Monkey Business

by Lois Schmitt

  I headed to the bedroom to wake up Matt, but stopped short. Matt disapproved of my involvement and wouldn’t go along with my scheme.

  Instead, I grabbed my phone and punched in Abby’s number.

  “Is it daytime yet?” she grumbled.

  “Yes, it is. I think I know why Arlen McKenzie and Mei Lau were killed, but I need your help. I have a theory, but I won’t know if it’s correct unless I verify certain facts.” I told Abby what she needed to find out.

  “I’ll check and get right back,” she said.

  Ten minutes later, Abby called. We talked for a few minutes, and I outlined my plan.

  CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX

  I grabbed the phone and punched in another number.

  “My plan will work,” I said, “and it’s the only chance we have.” I argued for nearly ten minutes. “Good. I’m on my way.”

  I ripped a sheet of paper off a pad, jotted down a number from the phone book, and stashed it in the zippered compartment of my bag. Before leaving the house, I stuck my head in the bedroom doorway. “Matt, I’m headed to the zoo. See you later.”

  “Yeah, later.” Matt hugged the pillow, covering most of his head. He mumbled something I couldn’t decipher.

  Despite everything on my mind, I chuckled. Matt slept soundly. When he awakened, he wouldn’t remember a thing I’d said.

  On my way out, I grabbed another reference book from the study. But this one, a paperback, had nothing to do with zoology.

  When I pulled up to the entrance booth at the zoo, the security guard leaned out. “We don’t open for another forty-five minutes.”

  “There should be a pass for me signed by Tim Vanikos. I’m his sister, Kristy Farrell.”

  “Right. I didn’t recognize you. He dropped the pass off earlier.” The guard motioned me into the parking lot.

  Before exiting my car, I pulled out my cell phone, along with the paper stored in my bag’s zippered compartment, and punched in the number written on it.

  “Stone Mount Pharmacy,” a man said.

  “I’m calling for Amanda Devereux,” I said. “She’d like a refill on her prescription.”

  “What’s it for?”

  “I don’t know. I can’t read her handwriting. I work for her and she left me your number, along with a note to call for a refill. She wants it by six tonight. It’s the same one you delivered to her house a few weeks ago. Does she have more than one prescription on file?”

  “Let me look.” He put me on hold.

  While drumming my fingers on the steering wheel, I impatiently glanced at my watch. Moments later, the pharmacist returned to the line. “The only prescription I have is for Flagyl, but it calls for no refills. This is a real powerful drug. She’d better talk to her doctor if she feels the infection hasn’t gone away.”

  After ending my call, I grabbed the paperback from my bag. It was a guide on the side effects of prescription drugs. I read the section on Flagyl.

  “I was right,” I murmured, hopping out of the car and hurrying down the path to the ornithology office.

  The zoo buzzed with activity. Chattering monkeys scurried toward a fat-faced zookeeper as he slipped into the exhibit toting two buckets of what was probably their breakfast. Along the path, two sanitation workers swept the pavement, while a security officer whizzed by me in a yellow jitney.

  I tried convincing myself that nothing could happen with all those people here. But I jumped at the sudden roar of a lion. Although the cool morning breeze had yet to be replaced by the humidity and scorching heat of midday, I perspired under my blouse. Nerves.

  I veered down a side path, and upon reaching ornithology, I discovered the door was locked. I noted with apprehension that there were no zoo employees working in this immediate area. Finally, I spied Amanda Devereux heading my way.

  “Good morning.” With a smile, Amanda strolled up the walkway to the building. “How did you get in here before opening hours?”

  “I was given an early-admittance pass because I’ve another interview,” I lied. “But I need to talk to you first.”

  “My schedule is particularly busy today.” Amanda reached for the door and pushed her key in the lock. “Perhaps you could make an appointment for another time. If you call public relations—”

  “I know who murdered your husband.”

  Her face showed no emotion, but her body tensed and she curled her fingers into fists.

  “My evidence points to Frank Taggart,” I said.

  “I find that hard to believe.” Amanda’s voice stayed calm. “Do you have proof?”

  I nodded.

  She hesitated only a moment. “Even though what you say sounds farfetched, come into my office and we’ll talk.”

  Amanda unlocked the door. I trailed her through the main room until she ushered me into her private office.

  “Sit down,” she said. “I need to use the restroom, but I’ll be right back.”

  I sunk into one of the soft, black leather chairs, then shifted impatiently in the seat.

  Amanda returned to the room, sat down, and folded her hands on the desk. “Suppose you tell me what this is all about.”

  “I found a list of birds in Mei’s diary. All are endangered species and next to each bird are two different numbers. I believe the first number represents the eggs produced at the zoo. The second number refers to the eggs that Frank Taggart reported as produced.”

  Amanda frowned. “Why would Frank report fewer eggs than there actually were?”

  Bingo. I smiled. “I think he stole eggs of endangered species and sold them on the black market. You never know how many eggs a bird will lay. Most species lay within a range of one to three or two to four, right? My theory is that when birds at Rocky Cove produced the maximum, or close to it, Frank reported the minimum and sold off the difference.”

  I pulled the list out of my bag and handed it to the curator.

  Maroon-fronted parrot—Rhynchopsitta terrisi—3—2

  Puerto Rican parrot—Amazona vittata—4—2

  Hyacinth macaw—Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus—3—2

  Jardine’s parrot—Poicephalus gulielmi—4—3

  Snowy owl—Nyctea scandiaca—6—2

  “So, for example, the maroon-fronted parrot laid three eggs but Frank only reported two and sold off the other,” I said, pointing to the list. “These are rare birds. Some of their eggs sell for thousands of dollars.”

  “This’s incredible.” Amanda looked down at the list, then shook her head in apparent disbelief.

  “Don’t act surprised. You were in on it.”

  She jerked her head up, her face showing no emotion.

  “Before I showed you the list, you said it didn’t make sense for Frank to report fewer eggs than were laid,” I said. “But at that point I had only said the numbers were different. I hadn’t used the word ‘fewer’ or suggested anything like that. How would you know unless you were part of the scam?”

  “It was a logical conclusion. And I don’t see what this has to do with my husband’s murder.”

  “Mei discovered this scam while interning in ornithology. The day before McKenzie’s murder, she had been pulled off her regular duties to help work on photo sessions with the zoo director. I think that’s when she told your husband of her suspicions. Then he confronted either you or Frank with the information, and one of you killed him.”

  “Ridiculous!”

  “I wasn’t sure until this morning which one of you did it. You could have given your rain forest key to Frank. But that bothered me. Sticking a needle in someone’s arm from behind . . . I couldn’t imagine Arlen McKenzie letting Frank get that close. It had to be you.”

  “I have witnesses who will swear I was home.”

  “No. Your witnesses can verify they drove you home. Claiming you were too drunk to drive back is a lie. And a superior acting job. Professor Layne said you were good, and the role of a drunk isn’t that difficult to play.”

  “You can’t prove any of
this.”

  “Actually, I can. Mei mentioned stopping by your home a few days before the murder. You received a delivery from your pharmacy while she was there. I know you can’t drink alcohol with a good number of prescription drugs, so I played the odds, hoping a long shot would come in. I figured you used the Stone Mount Pharmacy since there’s really no other place close by. I called them this morning and found out your prescription was for Flagyl.”

  I reached into my bag and pulled out the reference paperback on prescription drugs. “You can’t mix Flagyl with alcohol. It will make you violently ill. Would you like me to read the warning?”

  I flipped to the page. “Combining with alcohol can cause nausea, vomiting, dizziness, diarrhea, and abdominal cramping. In rare cases, it can cause seizures.”

  I slammed the book shut. “You wouldn’t drink alcohol if you took this. I also noticed at the theater reception that you took champagne, but you never drank any.”

  Amanda folded her arms across her chest. “This makes you think I killed Arlen McKenzie and Mei Lau?”

  “No. Not Mei. I think Frank murdered Mei. Reptile keepers have keys to the snake room, and Frank originally worked in herpetology. All he needed to do was make a copy before he transferred to your department. I know the key says ‘Do Not Duplicate’ but there’s always someone willing to break the law for a price, especially with Frank’s contacts.”

  “She figured it all out. Pretty smart, isn’t she?” said a voice from behind.

  I turned around. Frank Taggart blocked the doorway. In his gloved right hand he clutched a hypodermic needle.

  “When I went to the restroom, I called him on my cell phone,” Amanda said.

  As I returned my gaze to Amanda, a smile, cold as a Minnesota winter, spread across her face.

  “I told you it was a big mistake to show her the bird nursery.” Frank approached me, brandishing the hypodermic needle in the air.

  “That had nothing to do with it. She discovered the information in Mei’s diary. You never should have let Mei see what you were doing. You were thinking with your pants, not your head.”

  “How was I to know that the little bitch would read the records and notice the difference in the number of eggs?”

  My body felt cold. Still, I needed more information. And, most importantly, I needed to stall. “Why did you use snake venom to kill your husband? That’s an unusual method?”

  “Frank keeps several snakes at his home, including a Russell’s viper, so we extracted the venom. Arlen didn’t realize I’d injected him until it was too late. Of course, we also took the zoo’s cobra,” Amanda said. “We thought by using the snake, we would cast suspicion on Tim, and we were right.”

  “But why blame Tim?”

  Amanda shrugged. “Nothing personal, but he was vulnerable. Tim had motive. That motive, combined with the use of venom as the method of murder, would make him a leading suspect, and no one would think of us. Frank and I had decided to wait until we were sure your brother wouldn’t have an alibi. When I discovered that my husband and Tim planned to meet earlier in the evening, we knew that would be the time to do it.”

  “Enough talking. We have to get rid of her.” Frank Taggart’s eyes had a wild man’s look.

  “But how do we dispose of the body in daylight?” Amanda leaned forward, placing her hands on the desk.

  “We’ll stash her in one of the crates in the back room and get rid of her later. I’ve plenty of room in the car. I drove the Escalade today.”

  Escalade. Of course. He was the one with the black car. Tim might remember what the other curators or administrators drove because they all have reserved parking spaces near each other. But he wouldn’t know what kind of car a bird keeper drove because they parked in the general employee lot. And it sounded like Frank didn’t bring the Escalade to the zoo that often.

  “So you’re the one who followed me and tried to run me off the road,” I said.

  “I happened to be dropping off papers in your brother’s outer office when he gave you the McKenzie address. I overheard everything, and I knew you were about to stick your nose where it didn’t belong. I figured I could scare you off.”

  “Another idea of yours that didn’t work,” Amanda said, glancing at her watch. “We’ve got a problem. The zoo will open shortly. What if someone barges in here while we’re hiding the body?”

  “That won’t happen. Your clerical staff is at computer training this morning. Besides, to make sure we wouldn’t be interrupted, I locked the front door when I came in. This is a perfect time for murder, Amanda. We only need a few minutes.”

  I stared at the needle. “What type of venom are you using this time?”

  “I didn’t have time to obtain venom. This is filled with an animal tranquilizer. Enough to kill a tiger.”

  “What if she told someone about coming here?” Amanda rose from her chair. “What if they look for her here?”

  “Zoo employees saw me enter the building,” I added quickly, “and my daughter knows I’m here. And why I’m here.”

  Momentarily, I watched fear flash through Frank’s eyes. He glared at Amanda. “When you arrived, was anyone here?”

  “No, but she had to come through the front gate. That means the security guard saw her.”

  “He probably thinks she came to see her brother. I’ll administer the overdose in the storage room. There are several large crates, so that way we won’t have far to carry the body. After everyone leaves for the day, I’ll put the crate in the Escalade, drive off, and dump her in the pine barrens. Someone will find her eventually.” Frank laughed. “Tim will be the leading suspect. Murdering your own sister. Juries hate that.”

  I winced as Frank gripped my shoulder with his left hand. In his right hand, he clutched the hypodermic needle upright. “Let’s go.”

  It felt like tiny spiders crawling around my intestines. This wasn’t going as planned. I needed to stall.

  “You won’t get away with this,” I argued. “My brother is aware of everything. I spoke with him before I came here. He told Saul Mandel, too.”

  Frank tightened his grip on my shoulder, pushing me toward the back room. “I don’t believe you.”

  “You should believe her,” called out a booming voice. Saul Mandel barged into the room, followed by Tim.

  “It’s about time,” I yelled at my brother. “What took so long?”

  “I wasn’t sure this crazy plan would work, but it did,” he said.

  “Tim, what are you and Saul doing here?” Amanda asked. All color had drained from her face.

  “When Kristy laid out her plan for me on the phone this morning, I called Saul right away. We rushed here and hid in the adjacent storage room before you arrived. Leaning against those thin walls, we heard everything.”

  Amanda collapsed into her chair. She quickly regained her composure, but her face remained ashen. “How did you get in this building? It was locked.”

  Saul jangled a set of keys. “The back door. I’m acting director, remember? I have the master set to every lock in the zoo.”

  Frank pushed my brother against the wall and darted out of the room. I heard the front door slam.

  “Stop him!” I yelled.

  “He won’t get away,” Tim said. “The police should be here any minute, Kristy. We called once we were sure of your theory.”

  I heard sirens in the distance. Moments later, I peered out the window at the flashing lights—and Frank Taggart in handcuffs.

  CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN

  “Olivia wants to see you. Right now,” Clara announced, the moment I entered the Animal Advocate office. It was the day after the arrest of Amanda Devereux and Frank Taggart.

  “I’ll bet she made a decision about the job.”

  “I don’t know.”

  I stepped into the private office of the editor-in-chief. Olivia Johnson rose from her chair and moved to the front of her desk. She wasn’t smiling or frowning. For the first time since I had begun working
for the magazine, I couldn’t read her face.

  “Well, you certainly were right about a major scandal at the Rocky Cove Zoo,” she said. “The stealing of eggs from endangered species is definitely something our readers want to know about. I’d like to do a special feature on it and include the two murders. We’ll bump the story on the Siberian tiger.”

  I felt my jaw drop. “Wasn’t the Siberian tiger article written by Schuyler Adams?”

  “Yes, a freelance assignment. We can save it for a future issue.” Olivia coughed. “That young man is an excellent writer.”

  I fell silent.

  Olivia smiled, something she didn’t do often. “But you’re an excellent writer, too. Congratulations. I’m giving you the feature writer position.”

  “But I thought . . .” I decided not to complete the sentence.

  “You were about to say you thought I had chosen Schuyler, weren’t you?”

  “Yes.”

  “I thought seriously about Schuyler, but he made a statement that caused me to hold back.”

  “What did he say?”

  “During lunch at La Scala the other day, Schuyler said one trait possessed by all great journalists is persistence. He’s right. And no one is more persistent than you. That’s when I decided the job was yours.”

  I grinned. “That’s terrific. Thanks so much. You won’t regret it.”

  “Don’t thank me too much. There’s talk that Animal Advocate may be bought out by a major publishing conglomerate. If that happens, no one knows what staff will be kept on or what direction the magazine will take. There’s also the possibility that Animal Advocate will go under. I honestly don’t know how long any of us will be working here.”

  Olivia appeared to stare at the photo on the wall of a falcon in flight. “But this is all in the future.” She turned back, facing me. “Right now you have a job. Our next issue will focus on marine life. Be here nine sharp next Monday and you’ll get your current assignments, although I can tell you now that one will be on ocean predators.”

  “I can’t wait.”

  “By the way, you’ll be working with Schuyler.”