Page 23 of Tiger Queen

“Really?”

“Yeah… It was a real shitty situation. I still feel guilty about it. David does too, I think.” The microwave beeped and he removed the contents, bouncing the hot plastic tray from one hand to another.

“I’ve got some work to do. I promised David I’d have the GoFundMe page all set up, but it’s taking way longer than I expected. See ya.”

“G’night,” I said. I was hoping to eat and chat with him more, so I was sad to see him go.

I carried my food and a glass of water upstairs, but I paused at the landing. My room and Jake’s room were to the right, and David had pointed out his and Anthony’s rooms down at the other end. But there was another door in the middle of the hallway, and I didn’t know where it led. Selfishly, I was hoping it was another bathroom. Then I wouldn’t accidentally bump into Jake while he was half-nude and glistening with moisture.

I had to put my glass of water down to open the door. Rusty hinges screamed as it swung open, and the light from the hallway cast an eerie brightness inside. Inside was like a scene from Hoarders. Stacks of cardboard boxes taller than me filled the room. There was an antique four-post bed against the left wall, and a dresser over on the right. There was something strange about the room which took me a minute to place: there were no portraits of Crazy Carl Haines inside. In fact, the walls were bare. Like it was the one room in the house where Carl wasn’t trying to posture.

“The fuck do you think you’re doing?”

Jake stood in the hallway, shoulders rounded like he was spoiling for a fight. He was clothed now, I saw with faint disappointment, and he wore a cotton beanie on his head that pushed his dark red hair down and out the edges.

“I saw this door,” I said. “I wasn’t sure what was inside, so I—”

Jake crossed the distance quickly, knocking over my glass of water in the process. He reached inside the room and slammed the door.

“Are you trying to break a door?” I said. I meant it as a joke to lighten the mood, but Jake’s sharp face tightened with anger.

“Nobody goes inside dad’s room,” he warned. “Especially someone who’s not family.”

He held my gaze for three heartbeats, ensuring that his message got through. Then he stalked back to his room and closed the door. Gently this time.

“Thanks for the warm welcome,” I muttered.

I carried my TV dinner to my room, then cleaned up the spilled water with a towel from the bathroom. I didn’t know where the laundry room was so I hung it back up on the peg where I had found it, then returned to my room and closed the door.

Before I could sit down and eat my food, my phone rang. It was Ashley.

“Hey girl!” she said excitedly when I answered. “Sorry it took so long for me to call. I’m still getting situated here in Kentucky. They’re putting me to work right off the bat. I have a feeling I’m going to work some long days. Crap! Sorry, I shouldn’t be bragging about my job while you’re unemployed. Are you back in Fredericksburg now? How are your parents? Driving you crazy yet?”

“Well… I’m not home. I’m still at Crazy Carl’s Zoo.”

I could feel her confusion through the phone. “You’re what?”

“It’s not what we thought,” I explained. “The zoo is being run by Carl’s sons. They need a vet to help take care of the animals and run the place. They’re going to move the animals to real sanctuaries! It’s going to be a long process though, so I agreed to help…”

“Woah, hold on there sweetie,” she cut in. “Why are the sons running the zoo? What happened to Crazy Carl?”

“He’s dead,” I whispered in case the walls were thin. “He died last week. The sons inherited the zoo.”

“No way!” she said. “I don’t believe you.” I heard her rapidly typing on her laptop. Then she gasped. “Oh wow. Here’s the news article. A plane crash last week. Wow!”

“I told you!”

“Start over. How did all this happen?”

I filled her in on how David had come to my hotel and explained the situation. How they had closed the zoo and were actively trying to move the big cats to more legitimate zoos and sanctuaries. But that would take time, so they needed my help taking care of the animals in the interim.

“I spent most of the day working with the two sons, David and Anthony. There’s three of them, but Jake doesn’t really want to be here.”

“Are they as crazy as their dad?” Ashley asked excitedly.

“They’re shockingly normal. And…”

“What?”

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