The Beasts of Paris: a Novel by Stef Penney

Author:Stef Penney
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pegasus Books
Published: 2023-07-04T00:00:00+00:00

* * *

Robitaille was distraught.

‘I know I locked up! I always do, messieurs!’

Victor nodded. ‘I know you do, Robitaille.’ He looked at the director.

Lapeyre was furious. Victor couldn’t blame him. ‘What other explanation is there? The cage door is unlocked, isn’t it? A dangerous predator is at large in the midst of a city!’

‘With respect, director, we don’t know that he escaped,’ Victor said. ‘It is more likely to be theft. Someone who broke in. He’s a famous animal, after all.’

‘The lock wasn’t forced.’

Victor shrugged uneasily. ‘It’s been a while since the locks were changed, or it could have been picked. These criminals are so clever.’

‘Who would steal an animal like that, at a… a time like this?’

‘They’ve stolen them to eat before,’ Victor hazarded.

‘Then why not take the quagga? There’s more meat on that – and a lot less bother.’

Victor didn’t know. He was sorry for Robitaille. He knew him to be stalwart, the most reliable man in the zoo. But, also, anybody could make a mistake.

‘If the panther has escaped, there will be consequences. What if he harms someone? What if he kills a child? By God, I hate to think—’

‘I’ll look for him,’ said Robitaille, who was almost in tears.

Lapeyre nodded, dismissing him. He sighed angrily.

‘What chance does he have of finding him? A black cat, in a huge city? When there are no lights!’

‘He knows the places to look. If Nero is out there, he’ll have to find somewhere to hide. He’s scared of people, so he’ll avoid them as much as possible. He might escape the city altogether.’

Lapeyre snorted dismissively. ‘At this rate, there won’t be a zoo left at the end of this. Just empty cages. We’ll be a laughing stock.’

Victor’s heart sank. ‘Shouldn’t we help look? I can round up some men—’

‘And have everyone talking about this? Think, man – we can’t breathe a word of it. We’d have a riot on our hands.’

He said nothing to Lapeyre about Anne’s night-time visits. The only consolation he could find was that he had already been at the cages when she arrived, and he felt sure, thinking back, that Nero was already gone. And surely, if Anne had decided to free one of the animals, she would have freed Marguerite?

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