Free Die Again by Tess Gerritsen Page B

sensitive matter.”
    “The death of a zoo animal? Why?”
    “Because he had to be euthanized. That always gets negative reactions. And Kovo was a very rare animal.”
    “What day was this done?”
    “It was Sunday morning. Our veterinarian Dr. Oberlin came in to administer the lethal injection. Kovo’s kidneys had been failing for some time and he’d lost a great deal of weight. Dr. Rhodes pulled him off exhibit a month ago, to spare him the stress of being in public. We hoped we could pull him through this illness, but Dr. Oberlin and Dr. Rhodes finally agreed that it was time to do it. Much as it grieved them both.”
    “Dr. Rhodes is another veterinarian?”
    “No, Alan is an expert on large-cat behavior. He knew Kovo better than anyone else did. He’s the one who delivered Kovo to the taxidermist.” Dr. Mikovitz glanced up at a knock on his door. “Ah, here’s Alan now.”
    The title Large-Cat Expert conjured up images of a rugged outdoorsman in safari clothes. The man who walked into the office was indeed wearing a khaki uniform with dusty trousers and stray burrs clinging to his fleece jacket, as if he’d just come off a hiking trail, but there was nothing particularly rugged about Rhodes’s pleasantly open face. In his late thirties, with springy dark hair, he had the block-shaped head of Frankenstein’s monster, but a friendly version.
    “Sorry I’m late,” said Rhodes, clapping dust from his pant legs. “We had an incident at the lion enclosure.”
    “Nothing serious, I hope?” said Dr. Mikovitz.
    “No fault of the cats. It’s the damn kids. Some teenager thought he’d prove his manhood, so he climbed the outer fence and fell into the moat. I had to go in and drag him out.”
    “Oh my God. Are we going to have any liability issues?”
    “I doubt it. He was never in any real danger, and I think he found it so humiliating he’ll never tell a soul.” Rhodes gave a pained smile to Jane and Frost. “Just another fun day with idiot humans. My lions, at least, have more than an ounce of common sense.”
    “This is Detective Rizzoli, Detective Frost,” said Mikovitz.
    Rhodes extended a callused hand to them. “I’m Dr. Alan Rhodes.I’m a wildlife biologist specializing in felid behavior. All cats, large and small.” He glanced at Mikovitz. “So have they found Kovo?”
    “I don’t know, Alan. They just arrived, and we haven’t gotten to that subject yet.”
    “Well, we need to know.” Rhodes turned back to Jane and Frost. “Animal pelts deteriorate quite rapidly after death. If it isn’t immediately harvested and processed, it loses its value.”
    “How valuable is a snow leopard pelt?” asked Frost.
    “Considering how few of the animals there are in the world?” Rhodes shook his head. “I’d say priceless.”
    “And that’s why you wanted the animal stuffed.”
    “ Stuffed is rather an inelegant term,” said Mikovitz. “We wanted Kovo preserved in all his beauty.”
    “And that’s why you brought him to Leon Gott.”
    “For skinning and mounting. Mr. Gott is—was—one of the best taxidermists in the country.”
    “Did you know him personally?” asked Jane.
    “Only by reputation.”
    Jane looked at the large-cat expert. “And you, Dr. Rhodes?”
    “I met him for the first time when Debra and I delivered Kovo to his house,” said Rhodes. “I was shocked this morning when I heard about his murder. I mean, we’d just seen him alive on Sunday.”
    “Tell me about that day. What you saw, what you heard at his house.”
    Rhodes glanced at Mikovitz, as if to confirm he should answer their questions.
    “Go ahead, Alan,” said Mikovitz. “It’s a murder investigation, after all.”
    “Okay.” Rhodes took a breath. “On Sunday morning, Greg—Dr. Oberlin, our veterinarian—euthanized Kovo. According to the agreement, we had to deliver the carcass immediately to the taxidermist. Kovo weighed over a hundred pounds, so one of our zookeepers, Debra Lopez, assisted