Free Victoria Houston - Loon Lake 14 - Dead Lil' Hustler by Victoria Houston

at first—I was working on my app,” said the boy, pointing toward the computer. “Liam and I have to have ’em done before we go back to school.” He leaned back against the desk as he spoke.
    “When was the last time you saw Liam?” asked Jake, pushing aside the stuff on the sofa and sitting down. He leaned forward on his elbows, hands clasped between his knees.
    The intensity of his gaze caused the boy to gulp before he could answer. “Last Monday,” said the boy, clearing his throat. “By the way, you guys, I’m Phil,” he said as he threw nervous looks at the four adults crowding the room. “Phil Branch. Um, I think it was Monday… yeah.” A disoriented expression crossed his face as he struggled to remember.
    “Too much weed lately?” asked Ray, his voice teasing.
    The kid gave a nervous laugh. “Um, no, not really.” Thrusting his shoulders back, he said, “Now I remember. Liam said he was planning to work his square on the grid and squeeze in some fishing when he could. I didn’t think about his being gone ’cause he keeps a sleeping bag and a two-man tent in the car and lot of times he stays overnight out there.”
    “Out where? And what’s the grid?” asked Lew.
    “Oh, here, I’ll show you,” said Phil, turning to touch the keyboard on the open laptop. The computer screen lit up. “Liam and I are responsible for finding samples of invasive plant species growing in this section of the Nicolet National Forest.” He pointed to a colored section on a map, then zoomed in. “See, here? The section is so big that we decided to break it down into squares on a grid and tackle one square at a time. Otherwise you’d go nuts, you know?”
    “You’re looking at twenty square miles,” said Osborne. “That’s a heck of lot of forest land to cover on foot.”
    “Yeah, we call it ‘job security,’” said Phil with an attempt at a laugh. “We don’t have to do it all this summer but as much as we can.” Moving the cursor, he said, “Liam has been working this section and I’m working over here.” He pointed.
    Ray peered closely at the map. “Did anyone at the Bass Lake office happen to mention to you two guys that you’ve been working in a wolf rendezvous site?”
    “Oh yeah. They gave us whistles. I haven’t seen a wolf yet though. Pretty silly if you ask me.”
    “So you’re saying that my son is working this section?” asked Jake, leaning over Phil’s shoulder to point at the screen.
    “Right. He told me he was hoping to harvest enough plants that he could take a long enough break one afternoon to hike in a couple miles to fish the Pine River. Figured he would have to bushwhack his way in ’cause no one ever goes there.”
    “Except the wolves,” said Osborne.
    “You think?” Phil looked up questioning. “I was told they’re afraid of people.”
    “Yes and no,” said Ray. “If they feel threatened—or if one of their pups is threatened—you are not going to stop a wolf by blowing a whistle.”
    The reality of Ray’s statement dawned slowly on Phil’s face. “Oh my God,” he said, his eyes darting from Ray to Lew and Jake. “You don’t think…”
    “Ray, did you put the
Gazetteer
in the truck?” asked Lew.
    “I’ve got one if you need it,” said Osborne before Ray could answer. “Want me to grab it?”
    “Doc, you have to be at the hospital in an hour,” said Lew, glancing at her watch. “Ray, you’re officially deputized to assist me on this search as of right now.”
    “I want to, Chief, but I promised I would guide these two guys from Milwaukee tonight and—”
    “How much are they paying you?” asked Jake. Before Ray could answer, he said, “I’ll give you five times your fee. Call ’em and cancel.”
    “Okedoke.”
    That was one of the few times Osborne had seen Ray take orders from anyone other than Lewellyn Ferris.
    Lew’s cell phone rang. She listened and covered the mouthpiece. “It’s Dani. They’ve traced the phone.” She