Sleeping With The Fishes

Chapter 19

Going by the look of surprise Sophie gave me when she saw me the next morning, it appeared my attempts at using makeup to look less like a zombie were pretty unsuccessful.

“That bad, huh?” I grimaced, and Sophie hid a smile.

“No, no, it’s not that bad,” she said. “But, uh, maybe it would be best if you stayed in the back as much as possible.”

I stuck my tongue out at her. “I need to call the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife this morning,” I told Sophie. “I know I don’t have any appointments until ten, so I’m going to stay here and say bye to the animals.”

I knew it was going to be tough. After all, Lucy was such a sweet giraffe, and Coolidge and Cherie had saved my life. But I knew all three of them–and Hehu, when he was well enough–were going to have to go home.

I made the call just after eight that morning. The department promised to send someone by shortly. Because of my work, I had a standing permit with the State of Oregon and was allowed to keep exotic animals in my care. I left a note on the front door telling them that if no one answered I was in the backyard, and I made my way to the stable.

As soon as I opened the door, I forced myself to smile. “Guess what, guys? You’re all going to start your journeys home today!”

“Am I going to find my mom?” Lucy asked, and I nodded.

“Yes, I know what part of Tarangire National Park your mother lives in now. I’m going to get the people taking you back to take you there, and I have a friend who works in Kenya who will be able to help as well. I had sent Kirsten an email the night before outlining what I knew. She said she would organize with the local authorities once Lucy was returned to ensure that the mother was found. I was so incredibly thankful, and ended up making a hefty donation to her rescue group.

“That’s wonderful news,” Coolidge said. “Are we also going home?”

“You are,” I said, grinning. “I hope you remember the heat, you’re being sent home to Australia!”

“Oh good. If you could please make sure we’re sent back to the Perth area, that would be an even bigger bonus.”

“I’ll make a note of it. I’m fairly certain you will be; there’s a black cockatoo rescue center in Perth, I wouldn’t be surprised if you get sent there to begin with, to make sure you can still be in the wild.”

“It’s really happening,” Cherie said. “We’re finally going to go home. What about Hehu? Will he go back to New Zealand as well?”

I nodded. “Yes, although it will take a bit longer. I want his wing to heal here, first, where I can take care of him.”

“Good idea,” Coolidge said. “He was a little bit of a whiner, but I’m going to miss the kea.”

Just then, a woman in khakis and a loose shirt made her way through the backyard, with the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife crest on her shirt.

“Angela Martin?” she asked, and I nodded and held out a hand. “Lauren Knight, it’s nice to meet you. What have we got here?”

I brought her into the stable and introduced Lauren to the three animals. Lauren had a look at them, gently stroking Lucy and smiling at the birds who calmly perched on a piece of wood in front of her, then she turned to me.

“I have a trailer out here that’s suitable for taking Lucy, as well as a cage for the birds. You said you know where she’s from and that you know an organization that can help find her mother? She likely is too young to survive in the wild on her own.”

I nodded. “Yes. I’ll get you in touch with Kirsten, she works with an elephant rescue group in Kenya but has contacts, and has promised that she’ll help. I know Lucy came from Tarangire National Park in Tanzania, and that her mother lived near a place called the Sopa Lodge.”

“Excellent, you were extremely thorough. I’m glad you’ve gotten us that information. Can you help me get the animals? I’ll go prepare the truck, it’s out in front of your house, if you can bring them over.”

“Sure, it’ll give me a chance to say goodbye,” I said, and even saying those words I felt a lump rise in my throat. Lauren nodded and smiled at me, then headed off as I turned to the three animals.

“All right, you three. It’s time for you to go home,” I said, the first tear escaping my eyes. I wiped it away and laughed. “I’m so glad you’re going to see your mom soon, Lucy.”

“Thank you, Angela,” Lucy said. “The only sad part about going home is leaving you.”

That sentence started off a whole new series of waterworks. “Oh come here you,” I said to the giraffe as I reached up and wrapped my arms around her softly in a hug.

When I pulled back, I made my way to the two cockatoos and hugged them as well. “I’m also going to miss you guys. Thanks so much for saving my life.”

“No, you saved our lives,” Coolidge replied. “What we lived in that barn was not a life, and you saved us from it. We are the ones who thank you.”

“Take care of yourselves,” I said. “Now come on, let’s go to the truck that’s going to take you home.

The two birds flew slowly overhead and Lucy followed me as I guided her out of the stable and out to the front of the house. The birds casually flew straight into the large cage at the back of the truck, while I coaxed Lucy into the large trailer at the back.

“Wow, it’s almost like they listen to you perfectly,” Lauren said. “Thank you for reporting these. I’ll be in touch later to get the information on the farm keeping them.”

“Thank you,” I told Lauren. “I appreciate your help.”

I waved goodbye until the truck turned the corner at the end of the street and disappeared from view, my eyes still stinging with tears. It was a very bittersweet goodbye.

After Lauren left I made my way back to the vet clinic, where a pretty uneventful morning led to an extended lunch at Betty’s with Sophie. I told Sophie about Lauren taking the animals back, and we started discussing the murder.

“The thing is, we’re out of suspects,” I told Sophie. “No one had a motive, except for the guy with a rock-solid alibi.”

“Maybe you’re thinking about it the wrong way,” Sophie suggested. “You’re trying to think about the reason for the crime. What about the facts?”

I shrugged. “That’s the problem though. We don’t have a lot of facts. What do we know? That Matt was killed, presumably in Willow Bay that night, and then dumped in the water. He was shot, so the person who killed him had access to a gun; that only narrows it down to what, like half the population?”

Sophie nodded. “Yeah, I guess so. Still, I think that’s the way to go. Even if it’s not physical evidence, what if you could prove that one of our suspects was in Willow Bay? I’d bet Tony Fanchini has a noticeable car. Maybe someone saw it.”

My mouth dropped open.

“Oh my God, Sophie, that’s it!”

“Yeah, of course it is. Now we just need to figure out who it was.”

“No, no. You’re right. We have to go to Portland.”

“I can’t go today, after we close up I’m meeting Taylor. He says he has something special planned.”

“Ok,” I replied. “Well, I can’t wait until tomorrow. There’s a murderer out there, and I’m pretty sure I know who it is.”

“Who?”

“The roommate, Jake.”

“The creepy guy who stared at my boobs for a whole conversation?”

“Yeah, him.”

“Why would he want to kill Matt? They were business partners.”

“I don’t know, but as you said, I don’t need to focus on that. But the thing is, I’m pretty sure Jake was in Willow Bay the night before the murder.”

“Ok, how do you know that?”

“You know when I chased Smith down the street after he set the vet clinic on fire? Well I grabbed at him and we both fell into a car. I thought it was a grey Prius, but it was dark, it could very well have been silver.”

Sophie’s eyes widened. “Silver like Jake’s car.”

“Exactly. And sure, it’s not exactly rare to see a Prius in Willow Bay, but the two owned by people in town are blue and green, and it’s not tourist season at all. Plus, all the businesses were long since closed, so why be parked on Main Street? Anyone staying at one of the hotels would be parked there.”

Sophie nodded. “I think you might be right. It’s a little bit of a long shot, but it actually makes sense.”

“I need to find out for sure.”

“Absolutely,” Sophie said. “Try not to almost die, this time.”

“I’ll do my best,” I deadpanned back. As we were getting ready to go, I realized why Matt Smith might have been parked on Main Street. I told Sophie I’d meet her back at the vet clinic, and headed down the street to confirm my theory.

I ducked into the Italian place Jason and I liked to eat at, and found Jessie, who had been our waitress a few days earlier, cleaning a table.

“Excuse me, Jessie?”

“Yes?” she asked, a friendly smile on her face. I turned my phone to her and showed her a picture of Jake that I’d found on the website of the company he and Matt owned; a simple, professional headshot.

“Would you happen to have seen this guy sometime recently?” I asked. “Maybe he was a customer?”

“Oh, yeah, him,” Jessie nodded. “I called him boobs. Oh, he wasn’t a friend of yours or anything, was he?” she added quickly, realizing what she said, and I laughed.

“No, don’t worry. And I agree with you, the nickname is well deserved. Listen, do you remember when you saw him by chance? It’s important.”

Jessie put a hand on her hip and looked up as she thought back. “Hmm. It was the night Carley called in sick, so we were short-staffed, which was a little bit annoying. That would have been on Friday. Yes, definitely Friday. The man he was with asked to keep the wine bottle, which was weird, but whatever.”

I smiled, thanked Jessie, and left. That answered that. I was certain of what had happened now. Matt and Jake had a meeting in Willow Bay, afterwards Matt used the wine bottle to torch my vet clinic. Then, later on that night, Jake and Matt met up again, and Jake killed Matt.

It all made perfect sense.

Unfortunately, I was going to have to spend the afternoon working before I could confirm it.