As many of you read, we are working on our third collaboration. With the interest expressed, we wanted to let you all start now. It's a WIP (work in progress), but we've got quite a bit of it done and really hope you enjoy it. We work on it steadily and promise we won't keep you hanging too long
TITLE: Endangered Life
AUTHORS: Dimphy & Barb
RATED: PG-13
SUMMARY: Tiger: one of the big cats that live on part of the planet. Endangered, hunted down for numerous reasons. One of them is killing people.
PART 1
On a bright and sunny morning, a new case brings Hunter and McCall to the LA Zoo. A body, or what was left of it, was found in the tiger enclosure. The manager, Mr. Armstrong, and the head keeper, Phil Morgan, were waiting for them.
"We managed to get the tigers into their night cages so you can examine the body." Phil Morgan told them.
"Okay, can you show us the way?" Hunter said.
"Sure."
The body was badly mutilated; there wasn't much left of the face to identify it. The only clue was the name tag on the jacket. It read: John Matthews.
"Well, this one has to be identified by a dental specialist," Hunter said turning to McCall.
"Yeah, I guess. Does the name John Matthews ring a bell?" she asked Phil.
"He's one of the keepers; he works with the reptiles." he answered visibly shocked.
Mr. Armstrong was watching from a distance, so they walked towards him.
"The animal responsible will be punished, I promise." he said.
"I can't tell for sure if it was the tiger that killed him," Hunter explained. "We'll have to wait for the autopsy."
"As a Zoo, we can't take any chances with these animals. You have 48 hours to prove the tiger’s innocence or we will have to put it down."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
McCall bridled at the manager’s words and felt her face flush in anger. “Mr. Armstrong, you can’t just murder a tiger because you think he killed this poor man.”
Hunter shot a glance at his partner, surprised by her tone. Mr. Armstrong, too, seemed taken aback.
“Sgt. McCall,” he started but McCall quickly cut him off.
“Sgt. Hunter and I will conduct a thorough examination while the tiger is placed in quarantine. The LAPD does not operate under your timetable, do you understand?”
The zoo manager looked at Hunter, towering over him; arms crossed over his chest and realized he’d get no help there. He turned back to McCall, her dark eyes flashing and meekly nodded.
“Of course, I meant no disrespect. Mr. Matthew’s family has already called and they’re understandably upset. I just want this taken care of as quickly and as quietly as possible.”
“I’m sure,” McCall replied, her voice cool. “So, why don’t you gather the workers and we can get this investigation under way?”
She turned her back on the man, effectively dismissing him without a word as she pulled out her pen and notebook and began writing.
Armstrong glanced helplessly at Hunter, who watched him impassively, then with a shrug of his shoulders, the hapless zoo manager hurried out, followed by Phil Morgan, who had wisely kept silent while his boss was getting skewered.
Hunter waited until they were alone before speaking. “Boy, McCall, you really let him have it,” he remarked with a laugh. “I was starting to wonder if I was gonna have to separate you two.”
McCall rolled her eyes, “Oh, come on Hunter. The guy’s a pompous ass, trying to tell us we’ve got a deadline.” She mimicked Armstrong’s earlier words, her voice filled with contempt, “You have 48 hours to prove the tiger’s innocence.”
Hunter stared at his partner. She was usually the consummate professional, not catty. “What’s with you, McCall? And you better not tell me PMS, ‘cause you’ve –“
“PMS!?” she railed at him. “The zoo manager is threatening to kill a tiger with or without definitive proof in 2 days and you accuse me of PMS!?”
“Whoa – whoa,” Hunter backpedaled both literally and figuratively. “I’m sorry. I’m not the bad guy here.”
McCall blinked, as if realizing how she’d been acting. “I’m sorry, Hunter.” She stared out at the now deserted tiger habitat. “These poor animals, taken out of their home environment –“
“Where they’ve been slaughtered to the point of extinction,” Hunter interjected, sadly.
“And put in these glorified cages,” she continued without missing a beat. She shook her head, trying to clear it. “Look, let’s get going. I want to know why there’s someone from the reptile habitat in the tiger cage.”
“Right,” Hunter agreed, “alligators and crocodiles are dangerous enough – why go looking for trouble with the big cats.”
“I get the feeling something’s not right around here. Not to mention there are those animal rights activists groups out there, PETA and some others. They can get pretty extreme.” McCall nibbled on her pen thoughtfully. “But I’m telling you Hunter, I’m not letting anyone harm a hair on that tiger’s head without a pretty damn good reason.”
(That’s my partner,) Hunter thought fondly, <protector of children and helpless animals.> He looked down at the ravaged body before them. (Well,) he amended, (maybe not that helpless.)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
They headed for the staff restaurant where everyone had gathered to be questioned. Phil Morgan had explained the situation and the place was humming when Hunter and McCall entered.
It went quiet when they noticed the two detectives; the atmosphere becoming tense.
"Let's start with the reptile keepers," Hunter suggested to McCall. She nodded.
"The reptile keepers can stay, the rest of you can go for now but we might question you later," Hunter announced.
The majority of the people left, five of them remained.
"What can you tell us about Mr. Matthews?" McCall started.
"He was an okay guy, I guess," Rob Sands answered. "A bit of a loner, maybe. He took care of the snakes and they were like children to him."
"He had some at home, he once told me," Kay McAllister pitched in.
"Did he have a problem with anyone here?"
"Not that we know of," Rob said. "Like I said, he kept to himself most of the time."
"Okay, you can go. We might have some more questions later, but we know where to find you."
When the keepers had left, Hunter turned to Phil Morgan, "Did Mr. Matthews have a locker?"
"Yeah, everyone does."
"Can we take a look?"
"Sure." He led the way to the locker room.
John Matthews’s locker didn't provide any clues either so they decided to go to his apartment not far from the Zoo. Outside, a small group of activists had gathered; one of them stepped in front of Hunter and McCall, blocking the way to their car.
"Is it true a keeper was killed by a tiger?" she asked.
"Sorry, we can't give you any information," Hunter said to her as he tried to pass.
"Is the tiger gonna be put down?"
"Not if we can help it," McCall answered, looking the girl straight in the eye.
The girl stepped aside and let them through.
The apartment was clean and tidy. Four snakes were living in special enclosures on one side of the small living room. In the kitchen the dishes were still in the sink, waiting to be cleaned.
The bed in the bed room was made and even the bath room looked clean.
"You can take an example from this Hunter," McCall said to her partner, who was coming towards her from the living room.
"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked teasingly.
"Compared to this, your place looks like a pigsty."
"So, a clean house is a health hazard."
McCall rolled her eyes and started to go through some mail she had found on a desk.
"Hmm, this might be interesting. Looks like had some good contacts with a small animal rights group and here's a letter from someone offering him some kind of snake."
"I've seen something about this snake on TV. It's an endangered one," Hunter said.
"You watching snakes on TV? I thought you were interested in other nature programs." McCall tried to sound surprised.
"Yeah, I do watch the real nature shows sometimes, when it's half time. Let's check this out."
At the office of the Save Our Endangered Animals Group a helpful receptionist told them John was a member but nothing more. He never participated in any activities.
"That’s odd," McCall said to Hunter as they were driving back to the precinct, "From the papers I found, you could say he had a lot of contacts there."
As soon as they came in, Charlie called them into his office and introduced them to Lt. Abbott, "He's from a special task force that investigates the trade in endangered animals. John Matthews or should I say Sgt. Matthews was one of his men."
Hunter and McCall looked at each other, stunned.
"He was a cop?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lt. Abbott, stood at the window, staring out at the setting sun. “John was undercover. Deeply imbedded for almost 4 months now.”
Hunter stared at him. “Undercover? For what? For who?”
“For whom,” McCall corrected, absently.
Hunter rolled his eyes. “Whatever. Look, Lt Abbott, why don’t you spell it out for us. Start at the beginning.” Without waiting to be asked, he sat down in the nearest chair.
McCall followed suit and they both watched the Lt expectantly. He glanced briefly at Charlie.
“Very well.” Abbott turned to face the two detectives, leaning back on the window sill, arms crossed. “I’m sure that you’re aware of PETA.”
Hunter and McCall nodded.
“That is one of numerous organizations that deal solely with animals. You name it – there’s a group for or against it when it comes to animals. Lab testing, for sport, hunt for food, don’t hunt, rite of passage for boys to men, circus and other performing animals. It’s huge. Some organizations are passive, while others violent and extreme.”
“Is that what we’re dealing with?” Hunter asked, angrily, “some kind of animal rights organization?”
“Not exactly,” Lt Abbott answered with a shake of his head. “John was investigating a group of big game hunter wannabes. Mostly weekend warrior types. Rich guys with no better way to spend their money than to go out and shoot animals for sport.”
The disgust McCall felt was clearly evident, as she clamped down on the venomous words she wanted to say.
Lt. Abbott continued, apparently unaware of the effect his words were having. “John had to set ‘em straight when they’d killed a couple of circus lions that they’d stolen then set free to hunt and kill. In shutting them down, John learned about a small but powerful group led by Cameron Thompson. This is the man we believe had John killed. Thompson’s group is very private: they don’t advertise, they don’t demonstrate. They simply take care of business on their agenda.”
“And what might that agenda be?” McCall queried.
Abbott faced her squarely. “To obtain animals for the sole use of turning them into trained killers for various mobs, underworld organizations, assassins, and terrorists. You name it – they’ll provide the animal, which in turn, becomes the instrument of torture then death. Imagine capturing your victim and then putting them in the same room with a hungry alligator. Or sitting tied to a chair while the python slithers over to make a week long meal of you. Or watching a man-eating tiger let loose while you’re in a locked cage with him. Quite effective, wouldn’t you think?”
His heart in his throat, Hunter looked over to see that his partner was indeed imagining such a scenario. Her eyes were closed, her breathing shallow and rapid and her face was pale. He resisted the strong but unprofessional urge to reach out and reassure her.
As though sensing his support, McCall quickly clamped down on the images of terror that Abbott’s words had summoned. She shuddered as a ripple of shock went through her as his words tore at her. She did not want to contemplate what kind of man could be so brutal. At last she found her voice. “So, that’s what happened to John?”
Abbott winced. “Yes.” He paused to reign in his own thoughts, regretting the bluntness, yet knowing the LAPD officers had to know what they were dealing with.
Charlie watched his detectives closely.
Abbott went on. “We didn’t have a lot yet, but obviously someone didn’t like an outsider snooping in on their activities.”
“What have you got on them?” Hunter asked, gruffly. He was furious that such men thought they could operate outside the law. The knowledge that the man who was behind this was still out there burned inside him.
“Precious little, I’m afraid. They’re private men, with the financial means to cover their tracks well. If you insist on continuing your investigation, I would strongly advise you to use extreme caution. I cannot let you underestimate the danger involved.”
Hunter’s gaze turned steely. “I want these guys put out of business. Tell us what you got.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"We know this group operates under the name Save Our Endangered Animals Group. They have an office here in town where you can join them in their ‘so-called activities’. The leader is this Cameron Thompson, I told you about earlier. He provides the animals and several members train them. As far as we know, they don't use humans in these training sessions, just dolls. Whenever an animal is ready they spread the word and people can hire them."
"Well, they know by now we are investigating Sgt. Matthews’ death. We visited the office about an hour ago asking about him. The receptionist was pretty helpful though."
"Yeah, they are nice on the outside but once you get in..."
"One of us going undercover is out of the question now they've seen our faces," McCall remarked.
"Why was Sgt. Matthews working at the Zoo and not with the Animal Group?" Hunter wanted to know.
"All the evidence he had so far pointed at a member of the Group that works at the Zoo, this person is a middleman in the purchase of the animals. Only I don't know who it is; John was supposed to inform me about that later today." Lt. Abbott sighed and ran his hand through his hair.
"Did Mr. Armstrong know Sgt. Matthews was undercover?"
"No, he could be that person we were looking for."
"Hmm," Hunter looked at McCall. "I bet he needs a new reptile keeper, don't you?"
By the way he looked at her, McCall knew what he was thinking about.
"I bet he does," she answered.
Both Charlie and Lt. Abbott looked from one to the other, not knowing what they were talking about.
"Like I said before we can't go undercover ‘cause they know who we are but there is someone who can: Sgt. O'Hearn."
"Give me one good reason why I should send her undercover on a dangerous case like this," Charlie raised his voice, sounding pretty angry.
"More than one reason. First, ‘cause she's a damn good cop who knows what she's getting into. Second, she has an interest in these exotic animals and knows a lot about them. She's perfect for the job." Hunter explained.
"Sounds like the right person to me Charlie," Lt. Abbott agreed with Hunter.
Charlie thought about it for a minute, "You could be right, get her in here."
Sgt. Kitty O'Hearn was briefed about the case and the next day she called the Zoo to ask if they needed a new keeper. She could come for an interview later that afternoon. Provided with a fake ID, diplomas and resume Kitty stepped into Mr. Armstrong's office.
"How did you know we need a new keeper?" was his first question.
"I didn't. I recently moved here after working abroad and you were one of the first on my list of possible employers," she answered with a smile.
"I see you have worked in a comparable job in England."
"Yeah, I worked at a wildlife park as a big cat keeper."
"We are looking for a reptile keeper. What do you know about reptiles?"
"I have two snakes for pets, so I know how to take care of them. As a child I had a turtle."
"Well, I'd like to give you a chance; welcome aboard." Mr. Armstrong reached out to shake hands and Kitty took it. "You can start tomorrow. Be at the back entrance at seven."
"I'll be there. Thank you."
With a huge smile on her face she left the office.
'Step one.' she thought to herself as she got into her car and headed back to the precinct.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hunter and McCall had kept busy themselves, while Kitty was establishing herself undercover. An entire day was spent thoroughly investigating all zoo workers and additional personnel helped with background checks.
By six o’clock that evening, Kitty was deeply immersed in manuals for the care of reptiles and eager to get to work in the morning.
McCall was slumped over her desk, wishing she was up to her neck in bubbles, drinking a glass of chilled wine and listening to quiet music. “So only Morgan and Armstrong don’t have alibis, right?” she mumbled, nearly incoherent.
Hunter rubbed his own bleary eyes. “Yeah.” He was about to stretch out and prop his feet on his desk when his phone rang. With a groan, he reached out to answer it. “Hunter.”
McCall half listened to her partner and when she heard him greet his Uncle Tom, she closed her eyes again and this time drifted off. Smiling, she remembered the first time that she’d met Tom and his driver Jackie Valentine, when she’d mistakenly thought that they were following her and Hunter. She’d pulled a gun on the man who was trying, in a most unorthodox manner, to invite his nephew to Sunday dinner. Despite the mob connections in Hunter’s family, members she’d met had been warm and gracious and she eagerly looked forward to the occasional Sunday get-togethers that she’d been invited to.
In a matter of minutes, she was sound asleep, dreaming of lasagna, cannelloni and manicotti, smothered in rich tomato sauces and thick mozzarella and parmesan cheeses.
“Thanks, Uncle Tom,” Hunter said, suddenly energized. “I’ll wait for your call and thank Jackie for me, will ya?”
He hung up the phone. “Hey – McCall –“ he looked over at his partner expectantly.
She didn’t move.
With a wry grin, he considered tossing a few paper clips her way, but knowing that she was exhausted, he relented. Instead, his expression softened and he stood and stepped quietly behind her. Placing his large hands gently on her shoulders, he squeezed lightly, easing her awake and smoothing out the knotted muscles at his fingertips.
She came to with a groan.
“Come on, partner – no sleeping on the job,” he teased, as she slowly pushed herself up.
“Isn’t it quitting time yet?” she murmured hopefully.
“Yep. And I suggest that you get a good night’s sleep, ‘cause tomorrow we’re gonna be busy.” He stopped his massage, to her chagrin and picked up his coat.
McCall cocked an inquiring eyebrow. “Why – what’s going on?”
“Uncle Tom and Jackie know someone who’s used Cameron Thompson’s trained animals. They’re going to try and arrange a meeting for us.”
McCall sat up straighter with a surge of adrenalin. “So while Kitty’s working the zoo angle – “
“We’ll be going straight to the heart of the matter.” Hunter supplied. “Have this guy lead us to Thompson. We might be able to go undercover ourselves – as potential clients. I told you, DeeDee – I want this Thompson.”
McCall’s expression hardened. “You and me both, partner. Tell Uncle Tom to name the time – name the place.”
Hunter grinned. “You got it.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"He'll try and make this meeting happen tomorrow," Hunter told her after he had hung up.
"Great, now I can go home and get some sleep."
"You look pretty tired, wanna ride?"
"No thanks, I'll manage. See you in the morning."
On the way home McCall was thinking about that bubble bath, but going straight to her warm bed was also very tempting.
By the time she put the key in the lock of her front door she hadn't decided. After closing the door behind her, McCall switched on the first light she came across in the living room. Her eye settled on the fish tank: two fish were floating on the water; both dead and after a quick count, she noticed one was missing.
With her gun drawn she started on a search through the house for any intruders.
'Did they find out where I live and kill my fish as some kind of warning.' she thought.
As she returned to the living room, something red flashed by her into the kitchen. It stopped in front of the back door.
"Sam, you rascal! Have you been fishing in my tank? Don’t they feed you next door!"
Seeing the frightened neighbor’s cat made it all very clear:
"I must have left a window open. Come here you, I'll take you home."
Sam was feeling pretty ashamed of himself when McCall shouted at him like that but as soon as she picked him up he started to purr.
"I am so sorry about this, how can I make it up to you?" her neighbor asked, as she returned Sam and explained what he had done.
"It was my own fault too; I should have closed that window before leaving for work. He just did what comes naturally to him. Don't worry about it."
"I'll keep a closer eye on him. Thanks for bringing him home."
"That's okay, bye."
McCall returned to her house and decided to take a rain check on that bubble bath and take a quick shower instead.
Meanwhile Kitty had enough of her studying, she almost fell asleep on her books. Wanting to be fit in the morning she turned in.
Just before seven she arrived at the Zoo's back entrance, a couple of keepers were already there waiting to be let in.
"Hey a new face, welcome aboard. I'm Tim and I take care of the giraffes and zebra's."
"Hi, I'm Kitty Jones. I'm the new reptile keeper."
"Oh, so you’re replacing the guy that got eaten by a tiger."
"You’re joking right?" she replied trying to sound surprised.
"No, he's not," a girl answered. "Hi, I'm Kay McAllister. I'll be working with you until you're settled in."
"Nice to meet you. When did this happen?"
"Earlier this week."
"Wow, your boss is fast in hiring new people."
The door opened and Kitty followed Kay to the locker room, "This is your locker, you can put your personal stuff in here."
She did and put the key on the key ring she found in the locker.
"Ready?" Kay wanted to know.
"Sure am."
"Okay, follow me."
At around eight, Hunter was the first to walk into the squad room; his Uncle Tom had promised to call him at nine with news about the meeting.
One by one, the other officers came in. Charlie was surprised to see Hunter so early, "Don't get too obsessed with this case will you." he warned.
"Too late, Charlie: I already am." he smiled.
Not long after, his partner walked in, still looking tired.
"Bad night?"
"You don't want to know. My neighbor’s cat kept me awake half the night with his howling. I caught him fishing in my fish tank earlier and this was his way to thank me for returning him home."
"Didn't you throw something at him?"
"My neighbor grabbed him before I could and grounded him for the rest of the week. Did Kitty start her new job yet?" she said, changing the subject.
"Yeah, she should report in at around lunch time and Uncle Tom will call around nine with hopefully some good news about the meeting."
"We could do with some good news right now."
"We also have to think about a story to tell these people when we meet them."
"I know; that shouldn't be too difficult."
Their conversation was cut short by Hunter's phone ringing.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hunter picked up the phone before it could ring twice. “Hunter.”
“Hey, Hunter, it’s Jackie. Your uncle got called away and I told him I’d take care of this since I know Martin and he trusts me.”
“Thanks, Jackie,” Hunter replied. “So, will he talk to us?”
“He isn’t too happy about it,” Jackie admitted, ruefully. “I had to call in a couple of favors and make a couple of promises.”
(Here it comes,) Hunter thought. “What’s the deal?”
“Look, he’s not proud of the fact that he dealt with Thompson, okay? And he knows he broke probably twenty different laws –“
Hunter saw immediately where Jackie was headed and he quickly cut him off. “Jackie – tell him we’re not going after him. It’s Thompson we want: only Thompson. We won’t involve him at all if he’ll just lead us to this guy.”
“Yeah, well, that should work.”
“And you tell him,” Hunter went on, “that I have no intention of letting Thompson know where we got our information. Good enough?”
Jackie thought a moment. “Should be. He wants to meet at St. Catherine’s.”
Hunter did a double take. “A church?”
McCall looked up from the reports she was reading, eyebrows raised in surprise. Hunter caught her eye then shook his head. ‘Later,’ he mouthed.
She nodded and went back to her coffee, keeping a part of her attention on the conversation.
“Why a church?” Hunter asked, curious.
Jackie sighed. “I’m telling you, this Thompson is bad news. Martin goes to church every day now, trying to make up for what he did.
“What did he do?” Hunter felt compelled to ask.
“I’ll let him tell you,” Jackie answered. “Meet me in two hours.”
“Right.” Hunter hung up the phone, staring across the room, wondering about Martin and what had driven him to utilize the services of someone like Cameron Thompson.
“Earth to Hunter! Anyone home?”
The sound of his partner’s voice snapped him back and he looked over at her. “Sorry,” he said, a sheepish grin.
“So,” she prompted. “Don’t keep me in suspense.”
“We’re gonna meet a guy named Martin at St. Catherine’s. Apparently, the guy goes there every day trying to ease his conscience.”
“Really. I heard we’re promising him immunity.”
Hunter nodded. “Got my eye on the big prize, partner.”
McCall grinned. “Oh, before I forget: Kitty had a free moment and checked in early. She’s okay and her cover’s good. I told her about the lack of alibis on Morgan and Armstrong and she’ll do some digging.”
Just after 11:00, McCall pulled into the parking lot of St. Catherine’s Catholic Church. She followed Hunter inside and when she spotted Jackie to their left, she reached out to tap her partner on the shoulder. “Hunter, over there,” she whispered, unconsciously using her ‘church’ voice. She felt irreverent using her normal speaking voice in any church.
Jackie nodded a greeting and took them through an unmarked door and up a long flight of stairs to the choir loft. A huge organ was the centerpiece and the risers fanned out in a large semicircle behind. A man in a dark suit sat on the organ bench watching them warily.
“Martin, this is Sgt Hunter, my boss’ nephew,” Jackie said, his voice low, but not quite a whisper. “And his partner, Sgt McCall.”
“This is just between us,” Martin stated firmly.
“I promise,” Hunter affirmed. “We’re only after Thompson.”
Martin eyed the two detectives suspiciously. They met his gaze without flinching.
His eyes left theirs to stare at the altar below. ”Maybe if I help you get this guy; I can make things square.”
Hunter and McCall exchanged glances.
“Why don’t you tell us about it, Martin?” Hunter asked, as he and McCall took a seat on the middle riser. Jackie remained standing, guarding the door.
Martin licked his lips. “Yeah, okay.” He paused to gather his thoughts.
McCall pulled out her notebook and pen to take down notes. Martin didn’t seem to notice.
“About two years ago, my son was diagnosed with leukemia. Out of the blue: healthy kid one day, on death’s door the next. He went through it all: chemo, radiation, all the drugs. Just kept getting sicker. They said he needed a bone marrow transplant. I thought it would be simple, you know. Me or my wife could donate. Turns out we didn’t match, ‘cause he’s got a really rare type. We looked everywhere, asked everyone, put him on every list out there. Nothing, ‘til one day we hear about this guy. Perfect match. Thought we had it made.”
Martin stopped, his expression pained as he relived it all.
“What happened, Martin?” McCall asked, quietly.
“The guy refused,” Martin answered, his tone bitter. “Flat out refused. Said it was against his religion. I went nuts. Offered him more money than I could probably get, anything, if he would just save my son’s life.”
The two detectives grew sympathetic. It was becoming clear why Martin had become so desperate.
He went on. “Thompson told me he would use one of his animals to persuade the guy to change his mind. Change his religion, is what he said.” He looked at Hunter and McCall. “You want to know how?”
“Yes,” they said, simultaneously and reluctantly.
Martin shook his head and returned his gaze to the altar. “He took the guy’s wife and put her in a tank with a bunch of piranhas.”
McCall gasped in horror as Hunter’s face displayed his own revulsion.
Martin wasn’t done. “Know what Thompson told me?” Without waiting for an answer, he went on. “Told me he wouldn’t charge me for the service, since the piranhas didn’t have to be trained to do what comes naturally.”
(Oh my God,) McCall thought, realizing just what kind of monster they were going after.
“Martin,” Hunter said, softly, “what about your son?”
Martin buried his face in his hands. “It was too late and so Thompson killed the guy.”
Hunter rubbed a hand across his forehead, closing his eyes in an attempt to comprehend. “We’re going to get Thompson, Martin. We need your help. Tell us how to find him.”
~~~~~~~~~~
"Well, the first time we met was in his office."
"Is this the office of the Save Our Endangered Animals Group?" McCall interrupted.
"Yeah. I thought it was strange at first; this man and an animal rights group, but then I realized it's a perfect cover."
"And after the meeting?"
"He contacted me every time."
"You never got a phone number or anything else from him?" Hunter asked to get a clear picture.
"No, never; it was just that one meeting in the office."
"How did you come to know about him?"
"I took my son to the Zoo one day to take his mind off things and one of the reptile keepers showed us around. I told her the whole story and she said she knew someone who might be able to help out. We left our phone number and a few days later, Thompson contacted us."
"Do you remember the keeper’s name?"
"Sure. It was Kay."
"Thanks Martin. If there's anything else you think of that might help us or if you need anything from us, don't hesitate to call," Hunter handed him his card.
"Thank you."
The three of them left the church and walked towards their cars.
"This Thompson is a lot smarter then I expected," Hunter sighed.
"Is there a problem?" Jackie asked him.
"We were at this office yesterday as police officers. We can't show up there as potential clients," Hunter explained.
"We have to get a hold of Kitty; she’s working with Kay McAllister," McCall reminded him.
"She could be that Zoo connection we’re looking for."
"What about her alibi for the time Matthews was murdered?"
"She said she was at a party; a lot of people saw her but not everyone. At parties with a lot of people you can be seen and disappear without anyone noticing you have gone."
Hunter looked at his partner and then to Jackie, "Why didn't I think of that? You’re so right. A busy party is the perfect alibi."
"Now, we have to contact Kitty somehow, without blowing her cover."
"Let's go to the Zoo; seeing us there will make her contact us if she's able."
After thanking Jackie for his help, they drove to the Zoo.
"Officers, how nice to see you again. Any progress in the investigation?" Mr. Armstrong wanted to know.
"Getting there. I see you've hired a new one already?" Hunter said.
"The work doesn't stop Sgt: you can't shut down an animal."
"No you can't. We should get the autopsy report on Mr. Matthews later today, and then we'll know the cause of death."
"You will let me know as soon as you get the report I assume? So I can take the necessary actions?"
"You mean kill the tiger," McCall pitched in with anger in her voice.
"I told you it depends on the result of the autopsy."
"We'll let you know," Hunter said, throwing McCall a look that made her head for the door, ready to leave.
Outside they ran into Kitty, but with Kay close by she couldn't talk. She knew something was up, like McCall had predicted, and had to contact them as soon as possible.
Back at the precinct a message was waiting on Hunter's desk.
"It's from Barney, he wants to see us right away. He must have found something important."
"Let's go then," McCall grabbed her purse and headed for the elevator.
In the car she took the radio, "L56 to control."
"Go ahead L56."
"When Sgt O'Hearn calls in, could you patch her through?"
"Roger L56."
"L56 out."
Hunter glanced at his partner, "Kitty will manage."
"I know, but this Kay could be capable of anything."
At the morgue, Barney was waiting for them,
"What did you find Barney?" McCall asked.
"I thought you needed to know that your guy was already dead when he was put into the tiger enclosure. Cause of death was a single shot through the head but it was so badly damaged by the tiger that you couldn't have spotted the bullet wound."
"Anything else?"
"The bullet was still in the brain. It's a .22."
"Thanks for letting us know Barney," Hunter said before they left the morgue.
"L56 come in, L56 come in please," the radio was calling out.
McCall reached through the window to pick up the receiver, "This is 56."
"I have Sgt. O'Hearn on tack two."
"Okay put her through. Hey, Kitty."
"Hey, what's up? You two looked serious."
"Kay McAllister is in on it. The guy we met today named her as the person who set up the meeting between him and Thompson."
"I thought there was something about her; she did have an alibi though."
"Not a real solid one, she was at a busy party that night and could have slipped out and returned unseen."
"Hmm, I'll dig a little further then. Oh, Armstrong's alibi checks out, I'm still working on Phil Morgan's."
"Good work. By the way, Matthews was already dead when the tiger got a bite out of him. He was shot with a .22."
"Interesting. I'll check out if someone here got a hold of a .22."
"I had the same idea."
"Gotta go now: end of my break. Talk to you later."
"Okay, be careful," she put down the receiver and turned to Hunter, "I have a bad feeling about this."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kay McAllister waited quietly until she heard Kitty leave and the outer office door close before hanging up the receiver. She closed her eyes and took a slow deep breath in an attempt to quiet her rage that she felt building inside as she listened in on Kitty’s conversation. It was pure luck that she had been in the office when Kitty called from the deserted secretary’s desk, thinking she was alone. She lifted the receiver back up and began to dial.
Cameron Thompson answered on the first ring. “Why are you calling me?” he asked by way of greeting.
“Look, Cameron, don’t you start with me. We’re not married anymore,” she hissed.
“Fine,” he growled. “What do you want?”
“I thought that you’d want to know how badly your protégé screwed this up.”
“What are you talking about, Kay? Phil eliminated the Matthews threat before he could link me to anyone at the Zoo; including you.”
Kay blew out an exasperated sigh. “He did a damn sloppy job, Cameron, and questions are being asked. And someone that I referred to you gave my name to the police. There are two detectives hot on the trail and they’ve got another here posing as a reptile keeper.”
“What?!”
“That idiot, Phil, served Matthews to the tigers after they’d been fed. There was plenty left for an autopsy. Oh, and they found the 22 slug which means they are now looking for the gun.”
She took satisfaction in listening to Cameron’s fury erupt. “I told you that you should have let me handle it,” she goaded him.
“Shut up!” he barked. “Let me think.”
Kay pursed her lips, gripping the receiver tightly. She had to fight not to comment further.
“Where’s the gun?” Cameron finally asked.
It sounded to Kay like he was speaking with his teeth clenched. “Phil’s got it. And before you ask, I already told him to get rid of it. Whether or not he took my advice is unknown at this time.’
“Enough. We have to get this under control.”
“Then I suggest you get Phil back on a leash and I’ll take care of the bigger problem. I’ll –“
“No,” Cameron cut her off. “Just come out here. I’ll call Phil to handle the problem at the Zoo. And don’t argue with me,” he added snidely.
Kay bit her tongue. She knew Cameron was right. Things were unraveling but she had no intention of going down for this. Divorcing him had been the first step in the right direction. Now she needed to get through this and get out.
“Fine. I’m on my way. But after this, I’m done. Finished. And don’t you dare argue with me!” Kay slammed down the receiver, her heart pounding in her chest.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After grabbing a late lunch, Hunter and McCall returned to the station to update Charlie on theirs and Kitty’s progress.
McCall dropped her purse into her desk drawer, while Hunter quickly glanced around for any new messages.
“Oh!”
Hunter looked up at his partner’s startled exclamation. “What’s wrong?”
McCall shook her head. “I must be more tired than I thought. I completely forgot about the poor tiger in quarantine.” She hastily pulled out Armstrong’s business card. “I can’t wait to let this guy know he almost killed an innocent animal.”
Hunter sat down with a grin. (This is gonna be good,) he thought, anticipating the satisfaction he knew his partner felt and would convey. (In a most professional way, of course) he added mentally, with a smirk.
He listened to her inform Armstrong that there was undeniable evidence that John Matthews had been killed by a bullet to the head and placed in the tiger cage after he had died. She expected to have the tiger released immediately from quarantine, and did he have any questions.
Hunter smothered a laugh when it became apparent that Mr. Armstrong had no questions.
“We’ll be in touch, Mr. Armstrong. Obviously this investigation is far from over,” McCall stated aloofly, then hung up the phone.
She looked up at her partner. “Not too bitchy, right, Hunter?”
“Just right, McCall,” he chuckled. “Come on, Charlie’s waiting.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`
“So Phil and Kay are at the top of the suspect list,” Charlie mused, reaching for his bottle of Maalox. “I’m going to send back up for O’hearn; just to be on the safe side.”
McCall breathed a quiet sigh of relief, while Charlie made the call.
“But we still have to figure out how to get in with this Thompson creep,” Hunter said, when their boss finished assigning an officer to back up Kitty. “I think Kitty is too close - it’s too soon. I was really hoping our contact had another way in without using the Zoo.”
Further conversation was halted by the ringing of the telephone. Charlie snatched it up. “Devane.”
Hunter took the opportunity to glance over at his partner, staring absently out the window, her eyes at half-mast. He reached out and placed a hand on hers. “You okay?” he whispered.
She turned to him and smiled at his concern. “I’m fine –“
“Hunter. McCall.”
They looked up at Charlie. “There’s an urgent call from a woman who says that she’s Matthews’ girlfriend and she has some important information. The operator says she sounds pretty upset.”
McCall turned to her partner, silently asking. He nodded once, feeling she would have better luck with a woman who’d just lost someone she cared about.
McCall took the phone. “This is Sgt McCall. Who is this, please?”
“My – my name is Linda Mitchell. Are – are you working on Johnny’s case?”
It was hard for McCall to understand the distraught woman between the sniffling and tears. “Do you mean John Matthews?”
“Yes.”
“Yes, my partner and I are in charge of the investigation. Do you know something that can help us find out what happened?” She resisted the urge to cross her fingers.
Hunter leaned over to try and hear and McCall obligingly tilted the receiver towards him.
“Johnny, he – he told me if anything ever happened to him – I – I was supposed to – to give this en – envelope to the police. I – I think it’s got a video in it.”
(Thank God.) McCall thought. This could be the break they needed. “Can you bring it to the station?” she asked, trying to keep her voice from betraying the elation she felt.
“No!!” Linda cried out.
McCall winced and jerked the phone away. “Linda – take it easy,” she soothed. “What’s wrong? Why can’t you come here?”
“Please – please,” she sobbed, “I’m afraid – I – I can’t be seen there – please. He – he told me what – what –“
“Okay, okay, Linda.” McCall kept her voice low and composed. “Do you want us to meet you someplace? Somewhere you’ll feel safe.” McCall felt like she’d promise anything to get her hands on any evidence to nail Thompson.
She could feel Hunter hovering over her and knew that he felt the same way.
“Come on, Linda. Name the place. It’ll just be us.”
“I – I don’t know,” the woman sobbed. “I’m so scared. What – what about after?”
“We’ll protect you, Linda. I promise. Whatever it takes.”
McCall thought she was about to start begging. Hunter put his arm around her; encouraging her, steadying her. She took a quiet breath and dug in her heels.
“Linda. Help us stop this guy. Don’t let him get away with this. We can’t bring John back, but we won’t let his death go unpunished. Tell us where we can meet you.” She glanced up at Hunter.
(Was it enough?) Her eyes asked.
Hunter nodded, willing it to be so.
McCall held her breath, listening to Linda’s crying. Finally, reluctantly, she agreed to meet them. McCall nearly went limp with relief and was glad she was already sitting down. Hunter pulled out a pen and Charlie immediately handed over a pad of paper. She wrote down the directions Linda gave her.
Charlie urged caution.
“Don’t worry, Charlie. This guy is going down. Great job, McCall. You ready?”
Adrenalin banished all signs of fatigue and McCall leapt to her feet with a satisfied grin on her face. “Let’s go.”
Two hours later, they were deep in the Santa Monica Mountains, just outside Topanga State Park. After driving on unpaved, unmarked roads to a clearing, they spotted the jeep Linda had told them to look out for. An electric fence spread out before them as far as the eye could see.
Hunter stopped the car. The two detectives looked around, seeing just how isolated they were.
“There she is,” Hunter said, unable to see clearly through the jeep’s tinted glass. He stopped the car and got out, followed by McCall.
The silence was broken by the deafening blast of a shotgun from behind and the rear tire next to Hunter exploded. With startled cries, they threw themselves away from the car, but really had no place to go except towards the jeep. The occupant stayed put. Hunter had his gun out but no target presented itself.
Before they could react further, another shot rang out and the other rear tire was destroyed. McCall’s gun was also drawn and she looked about frantically for the shooter.
For a moment, neither moved. When it became obvious that the shooting was over, a disembodied voice rang out.
“Drop your weapons. Immediately.”
The door to the jeep opened. “I suggest you do as he says.”
Hunter and McCall turned to find themselves face to face with Kay McAllister. She had a gun pointed at them. They dropped their guns. She smiled. “Come on out, Cameron,” she called out to the trees behind her, “ We have guests.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~