“Thank you. I’m going to send these to one of my coworkers. And then, Pat, we’ll talk about identifying the deceased.”
“Can I help you look in their exhibit?” Pat asks. “I can call a group of workers in here and we’ll have the place scanned in no time.”
I shake my head, trusting none of them at this point. I don’t believe anyone is innocent until they can prove it. “Thank you, but Gabriel and I will handle this part. What you could do is get a copy of this list and mark down everyone on it who has had training in butchering.”
“Okay.”
I return to the pen to join Gabriel, and when I get the email, I forward it off. As I walk, I try to do some thinking. I’ve already met multiple people, but with a place like this, there are hundreds of them, and any one of them could have killed this man. I feel like it has to have been an employee or someone who works the grounds for seasonal work. It’s extremely unlikely that a guest did the killing since it would be more risk than it’s worth. Yes, you have all of the equipment, but you have to go through so many locked gates to reach anywhere. The person had to haveknown about the dead dog and when the crematorium picks up the bag. None of it fits for a guest.
The same goes for the victim. I’m sure men come to the zoo by themselves, but the likelihood is lower than with a group or family. And there’s no family that just happened to forget a member and hasn’t said anything. That’s not to say I’m writing anything off, it’s just that my focus is currently on those who are employed by the zoo.
“Figure out anything yet, Sherlock?” Gabriel asks as he starts making one of his passes back and passes me in the process.
“I figured out that you are mighty handsome.”
“You’re obviously quite focused, then,” he teases.
“Focused as they can get.”
“Sure, sure,” he says. “Lay it on me.”
“You lay it on me first.”
“My theory is that both the victim and killer are employees.”
I smile at him. “You are so sexy.”
“I knew you were thinking the same thing. It makes the most sense. We need to find someone to identify the body.”
“Pat volunteered, but she looks a bit… weak.”
“I bet her eyes work even when she’s weak,” Gabriel says.
“She gives me the creeps, Gabriel.”
“Oh lord. Why does she give you the creeps?”
“Just look at her… so eager to help,” I comment as I eye the woman still standing at the fence line, freezing just in case we need something. Instead of goingbackto her office to make the notes I’d requested, she’s doing it out in the cold. “Helpful people creep me out. I bet she’s the killer.”
“You are ridiculous,” Gabriel says as I grin at him. “Did you receive a picture of the head?”
“Still waiting on Matthew. He’s rather slow. Is that why you like him? Because if we were ever facing off with a bear, you know you’d outrun him?”
“Yes, that is exactly why I like Matthew… in case I run across a bear… you know… in this area that hasnobears.”
“I assumed as much.” Right on cue, my phone beeps and I get the picture. Matthew did a good job of making it not look too grotesque. There’s no severed neck blatantly on display, so I assume Pat will be able to handle this picture alright. So when I finish my pass, I head over to her. “Are you prepared to identify the body?” Although… there’s not much body in this case.
“Yes, please, I would love to get you a name if I can.”
I show her the picture which she stares at for a long moment. “He’s not one of my employees, but he looks familiar. I can almost bet he works with the company that fixed the lights. They’ve been here almost every day this week. After that big wind over the weekend, they’ve been trying to repair things, but the big Christmas tree was giving us fits.”
“Are any of them here today?”
“No, they finished yesterday. Let me call their supervisor and get him in, though, okay?”
“Thank you.”
“Of course,” she says.
