Adieu at the Zoo_A Jefferson Zoo Mystery

by Harol Marshall

  Instead, I opened the door to Jodie, who brushed past me in her usual manner before stopping mid-doorsill and looking me up and down.

  “Wow, you look great. Did you just get home from a date with Dan? If so, you must have knocked him dead in that outfit, even with your bruised up face—”

  Before she could finish Dan came up behind me. “You’re right, she did knock me dead. I’m a big fan of hot pink, especially on Sam.” He winked at me. “In fact,” he told a bemused Jodie, “I’m thinking of putting a note in Sally Ann’s suggestion box recommending she change the color of our zoo uniforms.”

  Normally, I would have expected Jodie to pass out cold from stumbling onto Dan in my living room at ten-thirty at night, but as usual, I underestimated her embarrassment quotient. Instead, she rolled her eyes at Dan. “I’m sure your suggestion will go over big with Sally Ann. On the other hand, Nate might go for it. I’ve heard some kinky things about him lately.”

  She cracked us up with that one. Dan and I both laughed as she backed out onto the porch. “I’m really sorry to intrude on you two,” she said, favoring us with her most apologetic expression. “I didn’t see your truck out front, Dan, so I assumed Sam was home alone.”

  “Come on in,” I said, motioning her back indoors. “You aren’t interrupting anything.” The lie rolled off my tongue like water off a desert beetle’s back. “Dan parked a few blocks away in case Nate sent over one of his spies. My life is taking on the quality of a third-rate spy novel.”

  “I can talk to you in the morning, Sam,” Jodie said, giving me one of those half-hearted shrugs that meant she really wanted to talk now.

  Dan apparently guessed the same thing. “If you don’t come in when you’re invited,” he said, “I may have to arrest you for trespassing.”

  Before either of us could say more, Jodie eased her way into the house. I wondered what brought her here this late. Whatever it was, I hoped she’d keep it short and be on her way. Dan and I hadn’t gotten around to dessert yet.

  “Have a seat,” I told her, pointing to my lone armchair in the living room, reserving the couch for Dan and me.

  Jodie hesitated, glancing between us. “Andy woke up,” she said, the relief in her voice palpable.

  “That’s great news,” I said. “Is he okay?”

  “I don’t know yet. The doctors won’t let anyone see him until tomorrow. They said they wanted to watch him to be sure he doesn’t fall back into a vegetative state or worse, so they say they can’t have anyone stressing him.”

  I disagreed with the doctor’s reasoning about what constituted stress. Surely, seeing his mother and Jodie would help the healing process. “So they won’t even let his mother in to see him?”

  “Nope, nobody, but I plan to be there tomorrow morning when they do allow her in. She wants me with her for moral support.”

  “Did the doctors say whether or not he could speak?” Dan asked.

  I had a pretty good idea his mind was running through the same questions we’d all like to ask Andy if we had a chance.

  “I don’t know. We weren’t there when he came around. We left for a late dinner and when we got back to the hospital, the nurse told us Andy woke up, but we couldn’t see him until the morning.

  “Mrs. La Rue started to cry and I nearly did, too. After she calmed down a little, she asked the nurse what Andy said when he woke up, but the nurse said she didn’t know. I’m assuming he must have said something, otherwise how would they know he woke up?”

  “There are ways to know,” Dan said absently, “purposeful movements, for one.”

  “We’ve got news of a sort, too,” I told Jodie, not meaning to change the subject away from Andy’s awakening, but my mind was still preoccupied with the news of Tony Pope’s arrest.

  Looking shocked, Jodie blurted out, “You two are getting married?”

  “Good grief,” I replied, wanting to choke her. “For starters, we’ve only been dating for a week.”

  “Yeah, well you’ve had a case on each other for-ever.”

  I gave Dan a withering look that said, ‘Help me out, here.’

  He rose to the occasion. “I think Sam wants you to know that Sheriff Joyner arrested Tony again.”

  “The sheriff took your advice about the shoes,” I added, hoping I hadn’t just shared proprietary information that I was supposed to keep to myself. I glanced over at Dan, but he merely picked up the narrative.

  “Deputies found Jack’s work boots in Tony’s closet. Jack’s name was written inside the boots.”

  “I’m glad the sheriff’s got Tony locked up, then,” she said. “Maybe now we’ll get some answers. He’s probably been out in the conservation tract stealing all those plants, too.”

  Dan looked thoughtful. “I’m not as sure as you and Sam are about that one, but I think Tony may have been the one stealing the copper welds from Design. Jack could have found out about it, was out there spying on Tony, and that’s why Tony killed him.”

  “What a creep. And to think I actually went out with him in high school, even though he was so stuck on himself he could have hired out to a glue factory.” She glanced over at me. “Looks aren’t everything, you know. Oh, sorry Dan,” she said, looking mildly chagrined. “I was referring to Tony, not you. All the girls had a major crush on him in high school since he was such a hunk and all. Oh, boy, am I digging myself in deeper and deeper, or what? I think it’s time for me to leave.”

  Dan couldn’t contain his laughter and I breathed a sigh of relief as Jodie made a half-hearted move to get out of the chair.

  “Actually,” I said, chiding myself for my developing paranoia. “I think you just paid Dan some sort of left-handed compliment.”

  She grinned at him. “Well, maybe, but you’re not stuck on yourself like Tony, so it’s okay.”

  I wondered how this evening had gotten out of my control.

  “Does the sheriff have any other evidence against Tony besides the boots?” Jodie asked, resting her feet on my coffee table as though she’d changed her mind about leaving and planned to stay a while longer.

  “Since you’re a zoo employee,” Dan said, “and considering you’re the one who found Jack’s body, I’m probably not breaking any laws answering your question.”

  “You’re not,” Jodie stated matter-of-factly, as if she’d majored in law instead of sustainable agriculture.

  Dan barely acknowledged her bogus assurances. “Sheriff says he has a second piece of evidence—Tony’s fingerprints on the driver’s side door of Design’s pickup.”

  Jodie leaned back in my recliner. For at least a minute no one said a word, the three of us digesting the import of the evidence implicating Tony in Jack’s death.

  “So,” Jodie said, “I guess that means Nelson Farthington is not a serial killer.”

  “Right,” Dan replied.

  “Good news for your cousin, then,” she said.

  Chapter 52

  Dan left my house an hour or two after Jodie’s awkward departure. I was emotionally and physically exhausted and fell into bed as soon as I shut the door behind Dan, lapsing into a deep sleep before my head hit the pillow.

  At ten o’clock Saturday morning, a few minutes before my alarm was set to go off, I woke to the ring tones on my cell. Reaching for the phone, I squinted at caller ID.

  “Morning, Jo, what’s up?”

  “Did I wake you?”

  “No, I’ve been awake for hours.”

  “You don’t sound it.”

  “How do I sound?”

  “Like you just woke up.”

  “Is that why you called? To see if I was awake?”

  “No, but I can tell I woke you up, and I’m sorry. Must have been quite a night with Dan.” She tried to hide a snicker, but I caught it.

  “Oh, that’s why you called, to hear about my night with Dan. I’m sorry to disappoint you, but my lips are sealed.”

  “No, that’s not why I called. I would like to know about your night with
Dan, but I also know you won’t tell me. The reason I called is to tell you about Andy.”

  My brain finally kicked into gear. “Oh right, he’s conscious now.”

  “Yup, and he looks pretty good, much as I hate to admit it.”

  “Are you at the hospital?”

  “Yes, and when you hear what I have to say, you’ll be glad I woke you up.

  “Was Andy able to answer your questions?”

  “He was, and he had quite a tale to tell, even though he can’t remember a thing about his accident, nor can he remember much about what happened just before it. He did remember seeing a pickup truck driving in back of him, and that’s the last thing he recalls.”

  “Meaning, he doesn’t remember Tony’s truck running him off the road and into a tree?”

  “If that’s what happened, he doesn’t remember it. I asked specifically, ‘Did Tony Pope run your truck off the road?’”

  “And he said?”

  “‘Tony doesn’t own a pickup truck and why would he want to run me off the road?’ Andy stumped me on that one for a minute, but I recovered. ‘Because you probably know all about his criminal activities,’ I said, ‘and he wanted to shut you up.’ ”

  “And?”

  “Andy said, ‘Tony wouldn’t do that. Jack was the big-time criminal, not Tony.’ In fact, Andy said that when he confronted him about Jack’s death, Tony confessed everything—said he and Jack had stolen Design’s copper welds, but at Jack’s instigation. Jack was the ringleader, not Tony, and Jack’s death was an accident, not murder.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah. Tony told Andy the copper theft was his first robbery and Jack lured him into it saying it was a one-time thing and they could make big money and the zoo would never miss the copper. Tony said Jack stole Design’s truck to carry away the copper, since it was sitting right there with the keys in it. The truck I mean, not the copper.”

  “And?”

  “Jack was driving too fast with the headlights off and slid down that steep hill by the back gate. The truck went out of control and hit a tree. One of the tree limbs flew off and crashed through the windshield, killing Jack. Tony told Andy he panicked. He was afraid if the sheriff found Jack’s body in the pickup he would come after him, since they’re cousins and both work for Mooney Construction.

  “So Tony put Jack’s body in the front seat of his van, loaded the copper in the back, and drove off. On his way out of the zoo, he passed the Wetlands and decided to dump Jack’s body there. He wrapped the body in plastic bags and weighted it down with a tree limb. He said he felt a lot better after confessing everything to Andy, but he wasn’t about to turn himself in to the sheriff.”

  “Exactly what I suspected,” I told Jodie. “Maybe Tony’s still planning on selling the copper.

  “I didn’t think to ask about that, but I’m sure the sheriff will. I haven’t gotten to the interesting stuff yet.”

  “I’m waiting with bated breath,” I told her, which was true because she’d already answered a lot of questions the sheriff hadn’t answered.

  “I don’t know what that means, but I hope it’s nothing like morning breath.”

  “Go on with your big news.”

  “You’ll love this. I found out why Mooney wants to buy the conservation tract.”

  She rattled on with another surprising story that only confirmed my views about Nelson Farthington before I finally got her off the phone.

  “Very interesting,” I told her, “worth waking up to hear. Thanks for calling and filling me in on all this. I almost feel sorry for Tony, but he should have known better. He’s got a lot to answer for.”

  “Andy says Tony’s a good candidate for the next Darwin award.”

  I chuckled at the characterization. “At least the blow to his head hasn’t killed Andy’s sense of humor.”

  “If you ask me, I think it did him some good. He seems to have emerged with more empathy than I’ve ever seen from him. He told me he hopes Fart III’s lawyer can cut Tony a deal, maybe get him off with probation. I told Andy that Ginger might not be too happy to see Tony get off. She’s pretty steamed about the broken welders.”

  “Ginger’s a softie. If Tony gets off, she’ll be okay with it. I’m not sure I will, though, because I still believe Tony and Jack were involved with this plant theft business. I just haven’t figured out how to prove it.”

  “And you still think Fart III’s running the show?”

  “I do. And I have a couple of ideas about how to find out, but I’m still working out the details. I may talk it over with Dan.”

  “He’ll tell you to stay out of it,” Jodie said.

  “Maybe, maybe not. We’ll see. Anyway, unless you have more to tell me, I’m gonna hang up and jump in the shower. I haven’t gotten out of the sack yet.”

  “You’re such a liar, Sam. I thought you said you’d been up for hours.”

  “Just pulling your chain. I didn’t want you to feel bad for waking me up.”

  “I wouldn’t have felt bad. It’s after ten. Everyone in the civilized world is up by now.”

  “I work at a zoo. Not exactly the civilized world. Now, are you going to let me go?”

  “Yup. Just one more question for you.”

  “Shoot.”

  “Are you showering alone?”

  I hung up on her.

  Chapter 53

  After abruptly ending my morning conversation with Jodie, I lay in bed thinking about the previous night and wondering how I could worm self-incriminating information out of Nelson Farthington. Even if he didn’t implicate himself in the smuggling business, I hoped to gain some insight into his connection to the operation.

  I’d debated about asking Dan for suggestions, then decided Jodie might be correct. He might want me to stay out of it, especially after the revelations last night about his blonde cousin.

  “I know nothing about Nelson Farthington and my cousin,” he’d told Jodie when she raised the matter. By the tone of his voice, she knew better than to push the issue. However, after Jodie left, he ’fessed up.

  “I’ve been meaning to fill you in on my cousin’s visit to Chestnut City,” he told me, looking mildly apologetic. His explanation added to my list of recent surprises.

  “She’s an investigator for the State Bureau of Investigation and she’s been assigned here to work on the plant smuggling case.”

  “Really? She’s SBI?”

  He nodded, and I blurted out the first question to pop in my mind. “And did she land this assignment because of her personal contact at the zoo?”

  “Maybe, though I’m not privy to what went into the decision.”

  “Not a coincidence, is my guess.”

  “You’re probably right. However it came about,” he said, “it was a good thing for you. She’s the person responsible for setting Bob straight with regard to your involvement or I should say, lack of involvement in any illegal activities involving plant smuggling.”

  “In other words, you put in a good word for me?”

  “I did, but she told me you weren’t on her radar, anyway.”

  “That’s good to hear. I guess I feel a little better, but I’m still seething about Nate and Bob’s accusations.”

  “I understand and I don’t blame you.”

  “I have to hand it to Jodie,” I said, thinking about her raise-procurement strategy. “She’s playing Bob like a five-string banjo. If he gives her a raise, I may decide the embarrassment was worth the trouble.”

  Which was the truth. I’d been arguing with Bob to raise her salary for a long time now, and all I’d gotten in return was a sob story about the state of the zoo’s finances. I thought about telling him to suggest to Sally Ann that she curtail some of her globe-trotting activities in order to leave enough money in the zoo’s bank account to pay employees what they’re worth.

  However, to help compensate for Jodie’s pitiful salary, I’d been planning to take her along on my next plant-gathering trip to Africa
, so I should wait until we return before making any travel-cutting recommendations. Funny, though, how the zoo always manages to find money for staff trips but not salaries.

  I asked Dan if he had any idea why his cousin was meeting with Nelson Farthington.

  “Haven’t a clue, though I could hazard a guess.”

  “Which is?”

  “She’s laying a trap for Nelson.”

  And that’s when an idea popped into my head. I was in a better position to lay a trap than Dan’s cousin, but I’d be generous and include Dan and his cousin when the time came to snap the trap shut. I debated about divulging my trap-laying idea to Dan, but decided against sharing. I was pretty certain he would do exactly what Jodie suggested and tell me to stay out of the way, so I kept quiet.

  After he left, a little past one in the morning, I’d been too tired to think more about my plan to trap Nelson Farthington. I decided instead to tackle the problem over the weekend, which, if I didn’t drag my aching body out of bed soon, would be gone before I knew it.

  After I showered and dressed and was searching for food in my fridge, Dan called and invited me to lunch. I knew he had weekend duty, so I wasn’t expecting to hear from him. He said he was working the three-to-eleven shift and had a couple of hours free, which he wanted to spend with me.

  I felt bad turning him down. “How about tomorrow instead? I’ve got a workshop at the zoo this afternoon and I’m already running late.”

  “Suits me,” he said. “Where are you working today? I’ll stop by and say hi.”

  “At the Ed Center. This is the second meeting of my Hey, Look at Me Hort program, one of my many efforts to convince people to observe the plants as well as the animals when they visit the zoo. We have two garden clubs coming in today, one from Asheville, and another from Winston-Salem. Greg’s giving his Smoke and Mirrors talk, but I need to be on hand to introduce him and answer questions.”

  “Smoke and Mirrors? Sounds interesting. What’s that all about?”