When I Found You (A Box Set)

by Webb, Peggy

  He put on a pot of coffee, then got the broom and dustpan from the pantry and began to clean. As soon as he got back to camp, he was going to find out what had caused Ruth to go on such a rampage.

  But first things first. He had the loss of gorillas to deal with. And his brother.

  Malone stood in the doorway scratching his head, then slumped into a chair.

  “What happened here? Looks like a damned tornado struck.”

  “Your wife did this.”

  “My wife?”

  “Yes.” Brett dumped broken china into the garbage can, then poured two cups of coffee into pottery mugs he’d found deep in the cabinet. “While you were in bed drunk.”

  “I wasn’t drunk.”

  “Cut the crap. We both know that’s a lie.”

  “Okay, maybe I had one too many.”

  “You’ve been having one too many for too long now, and I want it stopped.”

  “Now, just a minute ...” Malone shoved back his chair.

  “No, you wait just a minute.” Brett pushed him back into his chair, and none too gently. “There are things happening on this mountain that are going to require a cool head, not the least of which is taking care of a wife who needs you.”

  “That’s the second time you’ve mentioned my wife. What in the hell gives you the right to tell me what she needs?” Malone swung his head toward the door. “Where is she, anyhow?”

  “At my place.”

  Brett knew he was treading on dangerous ground. It would take a blind man not to see his true feelings. And Malone was far from blind. Fortunately, he was not too sharp at the moment. His senses were dulled by alcohol and at least a residual loyalty to his brother—or so Brett hoped.

  “She and her mother had a misunderstanding this morning before Margaret Anne left, and she couldn’t wake you up.”

  “So she came running to you? Is that what you’re trying to tell me, big brother?”

  “Who do you want her to run to?”

  Malone looked down at his coffee cup. Why did he always end up wrong and Brett always right? He must have been born under the wrong sign.

  “Me, dammit. I want her to run to me.”

  “Then I suggest you quit drowning in the bottle whatever sorrows you think you have and be there for her. No ... not suggest. I insist.” Brett slapped both palms onto the table so hard, the coffee mugs jumped. “I have no intention of sitting back while my brother destroys himself and his marriage with alcohol.”

  “What do you plan to do about it?” Malone was half-humbled, half-belligerent.

  “I went against a knife-wielding Watusi for you with nothing but my bare fists. I think I’m capable of going against a liquor bottle.”

  “Are you reminding me that I cost you an eye?”

  “No, I’m telling you to straighten yourself up before I have to do it for you.”

  “Do you get off cleaning up my messes, bro?”

  Brett had never wanted to hit his brother. But he did now. He wanted to take Malone by the nape of the neck and beat him to a bloody pulp, beat him until he could act with some sense.

  He made himself wait until he was calm before speaking.

  “No. I’ve never enjoyed that role.”

  They stared at each other. Both of them knew which role Brett meant: favorite son. He would gladly have been his brother’s keeper, but the burden of being his parents’ favorite had taken its toll.

  “Neither have I,” Malone said. He got up and dumped his cold coffee into the sink, then poured a fresh cup. His hands shook like somebody’s thirty years older. Damned alcohol. Brett was right, as usual. He was drinking too much.

  “I don’t know why I’ve been drinking too much.” Malone knew, but he wasn’t telling Brett. Some things were too personal even to tell a brother. “But I swear to you, I’m going to do better.”

  “Don’t just do better. Stop.”

  “Cold turkey?”

  “Cold turkey. Dump it all down the drain.”

  “Shit. You drive a hard bargain.”

  Malone gave one of the winning smiles that made him look like an endearing, slightly naughty little boy, the kind of smile that always softened Brett. He realized that he was partially responsible for Malone’s weakness. All their lives Brett had intervened when Malone had been in trouble, shouldered the burden, made things easier for his brother.

  Not this time. Too much was at stake.

  “Here.” He refilled Malone’s coffee cup. “Drink this. You’re going to need it.”

  “Hey, lighten up. That face of yours is enough to scare little old ladies and make babies cry.”

  “I have a lot to scowl about.”

  “The problem is not that serious. I can lick it with one hand tied behind my back.”

  “This is about more than your problem. Last night someone massacred Petey’s group. Severed the heads and hands of Petey and two of his wives, then took two of the infants.”

  Malone shoved back his chair, rushed into the bathroom, and hung his head over the toilet, retching. God, he’d never thought it would turn out like this. Why couldn’t it have been clean and neat? Why couldn’t they have used blow darts to tranquilize Petey and the females?

  He held his head under the faucets until the thought of all that blood cleared from his mind. When he was reasonably calm, he went back into the kitchen to face his brother. He and Brett had had problems. Didn’t all brothers? But they’d never lied to each other. It was the lying as much as the killing that troubled Malone.

  Why hadn’t he known how hard it would be?

  “What are we going to do about these poachers?” he asked Brett.

  “These aren’t poachers. The Batwas don’t steal babies. They’re too much trouble to get out of the Virungas, too hard to market.”

  “Hell, the little pygmy bastards are liable to do anything.”

  God, it would be just like Brett to have figured the whole thing out. And if he hadn’t already, it wouldn’t be long before he did—he was just too damned smart.

  Why hadn’t Malone thought of that? Why hadn’t he thought of a lot of things? Like how blood money wasn’t half as sweet as money earned the hard way. He’d never again look at Ruth’s rubies without seeing the taint of blood.

  “Maybe they did the dirty work, but I think there’s more to this.”

  “You’re going to investigate?”

  “Yes. But first we have to take care of the bodies, then organize patrols to see that this doesn’t happen again. Whoever did it is probably not foolish enough to try it again soon.”

  “Probably not.” Of all things, Malone hated being called foolish. Not that he had done the actual killing, but he had been the mastermind. Shit, why hadn’t he thought of tranquilizers?

  “More than likely they’ll wait for us to get lax before they try again.”

  “Yeah. More than likely.”

  “They can wait till hell freezes over.” Brett shoved back his chair and stood up. “They’ll take another mountain gorilla out of the Virungas over my dead body.”

  Malone wanted to crawl under the kitchen table and hide. Chu Ling was not the kind of man he wanted to cross. But, then, neither was his brother.

  “Are you coming, Malone?”

  Malone felt like an old man. He wished he could crawl in a dark hole somewhere.

  “Yeah. I’m coming.”

  Chapter 49

  It was worse than Malone had imagined. All the blood. Petey, the male silverback who had once been so magnificent, mutilated.

  Malone leaned against a tree and lost all the coffee Brett had forced on him. Joseph put a hand on his shoulder.

  “Are you going to be all right?”

  “Yeah. I’m going to be all right.”

  “Brett and I will finish up here if you want to go back to the compound.”

  “No. I’ll do it. Quit treating me like a half-wit stepchild.”

  He’d never spoken to his father like that. But Joseph didn’t seem to
notice. He was too disturbed over the deaths of his beloved gorillas.

  There was so much to do, so much to take care of. Burying the bodies was only the beginning. Malone had to check on the stolen babies. Chu Ling wouldn’t pay for dead gorillas, and their survival depended on him. He had to set up a schedule of feeding and care, then check periodically to ensure their smooth transition from the wild to their new zoo homes.

  How would he explain his sudden travel plans to his brother and his father? He’d meant to tell Ruth he was going on a quick fund-raising trip, but Brett’s discovery of the bodies had changed all that.

  He took up his shovel and began to dig. It would take a mighty grave for Petey.

  “It seems like only yesterday he was a mischievous teenager,” Joseph said. “I can’t believe he’s gone.”

  “He won’t be the only one if we don’t get these patrols in place quickly. Juma and Bantain can head two groups, but we’ll need more.” Brett stripped off his shirt and tossed it onto a low-hanging branch of a tree. “One of us should go down to Rumangabo and pay a visit to the conservator of the Park. He needs to know what’s happened so he can keep his eyes open.”

  Malone knew, suddenly, that he had a guardian angel.

  “I’ll go. It’ll be quicker to fly.”

  In all the years since Brett had lost his eye, Malone had never seen him show any emotion about not being able to pilot their twin-engine Cessna. Bitterness flared briefly, then was gone.

  “He’s right,” Joseph said. “Besides, you need to stick close to Cee Cee, and I need to keep a tighter watch on the other groups. They’ll be disturbed by these brutal killings.”

  “That makes sense,” Brett said.

  “Look, while I’m there, I’ll try to find somebody reliable to head another patrol. Maybe one of the park guards knows somebody. We’ll need more than Juma and Bantain.”

  “Good thinking, Malone.”

  What would his brother say if he knew the real purpose of the trip?

  “It’s liable to take a few days.”

  “Take all the time you need, Malone. Brett and I can carry on here.”

  The way they always had. Without him. At least now Malone knew something that they didn’t—but the knowledge gave him small comfort.

  The three of them lowered Petey’s headless body into the grave; then Joseph knelt in the freshly turned earth.

  “Good-bye, old friend.”

  Brett put a hand on his father’s shoulder, but Malone couldn’t bring himself to touch him. It would seem too much like an insult.

  He was anxious to be away from the scene, anxious to get the baby gorillas started on their journey out of Africa.

  “If I leave now, I can be there by dark,” he said.

  “What about Ruth?”

  Any other time Malone might have been jealous of Brett’s concern for his wife. At the moment, though, he didn’t want to face her. She knew him too well, he feared, not to see that something was bothering him. As soon as he got things taken care of, got paid for his troubles—then he would face Ruth.

  “Take care of her for me, will you, bro? With all this going on, I’ll feel better about leaving her if she’s with you.”

  Actually, he felt pangs of jealousy even in his agitated state, but it would look suspicious if he left without expressing concern for her safety, though he knew that no one was going to come after any of the Cordays. They’d damned well better not.

  “You want her to stay at my camp?”

  “Yeah. For a day or two. I won’t be gone long.”

  Brett didn’t look too taken with the idea, and Malone was immediately ashamed of his suspicious nature. This was the brother who had been looking after him for years, the brother who loved him enough to sacrifice an eye. The last thing in the world he had to worry about was Brett and his wife.

  Malone put his arm around his brother’s shoulder. “You’ll tell her why I had to leave in such a hurry, won’t you?”

  “Yes. I’ll tell her.”

  “Make it good.” He flashed his smile, not because he felt like smiling, but because he wanted to see if his charm was still working with Brett. “Make me sound like some kind of hero.”

  “You are, Malone. You’ve always been a hero.”

  Malone was not a praying man, but right then he prayed that Brett would never discover the truth—or if he did, that Malone would be turning up daisies.

  He knew just how Brett would react—with disbelief, then fury and contempt, and finally with disappointment and pity. He could never bear his brother’s pity.

  Chapter 50

  If Cee Cee ignored the stink female long enough, maybe she would go away. She kept her back turned and her eyes focused on the television screen. Her favorite tape was on, Murphy Brown. If she had some red shoes, she could be like Murphy. And then Brett would notice her instead of the stink female.

  “Talk to me, Cee Cee,” Ruth signed.

  Cee Cee signed “Dirty stink go away,” but not so the stink female could see. Then she punched the button to turn the volume up very loud and covered her ears with her hands. But she kept her fingers splayed so she could still hear her show.

  Ruth sat down on the straight-backed chair outside Cee Cee’s enclosure. Brett didn’t yet trust her inside with the gorilla, and with good reason. It was obvious to Ruth that Cee Cee hated her, and she didn’t know how she would ever get around that.

  But she was going to try.

  “You don’t fool me, Cee Cee. I know you can understand me because I see your fingers spread wide. All I want to do is talk to you about food. You like food, don’t you?”

  Brett had told her that mention of food was one sure way to get Cee Cee’s attention. That was before the gorilla discovered the emotions of love and hate, longing and jealousy.

  If Ruth weren’t so drained by strong emotions herself, she’d be very excited about Cee Cee’s behavior. It was clear evidence of her intelligence, of her ability to reason on a higher level than scientists had ever thought possible.

  Who knew how much more they would discover in their studies of Cee Cee?

  “I’m going to prepare your food,” Ruth signed. “When I come back, you’ll have to come over here and talk to me if you want to eat.”

  “Me hate no eat dirty stink female food.” Cee Cee kept her signs hidden from Ruth. She understood the pleasure Brett got when she talked, and she wasn’t about to give that pleasure to the woman who was trying to take him away from her.

  “Brett won’t be back to feed you, Cee Cee. He told me to feed you. While I’m gone, you can make up your mind whether you want to eat or go to bed hungry.”

  She wanted bananas, and while she watched Murphy Brown, she tried to figure out how she could divert the stink female’s attention so she could get the food without having to sign.

  Preparing the food gave Ruth something to do, something to take her mind off the scene with Margaret Anne and the slaughter in the meadow. High in the mountain camp, she felt far removed from the rest of the world, as if nothing that happened outside could possibly harm her.

  Brett’s kitchen was shipshape and sparingly furnished. Just like his bedroom. The memory of the bed sent her flinging open the window. Blue shadows lay on the land, and birdsong wafted to her on the breeze that stirred the moss in the trees.

  She would hold the present joy, hold it so tight that when she finally had to go down the mountain to face Malone, she’d have a storehouse of strength.

  As she prepared the food, she kicked off her shoes, then reached into her pocket and put on the dangling clip earrings she’d donned early that morning in preparation for her talk with Malone. Why, she couldn’t say, except that perhaps reality seemed so very far away and she was feeling somehow festive.

  Ruth arranged the food on a tray, then went barefoot back to Cee Cee’s indoor enclosure. To her delight the young gorilla was waiting for her at the gate. Only iron bars separated them.

  Ruth set the tray down so she
could sign as she talked.

  “Hello, Cee Cee. I’m happy you decided to eat.”

  “Cee Cee good girl,” the gorilla signed, then sat back on her haunches and gave one of her enormous grins.

  “Yes. Cee Cee is a good girl. I like Cee Cee.”

  “Cee Cee like banana want banana gimme banana.”

  “Because you’re such a good girl, you can have one.”

  Cee Cee watched while Ruth bent over the tray to get a banana. Soon she would step close to the bars to hand it through. Cee Cee was mad about having to make signs for the stink female, but as soon as she’d seen the “moving stars shine” on her ears, she’d changed her mind about not signing.

  Now she had a new mission in mind. If she was quick enough, she could get what she wanted and the food too.

  The minute Ruth got close enough, Cee Cee plunged both hands through the bars. She snatched one of the earrings first, and then the banana. Ruth had no time to do more than jump back and squeak in surprise.

  “All right, Cee Cee, have it your way.” With her bare foot she scooted the tray close enough so that the gorilla could reach through and get the rest of her food. Obviously she had no intention of letting Ruth be a part of her training—or her mealtime, either. And she knew better than to argue with Cee Cee over the possession of the earring.

  Outside, dark began to fall on the compound. Ruth was exhausted, emotionally and physically. In the large anteroom that opened toward the enclosure, she stretched out on the sofa so she could keep watch on Cee Cee and the front door at the same time.

  Malone would be there to get her soon ... and Brett.

  o0o

  Ruth was asleep on the sofa. Brett stood in the doorway, riveted by the sight of her. One arm was tucked under her head, a long gold earring dangled against her cheek, and her feet were bare. They were crisscrossed with blue veins on the top, and dusty on the bottom.

  She’d gone barefoot in his house. The gesture suggested trust ... and intimacy. He pictured how it would be to wake up beside her in the morning and watch her walk to the window in her bare feet. She would lift her hair off her neck with one hand and lean with the other against the windowsill. The morning breeze would caress her skin and stir her silky gown, molding it against her long legs.