Page 35 of So Twisted

Mr. Thurman’s brow furrowed. “At least?”

“Yes. Can you confirm if Marcus Reeves and Alison Chen ever worked for Global Wildlife Experiences?”

Thurman’s shoulders stiffened. “The names don’t sound familiar.”

“But you can confirm dates of employment, right?” Michael pressed.

Mr. Thurman’s eye twitched when he realized the trap he had stepped into. “I can put in a request for that information, sure. It will take some time to find it. We’ve employed a lot of people at our various zoos and aquariums.”

Faith was done being patient. “Mr. Thurman, Marcus Reeves had his throat torn out. Alison Chen was poisoned with snake venom. Dr. Vasquez bled out after tennis-ball-sized chunks of her flesh were gouged out of a half-dozen different places on her body. I really don’t care about the risk this line of questioning poses to your corporation.”

Mr. Thurman’s smile faded. “I understand that, agent,” he said calmly, “but I do. I have to. It’s not just my livelihood at risk. Global Wildlife Experiences employs over forty-five hundred people at fourteen different locations across North America. Bad press doesn’t only affect the guilty.”

“Refusing to cooperate with an FBI multiple-murder investigation is pretty bad press, Mr. Thurman.”

The CEO sighed. “As your partner pointed out, I am legally required to respond to requests confirming employment within a reasonable timeframe. I have agreed to do that. I’m sorry for being rude, but I don’t see why we need to continue speaking at the moment.”

“Because one of your former employees is dead, Mr. Thurman,” Faith replied. “Judging by your reaction, I believethree of your former employees are dead. How many more will die while you’re too busy covering your ass?”

Thurman swallowed but maintained his stance. “I’m sorry, Special Agent. My condolences to the families of the victims, but I have my job.”

“And we have ours,” Michael retorted. “And I will use mine to drag your name through the mud in every single news publication who’s willing to spend five minutes talking to me.”

“You’ll ruin the lives of nearly five thousand people to throw a tantrum because I won’t exceed the mandate of the law? Frankly, Special Agent, that’s a fight I’m willing to take to court.”

Michael held his gaze for a moment. Then he shrugged. “All right. I’ll let the Bureau know. By the way, how do you spell your first name? Ah, never mind. I’ll look it up.”

The three agents started toward the door. Faith put her hand on the handle and started to turn when Thurman called, “Wait.”

The three of them turned their heads toward the beleaguered CEO. Turk growled softly. Thurman sat behind his desk and rubbed his eyes. “All right. I’ll cooperate. Just… Look, I’m not kidding. If we get bad press, alotof people will suffer. Our reputation is already shaky at best. We can’t risk things getting any worse.”

“If you give us what we need to know, we’ll do our best to keep your name out of the media. If it ends up in the media, we’ll make sure people know you cooperated fully.”

Thurman nodded and stared bleakly past them into the empty office on the opposite side of the hallway. “You two want coffee?” he said mechanically.

“We’re all right,” Faith replied.

Michael shook his head, and Thurman stood. “Well, I’m going to make some. If you change your mind, let me know.”

He stepped outside, and Faith turned to Michael with a slight smile. "Nice work."

Michael shrugged. “Don’t thank me yet. The ball’s in Thurman’s court now.”

“Think he’ll talk?”

“Oh, he’ll talk,” Michael replied. “The question is whether anything he says will be the truth.”

Or whether we’ll be able to see through a lie, Faith thought soberly.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Thurman returned a moment later. With his decision made, he was no longer tense. Instead, he appeared exhausted. Faith wondered if agreeing to tell the truth was a relief to him in any way or if it only left him feeling as empty as he looked.

He took a sip of his coffee, then began. “The three individuals you named were associated with us years in the past. Dr. Vasquez was a veterinarian at the Henry Doorly Zoo for… I believe fifteen years. Global Wildlife owned the zoo for the last five of those years. She was let go when it was reported that she was performing surgeries in a state of impairment.”

“She was drinking on the job,” Faith summarized.

“Yes. During the investigation into her misconduct, an employee of the zoo’s reptile house was caught stealing reptiles. Further investigation proved it wasn’t the first time.”

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