by Anna Wild
“Hey!” She sang. “God, you’re soaked!”
“I’ll live. That’s a great view you got from up here,” He ssaid, looking out the window. “So, why extend the invitation, Laura? Don’t tell me you liked my manners.”
“You get straight to the point. I like that,” she remarked, as her eyes glinted with amusement. “What can I get you?”
“A Scotch: neat.” he answered, as the rain became stronger. Tim had caught himself watching the rain many times in the past, but never in such a lavish house, accompanied by a beautiful woman. It felt different. Better. The prospect of spending some time with her was enough to intrigue him, but also trouble him. He had no idea of her motives.
“It’s more than just an invitation,” She corrected him, handing him over a glass of whiskey. “It’s a business meeting. Cheers.”
“Care to elaborate on that?” He inquired, as their glasses clanked.
“I want you to be my eyes and ears in that facility.” Upon hearing Laura’s request, Tim coughed and whiskey came out of his nose.
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me!” he protested, wiping the whiskey from his mouth.
“Oh, by the way, I do like your manners,” she teased him. “I’m a businesswoman, Tim. I want to protect my investment.”
“I’m not a rat,” he stated. “You’ll have to find someone else to do your dirty work.”
“Let me finish.” Once again, Laura assumed her businesslike tone. “I’m going to pay you twenty thousand dollars at the end of the two-week period.” Finishing her sentence, Laura pulled a small, folded piece of paper out of her pocket and gave it to him. It was a check for $10,000.
“You’ll get the rest in a couple of weeks. You’ll monitor everything she does, write down everything that seems out of the ordinary and report back to me at the end of your shift. You’ll only be working mornings from now on.” She added.
“Why do you want to get rid of her so badly?” He squinted at her.
“That woman is crazy, Tim,” Laura said with a sigh. “It’s either that or she’s a dreamer. Either way, I’m not going to fund her research anymore. Jitter’s death brought bad publicity. The stock price of ‘Maddox Pharmaceuticals’ plummeted today.”
“What if she does what she says? What if she does find a cure for Alzheimer’s?” His question put her in a difficult position. She dropped her eyes from his intense stare.
“She doesn’t have much time,” Laura’s sigh was even deeper and heavier than the previous one. “But I don’t think she could pull this off, even if I gave her another two years.”
“She’s been running that research for two years?” Tim’s voice became high-pitched and tense.
“More or less,” she stated lowly, giving him a sad nod. “So, what’s it going to be? Are you going to help me out or not?”
“The answer’s still ‘no’, Laura.” Tim’s voice was bass-deep and firm. “Have you talked to anyone else?”
“Are you sure?” She inquired, her voice low and husky, as she took two steps closer to him. “I think we can find a way to…” she paused, “sweeten the deal.”
Tim remained silent. He let his empty glass slip from his hand onto the carpet and put his hands on her wrists. Pulling her closer, he wrapped his arms around her back. Laura tilted her head up to meet his lips. Their mouths joined in a long, fiery kiss. Her feminine scent filled his nostrils, as he explored her mouth with his tongue. Laura tossed her equally empty glass across the floor. She entwined her arms around his neck, pressing herself into him. Passionate sighs began to escape her, as he ran his hands up and down her back. Tim had exactly what he wanted, what he had been thinking about since her proposal that morning. He meant to flirt with her first, but he would not say “no” to an opportunity like that. No matter the circumstances, Tim would seduce her.
“I was wrong.” She whispered in his mouth. “It’s not sweet. It’s so hot!” He felt his manhood twitch, as she stroked the back of his neck. Sliding his hands down her back, he slipped them under her shirt. However, just when he was about to caress her, her low, sexy voice forced him to stop.
“My maid could walk in on us.” Another whisper left her lips.
“I don’t care.” He breathed.
“No, but I do.” She smiled, mischievously. Nevertheless, their moment was not meant to last; his cell phone rang.
“Damn it.” She complained.
“Yeah.” He agreed.
“Tim, it’s me, Dr. Taylor!” Her voice was shaking and riddled with panic. “One of our test chimpanzees has escaped! We need you here; now!”
Chapter Five
Tim had no time to waste. He told Laura about the chimpanzee and they hurriedly left her place in her black Navigator. As a security guard, he had to make sure that all the animals stayed in their cages. As much as he hated the idea of chasing down a chimpanzee in the middle of a cold, rainy night, he had to return to the compound and join his colleagues in the search. Deeply disappointed that his night with Laura was effectively ruined, he did not utter a word.
“How the hell did that damn chimp escape?” Laura spoke in frustrated tones, on their way down the mountain side. “I mean, don’t you lock those cages?”
“Yeah, we do.” Tim’s voice had completely lost its firmness. He would not look ahead; instead, he simply lay back in his seat and closed his eyes.
“What’s wrong, Mr. Shaw?” Laura said, her tone all of a sudden much sweeter, as she turned her head to the right to face him.
“Of all the damn days…” he grumbled.
“Yeah, I didn’t like that, either.” She reached towards him and patted him on the shoulder. “But, don’t worry. We just met. Besides, the whole thing felt a little rushed, if you ask me.”
“What, you didn’t like it?” Tim’s eyes snapped open.
“The kiss was amazing,” Laura confessed. “I loved it. I just wish we’d kissed on a real date.”
“Tonight wasn’t my idea, sweetheart,” He replied tauntingly. “It could have been anything you wanted, but you chose to talk about business.”
“I’ll tell you what, then,” she chirped. “Let’s go out for dinner tomorrow night. But here’s the thing. You’ll have to forget about the money and our conversation.”
“You’re a weird lady, you know that?” Tim spoke in a disapproving tone.
“I just don’t mix business with pleasure,” Laura declared. “If we… sealed the deal tonight, it would be a one-time thing. I’d never date a business associate.”
“You sound like an old man,” he laughed. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“I think I sound like my old man,” she sighed. “Those are his words, not mine. But, I agree with him. Dating someone that you work with can only distract you.”
“This doesn’t look good.” Tim remarked, as they entered the parking lot. His three colleagues had gathered outside, with tranquilizing guns in their hands and the police were also there. Josephine was yelling at her employees. Luckily for them, the rain had almost stopped. At least Tim wouldn’t have to battle that as well in his quest for the chimpanzee.
“Tim, we are so glad you could join us: catch!” Tina said sarcastically, tossing a tranquilizing gun to him.
“Can anybody tell me what happened?” Laura asked, following him.
“I left the cage door open,” Wally Bartlett, the oldest of the four security guards, raised his hand like a timid schoolboy.
“Why?” Laura raised her tone.
“It can happen to anyone,” Josephine interjected. “It’s happened to me, too.”
“Where’s the chimp? Still here or is it taking a walk in the forest?” Laura’s ironic tone did not go down well with Josephine. She frowned at her and would not dignify her question with an answer.
“It can’t go to the forest,” Tina assured. “Security footage showed him getting out the back door. Dr. Marlon is monitoring the cameras. We’ve turned on the power to the electric fence. If he touches
it, he’s dead. He’s probably hiding somewhere.”
“Well, don’t just stand there. Find him!” Laura commanded.
“Alright,” Bartlett spoke. “Shaw, Bradley, go right. Stilton, you’re with me.”
“I need a flashlight.” Tim requested.
“I don’t think so,” Tina disagreed. “I’ve turned on all the sidelights. We can’t miss him.”
His colleague’s words gave him some hope, but Tim’s heart sank as they turned around the corner. The 200-yard long strip of land was filled with huge boxes. Smaller crates were scattered in disarray. Simply touching one of those would make enough noise to alert the animal. More than that, the chimp could easily be hiding in one of those boxes, trying to shield itself from the cold.
“Hey…” he whispered, “where did those boxes come from?”
“Animal food,” Tina responded. “We’re supposed to collect those in the morning.”
“Stay close.” Tim urged.
Tim’s footsteps dragged, as the snow thickened. His legs gave way and he stumbled to his knees in the snow, soaking the light wool fabric of his dress pants. He gave a frustrated gasp, as he brushed past two black crates, stacked on top of each other. Walking in the snow took a lot of effort. Their footsteps were quite noticeable. If they had any chance of finding the missing primate, they had to spot him from a distance. It didn’t take them long to come across an incredible sight that shocked them both to their very core: there were three, large boxes; piled on top of one another; just inside the fence; roughly thirty yards away from where they stood. But that was not what surprised them the most. Just outside the fence was another pile of three more boxes. Before either of them could speak, the chimpanzee jumped onto the top of the pile outside and over the 20ft-tall fence, with something squeaking in his mouth. He raised his left hand to his face and pulled it out. Tim couldn’t believe his eyes, but knew he had to overcome his shock. He pointed his gun down at the primate and shut his left eye. The dart struck the chimpanzee in his left arm. A split second afterwards, Tina shot the animal as well. Her dart hit him in the stomach. Whatever was in his mouth fell off and disappeared into the thick snow, just before he fell hard on his right hand side.
“We got him!” Tina spoke through her intercom, as they both rushed towards the unconscious primate.
“I thought chimps liked bananas!” Tim’s astonishment was showing in his voice.
“I did, too!” She confessed.
“Be careful with him!” Josephine’s voice echoed in the wilderness. “Let’s get him somewhere warm, fast!”
Chapter Six
The four security guards loaded the animal onto a stretcher and carefully carried him inside, as the number of questions in Tim’s mind grew larger by the second. On the other hand, Laura kept asking the same things, over and over, reprimanding the security guards and Josephine alike. She and Tim ignored her, for different reasons. Focusing on the chimpanzee, the young biologist would not even glance at Laura and caressed the animal’s head, while Tim was still thinking about the scene that he had earlier witnessed. It was then that he realized what his job would really include, other than strolling around the facility, looking for anything out of the ordinary. In his confusion though, he was glad that the animal which had escaped was a chimpanzee and not one of the two, massive constrictors in the adjacent lab, an anaconda and a Burmese python. Had one of them broken out of their cages, things would have been much, much worse, as they could hide anywhere and even attack one of them.
After putting the chimpanzee back in his cage, the three other security guards mumbled “goodnight” and left the lab. Tim was about to do the same, but Josephine was curious, whereas Laura was too upset to even stand. She took a seat in one of the rolling office chairs, running her hands through her hair.
“Mr. Shaw, could you please describe to me how you captured him?” Josephine inquired.
“There’s not much to describe, doc.” He shrugged his shoulders. “We saw him, shot him. You know the rest. He had been outside the fence.”
His last statement drew Laura’s attention.
“Outside?” Her voice rose several octaves as she dropped her arms. “How is that even possible?”
“Doc?” There was a hint of sarcasm in Tim’s voice. “I know chimps are smart, but you saw those boxes. Can a chimp be that smart? He had something in his mouth. Do they eat meat? Also, I saw the damn thing jump over the fence. That’s more than twenty feet high.”
“The chimpanzee is one of the most athletic animals in the world.” Josephine informed. “They can tear limbs off other animals. Contrary to popular belief, they do like meat. Chimps prey on gazelle, impala and monkeys. They are highly cerebral, which is why I chose them for my research. I don’t know what it is that he had caught; my best guess is a vole. It’s a type of rodent, a little bigger than a mouse.”
“Tear limbs off other animals? Does that include humans?” Laura interjected a question.
“Theoretically, yes. Such an attack has never been documented, though.” Josephine’s reply turned Laura’s face expressionless. She was stunned. “Look, there is no need to worry, ok? Chimpanzees don’t see us as prey.”
“It’s still an animal, doc.” Tim voiced his opinion. “Can you really predict its behavior?”
“No, not really,” Josephine sighed, tearing her gaze away from his.
“I’m going home,” Laura said, rising from her seat. “You just make sure that no other animal escapes from now on. If it does, you’re going after it: alone. And I don’t care if it…” she faltered, “tears off your arm or your leg. Got it?”
Josephine merely gave a sad nod, as Laura turned around. Tim preferred to stay out of it; any words that came out of his mouth could be misunderstood. He could sense the bad blood between them, but he could not really fathom why Laura was being so mean to her. He waited long enough for her to walk out of the lab, before addressing Josephine.
“That was pretty harsh.” He commented. “We talked about you tonight. She doesn’t like you very much. Why’s that?”
“That’s a very long story,” She whispered. “I’m a little too upset to discuss it.”
“Fine,” Tim gave an exasperated gasp. “Have it your way. Goodnight, doc.”
“Goodnight.”
Tim’s instinct had been correct all along. However, as he made his way back to his room, he couldn’t help but think that things in his new work environment were much more complicated than he could have ever imagined. He had been there for roughly nine days and his boss had been killed under unclear circumstances and the daughter of his funder had literally thrown herself at him. Laura and Josephine’s story also intrigued him and Tim had to find a way to keep out of it. He would spend a lot of time with both of them and would have to listen to their complaints about one another, especially Laura’s.
“Joey must have screwed up somehow. Laura looks a little spoiled, maybe too aggressive sometimes, but she’s not crazy. She must be acting like that for a reason.”
His king-size bed had never looked so appealing. Tim was exhausted; it had been a very adventurous night, but he was still so pumped with adrenaline that he could not even consider sleeping. Josephine’s answers to his questions had amazed him, but he had no way to verify them. He started analyzing them, one by one, as he undressed. As he took his sweater off though, his doorbell rang. The identity of the person standing before him sent shockwaves through his body. It was Josephine.
“Doc, what are you doing here?” He asked.
“I wanted to apologize for my behavior today. I’m sorry; I’ve been terrible to you.” She maintained. “May I come in?”
“Sure.” He said. “Are you going to tell me why you and Laura don’t get along or should I just keep speculating?”
“That’s not what I came here for.” Josephine made her voice sound sweeter, in an obvious attempt to avoid the subject.
“Have a seat.” Tim spoke, pointing at the small kitchen table acros
s from the door, as he closed it behind him. “Look, I know I haven’t been here long, but it’s pretty clear that you guys don’t like each other. I need to know why. Just give it to me straight, ok?”
“You’re a really inquisitive man, Mr. Shaw.” She protested.
“Is that a fancy way of saying ‘curious’?” He smiled.
“Maybe,” she admitted. “Why don’t you ask your new girlfriend about it? Tina told me about the limo.”
“First of all, she’s not my girlfriend,” Tim pointed out. “She offered me money to keep tabs on you.”
“She wants you to spy on me?” Josephine pointed to herself. “What did you say?”
“It’s a little complicated,” He claimed. “I said ‘no’, but then things got a little…”
“Let me guess,” she interjected. “She came on to you.”
“How did you know?” Tim wondered, sitting across from her.
“We go way back,” Josephine said with a shaking voice. “We were best friends: we went to school together; we even attended the same college – Stanford. Her father visited her at senior year. He got me drunk; I slept with him. She never forgave me for that. When we came back to Vermont, I got into a relationship with someone. Laura found out and she seduced him. Her father only funded my research when I told my fiancé about our one-night stand. Paul blackmailed him; he said he’d go to the press with it.”
“Whoa!” He exclaimed. “Jitter blackmailed Maddox? Do the cops know about that?”
“No,” her voice was barely audible. Josephine blinked back tears, as she rolled her gaze down his chest. She fixed it on the table, before dropping her face into her hands.
“Why won’t you tell them?” Tim asked in a tone now octaves higher.
“God…” a breathless whisper left her lips, “because Paul was gay, Tim. He gave me a job and asked for my help. There had been rumors about him. We got engaged last summer. We agreed to stay engaged for at least a year.” She continued, wiping tears off her face.