The Peacock's Poison Page 4

  “Do you know how she got the job?” Tiff said and from her tone, I could tell she already knew the answer.

  “Tell me,” I said, taking a sip of my gloriously gooey hot chocolate and allowing myself to forget about the body in the barn for five minutes worth of gossip. I actually thought poor Jenna would have approved.

  “Claudia Grant is the granddaughter of Lawrence O’Reilly. He’s the one who suggested Auryn give her a chance. How could Auryn say no to one of his grandad’s oldest friends and the current head of the board of directors?” Tiff said.

  I raised my eyebrows at this unusual method of hiring. I had no reason to doubt the truth of Tiff’s claims, and it was obvious that Auryn must have been put under a lot of pressure to say yes. I’d been so busy wondering about the legitimacy of the Winter Wonderland event team leader I hadn’t spared a thought about Claudia’s background.

  “How did you find out?” I asked Tiff. I hadn’t even known that Auryn had hired Claudia, and Tiff would have told me sooner if a piece of gossip this large had popped up.

  “Lawrence let it slip at the memorial service. I was near to them in the church, and he made some idle comment about her being his granddaughter and him landing her a new job. He should have known better. There’s always someone listening.” She gave me a grim smile.

  “I guess I’d better talk to Auryn about that, too. If she’s good at her job, then that’s one thing. If he’s just employing her because of Lawrence, that’s not okay. The zoo can hardly afford…” I trailed off. I’d been about to say that ‘the zoo can hardly afford to employ excess staff’ but I’d remembered that on those grounds, the zoo could hardly afford to employ me, either.

  “I’ll talk to him,” I amended, realising it was better left there.

  “I hope you’re as good at working your magic with people as you are animals. Otherwise, the arts and crafts day is going to be a complete disaster,” Tiff said with a sad little smile.

  I wished I was able to say something to fill her with confidence, but there was a good reason why I worked with animals, not humans. An animal’s actions could usually be explained by a logical reason. The same thing could not always be said of people.

  I had to wait a whole two days before I finally managed to pin Auryn down for a chat. To be fair, the zoo owner hadn’t exactly been easy to catch resting. With the fallout from Jenna’s death and the festive period to organise, I knew that Auryn would be feeling pretty stressed.

  I wasn’t being idle myself. We’d entered the first real cold snap of the year and there was a lot of work to do making sure that the animals were all set for winter, especially when there were whispers of it being a cold one. Rarer still, snow was expected to fall before Christmas!

  Through text messaging, Auryn and I had managed to arrange a coffee break meeting. I knocked on the door of his office and he shouted for me to come right in.

  I reflected that it was actually the first time I’d seen him sitting in the zoo owner’s office. I’d once had a meeting with his grandad in the very same room. It had suited the old man and founder of the zoo, but Auryn still looked rather lost.

  “I’m going to have the walls knocked down, so I’m closer to the rest of the office staff,” he said, following my facial expressions.

  “Sorry, it’s just not very you. It feels lonely here,” I said, honestly.

  Auryn nodded. “Well, there’s always room for change.” He sighed and I was sorry to hear how unhappy the noise was. “I suppose we have a lot to talk about.”

  “Sure,” I said, trying to keep things upbeat. “That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t get ourselves a couple of hot chocolates before we get started! There’s whipped cream, and I’ve got marshmallows.”

  “Really?” Auryn said, looking a little brighter and then managing to display the megawatt smile that I loved so much about him. “That would actually help a lot.”

  Five minutes later, we were back in his office with the drinks, and the place suddenly looked a lot cosier.

  “We should probably start with today’s news.” I knew it was best to get anything grim out of the way first.

  “Who told you?” Auryn asked, curious.

  “Officer Kelly called to ask if I’d noticed anyone getting Jenna a drink. I figured out the rest. When I asked her if it was poison, she admitted that the lab results suggest she died from a substance that was in her drink,” I told him.

  “You always manage to get the truth,” Auryn said with a little smile.

  I felt a pang when I remembered that what he’d just said wasn’t always the case… Lowell was proof of that. I shook off those thoughts and tried to focus on the misery closer to home.

  “Who told you?” I asked.

  “Treesden called to warn me that the case was being changed from a ‘suspicious death’ to murder. He said there might be media attention and that the police would need to come in and ask staff a lot more questions, so there could be disruption.” He ran a hand through his blonde hair. “Just what we need right before a make or break season.”

  “There’s that much at stake?” I asked, a little alarmed by his flippant statement.

  Auryn shot me a slightly guilty look. “The events team didn’t come cheap. They say that clients usually get a great return on investment, but there are so many unknowns. It all depends on the business.”

  “You thought the risk was worth it,” I stated.

  Auryn nodded. “Claudia helped me calculate the potential. I think she’s right to give me the nudge I needed to say yes. She has some great ideas,” he said, with a smile I thought might be tipping slightly towards dreamy. I was glad Tiff wasn’t here to see it. I wasn’t even sure how I felt about it myself.

  “I can’t believe someone would poison Jenna. It’s got to be one of us, too!” I said, bringing the conversation back on track.

  Auryn nodded and then shook his head. “Well, there were also some friends of the family at the party. It could even be that woman who turned up and started yelling things. She was pretty crazy.”

  “The one who claimed to be the illegitimate child of Mr Avery Senior?”

  “No, the other one…” Auryn said with a grin. “Yes - that one.”

  I reflected that at least he was still managing to use humour. “What happened with her?” I asked. Auryn had disappeared to speak to the loud woman, but he hadn’t returned to the party. After the next morning’s traumatic discovery, I’d completely forgotten to ask him if he’d managed to sort out that situation.

  “She actually wasn’t as crazy as she came across. She’s claiming that my grandad had a fling with her mother, and she was the result. Apparently, he never acknowledged that she was his and threatened to do something violent to them if she or her mother ever came close to his family.” Auryn raised an eyebrow at me. “If I’m being honest, I might have been able to believe the first part. My grandma died a long time ago, and I don’t think my grandad sat idle after she’d gone. However, I absolutely can’t believe all the nonsense about violent threats. He’d never have done anything like that. All in all, I’m not sure what to believe.”

  “What did you decide to do?” I asked.

  “I told her to come back with anything she thinks could be used as evidence. I’d like to be fair to her, if her claim is real, but I’m also aware that my grandad dying opens the floodgates for potential con artists to swoop in. I’m not going to fall for anything like that,” he said.

  “That sounds like a very fair and sensible way to have handled it,” I told him.

  Auryn nodded, gratefully. “I just wish it was as easy to know how to handle Jenna’s death. I hate to sound callous, but some of the reception staff are still struggling to come in to work, and it’s only going to get worse now that the published verdict is murder. Then there’s going to be another day when no one will work, for her funeral.” He shook his head. “An unsolved murder doesn’t look too great for the zoo. People might think that Avery is an unsafe place to be.” He
sighed. “I know it’s unfeeling, but it’s just making me stress more about whether we can pull off this festive push for business. Perhaps I should have played it safe and scraped through until next year. The zoo was still on track to be a viable business.”

  “But not an outstandingly successful one,” I filled in with a rueful smile. “You’re ambitious, and that’s a good thing. I know your grandad would approve of every decision you've made since he’s been gone.”

  I cleared my throat a little, suddenly thinking of one decision I actually wasn’t so sure he’d approve of. “What made you decide the zoo needed an in-house financial advisor?” I asked, wanting to hear it from him.

  I knew Tiff had been right about what she’d overheard, when Auryn blushed.

  “Lawrence suggested I hire his granddaughter. She’s run her own successful finance business with a partner for years, but she recently got divorced. He asked me to interview her as a favour to him, so she could get a little confidence back. I thought it wouldn’t hurt, after all - I never said I’d give her a job. When I did get her in for an interview, she turned out to be great! She’s way more creative than I thought a financial advisor would be. The zoo already has a good accountant, but she’s something else… she helps me to plan things out and see which changes are the ones that bring in the best returns. The zoo’s accountant doesn’t have time to do any of that.”

  “That’s the only reason you gave her the job?” I raised an eyebrow, but added in a knowing smile. I may have yet to be fully convinced by Claudia, but if what Auryn said was true, I thought she might not be as poor a choice as I’d worried.

  Auryn blushed again. “There is actually another reason.” He sighed. “Lawrence was never supposed to stay on the zoo staff, longterm. When I interviewed Claudia, she told me that his family is worried. They want him to go back into retirement, full time. After all, when you consider what it did to Grandad, being back here…” He looked saddened for a moment. “Anyway, I owe it to Lawrence to make sure that he’s okay. He’s been there for me since Grandad wasn’t able to, but now it’s time that I did it on my own. I’m hoping that Claudia will be able to take on the work he was doing here.”

  I nodded, seeing a picture sliding into place. Perhaps it was the one that made the most sense. Auryn and Claudia’s families had a strong alliance. Who better for him to pick to be with than her?

  Auryn shot me a sideways look. “I also have a shrewd idea that Lawrence may have set this whole thing up in order to set me up with Claudia.” He shook his head. “That’s something I’m not going to be pushed into.” His grey eyes warmed when he said it and I had to look away in case he saw something similar reflected in my own. Things were far too confusing right now.

  “There’s something else I need to talk to you about. I’m going to start by saying I know what happened between you and Tiff…” I began.

  Auryn looked semi-startled. “You do? I just thought…”

  “I’m best friends with Tiff. Just like I’m best friends with you. We tell each other things,” I said with what I hoped was an encouraging smile. “And now I need to tell you something. You can’t go on treating Tiff this way. You don’t need to make some huge decision over how you feel about her, if you don’t feel ready to make it, but you do need to talk to her. Just like she’s a normal person! She’s your head of commerce. You can’t keep shutting her out.” I took a breath. “She’s really worried about the arts and crafts day you were organising together.”

  “Oh, that!” Auryn said, looking surprised. “I thought she knew…” He hesitated. “Well, I suppose I haven’t been speaking much to her.”

  “Knew what?” I asked, curious.

  “Part of the deal with the events team is that they handle all events at the zoo during the festive season. I’ve sort of handed over the craft thing to them. All of the plans were in place anyway. It’s already being promoted as part of our seasonal events. Tickets that allow entry to the zoo and into the competition are already on sale. They’re doing really well, too. I think we’ve already sold a couple hundred, and there are still two weeks to go before it happens.”

  “I thought you and Tiff were going to sort of run it? She’s got a lot of art experience,” I reminded him.

  Whilst I had my successful web comic, Monday’s Menagerie, Tiff ran her own Etsy store, selling maps, which she designed and drew.

  “You and Tiff are both amazing, but now we’ve got the extra staff working to make things run smoothly I, er… took some liberties.”

  “What did you do?” I asked, immediately suspicious.

  Auryn was looking more uncomfortable by the second.

  “I’m sorry for not asking. I swear I just put it in as an idea, more of a concept, really. The team must have thought it was finalised, because they put it in as an up-sell. Backing out now would be really damaging.” He looked at me appealingly. “I know how successful you and Tiff are. Neither of you would need to work here if you didn’t want to, and for that, I’m really grateful. I just thought that people who are interested in the business side of art and craft might like to hear about your success and how you did it. That kind of thing. So, I suggested a couple of seminars and, well… they’ve taken off! People have signed up to come to the event just to hear you both speak.”

  My mouth opened and shut a little, while I processed what he’d just said. I didn’t know how to react. Even working as a consultant, I’d never had to address any large groups of people. It wasn't a strength of mine, and the thought of getting up in front of a crowd of people to talk about my comic was already giving me butterflies in my stomach. To make matters even worse, I felt pretty confused about the correct path to take, when it came to my comic.

  “I actually need to talk to you about the comic,” I confessed, realising that the talk I’d put off for so long had finally arrived on my doorstep. It was time to ask for Auryn’s opinion on the future of Monday’s Menagerie.

  Something like understanding shone in Auryn’s eyes.

  “Let’s get a couple more of these,” he raised his cup, “and we’ll hash it all out.”

  Half an hour later, Auryn was bouncing up and down in his chair in excitement, and I felt pretty much the same.

  “But that’s amazing! You must say yes. I don't think it will reflect poorly on the zoo at all. In fact, I think it will bring people in. You’ve already gained so many fans telling your stories and creating your art. Obviously, you’re going to be an instant bestseller…” I blushed and waved the compliment away. “…so, I think you should go for it. I’ll understand if you get too big and successful to stay here at the zoo, but you’ll always come back for signings and stuff, right? People will know that Avery Zoo inspired your comics?”

  “Yes, but that’s what I was worried about. There are recognisable features of the zoo in the comics. Lucky’s even in them! But while the stories are sometimes based on things that really happened when the animals did something funny, I don’t want people to think it’s all real. Someone could get upset. Someone might send animal welfare to the zoo because they think we’re letting the ducks have access to weapons of mass destruction!” With hindsight, that wasn’t the most realistic example.

  “You worry too much. I hate to bring things back down, but this zoo has had its fair share of tragedies recently. Your comic strips are a good thing, not a bad one. Do it, Madi. See where it will take you.” I didn’t miss the slight sadness behind his eyes when he wished me well.

  “Auryn, you know I’ll always want to work with animals. Whether it’s back here at Avery, or sticking with the consulting gig, I’m never going to be a full-time writer. It’s not what I want. The comic was just supposed to be a fun hobby, for goodness’ sake. It has spiralled out of control somewhat.”

  “Next thing you know, Tiff’s art will be in supermarkets, or something,” Auryn said, with a grin on his face. “This makes it even better that you’re going to be doing the seminar! People went nuts when they found out ho
w successful your crowd funding campaign was. They’re going to want to know all about that, but if you can say you’ve got a publishing deal, too…”

  “I don’t remember actually agreeing to speak at this seminar,” I said, pretending to look conflicted.

  Auryn saw straight through it. “You’ll love it and they’ll love you. If you think the comic is going to be bad for the zoo when it’s published, think of this as penance paid early.”

  I laughed. “I think I might want that in writing in case I somehow bankrupt you, after everyone boycotts the place,” I said, finally voicing my true concerns.

  “Unless we’ve been reading different comics about the cheerful and lighthearted side of zoo life, I don’t think that’s going to happen,” Auryn said, reaching across the desk to rest his hand on mine for a moment.

  “Thanks,” I said, feeling much better about the whole thing. I was even able to enjoy the feeling of warmth that spread through me at the touch of Auryn’s hand. All of a sudden I became far too aware of our skin on skin contact, and the little surge of electricity that seemed to pass between us. I pulled away and gave him what I hoped was a carefree smile. “I’m looking forward to speaking!” I lied. “You’re going to have to tell Tiff what you’ve signed her up for yourself,” I warned him.

  He pulled a pained face. “I know I agreed to talk to her again, but she’ll eat me alive!”

  I snorted. “Tiff wouldn’t hurt a fly, and you know it. You’re just scared you’ve messed things up between you.” I knew the feeling a little too well myself. “No matter what you decide, or don’t decide, let her know, and I know she’ll forgive you.” I hesitated for a second. “If it makes it any better, she’s put up with some real idiots in her past relationships. At least you’re not anything like as hopeless a case as they were.”