Deadly Consequences (7 page)

She reached Matsuda as he closed the back doors of the coroner’s van. The M.E gazed behind her at Lombardo. “He’s threatened by you.”

Sam leaned against the van. “I know, but for God’s sake, he has no reason to be. I’ve done nothing to him.”

Matsuda gave her a small smile. “You’re on the way up; he’s on the way down. For Lombardo, that’s reason enough.”

She rested a hand on her hip, shaking her head. “How far up does he think I’m going to go? Honestly, he treats me like I’m a child. I had a good run as a psychologist before I joined the force. For all Lombardo’s bluster there can’t be more than a twelve year age difference between us, and there’s no law that says he has to retire now that he’s put in his twenty. I don’t understand his need to compete with me, or his reasons for trying to show me up on my own cases.”

Matsuda slapped his hand on the back of the van. “He wants to be Alec’s partner.”

“Which is ridiculous. He’d
hate
being Alec’s partner because he wouldn’t be top dog.” Sam rubbed her face, and pressed her hand against the van. “Enough about Lombardo. I need answers so we can work on identifying the victims.”

“I’ll make this my top priority.” Matsuda said.

She gave him a tired smile. “I know. Thanks.”

Matsuda headed to the front of the vehicle. “You have your work cut out for you. I’ll get back to you as soon as I can with my findings.”

Sam nodded her thanks. “Maybe you should stick around awhile —just in case.”

“Whatever you need,” his eyes were weary. “I’ll be in the van.”

“Thanks.” She watched Matsuda climb into the van, and glanced at her watch, surprised by how little time had passed. Not that it mattered; she couldn’t afford to waste a minute. She radioed Alec letting him know she was heading down to the security office.

Lombardo caught up to her before she made it past the barn.
“You ain’t the boss of me.” Lombardo hitched a thumb in his belt loop. “But we got a job to do and I’m thinking that security would be more comfortable talking things with a man.”

Sam stopped in her tracks, tired of his bullshit. She was tempted to throw the case in his lap, and be done with it until she remembered the victims. He wouldn’t fight as hard for them. She also suspected that if she gave in this once, he’d only push harder the next time. Instead, she decided to toss him a bone, hoping he’d stop hounding her. “Tell you what, Lombardo, why don’t we try working together on this?”

He eyed her suspiciously. “Whaddya mean?”

“Team up, work together, it’s not a novel concept. I’m willing to call a truce if you are.”

“We share credit fifty-fifty?” he looked dubious.

Sam threw up her hands in disbelief. “Jesus, do you have to turn everything into a competition?”

“All right. Wait.” He stalled by taking out his handkerchief and wiping his face. “How about this?” He tucked the hankie away, fingering the plastic evidence bags in his pocket. “I do things you’re way, but if it turns out I’m right and the kids are good for it I get the collar.”

She brushed past him, gritting her teeth. “They didn’t do it.”

“Then you got nothing to lose by agreeing, do you?” He said.

Damn him, he’d painted her into a corner. She tilted her head to the right, trying to figure him out. There had to be a reason behind his suggestion. “What angle are…” she stopped short, catching sight of a middle-aged man racing towards them. Two officers jogged after him, ordering him to stop.

He ignored them both, zig zagging on the path in an effort to elude them. Under different circumstances, the sight might have been comical.

Sam raised a hand to the uniforms, signaling them to let him pass. Heat splotches reddened his pudgy cheeks, his crisp blue dress shirt, stained with sweat. He came to an abrupt halt, panting for breath.

She waited until he composed himself. “Can I help you?”

“Help me?” he shouted, expression livid. “Don’t you people have any sense?”

Sam raised her brow, resting her hands on her hips. “Excuse me?”

“Do you hear that?” He waved towards the barn, looking like he was on the verge of a coronary. “You’re disturbing the animals, and, Oh God,” he cradled his head in his hands. “Look what you’ve done to the landscaping.”

She shot him an incredulous look. “You’ve got to be kidding me, Mr.…?”

Her patience reached the limit when he failed to answer. “Are you the zoo’s director?”

“No.” He pulled a red bandana from his pocket and wiped his face. “But I’m not saying another word until I know who’s in charge.”

“I am,” Sam and Lombardo answered in unison.

His eyes darted between the two of them. “Very well. I’m William Thorpe, the zoo’s curator. I was told that a body was discovered near the lagoon tonight. A vagrant.”

Sam had been on the verge of walking away and letting Lombardo deal with Thorpe, but his dismissive tone irked her
.
“Are you saying if the body belonged to a vagrant, her death doesn’t count?”

“No, no, of course not.” He twisted the bandana between his hands. “This is a public park, we don’t charge an admittance fee. Many of the city’s homeless pass the time here on a daily basis. As long as they don’t cause trouble or frighten the children or animals, they are welcome. I was simply pointing out that while it is extremely unfortunate a poor soul passed on, I fail to understand why the entire facility is in an uproar.” His voice softened, begging them to understand. “We go to great lengths to ensure the well-being of our animals, and this is most unsettling for them.”

Sam glanced at Lombardo. “Do you want to answer or should I?”

Lombardo held up his hands. “It’s your case.”

“So much for teamwork,” she muttered under her breath. “Mr. Thorpe, you were misinformed. Two amputated legs were discovered in shallow graves in separate areas of the zoo. We haven’t recovered the rest of the bodies.”

William Thorpe blanched, the color draining from his face. “My God! What are you saying? Someone ‘s been
murdered
here?”

“It’s an ongoing investigation, Mr. Thorpe. At this point, all I can say is that we’ve recovered the limbs of two women.”

His hands flew to his face. “Oh my God. Oh my God,” he repeated, walking in a circle. When he finally came to a stop, he dropped his hands, whispering, “Has the director been informed?”

“He’s been called. I was told he was on his way, but that was some time ago,” Sam said.

Thorpe fumbled in his pocket for his phone. “Let me try and reach her. Dear Lord, it’s possible she was given the same misinformation that I was.”

Sam kneaded the muscles on the back of her neck. “Thank you, I appreciate it.”

Lombardo nudged her with his elbow, and muttered, “What do you make of this clown?”

“If he gets the director here, I’ll love him for the rest of my life,” she answered, covering her mouth with her hand.

“This is tragic, simply tragic.” Thorpe shook his head, scrolling through his list of contacts. His finger froze in mid-air, gaze flying to meet Sam’s. His mouth flapped open and shut several times before he gathered his words. “You said the
limbs
of two women were recovered? Where are the bodies?”

“We don’t know yet,” she said.

“And the person who did this? He’s been caught?”

Sam shook her head. “Perhaps now you understand why your zoo is in an uproar.” She couldn’t resist quoting his words back to him.

“Yes, yes, yes.” His head bobbed up and down. “I’ll get the director for you, posthaste.” He swiveled on his heel to make the call, caught sight of the coroners van, and froze, eyes widening. He gagged, the phone slipping through his fingers as he darted to the nearest gate, bending over to vomit.

The director met them outside one of the zoo’s historic buildings. Many of the structures in the park dated back to the late 1800s. William Thorpe guzzled his second bottle of water as they waited. Lombardo begged off the interview, excusing himself by volunteering to coordinate the search efforts as soon as additional officers and the canine unit arrived.

Sam suspected correctly that Lombardo didn’t want to listen to Thorpe’s endless chatter any longer than he had to. No matter what the reason, Sam felt a surge of gratitude that Lombardo was temporarily, at least, working with her, rather than trying to undermine the investigation.

“Hannah Phillips.” The director extended her hand to Sam after Thorpe mumbled the introductions. Hannah was an attractive woman in her forties, with short, stylish ash blond hair, impeccably dressed in a navy blue designer suit and low-heeled nude pumps. Sam immediately felt disheveled in her presence.

“So sorry to keep you waiting, Detective Black. William briefed me over the phone.” Her perfectly manicured hand fluttered to her chest. “Needless to say, I’m shocked. I can’t believe something like this could happen
here.”

“We’re going to need to go over your security tapes, and I’d like to speak to the guards who were on duty earlier today.”

“Yes, of course.” Hannah shuddered delicately. “Let’s go inside. Perhaps we can sit while you bring me up to speed. William, would you get the detective something to drink? We’ll be downstairs.”

Sam followed them into a cool, dark building, surprised to find herself in the Primate House.

“The security office is in the basement,” Hannah explained. “I know that may seem a bit odd to you, but we like to make use of the space available rather than build modern facilities that take away from the Zoo’s architectural charm. The former director actually had his offices below the café.”

Hannah led her to a back door, heels clicking on concrete stairs leading to the basement. “Forgive me for saying so, Detective, but you look exhausted. The heat’s been horrendous, hasn’t it?”

Without waiting for an answer, Hannah paused to glance over her shoulder, watching Thorpe vanish through another doorway. “William is a dear man, very focused on the animals. We’re lucky to have him, he’s the best there is, but he’s not as good with people as he is with animals.”

Sam understood the director’s nervous chatter. Hannah was delaying the inevitable conversation. “Ms. Phillips…” She began.

“Please, call me Hannah.” Her smile looked slightly forced. “Ms. Phillips is my grandmother, a woman who’s done remarkably well for herself.”

Hannah sank down onto a metal folding chair across from a battered metal table, dropping her head in her hands. “Oh, God, how could this happen?” She raised watery eyes towards Sam. “I took over as director less than a year ago. I’m the first woman to hold this position. You know the press will crucify me.”

Sam smiled, finding a common bond. “I was thinking the same thing myself earlier this evening. Any minute now, I’m expecting the mayor to demand my head on a silver platter.”

Some of the tension drained from Hannah’s body. She gestured for Sam to sit. “It’s still not easy for us, is it? The higher we climb, the harder we fall. And if’s that’s not enough pressure, we’re still expected to care for our families, entertain, keep an immaculate house, and do our jobs harder and better than any man, just to prove we’re worthy to be paid less.”

“It’s a hell of a life,” Sam remarked.

Hannah burst into laughter. “I like you. You’re not the hard-assed cop I was expecting to meet.”

“And you’re not the pompous asshole I thought I’d have to deal with.” Sam smiled.

“What a relief, for both of us,” Hannah said, leaning back in her chair.

The door slammed behind Thorpe as he returned carrying two bottles of water. He placed them on the table. “If I’m not needed, I’d like to go check on the animals?”

Hannah nodded. “Of course, I know how much you worry about them.”

Sam waited until Thorpe left before bringing Hannah up to speed, stressing her concerns about zoo security. Hannah listened intently, pulling out her smart phone when Sam was through. She punched in a series of commands, frowning at the phone.

“I don’t understand. Miguel Sanchez, our head of security was on duty from four to twelve. He’s an outstanding employee, been with the zoo for seventeen years.”

“Who relieved him?”

“We have several security officers on duty, but Victor Vasquez is the overnight supervisor. He’s worked for us for five years, and is also a stellar employee.”