I was running out of time. The chimp had refocused his rage on the door. Over and over he slammed his body against it-two hundred pounds of sinew and muscle. After another violent collision, the top hinge exploded, throwing shrapnel across the room. It created an opening through which the chimp’s fingers appeared. When Oliver had a handhold, he began to rock the door back and forth. The opening at the top grew incrementally wider. Very soon, the bottom hinge would snap.
The robe’s hood revealed a hidden pocket, something hard inside. I struggled with it, then gave up. I wouldn’t have time to unlock the door even if it was the key. I had to do something… anything to buy time.
What?
Snakes. I was in a room filled with venomous snakes. Deploying weapons that might also kill me was a reckless act. But recklessness was my only hope. Shelves were stacked with shallow trays. I ran across the room, pulled a tray free, and spun it toward the door. Impact jarred the lid off. I watched long enough to see a rattlesnake as thick as my arm appear, then reached for another tray. As I did, I heard a slavering growl. I turned. Oliver’s long arm was draped over the door. His head would soon follow.
Don’t panic-fight back.
I did. Freeing one snake at a time was useless, so I squared my shoulders and grabbed the closest section of shelving. Back and forth I rocked the frame until an entire stack of trays crashed to the floor. Amid the buzz and hum of reptiles sliding across tile, I hurdled the mess, dodged Lucia’s body, and ran to the robe.
“Please, God, let the key be here.” I whispered those words before opening the hidden pocket.
It was.
OUTSIDE WAS moonlight and clean air, but I tarried only long enough to bolt the door behind me, then ran. I had to get to the RV park and find help. That’s what I intended to do, but soon had to stop because Theo and Carmelo blocked my path.
Fortunately, I saw them before they saw me, so I ducked into bushes at the corner of the serpentarium. The men stood near the Land Rover beneath a moon that dimmed and brightened as clouds streamed past. Spoke in low voices-serious issues to discuss-while I tried to reorganize my options.
There weren’t many. I could circle the property in the hope of finding my SUV. Or run to the river and hope Theo had told the truth about owning a canoe. If not, half a mile downriver there would be boats and canoes at the campground docks.
The safety of my own car was more appealing-punch the door code and use the key I keep hidden under the seat. Fire up the engine, spin the wheels, and go. I pictured Carmelo trying to stop me. Imagined him stepping out to face my headlights, then his expression of shock when I floored the accelerator. Too bad for either man if he got in my way.
One terrifying concern: Oliver. The room where Theo had once served detentions had windows and presumably a door. The chimp might be waiting if I retraced my steps. The property was big. He might also pick up my scent if I circled around the back or if I angled toward the gravel road.
Oliver’s nose is as good as any bloodhound’s. Theo’s words.
Coral snake poison-if the snake had bitten him-was lethal but slow-acting. Victims had up to twenty-four hours-another of Theo’s claims. Worse, I also had to worry about the younger chimp. I had no idea where she was caged or if she was caged. And, according to Lucia, Savvy was just as vicious or more so. My only weapons were in a paper sack: a few bamboo darts, a lighter, and the box cutter. They were no match for animals that could rip steel off its hinges.
Make up your mind, Hannah.
The dart’s poison had caused a slight numbing of my left arm, and my lips, too. I couldn’t waste more time peeking from bushes. I needed to move, but where? Concrete walls and a steel door had muffled the chimpanzee’s chaos. It was blessed relief after what I’d been through, but now I strained to listen. Was Oliver still inside?
Above me were louvered windows. I touched fingers to the glass and waited. A series of tremors signaled that violence continued somewhere inside the building.
Yes. Now was the time to search for my SUV.
I took a last look at the men and reversed course. A distant row of trees marked the river to the west. It wasn’t far, only half a football field away. Ahead was the entrance to the serpentarium. Beyond was the back side of the property, probably fenced, but that was a guess. Separating me from freedom was an expanse of mown lawn, where oak trees and moss created islands of gray on a frosted plain. If I tried to cross, there was nowhere to hide except for the trees and trees were a poor choice when fleeing a two-hundred-pound chimp. Krissie’s death had proven that.
I took off running anyway. Jogged with long, silent strides until I neared the serpentarium door, which I sprinted past. Then I settled into a comfortable pace while my eyes searched. The dimensions of the snake facility were fixed in my mind. The adjoining room, where Theo had served detentions, was easy to pick out. I monitored it closely as I ran: a pair of lighted windows, glass unbroken… and no door until I came around the corner where light spilled onto the grass, which meant there was a door-and that the door was open.
I felt my breath catch. I nearly stopped. Had Oliver escaped? Or had he left the door open before entering the room to attack Lucia?
Possibly both.
I couldn’t risk another change of plans. I ran faster, every sense alert for sounds or movements of any kind. And there was movement-gray shapes furrowed the grass around me. Moon shadow, I thought, until an elongated shape materialized to my right. The object augered itself into a coil… its head blossomed wide and flat… then it pivoted to face me.
A cobra. That’s what it was. And a cobra’s hiss is actually a raspy roar. The sound was so loud and threatening, I stumbled when I swerved away and nearly fell. Luckily, I caught myself or would have sprawled atop several snakes that were all gliding westward toward the trees… or they smelled the river.
Panicking, I hurdled and high-stepped until I thought I was clear. Wrong. Every few strides I heard weeds move or a rattlesnake’s buzz that warned the field was alive with snakes. The result was a zigzag course with my senses focused on the ground, not on what lay ahead.
The error could have been deadly. But my luck held. When I did shift my attention forward, a safe haven awaited: Belton’s camper was parked in shadows under a tree. No lights showing, but that was okay. Even if Belton was gone, there was a chance they’d left the keys in the ignition… or that my car was parked on the other side, hidden by the camper’s bulk.
Best of all, Carmelo and Theo were busy at the front of the property. I was on the back acreage, shielded by buildings, just me and the snakes.
With Lucia dead, what was there to fear?
19
I opened the camper door but sniffed the air before entering. Forever imprinted on my memory was the primal stink of Oliver, half ape, half chimp. Only reassuring odors greeted me, however-diesel and shower soap-so I stepped inside, whispering, “Hello…?”
In reply, a voice said, “Thank god, you’re alive.”
Belton’s voice. I clicked the door shut. “Don’t turn on the lights. How do you lock this damn thing?”
“Carmelo broke the latch with a hammer. Did he follow you? Please tell me the police are coming.”
I fiddled with the lock anyway but soon gave up. Moonlight filtered through the curtains. I pulled them back so I could see. The man was on his belly on the couch, hands tied behind him-a needless cruelty that revived my anger. “They left you tied up like this the whole time?”