Up Close and Dangerous
by Jessica Speart

As someone who writes mysteries involving wildlife, I'm not an encyclopedia sort of gal. Rather I take every opportunity to get as much hands-on experience as possible. That's why I jumped at the chance to have a close encounter with two critters the size of extremely large pussycats. I'd met their owner while working on a story in Florida. My first tip-off should have been when she let me inside their pen and didn't bother to join me.

Swish, swish, swish!

The flick of a tail slashed through the air, its beat as hypnotic as a metronome. The mountain lions studied me as they crouched on a perch, their lean, tawny bodies not moving a muscle. Both cats inched their way forward, with ears laid back and eyes intently glued upon me. I knew the felines could kill me as easily as swatting a fly. No less comforting was the knowledge that they could drop sixty feet and hit the ground running. Meanwhile, my only weapon was the wooden rake I held in my hand.

Suddenly the two jumped off their perch and began to approach, each coming from a different direction. Both lions placed one paw in front of the other, their demeanor as seductive as a couple of models prowling the catwalk. Aha! So that's where Cindy Crawford and Christy Turlington had learned their moves from!

I slowly backed away as one lion's gaze caught my own. Her eyes plainly questioned, Aren't you going to stay for lunch?

I quickly flew out the door, knowing I might otherwise end up as steak tartare. What, was I out of my ever-loving mind to have walked in there to begin with? No. I was just doing some research for another Rachel Porter mystery book.

Then it was on to the next adventure!

I never know what I'll find on one of my trips that will work its way into a story. A random stop at a shop in the Everglades provided the catalyst for a whole new twist I might not otherwise have imagined. The owner had just been released from prison. I should have known the guy was nothing but trouble. His hat looked as if it had been peed on, stomped in the dirt and slapped back on his head -- to say nothing of the fact that his overalls were too big and his eyes were crossed.

"Wanna see my animals, little lady?" he asked, as a string of spittle escaped his lips.

Who was I to turn down such an offer? After all, anything could be hidden out here in the swamp.

"Don't worry. Fred's already been fed," my new friend assured me.

The moral of the story? Don't ever trust a man who wants to show you his snake.

The next thing I knew, I found myself cozying up to a huge Burmese python.

It's true, the reptile became a character in my book. But, oy vey! The things I do to please my publisher!

Copyright © 2001 by Jessica Speart.