That Thing At the Zoo - 01 Read Online Free Page A

when struck by the vehicle. The victim of the hit-and-run then fled the scene. The victim of the assault declined comment but did seek first aid at Grady Hospital for a laceration to her throat.” She shifted back towards me on the screen. “What do you get from that?”
    “Not as much as I hoped.” Actually, I got nothing from that. A lot of times in my business hunches pay off. I deal with supernatural shit that skews any chance of coincidence or happenstance to the remotest possibility. Oftentimes, when there is a coincidence in my line of work it isn’t a coincidence at all, and when you get a hunch, it can mean the difference between life and death. So you play them, big or small, and pray for the best.
    The door behind me opened up slowly, silent on oiled hinges. I saw it reflected on the computer screen, felt the change in the room’s air pressure. I turned, leaning back so that Kat and Father Mulcahy could watch on the webcam without me blocking their view. My fingertips rested lightly on the grip of the Desert Eagle under my arm.
    Jimmy the zookeeper stepped into the room.
    “We’re closed now and all the guests are off-premises. Me and the other zookeepers have corralled the animals into lockdown like you wanted.”
    “Thank you, Jimmy. What staff is still here?”
    “Just me, Dr. Critter, and Mr. Beauregard.”
    I nodded. “Y’all get the hell gone and leave me the keys to the enclosures on the western side of the zoo. I’ll be here when you come in tomorrow.”
    Jimmy the zookeeper took off his hat and folded it in his hands. His long hair was plastered to his skull despite the air conditioning. He shuffled side to side, watching his feet as he did. “I don’t think Dr. Critter or Mr. Beauregard are planning to leave you here alone, and I was wondering if you would let me help.”
    I studied him. He was thin, wiry, and cut from good, old Georgia redneck stock. Rednecks are part of the South, and even when they don’t look like much, they usually turn out to be tough as leather and full of skills that save your ass. I love rednecks. Hell, to a certain extent, I am one.
    I looked him over with a squinted eye. “You ever hunt, Jimmy?”
    His face turned up and cracked into that Copenhagen grin. “O’course. Grew up huntin’ and fishin’, plus I know this zoo like the back of my hand.”
    “Alright, sold.” I gave him my best serious-business stare. “On one condition. You do exactly what I say when I say it. If you can’t abide by that, then you need to go home now, ’cause you’ll just be in the way.”
    “I have seen a lot in my time on this here earth, but I ain’t never seen anything like was done to those poor animals.” His eyes burned with sincerity. “I’ll listen; you don’t have to worry about me.”
    I looked at him. This was probably a mistake, but I could see he was determined to help. If I sent him away, he’d just sneak back in and try to help anyways. Better to keep him close and keep an eye on him. I looked at my watch. It was less than an hour from sunset. “Alright. Go change into comfortable clothes and tell Critter and Beauregard to stay in this building.”
    He grinned at me. “Better than that, I’ll lock them in.” With that he spun and slipped out the door. Turning back to the computer I found Father Mulcahy on screen.
    “Do you need me to come down there?”
    “Nahhh, I got Jimmy the zookeeper for backup. We can handle it.”
    It was going to be a long night.

5
     
    Jimmy was walking around my car, jaw slung down, fingertips gently gliding across the black-painted fender. She’s a 1966 Mercury Comet Cyclone GT and she is a beauty. She’s not flashy, shaking her ass to every wannabe hot-rodder on the strip. Instead she was low key, as low key as a classic musclecar could be anyways. Stocky and built for power, but but touched with the grace of a predator, sitting low to the road like a great white shark. I let Jimmy admire her while I walked to the