Laurie nodded. “How can I forget?”
“Who’s Vinnie Dominick?” Jack asked.
“He played a surprising role in the Cerino affair,” Laurie explained.
“He’s with the competing Lucia organization,” Lou said. “They’ve been having a field day after Cerino’s fall. But my gut feeling tells me we’re going to puncture their balloon.”
“What about the mole in the medical examiner’s office?” Laurie asked.
“Hey, first things first,” Lou said. “We’ll get to that. Don’t worry.”
“When you do, check out one of the techs by the name of Vinnie Amendola,” Laurie said.
“Any particular reason?” Lou asked, as he wrote down the name in the small notebook he carried in the side pocket of his jacket.
“Just a suspicion,” Laurie said.
“Consider it done,” Lou said. “You know, this episode shows how fast things can change. Yesterday I was in the dog house, whereas today I’m the golden boy. I even got a call from the captain about a possible commendation. Can you believe it?”
“You deserve it,” Laurie said.
“Hey, if I get one, you guys should get one, too,” Lou said.
Jack felt someone tap on his arm. It was the waitress. She asked if they wanted another round.
“Hey, everybody?” Jack called out above the babble of voices. “More beer?”
Jack looked first at Natalie who put her hand over her glass to indicate she was fine. She looked radiant in a dark purple jumpsuit. She was a third-grade teacher at a public school in Harlem, but didn’t look like any teacher Jack could remember. From Jack’s perspective her features were reminiscent of the Egyptian sculptures in the Metropolitan Museum that Laurie had dragged him in to see. Her eyes were almond-shaped and her lips were full and generous. Her hair was done up in the most elaborate corn-row style that Jack had ever seen. Natalie had said that it was her sister’s forte.
When Jack looked at Warren to see whether he wanted more beer, he shook his head. Warren was sitting next to Natalie. He was wearing a sport jacket over a black T-shirt that somehow managed to hide his powerful physique. He looked happier than Jack had ever seen him. His mouth harbored a half smile instead of his normal expression of hard-lipped determination.
“I’m fine,” Esteban called out. He, too, was smiling, even more broadly than Warren.
Jack looked at Laurie. “No more for me. I want to save some room for wine with dinner on the plane.” Laurie had her auburn hair braided and was wearing a loose-fitting velour top with leggings. With her relaxed, ebullient demeanor and casual clothes Jack thought she looked like she was in college.
“Yeah, sure, I’ll have another beer,” Lou said.
“One beer,” Jack told the waitress. “Then the check.”
“How’d you guys make out today?” Lou asked Jack and Laurie.
“We’re here,” Jack said. “That was the goal. Laurie and the others got the visas, and I got the tickets.” He patted his stomach. “I also got a bunch of French francs and a money belt. I was told that the French franc was the hard currency of choice for that part of Africa.”
“What’s going to happen when you arrive?” Lou asked.
Jack pointed over to Esteban. “Our expatriate traveling companion has taken care of the arrangements. His cousin’s meeting us at the airport, and his wife’s brother has a hotel.”
“You should be fine,” Lou said. “What’s your plan?”
“Esteban’s cousin has arranged for us to rent a van,” Jack said. “So we’ll drive to Cogo.”
“And just drop in?” Lou asked.
“That’s the idea,” Jack said.
“Good luck,” Lou said.
“Thanks,” Jack said. “We’ll probably need it.”
A half hour later the group-minus Lou-merrily boarded the 747. They found their seats and stowed their carry-on baggage. No sooner had they gotten themselves situated than the huge plane lurched and was pulled from the gate.
Later when the engines began to scream and the plane began its dash down the runway to takeoff, Laurie felt Jack take her hand. He gripped it fiercely.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
Jack nodded. “I’ve just learned not to like air travel,” he said.
Laurie understood.
“We’re on our way,” Warren exclaimed gleefully. “Africa, here we come!”
CHAPTER 19
MARCH 8, 1997
2:00 A.M.
COGO, EQUATORIAL GUINEA
“ARE you asleep?” Candace whispered.
“Are you kidding?” Melanie whispered back. “How am I supposed to sleep on rock with just a few branches strewn over it?”
“I can’t sleep either,” Candace admitted. “Especially with all this snoring going on. What about Kevin?”
“I’m awake,” Kevin said.
They were in a small side cave jutting off the main chamber just behind the main entrance. The darkness was almost absolute. The only light came from meager moonlight reflected from outside.
Kevin, Melanie, and Candace had been shuttled into this small cave immediately on their arrival. It measured about ten feet wide with a downward sloping ceiling that started at a maximum height roughly equivalent to Kevin’s five feet ten inches. There was no back wall to this cave; the chamber simply narrowed to a tunnel. Earlier in the evening, Kevin had explored the tunnel with the help of the flashlight in hopes of finding another way out, but the tunnel abruptly ended after about thirty feet.
The bonobos had treated them well, even after the initially cold reception by the females. Apparently, the animals were mystified by the humans and intended to keep them alive and well. They’d provided them with muddy water in gourds and a variety of food. Unfortunately, the food was in the form of grubs, maggots, and other insects along with some kind of sedge from Lago Hippo.
Later in the afternoon, the animals had started a fire at the cave’s entrance. Kevin was particularly interested in how they started it, but he’d been too far back to observe their method. A group of the bonobos had formed a tight circle, and then a half an hour later a fire was going.
“Well, that answers the question about the smoke,” Kevin had said.
The animals had skewered the colobus monkeys and roasted them over the fire. The monkeys were then torn apart and distributed with great fanfare. Given all the hooting and vocalizations it had been obvious to the humans that this monkey meat was considered a great treat.
Bonobo number one had placed a few morsels of the feast on a large leaf and brought them back to the humans. Only Kevin had been willing to try it. He’d said it was the toughest thing he’d ever chewed. As far as taste was concerned, he’d told the women that it was strangely similar to the elephant he’d once sampled. The previous year, Siegfried had bagged a forest elephant on one of his hunting forays and after taking the tusks, he’d had some of the meat cooked up by the central kitchen.
The bonobos had not tried to imprison the humans and had not tried to inhibit Kevin and the women from untying the rope that bound them together. At the same time, the bonobos had made it clear that they were to stay in the small cave. At all times, at least two of the larger male bonobos remained in the immediate vicinity. Each time Kevin or one of the women tried to venture forth, these guards would screech and howl at the top of their lungs. Even more threatening, they would ferociously charge with bared teeth only to pull up short at the last minute. Thus they effectively kept the humans in their place.
“We’re going to have to do something,” Melanie said. “We can’t stay here forever. And it’s pretty apparent we’ll have to do it while they are all sleeping, like now.”
Every bonobo in the cave, including the supposed guards, were fast asleep on primitive pallets constructed of branches and leaves. Most were snoring.
“I don’t think we should take the chance of angering them,” Kevin said. “We’re lucky they’ve treated us as well as they have.”