Page 52 of Girl, Bound

Draven nodded so hardElla thought his head might fall off. ‘Sure, yeah, absolutely. Anything youneed. Mi casa es su casa, right?’

‘Something like that,’Ripley said.

Ella glanced around,taking it all in. Rows of animal sedatives, all neatly in line, all accountedfor. The same went for the syringes in boxes nearby. She needed to go throughDraven’s list and CCTV footage with a fine-tooth comb. It was possible that theirkiller had stolen some of these sedatives months, maybe years ago, long beforethe inventory was matched up.

Ripley nudged Ella.The universal sign that their time there was over. They had what they came for,which was a steaming pile of nothing.

But there was stillone more card to play, one more ace up her sleeve.

They made their wayout, Hawthorne behind them, muttering something about cooperation and civicduty. Ella thanked him for his help and told him they'd be in touch.

Outside, Ripley asked,‘Ready to hit the zoo?’

‘Where the wild thingsare.’

‘Let’s hope so.’

In the car, Ellapunched the gas. They had a lead, thin and frayed as it was. And come hell orhigh water, she was gonna follow it to the bitter end.

CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN

The Exotic Zoo loomedahead like a fever dream made real. According to Ella’s quick search, it wasthe kind of place that made PETA weep and Darwin roll in his grave - averitable menagerie of creatures that had no business being within a hundredmiles of each other, let alone sharing a cage.

Ella pulled into thegravel lot, the crunch of tires on stone sounding like bones snapping. She cutthe engine and sat for a moment, staring at the tacky entrance sign with amixture of disgust and morbid fascination.

‘Christ on a cracker,’Ripley muttered, her lip curling. ‘It's like someone took a pet store and acarnival and smashed them together.’

Ella couldn't arguewith that. The place had all the charm of a three-dollar hooker - cheap, gaudy,and likely to leave a rash in uncomfortable places.

She hauled herself outof the car, the heat hitting her like a physical force. The air was thick withthe stench of something earthy, underlaid with a sickly-sweet odor that mighthave been cotton candy or urine. It was hard to tell.

They pushed throughthe turnstile, Ella flashing her badge at the pimply kid manning the ticketbooth. He took one look at the shiny gold shield and practically fell overhimself to wave them through, stammering something about the manager's officebeing straight ahead.

Inside, the Exotic Zoowas a cacophony of contrasting sounds and cries. Screeching birds, the rattleof cages and the snap of a whip. Ella felt like she'd stepped into the ninthcircle of hell. A place where the damned went to gawk at the suffering of theinnocent.

But she wasn't here tophilosophize about animal rights. She had a job to do and a badge that said shecould go wherever she needed to. So she strode up to the reception desk, arickety affair manned by a perky blonde who looked like she'd rather beanywhere else.

‘Hi, we’re with theFBI. We need to speak to the person in charge.’

The blonde blinked,her gum-snapping rhythm faltering. ‘FBI? What for?’

‘We’re working withthe Millhaven PD on an ongoing investigation.’

‘The body bag thing?’the girl asked, mouth open an inch too much.

‘Maybe. Is the owneror manager around?’

‘Oh, um. Sure. Just asec.’

She scurried off,disappearing behind a beaded curtain that looked like it had been lifted from abrothel. Ella drummed her fingers on the desk, impatience crackling through herveins like electricity.

A moment later, thecurtain parted and a woman stepped out. Young, maybe mid-twenties, with a maneof dark hair and eyes that were a little too wide, a little too bright. She hadthe look of a startled fawn, all trembling limbs and rapid heartbeat.

‘Officers?’ she said,her voice barely above a whisper. ‘I'm Ava Schofield. How can I help you?’

Ella gave her aonce-over, taking in the dirt-smudged khakis and sweat-stained polo shirt. Notexactly the picture of professionalism, but then again, this place wasn'twinning any awards for employee of the month.

‘Miss Schofield, we’reinvesting a string of homicides in the area. We have reason to believe thatanimal sedatives were involved in the crimes, so we’re looking into any placein town where our offender might have been able to access such things.’

---