by Ruby Loren
“Anyway, finding out he was back worried my husband. Ever since George came into our lives the first time, he’d started suffering from anxiety. That was also the reason why you noticed some similar symptoms to the victims of that terrible venom they sprayed around the place. I knew he’d figured out a way to use snake venom as a sedative. He’d done it before his speech, so that he would be more relaxed, but Trinity’s revelation sent him over the edge into hysteria. He drove off to get some space and think.” She fiddled with her glasses again. “I suppose even then, I should have realised something was going on. Did I really think he was just using unprocessed snake venom to calm himself down? Nonsense! I was willingly naive. I just didn’t want to think about it.”
“If you don’t mind my asking, what are your plans for George?” I enquired.
The Snidelys had elected not to press charges against Lord Snidely’s son. They’d said they believed he’d been punished enough already by being kidnapped and then losing his fiancée.
I wasn’t as convinced that he had learnt his lesson.
“George is an unfortunate case. I feel as though circumstances soured his potential a long time ago. Dear Harold tried, but it was too little, too late. He obviously carries the family love for cold-blooded creatures, but then look at how badly he abused that poor green mamba.”
Mr Limey was back in the critical care unit recovering from his surgery, and he was doing just fine. It wouldn’t be long before he would be in a new enclosure within Dracondia Manor.
“As I’m sure you’re aware, I was never very enamoured with Harold’s son, even less so now that I know he conspired with Trinity to rob us blind and still get his inheritance! I’ve spoken to Harold, and we’ve made our decision. When we’re both gone, the manor and Snidely Safari and Wildlife Park - all of it - it’s being passed over to a trust organisation, who will run it as a not for profit, educational type place. Everything will stay the same and any profit that is made will simply be folded back into the business.” She gave a little laugh. “Not that this place makes much of a profit! We’re forever doing our best to stop it from falling down.”
“There is, however, the matter of our fortune. When enough has been taken to support all of this, the rest is going to the new charity we’re founding to combat the illegal reptile and amphibian trade in the UK. The charity will also run rescue missions and take in any illegally traded reptiles and amphibians - venomous or not,” she added with a little smile.
“That sounds like a great thing to do,” I commented.
“It's what felt right. The secret laboratory will be used for further venom work, only this time, it will be done in the name of science and will be strictly within the rules. No more genetic modification, unethical work, or keeping snakes in pits! The snakes that are there currently are being kept in specially designed enclosures. It would appear some of them have venom strong enough to eat away at glass and anything plastic doesn’t stand a ghost of a chance.” She sighed and then smiled at me again. “Thank you for returning the money that Trinity paid to George. The police haven’t been able to trace its source, so it’s being donated to the charity.”
“That’s okay,” I said. When things had finally calmed down, I’d been relieved to find that the stacks of cash were still taped to the bottom of the spectacled cobra’s vivarium. I’d figured that the hiding place had been effective the first time, so why not replicate it? It had been a little less foolproof, as I hadn’t put a false bottom on the tank, but it had done the job.
I was pleased to hear that there was a constructive solution to the work that Trinity and Lord Snidely had done. Despite using their research for nefarious purposes, I had no doubt that it was still groundbreaking work. It was good that it wasn't going to waste.
“All of our treasures will belong to the trust and be shared with everyone. I wish that it would mean the Serpentine Emerald is safe forever, but some people will always want to take it away for themselves.” She smiled again. “But, if they get past the fake jewel, they’ll have the curse to deal with. It seems to have a way of working its magic so that everything works out as it should in the end.”
“So it would seem,” I acknowledged and shook her hand.
I still wasn’t convinced that things like curses really existed, but all the same, I was glad that justice had been dealt and that the future of Snidely looked bright.
My work here was done.
Murder is a Monkey’s Game
1
It’s Raining Men
I was discussing boredom busting toys for the big cats when the man fell out of the sky.
I’d been at the L'airelle Zoological Park for one week and had already made firm friends with the big cat keepers, Luna and Adele. There were many charming things about the medium-sized French zoo, situated in the Aude commune in the South of France, but there were also many things that made me want to pull my hair out by its roots.
Luna and Adele were more receptive than most to the changes I was suggesting, which was why we were currently discussing various toys to encourage the big cats to exercise. It was lunchtime and the zoo was practically deserted. I was suggesting giant footballs and blood ice lollies. Albeit gory, they were something I’d seen work really well for the cats. It also doubled up as a way for them to cool down. Having said that, we were in September, so it was probably an idea to save for the next summer season.
“Hey, look, a paraglider,” Adele said, as I was trying to figure out how to construct a ball that dispensed treats when you batted it along the ground, or perhaps something like a piñata that needed to be broken into…
I looked up at the yellow, banana shaped canopy. “They’re flying pretty low,” I commented and then returned to my workings out.
Adele’s gasp distracted me and I lifted my head in time to see flailing arms and the canopy veering from side to side. Now that they were closer, I could just make out that it was a tandem jump, but the person on the front seemed to be panicking. We all watched as they reached out and appeared to tug on one set of wires that attached to the ‘chute. The person behind made no move to stop them. Had something happened to the instructor? I noted that they were now nearly directly above us.
Luna made an exclamation of horror when the front person unstrapped their harness. They fiddled with something to their left. All of a sudden, one side of the ‘chute released, sending the tandem jumpers into a downward spiral that could only end in death!
We watched, filled with dread, as the front person jumped clear, falling for a second or two before pulling the string on a backpack I hadn’t realised they were wearing. A second ‘chute blossomed in the air and I watched the helmeted figure bank sharply to the left, away from the zoo.
The yellow canopy was now a mere streak of colour with a flailing-limbed figure beneath it. We all heard the sickening thump when the body hit the ground.
What followed was much worse.
There was the familiar roar of the zoo’s three tiger brothers disagreeing. Then we heard tearing sounds as something was violently ripped apart.
Now over the initial shock, we all ran to the tiger enclosure and looked down from the aerial viewpoint. A squirrel monkey perched on the fence that stopped visitors from falling in. It screeched in my face and I resisted the urge to push it into the enclosure.
“Mon dieu! We’ve got to get him out!” Adele said, turning to rush down to the keepers’ entrance. I grabbed her arm, knowing she would probably do something foolish. More than one keeper had underestimated their charges in the heat of the moment.
“There’s nothing you can do. He’s already dead,” I said.
The man was actually embedded several inches into the ground, despite the tigers’ best efforts at pulling him apart. You couldn’t get much deader than that. I was just glad we couldn’t see his face.
"What do we do?” Luna’s hand fluttered to her face.
“We call the police,” I said, sorry to be so familiar with the correct p
rocedure.
By my side, the squirrel monkey screeched again and I realised he was a witness. I wondered what he’d seen from his front row seat to murder.
2
Fatal Recall
“Madame Amos, please tell us what you saw.” The lead detective pulled out an ancient, leather bound notebook and a free promotion pen.
I reflected that it was fortunate indeed that the village of L'airelle and its police force were all well used to tourists. This whole situation could have been much more complex if no one spoke English. My French was barely up to conversational standard.
“I was working on some ideas for an enclosure. We were standing by the lions’ habitat on the aerial walkway and I was discussing my thoughts with Adele and Luna. We all saw this tandem paraglider come over the zoo and I thought they were flying pretty low. Then the person at the front struggled for a bit and then unstrapped themselves. I guess they must have somehow sabotaged the main ‘chute because one set of wires came loose and they just fell from the sky. The person at the front jumped clear and opened a new ‘chute. The one behind kept falling and landed in the tigers’ enclosure. We ran over to check to see if they were alive and then called the police.” I thought back over my words. That definitely covered it.
“Were there any other witnesses?” the detective asked.
I thought about the squirrel monkey but knew he’d hardly be any help. “Not that I know of, although you should ask all of the staff. It was lunchtime, so any visitors were probably in the restaurant. I’m not sure if they’d have seen anything.”
The detective wrote it down anyway.
A woman wearing the same gendarme uniform walked over. She had brown hair tied back in a plait and an apologetic look on her face. “Sorry Sir, I didn’t realise it was so serious and I had a soufflé in the oven.”
“We’ll discuss it later, Detective Girard. Please go and interview one of the witnesses.” He gestured to Adele and Luna, and rolled his eyes when she had gone. “Soufflé!” he muttered and looked back down at his notes.
“Just a few more questions for you, Madame Amos.”
I winced a little at his chosen term of address. The last time I’d visited France I had definitely been a ‘Mademoiselle’. I wasn’t best thrilled to discover I was now a ‘Madame’.
“Do you think this was a deliberate act?” he asked.
I paused to think. “Do you mean the sabotage of the ‘chute, or dropping a man into the tiger enclosure?” I asked.
“Both,” the detective clarified.
“I don’t know anything about paragliding, but it really did look like the person at the front reached round and did something to make the canopy come loose. I’m also going to assume that carrying a second parachute isn’t a usual practice in paragliding, so I’d say that what I saw was pretty suspicious.” I thought a little more. “As for dropping the victim off in the tiger enclosure, I don’t know. I’ve already told you they flew very low over the zoo, but when the ‘chute broke, it twisted around a lot. I don’t know if you could aim something like that. However, if the target was just the zoo in general, I could believe it.”
The detective nodded, still scribbling.
I took a moment to look down into the tigers’ enclosure. Justin, Adele’s husband, had been drafted to tempt the tigers indoors with food. It had worked and the detective and other gendarmes had already inspected the body. The coroner had just arrived and would soon move the body. I looked away, still not wanting to see the man’s face.
“Did you recognise the victim?” the detective asked.
“No, but I didn’t see him very well and I’ve only been here for a week. I haven’t met everyone in the village. He could have been a local.” I hesitated. “I’m assuming the victim was a man. He looked like one.” He hadn’t been wearing a helmet either, I suddenly realised - unlike the person who’d got away. While I was still thinking about that, the detective asked another question. I shook my head, having missed it, and asked him to repeat himself.
“I said, do you think the victim was dead or alive before they hit the ground?”
“I think he was already dead. Or at least unconscious,” I said, surprising myself.
I thought back to the way the body beneath the sabotaged ‘chute had flailed and fallen in silence and realised that the way their limbs had moved had been almost boneless. They hadn’t actually been struggling.
The detective scribbled down a few more notes, his mouth set in a grim line.
“The paraglider who got away is probably a murderer, right?” I asked.
The detective half-nodded. “It’s too early at this stage to make any judgements about what really happened, but we would definitely like to speak to this person for questioning. As soon as you called, I sent a team out to scour the local surroundings but so far, they haven’t found a thing. The second paraglider must have repacked their ‘chute and disappeared.”
“Suspicious behaviour,” I commented, but the detective wouldn’t be drawn.
Detective Girard came over again and apologetically tapped the lead detective on the shoulder.
He turned around with the grim expression still etched on his face and the other detective quailed even further. I mentally raised an eyebrow, speculating over what kind of boss he must be to make her act like such a mouse.
“I interviewed the other witnesses, Detective Prideaux. They didn’t recognise the victim, but then, he was falling when they saw him,” she said with a little shrug.
“Perhaps it’s time we took them all for a closer look,” the intimidating Detective Prideaux said.
I felt my stomach clench with worry. I did not want to see what falling from that height did to a person.
Detective Girard must have noticed my face because she smiled. “Don't worry, we won’t let the coroners move him until you’ve had a look. Someone will probably be able to identify him, even if it’s not right away.”
We all turned at the sound of running footsteps. My boyfriend, Lowell, jogged along the aerial walkway towards us, concern lining his face.
I’d met Lowell when he’d been working undercover as a private detective. He’d been posing as a builder at Avery Zoo - the place where I’d been a zookeeper. We’d initially hit it off, but after he’d concealed the truth of his assignment from me, I’d had a hard time forgiving him. To make up for his misconduct, he’d visited me while I'd been working a case for Snidely Safari and Wildlife Park and had nearly been framed for murder. During our time at Snidely, we’d talked and had discovered that there were more than just a few sparks of attraction between us. We’d started dating and as a sign of good faith, I’d invited him along to this new job at L’airelle, with the intention that it would be a holiday for him.
Things had already gone a bit pear-shaped on that front.
“What’s happening? I was walking through the village and I heard that the police had all rushed up to the zoo. Are you okay?” he asked.
I summoned a smile to reassure him. “I’m fine. Luna, Adele, and I just witnessed a…” I hesitated. “…a death,” I decided.
“Who are you?” Detective Prideaux asked. I decided to forgive him for his abruptness on the off chance it was due to the language barrier.
Lowell quickly filled him in.
“May I come, too?” Lowell asked, when it was announced that we three witnesses would now be expected to go down to the tiger enclosure at ground level to view the body before it was moved.
The lead detective shrugged, which Lowell took to mean acceptance.
We all traipsed back along the walkway and through the park until we reached the tiger enclosure. My eyes kept focusing on the beautiful, nearly tropical flowers along the way to the enclosure. I wondered if my brain was trying to distract me from the nastiness that awaited us.
I took a deep breath and walked around to the big viewing window, set in the side of the enclosure.
It afforded the perfect view of the body.
I
could tell now that it was definitely a man. He had dark, white-streaked hair that curled a bit at the back, and I could also see the silver glint of an ear piercing. His body lay at a horrible angle that made it clear several limbs were broken. I was grateful once again that we couldn't see his face, although that meant there wasn’t exactly a lot to identify him by.
“It could be anyone,” Luna said, voicing my thoughts aloud.
Next to me, I felt Lowell shift uncomfortably. “It's Pascal Devereux,” he announced, much to the surprise of everyone - myself included.
Muttering broke out and I overheard several people suddenly saying that it could well be Pascal.
“What?” I hissed at Lowell, at the same time as the detective.
My boyfriend sighed, keeping his eyes fixed on the body. “I met him when he was over in the UK, many years ago, when I was just starting out as a private detective. He was also in the business and it transpired we were on the same case, so we teamed up. We were trying to uncover the ringleaders of a gang of criminals who were smuggling firearms out of France and into the UK. We both went in undercover but got caught out. The gang tried to kill us and nearly succeeded. A bullet creased the back of Pascal’s neck and left him with that scar. One inch deeper and it would have severed his spinal chord and killed him. That’s how I recognised him. The scar and the ear piercing.”
There was more muttering and I picked up that Pascal’s history had not been common knowledge. Perhaps his past had finally caught up with him.
“Monsieur…”
“…Adagio,” Lowell finished for the lead detective.
“If you don’t mind, we’d like to ask you a few more questions down at the station about your history with Monsieur Devereux.”
