I hung up the phone, got out of bed, and looked in the closet for a clean uniform.
“Shit.”
It was then I remembered the laundry sack, which contained every one of my uniforms, sitting in the back seat of my car. I’d meant to drop it off at the dry cleaners after work but was so exhausted I’d completely forgotten. So, not only did I not have any clean uniforms, I couldn’t even shake out a dirty one and throw it on.
“Sweats it is,” I said out loud to no one as I dressed into a pair of sweatpants and a Roses for Anna T-shirt. I looked completely unprofessional, but at least I wouldn’t care if I got giraffe shit all over me.
I sneaked out of my bedroom, passing Scrappy who was snoring, loudly, on the sofa, and slipping out of the apartment as quietly as I could.
Traffic was lighter than usual, even for this time of night, and I made it to the zoo in only forty-five minutes. Instead of parking in the staff lot, I decided to break zoo law and park in one of the spots reserved for our Platinum Members. I sent both Aero and Scrappy a text, letting them know where I was. I knew Aero’d be pissed I’d given Scrappy the slip, but he’d have to get over it. It’s not like Scrappy could have come with me, and it was a zoo. There was nothing dangerous here. Just animals who were all locked down for the night.
I relieved Phoebe and made sure she was awake enough to drive back to her apartment.
“Thanks so much for doing this,” she said, over and over again.
“Totally fine,” I assured.
She headed out, and after I checked on Ellie and her second, now one-year-old calf, Quincy, who incidentally, had been born the same day as Reagan, I made my way toward the staff office. I’d planned on putting on a fresh pot of coffee and listening to my favorite true crime podcast until the giraffe’s next scheduled well-check, but first I had to make my way through the darkness. Since artificial lights affect the sleeping habits of most of our animals, the zoo was kept as dark as possible after hours.
As I approached the pathway leading to the administration building, strange noises in the dark caused me to stop dead in my tracks.
“Oh, shit, man! Don’t do this!” I heard a man’s voice cry out, followed by sounds of what sounded like a struggle.
The noises were coming from the Benson Predator Ridge, where the Lions were on exhibit. I ducked behind a nearby concessions stand and held my breath.
“Please, I’ll pay you anything. I swear to Christ,” the man shouted as the rustling noises continued.
“Sorry, Zippo, the Beast wants to make an example of you,” a man with a thick Russian accent replied.
I had no idea how these guys had gotten in, but they seemed unaware of my presence and I wanted to keep it that way. I didn’t know if they were really going to feed this poor guy to the lions or if they were trying to scare him, but I didn’t want to end up as dessert if it was the former.
“You don’t have to do this. I’m begging you. I’ll give you whatever you want. Please just let me go. I’ll leave town. She’ll never know.” The man’s pleas grew more desperate.
“Daphne was specific,” the Russian said. “She told me and my brother to tie you up and throw you to the lions, so that’s what we have to do.”
The sound of more screaming and struggling filled the night air. I dug for my phone to call 911 but found my pocket empty.
Shit.
My phone must have slid out of my sweatpants as I got out of my car. To call for help I’d have to complete my journey to the office, which was over fifty yards away, or hightail it all the way back to my car. The office was closer, but I’d be heading toward the lions and the scary men. Even though I’d parked in the closest space possible and could also drive away as I called 911, it would still take me a few minutes to reach my car. Whoever this guy was would be a cold plate of Lion chow by then.
“Please don’t, man. I have kids,” the man pled.
“Oh, yeah? I love kids,” a third voice said cheerily.
“It’s true,” the first man said. “My brother writes children’s books for our nieces and nephews.”
Whoever these guys were roughing up must have looked as confused as I was.
“It’s true,” he continued. “Hey, Yuri. Maybe this will make a good book for you. What do you call it? A morality tale. Man, who does not pay debts to beast is eaten by beast.”
“I don’t care what our brothers say about you, Sasha. You are genius. Now help me throw Zippo over fence.”
“No, please, god no!”
It was only then that I recognized the man’s voice. It belonged to Joe Zapowski, one of the zoo’s security officers. That explained how these guys were able to get in after hours. Joe obviously had history with the two, and must have let them in.
There was no way I’d be able to make it to the office and place an emergency call before they managed to get poor Joe over the fence. If I had any chance of saving his life, I’d have to create a diversion right now even if it meant putting myself at risk. I’d never be able to live with myself if I knowingly let him die without at least trying to help.
