The Bovine Connection (2 page)

Unlike the journalists, writers, proofreaders, editors, and other employees of the
Liberator
, as the CEO and Founder, Angelica was one of the few with a large corner office with walls constructed of mostly windows. She sat in a white leather chair at a shiny, sleek white desk with square chrome legs, preoccupied with an unshakable eerie feeling from the dream she had the night before.

“Angelica?” a voice erupted and then echoed through the air causing her to jerk. “Everything all right?”

Angelica dropped her finger from the mug and with a distant stare, looked up to see her colleague Andrew standing in the open doorway. He had knocked on the door and stuck his head inside.

“I’m sorry, what did you say?” Angelica appeared puzzled.

“You look a million miles away… I asked if everything was all right. I called your name several times. Did you not hear me?” Andrew leaned his shoulder against the door frame.

“Oh…,” Angelica said as she snapped out of her deep thought and life emerged back into her eyes. “Yes, I’m fine.”

Andrew turned to look behind him as voices approached in the hall. They both stayed silent until voices were gone.

“You seem distracted… Fun girls night?” he whispered and smiled sheepishly.

Angelica rolled her eyes and smirked playfully. “Seriously?” she asked. He immediately discerned that Angelica wasn’t her usual buoyant self.

“Andrew, I have tons of work to do,” she said, trying not to look him directly in the eyes. “Can we chat later?” Angelica tried to focus on her laptop.

After a moment, Angelica raised her eyebrows and smiled as she realized he was still in the doorway waiting for her to turn back around, his expression neutral.

Andrew was polished from his groomed thick, copper tinted straight brown hair to the Berluti shoes. He was tall and lean. His eyes intense, light brown. He had a way of narrowing them and looking seductively at Angelica just to watch her reaction. A technique he had mastered. The playful eye contact and sneaky glances at each other around the office kept their secret romance exciting, she thought.

Only Angelica’s closest friend, Gail, knew she was sleeping with Andrew. Since Angelica was his boss, it was a well-guarded secret. Angelica often regretted becoming involved with him. She knew it could end disastrous. But he was impeccable in bed – always leaving her exhausted and longing for more. She suspected the other woman in her office would agree, although she could never inquire.

Angelica fought back feelings for Andrew and kept herself emotionally distant. She was afraid of her own vulnerability, and she knew very well that fear caused her to sabotage most of her past relationships.

Andrew noticed the vacant look in her eyes as she glanced in his direction. “Angelica, are you sure you’re…”

Angelica peered at Andrew and interrupted him. “I saw my doctor this morning. Now I’m behind on work,” she murmured petulantly.

Andrew looked down at the floor and then slowly and seductively back up, fixing her with an intense stare, his lips puckered into a pout. “Okay, but I missed you last night. I was disappointed you canceled. You know how much I enjoy our time together. The other night will be ingrained in my memory forever,” he said, his eyes deep and soulful.

Angelica’s face softened, she smiled and tilted her head, unable to resist his overtures. “I enjoyed it, too,” she whispered. “Now I have to get some work done,” Angelica announced as she grinned, knowing it would be hard to redirect her thoughts.

Andrew shook his head and smiled in a way that made her body feel warm. “Okay, I’ll talk to you later sexy,” he whispered before turning and walking away. Angelica smiled inwardly as she turned her attention back on work and continued typing. And suddenly her cell phone rang. “Hello, Angelica Bradley,” she answered business-like.

“Angelica, hi! How are you?”

“Hello Gail… I’m okay, a little tired today.”

“Are you coming into the office?”

“I’m here now,” Angelica said as she sat up in her chair, fidgeted with her wavy blonde hair, tucking it behind her ears.

“Oh, I didn’t see you in there.” Gail sounded surprised.

Angelica turned her chair and looked out the large window. “I just got into the office a short while ago. Saw my doctor this morning.” Angelica moved her head in a circular motion to loosen the stiffness as she firmly rubbed the back of her neck.

“Are you still having those dreams?” Gail asked sincerely.

“Yes, and they are getting worse,” Angelica said in a deep breath.

“I’m sorry… I hate to hear that. Well, wanted to run something by you. Carl has come across an interesting story. Just recently there was a cattle mutilation over in Montana. Apparently, he’s been following the incidents over there.”

Angelica interrupted Gail, “I’m sorry… did you just say ‘cattle mutilation’?”

“Yes, I know… but hear me out… Carl is calling it ‘The Bovine Mutilations: Mystery on the Cattle Ranch’. We should keep the title, it’s good… That is, if you are okay with us covering the story. It happened next to an Air Force base. I’m sure you’ve heard the outlandish theories around these mutilations. I think it’ll be a fascinating story for the magazine.”

After a long moment of silence, Gail sounded frustrated. “Are you still there?”

Angelica sensed Gail’s impatience. “Yes, I just…”

“Oh, thought I lost you,” Gail interrupted.

“Can you email the file to me?” Angelica murmured.

“Yes, I’ll send it over now…”

“Okay.” Angelica leaned back in her chair and glanced over at the last story she covered while at the
Washington Post
a few years prior, involving the Republican Senator Jay Hollins. Angelica kept the file as a reminder of the price she’d paid covering such a high-profile story. She reached over and removed the newspaper clipping from the paperclip on the front of the file. Senator Hollins was a seedy, yeasty man, and Angelica was out to prove it from the moment she received the call from her anonymous source. After she was able to verify the story with another source, it went to print.

Angelica placed the newspaper clipping on her desk and turned her attention back to her laptop. She then opened the email on the cattle mutilation and read through the documents.

There was a knock at her door. Angelica looked up to see Gail standing there.

“I emailed you the file. Here’s more,” Gail stepped over and placed a file on Angelica’s desk. “What’s that?” Gail asked inquisitively as she pointed to the clipping.

“The Hollins story,” Angelica said flatly.

“Oh yes, the Senator who had a preference for seventeen-year-old Asian call girls. He was quite kinky,” Gail snickered. “According to the photographs you obtained from your source, it appeared he enjoyed black leather attire and spankings more than his usual business casual.” Gail laughed. “I’m sorry but they were amusing.” Angelica smiled and nodded, however she still looked weary. She swallowed hard, her throat felt dry.

Gail continued… “That seems like a lifetime ago… If I remember correctly, shortly after your article hit the newsstands, Hollins was found guilty of the sex scandal and sentenced to serve time for statutory rape. His wife retreated back to Tennessee, didn’t she? Poor thing.”

“Yes, and the Republican Party certainly didn’t need a Senator like Hollins to taint their ‘God and apple pie’ image… That story cost me a lot,” Angelica frowned.

“Yes, but you gained a lot as well. The
Liberator
may not have ever happened if… well, you know,” Gail noticed Angelica bite down on her bottom lip as she continued to stare at the file.

Angelica reflected on the backlash that followed. Angelica didn’t earn herself any new friends in D.C., thanks to her relentless pursuit to expose Senator Hollins. She was fired and snubbed in many circles around D.C. No one would hire her. It was a low point in her life that almost destroyed her.

A year after losing her job at the
Washington Post
, Angelica founded the
Liberator Magazine
and brought Gail and Carl, the
Post’s
best two editors with her.

Playing in the world of politics, and in the capital of the U.S., was a challenge and she had the battle scars to prove it, she thought. Angelica had worked hard to be taken seriously as a journalist, although it took her longer to earn respect than she had hoped. She was grateful she had made it as a successful and well-respected journalist, and founder of the
Liberator Magazine
at the age of thirty-two, and all done while keeping her skirt on. Of course, jealousy was fierce amongst her colleagues. She had heard the rumors while at the
Post
that she had won it on her back.

Angelica turned and looked at the file Gail had placed on her desk. “Wow, that’s thick! Carl’s been working hard on this,” she appeared surprised as she lifted it and looked up at Gail.

“Sweetie, I’ve been meaning to talk to you. Lately, you seem distracted and kind of down.” Gail sat in the white leather chair in front of Angelica’s desk. “You really just aren’t yourself.” Her voice was soft and concerned.

“Yes,” Angelica said as she dropped her shoulders and put the file down. “I’m not sleeping well, and I saw my doctor again this morning. The sessions are just so draining.” Angelica shook her head and glanced down. “Those damn dreams…” Angelica looked back up and forced an awkward smile. “I’m fine, really, I am.”

Gail nodded and narrowed her eyes, “Yeah… So, did the session go well?” Gail frowned sympathetically.

Angelica turned to her laptop and clicked open the “the bovine mutilation” file folder again. “Yes, it went well,” she murmured as she turned her attention to the documents. “So, it’s happened just recently over in Montana, huh?” Angelica took a deep breath as she continued to read the document. “Gail… I think I’m going to cover this one.”

“You are?” Gail sounded shocked. “Seriously? Why?” Gail stared in disbelief.

Angelica leaned back softly in her chair and glanced back over at the newspaper clipping from the “Hollins” file. She pursed her lips. “Tell Carl I’ll take it from here. Judging by the size of this file, I’m sure he’d rather I cover it than a less experienced journalist. Don’t ya think?” Angelica said sarcastically, as she swept aside one loose strand of hair and smiled.

Gail’s eyes widened, “Yes, of course… I think he’ll be quite pleased after the initial shock wears off.” Gail looked at Angelica speculatively. “Are you sure you really want to take this on? You already have so much on your plate running the magazine. And Angelica, this really isn’t your type of story.” Gail said flatly.

Angelica dropped her shoulders and ran her fingers through her hair, pushing it away from her face. “Yes, I’m sure… I want to get back out there. Get out from behind this desk. I’d like to leave tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow? Okay.” Gail stiffened, her face blank.

“I need to get out of D.C. It’ll be good for me.” Angelica picked up the file and thumbed through the reports made by ranchers, the local veterinarian, police officers, and UFO investigators.

Angelica began to assimilate her thoughts as Gail reached over and picked up one of the documents.

At the bottom of the pile, Angelica noticed the words “Cattle Mutilation”… also known as “Bovine Excision” scribbled in red ink and in Carl’s handwriting across the top. Angelica looked soberly at Gail. “So tell me what you think about the mutilations.”

Gail lowered the document she was holding and peered up at Angelica… “Well, I’m not sure what to think. It is a very strange phenomenon. Apparently the killing and mutilation of the cattle are caused by unusual or nefarious means, from what I’ve read.” Gail tapped the file folder with an index finger. “It’s the surgical natural by which the animals are mutilated that has people baffled. All the blood is drained and organs are removed. Then you have the fact that the reproductive systems are precisely removed. Quite disturbing. Oh, and the anal area is cored out.”

Angelica’s eyes were wide. “Cored out?!” Her expression shifted to disgust.

Gail swallowed hard, nodded and continued. “Anyway, the animals appear to have been dumped, and there are never any tracks or markings around the carcass, even when found in mud. Very odd. Carl was saying that the surgical instrument used on the animals appeared to be some sort of laser cauterizing device. It’s all in the file.”

Angelica lifted up a black and white sheet of paper with a photo on it of a dead cow. “Appears someone is removing the skin and flesh from the cow’s skull as well. Ew, look!” Angelica flipped the sheet of paper around.

Gail appeared disgusted. “Yes, and doing it with perfect precision,” she said. “That is why people find it hard to believe a predator such as the coyote could be responsible for the kills being reported like in this Montana case.”

Angelica put the sheet of paper down. “This is very fascinating. I have a lot of work to do before my flight.”

“Okay.” Gail stood up… “I’ll tell Carl.”