Apocalypse Cow Read Online Free PDF

slip through her fingers.
    You’re going to regret this
, Lesley thought.
You’ll be like the record executive who rejected The Beatles or the editor who decided not to buy the Harry Potter books
. She relaxed her fist, allowing blood to flow back into her fingers, and slipped the voice recorder into her trouser pocket. ‘You’re right, Alexandra. I don’t belong here.’
    Alexandra smiled back uncertainly. ‘You don’t?’
    ‘No. You’re doing absolutely the right thing.’ Lesley’s smile broadened.
    ‘Well, I’m glad you agree,’ Alexandra said, clearly discomfited by the unexpected turn in the conversation. ‘Let’s keep this between us for the moment, until the details are finalized, OK?’
    ‘No problem,’ Lesley said, climbing to her feet.
    She hurried back to her desk, feeling Alexandra’s bemused gaze on her back. Over the following half-hour she planned her next steps. The first move would be to organize a stakeout – the very word generated a thrilling shiver – and ask residents near the facility if they had seen or heard anything odd. She would also have to establish a link between the abattoir and the facility and find out how the virus got out. Then she would make a few calls to other newspapers –
The Times
or the
Guardian
probably – with her exclusive.
    She was looking at the facility’s website, noting down its exact location, when Colin returned, his cheeks flushed and pupils dilated.
    ‘How was the lunch meet?’ she asked as he strolled over to her cubicle.
    ‘Oh, you know,’ Colin replied vaguely. Lesley caught a strong whiff of mints with an undercurrent of lager. ‘Any calls while I was out?’
    The question seemed casual enough, but something about the way he asked it gave Lesley pause. Suddenly it occurred to her the tip might be a sick joke Colin was playing on her. After all, the call did come in suspiciously soon after he’d left the office. He probably already knew she was for the chop. The swine knew everything. It would be just like him to put the boot in when she was down. She searched his face for any hint he was up to something. His lip was curled up at one side, although it could have been just everyday smugness.
    ‘No calls,’ she said, picking up a pen and twirling it. ‘None whatsoever. Not a single one. Zip. Nada. Zilch.’
    ‘Are you sure?’ he asked, frowning.
    That was it. While he often transferred his calls to Lesley, he had never questioned her if there weren’t any. He was probing, which meant he was trying to figure out if she had got the call. She should have known better. A virus that turned cows into killers, what an idiotic idea. And she had almost swallowed it. All of her dreams fell away, and she was left with a vision of morosely shuffling along with other undesirables to sign on at the dole office.
    ‘I suppose you think it’s funny,’ she hissed. ‘One last joke at my expense.’
    Colin’s frown deepened. ‘I’m not sure what you’re talking about.’
    ‘Well, I’m not falling for it, Knob-end.’ Lesley jabbed her pen towards Colin’s groin. He skipped back into the narrow corridor between the cubicle walls. ‘You’ve got five seconds to piss off back to your own desk, otherwise this pen and your left ball will enjoy the same relationship as a pickled onion and a cocktail stick.’
    Colin threw up his hands. ‘Fine, I’m going. You’re losing it, Lesley, you know that?’
    He sauntered back to his desk, casting glances over his shoulder as he went. Lesley stuck two fingers up at him. Once he was out of sight, she dropped her head to the desk and banged it a few times experimentally, just to see how much it would hurt if she really went for it.
    Too much
, she thought, and slid open the drawer to retrieve a packet of cigarettes.
    She was greeted by her father’s image.
    ‘Just what I need,’ she said. ‘Your ugly mug.’
    To the casual observer, the picture would look like a typical family shot: a proud father with