Page 8 of Tiger Queen

“I don’t think you understand,” David said, taking a step toward me.

I backed up while keeping the video rolling. The two of them were blocking my way out of the zoo. I probably should have come up with a better exit plan before going off on them. Neither of them had any visible weapons, but if Crazy Carl suddenly appeared with an assault rifle…

“Come on, Rachel,” David said with a charming smile. “Let’s go inside and discuss this.”

I moved sideways, circling them until they were no longer blocking my path. Then I took off at a dead sprint for the car. I pumped my arms and flew down the gravel path. Their footfalls sounded behind me, boots crunching as they followed.

“Rachel! Wait!”

I reached the employee entrance gate… And found it locked. Fueled by fear and adrenaline I leaped into the air, feet scraping on the fence and my hands grabbing the top. My phone was still in one hand, which made it difficult, but somehow I managed to scramble up and over. I dropped down to the parking lot on the other side and sprinted the rest of the way to my car.

They had just come through the gate and were running across the parking lot toward me, waving their hands. I turned the car on and floored the accelerator, my tires sending gravel and dirt flying as I peeled out of there, leaving the two men behind.

4

Rachel

I flew down the small road away from Crazy Carl’s Zoo. When I drove through the small town of Blue Lake I realized I was going fifty in a twenty-five, so I slowed down until I got out of town and then sped up again. I kept glancing in the rear-view mirror, waiting to see some huge monster trucks or something chasing me.

Only when I was ten minutes outside of town did I begin to relax. They weren’t following me.

I replayed the scene in my head. Turning on my camera, confronting the two men, and then running away. I couldn’t believe they had admitted to everything on camera. It was illegal to buy and sell tigers without a permit, which Crazy Carl’s Zoo certainly did not have. Yet Anthony had just blurted it out without fear.

It made my skin crawl. Were they that confident that they wouldn’t get caught?

Hopefully my photos and video looked good. I could report them to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, as well as any state agency. I wasn’t familiar with North Carolina’s wildlife resources commission and how strict they were about this kind of animal trafficking, but my evidence was fairly damning. They would have to do something.

It made me angry how cavalier they were about the poor treatment of their animals. They laughed about it! I had done the right thing by coming here and gathering this evidence. Those animals needed to be properly cared for.

My hands were still shaking on the steering wheel. I felt nauseous. That was probably the adrenaline withdrawal. I had never done anything like that before in my life! At the intersection with I-95 was an Applebee’s, so I pulled into the parking lot. I needed to relax before I got back on the road, and it was not too early for dinner. The parking lot was a little too open though, so I drove around to the back and parked with the other employee cars, out of sight from the road. I was fifteen miles from the zoo, but it was probably best to not take any chances in case I was followed.

“Are you here for happy hour?” the waiter asked me after I was seated. “All beers on tap are two bucks.”

“What the hell,” I said. “I could really use a drink.”

While waiting for my food, I sipped my beer and browsed the photos on my phone. They looked good. The video was especially exciting, because it continued filming when I broke out into a run. The view spun and swirled as I pumped my arms, then climbed the fence. There was a brief image of the two men chasing after me as I dropped down on the other side.

And most importantly, it was exactly as I remembered. Anthony could be heard on the video saying, “Tiger cub sales are a large revenue stream.” Surely that would be enough probable cause to have the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service raid the zoo.

“Another?” the waiter asked, pointing at my empty glass.

“Sure,” I said. I didn’t realize I had finished it already.

While it was still fresh in my mind, I called Ashley. “You’re not driving, are you?” I asked.

“I am, but I’m still on the interstate. I can talk. Did you do it? How was it? Tell me!”

I told Ashley everything, starting from when I arrived to the exciting chase out of the zoo. She squealed with excitement.

“And you didn’t see Carl Haines himself?”

“Nope. Thank God for that!”

She laughed. “I can’t believe you actually did it. I thought you would chicken out. Alright, don’t do anything yet. I’ll call you tomorrow night once I get settled in at the horse farm. Then we’ll figure out a plan of action.”

“Sounds good.”

“You’re amazing! Drive safe!”

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