Except for a brief meltdown, I had managed to maintain control. Or at least sound calm, which was evident when I replied, “Birdy is a deputy sheriff, Theo. How many times do I have to say this? She knows where I am. A dozen squad cars will be here soon, so why make it worse? I’ll be your witness by telling the truth: they can’t blame you for a murder your chimpanzee did-even if he is your responsibility.”
I was too mad not to add that last barb. And too late to take it back. Theo, his cheeks coloring, sputtered, “Don’t call him that. Oliver isn’t a chimp. He’s part ape-a Bondo. Get that through your thick skull. He makes one little mistake and it’s like the end of the world. “
I started to say One little mistake? but caught myself in time, while Theo jabbered on. “Don’t you dare blame him. That… teenybopper was an idiot to be out there alone, probably taunted the poor guy. Then you showed up. If anyone’s to blame, it’s you and that stupid little redneck twat.”
“Don’t call her that. Krissie-she has a name.”
I thought Theo was going to slap me as he loomed over me, six inches taller. “You threatened to kill Oliver, didn’t you? I heard you. Screamed you’d shoot him. So it’s no wonder he did what he did. Scared the hell out of the poor guy-Carmelo was there and he heard you, too. Ollie’s sensitive, him and Savvy both. And intelligent-they’ll know it was you. If you keep lying, I’ll stick you in one of the cages for a night to prove it.” He looked across the room to another door, a door that had outer bars and what looked like a mail slot. “Maybe I will. Then you’d understand.”
I should have grasped the significance of the bars on the door but was stunned by what I’d just heard. Two chimpanzees-Oliver and Savvy-and at least one was a killer. I dipped my head toward the floor. Theo waited, expecting me to apologize, but I couldn’t force such a sickening lie. I had seen what one of those animals had done to a frightened, innocent girl. All I could manage was, “I don’t know much about chimps. Sorry if you took it the wrong way.”
He found my stubbornness infuriating. “Well, now! Lucia won’t put up with your bullshit. I warn you right now.”
I wasn’t surprised the woman was on the property, but his deference to Lucia took me aback.
Again, he waited. “Is that all you have to say?”
It should’ve been, but I couldn’t keep my mouth shut. “Where’s Belton? I want to see him.” The old man had been lying on the floor, Carmelo as guard, when Theo had dragged me from the RV.
“If he’s smart,” Theo said, “he’s telling the truth about why he came here.”
“That’s not what I meant. Belton has a heart condition. I don’t know how much alcohol or drugs you poured down him, but letting him die is a mistake. When the police get here, the more Belton and I can say in your favor, the better off you’ll be.” Then the anger boiling in me had to add, “Pretending to be smart isn’t going to save you this time, Theo.”
He called me the foulest of names while I winced, expecting to be slapped again. He didn’t, but banged me against a stack of terrariums, then forced me to the floor. Behind my ears, a sizzling hum of rattles warned that only glass separated me from the snakes within. I didn’t turn to look. Nor could I stomach the craziness in Theo’s eyes. So I continued staring at the floor until he finished his rant.
It took a while. He raged about the chimps, alternating between anger and his eagerness to dodge blame. Oliver was thirty years old, Savvy was a younger female, but both could outsmart the electric collars they always wore. It wasn’t Theo’s fault. “Accidents” happened.
“People underestimate their intelligence. Not me. Oliver helped me with math homework up to about third grade-oh, he’s brilliant in many ways. Do the research: a Bondo’s short-term memory is off the charts compared to humans. Same with chimps. Their analytical skill, in some areas, is far superior. And their eyesight, their sense of smell-my god, Oliver’s nose is as good as any bloodhound’s.” Theo squatted in front of me to ask, “Do you know what the real difference is between them and us?”
My anger got the best of me. “I don’t kill and eat children. I’d prefer not to guess about you.”
He rocketed to his feet. “That’s disgusting. I won’t tolerate it. You don’t know what the word loyalty means, do you?” The subject seemed to flip a switch in his head. Tears began to well. “Ollie practically raised me after Mother died. Fed me with a spoon until I was old enough to feed him. Every day, we played together. Slept together, even swam and took baths together. Twenty-seven years we’ve been like brothers. Our father never gave a shit. Oliver was the first person ever to stand up to that old bastard-finally. Now you expect me to turn him over to the cops?”
I didn’t trust myself to speak. Our father? But Theo’s tears scared me more than his craziness and threats. I didn’t look forward to dealing with Lucia but was hoping she would come into the room.
“Think about it!” Theo yelled and began to pace. Soon his mood took another sharp turn. As he paced, he talked about how misunderstood he was and said abusive things about me and “Bertie.” If I really was a descendant of Sarah and Hannah Smith, they had to be white trash. Then he became a tour guide. I had to sit there while he went on and on about snakes and how important his work was to medical science.
Finally he wheeled around as if to leave but had to stop one last time and say, “This is all your fault. Finding that canoe, then the girl-I didn’t ask you to come here. So don’t blame me for what happens next.”
He left, slammed the door, fiddled with a padlock outside and jammed the dead bolt to seal me in.
I felt like bawling. My hands were bound behind me with plastic-coated wire called a tie wrap. My ankles were joined with two loops of the stuff so, even if I managed to get to my feet, I would have to take short shuffling steps to walk. Theo had found my cell phone, too, while Carmelo went through my pockets-just thinking about the incident made me cringe. The way his hands had lingered, Carmelo’s sickening leer while his fingers explored my blouse. This was after he had slapped me, but it was the humiliation of his hands on me that had finally caused a meltdown of tears.
I was too mad to cry now. Escape and contact the police-that’s what I had to do. Even so, my mind wandered to my stolen backpack.
Who took it?
Then moved on to the pistol, a chrome-plated weight in my imagination but steady in both hands when I squeezed the trigger.
Three times I pictured myself firing yet couldn’t decide Who will I shoot first?
17
As if wearing clogs, I shuffled around the room searching for a way out. Old 1960s fixtures dated the construction. On a desk was a modern touch: two large computer screens monitored a dozen cameras around the property.
Every ten seconds the checkerboard images changed. The parking area, with the old Land Rover Theo had mentioned, a couple of other cars there, but no sign of the camper or my SUV. An interior shot of a withered little man sleeping in a rocker, a blanket tucked around his shoulders-Theo’s father, I assumed-sitting motionless as a painting while an antique TV set flickered. Next, three shots from what had to be Theo’s apartment. Theo hadn’t returned to his party yet, but I recognized some of the people. A voyeur’s view of the bathroom, where a girl sat on the toilet, her zebra-striped tights at her feet-it was Krissie’s friend, Gail, in her outlandish costume. In the kitchen, Lucia held a bamboo tube and tilted it toward the face of one of her witch friends.