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The lodge where BITES had their headquarters was very nice. It was almost like a hotel. There were lots of bedrooms for agents and visitors to use. I settled into my room, turned on my laptop, and my phone. Cassie and Jared were across the hall. They said to knock on their door if I needed anything, or I got another call from the kidnappers.
I didn't get much sleep, spending most of the night making lists of questions for Mr. Meecham. I was showered, dressed, and in the dining room before the chef set out the coffee and tea. I made a cup of Earl Grey and settled in for more waiting. I was finishing my breakfast, when Cassie sat down in the chair across from me. "When you're finished, I'll take you to Mr. Meecham's office."
I picked up my phone and my laptop bag and followed her down the hallway. She knocked on a door and a voice called out "come in" from the other side. Cassie opened the door and stepped back so I could step around her. "Bertram, this is Everly Mason," she said.
"Ah, Ms. Mason” he said, stepping out from behind his desk to greet me. We'll have a meeting later when everyone has arrived to plan to retrieve your sister, but I thought you and I should talk first."
He motioned to an upholstered chair in from of his desk. "Have a seat, Ms. Mason. I suspect you have a lot of questions." I tried to prepare for this, but I hadn't been able to find any logical way to organize my thoughts.
"I do, so many in fact, I'm not sure where to start."
"Let me start then," he said. He was an older man, very well dressed, and he had a very formal air about him. "First, let me say how sorry I was to hear about your Uncle's death. He was well-known in cryptid hunting circles and well respected. I'm looking forward to meeting Mr. Munroe. He's been known to us for some time. Let me explain what we know about Dr. Bellamy's situation."
Most of what he told me matched what we learned from Harry's journal and from Dr. Bellamy herself. When he finished. I shared what I knew. "I met Dr. Bellamy at a bigfoot conference. She told me she and Harry had been close, so I was anxious to talk to her. Did you know about the payments to Dutch and Harry?"
"I did. I can't say I was pleased with the arrangement, but Renee convinced me it was the easiest way to keep things quiet around the lab. As you know, the public has a less than favorable view of cryptid hunting. We didn't want to have to relocate the lab, so I let it continue."
"Did you know about the escape of the bigfoot family?"
"Yes. The leader of our lab security team notified me as per our protocol."
"Was there an investigation?"
"Into the escape? Yes, though apparently not a thorough one. There was circumstantial evidence that Renee might have aided their escape, perhaps to help further the career of your uncle."
"What do they do with the animals at the lab?"
"The lab was supposed to give us the opportunity to catalog information about the cryptids that we capture or kill. Cassie has been responsible for providing us with several specimens for study. I received regular reports and was involved in ongoing discussions with my superior about how to release the proof and information we had to the public."
"That seems to be a constant problem in the cryptid world," I said.
“After she was questioned, Dr. Bellamy tendered her resignation. I tried to talk her out of it, but she said she wasn't going to be part of what was going on at the lab. That was a little over a year ago."
"Does a man named Jerry Lucas work for you?"
"I don't believe so. Who is he?"
"Dr. Bellamy said he was following her, and he was one of the men who kidnapped and assaulted Chance."
"Have you ever seen him?"
"Yes, he was at the bigfoot convention. There might be a picture of him from the event somewhere."
"Good. We may want to pursue that. Did Chance file a police report about his assault?"
"I don't believe so. Jim would know for sure. Speaking of Jim. Can you tell me how he got involved in this?"
“After Helen resigned, I kept a closer eye on things at the lab until we found a replacement. Once Dr. Trevor Wilhelm took over, I assumed all was well. The reports I get from the lab on a routine basis are pretty standard stuff, but I do read them. What I noticed was that the reports were nearly identical from week to week. It hadn't been that way when Dr. Bellamy was in charge. After the bigfoot escape, we assigned some extra security to the lab, and I thought things had gotten back to normal until Dr. Bellamy came to see me about a month after she resigned. She asked me if I knew what sorts of experiments were being done on the cryptids at the lab. I expected it was the usual biological studies to help us understand these creatures. Dr. Bellamy claimed that there were efforts going on at the lab to weaponize the creatures. I spoke with Dr. Wilhelm and made a surprise visit to the lab. Everything looked in order on the surface. Dr. Bellamy continued to make some serious claims, and I agreed to investigate."