Eight
1106 Words
Niaz stood before me. In the darkness, I could barely see his face. The shadows blocked half his face. What I could see looked amused. He stood still as a statue, his hand on his hip and his foot rested on my shoe.
I froze. All I could do was stare at Niaz and try to breathe. He c****d a half smile, bent down, and picked up my phone from the ground.
I opened my mouth to speak and closed it again. There was nothing I could say to talk my way out of this. He’d caught me trespassing. Not only was I trespassing, it was obvious that I had evidence of his illegal activities.
“So, what brings you back this evening?”
I shook my head. What was going to happen to me? My stomach soured at the thought of the what he’d do to keep this a secret.
He took a step toward me and handed me my phone. “Looks like you dropped this. Here.”
I reached my shaking hand out and took the phone from him. Jagged edges brushed my fingers. The screen was most definitely broken. I shoved it back in my pocket.
I opened and closed my mouth again. I had to say something but the words just weren’t formulating in my mind.
Niaz stepped softly in my direction again. I had to look up to see his face. His nostrils flared. Was he smelling me?
“No need for fear, my dear. I’m not going to hurt you.” His voice was gentle and barely above a whisper.
“But—”
“I have work to finish. Come with me. We can chat about what you think you saw after.”
Like before, he put his hand on my back and guided me. Still numb with terror, I followed where he led. Right to the crowd.
We walked right toward the person I couldn’t see before. The one who was taking bids for the ostrich fight. He was tall and lanky, standing at least a foot higher than Niaz. He counted cash at a small table.
“Please, have a seat here and wait for me.”
I complied and sat on the pavement next to the table.
“Jeff, this is my friend Beth. She’s a guest this evening. Please make sure that she stays safe.”
Jeff dipped his head. “You got it, boss.” Jeff turned his attention back to counting the money.
Niaz walked several steps back toward the ring and stopped. He turned back to me. “No pictures this time.”
The crowd cheered as something large hit the chain link fence and made it rattle. He continued his walk toward the fight.
His gait was smooth. He was a picture in the tuxedo. I imagined him taking me into his arms. . .
What was I thinking? The man was a criminal. An animal abuser.
I spent the next several minutes staring at my feet and trying to frown out the violent noises.
How in the world was I going to explain this?
Could I trust that he wouldn’t hurt me? He gave me back my phone and was so gentle with me. If he meant me harm, surely he wouldn’t have given the phone back.
After a while, the crowd’s cheers reached a crescendo. Niaz entered the ring.
“And we have a winner for our final fight of the evening. Please, collect your winnings. Thank you so much for your continued support of our mission.”
I watched him mingle in the crowd. He laughed and seemed to be in good spirits with everyone. He shook hands. I noticed that he stood an arm’s length away from all the women who were present. He didn’t put his hand on any of their backs as he talked.
When most of the crowd had dispersed, Niaz sauntered back to where I sat. He offered his hand to me.
“Let’s go somewhere a little more private and have a chat.”
I grabbed his hand and allowed him to help me stand. He led me back to the path and toward the offices of the zoo.
I walked in silence and stared at my feet. Niaz made no attempts at conversation as we walked.
As we approached the main building, I missed the step up onto the sidewalk and I stumbled. He caught me by my elbow and kept his warm hand there even after I’d found my balance once more.
“Careful. We can’t have you getting hurt.”
He guided me by my elbow into the building and around several corners until we reached what must have been his office. He flipped on the light and pulled a chair out for me at the large mahogany desk.
When I sat, he walked around the impressive desk back to his seat. He interlaced his long fingers so that his palms were touching and rested his chin on his fingers.
The office was a little on the chilly side. I tried to pull my sweatshirt closer around my body. The desk had pictures of animals on it as well as a crystal award for Best Zoo from a popular family magazine.
Niaz took in a deep breath and exhaled. His soft golden eyes rested on my face.
“Please, Beth, tell me what this is about?”
His stare unnerved me. I looked at my hands. It felt like I was in the principal’s office trying to explain my bad behavior.
“I—”
I looked around the room and back at him. He motioned with his hand for me to continue.
“I was worried about the animals after the complaint.”
“Your investigation wasn’t enough? You found the animals to all be in good shape, yes? They were well-cared for?”
His voice was soft. He sounded more disappointed than anything else.
My chees felt like they were on fire.
“Obviously my instincts were right. The complaint about missing and injured animals wasn’t unfounded. You tried to cover it up and failed.”
He shook his head slowly.
“You don’t have the whole picture, Beth. Let me exp—”
“You don’t need to. I’m going to call the police.”
“Wait. I’m helping them. This isn’t what you think it is. And none of them are missing, they’ve just moved on.” He reached his hand across the desk toward mine. I pulled my hands out of his reach and into my lap.
“I don’t need to understand your reasons. These animals have been getting hurt. Zoo animals don’t move on.”
“You’re right. They don’t. These aren’t zoo animals.”
“What? Yes they are.”
“I’m raising money to help the unfortunate. This is all completely voluntary.”
His words just didn’t make sense.
“Animals can’t consent. Please stop giving excuses. I need to go.”
“Fine. Then I’ll show you.”
Niaz stripped down to his underwear. His muscled frame sprouted thick, white fur. Before my brain could process, a large white lion stood where Niaz had been just seconds before.
I screamed.
- Writer
