by Ruby Loren
He shook his pale blonde head of hair. “You don’t get it. I’ve liked you for ages, Madi. This isn’t just because of all the bad stuff. I’m really into you,” he said. I noticed his cheeks warming and he looked the least cool I’d ever seen him look. Even blushing, he was handsome as ever.
Oh boy, was it hard to say no.
“I am so tempted,” I said, figuring honesty was the best policy here, “but I’m not exactly girlfriend material. I’m too old and boring. You need someone closer to your own age who wants to go out and have fun. My idea of a great night is hot chocolate and webcomics,” I said, and blushed anew, knowing I was probably being a little too candid.
He gave me a solemn look. “I still think you’re the one I’m waiting for, but I guess I’ll have to wait a little longer. I can do that,” he said, reaching out and pushing a wild strand of my hair behind my ear before I could stop him. “I’ll see you around,” he said, shooting me a smile that made my stomach do flips in spite of all I’d said.
I opened my mouth to say something - anything - sensible, but he’d already disappeared back through the plastic flaps.
“What just happened?” I said aloud, but the bats had no answer for me.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Cows and Criminals
The zoo reopened a day later. News of the bomb going off had finally been released, but it was still downplayed, probably because the board had realised people might not visit a zoo where things exploded. They’d obviously decided not to give the perpetrators their publicity.
While I respected that, I felt the loss of the three who had died and the multiple people whose lives had been changed by their injuries and the harrowing experience. They deserved recognition but all I could do was make sure that I remembered them.
Morgan’s initial emotional offer of aid had lasted all of a single day. It was Thursday and the care of Colin’s animals had been divided between the keepers, despite us still struggling with Ray’s roster. I’d landed the miniature ponies and the Jersey cows, which suited me fine. It meant a lot of time spent mucking out, but I always found tasks like that were good for reflection.
My view on landing an easy addition changed somewhat when I found Colin’s notes and discovered that a female Jersey was due to give birth, pretty much any minute now.
“Great. Everyone’s having babies,” I muttered. Colin had also written that the cow had experienced difficulties during her last pregnancy, so would need careful monitoring. This wasn’t a time to just let nature take its course. I sighed but was inwardly grateful to Colin for making notes, the same way I assumed he’d done when he’d been a farmer. It meant that animals were all accounted for and meticulously kept track of. It was such a great system, I found myself wishing that Ray had kept better records and made a mental note to start keeping my own too. Drawing comics of amusing zoo happenings didn’t really count.
We’d had rain earlier in the day, but the sun was warm on my back that evening when I decided it was time to muck out both the ponies and the cows. Once everything was spick and span I knew I’d feel that I’d properly taken on the care of these new animals.
Now three days old, Lucky was growing more adventurous, and I knew pretty soon I’d have to upgrade his pet carrier. I briefly wondered how I would manage to keep it unnoticed and concluded that (once a little less dependent) Lucky would have to wait in the dependent animals room with the other babies. He squeaked about his empty belly and I fed him some formula while I contemplated the messy task ahead.
“Vanessa, how are you doing?” I called, when the insect enthusiast stalked by. The older keeper looked up and sighed, her face marked by grief.
“As well as can be expected, I suppose. I miss Colin,” she admitted, looking over at one of the cows with both fondness and disgust on her face.
I nodded, not knowing what to say. Colin had been an acquired taste, but as the more senior keepers at the zoo, he and Vanessa had stuck together.
“Of course, I’m now stuck looking after some truly foul pigs, so I don’t know how long that feeling will last for,” she continued, a thin smile appearing and vanishing in a second. I replied with my own smile and she hesitated for a moment longer before walking off. My eyes slid to the broad, messy stitches that held together a truly violent gash on her arm.
When did this zoo turn into a war zone? I wondered.
***
It was only after the final round of the evening, just after the zoo had closed, that I admitted to myself I wasn’t going home. Amelie the bat hadn’t improved. I’d decided I would catch her and do what I could to look after her until we could go to the vet tomorrow. With hindsight, I probably should have taken her before the vets had shut, but I just couldn’t figure out what was wrong. She stumbled around the branches like she was as blind as…well - a bat. I’d sensed it wouldn’t be long before she plummeted to the ground and did herself a real injury.
There was also the cow conundrum. I’d been watching Blossom, the very pregnant cow, all the time I’d spent cleaning up the paddock and had reached the conclusion that she was definitely in labour. An all night vigil at the zoo beckoned.
“How about we grab ourselves some snacks and settle in?” I said to Lucky, who squeaked whenever he heard my voice. I gently stroked his little head and placed him safely in a little pen in the dependent animal room, making for the staffroom on my own. I hoped there would still be a few sandwiches and bits left over from lunch.
I’d just got my hands on a fairly respectable looking cream cheese and ham sandwich, when Lowell appeared. He moved so fast it made me jump and I could tell by the way his eyes widened that I’d surprised him too. You seldom saw a man flat out sprint, like their life depended on it, but that was exactly what Lowell had been doing.
“Please, you’ve got to hide me,” he said, lifting a hand off his shoulder and glancing down. It came away red. My breath caught in my throat.
“What’s happening?” I asked, starting to feel a low buzz of fear in my belly. We’d only just started to come to terms with the bombing and now it was happening again.
“They’re after me and if they catch me they’ll kill me. Do you know where I can go?” He said, and I finally registered what he was saying. Lowell may be bleeding out, but he was in a better mental state than I was.
“Get in the store cupboard. I’ll lock it behind you,” I said.
He hurried into the tiny room where all lost property was flung. Usually the key sat in the keyhole, but I swiftly turned it and pocketed it. Now, even if they tried the door, I hoped they’d assume it had been locked all along.
It was only after I’d locked it that I wondered if I should be in the cupboard with him. If he thought his life was in danger, why did he think I would be fine? Or perhaps he knew exactly what he was doing and I was about to become a victim…
There was no time to do anything other than hope for the best and act like nothing was wrong. I plumped down in a grey chair, just as I heard the heavy fall of running footsteps approaching. Rich, Gary, and Todd tore into the staff room and ground to a halt when they saw me. I arranged my expression into a confused frown.
“Is something happening?” I asked, hoping I looked calm and not as flustered as I felt.
The men all exchanged glances before Gary spoke.
“We decided to work a little late in order to get a bit of the enclosure done. Once you get started with quick drying cement, you can’t stop. We heard someone nearby and went to find out who they were. The zoo’s closed, so we figured no one else would have a right to be here,” Gary said, like he was explaining it to a two year old. He raised an eyebrow at me.
“I’m here to monitor a sick bat and keep an eye on a cow who may be having a difficult birth,” I cooly explained.
“You weren’t down by the monkey enclosure a few seconds ago?” Rich asked sceptically and Gary nudged him.
“Come on! She’s tiny! It was definitely a man and whoever it was would be pretty out of br
eath. Maybe hurt too,” he added.
“Someone’s hurt?” I asked and uncomfortable looks were shared.
“Uh, we saw some blood on the side of an enclosure. Maybe the guy breaking in got cut when they heard us come after them,” Rich said.
That didn’t sound anything like the truth, but I kept my doubts to myself.
“Have you called the police?” I asked and there was more shuffling of feet. I tried not to look as alarmed as I felt. Something bad was going on here and I’d inadvertently landed right in the middle of it.
It was then I noticed a dark spot of blood on the glass coffee table. It must have fallen from Lowell when he’d first arrived in the staff room. As casually as I could, I placed my sandwich neatly over the blood spot. “Well, if you haven’t called the police yet, I think I probably should do that. It could be someone trying to plant another bomb, or go after another zookeeper.” My blood chilled when I thought of that possibility. Here I was, staying the night alone at the zoo, when the last keeper who had stayed late wound up at the bottom of the penguin pool. It wasn’t one of my smartest ideas.
“You're sure you didn’t see anything?” Rich asked again and I shook my head.
“No, but before you guys ran in, I heard someone run by in the direction of reception. I just figured it was someone who lost track of time and didn’t want to miss their dinner.” I raised my eyes to meet each of the men in turn, ignoring the way my skin crawled. “I’m sure glad you’re all around though. Anything might have happened to me if you hadn’t chased him off.”
“That’s okay, we’re just doing our bit to keep the zoo safe,” Rich said, and Gary flashed me a smile.
I felt sick.
“Are you all going to keep on looking? I really don’t mind calling the police,” I said, aware that the men were now just standing there, staring at me. They were also starting to look around more carefully, and I really didn’t want them to spot any signs Lowell had left behind that I might have missed.
“We’ll give them a call, Madi. I think we’re going to be heading out. We scared that guy off pretty good. You should be fine here tonight,” Rich said, and the others nodded before finally filing back out of the staffroom.
I waited until their footsteps had fully faded, and then another five minutes more, before I let Lowell out of the cupboard.
“Thank you so much…” He started to say, but I folded my arms and gave him a look that made him shut up.
“You need to explain yourself, Lowell Adagio,” I said.
He frowned when he heard his real name.
“Right. How did you…?”
“I’ll tell you once you’ve told me everything I want to know,” I said to him, casting an anxious glance over my shoulder. I was nearly certain that the lynch mob had given up and gone home, but I still didn’t want to take the risk of talking to Lowell in such an accessible area.
“Come with me. We can talk in the dependent animal unit,” I told him.
We managed to make it there without incident. Now that the builders had disappeared, the zoo was quiet, with the exception of the noises of the nocturnal animals waking up and the diurnals preparing for bed.
“How much do you know?” Lowell asked, as soon as I’d shut the door after us.
I hesitated before answering, still not sure if I was helping the bad guy, or the good guy.
“I’m working for Mr Avery senior, if that helps at all,” Lowell added and a lot of things started to make sense.
“You’re a private detective. A search with your photo on the internet was enough for me to figure that out. You should really do something to fix that,” I told him and he nodded humbly. “I know that the zoo is being attacked and the police don’t seem to be able to do a thing to stop it, or find whoever is responsible.” I paused, thinking before I continued to mindlessly recite the ‘facts’ that were circulating the zoo right now. “Supposedly, there’s a group of animal rights extremists who are out to get everyone at the zoo, and will do anything to shut it down, including killing people and poisoning animals to prove a point,” I said slowly, working it out as I went. “But if that were the whole truth, why would you have been spying on Rich and the builders? I could be wrong, but they don’t strike me as the animal activist type. So why are you investigating them?”
Lowell’s dark eyes looked amused and I could have sworn there was even a hint of pride there.
“There is more to this situation than meets the eye, at least, that’s what I’ve figured out so far. The animal rights activists are being used as a front for a gang of criminals to hide behind. Criminals with a very different set of goals,” he explained. “Mr Avery hired me to investigate after he noticed something odd, but I still haven’t got enough evidence. That was why I took the risk and tried to listen in on the little meeting they were having after hours. Normally on a job, I bug the places where I know that the people I’m watching will meet and talk, but this work is all outside. I have to think on my feet. I was hiding next to the squirrel monkey enclosure using my phone to record them, but one of the monkeys saw me and started screeching. I ran for it, but got caught on one of those damn trees, which tore my shoulder open.” He looked down, remembering for the first time he’d been injured.
I grabbed the first aid box from the wall and laid out the supplies for cleaning him up. He willingly lifted his torn shirt up over his head and I tried not to think too hard about all of those muscles on his tanned torso.
“Did you hear anything good?” I asked, as I tried to be professional and focused on disinfecting the wound.
“I heard a lot and none of it good. They were the ones who set the bomb,” he said.
I stopped dabbing with the antiseptic wipe and looked up into his serious face. “You’re serious? They’re the ones who killed people?”
“Yeah. Gary’s the one who made the bomb. I heard him say he used to dabble with stuff like making napalm when he was a kid. With the internet being what it is these days, it’s not exactly rocket science to figure out how to put together a bomb, especially when you’re working at a place where you can order all kinds of agricultural supplies without anyone batting an eyelid.” Lowell winced as I removed a bit of grit.
“You’ve got to go to the police with what you know. They need to be arrested! Did they kill Ray as well?” I asked, still mightily confused as to why the builders had decided to go on a killing spree.
“I think they might have had something to do with it. Although I don’t know for sure.” He sighed and I taped up the wound before covering it with a gauze pad.
I made to remove my hand but he reached out and grabbed it before I could take it back.
“I know this is bad but I really need you to trust me. We’re going to have to wait just a little bit longer before getting the police involved.”
“Why? They need to be stopped before they do something else. Lowell, you said they were going to kill you if they found you tonight,” I reminded him.
“It’s not a good situation and I’m really sorry that you’re a part of this because it means you’re in danger too.” He ran a hand through his thick, dark hair. “Something big is about to go down, but the less you know, the better. That way if anything happens…” He trailed off but I wasn’t buying it.
“I’m already in too deep, Lowell. You’d better tell me.”
“I will, I promise. I just need another couple of days. I think it’s going to happen on Saturday night and that will be a chance to catch the whole gang redhanded, without involving the police.” He shot me an anxious look. “It’s the way that Mr Avery wants it to be and he’s the one hiring me.”
I sighed and looked down at Lucky, who was enjoying his newfound crawling freedom in the holding unit I’d placed him in.
“Two more days. I hope nobody else is going to die?” I said, my eyes warning him that he’d better not be playing with people’s lives.
Lowell shook his head. “No, this is what they’ve wanted to hide all
along. Everything else was just to divert attention away. It’ll be safe unless someone interferes.”
“Someone like you,” I said with a wan smile, not happy about any of this. “You know, you really need to give me a better reason than that,” I told him, worry creasing my brow. “I know you aren’t telling me something vital.”
Lowell’s answer was to rest both palms on my upper arms and pull me closer towards him. “It will be a huge favour to me,” he said, his voice a low rumble. A shiver ran up my spine and I did my best to cover it up, but being so close to this mysterious man who had been on my mind for more than a week was very difficult indeed. Especially when he seemed fully aware of the effect he was having on me.
“There was something between us the first time we saw each other,” he said, his gaze lowered to mine. His right hand moved up and grazed the bottom of my jawline. I tried not to gulp too noticeably.
“If you can't tell me anything important, then tell me this…”
Lowell’s expression darkened for a second.
“That tattoo… it’s not real, right?” I asked, nodding to the tribal abomination on his upper forearm.
He laughed. It’s a fake. I needed something that would make me seem like just another one of the lads. I was hoping they’d be more willing to trust me.”
I raised an eyebrow. “And you thought ‘tattoo’. That’s so inventive.”
“Shut up,” he told me with a smile, his hand lifting my chin, as he lowered his head to mine. Our lips met with a crackle of electricity and I fought with my conscience. All of the thoughts about what Lowell was keeping from me spun around in my head for a few moments more, before I slammed the lid down on them. Yes, he was keeping secrets, but right now nothing felt more right than this… this inevitability. Would a few stolen moments really make a difference in the grand scheme of things? It may even make him more susceptible to being grilled later.