Zane nodded. “That’s right. I’ve been a passionate supporter of animal rights for the last twenty years with WWAAC, and we here typically do support sanctuaries.” His hands curled into fists. “I went undercover at the Magical Animal Sanctuary because it’s as much a sanctuary as I am a kangaroo.”
I blinked then shifted my gaze to Daisy, who wagged her tail. True.
So did that mean he was a kangaroo?
Zane huffed and rolled his eyes. “It’s not a sanctuary, at least we here at WWAAC suspect as much. It’s just another private zoo, masquerading as a charity, which, frankly—” He shook a finger at Peter. “—which frankly is worse. Animals don’t belong behind bars.”
I leaned forward. “We can agree on that, but some people do. Wink.”
Peter licked his lips. “Why don’t you believe it’s a sanctuary? What do you think is going on there?”
Zane splayed his palms. “Yes, going undercover to undermine a sanctuary is unique for us. For the most part, sanctuaries rescue animals who’ve been mistreated or couldn’t make it on their own in the wild, and often they rehabilitate and release animals that can.” He nodded. “We partner with quite a few of them.” He shook his head. “With the Magical Animal Sanctuary, we suspected something underhanded was going on.”
Peter leaned forward. “Underhanded?”
Zane nodded. “It’s rare, but a handful of sanctuaries we’ve come across claim to save animals, but in reality are breeding them themselves or buying them from illegal breeders.”
“Was that the case with the Rutherfords’ place?” That thinking line appeared between Peter’s brows.
I licked my lips. Were these animals inbred maybe? Was that why their speech was so stunted?
Zane shrugged. “I didn’t come across any evidence of breeding going on in house.” He leaned forward and tapped his desk. “But while I was there, we got a new delivery of animals, and I couldn’t help but doubt they came from legitimate sources.”
Peter’s frown deepened. “Why?”
Zane shrugged. “Partly just a feeling.” His eyes narrowed. “The guys who delivered them seemed shady.” He looked down, seemed to debate a moment, then looked back up. “I know this isn’t legal, okay, but I snuck into the office one night and looked around in the confidential files.” He lowered his voice so that Peter and I had to lean even farther forward. Even Daisy’s ears pricked.
Zane’s throat bobbed. “Going back decades, I’d guess 90 percent of the animals at the sanctuary came from the same wildlife rescue, the Underground Animal Rescue.”
I cocked a brow. “Okay…”
Zane looked intently between us. “The thing is, I’ve been working with WWAAC for two decades and I’ve never heard of the Underground Animal Rescue. And we’ve heard of every big player in the animal market, from poachers, to zoos, to sanctuaries to breeders. We don’t always have enough evidence to get them shut down, mind you, but we’ve at least heard of them. The kingdoms aren’t that big.”
Daisy whined. Truth.
“That’s weird.” I bounced my foot. “Just out of curiosity, what animals got delivered while you were undercover at Malorie’s sanctuary?”
He frowned and looked down, as if casting back through his memory. “Uh, a few lizards, a bobcat, a sloth, an alligator—”
I shot my arm out. “Wait. You said a sloth?”
His eyes tightened with concern. “Yeah… why?”
“The sloth was new.” I nodded, thinking over our encounter earlier. I turned to Peter and lowered my voice. “It was trying to tell me something… maybe it’s about this underground animal rescue place.”
Zane leaned forward. “What’s this all about? Is Malorie pressing charges?” His dark eyes darted quickly between Peter and me. “Look, I admit, I snuck into the ‘sanctuary’”—he made air quotes around the last word—“to learn more about it. But they hired me as a zookeeper, and I did my job. It might not have all been the most aboveboard, but it’s not illegal.” He winced. “Except for looking into their records, maybe.”
I quirked my lips to the side. “No… but murder is.”
Zane scoffed. “Murder?” His smirk faltered as Peter and I continued to gaze back at him, stone faced. “Who—who got murdered?”
Peter glanced down at the parchment in front of him, covered in notes and black ink splotches. “Tell me more about what happened when you worked there. As a zookeeper, you said?”
He shifted in his wooden chair. “Yeah, like I said, I went undercover for WWAAC, but I did work there—cleaning cages, feeding the animals, helping lead tour groups occasionally.” He sighed. “I tried to talk to the head zookeeper, Libbie Brown, and get her to turn over information that would prove that that place is no sanctuary for animals.”
I raised my brows. “How’d that work out?”
He dropped his head into one hand and massaged his temples. “It was a mistake, outing myself like that.” He lurched upright. “But I thought it was a sure thing with Libbie. Malorie stole Libbie’s zoo, paid her like dirt, gave her no benefits.” He threw his hands up. “I could tell Libbie was there because she cared about the animals, just like we do at WWAAC.”
I winced. “But it was a no go?”
“No!” Zane shook his head, mouth open in disbelief. “Libbie told me she wanted no part of my investigation.” He shrugged. “I was hoping Libbie would have some stories of abuse or putting animals down before their time or unsafe conditions for visitors. We wanted something we could use to get the place to either be more open or to get it shut down and release the animals to more aboveboard facilities.”
I thought of all those cages, all those strange-acting animals trapped inside them. “Or the wild?”
He splayed his hands. “Yes, if the animal’s fit to be released.”
Peter nodded. “What happened after you told Libbie your real motives for being there?”
Zane pressed his eyes shut and shook his head. “She turned me in to Malorie, who told me to leave and never come back. She said if she got any whiff of WWAAC snooping around in her business again, she’d
