“Uh-oh,” Jack said. “I have a feeling we’ll be forced to use the apology approach after all.”
Cameron was holding a blood-spotted handkerchief to his nose, but it didn’t obstruct his vision. He spotted the group immediately and pointed. “That’s them!” he yelled.
The Moroccans and the soldiers responded immediately by surrounding the trespassers. Every gun was pointed at the group, who raised their hands without being told.
“I wonder if they’ll be impressed with my medical examiner badge?” Jack quipped.
“Don’t do anything foolish!” Laurie warned.
Cameron and his companions walked over immediately. Silently, the ring around the Americans opened to allow them through. Siegfried stepped to the forefront.
“We’d like to apologize for any inconvenience,” Jack began.
“Shut up!” Siegfried snapped. He walked around the group to eye them from all directions. When he got back to where he started, he asked Cameron if these were the people he’d encountered in the hospital.
“No doubt in my mind,” Cameron said while glaring directly into Warren’s face. “I hope you will indulge me, sir.”
“Of course,” Siegfried said with a slight wave of dismissal.
Without warning, Cameron punched Warren in the side of the face with a roundhouse blow. The sound was like a telephone directory falling to the floor. A plaintive whine escaped from Cameron’s lips as he grabbed his hand and gritted his teeth. Warren did not move a muscle. He may not have blinked.
Cameron swore under his breath and stepped away.
“Search them,” Siegfried commanded.
“We are sorry if we-” Jack began but Siegfried didn’t let him finish. He slapped him with an open fist hard enough to turn Jack’s head in the direction of the blow and raise a red welt on his cheek.
Cameron’s deputy quickly relieved Jack and the others of their passports, wallets, money, and car keys. He gave them to Siegfried, who slowly went through them. After he looked at Jack’s passport, he raised his eyes and glowered at him.
“I’ve been told you are a troublemaker,” Siegfried said with disdain.
“I’d rather think of myself as a tenacious competitor,” Jack said.
“Ah, arrogant as well,” Siegfried snarled. “I hope your tenacity comes in handy once you are turned over to the Equatoguinean military.”
“Perhaps we can call the American Embassy and resolve this,” Jack said. “We are, after all, government employees.”
Siegfried smiled, which actually only increased his scar-induced sneer. “American Embassy?” he questioned with uncamouflaged scorn. “In Equatorial Guinea! What a joke! Unfortunately for you, it’s out on the island of Bioko.” He turned to Cameron. “Put them in the jail but separate the men and the women!”
Cameron snapped his fingers for his deputy. He wanted the four handcuffed first. While this was in progress he and Siegfried drew off to the side.
“Are you really going to hand them over to the Equatoguineans?” Cameron asked.
“Absolutely,” Siegfried said. “Raymond told me all about Stapleton. They have to disappear.”
“When?” Cameron asked.
“As soon as Taylor Cabot leaves,” Siegfried said. “I want this whole episode kept quiet.”
“I understand,” Cameron said. He touched the brim of his hat and then went back to supervise the transfer of the prisoners to the jail in the basement of the town hall.
CHAPTER 22
MARCH 9, 1997
4:15 P.M.
ISLA FRANCESCA
“SOMETHING very strange is going on,” Kevin said.
“But what?” Melanie said. “Should we get our hopes up?”
“Where could all the other animals be?” Candace questioned.
“I don’t know whether to be encouraged or concerned,” Kevin said. “What if they’re having Armageddon with the other group, and the fighting spreads to here?”
“God almighty,” Melanie commented. “I never thought of that.”
Kevin and the women had been virtual prisoners for over two days. They had not been allowed to leave the small cave the entire time of their confinement, and it now smelled as bad or worse than the outer cave. To relieve themselves, they’d been forced to go back into the tunnel which reeked like a mini-cesspool.
They themselves didn’t smell much better. They were filthy from wearing the same clothes and sleeping on the rock and dirt floor. Their hair was hopelessly matted. Kevin’s face was covered with a two-day stubble. They were all weak from lack of exercise and food although each had eaten some of what was brought to them.
Around ten o’clock that morning, there’d been a sense that something abnormal was happening. The animals had become agitated. Some had rushed out only to return moments later, making loud cries. Early on, bonobo number one had gone out but had yet to return. That in itself was abnormal.
“Wait a second,” Kevin said suddenly. He put up his hands to keep the women from making any noise. He strained to hear by turning his head slowly from side to side.
“What is it?” Melanie asked urgently.
“I thought I heard a voice,” Kevin said.
“A human voice?” Candace questioned.
Kevin nodded.
“Wait, I just heard it!” Melanie said with excitement.
“I did, too,” Candace said. “I’m sure it was a human voice. It sounded like someone yelling ‘okay.’ ”
“Arthur heard it, too,” Kevin said. They’d named the bonobo who most often stood guard at the lip of the small cave Arthur for no particular reason other than to have a way to refer to him. Over the long hours, they’d had what could have been called a dialogue. They’d even been able to guess at some of the meanings of the bonobo words and gestures.
The ones they were the most sure of included “arak,” which meant “away” especially when accompanied by the spreading of fingers and a sweeping arm motion, the same gesture Candace had seen in the operating room. There was also “hana” for “quiet” and “zit” for “go.” They were very sure of “food” and “water,” which were “bumi” and “carak” respectively. A word they weren’t too sure of was “sta” accompanied by holding up one’s hands with palms out. They thought it might be the pronoun “you.”
Arthur stood up and loudly vocalized to the few bonobos remaining in the cave. They listened and then immediately disappeared out the front.
The next thing Kevin and the others heard were several reports from a rifle: not an ordinary gun but rather an air gun. A few minutes later, two figures in animal-center coveralls appeared silhouetted against the hazy, late-afternoon sky at the cave’s entrance. One was carrying a gun, the other a strong, battery-powered lamp.
“Help!” Melanie shouted. She averted her eyes from the strong beam of light but waved her hands frantically lest the men not see her.
There was a loud thump that echoed around the inside of the cave. Simultaneously, Arthur let out a whimper. With a confused expression on his flat face he looked down at a red-tailed dart that protruded from his chest. His hand came up to grasp it, but before he could, he began to wobble. As if in slow motion, he sagged to the floor and rolled over onto his side.
Kevin, Melanie, and Candace emerged from their doorless cell and tried to stand upright. It took a moment for them to stretch. By the time they did the men were kneeling at the side of the bonobo to give the animal an additional dose of tranquilizer.
“My god, are we glad to see you,” Melanie said. She had to steady herself with a hand against the rock. For a moment, the cave had begun to spin.
The men stood up and shined the bright light on the women and then on Kevin. The former captives all had to shield their eyes.