by Ruby Loren
I stopped my angry train of thought before it spiralled out of control. This was the reason I was no longer with Lowell, wasn’t it? It was so I didn’t have to play these games.
“Goodbye, Lowell,” I said for the second time. “I don’t know if Amanda will tell you this, but the elephant enclosure is not safe. If something like a loud noise makes them panic, they could break through.” I pointedly looked at the gun at his hip.
Then, I got into my car, turned it around, and drove off before he could say anything more.
A million thoughts buzzed through my head as I travelled down the new tarmac lane. Lowell was back and he was clearly working on some kind of job. Once again, it just so happened to be at a zoo where I was working. I knew I was well past believing in coincidences. Experience told me I needed to get to the bottom of what he was up to with his ‘security team’ cronies… and fast. Otherwise, the next dead body to turn up could be mine.
I called Tiff as soon as I was back at Avery Zoo and told her it was an emergency. She met me out by the cat barn five minutes after we’d hung up. The light was already fading and there was a damp sort of chill in the air that spoke of freezing rain. The dark thunderclouds I could see hanging over the distant Downs also hinted that tonight would bring a storm.
I shook my head in dismay. I’d warned Lowell that gunshots could startle or anger the elephants, but he could hardly control thunder and lightning. I’d have to hope that the group of elephants at the zoo were already a tightly knit family unit with a lot of experience between them. If they were all still young and had been taken from their mothers before they'd learned anything practical… I didn’t like to think of the potential outcome.
I shut my eyes and opened them again as Tiff walked around the corner. Only tomorrow would tell. There was nothing I could do to change anything tonight - much as I hated to admit it.
“What’s wrong?” Tiff asked, seeing my white face.
“Lowell’s back.”
“What could he possibly want?” Tiff looked more perplexed than concerned, but then - she didn’t know the whole truth. I’d done Lowell a favour by keeping that much quiet. All I’d told Tiff was that Lowell had proved himself to be untrustworthy. I’d also hinted that I thought he might even have been responsible for causing trouble at some of the places I’d worked. I knew that made Lowell sound like someone he wasn’t, but what else could I do? Tiff would probably think I’d gone loopy if I told her the truth about Lowell being a government agent, and I also wasn’t sure what kind of danger that might put her in. Much as I hated it, there was a reason Lowell had kept his true job secret. Even my knowing could mean trouble further on down the line.
Perhaps even sooner down the line than I’d expected.
I decided I needed to compromise. “Tiff, there’s stuff you don’t know about Lowell that I’m not able to say. I know that sounds crazy, but it is what it is. After ignoring me for what felt like forever, he sent me a weird text message before Christmas saying that he was coming back to Sussex and wanted to meet up to talk. I didn't want to ruin Christmas, so I just ignored it.” I shot a guilty look at Tiff who seemed to be considering it.
“I don’t know why you can’t tell me what’s really going on, but,” she held up a hand, “from what you have said, I think it’s pretty clear that Lowell sent that text right before Christmas deliberately. He was either trying to guilt you into replying or he was hoping to catch you at a time when you might be feeling lonely and more willing to give him a second chance.”
“That would actually make sense,” I admitted, thinking back to Lowell letting slip that he knew about Auryn’s status as zoo owner and also the windfall he was due to receive from the liquidation of Lawrence O’Reilly’s family estate. I was willing to bet that when I’d failed to reply to Lowell’s text the way I was expected to, he’d done a little digging.
The question was, why? Why go to all of these lengths to stay in my life?
“He was at the zoo working there as security. I think he’s actually working on a case,” I said, keeping it nice and vague.
“You’re expecting something bad to happen,” Tiff deduced.
I nodded.
“Hmm, I’d say that you two have had an awful lot of bad luck in the past with people being murdered, and so on. Would I be right in thinking you expect something similar might be about to happen?”
Tiff was getting uncomfortably close to the truth.
“Something like that,” I said. “I’m worried about this new zoo. It looks lovely on the outside, and the concept is great, but I don’t like the way they’re rushing everything through. It’s like they’re more focused on a deadline than on the zoo itself. It’s almost as if the zoo is secondary to their time targets.” I frowned, unable to put my feelings into words.
The elephant enclosure I’d seen today had worried me. A mistake like that was understandable when the zoo was made by an eco-designer, rather than anyone with actual zoo experience, but it was something that got fixed before the animals were in situ. Also, if the people in charge of Mellon Zoo had known that there were groups of people who were particularly against their inclusion of the elephants, why put them in the zoo first? And in an unsafe enclosure!
I thought back to the gun Lowell had exhibited, strapped to his waist, and I wondered if the people behind Mellon Zoo had planned all of this.
“I think I’m getting paranoid,” I said aloud.
Tiff rested a comforting hand across my shoulders. “It’ll be okay, Madi. So, he’s working at the new zoo on a case and there’s probably going to be trouble. That doesn’t mean you have to be involved! You’re a consultant. You can walk away from this job, and you won’t have to see him again.”
I thought about it and realised she was wrong. “Tiff, I can’t. I shouldn’t be saying this, but some of the enclosures are not safe, and they’ve already put animals in them. Mellon Zoo is a disaster waiting to happen and someone has to make sure that’s changed.”
“Why does it have to be you, Madi?” Tiff asked, a little sadly.
“I have a feeling that if I go, they won’t get anyone to replace me,” I said. It sounded nuts, but Lowell’s sudden appearance was making me doubt a lot of things about Mellon Zoo. I’d said right from the very start when I’d discussed it with Auryn that the animals always came first - and I’d meant it. “I think I’m already in too deep.”
“Are you going to tell Auryn about Lowell?” Tiff asked, diverting the subject.
“I should,” I said, thinking carefully. “I don’t want to keep secrets from Auryn the way Lowell did from me.” Unfortunately, I knew it wasn’t as simple as that. How could I tell Auryn the whole truth when I didn’t even know it myself? And the little I did know was dangerous. I could appreciate that I was getting a taste of everything Lowell had been through with me, but that did not mean I had to make the same choices he had.
“There’s a party tonight to celebrate the publishing contract and book release date. It’s being put on by the publishing company itself. I’m supposed to be meeting everyone in the company and all of the publicists and so on. Auryn’s coming with me. Do you think I can wait until after the party to tell him?”
Tiff nodded. “Just be sure to tell him immediately after the party. You know what can happen when you don’t come clean with someone.”
I did. It meant you could lose everything. It had nearly broken my friendship with Tiff when I’d neglected to tell her that I had feelings (feelings I’d tried to keep under wraps, even from myself) for Auryn and that Auryn and I had acted upon those feelings whilst she herself had harboured hopes for the young zoo owner. The resulting mess had nearly ruined me, but I was fortunate enough that Tiff was a very forgiving friend.
I definitely didn’t want to risk anything similar happening as a result of my not telling Auryn the truth. “Immediately after the party. I’ll tell him everything.” I hesitated. “And if he tells me to stop working at Mellon Zoo, I’ll make my case for
staying, but I’ll respect his view.”
“When did you become such a politician?” Tiff said with a brief smile, but I thought her voice had an edge to it. She was warning me not to mess around with Auryn’s heart. I had no intention of doing that, but I wasn’t as confident about Lowell’s intentions… and that worried me a lot.
“You look great,” Auryn said when he arrived outside my house before we were due to leave for the publishing party.
“Don’t I always?” I said, adjusting my dark red-rimmed glasses and pretending to look confused.
Fortunately, Auryn knew me well enough to know I was kidding around.
“You don’t look like something the cat dragged in either. No offence, Lucky,” I added, turning to my large kitten who had come to see me out of the door. He shot off into the night and I made a mental note to turn the lights on in the house before I took too many steps inside when I came back - especially if I’d taken off my shoes. It wouldn’t be the first time I’d stepped on a dead mouse.
Ten minutes later, we pulled up outside The Dawson Hotel, where Rock and Roll Publishing, the company I’d signed my comics with, had decided to hold the get together. I knew my literary agent, Jordan, had helped influence the venue choice. Lovely as my new publishing company was, they’d wanted to hold the event up in London. I would have gone, of course, but it was nice to be able to roll around the corner and keep everything local - for now, at least. Jordan had sold them on the venue by saying it would be good for their marketing team to get a sense of the place where the comics were set. Avery Zoo itself had been the first choice of venue, but with the offices undergoing renovation after a fire and the restaurant still an unsound structure, there had been nowhere to have it.
Coincidentally, the hotel was just down the road from Mellon Zoo. It hadn't escaped my notice that Auryn hadn’t gone the most direct route to the hotel, choosing a way that didn’t take us past the zoo’s entrance. Knowing what might happen there tonight, I was glad of it.
There was nothing like a rampaging herd of elephants to put a damper on a publishing party.
My first impression of The Dawson Hotel was a positive one. It had an old-fashioned-made-sympathetically-modern feel to it, with bright, light rooms, and roaring fires. Something about it reminded me of Auryn’s family home. When I thought about that, it really hit me how much Auryn had… and how much he also stood to lose if this new zoo put Avery out of business.
I shook the thought from my head. That wasn't going to happen. For all of their quick plans, I’d already looked beneath the shiny veneer of Mellon Zoo and had seen the shambles within. Its shine would wear off very quickly indeed, and although I would be there to ensure the animals were well cared for, I didn’t think much of its long-term business prospects, unless some pretty major changes were made to the management.
“Are you nervous?” Auryn asked, bringing me back to the present and the party that was all in my honour.
I blanked out for a moment. “Oh! No,” I said and then frowned. “I don’t think so. It’s just meeting a lot of people and talking about the plans for the comic, I think.” I shook my head. “You know, I still can’t believe all of this is going to be happening in the next month. I thought getting a book out took years. Small publishing companies are pretty neat, aren’t they?”
Auryn tilted his head at me. “You do want to do this, don’t you?”
I thought back over my words and realised I had just come off as a little less than enthusiastic. Most people in my position would be over the moon.
I tried to put my finger on it. It wasn’t that I wasn't excited about all of this. Having a properly published comic book coming out was going to be incredible. It was just that there were so many other things on my mind. I was a bundle of nerves after what had happened at Mellon Zoo this morning, and I knew that everything I’d seen was turning over in my head. I decided I wasn't going to let Lowell ruin this event! This was my party, and I was going to enjoy my taste of fame - as I jokingly considered it to be.
“This is going to be great,” I told Auryn, flashing him an enthusiastic grin that I decided I really felt. Just to show him how much I meant it, I stepped forwards and pushed open the big double doors that led into the room where the party was being held.
I must have overdone it because I stumbled over my feet and nearly fell… right into Lowell’s arms.
He reached out and steadied me automatically.
“What are you doing here, Lowell?” I hissed without thinking.
He looked around but no one was near enough to have overheard my slip of the tongue.
“You must be Madi, the one all of this is in aid of. Glad I caught you. I’m Aidan Laws, a member of the marketing team. I’m no one important though - unlike you.” He smiled self-deprecatingly. I hated him for it.
For the briefest of moments, I’d forgotten all about Auryn. That was, until he arrived next to me.
“What is he doing here?” he said, louder than my initial hiss had been.
Lowell shot me a look containing his most sincere warning. I had to shut Auryn up now, or face the consequences.
The only thing I could think to do was to distract Auryn with some other information. “I’m sorry, I was going to tell you right after this, but he came to see me when I went to the other zoo today. I told him we were done. I’m not sure why he’s here tonight.”
“I’m a marketing assistant. This is my job,” Lowell interjected, exceedingly unhelpfully. I knew him well enough to know that he was enjoying this.
“He’s a private detective, right? Why would he be working with a publishing company? There’s nothing to investigate here,” Auryn said, ignoring Lowell.
Lowell’s eyes flashed with urgency. Auryn had apparently just got a little too close to the truth with his claim.
“He deals with really petty things like people skimming off company accounts. It’s probably something like that. How about we go and talk to someone else? He knows we’re happy together. I’ll just ask for him to be removed from the marketing team. I’ll say he was rude to me,” I reassured my boyfriend, feeling terrible about all of these half-truths. As soon as this night was over, and I’d got my head around just what the heck was happening, I was going to tell him everything I knew. I was not going to be the same as Lowell.
“You said he came to the zoo earlier,” Auryn observed.
I nodded, noticing that I’d been spotted and Jordan was on his way over, leading a woman I’d met when we’d first discussed potential offers. This conversation needed to come to an end right now.
“Madi, it sounds like he’s stalking you,” Auryn continued - not unreasonably.
I looked Auryn dead in the eyes. “Auryn, I think something really serious might be going on here. I promise I will tell you all I know later, but for now… trust me… please,” I said, refusing to look Lowell’s way. I was willing to bet he was smirking at hearing those familiar words exiting my mouth. The only thing I had to reassure myself was the fact that I did intend to tell Auryn the truth about everything. With Lowell, I’d only found out by chance.
Auryn opened his mouth to say something else, but with a sudden flash of resolve, I kissed him.
When I pulled back, he looked surprised. I could sense that he was hurt I hadn’t told him about my meeting with Lowell earlier. I knew I deserved that. But after a moment, I also saw the warmth of understanding in his eyes. He was letting me know he trusted me in this decision. The vice-like grip I had on his hand - which I’d grabbed when I kissed him - had hopefully also conveyed just how much danger we might be in. I had not forgotten that my past with Lowell was littered with bodies. I didn’t want to be around when they started turning up again.
“Madi! I’m so sorry for telling you a time a little later than the event actually began. I thought it would add to the air of drama if the star of the evening were to make their appearance when everyone was here,” Jordan said, leaning forwards and kissing me on the cheek. I smiled back
at my literary agent - who could definitely work a second job as a male model, if he chose to.
“I think you’re forgiven, just as long as you point me in the direction of those canapés I keep seeing everyone walking around with,” I said, managing to sparkle in spite of the tension I felt with Lowell standing right next to me.
What was he even doing here? I thought he’d be out in the storm on elephant vigilante watch with the rest of the security team he was theoretically a part of. Auryn may actually have a point when he said Lowell was stalking me.
“I’ll be sure to get someone to bring you a whole plateful, after all - this is your party,” Jordan replied with a beautiful smile. Next to me, I felt Auryn’s shoulders tense up, and I just knew he was checking Jordan out. I relaxed my grip on Auryn’s hand but pulled it forwards, so that everyone could see our linked palms. I gifted him a smile before turning back to Jordan. “Jordan, this is Auryn, my boyfriend and the owner of Avery Zoo.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you. Wow! The executives are going to love this. You own the zoo where the comic is based, right?” Jordan said, already turning his charm on Auryn.
I opened my eyes wide and looked away. “Whoa now… what happened to the disclaimer that the comic is a complete work of fiction?”
Jordan laughed and even Auryn managed a smile.
“I’m sure no one here will tell,” Jordan said before turning his attention to Lowell. “You’re the new marketing assistant aren’t you? Aidan, wasn’t it?”
“Yes, sir,” Lowell said, suitably meekly.
“Well, you clearly know what you’re doing making a beeline for the soon-to-be-famous author. Let’s hope she doesn’t forget us on the way up, eh?” Jordan lightly patted Lowell’s shoulder when he said it. Lowell forced a nervous smile but said nothing more and Jordan indicated that I should follow him. I kept hold of Auryn’s hand and walked past Lowell without looking his way.
I didn’t know why he was here tonight but whatever the reason, I wanted nothing to do with it.
