CHAPTER ONE
Seasoned night keeper supervisor Jay Latimer needed another keeper on the second shift at the zoo, but he and curator Lopez were about to give up hope of finding anyone suitable after the first two applicants left much to be desired. The first one was a middle-aged woman with health issues whom Jay doubted could stand the summer heat, much less be able to lug fifty-pound bags of feed, and the second one was an almost sullen college-aged young man who was more concerned with vacation time and days off than he was about the job itself. That made six interviews and no luck. Then Emmalee Glass came in.
A slip of a young woman in her early 20’s, her wispy blonde hair and features would have suited a modeling career. If he had judged her on her appearance alone, Jay would have bet she could never withstand the demands of the job. But hearing her talk about her previous experience at the San Antonio Zoo made him think otherwise. According to her, she had several years’ experience working in various departments there, along with a bachelor’s degree in wildlife management. It was always a plus to have a college degree when applying for a zoo job, even though the starting pay was less than that of a beginning teacher. Emmalee Glass also pointed out that she was more than willing to work nights because that would leave her time to pursue her master’s degree and later, a doctorate. With that information, Jay wondered just exactly what her ambitions were, but he couldn’t be too choosy. He needed another keeper and this was his chance. Although the zoo was supposed to be an equal opportunity employer and he didn’t consider himself sexist, he wished she could have been a male. The job required a certain amount of physical strength. Emmalee would have to do.
Lopez seemed to share his thoughts about this applicant. After they thanked her and promised to be in touch, she stood, shook their hands, and thanked them for the opportunity. As she left the office, her figure set off by slim navy slacks and a pink belted camp shirt, she gave them a bright smile.
Jay and Lopez looked at each other.
“What do you think?”
“It’s up to you, Latimer, but I don’t think we’re going to find any better.”
She certainly was confident, and she seemed to have adequate experience with animals and the zoo. And she was easy on the eyes, which shouldn’t be a consideration, but Jay was only human, even if he was a middle-aged husband and father of two little girls. With her ambition, though, he wondered how long she would be willing to stay. He couldn’t worry about that. He had to have somebody. It wasn’t fair to his other keepers Lucas and Jolie to keep putting off hiring another person, and people willing to work the night shift were hard to find.
“You’re right.” Jay ran a hand through his graying brown hair, his tanned and weathered forehead wrinkling.
“Okay, I’ll check her references and get Gina to schedule her for a drug test. Maybe she can start next week.” Lopez, a bit shorter and younger than Jay, slapped Jay on the shoulder good-naturedly.
“That’ll work.”
Jay left Lopez’s office with a spring in his step. He couldn’t wait to tell his crew. They would be excited, especially since having another keeper on the shift meant that they could start scheduling vacation days again. He knew that Lucas and Jolie, who had recently started dating,
wanted to spend some time off together.
Instead of returning to his office Jay decided to swing by the vet wing and check on some flamingo babies that had just hatched the week before. His crew was responsible for feeding them during the night, and Lucas had told him that he had been having difficulty getting one of them to eat. Jolie had agreed that she was having trouble as well, so Jay wondered if there was something wrong with one of the tiny birds. He needed to consult with the supervisor of birds and find out what was going on.
Timber City Zoo was a popular tourist destination any time of the year but spring was an especially favorite time for visitors. Zoo grounds burst with color, from azaleas in bright hues of pink and white to white dogwood trees, pink tulip trees, purple, yellow, and white pansies, and many other bright plants carefully planned and tended by the zoo’s horticulture department. Thick bright green bamboo plants lined fences along the walkways while giant pots on the decks and at the entrance spilled over with petunias and other flowers in every color of the rainbow. Coupled with zoo buildings and other structures in natural wood and stone, the setting pleased the eye as it welcomed visitors from all over the world. Although Timber City’s zoo was smaller compared to big city zoos, it rivaled any other with its beauty. Jay’s chest filled with pride as he strolled toward the infirmary. As always, he was proud to wear the uniform as he greeted visitors.
Bird supervisor Sarah Farmer didn’t look up as the ruggedly handsome Jay entered the nursery. Stocky and stern with a no-nonsense attitude, Sarah was holding a fragile fluffy little bird in one hand and a syringe of flamingo baby diet in the other. She painstakingly injected the life-giving mix into the throat of the spindly animal that looked more like a long-legged chicken than the graceful flamingo they hoped it would become. The only physical trait that gave its identity away was its longer legs. The flamingo chick seemed to be spitting out as much of the milky substance as it was ingesting. Jay heard Sarah mutter something under her breath. He cleared his throat so she would know he was there.
She glanced around and then turned back to what she was doing. “What brings you here, Latimer?” Gruff and blunt, she wasn’t known for her bedside manner.
“My guys told me that one of the new flamingo chicks doesn’t want to eat.”
“Yeah, it’s this little guy. He acts hungry but he spits up more than he gets down. I’m starting to wonder if he has an obstruction.”
“Anything special we need to do?” Jay peered around her at the little bird. Her vinyl-gloved hands were covered in milky goop. One of the perks of being a zookeeper.
“Nope, just take more time with him and give it to him slowly. I’ve been feeding him every two hours.” She emptied the syringe into his open beak and watched the little bird gulp down what he could. He seemed hungry enough. “Could you hand me that towel?” She nodded toward a damp towel on a countertop nearby.
As Jay held the towel towards her, she set the syringe on the counter and then used the towel to wipe the tiny bird down before setting him back into the incubator bed with the other two babies who were snuggled together sleeping. “Think y’all can handle it?” she asked with a raised eyebrow. She took flamingo care seriously, one bird worth thousands of dollars. If the zoo could successfully raise their own, it would save money, boost their accreditation, and keep their flamingo population healthy.
He nodded, choosing to ignore her tone. “I think we can handle it as long as you’ve got enough diet prepared.”
“There should be plenty in the fridge, but I’ll check. You’ve got my number if anything happens.” Sarah tossed her vinyl gloves in the trash. “Just try to keep the little guy alive if you can.”
“We’ll do our best,” Jay replied before turning to leave. He tried not to let her attitude irk him even as he realized that it was difficult for day keepers to leave weak animals in someone else’s care. But he had a good crew, a dedicated crew who cared as much as anyone else about the animals and their welfare. They would just have to stop every two hours and tend to the flamingo chick, even if it meant leaving out other things they were supposed to do. And he wanted all of them to do it together. If something did go wrong, he needed to be there, and Jolie and Lucas needed the experience.
Jolie shook her head in an effort to get stray strawberry blonde tendrils out of her eyes as she held the syringe in her right hand while bracing the baby flamingo on the countertop with her left. The slight twenty-six-year-old zookeeper sat perched on a wooden stool at the countertop in the animal nursery wishing her hair would stay where it belonged up in its ponytail.
Lucas and Jay stood on either side of her, watching intently as she carefully squeezed the liquid nourishment from the syringe into the little bird’s open beak. Its neck and head undulated and jerked erratically as it swallowed the life-giving milky concoction. More than half of it oozed out of the sides of the beak down over Jolie’s hand and onto her jeans. That will smell good after a few hours.
Lucas, a tall, trim, and muscular Keeper II in his early thirties with several years’ experience, grabbed a towel and positioned it around the hand that held the bird, which was fast becoming a sticky, gooey mess. After every feeding the pitiful little thing had to be wiped down with a damp towel before they could let it rest with its siblings. Jolie, also a Keeper II, wondered if the bird was as tired of these feedings as the keepers were. After a few minutes of the struggle to get food into the baby bird, Jay seemed satisfied that they had done their best by it.
“Okay, let’s clean up the mess and let it rest until it’s time to do it again. Good job, Jolie. Lucas, you’re up next time.”
Jay took the bird from Jolie with another towel which he wrapped around the frail thing and waited for Lucas to wipe its downy gray feathers and orange beak and webbed feet before placing it back in the incubator. Jolie peeled off her gloves and washed the syringe with hot soapy water before placing it on a towel next to the sink. She dabbed at the spit-up spots on her shirt with a wet paper towel, tucked in the stray reddish tendrils that had fallen out of her ponytail, and followed Jay and Lucas out of the nursery.
The night was cool but damp with humidity, a harbinger of the coming summer. Jolie loved the nights, the blanket of dark that created mysterious shadows in a zoo usually bright with color from a variety of animals, plants, and people during the day. Animals were put up for the night, most asleep except for the nocturnal ones whose voices could often be heard. Most of the time the only sounds were from the owls in the trees and traffic from outside the zoo. But that night a strange noise caused Jay, Lucas, and Jolie to stop short as they made their way back to Jay’s office.
“What the---?” Lucas placed a large hand protectively on Jolie’s thin shoulder. Lucas’s bulk dwarfed her tiny presence next to him.
Jolie glanced at Jay who peered over her head through the darkness looking for the source of the noise. Her heart stammered within her chest as her breath quickened.
“What was that?” She had never heard anything like it, a cross between a scream and a moan, an animal and a human. Chills raced up and down her spine as goosebumps popped out on her arms. The hair on the back of her neck rose to attention as she swallowed.
“I have no idea.” Jay brought a finger to his lips, signaling them to be quiet and listen. They waited a few moments but they never heard it again.
Spooked, Jolie walked silently with the two men to the lounge just in case. Jolie thanked God that she worked with men. If she had been working alone with her friend Kaycie, she would have been beyond terrified. She couldn’t count the number of nights that she and Kaycie had been the only keepers there, but the only time they had been really scared was the night that the bad storm hit and Jay had been injured. Thinking of her friend Kaycie filled her with sadness. What a tragic loss of a beautiful young woman, and it happened right there at the zoo, at the hands of the man Jolie loved.
After they entered the lounge, Jay opened the door to his office and waved Lucas and Jolie in. All three of them settled into the chairs around Jay’s desk, Jolie unaware that she gripped the arms of the chair so hard her knuckles turned white. Lucas’s warm hand covering hers was reassuring. She glanced up at him, his deep brown eyes watching her. She let out the breath she had not realized she’d been holding. His presence had a calming effect on her.
“You okay?” Jay asked her, the interaction between Lucas and Jolie not going unnoticed.
She nodded, though she felt very much not okay. What had that eerie noise been? Where had it come from? Inside the zoo? Outside the zoo? The hair on the back of her neck was still standing. Jay’s concern creased his brow. Only Lucas seemed unaffected.
“I want us all to stay together tonight. That was probably just a kid in the neighborhood around here, but we can’t be too careful, especially in light of other things that have happened.”
Jay didn’t have to remind them. Kaycie had died right here in this building at the hands of the psycho Jolie had allowed herself to fall in love with. She shivered at the memory, an unexpected sob threatening to escape from her throat. Even over a year later, the pain was fresh. She swallowed it down with difficulty and blinked as Jay continued. Lucas’s grip on her hand tightened. He understood. What would she do without him?
“Since we’ll have to stop every two hours to feed the flamingo chick, we’ll have to do an abbreviated routine tonight,” Jay was saying. “No big jobs. The elephant moat and the otter pond will just have to wait.”
“No overtime, then?” Lucas and Jolie both figured they would have to stay late to get it all done, but apparently that wasn’t going to happen.
“No, Lopez doesn’t want us to get overtime if we can help it. I guess if the moat and pond get too dirty he may change his mind, but for now we will do everything except those.” Jay stood to signal the end of their meeting. “I guess we should get started. Ready?”
The rest of the night proceeded without incident—no problems with the flamingo and no weird shrieks or other noises. After a couple of hours, Jolie had completely forgotten about the scream and immersed herself in the work. It was almost fun working alongside Lucas and Jay, whose good-natured banter was entertaining. She and Lucas and Jay took turns handling the flamingo chick and by the time their shift was over, it had taken enough nourishment to keep it going for the next shift. It even seemed to be a little stronger in Jolie’s opinion, but she was certainly no bird expert. She worried the next shift wouldn’t take as much care with it as they had. Jay must have been having the same thoughts.
“I hope Branson and his crew will take good care of that little bird,” Jay had said.
Radios went in the docking stations, rubber boots in lockers, and time cards passed through the machine, ending another night of zookeeping.
“Did Lopez show them what to do?” Jolie wished for a moment that she could stay and take care of the poor baby bird.
“It was Sarah who showed me, so I guess she must have showed him as well, but it wasn’t when I was there. Oh well, we’ve done our duty by the little guy.” Jay made sure his office door was locked.
“I really hope he makes it.” Jolie retrieved her tote bag from her locker.
Lucas slung his muscular arm around her shoulders and squeezed. “He seems to be a fighter. I’m sure he will.”
As the third shift drifted in and Jay updated the supervisor on the status of the flamingo chick, Jolie and Lucas chatted with the late-night crew a bit before leaving the lounge, letting them know which areas might need more attention that night.
At the back of the zoo property behind a gate that no one drove through any more stood an abandoned building that used to be the zoo hospital before new technology, veterinary practices, and more animal species required a new veterinary facility to be built. Long forgotten by zoo officials and keepers, it provided the perfect space for an experimental project. With no danger of discovery or interference, Scooter could carry out her investigations. It was getting more difficult to sneak the animals away from their enclosures but she had figured out a way to grab and tuck the smaller ones into duffel bags or crates after the second shift had checked each area. She knew they wouldn’t return unless there was a problem in the area. That night she had two subjects: a squirrel monkey and a golden lion tamarin.
It was getting increasingly difficult to catch and subdue her subjects, but the keeper that had been dubbed Scooter in high school had figured out a way to use a blow gun with medicated darts to sedate the animals before trying to retrieve them, which resulted in fewer injuries for herself and the animals. It also saved precious time. So far there was no chance of being discovered until she decided to be, when her work would reach fruition and provide breakthrough treatment for animals and people around the world. She would certainly be lauded for her brilliance and innovation. She just hoped that no one had heard that stupid squirrel monkey scream. She would have to be more careful with anesthesia dosage. It had awakened during that last procedure, poor thing.
Getting the animals back into their areas without anyone noticing them missing was a trick. She always waited until Jay and his crew made their rounds and she was reasonably sure they wouldn’t be returning to those areas before darting them and moving them to her lab. She would inject them with the formula, watch them a few hours, and then return the animals to their areas before the third shift began their rounds. The next day she would quietly check on the animals and make notes of any changes she observed. If her formula worked, it would secure her a spot among the American Zoological Association’s most influential people. She would enjoy recognition, adulation, and most certainly a promotion to an executive position with the zoo. She might even win a Nobel prize and land a job with an internationally renowned animal facility.
Having completed her procedures on the monkey and tamarin, Scooter jotted notes in her lab journal and then settled back in an old office chair to wait. She would make observations every fifteen minutes for four hours before returning the animals to their areas and going home. These late nights were starting to tell on her, but she was confident it would all be worth it.
After finishing her notes, she surveyed what used to be the zoo’s veterinary hospital lab. It had required a thorough cleaning before she started her research over a month ago. Every surface had been caked with several years of accumulated grime from non-use. It was strange to her that things could get so dirty when no one ever touched them, but there had been disgusting evidence of rodents and insects. She had brought in cleaning supplies and taken the trash home with her so that she could ensure no one discovered that something was going on in the old building. She was careful to cover the old windows with pieces of cardboard boxes so that no light could escape while she was working. Although she was confident that no one ever approached that area of the property, she couldn’t risk light being detected from a distance. Hopefully no one would trace the use of electricity to that location, but she couldn’t worry about that until her work was finished. When it was all said and done no one would mind a few extra dollars in utility costs.
“Scoot!” The voice of her old high school coach resounded in her ears. It seemed he was right there in the room with her. Her bulkiness had made it hard to run in those stupid relay drills he insisted on every week.
“Scooter, Scooter, Scooter!” Her teammates would call out to her as she ran as fast as her heavy legs could carry her, but it was no use. Her team always lost, and it always seemed to be her fault.
The words of her P.E. coach and the endless taunts of her classmates echoed in her mind as she waited for the next observation. With her stocky, slightly overweight build she had never been an athlete, and Coach Pence had no mercy. Neither did her classmates. She would show them. No one would dare taunt her after she discovered a cure for cancer.
