DeeAnn reached up and gently stroked the fur atop Dulce’s head.
“It took her a long time to gain the trust of the native gorillas. And when she finally did, she fell in love with them.” A faint smile appeared briefly on DeeAnn’s face. “The locals called her ‘the woman who lives alone on the mountain.’ And it was there that she died trying to protect them.”
“From what, poachers?”
“Yes,” she nodded. “It was a grizzly scene when they found her. And there were a lot of unanswered questions. But it was clear who had done it and why. She had exposed them with the help of others who were trying to fight back. Dian was creating havoc for the poachers, and they had to shut her up for good.”
DeeAnn’s voice trailed off leaving only silence behind. The men looked at each other.
“We’re sorry, DeeAnn. Truly. But how is Dian Fossey’s death related to us?”
“Because I think there may have been more to her death than we know. Than anyone knows. She lived in the most densely populated area in the world for gorillas. An area that we know was integral in the journey of human evolution. With gorillas, who are also one of the tri-brain animals.” She let those words sink in before continuing. “What if Dian wasn’t killed just for harassing the poachers? What if during her time in the mountains, she discovered more than just anthropological secrets of those gorillas? What if she discovered clues to what we’re looking for?”
Caesare’s eyes opened wide with surprise. “Whoa.”
“Exactly. Which could also explain why she was murdered so suddenly after being up there for so many years.”
Clay listened quietly, pondering. “If that’s true, then it also means that others knew too. About whatever she found.”
“Probably. And then killed her to keep it quiet. Like I said, they’re ruthless. Rwanda is an extremely dangerous place, with no regard for the law or their fellow man. Everything around them is nothing more than a means.” DeeAnn stared at the two men. “It’s a country that’s as corrupt as any I’ve ever seen.”
Caesare folded his arms across his chest and looked at Clay. “Well, that sounds lovely.”
Clay frowned. “And we thought Brazil was bad.”
DeeAnn shrugged. “You can see why I never wanted to go.”
“Now that makes three of us.”
57
Sheng Lam was still fuming. In China, he stood silently, visually constraining his anger, studying the ground at his feet. The Jaguar kept idling behind them until one of Peng’s men leaned in and switched off the ignition. The sudden disappearance of the running engine plunged them into silence for several seconds. Then the more subtle sounds of the forest gradually filled the void.
A soft swaying of the trees overhead and scampering of an animal in the bushes could be heard as Lam bent down to examine the tracks in the dirt.
A few prints left behind included a partial design from what appeared to be a sneaker or athletic shoe. He touched one of the prints gently, testing the firmness of the soil.
Lam then stood and walked back toward the car, studying the ground. The “shinings” from the bent grass and leaf depressions were clear, displaying more partials of the forefoot flipped in opposite directions.
She had run back to the car for something.
Behind Lam, their squad leader held a compact two-way radio to his ear. Peng then spoke into it, in a lowered tone. She couldn’t be far.
One of Peng’s men stood nearby, staring up at the chopper as he watched it slowly spin through a full 360-degree turn, scanning thoroughly without changing its position.
Hiding on the ground from helicopters was easier than most people thought. Anything from logs to small holes or caves could keep you hidden long enough for eyes above to pass over your location. It was why most helicopters hunted in packs and used thermal imaging to detect body heat.
Lam returned, and in one smooth motion, jumped over the fallen tree trunk, landing on the other side. He squatted down and examined the ground again, looking for small broken twigs or matted grass.
He continued forward, methodically sweeping the area back and forth until he found a pattern. The indentations were more than a meter from each other and heading further into the trees.
“Well?” asked the leader.
Lam turned to find Peng’s eyes nearly boring through him, waiting for an answer. He spoke reluctantly. “That way.”
“How fast?”
“She’s running.”
Running was an understatement. Li Na was sprinting.
Her heart and legs felt stronger than ever. Hitting the ground like coiled springs, they sent her bounding over rocks and scattered tree limbs. But while her body felt strong, her mind was continuing to falter. Her thoughts, increasingly scattered, barely pushed through as she ran between the tree trunks that towered over her.
She had to make it to Shenyang, the largest city in the province. According to the car’s GPS, it was not more than thirty kilometers away. But she also had to eat. And who was following her? They had to be the same men who caught her before, when she was in the hospital. Although her legs felt strong, she didn’t know how long they would hold up. Without food, they had to run out of fuel eventually. In school, she’d learned about the muscles and their use of carbohydrates and proteins. When those ran out, her energy would be gone. Then they would have her.
The teenager noticed something and came to a sudden stop. Her lungs were still heaving and her legs pounding. It was still there. The weird feeling.
It was different… not a smell and not a sound. It was more of an awareness of the trees and foliage around her. As though it was buzzing — not just in her head but throughout her entire body.
Li Na turned back and held her breath, listening. She became still and closed her eyes, trying to concentrate. She could hear the faint sound of the helicopter easily as it moved in a wide arc, now passing somewhere in front of her.
But more than the thumping of the distant blades… was a stream of unfamiliar noise all around her — like background noise that was only growing louder.
And yet there, in the middle of all that noise, was something else. Something deeper. A sound or a feeling that seemed to resonate much further down. A reverberation that felt oddly like an echo.
Lam, along with Peng and another of his men, jumped down from the chopper. Their boots hit the ground firmly with a thud while the blur of the aircraft’s blades still whirled overhead. The downdraft plastered their straight, black hair against their heads and they marched forward. The men eventually stopped to watch the aircraft lift back into the air.
They were now in front of Li Na, while Peng’s other three men remained behind as the beaters, spreading out and making noise to drive her forward.
Humans, just like animals, used patterns in their line of travel. Even without realizing it. Instinctively following the easier path, they sought out the flattest land with the least amount of vegetation to obstruct or slow them. Subtle differences that often guided the animal as much as the animal guided itself.
Providing Li Na made no sharp turns, her path was easy to predict. And given the maximum speed of a human through this terrain, Lam estimated there couldn’t be more than a kilometer between them.
Now they just had to wait.