Rizzoli pauses in the midst of plucking hairs from the mounted tiger and looks at me. “Then this house would definitely piss him off. All these cats, killed for sport. Then Leon Gott went bragging about it in a magazine.” She points to the gallery of photos hanging on the opposite wall. “That’s Elliot’s dad.”
In all the pictures, I see the same middle-aged man, posing with a rifle next to his various kills. There is also a framed magazine article: “The Trophy Master: An Interview with Boston’s Master Taxidermist.”
“I had no idea Elliot’s father was a hunter.”
“Elliot never told you?”
“Not a word. He didn’t talk about his father at all.”
“Probably because he was ashamed of him. Elliot and his dad had a falling-out years before. Leon liked to blast away at animals. Elliot wanted to save the dolphins, the wolves, and the field mice.”
“Well, I know he loved birds. On safari, he was always pointing them out to us, trying to identify them.” I look at the photos of Leon Gott with his dead-animal conquests and shake my head. “Poor Elliot. He was everyone’s punching bag.”
“What do you mean?”
“Richard was always putting him down, making him the butt of jokes. Men and their testosterone, always trying to one-up each other. Richard had to be king, and Elliot had to bow. It was all about impressing the blondes.”
“The two South African girls?”
“Sylvia and Vivian. Elliot had such a crush on them, and Richard never lost a chance to show how much more of a man he was.”
“You still sound bitter about it, Millie,” she observes quietly.
I’m surprised that I am bitter. That even after six years, it still stings to remember those nights around the campfire, Richard’s attention all on the girls.
“And during this battle for male dominance, where was Johnny in all this?” she asks.
“It’s odd, but he didn’t really seem to care. He just stood back and watched the drama. All our petty battles and jealousies—none of it seemed to matter to him.”
“Maybe because he had other things to think about. Like what he had planned for all of you.”
Was he thinking about those plans as he sat beside me at the fire? Was he imagining how it would feel to spill my blood, watch life drain from my eyes? Feeling suddenly cold, I hug myself as I look at the photos of Leon Gott and his conquered animals.
Rizzoli comes to stand beside me. “I hear he was an asshole,” she says, looking at Gott’s picture. “But even assholes deserve justice.”
“No wonder Elliot never mentioned him.”
“Did he ever talk about his girlfriend?”
I look at her. “Girlfriend?”
“Jodi Underwood. She and Elliot were together for two years.”
This surprises me. “He was so busy mooning over the blondes, he never mentioned any girlfriend. Have you met her? What is she like?”
She doesn’t answer right away. Something’s troubling her, something that makes her hesitate before responding.
“Jodi Underwood is dead. She was killed the same night Leon was.”
I stare at her. “You didn’t tell me. Why didn’t you tell me?”
“It’s an active investigation so there are things I can’t tell you, Millie.”
“You brought me all this way to help you, yet you keep things from me. Important things. You should have told me that.”
“We don’t know that their deaths are connected. Jodi’s murder looks like a robbery, and the method of killing was entirely different from Leon’s. That’s why I came for these hair samples. We’re looking for a physical link between the attacks.”
“Isn’t it obvious? The connection is Elliot.” The realization hits me with such force that for a moment I can’t speak, can’t even breathe. I whisper: “The connection is me.”
“What do you mean?”
“Why did you contact me? Why did you think I could help you?”
“Because we followed the links. They led us to the Botswana murders. And you.”
“Exactly. Those links led you to me. For six years I’ve been hiding in Touws River, living under a different name. I’ve stayed away from London because I was afraid Johnny would find me. You think he’s here, in Boston. And now, so am I.” I swallow hard. “Right where he wants me.”
I see my alarm reflected in her eyes. She says quietly: “Let’s go. I’m taking you back to Maura’s.”
As we step out of the house, I feel as vulnerable as a gazelle in open grass. I imagine eyes everywhere, watching me from the houses, from the passing cars. I wonder how many people know that I’m in Boston. I remember the crowded airport where we landed yesterday, and I think of all the people who might have seen me in the Boston PD lobby or in the cafeteria or waiting for the elevator. If Johnny was there, would I have spotted him?
Or am I like the gazelle, blind to the lion until the moment he springs?
THIRTY
“IN HER MIND, HE’S GROWN INTO A MONSTER OF MYTHICAL PROPORTIONS,” said Maura. “For six years, she’s been obsessed with him. It’s only natural she thinks this hunt is all about her.”
From the living room, Jane could hear the sound of the shower running in the guest bathroom. While Millie was out of earshot, this was their chance to talk about her in private, and Maura was quick to offer her opinion.
“Think about how preposterous her idea is, Jane. She thinks superhuman Johnny killed Elliot’s father, killed Elliot’s girlfriend, and had the miraculous foresight to plant a silver cigarette lighter as a clue five years ago? All this, to lure her out of hiding?” Maura shook her head. “Even for a master chess player, it’s too elaborate.”
“But it’s possible this is about her.”
“Where’s your proof that Jodi Underwood and Leon Gott were killed by the same perp? He was strung up and gutted. She was strangled in a quick, efficient blitz attack. Unless there’s a DNA match with those cat hairs—”
“The tiger hair’s pretty convincing.”
“What tiger hair?”
“The forensic lab called me just before we left to come here. You know that unidentified third strand on Jodi’s blue bathrobe? It came from a Bengal tiger.” Jane pulled the plastic evidence bag from her pocket. “Leon Gott just happens to have a tiger head mounted on his wall. What are the chances there are two different killers running around who’ve both been in contact with a tiger?”
Maura frowned at the hairs in the evidence bag. “Well, that does make your case a lot more convincing. Outside of a zoo, you’re not going to find many …” She paused, looked at Jane. “The zoo has a Bengal tiger. What if that hair was from a live animal?”
The zoo.
A memory suddenly sprang into Jane’s head. The leopard cage. Debra Lopez, mauled and bleeding at her feet. And the veterinarian, Dr. Oberlin, crouched over Debra’s body, his hands pumping on her chest as he desperately tried to restart her heart. Tall, blond, blue eyes. Just like Johnny Posthumus.
Jane pulled out her cell phone.
HALF AN HOUR LATER, Dr. Alan Rhodes called back. “I’m not sure why you want this, but I was able to find you a photo of Greg Oberlin. It’s not a very good one. It was taken at our fund-raiser a few weeks ago. What’s this all about, anyway?”
“You didn’t tell Dr. Oberlin about this, right?” said Jane.
“You asked me not to. Frankly, I don’t feel comfortable going behind his back. Is this some sort of police matter?”
“I can’t share the details, Dr. Rhodes. It needs to stay confidential. Can you email that photo?”
“You mean, right now?”
“Yes right now.” Jane called out: “Maura, I need to use your computer. He’s sending the photo.”
“It’s in my study.”
By the time Jane sat down at Maura’s desk and signed into her email account, the photo was already in her inbox. Rhodes had said it was taken during a zoo fund-raiser, and the event was clearly a black-tie affair.
She saw half a dozen smiling guests posed in a ballroom, wineglasses in hand. Dr. Oberlin was at the edge of the image, partly turned away as he reached toward the canapé tray.
“Okay, I’m looking at it now,” she said to Rhodes over the phone. “But it’s not the best shot of him. Do you have any others?”
“I’d have to hunt around. Or I could just ask him for one.”
“No. Do not ask him.”
“Can you please tell me what this is all about? You’re not investigating Greg, are you, because he’s as straight-arrow as they come.”
“Do you know if he’s ever been to Africa?”
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“Do you know if he’s visited Africa?”
“I’m sure he has. His mother’s originally from Johannesburg. Look, you need to ask Greg yourself. This is making me uncomfortable.”
Jane heard footsteps and swiveled around to see Millie standing behind her. “What do you think?” Jane asked her. “Is it him?”
Millie didn’t answer. She stood with eyes rooted on the photo, hands clutching the back of Jane’s chair. Her silence stretched on so long that the computer screen went black, and Jane had to reawaken it.
“Is it Johnny?” she asked.
“It … it could be,” Millie whispered. “I’m not sure.”
“Rhodes,” said Jane into the phone. “I need a better photo.”
She heard him sigh. “I’ll ask Dr. Mikovitz. Or maybe his secretary has something in the PR office.”
“No, that’s too many people in the loop.”
“Look, I don’t know how else you’re going to get one. Unless you want to come here with your own camera.”
Jane looked at Millie, whose eyes were still fixed on the screen image of Dr. Gregory Oberlin. And she said: “That’s exactly what I’m going to do.”
THIRTY-ONE
SHE PROMISES I’LL BE SAFE. SHE SAYS I’LL NEVER HAVE TO FACE HIM DIRECTLY because it will all be done with video, and multiple police officers will be on the premises. I sit with Detective Frost in the zoo parking lot, and from his car I watch families and children funneling through the entrance. They look happy and excited about a day at the zoo. It’s Saturday, at last the sun is shining, and everything looks different—clean and bright and crisp. I feel the difference in myself as well. Yes, I’m nervous, and more than a little scared, but for the first time in six years I think the sun is about to rise in my own life, and soon all the shadows will be washed away.
Detective Frost answers his ringing cell phone. “Yeah, we’re still in the parking lot. I’ll bring her in now.” He looks at me. “Rizzoli’s interviewing Dr. Oberlin in the animal care facility. That’s at the south end of the zoo, and we won’t go anywhere near there. You don’t have a thing to worry about.” He opens the door. “Let’s go, Millie.”
He’s right beside me as we head toward the entrance. None of the ticket takers is aware there’s a police operation under way, and we walk in the same way every other visitor does, by handing over tickets and pushing through the turnstile. The first exhibit I see is the flamingo lagoon, and I think of my daughter, Violet, who has witnessed the spectacle of thousands of flamingos in the wild. I feel sorry for these city children, for whom flamingos will always be represented by a dozen listless birds in a concrete pond. I get no chance to glimpse any other animals, because Detective Frost leads me straight down the walkway to the administrative building.
We wait in a conference room, which is furnished with a long teak table, a dozen comfortable chairs, and a media cart stocked with video equipment. On the walls are framed honors and awards for the Suffolk Zoo and its staff. EXCELLENCE IN DIVERSITY. EXCELLENCE IN MARKETING. R. MARLIN PERKINS AWARD. BEST EXHIBIT, NORTHEAST. This is their bragging room, to show visitors how distinguished an institution it is.
On the opposite wall, I see the curricula vitae of various staff members, and my eyes go straight to Dr. Oberlin’s. Forty-four years old. Bachelor of science degree, University of Vermont. Doctor of veterinary medicine, Cornell University. There is no photograph.
“This may take a while, so we have to be patient,” says Detective Frost.
“I’ve waited six years,” I tell him. “I can wait a little longer.”
THIRTY-TWO
AT SIX FOOT THREE, BLOND WITH BLUE EYES, DR. GREGORY OBERLIN bore a striking resemblance to Johnny Posthumus’s passport photo. He had the same square jaw and the same broad forehead, which was now wrinkled in puzzlement as he watched Jane press RECORD on the video camera.
“Do you really need to record this?” he asked.
“I want to have an accurate record. Plus, this frees me from having to take notes, so I can focus on the interview.” Jane smiled as she sat down. There were distracting noises in the background, animal sounds from the veterinary cages just outside Dr. Oberlin’s office, but this setting would have to do. She wanted him in familiar surroundings, where he’d be relaxed. An interview at Boston PD would almost certainly alarm him.
“I’m glad you’re following up on Debra’s death,” he said. “It’s been bothering me. A lot.”
“What about it, in particular?” asked Jane.
“An accident like that shouldn’t have happened. Debra and I worked together for years. She was not a careless person, and she knew her way around big cats. I can’t see her forgetting something as simple as latching the leopard’s night cage.”
“Dr. Rhodes says that even experienced zookeepers have done it.”
“Well, that’s true. There have been accidents in very good zoos, by veteran keepers. But Debra was the sort of person who wouldn’t leave the house without checking all the burners and making sure the windows were latched.”
“So what are you saying happened? Someone else opened the night cage?”
“That must be what you’re thinking, isn’t it? I assume that’s why you wanted to interview me.”
“Was there any reason Debra might have been careless that day?” Jane asked. “Anything that could’ve distracted her?”
“We’d broken up a few months before, but she seemed to be doing fine. I’m not aware of anything that was bothering her.”
“You told me she instigated the breakup.”
“Yes. I want children, and she didn’t. There’s no way to compromise on that issue. There were no bitter feelings between us, and I never stopped caring about her. That’s why I really need to know if we’ve missed anything.”
“If she didn’t leave the gate unlatched, then who do you think did it?”
“That’s just it, I don’t know! The staff area is out of public view, so theoretically anyone could have sneaked back there unseen.”
“Did she have enemies?”
“No.”
“A new boyfriend?”
A pause. “I don’t think so.”
“You don’t sound too sure.”
“We hadn’t really talked much lately, except about issues at work. I know she was upset the day that I euthanized Kovo, but I really had no choice. We tried to keep that cat alive for as long as we could. In the end, it was cruel to let him suffer.”
“So Debra was upset about something.”
“Yes, and pissed off, too, that Kovo was going to be stuffed and mounted for some rich asshole. Especially when she found out the asshole was Jerry O’Brien.”
“You’re not a fan, I take it.”
“The man considers Africa his personal slaughterhouse. He brags about it on his radio show. So yes, she was pissed, and so am I. Part of our mission here is wildlife conservation. I’m supposed to go to Johannesburg next month, for a conference on rare species protection. And here we made a deal with the devil, all for money.”
“So you’re going to Africa,” she said. “Been there before?”
“Yes. My mother’s from Johannesburg, and we have family there.”
“What about Botswana? I’ve been thinking of going. Have you ever been?”
“Yes. You shoul
d definitely go.”
“When were you there?”
“I don’t know. Seven, eight years maybe. It’s beautiful, one of the last wild places on earth.”
She shut off the RECORD button. “Thank you. I think that’s all the information I need for now.”
He frowned. “That’s all you wanted to know?”
“If I have other questions, I’ll be in touch.”
“You will keep pursuing this, won’t you?” he said as she packed up the video camera. “It bothers me that it’s automatically dismissed as an accident.”
“At the moment, Dr. Oberlin, it’s difficult to call it anything but an accident. Everyone keeps telling me that big cats are dangerous.”
“Well, let me know what else you need from me. I’ll do everything I can to help.”
You already have, she thought as she walked out of his office, carrying the camera. Sunny weather and Saturday had brought crowds into the zoo, and she had to weave her way down the busy pathway. Now things could start to move fast. Four plainclothes officers were already on the premises, waiting for her call to arrest Oberlin. A tech team would swoop in to seize his computer and electronic files, and Maura was already collecting samples from the zoo’s Bengal tiger for the hair and fiber lab. The trap was ready to spring, and all Jane needed to deploy it was a positive ID from Millie.
By the time she walked into the administrative building’s conference room, where Frost and Millie were waiting for her, Jane felt electricity sizzling through every nerve. Like the hunter who’s sighted his prey, she could already smell her quarry’s blood in the air.
Jane connected the camera to the video monitor and turned to Millie, who stood gripping the back of a chair, her hands so tense the tendons looked ready to snap. For Jane, this was merely a hunt; for Millie, this could be the moment her nightmares ended, and she faced the video monitor like a prisoner begging for reprieve.
“Here we go,” Jane said, and pressed PLAY.
The screen flickered to life, and Dr. Oberlin appeared, frowning at the camera.
The Rizzoli & Isles Series 11-Book Bundle Page 337
