by Ruby Loren
The four of us turned to look at the new star of the barn’s centre stage area.
A woman with short, spiky blonde hair, and a bright pink fringe, was the person responsible for the noise.
“Do you know her?” I hissed at Auryn.
He frowned and shook his head.
“Killer boots,” Tiff said in my other ear, always one to notice interesting fashion when she saw it.
I tried to focus on what this stranger was yelling about.
“…the child of Charles Avery. I was never contacted and I’ve been done a huge discourtesy. I’ve been ignored my whole life, and now I want my share of the inheritance!” she finished.
I managed to fill in the gaps. This strange woman was clearly claiming to be some illegitimate love child of the late Mr Avery. Surprisingly enough, I wasn’t going to suggest to Auryn that he hand over half the zoo just yet.
“I suppose I should handle this,” he said, grudgingly. “Would you be okay making sure the place doesn’t burn down, or anything, if this takes me a while?”
I assured him I would do my duty as chief firefighter.
“Would you like me to come and help? I’ve got some law experience and could probably put her straight for you,” Claudia said, laying a hand on Auryn’s shoulder. Something inside of me bristled at the way she casually touched him. Next to me, I sensed Tiff turn away. No wonder tension was growing between them! There was another woman in play, who I hadn’t even known existed. I wondered if Auryn had kept her presence quiet for a reason. Could there already be something between them?
“Thank you, but I’ll be fine on my own. We haven’t even established if she knows what she’s saying or not,” he said, looking doubtfully at the woman. “I’d better go and find out.” He turned back to me, one last time. “Don't worry about getting everyone out when you go. I know what some of them are like… they’ll probably still be here in the morning when it’s time for work.” He grinned. “Maybe I should have asked for some of those crash mats to be left out after all.”
The three of us watched him go, each presumably wondering what the other women felt for the new zoo owner. I hoped that if Auryn was going to pick a partner, he made the right choice - a choice that would bring him happiness, rather than heartache. But what the right choice might be, I couldn’t say.
2
The Body in the Barn
Auryn didn’t return to the party. Tiff and I had left while there were still a few stragglers, doing their best to save the bar staff from clearing up, by drinking the bottles dry. I couldn’t say I’d particularly noticed Jenna amongst them, but it wouldn't have surprised me.
It was obvious she must have stayed late, because she was still there the next morning.
I’d received a text from Auryn early that morning. He’d prefixed it with massive apologies about having to leave the gathering early and even bigger apologies about what he was going to ask me to do today - which was to organise the clear up. I’d sighed when I’d read the text, knowing that it was a job that would normally fall to Tiff’s team. However, I was well aware that Avery Zoo didn’t actually need the number of zookeepers they had on the staff, when I was included. I was supposed to be back in an assisting capacity, so clearing up wasn’t really the biggest ask in the world.
An hour before the zoo was due to open, I’d set off towards the play barn, armed with black plastic sacks and a dustpan and brush. At the time, I’d been half-expecting that there would be some heavy duty cleaning needed, if anyone hadn’t been able to hang onto their drink after I’d left. If that were the case, I was underprepared.
But what I really hadn’t prepared for was the body in the barn.
At first, I’d thought she was sleeping. When I walked into the barn, still filled with the scent of the woodsmoke from last night, I’d noticed there was someone lying up on one of the rope swing platforms. In the dim morning light, I was just able to make out the striking diamond-patterned dress Jenna had worn last night.
“Jenna?” I called, and when I got no response, I climbed the log steps up to the raised platform and went to wake her up.
It didn’t take me long to realise it would be effort in vain.
As soon as I reached the top of the stairs, I was able to see her face. It had a strange, blueish tinge to it, and I could see traces of foam on her lips. As if I needed any more help to realise she was no longer alive, her eyes were glassily open, seeming to stare at me in horror.
My gaze moved to look anywhere other than at her body, which is why I spotted the necklace. It was hung, carelessly, over the end of the wooden safety railing. It was the filigree locket Jenna had worn ever since I’d known her. It wasn’t the only item decorating the railings. Her tights were draped further along, and her underwear lay on the wooden floor of the barn.
I tried not to think about what it all meant. Had Jenna’s restless spirit been the death of her? I bit my lip, hard. That was unfair of me to think. Jenna wasn’t to blame for her death. Somebody had done this to her, or at the very least, they’d left her here to die alone.
It was with dread in my heart that I pulled out my mobile phone and called the police to report an unexplained death.
Detective Rob Treesden was not happy to see me.
“You’re the one who found her?” He said by way of greeting, when he arrived with crime scene specialists and other officers in tow.
I gritted my teeth, but nodded. “I came in to tidy up from the party and found her here. I didn’t touch anything,” I said, automatically.
Treesden’s gaze sharpened. “You don’t think she died of natural causes?”
I gave him a disbelieving look. “She’s blue in the face and has foam around her mouth.” I pushed my festive, gold-sparkle rimmed glasses higher up my nose. “Perhaps she had an allergic reaction, but I didn’t know that she was allergic to anything. And, there’s the other evidence…” I gestured to the discarded necklace and clothing. “A lover’s game gone wrong, perhaps?”
Detective Treesden frowned. “We’ll be conducting the investigation. You’re going to have to give a statement. We’ll also need statements from whoever saw her last.”
I thought back to when I’d left the party, but I couldn’t remember who had still been there. “You’ll have to ask around,” I said. I made myself look one last time at poor, dead Jenna. There was surely no way it was natural causes. “Look at her necklace and the way her tights have been thrown around. One person knows she never left the party last night,” I told him, before walking off to write out yet another witness statement.
Tiff, Auryn, and a few of the reception staff and zookeepers had gathered just outside of the barn, having noticed the sudden police presence. I’d called Auryn to let him know what had happened, right after I’d phoned the police. He’d immediately closed the zoo and I suspected that gossip as to the reason why had already spread like wildfire.
“No! It can’t be her!” I heard someone shout and turned to see a young police officer rush past me through the door of the play barn and promptly sink to his knees. He stared at Jenna’s inert form and let out a moan of dismay. The female police officer I’d been about to speak to grunted in annoyance and strode over to the male police officer, pulling him to his feet, before practically dragging him back out of the barn.
“Oh no, that’s Ernesto. He was Jenna’s latest shot at a longer-term thing,” Tiff said to me, as we watched the young officer being led away.
“He can’t have been with her for long,” I observed.
Jenna wasn’t a terrible person to be with, but she’d never taken long to get bored with her partners. Perhaps she’d never felt comfortable enough with anyone to truly open up. Maybe that’s why she’d always loved them and left them. I huffed air out of my mouth, saddened by that thought.
“Statements. Now!” Detective Treesden raised his voice several decibels.
Ernesto covered his face with an arm and rushed off in the direction of the two-person swi
ngs. The female police officer shrugged and came back towards me. I resigned myself to the interrogation ahead.
She led me away to where the giant spiderweb rope climbing frame was. There was a bench on the far side of it and we sat down, with our backs to the Patagonian mara enclosure. Now out of sight and earshot of Detective Treesden, the police officer’s shoulders relaxed downwards.
“I’m Police Officer Kelly Lane,” she said and I introduced myself in turn.
“I think Detective Treesden got out of bed on the wrong side this morning. Or perhaps he didn’t want to have another murder case on his hands before Christmas,” she said, brightly, and then covered her mouth. “Oops! We’re not supposed to make assumptions like that.”
I found I rather liked Officer Kelly. I also wasn’t going to enlighten her as to the real reason why Treesden was in such a bad mood.
“I have to ask you a few questions,” she said, once we’d finished filling out the standard ‘what did you see?’ statement.
“Did you know the deceased well?”she asked.
I tilted my head from side to side. “As well as anyone here at the zoo, I suppose. Jenna was always friendly to me. I don’t wish to speak ill of the dead, but she did like to gossip and she quite liked male company, too.” I was trying to be tactful.
Kelly’s expression soured a little, and I knew she was thinking about Ernesto’s unprofessional reaction to learning that Jenna was dead.
“I think we’re probably going to need a list of all of her known partners, but I’m sure that will come later. After all, we don’t know the cause of death yet. For now, just in case - could you think of any reason why someone might have wanted Jenna Leary dead?”
I thought about it and then slowly shook my head. “Jenna had her flaws, but she was seldom deliberately nasty to anyone. A couple of times, she’s tried to cause trouble, but it was always for attention rather than to be truly malicious,” I said, thinking back to her interaction with a rather well-known crime writer, who’d made the mistake of having a dalliance with Jenna and not making sure that the evidence had remained in his control. Looking back, he might have been the only man Jenna had ever been hung up on. Even then, I suspected she’d never really felt much for him. He’d just had fame and a reputation in a line of work that Jenna had envied.
I spared a thought about the crime novel Jenna had always claimed to be working on. It would never be finished now.
“Okay, I think that’s everything for the moment,” Officer Kelly said, looking up from her iPad with another smile. “Will we be able to get in touch with you if we need to?”
“I’m always working at the zoo, and Detective Treesden already has my contact details,” I said, before I could think about what I was saying.
Kelly looked at me curiously for a moment. I suddenly realised that what I’d said could be interpreted in a couple of very different ways. I wondered if she was choosing ‘hardened criminal’ or ‘ex-lover’. I wasn’t sure which one was worse.
3
A Lucky Escape
The zoo stayed closed for the day Jenna’s body was found and the one after that. The reception team had been given the day off to help them come to terms with the boss that they’d all known so well - whether they’d liked her, or loathed her - not being there any more.
As always, the zoo being closed to the public did not mean it was closed to the other zoo staff. Animals don’t stop needing care for a day when everything shuts down. However, quite a few of the keepers had been too distraught to work, which meant I was officially covering for most of them. I didn’t mind. Getting back into the heavy work of animal care made me happy. It was nice to be able to reconnect with the same old characters I’d once been responsible for and find out how they were progressing.
The answer was, very well indeed. Even whilst I’d been away, Auryn had run ideas for changes to enclosures by me, and I’d been given a say. I was pleased to note that if anything, Avery Zoo had made huge improvements since I’d left. If I were to compile a review, I didn’t think I’d be able to suggest any realistic changes at all. Well, apart from perhaps updating the penguins’ enclosure a little. The fibre glass pool was still leaking, but I also knew that the vast cost of replacing the whole thing - rather than just patching it up - couldn’t be covered for a while. Hopefully, the Winter Wonderland would make a big enough profit to allow for spending on something like the penguin pool.
I swung by the capybaras’ enclosure and was pleased to see them chasing each other through the greenery I’d specifically asked be included in the enclosure’s redesign. Once Erin Avery (Auryn’s father) had been out of the picture, and the building team replaced, my wish had been granted. Looking at the pair now, I wondered if Doris was putting on weight, or if it was something else. I smiled. Time would tell! Capybaras were capable of breeding all year round in captivity. Perhaps we’d have a new arrival in the spring.
After completing my morning round, I returned to the dependant animal unit, where I’d left Lucky in his carrier. The little terror had somehow managed to escape the house again yesterday, forcing me on another wild goose chase, before I’d found him stalking the last few autumn leaves in a ditch. I’d finally caved in and had decided to push his neutering appointment forwards. His feral brothers and sisters had been neutered a week ago, to avoid any unwanted pregnancies. Feral cats were often neutered earlier, but I now thought Lucky’s own feral instincts made keeping him inside, cruel.
However, today I was going to try something new with him.
Since we’d been home, I’d been getting Lucky used to wearing a harness. He hadn’t seemed to mind walking about with it on, and since then, I’d also walked him around the house with a lead. Despite hearing the call of the wild, Lucky did also enjoy hanging out with human company. He’d been quite willing to stay close to me in the house on the lead. Now it was time to test it out in the open.
I popped him out of his carrier and apologised for leaving him there. There’d been a time when I’d been able to let him loose in whatever office I was working in, but I suspected he’d have shot out of the door, if I’d let him run around the unit whilst I’d been gone. I felt another pang of guilt and wondered if I was right to be keeping him as a pet. His feral brothers and sisters had been outside since the day they were born, and here I was, keeping Lucky cooped up. It won’t be much longer now, I thought, remembering the vet’s appointment I’d booked for tomorrow. After that… well, we’d have to see.
I smiled down at Lucky before clipping on his lead and opening the door of the room. To my surprise, he didn’t try to tear away. Instead, he appeared cautious, perhaps even a little nervous.
“Good boy, Lucky,” I told him, before encouraging him to follow me outside.
It didn’t take him long to grow in confidence. We walked around the zoo with him taking an interest in almost every animal we saw. The only animals he was less sure of were the emus, who’d probably looked to him like birds grown out of control. I smiled but kept him out of reach of Boris. He had a habit of stealing things, and I didn’t think Lucky would appreciate being picked up by the pesky bird.
To my surprise, the first person we saw on our little walking tour was Barnaby. Beyond the zoo’s gift shop was a large green area, that was mostly used for picnics in the summer. It was also the designated location for all winter activities. I found Barnaby marking the grass with spray paint.
“Morning,” I said, losing the prefix because there was surely nothing good about this morning, after what had happened yesterday.
“Morning,” he returned, standing up from his work and brushing the mud off his knees.
“I’m surprised to see you’re here today and are so hands-on,” I said, being honest with the events team boss.
“I’m surprised to see you walking a cat, but who are we to judge?” he said with a warm smile.
I hastily introduced him to Lucky, who seemed just as interested in Barnaby as I was.
“I’m n
ot actually the boss of the company,” Barnaby confessed. “That’s why I tend to get dirtier than you might expect. I just make sure everything works best for the place I’m assigned. I always try to get involved and learn about the venue as much as I can, because I find it’s what brings the most success. You can’t just slap a ‘one size fits all’ sticker on a package and expect it to work everywhere. You’ve got to appreciate the heart and soul of a place.”
I knew it was marketing spiel he was giving me, but I found I did want to agree with what he was saying. There was nothing worse than an events team who tried to make their ideas work, regardless of the location. The best teams were the ones who came up with ideas inspired by the venue they were working at - as Barnaby seemed to be echoing.
“How long have you been doing all of this?” I asked.
“Ten minutes, so far today,” he said, deliberately pretending to misunderstand. “No, I’ve been working for White Trees Christmas Events for five years. Every year, and I still get excited for the seasonal rush. I feel like a kid on Christmas Day, but every day from the end of November, right through to early January has the same feeling for me.”
“There can’t be long to go before it’s all open to the public,” I commented. December was only a handful of days away.
“We’re going to open up on the 28th, so, in two days’ time.”
“Was that the original target?” I asked, hoping to be subtle.
All the same, his expression turned to one of pity. “Yes, it was always the plan. I saw Auryn this morning and asked if he still wanted us to work today, in case it was disrespectful. He said something along the lines of Jenna loving any new staff coming into the zoo, and that she’d have wanted it to continue.” He gave me an uncertain look.
“If you’ve got men on your team, she’d have loved it,” I confessed. “You remember her from the party, don’t you?”
