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“No,” Missy said, through laughs.
“Nothing like that,” Kristin said as they both settled down.
But Missy was still grinning. “God, even the thought—puking isn’t enough. No, he’s a joke, that’s what he is. And he shouldn’t be here, not that anyone can keep him out.”
“What?” Jem asked. “Is he doing animal experiments? Is he a mad scientist?”
“He runs a big cat sanctuary,” Kristin said. “Right here in Wilder County, actually.”
“Like, what? Tigers?”
“Tigers, bobcats, I think he even had a lion for a while.” Missy shook her head. “It’s disgusting.”
“Well, it’s not ideal,” Kristin said, “and I’m not saying Rod is the example we should follow, but someone has to do something. People buy these animals when they’re small—you wouldn’t believe how easy it is to get a tiger cub, actually—and then they have no idea what to do when it grows up into a three-hundred-pound adult. So, they let it go. Literally. Some people just leave the gate open and hope the poor thing will go away. With a big cat sanctuary, at least you know they’re being taken care of.”
“They’re being monetized. He makes a fortune off admission fees, and he’s got that crazy army of volunteers. And he’s not a vet, but do you think he’ll let anyone who’s actually trained go in and check on those cats?”
“It’s a legitimate operation,” Kristin said to Jem. “He’s certified, has the necessary inspections, everything. We don’t like it, but as you can tell, we disagree on how much we don’t like it.”
“So, what’s the problem?” Jem asked.
“He did a one-man panel this morning.” Kristin and Missy paused to share an eye roll. “He was talking about sustainability—”
“Talking out his ass,” Missy put in.
“—and I asked if part of his sustainability was to support efforts to end wildlife trafficking since, you know, that’s where most of his animals come from.”
Jem grinned in spite of himself. “He didn’t take it well?”
“He lost his shit,” Missy said.
“Not as bad as Yes,” Kristin said.
Missy flushed and put a hand to her face.
“In public,” Kristin said. “In the lobby, Missy.”
“I know,” Missy groaned.
“Really?”
“I said I know!”
“Yes?” Jem asked. Then he realized it wasn’tyes, but a nickname. “Yesenia? We saw her yesterday at check-in. She’s the president or something?”
“Or something,” Kristin said drily. “She’s the reason we’ve got people like Rod in IHCPA.” She said the acronym likehiccup. “She’s also the reason Missy is going to be drinking a lot of tequila tonight. Oh, Jem, you’re coming, right? Everyone wants to meet you. I heard Kevin asking Tean if you’d be at dinner.”
No, Jem thought. No, I won’t be. Because—how had Tean put it?You don’t have to come. It’ll be boring. I don’t want you to be bored.
But before he had to respond, Missy said, “I know I should have kept my mouth shut, but in my defense, I was a little drunk.”
Kristin patted her shoulder. To Jem’s questioning look, she said, “Missy and Yes had it out in the lobby last night.”
“She seemed…intense.”
“That’s one word for it. She’s rigid, I guess. And yeah, she’s tough. She runs an exotic animal safari in the Boot Heel—that’s what we call that weird little corner of Missouri.”
Jem made an understanding noise. “So, she gets elected president—”
