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Things were going great until I made it round to the emus and discovered Bernard the turkey was missing.

  “Oh no, surely not!” I said, my mind already jumping to the worst conclusion. Had someone left it too late to order their Christmas turkey and resorted to desperate measures? I knew about the fights that occasionally occurred in the supermarkets over the last few birds.

  “Bernard!” I shouted, feeling like an idiot. In spite of the turkey’s bad temper, I’d grown quite attached to him after he’d taken on the teenagers with the help of the emus.

  I was still shouting for Bernard when I met Auryn on the path round the zoo and explained that the turkey was missing.

  “Oh, sorry about that,” Auryn said, looking grave.

  “You didn’t!” I said, shocked.

  “I did,” he confirmed. “I decided to let him out during the holiday days to see if he calms down a bit. It was Leah’s idea. She said she thought that the emus weren’t ideal longterm bunk mates for him, and as we don’t really have a suitable space for him to slot in until the spring when some of our fowl will be traded with other zoos, we thought he might be okay running around loose. She would have run it by you, but you were so busy with the wonderland…” he finished, guiltily.

  “But he attacks people!” I protested and then realised that the peacocks were equally as bad.

  Auryn grinned. “What good is a zoo without a little animal interaction?”

  I couldn’t help but grin, too, at the pure madness of this move.

  “The Human Resources team are going to kill you,” I informed him, already imagining the slew of complaints that would come in.

  “What was it Lawrence used to say? You can’t just bow to the will of these people! It’s all nonsense. They know what to expect when they come to the zoo. They can’t blame us for their own incompetence!” he said, mimicking the old head of the board of director’s mannerisms. “Anyway, it’ll encourage people to get more exercise!”

  I shook my head. “I am definitely overdue accepting another consulting job.”

  To my surprise, Auryn smiled. “Anywhere you go is fine. Just promise you’ll always come back when you can.”

  I looked up into his grey eyes. “I promise. Avery Zoo will always be my home.”

  “Our home,” he corrected and kissed me, right before Bernard sunk his beak into Auryn’s bum.

  I collapsed into giggles when Auryn screamed and chased the turkey, threatening it with all kinds of culinary fates.

  If Father Christmas happened to hear some of the words he was using, Auryn would definitely find himself on the naughty list this year.

  THE END

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  Books in the Series

  Penguins and Mortal Peril

  The Silence of the Snakes

  Murder is a Monkey’s Game

  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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  Ruby Loren

  Also by Ruby Loren

  HOLLY WINTER MYSTERIES

  Snowed in with Death

  A Fatal Frost

  Murder Beneath the Mistletoe

  Winter’s Last Victim

  EMILY HAVERSSON OLD HOUSE MYSTERIES

  The Lavender of Larch Hall

  The Leaves of Llewellyn Keep

  The Snow of Severly Castle

  The Frost of Friston Manor

  The Heart of Heathley House

  HAYLEY ARGENT HORSE MYSTERIES

  The Swallow’s Storm

  The Starling’s Summer

  The Falcon’s Frost

  The Waxwing’s Winter

  JANUARY CHEVALIER SUPERNATURAL MYSTERIES

  Death’s Dark Horse

  Death’s Hexed Hobnobs

  Death’s Endless Enchanter

  Death’s Ethereal Enemy

  Death’s Last Laugh

  Prequel: Death’s Reckless Reaper

  BLOOMING SERIES

  Blooming

  Abscission

  Frost-Bitten

  Blossoming

  Flowering

  Fruition