by Ruby Loren
“That is a good way to put it. I can tell you’re an artist. You have an inquisitive mind,” the woman on the doorstep told me.
Too inquisitive, I privately thought, but I told her thank you before wishing her well and walking back down the path. Lucky had woken up and was watching me through the car window. I thought he probably wanted a chance to stretch his legs, and where better to do it than walking up the side of a Welsh mountain? It was another unseasonably sunny day and I was determined to enjoy it - no matter what I knew waited for me back at home.
My phone buzzed, but it was just a text from Jordan. Fake literary agent or not, Jordan was as good as his word in terms of not calling me today. He’d agreed that a day off was well-earned and had sent a text for me to look at if I chose to.
I opened it.
Great news! You’re the number one bestseller on Amazon in the UK right now. The book’s also doing pretty well in the US. Big spike on the website. Merchandise selling, so you might want to check your store. Congratulations! Xxx
I blinked at the three kisses but decided he was just excited. Even if there was more to it than that, I’d already been regrettably involved with the supposed ‘good side’. Getting caught up with the bad guys didn’t appeal to me. I’d met my match, and I thought this time it might be for good.
“Etsy… right,” I said, opening my inbox to find it stuffed with more than a thousand emails from the craft-selling platform. The sight of them made me want to panic, but I shut my eyes, took a deep breath, and contacted the person I’d used to fulfil my orders that last time this had happened. I would still have to mail the originals when I got back, but she had all of my art print files and was well-compensated for the work she put in.
Come to think of it, she was someone the publishing company had hooked me up with. I took a moment to wonder if she was part of the operation but somehow couldn’t match the image of the efficient, but eccentric, woman I’d spoken to over Skype with that of a hardened criminal. Appearances can be deceiving! I thought before shaking my head. She could be running the head of the mafia in England, for all I knew. So long as she sent the orders out in good time, I decided I didn’t care.
There were definitely bigger things to be worrying about.
It was only when I got back down to Sussex that evening that I admitted to myself I wasn’t going back home. After the disaster outside the elephant enclosure the previous day, I’d waited until Jameson Contractors had arrived and shored up the exterior as best as they could on such short notice. Today, I knew they would be repairing the fence and the glass. I wanted to stay away from the zoo, but even with everything that was going on, I wasn’t able to ignore the animals. The elephants had been through a lot yesterday. I wanted to check that they weren’t exhibiting any signs of stress.
It was with gritted teeth that I took the turning for Mellon Zoo. “‘Friend’ Zoo indeed,” I muttered to Lucky as I drove down the lane towards the carpark, remembering the Elvish translation of the word. I wondered which member of the tech team that had amused.
I wasn’t sure whether to be relieved or concerned that things were so quiet at the zoo. I supposed it meant that whoever the people in charge were - the ones who everyone seemed to be scared of - they hadn’t arrived yet. I supposed it was likely that everyone was focusing on whatever the publishing company were doing for my book launch today. I took a moment to reflect how strange it was that both MI5 and a group of high-level crooks were spending significant amounts of time reading my comic books. I wondered if any of them were fans.
I rolled my eyes and walked through the zoo with Lucky at my heels. Seeing as there was no one around, I was going to see what he was like off the lead. So far, he was sticking to my heels pretty well. “I knew you were smart,” I told him and reached down to stroke his head. It was getting a lot bigger, I realised, and felt the stab of nostalgia that all parents feel when they consider the journey their offspring has taken and time’s relentless march. “All things must come to pass,” I said solemnly.
I wasn’t sure whether to be pleased or worried that the elephant enclosure hadn’t been left unprotected. However, I wasn’t sure how much good Katya would do, strolling up and down the boundary walls all on her own. Having said that, she looked to be in a fierce foul mood, and I certainly wouldn’t have wanted to cross her.
“Hello!” I called, wondering if I should have pretended not to have seen her.
Katya’s thunderous expression lightened a bit when she saw me. I remembered her claiming that yes - she had been asked to watch me - but that didn’t mean she couldn’t genuinely like me, which she did. I knew it was bad to put too much stead in someone who’d been given befriending me as their job, but I was learning to trust my feelings. This time, they told me I had found a friend.
“I thought you still had a couple of days off to go,” Katya greeted me.
“I do. I went to Wales today.”
Curiosity sparked in Katya’s eyes. After working with me on my investigation of the missing Abraham family, she knew full well that they had come from Wales.
“I caught up with Rosalie Bridges’ mother.”
“That’s the girlfriend of the young man, isn’t it?”
I nodded. “I didn’t find out much. She isn’t really in contact with her family anymore. I got the impression that Matthew’s disappearance changed her a lot, perhaps even made her depressed. I think everything changed after that.”
“That’s sad,” Katya said. “She did some of the planting that’s around here, didn’t she?”
“I think a lot of this is based on a mockup that was submitted to the planning office the first time around. Some of the original plants are still here, too,” I said remembering the overgrown, but still beautiful, landscape when I’d first seen Mellon Zoo.
“No big revelations though?”
“No, the only interesting thing was that Mrs Bridges mentioned the family weren’t that fond of Mrs Kendal. Arthur in particular seemed to have a problem with her.”
“Wasn’t she supposed to be helping to care for him?” Katya remembered.
“Yes. According to her, she did most of the cleaning and cooking, whilst Molly worked on the zoo. I suppose she probably spent a lot of time with Art in the house. Perhaps he projected his frustrations at being ill onto her.”
“Or perhaps she really was a bit of a handful. What do you think?” Katya tilted her head at me.
A vision of having a door slammed shut in my face assailed me. “I think that Mrs Bridges may have had a point.”
“Hmm… if she was so difficult to get along with, why did they bring her all the way down here to live with them? I know they needed help, but they could have employed someone. You’ve seen the farm cottage. It’s a nice place! Even back then, there were young people on their travels who would have been happy to have a house like that and food to eat in return for helping out around the place. Why put up with your mother-in-law?”
I shrugged. “Perhaps it just never occurred to them. They must have been pretty attached, even if it was hidden deep down. Mrs Kendal is still living around here waiting to find out what happened to her family. It’s clear that she cared for them.” And she still does, I thought, remembering her anger about the ghost tour - not that I blamed her in the slightest.
“How come you’re out here?” I asked, changing the subject.
Katya’s expression darkened. “Everyone else is busy working on the main operation. I got left behind because apparently someone had to stay in case the elephant vigilante we missed came back. It’s unlikely, but I guess they're not taking any chances. That’s the official reason, anyway.”
“And the unofficial?”
She sighed. “Even though you’re going to be told everything anyway according to Luke, that…” she said a very rude word and I blinked. Judging by the dirty look Katya had reserved for when she said his name I wasn’t the only one who had a bad past with the man I knew as Lowell.
She
shook her head. “Yeah, even though all of that is happening, apparently I’m in the dog house because I bothered to fill you in on things yesterday before anyone was able to brief you properly. There’ll be some kind of disciplinary action, but for now… I’m on guard duty.”
“I’m glad you decided to tell me the truth,” I told her.
“Yeah, well… someone needed to.”
We both watched Lucky, who had wandered off to sniff around the outside of the elephant enclosure.
“So, what happens to the zoo now?” I asked, figuring that Katya was already in trouble for oversharing. A little more wouldn’t hurt.
She opened her mouth to give me an answer.
I never found out what it was.
Instead, I found myself flying towards the ground as a result of the violent shove Katya had just given me.
I hit the ground and rolled a little way down the hill before looking up to see what the heck had got into her.
The person in black swiping at her with a machete could be to blame. After a moment spent goggling at the wicked-looking blade, I rushed up the hill to help.
“No, Madi! Run for help!” Katya screamed in-between trying to push the intruder’s arm - and the blade - away from her.
I kept running forwards. I knew Katya was doing her best to keep me safe, but it was plain to see that she was outmatched by this machete-wielding intruder. If I left her now, I suspected the outcome would be fatal. I knew she had a gun at her hip, but couldn’t get to it whilst locked in her fierce battle. Maybe I could get to it, but what experience did I have with weapons? You can start by pointing it and pretending, I thought and decided to go for that.
When the attacker managed to free their machete hand from Katya’s grip, I changed my mind. Acting on impulse, I jumped onto the back of the assailant, trying to get a hold on their neck. The person in black immediately raised their own hands to try to force mine apart.
I’d forgotten that one of those hands still held a machete.
In the end, I was lucky. The attacker’s reaction was unplanned, and the knife wasn’t specifically aimed at me. The flat of the blade hit my face. I fell to the ground, stunned. But my actions hadn’t been in vain. With a grunt of effort, Katya punched the attacker in the face.
The fight wasn’t over.
Surprised by our joint work, the intruder stumbled backwards, but with a shout of rage, the attacker lashed out with a foot, displaying a fairly decent knowledge of martial arts.
Katya fell to the ground again, and with a look of deep hatred, the attacker turned back to me.
I wish I could say I was surprised to be the target of such venom, but the time for surprise was well and truly past. All I could do was watch when the machete was lifted up in the air for a final downward stroke that would end my story once and for all.
It occurred to me that I should probably try to do something other than watch, so I kicked my would-be killer in the knee. Hard.
There was another scream of pain. I heard the sound of shots fired in the distance. Inside the elephant enclosure an alarmed trumpeting began, but this time, I hoped the enclosure would hold. I looked past the faltering attacker and saw a couple of the security team running round the enclosure towards us. Katya must have managed to radio for help, or perhaps they were just listening all the time. It was probably the latter.
It was strange to think about it right now, when I was still in grave danger, but it was super embarrassing knowing that my little act of espionage in order to conceal the demolition of the vent in the attic had probably been in vain. I supposed I was fortunate no one cared enough about the property to have sent someone to catch us redhanded. Someone had probably concluded it was an excellent opportunity for Katya and me to bond.
I shook these thoughts from my head in time to see the attacker start running. I thought I was thinking straight again - although I could feel something warm and sticky running down my face. Katya looked in worse shape having sustained a couple of light cuts from the blade and taken the brunt of that kick to her stomach.
“Can’t… breathe…” she said when I shuffled over to her.
“It’s okay, you’re probably winded. Take a moment and then try another breath. I think we’re all right now. Thanks for…” shoving me down a hill? “…saving me,” I elected.
Katya gave me an amused look that let me know she’d heard my scepticism. At least I thought that meant she was feeling a bit better.
“If we big up your heroism maybe it will get you out of the dog house,” I said right before the guys from the security team arrived.
“What happened?” one said, looking up the hill at the runner in the distance, still fleeing.
“We were attacked, you moron. What does it look like?” Katya complained. “Honestly, you do one decent act of kindness and you get stuck on duty with utter idiots. What took you so long? Did you decide to have a cup of tea and a biscuit before setting out to see if I was okay? This will be going in my report.” Katya hauled herself to her feet and would have looked pretty tough, if it weren’t for the green in her expression. I was reminded that when I’d first overheard Katya talking, it had been pretty clear that she was the one in charge. Being put on elephant watch didn’t change that.
“Do we need to call an ambulance?” one of the guys meekly asked. He looked my way, but I could tell he was more concerned about Katya - who was bleeding a lot more than I suspected I was.
“No. Too much has already gone wrong here. Why did you let the intruder get away? This is one big mess,” Katya growled and stalked off in the direction of the zoo.
I was left alone with the two security guards.
“You are definitely never getting a date with her now,” one said to the other.
I took a trip to the zoo’s brand new toilets and cleaned up my face. I was going to have a heck of a bruise tomorrow, which was a bit of a problem. Today had been my only day off from comic promotion. Tomorrow there would be post-launch parties, signings, and a whole lot of other public-facing activities.
And I knew absolutely nothing about makeup.
Maybe the secret service has their own makeup crew, I thought, half-seriously. If they were that interested in keeping their cover they’d better be able to come up with a good excuse for why half of my face had swollen up like a balloon.
I inspected the small grazes on my head and hands, caused by hitting the ground. I shrugged at my reflection in the mirror. It could have been worse. I could have been dead. I was pretty sure that if Katya hadn’t pushed me out of the way, the person with the machete would have imbedded it in my back before I’d even known what was happening.
I frowned as I walked up the hill towards the farm cottage. The question was - why had they been trying to kill me? They’d been wearing black - the same as the elephant liberators - so I’d automatically assumed it was some kind of revenge thing. But I hadn’t been part of that fight. Sure, I’d been there trying to help the elephant, but I hadn’t really got involved.
However, I couldn’t forget the moment when the attacker had turned away from Katya when she’d been lying helpless on the ground… and had gone for me instead.
Someone wanted me dead, and I had no idea what I’d done to deserve it.
14
Bandit on the Run
It was only when I walked into the cottage on the hill that I realised I hadn’t been inside it before. All of my meetings with various staff members had taken place out in the zoo itself. The interior was a lot nicer than I’d expected after Amanda had described it as a staff room. Cream walls and wood seemed to be the theme. I thought it had definitely been redecorated since Mrs Kendal had lived here. For one, there were no traces of pickle jars.
I walked over to the farmhouse table and sat in a chair next to Katya. She stared out of the lattice window at the open sky it revealed, darkening into evening. It was light for the time of year, probably because of the wonderful weather.
“You shouldn’t have
done it, but thanks for saving me,” she said, breaking the silence.
“You saved me first,” I told her.
We looked at each other for a long moment, and I reflected that we were friends - no matter what her superiors might want to believe.
“I called Luke. I had to. He’s the point of contact if anything goes wrong.”
I thought about all of the times when Lowell had rushed off to do something. He’d always had an excuse ready. He must have really been sorting out ‘anything going wrong’.
“I hope he’s good at it,” I commented.
It wasn’t long before a car pulled up in the car park. For a moment, Katya tensed, but a glance out of the window was enough to make her relax. “It’s him.”
A few moments later, Lowell walked in through the door. I deliberately swallowed all of the anger and hurt I had inside from the knowledge of what our entire relationship had been. He was here to solve a problem, and then I wasn’t going to speak to him again. I hoped I wasn’t even going to have to look at him.
He sat down at the table. I made a great show of examining the woodwork while Katya recounted the afternoon’s attack. Fortunately, I didn’t have to say anything beyond the occasional ‘yes’ of agreement.
“Can you describe your attacker?” Lowell asked when she’d finished.
Katya hesitated.
“That’s a bit difficult,” I said when words seemed to fail her.
Lowell turned his dark eyes on me and I looked back, determined not to drop my gaze. I thought I saw some sadness in there, but I resolved to ignore it. He’d already proved himself to be quite the actor. Perhaps he was still playing the game.