The Scent of Blood Read Online Free PDF Page B

learning,” said the keeper gruffly.
    “And what’s this one?” Graham asked politely, holding up the bottle Charlie had put in his hand. I noticed he was careful not to remove the stopper.
    “Cadaverine,” Charlie answered promptly.
    “As in cadaver? Corpse?”
    “Yep.”
    “Ingenious.” Graham was rapidly running out of conversation ideas. “Very clever. Lovely. Hmm…”
    There was a short silence. I was still feeling too sick to speak, but fortunately Charlie decided he’d had enough of his little joke. He took the bottles from our unresisting hands and put them back on the shelf.
    “I won’t be giving them either of those today,” he said, winking at Graham. “You’re off the hook. They had all they needed to eat this morning. You can help me with the penguins instead.”
    Feeding the penguins was fun. They were all different shapes and sizes, from the king penguins, that came up to my waist, to the little rockhoppers, that barely reached my knees. One was really tame and waddled along behind us, taking fish from our hands. After that we got to feed the fur seals, so all in all our afternoon with Charlie proved a lot more enjoyable than we’d expected at the outset.
    Our Behind the Scenes tour ended at 4.30 p.m. and just as we were washing our hands in the kitchen, April appeared and said to Charlie, “Mr Monkton wants you to sort the bears out before tonight.” Without even glancing at us she added, “Give them a scatter feed. Throw in a couple of logs, too – he wants them kept busy this evening.”
    A look of irritation passed across Charlie’s face. “They were fed this afternoon,” he said, glancing pointedly at his watch. “I haven’t got anything prepared.”
    “Well, prepare something now, then,” April said brusquely. “They’ll be disturbed by the party and Mr Monkton doesn’t want them pacing. It might upset the hotel guests.”
    “I finish work in half an hour,” Charlie protested.
    “You’d better be quick, then, hadn’t you?” replied April coolly. “Mr Monkton can’t afford to pay you overtime. And he’ll be down to check on them before the party, so don’t take any short cuts.”
    April walked away, oblivious to the furious glare Charlie Bales was burning into her back. Graham and I finished washing our hands, muttered a quick good-bye and slipped out of the kitchen as fast as we could. Just as we were closing the door, Charlie’s walkie-talkie crackled into life.
    “You nearly ready to go?” a woman’s voice asked.
    “No,” he replied sourly. “Sorry, Kylie.”
    “Oh, OK. I’ll get a lift home with Angie, then.”
    “You better had. I’ll be stuck here now until the party. April’s just said Monkton wants me to feed the bears again.”
    “What, now?” Kylie sounded as angry as Charlie.
    “Yeah. Just throw in a couple of logs, she says.”
    “Like you can buy them in the supermarket!” Kylie sighed. “That man’s got no idea, has he?”
    “Well, I hope I don’t see him before the party, that’s all I can say. The way I feel right now, I might just do him an injury.”
    I looked at Graham. He pursed his lips. We didn’t like the sound of that at all.

red in tooth and claw
    Graham and I returned to the Healing Harmony Hotel and Spa. It wasn’t until we walked in and noticed the other guests looking at us with horrified disapproval that we realized quite how much we stank. What with the tiger poo, the putrescine, the dead fish and the penguin droppings, we weren’t very nice to know. The receptionist pressed a hanky over her nose and mouth as she handed us the keys to our rooms. When we banged on Mum’s door to let her know we were back, she took one disgusted sniff and ordered us both to take highly scented bubble baths.
    When we were thoroughly clean and had changed into fresh clothes, dropping the overalls in the hotel laundry for sterilization, we discussed the plan for the evening. Mum and Becca had been massaged to within an inch of