“I have to share some of the blame,” Melanie said.

“I disagree,” Kevin said. “I’m the one who created the chimeras by adding the human chromosome segments. That wasn’t your doing.”

“What are they doing now?” Candace asked.

Kevin and Melanie turned to see bonobo number one coming toward them, carrying the bloodied corpse of one of the colobus monkeys. He was still wearing the wristwatch, which only underlined the beast’s odd position between man and ape.

Bonobo number one brought the dead monkey directly to Candace and held it out toward her in both his hands and said: “Sta.”

Candace moaned and turned her head. She looked like she was about to get sick.

“He’s offering it to you,” Melanie told Candace. “Try to respond.”

“I can’t look at it,” Candace said.

“Try!” Melanie pleaded.

Candace slowly turned. Her face reflected her disgust. The monkey’s head had been crushed.

“Just bow or do something,” Melanie encouraged.

Candace smiled weakly and bowed her head.

Bonobo number one bowed and then withdrew.

“Incredible,” Melanie said, watching the animal leave. “Although he’s obviously the alpha male, there must still be remnants of the typical matriarchal bonobo society.”

“Candace, you did great,” Kevin said.

“I’m a wreck,” Candace said.

“I knew I should have been a blond,” Melanie said with her own attempt at humor.

The bonobo holding the rope gave a tug significantly less forceful than the previous one. The group was on the move again and Kevin, Melanie, and Candace were forced to follow.

“I don’t want to go any farther,” Candace said tearfully.

“Pull yourself together,” Melanie said. “Everything is going to be okay. I’m starting to think Kevin’s suggestion was right. They think of us like gods, especially you with that blond hair. They could have killed us instantly if they’d been inclined, just like they killed the monkeys.”

“Why did they kill the monkeys?” Candace asked.

“I assume for food,” Melanie said. “It is a little surprising since bonobos are not carnivorous, but chimps can be.”

“I was afraid they were human enough for the killing to be for sport,” Candace said.

The group passed through a marshy area, then began a climb. Fifteen minutes later, they emerged from the forest twilight onto a rocky but grassy area at the foot of the limestone escarpment.

Halfway up the rock face was the opening of a cave that appeared to be accessible only by a series of extremely steeply tiered ledges. At the lip of the cave were a dozen more bonobos. Most were female. They were striking their chests with the flat of their hands and yelling “bada” over and over again.

The bonobos with Kevin, Melanie, and Candace did the same and then held up the dead colobus monkeys. That resulted in hooting from the females that Melanie said reminded her of chimps.

Then the group of bonobos at the base of the cliff parted. Kevin, Melanie, and Candace were pulled forward. At the sight of them, the females above fell silent.

“Why do I have the feeling the females aren’t so happy to see us?” Melanie whispered.

“I’d rather think they were just confused,” Kevin whispered back. “They hadn’t expected company.”

Finally bonobo number one said “zit” and pointed up with his thumb. The group surged forward pulling Kevin, Melanie, and Candace along.

CHAPTER 18

MARCH 7, 1997

6:15 A.M.

NEW YORK CITY

JACK’S lids blinked open, and he was instantly awake. He sat up and rubbed his gritty eyes. He was still tired from the poor night’s sleep the night before last and from having stayed up later than he planned the previous evening, but he was too keyed up to fall back asleep.

Getting up off the couch, Jack wrapped himself in his blanket against the morning chill and went to the bedroom door. He listened for a moment. Convinced that Laurie was still sound asleep, he cracked the door. As he’d expected, Laurie was on her side under a mound of covers, breathing deeply.

As quietly as possible, Jack tiptoed across the bedroom and entered the bathroom. Once the door was closed, he quickly shaved and showered. When he reappeared, he was pleased to see that Laurie had not budged.

Getting fresh clothes from his closet and bureau, Jack carried them out into the living room and got dressed. A few minutes later, he emerged from his building into the predawn light. It was raw and cold with a few snowflakes dancing in the gusts of wind.

Across the street was a squad car with two uniformed policemen drinking coffee and reading the morning papers with the help of the interior light. They recognized Jack and waved. Jack waved back. Lou had kept his word.

Jack jogged down the street to the local deli on Columbus Avenue. One of the policemen dutifully followed. Jack thought about buying him a donut but decided against it; he didn’t want the cop to take it the wrong way.

With an armload of juice, coffee, fruit, and fresh bagels, he returned to the apartment. Laurie was up and was in the shower. Jack knocked on the door to announce that breakfast was served whenever she was ready.

Laurie appeared a few minutes later clad in Jack’s robe. Her hair was still wet. The sequelae from the previous night’s run-in with Angelo did not look bad. All that was apparent was a mild black eye.

“Now that you’ve had a night’s sleep to think about this trip, do you still feel the same?” Laurie asked.

“Absolutely,” Jack said. “I’m psyched.”

“Are you really going to pay for everyone’s ticket?” she asked. “This could get expensive.”

“What else do I have to spend my money on?” Jack said. He glanced around his apartment. “Certainly not my lifestyle, and the bike is all paid for.”

“Seriously,” Laurie said. “I can understand Esteban to some extent, but Warren and Natalie?”

The previous night when the proposal had been presented to Teodora, she had reminded her husband that one of them had to stay in the city to mind the market and be there for their teenage son. The decision that Esteban would go instead of Teodora had been decided by the flip of a coin.

“I was serious about making it fun,” Jack said. “Even if we don’t learn anything, which is a possibility, it will at least be a great trip. I could see in Warren’s eyes his interest to visit that part of Africa. And on the way back, we’ll spend a night or two in Paris.”

“You don’t have to convince me,” Laurie said. “I was against your going at first, but now I’m excited myself.”

“Now all we have to do is convince Bingham,” Jack said.

“I don’t think that will be a problem,” Laurie said. “Neither of us has taken the vacation time they’ve wanted us to. And Lou said he’d put in his two cents about the threats. He’d like to get us out of town.”

“I never trust bureaucracy,” Jack said. “But I’ll be optimistic. And assuming we’re going, let’s divvy up the errands. I’ll go ahead and get the tickets while you, Warren, and Natalie take care of the visa situation. Also, we’ve got to arrange for some shots and start malaria prophylaxis. We really should have more time for immunizations, but we’ll do the best we can, and we’ll take a lot of insect repellant.”

“Sounds good,” Laurie said.

Because of Laurie, Jack left his beloved mountain bike in his apartment. Together, they cabbed down to the medical examiner’s office. When they walked into the ID room Vinnie lowered his newspaper and looked at them as if they were ghosts.

“What are you guys doing here?” he asked with a voice that broke. He cleared his throat.

“What kind of question is that?” Jack asked. “We work here, Vinnie. Have you forgotten?”

“I just didn’t think you two were on call,” Vinnie said. He hastily took a drink from his coffee cup before coughing again.