37 Sheep Refused to Eat — Then a Farmer Discovered What Was Buried Under His Pasture
Chapter 8
The second recording contained instructions.
Not complicated ones.
But dangerous ones.
Thomas had discovered that the modified roots depended on a particular biological relationship.
A naturally occurring fungus in the soil allowed the plants to absorb metals.
Without the fungus, the plants weakened.
The solution wasn’t a chemical pesticide.
It was biological competition.
Thomas had identified a native soil microorganism that could outcompete the Meadowglass fungus.
He had tested it successfully.
But he never received permission to deploy it.
Eli looked at Sarah.
“Can we use it?”
“Maybe.”
“Maybe?”
“We need to test it first.”
Karen agreed.
The state laboratory began controlled experiments.
Within days, results came back.
The native microorganism reduced the Meadowglass root system dramatically.
It could stop the spread.
But there was a problem.
The treatment needed to be applied across the entire contaminated area.
That meant hundreds of acres.
And they needed access to the land.
Northstar still owned several properties nearby.
Daniel Price had disappeared.
Then, on a rainy Thursday evening, Eli received a message.
Come to the barn alone.
He didn’t.
He showed it to Karen.
They brought officers.
Inside the barn was a man sitting on an overturned bucket.
Daniel Price.
He raised his hands.
“I came to talk.”
Eli stared.
“Why?”
“Because I know what happened to your father.”
Eli stepped forward.
“Tell me.”
Daniel looked exhausted.
“My father ordered the cover-up.”
“And you?”
“I inherited it.”
“You threatened me.”
“Yes.”
“You tried to scare me off.”
“Yes.”
“Did you kill my father?”
Daniel shook his head.
“No.”
“Then who?”
Daniel looked toward the door.
“The government.”
Eli frowned.
“What?”
“Not directly.”
Daniel explained that when Thomas refused to cooperate, officials pressured him.
They threatened his farm.
His family.
His finances.
Eventually, Thomas was pushed into a desperate situation.
“He had a heart attack.”
“You said he killed himself.”
“I lied.”
“Why?”
“Because I was afraid.”
Daniel’s eyes filled with tears.
“My father taught me that truth was dangerous.”
Eli looked at him.
“And now?”
“Now I’m tired.”
Daniel handed him a folder.
Inside were documents.
Payments.
Government communications.
Northstar contracts.
And one document signed by Thomas.
A resignation letter.
Except the signature had been forged.
Eli stared.
“They made it look like Dad resigned.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“So nobody would investigate when he disappeared.”
“He didn’t disappear.”
Daniel shook his head.
“No.”
“What happened?”
Daniel swallowed.
“He went to the old processing plant.”
“Why?”
“To destroy the equipment.”
Eli froze.
“He knew they’d come after him.”
“Yes.”
“He went alone.”
Daniel lowered his eyes.
“My father sent people to stop him.”
Eli’s heart pounded.
“Did they hurt him?”
“They found him unconscious.”
“And?”
Daniel’s voice broke.
“They left him there.”
Eli closed his eyes.
His father’s death hadn’t been suicide.
It had been abandonment.
A deliberate choice to let him die.
Daniel handed over one final document.
A photograph.
Thomas standing beside the northern pasture.
On the back was a date.
The day before his death.
And beside him stood Harold Bennett.
Eli stared.
“Harold was with him.”
“Yes.”
“Then Harold knows what happened.”
Daniel nodded.
“He does.”
That night, they found Harold at an old motel.
He finally told the truth.
Thomas had tried to destroy Meadowglass.
Harold had helped.
But someone had stopped them.
Thomas had been injured.
Harold had wanted to call for help.
Thomas refused.
“Save the farm,” he had said.
“Forget me.”
Harold had obeyed.
Then Thomas died.
Harold had spent twenty years watching the pasture.
Waiting for the roots to surface.
Waiting for the day the sheep would refuse to eat.
Eli looked at him.
“And now?”
Harold nodded.
“Now it’s your turn.”
