“You are correct. I am somewhat of a philanthropist, but my efforts reside more around my home country than outside. In fact, it is one of those endeavors that brought me to you.” He glanced up at Carolina as he went on. “I have spent a number of years building a wildlife preserve for the indigenous animals of South America. I’m sad to say many are now threatened. I’ve spent all my life in South America, and wanted to build something that would help preserve the beauty of our continent well into the future, both flora and fauna.”
Alves stopped briefly and caught his breath. “And I wanted to make it big. Our preserve,” he announced, with a hint of pride, “is approximately the size of eighty thousand of your acres.” He watched their expressions change with some amusement. “It’s the least I could do for a country that has given me so much.”
Alison watched Alves lean back in his chair. “And you need some help with your preserve?”
He grinned. “Of a sort, yes. But probably not what you are guessing. You see, I have hired a great number of people, not just to build this ecological oasis, but to run and maintain it. Many people, including botanists, agriculturalists, and even animal behaviorists like yourself.”
DeeAnn, still standing next to Alison, tilted her head questioningly. “Where did you say your reserve was located?”
Alves turned. “Ah, I didn’t, Ms. Draper. My reserve is called ‘O Nosso Mundo’ and is located a few hundred miles north of São Luis. It was an ideal location for several reasons of which I won’t bore you with. But we have since acquired a great many indigenous animals, including snakes, macaws, jaguars, as well as a number of primates. All now part of our growing preserve.”
Alison was watching Alves with a slight look of confusion, still waiting to understand the significance of his visit. Although what she didn’t notice was the color slowly draining from DeeAnn’s face.
Nor did she notice the subtle shift of Alves’ attention toward DeeAnn as he continued. “In fact, our lead researcher is a strong follower of your research here. He is fascinated with the dolphins and especially your young gorilla.”
Alison finally nodded. “Oh, I see. He must be doing similar research, I presume.”
Alves glanced back to Alison. “Yes, very much so. He’s been working with Capuchin Monkeys, which are native to South America. And as you probably know, are the most intelligent of the New World primates.”
Alison turned to DeeAnn and opened her mouth to speak but suddenly stopped when she saw the expression on her face.
Alves paused and took a deep breath. He was staring at DeeAnn again. “Unfortunately, something has happened to our researcher, and he’s now missing.”
DeeAnn finally spoke, in a low whisper. “What’s his name?”
Alves didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he glanced up at Carolina, then back to the two women.
“What’s his name?” DeeAnn repeated, louder.
“Luke… Luke Greenwood.”
Alison watched DeeAnn begin to waver in place then stumble back a step. Her face was now completely white. She reached out and grabbed her arm. “Dee?!”
DeeAnn blinked and reached for Alison at the same time. A split second later, she fell back against the edge of the desk.
Alarmed, Alison looked back and forth between the two. “What is it? What’s going on?”
DeeAnn interrupted. “What… happened to him?
Alves took another deep breath. This was the part he had been dreading. He thought a moment, trying to find the right words. “Please know that South America is a most beautiful place, but it’s also very… volatile. I am the first to admit this. And while I have become very wealthy as a businessman, it has not come without its share of controversy.” A look of guilt began to appear on Alves’ face. “I’m sorry to say I have developed many political enemies over the years, and I fear that Mr. Greenwood is now the victim of such.”
Alves dropped his gaze to the floor and gently shook his head. “Recently our preserve was attacked. A large portion of our new complex was destroyed and many of the animals slaughtered. Mr. Greenwood was the only one there that night. He has now been missing for two weeks, and I fear the worst.”
DeeAnn closed her eyes and began to cry.
Alison squeezed her hand. “Oh Dee, do you know him?”
DeeAnn pulled her hands up and placed them over her face. Her cries quickly turned into sobs.
Alves answered for her. “Ms. Shaw, the reason I’ve come to talk to you is because I believe Ms. Draper knows Mr. Greenwood very well.”
16
DeeAnn threw open the double doors to the lab and rushed in, letting them close loudly behind her. She immediately fell against the wall to the right and slid down to the floor, sobbing.
At the far end, Lee poked his head out from a small room, wondering what the noise was. He stood up and spotted DeeAnn huddled on the floor. With a concerned look on his face, Lee started to approach her. He then saw Alison ease one of the doors open and look around. She waved him off and he nodded, quickly retreating and leaving through another door in the opposite corner.
Alison let the door close, knelt down in front of DeeAnn, and put a hand on her shoulder. She said nothing. She just waited.
After several minutes, DeeAnn’s crying finally slowed. She used the back of her hands to wipe the tears away and sniffed loudly. She let her head fall back against the wall and opened her blurry eyes at Alison, who moved her hands down to DeeAnn’s bent knees. “Are you okay?”
DeeAnn sniffed again and rolled her head from side to side against the wall. “No.”
“Do you want to talk about it?”
“Not really.”
“Okay.”
After a long silence, DeeAnn angled her head and looked up at the ceiling, absently following the dozens of support beams connecting one wall to another. “I’ve been friends with Luke Greenwood for a long time. Almost twenty years. But I haven’t seen him in a while.” She exhaled slowly. “We were both working on our doctorates when we met at grad school. He was a few years older.” DeeAnn dropped her eyes back to Alison. “He was also further along than I was, but our interests couldn’t have been more aligned, and he became my mentor. In fact, we worked together for several years even after we got our PhDs. Until I went to work with Koko.” She stared off to the side as the memories came flooding back. “He’s really brilliant.”
Alison adjusted her position and sat down cross-legged. She leaned forward, listening.
After a moment, DeeAnn turned back to her. “Do you remember what I told you about how I came to have Dulce?”
“You said you rescued her in Mexico.”
“That’s right. It was a testing facility, used by the pharmaceuticals. It was outside of U.S. regulations and barely one step away from a slaughterhouse. What they were doing with those animals was horrific. It was torture in every sense of the word.”
Alison nodded. “I remember that part.”
“That was right after I left working with Koko and the Gorilla Foundation. I told you I left the Foundation because I wanted to make a bigger difference. A difference in the lives of these poor animals. Dulce being one of them. But I didn’t tell you what inspired a change at that point in my life.” She leveled her eyes at Alison. “It was Luke Greenwood who got me to leave.”
Alison raised her eyebrows curiously.
“I hadn’t seen him in years, but one day he showed up at the Foundation. He told me he was forming a group to track and save captive and abused animals. And he wanted me to join him.”
DeeAnn closed her eyes for a long moment, before opening them again. “Luke always made it impossible to say no. He was so passionate. Seeing animals being tortured made him angrier than anything.”