Guarded (8 page)

Shelley blinked and her blue eyes cleared. Patting one of the waking cubs on the head, she said, “You’re absolutely right. Miah is already upset. I don’t want her trying to chew through her temporary cage.”

“Can she do that?”

Shelley didn’t answer. Instead she said, “Head back out. I’ll meet you at the perimeter gate. Go now. I’ll unlatch Miah’s cage, once I know you’re clear. Just make sure to wave when you get there. Oh, and remember to close and latch the gates behind you.”

Dev didn’t want to leave her, but Shelley seemed to know what she was doing.

Quick as he could, he crossed through the gates, latched them, then waved. Seconds later, the tiger roared and bounded toward the green-roofed house. Shelley came through a side door near the perimeter gate and padlocked it behind her.

Another tiger cry. This time from inside the wooden house. Then a white-faced tiger with black stripes and startling blue eyes appeared at the top of the ramp. She looked directly at them. At Shelley. The animal roared twice.

Both times, Shelley flinched as if struck. Her face pinched and her eyes became misty.

“I will,” Shelley whispered. “Now go be with your other babies. I promise.”

The tiger turned, flicked her tail, and disappeared back inside with her cubs. Shelley sagged beside Dev only to jump when a twig snapped behind them.

“What in the blue blazes of hell do you think you are doing here?”

“Hello, Reyna.” Shelley smiled and appeared calm despite the dancing pulse in her neck.

While Dev was surprised, he didn’t react. Truthfully, he’d been so focused on what was happening inside the cage, he hadn’t noticed the approach of the exotic-looking woman in a tight yellow dress. But his training taught him to never lose the upper hand—especially when surprised.

“Don’t ‘hello’ me. What are you doing here today?” Reyna propped her hands on her hips.

“I’m on a date,” Shelley said lightly, then grabbed Dev’s hand and squeezed.

“Ha! Good one. Figures only
you
would bring a date to this place,” Reyna replied. Her gaze skated over Shells dismissively before she zeroed in on Dev. Artfully, Reyna extended her hand to him, like a princess greeting royalty. “I don’t think we’ve been introduced. I’m Reyna Jameson. My family owns this land. And you are?”

“I’m Devon Jones. What a beautiful tiger y’all have here.” Dev accepted her limp handshake with his free hand and realized too late the mistake he’d made. Shelley withdrew her hand from his and clasped her hands behind her back. He missed her warmth.

Reyna narrowed her eyes at Shelley and a distinctly unfriendly smile curled her mouth. Although physically beautiful, with long, wavy dark-brown hair and curves that the average woman paid money for, there was something ugly in Reyna’s eyes.

“Dr. Morgan, you weren’t trying to examine the tiger, were you? You do remember that you’re barred from working with the animals behind that fence,” Reyna said gleefully, pointing at the tiger cage. “And if you’ve violated that rule, why I think my daddy will have to officially ban you from the whole park before you cause another scene.” She pointed one finger in the air and pulled a cell from a pocket of her dress. Impressive.

“Don’t bother calling anyone. We’re leaving.” Shelley waved and started toward the path back the way they’d come.

Dev started to follow Shelley, growing more confused by the second. If Shelley thought tiger cubs were missing, why didn’t she tell the owner’s daughter? He didn’t have time to wonder long because Shelley hadn’t taken five steps when Reyna called out, “Don’t go stirring up trouble again, because I will get the sheriff involved this time. No matter what my daddy says. I won’t have you raising a stink here anymore.”

“Me? You’re accusing me of stirring up trouble?” Shelley spun around. The blue blazes Reyna mentioned earlier seemed to shoot from Shelley’s eyes.

In the distance, three men made their way up the trail, led by an older man in a blue jumpsuit. Dr. Kessler’s white suit shone like a beacon in the afternoon light. The man really did dress like his office picture. His silver-topped walking stick glinted as he struggled to keep pace with a lanky man in a tan deputy’s uniform and hat.

Not good.
“Let’s go, Shells,” Dev said, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder.

She shrugged away his touch and squared off with Reyna. “No. I don’t stir up trouble. I’m the one who you’ve had to call multiple times in the past six months to clean up the messes you and your family have made. Or did you forget?” Shelley plunked her hands on her hips. “Wasn’t it last month your
daddy
burned the body of a five-year-old green iguana instead of properly disposing of the poor animal? I didn’t even get a chance to examine it first. Or are you now claiming that I raised a stink when I asked to do that before you got rid of the creature? So there would be documented proof about what killed it? Green iguanas can live twenty years in captivity.”

“My daddy was perfectly within his rights to burn that disgusting lizard. It was dead.” Reyna stepped forward, mirroring Shelley’s stance. “There’s no requirement that says he has to perform a lizardtopsy—”

“It’s called a necropsy,” Shelley hissed. “And it should have been performed.”

“Necro?
Ewww
 . . . Whatever it’s called, why should he bother? The thing was dead.” Reyna narrowed her eyes further. “You think we should let you cut it up just to satisfy your suspicious little brain? Not that it would have mattered. In your mind, we’re already convicted of animal cruelty. You even called the USDA on us!” Reyna stepped closer and raised her voice. “Lucky for you, they have better things to do than to worry about smelly old reptiles.”

“Lucky for you, you mean,” Shelley shot back. Her face nearly as red as her curly hair. “Had that been a mammal that died under your tender care, the USDA wouldn’t have been the only one involved. It wouldn’t have looked good for this town if word got out that its landmark zoo has animals dying and disappearing mysteriously.”

“Oh my God! You’re going to tell me there’s some sort of conspiracy going on here? You are one crazy bitch if you believe that.”

The man in the blue jumpsuit sprinted the last few feet up the path, leaving the other two behind. He put a hand on Reyna’s shoulder.

“Reyna, please,” he slurred slightly. Up close, his uniform was crisp and freshly pressed with
ELKRIDGE ZOO
emblazoned on the front left pocket. In his early sixties with thinning gray hair, a florid complexion indicative of excessive alcohol use, and bloodshot, watery eyes, he swayed slightly. “Dr. Morgan was only trying to help.”

“Really, Daddy?” Reyna spun on the man. “Stop defending her. How can you say she was only trying to help? She threatened you last week.”

“I did no such thing.” Shelley crossed her arms over her chest, her blue eyes still shooting sapphire sparks. “I just told him no other animals better disappear under mysterious circumstances.”

“I believe your actual words were much worse.” Reyna laughed like a hyena. “Isn’t that right, Deputy Munro? You were contacted that day, I believe.”

The deputy double-timed it up the last few feet of the trail at the woman’s call. He stepped up beside her and withdrew a small black notebook from his pocket. Beneath his wide-brimmed hat, it was difficult to read his expression until he glanced up. He flipped open the notebook, glanced at Eddy, Reyna, then finally Shelley and said in his nasally voice, “I believe it was reported that your exact words to Mr. Jameson on October the twenty-eighth were ‘No other animal had better die or mysteriously disappear or I’ll make sure you pay for it.’”

“I think we’ve heard enough, Payne . . . um, Deputy Munro.” Reyna turned to Dr. Kessler, who’d finally caught up to the group. She shook her head. “I’m sorry, Dr. Kessler. While we respect you and your work, I think this time we really must ban Dr. Shelley Morgan from these grounds. Permanently.”

“Now wait just a minute—” Shelley started at the same time the deputy gave both women a wary glance, then sighed in obvious frustration. Dev could relate. He was none too happy with the day’s events either.

“Shells,” he whispered into her ear. “Why don’t—” His words were cut off by the deputy.

“I’ve told you before, Reyna, it’s your father’s place. He decides who stays or goes.”

“Ask him then.” Reyna crossed her arms beneath her ample chest and glared. “Daddy, are you finally going to stop her now?”

“Stop me from what? Do you even know what’s going on here?” Shelley demanded as another person stepped out from the line of trees.

This individual, like Eddy Jameson, wore a blue zoo uniform but looked distinctly different from everyone else. Perhaps it was the shovel he carried over both shoulders, or it might have been the quick flashes of surprise and fear on his face before he regained his composure. He glanced over at the small cage where Shelley had locked the tiger while they’d checked on the cubs, then sighed as if in relief.

No one else noticed his behavior, because the deputy, Shelley, her boss, and now a growing crowd of zoo visitors were avidly watching Reyna plead with her father to have a no-trespassing order filed against Shelley.

“Just look what a scene she’s made this afternoon.” Reyna gestured to the half dozen onlookers, who weren’t even pretending to ignore the drama unfolding a few feet from the tiger display. “We can’t have her coming back here.”

“I didn’t do anything wrong. I just walked up to the cage when you started freaking out,” Shelley lied. The red on her cheeks could have been because she was in high temper, but Dev knew better. Shelley blushed like that back in college whenever she told a lie. Which wasn’t often. Why was she lying now?

Reyna spun and leveled a glare at the newest staff member to join their party. “Is that true, Tomás? Don’t lie for her.”

There was something threatening in her tone. Dev glanced at the young man in the dirty blue jumpsuit as he shot a nervous glance at Shelley.

Reyna didn’t give him an opportunity to answer. “You didn’t just walk up to the cage, Dr. Morgan. I saw you several minutes earlier from the window of the visitor center. She didn’t just stand outside the cage the whole time, did she, Tomás? She went inside the tiger’s house, didn’t she?”

Tomás pressed his already thin lips together and exhaled through his nose before he answered in a thick Spanish accent, “
Sí,
I saw you lock Miah in the cell, then go into the tiger house.”

“And she’s done it before, hasn’t she, Tomás?” Reyna asked, not missing a beat. “Didn’t you tell me that last week she went in without Dr. Kessler present? That she had insisted on evaluating the cubs,
alone
?”

“Tomás?” Shelley said, her eyes wide, the color draining from her face.

There was so much disappointment in that one word, it made Dev’s chest ache for Shelley. He wasn’t surprised when Tomás winced before nodding.

The sudden burst of questions from the group wasn’t a surprise. Clearly, only Tomás and Shelley knew about her visits. Dr. Kessler kept patting his pockets, searching for something he couldn’t seem to find. The deputy frowned, watching Reyna continue to demand her father have a no-trespassing order sworn out.

Eddy licked his lips and swiped an arm over his sweaty brow as he alternately listened, then responded to his daughter’s angry words.

Shelley waved her hands high above her head like she was signaling for a plane to land. “Excuse me, but there’s something everyone needs to know,” she said, when she had their attention.

“Not everyone,” Eddy said, swaying slightly as he approached the onlookers and then ushered them back down the path. Once the zoo-goers were out of earshot, he rejoined the group.

“Now,” Reyna said, a sneer in her voice. “What more could you possibly have to say?”

“I did check on Miah this morning. You were right. But there’s something you need to know. Two of the cubs are missing. I think they were stolen last night.”

“Yes, we already knew that,” Eddy said, his voice slurring again. “It’s why Deputy Munro’s here.”

“You
knew
?” Shelley goggled at the owner. “Why didn’t you say something?”

“He did. To the
real
vet in this town,” Reyna said and pointed to Dr. Kessler.

The old vet patted his pockets again, this time pulling out a crumpled yellow sticky note from his left pants’ pocket. He held it up and read it aloud. “Ah, I have it here. ‘Discuss missing cubs with Dr. Morgan.’”

“I find it convenient that
you
would show up today to tell us about the missing cubs. And why didn’t you tell me when you first saw me?” Reyna didn’t give Shelley time to respond. “For that matter, why didn’t you want Tomás or Dr. Kessler in the tiger house with you last week? And how did you know the cubs were taken
last night
, if you haven’t been here for a week? It could have happened at any time. I’ll tell you why. Because
you’re
the tiger thief.”

“S
HE’S OUT OF
her mind!” Shelley said for the fifth time since she and Dev had sat down at the Wight Café.

The restaurant with Italian spices in the air was her favorite place to eat. Today she could barely stomach the sight of her antipasto. Probably because their bistro table had a clear view of the zoo entrance, where Reyna and Payne were speaking with Eddy.

“I can’t believe Payne actually escorted us off the premises like I was a criminal or something. He knows me. They all know me. I went there to help and that . . . that
woman
accused me of stealing the cubs.”

She tore her gaze away and glanced at Dev across the table. He silently munched on a fry, his expression impassive. He appeared interested in what she was saying, so she continued to vent her frustration.

“And Tomás? What was he thinking? How could he just stand there and not say a single word to defend me?” Shelley stabbed her fork into the provolone hard enough to shred it. Giving up, she pushed the fork and plate away and massaged the ache in her right temple. “Tomás knows I’d do anything to protect those animals. He’s even helped me with them. How could he throw me under the bus by telling that . . . that
harpy
that I’d insisted on being alone with the cubs? After all the time we’ve worked together, I thought he was my friend. But no, he let her make it sound like the time I spent alone with the cubs was something sinister. And he knew exactly why I did it. Frack! He’d agreed it was a good idea at the time.”

Dev cleared his throat, slid his own empty plate away, then folded his hands together on the table. “Why
did
you insist on being alone?”

“Because I needed Tomás to help Dr. Kessler check on Miah. He’s a sweet old man and was once a very good vet, but lately his mind is going. When I got here last summer, the memory slips were minor. I’m afraid to leave him alone with an animal anymore. Two weeks ago, he tried to spay the same dog he’d spayed the day before. Then there are his massive mood swings. He’s normally sweet, but without warning, he’s angry. Not violent or anything, just furious. Then twenty minutes later, it’s like he’s forgotten the whole episode. So leaving him alone with an animal isn’t exactly wise right now. I couldn’t even have taken the afternoon off if Jacob wasn’t at the clinic.”

“So you asked Tomás to keep an eye on the doctor while you worked with the cubs.” When she nodded, Dev straightened and pulled a small black notebook and pen from his pants pocket. “You wanted to make sure nothing happened to the tiger—”

“Or to Dr. Kessler,” she interjected.

“Or to Dr. Kessler,” Dev agreed, jotting down notes. “These cubs just went missing, so if you didn’t contact me about them, what made you contact me?”

“Oh, I was worried about the cubs, but only because of—” She cut herself off and glanced around to make sure no one was near enough to overhear her. She whispered, “What the lizards told me.”

Dev paused in his notes and glanced around the café. It was mostly empty, since the lunch rush was over. “Come again?”

She leaned closer to the table and whispered, “The lizards.”

“Yeah, I got that part. Why are you whispering?” he asked, his voice soft and low. He answered his own question. “Right, crift. Got it. Continue. You were in the reptile house and . . . ?”

“Not the lizards in the reptile house. The five-lined skinks that run wild in the zoo.” When Dev simply stared at her, confusion clouding his gray eyes, she gave a quick explanation. “Five-lined skinks are commonly called blue-tailed lizards. They’re native to Virginia and they hang out in the deciduous part of the zoo, mostly under logs.”

“What did the lizards—”

“Shhh.” She glanced around again at his voice.

Dev shook his head. “What did
they
tell you?”

“That they’d seen someone carrying away snakes in the middle of the night in September. Funny thing, there was no record of some of these animals. Had I not examined the eastern hog-nosed snake the week before, even I wouldn’t have known it was missing. But since I did, I went to see Eddy about it.”

“And what happened?” Dev asked, continuing to scribble in his pad.

“He said he had no idea it was gone. He called Tomás and Cristos in, but they didn’t know either.”

“Who’s Cristos?” Dev flipped to another page and scribbled, then flipped back and continued writing.

“Eddy’s son. He is technically the zoo manager, but he’s about as interested in the zoo as Reyna is.”

“She seemed pretty interested to me.”

Shelley snorted. “All that woman is interested in is Payne Munro and causing trouble. She hates the zoo. The animals—” She paused when the waitress passed their table to deliver drinks to a couple three tables away. After the waitress left, Shelley said, “They all tell me that Reyna refuses to feed them or clean their cages. She puts on a smile for the tourists, but the moment people aren’t around, she’s mean. JoJo told me Reyna once took his new toy away from him and threw it in the trash can just out of his reach. You know, if anyone stole the cubs, I bet it was her.”

“Let’s back up. You say the lizards saw animals being carried off. Aren’t there cameras at the zoo? If so, theft should be easy to prove.”

“Oh my God! There
are
three cameras; one at the visitor center door, one inside the monkey house, and one inside the tiger house.” Shelley raised her hand high into the air to signal for their check. Pushing to her feet, she pulled her wallet from her jacket pocket and tossed her last twenty on the table. “Dev, you’re a genius. No one could have taken the cubs without being caught on video. We’ve got to get back to the zoo and tell Eddy to check the tapes.”

Dev pushed the cash back at her and grabbed her wrist lightly, halting her movements. “Wait, Shells. If the sheriff’s office is involved, they’ve probably already considered that. I bet they’ve already reviewed the tapes. I would have, if it were my case. And since you weren’t on the tapes, my guess is that’s why you were escorted off the premises and not to jail.”

Shelley tugged and Dev released her, but he didn’t stand. “Oh, you’re right.”

Deflated, she sank back into her chair and glanced out the window. Eddy, Reyna, and Payne were gone. The parking lot was nearly empty.

“Shells, did the—” Dev cut himself off when the waitress returned. He handed her the check and his credit card.

The twenty dangled between Shelley’s fingers. “Dev, you didn’t have to do that. I can pay for my own lunch.”

“From what I can tell, you’ve already paid for two lunches today. Beau’s and your intern’s.” He gave a roguish grin. “I’ve got this.”

Shelley hadn’t asked him to come to town to pay for things, just to help her with the zoo problem. Her immediate reaction was to refuse him, to pay her own way. But this was Dev. She consented . . . sort of. “Thanks, but I’ll get the tip.”

A muscle ticked in Dev’s jaw, then he gave her a quick nod.

“Great. Now you were about to ask something?”

Dev glanced at his notebook then said, “Did the an-uh . . . your friends describe anyone to you? Is that the right term? Describe?”

“More like pictures in a silent movie.” Grimacing, she shook her head. “What they gave me wasn’t very clear, because it was night and their view was at ground level. The thief dropped a cardboard box and several snakes fell out. The thief with shiny black gloves scooped up at least five—but one, the hog-nosed, got away.”

“That’s it? Shiny black gloves and a cardboard box?”

“You gotta remember, they’re skinks. They think in terms of food, prey, and mating. Some crickets hopped by and the snake wasn’t hunting, so they lost interest in it. But not before getting a good look at it. It’s how I knew which snake it was.”

“Doesn’t matter anyway.” Dev scratched his head and whispered, “It’s not like we can log into evidence the witness statements of a lizard spotting a snake thief or a monkey reporting stolen tiger cubs. Let’s stick with what we can report and what we know. Two cubs and a hog-nosed snake were stolen from the zoo. Any other animals go missing?”

“Yes, a bilateral gynandromorph eastern bluebird.” When he stopped writing and simply stared at her, she explained. “It’s a bluebird with a rare genetic disorder. Basically, it’s male on one side and female on the other. Even the coloring is split down the middle.”

“And it was on display in the zoo?”

“Yes, but at the end of August when I asked Eddy what happened to it, he said he came in one morning and the cage was open. It must have flown away.”

“You don’t believe that?”

“I did at the time. It was the first animal to disappear since I moved here. After today, you’ve got to believe that I’m onto something here.”

“Snakes and birds aside, I’m inclined to agree.” Dev nodded.

Relief had Shelley exhaling a deep breath. “I’m so glad, Dev, because I think another animal went missing too. Earlier than the bird. But I’d rather show you my notes. Since I’ve got the afternoon free, we can drop off your car at the hotel and I can drive you back to my place.”

He nodded as the waitress returned with his credit card. He signed it and rose to his feet. Shelley followed, leaving the tip on the table. She had been relieved that he agreed with her that there was something wrong at the zoo, so why was she suddenly nervous?

They gathered their things and stepped outside. They walked across the street and were approaching their cars when Dev said, almost casually, “Did you really tell the owner you’d make him pay?”

The incredulity and disappointment in his tone made Shelley cringe.

“Yes, but Reyna made it sound a lot worse than it was. Of course, I didn’t mean I’d kill him or anything. I meant I’d call the USDA, the
Post
, even PETA, if I had to. And you heard Eddy. He said himself that he didn’t feel threatened.”

“I’m not worried about you killing someone. I know you wouldn’t do something like that, Shells.” Dev frowned and crossed his arms over his brawny, distracting chest. “But you can’t go around telling people that you’ll make them pay. It can be construed as a threat. Which
is
illegal. It’s a good thing for you he didn’t press charges. His daughter might change his mind if you aren’t careful.”

Shelley blinked in surprise at Dev’s harsh tone. “Would you have really arrested me?”

“Not my jurisdiction,” he said.

Was that a joke?

“Hey, Shelley. Good to see you back.” Cristos, Eddy’s derelict son sauntered over to her. With a strong jawline, long black hair pulled into a ponytail, and startling green eyes, he was hot and knew it. He often used his looks to skirt the rules he didn’t like. Like wearing uniforms. Today he sported a black leather jacket with a burning skull on the back, jeans, and biker boots. The metallic chains draped across the boots caught the sunlight and shone right in Shelley’s eyes. She blinked and averted her gaze.

Dev seemed to get taller as Cristos pulled Shelley into a quick semipersonal embrace. The kind he delivered to most of the women in town. The very hug she tried to avoid. “Ain’tcha gonna introduce me?”

“Hi, Cristos.” Shelley stepped back, out of his reach. “Cristos Jameson, meet Devon Jones. Cristos is Eddy’s son. Dev is an old friend visiting from out of town.”

They did that greeting that men sometimes do where they nod their heads and part their lips like they’re going to speak, only they remain silent.

“Shelley, I’m glad you’re here,” Cristos said. “If you’ve got some time, we could use something to calm down ole Miah. She’s been freaking out since last night.”

“Probably because two of her cubs are gone,” Shelley said, then bit her bottom lip to stem the sudden urge to scream in frustration.

“You heard?” He rubbed his neck as if it pained him. “We’re trying to keep it quiet. Don’t want the town panicking. I can see the headlines now, man-eating tiger cubs on the loose, news at eleven. Missing cats really aren’t good for business. But you already know that. Leonardo’s escape almost shut down the whole town.”

At the questioning look on Dev’s face, Shelley said, “The week before I moved here, the male white Bengal tiger, Leonardo, went missing.”

“You’ve had more than one tiger escape here?”

Cristos waved his hands in the air in a gesture that clearly meant keep your voice down. “Leonardo escaped his cage but not the zoo. Tomás had to put him down because the tiger went to attack him when he tried to catch him.”

Shelley frowned in confusion. “I thought you and your father put him down.”

Cristos gave her a narrow-eyed glance and shook his head sharply. “Not me. Dad said Tomás did it.”

And Tomás had told Shelley he hadn’t been there when the tiger was caught.

She glanced at Dev, who watched them with an impassive expression.

“See, this is what I mean about cats on the loose being bad for business. A year after and no one, outside of those who really were there, knows what happened. But everyone
thinks
they do,” Cristos said, his tone light, but the expression on his face was dark.

“I can’t figure out how the cubs could’ve escaped. Tomás said the fence was locked when he opened the zoo this morning,” Shelley said, determined to make Cristos see there was something else at work here.