wouldn’t bother the animals.’
‘No!’ Bertram said. ‘There are to be no exceptions. We want these to be
wild animals. That means minimal contact. Besides, with as small as this
enclave is, visits will provoke talk, and we don’t want that. And on top
of that it could be dangerous.’
‘Dangerous?’ Kevin questioned. ‘I’d stay away from the hippos and the
crocs. The bonobos certainly aren’t dangerous.’
‘One of the pygmy bearers was killed on the last retrieval,’ Bertram
said. ‘We’ve kept that very quiet for obvious reasons.’
‘How was he killed?’ Kevin asked.
‘By a rock,’ Bertram said. ‘One of the bonobos threw a rock.’
‘Isn’t that unusual?’ Kevin asked.
Bertram shrugged. ‘Chimps are known to throw sticks on occasion when
they are stressed or scared. No, I don’t think it’s unusual. It was
probably just a reflex gesture. The rock was there so he threw it.’
‘But it’s also aggressive,’ Kevin said. ‘That’s unusual for a bonobo,
especially one of ours.’
‘All apes will defend their group when attacked,’ Bertram said.
‘But why should they have felt they were being attacked?’ Kevin asked.
‘That was the fourth retrieval,’ Bertram said. He shrugged again. ‘Maybe
they’re learning what to expect. But whatever the reason, we don’t want
anyone going to the island. Spallek and I have discussed this, and he’s
in full agreement.’
Bertram got up from the desk and draped an arm over Kevin’s shoulders.
Kevin tried to ease himself away, but Bertram held on. ‘Come on, Kevin!
Relax! This kind of wild flight of imagination of yours is exactly what
I was talking about earlier. You’ve got to get out of your lab and do
something to divert that overactive mind of yours. You’re going
stir-crazy and you’re obsessing. I mean, this fire crap is ridiculous.
The irony is that the project is going splendidly. How about
reconsidering that offer for coming over for dinner? Trish and I would
be delighted.’
‘I’ll give it serious thought,’ Kevin said. He felt distinctly
uncomfortable with Bertram’s arm around his neck.
‘Good,’ Bertram said. He gave Kevin a final pat on his back. ‘Maybe the
three of us could take in a movie as well. There’s a terrific
double-feature scheduled for this week. I mean, you ought to take
advantage of the fact that we get the latest movies. It’s a big effort
on GenSys’s part to fly them in here on a weekly basis. What do you
say?’
‘I guess,’ Kevin said evasively.
‘Good,’ Bertram said. ‘I’ll mention it to Trish, she’ll give you a call.
Okay?’
‘Okay,’ Kevin said. He smiled weakly.
Five minutes later, Kevin climbed back into his vehicle more confused
than before he’d come to see Bertram Edwards. He didn’t know what to
think. Maybe his imagination was working overtime. It was possible, but
short of visiting Isla Francesca there was no way of knowing for sure.
And on top of that was this new worry that people were feeling resentful
towards him.
Braking at the exit of the parking area, Kevin glanced up and down the
road in front of the animal complex. He waited for a large truck to
rumble by. As he was about to pull out, his eye caught the sight of a
man standing motionlessly in the window of the Moroccan headquarters.
Kevin couldn’t see him well because of the sunlight reflecting off the
glass, but he could tell it was one of the mustached guards. He could
also tell the man was watching him intently.
Kevin shivered without exactly knowing why.
The ride back to the hospital was uneventful and quick, but the
seemingly impenetrable walls of dark green vegetation gave Kevin an
uncomfortable claustrophobic feeling. Kevin’s response was to press down
on the accelerator. He was relieved to reach the edge of town.
Kevin parked in his spot. He opened his door, but hesitated. It was
close to noon, and he debated heading home for lunch or going up to his
lab for an hour or so. The lab won out. Esmeralda never expected him
before one.
Just with the short walk from the car to the hospital, Kevin could
appreciate the intensity of the noontime sun. It was like an oppressive