Read Online The Scent of Blood by Tanya Landman - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Tanya Landman
Ads: Link
throwing them out of their pushchairs before their parents notice. It’s not remotely unusual to see a toddler’s sandal or trainer all on its own.
But this wasn’t a kid’s shoe. It was an adult’s. Black leather. Laces. A quality shoe; the kind that wouldn’t get lost easily or by accident. And it was excessively shiny. I had a horrible feeling that I’d seen that shoe somewhere before.
Just then, a keeper came banging through the door marked S TAFF O NLY , talking angrily into his walkie-talkie.
“Is Mark with you?” he demanded.
“No,” Kylie’s voice crackled faintly back. She sounded close to tears. “He was supposed to be checking the monkey’s abscess first thing. His bag’s here but he’s gone and vanished on me.”
“If you see him, tell him to hurry up. I’ve got a wallaby that needs looking at. I’ve been waiting ages for him.”
I looked at the shoe again and then at the crocodile. Its stomach seemed tight as a drum; its smile really very self-satisfied. Just how big a breakfast had it eaten?
Mark: the vet whose name Mr Monkton had forgotten at the staff party. April had been looking for him. Kylie had said he’d vanished. I began to suspect that Graham and I had just found him.
the writing on the wall
S.M . VENGEANCE BRINGS FREEDOM!
The words were daubed in red paint on the far side of the crocodile enclosure. Graham and I hadn’t been able to see them where we’d been standing, but right after we’d called the police and they’d arrived in a storm of blue flashing lights and screaming sirens, Inspector Murray had spotted them straight away.
April had come hurrying back from the office and practically collapsed on the path when Inspector Murray pointed the writing out to her. Her grief seemed to be one hundred per cent genuine. Or perhaps she was a very good actress.
Our gruesome discovery meant that Mum had to be called away once again so that Inspector Murray could interview us in a corner of the hotel lobby. She’d been immersed in a vat of Volcanic Mud when they plucked her out of the spa, and by the time the policeman had finished with us it had pretty much hardened. She was cracking up. Literally.
“You two are to stay right here in the hotel,” she told us as soon as Inspector Murray had left. “Go upstairs and pack your stuff. Don’t you dare set a foot outside – it’s far too dangerous. The second I’ve finished this treatment, we’re leaving. This has been the most stressful weekend of my life.” She headed back to the spa, leaving a trail of small, muddy chunks across the polished wooden floor. The stuff was so thick, I didn’t think it would be coming off any time soon.
I reckoned we had about an hour before we’d be dragged away from the zoo. “S.M.,” I said to Graham after Mum had disappeared through the doors. “I suppose it all comes down to him. Which knocks the April theory on the head. Unless she’s doing it to mislead the police.”
“That’s a strong possibility,” said Graham. “Although I can’t understand why she’d want to kill the vet. I just don’t see where he fits in.”
“Vengeance brings freedom,”
I murmured. “Freedom for whom? Not for anyone who knew Sandy. The keepers all looked miserable this morning. Do you reckon the protesters outside might have had something to do with it?”
“Motive. Means. Opportunity,” observed Graham. “That’s what we have to consider. The protesters would certainly have the motive. But as to the means and the opportunity, I’m not so sure.”
“This place is open to the public. It’s not like you could tell the difference between a protester and anyone else unless they were carrying a placard.”
“True. But how could they have killed Mr Monkton? That happened during the staff party – the site was closed to everyone apart from them and the hotel guests.”
I considered. “It’s a big place. Perhaps someone came in during the day and hid until after closing
But this wasn’t a kid’s shoe. It was an adult’s. Black leather. Laces. A quality shoe; the kind that wouldn’t get lost easily or by accident. And it was excessively shiny. I had a horrible feeling that I’d seen that shoe somewhere before.
Just then, a keeper came banging through the door marked S TAFF O NLY , talking angrily into his walkie-talkie.
“Is Mark with you?” he demanded.
“No,” Kylie’s voice crackled faintly back. She sounded close to tears. “He was supposed to be checking the monkey’s abscess first thing. His bag’s here but he’s gone and vanished on me.”
“If you see him, tell him to hurry up. I’ve got a wallaby that needs looking at. I’ve been waiting ages for him.”
I looked at the shoe again and then at the crocodile. Its stomach seemed tight as a drum; its smile really very self-satisfied. Just how big a breakfast had it eaten?
Mark: the vet whose name Mr Monkton had forgotten at the staff party. April had been looking for him. Kylie had said he’d vanished. I began to suspect that Graham and I had just found him.
the writing on the wall
S.M . VENGEANCE BRINGS FREEDOM!
The words were daubed in red paint on the far side of the crocodile enclosure. Graham and I hadn’t been able to see them where we’d been standing, but right after we’d called the police and they’d arrived in a storm of blue flashing lights and screaming sirens, Inspector Murray had spotted them straight away.
April had come hurrying back from the office and practically collapsed on the path when Inspector Murray pointed the writing out to her. Her grief seemed to be one hundred per cent genuine. Or perhaps she was a very good actress.
Our gruesome discovery meant that Mum had to be called away once again so that Inspector Murray could interview us in a corner of the hotel lobby. She’d been immersed in a vat of Volcanic Mud when they plucked her out of the spa, and by the time the policeman had finished with us it had pretty much hardened. She was cracking up. Literally.
“You two are to stay right here in the hotel,” she told us as soon as Inspector Murray had left. “Go upstairs and pack your stuff. Don’t you dare set a foot outside – it’s far too dangerous. The second I’ve finished this treatment, we’re leaving. This has been the most stressful weekend of my life.” She headed back to the spa, leaving a trail of small, muddy chunks across the polished wooden floor. The stuff was so thick, I didn’t think it would be coming off any time soon.
I reckoned we had about an hour before we’d be dragged away from the zoo. “S.M.,” I said to Graham after Mum had disappeared through the doors. “I suppose it all comes down to him. Which knocks the April theory on the head. Unless she’s doing it to mislead the police.”
“That’s a strong possibility,” said Graham. “Although I can’t understand why she’d want to kill the vet. I just don’t see where he fits in.”
“Vengeance brings freedom,”
I murmured. “Freedom for whom? Not for anyone who knew Sandy. The keepers all looked miserable this morning. Do you reckon the protesters outside might have had something to do with it?”
“Motive. Means. Opportunity,” observed Graham. “That’s what we have to consider. The protesters would certainly have the motive. But as to the means and the opportunity, I’m not so sure.”
“This place is open to the public. It’s not like you could tell the difference between a protester and anyone else unless they were carrying a placard.”
“True. But how could they have killed Mr Monkton? That happened during the staff party – the site was closed to everyone apart from them and the hotel guests.”
I considered. “It’s a big place. Perhaps someone came in during the day and hid until after closing
Similar Books
