Madigan Amos Zoo Mysteries : Books 1 - 5 (Madigan Amos Zoo Mysteries Boxset)

by Ruby Loren

  “Hi Darren, how’s Zara doing? It’s terrible what she had to go through,” I said, sympathetically.

  He paused in the doorway, fiddling with the folder in his hands. “To be completely honest, what happened has ruined her life. She’s holding up okay on the surface. It’s business as usual, you see? But I know she’s been destroyed.”

  Perhaps he realised his mistake, or perhaps my facial expression was much too easy to read.

  “It's terrible what happened to Jayne. I’m just as shocked and horrified as anyone, believe me. I just always put Zara first. That’s what marriage is all about, right?” he said with a weak smile.

  “Don’t worry, I knew what you meant,” I said, making an allowance. Darren and Zara had put up with a lot, from the little I knew of their history. It did make sense that he’d worry about Zara first, especially if the killer had intended the murder to be another threat.

  “I can’t believe it's happening again,” he continued, shaking his head. “We used to live near Otley in Yorkshire. That was where it all began. Zara had just started the PR company. I was a proper part of the team then, offering to go over businesses’ finances as part of the package we offered. Now I’m more like an optional extra,” he told me with a little smile.

  “We worked with some pretty nasty businesses back in those days. You wouldn’t believe the lengths some people would go to just to grab as much cash as they could before declaring the business bankrupt.” He sighed. “I'm not proud that we helped some of them do it by giving them a really good promotion boost right before they folded, but there wasn’t much choice. Zara and I needed the work, and it was the only way to keep the business afloat. We’ve got better clients these days, but its at times like these that I can’t help but wonder what our lives would be like if we’d never worked with those first few companies. We met some real nasty types,” he said, making eye contact with me.

  “You’ve got the same accent as Detective Toyne, am I right?” I said.

  Darren smiled wryly. “That’s right, but all three of us have shucked it pretty well.”

  I thought about asking Darren if he recognised Detective Toyne from anywhere, but I figured that was nearly as unforgivable as an American asking any and every Brit they met if they knew the Queen.

  I also didn’t want to pry too far into Detective Toyne’s life. Lowell had said he’d shake a few trees, but judging by the detective’s own knowledge of Lowell’s history, he’d either picked a bad source or the detective had been doing some tree shaking of his own.

  I told myself that I'd put off looking in on the lions (after the morning's feed) because I wanted to give them a chance to adjust to their new surroundings before I made any judgements. In truth, I was just scared that there’d be no change at all. It wasn't until half an hour before closing time that I prepped their evening meal and walked over to visit the pride.

  Right before I turned the corner I took a deep breath and held it.

  They were on the platforms.

  I released the breath and resisted the urge to punch the air in delight. Sure, it wasn’t a big change to have the pride lazing around on raised bits of wood (as opposed to on the ground) but it was enough to give me hope. It meant they’d actually done something. They’d had to jump and climb up. As I watched the pride, I observed the smallest lioness inspect the slatted bridge that led up to the platform where the lodge was. She took a couple of uncertain steps forwards and then jumped the rest - with far more grace than I’d seen her use yesterday. My lips curved upwards into a grim smile of determination. The steps taken were small. But, mighty oaks from little acorns grow, I reminded myself.

  I returned to the food prep station and loaded their evening carcass up onto one of the transportation trolleys. It was too early to say for sure, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the lions' eating habits improved too. Perhaps we wouldn’t be picking up half-eaten remains for much longer. The lions were discovering what it was to be a cat again.

  It was with a happy sigh that I settled down to watch the pride eat dinner, while I planned similar changes for other enclosures. Now I had proof that it made a difference, I was sure that the Johnsons would give me the go ahead. I bit my lip and wondered just how much they were able to fund. Once more, I was saddened that they’d purchased the zoo at such an inopportune time. I only hoped they were able to see it through until the end. If they could, I thought it would likely be the most rewarding thing they'd ever done.

  My phone rang at the same time as a small brawl over the food broke out. I let it ring for a few moments whilst I watched the tiff between a lioness and one of the pride’s males. I’d never seen them behave this way before. They simply hadn’t cared enough to have any disagreements. It made me want to grin from ear to ear.

  I looked down at my phone and saw that it was Zara.

  “Hi Madi, I was just calling to say I’ve scheduled a meeting for tomorrow morning, seeing as the last one didn’t work out,” she said.

  I thought saying the meeting ‘didn’t work out’ was putting it rather mildly.

  “Okay, that sounds fine to me," I said, already wishing it was over and done with.

  “Great, I'll see you then! Oh, one more thing… you don't mind dressing up for Halloween and helping us with the attractions? We’re all going to be taking part and helping to make the event a success - just like we’re regular zoo staff!”

  I took a deep breath. “Sorry Zara, but that’s not my job. I’ll be happy to help in any way I can though. Perhaps some pumpkins can be given to animals that might like them as a special treat.”

  “So, you’ll only do anything animal related,” Zara said, letting her facade slip big time. She sounded whiny and it made me wonder how she’d managed to survive in the world of ‘nasty businesses’ as her husband had described them. Perhaps whining worked if you did enough of it.

  “I’ll only do anything animal related,” I confirmed. “I'll see you at the meeting,” I said and hung up before she could come up with any other ‘ideas’.

  Despite Zara’s best efforts to pretend that everything was normal, the PR team were rather subdued when I walked in the next morning. I declined the offer of coffee, but I noticed everyone else accepted. Judging by the bags underneath their eyes, they were all relying on it.

  “Okay, we’re all here. That’s great,” Zara began. “As you know, we don’t have long to go until Halloween. Most of the preliminary plans are in place but we have to put them into practice right now, or we'll never get people to come. This has come at very late notice, I know, but we’ve got to work together and make sure that it’s a success to prove we're worth the money.”

  I was already starting to mentally switch off when Zara said something that caught my attention.

  “Has anyone seen any sign of those animal activist people? I just wonder if…” She trailed off.

  “Do you think they might be the ones who did that to Jayne?” Teagan asked, her eyes wide.

  “I’m not sure,” Zara said, but I thought she didn’t really believe it. It was just a diversion from a truth that she still hadn’t fully accepted.

  “The police are doing nothing. It’s not anything like what happens when you see a murder on TV,” Alex chimed in and there were mumbles of agreement all round.

  “I wonder how the killer got in and out,” I said. “Have you thought back about it?”

  Zara sighed. "I still don't know. I guess they must have gone out through the fire exit door, although I suppose they can’t have come in that way, because there’s no handle on the outside.” She bit her lip. “I just don’t know.”

  “How about we all talk through it again? Maybe we can think of something,” Lyra said.

  A look of annoyance flashed across Zara’s face, but her desire to figure things out was just as strong as anyone's. Halloween was shelved in favour of deconstructing the confusing muddle of two nights ago.

  “You all know I asked Jayne to come in early, so I could discuss a
few things with her.” She shot a look at Adrian, who’d automatically clenched his fists. “I wasn’t aware you'd worked with her before, Adrian. I’m sorry I didn’t know, but that was exactly why I was bringing her in to talk to everyone.” She shook her head. “If we'd had that meeting, I’m sure we wouldn’t be working with her anyway.”

  “You left Jayne in your office?” I prompted.

  “Yes, I went to go and get some examples of the Halloween promo. I actually dropped the lot on the floor, which is why it took me so long. I never heard anyone come in but I did hear footsteps and then Jayne said something, as though someone was in the office with her. At first, I thought she must have walked out of the office and then back in to take a phone call, but then the screaming started,” Zara said and shuddered. “When I heard that, I just locked myself in the room and stayed quiet. It seemed like the safest thing to do.”

  I looked around the room and noticed that everyone except Lyra was nodding along.

  “Did you hear which direction the footsteps came from?” I asked.

  Zara frowned at me. “Why does it matter?”

  “It might help us to figure out whether the killer came in through the front doors, or if they were already inside the building. Someone could have hidden all day, waiting for the opportune moment to get you alone,” I said.

  Everyone eyeballed me.

  “Creepy,” Teagan muttered.

  Zara shook her head again. “I’m not sure. I didn’t even really notice the footsteps. I wasn’t listening for them.”

  “I’m just glad you’re safe, Zara. You too, Lyra,” Laura said with a warm smile.

  Zara nodded humbly while Lyra rolled her eyes. I kept my focus on Zara and unfortunately made eye contact.

  “Do you think I should have done something differently, Madi?” she said.

  A shocked hush descended.

  I resisted the urge to sigh. It hadn’t been my intention to get involved, but I did want to get to the bottom of Zara’s strange actions. “I understand why you locked the door when you heard what happened to Jayne, but you stayed there after Lyra walked in too. I’m not accusing you of anything. I just wonder why didn’t you warn her?”

  “I’d heard what had happened to Jayne! I didn't know it was Lyra walking in. It could have been anyone. It could have been the killer’s accomplice!” Zara said, colour rising to her deathly pale cheeks.

  “Okay, that’s reasonable,” I allowed. “You must have heard the rest of us come in, though. We were all calling for you. Did you hear that?”

  She sighed and looked down at her fingernails. “I did hear something, but I couldn’t be sure. I thought it was a trick. You don’t know what it’s like, having to live..." She cleared her throat.

  I knew she’d just been about to talk about the stalker’s campaign of hate.

  “So, what? You think I should have confronted the killer?” Zara said, looking straight at me again.

  “If it had been me, I’d have helped,” I admitted.

  “You don't know what you’ll do until you’re in the situation,” Zara told me, primly.

  I opened my mouth to tell her that I had been in that situation - and more than once - but I shut it again. Now was hardly the time to share my dubious history. It could turn me into suspect number one.

  I tried again. “Look, you’ve been a victim before now.”

  “I don’t want to talk about it. We’re here to discuss work and what's happening for Halloween.”

  “I think my husband thinks I’m part of a cult,” Teagan blurted.

  We all looked at her. I kept my expression as closed as possible, knowing for a fact that it was exactly what he thought.

  “Have you spoken to him about it?” Zara asked.

  Teagan shook her head. “I'm worried he'll make me quit my job, and I love working with you guys. I wish…” She gestured in the direction of Zara’s office, “… had never happened.”

  “Think of it as a good thing, Teagan. I don't mean the murder," Zara said, looking shocked at what she’d inadvertently suggested. “I just mean, it’s no bad thing he's showing you what he really thinks. Now you'll be able to talk about it. What happens after that is up to you. You can work to fix your differences or, well…” She gave the other woman a sorry smile. “…you may discover that you’re both different people from the ones you were when you first met.”

  I raised my eyebrows at this rather sensible piece of advice. It was clear that Zara had been waiting for Teagan’s husband to snap on her for a while. My only question was, if she was so good at recognising other peoples’ problems, why did she seem unable to acknowledge her own?

  “I don't know, Zara. I guess I’m worried about how he'll react,” Teagan was saying.

  She said ‘worried’ but I read it as afraid.

  “He’s actually coming here at lunchtime. I think he might tell me to quit,” she continued.

  “Talk to him. You need to tell him the truth. You love him, but you also love your job, right?” I asked and Teagan nodded. “Then just say that. The truth is always best, believe me,” I told her, thinking about my history with Lowell. “If you trust your husband, then you know that no matter what happens, it will be okay."

  Having met Parson Green myself, I wasn't too sure about how trustworthy I believed him to be, but Teagan had married him. I just hoped she knew the man better than I did.

  Teagan nodded and for the next two hours, we ploughed through one of the most boring meetings I’d ever been party to. The main problem was that I felt I didn't need to be present. Jules must have told Zara that she had to work with me, much as I'd been told the same about the PR team. I'd taken that to mean ‘don’t get in their way and share the decisions I make so that everyone is on the same page’. For some reason, Zara had taken it to mean that I needed to be present for their big ideas and planning meetings - rather than just relaying me the results of the decisions they made. The worst part was, I didn’t have a voice at the meeting. Perhaps I could have contributed some creative ideas, but that wasn't my job - it was Adrian’s.

  At the end of the meeting, Zara asked me my thoughts on what had been decided. I agreed that it all sounded fine and in turn shared the few things I’d be doing with the animals (pumpkins for the pigs and an emphasis on the creepier residents of the zoo). Zara’s expression had glazed over when I was only a couple of sentences in and I'd sort of given up after that. It wasn't that she was being deliberately mean, it was just that our jobs were very different. Her idea of a successful Halloween event was gimmicky and had nothing to do with the zoo itself. In her mind, the animals were a backdrop to a successful enterprise. I was able to see it from her point of view, but that didn’t mean I had to agree. However, her inattentiveness to my plans did make me want to tear my hair out for having wasted so much time at her meeting.

  I almost cheered when lunch break was announced.

  “Thanks for coming, Madi,” Zara said, when I wished them all goodbye. Despite her same-old cheery tone, I could hear something a little more grudging that let me know I was no longer in Zara’s good books. I figured there was nothing I could do about that right now. Some people found the truth hard to hear. Perhaps I had been unwise to share my thoughts, but I really did value honesty.

  “Hey, wish me luck," Teagan said to Lyra and me when we all arrived on the outside step together.

  We watched her walk over to a black car and get in the passenger door. The figure in black behind the wheel fixed me with a grim look, but I saw Teagan begin to talk, and his expression changed to one that was far more human. I made a small sound of surprise. It would appear that Parson Green, for all his intimidation tactics and heavy talk, loved his wife. With this new found knowledge, I found I was able to reevaluate our conversation. Words that had sounded threatening now sounded like the words of a man who'd felt powerless to stop his wife from experiencing something terrible and wanted to do all he could to protect her.

  I hoped he would take his wif
e’s happiness into account and they’d reach the best conclusion together. In spite of my initial misgivings about the parson, I thought they might figure things out after all.

  5

  Shaking Some Trees

  Not everything was plain sailing at Pendalay Zoo. On the whole, I got on well with people, but occasionally there was an exception. Gemma Oliver was one of these exceptions.

  Once upon a time - presumably when someone had still cared for the zoo - they’d brought in a whole bunch of British rare breed farm animals. The idea was to educate visitors about these breeds, such as Gloucestershire Old Spots pigs, who were dying out due to the changing farm industry. Pigs intended for the mass market were bred to put on weight fast and have as much meat as possible. The older breeds just didn't turn the same profit, and so, they were dying out.

  While many of the farm type animals showed signs of abuse (as every animal in the zoo did to some extent) they were in a better condition than some. I thought it was probably because the various goats, sheep, cattle, and pigs, were bred to be hardy. Roughing it hadn’t been a problem for a lot of them.

  That didn't mean there weren’t still issues.

  The cows were fairly emaciated and wary of human contact. The sheep hadn’t been shorn for a couple of years. Most concerning of all, the pigs were morbidly obese. It was this observation that had first got me into hot water with Gemma.

  Gemma was in charge of the farm animals. She was a newly employed zookeeper - just like everyone was at Pendalay. The few keepers remaining from the time before the Johnsons had bought the zoo had been laid off immediately. I sincerely hoped they never worked again for their part in the terrible conditions at Pendalay.

  I knew that prior to working here, Gemma had worked at a small zoo in Germany (where she’d been brought up by her English parents). I had no doubt that the Johnsons had thought they were employing a zookeeper with some great experience, but so far I was having difficulty locating Gemma’s knowledge of animal husbandry.