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.

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.

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."