by Ruby Loren
“Oh, you know, I was just in the area…” He said.
I raised an eyebrow. Snidely Safari and Wildlife Park was situated close to Hull. I also happened to know that Lowell lived in the south east of England - just as I did.
He grinned and crossed his large arms. I noted that the hideous tribal tattoo he’d worn as part of his disguise at Avery was gone.
“You’ve got me. I thought it would be good to see you again. I know I said thanks for saving me…” he cleared his throat. “…sort of. But I hate to think that we aren’t friends anymore, especially after what we went through.”
I noticed his eyes were already dancing across my face and coming to rest on my lips. I found the familiar feelings of want that always seemed to threaten to take over whenever Lowell was around and I jumped on them.
“Being friends would be nice,” I said, knowing it sounded stiff.
Lowell threw me a lopsided smile. “I called up Avery Zoo, figuring they’d know where you were.” He frowned for a moment. “Is that kid, Orange, or whatever his name is, running the place now? I thought I was calling up Mr Avery, but I got the kid.” He shook his head. “Anyway, he told me that you were working here. I figured I could use a holiday and… here I am.”
I took a moment to wonder if something had happened to Mr Avery Senior that meant Auryn was in charge of the zoo. Something to investigate later.
I smirked. “You think coming to Hull constitutes a holiday?”
He shrugged. “Didn’t it win some cultural award, or something? Anyway, it’s not home and that’s the main thing when it comes to being on holiday.” He rubbed the back of his neck and I noticed he wasn’t meeting my eyes anymore. Was there something he wasn't telling me? I stowed it away as another thing to think on later.
“So, how are things going here?” He asked, casually touching his finger to the glass of the large vivarium. The cobra within hissed and reared. He pulled away, looking a little shocked.
I smiled but it soon slid from my face when I was drawn back to the dramatic events of the day. I took a deep breath and told Lowell about everything that had taken place that morning.
By the end of my tale, he looked horrified. “Madi, it sounds like you could have died,” he commented, repeating a fact I’d just told him.
Lowell was a decent detective, but he was no animal expert. There was a chance that, like some members of the public, he’d think that all animals at a park like this one would be tame and harmless.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
“Do they know any more about the type of drug it might have been?” He asked and I shrugged. Trust Lowell to pick up on that detail.
When I looked into his dark eyes, I could tell he was intrigued.
“No, that’s all I know,” I told him and finally located the bunch of baby meerkats. They were over in a pen in the corner, farthest from the snakes and reptiles.
I suddenly noticed we’d been standing in silence, not meeting each other’s eyes.
Lowell was the one to break it. “Look, I know I made a mistake back at Avery Zoo, and I know it’s taken me this long to admit it - even to myself. I should never have kept any information from you and I should have gone to the police instead of staying loyal to my employer. I made the wrong choice.” His expression was sincere and his dark eyes fixed upon my green pair. “So, yes, I suppose that’s why I’m really here. I wanted to tell you that rather than just forgetting about…” He trailed off, but I knew what he was saying.
I just didn’t know if I agreed.
We lapsed into another silence.
“Could I take you out for dinner sometime?” He asked and it was like a light bulb flashed on in my head.
“Actually, that would be great. There’s an end of summer staff dinner this evening at Dracondia Manor. Would you like to go with me? I mean, you don’t have to. We could just do something another time,” I covered, already making his excuses for him. I also reflected that it was selfish to ask him, knowing full well what my purposes were. Some of the other zookeepers I’d met that week had been boasting to their colleagues about the various partners they were bringing. It wasn't something that usually mattered to me (I was completely comfortable on my own) but seeing as Lowell was in town… It almost seems a waste to not invite him, I thought with a sly grin.
“Sounds perfect! What time is it and what’s the dress code?” He asked and I filled him in.
Despite my assertion that I would have been fine on my own, I did feel like a little bubble of happiness had grown inside me. Attending a social event without a partner back home at Avery Zoo wouldn’t make me think twice, but I’d only been here a week and I didn’t really know anyone yet. I'd got the feeling it would be a long and lonely night full of meaningless small talk. At least now I had someone I could chat to.
There was also this morning’s events to consider. I had been getting along just fine with everyone at the safari and wildlife park, but despite me sharing my side of the story, I suspected that gossip would be rife, and not everyone would think I’d acted wisely.
Heck, even I thought what I’d done was pretty nuts.
“Do you think I made the right choice today, Lowell?” I asked, voicing my thoughts aloud.
He took a second to catch up but his eyes soon cleared. “A lot of people judge their choices by what could have been, if they made one choice or a different one. I think it’s better to think about what actually happened, not what might have been. You’re alive and uninjured and you saved the other keeper. That’s all that matters now.”
I nodded and glanced at the clock on the wall of the unit. It was already time to head back to the place I was staying and get ready for the evening ahead.
Lowell inclined his head and smiled. “I’ll see you later. Shall we meet here and drive up to the manor together?” He asked and I nodded. I knew the wildlife and safari park could be a confusing place when you were brand new to it. It was better we met somewhere he knew and then arrived together - just like a real couple would.
I hid a smile as I watched Lowell walk away. Something told me I was going to be the talk of the town tonight, and not just because of my daring rescue.
A heavy droplet of rain fell from the sky and splattered on the concrete, followed by several more. The sky got darker every second and a moment later I heard the first growl of thunder. It looked like tonight’s end of summer dinner was going to have appropriately autumnal weather. I just hoped all of the rain wouldn’t make my hair any madder than usual. I sighed and wished for some sort of Hermione-esque hair smoothing spell. If only.
I glanced at my watch again and realised I would have to brave a run through the rain if I wanted to be ready and back here to meet Lowell on time.
In the end, the hair taming spell I used was ‘hairspray’. I figured that with all the rain, no one would noticed if my hair was glued flat to my head, and at least it would look semi-controlled for once. I actually felt quite chic with my gold rimmed glasses and butterfly print summer dress. The dress had been my only option. It was the single smart outfit I’d packed for the trip up to Hull, as social occasions hadn’t been on the cards. Being invited to the end of summer dinner had been a big surprise but the Snidelys hadn’t taken no for an answer. They wanted to include all employees. Well, all who weren't working, I reflected. There were always one or two caretakers on hand to report anything wrong with the animals and make sure everything was ticking over.
I glanced at my phone screen and was pleased to note that I was ten minutes early for meeting Lowell. My trick with the hairspray had saved a lot of time and annoyance.
“I’d better go see if Lucky’s hungry,” I said aloud and ducked out of the rain into the building where my office was.
Lucky was permanently residing in the room I'd been allocated. Now he was a little older, I was able to leave him for the night, so long as I fed him right before I left and made sure I got in early the next morning. My little kitten was growi
ng up every day and it wouldn’t be long before he would want to roam a lot further afield. I wondered how that would work if I decided to pursue this sort of job. Would it be okay to bring Lucky with me? I knew that animals could get used to a lot of different lifestyles. However, I’d known what I was getting into when I’d saved Lucky - after he'd been abandoned by his feral mother. If life on the road made him unhappy, or put him at risk, I would have to think again about my future.
It was only once I’d finished feeding Lucky that I remembered I'd never looked in on the baby meerkats. I assumed someone must have fed them, and one of the still-working staff were probably scheduled to come in and feed them in the night, too. I glanced at my phone again and found I still had five minutes until Lowell arrived. Thinking of my frayed nerves, I made my way through the building to the critical care unit. The more cute, fluffy and generally harmless animals I saw, the calmer I thought I’d feel.
It nearly gave me a heart attack when I walked into the room and someone hammered on the door to be let in.
“Come on, Lowell. I told you the other entrance would be open,” I muttered, as I walked across to the door. Why had he ignored my instructions? He was probably soaked to the skin by now, standing outside the unit in the rain. Why hadn’t he waited in his car, or even texted me to say he’d arrived?
I pushed open the door with a reprimand already forming on my lips, but it wasn’t Lowell.
A young man with light brown fuzz on his chin and hair so fine that you could see his scalp through his rain plastered follicles, stood on the other side of the door. In his hands, he clutched a vivarium. I couldn’t see what was inside it, as condensation had formed, giving it a misty appearance.
“Please, you’ve got to help me!” The young man said, pushing past me into the room.
I stood back from him and watched as a puddle hastily formed around his feet. He placed the vivarium down on the counter.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, curious but still wary about this stranger turning up out of the blue.
“You’re specialists in reptiles here, aren’t ya?” He carried on without waiting for a reply. “I think there’s something really wrong with Mr Limey here. I just got kicked out of my house by my fiancée, Jackie. I’m worried it’s serious but I’ve got no cash to go to a vet. I texted her to tell her about Mr Limey but she hasn’t even bothered to reply. I’ve told her this is where I've had to come, although I bet she won’t care nothing. Could you please just take a look? I don’t want him to die,” the man said.
I dubiously looked at the fogged up vivarium. “Mr Limey?”
“My green mamba.”
I paused with my hand resting on the lid of the vivarium. “Venomous then,” I observed with a sinking heart.
The young man nodded. “Yeah, that’s why I brought him in. You specialise in venomous snakes.”
I wondered how to let him know that I personally didn’t specialise in venomous snakes, but he was so concerned, it didn’t seem the time. I silently sighed and fetched the snake hook from where it hung on the wall. During my initial tour, which had included the manor, I’d watched one of the reptile team use a hook to remove a king cobra from its cage for cleaning. But it was one thing watching and quite another doing. One slip up, and I could find myself in a sticky situation.
“What exactly do you think is wrong with him?” I asked. I wasn't sure if it was my imagination, but the young man’s eyes shifted from side to side for a moment.
“I think he might have eaten too much, or something, and be constipated. That can kill snakes sometimes. Or maybe it’s eggs. The internet said it might be.”
I raised an eyebrow. “You think ‘Mr Limey’ might be about to lay eggs?”
The young man shrugged. “It’s sometimes hard to tell the gender of snakes. People get it wrong loads.”
“What's your name?” I asked and now I thought the young man definitely looked nervous. I was starting to have serious misgivings about this snake and its owner.
“I’m George Ashdown. And you are?” He asked, somehow making it sound pompous, despite his slight northern accent.
“Madigan Amos,” I supplied, gingerly lifting the lid of the vivarium.
As it turned out, I needn’t have been so careful. The light green snake within hardly moved an inch. Every couple of moments, a dark tongue flickered out of its mouth, but beyond that, the snake seemed pretty comatose. Not that I was in any hurry to stick my hand in there. Fortunately, the snake’s position meant I didn’t have to get up close and personal. With the aerial view, I could see a lump about the size of a golf ball, three quarters of the way down the snake’s body.
“He doesn’t like it if you touch it,” George helpfully supplied.
I nodded, having had no intention of doing that. This snake may look half asleep, but I knew they could strike lightning fast and I also knew that mambas had a reputation for being a bit temperamental.
“He does look unhappy,” I admitted, sinking into using the same pronoun as George. “What are his symptoms?”
“He doesn’t move around like a snake would and he’s been off his food.”
I nodded. “When was the last time he ate?”
George rubbed a hand through his drenched hair. “Oh, a couple of days ago. I noticed the lump a day after and thought, I dunno, that a mouse went down the wrong way or something but he seems pretty unhappy. Are you going to have to operate?”
“I’m not sure,” I admitted, picking up the vivarium lid and placing it back down on top of the tank. It suddenly struck me that for a snake of Mr Limey’s size (which was about half a metre) it was a rather small enclosure. I hoped it was only used for trips to the vet and situations like this one. “I’m not a snake expert, but…” I looked at the snake closely. “He doesn’t seem to be suffering beyond being listless and not eating. I would be happy to get a vet in to see to him first thing tomorrow, if you were okay leaving him here?”
The soaked visitor linked his fingers and twisted his hands around. “I thought someone would be able to fix it while I was here?”
I shook my head. “I’m sorry. I understand that you’re concerned but I think he’s okay for now. Everyone that works at Snidely is up at Drancondia Manor for a special dinner. If you leave the snake, I can ask them to come down and have a look as soon as they can?” I privately thought they’d also know exactly how to ask all of the questions I had in my head. Namely, why would someone with a license to look after a dangerous wild animal be so clueless when it came to diagnosing their snake and seeking the right help?
“I want to stay here with him,” he insisted.
George’s knuckles suddenly went white and he reached out and gripped the lid of the vivarium.
“Is everything okay?” A voice said and I realised Lowell had walked into the room.
I looked down at the vivarium again and noticed that George’s hand was no longer tensed. “We might have a sick snake on our hands,” I said, trying to keep my smile light. “I've explained to Mr Ashdown that we’ve got a dinner to attend, but I've assured him I'll ask the first reptile expert I find to come down here and give Mr Limey a proper look over.”
Lowell raised an eyebrow at ‘Mr Limey’. He also took a moment or two to fix George Ashdown with an appraising look. I got the impression he hadn’t fared well.
“Shall I just… wait here then?” George said when no one spoke for a time.
I bit my lip. This building was not open to the public. Perhaps I could have taken a little more responsibility and shut him in my office with the snake, but that seemed like an even greater invitation into an area where visitors weren’t permitted. At least the critical care unit was equipped to deal with animals of all kinds and seemed as good a place as any for our visitor to wait before someone could come and see him. But whilst that seemed logical, there was something that unsettled me about George Ashdown.
“Madi, I think we’re going to be late,” Lowell gently prompted.
I looked at the clock on the wall and realised he was right. “Please wait here. I'll get someone to come down as soon as I can,” I promised. I thought about locking him in, but what if there was a fire? On the other hand, what if he was a thief? I glanced around the room, but as I’d observed earlier that day, there weren’t many animals in the unit at present. It would certainly be an inopportune moment for a thief to strike.
I sighed and told him I’d leave the door unlocked, wishing I could think of a better answer.
Rain lashed down and the high winds made an umbrella impossible. As a raincoat was hardly occasion attire, I dashed across the nearly deserted staff car park towards my Ford Fiesta. On my way, I noted Lowell’s sporty two-seater and another car - an elderly, red Fiat - that I assumed must belong to George.
Lowell slid into the passenger seat, filling the air with his blackberry and bay aftershave. It further reminded me of the approaching autumn. He reached up to my roof and pushed. There was a loud pop. I realised it must have been out of shape ever since the lioness had jumped up there that morning.
I smiled weakly. “Oh well, an extra dent or two probably won’t make much difference.” As long as the car kept running, I would be happy.
“Better get going,” Lowell prompted and I started the engine. My mind was still fixed on the conundrum of George Ashdown and Mr Limey. Was this a genuine animal emergency? Deep down in my gut, I had a strong feeling that something wasn’t right, but what? Beyond kicking George back out into the rain with a sick snake, going up to the manor and speaking to someone as soon as possible was the best I could do.
I only hoped I wasn’t making a grave mistake.