Daniel did not answer.
The sergeant lowered his rifle by only an inch. “Someone needs to explain why a lion that escaped a secured habitat walked through a city without attacking anyone, then went directly to this woman.”
Daniel looked at Atlas, whose massive head was still resting peacefully across Margaret’s lap.
“He was born here,” Daniel finally said. “But he almost died before he was old enough to be moved into the main habitat.”
Margaret’s fingers continued moving slowly through Atlas’s mane.
“That’s not the part you kept hidden,” she said.
Daniel’s silence told the officers more than an answer would have.
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