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.