Chapter 6
Blake got the lemur, grunting and shrieking, into the truck where it settled down when he draped a tarp over it so it didn’t
see him and Paradise. The lemur’s scent glands had gone into overdrive, and the stench hung in the air.
Elowen, holding her toddler Tessa, followed them outside. The woman’s long blonde hair was mussed, and her blue eyes were
shadowed. Dried blood caked the side of her hand.
“Let me tend to that scratch.” Blake opened his medical pack and took her hand to clean the wound. “Have a seat. This might
sting a little.”
“He was mad.” Tessa hid her face in her mother’s shoulder.
Blake studied the wound. “I don’t think you’ll need stitches. Just antibiotic cream and a bandage. But have your doctor take
a look.” He smiled at Tessa. “He’s just a little upset, but he’ll be fine. I didn’t know you had a lemur.”
“He’s not ours,” Elowen said. “He belongs to Creed.”
Creed Greene had been a thorn in Blake’s side ever since Paradise arrived.
She’d rebuffed an advance from the detective, and he’d never forgiven her.
Greene had focused on Blake for months, trying to pin a crime on him at every turn.
The detective wouldn’t be happy they’d taken control of his lemur.
And what was he doing with a lemur anyway?
“Did you try calling him?” Blake asked.
Elowen shook her head. “He and his family are out of town for another week, so there wouldn’t have been anything he could
have done. He told us to keep him caged, but that felt so mean. He played nicely with Tessa a couple of days ago, so I thought
we could let him loose to run around and get some exercise.”
“He’s still a wild animal, Elowen, and an unknown one,” Paradise said. “Once they reach sexual maturity, their behavior can
change rapidly.” She peeked into the truck bed. “He’s calm now. Lemurs need their social structure, and they don’t make good
pets. They don’t do well without other lemurs, and this often results in aggressive behavior like this guy just showed. I
would guess he was taken from his mother too early as well, and he doesn’t know how to act. Do we have your permission to
take him to the park and assimilate him into the lemur conspiracy?”
Elowen bit her lip. “Creed won’t be happy, but I can’t take care of him. King Julien bared his teeth at Tessa, and I had to
wrestle him off. I threw him across the room, grabbed Tessa, and locked us in the bedroom when he came at us again.” Elowen
squared her shoulders. “Creed shouldn’t have even had this animal, should he?”
“No,” Paradise said. “While it’s not illegal in Alabama to own wild animals, it’s not humane, especially for primates, and
it’s bad for both the lemur and the owner. Lemurs can transmit diseases to humans and vice versa. They’re expensive to feed
properly, and they need enrichment programs to keep them from getting depressed. And Julien shouldn’t have been caged like
that.”
Paradise braced her hands on her hips. “Why on earth would Creed have a lemur? Do you know where he got it?”
“I think he won it in a poker game a couple of weeks ago. I don’t know why he didn’t just take it to you guys in the first
place. He thought Julien was cute, and his son was crazy about him.”
Creed wouldn’t do anything that might benefit the park. Blake kept his opinion to himself. “We’ll deal with Creed when he returns.”
Paradise put her hand on the truck door handle. “I’ll need to check Julien out. We have to be careful not to transmit any
diseases among the lemurs. An illness could have triggered his aggression. Maybe he just doesn’t feel well.”
Elowen shifted Tessa to her other arm. “Thanks for coming so quickly. I was a little scared. He’d been acting fine and suddenly
started growling and making noises. He scratched me as well as the bite.” She extended her arm to show a long, oozing scratch.
“Make sure you clean that well with peroxide,” Paradise said. “I’m glad it bled well. Blake can clean it for you.”
“I can do it,” Elowen said. “You’ve helped enough.”
“Can we come see King Julien?” Tessa asked.
Paradise opened the truck door. “You sure can, but give him a few days. You’ll want to see him after he’s gotten used to us
a bit and is able to be with his new family. We’ll see you soon.”
Blake said his goodbyes as well and got behind the wheel. He started the truck and pulled away from the Greene house. “Creed
is going to be a problem.”
“I know. Is there anything we can do to keep him from taking the lemur? Maybe turn him in to the humane society or something?”
“I’ll check our options with Hez. It’ll be complicated because in normal circumstances, we’d report animal abuse to the sheriff’s
department.”
“I could talk to Rod while Creed is gone.”
Her cousin Rod McShea was the sergeant over the Bon Secour sheriff’s substation. “That might be the best idea. We could get
it accomplished before Creed gets back in town.”
“I’ll call him after I examine Julien. If there’s any evidence of mistreatment or disease, it will help our cause. If we get
the lemur acclimated to our conspiracy, Creed probably wouldn’t be able to tell which one was which. King Julien looks like
most every other ring-tailed lemur, and he hasn’t had the animal long enough to identify him. At least I doubt it. So he couldn’t
just walk in and take him.”
Blake inwardly groaned at the upcoming confrontation. Things had settled down for a while, and he hated to see the vendetta
continued. Creed wouldn’t let this affront go.
It wasn’t too late to call Rod. Paradise washed and dried her hands after examining the lemur, then dug the phone out of her
purse.
Rod answered on the first ring. “Hey, Paradise, how are you feeling?”
“The headache is improving. I think I’ll live. Hey, Rod, my brother is here. He’s eager to meet you and the rest of the family.”
“That’s great! How long will he be around?”
“About a month. We’re going to look into my parents’ murders.”
“If there’s anything I can do to help, let me know.”
“I will, thanks. Listen, there’s another reason for my call.
I have a sticky situation.” She told him about the call from Elowen.
“We have the lemur here, and he shows clear signs of neglect. His paws are abraded from trying to escape the cage he’s been kept in.
Primates shouldn’t be caged like that. He’s obese and has diabetes and heart disease, probably caused by an improper diet.
I want to get him well and assimilate him into the group here.
The problem is, his owner is Creed Greene, who is out of town.
Creed left the lemur in the care of his brother and his wife, and the lemur attacked their little girl. ”
“Wow, I was not expecting that. I didn’t know he had a lemur.”
“Elowen thinks he won it in a card game a few weeks ago, so the lemur’s health problems started a long time ago.”
“Do what you have to do, and I’ll handle it on my end when Creed gets back. He should have known better than to keep a primate
caged. Even I know that’s not okay.”
What a relief Rod was being agreeable. “I appreciate that more than you know, Rod. Lemurs need socialization. They don’t do
well in isolation, and this one is very sick. Even if Creed knew how to care for King Julien properly, he couldn’t fix the
community issue.”
“I know you’ll take good care of him. I’ll talk to Mom about when we can get the family together to meet Drew.”
Paradise thanked him and ended the call. She checked one final time on King Julien in his solitary enclosure. She would let
him get used to roaming around it before she integrated him with the other lemurs. He’d be able to see them, smell them, and
hear them in the next enclosure over, which would help. She locked the door of the medical building and went to find Blake
and Drew. Isaac and Levi would be in bed by now.
The murmur of male voices from the back patio mingled with the low hum of the bug zapper that also gave off a soft glow. Blake
and Drew seemed relaxed with each other, and happiness zinged through her. Family. That’s what it was all about. Something she’d never really had before. This place and these people had crept into her soul and become as necessary to her as breathing.
Blake spotted her when she moved again, and his expression went soft. “How’s the king?”
“Not great. Diabetes and heart disease. Hopefully a better diet will change things, along with more exercise.” She climbed
the steps to the deck. “I talked to Rod. He says to do what we need to and he’ll deal with Creed.”
Blake kissed the top of her head. “That’s my girl. I wasn’t sure Rod would go up against Creed like that, but if anyone could
make him see the truth, it’s you. How’s Julien acting?”
“He’s roaming the enclosure and marking his scent, of course. I think he likes it.”
Blake laced his fingers with hers. “Hungry? We’ve got popcorn.” He gestured at a bowl on the table by the chairs.
“Don’t mind if I do.” She scooped up a handful, then dropped into the chair by her brother. “You should be in bed, Drew. You
had a long drive.”
His amber eyes, so like her own, were bright and alert. “I was reviewing the contents of the tub Evan gave you.” Drew gestured
to the tub by his chair.
Evan Hopkins now owned the house where she’d grown up. He’d found a tub of her mother’s belongings in the attic, which was
how Paradise discovered she had a brother she didn’t know about. She and Drew had gone through the things together, but there
hadn’t been any surprises. “And?”
He held up a black onyx cuff link. “This was caught in the baby blanket. Did you see it when you first examined the contents?”
She took it and rolled it around in her fingers. “No.” She studied the cuff link. “It’s beautiful and very distinctive with that fancy C on it. Maybe your dad’s last name begins with a C, though that doesn’t help much.”
“It’s a start.”
“Why would only one be in the baby blanket?”
“Maybe my father lost it, and our mom found it and kept it? Or maybe it came from the man she was having the affair with before
she died.”
“Could have belonged to my father. Let’s examine this together.” He lifted out the old jewelry box, a packet of letters tied
with pink ribbon, a baby book, and infant clothing, as well as several pieces of maternity clothing.
She touched the iconic LV monogram top in green canvas on the jewelry box. The gleaming brass latches and lock added beautiful bling, and it had a
leather handle at the front. “Blake checked the current price of this Louis Vuitton, and it was six thousand dollars. We didn’t
discover its original price.”
She didn’t have to remove the expensive jewelry because she’d held every piece. A gorgeous set of sapphire earrings, a ring
with a huge topaz stone, a diamond tennis bracelet with matching earrings, and a diamond engagement ring in a velvet box.
Drew picked up the ring. “I was struck by this too. My father must have given it to her, so what happened? Why didn’t they
marry?”
So many questions and no answers.