Scandal at Six(16)

Pettison chuckled. “Of course they are, my dear,” he said. “That is their most interesting characteristic. Swift to move, swift to strike, and swift to vanish.”

“You may remember that we returned a cobra to your zoo a short while ago, and I’m sure you will agree that two visits to Long Farnden from your resident people is strange, to say the least?”

“Ah yes, the cobra. Splendid chap! We had the police round, but none of my staff could explain its escape.”

“If it did escape,” said Lois, adjusting her skirt in an attempt to redirect Pettison’s fixed gaze at her legs. “Or had it been stolen and placed where my daughter found it, in her shop storeroom?”

“Possible, but unlikely. All my staff are closely vetted, and would never do such a cruel thing to one of our people.”

“Animals, you must mean,” said Lois crossly. “Well, I must be getting on. If we find any more on our property, we shall be consulting our lawyers.”

“Oh, come now, my dear! Can you not regard it as a privilege to come across such rare specimens?”

“No, we can’t. And I can’t waste any more time this morning. I’ll have a brief look round, and see myself out. I expect you’ll be hearing from the police soon. Oh, and can I have the box back, please? The police want it.”

“Of course, my dear. I’ll get through to the gate and have it ready for you to collect.”

After she had gone, Pettison smiled to himself. A feisty young person. Just as he liked them. And Justin seemed to be handling the situation very well. It was a risk, of course, that he would somehow lose the specimens, or the shopgirl would turn them loose. But so far, so good. The Meades had been responsible about returning the snake and the spider. “Nevertheless,” he said aloud to one of his ancestors on the wall, “I shall be glad when nephew Justin is safely settled in their flat, and we can resume business as usual.”

Justin had been offered accommodation in his large mansion, but he had refused, saying he wanted to be away from the zoo premises. He was looking, he said, for a self-contained flat, with somewhere to keep the rare specimens he handled for Pettison. So when he heard about the flat over the shop, he was immediately interested. He had surreptitiously looked around the premises, and had seen a large shed at the back, which could be just the job. And he had devised a plan that would secure it for him.



*



Walking down the long drive to the zoo itself, Lois found her way in and had a quick look round, but could see no immediately obvious way any of the animals could have escaped. She had explained her appointment with Pettison on her way in, but now she could find no members of the staff to talk to, except for the same ticket woman at the gate, and she said they were not really open yet. All the keepers were in a meeting. She produced Lucilla’s box, now empty, and hoped Lois would call again.

Back in the sane world of the town, Lois parked her car and made for the police station, carrying the box. Cowgill was waiting for her in reception, and on taking one look at her face, told the sergeant on duty that he did not wish to be disturbed for at least an hour.

In his office, which overlooked the main street of Tresham, he drew up a chair for Lois and sat down behind his desk.

“You look explosive,” he said. “Is it safe to ask how you got on at the zoo?”

Lois banged the box down on his desk, and said, “The owner is stark, staring crazy, for a start. Have you met him? Mr Robert Pettison? He should never be in charge of a zoo full of dangerous animals! You have to do something, Cowgill.”

“We are already making preliminary enquiries, my dear Lois,” he said. “And don’t worry, we are very familiar with Pettison. Nutty as a fruitcake, as my chaps say. But he’s harmless. It’s all a performance. Eccentric toff who owns valuable animals. He is really a very astute operator, and his zoo is beyond reproach, according to inspection reports. Your encounters with the snake and now the spider are the first indications of anything wrong there.”

“He may be harmless,” said Lois bitterly, “but his animals definitely are not! Did you know he calls them his people?”

“No, I didn’t know that. But he has every right to do so, as far as we are concerned. Did you talk to any of his staff and look round the zoo?”

“Very briefly. Nobody around for a chat. In a meeting, supposedly, but I did wonder if Pettison had got word around to them not to talk to me. One thing, though, how did he know I was going to be there? I didn’t ring first, or anything like that, but he was waiting for me at the entrance to the house. Did your lot tell him?”