floor with her fists like kettle drums and shrieking.
Candace let out a scream of her own as she leapt back out of harm’s way.
Melanie grabbed her.
‘It’s okay,’ Melanie said.
The gorilla then made another lunge for the front of the cage. She also
hurled a handful of fresh feces in the process, which splattered against
the far wall.
Melanie directed Candace out the door and Kevin let it shut.
‘I’m terribly sorry,’ Melanie said to Candace. Candace’s Nordic
complexion was even paler than usual. ‘Are you all right?’
‘I guess,’ Candace said. She checked the front of her coveralls.
‘A little PMS, I’m afraid,’ Melanie said. ‘She didn’t hit you with any
of her poop, did she?’
‘I don’t think so,’ Candace said. She ran a hand through her hair and
then examined it.
‘Let’s get the keys,’ Kevin said. ‘We’re pushing our luck.’
They walked the length of the fertility unit and pushed through a second
pair of swinging doors to enter a large room divided into bays. Each bay
had several cages, and most of the cages were occupied by youthful
primates of different species.
‘This is the pediatric unit,’ Melanie whispered. ‘Just act natural.’
There were four people working in the unit. They were all dressed in
surgical scrubs with stethoscopes draped around their necks. Everyone
was friendly but busy and preoccupied, and the trio passed through,
garnering nothing more than a couple of smiles and nods.
After another set of double doors and a short corridor, they came to a
heavy, locked fire door. Melanie had to use her card to open it.
‘Here we are!’ Melanie whispered, as she let the fire door close quietly
behind them. After the bustle they’d just witnessed, the silence and
darkness seemed absolute. ‘This is the administration area. The
stairwell is down the hall to the left. So hold on.’
There was groping in the dark until Candace got her hand on Melanie’s
shoulder and Kevin got his on Candace’s.
‘Come on!’ Melanie encouraged. She began to inch her way along the
corridor, while running her hand against the wall. The others allowed
themselves to be pulled along. Gradually, their eyes adjusted and by the
time the group neared the door to the stairwell, they could appreciate
the small amount of moonlight that seeped through the cracks.
Inside the stairwell, it was comparatively bright. Large windows on each
landing flooded the stairs with moonlight.
The first-floor hall was much easier to walk in than the second-floor
hall because of the windows in the main-entrance doors.
Melanie led them to a position just outside Bertram’s office.
‘Now comes the acid test,’ Kevin said, as Melanie tried her card in the
lock.
There was an immediate, reassuring click. The door opened.
‘No problem,’ Melanie said buoyantly.
The three stepped inside the room and were again thrust into almost
complete darkness. The only light was a meager glow that filtered
through the open door into the inner office.
‘What now?’ Kevin questioned. ‘We’re not going to find anything in the
dark.’
‘I agree,’ Melanie said. She felt along the wall for the switch. As soon
as her finger touched it, she switched it on.
For a moment, they blinked at each other. ‘Whoa, seems awfully bright,’
Melanie said.
‘I hope it doesn’t wake up those Moroccan guards across the street,’
Kevin said.
‘Don’t even joke about it,’ Melanie said. She walked into the inner
office and turned on the light. Kevin and Candace joined her.
‘I think we should be methodical about this,’ Melanie said. ‘I’ll take
the desk. Candace, you take the file cabinet, and, Kevin, why don’t you
take the outer office and, while you’re at it, keep an eye on the hall.
Give a yell if anybody appears.’
‘Now that’s a happy thought,’ Kevin said.
Siegfried turned left at the motor pool and accelerated his new Toyota
LandCruiser toward the animal center. The vehicle had been modified for
his disability so that he could shift with his left hand.
‘Does Cameron have any idea why we are so concerned about the security
of Isla Francesca?’ Bertram asked.
‘No, not at all,’ Siegfried said.
‘Has he asked?’
‘No, he’s not that kind of person. He takes orders. He doesn’t question