Short Story Fiction, Inspector Pascal Mysteries 1000 #10

Precisely 1000-word Fiction Mystery-Adventures of Inspector Pascal

INSPECTOR PASCAL MYSTERIES 1000
#10 The Chimp Plot, by T.K. Naliaka ©2016-2023

“The chimp…”

“Bonobo.”

“OK, Bonobo the chimp had a…”

“No, Chup’s the Alpha chimp.  The bonobo is Buster.”

Inspector Hart shook his head slightly. “Chup, the chimp bonobo had a…”

“No, it’s a chimp or it’s a bonobo.”

Hart frowned at Jackson, the Apes Supervisor. “What’s a bonobo?”

“Well it’s smaller, chimpanzee-like species.  There, that’s a chimp…”  Jackson pointed to a black-haired male ape sitting on a rock watching them on the other side of the glass window. “… and that’s a bonobo.”  The black-haired male ape sitting on the green grass separated from the other ape by a smooth tall cement wall scratched his underarm as he stared at the group of humans staring at him.

“What’s the difference?”

“The bonobo is a bit smaller and has a full face-frame of hair.”

“I don’t see that.”

“Oh, well, they’re in captivity so it wore off.”

“Wore off…?” Inspector Hart growled, “For the love of…!  They’re chimps! I’m a homicide investigator!”  He snatched up the case and headed for the Apes House exit.  “Inspector Pascal, it’s all yours!” He pushed the briefcase into Pascal’s arms. “God preserve your sanity!”

Pascal watched him go, then looked at the zookeeper. He lowered the briefcase and tugged to straighten his suit jacket. “Ahem.”  He glanced at Sergeant Braque who was keeping a poker face, but barely as he watched with disbelief Hart’s abrupt departure.

This left the two, Pascal and Braque to consider the subtle distinctions to the untrained eye between the representatives of two species of apes intently considering the subtle distinctions of the two humans in return.  Unconvinced, Pascal finally asked. “Mr. Jackson, why do you see this as relevant?”

“Ah!  You see the bonobos and the chimpanzees will fight.  The chimps are bigger so they’ll kill them. We must keep them apart!”

“That’s sensible. What’s the issue we’re not yet seeing clearly?”

Jackson came over, leaning close to whisper. “Someone is trying to murder the bonobos and blame it on the chimps.”

“Murder the bonobos…” Pascal’s hazel eyes widened.  “… blame it on the chimps?”

Jackson nodded.

Sergeant Braque’s poker face failed him this time as his jaw sagged.  He managed to haul it up before Jackson noticed, but the chimp and the bonobo both narrowed their eyes at him.  The chimp got up, sauntered two meters closer and sat down.  After a moment, the bonobo did the same so the two could better monitor Sergeant Braque.

Pascal explained. “Every murder or planned murder is for a purpose.”

Jackson frowned. “Well, I-I don’t really know why.  I just know someone is trying to do it.”

“All right, it’d have to be someone with access - how many people would that be?”

“Four – Gerard, Sandra, Katlyn, Cecile.  But they’re all so dedicated!  It can’t be them!  They love the apes!”

Pascal sighed, “OK. I need to see all records and the security videos.”

Three weeks later, the bonobos, the chimpanzees and the five zoo staff watched Pascal pace slowly in front of the reinforced glass windows. “Once the problem is identified correctly, then it’s easy to make sense of all the disparate pieces.  The absolutes are few, but simple: complete access to the zoo - specifically the ape habitats; long experience with ape behavior; a motive.  Critically, nothing is gained by an ape brawl.  The zoo would simply obtain replacements and put in more chimp-bonobo barriers.  Therefore, the chimps and the bonobos are not the targets, but the means.”  Pascal turned to the staff. “Someone is trying to murder Mr. Jackson.”

Pascal’s stern gaze focused on the humans. “Who is next in line to step into the position here as Apes Supervisor after his unfortunate death trying to break up a chimp-bonobo fight?”  He held up a screen shot of video.  “You know how to avoid being recorded by the zoo cameras, but not the one I put up twenty days ago.”  Her mouth twisted bitterly as she glared back at Pascal.

The other four stared at Cecile. Katlyn gasped, “How could you do that?!  They’re endangered creatures!”

Sandra exclaimed, “Katlyn!  She wanted to kill Mr. Jackson just because she wanted his job!”

With a screech, Cecile drew a pick from her pocket and launched herself at Pascal.  He parried the stab but her momentum knocked him back up against the windows. The sharp pick gouged the glass.  The startled chimps and bonobos both tumbled over in their frantic scrambling to the far end of their enclosures as Pascal wrestled with Cecile for the control of the weapon.  A second later, a steel cuff clicked tight on her right wrist.  Braque hauled her off Pascal and pinned her to the ground.  He pulled her flailing left hand around and secured the cuff on it as she kicked and screamed.

Gerard ran out calling on his radio and waving to the security guards standing by the giraffe enclosure.  They ran into the building, then hesitated, hearing and seeing the crazed woman. “Wait… isn’t that Cecile?”

Braque shouted at them. “Secure her legs so she can’t run and get her out of here!  She’s under arrest!”  He turned quickly to Pascal, “Sir! Are you all right?”

Pascal nodded as he pressed his folded kerchief to his bleeding palm. “It’s just a shallow gash; it’s not serious.”

The screeching apes leaped from their perches, charged the lengths of their enclosures, slapped against the windows, then charged back howling.  Sergeant Braque drew himself up to his full height, clenched his fists, stepped to the glass and roared. “SIT DOWN and SHUT UP!”

Both species froze, then lowered their rears to the ground and sat mute with their arms crooked over their heads.

Pascal, Jackson, Gerard, Katlyn and Sandra stared at the animals, then at Sergeant Braque then back at the chastened chimps and bonobos.  Jackson exclaimed. “You’re a natural with apes! You want to work here?”

Pascal chuckled as Braque shook his head. “I get plenty of this in my current job already, no thanks.”
                                                         by T.K. Naliaka ©2016-2023 All rights reserved