Chapter 10 - FEAR SELLS
The teacher survived.
So did Noah.
Three snakes were recovered from Rainier Elementary.
A fourth was found near the gym.
Pike escaped.
The driver of the pickup remained unidentified.
But Pike’s words changed the investigation.
Fear sells.
Detectives searched his finances.
That was where everything cracked open.
Pike had received large payments from an account tied to a private wildlife removal company called Cascade Pest Solutions.
Their business model was simple.
Dangerous animal sighting?
They charged huge emergency fees.
Problem was, Seattle didn’t normally have western diamondbacks crawling through playgrounds.
Unless somebody put them there.
Harris dropped financial records on the table.
“Pike releases exotic snakes.”
“Cascade gets emergency calls.”
“They show up as heroes.”
“And people pay.”
“Schools. Apartment complexes. Businesses.”
I stared at the list.
This had happened before.
A snake in a warehouse.
Another near an apartment complex.
One outside a restaurant.
None had been connected.
Until Titan.
“He ruined their scam,” I said.
“Exactly.”
That explained the hospital package.
It explained why Pike targeted Lucy.
She and Titan had turned their operation into national news.
Now everybody was looking.
The owner of Cascade Pest Solutions was Martin Voss.
No criminal history.
Wealthy.
Polished.
Local TV expert.
The kind of man news stations called whenever wildlife scared people.
I watched one of his interviews.
He smiled into the camera.
“Wild animals can appear anywhere. The key is hiring professionals.”
I wanted to put my fist through the screen.
Harris pointed at me.
“Don’t.”
“I didn’t say anything.”
“Your face did.”
That afternoon, Internal Affairs requested my statement about Titan.
I almost laughed.
With everything happening, Titan was still officially under investigation for attacking a child.
The hearing lasted two hours.
Then the review captain played the complete park footage.
Titan running.
Lucy falling.
The snake appearing.
Titan taking the strike.
Nobody spoke for several seconds.
Finally the captain said:
“Officer Mercer, I believe we can close the use-of-force portion.”
“And Titan?”
“Cleared.”
My shoulders dropped.
“For everything?”
“He acted outside command.”
My stomach tightened.
Then the captain smiled slightly.
“And saved a child’s life doing it.”
Titan was officially cleared.
But he still needed medical clearance.
I went straight to the hospital.
The veterinarian met me at the door.
“He’s walking.”
I nearly hugged her.
Titan came around the corner slowly.
Bandage on his muzzle.
Weak legs.
Lucy’s purple bracelet still attached to his vest.
He saw me.
Stopped.
Then pulled the nurse forward.
“Hey, buddy.”
He leaned into me.
I buried my face against his neck.
“You did good.”
His tail thumped.
Behind me, someone said:
“He did more than good.”
I turned.
Claire and Lucy stood there.
Lucy smiled.
“Can I pet him now?”
I looked at Titan.
He sat.
Waiting.
“Yeah.”
Lucy wrapped both arms around his neck.
Then Titan suddenly stiffened.
His ears snapped toward the hospital entrance.
A man in a baseball cap had just walked inside.
Titan growled.
May you like
The man froze.
Then turned and ran.
