I was giving it an hour, then home. The dogs had excellent internal clocks and well-defined expectations, expectations I had not been meeting lately.
Hap launched into stories from his biker days. Kayla leaned forward to listen, and I watched Hap enjoy the cleavage and Kayla enjoy his interest. Arnie pitched in with rodeo anecdotes he believed were humorous. Denny argued with the blond bartender about not having a vegan selection on the menu, which was foolish not only because he wasn’t a vegan, but also because she was a big-boned gal who could probably bench-press twice his weight. Ian, of course, was silent. He sipped a Coors in this shrine to microbrews and looked trapped. He also kept his eyes on Kayla, who was laughing and jabbing Hap in the ribs.
Denny gave up trying to convert the bartender and swung his attention back to the table. “We’re on the cusp of a new era. Who’s going to be the silverback?” he asked.
Arnie stumbled to a halt in the middle of a story about a rodeo goat who balanced on a medicine ball. “Huh?” he said.
Hap and Ian looked baffled. Kayla cocked her head.
I made the catch. “Jackie says the interviewing’s done. The foreman position is combined with curator again. She’s waiting for Mr. Crandall to pull a name out of the hat. We should know soon.”
Heads nodded in comprehension.
“Did any of the senior keepers apply?” Linda asked.
I shrugged. Sam had asked me to keep quiet. “We’ve got more changes coming up, with that new senior keeper position. Anybody know when the winner will be announced?”
Nobody did. My burger arrived and I dug in.
“The third transformation might not happen until the new boss is in place,” Denny said darkly.
Kayla bit. “Denny The Mysterioso. Auf Englisch, bitte.”
“Transformations. Usually you get three. As far as I can tell, we’ve had two.” He held up his index finger. “Wallace dies under mysterious circumstances. The consequences are still being revealed.” His middle finger. “Rajah, an iconic animal, dies and disappears. We won’t know the implications until his body is found, maybe years from now.” Ring finger. “Next? Whatever it is, I think it’s going to affect one of the buildings. Or maybe a visitor.”
“And why is that?” Hap asked.
“The first affected a staff person, the second an animal. So it makes sense that the third would be a building or a visitor. Or maybe it’ll be meteorological. An earthquake.” He brightened. “Yeah, an earthquake. That would do it.”
Hap wearied of humoring Denny. “I hope he’s good. We want someone to fix what’s broke and leave the rest alone.”
“He?” Linda asked, with teeth.
“Or she. I got no problem with that,” Hap said, unflustered.
“Finley Zoo is on the upswing,” Arnie chirped. “Fine time to join up.”
“Yeah,” Denny said, “a dead foreman is always auspicious.” He added, “That was sarcasm.”
“Worst part is not knowing who did it,” Linda said. “Could be anybody.”
“I don’t think it was one of us,” I said.
“Good. Why?” Linda asked.
“Gut feel.” More like wishful thinking.
“Doesn’t help. Still ugly, still somebody roaming loose.” Linda looked around the table. “Sorry to pop the bubbles.”
“Hey, we are here now to stop thinking about just that thing,” Hap said. “Moving on.”
“Can’t until we know who did it,” I said. “Let’s see if more nachos cheer us up.” The burger was history.
“C’mon,” Kayla said to Hap with a tough-girl grin. “I need to make some money.” She led him to the foosball table and grabbed the poles. “Quarters? Seven goals.”
She and Hap fished for pocket change and started in. It didn’t take long. “Next?” Kayla sang out.
She beat Hap again and persuaded Arnie and then Linda to take a run at it. They saw the writing on the wall and were good-natured about losing. I claimed my belly wouldn’t let me close enough to the table and stayed put. Ian did, too, and Denny was busy scarfing nachos. I said to Ian, “Seems like Hap and Kayla are in living color and the rest of us are in black and white.” He looked at me in alarm and got out of the booth. He stood in the background and watched the others commence a pool game.
That left Denny and me alone. “Here’s what I got on alibis,” he said. I’d forgotten his self-imposed assignment. He slid closer to me and spoke fast and quiet. “Arnie and Kayla and Jackie were home alone, no alibi. Hap’s wife is all he’s got. I’m trying to be friends with Ian and then ask him, but he’s so remote, a tough vibe to engage. I haven’t figured out how to ask Mr. Crandall yet. Dr. Reynolds sort of got mad at me for asking her.”
Imagine that. “Denny, how deep are you going with this? The fry cooks? City council? Mr. Crandall’s already annoyed with you.”
He considered the possibility. “Didn’t think about them. Good point.”
“Denny, I’m kidding.”
He forgot the muttering and spoke at normal volume. “I’m working the construction crew next. Oh, I called Brent and asked what gym he and Sam used, said I wanted to join one. He confirmed that he was with Sam when you called to get help shifting Damrey. I timed the drive from the zoo to the gym. Sam could have clipped Wallace and made it to the gym in time to take your call. Assuming he really was at the gym. I talked to one of the trainers, but she couldn’t tell me whether he’d been there that morning. They don’t save the sign-in sheets.”
“So nobody’s eliminated.”
“Well, we know more than we did.”
“We do? Now everyone at the zoo knows you’re asking about alibis. That is not going to help.” I considered mentioning the fragments I’d overheard from Dr. Reynolds and came to my senses. Denny would run amok.
He leaned back in the booth, looking disgusted. “So what have you come up with? You were supposed to find motives.”
“I’m working on it. I’m trying to find out who was hanging around the barn in the early morning.” I evaded revealing how little I’d accomplished in that direction by getting out to watch the pool game. Three people were up for it, so the game was Cutthroat. Hap moved like a semi-pro, Arnie was casual but competent. Kayla pushed up the bangles on her arms and shot hard and fast. Hap took the first game, Kayla the second. She winked at Arnie and nudged him with an elbow before she demolished him. He seemed to like it.
Hap said to Kayla, “I tagged you as drinking mango martinis with the cool dudes, but you’re just another a brew-swilling pool shark.”
Kayla tossed her hair back and wiggled her shoulders, all sexy lady. “Ah kin ride a horse, catch a steelhead, and dress out mah own deer.” She straightened up and bobbed her head. “Really I can. Daddy was a hunting guide for awhile. But…” She squinted at Hap, “I can also cut you up good with my Nordstrom’s card, so don’ you ever cross me.”
Hap cracked up.
“Darts for dollars?” she suggested, but a new pitcher had arrived, and we regrouped at the booth.
Kayla had lightened the mood, and while we couldn’t stay that frisky, we could talk about the new Asian Experience complex instead of grimmer topics. All agreed it was coming along nicely, with something for everyone—big orangutan quarters, a tall clouded leopard exhibit, spaces for birds and reptiles, all drawn from the diversity that falls under the label “Asian”. Some of the exhibits were turning out smaller than we expected and the drains might be inadequate, but it was all better than anything existing at Finley. Seeing the clouded leopards in a big exhibit where they could leap around in a high tree canopy…worth the price right there.
Linda turned to Ian, who was immune to both hijinks and amiable work chat. “What about elephants? Any word on starting construction?”
He shrank back a little and shook his head. “No news.”
Linda cocked an eyebrow at him. “I’m surprised. Those sign-wavers out front should be keeping it on the table.�
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“Too bad Sam’s not here,” Arnie said. “He’d know what was going on.”
If Ian took offense, it didn’t show.
Hap said, “I’m thinking it’s not going to happen. The construction foreman told me they’re over budget. They had bad luck with the late rains, slowed everything down, and the soil analysis wasn’t right. They had to go deeper for the foundations than they estimated.”
“Have you heard anything about replacing the aviary?” I asked.
No one had.
“Still,” I mused, “the place is improving. We’re not going to get everything we want, but at least it’s not static like it has been for the whole time I’ve been here. If visitors like Asian Experience, maybe we’ll get another bond measure passed before we all retire.”
“That’s what we want to hear,” Hap said. “Sunshine, it’s been a long time…Hey!” he called toward the bartender, “How’s about another pitcher?”
The conversation veered into music and movies. Hap was right, it was good to get together and talk about something other than murder, death, and disruption. Denny lectured Arnie about cross-species genetic engineering. Hap went back to telling stories, and Kayla kept flirting with him. Actually, that was worrisome. I’d have to tell her about his wife soon, the one with the pet rattlesnake. Benita would open Kayla up like a sardine can and throw away the key. Other than a little worry about that, hanging out was fun.
A glance at my watch made me nudge Linda. “Pumpkin time. Need to get out and hit the road.”
She scooted over and I started to slide out when a man pulled a chair up to our booth and sat himself down, glass in one hand, pitcher in the other. A well-fed, bushy-haired guy in overalls, a backpack slumped at his feet. “Hi, Ian,” he said, and went around the table greeting us each by name. “I’m Thor to my friends, Bill Thorson to the press, William G. Thorson to the law. Never been here before. Regular hangout for you guys?”
“Howdy,” Arnie said with a big smile.
“Where’s your picket sign?” I asked. “Are you wired? Is your sidekick in a van outside recording the conversation?”
Kayla’s smile faded, and Linda’s eyes narrowed.
“It’s a private party,” Hap said. “Table’s full.”
Thor filled his glass and passed Linda the pitcher he’d brought. “Relax. I’m sharing.”
“Not the issue,” Hap said, and started to climb out of the booth.
“Well, Ian, are you going to own up that I’m a friend, or are you going to let this gorilla toss me into the street?” Thor looked at Ian over the rim of his glass, draining half of it.
Hap stood up and the bartender drifted our way. I’d never seen Hap in action. He was muscle where Thor was only broad, and he was a lot taller as well. This would be interesting.
“Say, honey,” the bartender cooed, “maybe this isn’t the right spot for you. Let me set you up somewhere warmer.”
Thor smiled up at her. “No problem, m’am, but thanks for your concern.”
Hap stepped up to Thor and put out a big hand to bunch up his shirt at the collar.
“We worked together,” Ian said, barely audible, and Hap paused.
“See?” Thor said and rested his wrists on the table, relaxed and cheerful. “I thought it might be nice to chat. Have Ian introduce me to his new playmates, that sort of thing.” Hap stood at the ready.
“Why?” I asked. “You know we think you’re a jerk and a blister on the heel of progress.” What did he hope to gain? Surely not friendship.
“Colorful! No, I figured you guys haven’t ever seen an elephant sanctuary, except for Ian of course, and I could tell you about the one I know, in Kentucky. Where Ian and I used to work.”
The bartender drifted away from our table and leaned against a support post, keeping an eye on us. Hap eased back a step. All eyes were on Thor. I admired the stagecraft. So he’d come to pitch us. Annoying, but gutsy. “You want us to ship a blind elephant to a new facility. Somehow that doesn’t sound all that humane. Or, of course, we could ship off her companion of almost twenty years and leave her alone. That would be so much nicer.”
Thor sipped his beer. “They could go together. Damrey could adapt. Ian knows how to do a careful introduction to a new space, right?”
Ian didn’t say anything, but the flush started up from his throat.
Thor turned his chair sideways and crossed his legs. “Let me tell you about this place. A hundred acres, trees and rolling hills, two ponds. They’ve got five elephants now, three of them Africans, and they have room for four more. They’re all loose on the grounds, with a barn in case one of them gets sick.”
“And an on-site vet with elephant experience?” I asked.
“A vet’s available when needed.”
“Lame.” I still needed to get home, but this was interesting.
“Who inspects the facility?” Linda asked. “I haven’t heard of a sanctuary accreditation program that’s up and running yet.”
“It will be soon. Let’s not forget that Finley Memorial Zoo is not accredited, either.”
“On the path to it,” Hap said. “It’s conditional until we get the new projects done.” He sat down on the end of the bench that ran around the booth.
“Was a biological survey done on the hundred acres of natural land before they turned five elephants loose on it?” I asked. “It’s not like they’re a part of that ecosystem.”
“North America was full of elephant relatives at one time.” Thor was ready for that one.
“Yeah, and it was full of dinosaurs at one time, too. So what? The elephants will trash the place. It’s what they do. Africa has had millennia to adapt to it. Kentucky hasn’t.”
Thor tilted his chair back. “You should try opening your minds a tiny bit. It won’t hurt as much as you think. Really, the thought of elephants roaming free has no meaning to you at all?”
“Not free,” Denny said. “A bigger pen. That’s all elephants are ever going to get in the whole world. Africa is getting chopped up and fenced in, like the American West and the bison. Same with Asia only worse. Elephants live like outlaws with a bounty on their head, the poachers on their trail.”
“Freedom’s a strange concept now,” I said. “Problem elephants wear electronic collars that send a text message to a ranger’s cell phone if they come too close to crops. The rangers show up to chase them away so they don’t have to be shot.”
Denny started to get wound up. “Like ankle bracelets. Elephants are too much for us, too much like us. We have to evolve into a new species ourselves to survive for the long term. Soon we can tailor our own DNA so that enlightenment is within reach of everyone and not only those who study for years. Then there’s hope that—”
“I have to take a leak,” Arnie said. “Pardon my French, ladies.” He wandered off in the wrong direction. The bartender turned him around, waved a thick arm toward the Men sign, and went back behind the bar.
Ah, Denny…He was making a valid point about the future of wild elephants before his synapses went rogue. Thor briefly displayed the disoriented look people got when Denny did that. He set his chair back on the ground. “Have the police figured out yet who took a bull hook to your foreman?”
The papers had described it as “a heavy object.” Zoo staff knew it was an ankus. Who had told Thor—Ian? Or was it a lucky guess?
Thor didn’t get an answer, only shrugs and silence. I scanned the table. Thor wasn’t going anywhere. Linda, Hap, Kayla, and Denny were rooted and sullen. Arnie would be back soon. If anything interesting came up in conversation, Linda would tell me.
Ian slid out of the booth and so did I. “It’s been real, Thor,” I said. I dropped bills on the table. “See you,” I waved at the others.
Ian muttered, “Bye.”
I followed him outside to his scruffy Jeep. He opened the driver door and looked up, surprised to see me watching him across the hood.
“Ian, tell me about working with Thor.” I kept my voice soft.
Ian shrugged, the flush rising up his throat again. “Nothing to tell. A few months, months at that sanctuary. Didn’t work out.” He stood at the open car door poised to bolt, one hand on the door, one on the roof.
“Tell me what you think happened to Wallace. Was that Thor guy involved?” I tried not to sound challenging, but Ian acted as if we were in a little room with a single light bulb dangling by its cord, and I was slapping a baton into my palm.
“No clue. Truly.” The cloudy brown eyes were frustrated.
So much for that. I gave up. “Sam used to be a decent guy. I wish it weren’t so ugly between you two. It must be awful to work together.” I meant only casual sympathy. Wariness wouldn’t have surprised me, but the scarlet racing up to his brow did.
“I made, made a, a mistake. At the beginning. Stepped in it.”
Ah. “You didn’t catch on quick enough that his life partner is not female.”
Ian’s mouth opened, but nothing came out.
“You made some stupid comment that got you started on the wrong foot, then you kept telling him how to work the elephants, pressing him to train up to national standards. Right?”
Ian tried again. “Misunderstood what I meant. Just bullshitting with, with him. Don’t care one way or the…Never gave me a second chance. I tried, tried to back off, but that didn’t work. Either. Won’t trust me with, with anything. Now it’s like he blames me for Wallace.” He looked desperate.
“Where were you when it happened?” Hard to make that sound innocuous.
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