Prince smiled, revealing white, evenly spaced teeth. “Oh, there are all sorts of attractions. You’re Southeast, aren’t you?”
It took Cat a moment to figure out what he meant. “Oh, yes. I’m Bob Ellis.” They shook hands.
“Well, Bob, we’re going to make you rich.”
“I’m already rich,” Cat replied.
Prince laughed aloud. “Of course you are. After all, you’ve paid a million dollars for a week’s stay at a jungle resort, haven’t you?”
“That’s right.”
“Tell me, Bob, what is it you want that you don’t already have?”
Cat smiled a little smile. “I want to be as rich as you are,” he said.
Prince laughed again. “I like that,” he said. “I like ambition. You’ll do well, Bob, you’ll do well.”
Cat nodded toward the glass case across the room. “That’s an anaconda, is it?”
“Indeed it is. The largest one ever captured. Some Indians who were working to clear the land here caught it. It seemed a pity to kill it, so we built it some accommodation.”
“What do you feed it?”
“Small animals; the odd man.”
Cat couldn’t tell if Prince was serious.
Soup came, and they began to eat.
“Tell me,” Cat said, “how did I happen to be seated next to the Anaconda?”
“Luck of the draw, I guess,” Prince replied. “I didn’t ask for anybody in particular.”
“I’m hurt,” Cat said. “I thought you’d chosen me.”
“Well, you see, I don’t know anybody here, except my staff, of course, so I wouldn’t have had a preference. I understand, though, that you brought someone with you.”
“Yes, my business partner.”
“Well chosen,” Prince said, gazing at Meg. “If she’s as bright as she is attractive.”
“She is.” Cat had a sudden thought. “Do you play tennis?”
“I do,” Prince replied.
“Well, Meg and I make quite a mean mixed doubles team,” Cat replied. He nodded toward Jinx. “Perhaps you and your young lady will give us a match. Does she play?”
Prince nodded enthusiastically. “Yes, indeed, quite well. Tomorrow morning at eight? I like to rise early; the heat gets up later.”
“Eight is fine. I have a feeling I’d better stay sober tonight”
Prince laughed again. The main course arrived, and he turned to talk with the man on his other side.
Cat glanced toward Jinx and discovered that her chair was empty. So was Meg’s. Cat had an almost overpowering urge to go and look for them, but he made himself concentrate on his food, which was excellent. Five minutes later Jinx returned to her seat. She did not look his way and immediately began talking to the man next to her. Soon Meg returned, and she didn’t look at him, either. She looked preoccupied.
Prince stood. “Now, my friends, if you have finished your coffee, we will adjourn. For those of you who would like a little nightlife, the discotheque is only a two-minute walk, and we have a little floor show for you.”
Cat met Meg at the end of the table, and they followed the flow of the crowd out of the room. “What happened?” he demanded. “Did you talk to her?”
“I don’t understand,” Meg said. “Are you really sure that’s Jinx?”
“What are you talking about? Of course I’m sure!”
“Well, this is very odd.”
“What?”
“We were alone together in the ladies’ room upstairs. I began telling her about you and Dell, and she didn’t understand a word, until I switched to Spanish. The girl is South American.”
“That’s impossible.”
“I can’t quite get a handle on her accent. It’s odd. Does Jinx speak Spanish?”
“Well, she studied it in school, but I don’t see how she could speak it very well.”
Meg sighed. “Look, if you had been kidnapped by a drug baron, and suddenly somebody walked up to you and said your dad was downstairs, wouldn’t you react? She said, in Spanish, she didn’t know what I was talking about, then she walked away. Are you absolutely sure that is your daughter?”
“Meg, I’m telling you, that is Jinx. Don’t you think I’d know her?”
Meg didn’t look at him. “I’m beginning to wonder,” she said.
29
Cat shook Meg awake.
“What time is it?” she mumbled.
“Seven-thirty; we’ve got a tennis date at eight.”
“What?”
“Sorry, I forgot to tell you last night. We’re playing with Prince. And Jinx.”
She sat up and rubbed her eyes. “This is ridiculous, you know, all of it. We come down to this jungle camp, which turns out to be a sort of Amazonian Rockresort, to find your daughter, who suddenly speaks nothing but Spanish, who is being held by a drug lord, and we’re playing tennis with them.”
“Well, I’ve never bored you, have I?”
She threw an arm around him and kissed him. “God knows that’s true. Listen, I’d throw you down and screw you right now, if I didn’t have to play tennis.”
Prince was waiting for them, warming up with Jinx. “Morning,” he called out cheerfully.
“Morning,” Cat called back. “Sorry we’re late.” He watched Jinx walk back to Prince’s side of the net. A little heavier, maybe, but it had to be Jinx, he thought. Even her tennis swing fit.
Prince won the serve, lost the first set, six-three. He called Cat to the net. “Listen, you’re stronger than we are. Why don’t we trade partners? That might make for a better match.”
“Okay,” Cat replied. “Meg, you play with our host.”
He watched Jinx closely as she came around the net. She didn’t avoid his eyes, but she gave no sign of recognition. Cat took his time serving, trying to figure out what to do next. They won the game and changed ends. Cat took care to walk next to Jinx. “Listen to me, but don’t react,” he said quietly. “I’ve come to get you out of here, and I need to know where your room is.”
“Qué?” she said, raising her eyebrows and smiling. “I do not speak English,” she said with a heavy accent. “Do you speak Spanish?”
“For Christ’s sake, Jinx, what’s the matter with you? It’s Daddy, don’t you know me?”
They had reached the baseline. She smiled and shrugged, then pointed to herself.
Cat glanced at Prince. He was talking with Meg. “Yes, I’ve come for you!” he said, trying to keep from shouting.
Now she was pointing at the ball. It was her serve; she wanted the ball.
Cat finished the match in a fog of frustration and bewilderment. Prince and Meg won the next two sets easily. Prince waved them to a little pavilion at courtside. “Have you had breakfast?” he asked. “Join us.”
They served themselves eggs, sausages, and bacon from a nearby buffet, then sat down at a beautifully set table.
“Good match,” Prince said, “but you were a little off your game the second two sets.”
“I guess I’m not awake yet,” Cat said lamely. “Say, how did you choose this site for your factory and... all this?” He waved a hand.
“The factory came first,” Prince replied. “I chose the site purely for its remoteness. We got in a chopper one day and left Leticia, just looking. There was a small clearing here, and there’s a river not far to the north. We get our water supply from there. We began simply enough, but business was so good, it made sense to build a more permanent setup. Here, we are, for all practical purposes, immune from any intrusion.”
“But surely the place will become known to the authorities eventually.”
“Eventually, yes, I suppose it will,” Prince replied. “But you don’t understand the extent to which we have infiltrated the authorities. There is virtually nothing that goes on in the police or the army that I don’t know about, and having access to that information is remarkably inexpensive, considering its value.”