were four deep.
Lou made a half circuit before seeing the group. Even though they were
facing away, he could recognize Laurie’s hair.
He insinuated himself between other passengers and gave Laurie’s arm a
squeeze. She turned around indignantly but quickly recognized him. Then
she gave him a hug so fierce, his face turned red.
‘Okay, okay, I give up,’ Lou managed. He laughed.
Laurie let him go so that he could give Jack and Warren a handshake. Lou
gave Natalie a peck on the cheek.
‘So, you guys have a good trip, or what?’ Lou questioned. It was
apparent he was all keyed up.
Jack shrugged and looked at Laurie. ‘It was okay,’ he said
noncommittally.
‘Yeah, it was okay,’ Laurie agreed. ‘The trouble was nothing happened.’
‘Really?’ Lou said. ‘I’m surprised. You know, being Africa and all. I
haven’t been there, but I’ve heard.’
‘What have you heard, man?’ Warren asked.
‘Well, there’s lots of animals,’ Lou said.
‘Is that it?’ Natalie asked.
Lou shrugged embarrassingly. ‘I guess. Animals and the Ebola virus. But
like I said, I’ve never been there.’
Jack laughed, and when he did, so did all the others.
‘What’s going on here?’ Lou said. ‘Are you guys pulling my leg?’
‘I’m afraid so,’ Laurie said. ‘We had a fabulous trip! The first part
was a little harrowing, but we managed to survive that, and once we got
to Gabon, we had a ball.’
‘Did you see any animals?’ Lou asked.
‘More than you could imagine,’ Laurie said.
‘There, see, that’s what everybody says,’ Lou remarked. ‘Maybe someday
I’ll go over there myself.’
The luggage came, and they hoisted it onto their shoulders. They breezed
through Customs and passed through the terminal. Lou’s unmarked car was
at the curb.
‘One of the few perks,’ he explained.
They put the luggage in the trunk, and climbed in. Laurie sat next to
Lou. Lou drove out of the airport, and they were immediately bogged down
in traffic.
‘How about you?’ Laurie asked. ‘Have you been making any headway back
here?’
‘I was afraid you weren’t going to ask,’ Lou said. ‘Things have been
going down like you wouldn’t believe. It was that Spoletto Funeral Home
that was the gold mine. Right now, everybody is lining up to
plea-bargain. I even got an indictment on Vinnie Dominick.’
‘That’s fantastic,’ Laurie said. ‘What about that awful pig, Angelo
Facciolo?’
‘He’s still in the slammer,’ Lou said. ‘We have him nailed on stealing
Franconi’s body. I know it’s not much, but remember Al Capone was reeled
in on tax evasion.’
‘What about the mole in the medical examiner’s office?’ Laurie said.
‘Solved,’ Lou said. ‘In fact, that’s how we have Angelo nailed. Vinnie
Amendola has agreed to testify.’
‘So, it was Vinnie!’ Laurie said with a mixture of vindication and
regret.
‘No wonder he’s been acting so weird,’ Jack said from the backseat.
‘There was one unexpected twist,’ Lou said. ‘There was someone else
mixed up in all this who has taken us by surprise. He’s apparently out
of the country at the moment. When he comes back into the country, he’s
going to be arrested for murder of a teenager by the name of Cindy
Carlson over in Jersey. We believe Franco Ponti and Angelo Facciolo did
the actual killing, but it was at this guy’s behest. His name is Dr.
Raymond Lyons. Do either of you guys know him?’
‘Never heard of him,’ Jack said.
‘Nor I,’ Laurie said.
‘Well, he had something to do with that organ transplant stuff you
people were so interested in,’ Lou said. ‘But later for that. Right now
I’d like to hear about the first part of your trip: the harrowing part.’
‘For that you’ll have to buy us dinner,’ Laurie said. ‘It’s kind of a
long story.’
Glossary
——–
bonobo: An anthropoid ape classified as a species in 1933. Related to
chimpanzees, they occasionally walk upright and are found only in a
localized area of Zaire. The estimated population is less than twenty
thousand. centromere: A specialized portion of a chromosome that plays
an important role in the reduplication of the chromosome during cellular
division. chimera: A combination of a lion, a goat, and a serpent in