Chameleons and a Corpse Read online

  Chameleons and a Corpse

  Madigan Amos Zoo Mysteries

  Ruby Loren

  Contents

  British Author

  Books in the Series

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  Prologue

  1. The Secret Society

  2. Creepy Crawlies

  3. Sparks Fly

  4. Lost Dog

  5. Merrylegs

  6. Following a Lead

  7. Cat-eat-dog

  8. Arts and Crafts

  9. Oh Deer!

  10. The Chameleon

  11. A Dangerous Game

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  Books in the Series

  A review is worth its weight in gold!

  Also by Ruby Loren

  British Author

  Please note, this book is written in British English and contains British spellings.

  Books in the Series

  Penguins and Mortal Peril

  The Silence of the Snakes

  Murder is a Monkey’s Game

  Lions and the Living Dead

  The Peacock’s Poison

  A Memory for Murder

  Whales and a Watery Grave

  Chameleons and a Corpse

  Foxes and Fatal Attraction

  Monday’s Murderer

  Prequel: Parrots and Payback

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  Grab your FREE copy of Parrots and Payback, Madigan’s first mystery.

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  Prologue

  The last conversation I ever had with Timmy Marsden was not a happy one. In the three months since our brief holiday to Mallorca, I’d got to know the man on the other end of the phone quite well, so it wasn’t actually a huge surprise that he was about to make trouble for my fiancé.

  It was only fairly recently that Auryn had been back in touch with Timmy. As the Avery family hadn’t been short of money when Auryn was younger (or had at least wanted it to look that way) he’d been packed off to the local private school until he’d been old enough to duck out at sixteen in order to take on various business courses, which had eventually lead to him wrangling a zookeeper apprenticeship from his father.

  My own education had been provided courtesy of the free primary and secondary school local to where I’d lived growing up, so it was strange to me to learn that Auryn’s old classmates were still important to him when I’d never been close to mine. When I’d queried why he’d never mentioned them before, Auryn had explained that even before his father had been caught for his crimes, it had been known in certain circles that the zoo was failing - and Erin Avery had not been a well-liked man. This shunning had been passed on to Auryn and apparently it was only now that the zoo was succeeding and Auryn had been deemed respectable that his old ‘friends’ were coming out of the woodwork.

  Timmy Marsden was one of this group. In some ways, he had more in common with Auryn than the other fair-weather friends. He too had been kept under scrutiny by the elite community. I privately agreed that Timmy’s scrutiny was largely well-deserved. When I’d attended a summer barbecue thrown by him and his wife, Scarlett, I’d heard more than enough tales about Timmy’s antics to form my own opinion. When I’d reminded myself that it wasn’t fair to judge on hearsay, Timmy himself had filled in the blanks by downing an entire bowl of punch. According to the stories, this was the all-new down-to-earth Timmy. I was glad I hadn’t seen him at his ‘peak’.

  This was the reason why Timmy had been overlooked for entry into the pretentiously named club, The Lords of the Downs, until now… and he seemed determined to muck it up.

  “I’m going to be a tad late. Something’s come up. You go on with Auryn and Jon. I’ll be there soon,” Timmy said in his usual lackadaisical manner when I answered the phone. I’d continued trying to pat my hair into place whilst I listened to this non-excuse of an excuse but now I gave up. My hair wasn’t going to get any tamer and I still had to make some kind of attempt at makeup. A phone call from Timmy wasn’t going to make that any more likely to happen, but I’d answered Auryn’s phone because he was struggling to get his bow tie right in the bathroom.

  “Is everything okay?” I asked, torn between exasperation at my own appearance and Timmy’s far too relaxed attitude. “Is it Rameses?” I’d met Timmy’s prized Pharaoh Hound, Rameses, at the barbecue.

  “No, he’s fine,” Timmy replied, sounding annoyingly distracted from our conversation. “Just pop along with the boys. Tell Jon to be a gent and not do anything I wouldn’t do.” He chortled a little. I reflected that that probably wasn’t saying much.

  “You do know how important this is, don’t you?” I said, hissing a little as I tried to keep my reprimand from reaching Auryn’s ears. He didn’t need any additional stress today.

  Honestly, I couldn’t believe I was defending this ridiculous club. If someone were to ask me to come up with the most repugnant idea for a club I could, the concept behind The Lords of the Downs would only be exceeded by a group that advocated violence and hate. As it stood, The Lords of the Downs trod a very fine line in my view. For one, they only let men join. You had to be inducted before you were thirty five, or not at all, and you either had to be outstanding in your field or be some kind of legacy. To my knowledge, most of the members were legacies. And finally, someone had to die or be removed (a fate worse than death?) in order for you to join. A club made up of rich men who met up and talked about who knew what… it was everything the world feared.

  When Auryn had been extended the invitation to visit a couple of meetings and subsequently be inducted into the club, I’d definitely questioned it. Surely in this modern day and age a secretive gentlemen-only society belonged in the history books? But Auryn had explained that it wasn’t an invitation you turned down lightly. The members of The Lords of the Downs had a tremendous amount of influence in the local community. It wasn’t in the rulebook or anything, but Auryn had definitely implied that it was this group of mysterious men who decided whether or not to favour one business over another… and that in turn could dictate the success of said business. When I’d protested that it was hardly fair that only men were allowed in the club when women owned local businesses, too (I’d been thinking about my zoo when I’d said it) he’d told me that it made it even more important for him to join - so he could represent us both. When I’d done some more complaining over exactly what I thought about that, he’d promised to tell me everything that transpired at the meetings. There was no Official Secrets Act to circumnavigate here.

  Anyway, today I would get to see what it was all about for myself. It was Auryn and Timmy’s induction into the club, and for that special meeting, they were each allowed to bring along a guest of their choice. Timmy had left it too late to RSVP, as was apparently his custom, so was coming alone. Or not at all, I silently amended.

  I suddenly realised that Timmy had said something while I’d been drifting. “Sorry, what was that?”

  “Oh, nothing,” Timmy replied. “I promise I’ll be there in a jiffy. Tell Auryn and Jon to be sure to uphold all of our Harvington House ideals.”

  “Wait… what are you wearing?” I asked and then blushed to my roots. I was exceedingly glad that Auryn was in the bathroom and that no one else was present. It was a sure sign that Timmy was currently distracted by something when he didn’t seize on the easy joke.

  “Suit trousers, a black shirt, and a blazer that matches the trousers. Also, sequin shoes,” he tacked on at the last moment.

  “Sequin shoes?”

  “No - although I bet you’d love to see me in a pair of them, wouldn’t you?” Even over the phone, Timmy Marsden was a moron.

  I gritted my teeth and lamented the already long day I’d had. One o
f the keepers at The Lucky Zoo was off sick, so I’d been up since six, feeding animals and doing chores. Later, I would figure that this phone call had probably taken place at around eleven o’clock, because Auryn and I were so close to leaving.

  “I’m wearing brogues. Normal shoes,” Timmy clarified when I didn’t answer.

  “Good.” I’d known Auryn had been worried about what Timmy might wear to their induction. His normal fashion sense was fairly variable. He’d been wearing pink and blue golf shorts at the barbecue. All of the other men had worn linen.

  My heart sank when I considered that attire wasn’t going to be the biggest barrier to Timmy’s frictionless induction.

  “How late will you be?” I wheedled.

  “Oh, a few minutes. I’ll be there, don’t you worry,” he said, and I decided he meant it. It was clear that Timmy was distracted. I had visions of burst water pipes or small fires starting, but who really knew with Timmy? He was the sort of person who believed the world revolved around him. Everyone else could just dance to his rhythm, and there wasn’t a lot that could be done to change that. After all, Timmy was getting into The Lords of the Downs by the skin of his teeth. Auryn had told me that a mob boss, who’d almost certainly committed murder by proxy, had been let in, (the key to his admission was simply that he’d avoided conviction) so for Timmy to be a tough choice was really saying something.

  “Fine. See you there,” I said and hung up, figuring it was best to leave Timmy to whatever was more important than joining The Lords of the Downs. It was only for Auryn’s sake that I cared. New members were supposed to vouch for each other.

  I returned to the impossible task of fixing makeup onto my face and took a moment to reflect back upon what a makeup artist had once told me were my colours. I had believed that the information would go in one ear and out the other, but some of it must have stuck. I reached for my eyeshadow and added a subtle pop of green to my eyelids. Is it too much? I wondered. And then - to my horror - I wondered if it was too young for me. “Whoa now, you’re not old!” I told myself very firmly. I had a birthday coming up and I very definitely felt that I was on the wrong side of twenty-five these days. Part of it was due to Auryn barely being in his twenties, I shook my head and went back to my mascara. I was in my twenties, too. I’d been over this too many times in my head already. It was silly to worry about it forever.

  As I moved onto the fancy matte lipgloss Tiff had bought me for Christmas, I thought some more about Auryn’s old school friends, Timmy and Jon. Timmy was only a few years older than Auryn, but Jon Walker-Reed was closer to my age. According to Auryn, there’d been a wide range of ages at the school and they’d surprisingly mixed. The younger boys had tended to be coerced into doing the bidding of the older group, but Auryn had informed me, rather proudly, that he’d won their respect at an early age. When I’d seen the sideways smile on Auryn’s face, I’d decided I didn’t want to know.

  I frowned briefly at my reflection in the mirror. Jon would be here soon to pick us up. The club was meeting in a stately home belonging to their leader - whomever that may be. Only confirmed members were trusted with the location of each meeting, which was why Jon was going to be taking us. I spared a thought to wonder what Timmy would do, and then decided it wasn’t my problem. Jon could send him a text, or something.

  Strange as it may sound, if I had to choose my favourite from Jon and Timmy, I would have chosen Timmy. Jon was a gentleman in all respects. He was always polite and proper and dressed well. Unfortunately, he was also completely boring. Married with two kids and a wife, who was far more interesting, who enjoyed staying at home and looking after the children, there was absolutely nothing remarkable about him. After meeting him a few times, prior to Auryn’s invitation to the club, and then at the barbecue, and again at Auryn’s trial meeting, I’d actually begun fantasising that there had to be something more to Jon. Was he leading a double life? Did he secretly dress up in a superhero costume and exact vigilante justice on non-law abiding locals? Unfortunately, I suspected that if you scratched beneath the surface of Jon, you'd just find more boring beneath.

  By comparison, Timmy had a reputation for being wild and self important, but he was also an adventurer and somehow very likeable. He was a risk taker and a man I normally would not have been adverse to Auryn and me finding friendship in. However, it had been all too clear at the barbecue that Timmy and his wife, Scarlett, had surely boarded a runaway train on the route to divorce. There’d practically been frost forming on the punchbowl between them. For that reason, I thought it would be wiser to give Timmy and Scarlett their space, rather than become embroiled in their love’s demise.

  I’d thought that divorce was the worst thing on the cards for Timmy’s future - that and the ever-present possibility he may one day fall off the side of one of the mountains he enjoyed climbing - but fate had something far worse in store for him.

  1

  The Secret Society

  Timmy never turned up to the club meeting. I had to endure an entire hour and a half of sitting next to a silently furious Auryn. They were supposed to have vouched for each other and it didn’t exactly look good for Auryn that the man he was supposed to be vouching for, and be vouched for in return, hadn’t bothered to show up. The leader of the meeting, a man named Nigel Wickington who apparently owned some huge industrial steel firm, was hardly thrilled either. All through the meeting as it became more and more apparent that Timmy wasn’t going to materialise, he shot murderous looks in our direction. Even Jon had taken the first opportunity to join up with some of his other friends in the club.

  As we were being shunned, I’d taken some time to look at the room we were in. It was a rather fabulous sitting room that had been set with chairs and even featured a little stage, that I assumed was only brought out for meetings. When I’d been introduced as Auryn’s guest, everyone had been quick to tell me that they didn’t often meet in this location. I thought the presence of the stage and the familiarity everyone seemed to have with the whereabouts of the facilities proved otherwise, but I didn’t comment. The secret society could keep its secrets it if made the members happy.

  “It’s not a secret society,” Auryn hissed in my ear.

  I turned to him in surprise. “I didn’t say anything!”

  “You had that look on your face.”

  “What look?” I hissed back.

  “The one where you look superior and amused at the same time - like you think this is all silly. It’s probably why women aren’t allowed!”

  I was about to argue back when an older woman, who I assumed was Nigel’s wife, or perhaps a maid (it was a big house) walked into the room pushing a tea trolley. She and I looked at one another and a knowing look passed between us.

  “See!” Auryn said, folding his arms and looking annoyed. I did my best to conceal my grin. The woman pushing the tea trolley looked for all the world like a mother who entertained the flights of fancy of a group of children and their special secret club where no girls were allowed.

  After tea and biscuits, Auryn was officially welcomed into The Lords of the Downs. The rest of the meeting was dedicated to business affairs, but apart from a few major bulletins, I noted that this was mostly conducted in secretive huddles, and whenever I got within earshot the whispering would die down. It was just like being back in the school playground, only, the worrying thing was, whatever these men were whispering about apparently had a lot of influence. It was clear that the men in this group were all used to being rich, and perhaps whatever was being discussed in these whispering huddles was how they stayed that way. It’s not what you know but who you know, I thought to myself, feeling annoyed by the club all over again. I wondered if there was an equivalent women-only club where we could whisper to each other and have secret meetings without the men knowing.

  I decided that we were all far too grown up for that.

  Auryn reappeared with Jon from the group where they’d been chatting. I’d remained next to the tea
and biscuits, having a chinwag with the lady, who was indeed the wife of Nigel Wickington. We’d been having a giggle at the men's expense when they rejoined us.

  “We’ll pop by Timmy’s place on the way back, shall we?” Jon said. Both he and Auryn had grim expressions on their face.

  “I can’t believe he’s done this to us. Even when he acted the goat back at school, he was never disloyal,” Auryn commented.

  “We’ll set him straight.”

  I bit my lip to try to regain some semblance of seriousness after the way I’d heard Annemarie Wickington talk about her husband’s club. She’d merely confirmed my views about the puffed-up society.

  Auryn shot me a withering look that probably meant my ‘secret societies are stupid’ expression had made a return. Before he could tell me to remove it, we were approached by one of the elder members. Jon introduced him as being Lord Something-Or-Other (not actually his name, I just hadn’t listened very well.)

  “What ever happened to the other chap, Timothy?” He asked it with so much politeness that it was the English equivalent of a slap in the face.

  “He said something had caused him to be running a bit late. It must have turned into an emergency,” I invented for all our sakes.

  “Congratulations on becoming a member,” the elderly lord said, inclining his head towards Auryn without acknowledging my words. The implication was clear - Auryn may be in the club for now, but he’d do well to watch who his friends were. We were all guilty by association.