to get this island visit over during lunch hour.’
‘Did Siegfried talk to you this morning?’ Kevin asked.
‘No, Bertram did,’ Melanie said. ‘He acted really mad and said he was
disappointed in me. Can you imagine? I mean, is that suppose to break me
up or what?’
‘Did he give you any explanation about the smoke I’ve seen?’ Kevin
asked.
‘Oh, yeah,’ Melanie said. ‘He went on at length how he’d just been told
that Siegfried had a work crew out there building a bridge and burning
trash. He said it was being done without his knowledge.’
‘I thought so,’ Kevin said. ‘Siegfried called me over just after nine.
He gave me the same story. He even told me he’d just talked with Dr.
Lyons and that Dr. Lyons was disappointed in us as well.’
‘It’s enough to make you cry,’ Melanie said.
‘I don’t think he was telling the truth about the work crew,’ Kevin
said.
‘Of course he wasn’t,’ Melanie said. ‘I mean, Bertram makes it a point
to know everything that’s going on about Isla Francesca. It makes you
wonder if they think we were born yesterday.’
Kevin stood up, fidgeted, and stared out his window at the distant
island.
‘What’s wrong now?’ Melanie questioned.
‘Siegfried,’ Kevin said. He looked back at Melanie. ‘About his warning
to apply Equatoguinean law to us. He reminded us that going to the
island could be considered a capital offense. Don’t you think we should
take that threat seriously?’
‘Hell, no!’ Melanie said.
‘How can you be so sure,’ Kevin said. ‘Siegfried scares me.’
‘He’d scare me, too, if I was an Equatoguinean,’ Melanie said. ‘But
we’re not. We’re Americans. While we’re here in the Zone, good old
American law applies to us. The worst thing that can happen is we get
fired. And as I said last night, I’m not sure I wouldn’t welcome it.
Manhattan is sounding awfully good to me these days.’
‘I wish I felt as confident as you,’ Kevin said.
‘Has your playing around with the computer this morning confirmed that
the bonobos are remaining in two groups?’
Kevin nodded. ‘The first group is the largest and stays around the
caves. It includes most of the older bonobos, including your double and
mine. The other group is in a forest area on the north side of the Rio
Diviso. It’s composed mostly of younger animals, although the third
oldest is with them. That’s Raymond Lyons’s double.’
‘Very curious,’ Melanie said.
‘Hi, everybody,’ Candace called out while coming through the door,
without knocking. ‘How’d I do timewise? I didn’t even blow-dry my hair.’
Instead of her normal French twist, her damp hair was combed back
straight off her forehead.
‘You did great,’ Melanie assured her. ‘And you were the only smart one
to get some sleep. I have to admit, I’m exhausted.’
‘Did Siegfried Spallek get in touch with you?’ Kevin asked.
‘At about nine-thirty,’ Candace said. ‘He woke me up out of a sound
sleep. I hope I made sense.’
‘What did he say?’ Kevin asked.
‘He was very nice, actually,’ Candace said. ‘He even apologized for what
happened last night. He also had an explanation about the smoke coming
from the island. He said it was from a work crew burning brush.’
‘We got the same message,’ Kevin said.
‘What’s your take on it?’ Candace asked.
‘We don’t buy it,’ Melanie said. ‘It’s too convenient.’
‘I sort of assumed as much,’ Candace said.
Melanie grabbed her paper bag. ‘Let’s get this show on the road.’
‘Do you have the key?’ Kevin questioned. He picked up the locator and
the directional beacon.
‘Of course I have the key,’ Melanie said.
As they went out the door Melanie told Candace she’d brought some lunch
for them.
‘Great!’ Candace said. ‘I’m famished.’
‘Hold on a second,’ Kevin said when they reached the stairs. ‘Something
just dawned on me. We must have been followed yesterday. That’s the only
way I can explain the way they surprised us. Of course, that really
means I must have been followed, since I was the one who talked about
the smoke situation with Bertram Edwards.’
‘That’s a good point,’ Melanie said.
The three people stared at each other for a moment.