Page 105 of Tiger Queen

“We got some answers,” Anthony added. “But they’re not very satisfying. I think I’m still processing everything that happened.”

Mary Beth joined us. “I was just telling Rachel that you’re probably in shock. It’ll wear off in a couple of hours, or days, or even weeks. Give it some time.”

“He’s not the only one who was lying to us,” Jake said coldly.

Mary Beth responded with a laugh. “Don’t be silly. You guys are lucky I was keeping an eye on everything. If I had not been in my trailer and heard the monster truck drive off, with you guys right behind, who knows what would have happened?”

“I, for one, am grateful,” Anthony said. “Thanks for saving our butts.”

A new officer came through the front door with a big metal box in his arms. He deposited it on the counter and nodded to Mary Beth. “Judge signed off on the warrant. We’ve got Carlos Vaquero’s safety deposit box.”

“What a stupid fake name,” David muttered.

Mary Beth opened the box and frowned. “It’s empty. Just this piece of paper…”

She trailed off as she read it. Then she glanced in my direction.

“What?” I asked.

Mary Beth smiled ruefully. “I think this is the solution to your big problem.”

I took the piece of paper.

LAND REGISTRATION COMMISSION

TRANSFER CERTIFICATE OF TITLE No. 24229

A parcel of land (Lot No. 1464) within Cumberland County, North Carolina, United States, approximating seven thousand and eight-one acres, is hereby granted to CARL JOSEPH HAINES.

“It’s a land title,” Mary Beth said as I kept reading. “For the land surrounding the zoo.”

David shouldered next to me and skimmed the page. “Son of a bitch. Dad owned the land all along!”

Anthony’s jaw dropped. “That land runs all the way around the east side of Blue Lake. Forests, and fields, and hills. Dad used to ride his monster truck on the land. We always assumed he was trespassing…”

“But why would he own this?” I asked.

“Who knows?” Jake said. “Dad’s full of secrets.”

David glanced at Mary Beth. “You said this was the solution to Rachel’s problem. What did you mean?”

Mary Beth looked at me.

My mind raced. There were so many possibilities now. Especially with the funds we had from GoFundMe.

“We can do it,” I said, holding up the piece of paper. “With this land we can create our own legitimate wildlife park!”

“What?” all three of them said at once.

“We have plenty of money to renovate this land. We can prepare it and then let most of the animals free. Seven thousand acres is plenty of space for the animals we have, especially if we introduce a variety of other mammals in the food chain. The four of us can work on this together! First preparing the land, and then maintaining the wildlife preserve!”

“What about Kenya?” David asked. “You have a job waiting for you there. But it’s contingent upon us donating and transporting our animals to the new Kenyan national park…”

“I don’t care about Kenya,” I said without hesitation. “I can do the exact same job here. The other night you all told me you loved taking care of the animals. How it was satisfying and fulfilling without your dad overseeing everything. Jake, you even said it felt like your true purpose. Well, here’s our chance. We can keep the animals the right way. And we would all be together.”

Everything came out in a rush, like I was admitting to something that I had wanted for a very long time. David, Jake, and Anthony were silent as my words sank in. They didn’t look as certain as I was.

“This is all assuming you want to be with me,” I said nervously.

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