Most people said they had no idea why, or suggested the culprit must have hated the family. But, George's answer was unique. He nodded his head towards the Carr property and said, to get them to move, like they did. George's tree power was becoming an increasingly likely suspect, but with no physical evidence linking him to the case, it was decided that he should be put under surveillance. George's recruited a colleague at the Polk County Sheriff's Office to help with the task. Susan Gorek was 33 years old and had previously worked undercover on a number of drug-related cases. The investigation into George's tree power was dubbed Operation Pale Horse, a reference to an Agatha Christie novel in which the killer murders his victims with thalium. Agent Gorek spent several weeks reading up on George's tree power and observing him as he went about his daily business. She and a colleague also searched a dumpster outside of his office looking for incriminating evidence, ideally something linking him to a thalium supplier. But nothing was found. After Peggy Carr died, detectives decided they needed to try a different approach. They would assign an undercover agent to get close to George in the hopes he might confide his secrets. They thought a woman would be best, as George would view her as non-threatening. Susan Gorek was given the task. She constructed her alter ego, a divorcee named Sherry Gwyn. Knowing that George's tree power hated lawyers, Agent Gorek decided her fictional ex-husband would be an abrasive attorney. She would flatter George and earn his sympathy by discussing her marital problems with him. A mancer murdered mystery weekend that George was hosting was Agent Gorek's inn, and she sent him a letter posing as Sherry asking to attend. Over the course of that weekend, Agent Gorek looked for clues and took numerous photographs. She took particular note of a pamphlet George had written up for the weekend, which was titled Voodoo for Fun and Profit. The title was a nod to the theme of the murder mystery, which centered about Voodoo practitioners. An excerpt of the pamphlet, Rad. Few voodooists believe they can be killed by psychic means, but no one doubts that he can be poisoned. When a death threat appears on the doorstep, prudent people throw out all their food and watch what they eat. Hardly anyone dies from magic. Most items on the doorstep are just a neighbor's way of saying, I don't like you, move, or else. To investigators, this appeared to be a not-so-subtle reference to the poisoned Coca-Cola bottles that appeared at the car home. Over the course of eight months, Agent Gorek built a friendship with the George. She complained to him about her fictional ex-husband, hoping it might coax a confession out of him. The undercover operation was a long, slow process. Eventually, the higher-ups began complaining about the lack of results. Then, a breakthrough finally occurred when George and his wife moved to Sebring in November 1989. Agent Gorek would ask to rent their home in our tourist, giving her unfettered access to the property. Agent Gorek moved into George Treepowl's home on Tuesday, December 12, 1989. That evening, crime scene technicians descended on the property. They rubbed cotton balls dipped in nitric acid along surfaces throughout the house, looking for traces of thalium. Sinks, drains, and the inside of cabinets were all swabbed. The garage workshop was also searched. George hadn't bothered to clear it out when he moved. Despray paint cans, scraps of wood, and garden supplies were littered everywhere. The floor was covered with sawdust, nails, and broken glass. There were also jugs filled with various liquids. A couple of small bottles were found on George's workbench. One was made of brown glass and had a white residue inside. These were packaged up to be

examined at an FBI lab.