DeeAnn had phoned late the night before, letting Alison and the team know they landed safely. They had arrived at Alves’ preserve just after nine o’clock. All told, it was a successful trip, and Dulce seemed to be doing well.
Alison couldn’t hide her enthusiasm. Even though it was still early, everything was progressing according to plan. She crossed her fingers and hoped their good luck would continue.
DeeAnn awoke early and turned over, examining the room. The walls were a soft white, reflecting the early morning sun. The room was decorated in a stylish, natural theme. She spotted some beautiful orange flowers on her dresser and wondered what they were called. Finally, she rolled to the side of the bed and stood up. She dressed and picked up the new, thicker vest, before unplugging it from the wall.
She planned to give Dulce some time that day to acclimate before starting the search. DeeAnn was worried at the possibility of pushing Dulce too hard. Gorillas were introverted creatures, and the last thing she needed was Dulce becoming overly excited. Behaviorally speaking, it was a very small step from excited to frantic.
Alves had given DeeAnn the closest room to the fenced area downstairs, just seconds away. Descending the stairs quietly, she pushed the exterior door open gently to look for Dulce.
The fenced area was larger than it appeared the night before. It measured at least three hundred by another hundred and fifty yards. She spotted the black fur of Dulce’s back hunched over in a nearby corner. DeeAnn watched as Dulce plucked a handful of flowers and sniffed at them, apparently unable to decide if they were edible.
Dulce turned when she heard the metal gate open behind her. She dropped the new handful of flowers and ran excitedly through the tall grass to DeeAnn.
You here, you here.
DeeAnn opened her arms just in time for Dulce to leap into them. At the last second, DeeAnn remembered the vest and cringed as Dulce’s body landed with a thud against it. She promptly lowered Dulce to the ground. “Sensitive,” she replied, tapping the vest. “We have to be careful.”
Dulce gave her a toothy grin. Okay. I careful. She grabbed DeeAnn’s hand and pulled her forward. Come. New flowers. Pretty.
Less than an hour later and after watching Dulce examine much of her new play area, the metal gate squeaked again and Juan Diaz stepped through into the fenced area. He tromped over the tall grass and met them with a smile.
“Morning, Dee.”
“Good morning, Juan.”
Juan watched as Dulce climbed up a small tree to its lowest branch. “How is she?”
DeeAnn began to speak but caught herself. She glanced down at the vest. “Where’s the mute button?”
“We didn’t have time to put one in.”
DeeAnn nodded and instead placed her finger firmly over the small microphone. She also turned the vest away from Dulce just in case. “She’s doing all right. She’s showing some mild signs of anxiety.” She motioned to the area around them. “But out here with us, she seems a little better.”
“Yeah, I could see her starting to get a little upset on the plane.”
“Right. Gorillas are introverted so what we see on the outside is only the tip of the iceberg. Unfortunately, when they hit their breaking point, we don’t get much warning.”
Juan noticed DeeAnn’s attention shift and he turned to see where she was looking. Mateus Alves was approaching from the large building. Walking through the grass was difficult, even with his cane. A second man was with him, tall and broad, dressed in matching khaki shorts and shirt. DeeAnn and Juan left Dulce playing on the tree while they met the men at the fence.
“Mr. Alves.”
“Greetings, Ms. Draper. Mr. Diaz. I hope you both slept well.” He turned to the man standing just behind him. “I’d like to introduce our head of security, Miguel Blanco. He helps keep things running when I’m away.”
DeeAnn smiled politely. “Pleased to meet you.”
“Hi,” Juan added.
“Good morning.” Blanco gave them a slight nod. With dark, hawkish eyes and a deep tan, he looked like a seasoned soldier out of uniform.
Alves looked past DeeAnn. “And how is Dulce faring this morning?”
“So far, so good.” She decided to keep the nuances about Dulce’s behavior just between her and Juan.
“Wonderful. Shall we bring some food out?”
“Please. Otherwise, she’s probably going to eat all of your flowers.”
Alves laughed. “She’s welcome to eat whatever she likes. Though I’m not sure everything would be to her liking. I must admit I’m not well educated on the differences in flora between our two continents. I’ll have food brought out right away. As for the rest of the animals,” he said, waving his arm, “we lost many during the vandalism.” He motioned up the hill, past the nearby fences. “The rest of the preserve is wild and to where most of our remaining animals escaped. I’m afraid it will take some time to find them.”
“I’m guessing that’s where our capuchin monkey is?”
“Yes, we believe so.”
DeeAnn nodded, still staring up the hill. She couldn’t tell what was the preserve and what was… well, Brazil. It was all mountain and jungle as far as she could see. She felt her heart sink at the sheer expanse before them. She was finally faced with the thought she’d been avoiding this entire time. How on earth were they supposed to find a monkey in all of this?
DeeAnn took a deep breath. There was another topic she was dreading, one she couldn’t put off any longer either. She turned to Juan and began unfastening the buckles on the vest. “Juan, would you mind looking after Dulce for a bit?”
“Sure, Dee.”
DeeAnn looked at Alves. “Mr. Alves, can you show me Luke’s room?”
Miguel Blanco unlocked the door and pushed it open. He then stepped out of the way to allow DeeAnn in.
When Blanco turned on the light behind her, DeeAnn gasped.
Alves stepped in from the hallway and put a gentle hand on her shoulder. “I’m sorry, Ms. Draper. We had to leave things as they were the night of the attack, for investigation purposes.”
DeeAnn nodded absently and scanned the room. Several things were turned over or broken and in some cases, both. Clothes were pulled from a small dresser, strewn across the floor. A large desk in the corner had been overturned.
“My God,” she whispered, “what happened?” She turned to Alves and Blanco. “Were they looking for something?”
Alves shrugged. “It appears so. Though I’m afraid we don’t know what. We weren’t exactly working on anything secretive.”
DeeAnn stepped over a broken lamp, suddenly afraid at the possibility of seeing blood. To her relief, there was none.
Alves spoke softly over her shoulder. “Footsteps outside suggest Luke made it out before disappearing. We believe he was picked up and carried from there. Everything we’ve learned seems to suggest it was a raid of vandalism, designed to ruin the preserve. Several systems, including the main air-conditioning system, were destroyed.”
“Why would they want to ruin your preserve?”
Alves shook his head. “I don’t know, Ms. Draper. As I said, I have many enemies who would love to see my businesses fail, but the preserve is different. It is the one thing I’ve done truly for the people of our country: for all the people of South America.”
“Could Luke have seen something? Something he wasn’t supposed to?”
“It’s possible. If he recognized someone, it might explain why they would take him.”
Would it? DeeAnn thought to herself. Would it really explain anything? She wanted desperately to believe Luke was still alive, but she was an analytical person. She couldn’t help asking the obvious question in her head. If Luke had seen something he wasn’t supposed to, why didn’t they simply kill him? Her only explanation was that he didn’t see something… instead, he probably knew something.