Peril at Palm Shores (Kristi Cameron Book 7)

by Cynthia Griffith

  Rachel looked at Kristi and Skeeter. “Go ahead, Mom,” Kristi said. “Skeeter and I can get started and by the time you get back maybe we’ll be ready to start cooking the hot dogs.”

  Rachel nodded and spoke into the radio. “I’ll be right there, Mom.” She handed the radio back to Bill. “Okay, go ahead, kids. Here are the keys to the refreshment stand. Don’t lose them! I have to give them back to Gretchen. And only one snack, Skeeter!” She started to leave and turned back. “You, too, Kristi! One snack!”

  Rachel left for the nursery and Kristi and Skeeter headed over to the Tiki Hut. The snack shack looked strange with the colorful umbrellas taken down and several of the signs torn off by Hurricane Jenna. Kristi was sad to see that all the thatched trim had been ripped off around the edge of the roof, as well. What a shame. The whole zoo was in shambles—although it could have been a while lot worse.

  Skeeter wasn’t paying any attention to the destruction around him. He had only one thing on his mind. “Man, I hope the chips and stuff stayed dry in there!” he was saying as they went around back to the door. “It sure would be a waste if it all got wet. I’m hungry! I can’t decide if I want some chips or a candy bar.”

  Kristi stepped forward to put the key in the lock. “Hmm, that’s strange!” she said. “I don’t think this door is locked! Look, Skeeter—it’s latched, but the knob is just hanging here. Wait—let me see if I hold it in place like this if I can get it open. Yes! There we go!” She pushed the door open and stepped inside.

  It was dark inside the Tiki Hut. A small patch of light came through the open door, but it did not reach very far into the small building. The serving windows had been boarded up before the hurricane. Kristi reached for the light switch before she remembered that there was no electricity.

  Skeeter pushed in behind her. “Move, Kristi! I’m hungry! I’m getting my snack before we start working. Whoa! It’s dark in here!” They stood still for a moment, waiting to let their eyes adjust to the lack of light.

  Suddenly from the back of the room they heard a smacking noise and the rattle of paper. “What’s that?” Kristi whispered. The little hairs on the back of her neck had risen. Something fell over making a loud clatter in the darkness, and she jumped.

  Skeeter stepped in front of her and peered into the shadows. “Who’s there?” he spoke up bravely, although his voice cracked slightly.

  There was no answer, although they could hear a rustling noise and the sound of tearing paper. More smacking noises. Skeeter sniffed. “Chocolate!” he whispered. “Someone’s eating candy back there! Who’s there?” he asked again, this time a little more loudly.

  There was silence for a moment, and then in an instant an enormous dark blur rushed toward them from the black recesses of the room. Kristi screamed and fell back in shock. Skeeter wasn’t able to move, though. A hand had reached out and grabbed his arm. A huge hand. And suddenly Skeeter found himself staring into the dark eyes of a ferocious face!

  ____________

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  ____________

  Bejo and the Bad Guy

  The moment passed and Skeeter quickly realized that it was not a monstrous face he was looking into at all, but the sad-eyed, freckled face of Bejo, the missing orangutan. The hand gripping his arm was strong, but not hurting him. Instead Skeeter got the feeling that the great ape was looking to him for help.

  Kristi was pulling on Skeeter’s other arm with all her might. In her panic, she didn’t know what this creature was that had flown at them out of the darkness, but whatever it was, it had her brother, and she wasn’t going to let it have him without a fight!

  “Ow, Kristi! Let go! You’re digging your nails into me!”

  Kristi drew back and looked at her brother in shock. She was hurting him?! She was trying to save him! What about that—that thing that had hold of his other arm?

  “Kristi, it’s just Bejo! He’s my buddy, aren’t you, Bejo?”

  Bejo made a squeaky kissing noise at Skeeter. Then he turned his head and blew a raspberry at Kristi. Skeeter laughed. “It’s okay, Bejo. Kristi wants to be your friend, too! Don’t you Kristi?”

  Kristi looked at the great ape standing just a foot or two away from her. He was covered in red hair, but not quite the gigantic monster her fear had made him out to be. He was actually slightly shorter than Kristi, but she could see that he weighed close to three hundred pounds and was incredibly strong. His arms reached to the ground and his dark face was rather scary—until she looked into those big, sad eyes. Then he kind of looked like a scared little boy. There was something about this gentle creature that made her want to protect him.

  “Sure, I’ll be your friend, Bejo,” she said softly. She tentatively reached out to stroke the coarse red hair on his arm. “He kind of reminds me of you, Skeeter.” Bejo puckered up his lips at her.

  Skeeter just chuckled. He was getting used to it by now. “Yeah, we have the same freckles and hair, don’t we, boy?” Bejo flashed a big toothy grin at his “buddy.” There was chocolate all over his face and now when he smiled he simply looked comical.

  “Hey, have you been eating candy bars, Bejo? I hope you saved me some! I’m starving! Open that door a little wider, Kristi so we can get some more light in here.”

  “Skeeter, we need to go get some help to get Bejo back to Monkey Jamboree. Forget about the candy bars for now! I’ll run over and get Mr. Janus while you wait with Bejo.” She was about to step outside when suddenly Bejo snorted loudly and grabbed her shoulder. She jumped back. It scared her. Those long fingers weren’t letting go. She looked back, expecting to see the gentle friend turned into a wild beast, but instead she saw that Bejo wasn’t even looking at her. He was staring into the black shadows of the room beyond.

  “He hears something,” Skeeter whispered. He pulled Bejo’s hand off of Kristi’s shoulder and asked softly, “What is it, boy?” Bejo took a step toward the back, still trying to look at whatever it was that had startled him.

  “Keep that animal away from me!” a voice came out of the darkness. Someone whimpered and a flashlight clicked on. A face appeared in the inky blackness. It was the guy who had surprised Kristi as she washed out her paint tray a few days earlier. She stared in shock once more.

  “He broke my arm!” the young man accused. “He’s had me trapped here for hours! Keep him back!”

  “Well, weren’t you the one who brought him here? You endangered him! You shouldn’t have taken him from his cage!” Kristi snapped.

  “I didn’t bring him in here! He broke away from me in the storm and yanked that door open as if it were a toy. He came in and when I followed him he went crazy and threw me against the back wall. He broke my arm, and when the wind blew the door shut, he had me trapped in here with him. I’m getting out of here now, so get out of my way—and keep that crazy freak away from me!”

  They could see now as he cautiously stepped forward that he was cradling one arm. He grabbed a knife, though, from a rack on the wall and brandished it at them. At that moment Kristi and Skeeter knew that the fellow with the knife was far more dangerous than the wild creature that stood between them and him. Fortunately for them, he didn’t realize that yet. He was still afraid of Bejo, even with a knife in his hand.

  Bejo growled at him, and he took a step backwards. The young man was getting desperate, though, and his eyes darted here and there looking for a way past the angry ape, or some other weapon that would keep him out of the orangutan’s long reach.

  “Just stay back,” Skeeter warned him. “Bejo won’t hurt you if he doesn’t feel threatened. You scared him by taking him from the safety of his home and family during the storm and flood, so now he doesn’t trust you. What were you thinking, anyway? You try to steal an orangutan in the middle of a hurricane? Are you crazy?”

  “Shut up!” the guy snarled. “I’m calling the shots here!” He waved the knife at them. “And it wasn’t the middle of the hurricane. It was afterwards when the wind had died down some
. We had our van right outside the gate and we thought if we put a rope around him he’d just follow us. We’d been watching these apes and they seemed pretty quiet and lazy to us. Besides we’d seen monkeys like these in the movies. They get along okay with humans.”

  “They’re not monkeys. They’re great apes. And yes, those orangutans get along well with their trainers because they’re used to them and they trust them. These apes are still wild, and you were a threat to them. Bejo had to defend himself.” Kristi said. “Why on earth would you want to steal animals from the zoo, anyway? And do all the damage you did before this? What did you gain by destroying so much?”

  “Aw, the graffiti and stuff was just for kicks. We found a way in, and it made us laugh to see all you little goody-two-shoes doing all that work over and over again. And for what? A bunch of animals? You guys must be nuts! But then we found out some of these animals are worth a lot of money. We found someone who would pay big bucks for a couple of chimps and an ape like this. So we decided to make a few bucks on the side. We figured what better time than during the hurricane when no one would be around, the alarms wouldn’t go off, and even if they did, the cops couldn’t get here! Pretty smart, huh?”

  “Oh, yeah. You guys are real smart,” Skeeter said. “Look where it got you!”

  “And you almost killed one of the little chimps you stole! We found him half-dead in a pet carrier. He still may die. They’re trying to save him right now,” Kristi said angrily. “Where is the other chimpanzee? And your friends?”

  “Long gone by now, I hope!”

  “Well, some friends they are! They left you behind, didn’t they? Now you’re going to have to face the music by yourself. The police are on their way over right now and they’ll be very happy to get their hands on you!” Kristi blurted out.

  “No one’s getting their hands on me!” the young punk yelled. “Get out of my way!” He charged forward holding the knife out in front of him with his good arm.

  His bold attack got him nowhere, though. Bejo stood up to his full height and bared his teeth, snarling and growling. The desperate, dangerous young man tried to lunge for Kristi, hoping to place her between himself and the ape, but Bejo simply reached out with a loud roar and grabbed the arm holding the knife, snapping it in two as if it were a twig.

  The young man screamed. Kristi and Skeeter heard the bone break and they cringed, shutting their eyes and covering their ears, trying to drown out the sound of the screams.

  Suddenly from the doorway they heard, “Get down! Get down!” They hit the floor. The police were there with guns drawn, pointing them at the guy who was still screaming over two broken arms, and at Bejo!

  For a minute it was complete mayhem and confusion. Kristi and Skeeter were both yelling, “No! No! Don’t shoot Bejo!” Jimmy had shoved his way right through the policemen and was standing in front of Bejo with his arms outspread, trying to protect the orangutan and shouting, “Don’t shoot! Don’t shoot!” Bejo was making the squeaky kissing noises again. The police were shouting, “Get out of the way!” And the young punk was simply standing there screaming.

  Rachel had followed Jimmy into the small refreshment stand. Kristi and Skeeter suddenly realized their mother was standing there yanking at their arms and trying to urge them to their feet. “Get up! Get up!” they finally heard her saying. “Get out of here!” They glanced toward the policemen who still had their guns pointed in their general direction, and saw that Gretchen was standing there waving her arms wildly and shouting something at the officers. Finally one of them nodded and lowered his gun. He gestured toward Rachel and her children to come out. They stood up and started for the door, but not before pleading with the officers one more time not to shoot the orangutan.

  Gretchen moved into the small space once they had stepped outside and handed Jimmy a collar and leash. She stood there and stroked Bejo soothingly and spoke softly to him as Jimmy put the collar on the great ape. Bejo was still making those kissing sounds, but he seemed calm enough. They finally led him out. The policemen stepped back and gave them plenty of space to get out. They still didn’t seem too sure of the great ape.

  Finally they went in after the young criminal. He gave them no resistance. He couldn’t with two broken arms! An ambulance showed up a few minutes later and took him away with one of the officers riding along.

  The other policeman stayed behind to take statements from Kristi and Skeeter. They told him all they knew from the time they had walked into the Tiki Hut, and all that the bad guy had said. “We know that punk,” the officer said. “His name is Vince Walker. He and his pals have been in and out of trouble for a long time here in Palm Shores. Now that we’ve got him, we know right where to look for the other chimpanzee—that is, if his friends are still in town, or haven’t already sold the monkey.”

  “Ape. Chimpanzees are actually apes, not monkeys,” Skeeter said.

  “Yeah, well, ape then.” The policeman looked at Skeeter and then did a double take. “Hey, has anyone ever told you much that ape-orangutan looks like you?” he asked with a grin. Skeeter just sighed. “Yeah, well anyway, kids, you did a good job catching that guy!”

  “Bejo caught him,” Skeeter reminded him.

  “And probably saved our lives, too,” Kristi added. “Bejo is a hero, in my opinion!”

  “Yeah, well…” the police officer closed his notebook and walked away. He didn’t want to think about how very close he had come to shooting the young ape-orangutan-hero.

  Steve, Dan and their friends had gathered by the time the policeman was done with them. They had to tell their tale all over again. Dan and Pete were a bit envious of their close encounter with the great ape. “Man, I would have liked to touch Bejo,” Dan said. “That’s so cool!”

  “Yeah,” Skeeter agreed. “It was. Bejo is my buddy now. Let’s go see how he’s doing now that he’s back at Monkey Jamboree.” They walked over to the primate house and went inside.

  Bejo was back in the indoor play yard with the other great apes. He was huddled with the orangutans when they walked in, but as soon as he saw Skeeter he came over to the wire screen separating the apes from the visitors. He looked sad—but then he almost always looked sad.

  “Hey there, Bejo!” Skeeter called to him. “How ya doin’, buddy?” He waved to the orangutan.

  Bejo stared at him for a moment and then he suddenly grinned. He lifted one big black hand, almost as if he was waving back to his friend. He nodded his head and puckered up his lips.

  The teenagers laughed in delight. Skeeter put his hands on his hips. Bejo did the same. Skeeter clapped his hands. Bejo clapped his big hands once, twice. Skeeter scratched his belly, and Bejo scratched his belly. The other teens were cracking up at their antics. The icing on the cake, though, was when Bejo turned around, bent over and peeked through his legs at Skeeter.

  “He wants you to ape him now, Skeeter!” Kristi exclaimed. Skeeter bent over and waved at Bejo through his legs. They laughed until they were almost crying.

  Jimmy came over to see what all the ruckus was about. He grinned at the boy and the ape interacting with one another. “I think you’ve got yourself a friend there, Skeeter.”

  “Oh, yeah! We’re buddies, alright! How’s he doing, Jimmy? Is he okay?”

  “He’s fine, Skeeter, as far as we can tell. We checked him over as much as he’d let us before we put him back in the play yard. Guess he’s really living up to his name.”

  “What do you mean?” Kristi asked.

  “Bejo. Bejo is a Sumatran orangutan from the island of Sumatra in the South Pacific. His name Bejo means ‘lucky’ in Sumatran. He was lucky to come through that little adventure unharmed. You kids were mighty lucky back there in the Tiki Hut, too.”

  “Well, I don’t know about that, Jimmy. I’d say we were more blessed than lucky,” Kristi answered. “The Lord was with us, not luck. I’ve felt blessed ever since we came here, to be able to do something for these wonderful creatures of God’s handiwork. And v
ery blessed to have come through the hurricane in one piece! I don’t believe in luck. I’m just glad we have a Lord in whom we can trust for protection and provision.”

  “You’re absolutely right, Kristi,” Jimmy said. “And we’ve been very blessed to have you all here, too. Hmm—I wonder what the Sumatran word is for blessed?”

  ____________

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  ____________

  Good News and Goodbye

  They worked hard for several more hours until finally Steve called them together and announced that it was time for them to quit and go back to Grandma’s house and see how it had fared during the hurricane. Elizabeth had not said a word about it all day, but had quietly gone about her work in the zoo’s nursery and helped Tammy with the injured animals in the hospital. They knew, though, that it must have been on her mind, for she loved her home and the memories she cherished of days gone by there.

  There were still no rental vans to be had, so Bill and Randy drove them home. It was slow going. Trees and other debris brought down by Hurricane Jenna still clogged the streets, and they were forced to find detours around obstacles and damaged roads several times. None of the traffic lights were working, either, and with everyone else in town trying to return home, too, they had to proceed carefully. Kristi found herself holding her breath as they turned onto Grandma’s street. Would the house still be standing? Would it be flooded or minus its roof? What about the graceful palms standing guard around Grandma’s house? Did they survive? She reached over and squeezed her grandmother’s hand.

  They drove down the street slowly. All around there were trees down and damaged homes. One once handsome home was missing its roof. There was not a single house that had not been touched by Jenna. Until they got to Elizabeth Brookes’ home, that is. There it was—still standing, still lovely despite its boarded up windows and soggy lawn. The trees were still there, the flowers and bushes looked a bit bedraggled, but otherwise everything seemed to be in good shape.