The Peacock's Poison

by Ruby Loren

  Detective Treesden must have been slightly cowed by the firefighters’ praise for me, because his questions weren’t nearly as charged as they had been last night. I’d wondered if I’d need a lawyer this morning, but it turned out to be okay.

  A short while later, Auryn and I were free to go, and it was nearly time for the funeral.

  “See you there?” I said and he agreed.

  It was time to go home and prepare for the final farewell of one of our own.

  The sun on the snow made it a beautiful day for such a solemn occasion. I was glad that Gigglesfield’s church was a large one, considering the small size of the town. We just about managed to squeeze all of the zoo’s staff and Jenna’s extended family and friends in.

  Auryn said his words beautifully. That, unfortunately, was the only highlight of the service. Jenna’s parents, it turned out, were very devout. The vicar leading the service spouted how the meek and mild inherited the earth, and how someone as gentle and innocent as Jenna, an unmarried woman - how tragic, to never have known the love of a man - would have no trouble at all getting into the place beyond.

  It was hard to avoid making eye contact with anyone when all of this was said about Jenna Leary. If she herself had been present, I was certain she’d be laughing at the vicar. Undeterred by the increased mutterings of the congregation, the vicar ploughed on, until I nearly believed that Jenna had been as sweet and pure as a child.

  I shook my head.

  Jenna had been her own woman. She’d done what she wanted without caring what others thought about it, and for that, I respected her. Perhaps that wasn’t the kind of eulogy her parents wanted for her, but it was the one I silently said in my head as I waited for the terrible service to be over.

  “The Leary family have booked Little Hartley Hotel for the funeral reception. Are you going?” Tiff said when we were finally released from the increasingly stuffy interior of the church.

  I shook my head. “I think I’m going to call and see if Lawrence is doing all right. If he’s taking visitors, I might pop in. May as well take advantage of the morning off,” I said with a grim smile.

  “I thought the service was a little out of touch, too,” Tiff agreed.

  “I don’t think I can take hearing anymore of that stuff about her,” I admitted. “Jenna was fine the way she was. She didn’t need to grow up, or change, or be those things they think she ought to have been.” I sighed.

  “I know,” Tiff agreed. “I’m going to go to the reception anyway. Auryn has asked me to find out if the Leary family do need help clearing her place, and if so, we’ll offer to do it for them.” She looked across at me. “I hope they say yes.”

  “If they believe everything that was said in that service, it’s going to be quite a shock if they do it themselves,” I agreed.

  I walked through the zoo, aimlessly. To my surprise, I ended up at the hay barn - the one without the cats. There was always a need for more straw to be pulled off the bales and packed, so I started doing that, before remembering I’d been about to call the hospital to check on Lawrence.

  I looked down and realised I was still wearing the dress I’d worn to the funeral. Thinking about it, I wasn’t even sure why I’d immediately come back to the zoo. I sighed and sat down on a bale, stopping my impulsive actions.

  After a while I felt better. Something about the funeral had given me a need to keep moving, because you never knew when it was all going to come to an end, right? But now I’d stopped and was sitting, looking across the snowy fields and watching the white clouds in the blue sky over freezing Sussex, things seemed better, simpler even. It was easier to find peace in the moments in-between activity.

  To my surprise, there was someone walking across the fields towards the zoo. When they got a little closer, I realised it was Auryn.

  “Hey!” I shouted, waving at him. He waved back and it wasn’t long until he joined me, sitting on a bale of straw in the barn.

  “What happened to you?” I asked, smiling at the sight of his snow-crusted suit trousers. His socks looked soaking, and his toes must be frozen!

  “I could ask the same of you,” he said, looking at my straw-strewn dress.

  “Perhaps we were both doing the same thing,” I acknowledged, and he nodded.

  “I thought I would go along to the reception to speak to her parents, but when I got there and said hello, I didn’t want to stay any longer. There were just so many people saying this and that, and I don’t know… I know it’s bad of me to duck out of the reception, but it just felt like the walls were closing in. It’s horrible when someone close to your own age dies,” he said.

  I looked sideways at him. “I hate to break it to you, but I don’t think that will ever change, no matter how old you get to be.”

  We sat in silence for a few moments.

  “You’d think that working at a zoo, we’d be more used to the cycle of life and death than most people,” Auryn mused.

  “It’s still a shock,” I acknowledged.

  Seemingly in one mind, we turned. In the next moment, we were kissing each other without hesitation. All thoughts flew out of my head, as I felt his warm lips on mine, and we pressed tightly up against one another, finally giving in to the feelings we’d both wrestled with for so long.

  I laughed when we fell backwards off the bale and landed in the pile of loose straw behind it. I laughed a lot more during the next wonderful half an hour.

  We lay in the straw, looking up at the corrugated iron roof of the barn.

  Slowly, like sobering up, I realised what we’d just done.

  “Oh no,” I whispered, immediately horrified.

  By my side Auryn shot me a distressed look.

  “No, no! I don’t mean that it wasn’t great. It was great. I mean, wow! But we shouldn’t have done that. I can’t believe I did that. Tiff! She’s my best friend, and she has so many feelings for you,” I stuttered and then bit my tongue. I was just making things worse by throwing that into the mix!

  “Auryn, I think we’re both feeling a little strange after the funeral, and we may have just acted rashly,” I said, starting over.

  Auryn still looked less than thrilled, but I could hardly blame him.

  “I’m not with Tiff, we’re just friends. You asked me to forget about what happened between Tiff and me, and I did. She’s a really nice person and we work really well together… as friends,” he added, firmly.

  I looked at him, feeling my heart tear up into pieces. I’d already gone down this road far enough, so what was the harm in a little more naked truth? “She doesn’t feel the same way about you. Tiff really hoped you might want to have a relationship with her. I know it’s hard, but you need to tell her that you definitely just want to be friends, and be sure that you really mean it, because otherwise I know she’ll keep hoping.”

  “She really feels that strongly about me?” Auryn said, looking surprised. “She always just seemed friendly.”

  “Probably because the last time she made a move on you, you ran a mile!” I said with a small smile.

  “Oh,” was all he managed to say. “Is this because of Lowell?” He sounded more like a sulky teenager than a young zoo owner.

  I smiled in spite of everything. “Nope. I’m pretty sure Lowell and I are off the cards forever. I tried to contact him, and his response showed me how little he cares. Perhaps how little he has always cared.” I shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. It’s over, anyway.”

  Auryn nodded. I observed he looked noticeably more happy.

  “That doesn’t mean anything has changed,” I warned him, but I wasn’t so sure I believed it.

  We looked out across the snowy fields in silence for a few more moments.

  “Why not Tiff? She’s beautiful and she’s kind. I’ve never known anyone who wasn’t interested in her, one way or another,” I said.

  Auryn looked at me in surprise. “Isn’t it obvious?”

  I shook my head, wondering what terrible revelation he
knew about my best friend that had thus far escaped my notice.

  “It’s because I’m in love with you,” he said.

  I froze for a couple of moments, all words flown from my head.

  “Auryn, I…” I started to say, but he just shook his head.

  “You don’t need to say anything. I just wanted you to know. I’ve felt that way for a while, but you’ve already said all you need to say. I keep hoping that one day things will change,” he said with a brave smile.

  I managed to return it, although I knew it came across a little wobbly. Auryn had acted out of deep feelings he’d harboured for a long time. He’d also had no idea that Tiff felt as strongly for him as she did, but I’d known, and I hadn’t stopped Auryn.

  I was a horrible friend.

  I spent the rest of the day cleaning out enclosures and packing more straw. I worked as hard as I could and managed to give myself blisters from shovelling so much dirty bedding. Even so, it wasn’t enough.

  The guilt over the way I’d betrayed my best friend ate away at me, and I wondered what to do. Did I pretend that it had never happened, or did I come clean and tell her? I didn’t want to risk losing my best friend, but I also hated lying to her.

  I shut my eyes and tightened the straps around another bag of loose straw. I needed to do some more thinking…

  My phone rang and I answered it to find Officer Kelly on the other end of the line. She said that there was something new they wanted to discuss with the zoo owner, and would I come too, because they needed to ask if there was anything I might be able to add.

  I’d agreed, pleased that the police were behaving a lot more politely. When I started walking towards the restaurant foyer, where we’d agreed to meet once more, I was hit with the reminder that Auryn was going to be there. This morning, he’d told me that he loved me, and now I didn’t know how I was going to face him. Did I pretend he’d never said it? I wasn’t sure if I could.

  I wasn’t even sure that I didn’t feel exactly the same way.

  Something was twisting through my stomach, warning me that a wrong decision had been made. The problem was, I wasn’t sure which decision was the wrong one. Had I been wrong to finally give in to passion with Auryn earlier today, or was I wrong for letting what had always been meant to be, pass me by? I didn’t have a clue.

  “Better go for ‘pretending it never happened’,” I muttered as I walked past the Winter Wonderland, waving to Barnaby when I passed.

  He looked up from his iPad and waved back before frowning down at the screen again. I hoped it wasn’t anything serious. He would have had that meeting with Claudia, I remembered, and silently prayed they hadn’t found a financial problem that had been overlooked until now.

  “Such a negative attitude. They may have underestimated their success,” I said to myself, trying to think positively.

  The police, firefighters, and Auryn, were already chatting in the foyer when I arrived. I apologised for being late and the meeting commenced.

  “This is not to be shared, as the investigation is still ongoing, but we were hoping you might have some answers for us. Our initial belief that a single smoked cigarette was what caused the fire has proved incorrect. It was entirely believable that Mr O’Reilly, with his unfortunate habit you told us about, might have smoked a cigarette and perhaps fallen asleep. I actually believe that’s what we were supposed to think, but further investigation of the evidence revealed it to not be the case. There was a smoked cigarette near the scene, but the source of the ignition was a whole pack of them that had been ignited at the same time and left - we can only assume - deliberately.”

  “Someone set the fire on purpose?” Auryn clarified, and the firefighters nodded.

  “Someone who knew about Lawrence’s bad habit,” I observed.

  “Yes, very probably,” Detective Treesden cut in. “We were hoping you might know who would possess that kind of knowledge. We’d also like to know who may have a grudge against either Mr O’Reilly, or your zoo, Mr Avery.”

  “Anyone who worked in the office would have known about Mr O’Reilly’s smoking habit. He’s never kept it particularly quiet,” I said, dryly, remembering him lighting up when I’d been there. “He’s a cantankerous old devil, but I don’t know why anyone would bear him ill will.” I hesitated. “I mean, he hasn’t done anything specifically out of the ordinary recently that might warrant it.” During the brief period of time I’d been around him, he’d made remarks both to staff members and me, that had made me want to give him a good kick, but I doubted it would drive anyone to murder. And in such a strange way!

  “Someone must have waited until he was alone and asleep and taken the opportunity. Especially as they clearly wanted to make it look like he was the one responsible for the fire,” I observed.

  The firefighters shifted, awkwardly. “If the fire had caught on the way it would have, if it had been a usual carpet up in there, we’d have probably just found the remains of cigarettes, with no way to tell which one had been lit. We’d have made the assumption they wanted us to make,” the ginger man said.

  “And Lawrence would probably be dead,” I observed. “It must have been after the marketing meeting.” I turned to Auryn for confirmation.

  He nodded. “Unfortunately, there’s a back entrance into the office through the staff area. Whoever did this planned it. I’m willing to bet they’re not going to show up on the CCTV we have. You’re welcome to look through what we have. It could at least give an idea of the time frame.”

  “It could be anyone who was at the meeting. That was the whole zoo!” I said.

  “Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?” Treesden commented with a grim look.

  We all paused to think about the parallels this incident shared with Jenna’s death.

  “Are we concluding that no one could possibly have wanted Lawrence O’Reilly dead, much like no one could have possibly wanted to murder Jenna Leary?” Treesden sounded more tired than sarcastic.

  I was midway through raising my eyebrows at Auryn when he looked away, troubled by something. With a jolt, I remembered his earlier admission and felt those spiders with trampolines bouncing around in my stomach - and not in a good way.

  “I’ve just thought of something Lawrence did, which could have angered someone close to him,” he confessed.

  We all looked at him.

  He sighed, and for a second, he looked much older than his twenty years of age. “Lawrence has never liked computers. He puts everything he does in a ring binder. Last week, I happened to walk through the office after lunch and found it open on his desk. I don’t know why I read it, but I did. It turned out to be his Last Will and Testament.” He took a deep breath. “Lawrence has always been a wealthy landowner. Whilst my grandad decided to open a zoo with the farm he’d been left, Lawrence inherited a manor house and grounds that he hired out for hunting rights. The family’s investments meant that he never truly had to work, but he chose to work at his friend’s zoo, helping my grandad out, and then my father, and now me. I suppose he’s always been like a second grandad to me,” Auryn admitted. “But I never expected…” He cleared his throat. “He’s leaving all of his money and the estate to me. When he dies, it bypasses his family.” He raised his gaze. “I don’t know if it was his real will, or even the reason for him doing it. I never asked for any of it!” He ran a hand through his blonde hair. “I don’t know why he’d cut his family out.”

  “Might someone else have seen the will, too?” The detective asked.

  Auryn looked uncertain but then nodded. “At the time, I thought Lawrence himself might have left the folder open for me to see, so I’d know he was valuable to the zoo, or something. I’ve been a little hard on some of his ideas recently,” he confessed. “After what’s happened, I think it may have been left open because someone else had discovered his secret and wanted Lawrence to know that they knew.” A muscle twitched in his jaw. “And I closed the folder after I’d read it. Lawrence would never have kno
wn.”

  “Claudia,” I said, and Auryn nodded.

  “Claudia Grant is Lawrence’s granddaughter. Lawrence recommended that I employ her, but I really did so because she told me that her family wanted her there to keep an eye on Lawrence and try to persuade him to go back into retirement. He’s old and getting frail. He was only ever supposed to come back for a very short time. Before what happened with my father, he sat on the board of directors, but it was more of a ceremonial position than an actual one. These days, he’s working full time again, whether he’s needed or not,” Auryn said and then looked a little shamefaced. “He’s in hospital now, which is terrible. I hope he’s recovering?”

  Detective Treesden looked blank but Officer Kelly’s expression wasn’t as hopeful as I’d have liked.

  “Do you think if Ms Grant saw the will, she’d have been angry?” Officer Ernesto asked, in-between taking notes. The detective threw him a withering look for asking such an obvious question.

  “Yes. Her family has been completely cut out of their inheritance. It was a ridiculous will,” Auryn said, still shaking his head. “I have no idea why he’d have done it!”

  “I think I might,” I said, realising a few things. “When I happened to be working near to Lawrence and Claudia, Lawrence made it pretty clear that he’d recommended Claudia for the financial advisor position so she could get close to Auryn. I think he wanted there to be a union between his family and Auryn’s. In order to encourage the union, perhaps he thought giving you everything would make you more likely to accept Claudia’s advances.”

  “Claudia’s after me too?” Auryn said, looking completely baffled.

  “Well…” I said, thinking about it. “I think she was, but then Barnaby came along. Unless that was a ploy to make you jealous.” I shook my head. “Women can be confusing.”

  “Tell me about it,” Treesden said, completely inappropriately. He looked up, as if startled that he'd said it out loud.