The Lunacy of Tyler Lockhart ✔️

Chapter Seventeen - Present

A traitor had told them about the fights, and I could only guess who. I took a long sip of the tea.

Divine. My mood was lifted.

"I certainly do understand. It's your job." I said. I picked up a plate and placed one of each and handed it to Detective Hank who was still staring at the tray of cakes. "Please help yourself."

He took the plate from my hand and without a word began gobbling it down.

Meowww...

Meowmoine Granger, the grey Ragdoll named after Hermoine Granger from Harry Potter walked into the room, and after brushing over my legs she hopped up and settled down in my lap, staring at the officers like they had done a grave mistake by involving me in an unsavory chat.

I petted her slowly and the cat purred. The Lieutenant smiled, "I hear you have over a hundred different pets?"

I laughed, "Is that a question connected to my father's disappearance?"

The two laughed nervously. I said, "I have over one fifty-five pets. Some of which are dogs and cats, the others are exotic animals. I also have two very intelligent monkeys, and one elephant, Rosie, that I had to hand over to the wildlife sanctuary because the state wouldn't allow me to keep an elephant on the property."

The officers looked at me like I had been born on another planet.

"I had a tiger cub when I was seventeen, and it damn near ate one of the servants when he grew up to a certain age..." I laughed, "How I wish I could keep him. I do visit Mufasa when I can."

They smiled, inside they were probably thinking when they could finish the interview and get the hell away from here.

"We've heard you rescue snakes as well?"

"Yes, well, I enjoy camping in the forest in my leisure; and sometimes I happen to stumble upon snakes every now and then. Those poor misunderstood creatures. If they are, let's say injured or suffer from malnutrition, I trap them and bring them home. I have a sanctuary for exotic reptiles where I keep them until they are good to head back to the wildlife. If I like a particular snake, they stay with me." I smiled.

The Lieutenant's grey-green eyes met with mine as he took a long sip of the tea, "Do you use these snakes to play a prank on the members of your family?"

"Of course not. I'm not sure what you are implying, Lieutenant."

A look passed between the two officers. The detective was the one to speak this time, "We know that you like playing with danger. Do you have any Black Mamba snakes as pets?"

"I did, as a matter of fact, used to have one but the Reptile association took the snake away from me, they said they couldn't allow the world's deadliest and the most venous snake to be part of my sanctuary."

"A few years ago, you locked your father's room from the outside while he was sleeping in there and left the poisonous snake in the room."

"It's true that the snake was found in the room but I never left it there. I have a team of trained and specialized snake handlers, like myself and a lot of times when they clean the snake tanks, one or two get out without them noticing. It's quite common for a snake to escape and hide in the mansion. Buttercup probably hid in dad's room."

"You named the deadliest snake on this planet Buttercup?" Detective Hank asked.

Lieutenant Walter gave him a look of warning and continued, "One of your snake handlers, Koby Peters told us that none of the members of your team dared touch the Black Mamba. It was only you who handled and cared for the snake."