CHAPTER FIVE
Lisa Hartley was a tired-looking woman in her fifties who greeted the agents with a weary smile. To be fair, it might not be typical of her to look so exhausted. It wasn’t every day that one of her employees was viciously murdered after all.
“Can I offer you guys some coffee?” she asked when they took their seats in her office. “Maybe some vitamin water for the big guy?”
Turk wagged his tail eagerly, and Lisa smiled—a little less wearily—and filled a water bowl with a jug of purple liquid. As she filled his bowl, she said, “the coffee’s good stuff. I get it delivered from a nonprofit place that only serves Rainforest Alliance certified Fair Trade organic coffees.”
Faith wasn’t sure what any of that had to do with the flavor of the coffee, but she had a feeling they would be working on this case well into the night, so she said, “I’ll take some, thank you.”
Lisa started the coffee, and Faith took a moment to look around the office. The room was fairly sparse but at the same time very full. The only furniture was a desk made of rough carved wood with three chairs of the same wood, one behind the desk and two in front. There was a little bamboo table which contained the jug of vitamin water and the coffeemaker. There were two floor lamps on either corner of the wall behind them and a single desk lamp. All three were switched off right now, the light provided by the wall-length polarized glass window behind the desk.
What made the room feel full were the plants. There were two potted trees with thin, gnarled trunks and broad, flat leaves placed midway down the side walls, and two plants with similar trunks but long, thin bladed leaves on either corner of the window. The bamboo table had a brilliant violet orchid and vines curled around the legs of the desks fed by pots on either side. Another plant Faith didn’t recognize sat on the desk. It had twisted folds of fuzzy pink flowers that looked like an exotic species of coral
Or brain matter.
Faith looked away from the flowers with a grimace. Turk had finished drinking and was now sitting next to her, staring affectionately up at Lisa. Lisa set steaming mugs of coffee in front of the agents and returned to the desk with her own mug.
Faith lifted her mug. It showed a cartoon drawing of the globe above the phrase ONE WORLD, ONE VOICE. The coffee was very good, rich and dark and smooth. Evidently, the certifications meant something after all. "Mrs. Hartley,"
“Lisa, please. No offense to my ex-husband—we split amicably—but I don’t like being a Mrs.”
“Lisa. First, let me extend my condolences. I can imagine this is incredibly difficult for you.”
Lisa scoffed and sipped her own coffee. Her mug read WE ARE ALL CHILDREN OF THE EARTH. “It’s not the best day I’ve ever had, that’s for sure.”
“Can you tell us in your own words what happened?”
Lisa sighed. “Well, I was at a conference in Omaha speaking to the executives of a bunch of different zoos around the country and urging them to consider supporting the Four R initiative, and I got a call from Sean just before my keynote speech.”
“The Four R initiative?”
“Rescue, Rehabilitate, Return, Respect. We want to be responsible stewards with our wildlife by rescuing animals impacted by humans in a negative way and rescuing their natural ranges from encroachment, rehabilitating both animal and land and returning them to their natural environments. Then we want to respect that we share this world with them and find ways to coexist without destroying the ecosystem.”
“You’re very passionate about animal rights, aren’t you?”
“It’s not about animal rights, really. It’s about stewardship. People benefit from rich, healthy ecosystems, not just animals. The Four R Initiative is designed to convince people that respecting the natural world will improve our quality of life. There’s an abundance of evidence that healthy flora and fauna in healthy environments coexisting with people leads to healthier people. I could talk for hours about it, but I have a feeling that’s not what you’re here for.”
“No,” Faith admitted. She didn’t say it aloud, but she also wanted a sense for just how protective Lisa was of animals. Their killer could be seeking revenge on behalf of animals, and while Lisa would likely have an ironclad alibi, it was worth figuring out how far someone with similar values might go to address animal cruelty.
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 we have to 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 was trying 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 can prove it 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… If I can 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?”
She shook her head. “My best guess is that it’s some animal rights activist who thinks that violence is the answer to the world’s woes. There are still people like that out there, I’m afraid. I don’t know who, though. I don’t associate with people like that, and I don’t follow any kind of news that talks about them. That’s the wrong way to get people on our side.”
Faith nodded. “I agree.” She stood. “If you think of anything else, please call us. I promise you we won’t stop until we find the person responsible for Marcus’s murder and bring them to justice.”
Lisa smiled. “Thank you. I’m so glad to have you helping us.”
“One last question,” Michael said. “Did Marcus ever talk about a woman named Alison Chen?”
Lisa’s brow furrowed. “No. No, I don’t think so. Not to me, at least. I can ask around if you’d like.”
“Please do. Let us know if you hear anything.”
“I will.”
The three agents started from the room. Lisa smiled at Turk as he trotted out. “Go find that bad guy for me, okay, boy?”
Turk barked a firm promise. Faith smiled at him and assured Lisa, “That’s what he does best.”