His stomach plummeted at the sight of way too much blood.
He started to open the gate to the outer enclosure and stopped. The inner gate wasn’t latched, and it swung a bit in the breeze. There would be nothing to stop Raj from coming through the inner enclosure to the outer one.
Had Raj been in the outer perimeter when Ivy came to feedhim? Blake spotted drag marks from the outside gate into the inner area, and the likely scenario played out in his head in sickening detail.
He whipped out his phone and called Evan Hopkins to bring him a tranquilizer gun. “And call 911.” He grabbed the bucket of meat and took off running to the building beside the enclosure. Time seemed to slow as his feet slapped against the grass and hard dirt on the path to the shelter. His fingers fumbled with the lock at the door, and it seemed an eternity before he stepped into the dim interior that held the strong odor of cat urine. He made sure the door to the habitat area was locked, then went through the security door.
Please let her be alive.He threw down some raw meat before he opened the door to the habitat.Please, God, let him smell the food and come.
He could barely breathe while he waited for the big white cat to amble into the interior and go to the food. When the last of the tiger’s lashing tail was through the door, Blake pressed the button to shut the cat inside away from the habitat area, then raced back outside to run across the habitat to Ivy. Evan sped toward the enclosure with the tranquilizer gun.
Blake reached the gate at the same time as Evan. “I coaxed Raj into the building with food, so we won’t need the gun after all.” He hurried with Evan through both gates and headed toward Ivy, who hadn’t moved.
When he dropped to his knees and touched her, his gut made a sickening twist. He pressed his finger to her neck to make sure.
“She’s dead.”
Paradise’s first day had been more fun than she’d imagined. With only five patients, she only had to work two hours, but the owners of the three dogs and two cats had made her feel like an integral part of the community. Two of the families had been former classmates when she’d lived here, so it felt as though she’d slipped back into the flow of life in Nova Cambridge. Her longtime friend Abby Dillard—now McClellan—had been here with her beautiful golden.
This quiet town was only fifteen minutes from Foley and the shopping malls, and only half an hour from the busyness of the Gulf Shore beaches, but it was another world along these quaint streets. How had she ever left this place?
Paradise mopped the exam room and grimaced at the stinging scent of antiseptic before heading back to the park. Honey had offered to do the cleaning, but Paradise needed an opportunity to get to know her spaces. There was something about the detail of cleaning that made the place seem familiar—and hers.
Her phone sounded with a message, but she ignored it until she was finished and in her car. Once she was behind the wheel, she dug out her phone and tensed. In her inbox were results from the DNA test she’d run to try to find the brother she hadn’t known she had. It was already nearly eleven, and she had a full afternoon at the park. The results would have to wait until she had a chance to log in to her computer and take a look.
She buckled in and drove out Beach Road toward the Weeks Bay Bridge. She braked to avoid a fox that darted out of the ditch and across the road. An ambulance, its lights flashing and sirens blaring, came up fast behind her, and she pulled over to let it pass. Right behind it, two sheriff’s department cars zoomed past as well. They disappeared over the bridge, and her gut clenched. Could they be going to The Sanctuary?
She stomped on the accelerator and headed in that direction. The emergency vehicles weren’t in sight when she crossed the bridge and turned onto Bay Road. Maybe they’d turned off on Beach Road. A few houses were out that way on Bon Secour Bay.
But she caught the shriek of the sirens as she neared the turnoff to the preserve, and her pulse skipped. Her fears for the boys were ever present ever since Isaac had gone into the tiger enclosure. The boys were adventurous and no amount of diligence kept fear from raising its head. She punched the button on her dash to call Blake, and her mouth was dry as she waited for him to pick up.
When the call went to his voice mail, her agitation increased and so did her speed. She took the turn nearly on two wheels and prayed for Blake’s family as she raced to see what had happened. Maybe a visitor had been injured. None of the scenarios were good.
She followed the flashing lights of the two sheriff’s cars through the parking lot and out toward the employee area near the predator enclosures. The fact that the emergency vehicles were directed to private areas wasn’t a good sign. She parked in her usual spot and jumped out. Blake stood talking to their archenemy, Detective Creed Greene. It figured that they’d have to deal with him.
She steeled herself for his familiar leer—he was like most of the other men she’d met with one thing on their minds. At least Blake had shown her how a real man acted.
She rushed to his side and touched his arm. He drew her against his side with his left arm as he spoke with Creed. She heardtiger enclosureandchecked for pulse, but she heard no name mentioned. She examined the faces around her and spotted Jenna and her boys heading their way. The tenseness in Paradise’s throat released, and she nearly sagged against Blake.
Jenna reached them, and she waved an employee over. “Evan, would you take the boys to see the capybaras?”
Irritation creased his forehead, but he nodded. “Sure thing, Boss.”
“Hazel had babies,” Isaac told him. “I get to hold one now. They’re old enough, right, Mama?”
“They are.” Jenna waited until they were out of earshot. “Do we know how Raj managed to get to Ivy?”
“Not yet,” Blake said. “I found her in the inside enclosure. There would have been no reason for her to go in there, and I think maybe Raj dragged her to his lair.”
Paradise shuddered at the graphic image that sprang to life with his words. How had this happened? Blake was meticulous about safety precautions at The Sanctuary, but human error was always a concern. She didn’t know Ivy well since she’d just started, but she’d seemed pleasant and was hardworking. The young woman had wanted to chat about personal things, and Paradise suspected she was lonely.
The deputy took his detective position to the nth degree, and she knew he’d be pointing blame before he left. That was his modus operandi. Accuse first and pivot later. Wasn’t a detective supposed to examine the evidence before he came to a conclusion? Creed Greene made snap decisions first and tried to find details to support his belief. It was all backward.
“Is the tiger secured?” Greene asked.
Blake’s fingers tightened around Paradise’s waist. “I coaxed him into the shelter so I could get to Ivy. I left him locked in there.”
Creed turned toward the walkway to the predators’ area. “I’d like to see the scene and the body now that the paramedics are done making sure there was no sign of life. Forensics should be here soon as well.”
