Chromosome 6

by Robin Cook

The animal tilted his head, eyeing the watch, then reached for it. No sooner had he had it in his hand than bonobo number one vocalized the sound: “Ot.” The animal with the watch responded by quickly giving it up. Bonobo number one examined the watch, then slipped it onto his forearm.

  “My God!” Kevin voiced. “My double is wearing my watch. This is a nightmare.”

  Bonobo number one appeared to admire the watch for a moment. Then he brought his thumbs and forefinger together to form a circle while saying: “Randa.”

  One of the bonobos immediately ran off and disappeared for a moment into the forest. When he reappeared, he was carrying a length of rope.

  “Rope?” Kevin said with trepidation. “Now what?”

  “Where did they get rope?” Melanie asked.

  “They probably stole it with the tools,” Kevin said.

  “What are they going to do?” Candace asked nervously.

  The bonobo went directly to Kevin and looped the rope around his waist. Kevin watched with a mixture of fear and admiration as the animal tied a crude knot and then cinched it tight against Kevin’s abdomen.

  Kevin looked up at the women. “Don’t struggle,” he said. “I think everything is going to be okay as long as we don’t anger them or scare them.”

  “But I don’t want to be tied up,” Candace cried.

  “As long as we’re not hurt it’s okay,” Melanie said, hoping to calm Candace.

  The bonobo roped Melanie and then Candace in a similar fashion. When he was finished, he stepped back, still holding the long end of the rope.

  “Obviously, they want us to stay for a while,” Kevin said, trying to make light of the situation.

  “Don’t be mad if I don’t laugh,” Melanie said.

  “At least they don’t mind our talking,” Kevin said.

  “Strangely enough, they seem to find it interesting,” Melanie said. Each time one of them spoke the nearest bonobo would cock its head as if listening.

  Bonobo number one suddenly opened and closed his fingers while sweeping his hands away from his chest. At the same time he said: “Arak.”

  Immediately, the group started moving, including the animal holding the rope. Kevin, Melanie, and Candace were forced forward.

  “That gesture was the same as the bonobo did in the operating room,” Candace said.

  “Then it must mean ‘go’ or ‘move’ or ‘away,’” Kevin said. “It’s incredible. They’re speaking!”

  They left the cul de sac and moved across the field until they came to the trail. At that point they were led right. While they walked, the bonobos remained silent but vigilant.

  “I suspect that it isn’t Siegfried who maintains these trails,” Melanie said. “I think it’s the bonobos.”

  The trail curved to the south and soon entered the jungle. Even in the forest it was well cleared and the ground underfoot was packed smooth.

  “Where are they taking us?” Candace asked nervously.

  “I guess toward the caves,” Kevin said.

  “This is ridiculous,” Melanie said. “We’re being taken for a walk like dogs on a leash. If they’re so impressed with us, maybe we should resist.”

  “I don’t think so,” Kevin said. “I think we should make every effort not to get them riled up.”

  “Candace?” Melanie asked. “What are you thinking?”

  “I’m too scared to think,” Candace said. “I just want to get back to the canoe.”

  The bonobo leading with the rope turned and gave the rope a yank. The tug almost knocked all three people down. The bonobo repeatedly waved his hand palm down while whispering: “Hana.”

  “My God, is he strong or what?” Melanie commented as she regained her footing.

  “What do you think he means?” Candace asked.

  “If I had to guess, I’d say he’s telling us to be quiet,” Kevin said.

  All at once, the entire group stopped. There were some hand signals among the bonobos. Several pointed up toward the trees to the right. A small group of bonobos slipped silently into the vegetation. Those remaining formed a wide circle, except for three who climbed directly up into the canopy of the forest with an ease that defied gravity.

  “What’s happening?” Candace whispered.

  “Something important,” Kevin said. “They all seem to be tense.”

  Several minutes went by. None of the bonobos on the ground moved or made the slightest noise. Then suddenly, there was a tremendous commotion to the right, accompanied by high-pitched shrieks. At once, the trees were alive with desperately fleeing colobus monkeys on a course bringing them directly toward the bonobos who’d climbed up into the trees.

  The terrified monkeys tried to change direction, but in their haste several of them lost their hold on the branches and fell to the ground. Before they could recover they were set upon by waiting bonobos on the ground who killed them instantly with stone wedges.

  Candace winced in horror, then turned away.

  “I’d say that was a good example of coordinated hunting,” Melanie whispered. “That requires a high level of cooperation.” Despite the circumstances, she couldn’t help but be impressed.

  “Don’t rub it in,” Kevin whispered. “I’m afraid the jury is in, and the verdict is bad. We’ve only been on the island for an hour, but the question that brought us here has already been answered. Besides collective hunting, we’ve seen totally upright posture, opposable thumbs, toolmaking, and even rudimentary speech. I sense they can vocalize just like you and I.”

  “It’s extraordinary,” Melanie whispered. “These animals have gone through four or five million years of human evolution in the few years they’ve been out here.”

  “Oh, shut up!” Candace cried. “We’re prisoners of these beasts and you two are having a scientific discussion.”

  “It’s more than a scientific discussion,” Kevin said. “We’re acknowledging a terrible mistake, and I’m responsible. The reality is worse than I feared when I saw the smoke coming from this island. These animals are protohumans.”

  “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, esp
ecially 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 life-style, 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.

  Jack and Laurie went to the coffee urn. “He’s been in a weird mood for the last couple of days,” Jack whispered.

  Laurie glanced back at Vinnie over her shoulder. Vinnie had gone back behind his newspaper.

  “That was a strange reaction,” she agreed. “I noticed he was nervous around me yesterday.”

  Jack and Laurie’s eyes met. They regarded each other for a moment.

  “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Laurie asked.

  “Maybe,” Jack said. “It kind of fits. He certainly has access.”

  “I think we should say something to Lou,” Laurie said. “I’d hate it to be Vinnie, but we have to find out who’s been giving out confidential information around here.”

  Conveniently for Laurie, her week-long rotation as the day chief was over, and Paul Plodgett’s was starting. Paul was already at the desk, going over the cases that had come in the previous night. Laurie and Jack told him they were planning on taking vacation time and wanted to skip doing any autopsies that day unless there was a glut. Paul assured them that the case load was light.

  Laurie was more politically minded than Jack, and it was her opinion that they should approach Calvin about their vacation plans before they talked with Bingham. Jack bowed to her better judgment. Calvin’s response was to merely grunt that they could have given more notice.

  As soon as Bingham arrived, Laurie and Jack went to his office. He regarded them curiously over the tops of his wire-rimmed glasses. He was clutching the morning mail, which he was in the process of going through.

  “You want two weeks starting today?” he questioned with disbelief. “What’s the rush? Is this some sort of an emergency?”

  “We’re planning on an adventure-type trip,” Jack said. “We’d like to leave this evening.”

  Bingham’s watery eyes went back and forth between Laurie and Jack. “You two aren’t planning on getting married, are you?”

  “Not tha
t adventuresome,” Jack said.

  Laurie sputtered with laughter. “We’re sorry not to have given more notice,” she said. “The reason for the haste is because last night both of us were threatened over the Franconi case.”

  “Threatened?” Bingham questioned. “Does it have anything to do with that shiner you’ve got?”

  “I’m afraid so,” Laurie said. She’d tried to cover the bruise with makeup but had only been partially successful.

  “Who was behind these threats?” Bingham asked.

  “One of the New York crime families,” Laurie said. “Lieutenant Louis Soldano offered to fill you in on it as well as talk to you about a possible mole for the crime family here in the medical examiner’s office. We think we have figured out how Franconi’s body was taken from here.”

  “I’m listening,” Bingham said. He put the mail down and leaned back in his chair.

  Laurie explained the story, emphasizing that the Spoletto Funeral Home had to have been given the accession number of the unidentified case.

  “Did Detective Soldano think it wise for you two to leave town?” Bingham asked.

  “Yes, he did,” Laurie said.

  “Fine,” Bingham said. “Then you’re out of here. Am I supposed to call Soldano or is he calling me?”

  “It was our understanding that he was going to call you,” Laurie said.

  “Good,” Bingham said. Then he looked directly at Jack. “What about the liver issue?”

  “That’s up in the air,” Jack said. “I’m still waiting on some more tests.”

  Bingham nodded and commented: “This case is a goddamned pain in the ass. Just make sure I’m informed of any breaking news while you’re away. I don’t want any surprises.” He looked down at his desk and picked up the mail. “You people have a good trip and send me a postcard.”

  Laurie and Jack went out into the hall and smiled at each other.

  “Well, it looks good,” Jack said. “Bingham was the major potential stumbling block.”

  “I wonder if we should have told him we’re going to Africa because of the liver issue?” Laurie asked.

  “I don’t think so,” Jack said. “He might have changed his mind about letting us go. As far as he’s concerned, he wishes this case would just disappear.”