‘We told him it wasn’t necessary,’ Candace said. ‘I mean, we don’t want
him to think we’re still concerned about the smoke, and we definitely
don’t want him to think we’re planning on visiting the island.’
‘But we’re not,’ Kevin said. He eyed the women while they smiled at each
other conspiratorially. ‘Are we?’ As far as Kevin was concerned, getting
shot at twice had been more than enough to convince him that visiting
the island was out of the question.
‘You wondered why we laughed when you told us we were having fish for
dinner,’ Melanie said. ‘Remember?’
‘Yeah,’ Kevin said with concern. He had the distinct feeling he wasn’t
going to like what Melanie was about to say.
‘We laughed because we spent a good deal of the late afternoon talking
to fishermen who come to Cogo a couple of times a week,’ Melanie said.
‘Probably the ones who caught the fish we just ate. They come from a
town called Acalayong about ten to twelve miles east of here.’
‘I know the town,’ Kevin said. It was the jumping-off place for people
going from Equatorial Guinea to Cocobeach, Gabon. The route was served
by motorized canoes called pirogues.
‘We rented one of their boats for two or three days,’ Melanie said
proudly. ‘So we don’t have to even go near the bridge. We can visit Isla
Francesca by water.’
‘Not me,’ Kevin said emphatically. ‘I’ve had it. Frankly, I think we’re
lucky to be alive. If you guys want to go, go! I know that nothing I
could ever say would influence what you do.’
‘Oh, that’s great!’ Melanie said derisively. ‘You’re giving up already!
If that’s the case, how do you intend to find out whether you and I have
created a race of protohumans? I mean, you’re the one who’s raised this
issue and got us all upset.’
Melanie and Candace stared at Kevin across the table. For a few minutes,
no one said a word. The night sounds of the jungle drifted in, which
until then no one had heard.
After feeling progressively uncomfortable, Kevin finally broke the
silence. ‘I don’t know what I’m going to do yet,’ he said. ‘I’ll think
of something.’
‘Like hell you will,’ Melanie said. ‘You already said the only way to
find out what those animals are doing is to visit the island. Those were
your words. Have you forgotten?’
‘No, I haven’t forgotten,’ Kevin said. ‘It’s just that . . . well . . .’
‘That’s okay,’ Melanie said condescendingly. ‘If you’re too chicken to
go and find out what you might have done with your genetic tinkering,
fine. We were counting on you coming to help run the motor in the
pirogue, but that’s okay. Candace and I can manage. Right, Candace?’
‘Right,’ Candace said.
‘You see we’ve planned this out pretty carefully,’ Melanie said. ‘Not
only did we rent the large, motorized canoe, but we had them bring back
a smaller, paddle version as well. We plan to tow the paddle boat. Once
we get to the island, we’ll paddle up the Rio Diviso. Maybe we won’t
even have to go on land at all. All we want to do is observe the animals
for a while.’
Kevin nodded. He looked back and forth between the two women who were
relentlessly staring at him. Acutely uncomfortable, he scraped back his
chair and started from the room.
‘Where are you going?’ Melanie asked.
‘To get more wine,’ Kevin said.
With strange emotion akin to anger, Kevin got a third bottle of white
Burgundy, opened it, and brought it back into the dining room. He
gestured with it toward Melanie and she nodded. Kevin filled her glass.
He did the same to Candace. Then he filled his own.
After taking his seat, Kevin took a healthy swig of wine. He coughed a
little after swallowing, and then asked when they planned on going on
their great expedition.
‘Tomorrow, bright and early,’ Melanie said. ‘We figure it will take a
little over an hour to get to the island, and we’d like to be back
before the sun gets really strong.’
‘We already got food and drink from the commissary,’ Candace said. ‘And