Adieu at the Zoo_A Jefferson Zoo Mystery

by Harol Marshall

  “Don’t you hurt?” I called after her.

  “Not too bad,” she said, closing the bathroom door on more conversation.

  I lifted the metal lid on my breakfast, which looked more appetizing than I’d expected. Scrambled eggs (my favorite), two pieces of whole-wheat toast, two slices of Canadian bacon, which I normally don’t eat, but since it was on the plate and I was starving, I gave in to temptation. A carton of peach yogurt, a glass of orange juice, a cup of coffee, and a packet of strawberry jam completed the meal. I’d never eaten that much breakfast at home. No wonder we have an obesity epidemic in the country, I thought. Even the hospitals stuff you with food, and high calorie food at that.

  When Jodie emerged from the bathroom we compared injuries deciding I’d gotten the worst of the deal.

  “I can’t wait to get out of here,” she said, lifting her breakfast lid with two hands and staring at the entrees. “Tony Pope better hope I’ve run out of ammunition because I plan to track him down and trim his anatomy where it hurts most.”

  “Since the police haven’t caught the driver yet,” I cautioned, “at least as of last night, we don’t know if Tony Pope is the culprit.”

  “Who else would it be?”

  “I don’t know,” I admitted, “but I think you should stay out of it.”

  I knew she’d ignore my suggestion, a bad habit of hers especially since she works for me.

  “I mean, think about it Sam, who else has a motive to send me to corpse city but someone who knows I suspect them of murdering Jack Dubois.”

  “You didn’t tell me you actually accused Tony of murdering Jack. No wonder he wanted to send you into a ditch! Too bad I happened to be along for the ride.”

  “Well, I didn’t exactly accuse him, but I did tell him I hoped he wasn’t responsible for Jack’s death.”

  “Same thing. How else would he interpret what you said other than an accusation.” I swallowed my first bite of scrambled eggs. I planned to save the yogurt for lunch after the hospital released me, which I hoped would happen within the next hour or two.

  “He should’ve interpreted it that way,” Jodie ranted, “it’s how I meant it. What time are they letting us out of here, anyway?”

  “Sometime today, I hope. As long as Tony Pope doesn’t arrive and shoot us first.”

  Chapter 35

  Jodie and I had barely tucked into our hospital breakfast when a familiar form in the hallway stopped me mid-bite. There stood Bob Anderson outside of our room, big as life talking with the nurse.

  “Bob’s here,” I whispered. Like conjoined twins, Jodie and I reached around and closed the backs of our hospital gowns before Bob entered our room through the door no one thought to close.

  “Good morning,” he said, sounding a little more subdued than the pinstriper. Neither Jodie nor I responded, both of us giving him the evil eye.

  “I’ve come to apologize,” he said, reaching for one of our two visitor chairs and rolling it over to the foot of our beds.

  “In that case, have a seat,” I told him, since he planned to sit down anyway, invited or not. I wasn’t happy to see him, which is putting it mildly. I picked up another forkful of scrambled eggs and stuffed it into my mouth, slicing my bacon and ignoring him as he parked himself on the chair.

  He inspected his feet for a minute or so before looking up at me. “Let me add to my apology,” he said, but I interrupted him with, “Because you’ve uncovered the real thieves?” I made no attempt to disguise my displeasure at his presence.

  “The folks over at SBI believe they’re closing in,” Bob said, sounding more apologetic than when he delivered his first apology. “I just want to—”

  Jodie interrupted, launching her first attack. “Bob, I can’t believe you would accuse Sam of a crime like you did, and in front of everybody. I wouldn’t blame her if she quit on you and never forgave you. Neither of us are happy to see you this morning.”

  “I know,” Bob said, turning to me. “And if you remember, the original accusation came from Nate, not from me. I only asked a few questions, but they were inappropriate and it was one of the biggest mistakes of my life, which is why I’m here begging forgiveness.”

  “If that’s the biggest mistake in your life,” I told him, sounding more magnanimous than I felt, “then you’ve led a pretty good life. But what changed your mind?”

  I wanted to hear the evidence, find out if Jodie and I had nailed down the right suspects. If so, I could forget about arranging a meeting with Nelson Farthington.

  Bob almost grinned. “Ninety percent of the zoo staff told me they’d quit if I didn’t drag my butt over here and tell you how sorry I am.”

  I appreciated the support of my colleagues but it came with an overwhelming sense of disappointment. In my view, the accusation would hang over me, over the two of us, until the real thieves were brought to justice.

  Bob stared up at us, waiting I guessed, for some priestly sign of forgiveness. “If you two need to take time off to recover from your accident,” he finally offered, “take as much time as you’d like.”

  What the heck, I thought, I will do exactly that. Deep down, Bob’s a nice guy who got a little carried away in the line of duty. “We forgive you, Bob, stop worrying about it.”

  “Hey, wait a minute,” Jodie said, “I’m not so sure.”

  “Please,” Bob implored, eating more humble pie.

  I admired the power Jodie managed to wield when it came to men in positions of authority.

  She let out a deep sigh. “I might, but only because Sam is such a good boss,” she said, managing to forgive him and insult him all in one breath. I admired her chutzpah.

  A knock on the door signaled the arrival of the doctor and an excuse for Bob to leave. He couldn’t have seemed more relieved.

  “Get better,” he told us, scurrying out of the room and reminding me that he’d never even asked us how we felt. I shouldn’t have forgiven him so easily.

  The doctor rolled in and stopped at the ends of our beds to review our charts. “You’re two lucky gals,” he said with a smile that reminded me of Dan Saunders. “No broken bones or serious head injuries. You can thank the air bags for that.”

  “And my father,” Jodie added, “for installing them.”

  “A father who loves his children.” The doctor smiled again. I wished he wouldn’t do that. “You’ll have some aches and pains for the next few days and I’ve left a prescription for pain meds if you feel you need them. If you can manage on over-the-counter ibuprofen, I’d recommend that first. Any questions?”

  “Only one,” Jodie said, “can we leave now?”

  “As soon as they complete your paperwork, which,” he shrugged, “can take some time. Nice to meet you both. Maybe I’ll run into you at the zoo one of these days. It’s one of my favorite places.”

  He smiled again, which gave my heart a start, only because it reminded me of the person I was trying to forget.

  On the doctor’s way out, he opened our door to a crowd of zoo employees milling in the hall. I guessed they all planned to visit us and cheer us on to good health. Standing among them was the one person I had no interest in seeing. Dan Saunders’s head appeared in the back of the crowd. He wore an uncomfortable look. Fitting, I thought, but he couldn’t have felt more uncomfortable than I did.

  I remembered my previous plans to wow him with my new look, which hadn’t included a bruised face, swollen eyes, straggly hair, and a bandaged head. The temptation to hide in the bathroom might have overcome me except for the handkerchief-thin hospital smock covering my naked body. The gown only came to my knees and my discolored lower appendages resembled a red-legged frog.

  Why did he have to come to the hospital and see me looking like this? I slid down in bed, pulled the covers up to my black and blue chin, and closed my eyes in a pretense of sleep.

  “Just the person you wanted to see,” Jodie mumbled to me, waving everyone inside as she swung her legs over the side of the bed and p
ushed away her food tray. “Sam’s a mess,” she announced. “She got the worst of it, but I’m ready to go home and shoot me a serial killer. Who’s up for joining me?”

  Jodie could turn anything into a party, and if you-know-who weren’t standing in the middle of the room, I might have appreciated her efforts.

  Chapter 36

  The big news of the day, which our zoo staff visitors delivered with mixed emotions, had to do with the earlier than expected return of our esteemed leader, Sally Ann Monroe.

  “Maybe she broke up with her boyfriend,” Jodie suggested, providing a possible reason for the change in Sally Ann’s schedule, and opening a new line of speculation.

  “Which boyfriend,” one of the keepers asked, “the gorilla or the orang?” bringing a laugh from the motley group assembled in our room.

  Whatever happened to hospital visiting restrictions, I wondered, that limited the number of visitors to three or four?

  “Nah, he’s a chimp,” another keeper retorted, the ridicule continuing at Sally Ann’s expense. I pretended to be asleep, but it’s hard not to smile when everyone around you is laughing, even though the jokes weren’t funny.

  Keeper humor is specialized, like doctor humor, and often concerns bodily functions. I don’t mind laughing at animals, but I wished they’d be kinder to Sally Ann. Unfortunately, her over-the-top obsession with our primate cousins made her a convenient target.

  It’s true she sometimes seemed to care more for non-human primates than the human variety, particularly those specimens of our species who happened to work for her, but in her defense she was sincere in her conservation efforts, if occasionally misguided in how she expressed her dedication. In zoo meetings, she sometimes joked about preferring the company of monkeys because they behaved better than people, which of course, had the opposite effect on her employees than what she intended.

  Sally Ann’s quirks aside, she had plenty of reasons to shorten her London trip and return to the zoo given the latest news flowing her way. I assumed Bob pressured her to return and make a splash of some sort in order to deflect all the negative publicity that was keeping our Public Relations Manager Rhonda Brinkley from her beauty sleep. I tried to feel sorry for Rhonda, but, like Alice Pickett, she was difficult to pity.

  A light tap on my arm caused me to open my eyes.

  “Are you okay?” Dan Saunders asked.

  My usual flippant response of, ‘do I look okay?’ probably wouldn’t have worked in this situation, so I nodded and mumbled, “Yeah, I’m fine.”

  “I stopped by your house last night. Your cars were in the driveway, but nobody answered the door. I thought maybe you were avoiding me until I heard about your accident this morning.”

  A million thoughts ran through my head, the first of which was why would he think I was trying to avoid him? Had he spotted Jodie leaving El Provencal Sunday night and knew he’d been found out?

  “It wasn’t an accident,” I mumbled.

  “I heard that, too, and I’m sorry. Any theories on who wants to hurt you or scare you, maybe?”

  “If he was trying to scare us he succeeded, at least in scaring me. Jodie’s blaming Tony Pope and says she can’t wait to get out of here and shoot his balls off.”

  Dan laughed at the imagery, and I tried to laugh, too, but moving my face in any way brought on intense pain. “She went to see him yesterday and all but accused him of murdering Jack Dubois and of trying to murder Andy.”

  A thoughtful look crossed Dan’s face. “Why?”

  “Why did she accuse him?”

  “No, why would he try to kill his cousins?”

  I could tell I wasn’t thinking straight. I wondered if the blow to my head had addled my brain or I was having brain cramps due to the presence of Dan Saunders.

  “We’re not sure,” I told him, trying to keep my mind on the conversation, “but we figured Tony and Jack might have been involved in the plant theft from the conservation tract, which led to a fight, maybe over money, who knows?”

  He looked down at me with the most heartbreaking expression. “I’m so sorry Bob and Nate accused you in that meeting yesterday. Hard to believe. Nate is capable of saying anything, but Bob going along with it? Pretty foolish of him.”

  “He stopped by a few minutes ago and begged forgiveness. I agreed, but Jodie’s holding out for a raise.”

  “Good for her,” Dan said, turning on the smile that used to turn me on. Normally, my heart would have stopped, but it didn’t. I hoped that meant I was over him.

  “I wish you wouldn’t look at me,” I added. “I look awful.”

  “You’re alive, and that’s all I care about.”

  I wondered what he meant, given the blonde in his life, but at that moment, a tall blonde nurse carrying a clipboard entered our room and shooed out the merrymakers.

  “Time to leave, everyone, so we can let these two beautiful women go home.”

  Dan leaned down and whispered, “Bob sent me to drive you and Jodie home. I’ll be waiting outside.”

  I nodded. So, he hadn’t come to the hospital because he worried about me or wanted to check on my progress. He was only doing his job.

  My growing elation deflated faster than a spent party balloon. I felt a bit weepy, which made no sense since I thought I’d gotten over Dan Saunders. I chalked up my emotional state to the pain meds.

  The nurse stood by the door ready to close it after the last person left, which in this case was Dan.

  “Dan said Bob sent him here to drive us home,” I told Jodie.

  “Maybe we already made other arrangements for getting home,” Jodie replied, sounding aggrieved. “Did Bob think about that?”

  “I haven’t made any plans, have you?”

  “No, but we could have. Bob should have asked before arranging our lives for us.”

  “I think it’s part of his strategy to win back our hearts.”

  Jodie wrinkled her face in distaste. I could see Bob was in for a long hard road when it came to regaining Jodie’s good will. I hoped she’d get the raise she was after. She deserved it.

  The nurse walked over to us, interrupting our conversation. “I have a few forms for you two to sign and then you’re free to leave. I’ve ordered two wheelchairs to carry you down to the front door.”

  Jodie objected. “I don’t need a wheelchair. I can walk just fine. Sam’s the one all banged up.”

  “It’s hospital procedure.”

  I could tell this nurse brooked no nonsense and Jodie must have sensed it, too. “Okay, I’ll agree, but can you find me a cute pusher?”

  “I have no say over that.” The nurse grinned, obviously enjoying Jodie’s good humor before turning to me. “According to your chart, the doctor wants to see you in a week. I’ve clipped his card to your copy of the discharge papers.”

  She handed each of us a sheet of paper and a pen. “Sign these and you’re free to go. Once you’re dressed and ready, press the call button and I’ll send in your transportation,” she paused and looked back at me, “unless you need me to stay and help you dress.”

  “No help needed,” I replied.

  Once she left, I climbed out of bed and gathered my clothes. “I’ll race you to the bathroom,” I told Jodie, but she shook her head sending me a brief look of pity. When I returned, I found her dressed and sitting on the edge of the bed.

  “Any instructions about the ride home with Dan?”

  I was happy she asked. “Yes. I’d like to sit in the back seat and be dropped off first.”

  “No problem,” she said. “I understand and I don’t blame you. Not one little bit.”

  Chapter 37

  The hospital attendants rolled our wheelchairs out to the curb where Dan was parked waiting for us. Before he could climb out and reach our side of the car, Jodie opened the passenger door and hopped into the front seat. I noticed the look of surprise on Dan’s face.

  “Sam lives closer,” she told him, “so you can drop her off first.”

>   “Okay,” he said, sounding puzzled. He glanced at me with a shrug and grabbed the handle of his van’s back door, sliding it open for me.

  The male nurse practically lifted me into the seat, which I thought totally unnecessary, but a good thing for Dan to witness, nonetheless. I wasn’t above desiring sympathy at this point, if that was the best I could get.

  As Dan returned to the driver’s side and I settled into my seat, thanking the male nurse who pulled the door closed and winked at me, Jodie leaned over to Dan and I managed to hear her whisper, “I want to talk to you about something.”

  Her sotto voce comment was followed by a murmured, “Okay,” from Dan.

  I leaned back against the seat on the ride home and said next to nothing. Jodie provided Dan with a rundown on every aspect of our evening, including a point-by-point account of our encounter with the pickup. I listened, adding a minor detail now and then for no other reason than to remind Dan of my presence.

  Pulling up to my house, he asked, “Mind if I drive onto your lawn so I can get you close to the porch steps?”

  “No problem,” I told him, glancing at the weed patch I valiantly call a lawn. “It’s seen better days.”

  He slid open the back door and I held onto the passenger seat with my left hand, fumbling for a handhold with my right in order to pull myself up, but before I could step down Dan reached his hands up under my arms, “Relax,” he said, “I’ve got you.”

  On more than one occasion, I’d dreamt about being in Dan’s arms, but the scenario I imagined hadn’t exactly matched my current situation. I hesitated, and he repeated himself. “Relax, Sam. I don’t want you to fall. It’s a long first step.”

  I decided to follow orders and placed my arms around his neck allowing him to lift me to the ground. I noticed he held me a tad longer than necessary, which I’ll admit I didn’t mind even though I was still fuming about the blonde. I wondered what she would think about his arms around me as he walked me up the steps and onto the porch.