The Infamous Frankie Lorde 2, page 20
“A lot, I know,” I finished, not wanting to admit out loud just how much I was giving away. “But the truth is, as talented as Ollie is, he couldn’t have gotten the job done without your help. You deserve to be compensated for that.”
Angus looked at the emerald again and shook his head.
“What would you have done with this if you weren’t giving it to me?” he’d asked.
I hadn’t had to think about it.
“I’m giving most of our haul to the rescue for taking on all the exotics and for the care they’re giving their existing animals,” I’d answered. “They do such a great job, but with all of the newbies, they’re going to need to expand and that will take money. So…”
I’d let the sentence trail off and shrugged.
Angus had studied my face a second.
“You have changed, lass,” he’d said quietly, then cut me off as I’d begun to object. “I like it. You’re becoming the kind of thief yer mom would’ve been proud of.”
I’d been taken aback by the comment and felt tears start to spring to my eyes.
“Here,” Angus had said then, surprising me as he’d handed me back the jewel. “I’m going to take a page out of yer book and give this back to ye. Why dontcha give it to the animals, too.”
My eyes had teared up even more and threatened to overflow.
“Are you sure?” I’d asked him.
Angus nodded. “Green’s not really my color, anyway.”
I’d hugged him again before he’d gotten in his car and headed out of town, on to whatever his next job was.
As I’d watched him drive away, I felt a part of the old me leave, too.
“Yep, looks like you’re stuck with me a little longer,” I said to Ollie now as we watched another of the tigers we’d rescued come into sight and head over to its old cage-mate.
“You say that like it’s a bad thing,” Ollie answered. Then, all of a sudden he jumped and turned to face me, an excited look on his face. “Oooh, ooh! I totally forgot to tell you! Adam, the TV crew guy that I made friends with, he texted ’André’ yesterday and said that when they got back to the Brasko estate to recover all their gear after the place was raided, they found one of the microphones in the hallway. It had mysteriously been turned on at some point and they’d picked up an interesting conversation between Brigeet and Emma where the heiress confesses everything. You know, before ’Brigeet’ disappeared and all.”
“Oh, did they now?” I asked, a smile crossing my face.
“Yeah,” Ollie said, evaluating my reaction. “He said that the director has decided to go in a different direction with the show. Instead of doing a reality show—which they couldn’t finish now anyway—they’re going to switch to a docuseries that will follow the attempted rise and fall of one of the US’s richest and most powerful families. They say the confession is just the beginning and they’ll be filming the investigation and trial now. The twins have already agreed for some bizarre reason. Apparently, they think it could actually make them look better to the public?”
“Good luck with that,” I muttered. “No way people will be on their side once they hear what she said to me when she thought nobody else was listening. The public is going to burn them at the stake.”
“Speaking of your part in this,” Ollie added, with a silly grin. “Adam asked if I thought Brigeet would go on camera for the doc and talk about her experience facing off with Emma.”
I snorted.
“Yeah, no,” I said bluntly. “That’s not happening. I already crossed the line by letting myself be audiotaped.” “So, why’d you do it then?” Ollie asked me.
“I weighed the pros and cons, and ultimately it was more important to get the truth out about what the twins were doing than worry about getting caught.”
“Figured you’d say no,” Ollie said, looking smug. “So I already told Adam you’d gone back to France and had no plans to come back. And then I threw my phone away.”
I tilted my head to the side and placed my hand over my heart. “My little boy is all grown up!” I said with fake emotion.
“Oh, shut up,” he said, but I could tell he was happy.
“You guys! I’m surprised to see you back so soon!” a voice called out energetically from behind us. We turned to see Michaela bounding up, her geeky perkiness rolling off her. “Do you have more questions for me or did I succeed in blowing your minds with my entertaining tour the other day?”
“You blew our minds, of course!” Ollie exclaimed, making hand motions like his brain was blowing up.
“But we did want to ask you a few more questions,” I chimed in.
“Of course! That’s what I’m here for,” Michaela said chipperly. “Now, is this about the peculiar shipment we got the other night? Because I’ve been dying to talk to somebody about it.”
“What shipment?” I asked, believably clueless.
Michaela’s face lit up.
“Oh, you are in for a treat!” she said to me. Then she looked around to see if anyone else was paying attention and then waved for us to follow her.
We did as she requested, and were brought through a door that read EMPLOYEES ONLY. I caught Ollie’s eye as Michaela began to give us a behind-the-scenes look at a section of the rescue we hadn’t seen before. Back here, it wasn’t quite as polished, but it was clean and stocked.
“So, a few nights ago, I was called into work in the middle of the night because some randos had dropped off over a dozen cages of exotic animals right in front of the rescue’s gate!” Michaela said.
“You’re kidding!” I said.
Michaela nodded. “It’s true!” she exclaimed like I really needed convincing. “There were, like, ten tigers, a sloth, some monkeys, a few others.”
“Where’d they come from?” I asked.
Michaela bit at her thumbnail. “I don’t know. But thank gosh they did, because some of the animals were in bad shape.”
“They were?” Ollie asked, surprised to hear it.
“Yeah,” she said. “Some were malnourished, others had old injuries that hadn’t been addressed. There were a few that were simply scared to death.”
“And now?” I asked her.
“And now, they’re safe because they’re here,” she said, waving her hand at the group of oversized cages now in front of us that held many of the animals we’d freed. “We even got some baby cubs! Aren’t they cute? Don’t get too close, though. They’re still deadly, even if you wish you could squeeze their little faces off!”
“Cute,” I said, remembering how they’d stalked me that night in the Jungle Room.
“But that’s not the craziest part,” Michaela said, lowering her voice to a near-whisper. Ollie and I moved closer to indulge her. “Yesterday we got an anonymous donation sent to the sanctuary. And it was a lot.
“Whoa!” Ollie said.
“That’s nuts!” I echoed, playing our part in the little show.
“Now, I don’t know exactly how much was there…,” Michaela said, her eyes wide now.
Five hundred thousand dollars.
“…but the rumor is, it was enough to do a whole new addition to the rescue and run things for the next decade. Can you believe it?” she finished finally.
“That’s amazing,” I said to her, and smiled.
My cell phone buzzed in my pocket and I took it out to glance at the text.
Uncle Scotty: Meet me at The Farm in 20?
I moved my fingers quickly over the screen, letting Ollie and Michaela carry on their conversation without me.
Me: Sure. See you soon.
“Sorry guys, duty calls,” I said, holding up my phone. “Gotta get going. Michaela, now that you’ve got so many more animals to take care of, you guys probably need more help, huh?”
Michaela blinked at me.
“Yeah. Actually, Jolene, the owner was just mentioning that this morning,” she said, curiously. “Why? Are you offering?”
I chuckled at her joke. “I think I know someone who would be perfect. Can I put you guys in touch?”
“Could they start now? As you can see, we’re sort of overwhelmed around here,” she said.
“Yeah,” I said, smiling. “I think he could make himself available.”
Entry Thirty-Seven
I had no idea why Uncle Scotty wanted me to meet him.
The even bigger head-scratcher was that he wanted to do it at The Farm.
So, I was a bit in the dark—and on edge—when I walked up to Kayla’s shop. I stopped just outside, pausing for a minute before I walked in.
As I looked around, gathering myself, my eyes fell on a long, thin stick lying just a few feet away. Smiling, I bounced over and picked it up, running my hand along its rough, scratchy surface.
Then I went back to the front door and pushed it open as slowly as I could. I watched the crack at the top open an inch. Then two. Two and a half, and I finally saw it.
I deftly lifted the branch and stuck it up into the area between the bell and where it was attached above the door. I grinned and opened the door the rest of the way, noting with satisfaction how it made zero noise.
Victory!
I slowly closed the door again and leaned the branch up against the wall before walking farther into the store.
I was so sick of hearing that darn bell ring every time I walked inside.
I didn’t see Uncle Scotty or Kayla, so I headed toward the back, listening for their voices as I went. When I arrived in the inner sanctum, the only ones there were the animals currently waiting for a forever home.
“Hi everyone!” I said.
They all seemed to perk up and a few even started to bark back.
This is how I should be greeted all the time.
Something snagged on my T-shirt as I walked toward the back door and I turned to look at what it was.
“Geronimo!” I said, reaching up and gently retracting the animal’s claws from the material of my shirt. “I see you, girl.”
I picked the cat up and nuzzled my face into her fluffy fur.
“You’re much better behaved than those big cats,” I said, petting her lovingly. “Should we go find Uncle Scotty?”
I took her meow as a yes and walked out the back door of The Farm. As we emerged into the back parking lot, I spotted Uncle Scotty and Kayla about fifty feet away. They were huddled together in the cold and talking quietly to each other.
I kept my footsteps silent and moved carefully toward them. Geronimo did her part and kept quiet too, as if she knew what we were doing. When we were just a few feet away, I finally caught parts of their conversation.
“There would be four main yards, each with a different theme and gear,” Kayla was saying. “We’ll set up shades, water misters in the summer, space heaters in the winter. A swimming pool, pup pads, toys, cushy fake grass—Ahhhh! I’m just so excited!”
“What are we excited about?” I asked as I let my presence be known.
Kayla jumped while Uncle Scotty turned to look at me, an eyebrow raised questioningly.
“Frankie!” Kayla exclaimed in her soft, sing-songy voice. “You’re here!”
“Yep,” I said, carefully. “Uncle Scotty asked me to come?”
“Oh, right,” she said, exchanging a look with my uncle that I didn’t quite understand.
We all stood there silently, just looking at each other and not speaking. Finally, I cleared my throat and spoke up.
“Okay,” I said, confused. “So, we’re excited, why?”
Kayla’s face lit up again and she nearly jumped up and down in delight.
“You won’t believe this, but The Farm has a fairy godmother!” Kayla said, her eyes wide.
“A fairy godmother?” I asked, thoroughly confused. I looked over at Uncle Scotty for some sort of explanation and he just shrugged before gesturing back at the rescue owner.
“There’s no other explanation than that,” Kayla said. “Yesterday I came to the barn and found an envelope addressed to me. When I opened it, I found a bunch of money and a note saying I should use it to build the animal yard! Can you believe it?”
I put the appropriate look of shock and amazement on my face.
“That’s amazing!” I said, shaking my head. “Well, if anyone deserves it, it’s you and this place.”
“It’s just—what an incredible gift,” she said, looking so grateful.
“I bet whoever gave the money to you felt like you’re the incredible one,” I said, petting Geronimo. “You take care of all these guys when no one else will and you try to find them families. You’re like an animal superhero.”
Kayla blushed.
“I’m just trying to make the world a little better,” she said finally. “Isn’t that what most people are striving for? Leaving the world a little better because they were here?”
“Not everyone is as altruistic as you,” Uncle Scotty said seriously. “Case in point, the reason I’m here.”
“Right,” Kayla said, frowning. “Well, that’s why we need more people like my fairy godmother.”
“Why are you here?” I asked Uncle Scotty, still confused by that fact.
Uncle Scotty took a breath.
“A few days ago there was a raid at the estate of a couple local billionaires,” Uncle Scotty said, placing his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “When we responded to a call from someone in the house, we found a twelve-foot snake and a bunch of empty cages. After an investigation we discovered that the owners have been running an illegal exotic trade business, capturing and supplying endangered animals to others across the US.”
“Geez,” I said. “Some people really suck.”
“They do suck,” my uncle said without thinking. When he saw Kayla and my faces at his response, he straightened up, looking embarrassed. “Anyways, I’m here because I was asking Kayla if she’d take the snake we confiscated.”
“And I politely declined and gave your uncle the name of the organization that just took in the boa we had here the other day,” Kayla said. “I’m not qualified to handle a snake that size.”
“Yeah, that’s no joke,” I said before I could stop myself. “I mean, you said it was twelve feet long? At that size, I’d imagine it could eat…well, Geronimo here. Can’t have that.”
“That’s right,” Kayla said slowly, still studying me. After a few seconds, she looked from Uncle Scotty and back to me. “Okay, I’ll let you guys talk.”
Then she did the strangest thing. She gave my uncle a wink before walking away.
What the heck was that about?
“We need to talk?” I asked Uncle Scotty curiously once Kayla had disappeared inside.
Uncle Scotty turned to me, a slightly uncomfortable look on his face.
Uh-oh.
“I’ve been chatting with Kayla on and off since you expressed how much you and Ollie get along with her,” Uncle Scotty started. He began to pace around the parking lot. “And there was something I wanted to talk to you about. Well, we wanted to talk to you about.”
We?
What. Is. Going. On?
“Okay…,” I said carefully.
“Well, as we were talking, Kayla told me that she’d asked if you wanted to adopt a cat?” he said, scratching his chin.
I held the cat up and waved her paw at him.
“Meet Geronimo,” I said.
“Hello,” he said awkwardly, before getting back to his point. “She said you said no, because you ’weren’t a cat person’? Is that true?”
I shrugged. I realized it was unfortunate timing as I was currently cuddling with said cat.
“It’s more like I’m not really a pet person. Besides, you said I couldn’t bring any animals home.”
There, that should do it.
Uncle Scotty stopped pacing and looked at me. “Maybe I was wrong.”
Huh?
“Huh?” I asked. “What are you talking about?”
“Maybe a pet is just what we need,” he said cautiously.
I gave him a weird look.
He held up his hands in front of him. “Now hear me out,” he said. “So, the other day, we were talking about change and how we can only grow as much as we’re willing to change. I think you—deep down—don’t think you’re a pet person, because you’ve never had the opportunity to have a pet.”
Did he read my journal or my mind? He couldn’t be that dead-on just on his own. I didn’t give him enough of my inner thoughts to let him read me like that.
Then again, I was talking to a detective.
I began to open my mouth to argue with him but he stopped me.
“Now, I could be way off base here, but from what Kayla says and what I’m seeing now, you don’t dislike animals. And if that’s true, then I’m inclined to believe that you don’t want a pet because you still don’t see this as your home. You don’t want to lay down roots.”
I didn’t confirm whether he was right, but also didn’t deny it. So, he continued.
“That got me thinking—maybe we both need to change a little bit to become even better versions of ourselves,” he said. “So, I wanted to challenge you to change the way you feel about being here, in Greenwich. Instead of feeling like you’re stuck here forever, how about you look at this as the home you can always go back to after your adventures. It will be your home whenever you want it. But for that to be true, you have to start doing things that ground you here.”
“Like bringing home a pet?” I asked, stroking Geronimo as she purred.
“Like bringing home a pet,” he agreed.
“Well, what are you changing about yourself?” I asked, curious to know what flaws he felt he had.
“I think that by us bringing home this cat, it will force me to stop thinking that I’m incapable of taking care of somebody else,” he said, sounding a little embarrassed to admit it. “Namely, you.”
