Page 14 of So Twisted

Lisa sighed. “So I got a call from Sean, and I can tell something’s wrong right away. He’s shrieking and blubbering into the phone, and I go from zero to panicked pretty quickly. But I control myself and snap him out of it. ‘Sean! Take a breath and tell me what’s happening.’ So he does, and…” she lifted the hand not holding the mug and dropped it on the desk. “And… well, he told me.”

“May I ask why you didn’t return to the sanctuary upon hearing about the death of your employer?”

She deflated slightly and lowered her eyes. Faith could sense that she felt very guilty about what she was about to say. "I did return that night to speak with the police, but… if I had left the conference and word had gotten out about what happened, then it could have seriously negatively impacted the Four R Initiative. In hindsight, there was no avoiding it. Of course, it got into the news. I was an idiot for thinking I could keep a lid on it."

She met Faith’s eyes and said almost pleadingly, “You have to understand, this initiative… It’s not just for the animals.We have a real chance to actually change the world for the better. People are finally willing to listen to people who promote responsible environmental stewardship. I know I sound like a crackpot, but I really believe that the future of our planet and our species is at a turning point. We can still reverse or at least slow some of the damage we’ve done, but wehaveto make changes. I…” her lower lip trembled. “I just really wanted to do that. We were so close.”

Faith pondered her behavior for a moment. She was clearly passionate about her philosophy, but she hadn’t yet mentioned Marcus. Faith decided to wait a little longer and see if Lisa continued to avoid the subject. “Where were you earlier today?”

“Back at the conference. They called a press interview for what happened to Marcus, and I didn’t want that interview to take place at the sanctuary.”

“Hmm…” Faith thought about her next question. “What was your first thought when Sean told you what happened to Marcus.”

Lisa chuckled bitterly. “Oh no. God damn it.”

“Can you expand?”

She lifted her hand and let it drop again. “Oh no, poor Marcus. God damn it, this will ruin everything.”

“Including Marcus’s life,” Michael pointed out.

“Yes,” Lisa said curtly.

Faith noticed her shoulders were stiff, and her lips were trembling a little. Maybe she was still traumatized by what happened, and that was why she wasn’t talking about it. “And that’s what led you to call the FBI.”

“The police wanted to blame the panther,” Lisa explained, “and…” Tears welled in her eyes. “And Marcus was doing better. He was really trying. I know he made mistakes, but he wastrying hard.”

She squeezed her eyes shut and took several deep breaths. Faith wasn’t entirely convinced that Lisa was being honest with her emotions until she swallowed the rest of her still-steaming coffee without reacting to the heat. There was no doubt about it. This woman was in shock. “The police were acting like it wasn’t a big deal. Like Marcus deserved to get…eaten.” She hissed the last word.

“And you didn’t believe it was the panther?” Michael asked.

“I canproveit wasn’t the panther,” Lisa said. “And more specifically, I should say black jaguar. We have a black leopard here too. We call him the panther.”

“Yes, Sean mentioned that. He also pointed out that the wounds didn’t match a cat bite.”

“Not even close. If you filled a cat’s mouth with chisels instead of teeth, maybe.”

"Are you concerned that the cat may be put down?"

“They’ll have to put me down before they put that cat down,” Lisa said venomously. “But no, not really. I’m concerned that some fuckwad is going to get away with killing a poor man who was only trying to turn another leaf and be a good person. Damn it, he was trying so hard.” She wiped more tears from her eyes. “Sorry. Pardon my language.”

“No need to apologize,” Faith said. “So you’ve mentioned twice now that Marcus was trying to atone for something in his past?”

“He ran a zoo for sixteen years. It was called the Wild World Animal Adventure Park. Did you ever hear of it?”

“We’re not from the area,” Michael replied.

“Right. Well, it was shut down a few years ago for repeated severe animal rights violations. Marcus’s name got dragged through the mud, and deservedly so, don’t get me wrong. He put those animals in… well, I won’t go into detail. I’ll be honest, I hated him too. But when he came to me looking for a job here,he seemed so earnest. He really understood what he did, and he really wanted a chance to be a different kind of man. I gave him a chance. And he didn’t let me down.”

“He was your night watchman, correct?”

“Yes. I wasn’t going to risk putting him in charge of caring for the animals after his history, no matter how sincere he seemed. But I figured if he could be trusted to lock up and keep the riffraff out, then maybe over time, I could try to show him how rewarding it could be to treat animals well. Then…”

She shook her head. "I just don't understand why. What good does it do to kill him now? The animals he abused are all free or in the care of properly run facilities. He paid his reparations and restitution and made a public statement condemning his actions and promising never to do anything like that again. It's just… IfIcan forgive someone like that, then other people can. He deserves justice. Not some chuckling and ‘Huh, I guess that’s karma.’”

She took a deep breath and released it in a shaky sigh. “I’m sorry. I’m just… it’s still a lot.”

“I understand. Do you have any idea who might have wanted to kill Marcus?”

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