Penguins and Mortal Peril: Mystery (Madigan Amos Zoo Mysteries Book 1) Read online

  “Without getting murdered ourselves,” I added. “That would be a bonus.”

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Jailbreak

  It felt strange to be sneaking through the zoo, which had always felt like home before. Now, every sound made my heart race. The wind picked up, whipping through trees and whining as it rushed through the wind tunnel created by the winding pathway between the enclosures.

  “Do we even know where to look?” Alison asked and I was about the shrug before I actually thought about it.

  “Lowell said they were skimming off the shipments. Zoos mostly trade young animals and eggs. I reckon they’ll be near the dependent animal unit. That’s where most new arrivals go,” I said. Despite the probable truth of my deduction, we kept our eyes open and crept through the zoo at a snail’s pace. Whilst we moved slowly, we still arrived by the walkway that led to the dependent animal unit far too quickly for my liking.

  I risked a look around the corner and saw that the door was open. They were here.

  “You just couldn’t keep your nose out, could you? What are you… one of the tree huggers? An animal rights do-gooder?” I heard Rich’s raised voice.

  The colour drained from my face. I had a shrewd idea as to who he was addressing.

  “I just wanted to be a part of what you’ve got going on. I notice things. I saw you guys always had cash for stuff, so I figured you had something good going on on the side.” Lowell’s voice was as calm as ever but my own fear levels were spiking.

  “You thought spying on us was the way in?” Rich was not buying it.

  “Maybe he’s an activist, or maybe he’s just nosey, but he stuck his nose in the wrong person’s business,” a voice I didn’t recognise said. “Make sure it’s dealt with.”

  “Wait… guys, I just wanted in on the money!” Lowell said. He didn’t sound as cool as he had.

  “Even if I believed you, you’d still be dead. All Ray Myers knew was that some penguin eggs had gone missing in transit. He didn’t really have much of a clue, but he blabbed to Rich and I couldn’t risk him sharing his concerns with someone who might actually follow up on it. So I solved the problem.”

  “You had him killed, just because he thought some numbers didn’t add up?” Lowell sounded genuinely surprised.

  “I still don’t know who you’re working for, and nor do I care, but you have no idea what you’ve walked in on,” the unknown voice said. I didn’t like the man’s tone. “This isn’t just a little bit of pocket money we’re talking about here. This is huge. This is the difference between the zoo staying open, or it being shut down and everyone here will lose their jobs. This is the only way to save my family’s business,” the man said. My mouth fell open in horror. I finally recognised who the speaker was.

  “Your father doesn’t want this,” Lowell said.

  Erin Avery laughed. “So that’s it. You’re my father’s bloodhound. Well, this just proved how out of touch he is when it comes to picking competent employees. Thanks for the tip off. I’ll have to figure out a way to make sure he sticks to his retirement in a more permanent fashion.”

  “Dad, you can’t!”

  My heart nearly stopped when I heard Auryn’s voice. He really was a part of this. He’d known what was happening all along and yet I’d never even considered him until this evening.

  I was snapped out of my daze by Alison nudging me in the ribs.

  “We’ve got to do something. The police aren’t here and they won’t know where to start looking when they do get arrive. Your guy doesn’t have long left,” she said. Her dark eyes willed me to have a plan.

  I stared back at her, my brain feeling as sharp as a limp noodle.

  “We need a distraction,” I decided.

  Alison raised an eyebrow and I nodded, somehow knowing we were on the same wavelength.

  “Let’s see if the squirrel monkeys are up for another jailbreak.”

  “How long until the shipment gets here?” I heard Tom ask while we slunk away. The answer was lost to me beneath the noise of the pounding rain, but I knew Lowell was in mortal peril.

  It took a lot of persuading to get the squirrel monkeys out of their enclosure.

  They were huddled up in their sleeping quarters and despite their natural inclination to get free and spread havoc, they were not big fans of the rain. It was only an inviting trail of fresh fruits that encouraged them to climb aboard before Alison and I rushed back through the zoo, laden with small, angry primates.

  “You know this is a terrible plan, right?” She said once we were nearly back at the dependent animal unit.

  I bit my lip but didn’t comment. For all I knew, it might already be too late for Lowell.

  I wondered where the police were and figured waiting by the entrance for something to happen would be the answer. At some point, Alison and I were going to have to split up, but right now, getting Lowell out of the hornet’s nest was my priority.

  A grape and a few strawberries were thrown towards the open door of the dependent animal unit. I tilted my head enquiringly at the three squirrel monkeys, who were clinging to my shoulder. They looked at me blankly.

  “Oh come on, now isn’t the time to turn tame,” I said, tipping them forwards. Luckily for me, they went for the food rather than try and scratch my eyes out for that little impertinence. I watched with bated breath as they finished the food and contemplated the open door.

  “Go on, go inside… it looks warm and you can make so much trouble…” I whispered. We waited another beat and then the lead monkey made up its mind and rushed to get out of the rain. It was all I could do to keep from punching the air as the other monkeys followed. Alison’s hanger-ons tore after them,

  A shout cut through the sound of the rain and we knew the monkeys had been spotted.

  “Get them out, or get rid of them. I don’t care what you do. They’re worthless,” I heard Erin say.

  Footsteps approached the open door, heading towards mine and Alison’s hiding place. We exchanged panicked looks and scooted around the side of the anteater enclosure, just in time to watch Erin Avery stroll by, his face like thunder.

  “Of all the days to be late,” he muttered.

  He walked off in the direction of reception.

  I exchanged a desperate look with Alison and she nodded, knowing exactly what I was asking. Without another word, she slipped through the side gate that led to the maze of paths used by zoo staff. I knew she’d do her best to head off Erin before he could spin the police a line. I only hoped that she’d be able to convince them to come into the zoo and check her story against whatever the son of the zoo’s owner claimed.

  My life could very well depend on it.

  “Get rid of them,” I heard Rich growl when I made it back to my listening spot.

  “Whoa, hang on a second. I know this is about the bigger picture, saving the zoo and all that, but they’re just monkeys. There’s no need for us to hurt them,” I heard Tom say.

  Someone snorted and I thought it was either Todd or Gary.

  “We’ve seen them in action before. It’s us or them, and I choose us. Don’t go developing a conscience now. It was your idea to feed the serval that poisoned rat and leak the info when the boss said we needed to get the protestors riled up. You were the one who sweet talked Lucy into telling you which cat would be dumb enough to take any extra food offered,” Rich said.

  “Yeah and I still feel like a giant jerk for that, thanks for asking. I’m also glad I was stopped before I could get that poisoned animal food. Come on, man, these little guys have names!”

  “And I have a machete. Big deal,” Rich said, and I heard the sickening sound of a blade thunking into something solid.

  “You missed!” Tom said, his voice full of horror. “I always knew you were a psycho, Rich. This is so messed up.” He sounded like he was realising it for the first time.

  I had zero sympathy for him.

  An outraged screeching broke out and I realised I couldn�
�t remain a passive observer any longer. It may not be the rescue mission Lowell needed, but I couldn’t let anything bad happen to the squirrel monkeys I’d put in danger. I was furious with myself. Of course a gang of criminals would carry weapons around with them!

  “Stop what you’re doing right now. The police are already here.” I boldly stepped into sight.

  Six pairs of eyes looked back at me.

  Auryn’s face was drawn and pained when we made eye contact for the briefest of moments. Lowell’s was the mirror image with a trifle more exasperation thrown into the mix. Tom looked shocked, but Rich seemed more amused than angry.

  “Deal with it,” he said with a cruel smile, directing his words at Tom and Auryn. I saw Auryn shake his head. He backed away from Rich, just as I turned to sprint.

  There was the sound of more screeching and the patter of small paws. The squirrel monkeys shot back out into the rain and I was glad of the added confusion. I needed every second of my head-start. Whilst staying on my feet all day kept me in pretty good shape, with my small stature, I was hardly a world class sprinter. Getting caught was an inevitability. I just needed to put it off long enough.

  At least, that’s what I told myself.

  I had no idea if what I was doing would buy enough time for the police to get in here and save us all, or if they were even going to make it past the front gate. If Alison had been caught by Erin before she’d made it there then we were all dead.

  I looked back over my shoulder and saw Tom was starting to gain on me. Although he held a machete in his hand, it didn’t look like he was particularly trying to catch me.

  “Come on, Madi, let’s work something out. You can be a part of this and help save the zoo! That’s what really matters, isn’t it?” He called, his voice still steady and even.

  “You… killed people!” I shouted back with much less composure. My sprint had faded to a slow jog, but Tom still hung back.

  “I never killed anyone. The bomb was Gary and it was never meant to be that big. He nearly blew up Erin, who genuinely was saved by a call of nature. We had been planning he’d just stick around at the back of the room and let some dust ruin his suit for authenticity, but Gary screwed up big time,” Tom said, starting to pant a little now. I looked back and noted he was only a couple of steps behind me.

  Running suddenly seemed kind of pointless, so I stopped.

  Just as I’d hoped, Tom didn’t immediately brain me with the machete.

  “Rich was the one who did Ray in. Ray told Rich when he noticed something off about the penguin egg order. I guess he thought they were buddies.” Tom shrugged. “He spotted that the numbers on the order were too high but by the time he got his hands on the eggs, there was exactly the number he’d ordered in the first place. Rich told him to talk to Erin about it, figuring he’d think of something to shut him up. But we all know Ray wasn’t great at keeping a secret. Erin said we couldn’t risk him telling anyone else.” He scratched his neck, thoughtfully. “Looking at the evidence, I think it might have already been too late to stop that.”

  “He told Mr Avery senior. That’s why Lowell was brought in. Mr Avery’s known all along what his son is up to,” I concluded, suddenly feeling far less charitable towards old Mr Avery. He’d suspected what was going on and hired a detective to make sure, but even when all fingers pointed in the direction of his son, he hadn’t gone to the police. It was true what they said about being blind when it came to your own family.

  “What gave you the idea to pin all of this on the activists?” I asked, figuring talking was better than dying.

  Fortunately, Tom didn’t seem keen to get down to business either.

  “When those thugs attacked the old apprentice, Danny, and everyone just pinned it on these unknown guys who were working with the animal activists, it got Erin thinking. The police went after the attackers, but because they were involved with the activists, he said their whole investigation was skewed. The cops couldn’t do much more than ask if anyone knew who the thugs were. The activists closed ranks and said they didn’t have a clue and the police didn’t want to push beyond that. They’d risk bringing the wrath of all activists down on them and all sorts of dirty words like ‘discrimination’ would be thrown around.” He grinned and I shivered.

  “Erin thought it would be a great safety blanket. All we had to was stir up the animal rights groups so that they targeted the zoo. That’s why he pushed for rat poison and got me to throw one to the serval. It was the perfect cover we needed in case any loose ends needed to be tied up. We knew the police wouldn’t look too closely because they’re so afraid of disturbing the activists.” He sighed. “It hasn’t exactly been a blast though. No one was ever supposed to die.”

  “But what about the animals you’re selling? What happens to them?” I asked.

  Tom shrugged. “They’re fine. It’s all private collectors who can’t get the animals they want anywhere else. We’re not even taking much of a risk, as we only pass on animals there are a surplus of in zoos - like the penguin eggs. They’re pretty much impossible to get hold of as a private collector, but pretty damn easy for us. Our buyers pay big bucks, we get a bonus and Mr Avery pockets the profit and folds it back into the zoo, out of the kindness of his own heart.”

  “You really believe that?” I asked.

  Tom nodded, his grip shifting a little on the handle of this machete. “Sure, it’s no secret that this place costs a mint to run. Entry prices have been raised but they did a load of market research and experts figured out that there’s an upper limit to what you can charge. People stop coming after a certain point. What’s been happening is that the zoo looks as successful as ever, but the money coming in has stayed the same while the cost of running the place has gone up. If you don’t believe me, just look at how slow the directors have been, replacing the two keepers we’ve lost. That’s no coincidence.”

  “What you’re doing is wrong, Tom, you know that. I saw you just now when Rich wanted to kill the squirrel monkeys. You care about this place as much as any zookeeper who works here. Surely you realise there’s got to be another way? Most businesses can be made to work more efficiently and improve their profits. They don’t automatically have to turn to something illegal to keep things going,” I said, and for a moment I really thought I was getting through to him.

  “Can’t trust you to do a thing,” Rich said, appearing around the corner of the meerkat enclosure.

  Tom looked at me, indecision written across his face.

  I saved him the trouble of deciding by punching him on the nose.

  He bent double, clutching his bleeding nose and swearing. I wasted no time finding out how much damage I’d really inflicted and ran for it. Man-mountain Rich barrelled after me.

  My heart nearly burst out of my chest when I saw a blue uniform.

  I looked up at the young female police officer who was reaching for her baton. Her eyes were uncertain when she saw me tearing towards her.

  “He’s got a knife, look out!” I yelled, opening my palms to show I wasn’t the one armed. Rich gave a bellow of rage which drew a male officer out from a side corridor. His hand was wrapped around the upper arm of Alison Rowley. My heart sank at the sight of their surprised faces. This wasn’t the big rescue I’d envisaged.

  “These two are insiders working for the animal rights activists, please arrest them.” Erin Avery said, stepping out from the same corridor that the male police officer. He was followed by the Detective Rob Treesden, who had recently been spending more time than ever at the zoo.

  “I’m a zookeeper here, not an animal rights activist. The man you are standing next to is responsible for the murder of Ray Myers, the attempted poisoning of animals at the zoo, and the planting of a bomb which resulted in the deaths of three people,” I said.

  There was a stunned silence as the police officers vainly tried to work out who was telling the truth. The machete bothered them. That much I could tell.

  “If you don’t be
lieve me, go down to the dependent animal unit and you’ll find a private detective, Lowell Adagio. He’s been restrained and told he’s going to be killed for investigating their black market animal selling business,” I carried on.

  At least… I hoped that was what they’d find. Hopefully I’d been enough of a distraction for Rich and the gang that they hadn’t got round to carrying out their threats.

  My eyes met Erin’s washed out blue pair and I thought I saw the first traces of doubt creeping in.

  “This is a simple misunderstanding. I asked Rich here to cut back some undergrowth that was getting in the way of the new enclosure and he volunteered to stay behind to do it. I’m sure he was surprised by Ms Amos here, which is why he’s still holding the garden tool.” Erin did his best to pour reassurance and authority into his words, but even he couldn’t spin this story to his advantage.

  “Contact Mr Avery senior, the zoo owner, if you need even more proof. He’s the one who employed Lowell to investigate his own son,” I said.

  That seemed to be the grain of sand that finally tipped the scales in my favour. The lead detective pulled out a radio and messaged for back up. Erin Avery just kept staring at me before he must have realised he was about to lose everything.

  “You’re really taking the word of an obviously distraught employee over the head of the board of directors? This is a waste of police time!” He protested, but this time he wasn’t listened to.

  “It’s our duty to investigate these claims, sir. Once we have looked into it, we will make our judgement,” the detective explained.

  Everyone seemed to have forgotten the fact that Rich was still holding a machete. Erin made eye contact with him and the head builder made to lift his blade, only for all three officers to raise their batons. For a moment, I wondered if Rich was going to attack anyway and damn the consequences, but he relaxed his grip on the machete and it clanged to the floor.

  “I just did what he told me too,” Rich muttered.