Scandal at Six(15)

*



Cowgill had arrived only shortly before Lois’s call came in.

“A wolf spider, did you say? Very alarming, I’d say. But I’ll have to check whether they’re lethal. Please be very careful. I’ll be here when you’ve finished at the zoo. Oh, and please bring the cardboard box back with you. Without the spider. Police request, if the zoo argues. Are you sure you wouldn’t like Matthew to collect the spider and return it to the zoo?”

“Quite sure,” said Lois. “It’s not just the spider, is it. There’s been the snake and a toad, possibly a rat, and a squashed frog. I want to have a good look around there, and talk to a few people. I’m sure you will be doing the same, but I’m going right now. See you later.”

Cowgill swallowed what he was about to say. She was very special to him, and he was going to repeat his warning. He took a deep breath, and tried to concentrate on the morning’s stack of papers. After a few minutes, he gave up, and asked his assistant, Chris, to get the Tresham Zoo on the phone, but first to come in and tell him what she knew about it.

“Zoos are not my cup of tea,” he said, as she appeared at his door. “But come in and tell me all.”

“We used to take my nephew and nieces there,” she said, sitting opposite Cowgill and opening notebook and pen. “It’s about a mile on the north road out of Tresham. A big mansion-type house, with land and gardens that are open to the public. The zoo is privately owned, and the owner, Robert Pettison, lives in the house. Cameroon Hall, it’s called, and he’s a bachelor. Lives on his own, and is a bit of a recluse, apparently. The zoo started with a few rare-breed sheep, but it’s grown to quite a size now, with all kinds of animals. Reptiles and insects are a specialty. They are open seven days a week, and do very well with locals as well as visitors from abroad. Pettison has made quite a name for himself, breeding rare species.”

“Well done, Chris. So is he on our books for any reason?”

“Robert Pettison has never to our knowledge broken the law. Regular inspections from vets, and all that. I remember it as clean and pleasant, and if wild animals must be locked up in cages, then it’s four-star accommodation. And lastly, there’s been a call from one of the girls at the zoo, reporting a lost spider.”

“Very good. Now, I’ll fill you in on the Farnden village shop case, and then I want you and Matthew Vickers—who knows all the circumstances already from his wife, Josie, who is the shopkeeper—to go along to the zoo and look around. Ask a few questions. Then report back.”



*



Lois drove down the road leading to the Tresham Zoo, keeping an eye on the cardboard box on the seat beside her. She noticed that a small hole had appeared in the corner of the lid, and she put her foot down on the accelerator. The last thing she needed was a female wolf spider and family running free in her car.

She was directed up the long drive to the house, and there was greeted at the entrance by the owner, Robert Pettison himself, tall and slightly stooping. He smiled a toothy smile, and thanked her for bringing back one of their prize exhibits. “We were so worried for Lucilla and her babies. We discovered she was gone this morning first thing, and alerted the police. So kind of you to bring her back. Handed her in at the gate, did you? That’s fine. Do come in and have a coffee and tell me how you found her. Perhaps you would like to take a look around her friends and relations before you leave?”

Lois gulped and said yes, that would be nice. And she certainly had time for a coffee. She followed him through a splendid portico at the front of the house and into a lofty drawing room, furnished with what Lois guessed were valuable antique pieces. He invited her to sit down, but while he went to organise coffee, she had a quick walk around the room, watched by steely-eyed portraits of, presumably, his ancestors. Or were they ancestral portraits by the yard? He sounded posh, but wacky, and she would not have said he had quite such illustrious-looking forebears.

“Here we are, then,” said Pettison. “Do you take cream in your coffee? Now, tell me all about Lucilla’s adventure.”

Lois described Gran’s encounter with the large and fecund spider, and asked if he had other similar interesting animals in his zoo. “I know you have snakes?” she said.

“Beautiful, sinuous creatures,” he said. “Oh yes. You must see them, too, if you have time. I will give you a personal tour. Snakes are my favourites, you know. Such elegant people!”

People? thought Lois. Looks like we’ve got a right one here. “Not so sure about elegant,” she said. “Are they lethal? That’s what I want to know.”