The Fox of Richmond Park Page 19

  She took a deep breath and walked towards the entrance, but as she went to duck inside a voice called from across the cemetery behind her. ‘Hello?’

  She turned and saw two foxes approaching. They were small and wiry, their fur pitted with scars. One of them – the vixen – bore a fresh wound across her face. They were clearly not locals.

  ‘We don’t want any trouble,’ the male said cautiously.

  ‘We’re looking for someone,’ the female said.

  ‘If the deer spot me talking to you, I’m dead,’ Sophie said. Usually she would’ve helped them without a second thought. But things were different now. ‘You should leave.’

  ‘Kara. A barn owl. Do you know where we can find her?’ the female said, ignoring her.

  ‘How do you know Kara?’ Sophie said.

  ‘She came to our park. Asked us to kill a fox for her…’ the male said.

  ‘Mother Nature.’ Sophie’s stomach lurched. She took a deep breath, trying not to think the worst. ‘Vince… Is… Is he okay? I’ll strangle that bird.’

  The two foxes looked at each other nervously.

  ‘No… Tell me he’s not…’ Sophie squeezed her eyes shut, her knees buckling.

  ‘We’re sorry. Our sister died too… There was a fight and…’ The female trailed off.

  Sophie looked up at the black sky, blinking through the tears. Dead. She didn’t want to believe it – Why would Edward go to the trouble of killing Vince when he was already gone? – but after Alice’s murder, this was the least surprising news of the day. As she opened her eyes and stared at the foxes, angry tears fell. But now they were tinged with grief too. She should’ve killed the scrawny creatures right there, right then, but what was the point? It wouldn’t have made her feel any better. And they seemed cooperative. Maybe she could use them to prove Edward’s guilt?

  ‘We know it was wrong. We didn’t think…’ the female looked at her paws, choking back her own tears.

  Sophie ignored the vixen’s sadness, her anger taking over.

  ‘Save your tears, bitch,’ Sophie screamed. ‘Just tell me what Kara promised you in return?’

  ‘A home in Richmond Park,’ the male said.

  Sophie laughed hysterically. ‘Lucky you! She told you all about it, did she? How safe we all are? How happy?’

  The male looked stunned, but waited for his sister to respond.

  ‘We don’t want to stay, not now,’ the female said. ‘We just want to find the owl and get her back for what happened to Bonnie.’

  ‘Good, because you’re about as welcome here as dog scat. I’m going to see Edward. He’s the one who sent her and I’m very keen to hear his thoughts on all this. Kara’s tree is not far from where he sleeps. You’re welcome to tear her apart. Saves me a job.’

  The foxes nodded, embarrassed. Sophie turned and faced the entrance to her den. ‘Jake! Jake, if you’re in there, get out here right now!’

  A few blinks later, Jake crawled from the den and did his best to stifle a yawn as he saw Sophie’s steely expression, followed by the strangers behind her. ‘What’s wrong? Who are they?’

  ‘Vince is dead.’ Her voice cracked as she said the words, but she composed herself. ‘Edward sent Kara to have him killed. I’m going to go and have a word with him, and yes, I know he’ll be asleep, but I’m going anyway. I want to know why. It doesn’t make any sense.’

  ‘I, uh…’ Jake spluttered. ‘Are you sure that’s… a good idea?’

  ‘What in Mother’s name is wrong with you, Jake?’ Sophie snapped. ‘First Alice, now Vince… Do you want me to just ignore what Edward is doing? Because I won’t sit by and let him get away with this and, frankly, I don’t know how you can either.’

  ‘I want Edward to pay for what he’s done, of course I do, I’m just thinking of you, Soph. If you got hurt, or worse, I don’t know what I’d do. I couldn’t bear it.’ Jake walked towards her. ‘I’m sorry about Vince. Honestly, I am. He was a decent fox.’

  ‘He was.’ Sophie turned away. ‘Are you coming, then? Because I really need you there, Jake. I need you to back me up on this.’

  ‘Yes, of course.’ Jake moved to her side.

  Together, Sophie and Jake began to walk towards the trees which separated the cemetery from the main park. The other foxes followed behind. Sophie told them to tell her what had happened and they obliged, fearing her anger. They explained everything, from Kara’s first appearance at Hyde Park to her quick departure after Bailey’s attempt to grab her. Sophie listened in silence, reacting only with a fierce furrowing of her brow as they explained how they’d left Vince in the building site with another vixen.

  ‘We’re all just Edward’s little playthings,’ Sophie said to herself. Jake tried to comfort her but she batted him away.

  The four of them continued across the expanse of the park in silence, the moon glowing overhead. Edward would be asleep, but Sophie wasn’t about to let courtesy get in the way of finding out the truth. Edward may make the rules, but now, as far as she was concerned, the winner was the animal left standing at the end of the game.

  *

  ‘Vince! Arthur! Are you okay?’ Laurie shouted from the kerb, then ran into the road.

  He uncoiled himself and hissed through his teeth. ‘Yes. Ouch.’ He sat back on his haunches and licked his sore belly.

  Arthur stayed where he was. Laurie tapped him gently with the back of her paw. ‘Come on, all clear. You need to move before another car comes.’

  ‘Um…’ His tiny body muffled his words. Finally, he relented and unfurled, still shaking with fear. ‘Thank you, Vince. I’m really sorry.’

  ‘No problem,’ he said through gritted teeth.

  ‘I couldn’t help it… I… I tried…’

  Vince managed a smile. ‘I know, sorry. You did great. Well done.’

  Vince and Laurie escorted Arthur across the remainder of the road. Rita squawked ‘Bravo!’ as he made it up the low kerb on the other side.

  ‘I did it!’ he said. ‘I can’t believe I crossed the road!’

  ‘I can’t believe I just wrapped myself around a hedgehog on purpose,’ Vince said.

  Laurie laughed.

  ‘Onwards!’ Rita said.

  ‘Um, this way, I guess?’ Arthur started off down the path alongside the road until they reached another leading into the grassy area. Their pace was slow, as he sniffed and investigated nearly every inch of the ground in front of him. Following his nose north they passed under a shroud of trees, emerging at a roundabout of sorts, a pointed fountain marking the convergence of several routes. Arthur circled around it, leading them straight on. They walked for a little while, then Vince’s ears pricked.

  ‘Can you hear that?’ he said.

  ‘Bird calls,’ Laurie replied. ‘But not the usual ones.’

  ‘Oh, we must be almost there then,’ Arthur said.

  ‘How are you feeling, Rita? Think you can go and investigate now?’ Vince said.

  Rita gingerly stretched her wings. ‘I think so.’ She hopped away and flapped clumsily, feet briefly leaving the path, before tumbling back down to earth in a flurry of feathers. ‘Whoops! Almost. Let’s pretend that was a practice run.’ She shook her tail and tried again. After a few strong wingbeats, she made it into the air.

  She disappeared over the trees, but returned a minute or so later with a loud squawk. ‘This way! Come on!’

  Arthur veered off the path to the left and waddled across the grass in her direction, the foxes close behind.

  A metal fence, disguised by bushes growing around it, appeared to mark the boundary of the zoo. The hedgehog nosed his way under, pushing aside the loose leaves, as Vince and Laurie found a less camouflaged area and squeezed through the bare vertical railings.

  Rita was already on the other side, pecking spiders from a pile of loose logs. ‘Through these trees, come on!’ she said, flitting away again.

  Tired of waiting, Vince stepped over the hedgehog and followed Rita out into the open where a
wide concrete path met his paws. He stopped and took it all in.

  Apart from the intermittent cries of some unknown birds, the zoo was silent. Smells bombarded his nose; raw meat, fresh fish, the musk of countless mammals, scat. Too many to distinguish and some completely new.

  To his right, a long wire-mesh cage ran alongside the path. It was taller than a shed, but not quite building height. Trees loomed over the back edge of it. Inside, plants and bushes covered the floor and bare, mostly branchless tree trunks jutted from the ground. It looked pleasant enough, and it was certainly spacious, but Vince couldn’t help but compare it to the trap in the allotments.

  Laurie emerged from the bushes with Arthur and they joined Vince on the path. ‘What is that?’ Laurie blinked at the huge cage.

  ‘They’re for animals. Penelope says there’s hundreds of animals here – maybe thousands – and they’re all kept in things like that, so they can’t get out,’ Arthur said.

  ‘Wait, so the giant cats are in these too?’ Vince said.

  ‘Probably,’ Arthur replied.

  ‘I thought they’d be roaming around,’ Vince said. ‘Free.’

  ‘Oh, no. The humans keep them in these enclosures for safety,’ Arthur said. ‘Penelope can leave when she wants because they don’t care about her. Herons aren’t special, apparently.’

  ‘Special?’ Laurie said.

  ‘Some animals are from far, far away. Some are, um… What’s the word? En… Endangered. Yes. That means there aren’t many of them left.’

  ‘So the humans are protecting them?’ Vince said.

  ‘I suppose so. Penelope knows more than me. We might be able to find her. She lives with the tall pink birds.’

  ‘So, what’s in this enclosure?’ Rita hopped towards the cage and yelled through the mesh. ‘Hello?’

  A voice screeched back at her from inside. ‘Be quiet! We’re trying to sleep!’ Towards the back, two large yellow-and-blue birds were perched on a thin branch. Tails as long as their bodies, and of an equally electric blue, pointed at the ground. Green feathers fringed their black-and-white-striped faces and their heads lolled on their shoulders, eyes closed. Vince had never seen anything like them. Despite his disappointment at the enclosures, their vibrant, exotic feathers made him even more excited to meet the giant cat he’d seen plastered over the city.

  Vince called up to the birds. ‘Sorry to disturb you. Could you just tell us where the giant cats might be? Or the tall pink birds?’

  ‘How would we know anything about cats? Some pink birds over there, behind you. Now, go away!’ The birds flapped from their branch and soared the length of the cage, landing on another perch at the far end. They turned their heads away and quickly resumed sleeping.

  ‘How rude,’ Rita said.

  Vince turned around. Across from the cage, beyond a couple of slender trees, were some railings. Beyond that, he hoped, the tall pink birds. It was then he realised, the blue-and-yellow birds could only see what was directly in front of their enclosure. A wave of pity swept over him.

  ‘Let’s go and see these pink birds,’ Vince said. ‘There doesn’t seem to be a cage over there.’

  They followed the path to the railings which, it turned out, were bordering a small pond. On the closest bank, a flock of huge white birds slept. Their extraordinarily long orangey-pink beaks rested on their plump necks, pointing forward like blades. Wide, orange, webbed feet peeked out from under their bellies. Vince’s heart raced. Water birds. Even sound asleep, they looked menacing. They could, he was sure, swallow him whole. Occupying the opposite bank were, undoubtedly, the tall, pink birds Arthur had been talking about, also asleep. Nestled on the edge of the flock, standing on one thin yellow leg, was a grey heron.

  ‘Penelope!’ Arthur squeaked. ‘It’s me! It’s Arthur!’

  ‘Eh?’ Penelope opened one eye. ‘Who’sat?’

  ‘It’s Arthur! Over here!’

  ‘Arfur?’ she said. ‘What the…’ She lowered her other leg and waded across the water, through a cloud of buzzing midges, then carefully through the sleeping birds, to greet them. She bent down and peered through the railings. ‘Well I never! What you doin’ ’ere, little spike?’

  ‘I came to see you. This is Vince, Laurie and Rita. They helped me cross the road.’

  ‘Well, well, well… Aren’t you the brave adventurer, eh?’

  Arthur giggled. ‘Vince is looking for a park, and I thought you might be able to help, but he wants to see the big cat first. The one with all the fur around its neck.’

  ‘The lion? He’ll be asleep, but I’m sure he won’t mind saying hello.’

  ‘Lion,’ Vince whispered to himself. It sounded grand. Majestic. Vince trembled at the thought of meeting him, unable to imagine a real-life cat bigger than Socks. ‘What are those, behind you? Are they… dangerous?’

  Penelope looked over her shoulder. ‘Pelicans? No, not unless you’re a fish,’ she laughed.

  ‘So, they just stay in the pond, then?’ Vince said, trying not to show just how uneasy he was.

  ‘Yeah, they can’t fly. Flamingos neither. That’s the pink’uns over there.’ She pointed with her beak. ‘If they’re not in a cage, the humans cut their feathers.’

  ‘What?’ Rita said, eyes wide.

  ‘So they don’t escape,’ Penelope said, shrugging. ‘Ain’t much point in a zoo if all the animals can leave.’

  ‘Don’t they mind?’ Rita said.

  ‘They don’t know any different. Been here their whole lives.’

  Rita looked shocked. If this was how the birds were living, what would the humans be doing to the lion? Vince’s eagerness to see the big cat was diminishing, but his curiosity overruled. ‘Can we see the lion?’ he asked Penelope.

  ‘Follow me.’ Penelope stretched her long, grey wings, leapt into the air and flapped slowly over their heads. She circled back around, then headed off to the left.

  The group followed along the path, eventually reaching a tall stone archway with a pair of yellow gates underneath, where Penelope had perched. She jumped to the ground and led them through a brightly coloured passageway; yellow, pink, orange and blue assaulting them from every direction.

  More images of the cats caught Vince’s eye, looming large on the garish tiled walls. He recognised the musty scent of cat that hung in the still air, but it was different this time. Smoky and exotic, and much more pungent. Like a thousand house cats gathering around a fire. He was so close.

  ‘Here we go.’ Penelope pointed to a huge window up ahead on their left.

  Vince rushed over, propped his paws on the ledge below and pushed his wet nose against the glass. Sand covered the floor of the enclosure, with tufts of dry grass sprouting in rows among bare trees, rocks and human-built wooden structures. Vince frowned. ‘Where? I can’t see anything.’

  ‘At the back.’

  Vince squinted, then held his breath as the indistinct shapes in the distance came together in front of his eyes. Legs, paws, tails and noses. Three of the biggest cats he’d ever seen, golden brown, asleep and camouflaged on the sand underneath a thick tree trunk. Instinctively, he took a step from the window and exhaled slowly. Despite being awestruck, he couldn’t help but notice that they didn’t look like the pictures.

  ‘Where’s the fur around their necks?’ he asked.

  ‘Oh, only Ajadi has that. And it’s called a mane,’ Penelope said. ‘He’s the male. Usually on his own somewhere.’ Penelope led Vince away, out of the passage and back into the open air, where the path opened out into a circular area. One side was walled, the other looked out over the enclosure. No glass this time, but instead, a thick, metal mesh divided them from the lions. In front of the mesh, a railing prevented humans from getting close.

  Vince leapt over the rail with no trouble, but couldn’t see another lion. Behind him, Laurie, Rita and Arthur arrived. Rita flapped over to join Vince, while Laurie waited with Arthur on the other side of the railing. Vince looked expectantly at Penelope.

/>   ‘Ajadi!’ Penelope shouted. ‘Got some animals wanna meet you; come and say hello!’

  A deep, rumbling growl thundered through the air. Grass crunched as the lion trudged through the tussocks, still nowhere to be seen. Finally, from their right, Ajadi came into view. Vince stared in awe at the magnificent animal. The images on the gate and the sign had not done him justice. One stomp of his paw would have crushed Rita, if she’d sat still long enough. Huge, round ears poked from the golden crown of fur around his neck. His tail, thick as rope, swished lazily as his jaws opened in a cavernous yawn. Jet-black lips curled back from a set of dagger-like teeth. The lion could have bitten Vince’s head clean off, if not for the mesh. The smell grew stronger and Vince’s heart pounded in his chest and ears. Half of him was transfixed, the other half wanted to sprint clean out of the zoo.

  ‘Sorry, did we wake you?’ Penelope asked the lion.

  ‘Yes, but it’s fine. Never get more than an hour at a time, these days.’ Ajadi’s voice was deeper than any Vince had ever heard, and his accent unfamiliar.

  Penelope introduced Vince and the others to Ajadi, and vice versa. The lion nodded at them in turn, smiling through his obvious tiredness.

  ‘Nice to meet you all. What brings you here?’ he said.

  So in awe of the beast in front of him, Vince almost couldn’t reply. After a blink or two he managed to force his words out. ‘We were on our way to find a park and ran into Arthur here. He told us about this place, so we thought we’d take a quick detour. It’s nothing like where we’re from.’

  ‘And where are you from?’

  ‘Richmond Park,’ Vince said.

  ‘Is that far? You look like you’ve seen a bit of action.’ Ajadi nodded to the gashes on Vince’s neck.

  ‘Quite far. We’ve been travelling for a while, but Arthur says the animals here are from even further away.’

  The lion sighed. ‘That’s true. I was born in Germany, then I lived in Canada with my brother for many seasons, then they moved me here.’

  ‘The humans did?’ Vince said.