The Peacock's Poison

by Ruby Loren

  I was already pulling out my phone when I saw something that horrified me.

  There was a face at the window of the conference room upstairs in the building.

  Someone was trapped inside!

  “Oh, hell,” I said, knowing that I was about to do everything you were told not to do when there was a fire in a building. All the same, I knew I would never be able to stop wondering ‘what if?’ if I sat by and watched.

  With the phone still pressed to my ear, I ran inside the building, shouting at the operator to send the fire brigade to Avery Zoo before hanging up and fully focusing all of my senses on what I intended to do.

  I skidded to a halt outside the main office door. It was open a crack, and when I touched the handle, it was cool. I pushed it further open and was rewarded with a thick haze of smoke that made me cough and choke. I might be shorter than the average person, but walking upright was no longer any good. I got down on my hands and knees and started to crawl forwards, noting that the air was more breathable down here. At any second, I expected to see, or feel, orange flames licking out of the black smoke, but so far, I’d been lucky.

  It was also fortunate that I knew the office layout. It was especially fresh in my mind due to my recent journeys up to sort out Jenna’s office. Even in the dark and smoky atmosphere, I was able to make my way through until I found the closed door of the conference room, where I was certain I’d seen someone looking out. I touched the door handle and was relieved to find it was cool.

  Well aware of back drafts and other scary things that could happen in fires - like the building collapsing - I pushed the door open and prayed for the best outcome. Smoke poured into the relatively smoke free room. I had just enough time to see the person I’d spotted looking down at me from the window.

  It was Lawrence O’Reilly.

  “You silly mare! You’ve just let all of the smoke in,” he complained, as if I wasn’t here risking my life to save him. Fortunately, the very same smoke meant I could roll my eyes at length knowing he couldn’t see. Not that I would’ve cared if he could.

  “We need to leave,” I said, stating the obvious.

  “I can’t. You can't breathe out there. Or in here now, thanks to you.” His voice grew scratchy and he broke off into lengthy coughing.

  I felt my temper snap. I was risking my life to save Lawrence and he was giving me back chat?

  I crawled over to where he was and yanked him down to floor level with me. He muttered something but the smoke seemed to have taken his voice for now.

  “This place could combust or fall down at any moment,” I told him. “Get angry with me later, but right now, hold on to my legs and keep up,” I instructed. His hands seized my ankles, far more tightly than I’d have liked, but I gritted my teeth and started to lead us back through the black smoke, towards what I hoped would be safety.

  “I can’t do it,” Lawrence whispered, coughing every few seconds. I ignored him and kept crawling. His grip remained strong, so I never believed he meant what he was saying. For once, I suspected that Lawrence’s prejudices were in my favour. He wasn't going to let some weak woman leave him behind in a fire.

  Even so, we were almost at the door when I felt his grip fail. I turned before I lost him, finding his hands and dragging him the short distance to the office door. I suspected that he and I would both have a few cuts and bruises after this ordeal, but we were going to make it, weren’t we? Everything was going to be just fine…

  I kept repeating the mantra in my head. I reached the open door to the stairs and pulled Lawrence out, so he was through the door. In the darkness of the smoke, I thought I saw a bright flicker of flame. I seized the heavy powder fire extinguisher from where it hung on a wall, right outside the office, releasing the pin as I swung it round, nearly hitting Lawrence in the process. A fire extinguisher this big was not made for someone my size!

  I aimed the nozzle and squeezed the handle, shooting a spray of powder into the room. I thought I heard something crackle, but I just kept squeezing, until the smoke started to get to me again. I hefted the heavy fire extinguisher inside the door and firmly closed it, hoping I'd done something to help.

  The stairs were not a safe place to be, so I continued to drag the half-delirious elderly Lawrence down them, doing my best to minimise injury.

  When we finally made it out into the snow, I still couldn’t relax. Lawrence was old and I thought he might be going into shock. He wasn’t even talking any more. The snow was no place for him to be. I shrugged off my jacket and did my best to use it to cover his shoulders and back. I was left in my inadequate zoo pullover, but I knew it was nothing a hot chocolate wouldn’t fix.

  I looked back at the office building and watched the smoke seep out through the closed door. I wondered if the place was going to burn to the ground, and if the zoo itself was in any danger.

  I shook myself free from my musings. The smoke must have got to me, too! How could I have forgotten that I hadn’t called Auryn?

  He’d just answered the phone when the fire engine arrived, lights blazing and siren blaring through the sound-dampening snow storm.

  I wasn’t sure how much Auryn heard of my phone call, but he must have understood something was wrong because he said he’d be there right away and hung up in a flash.

  To my surprise, two more sets of flashing blue lights followed the fire engine. I didn’t have time to wonder why the police were there because I suddenly realised I’d forgotten to call the ambulance. I approached one of the firefighters, who immediately went over to Lawrence and lifted him into the warmth of the fire engine. It was a relief to know he was in more capable hands than my own.

  Detective Treesden got out of one of the police cars, followed by a grim looking Officer Kelly. This time, there was no smile for me.

  “Why were you at the zoo so late? Where were you when the fire started?” The detective began, not even bothering with a greeting.

  “The penguins had been let out by Diane, the woman who believes she’s related to old Mr Avery. I had to catch them with the help of another zookeeper, but I let her go ahead of me while I fixed the fences that had been cut through,” I explained, trying to ignore the suspicion written across the detective’s face. “I was just about to leave the zoo when I smelled smoke and discovered it was coming from the office. I saw a face in the window and realised someone was up there. I called 999 and then I went in to try to get the person out. I wasn’t sure if the fire service would get here in time.”

  The smoke had been pretty bad. It was now seeping out through tiny gaps in the windows. I thought that I’d done the right thing by going in there and rescuing Lawrence.

  Apparently, I was alone in that opinion.

  “What is your relation to the man you say you rescued?” The detective asked.

  “Lawrence was… is… head of the board of directors,” I said, reluctantly amending my words as I went.

  The detective immediately picked up on it. “Did you often disagree with the victim?”

  Victim?! I thought.

  “He’s still alive, isn't he?” I asked, looking over at the fire engine to check. The paramedics had been on their way after all. The zoo was known to have a lot of people working there and they’d been automatically requested, just in case. The paramedics gathered around the fire engine and I watched as they wheeled Lawrence away on a stretcher. I saw him wave a hand up and down and knew he was still conscious.

  “I’ve never particularly spoken to Lawrence,” I admitted, deciding it was better to forget about our recent conversation in the office. Lawrence had spoken as though I weren’t present, and I was willing to tell the story that way, too. “Old Mr Avery brought him back to help run things when Auryn was still learning the ropes. I think Auryn is doing better than anyone ever expected. He’s moved beyond needing Lawrence. The only reason he’s still here is because Auryn doesn’t want to go against anything his grandad wanted. Lawrence is sort of a zoo treasure, but one who really does
need to retire. Even his family wanted him to take it easy,” I said.

  I was asked for a further explanation of that, but was saved by Auryn’s arrival.

  The police looked from me to Auryn, suspiciously.

  “I called him,” I told them, not wanting them to think any of this was somehow planned - which they clearly thought it might be.

  “It was tough getting here. The roads are awful! What’s the damage? Is everyone okay?” Auryn asked, looking extremely distraught.

  “Lawrence was inside…” I began and his expression immediately shattered. “It’s okay, I got him out,” I said, perhaps a little more pointedly than I would have done, had the police not been questioning my presence at the scene.

  “Thank goodness you were still here catching those penguins,” he said.

  I turned back to the police to see if they were taking any of this in, but they still looked less than happy.

  “Mr Avery, with the help of the fire brigade, we will work to uncover the cause of the fire. This case has priority due to the still-open case concerning the murder of Ms Leary,” Detective Treesden said.

  I was able to read his meaning loud and clear. He thought that the fire in the offices - the same offices where Jenna’s work belongings still resided - might not be accidental.

  “Ms Amos, we would like to question you further with regard to what has taken place here tonight. Please accompany us to the police station.” Treesden gestured to the back of the police car.

  I crossed my arms. “No, I don’t think so.”

  “I’m sorry?” Treesden said, pretending he’d misheard.

  “I’m not coming with you. You can arrest me if you like, but you will regret it. I just risked my life to save a person from dying in a fire, and you’re treating me like I’m suspect number one. It will take you five minutes to look at the CCTV cameras that focus on the zoo. They will show you where I was whenever the fire was started. I’m willing to bet I was still chasing penguins around.

  I bit my lip. Curses! I’d known that CCTV footage of me sliding down the hill would come back to haunt me.

  “I’m going home. You can question me tomorrow, if you still feel the need to,” I said, nodding to Auryn, before walking away towards my car. I hoped it would start. Otherwise, I was going to have to do a walk of shame back towards the rear of the zoo to begin my long trek home.

  With hindsight, riding back to Gigglesfield in a police car may not have been such a bad idea, but my pride would never have allowed it. I was not going to have it insinuated that I was some sort of criminal! I’d expected a reprimand or two for risking my life by entering the stricken building, but not an accusation like that. I supposed I’d really even hoped for some thanks.

  I raised my eyes to the heavens. The snow was falling in smaller clumps now. I’d be lucky to get any thanks at all, I reflected but knew I hadn’t saved Lawrence for the accolade. I’d done it because animal or human, I couldn’t stand to see someone in trouble and not do anything to try to help them.

  At least Lucky was happy to see me.

  My black cat was showing off rather more white than he usually did, with snow stuck to his paws. Every step he took, he’d pause to shake the snow off his foot. When I’d finished laughing at him, I gathered him up and put him on my shoulder, the way I’d done when he was a kitten. He sat quite happily up there. Whilst I fumbled with the door key, he swatted at the falling flakes.

  “What a mess that was, Lucky!” I said, suddenly aware that my clothes were filthy and I reeked of the horrid smoke that had filled the office building. It was definitely time for some serious shower action to take place. I wasn’t convinced my soot-stained uniform would recover.

  I shook my head as I inspected myself. Had the police really thought I would start the fire and then run back into the building? I supposed someone truly twisted might do it to divert attention from themselves, or even to gain false praise, but that surely wasn’t the first conclusion you jumped to.

  I threw my clothes onto the kitchen floor and went to take a shower.

  As always, Lucky followed me in and sat on the lid of the toilet whilst I showered.

  When I was dressed for bed, I picked up my phone and discovered Auryn had messaged, asking if I was okay. I felt a little rush of warmth towards him for being the only person who’d thought to ask that so far.

  I replied that I was fine and he just as quickly typed out a response.

  The police and fire brigade are meeting with me before the funeral tomorrow morning. Would you be able to come down and help them to build up a picture of what happened? I promise I’ll kick them out if they’re rude to you again. Xx

  I smiled and replied that it would be fine, just so long as he stuck by his promise.

  To my surprise, my phone quickly buzzed again, but it wasn’t Auryn writing back.

  It was Lowell.

  I felt my heart take a giant leap out of my chest and straight into my mouth.

  My fingers slid on the screen, as I opened the text.

  I’m okay.

  I looked at the message for a few seconds. A feeling of cold spread through me from my head, right down to my toes. That was it? ‘I’m okay?’

  I felt like throwing my phone at the wall I was so angry. He hadn’t even had the decency to ask how I was, let alone send me something better thought out. I’d hoped to start a conversation, but instead, I’d finished it.

  “At least now I know where I stand,” I muttered, deleting that text and every other text Lowell had ever sent me. If that was all he could be bothered to say, then that was it. He’d clearly never valued our relationship as much as I had, and I still had my doubts as to whether I’d ever been anything more than just someone he’d used as cover, while he’d worked cases he still refused to tell me about…

  “Now I’ll never know,” I said aloud to Lucky. “But you know what? I’m not so sure that’s a bad thing.”

  I closed my phone and did my best to forget about Lowell and about the fire at the zoo.

  Everything would be better in the morning, I promised myself, before remembering that I was going to a funeral tomorrow.

  Perhaps it wouldn’t be better in the morning.

  The snow wasn’t as bad as I’d thought it might be when dawn broke the next day. There were a couple of inches on the ground that had transformed Gigglesfield into a chocolate-box village, but the roads were surprisingly clear, and I suspected the snow itself might melt away fast, too.

  I arrived at the zoo before it was due to open and met Auryn by reception. I couldn’t help but notice the bags beneath his eyes.

  “How long did you stay here last night?” I asked.

  He frowned and rubbed his face. “I don’t know. It feels like I went home and came straight back, but there might have been some time when I closed my eyes in-between.”

  “Did anything more happen?” I asked.

  He shook his head. “It was hard to tell what was going on last night because of the snow and the lack of light. From what I could gather, there wasn’t actually much of a fire. It was just electronics and plastics smouldering that created all of the smoke. Apparently, we had a lucky escape. When my father chose to upgrade the office, he went for a top of the range, flame-resistant suite. It may have saved the building.”

  We both thought about that for a second.

  “Come on, the fire brigade have a couple of people working upstairs, trying to figure out the cause of the fire,” he said, and we walked up the stairs together.

  The interior of the office came as a shock. Auryn had said that nothing much had burnt, but everything in sight was covered with soot, and in some cases, a tar-like substance. Then there was the water damage caused by the hoses and the dense powder which I’d sprayed blindly into the black smoke.

  The two fire officers waved us over to them.

  “We’ve found a smoked cigarette. That’s not a usual thing to find in an office these days, is it?” The fire officer with dar
k hair raised an eyebrow at us.

  “Actually, Lawrence, the man who was caught up in the fire yesterday evening did have a habit of smoking where he wasn’t supposed to,” I confessed. I thought there was a potential picture emerging.

  The two fire officers exchanged a look.

  “Who let off the fire extinguisher?” The other man asked.

  “I did. I don't know that it did any good.” Looking around, I’d created more mess than everything else put together.

  “You did a lot of good. The fire was small, but it would have spread eventually. What you did kept it small until we were able to get here. You ran into the fire, didn’t you?” He carried on, his slightly ginger moustache bristling.

  “I did. I know it wasn’t a good idea,” I said.

  “Glad you know that. Still, well done for saving the old man. He’s in hospital, but you gave him a second chance.”

  I looked at Auryn for confirmation and he nodded. I felt bad for not asking. I just hadn’t got my head screwed on properly this morning.

  There was the sound of footsteps climbing the stairs and Detective Treesden walked in, followed by Officer Ernesto and Officer Kelly.

  “Glad you’re here! We were just explaining that we’ve recovered a cigarette that could have potentially been the ignition source. We also congratulated this young lady on her bravery,” the ginger-haired firefighter said.

  Detective Treesden looked like he’d been given a lime to suck on, but he managed to recover his facial expression a moment later.

  “Quite,” he said, before indicating that we should go somewhere else for questioning.

  “Oh no! What about Jenna’s stuff?” I said to Auryn, as we walked in the direction of the defunct restaurant. Even the vacated building was a more suitable place to meet, now that the smoke had done its damage.

  “I guess we’ll find out later,” was all he said in response.

  We walked in the foyer and stopped there. The rest of the building was still covered in plastic sheeting, put in stasis until it was deemed that there was more to gain than lose by renovating and reopening the place.