That made Cooper pause. He wasn’t sure he’d ever heard Neil say please in his life. “Hold on,” he said, and covered the phone to speak to Park. “What do you think?”

Park looked in the direction of the restaurant for a long moment and then back at Cooper. “You’ll be safe?”

Cooper nodded.

“Then you should go.”

“Are you sure? You’re okay with that?” Cooper asked. “I’ll tell him no, if you’re not.”

Park reached up and tucked a stray strand of Cooper’s hair into place, and stepped close enough that Neil could hear him through the phone. “I’ll pick you up that fish dish you like and meet you at the gate in thirty. If you’re not there, I will come find you.”

Cooper nodded again, though he understood Park had said it more for Neil’s benefit. He put the phone back to his ear. “All right, I’m coming. Where? Back at Amazonia?”

“No, there’s still crew hanging around here. Meet me at the reptile house. I’ll be waiting.”

Less than ten minutes later, Cooper walked into the tall brick building that housed most of the zoo’s reptilian guests. It made him think of Sophie. She and Dean would be at the gala tonight too. He’d forgotten that. He wondered if he should let them know he and Park would be there, working. That would be friendly of him, wouldn’t it?

It was very warm in here and nearly empty. Only one young family was moving from glass window to window, the mother pushing a stroller while the father filmed their four? five? six-year-old daughter pointing out each animal and chatting in what Cooper thought was Portuguese, their voices echoing through the tall ceilings. They nodded at him, and Cooper smiled and tried to look a little less like a single man warily waiting for a covert meeting in the reptile house. He turned to examine the closest animal instead, a python.

Really, no wonder Genevieve had been nervous. The thing was thicker than her leg and twice as long. James had been in this building the day before he died, Cooper remembered. That’s when he’d given her that ominous advice. Don’t run and you won’t be chased. Yeah, no way was he just talking about snakes.

Cooper reached into his pocket to finger the little silver key he’d found in the hotel room. What if it hadn’t unlocked something in the bookroom after all?