by Ruby Loren
“Hey…” I said, starting to turn and say something to Joe.
To my surprise, he was no longer next to me. I looked around but my PR and marketing manager was gone.
When I looked back at the man, who’d been so rude to Officer Kelly and behaved so oddly around Detective Gregory, I discovered he was watching me. We held eye contact for a moment before he turned around and walked back the way he came towards the animals. I was left wondering why he’d headed this way in the first place. Was he here to spy on me, or was there some other more nefarious reason for his presence? Could there be a deeper reason as to why his house was used as the site of a murder?
A shiver ran up my spine as I watched his receding figure. Whoever he was, he definitely made me nervous.
“Has he gone?”
I nearly jumped out of my skin when Joe reappeared next to me.
“Where did you go?”
“Back inside as soon as I saw who your visitor was. He’s not someone I’d like to bump into.”
“Who is he?”
“A nasty piece of work, and that’s all you need to know,” Joe said. When I gave him an unsatisfied look he sighed. “It’s really complicated and concerns some, ah… unfinished business. Nothing to worry about,” he added, even more suspiciously. “Just… if you see him around here again, let me know.”
I shot Joe another look that told him I was far from happy about everything he’d just said. In the end I nodded, and Joe slipped around the side of the barn and away down the other track that led out of the zoo faster than I could call after him.
I was left wondering who the strange rude man was, and - more alarmingly - why did both Joe Harvey and Detective Alex Gregory seem to know him?
12
When Birds Attack
Auryn and I went to see the puppies the next morning. I found Ralph, the female dog’s owner, to be a likeable and reasonable man - which I assumed was why he’d agreed to make the donation to the local dog rescue on our behalf, in lieu of a stud fee for Rameses. The puppies were now large enough to be accepting visitors and they were looking interesting to say the least. Their ears were still fairly floppy but there was a definite lift to them that hinted they might be perkier than their mother’s ears when they were grown up. Their colouration was also unique. Four of the puppies had adopted Rameses’ tan colour, but two were predominantly brown and white and the rest had white markings on them.
“They’ll be stockier than your dog when they grow up,” Ralph told us. “I haven’t actually seen this kind of cross before, but we’ve got a good idea about what they’ll be like. Lovely dogs - probably good for all kinds of outdoor pursuits.”
“Do you think it will be hard to find good homes for them?” I asked, concerned that they may yet end up unwanted.
Ralph shook his head. “I already found them all homes before they were even born. Her pups are always popular - even with a mystery sire.”
“I’m pleased,” I said as one of the puppies wobbled its way towards me. I extended a hand and gently stroked its head. The puppy opened its mouth and cried out a protest, making me laugh.
“They’re already characters,” Ralph said with another smile.
Auryn and I left feeling warm and fuzzy. Puppies were a cure for any sort of blues.
“How long before that cat flap comes?” I asked him on the drive back to The Lucky Zoo (Auryn had picked me up from the zoo after I’d helped with the morning duties).
“Should arrive today. At least - I hope it does.”
I nodded. In the end, we’d made the decision to board-up Lucky’s cat flap and only let him in when he scratched at the door. I thought that my cat was close to moving out of the house and in with his fox friends in protest. Having said that, it was actually Rameses who’d taken on the friendship. Every morning, he’d bark to be let out and then he’d rush around the bushes, looking for his friends, whom I assumed spent their sleeping time curled up beneath the shrubbery when they couldn’t get into our kitchen. It was never long before the two streaks of orange joined Rameses in their daily game of chase around, before all three went their separate ways - and in Rameses’ case, flaked out on his bed while I applied flea treatment.
“Oh, I forgot to mention…” Auryn said right after he’d pulled up outside of my zoo and I had my hand on the door handle. He had my full attention immediately. When Auryn ‘forgot to mention’ something, it meant he was about to pull a fast one.
“What?” I barked when he seemed surprised by the look of suspicion on my face.
“Nothing much. It’s just time for the peacocks to have their annual vet checkup. One of the keepers mentioned one of the birds was looking a little drab when they were brought over here, so maybe that could be checked? See you later! I’m cooking dinner tonight, yeah? Love you!”
“Wait!” I said, knowing he was trying to dump this in my lap and run. “Have you called the vet?”
“Yep.” Auryn nodded unconvincingly. “I called a few.”
“A few?” I sensed we were getting closer to the heart of the matter.
“They said no.”
“All of them?!”
Auryn tilted his head from side to side. “All of them who’d met the peacocks before. That’s actually a large number. Old Lawrence had to take them in quite regularly, it seemed. They’d often eat things that disagreed with them.” He examined his nails.
“Things or people?” I asked, unamused.
“Yes, well… the point is, I found a vet who would do it. I’m afraid the bill’s going to be quite large because he’s coming from fifty miles away, but at least he’s coming.”
“I don’t suppose the vet offered to catch the peacocks for us, too?”
“He did not,” Auryn said and then started the engine hopefully.
I remained in my seat, glaring at him.
“I’ll make it up to you?”
“Make it up to me right now by collecting the peacocks and Bernard and take them back to your zoo! The lynx has been caught,” I reminded him, grumpily.
“In good time. Leah is still recovering from the shock of losing so many fowl. I just want to give her some more time.” Auryn was really reaching for the sympathy here.
“They are your problem! I never wanted the zoo to have peacocks. If you’d asked me, I would have told you it was a bad idea.”
“You’re the one who brought Bernard in,” he countered.
“He’d been left in front of your zoo in a cardboard box! Would you rather I cooked him up for Christmas lunch?”
There was a thoughtful silence as we both contemplated it.
“We couldn’t do it. Not now. He has a name,” Auryn said, a little reluctantly.
“The peacocks don’t,” I pointed out. “I would definitely eat them… if I could be sure of not becoming a secondhand cannibal.”
Auryn grinned. “That sounds like a great name for a band.”
“We’re not discussing future midlife crises!” I sighed. “When is the vet coming?” I could tell I wasn’t going to win this argument - at least, not this way.
Auryn glanced at the time on his phone. “He’ll arrive in ten minutes. Hey… who’s that?”
I followed his line of sight up the side of the hill in time to see a man striding down, dressed in an official looking uniform. I made out ‘Animal Welfare’ embroidered in white on the back when he turned to look behind him for a moment.
“I suppose he’s the animal welfare officer who’s inspecting the zoo,” I said.
“Are they employing rockstars now?!” Auryn replied looking torn between amusement and insecurity. I knew what he meant. This guy had tattoos extending out beyond his short sleeves, and there was no mistaking the way his dark hair was effortlessly styled for anything other than a man who could not be constrained by the uniform he wore.
“Hopefully he’s got news about our lynx,” I said, brightly.
“Our lynx?”
“Didn’t I say? I’ve offered to adop
t it into the zoo - if they need a home for him.”
“Her, actually,” the officer said, coming within earshot.
“Oh!” Looking back, it had been pretty hazy the morning I’d encountered the lynx, and I’d only seen it for a couple of moments.
“Before you ask, we did check, and there were only signs of one lynx’s presence at the den she’d made. We found a lot of evidence of the food she’d been eating as well.” The officer looked apologetically at Auryn. “Sorry to hear about the loss of your animals, but my organisation does appreciate you turning the case over to us instead of taking matters into your own hands.”
“No problem,” Auryn said, a trifle stiffly. I was just relieved that this man was overlooking the hunter’s involvement - especially when I was certain that he would have mentioned half a dozen times who he believed he was working for.
“I’m Taylor Morningstar by the way. I assume you’re Madi?” he said with a pleasant smile. Even his name was rock and roll. I replied that I was, silently thinking that I would never in a million years have described the man in front of me if I’d been asked to picture the man I’d heard on the other end of the phone this past week.
“Any news on where the lynx came from?” I asked.
Taylor nodded, but he didn’t look happy. “It’s strange, but a DNA analysis shows she’s related to a pair of lynxes from Edinburgh zoo.”
I did my best to not let the dread show on my face and acted surprised. Animal DNA samples were a relatively new addition to zoo life. The theory was that it made it harder for animals to be stolen and sold on, or even inbred with close relatives. However, if this lynx had been found living wild…
“We contacted them and they aren’t missing a lynx. In fact, they’re even claiming that the pair she’s related to haven’t ever had a litter containing a female cub.” Taylor looked conflicted. “Perhaps it’s a sibling of one of the mated pair that this lynx is related to. Or perhaps she herself is a younger sibling - although that would make her mother pretty senior.” He shook his head. “DNA doesn’t answer every question unfortunately. Anyway, the bottom line is… she’s been checked over and is a young lynx in good health. If you were able to guarantee a proper standard of care and companionship in good time, I believe you will have the first refusal.”
“Wonderful!” I said, thrilled that there would be a new animal coming to The Lucky Zoo - and one who was already a local celebrity no less!
“I’m sure Leah will be overjoyed to come and visit the animal responsible for killing several of her favourite birds,” Auryn said, being a stick in the mud.
“Oh, hush! It was hugely unfortunate. It would be great if someone could get to the bottom of where the lynx came from of course…” Someone who might just be me, I silently thought, having my own ideas about how that lynx had come to be roaming loose in the South East, “…but she understands natural behaviour just the same as any zookeeper of ours would. She’s probably just disappointed you got rid of the peacocks and the turkey before…” I cleared my throat, realising I was saying way too much out loud in front of a man whose job it was to look into animal welfare standards.
“Would those be the peacocks that are hanging around in the entrance to the zoo?” the officer asked, his voice unreadable.
Auryn and I both nodded with equal looks of concern on our face. Was I about to get in trouble for the words I’d so foolishly said without thinking? What would happen? Would they take the peacocks away from us?
Hang on a moment…
Taylor looked pensive. “I don’t think I’ve ever said this before, but if those birds were to somehow get themselves into one of the big cat enclosures, I’d turn a blind eye. When I saw you had a turkey on the loose, I was concerned about the public’s welfare. That’s probably why I didn’t think twice about the peacock who’d managed to sneak up behind me.”
Auryn shook his head. “It knew you were new,” he confided. “They sense weakness.”
He didn’t make eye contact with me when he said it. We both knew that the real reason the peacocks were so aggressive was because they’d been trained to behave that way. Lawrence O’Reilly had bought a bunch of ‘guard peacocks’ - trained to attack strangers. However, he’d got bored with them when they’d learned to recognise his visiting family and had lost their edge. That was when he’d persuaded Auryn to buy them off him and add them to the zoo to fancy things up a bit. We’d only discovered the truth much later.
I was still wondering when exactly the peacocks would learn to recognise the zoo’s staff and stop attacking them. So far, it certainly hadn’t happened. There was no one they’d taken a shine to and turkey-peacock fights were a regular occurrence.
None of this should reach the ears of the man standing next to us.
“Have you thought about putting them into an enclosure?” Taylor was saying.
“We thought it seemed cruel after the peacocks were used to roaming, and honestly, we simply don’t have the space for it at Avery,” Auryn said as amiably as you like, before subtly turning my way.
“No.” That was all I had to say to that. I didn’t care that I had the room, there was no way I was making an enclosure just for the peacocks.
“Okay,” the animal welfare officer said, looking more baffled by the second.
“We’ve put signs up warning people,” Auryn informed him.
“Signs don’t solve everything.”
“Yes, but… some people like the peacocks! It adds some drama to the visit, don’t you think?” Auryn said, still trying to sell Taylor on the free-roaming idea. “We’ve got a team in place in case of any accident.”
That seemed to clinch it. “At least they look healthy. Although - there was one peacock whose feathers were rather drab?” The animal welfare officer looked questioningly at us.
Right on cue, a small van emblazoned with ‘The Country Vet on Tour’ pulled into the car park. A man got out dressed in casual clothes with a white doctor’s jacket thrown on over the top. To my surprise, he was accompanied by a woman holding an impressive-looking video camera.
“Is that the vet?” I asked Auryn. My fiancé nodded, looking as perplexed as I was by the vet’s mysterious assistant.
“Good morning!” the man called. We echoed it back to him. “I do hope you don’t mind, but I’ve brought Holly along with me. She’s been helping me with all of that social media stuff. I don’t understand it, you know, but apparently things are going quite well?”
“You’re too modest, Dylan. You’ve got 700K Instagram followers. You’re basically famous!” his assistant said and then blushed furiously when he turned and smiled at her. I thought I could see exactly why she'd offered to help him out. The vet was more mature than she was, with threads of silver in his dark hair, but he had a charming smile and arms that hinted he worked out - or at the very least, spent a lot of the day picking up some very overweight dogs and cats.
“You don’t mind, do you?” the vet repeated when we continued to look between them.
“Uh…” Auryn started to say, but the vet had already taken our initial silence as agreement.
“Excellent! Well, we’d best get started. Have you managed to get the peacocks into containment?” He turned to face the already rolling camera. “Peacocks are usually fairly simple birds to deal with - well, when you compare them to something like a big cat! They can be fickle, but so long as you’re not afraid of the flapping and a few choice pecks, you can wrap things up pretty quickly…” And on he went about various common complaints that peacocks experienced, all whilst leading the way up the hill with us trailing behind him trying to get a word in edgewise.
In the end, I got the opportunity to jump in. “We haven’t yet managed to contain them,” I said in a brief space between the talking.
Dylan the vet didn’t look phased. “No problem at all! I think my viewers will probably find it more exciting to see them treated in the field, so to speak. Not too afraid of humans, are they?” he asked, lookin
g concerned by the prospect of having to chase after the peacocks.
All three of us shook our heads.
For just a split second, Dylan looked puzzled, but he glossed right over it. “Well, excellent! It should be fine.” We crested the hill and entered the zoo where the peacocks were still on the prowl.
I noticed that the queue for hot drinks from the small stand we’d set up had formed in a curious manner. The person at the head of the queue was ordering coffee, whilst turning to look behind them every couple of seconds. The rest of the queue snaked away from the open courtyard and went along the wall of the inner entrance with all of the queuers keeping their backs firmly pressed against the living walls. They would walk away with moss stains on their shirts, but I thought they'd probably calculated that it was a price worth paying.
The peacocks themselves were basking in the sunshine right in the middle of the entrance courtyard. If you didn’t know better, you’d think they were minding their own business.
But three of us did know better.
Dylan the vet did not.
He strolled right up to them, still talking about common peacock afflictions and what could be done to solve them. At first, the peacocks seemed startled by the blatant approach. It was almost as if they were thinking to themselves, did this man not read the signs plastered on every visible surface? Then, they got over their surprise and realised they had a new victim on their hands.
Dylan found himself inside a circle of peacocks, all looking up at him with curious eyes. “Wonderful! Just look at the interaction. So often, I see people write off birds as being a bit dim, but really, it’s we who are dim for not giving them the credit…”