Writing Prompt: Remy the Rhino was missing.

Morning all. Craving caffeine and ready to jump into the morning prompt. So timers set and let’s get this day started.

Okay I had fun with this and may actually continue. It is sometimes nice to take a break with something a bit more fun.

Wednesday, October 8^th: Remy the Rhino was missing.

Remy the Rhino was missing.  Inspector Finch studied the scene.  The encloser was large and contained plenty of space for Remy to roam.  It had it’s own water feature and a secured perimeter.  Finch walked the perimeter, studying the fence line while the security team went to pull any video footage that might be relevant.

The perimeter was secure. It took him more than an hour to walk around, at least the parts he could walk around, and there was no break in the defensive line. 

Finch looked towards the parts he hadn’t been able to walk.  This place was less a zoo and more of a safari park.  Remy was in a landscape with several other animals.  During the day they were all allowed to roam free in a simulated natural habitat.  Any predators those in this enclosure might face were in different containment areas.  At night they were all brought into what the administration liked to call sleeping and feeding quarters.

All of the other animals sharing Remy’s space were accounted for. 

Finch asked if Reny made it back to his personal quarters, feeling a bit strange stating it like that way.  It made it sound that Remy and the other animals worked a shift as entertainment for the zoo and then clocked out at the end of the day.  He was certain the administration felt that way, bit it sounded off to Finch.  He let it go.

While the footage may show if Remy made it back to quarters or not, they were having trouble finding the keeper in charge of this specific area.  He too seemed to have gone missing.

There were mutterings about his possibly having taken Remy but Finch didn’t think so.  He counted vehicles in the parking lot and then counted staff.  All of the staff had discrete parking permits.  Once he knew what to look for it was easy to spot.  He counted them.  There was one more vehicle than there were people.  He suspected that when he sat down the staff and asked about the extra vehicle, he would find it belonged to Denis Croaksmore. 

‘Which means it is more than just Remy missing,’ Finch thought.  ‘Unless we find Croaksmore tied up or dead in one of the other enclosures.’ 

Finch reached the gathering of staff.  “Have the other enclosures been searched, the other sections?” he asked.

“All of the large animal sections have been checked and while all other animals are accounted for there are no extras,” the director said.  “Remy isn’t hiding in one of the other landscapes.”  He sounded annoyed with the question.

“And Croaksmore?” Finch asked.  Have you looked in the spaces where a person might be found.”

The director frowned and put his hands on his hips.  “Denis is gone too. No doubt with Remy.”

“And can you explain why his car is still in the lot?” Finch asked. 

There were several surprised faces and people looking towards the parking area. 

“It is there,” Someone said. Finch couldn’t tell who as there was a ripple of agreement running through the crowd.  The sound of footsteps echoed on the concrete pathways.  They all turned. 

“I found Denis,” the new comer arrived.  Finch noted he was from the reptile house. “I am no good with the larger animals so I went to check to see if the smaller ones were safe.” He explained.  “Denis is in with the poisonous frogs.”

Finch nodded.  It seemed Croaksmore had croaked.