Adieu at the Zoo_A Jefferson Zoo Mystery

by Harol Marshall

  “But I’ve got to finish the budget,” I protested.

  “That can wait until the end of the week.”

  I could hardly believe my ears. Bob was a stickler about finishing our budgets on time, simply because the later we turned in our budgets, the harder it was for him to finish his budget and turn it into the county on time. I decided this was his self-imposed penance.

  Ginger and Marlene cleaned up the kitchen leaving me enough food for a week. They showed off their organizational skills by handing everyone their dishes and utensils neatly packed in grocery bags. I didn’t know about anyone else, but I was impressed by the efficiency.

  With kitchen duties completed, everyone straggled to the front door, including Dan whom I’d hoped would hang back to talk for a bit. However, Marlene went on about how tired I looked and how I needed to go straight to bed, so I suspect his conscience must have gotten the better of him.

  He pecked me on the cheek and said good night, leaving with everyone else. I could have smacked Marlene upside the head, as people in this neck of the woods liked to say.

  Chapter 40

  I woke up Thursday morning to sunlight beaming in my window, meaning I’d again slept later than intended. I’d also forgotten to set my alarm and was surprised to find the time was almost noon.

  Despite my bone-weary condition the night before, I’d had a fitful night’s sleep, waking every couple of hours with my mind racing. I’d gotten up around five to go to the bathroom and take another pain pill, and that’s the last I remember until the sun’s rays assaulted me seven hours later.

  I rolled over and lifted the blind on my window, which looks onto the street. Sure enough, I could see a Jefferson County Sheriff car parked across from my house. I couldn’t see the driver because his face was hidden behind the morning newspaper.

  Some protection, I thought. What if Jodie’s serial killer was picking the lock on my back door right now?

  Not a reasonable worry, I decided. Instead, I planned to enjoy the luxury of a deadline-free day. I lay in bed a few more minutes musing on the previous evening. I was feeling more optimistic about a relationship with Dan based on the kiss and his body language at dinner, and of course his terrific home-cooked food.

  Bob couldn’t have been nicer to both Jodie and me—almost deferential, which isn’t his natural demeanor. However, for all of his apologies and attempts to make up, remembering the accusations hurled my way at Tuesday’s staff meeting still hurt, causing me more pain than what I’d suffered in the car wreck. From my perspective, I still faced the challenge of clearing my name.

  I knew if I went in to work later in the day, Jodie would tell me to forget about the allegations because everyone else had, but human beings don’t forget that easily. Until someone unearthed the real culprits, doubts would linger in the minds of at least some people.

  In my view, that gave Nate a convenient weapon to use against me, and raised a question I hadn’t previously considered. Given his relationship with Alice Pickett, was there even any truth to the ‘illicit plant trade’ rumors or was the whole story fabricated in order to move me out of my job?

  As far as I knew, all available evidence originated from one lone source—Alice Pickett. What made her word better than mine? The woman earned her living selling houses for Mooney, for pity’s sake. Embellishment was her middle name. Not that I’m painting all salespeople with the same brush here, but when it came to Mooney and Alice Pickett, the picture painted itself.

  Bob mentioned an SBI investigation a couple of times, but come to find out he never talked to an agent personally, only acted on what he heard secondhand from Alice. He admitted as much over dinner. Maybe SBI involvement was nothing more than a figment of Alice’s overactive imagination.

  I thought about asking Dan to check out Alice’s story with the sheriff. On the other hand, I could stop by an SBI office and chat with them, offer to help any way I could. No one had a more legitimate reason for contacting the SBI about plant thievery involving the Jefferson Zoo than the zoo’s Curator of Horticulture. I had plenty of expertise they could use in their investigation, if there really was an investigation, which I’d begun to doubt.

  The idea was good in theory, but the practical side of me rejected it immediately. First, the SBI would tell me nothing, and second, they might end up suspecting me, assuming plant thieves were like arsonists, insinuating themselves into the investigation of their own crimes.

  One way or another, I needed to punch holes in Alice’s story, a mission that motivated me to get out of bed and face the day. After showering and dressing, I rewarded myself with a tasty breakfast from the previous night’s leftovers. I told myself that I really needed to learn to cook so I could eat like this every day, but then I’d have to worry about my weight.

  As I sipped my coffee, which tasted particularly good, perhaps due to the accompaniments, I worked on a plan to clear my name. In addition to Alice Pickett’s lies, there remained the matter of Nelson Farthington. Over my previous dinner with him, I’d learned about his membership in the local horticulture society where Alice Pickett was president. Their association gave me pause the more I thought about it.

  Hearing about Nelson’s involvement with the horticulture society had initially meant nothing to me because he belonged to dozens of nature organizations, from the local ASPCA to the Nature Conservancy to the Sierra Club. Based on current events, however, his horticultural membership took on new significance.

  Whichever of our recent puzzles I considered, all roads led to Nelson Farthington, beginning with the Alice Pickett connection. Next came Nelson’s relationship with Jodie’s prime suspect, Tony Pope, cousin and best friend of Andy LaRue and Jack Dubois. Finally, came the matter of proximity. Nelson’s property bordered the zoo and the conservation tract, which gave him unlimited and inconspicuous access to both places.

  I thought back to his attempt to worm information out of me about illegal plant dealers, which I found suspicious at the time. The more I thought about it, the more certain I was that Nelson Farthington would be the perfect overseer for an international plant smuggling ring.

  I could think of only one other person with more international contacts than Nelson Farthington—our esteemed director, Sally Ann Monroe, and no way was she running a plant smuggling operation. She wouldn’t know an African violet from an Asian water lily, a fact that became abundantly clear to me when we worked together on the Wetlands exhibit.

  What to do about my suspicions, that was the question. I needed to discuss the matter with Dan, see if he agreed with my analysis. If so, he could take the matter to the sheriff and give him all my reasons for suspecting Nelson Farthington. I began to have more respect for Jodie’s intuition about Nelson, and wondered what Dan would think about my arranging another meeting with Nelson in order to set up a sting. I knew safety was an issue, so I ruled out having dinner again at the Farthington house.

  Maybe I could invite him to dinner at my place and ask Ginger to help me out, or better yet hire a caterer. That way, Jodie could come along as the caterer’s helper, preventing Nelson from trying anything foolish. If he did make a wrong move, Jodie could shoot his balls off.

  That is, if she hadn’t already been arrested for doing the same thing to Tony Pope.

  Chapter 41

  Thoughts of Jodie reminded me that she’d left the previous night without spilling whatever she’d come over to tell me.

  I put a call through to my office and Maddy answered.

  “Morning, Mad. How’s everything?”

  “Hey, Sam, how are you is the question?”

  “Much better, thanks.”

  “The only news from here is that Bob’s secretary came by as soon as I got in this morning to tell me you weren’t coming in today, and not to call or let anyone else call so you could get some healing sleep.” Maddy chuckled. “That’s what she called it, healing sleep. So, did you sleep and are you healed?”

  I had to laugh. “Well, I slept
until noon and I don’t feel as bad as I did yesterday, so maybe the long sleep helped. And despite Bob’s orders to stay home, I may stop in for an hour or two later this afternoon because I have an errand to run.”

  “Bob won’t like that. He’s adopted this super protective role over you, it seems.”

  “And over Jodie, as well?”

  “That’s another story.”

  I could hear the amusement in Maddy’s voice.

  “Is Jodie in?”

  “She came in around ten asking if I’d heard from you. I gave her Bob’s orders, but she wants to talk to you. Told me if you called to put you through to her.”

  “Actually, I called to talk to her, so put her on, if you would.” I waited while Maddy transferred my call, but instead, Maddy came back on the line.

  “I can’t find her, Sam. She must have left for lunch. You’ll have to call her cell, or I can call her and ask her to get in touch with you.”

  “No need. I’ll phone her, and I’ll see you later today. If anyone comes around looking for me, tell them I’ll be in this afternoon and not to bother calling.”

  I hung up and started to dial Jodie, but my landline rang. Maddy again.

  “You hung up on me before I finished.”

  “Sorry, Mad, what else do you have for me?”

  “Bob asked if you would meet with him tomorrow if you were well enough to come in to work. Are you up for that?”

  “Sure. But call him back and tell him I’m well enough to come in later today and I can meet with him at four.”

  Knowing how much Bob liked to leave as close to five as possible, I figured a four o’clock time-frame would guarantee a short meeting. I hung up wondering what Bob had up his sleeve now. I hoped he planned to deliver good news about the police finding the plant thieves and returning my reputation to spotless because I wasn’t looking forward to setting a trap for Nelson number three.

  §

  I walked into Bob’s office on the dot of four o’clock. He greeted me with, “You were supposed to stay home and rest today. How are you feeling?”

  “Sore, but the pain meds keep me from noticing.”

  “That’s good.” He pointed to the chair across from his desk and I could see he was nervous, which made my stomach turn flip-flops. “Have a seat,” he said.

  I pulled the chair closer to his desk. “What’s up?”

  The look on his face told me his news wasn’t good. I worried I was about to be fired for some new misdemeanor I’d never committed.

  “I’ll get straight to the point,” he said, running his fingers through his sparse hair as he continued to dither. “Marlene and I were talking after we left your place last night.”

  I waited, wondering what the heck Marlene had to do with anything that had to do with my job or me.

  “And she mentioned that maybe I should talk to you about your relationship with Dan.”

  “Dan and I don’t have what anyone would call a relationship. We’re co-workers and that’s all there is, nothing more.”

  “He brought you dinner last night.”

  I gave Bob a puzzled look. “And so did you, and so did Ginger. What are you getting at here?”

  “Workplace romances can be troubling—”

  I stopped him mid-sentence. “First, we aren’t having a romance. Second, even if we were, there’s nothing in the employee handbook that prevents it. In fact, as I recall, the zoo has had a number of inter-employee marriages since I’ve been working here. And third, why am I being singled out for a knuckle rapping?”

  Bob looked sheepish and if I weren’t so angry, I might have pitied him.

  “It’s not that,” he said. “Nate is hell-bent on getting you fired and I don’t want him to have the slightest excuse to take to the Board. I fell into his trap once with all that business about illegal plant trading, so I’m trying to keep on top of every issue in order to protect you. To do that, I need your help.”

  “You mean I need to walk the straight and narrow even if that includes sacrificing my personal life just to keep Nate happy?”

  “For a short time. I can’t go into any details with you, but I’m hoping with Sally Ann’s return that we can straighten out these matters once and for all. I’m asking you to trust me until I work through this.”

  I took a deep breath to calm myself. “Are you having this same chat with Dan Saunders? Because I’d be more than a little embarrassed to undertake it myself, especially given the fact that nothing is going on between us.” And then I made the mistake of adding, “Not yet, anyway.”

  At least my slipup brought a grin to Bob’s face. “I’d like to see the two of you get together if you want to know the truth, and so would Marlene. I’m only asking you to be super careful for the next little while, and before you ask, I don’t know how long a little while will be.”

  “And you’ll be the one to talk with Dan.”

  “I will, if that’s your preference.”

  “It is,” I assured him. “Besides,” I tried to hide a grin, “I’d like to know his intentions myself,” which set Bob laughing, more in relief I suspect, that he’d accomplished his mission without a lot of pushback from me.

  “I’ll let you know what I find out,” he promised, bringing our meeting to an end.

  Chapter 42

  I walked out of Bob’s meeting in a daze. How did my life get so complicated so quickly? I’d have to mark this week down as one of the more bizarre weeks in my normally dull and conventional life.

  As I left Bob’s office, I looked back through his big glass window to see him reaching for the phone, no doubt to call Dan. I wondered how that would go, wishing I could be a mouse in the corner when Dan arrived for ‘the talk.’

  Returning to my office, I found Jodie waiting for me.

  “Hey, Sam, how are you feeling?

  “How do I look?”

  “I’ve seen you look better.”

  “There’s your answer. I’ve been trying to reach you on and off all day. I was worried something happened to you.

  “I was at the hospital with Andy’s mother. What did you want?”

  “I’ve been wondering what it is you keep forgetting to tell me.”

  “Promise you won’t be angry with me?”

  I plunked my butt down on my desk chair and swiveled around to face her, my patience running thin. “What have you done, now?”

  “Nothing bad.” She grinned. “I swear.”

  “Okay, shoot.”

  “Yesterday morning when Dan drove us home from the hospital?”

  “I remember it well,” I said, my voice brimming with sarcasm as I wondered what bombshell she planned to drop on me this time.

  “Well, on the ride home after we left you, I took the opportunity to tell him about your date with Nelson Farthington and how it wasn’t a date, which…”

  I started to interrupt but she stopped me.

  “Just hear me out, Sam, then you can react.”

  I waited for her to continue.

  “I wanted to make dead sure he understood your dinner with Nelson Farthington was nothing more than zoo business, so I added a little white lie.”

  “Which was?”

  “I told Dan that Bob asked you to have dinner with Nelson Farthington in order to learn what the Farthington Foundation might be interested in funding.”

  I leaned back in my chair nearly falling before I caught my balance, damaging nothing more than my last shred of dignity. “That was more than a little white lie, I’d say. So now you’re worried you’ll be found out, is that it?”

  “Not really worried, but I thought since I opened the door for you…”

  “If the subject ever comes up, I’ll stand by your small exaggeration.”

  Jodie smiled. “Thanks, Sam, I knew you would, and by the way, Dan was very happy to learn the Farthington matter was zoo business. Apparently, he drove by your house that night, hoping to stop in for a chat and saw you saying goodnight to Nelson Farthington. He
said he was in shock.”

  “In shock?”

  “That’s what he said, in shock.”

  “And did you then take the opportunity to ask him about his Sunday night date with the blonde?”

  Jodie tried to look sheepish, but I could tell she was dying to fill me in the details. “I figured as long as he and I were in sharing mode, I’d take a chance.”

  “And?”

  “I’ve got you now, Sam. No more pretending with me. I can see you’re madly in love with the guy and I expect he pretty much feels the same about you, though our sharing didn’t go quite that far. As it turns out the blonde is his cousin, who traveled here from Raleigh on business and while in Chestnut City, decided to invite Dan to have dinner with her. He could hardly turn her down since he hadn’t seen her in a couple of years despite the fact she lives only four hours away.”

  “And you believed his story?” I wanted to tell her I had my doubts since I remembered him telling me he had to work that night. I decided to let it go since it wasn’t Jodie’s business anyway.

  “I did,” Jodie asserted, “and I suggest you don’t let that guy slip through your fingers. A good man is hard to find, or so they say. And I would know.”

  “Speaking of which,” I said, biting my tongue as soon as the words escaped my big mouth. “What’s the update on Andy?”

  Jodie ignored my innuendo if she even noticed. “He’s still unconscious. I’m stopping by the hospital after I leave work tonight to see how he’s doing. The word from the doctor this morning was that Andy’s brain swelling has gone down a lot and they have high hopes he’ll wake up soon.”

  “When he does wake up, I hope he remembers how the accident happened and can fill us in on Tony Pope’s involvement in all of this.” I hesitated, remembering the sheriff’s promise. “By the way, do you know if the sheriff picked up Tony for questioning yesterday?”

  “I haven’t a clue,” Jodie said, “but I’d like to know the answer to that too. I’ll have to ask Billy when he drives by to ‘secure’ my house tonight.” She sent a wry grin my way before adding, “I’ve been so tied up at the hospital and helping out Andy’s mother… ” Her voice drifted off.