“What are all those square objects in the field?” Melanie asked.
Kevin shined the flashlight. Its beam wasn’t strong enough to make much difference at that distance. He turned it off and squinted in the half light. “They look like transport cages from the animal center,” he said.
“I wonder what they are doing out there?” Melanie asked. “There’re so many of them.”
“No idea,” Kevin said.
“How can we get some of the bonobos to appear?” Candace asked.
“By this time they’re probably settling down for the night,” Kevin said. “I doubt if we can.”
“What about the float?” Melanie asked. “The mechanism that pulls it across must be like a clothesline. If it makes noise, they might hear it. It would be like a dinner bell and might bring them around.”
“Guess it’s worth a try,” Kevin said. He glanced up and down the water’s edge. “Trouble is, we don’t have any idea where the float may be.”
“I can’t imagine it would be far,” Melanie said. “You go east, I’ll go west.”
Kevin and Melanie walked in opposite directions. Candace stayed were she was, wishing she were back in her room in the hospital quarters.
“Here it is!” Melanie called out. She’d followed a path in the dense foliage for a short distance before coming to a pulley attached to a thick tree. A heavy rope hung around the pulley. One end disappeared into the water. The other end was tied to a four-foot square float nestled against the shore.
Kevin and Candace joined her. Kevin shined the flashlight across to the island. On the other side a similar pulley was attached to a similar tree.
Kevin handed the flashlight to Melanie and grasped the rope that drooped into the water. When he pulled, he could see the pulley on the other side swing out from the trunk of the tree.
Kevin pulled on the rope hand over hand. The pulleys complained bitterly with high-pitched squeaking noises. The float immediately moved away from the shore on its way to the other side.
“This might work,” Kevin said. While he pulled, Melanie swept the other shore with the flashlight beam. When the float was halfway across, there was a loud splash to their right as a large object dropped into the water from the island.
Melanie shined the light in the direction of the splash. Two glowing slits of light reflected back from the surface of the water. Peering at them was a large crocodile.
“Good lord!” Candace said as she stepped back from the water.
“It’s okay,” Kevin said. He let go of the rope, reached down and picked up a stout stick. He threw the stick at the croc. With another loud splash the crocodile disappeared beneath the water.
“Oh, great!” Candace said. “Now we have no idea where he is.”
“He’s gone,” Kevin said. “They’re not dangerous unless you’re in the water or they’re very hungry.”
“Who’s to say he’s not hungry?” Candace commented.
“There’s plenty for them to eat out here,” Kevin said as he picked up the rope and recommenced pulling. When the float reached the other side, he switched ropes and started pulling it back.
“Ah, it’s too late,” he said. “This isn’t going to work. The closest nesting area we saw on the computer graphic is over a mile away. We’ll have to try this in the daytime.”
No sooner had these words escaped from his mouth when the night was shattered by a number of fearsome screams. At the same time, there was wild commotion in the bushes on the island as if a stampeding elephant was about to appear.
Kevin dropped the rope. Both Candace and Melanie fled back along the path a few steps before stopping. With pulses pounding they froze, waiting for another scream. With a shaking hand, Melanie shined the flashlight at the area where the commotion had occurred. Everything was still. Not a leaf moved.
Ten tense seconds passed that seemed more like ten minutes. The group strained their ears to pick up the slightest sound. There was nothing but utter silence. All the night creatures had fallen silent. It was as if the entire jungle was waiting for a catastrophe.
“What in heaven’s name was that?” Melanie asked finally.
“I’m not sure I want to find out,” Candace said. “Let’s get out of here.”
“It must have been a couple of the bonobos,” Kevin said. He reached out and grabbed the rope. The float was being buffeted in midstream. He quickly hauled it in.
“I think Candace is right,” Melanie said. “It’s gotten too dark to see much even if they did appear. I’m spooked. Let’s go!”
“You’ll not get an argument from me,” Kevin said as he made his way over to the women. “I don’t know what we’re doing here at this hour. We’ll come back in the daylight.”
They hurried along the path to the clearing as best they could. Melanie led with the flashlight. Candace was behind her, holding on to her blouse. Kevin brought up the rear.
“It would be great to get a key for this bridge,” Kevin said as they passed the structure.
“And how do you propose to do that?” Melanie asked.
“Borrow Bertram’s,” Kevin said.
“But you told us he forbid anyone to go to the island,” Melanie said. “He’s certainly not going to lend the key.”
“We’ll have to borrow it without his knowledge,” Kevin said.
“Oh, yeah, sure,” Melanie said sarcastically.
They entered the tunnel-like path leading up to the car. Halfway to the parking area Melanie said: “God, it’s dark. Am I holding the light okay for you guys?”
“It’s fine,” Candace said.
Melanie slowed then stopped.
“What’s the matter?” Kevin asked.
“There’s something strange,” she said. She cocked her head to the side, listening.
“Now don’t get me scared,” Candace warned.
“The frogs and crickets haven’t restarted their racket,” Melanie said.
In the next instant all hell broke loose. A loud, repetitive stuttering noise splintered the jungle stillness. Branches, twigs, and leaves rained down on the group. Kevin recognized the noise and reacted by reflex. Extending his arms, he literally tackled the women so that all three fell to the moist insect-infested earth.
The reason Kevin recognized the sound was because he once had inadvertently witnessed the Equatoguinean soldiers practicing. The noise was the sound of a machine gun.
CHAPTER 10
MARCH 5, 1997
2:15 P.M.
NEW YORK CITY
“EXCUSE me, Laurie,” Cheryl Myers said, standing in the doorway to Laurie’s office. Cheryl was one of the forensic investigators. “We just received this overnight package, and I thought you might want it right away.”
Laurie stood up and took the parcel. She was curious about what it could be. She looked at the label to find out the sender. It was CNN.
“Thanks, Cheryl,” Laurie said. She was perplexed. She had no idea for the moment what CNN could have sent her.
“I see Dr. Mehta is not in,” Cheryl said. “I brought up a chart for her that came in from University Hospital. Should I put it on her desk?” Dr. Riva Mehta was Laurie’s office mate. They’d shared the space since both had started at the medical examiner’s office six and a half years previously.
“Sure,” Laurie said, preoccupied with her parcel. She got her finger under the flap and pulled it open. Inside was a videotape. Laurie looked at the label. It said: Carlo Franconi shooting, March 3,1997.
After having finished her final autopsy that morning, Laurie had been ensconced in her office, trying to complete some of the twenty-odd cases that she had pending. She’d been busy reviewing microscopic slides, laboratory results, hospital records, and police reports, and for several hours had not thought of the Franconi business. The arrival of the tape brought it all back. Unfortunately the video was meaningless without the body.