Monday, August 31, 2009

Some of my short poems




Shadows July 1998

Long shadows going west
Upon themselves becoming less,

Will reverse and stretch back east
Until they overtake the sky.

Into pitch of night they slide;
Sun scurrying to hide.


Dawn

Light through the window drape is glowing,
Pillow over head doesn't stop the knowing

Old ladies with their dogs to walk are stirring,
Fresh breeze the roof vents are a-whirling.

Give your dreams a goodbye nod,
Pledge the day to Mother/Father God.
Tell fear and worry to be gone,
Rise up and face the dawn.


Ghostly Spirit June 1998

Sailing on through time she passes
Flinging the night around her shoulders.

Swift and silent stars shine in her eyes.
Worlds glide beneath her feet.

Many stars and planets pass.
Many beings greet her.

Ghostly Spirit calls the dawn to hide her.
I send my soul along beside her.


Skipping Stones March 2001


Skipping stones across the sky on lake.
I bring my joyful self to contemplate
The mirrored stillness of the shore.

Flat stone hurled as discus skims aloft
Scatters reflection each slap it makes,
Then sways its zees to sandy bottom soft.

Starting journey to shore once more
Worn smother yet for skipping flight.
Endless down to sparkling sand.

Friday, August 28, 2009

Koala Killer Twenty-second Installment


Chapter 6


When Cass returned, he had Jorge in tow.

"Let me see, Manny," Jorge said in a grim voice. He always grieved when one of their animals died, right down to the smallest bird. It was one of the things that Mari liked about him. As he looked at the soiled and lifeless marsupial, he said, "We'll get one of the Southwest Animal vets to do the autopsy."

"The police may require it," Manny said, "and probably pay for it as well," he added slightly more cheerfully.

Suddenly Mari was tired. She couldn't even sit up straight in the wheelchair. She wanted to go home and sleep, if possible. The last five days had been nightmarish for her. Too much violence and death for a person who seldom read the news and never watched it on TV.

"Please take me home, Cass. I'm so tired I ...," then the worst happened; she started weeping. "I hate when this happens."

Thankfully, the three men didn't try to soothe her. They just looked down at the ground and waited.

"We'll take care of the police and get this poor animal checked out Mari," Jorge said.

"Take care of yourself chicadee," Manny added.

"Please let me know what the autopsy tells us, Jorge. Manny. " She called to them over her shoulder as Cass pushed her wheelchair back along the paths to the parking lot.

Cass was quiet in the process of getting them back to his car and on the road back to her apartment. As soon as he got her settled on the couch for the sleep she had longed for back in the elephants' enclosure, she knew she wouldn't be able to just fall into dreamland, because every time she closed her eyes, all she could see was the limp body of the poor little Koala. Cass was making a pot of herb tea in the kitchen.

"Could you bring me some aspirin with the tea, please Cass."

"Sure thing, Marigolden."

The tea was perfect. Just what she needed. She started to relax.

He smiled, "So much for lunch plans. I'd better call Shirley. We'll set it for tomorrow, shall we?"

"Yes."

She put her cup and saucer down and slumped down, shutting her eyes.


When she woke up, it was with relief from her dream of Koalas dying and their bodies trailing behind her and the feeling of no way out. She would be glad when things got back to normal and she could wake up from pleasant dreams again.
...................................................................................
Yikes. I should have looked ahead and seen that this is all I've written on this story. Well, almost all. I have four paragraphs on Carl in what was to be Part II.
Even if I don't develop that, it needs tying together, don't you think Mary? Advise sought.

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Koala Killer Twenty-First Installment


"Did you miss the action? About a half hour or so ago, Carl made a run for it, after being called into Jorge's office for more questioning about Stan.

"What do you mean, 'made a run for it'?"

"I watched the chase scene in the parking lot myself," Cass put in.

"Oh, shit. Sorry, Mari. Damn. Sorry. An inferior keeper who knows the diet and routine is better than no keeper at all. Hello overtime. Goodbye vacation. Well, I'd better see if the girls are ready for their feeding. Come along."

When they came around to the area where they kept the elephant's supplies, Mari looked around the little yard area. It had occurred to her back at Aviary, that if this Carl was the villain, he might be the only one in the zoo who knew about the mysterious Koala that no one but Mari had seen. She noticed the ground was littered with the Eucalyptus wind trimmings. "This is what Koala's eat," she muttered to herself.

There was a small crate in one corner. With some effort, she wheeled over to it.

"What's this Manny?"

"Got no idea."

She lifted the box carefully by one corner and noticed that the dirt under it had been dug up.

"Looks like something's buried here, doesn't it?"

"Here's the girls' shovel, let's take a look."

Manny took two shovels full of dirt and the body was visible. In his third shovel full was the dead body of a Koala.

"Oh God," Mari whimpered.

"What the hell? Sorry Mari."

He lowered the body back into the shallow little grave.

"Better not touch it. We'll get the police here right away," Cass said, "If you're okay here with Manny, I'll go get them now?"
"I'm fine, Cass. Go ahead," she said to his retreating back.
Manny said, "No wonder the girls have been restless. They're sensitive around death. Do you suppose Carl killed the Koala? And what the... What's a Koala doing here in the first place?"
"Remember the night Stan was shot, when you came to look after the gibbon? I saw the Koala too. I told you about it that night, didn't I?"
"I think you did, but there was no Koala there when I got there, so I let it go, thinking I misunderstood what you said, or that maybe you were babbling from being upset."
"Jorge thought I was seeing thins too. I wish I had been. That'd be better than finding the little guy like this."

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Koala Killer Twentieth Installment



"Sure, I never turn down free food. Want to try the Wildflower? It has real ambiance and really good food. Hey, we should call Shirley Padilla, see if she can join us. She lives up that way."

"Yeah, Shirley's a jewel. It'd be great to see her while I'm here."

"I owe her a full explanation of what's been going on. She picked me up and took me home from the hospital."

"She's got a couple of kids now, doesn't she? She may need advance notice. Let's call right now."

"Okay, there's a public phone up ahead by the public restrooms."

Mari called Shirley and set up the lunch date. Shirley said she could put Brianna and Jesus in a neighborhood play center, the one she'd helped get funded.

Mari saw Manny, who was usually the keeper for the monkeys and gibbons, going into the elephant enclosure.

She called out to him, "Manny, how are you?"

"Hey," Manny answered as he walked up to the fence that separated the public path from the animal and keeper area. "What you doing in a wheel chair, chickadee?"

Broken ankle and cracked ribs, Manny."

"I haven't seen you since the night Stan was shot, but I heard about the run-down out here. I signed a get-well card that circulated. I didn't know how bad you were hurt. You doing okay?"

"Mending just fine, Manny. Let me introduce my best friend, Cass Ashton, from San Francisco. This is Manny, a highly esteemed animal behaviourist who thinks like the monkeys. He's writing a book. I've read a couple of his first chapters. They're great."

"She thinks I should call the book, Think Like a Monkey, I told her it didn't sound very scholarly, but she said the people I want to reach aren't the scholars, but the public who love animals. Thinks I need a catchy title. She may be right."

"She often is. Nice to meet you, Manny."

"Can we come in behind the scenes, Manny? I have an idea about the recent happenings."

"Sure, Mari." He opened a nearby gate.

"How are the girls, Manny?" she asked, referring to the tow female elephants.

They walked toward the entrance to the keeper's side of the elephant enclosure.

"Not happy, lately, I''m sorry to say. The new keeper doesn't have a rapport with them like Jimmy used to. Remember Jimmy, Mari?"

"Can't say I knew him, Manny, but I've heard about him. He went on to be keeper of elephants in Atlanta, didn't he?"

Manny nodded, but said, "Where is Carl, anyway?"

Monday, August 24, 2009

Koala Killer Ninteenth Installment



Outside, as Cass was pushing her along, she could hardly wait to talk to him, "This in-tandem arrangement is not the best for talking. Let's go into the Aviary and find a quiet bench."

"Yes, Madam," Cass answered in his best butler tone.

Once settled, she started sharing her fears, "Why would Jeannie shout, 'That's him, don't let him get away"?

"I don't know."

"Now that I think about it, she could have been warning that elephant keeper, rather than helping the police. Could that be?"

"I don't know."

"Stop saying I don't know."

"Well, what do you think? You know her. Could she be in on whatever's going on?"

"Maybe, but probably not. I'm so confused. The whole thing is too wild."

"We can leave that sort of thing to the police, surely."

Tired of the whole thing, Mari looked around the aviary. It was one of her favorite places in the zoo. She noticed an elaborate nest.

"Look Cass, a weaver's nest. That would be the male working on it. See?"

"You say that's the male?"

"Yes, when he's finished he'll display and prance around, to attract the female."

"Looks like a group of students are coming in. Want to move on?"

"Might be faster to wait them out. Aviaries aren't dramatic enough for most youngsters to linger. Watch."

Sure enough, most of them dashed in, ran around the path, and were ready to leave in minutes. One little boy lingered. He seemed fascinated by the Hornbills. They're good-sized birds that walk around on the ground curiously cocking their heads from side to side. His classmates had moved on to the tortoise display by the time the quiet boy had made his way around to the aviary exit.

"A future birder, perhaps,"Cass remarked.

"He's got promise. I was like that when I was his age."

"Point made."

"I have a sudden feeling. An idea. Let's go over to the elephant exhibit."

Cass wheeled her down the path, past the Australian Outback area bordered by Eucalyptus trees, to the elephants in the African Plains section located in the southeast area of the zoo.

"I'm not used to this weather anymore, Mari. I'm getting awfully hot. After we see the elephants can I take you somewhere cool for lunch?"

Abundance and Prosperity


As keeper of the flame of prosperity and abundance for the Unity of the Huachucas congregation I have a message that came to me in the form of a book loaned to me by my friend Bonnie, who, even as she read it thought, “Carol would enjoy this book.”
The book is, The Soul of Money by Lynne Twist ©2003. I had trouble getting into it since I had 2 or 3 good fiction books at hand, but once I started into her Part Two I was taken by the material and knew I’d want to share it with you, my fellow Unity-ites.
The title of her Part Two is: Scarcity and Sufficiency: the Search for Prosperity. Her chapter heading is: Scarcity: The Great Lie. She starts with a quote by Paul Zaiter that says it all really.
“There is a natural law of abundance which pervades the entire universe, but it will not flow through a doorway of belief in lack and limitation.”
Post that on your bathroom mirror and read it every day.
She leads in with this: “… for many of us, our first waking thought of the day is, ‘I didn’t get enough sleep, the next one is, ‘I don’t have enough time.’
And so we begin our day affirming lack.
“We spend most of the hours and the days of our lives hearing, explaining, complaining or worrying about what we don’t have enough of.”
“We don’t have enough time… We don’t get enough exercise… We don’t have enough profits ... We don’t have enough wilderness…. We don’t have enough weekends…. And of course, we don’t have enough money – ever.”
“We’re not thin enough, smart enough, pretty enough, or fit enough, or educated, or successful enough - or rich enough – ever.”
“Before we even sit up in bed, before our feet touch the floor, we’re already inadequate, already behind, already losing, already lacking something. And by the time we go to bed at night, our minds race with a litany of what we didn't get or get done that day. We go to sleep burdened by those thoughts and wake up to that reverie of lack.” “… we live with scarcity as an underlying assumption.”
We may have been raised with it, by parents or grandparents of the Great Depression. Here’s something we may not think about, but scarcity is as oppressive with people with excess wealth as it is for people who are living at the margins and barely making ends meet.
“This mind-set of scarcity is not something we intentionally created or have any conscious intention to bring into our lives. It was here before us and will likely persist beyond us, … We do, however, have a choice about whether or not to … let it rule our lives.”
I say, let us step back. Lynne says, “unpack the mind-set of scarcity”.


Decide for yourself, to be in an honest fulfilling relationship with money, with resources, with love and joy. Affirm: There is Enough! Enough food, enough water, enough air, enough time, yes, even enough money.
[Where I don’t have quotation marks, I am paraphrasing.]
Buckminster Fuller, in the 1970s predicted a shift from a You or Me to a You and Me world. He said in many of his talks and books that there is enough food, enough water, enough land, enough housing, enough of the fundamental things for each of us to live a fulfilling and productive life.
Bucky said that Apollo 11, 1969, and the photos from space with the first clear view of our planet as one complete “spaceship Earth” gave us the beginning of the realization that this planet was a complete and sufficient system for all who live here – humans, plants, and animals alike – a global community of abundance for all.
At the end of her book, Lynne Twist says this: “The fall of unsustainable structures in business, economics, politics, and government – the collapse of companies like WorldCom, Enron, and Tyco – and the unraveling of corporate corruption could be the beginning of the voracious caterpillar becoming the nutritive soup from which will grow the miracle of the butterfly.”
And she challenges us – thus:
“I challenge you to use the money that flows through your life – and it does flow through all our lives - to express the truth and context of sufficiency.
“I challenge you to move the resources that flow through your life toward your highest commitments and ideals, those things you stand for.
“I challenge you to hold money as a common trust that we’re all responsible for, using it in ways that nurture and empower us, and all life, our planet, and all future generations.
“I challenge you to imbue your money with soul – your soul – and let it stand for who you are; your love, your heart, your word, and your humanity.”

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Koala Killer Eighteenth Installment

When their clean-cut detective friend, Bill, returned, they all went down the hall to see Jorge about this Carl. Jorge asked Jeannie to send for him. She sent one of the landscape people to the elephant exhibit.

Jeannie came back into the office to announce, "Jose says Carl was busy and would come as soon as he finished with Lucy."

"Lucy's our Asian elephant," Jorge explained.

Bill spoke up, "I'm going to ask him to come down to police headquarters for questioning Mr. Johnson. I would have gone to the elephant exhibit direct, but Mari said I wouldn't be able to get in where the keepers and the animals are, anyway."

"That's correct. This is the best way, I think." Jorge murmured, as he fiddled with the letter opener on his desk.

"I think I'll alert our plain clothes backup fellow. We just might need him."

"I hope there's no trouble officer, the zoo is filled with children. Along with the usual families, there are two classes of school children here today."

"That's what I'm trying to avoid, Mr. Johnson. I'll be right back."

Jorge was asking how Mari was feeling, when they heard Jeannie shouting, "That's him, don't let him get away."

Cass was first out of the door. Jorge was right behind. Mari tried getting up, but she was stiff and slow, so she tried to use the wheel chair, but she hadn't got the hang of quick maneuvers quite yet. She was left behind, bumping into door frames. She finally figured out that one of the brakes seemed to be still on."

By the time she got out to the front path the action had moved out of sight. Cass was gone. Bill was too. Jorge was nervously reassuring the mothers with strollers across the path who looked terrified. Jeannie was staring toward the exit as if she was in a trance. Mari bumped into her leg as she came up next to her asking,"What's going on?"

But Jeannie didn't answer.

Cass was first to return. They practically jumped him for information.

He told them, "When I got to the door, Bill and another man, who was probably the backup fellow, were chasing a heavy-set zookeeper down the path. I took off after them. The keeper went through the public exit turnstile. That slowed down Bill and company. Then I heard a big engine racing, and caught a glimpse of a bis 4x4 off-roader as it went roaring out of the parking area. Bill and the other policeman shouted to someone else and soon they were giving chase. So I came back."

We went back inside and the group broke up. Jorge was distracted and went back into his office. Jeannie looked nervous, she avoided eye contact as she plopped down at her desk. Mari offered to show Cass around the zoo.

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Koala Killer Seventeenth Installment


Cass pulled up a chair and started organizing her, like he'd done so often before. He said, "I'll pull out the photo in each file for you. Just concentrate on the flash of memory of the man in the hospital hallway."

He held out the first one.

"No."

And so on for the first five. On the sixth, she hesitated. The driver's license picture was bad. He set that one aside and went through each of the rest. The one set aside turned out to be the only possibility.

The man was different physically from the rest of the male employees. He had the face of a wrestler. And with two possible exceptions, he looked older than most of them.
She didn't know him. From the green sticker on his file she knew he was a Keeper. The date he started working at the zoo was also marked on the tab. May 5th. About a month ago, so he was still working for the zoo on a trial basis, since everyone had to work for ninety days and be evaluated before being hired permanently and getting benefits. He had experience with elephants, his file said. That's as much as she got from the file before Bill took it down the hall to get Annie to make copies for the police.

"Cass," Mari said, "I had just gone past the elephants the night the cart ran me down."

Cass answered, "It doesn't look good for ole Carl."

"Who's Carl?"

"The fellow you just identified."

"Wait a minute. I wouldn't call it an identification. He's just the most likely candidate."

"Well, the most likely, then. Didn't you see the name on the file?"

"No, I saw the date he started, that he was an experienced elephant keeper, but I didn't think to look at the name. I wouldn't make much of a detective, would I?"

"Well, I saw the name. It's Carl Bergen."

Monday, August 17, 2009

Koala Killer Sixteenth Installment


Chapter 5

A clean-cut dark-haired young man with a brush cut was tapping on her window at 6:30AM. He had on a worn yellow polo shirt, khaki Dockers and sneakers. He was the plain clothes detective sent to come with them to the zoo. He had a loaner wheel chair with him. It folded neatly into Cass' rental car trunk.

The Pueblo Valley Zoo had thirteen keepers and one intern, Mari. Their new 'friend", Bill, and her best friend Cass, decided it would be best to check the personnel files first. The three of them ate her scrambled eggs wrapped in tortillas with salsa as they rode to the zoo. Owen got a wee taste of it in his own breakfast, of course, as consolation at being left alone - again.

The zoo opens to the public at 9:00AM normally, but the morning feedings start at 7:00AM. The office staff comes in at 8:00AM, but the personnel and payroll gal, Annie, met them in the office at 7:30AM.

They introduced Bill as their friend and after the usal how-are-yous, Annie laid the files out on the side table in front of her wheechair. She seemed to be smiling and blinking her eyes a lot, especially when she looked at the young policeman Bill.

She sounded businesslike, however, when she said, "There are twenty-four full-time people right now. We make a copy of their photo id when they come on board."

We nodded.

She went on, "I separated the men and women as asked. If you need me I'll be down the hall in the break room drinking coffee to wake up."

Mari started looking through the ten files of men who worked there. She looked at Bill and asked, "Aren't pesonnel files confidential?"

"Not in a murder investigation. We got a warrant," he said succinctly.

"Murder!" Mari blurted out more loudly than she intended.

"Keep your voice down, please. Stan was murdered in his hospital bed. The lieutenant told me you found him minutes after he'd been smothered. I thought you knew. We're fairly certain it was someone working right here at the zoo. So, please keep it down, Ms. Nuclett."

"I'm sorry... I knew he died of course."

Cass came to stand beside her and picked up her hand.

Mari continued, "I didn't know he, he was smothered."

The whole situation was all so terrible. She hadn't thought in terms of murder.

Saturday, August 15, 2009

Koala Killer Fifteenth Installment


"Could be I guess,"Mari replied. "Since I didn't see anything but the zoo uniform from the back."
"Now that you've remembered the heavy set man, is the back of this retreating person the right shape? And was the uniform what the keepers wear? Aren't there differences between what different employees wear? Your intern shirt is different from the landscape personnel's for example, right?"
"Yes. Yes, it was a larger person, and probably a man from the way he moved. The uniform was the keepers' too. Why didn't I put these things together?'
"That's part of my job, Mari, excuse me, Ms. Nuclett."
"No, please call me Mari. Everyone does. Except my late mother and Jeannie, who call me Marigold."
"Yes I saw that on your driver's license and passport. Unusual name but pleasant."
"I like it."
"I don't want to put any more stress on you than you already have, but I would like you to go over the events that happened the night before last when you were run down."
She went over the event in detail once more and it made her feel the fear all over again. Cass came to stand behind her chair and was patting her shoulder, and Owen was lying across her feet, by the end of the account. She had twisted a paper napkin almost to shreds.
Lt. Wilson was satisfied, "for the time being," he said, "I can arrange for a wheel chair, Mari. Now, Cass, I'm going back to the zoo, do you want a lift to pick up Mari's truck?"
"Thanks Lieutenant,"Cass answered.
Mari wasn't sure she liked the wheel chair idea. Her self-image was as a strong woman, but hobbling around was awfully painful right now. She'd go along with the program for now.
As they were leaving, the lieutenant made her promise to keep him informed of anything that happened. He said he would have undercover police come with them to the zoo.
When Cass returned with her truck, he got her set up with a pot of tea and she picked up her Dick Francis re-read. It reminded Cass that he'd brought her a book to read. He'd become addicted to the Harry Potter books and had been urging her to start the series. He'd brought the first in the series, "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone." He told her the fourth book was due out this summer. Her ribs were sore and her ankle throbbed so she took a pain killer and settled down to read. Cass wanted to go shopping for 'domestic necessities'.
Owen wanted to go with him, but it was too hot to leave him in the car, so Cass took him for a nice walk around the block first.
When Cass got back, they settled sleeping arrangements so that he would use her twin bed, since she could prop her ankle up easier using the arms on the couch. Owen took the opportunity to snuggle next to Cass and she had to admit she had a twinge of jealousy over it.
She woke many times during the night with pain and tried to keep her ankle elevated. The next morning she had a lingering memory of unpleasant dreams.

Friday, August 14, 2009

Koala Killer Fourteenth Installment


The next morning, Lt. Wilson knocked on her gate and Cass let him in. Mari heard him introduce himself as her friend who'd come to help her from out of town. She was propped up in her swivel-rocker.
The lieutenant took out his notepad as he sat in the fold-out chair by the card table, where Cass pointed.
"Let's start with your visit to Stan at the hospital, shall we?"
"When I came into his room he was slumped over. When I touched him, he fell further. I called for help. When the nurses came running, I watched for a minute. They asked me to leave. I knew somehow that he was dead. I left. I hadn't seen anything or anyone. I've already told you this."
"No one came out of the room as you were approaching it?"
"I didn't notice anyone."
"You knew the room number?"
"Yes, I got it when I called from home the day you interviewed me in Jorge's office."
"It was on the second floor past the nurse's desk. Did you walk past the nurse's station?"
"Yes, but I didn't stop there. I knew by the number signs that his room was just a few doors down from there."
"So you looked up the hall. What did you see?"
"Someone in a white coat coming toward me."
"Describe the person."
Mari closed her eyes and suddenly she pictured the moment, she said aloud,"A man. Heavy set. His eyes cast down. He had one hand in the pocket of the white coat. He looked up just before we passed. He looked startled. I just nodded an acknowledgement. I wasn't interested in his problem, just wanted to see how Stan was doing."
"That may have been the killer. He recognized you. He thought you might have recognized him, perhaps from the zoo. That's where you were run down. My investigation indicates that Stan was shot with the tranq gun right where you found him; inside the zoo. It's most likely an employee. I want you to keep an eye out at the zoo for the man you saw coming down the hospital hall."
"But I'm on leave."
"You could go back and look through the personnel files, couldn't you, Ms. Nuclett?" I fear that this person will leave the area altogether, as soon as he feels the 'heat is off' so to speak. Right now we're checking on employees who don't show up to work."
"If Cass will come with me..." she answered weakly.
"Of course I will, Mari, we'll get you in a wheelchair for easier mobility and you can give me a behind the scenes tour of the zoo."
"Sure."
Suddenly she wanted to cry. "Buck up Mari," her inner voice told her.
"That'll work," Lt. Wilson continued, "Now, the person you saw making a hasty retreat after watching you at the shed at the zoo, could it have been the same person you saw in the hall at the hospital?"

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Koala Killer Thirteenth Installment (on the 13th)

She ate as if she hadn't eaten for days. The soft and steamy eggs contrasted wonderfully with the crispy edges on the hash browns.

"Where did you get bell pepper? I didn't have any." A giggle escaped.

"Actually, I used zucchini. Taste all right? What are you giggling about?"

"I was remembering the time you used the word 'ephemeral' in the coffee shop we used to hang out at. Dear me, I seem to have lost my grammatical senses. Anyway, the football jock at the next table thought you said 'effeminate' and he made some stupid comment. Then you said, 'Better to stay silent and be mistaken for ignorant than speak up and prove it.' So he thinks you're apologizing or something and says, 'Yeah, and better to stay in the closet.' We almost choked trying to keep from screaming with laughter."

"That turned out to be a pivotal conversation for me. That 'jock' as you call him recognized me before I had a clue. We thought he was ignorant, but I've amended my opinion since then."

"What do you mean?"

"Let's not get into that tonight. I'll just say that trying to be erudite can backfire if not used sparingly and in the right company."

Mari got through college on a scholarship supplemented by various part time jobs. Her single-parent mother had died of breast cancer right after her graduation from high school. The last job had been at one of the better hotels in Pueblo Valley. That's where she met Cass. He was a bellman. His parents were 'wealthy-with-a-conscience,' as Cass put it. One of the things that attracted her to Cass was his vocabulary, which he claimed he got by osmosis at home. They also shared a love of reading. He recommended most of her books the first year she knew him. After her older stepbrother went into the army, Cass had been like a brother to her. They had tried to put a romantic spin on their relationship back then but it hadn't worked. They finally realized they were just life-friends. Just? As far as they were concerned, and they'd discussed it, a life-friend was more valuable than a romantic relationship. But it lacked something too. It lacked the same capacity for confrontation, even combat, which married couples could find themselves in, and, therefore, it was possible that it lacked depth that being a family could give.

She found herself thinking, "Funny how adversity and depth are connected." It was the kind of thought best explored and discussed with Cass. But right now she wanted to fill him in on what had been going on in her usually dull life.

"I can see you've stopped thinking about your food. Let me clean up and we can go over the action of the last few days. You said that detective is coming tomorrow morning?"

"God, yes. I'm so tired. This has truly been one of the longest days of my life."

"Let's get you ready for, and into, bed. Then you can tell me the basics."

While Cass patted her back, she told him the tale in an emotional weepy way that helped release her tension and fear. The next thing she knew she was groping in the night to get up and use the bathroom. Owen, of course, escorted her. Getting back to sleep was harder. She dreaded that policeman coming and she didn't know why. Owen hopped up to lay on the side of the bed with her.

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Koala Killer Twelfth Installment



After Shirley left, she turned the phone ringer off. She pampered herself with a whole box of macaroni and cheese that she kept in the back of the cupboard for emergencies, followed by a generous serving of cherry swirl ice cream. She let Owen lick the bowls. Then she lay down to re-read Dick Francis' "To The Hilt". Just like Scarlet in "Gone With the Wind," she decided to think about it tomorrow. She fell into a restless sleep of car-chasing-her dreams.



Chapter 4



Someone was coming through the rain as she crawled through bloody grass, moaning. Worlds changed and Owen was barking his most piercing greeting. His tone turned to ecstasy yips, so she knew it was a friend. In fact, it was her best friend, Cass. And from Owen's point of view, the true leader of their small pack.

"Are you in pain, honey?" Cass said, sitting on the edge of her bed, looking handsome as ever in a blue starched shirt and faded soft jeans. He smelled of the Aspen cologne she'd sent him for his birthday.

"I was having a dramatic and exaggerated dream of last night's reality, or was that the night before. Anyway, I should thank you for interrupting, the bad guy was winning." Her head was soaked in sweat and she felt grungy.

"Easiest rescue of the week."

"Next rescue is guaranteed more challenging. I need a shower and I'm not supposed to get this cast wet or take the rib wrap off for another day or so. Any ideas?"

"Let's start with a shampoo. That will make you feel better."

First, Cass had to give a few minutes playtime to Owen, who adored him. Owen had both of his dog toys in the middle of the room, nudging them and hopping back in expectation. You would never guess that he would soon be ten years old. After the amenities were out of the way, Cass helped her lean over the kitchen sink where she had a sprayer hose. He gave her a lovely scalp massage and brought her the oatmeal soap from the bathroom for her face.

With her head wrapped in a soft green towel, her face shining and tight, she finally felt more like the girl that loved inside, the one that never aged; the girl with a loving mother who bathed her and put her into a clean nightie and tucked her into bed.

The sun had set and the color spread across the bit of sky she could see out her window. Cass was making them a bite of dinner. The phone rang.

Cass had moved the phone close to her so she answered it. It was Lt. Wilson. He hoped the hadn't wakened her but could he come by and go over the series of events in the morning, say 9:30AM? She agreed. Then she noticed there was a message on her answering machine. She pushed play.

"Mari, this is Jorge. I can't believe what happened, honey. Please take as much time as you need to get well. Put this whole thing behind you. We'll cover your duties. Give us a call when you feel well enough."

There was genuine caring in his voice that made tears come into her eyes. She'd never been able to handle sympathy. She did better with a 'buck up' kind of response.

Cass was working on the 'feed me' response. He had set up the card table complete with place settings and candles. He'd fixed from scratch hash browns and Western omelets.

"When time are rough, revert to breakfast," he said.

"Who are you quoting?"

"Myself. Who was on the phone?"

"Jorge, the zoo administrator. He told me to take whatever time I needed and get well."

"Good. Eat up, omelets are an ephemeral food."

Monday, August 10, 2009

Koala Killer Eleventh Installment


"I hate to ask you, but, Cass, that's exactly what I want."

"You got it, honey. What hospital?"

"I'll be home soon, so come there okay?"

"How's Owen? He miss me?"

"Bea is looking after him right now. He's probably forgotten all about you just like I have."

"Yeah right."

The uniformed policeman had come into the room to introduce himself. She covered the phone and smiled at him. When she told Cass, he said he had to get going anyway so he could make arrangements. So they hung up.

She felt better already. Then she called her girlfriend Shirley to ask if she could come take her home from the hospital. She told her she'd been in an accident so she wouldn't get too upset.

Shirley told her to call when she was ready so she could take her kids to her mother's. She was still on maternity leave for her second child, Jesus Junior. Her little girl, Brianna was two. No, she was going to be two at the end of this month.

The wheels of hospital paper work and doctor's releases ground slowly but surely to the moment of actual freedom. The, 'you can go home this morning,' translated into 2:00PM. At last Shirley was helping her into the passenger seat of the Honda. Her police guard was there too and Shirley could hardly wait to get her into the car to grill her.

"What's going on, Mari?" she said.

"There's so much going on, Shirley, I don't know where to begin. I do know I don't feel up to going into it in any detail right now. I really will tell you every detail once I've had a rest. Basically, a hit-and-run vehicle at the zoo ran me down and the police were called to look into it. Will that hold you for now, dear friend?"

"You bet, girlfriend!" she grinned.

"Tell me about the high intellectual accomplishments of Brianna and Jesus in fifty words or less."

"Brianna has the temperament of a hyper-active pit boss and never stops talking or moving. Even asleep. Jesus, on the other hand, is calm and mild-mannered. So far. The question is, will his baby personality hold? How many words is that?"

"Well under the limit, I'm sure. Brianna's just trying to wrest control of the household from you, mom, and at an earlier age than most. Don't bother resisting. Having to earn her own living will shut her up soon enough."

"'What are you like?' as Ainsley Harriott would say."

"Who's Ainsley Harriott?"

"I'll tell you when you've rested. He'd wear you out for sure."

"I love talking to you."

"Una vieja amiga es el mejor espejo." She translated, "An old friend is the best mirror."

Shirley wheeled into Mari's sparsely graveled, bumpy driveway. The ground was still damp in former puddle depressions and the middle orange tree had perked up. The sky lingered in shades of gray and white. The sun would win soon and carry on with summer's siege.

Bea came out of her gate with Owen. The strain of trying not to jump up was driving Owen into his usual you're home, you're home, thank god you're home, which included play stance, stand on hind legs, hop, turn, repeat.

She told Bea she was in her debt once more. Bea told her she was glad to do it. "Anytime."

"He's such a good boy, aren't you Owen?"

"He's got you wrapped around his hairy paws too, I see." Mari told her.

Bea declined the offer to come in for a cup of tea.

Shirley drank herb tea on all occasions. Inside, she stood looking at Mari's newly placed picture, a Robert Wood print. The picture is of two campers in front of their lean-to building tending a fire on the bank of a river, at the base of a mountain, as the last light of day fades behind the peak.

"That's cool, almost bracing, in a put-on-a-vest, gather-wood-for-the-fire, kind of way."

"Do you like the canoe?"

"Sure. Why?"

"I added it. I cut it out of a catalog and glued it on. It just happened to fit."

"Get out of here. Isn't that sacrilege or something"

"I didn't do it to an original. It's a print and now it's personalized."

They drank chamomile tea from the English Rose pot Shirley had given her. As Shirley was leaving, Mari told her that Cass was coming down from San Francisco to visit.

"All of a sudden?" she asked.

"I called him from the hospital, just before I called you, Shirl."

"Good , I can get the story out of him. Call me in a couple of days, okay?"

Sunday, August 9, 2009

Koala Killer Tenth Installment


Morning brought many pains to start the new day. The least of which was the tight wrapped ribs and ankle cast. Her head and neck hurt something fierce. Daylight also brought Lt. Wilson to her hospital bedside. He tried to hide his annoyance with her as he questioned her for the second time.

"Well, Ms. Nuclett. I'm sorry to see you in this situation. Can you tell me what happened last night?"

He made her feel guilty without understanding why. Exactly. Should she tell him everything? Was her accident connected to Stan's death?

As if reading her thoughts, the lieutenant added, "It would be best if you told me everything you remember since you found Dr. Reed in the zoo infirmary."

She blurted out, "Last night someone ran me down from behind. I didn't see anything or anyone, any more than I saw anyone when Stan was shot. I don't know what's going on. I went to see Stan in the hospital and didn't see anything there either."

"You were at the hospital?" He looked around and pulled up the big chair and sat down. He went on, "Well, even if you didn't see anything, someone may think you did. They may want to get rid of you or just frighten you, in any case, it looks like you're in danger."

"In danger?"

It's one thing to think to yourself that you might be be a target and quite another to have the police tell you you are.

"This is serious, Ms. Nuclett. There's someone ruthless out there and they're likely working right there in your zoo. They want to stop you from exposing them. I know. I know, you don't think you know anything, but you were close enough to knowing something to be a threat. We need to go over everything that's happened, but this may not be the best time. For right now, please just tell me, in detail, what you remember of last night's attack."

"Attack. Good grief. Well, I was heading over to see Tommy when the storm blew in ..."

"Who's Tommy?"

"Tommy's the new baby giraffe."

She told him everything she could remember of that evening's events including about the person behind the mower that she thought had been watching her. They made an appoinment for him to come to her apartment the next day to go over the whole thing. He called in an order for a watch to stay outside her hospital room even though she was probably going to be released later today.

He was barely out the door when she decided to call Cass. She needed a friend to talk all this over with. When he came on the line she broke down crying and could hardly talk.

"Marigolden, what's wrong honey?"

She never could handle sympathy. She choked up even more. Just hearing that old nickname again. She finally gasped out, "I'm in the hospital, Cass."

"Hospital? Mari, are you all right" What happened, honey?"

"I'm Okay. A broken ankle and some cracked ribs. Someone ran me down at the zoo."

"You were in an accident?"

"The police don't think it was an accident, Cass. They think someone may be trying to kill me."

"Trying to kill you! Who the hell would want to kill you, Mari?"

"I don't know." She could tell he was upset because he never swore. She started crying again.

"Look, sounds like you need a friend. Shall I come out there? I can catch the next plane if you want me too, Marigolden."

Saturday, August 8, 2009

Koala Killer Ninth Installment

She opened her eyes as the first large drops of rain were coming down. She was on the side of the path in the grass. Her leg was at an odd angle and when she tried to move it the pain was searing. She peered into the darkness in every direction. The vehicle was gone. No one was around. She didn't know how long she had been unconscious.
She closed her eyes again and thought of Cass, her friend, once boyfriend, now best friend. She wished he would appear and help her right now.
Her memory heard him say, "You're the strongest most competent person I've ever met." He'd been in college at the time and impressed with someone making their own way. She'd come back with, "Add brave, and back atcha." They'd even talked about getting married after graduation. By the time that came around it had become evident to them both that Cass was 99% homosexual.
"Time to start moving along," her inner voice said. "And where was everyone, for god's sake?"
She realized that the path between the African and Australian exhibits were not on any service route. She needed help. She struggled to stand but it wasn't possible, so she started crawling with her arms and one good leg. Rain was coming down steady now, blowing in on the west wind as usual. She was soaked and a puddle was forming. She headed into the rain and wind, down the middle path toward the employee entrance, hoping someone would see her soon. She was cold.
She laughed to herself, "Hell of a way to cool off."
Her whole body hurt but her rib cage was the worst, especially when twisting back and forth trying to crawl. She wasn't getting very far, very fast. She lay her forehead down on her extended arm to rest a minute. The wind was still whistling through the trees and she could hear an elephant trumpeting and cries from monkeys and tropical birds. By the time she'd made the curve passing the restrooms, the rain had lightened up. The storm, it seemed, was being pushed along by the wind. Finally, she saw a light and heard one of the electric carts coming toward her.

She was so relieved she just let events carry her along. A warm blanket. Reassuring voices. A cup of hot tea from someone's thermos. A cozy ride to hospital. A nice sedative and a little wrangle getting the leg set and the ribs x-rayed, but all out of her hands and restful for that.
Until she remembered poor Owen - home alone. She asked the nurse to call her neighbor Bea. She had her easy number memorized. Bea had a key to her place and had taken care of Owen for her before. When that was done, she fell into a dreamless sleep until early morning.

When she woke she remembered that Stan had died in a hospital bed just like this one.

Friday, August 7, 2009

Koala Killer Eighth Installment

She met Jorge coming out of the building.
He said, "Mari, here you are. I was just coming to find you. What's the matter dear, you look a little startled?"
"I don't know, Jorge. I'm jumpy, I guess. What's happening with the investigation? Is that Lt. Wilson around?"
"He was back just a little while ago. He had an order to go over the personnel files. But he's left again. Do you need to talk to him?"
"I don't think so, not right now, anyway. What have you found out about the koala?"
"That's the strangest thing. There's no evidence that there ever was a koala in the infirmary, or anywhere here, Mari. No one else has seen it."
Mari frowned at that, but said nothing.
"You know, of course, that even if we could afford one, we can't keep koalas in Pueblo Valley because of Valley Fever that we get here. Koalas are as susceptible to it as gorillas and chimpanzees are."
"I didn't know that."
And she didn't know what to think either. She might be imagining someone watching her, but she knew she saw a koala the night she found Stan.
"Could you have been mistaken, Mari? You were excited, upset."
"Absolutely not, Jorge, the koala was there as surely as Stan or the gibbon was."

Chapter 3
"Well, it's all bound to come out in the investigation, I suppose." Jorge said lamely.
She didn't get the strong impression that he believed her. And why should he? She told him she'd finished feeding the birds and would be in the giraffe area if he needed her.
It was almost sunset, the visitors had gone home, as well as the personnel that catered to them: gift shop, ticket booth, snack bar, and office staff. The animals and their evening keepers had the park to themselves. The mood relaxed. Most of the birds were singing their last songs of the day, settling in to rest. And some were coming alive, time for the nocturnal to take their turn.
She saw and felt the advancing storm, as rain-scented winds drove falling eucalyptus leaves against the pink horizon. Time for a little monsoon weather. If it rained it would help the fires in the dry canyons, but if the storm was electrical, the lightning could start more fires. Clouds were piling up over the Rimrock Mountains on the northeast horizon.
She was within sight of the giraffe enclosure when she decided to go back to her birds and do a little flood prevention around their enclosures. There was an established routine for it, which she had read but never done. It would be good practice. She had been with the zoo since last autumn, after monsoon season, and winter had been exceptionally dry.
As she was hurrying down the path she heard a park vehicle coming up behind her. It sounded like it was coming awfully fast. She turned quickly and realized she was about to be run over. She shifted her weight while still turning and fell backward, but it was too late. Her right leg caught in the vehicle somehow and the world went black.

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Koala Killer Seventh Installment


In the employee's parking lot she put her trusty '84 Chevy pickup next to a truck that made hers look like a toy. A new one-ton 4x4 done up in camouflage, with huge off-road tires. Her brother Andrew had been into this kind of thing for a while when he was in high school. Actually, it'd been his friend Billy who was the true aficionado. Billy was now into monster truck shows, while Andrew drove a family van. Mari wondered who of her fellow employees drove this beast.

The staff was abuzz over what had happened to Stan. She just wanted to forget it for a while. Luckily most of them didn't know she'd been the one to find Stan. And as far as she knew, no one knew she'd been to the hospital and found him dead. SHe supposed she should tell that detective, Jack Palance look alike, what was his name? Oh yeah, Wilson, Lieutenant Wilson.

First things first though, she had to get the bird's feedings prepared and out for them. She got down to work cutting up oranges and apples in the kitchen. Glad to be working, doing what she loved. She hauled the Aviary's seed buckets and fruit first, then loaded the trolley for the birds of prey. She dipped the hummers' sweet water from the cooled kettle and poured it into the feeders that had been run through the washer. The fun part for her was interacting with the birds as she feeds them. She was especially fond of the crows and the hummingbirds.

Alvin, the crow, acknowledged her approach by cawing his usual greeting to her. He only used that particular combination of caws and squawky squeals when she comes into his enclosure. He wasn't just anticipating the feeding, as she'd first thought, since he also used the same sounds when she came to see him at non-feeding times. She'd done her own little study when she'd first had his care. She'd sat out of sight and listened to him for several hours at a time and discovered that he had a different set of sounds for each person he knew. She returned what she took to be his "Hi Mari" with her own version of a crtow greting that she'd heard crows in the wild use. Alvin elaborated, but like a foreigner who doesn't speak the language, she remained mute wishing she could say more. She reverted to her own language.

"Here we are then, Alvin. Fresh out of road kill again today. I've told the cook, but you know how she is."
Alvin flew up to her and sat on her hat, picking at the crown. She was used to this now, but she was certainly startled the first time he'd done it. He had wanted the ornament that was pinned on her hat (strictly against regulations). Like all crows he collected shiny objects. Sometimes, when she remembered, she'd put a large paper clip on her hat for him, but today she was distracted. She longed for life to get back to normal, but knew it wasn't going to happen any time soon.
After the feedings had been distributed, she went to what she called her office. It was a tiny closet-like storeroom off one of the landscaping department's sheds. She had placed a piece of glass on a small built-in wooden table and used it to make her reports on the animals that are required of the keepers. She perched on a rickety three-legged stool. As a rule, she was extremely comfortable here. Today, she felt uneasy.
First of all, she thought things had been moved. Not that there was much there. She kept a jar of pencils and pens, a steno pad for to-do lists, whiteout, and a folder of blank report forms. The steno pad seemed to have moved from the left to the right side of the table.
"Oh well," she thought, "mayube I put it there myself."
Then she thought she could smell a man's cologne. Ah, probably one of the landscapers looked in to see if something he neede was stored in here. She chided herself that this whole thing was making her paranoid. She made quick work of the report and started back toward Admin to drop off the paperwork.
A quick movement caught her eye. Someone ducked out of view behind the mower.
She called out, "Who's there?"
No answer.
She walked toward the mower and saw a blur of a zoo worker's uniform high-tailing it down the public walkway toward the Australia and Africa sections. What was left behind was a whiff of that same cologne. He or she had been heavyset from what she could see of their departure. They could certainly move quickly. She concluded that someone had been watching her.

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Koala Killer Sixth Installment


She knew she'd feel better dealing with animals anyway. When she worked with them, a kind of peace came over her. Intrerns do not have permanent charges; they rotate care of the animals. In one way this is good because they learn about different species and get close to individuals. In another way, it's hard because you tend to want to stay with the ones you get attached to. Currently Mari had the feeding of the birds, both in the aviary, and the birds of prey in their separate enclosures. Everyday she tried to find time to visit her former charges. Today she would definitely check on the expectant mama giraffe, who was due in the next few weeks.

First, she took Owen on his 'short' walk, around the Taco Bell, down the alley and back. She felt like she was cheating him because he didn't get to check out new territory the way he likes to. She stopped to pick up the mail as they headed back to heir little nest. In the common yard, Owen sees Bea come out of her gate. He rushes over to her full of friendly joy. They are old friends and Bea greets him in her usual way.

"Don't jump up, there's a good boy."

He restrains himself to small no contact hops. He'd come a long way from the totally unrestrained leaper he'd been a year ago when they'd found each other.

"Mari did you get my message?"

"Yes, Bea. I saw it on TV too. Don't worry, the police will figure it all out."

"Are you in any danger, Mari?"

She dismissed the idea out-of-hand and patted Bea's back. She was now in a hurry to get back to the zoo.

On the short drive she thought about Bea's comment. She'd found Stan. He didn't shoot himself in the eye and he shouldn't have died from it. She supposed she could be in danger if the person who shot Stan thought she knew something. Which she was sure she didn't. Well, she knew the koala shouldn't have been there.

"I'll ask Jorge what he's found out about that koala."

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Koala Killer Fifth Installment


Chapter 2

No one took any note of her going into Stan's room. His head was slumped over. The eye that had been pierced by the dart was covered in bandage. His bed was in an upright position and the bed's tray table with his untouched breakfast in front of him. She assumed he'd fallen asleep.

"Stan?"

She touched his shoulder and his whole body slumped toward her and she shrieked. She ran out into the hallway and shouted, "Please help me!"

The nurse came, then the doctors. When she asked if he was allright they asked her if she was family and when she told them she wasn't they sent her out into the hall. She sensed that he had died. When she saw the police coming down the hall she decided to leave. She hadn't seen anything that could help them and she really felt she needed to gt home as soon as possible for her own sanity, Needless to say, she didn't get her ticket validated, but she was more than willing to pay to get out of there.

"Oh, poor Stan," she thought. She didn't know him well. Just that her was an excellent veterinarian. She'd admired the way he could handle all types of animals. But he didn't have an outgoing personality. And he certainly wasn't subject to idle chitchat. The girls in the office called him a loner. He is, or she corrected herself, was, attractive, so they all flirted with him without any apparent effect. Her friend Shirley, who used to work there in the office, told her he was single. She had no idea how Shirley had known that.

When she got home, Owen did his joy dance. No matter how long you're gone, your dog always acts like you have returned from years away at war and, thank the gods, have finally made it safely back. She turned the cooler from fan to cool. She heated up some zucchini casserole in the microwave. She tried not to think about Stan. She turned on CBS'news at noon. They were covering a fire that had broken out in Sidewinder Canyon in the Rimrock Mountains. They hoped it would be under control that day, the newscaster said.

"The poor wildlife," she chattered to Owen, "the bobcat, the deer, the javelina, the birds and bunnies, oooh."

Owen could tell she was sad and came up to lick her knee.

It just added to her mounting depression. She gave Owen a slice of zucchini with some of the mushroom soup on it and set her timer for a short nap. As she started to turn the TV off with the remote, she realized they were talking about Stan's death.

"Stan Reed, Pueblo Valley Zoo's veterinarian, was attacked last night in the zoo's infirmary and died today in County hospital. Police are withholding the cause of death pending further investigation. More at eleven."

"Attacked and died," a tragic and painful event reduced to one sentence and read with a smile by a beautiful woman posing for the camera.

Mari zapped the TV off and closed her eyes. But rest, let alone quiet thought, was not to be. The phone rang, her answering machine clicked on. It as her neighbor, Bea, "Mari, did you see the TV? The zoo where you work?, the veterinarian guy, they said he died. You don't have to pick up, honey, I just wanted you to know what they said on the TV."

No sooner had she hung up than the phone clicked again. She got back up to turn the volume all the way down. Most of the time she didn't like using the telephone at all. She was the last of her friends and family to hold out against owning a cell phone. Then the alarm she'd set went off. She knew she had little time before she was due back at the zoo. She abandoned the nap attempt and hopped in the shower.

Monday, August 3, 2009

Koala Killer Fourth Installment

Making a note on his pad, the detective asked, "Miss Nuclett, won't you go on? You saw the koala and ...?
"Right then the security guard, Joseph, came in and her attention went back to Stan. The ambulance came soon after, then the police, I called Manny to take care of the Lar. He's only here temporarily..."
"Manny is temporary?"
Jorge came in with, "No, the gibbon is temporary, lieutenant. He's to be shipped on to the Milwaukee County Zoo today. Oh dear, I've got to get another vet to certify his health for shipping, I suppose..."
Mari could see Jorge's shoulders slump. He did not have the cool exterior of many executives. He worried visibly.
"Okay Miss Nuclett?"
"Manny got there after Stan had been loaded into the ambulance. I told him briefly about the koala, knowing he could handle it too, but come to think about it, he just looked puzzled when I mentioned it. Things were confusing. I was exhausted. With Manny there and Stan gone to hospital, all I wanted was to go home to bed. Jorge arrived about then and told me to go home."
"Speaking of which, Lieutenant, Mari needs to get some rest. She was here 'til all hours. The whole thing is stressful. I asked her to come in this morning to speak with you, but I think she needs to get more rest before she comes back to her duties this afternoon."
"Yes, that should be all for now. Thank you, Miss Nuclett. If you think of anything, please call me," he said, as he handed her his card.
She felt sleepy with Jorge's talk of needing rest. She tried to smile but it felt pretty lame, so she backed up toward the door.
"I think I will go home and lie down for an hour or so. See you later, Jorge. Bye."
But instead of heading home, Mari decided to go by the hospital on her way home to see if she could find out how Stan was doing. Maybe she could get in to see him. She found the right entrance on the third try. They'd changed things around since her last visit. She was always uncomfortable in hospitals. It disturbed her to see helpless people lying on gurneys in the hall. This was going to take longer than she thought. Like her ex-boyfriend used to say, "Everything takes longer and costs more than you thought it would."
Little did she know how true that was going to prove.

Sunday, August 2, 2009

Koala Killer Third Installment

The reception area is pleasant, done in beige and turquoise, with artful close-ups of some of Pueblo Valley's animals and birds framed in bamboo.
Jeannie, the Director's secretary, looked up, saying, "Go on in Marigold. He was looking for you. The detective is with him."
Jeannie always called Mari by her full name, just like her mother used to. She kept it formal. Maybe she thought that was how private secretaries should be. Mari smiled at her as she opened the door.
Attempting to be friendly, Mari answered, "Thanks Jeannie. I like your hair."
A slight movement of her head was the only acknowledgement. Mari continues into Jorge Johnson's office where she could hear someone speaking.
Jorge looked up and interrupted the speaker, saying, "Mari, here you are. Are you allright my dear? Sit down, sit down. Lieutenant Wilson, this is Mari Nuclett."
Jorge is portly and taller than his roundness makes him seem. He's strong and tanned from his hands-on supervision. His influence and policies had brought their little zoo into it's own.
Mari thought he looked understandably nervous today.
The detective stood up as she entered the room. He takes a step towards her. He's tall and rugged looking, like the actor who played Paladin in the old TV show Have Gun, Will Travel.
"We'll make this as easy and brief as we can. I need to ask you about the incident last night. I know you've already spoken to the officers who came when it happened, but I will head the investigation and need to ask you a few questions."
"First, may I ask a question, please? How is Stan?"
"He is doing as well as can be expected, as they say. I know that's not very comforting, but as I told Mr. Johnson here, we'll have to get more from the doctors on that score."
Mari nods, disappointed. She makes a mental note to go over to the hospital to see Stan herself and get in the doctor's face, if necessary, to find out.
"I understand you found Mr. ..., " he looked at his notes, "or is that Dr. Reed? The report says that was about 9:50 last evening. Would you just tell me the sequence of events as you remember them please?"
"I was heading back to the kitchen with my charges' pans to clean them, when I noticed a light on in the animal's infirmary, so I went to investigate. Before going in, I set the pans down, made a clatter of it, I'm afraid. Then I heard the Lar Gibbon making a racket. I could tell he was upset. I hurried into the room looking up for the gibbon and saw him crouched in the highest branches in a display of sheer terror. Then I heard Stan, uh, Dr. Reed, moaning. That's when I saw him rolling back and forth on the floor. His hands were clutching something on his face. I went to him and tried to soothe him, telling him it's all right, which it obviously wasn't, of course. That's when I saw the tranq dart sticking out of his eye." She cringed at the memory, "That's what he'd been clutching. He was in a lot of pain. Then suddenly he went slack, passed out, I guess. I didn't know what to do for him. I resisted the urge to take the dart out because I didn't know what would be worse for him, so I laid him back down and went to call 911 for an ambulance."
"What's a trank dart?"
"Tranquilizer dart, used for sedating the animals when we need to give them first aid and the like," Jorge answered for her.
"You said you 'laid him back down?" Had he gotten up?"
"No, I had put my arm behind his shoulder while I knelt beside him. Once he knew I was there he strained as if to sit up just before he passed out, so his head was off the floor a few inches."
Lt. Wilson checked his note pad. "What is a Lar Gibbon?"
"The smallest of the ape family. They have long arms, no tail, live in trees. Actually, they're ..."
"Fine. Thanks. Please go on."
"Not much to tell really. I knew I had to go to the gatehouse to call, well, Joseph, the guard, he actually called. Then I went back to the infirmary to be with Stan. Nothing seemed changed. I tried to calm myself and called to the gibbon who was still very upset. I remembered that the gibbon was due to be shipped out in the next day or so. I thought about calling his keeper, Manny. I started to wonder how this'd happened. I looked around for a tranq, uh, tranquilizer gun, but I didn't see one. I told 911 it was an accident, but if the gun wasn't there, maybe someone shot Stan. Is that what happened Detective?"
She'd been wondering about that since last night but didn't want to believe that violence had invaded her beloved Zoo.
"That's what we're trying to find out. Now, did you see anyone else, either when you entered the room or while waiting for the ambulance?"
"Oh, yes, I discovered the koala. The gibbon was making so much noise I didn't notice the koala was there at all, at first."
Jorge interrupted, "What koala, Mari? We don't have a koala."
"I didn't think so. But I saw him Jorge. Did they put him up somewhere after all the commotion last night?"
"It's the first I've heard of a koala, Mari. We'll check into it."

Saturday, August 1, 2009

Koala Killer Second Installment

With her arms crossed at the wrist over her head, she woke up from a disturbing dream into a lively trumpet symphony. It was her radio alarm. Squinting through the window, she could see a sunny day . Staying late at the zoo last night, because of the shooting, had taken its toll on her eyes. Not ready for the light, she turned off the music and reached for her eye mask, but Owen was standing on his hind legs panting in her ear. He's waiting for the command to come up and lie next to her for a few minutes before they start their day.

"All right, Up."

Owen is a cocker mix, emphasis on 'mix'. He's getting thick in the middle but his temperament is as golden as his wavy blond coat. With an animal's love of routine, he waits for events to unfold in their familiar pattern.

The pull of nature's urges finally draws her into the bathroom. Owen follows her. He sits waiting, with an occasional lick to her knee. Bravely, she looks up into the mirror. Her mop of hair, similar in color to Owen's, stands out at odd angles. Her eyes, still squinting, makes furrows in her nose ridge. In fear of getting permanent lines there, she stops furrowing.

She looks out the little window over the tub and sees the white oleander blazing in the morning sun.

"It's going to be warm again today, Owen." His ears perk up. "A typical desert Spring day." His ears un-perk as he realizes none of the feeding words are being used: breakfast, eat, hungry.

Her body focuses on its desire for coffee. She had given up cigarettes two years ago. She willingly separates her carbohydrates from her proteins and takes herbal supplements, but she felt life wouldn't be worth living without morning coffee.

At his insistence, she mixed Owen's dry and canned food and put it down for him. Before she takes a sip of her coffee, he's gobbled his whole breakfast down.

"Now, outside with you, guy. Do your duty. Gotta rush to work."

Owen understood the word 'work' and hangs his head as he goes out. He probably thinks it's too early, she wishes she could explain the circumstances.

Munching an apple for breakfast, she called the hospital. They confirmed Stan's admittance, found the floor and room number he'd been assigned, then insisted on putting the in-charge nurse on the phone to give information about his condition. When they couldn't find the nurse, she let them off the hook and said she'd call back later.


The employee gate at the zoo is a beehive of activity. She parks her pickup by the back fence. A uniformed officer is standing guard. This combined with the chain link fence topped with barbed wire (intended more to keep the adventurous out, than the wild beasts in) has turned her familiar entrance into the look of a prison. Police and plain clothes detectives are rushing in and out. She hates rushing. She purposely slows her pace.
She clips her zoo i.d. onto her shirt so the officer can see it. As she walks past, she notices the small animal infirmary where she'd found Stan last night is sealed off with crime tape. She wonders if they'd moved the Gibbon, the screamer from last night.
"And the Koala? What was a Koala doing there anyway? Maybe a new acquisition," she thought. She heads straight for the Director's office in the Executive Building.