After taking a few sips, he noticed that it was three-fifteen in the morning. Despite the fuzziness in his brain from the sleeping pills, he was able to figure out that at the Zone it was after nine, a good time to call Siegfried Spallek.
The connection was almost instantaneous. At that hour, phone traffic with North America was at a minimum. Aurielo answered promptly and put Raymond through to the director.
“You are up early,” Siegfried commented. “I was going to call you in four or five hours.”
“I couldn’t sleep,” Raymond said. “What’s going on over there? What’s the problem with Kevin Marshall?”
“I believe the problem is over,” Siegfried said. Siegfried summarized what had happened and gave credit to Bertram Edwards for alerting him about Kevin so that he could be followed. He said that Kevin and his friends had been given such a scare that they wouldn’t dare go near the island again.
“What do you mean ‘friends’?” Raymond asked. “Kevin has always been such a loner.”
“He was with the reproductive technologist and one of the surgical nurses,” Siegfried said. “Frankly, even that surprised us since he’s always been such a schlemiel, or what do you Americans call such a socially inept person?”
“A nerd,” Raymond said.
“That’s it,” Siegfried said.
“And presumably the stimulus for this attempted visit to the island was the smoke that’s been bothering him?”
“That’s what Bertram Edwards says,” Siegfried said. “And Bertram had a good idea. We’re going to tell Kevin that we’ve had a work crew our there building a bridge over the stream that divides the island in two.”
“But you haven’t,” Raymond said.
“Of course not,” Siegfried said. “The last work crew we had out there was when we built the landing for the extension bridge to the mainland. Of course, Bertram had some people there when he moved those hundred cages out there.”
“I don’t know anything about cages on the island,” Raymond said. “What are you talking about?”
“Bertram has been lobbying lately to give up on the island isolation idea,” Siegfried said. “He thinks that the bonobos should be brought to the animal center and somehow hidden.”
“I want them to stay on the island,” Raymond said emphatically. “That was the agreement I worked out with GenSys. They could shut the program down if we bring the animals in. They’re paranoid about publicity.”
“I know,” Siegfried said. “That’s exactly what I told Bertram. He understands but wants to leave the cages there just in case. I don’t see any harm in that. In fact, it is good to be prepared for unexpected contingencies.”
Raymond ran a nervous hand through his hair. He didn’t want to hear about any “unexpected contingencies.”
“I was going to ask you how you wanted us to handle Kevin and the women,” Siegfried said. “But with this explanation about the smoke and having given them a good scare, I think the situation is under control.”
“They didn’t get onto the island, did they?” Raymond asked.
“No, they were only at the staging area,” Siegfried said.
“I don’t even like people nosing around there,” Raymond said.
“I understand,” Siegfried said. “I don’t think Kevin will go back for the reasons I’ve given. But just to be on the safe side, I’m leaving a Moroccan guard and a contingent of the Equatoguinean soldiers out there for a few days, provided you think it’s a good idea.”
“That’s fine,” Raymond said. “But tell me, what’s your feeling about smoke coming out of the island, assuming that Kevin is right about it?”
“Me?” Siegfried questioned. “I couldn’t care less what those animals do out there. As long as they stay there and stay healthy. Does it bother you?”
“Not in the slightest,” Raymond said.
“Maybe we should send over a bunch of soccer balls,” Siegfried said. “That might keep them entertained.” He laughed heartily.
“I hardly think this is a laughing matter,” Raymond said irritably. Raymond was not fond of Siegfried, although he appreciated his disciplined managerial style. Raymond could picture the director at his desk, surrounded by his stuffed menagerie and those skulls dotting his desk.
“When are you coming for the patient?” Siegfried asked. “I’ve been told he’s doing fantastically well and ready to go.”
“So I’ve heard,” Raymond said. “I put in a call to Cambridge, and as soon as the GenSys plane is available, I’ll be over. It should be in a day or so.”
“Let me know,” Siegfried said. “I’ll have a car waiting for you in Bata.”
Raymond replaced the receiver and breathed a small sigh of relief. He was glad he’d called Africa, since part of his current anxiety had stemmed from Siegfried’s disturbing message about there being a problem with Kevin. It was good to know the crisis had been taken care of. In fact, Raymond thought that if he could just get the image of that snapshot of him hovering over Cindy Carlson’s body out of his mind, he’d feel almost like himself again.
CHAPTER 13
MARCH 6, 1997
12:00 NOON
COGO, EQUATORIAL GUINEA
KEVIN was totally unaware of the time when a knock interrupted the intense concentration he’d been directing toward his computer screen for several hours. He opened his laboratory door and was promptly greeted by Melanie as she swooped into the room. She was carrying a large paper bag.
“Where are your techs?” she asked.
“I gave them the day off,” Kevin said. “There was no way I was going to get any work done today so I told them to enjoy the sun. It’s been a long rainy season, and it will be back before we know it.”
“Where’s Candace?” Melanie asked. She put down her parcel on the lab bench.
“I don’t know,” Kevin said. “I haven’t seen or talked with her since we dropped her off at the hospital this morning.”
It had been a long night. After having hid in the pathology cooler for over an hour, Melanie had talked both Kevin and Candace into sneaking up to the on-call room Melanie had at the animal center. The three had stayed there getting very little sleep, until the early-morning shift change. Blending in with all the employees coming and going, the group had made it back to Cogo without incident.
“Do you know how to get in touch with her?” Melanie asked.
“I guess just call the hospital and have her paged,” Kevin suggested. “Unless she’s in her room in the Inn, which is what I’d guess since Horace Winchester is doing so well.” The Inn was the name given to the temporary quarters for transient hospital personnel. It was physically part of the hospital/laboratory complex.
“Good point!” Melanie said. She picked up the phone and had the operator put her through to Candace’s room. Candace answered on the third ring. It was apparent she’d been asleep.
“Kevin and I are going to the island,” Melanie said without preamble. “You want to come or hang in here?”
“What are you talking about?” Kevin asked nervously.
Melanie motioned for him to be quiet.
“When?” Candace asked.
“As soon as you get over here,” Melanie said. “We’re in Kevin’s lab.”
“It will take me a good half hour,” Candace said. “I’ve got to shower.”
“We’ll be waiting,” Melanie said. She hung up the phone.
“Melanie, are you crazy?” Kevin said. “We’ve got to let some time go by before we hazard another try at the island.”
“This girl doesn’t think so,” Melanie said, giving herself a poke in the chest. “The sooner we go, the better. If Bertram finds out a key is missing, he could change the lock, and we’ll be back to square one. Besides, like I said last night, they expect us to be terrified. Going out there right away will catch them off-guard.”