Madigan Amos Zoo Mysteries : Books 1 - 5 (Madigan Amos Zoo Mysteries Boxset), Page 4

  The pair had been placed together a couple of years ago. Since then, they’d disappointingly never managed to reproduce, although I had a sneaking suspicion that this was one of the reasons why the board had agreed to make changes. Baby animals attracted visitors, especially if those babes were cute, furry, and relatively uncommon. They were hoping for a rerun of the echidnas’ success.

  I placed the bowl of snacks down and looked at the remains of their virtually untouched breakfast. Concern lined my face as I gave the pair the once over. They were definitely looking a little on the skinny side. I shook my head. They’d better get a move on with the enclosure, or there’d be another animal crisis to deal with. I bit my lip, sorry to have even had the thought. If these animals were really in trouble, it was my job to do something to help them.

  “Don’t worry, I’ll have a word with the builders and see if I can’t kick their butts a little harder and get you back where you belong in no time,” I promised, smiling as I saw Doris take a tentative sniff at the fruit snack I’d brought and then eat a piece.

  It was a start.

  The builders had started work on the capybara enclosure last week, right before all of the drama had kicked off. Despite the constantly cited budget limitations, the group of builders were often at the zoo, whether it was to overhaul enclosures, build new exhibits, or extend the ever-growing adventure play area. Over the years, I’d learnt the names of all of the regulars.

  When I arrived at the building site, the first change I noticed was the enlargement. A small outside pathway, that had once led to a now obsolete viewing window for the macaws’ sleeping area, had been flattened, along with the old boundary fence. The capybaras’ pool had also been smashed up. At the moment, there wasn’t much to see but rubble, and I hoped it was closer to completion than it looked. Otherwise the unhappy intended recipients might start to waste away.

  “Hi,” I said, approaching one of the builders named Gary, who had stopped to crack open a bottle of coke. He turned his incredibly tanned face and then looked away again, giving me a view of his hairy neck. His brown, wavy hair was kept close to his head and his watery eyes seemed unfocused to me. Perhaps that was just because I wasn’t Tiff, I thought in a rare moment of jealousy.

  “I was just wondering if I could see the plans for this enclosure? I’m a zookeeper here,” I felt I had to clarify, as he wasn’t exactly giving me major recognition signs.

  Gary turned back once he realised I was talking to him and half shrugged. “Yeah, sure, they’re right over there.” He nodded towards a collection of gear that had been dumped and I caught a glimpse of some dirt streaked pieces of paper.

  “Thanks,” I said, as enthusiastically as he deserved. I walked over and picked up the pieces of paper.

  Being the zookeeper tasked with looking after the capybaras, the original concepts had actually been run by me, but I knew there was always a big difference between what was conceptualised and what actually happened. I looked down at the sheets and noted that the plans for the enlarged, capybara-friendly plant filled pool and the feeding stream had stayed much the same. However, some key elements had been altered, or perhaps they’d not even been confirmed when I’d been shown the ideas. I frowned at the sparse, clearly trendy, landscaped area that made up most of the enclosure.

  “Hey!” I called to the largest group of workers, who were slinging pieces of shattered concrete into wheelbarrows with spades. They stopped working as I walked, or rather stomped, over to them. “You see this…” I pointed to the plans. “Is this all that’s going to be added? A few ornamental trees? These animals need cover and variety to keep them happy and healthy, not a designer garden!”

  Two builders, Jack and Todd, exchanged a glance and then looked to their boss, Rich - a man I’d never managed to see eye-to-eye with. My ever so slightly raised voice had attracted attention. Two zookeepers I hadn’t even noticed strolled over to join our little group.

  “What’s up, Madi?” Tom, the keeper in charge of the zoo’s primate collection, walked over and nodding his sandy head towards me. Colin, an older keeper who looked after the equine and hoofed animals, merely grunted - but that was pretty good going for Colin.

  “I was looking at these plans and noticed that there’s hardly any planting and hardly any cover for Doris and Louis. I know they need more plants and, quite frankly, more interest. While this may make them easier to spot for the visitors, I know it’s not the best that can be done for them,” I said, feeling sure that I was right. It was that sensation in my gut - the one I always got which whispered to me in an inner voice, you can make this better.

  Tom barely glanced at the plans and shrugged. “What can you do? The board hired an expert. I’m sure they know what they’re talking about, far more than we mere mortals,” he said, but I didn’t get major ‘we’re all in this together’ vibes from him.

  “But it could be so much better! I could even draw in the changes myself. It wouldn’t be that hard and I doubt it would even cost much more. We could just add a few levels to stop the monotony and then put in shrubs and other plants here, and a grazing plateau here…” I pointed as each idea occurred to me but when I raised my head, I was surrounded by glazed expressions everywhere except…

  My gaze collided with a pair of dark eyes that looked curiously back into my own. There was something steady in that look, something that spoke of authority. I didn’t recognise the man those eyes belonged to.

  “It is what it is,” Tom was saying, while the builders mindlessly parroted back the same sentiments.

  “New guy?” I said, tilting my head in the direction of the man who’d just picked up the handles of a fully-laden wheelbarrow. His hair was dark, short at the sides and longer on top, in a fashionable, but smart, cut. His arms were perfectly bronzed and I could see the thick knots of muscles that contracted when he started to push the heavy load. A generic, dark, tribal tattoo peeked out below his sleeve, midway up his bicep. Somehow it didn’t seem to fit with everything else.

  “Yeah, we needed a couple of extra guys to fill in on this job. That’s Lowell, he’s just joined the company.” Rich, my least favourite builder, smiled indulgently. “He’s picking things up okay. I’m sure he’ll be up to speed with us all in no time.” The men around him chuckled.

  I tried not to raise my eyebrows. I’d gotten one look at Lowell before he’d walked away to dump the rubble, but even in that small window of time I’d noticed there was something different about him. I snapped out of my thoughts only to realise that the men were doing some eyebrow raising of their own.

  “You’re not the first one to ask about him. I really don’t know why everyone’s got their knickers in a twist,” Rich said, and the others sniggered behind their hands.

  I felt my cheeks turn pink and cursed my treacherous skin for this obvious display. Why couldn’t I be Tiffany’s gorgeous shade of gold and never ever blush? Instead, I was stuck with pale skin that simply gained more freckles in lieu of a tan, when exposed to the sun. People that were interested in being nice to me, like a few close relatives, would say my colouring was that of an English rose. I’d often done all I could to get rid of it, up to and including a disastrous spray tan. Pale gold was just another unreachable goal.

  “I guess I’ll put my thoughts to the directors,” I said, in a halfhearted attempt to show that I wasn’t willing to back down and go away.

  The builders just shrugged and went back to their business.

  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Tom and Colin exchange a knowing smirk and I wished that my height was just a little more imposing. Just sometime, it would be nice to not be considered cute when I was at my angriest. Part of me wanted to do something to wipe the smirks from their faces, but I’d been working with Colin for years, and Tom for several months. I knew it was a lost cause. The only way to win would be to sneak the changes I wanted through by tactical manoeuvring. I chewed my lip and resolved to think of a cunning plan later.

  The sun was s
till beating down when I walked back through the zoo, my mind firmly fixed on lunch break. I was still doing most of Ray’s job, but fortunately Morgan, our manager, had stepped in and divvied up the duties a little more fairly. He wasn’t going to win the ‘Mr Popularity’ award from the other keepers, but I was grateful.

  “Hey Madi!” A slightly strained voice called.

  I looked to my right and noticed Leah struggling beneath the weight of a potted, box plant. I rushed over to help lift the terracotta pot, following the relieved instructions of the other zookeeper, as we manoeuvred the plant pot into place next to a solid fence, that came up to my stomach. The other keeper wiped a hand across her dark skin and fluffed out her wild curls, which had a hint of red to them.

  “Thanks a million. I really thought I was going to drop it,” she said. I looked pointedly at her well-defined arm muscles, feeling that I hadn’t exactly been the deciding factor.

  “Are you decorating for the summer?” I asked, looking properly at the box plant, which had been clipped into a spiral shape.

  Leah shook her head and leant on the fence. “Nope, I’m hoping that placing plants here will discourage parents from dropping their kids over the other side of the fence. I mean, there’s a double fence here for a reason.” She gestured over the top of the solid wooden barrier to the second fence that ran around the perimeter of the enclosure. “It’s a couple metres away from the other fence for a good reason, but no, they always drop their little ones down for a closer look and then complain when they get bitten.” Drawn by her voice, an enquiring neck poked out from behind a bush, followed by a pair of long legs as the emu approached.

  “Don’t give me that look, I know you pretend to be all friendly and interesting until some parent drops their little darling close enough for you to peck.” The emu blinked and Leah frowned. “Count yourself lucky there’s no legislation that says birds need to be put down after biting someone! Although, that’s probably because there’d be no birds left, if someone decided to pass that law.” She waggled her eyebrows and I threw a sideways look at the emu in question.

  I knew his sneaky ways all too well. I’d agreed to cover for Leah when she’d gone on holiday. Boris (so called due to the blonde feathers that stuck up all over his head) liked to wait until your back was turned then sneak up and bite you from behind, before running away when you tried to swat him. He was also a shameless thief and had managed to steal my dinosaur purse before beating another hasty retreat. I’d made quite the spectacle of myself chasing him around the enclosure, until he’d abandoned my purse in favour of the small child who’d just been dropped over the outer fence.

  “You do have a point,” I admitted, looking at the various plants and noting how some possessed thorns. “I hope it works out and Boris’ biting days are over.”

  Leah pulled a sympathetic face at Boris who stared back with his beady eyes. “Just look at that face though. I know he’s going to be miserable if it works,” she sighed. “Oh well, at least it looks like the zoo is trying to keep people safe, even if this plan changes nothing at all.”

  She definitely looked happier at the thought of it all failing. I kind of understood. While it wasn’t an affinity I myself possessed, Leah loved birds of all kinds. No matter how many times she was bitten, scratched, or smacked in the face by a wing, she never stopped loving them. I suspected she was another zookeeper who possessed the same animal intuition I knew I had. That was why all of the avian members of the zoo had generally thrived ever since she’d been in charge. The only exception had been when they’d all been cooped up inside and miserable, due to the threat of bird flu.

  I made a point of walking past the echidna enclosure to cheer myself up. The puggles were all grown up now and most had been sent to other zoos, but a family of two adults and two babies remained and I was pleased to see them rustling through the undergrowth, as the day began to fade.

  A warm hand touched my shoulder and I turned and found myself looking straight into the face of Auryn Avery, the zoo’s apprentice keeper. Auryn was occasionally given a bit of a ribbing by other members of staff who, due to a case of sour grapes, thought he was being given a free ride. Auryn’s father was the head of the board of directors and his grandfather owned the zoo itself. I knew it was hardly a coincidence that Auryn had got the apprenticeship, but I refused to think any less of him, or treat him any differently because of his heritage. I figured Auryn appreciated that, as we’d become friends, despite him being in his very late teens and me clinging to the second half of my twenties.

  “Hey, I heard you were the one who found Ray. I’m sorry about that,” he said by way of a greeting. I looked into his solemn grey eyes and reflected that despite his youth, he often displayed a maturity way beyond some of our more ‘grown up’ colleagues.

  “It’s okay. Someone had to find him,” I said, rather nonsensically.

  Auryn tilted his head, his light blonde, straight hair, slipping sideways over his forehead. Hours in the sun had turned him golden, like the majority of the keepers at the zoo, but he always seemed to glow. His face was fast losing the roundness of youth and his angular jaw was now covered with closely shaved stubble.

  “It wasn’t exactly fun finding him. He wasn’t in good shape and it’s not what you expect, first thing on a Saturday morning,” I admitted for the first time.

  Auryn nodded. “I just hope the police will find whoever it is that’s responsible. My father demanded that they interview every one of the activists who’ve been hanging around, but he said they didn’t seem keen on the idea. I think they reckon it was someone who knew him, or maybe even an accident,” he said, hopefully.

  I shook my head, slowly. “I know it’s possible that something went wrong when he was fixing up the side of the pool and that hammer fell on him in some freak accident, but there was definitely someone else there with him.” I bit my lip, not wanting to add any fuel to the already burning fires around the zoo but failing to hold the thought in. “Did the police interview the animal rights people in the end? I heard rumours of extremists coming here. People who may have a reputation for violence where animals are concerned.”

  Auryn sighed and looked ten years older for a second. Privileged or not, home life must be challenging when the two generations above you had total control of the zoo’s future. It meant it was likely he’d been privy to all of the behind-the-scenes action that had gone on due to the investigation.

  “Yeah, I think the police said they’d ask around, but how is that going to help? No one’s going to say anything. I thought they’d be, you know, investigating… doing some real detective work. Not asking a few questions and hoping the killer will be thick enough to hand themselves in.” He blushed, realising he’d spoken too passionately. “I mean, not that there’s necessarily a killer at all, but, you know…”

  I nodded. I did know. With all of the bad feeling that still dogged the zoo in the wake the poisoning accident, it did seem like a stretch to believe that Ray’s death was merely a tragic coincidence.

  “Hopefully they’ll find something soon,” I offered, feeling just as helpless as I knew Auryn did.

  He shrugged. “That, or we’ll just all wait around until someone else dies,” he said - so bitterly it stunned me.

  “You think that might happen?”

  He blinked, coming out of his daze. “I don’t know. I hope not! It’s just… we know so little,” he explained before we lapsed into silence.

  “It’ll all get sorted in the end and things will go back to normal,” I said, but the words sounded hollow to my ears.

  “I guess so. Well, I’ve got, you know, stuff to do, so I’ll go do that.”

  I watched him go, wondering if there was something better that I could have said. The apprentice keeper was clearly taking the death hard, and I could understand why he was frustrated. All of us were. The animal rights activists had previously just been a thorn in our sides, but with the police classing the death as ‘suspicious’, they w
ere more despised than ever.

  “If they’re smart, they won’t stick around here for long,” I murmured, as I watched Auryn walk into the bat enclosure. I could feel the tension bubbling as well as anyone. I wondered how long it would be before the elephant in the room burst free and transformed into someone taking matters into their own hands.

  “Madi!” Tiff skipped towards me with a smile on her face. “Did I just see you chatting to Auryn? He looked upset. What did you do, turn him down for a date?” she teased and I blushed (as usual) before swatting her.

  “Shhh Tiff. He makes me feel like I’m twice his age.”

  She raised an eyebrow at me. “He’s changed a lot this past year. Everyone in the shop can’t get over it. You can’t tell me you haven’t noticed the way the girls here spend most of their time trying to get him alone?”

  I shrugged. I really hadn’t spent that much time observing Auryn and the attention he was apparently attracting. I left the nuances of the human drama in the zoo to Tiff, who would always fill me in. Just like she was doing now.

  “He doesn’t seem interested in any of them though. He’s polite, but he never talks long with anyone. You’re the only person he seems to open up to,” she said, pointedly.

  “I just treat him like I’d want to be treated, if I was in his situation. He probably thinks they’re trying to suck up to him because of his legacy.”

  Tiff tilted her head from side to side. “I’m sure some of the girls imagine there would be perks to dating him because of that, but mostly, I’m pretty sure they’re more impressed by those guns he’s been working on all winter.” She flexed her bicep to show me.

  I pulled a face. “I cannot believe you just used the word ‘guns’ in casual conversation.”

  Tiff snorted. “But, just so you know, people do notice that you guys talk a lot and not everyone knows, like I do, that you’re just friends,” she warned.