was at CSU trying to recruit her. He was delighted she had accepted their offer; as if nothing else, he thought, she would be nice to have around.

“I apologize for all the luggage. I couldn’t decide what to take.”

“No problem at all, Tracy. I was sort of expecting that.”

“You were?”

I wonder what he meant by that?

“Yes, since you told me this would be the first time you had been away from home.”

Tracy was quiet for a while, looking around and thinking about his response before asking, “So, what will my duties be at the sanctuary? Where do you want me to start?”

“Actually, your duties initially will be pretty easy, Tracy. And mainly consist of helping us feed the wolves. We need to allow them time to get acquainted with your smell before you get in close direct contact with them. They initially will be nervous and dangerously unpredictable until they are comfortable having you around.”

“How long do you think that will take, Eric?”

“Probably a few weeks.”

“And after that?”

“They will behave just like typical big dogs and will no longer be a threat to you.”

“Good, I am really looking forward to that.”

Eric glanced at the dashboard clock and said, “It is only about 3:00pm, and if you don’t mind, I would like to stop off at the sanctuary and have you meet my partner Michael and his wife, Lucille. It is only a few miles out of the way, and they are both anxious to meet you.”

“I would like that very much.”

“Good. I will call and let them know we are on the way.”

Several minutes later, Tracy asked, “How many people work at the sanctuary, Eric?”

There are three other part-time workers besides Michael, his wife, and us. The part-timers are all students studying veterinary science at Idaho State University.”

“No other veterinarian?”

“Unfortunately, no. You will be it. Our previous vet moved on to a higher paying position in Boise, and a friend of Michael, a retired vet in Sun Valley, has been temporarily filling in.”

“You never said that I would be on my own.”

“You never asked, Tracy. Would it have made a difference?”

Tracy thought about that a moment and said, “No, it wouldn’t have.”

When they exited the main road and started along the gravel half-mile-long access road leading to the sanctuary, Tracy was enthralled with the beauty of the scenery, enfolding around her as they drove. The view of the stately Aspen and pine trees scattered across the green rolling landscape reminded her of the gorgeous Albert Bierstadt paintings they had on display at the Cheyenne museum.

And then there was the wonderful fresh smell of the grasses and trees that permeated the air. It made everything around her seem even more welcoming. Tracy took a long, deeply satisfying breath and was sure she would like it here.

When they pulled up at the sanctuary, Michael and Lucille were waiting for them, and their apparent delight in greeting Tracy was infectious. Lucille gave Tracy a big welcoming hug, and with Lucille glaring at him, Michael resisted the strong impulse to do the same and warmly just shook Tracy’s hand instead.

Michael was not adequately prepared to meet Tracy, as Eric had only said simply that she was attractive. Damn, he thought she was knockout with her long blond hair and that slender, gorgeously shaped body.

Lucille noticed Michael’s lingering appreciative stare and whispered so only he would hear her, “Down, boy.”

Lucille could not help thinking, I hope she turns out to be a good vet and not just Eric’s new pretty plaything. However, Eric said she was number two in her graduating class, so we shall see.

“Let’s show you around the offices and the clinic,” said Micheal. “We will give you the grand tour of the rest of the sanctuary tomorrow. It’s spread over almost three hundred acres.”

“That’s huge. Much larger than I had expected,” said Tracy.

“Yes, it is,” replied Eric. “And fortunately, we have room to further expand.”

While they showed Tracy the administration building and then the nicely furnished attached clinic where she would work, Tracy asked, “How many wolves do you have here?”

“At present, we have forty-six wolves,” answered Michael.

“And thirty-nine mixed breed wolf-dogs,” interjected Lucille.

“That’s a lot to feed,” replied Tracy. “A lot of expense.”

“Yes, it is,” said Michael. “But we are extremely fortunate there. We have an amazing wealthy benefactor who provides us most of the food we use for the wolves and generous donations toward our other operating expenses.”

“That is very lucky,” said Tracy. “Who is he or she?”

“Simon Ingram,” answered Eric. “I am sure you have heard of him; almost everyone has. He has been an Idaho state senator for almost twenty years and is now running to become our next governor.”

“Of course, I know who he is,” replied Tracy. “He seems on television to be a wonderful person.”

“Oh, he is,” remarked Eric as they walked back to Eric’s pickup truck. “Simon really is. You will get plenty of chances to meet him. He has a place in Sun Valley, and he and his wife often pop over here.”

After leaving the sanctuary, Eric drove Tracy to the Northwood Park apartments in Ketchum. When they arrived, Eric parked the truck outside Unit D and handed Tracy a set of keys that he retrieved from a storage space in the driver’s door. “I hope you like the place, Tracy. It’s easy walking distance from downtown.

“We got you a two-bedroom furnished apartment on the top floor so you can view the mountains from your balcony. The rent is paid for ninety days, and you can move elsewhere after that if you don’t like it here.”

“The outside looks wonderful, Eric. I really like the idea that it is convenient to downtown.”

“Good. Let me help you carry up your bags, and you can check out the inside.”

They took the elevator up to the third floor and walked down the hallway to apartment 301, the corner unit. After depositing the suitcases inside, they looked all around the apartment. Tracy was impressed, especially after seeing the marvelous view she had from her balcony.

“I like it, Eric. I really do,” said Tracy. “All the furnishings are tasteful, and they look brand new.”

“I think the furnishings are brand new as this unit was just completed a few months ago. I’m so glad you are pleased, Tracy.

“I am, Eric. This is much nicer than I expected.”

“Excellent, then I will pick you up tomorrow at 9:00 AM to take you to my friend Leroy’s dealership and see if we can find a Jeep you like. You will need one up here during the winters and rainy season, especially on the dirt roads in the sanctuary.”

“I’ll be waiting. One more thing; is there a Walmart nearby?”

“Less than a quarter mile away. Do you want me to drive you there?”

“No, walking there and looking around a bit will be nice.”

“Okay. Ketchum is a very safe place to walk. There is almost no crime around here except poaching.”

This really is better than I imagined. Eric’s friend Michael and his wife Lucille seem delightful, and this apartment is perfect. I need to take pictures of it and email them to my parents. They will be very impressed.

I also need to take a picture of Eric and send it to them. He’s so damn handsome he could easily get a job in commercials, especially maybe those for western clothing or boots.

Episode 2 – The Dream Job

The following morning Eric picked Tracy up and took her to his friend Leroy’s Jeep/Ram truck dealership. As he drove, Eric asked her, “How was your walk to Walmart?’

“It was delightful. I just needed to pick up a few things, and everyone there was so friendly.”

“Did you find a place to eat dinner?”

“Yes, that big barbecue restaurant down the street from the apartments was perfect. They had the best pulled-pork sandwich I can remember having.”

“Good, now let’s see if Leroy has a Jeep Wrangler you like.”

There were three new Wranglers on the lot with various trim levels and options, and Tracy spent a lot of time checking each one out, trying to make the right decision. Tracy had just about reached a conclusion when she noticed a bright yellow, highly tricked-out Wrangler parked a bit further away.

“What about that one over there?” Tracy asked Leroy, pointing to the yellow Jeep.

“That is a very low mileage last year’s model. It is a higher-priced Rubicon series, and the original buyer added a lot of additional expensive off-road goodies to it before he was arrested. However, I can probably put you in it for the same price as the three new ones you were looking at.”

“Why was he arrested?” asked Tracy.

“Drug dealing,” replied Leroy. “It was his second offense, and the judge threw the book at him. When I sell it, the state gets all the money except for my commission.”

“So, you have the opportunity to sell it twice,” stated Eric.

“Yep, works good for me,” replied Leroy. “Go take a look.”

After checking it out and taking a test drive, Tracy told Eric, “I want it. I love it, and it still has that new car smell.”

“Good, then let’s go get it for you.”

When the paperwork was finally concluded, Eric told Tracy, “Follow me to the sanctuary so I can finish showing you around. Then, I’m sure Lucille will make us lunch. She usually does most days. She likes to cook, and her food is always good.”

They arrived at the sanctuary, and after parking their Jeeps, popping in, and briefly saying hello to Michael and Lucille, Eric said, “Let’s take a ride in my truck around the perimeter of the sanctuary. It is about three miles around on the outside. We’ll leave the windows open so the wolves can pick up your scent.”

Much of the initial terrain was rough going, and as they began the slow drive, Tracy could not help but admire the sturdy fencing surrounding the sanctuary and said, “Is the fence eight feet tall? It looks quite substantial.”

“Actually, the fence is ten feet tall, but except for places that are solid rock, the first three feet are underground because wolves are excellent diggers. And that prevents them from digging out. So what you see are the top seven feet.

“Also, do those new fenceposts look rusty to you, Tracy? That’s because the posts are repurposed pipe stemming from an oil field. They are stronger than regular fenceposts. We get them cut to any length, and they don’t end up in a scrap yard somewhere. Everybody wins!”

“That is an excellent idea.”

“I wish it had been mine, but it was Simon’s. They come from some of his old wells, and his people cut and deliver them for us.”

About a third of the way around, Eric stopped and pointed to some brush-covered hills inside the fence about a quarter of a mile away. “Do you see those dark spots along the hillside? We made those artificial caves for the wolves out of surplus four feet diameter concrete pipes we buy from the county.

“We bury the pipes and cover them up except for the front opening. Then we put about a foot or so of dirt on the bottom of the pipes to make them more cave-like. They make excellent dens for the wolves. Within a year, vegetation growth makes them almost indiscernible. Currently, there are fifteen on the property, but we plan to add six more this year.”

As they drove, they saw several wolves inside the enclosure who perked up and gave them their full attention as they passed by.

A little further on, Eric again stopped and pointed to an area with a double fence about fifty yards apart. Those fences separate the wolves from the wolf-dog enclosure. The wolf-dogs only have about twenty acres for their use.”

“That doesn’t sound like much compared to the wolves.”

“It’s plenty, and they are lucky to have that. The state wanted to euthanize all of them. Simon got them to reconsider and allow us to take them based on our promise to spay all the females and neuter the males. That, of course, will be one of your jobs here.”

“I understand. Do the wolf-dogs have dens like the wolves?”

“No, they have more conventional dog houses since they won’t be breeding.”

Tracy was surprised that she could not detect any animal odor during the drive around the compound except for a slight smell of feces near the wolf-dog enclosure.

When they returned to the administration area, Michael was outside admiring Tracy’s Jeep. “That is some fine machine you got there, Tracy. It must have at least ten thousand dollars of extras on it.” He looked over at Eric and said, “I take it we got it for about the original amount we agreed on?”

“Yes, it’s a used vehicle that belonged to some guy that got thrown in jail for drug dealing.”

After admiring the Jeep, Michael looked back and said, “His loss, Tracy’s gain.”

He turned back to Tracy and asked, “So, how was the tour, Tracy?”

“The place is absolutely amazing. I can’t wait until I can look around inside the enclosure.”

“Be patient. It should only take a few weeks until the wolves accept your presence. You’ll know when that is happening as they will get curious and come much closer,” explained Eric.

“He’s right. You will know when it’s time. The wolves will tell you,” stated Michael. “Okay, now let’s head inside. Lunch should be ready, and you will get a chance to meet our three part-timers. Fortunately, they all are here today.”

“They’re already inside?” asked Tracy.

“Yes, they are always hungry and seemingly afraid that they might miss out on a meal. “ replied Michael jokingly.

Tracy responded, “I think that is typical of most grad students. Never pass up free food.”

When they walked inside, Tracy was pleasantly surprised by the mouth-watering smell of freshly cooked lasagna wafting over her. Eric said Lucille was a good cook, and if the lasagna tasted as good as it smelled, he was right on target.

The three part-timers were seated at the large table in the kitchen, two women who looked to be in their twenties and a ruggedly handsome man with short dark brown hair who appeared to be much older, maybe in his early forties.

Eric introduced Tracy to the women, Maggy and Alicia, and to the man Carl. He told them she was the new vet and to be nice to her. This was her first time away from home.

Maggy, which she learned later was short for Magdeline, was a tall and slender brunette with short hair and bangs. Alicia was a short, stocky, dark-skinned African-American lady with close-cropped hair, a big smile, and gleaming white teeth.

Carl, as Tracy surmised, was forty-three years old and had returned to school after retiring from twenty years of service in the Army.

Michael, Eric, and Tracy joined the others at the table, and Lucille served each of them a sizeable helping of lasagna along with tossed salad and a slice of garlic toast.

Lucille blurted out as she was about to sit down, “I apologize, Tracy. I forgot to ask. I hope you are not a vegetarian?”

“No, I am not. The lasagna smells wonderful.”

Carl broke the silence while they were eating by asking Tracy, “Tracy can you tell us a little about yourself? It’s hard to believe this is your first time away from home.”

After finishing what was in her mouth, Tracy said, “Actually, I have traveled a bit on vacation while in graduate school, including to Europe and once to Asia, but this is my first time leaving on a more permanent basis.”

“Where did you go to school?” asked Alicia.

“I did my undergraduate and graduate school at CSU in Fort Collins, where my parents live.

That seemed to satisfy their curiosity for a while until Tracy asked, “Carl can you tell me your story? You seem a little mature for a grad student.”

“Mature, I like that,” said Carl. “it sure beats saying I am an old man.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that,” stated Tracy.

“That’s okay. I served twenty years in the Army before retiring and am probably almost twice your age.”

“I doubt that, but what did you do in the Army, if you don’t mind my asking,” said Tracy.

Carl replied, “When I retired, I was the company commander of an Army K-9 unit. As a result, I learned to love dogs and other animals.”

When Tracy finished her lunch, she told Lucille, “That was delicious, Lucille. I loved the lasagna.”

“Thank you, Tracy: I appreciate the compliment. I enjoy cooking, and this gang sure likes to eat.”

After lunch, while Carl, Alicia, and Maggy went off to complete their chores, Tracy stayed and helped Lucille clean up.

“What now, Eric?” Tracy asked when she went back outside after finishing helping Lucille. “What do you want me to do?”

Eric looked at his watch and said, “The truck from Simon’s meat packing company should be arriving very soon. They deliver us a ton every other week, right around this time, and today is delivery day. You can help me unload the truck and prepare the meat for the wolves.” 

How much do the wolves eat?” asked Tracy.

“We feed each wolf about ten pounds of meat twice each week. That sort of mimics their feeding schedule in the wild. That is usually supplemented weekly with turkey necks a local farmer gives us.

“The meat that Simon provides is coarsely ground and comes to us in forty-pound plastic tubs. We remove it from the tubs and divide it into ten-pound loaves, which we freeze in our walk-in freezer.”

“What about the wolf-dogs? What do they eat?” asked Tracy.” Do we feed them the same thing?”

“No, we treat them like dogs. Each animal gets a pound of Kibble daily. They don’t get any raw meat. That was one of the agreements we made with the state officials.”

They only had to wait about ten minutes until a refrigerated truck drove up with the logo “Yum-Yum Meats” painted on its sides.

“‘Yum-Yum Meats’ is Simon’s meat packing company. It’s located in Gibbonsville in the northeast part of the state. Simon owns that, plus a nearby cattle ranch, an oil exploration company, and several other smaller businesses scattered around the state. If that is not enough, he also runs a large homeless shelter in Boise.”

“Wow, he’s into a lot of things,” stated Tracy.

“Yes, he is, but he is also remarkably generous.”

When the truck had backed up to the storage area and opened the rear doors, Eric said, “It’s time to go to work, Tracy. I hope you don’t mind physical labor as we have to unload the truck, make the loaves and get them into the freezer.”

“No, I don’t mind at all.”

“We’ll see if you feel the same way after we unload fifty containers and make two-hundred wolf meat loaves.”

As Eric said, it was a lot of work, and they did not finish until almost 5:00 PM. They first had to unload the fifty tubs so the driver could return with them. Then they laboriously formed the meat into ten-pound loaves using non-stick stainless steel molds. After completing several loaves, they carried them on trays into the freezer and placed them on the shelves inside.

“You did great, Tracy,” Eric said afterward. “I think you did as many loaves as I did.”

“I seriously doubt that, Eric. Although I tried to keep up with you.”

“You did great. Are you ready for a beer or a glass of wine? It’s sort of a tradition here at the end of the day.”

“That sounds like a marvelous tradition. I would love a nice cold beer.”

“That can be arranged. Any special preference in beers?”

“Anything light if you have it.”

“One Coors Silver Bullet coming up!”

Episode 3 – Some Good and Some Bad

The next few weeks were enjoyable for Tracy as she finally spent most of her time utilizing her veterinary training.

On several occasions, she worked closely with Dr. Marshall, the retired vet from Sun Valley. He gladly taught her all the ins and outs of working on wolves so she could take over. In addition, two new wolves arrived that had been trapped by ranchers, and three wolf-dogs were delivered from animal shelters. Those she treated on her own.

The new wolves had to be sedated and examined for injuries or health issues. When any of those were found, Tracy attended to them. Then after de-worming, the wolf was finally released from the hospital kennels into the main compound.

The procedure for the wolf-dogs was similar, except they always had to be spayed or neutered.

Another one of her jobs was to help Carl deliver the bi-weekly meat loaves to the wolves. She would drive around as Carl threw out the frozen loaves they had stuffed into the back of her Jeep. Again, that helped the wolves become used to her presence in a non-threatening and positive manner.

Other than at Happy Hour each day, Tracy did not see much of Eric.

Finally, as Eric and Michael had both said, the wolves started coming closer to the fence when Tracy was nearby. They seemed no longer leary of Tracy but becoming curious about her.

Noticing this change in the wolves’ behavior, Tracy thought – I wonder what would happen if I slowly approached the ones by the fence. Will they retreat away from me or stay?

So Tracy slowly walked toward the chain link fence, stopping every few steps to see how the nearby wolves reacted. Regrettably, the wolves all moved further away from her when she got close.

Well, they are starting to accept me. So I’ll just try this every day and see what happens. I’m in no rush and will be patient.

Over the next several days, Tracy repeated her slow approach to the wolves by the fence. The wolves continued to move away as she got ever closer, but more gradually each day.

At last, on the sixth day, Tracy successfully got to the fence without the wolves shying away. She waited quietly for several minutes to see what the wolves would do. Finally, one of the male wolves timidly approached the fence where Tracy was standing.

Tracy stood motionless as the wolf noisily sniffed her from only a few inches away. Tracy then slowly moved her open hand closer to the wolf’s nose until it was pressed against the fence, only about an inch away. And then it happened; she felt it.

That’s his wet nose touching the palm of my hand. Oh my gosh, he just licked me.

After a few more licks, the wolf walked away, apparently satisfied.

I can’t wait to tell everyone at Happy Hour. The wolves have accepted me, at least some of them.

That evening when everyone arrived at the picnic tables for Happy Hour and sat down with their drinks, Tracy excitedly gushed out, “I think the wolves have finally accepted me. One of them even licked my hand today through the fence.”

“That’s wonderful news, Tracy,” said Eric. “I told you it would just take a little time for them to get used to you.”

“What should I do now, Eric? Could I just enter the compound and walk around?”

“That would probably be alright, but I would rather be a bit more cautious. Tomorrow is feeding day for the wolves, so how about you and I deliver food to the nearest dens by handcart? From the wolves’ reaction to you, I can tell if it would be safe for you to be inside the compound alone.”

“Thank you.”

“You don’t need to thank me, Tracy. One of your jobs as our vet will be regularly driving or walking around inside the compound looking for any health issues or potential problems.

“What about the wolf-dogs?”

They’re all unpredictable and can be pretty dangerous, so you must remain outside the fence when checking them out. If you need to go inside, Michael or I will go with you for protection.

“Will you be armed tomorrow?”

“Yes, with a tranquilizer gun and pepper spray. And by the way, please don’t wear any jewelry. Wolves like to steal shiny things.”

I’m really looking forward to tomorrow. Besides those first two days, this is the first time I will be alone with Eric. From how he looks at me, I know he is interested, so if he doesn’t ask me out, I will ask him.

At 9:00 AM, Tracy met Eric by the walk-in freezer, where they loaded the handcart with twenty of the ten-pound meat loaves. The cart was made of metal and quite sturdy, with four fat bicycle-sized wheels so it could be pushed or pulled easily over the rough terrain.

Before they entered the wolf compound, Eric gave Tracy a can of pepper spray in a leather holster. He told her, “Fasten this on your belt or somewhere else on your clothing where it will be convenient to reach, Tracy. I doubt you will ever have a reason to use it, but you should always be prepared. It works good on bears, so it should be equally effective on wolves.”

“You have never had to use it?”

“Lucille used it once on an aggressive wolf-dog, and it was quite effective. However, none of us have had to use it on the wolves, but our insurance company insists that we all carry it whenever  we are inside the compound.”

“What’s that other thing on your belt?”

“It’s an air horn. It hurts the wolves’ ears and scares the crap out of them.”

“No tranquilizer gun?”

“I decided against it. Is that okay with you?”

“Sure, if you think it won’t be necessary.”

“I’m sure it won’t.”

Eric opened the gate, and they pulled the cart inside. Then Eric went back and securely fastened the gate behind them.

Within only a short distance, several wolves from the nearest dens began to approach, curious about Tracy and knowing it was their feeding time. 

Although Eric had reassured her, Tracy was extremely nervous. These were large animals, most weighing well over one hundred pounds.

Eric noticed her apparent consternation and said, “Don’t worry, Tracy. None of them are showing any sign of aggression. Some will undoubtedly want to come up and inspect you closely, but remain calm and don’t make sudden movements.”

A few wolves approached Tracy, circling her slowly while noisily sniffing her scent and then tentatively licking her hands afterward. Eric said, “These are the leaders, and they want to assure their pack you are not harmful.”

Oh shit. This is absolutely incredible. I’m terrified and thrilled at the same time. I just wish someone was recording this. It is so unbelievable. I can’t wait to tell my parents.

As Eric watched vigilantly, he began removing loaves from the cart and scattering them on the nearby ground for the wolves.

After satisfying their curiosity, the wolves left Tracy, went over, and each took a loaf to eat. Only when the leaders had retrieved their loaves did the other wolves approach and get theirs. That was typical pack behavior.

When all the nearby wolves had gotten their food and retreated back toward their caves, Eric and Tracy continued into the compound toward the next closest group of dens.

“Well, what do you think about that experience Tracy? You did very well.”

“Oh my God, Eric. That was definitely the most exciting and terrifying thing I have ever experienced. I’m still shaking.”

“I’m not the least bit surprised. Wolves are scary animals. But I am proud of you. You were a real trooper.”

“Thank you; however, I was much more frightened than I thought I would be.”

“I’m not the least bit surprised. Lucille still won’t enter the compound without Michael or me. That one wolf-dog attack really spooked her.”

They stopped at two more den sites, with the same role-playing by the wolves as before. By now, they had exhausted their loaves supply and returned to get more. As the other dens were further away, they used Eric’s truck to deliver the loaves. However, Tracy got out of the Jeep at each stop so the wolves could come up and inspect her.

As they drove back, Tracy was delighted when Eric said, “There’s a great French restaurant in Sun Valley; care to join me tonight for dinner?”

Tracy hesitated a moment. Trying to not sound too eager, and replied, “I would like that.”

“Good, I will pick you up at 7:00 PM. The restaurant is sort of fancy; it will give you a chance to dress up a bit.”

“Sounds like fun. I enjoy French food.”

Eric arrived to pick up Tracy right on time. She was impressed by his stylish appearance, and he even smelled good. Other than when Eric had come to CSU to do his recruiting, this was the first time Tracy had seen him in anything other than jeans or noticeably using aftershave.

Tonight he was wearing pressed chinos, an open-collar blue pullover shirt, and a dark brown leather sport coat. And although the aftershave seemed very familiar, Tracy could not identify the brand.

Eric was equally impressed at how attractive Tracy looked. She wore high heels and a short, form-fitting floral printed summer dress that accentuated her slender enticing body. The only jewelry Tracy wore was a single strand of pearls she got for graduation and matching pearl studs in her ears. Tracy was also wearing perfume, but only a touch or two.

“You look positively stunning, Tracy,” said Eric.

“Thank you, Eric. You’re looking quite dapper yourself.”

“Thank you, flattery will get you everywhere. Now let’s head to the restaurant. I made us 7:30 reservations.”

The restaurant in Sun Valley was charming, intimate, and clearly expensive. None of the main courses listed were less than forty dollars. Tracy immensely enjoyed the wine and the delicious food, but mainly being with Eric.

Tracy knew it was much too soon, but afterward, when Eric suggested he come up to inspect the night view from her balcony and see how she had settled into the apartment, she did not argue.

And maybe it was because she had drunk too much wine or just wanted him; when they began kissing and Eric started fondling her breast, Tracy only offered a token of resistance.

After more passionate deep kissing and fondling, they ended up naked and intimately entangled in Tracy’s bed. Although they had sex several times during the night, it was very disappointing for Tracy. It was not anything like the thrilling experience she had expected. She learned, unfortunately, that Eric was a terrible lover.

All he seemed to care about was bringing himself to a quick climax and was utterly inconsiderate of Tracy’s needs. When he was done, they were done, which left Tracy frustrated and sexually unsatisfied.

Tracy was not a virgin and had had four brief affairs in the past, including recently, an older professor at CSU. And although none of them would win an award as a Casanova, all of them, except the first, that bungling boy in High School, were more mindful of Tracy’s sexual needs than Eric.

It was almost dawn, and Tracy had not slept at all. Instead, she lay there in bed, watching sadly as Eric slept peacefully beside her, obviously sexually fulfilled. Damn, I was so stupid to think that because Eric was so good-looking, he would also be great in bed. What a disappointment. He must have had sex with dozens of women, and by now, you would surely assume someone would have been brave enough to tell him he was a lousy lover.

I know it may cost me my job, but this is the last time I will have sex with him. What the fuck is wrong with men like him? He just shoves it in and pounds away like I was some damn sex toy. And now, when he wakes up, I expect he’ll want me to tell him how wonderful it was and how much I enjoyed it. What should I tell him? Do I dare tell him the truth?

Finally, when it was getting light outside, Tracy had an idea and went into the kitchen to make coffee. No sooner had she poured herself a cup when Eric appeared standing in the doorway with a big lecherous grin on his face and said, “Good morning, beautiful. I had a wonderful time last night. I hope you did too?”

Tracy was quiet for a moment before turning toward him and replying, “Yes, it was great, but I’m sorry, I don’t want to repeat it.”

Eric was stunned. This was clearly not the response he had expected, “Why not? — I don’t understand?”

“You’re my boss, and it was a totally inappropriate thing for me to do.”

“Don’t be silly, Tracy. We are both adults and attracted to each other, and it is nobody else’s business.”

“It may seem silly to you, but not to me. This was a one-time thing, and I regret we did it.”

“I’m really sorry you feel that way; I like you.”

“That’s the way it has to be. I’m sorry too.”

Eric was quiet for a while, fruitlessly trying to come up with a winning argument, and then said dejectedly,” Can I please have a cup of coffee before I leave?”

“Of course.”

Episode 4 – The Homeless Shelter

Things at the sanctuary after that were a little stilted between Eric and Tracy. They worked together just fine, but it was evident to everyone, especially Lucille, that their mutual attraction had waned.

“I wonder what happened between Eric and Tracy?” Michael asked Lucille as they were getting ready for bed.

“You noticed that too?” asked Lucille.

“Of course. It is obvious. Before, they could hardly keep their eyes off each other.”

“Well, clearly, something must have happened. I know Eric took Tracy out for dinner last Friday, and I assume that did not go over well for some reason.”

“I wonder what?”

“Who knows, but I am sort of glad it did.”

“Why do you say that?”

“They can concentrate more on their work.”

Fortunately, things got busy for Tracy, and as Lucille had predicted, she could focus better on her work with the Eric infatuation behind her. Two more female wolf-dogs were delivered to the sanctuary the following days, and after sedating them, Tracy had to thoroughly check them out and spay them both. A male wolf was also brought in the next day that had been struck by a car. It was in bad shape and required many hours of surgery and follow-up care.

Also, it seemed that horny upstart younger male wolves would challenge the current alpha males for dominance of their pack every few days. Unfortunately, this usually resulted in injuries requiring sedation and stitches for both animals.

In addition to providing ongoing medical treatment for the animals, Tracy continued to assist in preparing the loaves at the bi-weekly meat delivery and feeding the wolves twice weekly. The only difference was that she now usually worked with Carl or, occasionally, Alicia rather than with Eric.

However, being busy did not stop Tracy from occasionally reminiscing about her big disappointment with Eric and wondering what would have happened if she had told him what was wrong.

Tracy’s routine was interrupted when Simon Ingram and his wife Veronica came for a visit one beautiful sunny morning. When he emerged from his white Land Rover, Tracy recognized him immediately from all his television appearances. She thought he looked very handsome for an older man. Simon was tall, broad-shouldered, with a full head of long wavy silver hair, deep blue eyes, and an engaging smile. Tracy wasn’t sure about his age but guessed he must be in his early sixties.

Tracy thought his wife Veronica was clearly much younger than Simon. She was attractive, had a nice figure, and had long, straight jet black hair. She was much shorter than Simon and probably in her thirties, but it was sometimes hard to tell the age of native American women.

They were dressed casually in Jeans, with Simon wearing a long sleeve tan western shirt and Veronica a white native American style blouse with a beaded vest.

The minute Simon saw Tracy, he came over to introduce himself. “You must be Tracy? You’re even more fetching than Eric said.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“No, sir, please. I’m Simon Ingram; please call me Simon. And, this lady —,’ Veronica walks over to join them. “— is my lovely wife, Veronica.”

“It is a pleasure to meet both of you. I have heard so much about you.”

“All good, I hope.”

“More than good. Around here, they almost refer to you as Saint Simon.”

That bought a chuckle from Simon.

“So, Tracy, how are things working out for you. I have heard only glowing reports.”

“Excellent, Mr. — I’m sorry, Simon. I absolutely love working with the wolves. They are such splendid and majestic animals.”

“Yes, they are. What about the wolf-dogs?”

Tracy hesitated for a while before replying, “We get along, at least I do with some of them. I take care of the others, but only when they’re sedated. I think Michael phrased it best; they are dangerously unpredictable.”

“Why do you think they are that way?”

Tracy thought about that before answering, “After working with the wolves, I know it can’t be genetics. It most likely is a result of how they were raised or treated by their previous owners.”

Simon nodded and said, “I’m sure you are right, Tracy. That is why I am paying to take care of the wolf-dogs. To help them escape their previous harsh environment.”

“That is very nice of you to do that, Simon.”

“He’s a real softy at heart,” interjected Veronica. “You should see the big homeless shelter he created in Boise. It’s fantastic, and with two hundred and fifty beds, other than California, it is probably the largest in the western states.”

“I never would have suspected something like that in Idaho,” stated Tracy.

“It also has an amazingly successful internship program for the men,” continued Veronica.

“I would like to come visit it,” stated Tracy.

“You should,” said Simon. “We are always looking for volunteers on the weekends to help serve food.”

“I promise I’ll take you up on that.”

“Please do, and — if you’re serious — how about coming with me this Sunday?” asked Simon. “I will pick you up at your apartment at 8:30 AM and drive you there. It’s about a two-and-one-half-hour drive, but I have to go there anyways Sunday to check up on a few things.”

“Sounds wonderful,” replied Tracy. “I will look forward to it.”

“Good.” And Tracy gave him her address.

On Sunday, Simon picked up Tracy at her apartment and drove to Boise. As they went, Simon asked, “Please tell me a little about yourself if you don’t mind, Tracy.”

“Of course not, but I can assure you it is not very exciting.”

“I don’t care about that. I am just interested in you.”

“Okay then, I’ve lived my entire life in Colorado, the last ten years in Wellington, a small town north of Fort Collins. I did my undergraduate and graduate schooling at Colorado State University and my summer internship with a veterinarian in Cheyenne. Both of my parents are elementary school teachers. My dad teaches mathematics, and my mother social studies.”

“Any brothers or sisters?”

“No, I am an only child.”

After a few minutes, “Anyone special in your life?”

“You mean a boyfriend or girlfriend?”

“Yes.”

“No, nobody special. I was always too busy with my studies to get too involved.”

“That’s a shame.”

“Probably, but I did manage to squeeze in a few short European trips with friends and one visit to Thailand with my parents.”

“Where did you go in Europe?”

“Spain, Portugal, Germany, and France.”

“Sounds like fun.”

“It was. We mostly traveled around by bus or train and stayed at youth hostels. So we got to see a lot in a short time.”

“I envy you. Growing up, I spent most of my free time working on my father’s oil rigs. It paid well, but it wasn’t much fun. However, the good thing is I already knew a lot about the business when I took over from my father after he died.”

“It seems you have come a long way since then.”

“I have Tracy, but I also have been damn lucky.”

“I doubt if it was due to luck. — Do you think you will be our next governor?” she blurted out.

“My campaign manager sure thinks so.”

“I’ll be rooting for you.”

“Thank you. I would also appreciate your vote. You should be eligible by then.”

“You got it! Can you please tell me a little about the homeless shelter?”

“Sure; happy to. I started the shelter about five years ago. It was initially Veronica’s idea. However, I expanded on her concept. The shelter now consists of three separate buildings. The kitchen, dining area, and men’s shelter are the main building with one hundred and seventy-five beds. That’s where you will be working today.

“The other two smaller buildings are the women’s and family shelters. The women’s shelter has fifty beds, and the family shelter has separate rooms for fifteen families of up to five persons.”

“That is quite impressive.”

“Thank you, Tracy.”

“Veronica mentioned you had some sort of successful internship program. Can you tell me a bit about that?”

“Of course. I started it three years ago, and it is only for men so far. If a man signs up for the program and commits to being alcohol and drug-free for six months, and we regularly test, I offer them internship training on my oil rigs. At the end of three months of training, they can either stay on with me working elsewhere on my rigs or find well-paying jobs at other oil fields.”

“What do the men do during the six-month waiting period?” asked Tracy.

“They mostly do supervised community service projects around Boise,” replied Simon. “It’s a win-win situation.”

“Wow, that indeed sounds like a wonderful program, Simon.”

“Thank you. I am very proud of it.”

Simon truly is an amazingly thoughtful and generous person, thought Tracy. I am so glad I had this opportunity to get to know him personally. He is going to be a terrific governor.

Simon introduced Tracy to the resident manager Ted when they arrived at the shelter. After showing Tracy around the facility, Ted helped her get set to assist in serving lunch to the residents and other disenfranchised persons stopping by for a meal.

The lunch being offered was chili with cornbread and lemonade. Tracy was pleased that it not only looked good, but when she ate some herself after she was finished serving, she found it also tasted quite good.

It seemed like Tracy had just finished cleaning up everything after lunch when it was already time to prepare to serve the fried chicken and mashed potatoes for the evening meal.

At last, the food service was finally over, and it was time to start cleaning up. Tracy was delighted to see Ted and Simon pitch in to help out. That significantly shortened the effort and time required.

Simon said to Tracy when they had finished, “I apologize, Tracy. I should have warned you that it would be a very long day.

“No need to apologize, Simon. It felt good to help out. And I promise you I will be doing it again.”

“Good! We appreciate that a lot. Now, how about a pizza and beer before we drive back. There is a great place a few blocks from here.”

“Sounds wonderful. I’m famished, and a beer sounds excellent right now.”

During dinner and afterward, on the drive back, they engaged in various small talk about the homeless, the shelter, and Idaho politics. Tracy learned that Simon was a staunch Republican, like her family, but was surprised at how conservative Idaho was leaning. Much more than she or her family.

Episode 5 – Mystery Meat

The weeks went by for Tracy with no significant events other than Eric reluctantly agreeing to just be a friend. They even went so far as to sometimes have casual dinners together, but no more “dates. And although Eric persisted in trying, Tracy’s apartment was totally off-limits. On a few of those occasions, Tracy was tempted to tell Eric what the problem was but decided against it as the magical chemistry between them was gone for her.

As Tracy had promised Simon, she also made it a point to drive down to Boise at least once each month to assist at the homeless shelter. She even talked Eric into going with her sometimes to help out.

Although the sanctuary was formally not open for visitors, the nearby schools occasionally bused children to see the wolves. For their observation, benches had been installed on a large area covered with paving stones outside the fence near the administration building. Tracy liked children and enjoyed assisting Lucille as a tour guide whenever they visited.

Since she arrived, Tracy had been doing most of her grocery shopping at the local Walmart as it was convenient and had a large grocery department. That evening after work, she was there shopping for course ground hamburger meat and couldn’t decide what to buy, the lean beef her mom always insisted on purchasing or the less expensive 80/20 mixture with more fat content.

After a few moments of indecision, she decided to buy a pound of both. Then, when she got home, she would do a taste test and see which she preferred. I’ll bet the fatty meat tastes better; as experts always say, well-marbled steaks have more flavor than lean ones.

Later back in her apartment, after unloading her groceries, Tracy was ready to begin her cook-off. She made a patty with the meat from each container and put them on a plate. She then was going to season them both the same with just salt and pepper and cook them individually in separate oiled pans on the stove.

While sprinkling the salt and pepper on the patties, she noticed neither looked like the meat she regularly made bi-weekly into loaves for the wolves. Instead, the color was slightly different, with no traces of yellow fat, and the meat was less stringy. I wonder why it’s not the same?

Oh, that’s silly of me. I know the answer to that. The beef we buy at the store is from better cuts of meat, and what Simon provides is what he has left over at the packing plant.

As Tracy had expected, and although she knew the leaner meat was probably healthier for her,  she enjoyed the flavor of the fattier meat better. She even thought that the patty had a more appetizing aroma.

A few days later, as she was driving around the compound with Carl passing out the meat loaves to the wolves, she casually mentioned what she had noticed about the appearance of the meat they were feeding them and her conclusion.

“Maybe he is also adding other meat proteins to the mix,” said Carl.

“Like what?” asked Tracy.

“Other animals, like pork, chickens, fish, wild game. The wolves wouldn’t care. They’ll eat any animal protein.”

“You’re right, and I guess it doesn’t make any difference to us either; it’s free.”

Several minutes later, Carl said, “Maybe he’s even slaughtering wild horses and using them for some of the food. I’ve heard they have done that elsewhere, and there are a lot of wild horses out there.”

“That’s absurd,” responded Tracy. “Simon is one of the nicest men I have met. He would never stoop to anything as mean and outrageous as that.”

“You’re probably right. Simon really seems to be a very kind and caring person.”

“Good, then let’s drop it. Enough about the mystery meat. I’m sorry I brought the subject up.”

“Okay.”

“Sure.”

When they had finished and started driving back, Tracy asked, “I hope you don’t mind me asking, but are you married, Carl?”

“I was for a while.”

When Tracy didn’t respond, Carl added, “My wife and daughter were killed in an automobile accident about ten years ago.”

“I’m so very sorry, Carl. That is horrible.”

“… Yeh, it sure was.”

A few minutes later, Carl said, “As long as we are sharing, what’s with you and Eric. The flame seems to have gone out on your budding romance.”

”I guess you could say that.”

“You guys have a fight?”

“No, we didn’t have a fight.”

“Then what happened? Will you tell me?”

Tracy was quiet for a while before finally answering, “Yes, …let’s just say I became disillusioned and stopped believing in fairy tale love.”

“Wow, I’ll bet there’s one hell of a story there.”

“There is, but not one I plan to share.”

“Good enough.”

As winter approached, Tracy started wondering what preparations they needed to make to ensure the wolves and wolf-dogs had a drinkable water supply when the temperature was below freezing.

During Happy Hour, Tracy broached her concern and was amazed by Michael’s answer. It was something she surprisingly hadn’t been taught.

He told her, “Tracy, in climates where water freezes in the winter, wolves consume little or no water. Except for thermoregulation (thermoregulation is a process that allows the body to maintain its core temperature), wolves can obtain all their water requirements from their prey, both from water in the tissues of the animals they eat and from water produced by the chemical oxidation of it.

“The meat loaves we give the wolves provide almost all the water they need. You might occasionally see one of the wolves drink water or lick the snow or ice for moisture, but it is rare.”

“I didn’t know that,” replied Tracy. “I don’t remember that ever being mentioned in my science courses or at veterinary school.”

“I’m surprised,” said Eric. “It is quite common in much of the wildlife.”

Several minutes later, Tracy put down her beer and asked, “What about the wolf-dogs? They must drink water in the winter, as I know all the dogs we have owned did.”

“Yes, the wolf-dogs definitely need water as we only feed them dry dog food, which has negligible water content,” replied Michael. “The water troughs in their kennels are heated to keep them from freezing.

“And in case you are wondering, Tracy, how we know all of this crap, Eric and I taught in the Zoology  Department at Idaho State University before opening the sanctuary four years ago. Simon helped us get the place started and obviously still does.”

As September ended, the leaves were beautifully changing colors, and the weather in Idaho began to change. While there were still many days of glorious sunshine, there were some chilly, gloomy days with heavy rain.

Tracy was damn glad she had her new Jeep, as the muddy and slick trails in and around the sanctuary would have been virtually impassable in most other vehicles. One big area they had to pass through for the feedings had become an almost foot-deep quagmire.

Lucille approached Tracy one afternoon while she was working in the clinic and said, “Veronica called and asked if you could take a look at Bailey, her dog. Their vet in Sun Valley is on vacation. She said the dog has stopped eating and is very lethargic, and Veronica is worried.”

“Of course. I would be happy to help. Tell Veronica to bring the dog right in. I’ll wait here for her.”

“I will.”

Less than fifteen minutes later, Veronica arrived with her adorable three-year-old Wheaton Terrier.

“Hi, Veronica,” Tracy said. “Lucille said Bailey is not eating and is lethargic.”

“Yes, he hasn’t eaten anything since early yesterday and is always hungry. He also wouldn’t get out of his bed this morning.”

“Here, let me take a good look at him.” And she picked up Bailey and laid him gently on the examination table.

After several long minutes of careful examination, Tracy said, “The good news, Veronica is that I don’t think anything major is wrong with Bailey. I just think he ate something he shouldn’t.”

“What can you do? He’s not going to die, is he?”

No, not at all. I will give Bailey a little mineral oil to cleanse his system and some Pepto-Bismol to soothe his stomach. I’ll keep an eye on him here overnight, and by tomorrow he should be fine.”

“Thank you so very much, Tracy. I was so worried about him.”

“Don’t need to thank me. I’m delighted to be able to help. And I know how you must feel about Bailey. That is why I became a veterinarian.”

“Again, thank you. I’ll be here around noon to pick Bailey up if that is okay with you.”

“That will be fine, Veronica.”

Although Veronica arrived a little early, Tracy had already thoroughly checked Bailey out and fed him some breakfast.

“Bailey looks wonderful,” said Veronica as Bailey ran over with his stub of a tail wagging furiously.

“He’s good to go, Veronica. You might want to carefully check around the house to see what he might have gotten into.’

“I’ll definitely do that. How much do I owe you?”

“Absolutely nothing. I suspect your husband is paying my salary.”

“Then, if I can’t pay you, how about lunch? Do you have any plans today?”

“No, nothing important that can’t wait.”

“Good, then why don’t you follow me to my house so I can drop Bailey off, and I will take you to our club. It’s nearby, and I know you will love it. The food is excellent.”

“Sounds terrific, but I’m not dressed for anyplace fancy.”

“You’re dressed just fine. Everyone dresses casually around here.”

“Well, that is not true. Eric took me to a French restaurant where the people dressed up.”

“’ Le Chateu’” is a rare acception.”

Veronica’s home was at the base of Dollar Mountain at Sun Valley Ski Resort. It had eight bedrooms, ten bathrooms, a library, an indoor pool, a sauna, and a heated six-car garage.

After being shown around, Tracy said, “Your place is truly amazing, Veronica. It’s huge and by far the grandest house I have ever seen.”

“I’m glad you like it. Simon spent months working with the architects and two years with the contractors building the place. I don’t know how much he spent, but it was a lot.”

“Did he also do the interior design and decorations?”

“No, that was my contribution.”

“I like it, Veronica. You have exquisite taste,” remarked Tracy looking around.

“Thank you, Tracy. I appreciate that. Now let’s head over for lunch. The restaurant is only a short walk from here.”

Actually, there were three different restaurants at the resort, and somehow Veronica had already made reservations as there was a table waiting for them at the restaurant overlooking the tennis courts.

After Tracy spent several minutes perusing the menu the waiter had handed them, she frustratingly looked up and said, “I give up; everything looks good. What do you suggest, Veronica?”

“My favorite is the grilled shrimp salad with an Arnold Palmer to drink. So that’s what I will be ordering.”

“Sounds wonderful. I’ll try the same.”

“Good, I’m sure you’ll like it.”

Veronica was right; Tracy found the salad to be delicious and the Arnold Palmer surprisingly refreshing. She knew what was in an Arnold Palmer, iced tea and lemonade, but had never tried one before.

Later, during lunch, Tracy stopped eating and said, “I hope I am not being too nosy, but how long have you and Simon been married?”

Veronica put down her fork, looked up, and replied, “I don’t mind. We have been married for a little over seven years. ..I’m Simon’s second wife. …He was divorced when I met him and had two grown children.”

“How did you meet?”

“My father introduced us. He is Simon’s physician and skis with him occasionally.”.

“That’s nice. You two seem very happy.”

“We really are. Simon is a wonderful and loving person.”

“Well, he also is very generous with the wolf sanctuary and the homeless shelter.”

“Actually, they weren’t his ideas. Eric and Michael sweet-talked him into sponsoring the wolf sanctuary, and the homeless shelter was my idea. I was shocked when he agreed to do it and even make it much larger than I had suggested.”

“It doesn’t matter, does it. All that’s important is that Simon did it and is still doing it.”

“You’re so right, Tracy.”

Tracy ate more of her salad and then asked, “Veronica, did you work before you were married, and are you still working?”

Veronica stopped eating and replied, “I am a PA, a Physician’s Assistant. I used to work at the clinic in Sun Valley, but now I only go in when there is an emergency, and they need me.”

“You and Simon are both very generous. You make a good pair.”

“Thank you, Tracy. That’s very kind of you.”

“So, what’s with you and Eric. Lucille said you two were an item.”

“Well, we did date once, but it didn’t work out.”

“Why, may I ask?”

Tracy took a bite of her salad and was quiet for a while before answering. “Let’s just say we had some serious compatibility issues.”

Veronica took a drink and ate more of her salad before asking, “Nobody else in your life?”

“Not now, but if you promise not to say anything.”

“I promise.”

“I am beginning to really like Carl. And I think he likes me. I know he is much older, but he is the sweetest person.”

“Don’t let the age difference bother you. Go for it. Although Simon is almost thirty years older than me, it has worked out fine for us. He still is almost insatiable in bed.”

“I think that’s maybe too much information,” Tracy laughed.

After they finished their lunch and before Tracy returned to the sanctuary, Veronica and she agreed to meet weekly for lunch together when convenient.

Episode 6 – New Romance

Not only did Tracy and Veronica start regularly having lunch together, but they also started shopping and doing other things together. They found they shared many of the same interests and enjoyed each other’s company.

However, Tracy insisted that she sometimes treated or at least paid her own way when they went out to lunch together. And although most of the stores where they went shopping were relatively upscale, Tracy still made some purchases. Since her apartment was prepaid, other than gas, food, and insurance, she barely had to spend her salary elsewhere. If nothing else, she decided she would be the best-dressed veterinarian in Idaho.

While Tracy was out having lunch with Veronica, she learned that Simon spent most of his time at his office in Washington, DC, representing the state or in Boise, working on his gubernatorial election campaign.

Veronica said they also did a lot of entertaining of local cronies and politicians at their home, and Veronica freely admitted she did not like many of the people. They were far too radical and conservative for her taste.

Veronica related to her, “On one occasion at dinner, they even seriously discussed the merits of installing gun towers at the Mexican border to impede illegal migration.”

“Did you tell Simon that the conversation upset you?” asked Tracy, stunned by the revelation.

“Yes, I did later.”

“What did he say? Did he apologize?”

“No, he only said it takes a lot of money to run political campaigns; unfortunately, these were the people that controlled the purse strings.”

On the home front, Tracy learned that Carl had an apartment not far from hers, and they occasionally began meeting at a nearby diner for breakfast before going to work. That eventually led to Carl finally asking Tracy to have dinner with him.

Rather than make it more formal, they decided to go to that barbecue restaurant Tracy liked on Friday night. They were unaware that a band always played at the restaurant on Friday nights.

They met that evening at the restaurant, and both ordered the barbecue platter with Texas-style ribs, beans, and fries, Tracy a half order and Carl a full. They both thought their meals were delicious, especially when washed down with a shared pitcher of cold draft beer. Tracy and Carl also enjoyed the local band playing, and after they were done eating, they decided to stay on to listen to the music and finish their beer.

The band began to play a song Tracy especially liked, and with a bit of persuasion, she dragged Carl out on the dance floor. Carl tried to dissuade her by saying he had not danced in a long time and was not a good dancer. However, Tracy found that was definitely not the case. Carl may have been a little rusty initially, but he was an excellent dancer.

That one dance became a second and after another pitcher of beer, a third and a fourth. By the time they finished their beer, it was getting late, and Carl told Tracy he would walk her back to her apartment to ensure she arrived safely.

Tracy was about to tell Carl that her safety was not a big concern there in Ketchum, and as he knew, her apartment was close by, but she decided against it as she was very much enjoying his company. Even more, than she had anticipated.

As they slowly walked to her apartment Tracy wondered if Carl would suggest he come upstairs with her, and if he did, should she say yes?

Fortunately, or maybe, unfortunately, it never came to that as Carl was the perfect gentleman. When they reached Tracy’s apartment, Carl walked her to the elevator, and after hesitating, he gently drew her closer to him, looked into her eyes, and said, “You know I’m much too old for you, Tracy.”

Tracy stared back at him and said warmly, “I don’t care about your age Carl; I really like you.”

Carl smiled reassuringly and said, “I really like you too,” as he pulled Tracy close to him and kissed her tenderly on the lips. When he began to release her, Tracy pulled him back to her and passionately returned his kiss.

While officially, that was not a date, several actual dates followed that evening. And at last, Tracy invited Carl up to her apartment afterward. Nothing needed to be said between them as they went upstairs. They had been patient, but this was clearly something they both had been anxiously awaiting.

After they entered the apartment and closed the door, Carl gently gathered Tracy into his arms and pulled her firmly against him. She inhaled loudly in surprise when she felt the outline of his rapidly-growing erection pushing against her.

Carl looked into her eyes and said apologetically, “I’m sorry. I have not been with a woman since my wife died.”

“That is definitely something you don’t need to apologize for,” Tracy answered enthusiastically, which brought a big smile to Carl’s face.

Carl, clearly relieved, whispered, “Good,“ and kissed her ardently on her waiting lips. When he parted them with his tongue, Tracy immediately opened her mouth and eagerly met his tongue with hers with a low moan.

Much too soon for Tracy; this delicious deep kissing ended when Carl stepped back. Then, as Tracy nervously quivered in anticipation, Carl proceeded to carefully remove her dress. As he did so, he tenderly kissed her newly exposed flesh, starting with her neck and shoulders, and then Carl slowly and very gently moved down her body while he unhurriedly removed her undergarments, first her bra and then her panties.

Carl stepped back when Tracy was totally naked, longingly admiring her body. Then looking into her eager eyes, nearly overcome with emotion, he said,  “You look absolutely gorgeous! I want you now so much it’s becoming painful.”

He scooped her up in his arms, carried her into the bedroom, and laid her gently on the bed. By this time, Tracy was visibly shaking, her breathing was ragged, and her face was hot and flushed. Any qualms or doubts she might have had quickly become pure, overwhelming lust.

Carl slowly removed his clothing as Tracy stared at him. She was mesmerized by the sight of his sculpted, well-muscled body. She realized he must work out all the time. His body was magnificent, and his penis was so swollen and stiff that it looked enormous. She thought, “He definitely wasn’t exaggerating when he said he wants me!”

Much later that evening, a very pleased and fatigued Carl and a very satisfied and sated Tracy finally took a break long enough to get up and enjoy a glass of wine. As they finished, Tracy contentedly smiled at Carl. “Thank you, Carl. You were absolutely amazing. I never imagined it could be this wonderful.”

Carl took Tracy’s hands in his and told her, “The last thing in the world you have to do is thank me. Instead, I should be thanking you! And, once I rest up a bit, we still have the rest of the night.”

Over the next few months and into the winter, they shared many enjoyable nights together, either at Tracy’s apartment or Carl’s. They made no secret that they were together at work, and everyone seemed happy for them except obviously Eric.

Finally, one morning Eric approached Tracy when she was alone in the clinic and asked her point blank, “Why Carl and not me. I’m baffled.”

“Because you’re my boss. That’s why,” answered Tracy.

“Bullshit! I don’t believe you. What’s the real reason you pushed back from me?”

Tracy did not respond for a while as she considered what to say. Then, at last, she said, “Do you really want to know, Eric? You’re not going to like the answer.”

“I don’t give a damn. Why?

Tracy hesitated before finally saying, ”Because you are a terrible lover, Eric.”

“I’m what? …I don’t understand. We had sex four times that night.”

“Yes, we did, but the only person that enjoyed it was you. All you seemed to care about was pumping away and getting yourself off. You were clearly unaware or at least unconcerned of my needs.”

Eric was stunned and embarrassed by this answer and finally blurted out, “You should have said something.”

“Why?’ answered Tracy. “You’re not a kid. By now, you should have been well aware that you have a big problem,” and she turned and walked away.

Episode 7 – The Missing Man

After Tracy made that humiliating revelation, Eric began avoiding her whenever possible as he became embarrassed whenever she was nearby or when he thought she was looking at him. Although everyone at the sanctuary noticed his behavior, only Carl knew why, as Tracy had confided in him.

This game they were seemingly playing lasted for several days until Michael cornered Eric alone outside the vehicle storage shed and asked, “Okay, Eric, what the fuck is going on between you and Tracy. Every time she comes near, you turn away from her.”

When Eric did not respond, Michael demanded, “Damn it, Eric, what is it?”

Finally, Eric replied, “It’s embarrassing.”

“I don’t give a rat’s ass if it is embarrassing. I want to know. It’s affecting both of your work, and I’m tired of it.”

Eric was quiet for a while before saying softly, “She told me I was a terrible and inconsiderate lover.”

“She what?”

“She told me I was lousy in bed, damn it,” Eric blurted out.

Instead of commiserating with Eric, Michael started laughing, first just a snicker and then open and loud laughter.

“Damn it, Michael, it’s not funny,” Eric proclaimed.

After calming down, Michael said, “Oh, I think it is. I think it is absolutely hilarious. No wonder all those relationships you had never worked out. All they needed was one night with you to want to bail out.”

Eric was quiet for several seconds before asking, “What should I do?”

“Well, I am damn sure not going to let you fire Tracy because of this. She has worked out better than we expected and has a three-year contract with us. Also, Tracy has become a close friend of Veronica, Simon’s wife. And I’m certain Simon would never let you get rid of her.”

When Eric said nothing, Michael continued, “I think you need to do some serious studying on improving your bedroom technique and not just by watching porno movies. And, for God’s sake, quit acting like a child around Tracy or trying to get back into her pants.”

“Are you going to tell Lucille?”

“Oh, I can’t wait.”

It took well into the winter before Eric overcame his embarrassment around Tracy. Also, by then, several books about sex education had mysteriously appeared in his locker at the sanctuary. To Eric’s mortification, some were clearly written for pre-teens or early teenagers.

Tracy and Carl’s romance had become quite serious, and although it was not official, they had talked about getting married after Carl graduated from vet school. In addition, Tracy’s parents were coming up for Thanksgiving to meet Carl, and Tracy and Carl planned to go to Tracy’s parents’ home in Wellington for the Christmas holidays.

Although it typically took longer for Tracy to drive to the homeless shelter because of the winter road conditions, she still volunteered there at least once every month.

One Sunday, while working there, Tracy witnessed a highly distraught woman pleading with Ted, the resident manager, for help locating her brother. She told him he had been in the internship program at the shelter and had begun calling or writing to her regularly. However, she said she had not heard anything from him since he went off for training on the oil rigs.

She said she contacted the oil company that sponsored the program; unfortunately, they were not helpful. They told her her brother had successfully completed the three months of training and had accepted a better-paying job elsewhere. However, no one seemed to know which company he went to work for.

She told Ted she had also contacted all the other nearby oil companies, but no one had heard of him.

Ted asked her why she had come here to the shelter?

She told him that when she stopped hearing from him and could not locate him, she figured he must have relapsed after getting a large paycheck. She said she came here because she was desperate and hoped he might somehow show up back at the shelter.

Ted assured her that her brother had not returned. However, he promised her he would ask around and make sure her brother contacted her if he showed up. The woman thanked him and gave him a slip of paper with her brother’s name and her contact information.

Later after the woman had left, Tracy was quite surprised to see Ted crumple up what she presumed was the slip of paper the woman had given him and throw it in a waste container.

Although it was clearly none of her business, Tracy decided it seemed so out of character that she would tell Simon what she had witnessed.

It was a few weeks before Simon visited the sanctuary, and Tracy had the opportunity to speak with him privately. She told him what she had witnessed at the shelter.

Surprisingly, rather than seeming concerned, Simon became defensive. “Tracy, you must be mistaken. I know Ted very well, and he would never do something like that. We’ve been close friends and business associates for over fifteen years..”

“Simon, I’m sorry, but I’m almost positive the piece of paper I saw him throw away was the one the woman gave him.”

Simon thought about that for a while and then said brusquely, “If you’re right, there must be a good explanation. Either the man was at the shelter and gave Ted strict instructions to not let his sister know he had relapsed, or Ted more likely had already copied the information on his phone.”

“I’m sure your right Simon. I didn’t mean to upset you. I just thought you would want to know.”

“Yes, thank you,” and he walked away.

Tracy was having lunch at a Vietnamese restaurant in Sun Valley with Veronica the following week and told her, “Veronica, I owe you an apology as I might have upset Simon last week when he visited the sanctuary. It seems I may inadvertently have hit a nerve.”

“What did you do?” Veronica implored. “He never mentioned anything to me about that.”

“When I was working at the shelter a few weeks ago, there was a woman there asking Ted for help locating her brother. She said he had completed the internship program there and disappeared afterward.”

“And?”

“The woman gave Ted a piece of paper with her contact information; surprisingly, Ted threw it away after she left.”

“That’s it? That’s what you told Simon?”

“Yes, and it seemed to upset him. He became very defensive about it.”

Veronica thought about it for a moment and said, “I’m sure it is because they are such good friends. Ted is part of Simon’s close inner circle.”

“You’re probably right, Veronica. It‘s just that Simon’s reaction seemed so unlike him.”

“Do you want me to talk to Simon?”

“Please don’t. I only thought you might want to know about it.”

Several minutes later, when they had finished lunch and were about to leave the restaurant, Veronica asked, “When was it that you talked to Simon?”

“On Thursday. Why?”

“I just remembered I heard Simon talking to Ted that evening, and he sounded quite angry.”

“I’m sorry I caused any trouble.”

“Not at all, Tracy. It seems you may have done exactly the right thing.”

Thanksgiving had come and gone, and despite Tracy’s parents’ initial trepidation about Carl because of his age, he won them both over. At first, all they knew about Carl was what Tracy had told them, that he made her happy; he was retired from the Army and was a widower. However, they learned after meeting him that he was also intelligent, thoughtful, kind, and deeply committed to their daughter.

While they were all out for dinner the first night after they arrived, Carl abruptly dropped to his knee by the table and, in front of her astonished parents, presented Tracy with a diamond engagement ring and asked her to marry him. Tracy was shocked as she had no idea Carl was planning to do this or had even bought a ring. After only a moment’s hesitation, Tracy regained her composure and blurted out, “Of course, I’ll marry you.”

The following day was Thanksgiving, and Tracy and Maria, her mother, spent the day excitedly preparing dinner with all the fixings for the four of them. Maria insisted on cooking a much too big turkey and large portions of everything else, so Carl and Tracy would have plenty of leftovers.

By the time Tracy’s parents left to return home to Wellington, they had spent hours with Tracy and Carl enthusiastically discussing details about the animal clinic Tracy and Carl planned to open after Carl graduated and they were married. Fortunately, this did not appear to be an idle fantasy as Carl informed them he had saved a large sum of money while still in the Army and was also receiving a nice retirement income.

One big area of discussion was where to establish the clinic. Tracy’s parents naturally wanted them to put it somewhere convenient to Wellington. They even suggested possibly buying out Dr. Mason in Cheyenne, as he must be getting close to retirement.

Although Carl and Tracy preferred Idaho, they saw two issues with opening a clinic there. The first problem was that everything in Idaho was too expensive; however, Tracy was sure Simon would help them if they asked, especially if she agreed to still assist at the sanctuary. However, the second issue they viewed as insurmountable, the state was much too radical and conservative in its political leaning for either of them.

Since Carl was born and raised in Nebraska, he suggested that maybe somewhere in the southwest part of the state might be a good alternative. It was close to Colorado, much less expensive than Idaho, and although conservative, not over the top like Idaho. So, Cheyenne and southwest Nebraska tentatively became their top two candidates.

They decided that during Carl’s college Spring break, they would tour that corner of Nebraska and see if any place hit their fancy.

Episode 8 – Problems In Paradise

That year, the winter weather throughout Idaho was harsher than expected, and although the main roads were well maintained, the access road to the sanctuary required frequent plowing. Fortunately, the sanctuary had its own pickup truck with a snow plow blade and a small Bombardier snowcat they used as transport within the compound and to deliver food to the wolves.

The good news was that the skiing was excellent at Sun Valley Resort with all the fresh powder. Although the lift ticket prices at the resort were exorbitant, Carl and Tracy got out several times, including twice for free as Simon and Veronica’s guests.

It was a dreary, snowy evening in February, and Tracy was relaxing with Carl in her apartment after dinner. Carl had started spending the nights at Tracy’s and riding to the sanctuary in her Jeep as it was suited better to driving in the snow than his car.

That evening she was reading a novel Veronica had given her, and Carl was busily skimming the New York Times on his iPad. Abruptly Carl stopped reading, looked up, and asked Tracy, ”Where is Simon’s meat packing plant?”

After thinking about it, Tracy put down her book and replied, “I believe the sign on the Yum-Yum delivery truck said it was in Gibbonsville. Why do you ask?”

“That’s right near the Montana border, isn’t it?”

“I think so.”

“That’s what I thought. Does the plant also have a slaughterhouse?”

“I would assume it does, as supposedly it abuts Simon’s cattle ranch.”

“I wonder how isolated from town it is?”

“Why do you care about that?”

“I was reading a New York Times article about an upsurge in slaughtering horses for food for sale in Europe and Asia. Although they said most of it is done in Mexico, the Bureau of Land Management suspects there are a few illegal clandestine horse slaughterhouses here in the United States.

“And?”

“There are a lot of wild horses in Montana, and as you said, it is close to Gibbonsville.”

“Come on, Carl. I can’t picture Simon doing that. He’s such a nice person.”

“Maybe not Simon, but what about his buddies. Veronica told you some of them are way over the top. Also, you told me you saw another side of Simon that didn’t seem so nice.”

“Your right there, but I still don’t see Simon doing that.”

“Are you sure?”

“Of course, I am not sure, but who cares?”

“Maybe you should, as that could be what the meat is we have been feeding to the wolves.”

“Why would he possibly do that?”

“It’s a heck of a lot cheaper.”

“Thanks a bunch, Carl.”

“Why?”

“Because I love horses, and now, whenever I make the meat loaves for the wolves, that is all I will be thinking about.”

“Sorry, but the only way we would ever know for sure is to visit Yum-Yum.”

Tracy thought about that for a while and said, “That sounds crazy, but I suppose we could stop by in Spring on our trip to Nebraska. Either way, the place might be interesting to visit.”

While volunteering at the shelter, Tracy again had another disconcerting experience. It all began innocently one Sunday while she was with Ted in his office discussing menu changes Samuel, the elderly black man that ran the shelter’s kitchen, had suggested. While they were talking, the phone on his desk rang, and Ted apologetically interrupted their conversation to take the call.

While Ted was talking on the phone, Tracy noticed a stack of entry forms for the residency program on his desk. She didn’t think Ted would mind, so she picked one up to read out of curiosity.

Most of the form was straightforward, asking the applicant for their physical and personal information, their commitment to abstain from alcohol or drugs for six months, and their agreement to accept regular bi-weekly testing.

One item stated on the submission requirements list was strange to Tracy. Although she understood there would be restrictions based on age and physical condition, why did they require no close personal or family contacts? That seemed weird.

When Ted finished his phone call and hung up, Tracy said, “I hope you don’t mind me looking at one of your residency program entrance forms. I was interested.”

“I don’t mind at all. There are no secrets there.”

“Then can I ask you one question about it that intrigued me?”

“Sure, Tracy. What’s that?”

“Why do you require them to have no close personal or family contacts?”

Ted thought about her question for a moment before answering, “We have a limited number of slots, and we wanted to give the opportunity only to men who desperately needed our help as they had no potential support system to fall back on.”

“That seems overly harsh and restrictive.”

“It’s been working out fine so far.”

Tracy was about to mention the previous incident she witnessed where the woman was there searching for her brother. However, she decided it might be wise to refrain from doing that because of Simon’s reaction, probably because the man lied about having no close contact.

Although Tracy thought the “no close contact” requirement was unnecessarily restrictive, she soon forgot about the matter. However, that was until a few weeks later, when she was again volunteering at the shelter and had a very unsettling conversation with Samuel.

During a break after the lunch service, they were discussing the menu changes he had suggested a few weeks earlier when somehow, the topic of the internship program came up, and Samuel told her, “There’s something wrong with that program.”

“What do you think is wrong with it?”

“Well, Miss Tracy, several friends entered the internship program over the last years, and when they done left the shelter, it was like they’s all fell off the end of the Earth. Every damn one gone and disappeared.”

“All of them?” Tracy asked incredulously.

“Yep, all of them. You’d think I would’ve heard back from at least one of my friends, but nuttin at all.”

As she drove back to Ketchum, Tracy could not help thinking about what Samuel had told her. Maybe he was right, and something possibly criminal was going on? And if he was right, then Ted’s explanation about that requirement of having no contacts might be a pile of bullshit. That could explain why it would be such a sore point with Simon? Maybe all the men that entered the internship program were meant to disappear?

Tracy tried to envisage possible supporting scenarios but finally came up with only one. As bizarre and crazy as it seemed, maybe the men completing the internship program were being shipped up north somewhere remote and forced into servitude on the oil rigs there? That would explain the insistence on having no close personal or family contacts.

I should have asked Ted how many men have gone through the internship program? Simon told me it had been going on for three years.

That evening while they were watching television together in Tracy’s apartment, she turned to Carl and told him, “I know you’ll think I’m crazy, but I believe something terrible is going on at the homeless shelter.”

Carl looked up and asked, “What, sex, drugs?”

“No worse than that?”

“Worse than sex or drugs? Okay, I’ll bite. What do you think is happening?”

“I think they are kidnapping men that enter the oil rig internship program and forcing them to work in slavery at remote oil sites.”

Carl turned off the television, stared at Tracy, and said, “Now, that is crazy. Why in the world do you think that?”

“I learned from Samuel, the head cook, that several of his friends that entered the internship program have disappeared. I also found out that one of the requirements to enter the program is that they must have no close personal or family contacts, and they’re militant about that requirement.”

“Did you ask why?”

“I asked Ted, the shelter’s resident manager, about the requirement, and I think his explanation was total bullshit.”

“What did he say?”

“He told me they had only a limited number of slots available and wanted to allow the opportunity only to men with no potential support system to fall back on and therefore desperately needed their help.”

Carl thought about that for a while and said, “That does seem rather unusual but not sinister.”

“You don’t think so? Well, it does to me, especially with Samuel’s claim that his friends are missing.  And that Simon got angry because someone lied on his form, and his sister came looking for him.”

“He disappeared?”

“Yes, he did. And it seems more men have disappeared but have no one looking for them.”

“How many?”

“I don’t know, but Samuel said over one-half dozen of his friends have vanished, so maybe all the men who entered the internship program are gone.”

Again Carl was quiet while thinking about that. Then, at last, he said, “Suppose you are right, Tracy, …which, unfortunately, I have a hard time believing, and I am certain so will most others. What are you going to do about it? There is no one you can contact for assistance as all you have is speculation and absolutely no proof.”

“I know. I just hope that we can think of some way to get some proof.”

“Or, more likely, prove you wrong.” And Carl turned the television back on.

Carl’s right, thought Tracy afterward as she tried fruitlessly to concentrate on the detective show Carl was watching. I don’t know who I can talk to about this or even what questions to ask. And he’s right; I don’t have anything to go to the authorities with. They will just assume I am crazy. And it will be useless going to Eric or Michael as they apparently have no connection with the shelter and think the sun sets on Simon.

I also can’t go to Veronica and make such damnable accusations against her husband. All that would most likely accomplish is to make her angry and destroy our friendship.

However, Veronica did claim that many of Simon’s associates were very radical. And she told me she was shocked that Simon agreed to build the shelter and even make it larger than she suggested. Maybe that was because he and his friends concluded that homeless men with no close connections could be used as a free labor pool?

I wonder if the men in the internship program complete the promised three-month training on Simon’s company oil rigs before disappearing? More likely, they are hijacked immediately after leaving the shelter and get the necessary training wherever they are sent.

First, I need to find out if Simon or his friends are drilling for oil at remote locations? I’ll ask Veronica; she might know. And then, if I learn they are, what the hell do I do? Most likely, there is no practical way to visit the sites or even get permission.

Again Tracy tried to focus back on the television show until she had a thought. If I knew where to look, I wonder if images from commercial satellites would provide enough detail to tell if the sites look more like work camps or gulags? Or, if they won’t work, maybe Carl knows someone in the military who could help us access the government satellite images.

Several minutes later, Carl suddenly turned off the television, looked at Tracy, and, interrupting her reverie, said, “There is another crazy but much more likely possibility you didn’t consider.”

“What?” as she turned toward him in rapt attention.

“Are any of Simon’s close circle of friends in the military?”

“Veronica mentioned one was a big shot General, but I’m not sure what branch.”

“You need to find out for me and, if possible, where he is assigned. Also, see if Veronica knows if any of Simon’s friends work for DARPA.”

“Is that important, Carl?”

“It might be if you are right about the men all disappearing, especially since they would all need to be physically fit to become oil workers.”

“Why is that important?”

“I think the military might be experimenting on the men to make them into the perfect soldiers. There were articles I read while I was still in the service about China using bioengineering and various implants to try and increase the drive, stamina, and performance of soldiers. So maybe we are doing the same thing using the homeless men as guinea pigs.”

“Do you really think that is possible?”

“As horrible as it would be, I wouldn’t rule it out. Our government and military establishment have repeatedly proven they are capable of doing almost anything. And I am certain they would do whatever it takes to stay ahead of China.”

“What can we do to find out if they are?”

“First, try and get that information on Simon’s friends. That could tell us a lot, especially if we learn DARPA is involved. They’re responsible for developing new weaponry, which could well include creating enhanced soldiers.”

“I sure wish there was another way.”

“I do too, Tracy. But I don’t know any other way to get the information we need and tie it back to Simon and the homeless shelter.

Episode 9 – Super Soldiers

Because Tracy was deeply troubled about what she suspected was occurring at the homeless shelter, she found working there uncomfortable and now rarely volunteered.

She still enjoyed her job at the sanctuary, that is, except when making the meat loaves for the wolves. Tracy always wore surgical gloves when forming the loaves; however, wearing those did not ease her trepidation of expecting to come across horse hair in the meat at any time.

It wasn’t until the end of the week that Tracy had the opportunity to meet Veronica for lunch. Unfortunately, Veronica had gotten highly involved in a local charity affair that consumed an inordinate amount of her free time.

“Tell me about this charity you are so involved in, Veronica,” Tracy asked as they sat down at the newly opened Thai restaurant Veronica wanted to try.

“It’s a Native American-sponsored program to raise money to help rebuild community centers on two of the reservations.”

“How’s it going so far?”

“A little slower than we have hoped, but I have started approaching some of Simon’s associates, and so far, they have been quite generous.”

“That’s good to hear. I wish you the best of luck. Also, count me in for $100. I would like to help.”

“Thank you, Tracy. That is extremely generous of you.”

“You’re more than welcome.”

After they had finished ordering their lunches, Tracy reluctantly began to seek information from Veronica. She started by asserting,  “It must have been difficult for you to approach Simon’s friends for money. You said some of them were a bit over the top.”

“Actually, that made it easier for me as I was not overly concerned about bothering them.”

“I can understand that. You mentioned the big shot General, but are the rest mostly politicians?”

“A few are, some are oil men, and the rest are predominantly business executives involved in the defense industry, that is, except for Ted and the General.”

“What branch of the service is the General in? Do you know?”

“Sure. I have seen him a few times wearing his uniform. He’s a Marine three-star, and I believe he works in the Pentagon.”

“Wow, he is a big shot.”

“Yes, he is, but he is also the asshole who started all that talk about building gun towers on the Mexican border.”

“Do you know if any of the men work with DARPA?”

Veronica thought about that a moment and replied, “I’m not sure, Tracy, but I wouldn’t be surprised. Why all the questions?”

Tracy was prepared for this response and answered, “It’s just that Carl and I were talking about China’s experiments in creating super soldiers with more strength and stamina, and we were wondering if the United States was doing any of that. We didn’t know who to ask, and I thought possibly Simon or his friends might know something about it.”

“Why the sudden interest in super soldiers?”

“Carl was looking at an article on the Internet about China’s research. And when he told me, I remembered reading about experiments they ran on Mice, where feeding them a lot of vitamin A greatly improved their ability to see in the dark. So I’d imagine we must have tried that on humans by now.”

“You’re probably right. In fact, I heard the men discussing that subject a while back. However, if I remember correctly, they were talking about using gene editing to improve night vision so soldiers wouldn’t have to wear those cumbersome goggles.”

Later as they were finishing up their lunch, Tracy asked, “Do you know if they have actually tried that gene editing?”

“I’m not sure, but you got me thinking. There was one other related topic some of Simon’s colleagues discussed during a dinner at our house last year that piqued my curiosity because of my medical training.”

“What was that, Veronica?”

“They were discussing the use of artificial red blood cells.”

“Why artificial red blood cells. Is it to help treat combat injuries when there is a lack of real blood?”

“I guess it could be used for that, but what they talked about was its ability to greatly increase stamina as the artificial cells could carry much more oxygen than real blood cells. Based on their tests on animals, they believed a man could safely run at full speed for over one-half hour or stay submerged for at least an hour with no breathing equipment.”

“That’s amazing. Did they say if it had been tested on humans?”

“Not specifically, but they changed the subject when they realized I was paying attention to their conversation.”

“Wow. I can’t wait to tell Carl.”

Veronica asked as they were leaving the restaurant, “Do you still want me to ask Simon if any of his friends are associated with DARPA?”

“No, that’s unnecessary. You have already given me more than enough information. And best of luck with the charity.”

“Thank you, Tracy, and please give my best to Carl.”

“Will do. And the same from me to Simon,” Tracy said as she walked away, feeling terribly guilty for using her friend.

Later while they were driving home after work, Tracy told Carl, “I think you may be right about them using the homeless men to develop physically enhanced soldiers.”

“Why? Did you talk with Veronica?”

“Yes, we had lunch today, and I asked her what you wanted to know. It was very uncomfortable grilling Veronica like that and then lying to her about why I was doing it.”

“I’m sorry to have put you in that situation, but what else could we have done?”

“You’re right, but I did feel terrible doing it.”

“So, what did you learn?”

 And then, Tracy related what she had learned from Veronica during lunch.

Carl was quiet for a while as he digested the information Tracy told him. Then, at last, he said, “It sure sounds like our government could be working on creating enhanced soldiers, but if they are, we still don’t know whether they’re using volunteers or the homeless men for their test subjects.”

“No, we don’t. Any ideas on how to find out?”

I have an idea of how to start.”

“What’s that?”

“There is that article on the Internet about China’s ongoing efforts. I plan to send a copy to some of my old Army buddies still on active duty and ask them point blank, are we also doing things like that?”

“And?”

“If someone responds positively, I’ll at least know who to talk to about our concern.”

Carl emailed over a dozen Army officers with whom he served or was acquainted. He was careful to clearly state that his inquiry was only for satisfying his personal curiosity and not for gathering military intelligence.

Over the next several days, Carl received several responses, most saying, “I have no idea.” But, then, there were a few saying, “I have no idea, but we probably are,” and only one from Stan Langstrom, a Colonel at Fort Benning, who had been a close friend of Carl’s when they served together earlier in their careers saying emphatically, “Yes, we are.”

“Finally, I got a live one,” Carl blurted out to Tracy as he read his emails before dinner.

“Someone confirmed that we are trying to create super soldiers?”

“Yep. An old buddy of mine, Stan Langstrom, a Colonel at Fort Benning, says we are.”

“We’re doing the research there?”

“I assume so, but I’ll have to ask him.”

“I take it you will also ask him who they use for test subjects.”

“Of course, however, I think it is best to contact Stan by phone and explain why I am interested rather than impersonally by email. Since we have not been in touch for a while, I don’t have his cellphone number. So I will reply to his email and ask him for it telling him I need to speak with him and that it’s important.

“Sounds good to me. However, make sure you also ask Stan when it would be a good time to call him.”

“Will do,” Carl composed and sent off the email reply.

After dinner, Carl again checked his emails, and there was already a response from Stan listing his cellphone number and suggesting Carl call him at home this weekend on Saturday around 9:00am EST. He also said I can’t wait to hear what you have been up to and why this particular interest.

At 7:00am on Saturday, 9:00am in Georgia, Carl called Stan on the speakerphone, so Tracy could listen in. Stan answered on the second ring and said, “I take it this is you, Carl?”

“Yes, it sure is. How are you doing, Stan, or should I say, Colonel? Congratulations on your promotion, It’s been a long time.”

“Thank you, and I’m doing excellent. The last I heard, you were planning to attend veterinary school after retirement. Did you follow thru on that?”

“Yes, I did. I’m enrolled at Idaho State University and interning at a wolf sanctuary in Ketchum, Idaho.”

“Good for you, Carl. I guess the K9 Corps had quite an effect on you.”

“Yes, I got very fond of those dogs. But before we go further, Stan, I have you on speakerphone so my fiance Tracy can listen in. I hope you don’t mind?” 

“Your fiance?

“Yes, Tracy is the veterinarian here at the sanctuary. We plan to marry after my graduation and open an animal clinic together.”

“That’s wonderful news, Carl. Congratulations to both of you. And, of course, I don’t mind Tracy listening in.”

“Thank you, Stan. So how are you, Betty, and your two girls getting along?

They continued to make small talk. Carl learned that Stan and his family were doing well, and he was now an infantry regimental commander. Stan also told him he planned to stay in the army for at least five more years until he had completed his thirty and was hoping by then to have his first star.”

After some more mundane conversation, Stan asked, “Okay, enough about you and me. Why your interest in our Super Soldier program?”

“Is that what they are calling it?”

“Yes, it is. Now explain why you care?”

Carl then went into the details leading up to his contacting Stan and his and Tracy’s concern about who were the test subjects for the program.

“So, you think we might be running experiments using involuntarily recruited homeless men?” asked Stan.

“Are you?”

“Carl, that is absolutely absurd. That would be as bad as the Nazis, and although I’ll admit we have done some reprehensible things, we would never stoop that low.”

“I apologize, Stan. It is just that we don’t have a lot of explanations for what happened to the missing homeless men.’

“Well, you can rest assured, Carl, that the military is not involved. And, for your information, our test subjects for the Super Soldier program are all paid volunteers. I know that for a fact, as several of them came from my regiment.”

“Thank you, Stan. At least we can put that crazy idea to rest.”

“You’re more than welcome. And again, congratulations on your engagement.”

“Thank you, Stan,” said Tracy.

“Two more things before I hang up,” said Stan. “What I told you is confidential, and I expect you both to keep it that way. And please let me know what you finally learned happened to those homeless men. You made me curious, and now you owe me one.”

“Will do both. I promise,” said Carl. “Give my best to Betty,” and he ended the call.

“So much for that idea,” said Tracy.” It looks like we are back to my original theory.”

“Yes, it sure does unless we have another brainstorm. Carl responded dejectedly.”

Episode 10 – Prisoners?

Later that afternoon, while having  a Ramen noodle dish for lunch, Carl asked, “Are you going to ask Veronica if any of Simon’s buddies have remote oil wells?”

“No,” Tracy replied, putting down her fork, “I’m not going to abuse our friendship that way again.”

“So then, how do you plan to find out?”

“I have an idea.”

“What?”

“I suspect Simon’s oil men friends are big donors to his gubernatorial campaign, wouldn’t you?”

As he ate, Carl thought about it momentarily and then replied, “Yes, I suppose they would be.”

“And if I am not mistaken, that would be public records?”

“Yes, it should be.”

“Good. Then I will go online and find out which oil companies are Simon’s donors and then search their public records. Those should probably say where they are drilling or exploring.”

“And, if they do have remote facilities?”

Tracy continued eating the noodles on her plate, saying, “We’ll just have to locate the sites on publicly available satellite photos and see if they look more like a work camp or gulag.”

“That could be a lot of work.”

“I know, but I want to do it.”

“Okay, just suppose you find a suspicious place, like maybe having guard towers. What then, Tracy?” Carl asked as he stopped eating.

“I suppose we will have to get higher-resolution satellite images of the place.”

“And how are you going to do that?” Carl asked, resuming eating.

“Maybe your military friends can help us?” Tracy said as she finished her noodles.

“I don’t know about that, but we can cross that bridge when we get there.”

After lunch, Carl went into the living room to read while Tracy brought out her laptop, sat at the table, and started searching Idaho State records on the Internet. Eventually, Tracy was able to locate the financial records for the gubernatorial race. As she suspected, three oil companies were big donors to Simon’s campaign. She recognized one as being Simon’s own company and the other two as most likely those of his friends.

Tracy then went to the website of each of the companies and laboriously searched through the material available online, looking for information on where they operated. She learned that Simon’s company seemingly only operated in Idaho, as did one other company. However, the third company, Simon’s largest donor, had an oil field well above the Arctic Circle in Canada.

After more hours of searching news articles and financial reports, Tracy narrowed its location to the Northern Territories on Banks Island northeast of the settlement, Sachs Harbor.

Tracy had been on the computer for over four hours when Carl stopped reading and asked, “Did you find anything useful?”

“Yes, I think I did. One of Simon’s friends is drilling for oil on an island way up in the Northern Territories. It is very remote, and the native population of the island is only about one hundred people.”

“It must be a small island.”

“No, it isn’t. It is about two hundred and forty miles long and one hundred and eighty miles wide.”

“That is big, Tracy.”

“Yes, they say it’s the world’s twenty-fourth  largest island and Canada’s fifth largest.”

“How are you going to locate the oil field?”

“That’s what I’m working on. I found a company called Skywatch where you can buy satellite imagery from various companies with varying resolutions.”

“Is it expensive?”

“It’s $2.50 per square kilometer for low resolution, $12 for medium resolution, and $20 for the highest resolution.”

“And, how big is this island?”

“About seventy thousand square kilometers.”

“Oh crap Tracy,” Carl blurted out after a moment’s deliberation. “That’s almost two hundred thousand dollars to search even at the lowest resolution and almost one and one half million dollars at the high resolution.”

“We wouldn’t have to search the entire island. I know it is somewhere northeast of the settlement.”

“Even if you narrow it down to twenty-five percent of the island, Tracy, you’re still talking about around fifty thousand dollars for the initial search.”

“I know,” Tracy replied dejectedly.

After thinking about it for a while, Carl said, “I’ll bet the company has to register the location of all their wells with the Canadian government. So you should check their website.”

“Great idea, Carl,” Tracy immediately located and began scrutinizing the Canadian Government website Canada.ca.

After about fifteen minutes more of frenzied searching, Tracy blurted, “I found it. Actually, I found them as there are three wells there with their map coordinates.”

“See, all it took was a little more time.”

“Yes, but it will still be expensive as Skywatch has a minimum charge of $2700.”

Tracy shut her laptop and got up from the table to begin preparing dinner. Several minutes later, Carl walked into where she was working and said, “What about using Google Earth? It’s free, and I’m sure the resolution should be good enough. I played around with it a few years ago, looking at houses where I used to live.”

Tracy stopped what she was doing, happily came over to Carl, kissed him, and said, “Thank you, Carl, you’re wonderful. I can’t wait to try it.”

“How about waiting until after dinner?”

As soon as they had finished cleaning up after dinner, Tracy started her Google Earth search. Again, Carl was right; the resolution seemed more than adequate. Within five minutes, Tracy had located the oil exploration site.

“Carl, come over here. I found the site.”

“Does it look like a prison camp?” Carl asked as he walked up behind Tracy to look at her computer screen.

“No, not really. There is not much else there besides those three oil drilling rigs, the group of storage tanks, those four Quonset huts, and the runway.”

“Yeh, I don’t see any guard towers or fencing around the property.”

“Maybe they don’t need fencing. The men could have some other form of physical restraints, and it’s a long way away from the settlement to try and hike out.”

Tracy and Carl continued to stare at the screen as Tracy zoomed in on various areas and with different viewpoints.

“It looks like, at most, maybe fifty people are working there,” said Carl. “And it doesn’t look to me as if anyone is restrained. …I also don’t see anyone carrying what looks like a weapon.”

After a few more minutes, Tracy said, “I don’t see anything incriminating either.”

“So, are you done with this crazy idea of yours that the homeless men our prisoners there?”

Tracy thought about that for a while and said, “No, not at all. The men could still be prisoners. All they needed to do when they brought the men in on the plane was to fly around and show them how fruitless an escape would be and then maybe tell them if they don’t work, they don’t get fed.”

“You really are a cynic, Tracy. I guess then we will never know for certain as I damn sure have no intention of flying all the way up there to talk to the men or take a closer look.”

“No, I don’t expect you to do that.”

“Then what do you propose we do, Tracy?”

Tracy again was quiet for a while and said, “I know it might be useless, and I am sure they will think I’m crazy, but I am going to contact the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and tell them what I suspect is happening there.”

“You sure you want to do that?”

“Yes, I am.”

“Okay, then do it, Tracy. The worst that can happen is that you might get laughed at.”

It only took a few minutes on the Internet for Tracy to find the webpage of the Northwest Territories Royal Canadian Mounted Police. They had a contact form for submission on their page, and Tracy carefully filled it in, fully realizing that, as Carl had said, she was about to become the laughingstock of their office.

When she was finished, she proofread what she had written several times before finally clicking on the send box. She then shut down her laptop and came over and sat down on the couch by Carl.

“I did it,” she said. “They only allowed two hundred words in their submission box. I wish I could have said more.”

“That should have been more than enough.”

“You’re probably right, Carl.”

Much later, as they were watching television and came to a commercial, Tracy said, “I wonder how long it will take before they get back to me?”

“You mean before or after they stop laughing?” Carl said playfully.

“Damn it, Carl. That’s not funny anymore.”

“I’m sorry, Tracy. I apologize, and I will behave.”

“Good, unless you want to be cut off for a while.”

“Please, anything but that!” Carl said sarcastically.

About ten days later, Tracy received a formal email response from the RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) stating only that a planned inspection tour of Sachs Harbour was scheduled for the end of the month. While on Banks Island, they would visit the oil field to ensure there were no issues.

When Tracy showed Carl the email, he said, “That was nice of them to agree to follow up for you like that.”

“Yes, I actually was expecting some sort of a more skeptical response.”

“Yeh,  so was I. I have to give the RCMP a lot of credit for being so professional. Hopefully, we can put this all to bed in a month.”

“That would be nice, Carl. But, truthfully, I would like to be proven wrong.”

Five weeks later, Tracy received another email from the RCMP thanking her for her concern and stating that the oil exploration site employees assured them they were not being held there against their free will.

“It seems I was wrong,” Tracy told Carl after reading the email.

“Apparently so. Any other ideas, Tracy?”

“No, do you?”

“Afraid not.”

“I still think something bad is happening to those homeless men,” Tracy stated glumly.

Episode 11 – Trip Planning

So far, Tracy and Carl had proved that the missing homeless men were not being used as guinea pigs for Army experiments nor as slave workers at remote northern oil fields. And the only other idea they had come up with was their possibly being kidnapped and used as organ donors, but they dismissed it as being too bizarre.

The next few months went along for them without further mental anguish, mainly because Tracy stopped volunteering at the shelter as she no longer felt comfortable working there.

Their main preoccupation now in their free time was planning their spring trip to Nebraska. They decided to camp out at Yellowstone for five days on their way there and swing north on their way back to visit Yum-Yum Meats. It was quite a bit out of their way, but Carl was still eager to prove his theory to Tracy that they were slaughtering horses for food there.

Carl planned for them to check out a few cities along I80 in southwest Nebraska: Kimball, Sidney, Chappell, and Big Springs. He thought any of those four might be a good place for them to consider opening a clinic. Although he learned from the Internet that Kimball and Sidney already had animal clinics, apparently, Chappell and Big Springs did not.

When Tracy mentioned her and Carl’s plans to Lucille, she said, “Why don’t you and Carl borrow our Minnie-Winnie Motorhome for the trip? We rarely use it, and it will save you a lot of effort and expense in making reservations and will be perfect for your stay in Yellowstone[1].” 

“That would be absolutely wonderful, Lucille. Are you sure Michael will be okay with that?”

“I am sure he will be delighted to help you out.”

“Thank you, but if Michael has any trepidation, please let Michael know that Carl told me he owned a camper while stationed in Germany and traveled all over Europe in it.”

“Good, I will tell him.”

Carl was away taking classes in Boise that day, and Tracy did not have a chance to tell him the good news until dinner. Although she initially thought Carl would be thrilled about being able to use the camper, she later began to have some qualms?

Since many of the trips in the camper in Europe must have been with his deceased wife and child, she was afraid this might evoke some painful memories for Carl. She hoped the accident that took his wife’s and daughter’s lives wasn’t on one of those camping trips.

After Carl arrived at her apartment and had poured himself a  beer, Tracy said, “Lucille told me we could use their Winnebego camper for our trip. I hope you like that idea?”

“That is wonderful, …but why would you think I might not like the idea?” Carl asked quizzingly.

“I thought maybe —”

“Oh, I get it. You thought that maybe it would bring back some unpleasant memories for me about my wife’s and daughter’s death.”

“Yes, I’m sorry.”

“Please, don’t be, Tracy. The accident that took their lives had absolutely nothing to do with a camper. It happened in a taxi while they were in Chicago, visiting her parents. I wasn’t even there. So yes, taking our trip in a Winnebago should be great fun. I will look forward to it.”

“I’m glad. Maybe we should also buy a pair of inexpensive bikes to take with us?”

“Great idea to bring bicycles. We should check first with Michael and Lucille. Maybe they have some we can also borrow?”

“Good; I will ask Lucille tomorrow.”

“And, tell her I insist on paying them something to use their camper.”

“I will, but I doubt they will accept it.”

“Well, if they won’t take money from us, then we need to find something they can use that we can buy them instead.”

“I agree. Now, how about firing up the grill. I have some lamb chops that need your expertise.”

After finishing their delicious dinner of grilled lamb chops with sweet potato fries and cleaning up, Carl got out his laptop and went to Recreation.gov to search for a campsite in Yellowstone. There was not a lot left available, but Carl was finally able to reserve a large enough pull thru site at Madison Campground for the five nights they wanted to stay.

The following day Carl was working at the Sanctuary and approached Michael to thank him for offering his camper for their use. “Michael, we really appreciate your doing this for us. I hope Lucille didn’t have to talk you into it.”

“No, not at all. We only used it once last year, and it will be nice to see someone getting to enjoy it.”

“Thank you. I promise to take good care of it. And, you got to let us pay you something for its use.”

“No, I’m not about to take either of your money. I know you will take good care of it. Lucille and I are just glad to be able to help you out.”

“There must be something we can do to repay you?”

“Well, now that I think about it. …Make sure you fill it up, get an oil change, and a good wash and wax before you return it.”

“We’ll be happy to do that.”

“Good. Lucille said you’ve owned campers before?”

“Yes, I had one for about five years while stationed in Germany, so I know a little about them. However, you’ll have to check me out on your rig since they are all different.”

“I’ll definitely do that. How long will you two be gone, and when are you planning on leaving?”

“If it’s okay with you and Eric, we would like to leave on the fifteenth of May after my semester ends and be gone for two weeks.”

“Unless something major comes up, that sounds fine to me. I’ll check with Eric and make sure he is okay with it.”

“Thank you. I appreciate that. “

“One more thing Carl. Do you want to borrow our bicycles? There’s a rack on the back of the camper, and we sure enjoyed biking around Yellowstone when we were there last summer.”

“Yes, of course, Michael. That would be wonderful. We were going to ask you if we could do that.”

“Good! Then it’s all settled.”

Episode 12 – Nebraska

Preparing for their trip in May was a lot of fun for Tracy and Carl. They spent a weekend in Boise shopping at REI, Cabela’s, and the Sierra Trading Company to outfit themselves properly. Carl even wanted to buy an inflatable kayak, but Tracy talked him out of it.

Fortunately, nothing major came up at the sanctuary, causing them to delay or postpone their trip. Eric arranged for Dr. Marshall, the retired vet from Sun Valley, to be on call for the two weeks while Tracy was gone. So, early in the morning on May 15th, with the Minnie-Winnie packed with all their gear, they started out for Yellowstone.

The distance from Ketchum to the Madison Campground in Yellowstone was only a little over three hundred miles, and they pulled into the campsite in the late afternoon with plenty of time left to set up and have dinner.

Carl clearly loved camping and was right in his element. He insisted on starting a fire in the firepit to cook their steaks and corn on the cob. He also refused to let Tracy do anything other than make some coleslaw and fetch the beers.

They thoroughly enjoyed their stay in Yellowstone and were glad they brought the bikes, as parking at all the popular tourist venues was always full. It was also good exercise as they found they were biking well over twenty-five miles each day.

Too soon, it seemed the five days were over, and they packed up for the trip to Nebraska.

The first town they planned to visit was Kimball, Nebraska. They learned from an Internet search that it had a population of 2258, and an animal hospital was already there. They doubted it would be a good candidate, but since it was along their way, they decided to look it over.

Google Maps said it was about 550 miles away and would take about ten hours to drive there from where they were camped. They knew they could make it in one day of hard driving but decided to stop at Curt Gowdy State Park near Cheyenne for the night instead.

The following day, they pulled into Kimball at a little past noon. They stopped at a Mobile gas station and talked to the clerk at the station after filling the camper. She told them that about a mile north on Hwy 31 was Stahla’s, a very nice RV Park that should have plenty of vacancies.

Since it was still early, they decided to visit the animal hospital first. They agreed it would be best to be forthwith with the people there about their intentions of opening a clinic.

They drove west out of US30 to the Prairie Animal Hospital. Fortunately, the female veterinarian Dr. Miriam Shaw who ran it, was there at that time and was willing to talk with them. After introducing themselves, they learned she was also a graduate of Colorado State University and had started the hospital ten years ago with her partner.

Dr. Shaw was very forthcoming when they told her why they were there, “I’m sorry, Tracy,” she said. “ Kimball is a lovely town, and the people are wonderful, but unfortunately, Kimball is too small to justify opening another animal clinic. There’s just not enough business.”

Tracy replied, “Thank you, Miriam. That is what we thought, but we wanted to make certain. We also plan to check out Sidney, Chappell, and Big Springs. Any suggestions?”

“I think Sidney might be a good fit for you. Although there is also an existing animal hospital, the town is three times the size of Kimball. I also believe Chappell and Big Springs are much too small for you to make a living there. You can look at them; however, I believe you would be just wasting your time.”

“Thank you for being so candid, Miriam,” said Carl. “We greatly appreciate you taking the time to talk with us and helping us out. You saved us a lot of effort,”

“Good luck, and I am always happy to help out a fellow CSU graduate.

Tracy and Carl spent the night at Stahla’s RV Park, and after dumping and refilling the water tank on the camper, they started off to Sidney, Nebraska, which Google Maps said was only 145 miles away.

As Carl was driving, Tracy was on her cell phone searching the Internet for information about Sidney. After a while, Carl asked, “What have you learned?

Tracy answered, “I like it. The population is about 6700, and it is the headquarters of Cabela’s Sporting Goods. There seems to be a lot to see and do nearby, and a nice bike path goes around the city. Also, the medical facilities seem decent there.”

“Sounds good. Let’s plan on looking around a few days there, as it doesn’t sound like there is any reason to continue to Chappell or Big Springs.”

“I agree. Those two towns are much too small. Even if we could make a living there, they are so small we would probably be bored to tears there.”

Carl nodded his head affirmingly.

A few minutes later, Tracy continued, “Also, one more plus for Sidney is that it seems affordable. They say the cost of living is low as the housing costs are only 60% of the national average.”

“Excellent. It might work out.”

“Let’s keep our fingers crossed.”

“Have you found us a place to stay?”

“Yes, the Cabela’s RV Park right off of I80 should work well for us.”

“Why don’t you call them and make reservations for us while it is still early.”

“Okay, for how many nights?”

“Let’s say three for now.”

Later after checking in at Cabela’s RV Park and getting set up at their campsite, Carl took down the bicycles from the rack and said, “Let’s take a ride into town to look around and get a bite to eat somewhere.”

“A great idea. Maybe we can find a nice burger joint.”

While riding out of the campground, they stopped at the office and asked for advice on where to eat. They suggested the Rock Sports Bar and Grill, which was on their way downtown and less than three miles away.

It was an excellent suggestion, as the burgers were outstanding, and so was the draft beer. It was an auspicious start. After leaving the Bar and Grill, they continued riding further into town, wandering aimlessly throughout the downtown district to see what was there.

The downtown area was much larger than expected and had at least a half dozen additional restaurants. There was also a nice-sized Safeway, and they later learned there was also a Walmart Supercenter near their RV park.

As they were about to return to the RV park, they passed by the Sydney Veterinary Hospital. It was still early, so they decided to stop there and hopefully talk with the veterinarian listed on the entrance sign Dr. Kenneth Cook.

The hospital was an attractive, well-maintained single-story brick building with a parking lot in front. They entered the main entrance and were greeted by the veterinarian’s assistant, seated behind a wooden counter.

“How can I help you?” asked the woman cheerfully, whose nameplate said she was Evelyn Granger.

Carl introduced himself and Tracy and asked, “Is Dr. Cook in? We would like to speak with him for a few minutes if he is available.”

“Let me go and check. Dr.Cook should be about done back in the clinic.” Evelyn got up and walked down the hallway into the rear of the building.

Evelyn returned and said, “He is almost done with the procedure he is doing and should be free in about ten minutes. Is that okay?”

“That will be perfect,” said Carl.

Several minutes later, Dr. Cook walked in from the hallway and said, “Sorry I kept you waiting; Evelyn said you were veterinarians and wanted to speak with me.”

Dr. Cook was a pleasant-looking rotund man in a white lab coat with long silver hair who looked to be in his late sixties or early seventies. Tracy thought he would have made a good Santa Klaus if he had a matching beard.

“Yes, if you have a few minutes, Dr. Cook,” said Carl.

“Please call me just Kenneth, everyone does, and let’s go back to my office. It’s more comfortable there.”

After sitting down in the chairs opposite his desk and introducing themselves, for the next several minutes, Carl and Tracy explained why they were there.

Dr. Cook listened quietly and, when they had finished, asked, “When will you be graduating, Carl?”

“Two years from now, Kenneth,” replied Carl. “Tracy’s three-year contract with the Wolf Sanctuary will also be completed around the same time.”

Dr. Cook was quiet for a moment, smiled, and said, “Your timing is perfect. I promised my wife I would retire at age seventy, so we could travel while we were still able, and I will turn seventy that June. So, …would you two be interested in buying me out?”

Although Tracy and Carl were momentarily shocked by his surprising suggestion, Tracy quickly responded excitedly, “As long as we can agree on a fair price, that would be marvelous.”

“Would that also include your customers?” asked Carl.

“Of course.”

“Then yes, I agree with Tracy, we are very interested,” said Carl re-assuredly.

“Excellent. Let me discuss it with my wife tonight and come up with a price for you. I have a lot scheduled for tomorrow, so come back around 4:00 PM if that’s okay with you?”

“That would be excellent,” replied Carl.

“Good! Then before you go, let me give you a quick tour so you can see what all is included.”

That quick tour turned out to be over an hour as Dr. Cook enthusiastically showed them around, encouraging them to inspect everything.

After leaving the building, Tracy said to Carl, “I am very impressed. Everything is up to date, and the X-ray equipment looks almost new. How much do you think he will ask?”

“I would guess around a million dollars,” Carl replied.

“Can we afford that much?” Tracy asked worriedly.

“We’ll have to take out a loan, but that shouldn’t be a problem. I have over three hundred thousand dollars in savings.”

“Wow, you never told me that.”

“You never asked,” Carl replied as they got on their bicycles.

“Do you think Kenneth will want a deposit?”

“Of course. I will offer him twenty-five thousand. That should be enough.”

As they passed the bar and grill where they had lunch, Carl stopped and said, “Let’s go in and have a beer or drinks to celebrate. I also think they had ribs on their menu.”

After a late breakfast, Tracy and Carl spent the next few hours leisurely riding the bike path that meandered around the town, stopping to inspect various sites and buildings several times.

Carl was hungry, so they stopped at the Chinese restaurant downtown before returning to the camper to clean up for their meeting with Dr. Cook. Unfortunately, as they should have expected, they found Sydney was not the best place for Chinese food.

When they returned to the Veterinary Hospital at 4:00 PM for their meeting, Dr. Cook was waiting for them in the lobby along with a tall, slender man about his same age, who he introduced as David Murrey, his golf partner and, more importantly, his attorney.

The four of them went back to Dr. Cook’s office, and after sitting down, Dr. Cook started by saying, “My wife and I talked at great length last night. I had what I thought was a fair price in mind; however, my wife was so excited about me actually retiring, she talked me into reducing it somewhat to make it more attractive.” 

“I like your wife, Kenneth,” said Carl.

“You should. If you are willing to commit today, my price is $750,000, which I believe is quite reasonable.”

Carl and Tracy looked at each other, and then trying not to display his profound eagerness, Carl said, “You have a deal, Kenneth.”

“Good. My wife will be ecstatic,” said Dr. Cook.

David said, “If that’s the case, Carl, if you are willing to leave a small deposit, I’ll start on the paperwork.”

“How about twenty-five thousand? Would that be enough?”

David glanced at Dr. Cook for reassurance and replied, “That would be perfect.”

They then agreed to meet at the same time tomorrow to sign the papers and take Carl’s deposit.

Later, as Tracy and Carl rode back from the office to the campground, Tracy said, “I’m delighted. Based on what you told me, I was afraid the price would be much higher.”

“I did too. I was sure Dr. Cook would ask for at least one million. Thankfully things are definitely less expensive here.”

“So, what do we do now?”

“I know it is premature, but let’s get one of those real estate brochures we saw in the campground office and ride around and look at some homes tomorrow.”

“That should be fun, Carl. It will give us an idea of what type of housing is available.”

“That’s my idea. We’ll take off the following morning for Gibbonsville.”

“You still want to visit Yum-Yum to see if they are killing wild horses for food?”

“Yes, if you don’t mind.”

“If it will make you happy, I’m fine with that.”

“Thank you.”

“How far is it, Carl?”

“A little over eight hundred miles. I’d like to spend a few nights at Grand Teton National Park; it’s on the way. That’s about a five-hundred-mile drive from here.”

“I like that idea. Since we didn’t have to visit Chappell or Big Springs, we have a few extra days available.”

“That’s the plan.”

Episode 13 – Yum-Yum Meats

Luckily, they were able to obtain a reservation at Grand Teton National Park. When they first tried that evening, they had no luck, but one at Colter Bay Campground opened a few hours later due to a cancellation.

In the morning, after dumping and refilling their water tank Tracy and Carl left Sydney for Grand Teton. They were in an excellent mood, as the future couldn’t have seemed brighter. The animal hospital in Sydney would be perfect for them, and they very much liked some of the areas and homes they saw nearby.

They were tempted to contact the realtors on two of the listings so they could view the inside of the houses but realized they were way too premature for that.

Grand Teton National Park was spectacularly beautiful, and they thoroughly enjoyed their stay except for the first night, with the ever-present swarms of mosquitoes after dark. Their presence made sitting outside in the evening impossible, and their loud, incessant buzzing made it difficult to fall asleep.

After that first night experience, they rode their bikes into the nearby town of Colter Bay Village, stocked up on insect repellant, and bought earplugs. That did not alleviate the problem, but it at least made it tolerable.

Fortunately, they were parked near the campground office, and unlike most other sites, they had good wifi coverage, which was helpful while they were stuck inside their camper.

Carl used Google Earth to locate Yum-Yum Meat and learned there were two fenced separate building sites. One had a single large building adjacent to a sizeable animal holding pen and a few smaller outbuildings. About a hundred yards away, the second had only two smaller connected structures, one about twice as big as the other. Surprisingly, there was no nearby holding pen at that facility, only a parking lot.

Carl and Tracy decided to stay at the park one more night and leave the following morning. Their navigation program said it would be about a six-hour drive from Grand Teton, so if they left early in the morning, they should arrive there around 2:00 PM.

Even after dumping and refilling their water tank, they still left the park shortly before 8:00 AM. Fortunately, the roads were almost empty, and they made good time getting to Yum-Yum Meat and pulled into the parking lot outside the gate of the larger site before 1:30 PM.

They exited the camper and walked over to the elderly man in the guard shack, who was staring intently at them. Then, apparently surprised to see tourists there, he came out and asked, “Excuse me, folks, …are you lost?”

“No, we are not,” replied Carl. “We were hoping to do a plant tour.”

“Well then, I’m sorry, you are out of luck. We don’t do any plant tours.”

“Why not?” asked Tracy.

“…I assume for liability reasons,” replied the guard.

“Well, we’re close friends of the owner, Simon Ingram,” stated Tracy. “Can you please contact the plant manager and see if he could make an exception for us?”

The guard hesitated for a bit, then returned to the guard shack and made a phone call. After a short conversation, the guard returned and said, “Please wait here. Mr. Parker said he would be out shortly.”

“Thank you,” said Tracy.

While they waited, Carl leaned over to Tracy and said quietly, “That worked, but we’re really not close friends of Simon’s.”

“Well, we at least are acquainted, and I am a close friend of his wife’s.”

A few minutes later, a heavy-set middle-aged man wearing jeans, an open-collar white shirt, and cowboy boots came out of the main building, walked up to them, and said, “I’m Grant Parker, the Plant Supervisor. I hear you are good friends of Simon’s and want a tour.”

“Yes, we are, and we would like to look around. Neither of us has ever visited a meat packing plant.”

Grant looked them over carefully for a moment, obviously trying to make a decision, and asked, “How do you two know Simon? I thought I knew most of his close friends.”

“We both work at the Wolf Sanctuary and know him from there,” answered Tracy. “I also know him from helping out at the homeless shelter, and his wife Veronica is my best friend.”

Again, Grant hesitated and then shrugged his shoulders, saying, “Sure, why not,” as he turned. “Follow me. I’ll show you around personally.”

They started the tour outside at the feeding lot and holding pens where a few hundred heads of cattle awaited processing. They then went inside, thankfully hurrying past the chutes where the animals were systematically euthanized and into the much larger meat processing area. Finally, the tour ended, where the packaged meat was eventually loaded into refrigerated trucks for delivery.

Carl and Tracy were surprised at how neat and clean everything was, and Carl told Grant as they walked back outside, “You ought to do tours here. The whole place is remarkedly clean. Not at all what I expected”.

“Thank you for the compliment, but truthfully very few people even get out this way.”

“They should,” remarked Carl.

“Is there anything else I can do for you,” asked Grant.

“Yes, can you tell us what you do at the other facility over there?” Carl said, pointing to the other fenced facility.

“That’s where we do the animal feed. It’s a separately run unit.”

“Why’s that?” asked Carl.

“They don’t need to be under the thumb of the health inspectors.”

“There doesn’t seem to be anyone over there,” said Tracy.

“We don’t process much animal food,” said Grant. “That plant only runs about one shift a week.”

“Can we tour it?” asked Carl.

“Sorry, no. It’s poorly maintained, and there are too many safety hazards.”

“We’ll sign a waiver,” said Tracy.

“Sorry guys, the answer is still no. It’s off limits.”

After they had returned to the camper and started driving away, Tracy said, “What do you think, Carl?”

“I think they are processing horse meat at the other facility; that’s why it is separate.”

“Then where are the horses? You said there were no pens outside.”

“I think they must keep them inside one of those buildings where they are out of sight.

“So, what are you going to do, Carl?”

“I’m going to go back to that RV park we passed coming in and get us a place to stay for the night.”

“Then what?”

“I’m coming back later tonight and doing a little scouting.”

“What about that tall fence with barbed wire around the place. How are you going to get thru it?”

“I’m going to go over it. I’ll park the camper alongside the fence and go on top of it to climb over the fence. It shouldn’t be too hard to climb back that way. It’s only about seven feet tall.”

“I’m going with you.”

“Why?”

“Someone has to act as a lookout.”

“It could be dangerous, Tracy.”

“Surely there not going to shoot us over this.”

“Probably not.”

“Good, then I am coming with you.”

They waited until 2:00 AM before driving back to Yum-Yum. When they came within sight of it, Carl turned off the headlights, and they cautiously drove toward the darkened animal feed facility, finally parking in the rear of the buildings alongside the fence.

There was a roof access ladder mounted on the back of the camper, and climbing on top was easy. Carl took the tarp he had carried up and draped it over the exposed barbed wire strands for protection.

After carefully lowering Tracy to the ground inside the fence, Carl jumped down from the roof, tucking into a body roll to lessen the impact as he had been taught during jump school in the Army.

They waited silently for a few minutes by the fence, hoping they had not been detected. But, other than some sounds of wildlife, the only noise was the refrigeration equipment running at the facility. Thankfully no one seemed to be around.

Carl hoped they could find an easy way to get inside, as all he had with him was the camper’s tire iron.

The closest building was the smaller one. There was a large roll-up door on the side big enough for delivery trucks, but unfortunately, it was solidly secured from the inside of the building.

Carl could discern no other means of egress to the building as there were no other doors. And the only windows were narrow ones high up on the walls near the eaves. There were no lights visible inside.

“What do you think,” asked Tracy.

Carl said, “I’ll bet this is where they keep the horses.”

“I don’t smell any odor of horses,” stated Tracy sniffing the air. “Are you sure about this?”

“Yes, I really am now. The supervisor’s statement about keeping this facility separate from the other one because of health inspectors sounded like pure bullshit. They might want to keep them separate, but why by over one hundred yards. The only possible explanation is that they want to keep what’s happening here secret.”

“Then why can’t we smell the horses?”

Carl was quiet for a while before replying, “Maybe that is because the horses are already dead when they arrive, and they just store the carcasses inside. That would explain all the refrigeration equipment that is running.”

“I sure hope you are wrong about this, Carl. I promise I won’t tease you about it.”

“I’m not worried about that as I am sure I am right. Let’s check the other building.”

The other building was larger, and like the first building, all the windows were narrow and up high. However, unlike the first building, a dim light was visible inside.

There was a double door in the front of the building, and when Carl tried it, he was amazed to find it was not locked and quietly exclaimed to Tracy, “What the hell. It’s not locked.”

“See, maybe you’re wrong that something secret is being done here.”

“I don’t think so. They’re just probably complacent with its isolation and that barbed wire fence. So, we’re just lucky.”

“Fine, if you say so. Then let’s get this over with and look around inside.”

Carl gingerly opened the door partway and peeked inside. No one was visible, so he opened the door further, and he and Tracy cautiously stepped inside.

“I don’t see anything out of order,” said Tracy. “It looks just like a smaller and less complicated version of the meat processing area in the other facility.”

“Yeh, your right,” said Carl disappointedly. “Wait here. I want to see if I can enter the other building from here.”

Carl walked back to the far wall, where a short hallway ended at a stainless-steel padlocked freezer door apparently providing access to the smaller building. After a brief struggle, Carl forced open the padlock with his tire iron.

Carl removed the lock and opened the door. Unfortunately, he couldn’t see anything as it was pitch black inside. All he could tell from the rush of cold air that swept over him was that it definitely was a freezer.

He extracted his cell phone from his pocket to use it as a light, expecting to see horse carcasses hanging inside.

When he turned on the light, Carl abruptly cried, “Oh fuck me! …Those miserable fucking bastards!”

“What’s wrong, Carl?” Tracy demanded as she began hurrying closer after hearing Carl’s surprisingly profane outburst.

Carl shut off the light, turned toward Tracy, visibly shaken, and said forcibly, “Tracy, stop! Don’t come any nearer.”

“Why? Are there piles of dead horses in there?”

“No, …worse than that. It…Much worse. …I found your missing homeless men!

END