Chapter 4
Chapter Four
Sleep proved elusive, as Nadirah couldn’t stop thinking of the man sprawled on her living room floor.
A man who could change into a tiger. She’d never been more shocked than to realize the old legends were true.
That surprise helped her to overcome the violent attack at the zoo.
She might have dwelled on it more but for the fact it truly was a life-or-death situation.
But what next? Phoenix wanted to find others like him, but that wouldn’t be easy.
The harimau existed only in old stories and children’s tales.
Until now. His existence had her wondering if indeed that video had been real, if weretigers lived amongst them.
If they did, though, how could Phoenix connect with them?
Or was Nenek right, and he’d have to wait for the harimau to come to him?
Nadirah woke early and crept quietly into the kitchen past the sleeping man.
She’d half expected him to flee in the night—or that she would wake up and discover it had all been a dream.
She stared out the window as she made some toast and only snapped out of her reverie when a burning smell caught her nose.
Despite the fact it was mostly black, she buttered the slice lest Nenek chide her for wasting.
“Make a fresh piece. I’ll eat the burnt one if you want,” Phoenix offered. He’d woken and sat in his nest of blankets, which pooled at his waist, exposing his chest with all its muscles. What a tempting sight.
She quickly turned away and grimaced at the ruined piece of toast.
“I can’t let you eat that. It’s not fit for anyone,” she admitted and tossed it out. She’d buy a new loaf to make Nenek happy.
“Thanks for helping me out last night,” Phoenix said as he rose from the floor and joined her in the kitchen, wearing only the snug cotton shorts she’d loaned him the night before.
Once more she found herself staring—thankfully not drooling—and averted her gaze. “I think I should be the one thanking you. If you’d not taken care of that man with the knife, I might have been seriously injured.” Or dead.
“You were only in danger because of my presence. Speaking of which, I should get going before whoever hired that guy sends someone else.”
Her lips pinched. “You think they will try again.”
“Seems likely.”
“Who is after you?”
“Most likely the people who did this to me.”
She shook her head. “I still can’t believe it’s even possible.”
“You and me both. I’ll never forget the first time I turned into a tiger. I almost tore off my own tail.”
She blinked. “You’re joking.”
“I wish. I’d just transformed, and was totally freaked out, and I saw something waving out of the corner of my eye, so I twisted around and grabbed it. Bit myself so hard I drew blood and turned back into a man.”
“You mentioned last night that blood acts as a trigger.”
“To go from tiger to dude, yeah, but only a serious injury gets me wearing fur.”
“Yet the legends claim the transformation happens via magic or fasting.”
“Not eating, eh? I’ll have to try it and see if it works. Now, I don’t suppose we can wrangle me a shirt and shorts? Maybe some shoes, even flip-flops, so I don’t draw too much attention?”
“I can do that, but where will you go?” she asked.
“Not sure. I’m thinking I’ll head for the jungle on the southern tip. Some guy called Arthur Locke, back in 1954, wrote about weretigers. He claimed they had a settlement at the foot of some mountain.”
“Do you remember the name?”
His expression twisted. “I’m going to massacre it, but it was Gung An something.”
“Gunung Angsi,” she murmured.
“You know of it?”
“Yes, but I doubt you’ll find any harimau. It’s a popular tourist spot.”
His shoulders slumped. “I didn’t figure I’d find them still there. Locke’s account spoke of abandoned homes and stuff, but he was pretty convinced he met some tiger-shifting people, and it’s the only lead I have.”
Her brow arched. “And on the basis of this very old story, you intend to get lost in the forest?”
“Do you have a better idea?”
“I might, actually. I have a friend who works at the museum,” she mused aloud.
“You think this friend can tell me more about weretigers?”
“Not exactly. He’s a custodian, but he’s got access to all the rooms in the museum, even those off-limits to the public.”
“How does that help?”
“Because there are artifacts and some old writings that might provide clues.”
“How soon can we go find out?”
“After dark. If we want to poke around in the rooms not open to the public, then we’ll have to wait for the museum to close for the night.”
“Of course.” Duh. He could have smacked himself for being dumb. “Anything we can do in the meantime?”
“Not really, and I need to go to work.”
“Can’t call in sick?”
She shook her head. “Given you disappeared and I was the last to see you, there will be questions. If I don’t show up, I’ll look suspicious.”
“Guess so.” He sounded dejected.
“Get some rest. Eat. Shower. But I’d advise staying inside, or you will draw attention.”
Nosy neighbors would wonder about the stranger. Word would get around, and the person who wanted the tiger dead might find out.
“What about clothes?”
“I’ll grab some for you before I return home.”
“Be careful,” Phoenix said as she left to go to the zoo. A nice change from Nenek barking, “Don’t be late for dinner.”
Nadirah arrived at the zoo and found her boss by the main gate talking to the police. She placed her helmet on the seat of her moped before heading over to ask, “What’s going on? Did something happen overnight?”
“About time you got here,” Ahmad barked. “The tigers are all dead.”
“What?” she blurted in surprise.
“You heard me. Every single one of them was found dead in its cage this morning.”
“No,” she whispered, tears pricking her eyes. Her furry babies couldn’t be gone.
“The only one whose body we’ve yet to find is the one you retrieved from the freighter.”
“So, it’s alive?” she asked, despite knowing that tiger currently hid at her house.
“We don’t know where it is. We’ve yet to locate its body, although, looks like it put up a fight. There’s blood outside its cage.”
“Oh no.” She blinked and tried to appear as innocent as possible. Hopefully no one noticed her racing heart.
A police officer held a pad of paper and a pen. “When did you last see the tiger?”
“Just after the zoo closed. I gave it some cow femurs since it refused to eat the ground beef.”
“Notice anyone suspicious?”
She shook her head. “No. No one. This is horrible.” She didn’t have to feign sadness. “Who would kill all the tigers? And why?”
“Don’t know, but I’m thinking the one that’s missing might have handled the killer,” was Ahmad’s grim reply.
“What makes you say that?” she asked.
“Because a body was found in the croc enclosure. Although, how it got there is still to be determined,” Ahmad stated.
“Most likely the killer had a partner and tried to dispose of the body before leaving with the tiger,” the officer stated.
“Or it’s on the loose,” Ahmad stated, looking worried. It wouldn’t be good optics if an escaped animal went on a rampage. Nadirah knew the truth, but couldn’t exactly explain why they had nothing to worry about.
She did, though, because obviously last night’s thug hadn’t been the only one hired, and when they didn’t find Phoenix, they chose to murder every striped feline in the zoo. “This is horrible.”
“Indeed.” Ahmad glanced at her. “I know this must be upsetting, given how much you cared for the tigers. You should go home. Take a few days’ vacation.”
It sounded like a kind gesture, but Nadirah understood it was more because Ahmad had no idea what to do with her. A tiger keeper with no tigers to care for didn’t really serve any use. She didn’t mind, though, seeing as how the zoo had been closed to the public and teemed with police officers.
“Are you sure I can’t help?” she offered.
“No. You can go.” The police officer waved Nadirah away, and she didn’t quibble. She hopped right back on her moped, but before going home, she hit the market and went shopping. When she did return to her house, it was to find Nenek in the kitchen cooking for their guest.
“You early,” Nenek stated in English, brandishing a spoon.
“The zoo is closed for the day,” Nadirah replied, dumping her shopping bag onto the table.
“I take it the zoo officials noticed I was missing,” Phoenix surmised.
“They did, but that’s not the reason why the police have the area closed for an investigation. They found a body in the croc pen, and someone murdered all the tigers overnight.”
He gaped in astonishment before blurting out, “Oh shit. I’m so sorry. They must have sent someone else after me.”
Her lips turned down. “So it appears. The poor creatures didn’t stand a chance.”
“And neither will you if I stick around. I’ll leave soon as it’s dark outside,” he offered.
She noticed he’d managed to cobble together an outfit while she was out. Most likely Nenek’s doing, given he wore baggy green shorts and an oversized shirt that resembled something their neighbor Hafiz would wear.
“Why would anyone come looking for a tiger at my house?” she scoffed. “Even if they did, they wouldn’t find one.”
“Just a white dude who shouldn’t be here,” Phoenix pointed out.
Her lips pursed. “You are assuming those sent to kill were aware you could turn from tiger to man, and I don’t believe that to be the case.”
“Even if they don’t know, I don’t want to bring any trouble.”
“No trouble,” Nenek declared, once more brandishing her cooking spoon. “Help harimau make luck good.”
“I don’t know about luck,” Nadirah murmured, “However, I also can’t just toss you out. I told you I’d help.”
“You’re still willing to get me into that museum?”
“You’re not the only one who wants answers.” Her curiosity had been roused, as well as her ire. Someone had dared to harm the animals in her care, so it seemed only fitting she’d aid the one they’d been after in the first place.
They headed out after dark with him holding on to her as they once more took her moped.
How odd they must seem, him so large he practically cocooned her entire body, but as she’d stated the day before, such a thing wasn’t uncommon.
She also knew where to go, so it made the most sense she drove.
However, she did worry about someone spying and following.
After all, Phoenix raised a valid point.
She was the main tiger keeper. The one who’d been in charge of the feline found on the freighter.
If the person who’d done the hiring—who most likely knew Phoenix’s secret—realized the wrong tigers were killed, it stood to reason they might take a closer look at Nadirah.
It made her wish now that she’d pushed Nenek harder to go out for the evening.
What if someone paid a visit while she was out?
“What’s wrong?” Phoenix asked, leaning in close. “You suddenly got tense.”
“Worried about my grandmother,” she admitted even as she kept driving.
“Maybe we should turn around,” he suggested.
“We’re almost there.” She could see their destination. Maybe she’d called Nenek and suggest she spend the evening with her sister.
“Does this friend of yours know we’re coming?”
“No. But he won’t be hard to find.”
Khalid always answered when she called. He’d been good friends with Nadirah’s father, an American who’d visited Malaysia and fallen in love.
When her parents died in a car accident, Khalid had promised to watch over her and to this day, kept that promise.
If she asked him for a favor, he’d do everything in his power to give her what she needed.
Nadirah parked her moped in front of the steps going into the museum before pulling out her phone and sending several texts, first to Nenek, suggesting she go out for the night, to which her grandmother replied, Already at my sister’s place.
Nadirah’s next text went to Khalid. She kept it brief.
Hey. Me and a friend need to do some discreet research. Can you help?
In seconds, she had a reply.
Park around back. I’ll meet you by the service door.
They had their way in. Now to hope they found something that helped.