‘Those squashed squirrels didn’t have a significant concentration of mercury in them.’ Troy shrugged. ‘That might still fit. Maybe some big fat tyre splatted them before they got here for a mercury meal.’ ‘Yeah. It’s still a useful result. A background reading. Any poisoned squirrel would have to have a lot more than those two.’ ‘A lot more and it’d be dead.’ ‘Mercury takes a while to kill. It could live long enough to get into a pie,’ Lexi answered. ‘Anyway, I need samples from the live ones in the attic – to see if they’ve absorbed mercury.’ They both looked towards the main road. They could see the roof of the squirrel farm, flying a bright blue flag. A yellow van with a big black rat painted on the side announced the arrival of two pest controllers. One of them walked over to the corner of the building where the infestation had been reported. She peered at the ground for a few moments and then called out, ‘It’s squirrels all right.
