Adieu at the Zoo_A Jefferson Zoo Mystery

by Harol Marshall

  “Greg puts on a great show for the ladies. He takes them through the exhibit planning process—how we select look-alike plants to mimic the animal’s native habitat. He follows up with an explanation of the research we do to make sure we don’t poison the animals if they eat the plants, which they do on a regular basis. Then he walks everyone out to the various exhibits and demonstrates how he trims and shapes native plants to resemble exotic species. He calls that part his ‘smoke and mirrors’ demo. You know Greg. He has a great sense of humor, and the women love him.”

  “They would. He’s a good-looking guy. I used to wonder, in fact, if you two had something going on.”

  I screwed up my face even though we were talking on the phone and he couldn’t see me. “He’s happily married,” I told him, “and he’s not my type.”

  I heard a pause on the other end of the line. “What is your type?”

  “You,” I said. “Are you just angling for a compliment?”

  Dan laughed. “Angling for reassurance, maybe.”

  “Not a worry. My Hort program’s at two. I’ll be back in my office by three-thirty or four. Why don’t you stop by then if you’re not tied up with something.”

  “Sounds good. I’ll see you around four.”

  “Just make sure Nate and Bob aren’t in the building.”

  I heard him chuckle as he hung up.

  After my chat with Dan, I wondered if maybe I was wrong to confess to him earlier the guilt I felt on behalf of my long dead husband, but the damage was done, nothing to do about it now. I began to re-think my worries about our relationship. Instead of focusing on my insecurities, I thought, I needed to spend more time thinking about Dan’s feelings. After all, love is about the other person, isn’t it?

  Chapter 54

  The rest of my Saturday flew by. After wrapping up the Hey, Look at Me program at the Ed Center, I returned to my office minutes before Dan arrived with the latest zoo news.

  “We caught a woman passing counterfeit money at one of the snack bars. I’m pretty certain she’s responsible for the run of counterfeit money showing up here over the past month, particularly since she lives nearby. Guess she’s been coming over here whenever she needs to launder a little money.”

  I laughed at the imagery. “Gives new meaning to running out to do the wash.”

  Dan grinned. “She claims she knew nothing about the fake bills or where they came from,” he said, shaking his head in exasperation. “Told me to talk to her husband because her cash comes from him.”

  “So, who sold out whom here?”

  “Good question. Maybe she didn’t know her husband was supplying her with funny money.”

  “What’d you do?”

  “Called the sheriff. Dumped the problem in his lap where it belongs. He said a counterfeit ring’s been operating in the county for a while now, and he hoped her arrest would lead to the ring’s leaders. He was very appreciative that we’d nailed one of them. Said it might be the big break they’d been waiting for.” Dan glanced out my office window at Maddy’s desk. “I see old eagle eyes isn’t around today.”

  “She doesn’t do Saturdays.”

  “Does that mean I can sneak a kiss?”

  “A quick one, then you’d better be on your way before Nate or Bob find us together and fire us for fraternizing.”

  “I had a wonderful time with you last night,” he said, locking lips with me, “despite Jodie’s appearance, though I appreciated hearing the good news about Andy.”

  “Me, too,” I said, pulling away a bit in case Nate came by. “I mean about the wonderful evening, but about Andy, too.”

  “Has he talked to anyone yet?”

  “Yes, and according to Jodie, he remembers a lot. She called me this morning with a full report. Andy explained the whole Tony and Jack debacle, but the really interesting news had to do with Mooney. Andy said the reason Mooney wants to buy the conservation tract is because he thinks there’s an undiscovered vein of gold in that old abandoned mine.”

  “He can’t be serious. That mine’s had more explorers over the years than a dog has fleas. Who put that idea into his head?”

  “Apparently, Jack Dubois. Andy said Jack stole a gold nugget from a bookshelf in the Farthington house and took it to Mooney. Told him it came from the mine. Mooney bought Jack’s story and paid him for the nugget. That caught my interest because when I visited Mooney at his office, I noticed a flyer on his desk from Anchor Enterprises, Precious Metals Recovery. He must have sent the Farthington’s gold nugget out for analysis and received back some exciting news. It’s one of the reasons I went out to the conservation tract, to check on the mine, but the storm caught me before I could find anything.”

  “I wonder if Mooney sent Ray Glover over there? I’ll drive out there and see what I can find.”

  “Don’t go alone. We don’t need another accident.”

  “I’ll be careful. Is that all Jodie had to say?”

  “No. Tony confessed everything to Andy, thinking his cousin wouldn’t turn him in. Told Andy he had a guilty conscience and needed to get things off his chest. According to Tony, Jack used some of the nugget money to pay Tony to help steal Design’s copper. He needed Tony’s van since he only had a motorcycle.”

  “Sounds like Jack should have used the money to buy a car,” Dan said.

  “I hadn’t thought about that, but I guess if he had, he might still be alive.”

  “Were they selling the copper to Mooney?”

  “I have no idea and apparently, neither does Andy. Tony said Jack took care of the selling.”

  “So Andy doesn’t know who bought the copper?”

  “No, but Tony knew where they were supposed to stash it.”

  “Where?”

  “That’s the problem. He never said. Told Andy he was afraid he might be killed if he divulged too much, but Andy got the bright idea they might be stashing the stolen metals in the gold mine. So he drove out to have a look and that’s where his story ends because that’s all he remembers. The last thing he saw was a pickup truck behind him and I’m wondering if it’s the same pickup I saw out there after the storm.”

  “Or, the truck that ran you and Jodie off the road.”

  “I’d bet on it,” I told him.

  “Did Tony say why he moved Jack’s body the night they stole the copper?”

  “Yes. He said he panicked when he realized Jack was dead.” I filled him in on the rest of the story.

  Dan just shook his head. “That boy hasn’t the brains he was born with. In addition to the burglary and auto theft charges, the sheriff will probably charge him with desecrating a body. He’s in a peck of trouble, but it’s a relief to know we’re no longer looking for a murderer.”

  “I’m not so sure about that. Andy insists Tony didn’t run him off the road, or Jodie and me, either. Besides, Tony has an alibi for the night of my accident.”

  “What’s his alibi?”

  “Not what, who.”

  “Okay, I’ll bite, who?”

  “Nelson Farthington.”

  §

  After Dan left, I finished up a few details, then stopped for General Tsao’s chicken on my way home. At home, I chowed down on my Chinese food, grabbed the latest Agnes Alexander western romance, and settled onto the couch, which is where I woke up sometime in the early hours of the morning and dragged my sleepy self into bed without setting the alarm.

  And that pretty much typified my Saturday nights since my husband died. I was looking forward to a change in my routine soon.

  Chapter 55

  Seven o’clock Sunday evening found me pulling into the parking lot of Casa Milagro for my date with Dan. He was standing by the restaurant’s front door waiting for me. A warm feeling came over me just seeing him.

  Once we’d settled into a booth in the back of the restaurant and ordered our pork and fish tacos, I forged ahead with all of my recent conjectures.

  “I think my car crash and Andy’s are related, and
neither one has anything to do with Tony and his nefarious activities.”

  “Nefarious. Good word.”

  “You’re not cutting me any slack here, are you?”

  “I’m having fun listening to you. Besides, I like how you think. What’s your theory about the connection between your accident and Andy’s?”

  “Two words. Mooney Construction.”

  “And who at Mooney Construction are you holding responsible?”

  “The CEO himself. We know from what Andy said, that after getting back the report on the gold nugget, Winston Mooney wants to start up a mining operation on the conservation tract, which is why he’s putting pressure on the zoo to buy the property. After my visit to his office, he may have worried I knew about the mine. I think he followed me out there that afternoon, which if you remember, was the afternoon I got caught in that bad storm. At the time, I’d abandoned the idea of gold, and was thinking instead about rare earth elements and how maybe Mooney found some in the stream or the mine.”

  Dan looked confused. “You’re losing me on this. Rare earth elements?”

  I took a few minutes to explain about the contents of the article I’d read in Mooney’s office about REEs and how I’d linked it to the flyer on Mooney’s desk.

  “I never thought he might be looking for gold, because I knew the old mine had been emptied of gold years ago. Now I’m even more certain he was the one driving the pickup truck that day. When he realized I was out there snooping around, he figured I knew about the mine and he decided to put a scare in me. As for Andy, maybe Mooney tried to silence him, too.”

  Dan thought about my ideas for a long while. “I suppose it’s possible, but I can’t see Winston Mooney doing his own dirty work. He’d hire somebody, or farm it out to one of his employees, most likely Glover. Besides, playing bump and run is dangerous business.”

  “Unless you know what I discovered the day I visited Mooney’s office. Mooney used to race in the professional circuit, so he must have been a pretty good driver. There are pictures of him and his cars all over his office, and besides, if he hired someone to do his dirty work, he’d be setting himself up for blackmail and—”

  Before I could finish, Dan interrupted with, “Professional race car driver? No kidding. You might have stumbled onto something. I wonder if the sheriff knows about Mooney’s past.”

  “I’m sure he does, but he probably never thought to link Mr. Upstanding Citizen to our accident.”

  “I’ll run the idea past him,” Dan said, “see what he thinks about it.”

  “You’re not leaving me to eat alone while you run out to tell him are you?”

  Dan laughed and leaned over for a kiss. “Of course not, but I do have to run by the zoo after I leave here, check on a couple of things. I’ll stop by the Joyner’s office on my way. Anything more in that detective mind of yours, Sherlock?”

  “I appreciate the compliment, but I’m out of ideas. Do you know if the sheriff has any evidence to suggest maybe Andy’s accident wasn’t an accident?”

  “I don’t know. If he knows something, he isn’t saying, or maybe he has nothing. From what I’ve heard, the SBI is handling the crime scene investigation and they haven’t released either Andy’s car or Design’s pickup, which means they’re still working on both.”

  A commotion at the restaurant’s entrance caught my attention. I glanced from Dan to the front door where two noisy boys in a family of four were causing a scene as they entered the restaurant.

  “Oh, crap,” I said, removing my hand from Dan’s. “It’s Nate and Mitzi and their sons. So much for your surveillance cameras.”

  “Nothing we can do about it now. Maybe he won’t see us. It’s a busy place.”

  “Too late. Mitzi spotted us.” I returned Mitzi’s wave and watched as she headed in our direction, Nate and the boys trailing after her.

  I liked Mitzi and I needed to be polite to Nate in her presence.

  “Sam, how are you?” she asked, holding her arms out for a hug. “Long time, no see.”

  I stood up and put my arms around her. “I’m fine, Mitzi, how are you?”

  “Pretty good, but I’ve been wondering how you’re doing after that nasty accident.” She stopped and turned to Dan as Nate came up and shook Dan’s hand. “And Dan, how are you?” Mitzi smiled, looking first at me and then at Dan with a quizzical eye. I nodded in response to her unspoken question.

  The four of us exchanged pleasantries and Nate pushed the boys forward to shake hands with us. The kids, who seconds earlier, wouldn’t shut up, now barely spoke. Unfortunately, they took after their father in both looks and sullen behavior, causing me to feel doubly bad for Mitzi.

  But then, I felt bad for Mitzi almost every time I saw her, with or without Nate and the boys in tow. Living with Nate couldn’t be easy. I wondered how long before she’d give up and show him the door.

  “Hey, it was good to see you two,” she called back, as Nate dragged her over to a table by the window. I was glad Dan and I had finished dinner.

  “So much for keeping our relationship a secret from Nate,” I said.

  Dan grinned. “I don’t feel too bad. It was a dumb idea on Bob’s part. At least now, I can park on your street, speaking of which,” he picked up my hand and kissed my palm, “do you mind if I stop by your house after I leave the zoo?”

  “I slept late this morning,” I told him. “I’ll be awake, even if it’s midnight.”

  No sleeping pills for me tonight, I thought.

  Chapter 56

  Dan and I left the restaurant separately after a final wave to Nate and his family. As I drove away, I decided on a quick shopping trip. My first stop was the grocery store where I searched out a dessert to serve Dan.

  I settled on cheesecake, then wheeled my shopping cart over to the produce section for some fresh strawberries. They’d be good mashed and served on top, I thought, maybe mixed with a little strawberry jam, which stretched my culinary talents to the limit.

  Leaving the grocery store, I drove to the far end of the parking lot, pulling up in front of Chestnut City’s favorite ice cream store, the Nut City Creamery. I hadn’t tasted a really good dish of homemade ice cream in a dog’s age, and I loved the Creamery’s practice of allowing you to create your own flavors.

  I’d picked up my order and set my yummy concoction on one of the small tables in time to see Mitzi and the boys walk through the front door. Just my luck. I assumed Nate was parking the car and would make an appearance shortly

  “Hello again, Sam,” Mitzi said. “We seem to be following you tonight.”

  I had no witty rejoinder. “Twice in one night. This must be a record.”

  “I’m surprised you’re not at the zoo,” she added.

  “At the zoo?”

  “Nate said he had to go back for some big staff meeting Bob called.”

  “Probably an animal matter,” I told her, “I don’t get called in for those.”

  “Lucky you. Well, I’ll let you finish your ice cream. Come on boys, tell the nice ladies what you want.” Mitzi bent down and whispered, “I’m happy for you. Dan seems like a nice guy.”

  “Thanks,” I said, too tongue-tied to say more.

  The minute I left the ice cream shop, I called Dan since he’d be the first to know about an after hours meeting.

  He answered on the first ring. “Hey, Sam, what’s up?”

  “That’s what I’m wondering. I did some grocery shopping and then stopped for ice cream, where I ran into Mitzi and the boys. She was surprised to see me because she said Nate was called back to the zoo for an emergency staff meeting. Any idea what’s going on?”

  “Nothing as far as I know. Whenever there’s something after hours Bob lets Security know, and we haven’t heard a peep.”

  “I thought it sounded fishy. He’s probably over at his girlfriend’s house right now. Poor Mitzi.”

  “Well, before you jump to conclusions, I’ll check out the parking lots and see if his car’s
around anywhere. If I find it, I’ll let you know.”

  “Thanks, Watson, and I can’t wait to see you. I’ve got a yummy dessert waiting.”

  I heard a deep sigh on the other end of the line. “I can’t wait to see you either, sugar, and sample your treat.”

  §

  I felt fairly certain Dan would come up empty when it came to finding Nate’s car in any of the zoo’s parking lots, which gave me an idea. I’d swing by Alice Pickett’s house on my way home. Who knew what I might discover parked in her driveway?

  Alice lived on the upscale side of the railroad tracks that divide Chestnut City into the haves and have-nots. I lived on the opposite side of the tracks, but I had to pass by her neighborhood, so why not take the scenic route and drive through instead of around? It was only a block or two out of my way, I rationalized, and I could hardly be accused of spying on Nate, even if I spotted his car in Alice’s driveway.

  Reaching Alice’s neighborhood, I turned into the street that ran parallel to hers. A long, narrow park separated the two streets, allowing me to see her house without actually driving on her street. The neighborhood was one of the more family friendly on this side of town, though a little on the snobby side.

  A block-and-a-half away from Alice’s house, two things happened. I spotted a pickup truck in the park’s small gravel lot. The truck’s lights were off, but I could tell the motor was running and I could see the shadow of someone sitting in the driver’s seat. I recognized the vehicle immediately and stepped on the gas, hoping as I drove by that Nate Olson wouldn’t notice me, or if he did, wouldn’t recognize the car as mine. After all, there were a lot of Priuses in Chestnut City.

  So much for a big staff meeting at the zoo. Clearly, Nate was spying on Alice Pickett. I wondered why, until I saw another pickup truck drive down Alice’s street from the opposite direction and turn into her driveway. I thought my heart would stop beating. I took my foot off the gas and slowed down, hoping to get a good look at the driver because I couldn’t miss the truck’s quirky headlights. I’d seen them once before, and the image was burned into my memory.