The bonobo leading with the rope turned and gave the rope a yank. The tug almost knocked all three people down. The bonobo repeatedly waved his hand palm down while whispering: “Hana.”
“My god, is he strong or what?” Melanie commented as she regained her footing.
“What do you think he means?” Candace asked.
“If I had to guess, I’d say he’s telling us to be quiet,” Kevin said.
All at once, the entire group stopped. There were some hand signals among the bonobos. Several pointed up toward the trees to the right. A small group of bonobos slipped silently into the vegetation. Those remaining formed a wide circle, except for three who climbed directly up into the canopy of the forest with an ease that defied gravity.
“What’s happening?” Candace whispered.
“Something important,” Kevin said. “They all seem to be tense.”
Several minutes went by. None of the bonobos on the ground moved or made the slightest noise. Then suddenly, there was a tremendous commotion to the right, accompanied by high-pitched shrieks. At once, the trees were alive with desperately fleeing colobus monkeys on a course bringing them directly toward the bonobos who’d climbed up into the trees.
The terrified monkeys tried to change direction, but in their haste several of them lost their hold on the branches and fell to the ground. Before they could recover they were set upon by waiting bonobos on the ground who killed them instantly with stone wedges.
Candace winced in horror, then turned away.
“I’d say that was a good example of coordinated hunting,” Melanie whispered. “That requires a high level of cooperation.” Despite the circumstances, she couldn’t help but be impressed.
“Don’t rub it in,” Kevin whispered. “I’m afraid the jury is in, and the verdict is bad. We’ve only been on the island for an hour, but the question that brought us here has already been answered. Besides collective hunting, we’ve seen totally upright posture, opposable thumbs, toolmaking, and even rudimentary speech. I sense they can vocalize just like you and I.”
“It’s extraordinary,” Melanie whispered. “These animals have gone through four or five million years of human evolution in the few years they’ve been out here.”
“Oh, shut up!” Candace cried. “We’re prisoners of these beasts and you two are having a scientific discussion.”
“It’s more than a scientific discussion,” Kevin said. “We’re acknowledging a terrible mistake, and I’m responsible. The reality is worse than I feared when I saw the smoke coming from this island. These animals are protohumans.”
“I have to share some of the blame,” Melanie said.
“I disagree,” Kevin said. “I’m the one who created the chimeras by adding the human chromosome segments. That wasn’t your doing.”
“What are they doing now?” Candace asked.
Kevin and Melanie turned to see bonobo number one coming toward them, carrying the bloodied corpse of one of the colobus monkeys. He was still wearing the wristwatch, which only underlined the beast’s odd position between man and ape.
Bonobo number one brought the dead monkey directly to Candace and held it out toward her in both his hands and said: “Sta.”
Candace moaned and turned her head. She looked like she was about to get sick.
“He’s offering it to you,” Melanie told Candace. “Try to respond.”
“I can’t look at it,” Candace said.
“Try!” Melanie pleaded.
Candace slowly turned. Her face reflected her disgust. The monkey’s head had been crushed.
“Just bow or do something,” Melanie encouraged.
Candace smiled weakly and bowed her head.
Bonobo number one bowed and then withdrew.
“Incredible,” Melanie said, watching the animal leave. “Although he’s obviously the alpha male, there must still be remnants of the typical matriarchal bonobo society.”
“Candace, you did great,” Kevin said.
“I’m a wreck,” Candace said.
“I knew I should have been a blond,” Melanie said with her own attempt at humor.
The bonobo holding the rope gave a tug significantly less forceful than the previous one. The group was on the move again and Kevin, Melanie, and Candace were forced to follow.
“I don’t want to go any farther,” Candace said tearfully.
“Pull yourself together,” Melanie said. “Everything is going to be okay. I’m starting to think Kevin’s suggestion was right. They think of us like gods, especially you with that blond hair. They could have killed us instantly if they’d been inclined, just like they killed the monkeys.”
“Why did they kill the monkeys?” Candace asked.
“I assume for food,” Melanie said. “It is a little surprising since bonobos are not carnivorous, but chimps can be.”
“I was afraid they were human enough for the killing to be for sport,” Candace said.
The group passed through a marshy area, then began a climb. Fifteen minutes later, they emerged from the forest twilight onto a rocky but grassy area at the foot of the limestone escarpment.
Halfway up the rock face was the opening of a cave that appeared to be accessible only by a series of extremely steeply tiered ledges. At the lip of the cave were a dozen more bonobos. Most were female. They were striking their chests with the flat of their hands and yelling “bada” over and over again.
The bonobos with Kevin, Melanie, and Candace did the same and then held up the dead colobus monkeys. That resulted in hooting from the females that Melanie said reminded her of chimps.
Then the group of bonobos at the base of the cliff parted. Kevin, Melanie, and Candace were pulled forward. At the sight of them, the females above fell silent.
“Why do I have the feeling the females aren’t so happy to see us?” Melanie whispered.
“I’d rather think they were just confused,” Kevin whispered back. “They hadn’t expected company.”
Finally bonobo number one said “zit” and pointed up with his thumb. The group surged forward pulling Kevin, Melanie, and Candace along.
CHAPTER 18
MARCH 7, 1997
6:15 A.M.
NEW YORK CITY
JACK’S lids blinked open, and he was instantly awake. He sat up and rubbed his gritty eyes. He was still tired from the poor night’s sleep the night before last and from having stayed up later than he planned the previous evening, but he was too keyed up to fall back asleep.
Getting up off the couch, Jack wrapped himself in his blanket against the morning chill and went to the bedroom door. He listened for a moment. Convinced that Laurie was still sound asleep, he cracked the door. As he’d expected, Laurie was on her side under a mound of covers, breathing deeply.
As quietly as possible, Jack tiptoed across the bedroom and entered the bathroom. Once the door was closed, he quickly shaved and showered. When he reappeared, he was pleased to see that Laurie had not budged.
Getting fresh clothes from his closet and bureau, Jack carried them out into the living room and got dressed. A few minutes later, he emerged from his building into the predawn light. It was raw and cold with a few snowflakes dancing in the gusts of wind.
Across the street was a squad car with two uniformed policemen drinking coffee and reading the morning papers with the help of the interior light. They recognized Jack and waved. Jack waved back. Lou had kept his word.
Jack jogged down the street to the local deli on Columbus Avenue. One of the policemen dutifully followed. Jack thought about buying him a donut but decided against it; he didn’t want the cop to take it the wrong way.
With an armload of juice, coffee, fruit, and fresh bagels, he returned to the apartment. Laurie was up and was in the shower. Jack knocked on the door to announce that breakfast was served whenever she was ready.
Laurie appeared a few minutes later clad in Jack’s robe. Her hair was still wet. The sequelae from the previous night’s run-in with Angelo did not look bad. All that was apparent was a mild black eye.