And then there were his hygiene issues. A godly problem. He must have grown up with wolves. How a man could ignore simple baths, deodorant and oral care blew her mind. She had finally reached the point where she could no longer eat around him for fear of vomiting. So she just drank instead.
Fortunately, his appetite for sex had slowly mellowed. That was bound to happen as his attention is so focused on getting his property back, thank the Lord. And she had to consider Daisy’s welfare. This was not a good environment for her. Ginger Mae regretted exposing her to Armoni, something she had always refused to do with her johns. This must end, and as soon as possible.
That’s why she had said yes to dinner with Peter. She had hoped he would ask for her phone number and then a date. She could find out where he lived and where his clients lived. That should satisfy Armoni. Given enough time, she confidently planned to obtain the information Armoni constantly gnashed his teeth over. Then she would be done with this. She and Daisy would dump this smelly piece of garbage and strike out on their own.
Ginger Mae remembered the trailer trash, horse-faced, fat, little blonde in the gym at the high-rise who had happily bragged about how she had left her loser husband after she had met a wealthy guy on a website for dating millionaires. Within three weeks, she had moved into the millionaire’s house. They’d been married within six months. He wasn’t exactly a looker, but then, neither was she. But they were happy. What else did they need? At this point, Ginger desperately needed to grab at any straw if it aided her plan to get away from Armoni.
She had started to wonder where his money came from. It wasn’t like he possessed any education or skills. Her curiosity about the people who had stolen his property increased. Now, knowing Armoni as she did, she began to have sneaking doubts about his story. After meeting Peter, she didn’t think he would, in good conscience, represent thieves. But she was damn sure Armoni would steal bones from a puppy. Getting sucked into a crime as an accessory was nowhere on her list.
Her tired eyes flashed lightning bolts as she approached the high-rise. Looking up, she searched in vain for the seventeenth floor where they were residing. She swallowed her dread and went in to face the music.
Chapter 4
Scotty woke to find Echo’s face three inches from his own, her rainbow eyes flashing spurts of gold light. That usually means something’s up, Scotty thought. Echo held up an old fanny pack Scotty had forgotten about at least a hundred years ago.
“Where did you find that, girl?”
Echo bounced back on Scotty’s stomach, getting a loud groan and a shove to the floor for her efforts. Popping back up like a yoyo, she sent her aura to Scotty. “Brother, may I have this, please, Brother? It is just what I need. I found it on the floor of your closet, under a pile of clothes, tied into a knot, covered in soil, I mean dirt, and enclosed in a tiny cardboard box that had been previously used to store blank pieces of paper that you like to use to draw pictures of animals on, until you got a new drawing device that you stick into the wall to draw with . . .”
“Okay, okay. Hush, Echo, I just woke up, give me a minute.” Rolling over in bed, he glared at Echo, rubbing sleep out of his eyes. He should have known better than to ask Echo a stupid question like that. Her habit of being excessively informative and literal sometimes drove him nuts.
“Why don’t you put it on, girl?” He reached out to hook it around her tiny waist. After a few adjustments, wrapping the nylon strap round and round her belly, the turquoise and gray fanny pack fit, making his somewhat scary, cuddly little buddy look like a hip, somewhat scary, cuddly, little buddy.
“What do you need a fanny pack for?”
“It is just perfect.” Scrambling off Scotty’s bed, Echo ran to the corner of the room where she fumbled around, returning to the bed and climbing up to sit on Scotty’s stomach again.
“These are for my treasures.” Echo held out her delicate leather hand revealing the plastic jar she was using to hold the hairs she had quietly plucked out of Barney last night. She shook the jar, holding it up to the light so Scotty could see the hairs.
“This is My Barney.” Slipping the jar into the fanny pack, she gently gave it a pat. “My Barney will now have immortality. He will not be an Elder, but I can grow him if he dies.”
Scotty’s eyes bugged out. “You can grow him? What do you mean by that? Immortality? Elders have immortality? Didn’t you tell us we would be Elders?”
But Echo had slipped off the bed, tired of the questions. Shuffling across the room, she threw her aura back to Scotty. “I will go find Mimi. I would like to harvest her hair, also. I am becoming quite fond of that little girl.” And she was gone, leaving Scotty alone wondering if he should say anything about this to anyone. Abby would probably freak. Better keep his mouth closed for now.
A pounding on his bedroom door drew his attention. Abby poked her head in, her hair braided into pigtails.
“You up?”
“Yeah, come on in.” Moving over to make room for her on his messy bed, he asked, “What’s up?”
“I want you to do something for me. Feel up to a little adventure?”
Yanking on her pigtails, he nodded. “What’s up with the new do, Sis?”
“It’s part of my plan. Just trying it out. I want us to go into Sarasota tomorrow. I need to look low-key, don’t want to draw attention to my hair. We’re going to a place called the Big Cat Sanctuary. It’s run by a fifth- or sixth-generation circus family. Good people. This trip is just to look around. We need to see how many animals are there. There are plans for those animals. We need to move them.”
“Are you kidding me? We’d better wait until Jose returns. I don’t think he’ll be too keen on us going into town, Abby. He’s mad enough as it is. I’d love to see the cats and all, but why do we need to move them? And how in the world do we accomplish that?”
“Fear not, little Brother. I have a plan. This is for their own good. I’ll make sure the animals are handled safely. The time is getting near.” Echo had quietly returned, her eyes shooting golden sparks again.
“What am I missing? Are you both in on something I don’t know about? What do you mean, time is getting near?”
Abby took his face between her hands, staring intently into his golden eyes. Scotty had a premonition which told him he did not want to know any more than he already did.
“Scotty, just trust me. We’re just going to take a look. Echo, it’s too risky to bring you with us on this trip.”
“I can transport in my automobile, Sister Abby. I have a Carriage now.” Abby frowned at Scotty, her brow furrowed in question. “I won’t ask.”
Turning to Echo, she added, “We’ll need you for the next one, Echo. I have to get everything ready first. Tonight I’m having a meeting with Peter. I’m instructing him to make arrangements to transport the animals from the port in Tampa to Newark Airport. They’ll be picked up and transported to join with another convoy. We have plans for them all.” Looking to Echo, the creature slowly nodded.
“How are we going to get them to Tampa? I don’t doubt that Echo will make a miracle happen, but I still don’t see why or how we’re going to do this.” It was clear to Scotty he was not going to get any more information so he tried something new. “Since we’re just going to look, can I invite a guest?”
“Scotty, don’t you think this trip is risky enough? Who do you want to invite?”
“Chloe. I told you about her yesterday, remember?” Abby tilted her head as if she was listening. Raising her hand, she pulled on her ear, rapidly shaking her head. Then, surprisingly, she said yes.
“But I have one condition. You must also invite Kane Cobby.”
Scotty felt like a grenade ready to explode. This would count as his first date with Chloe. The possibility that he would get stuck with Kane irritated the heck out of him. He refused to do it.
“We’ll leave at noon tomorrow. Make sure they’re both here or I’ll have to leave without you.”
??
?But, Abby, why all the mystery? And why Kane?” Scotty tried to curb the whine in his voice.
Ignoring the question, Abby rose and left the room, Echo scampering right behind her. That’s odd. When it comes to me, Echo clings to me like an ugly babe refusing to give up her first boyfriend. So why the sudden interest in what Abby’s planning to do?
But, like most boys his age, his attention span flitted from one topic to another, easily diverted, as he grew psyched over the idea of going off the island again. Jumping into the shower to wash his fur, he wondered what he would wear to show up at Chloe’s house. He knew he had better look good if they were going to let her go with them. It nagged at him that Abby had said yes so easily. It wasn’t like her to let him run this risk. Maybe Peter will talk some sense into her about her crazy plan.
*
Later that morning, Scotty pulled up to the front gate of the mansion belonging to Chloe’s family. A casually dressed guard in khakis and white polo shirt came to the gate after exiting a small guardhouse which matched the color of the mansion. He could see into the grounds, noting the numerous expensive vehicles parked loosely around the circular driveway. A gargantuan bronze sculpture of the ubiquitous jumping dolphins rose from a courtyard fountain.
“Hey, kid, what do you want here?” The guard was casually dismissive, probably thinking Scotty was lost. Scotty adjusted his sunglasses on his nose, feeling the late morning sun start to heat up across the back of his neck. He approached the guard.
“My name is Scotty Preston. I live on Mango Lane, on the other side of the key. I’m here to see Chloe, if she’s home?” The guard said nothing, studying him thoughtfully; his eyes difficult to read through the shades he wore. Backing away from the gate, the guard returned to his shelter to use a phone, presumably to call the main house. Within two minutes, the front door opened and a five-foot whirling dervish ran toward the gate letting the front door slam thunderously behind her.
“Scotty, hi,” she panted, arriving breathlessly at the gate. “Hey, can you please open this darn thing?” Stepping back, she motioned to the guard. Scotty decided to leave his Jeep parked on the side of the road and joined Chloe in walking to the house. “Did you come over to see the monkeys?”
“I’d love to see the monkeys, but I came to invite you to go to the Big Cat Sanctuary in town. We’ll be leaving at noon tomorrow. I can pick you up around eleven if it’s okay?” Scotty sounded wistfully earnest.
“Gee, I don’t know. I’m not usually allowed to go off the island without an escort, one of the men or sometimes Mrs. Elbarad. My old nanny. If I can’t go alone, would you mind if I asked her? Come on.” Chloe ushered him toward the front door. “You can see the monkeys while I ask.”
Scotty stepped into the cool air-conditioned foyer. He gaped at the marble floor, inset with a pastel mosaic of roses, ribbons and birds. The center of the huge foyer contained a walnut table on which lay a gilt-edged guest book. Chloe stood near the book, waving him forward, a pen in her hand.
“Hope you don’t mind. It’s my father’s house rule. Everyone must sign in.” Scotty carefully wrote his name and address on the heavy cream paper, setting the elegant Mont Blanc pen back in its holder. Looking around, he saw a double mahogany circular staircase which lost itself somewhere on the second floor. Under each elevated section of staircase he could peer into other lavish rooms. Chloe led the way through a resplendent room, dominated by a huge hand-carved stone fireplace and French doors leading to an elegant terrace overlooking an Olympic-sized pool with an unparalleled view of a luxury yacht and the Sarasota Bay glinting serenely around it.
“Come this way.” Chloe motioned for him to follow her through an antechamber which opened to a small conservatory strewn with tropical plants, comfortable yellow wicker and an assortment of hand-crafted metal cages. Scotty could smell the musky organic scent of the monkeys before he saw them. He approached them slowly, not wanting to startle them. Chloe came up beside him, holding some grapes in her hand. “Here, they love these.”
Scotty slowly moved from cage to cage feeding the monkeys, murmuring softly to them in delight. The monkeys moved slowly and calmly, the signs of age clear on the fur of their faces.
“How old are they?”
“I don’t know. They’ve always been here, since I was born, and I’m almost fifteen. They can live in captivity for twenty five, thirty years. They belong to my uncle. He got them somewhere in Central America. He’s around here some place. He works with my father most of the time. I hope you don’t mind, he’ll have to meet you since my father’s not here. It’s such a drag,” she said, frowning. “Let me see if I can round him up, I’ll be right back.”
Scotty continued to observe the monkeys, remembering from rudimentary science classes the common belief that the human race somehow descended from monkeys. Well, not actual monkeys. Great apes. Humans were categorized as great apes. It was said that 96-98 percent of human DNA matched that of chimpanzees. But there was still the great story of the missing link. Many primates were thought to be our cousins, but science still could not find the direct link on the tree of evolution from which humans descended. One of science’s enduring enigmas.
“Well, young man, it is my pleasure to meet you.” Jumping up, Scotty extended his hand as Chloe’s uncle walked into the room. Behind him, an older woman eyed Scotty from behind heavy horn-rimmed reading glasses, her wrinkled face set in a suspicious glare. Chloe reached out to drag her out from behind her uncle.
“Relax, Mrs. Elbarad, Scotty is my friend.”
Everyone took a chair, Chloe sitting as close to Scotty as she could, doing nothing to dispel the feeling he was facing a firing squad.
“Well,” Scotty said, squirming in his chair.
“Well,” Chloe’s uncle said, his leg swinging placidly, admiring his own expertly tooled riding boots, a smile on his aristocratic well-tanned face.
“My dear boy, Chloe wants very much to attend this outing with you,” Mrs. Elbarad cleared her throat, taking command of the situation. “I would be more comfortable if I was able to meet your mother.”
Scotty’s eyes fell. “My mother is dead, madam. Killed last year in an auto accident. That’s why we moved to Sarasota. My dad left us when I was a child. I live with my older sister and her boyfriend, a close family friend. My sister is taking us to the sanctuary. Oh.” Turning to Chloe he said, “I forgot to tell you. My sister suggested I invite Kane Cobby. Do you know him?”
Chloe’s uncle interrupted. “Captain Cobby’s boy? Yes, I know the family. Captain Cobby is a good man. I know something of the story behind his boy’s difficult life before his mother walked out.”
“Oh, good, then it’s settled. Scotty, you can pick us up at eleven.”
Glancing at Mrs. Elbarad, he saw the woman nod, giving Scotty a stingy smile.
Jumping up, Chloe announced she would walk Scotty to the door. From the other room they could hear the sound of a tinny lawnmower getting closer. Before he knew what had hit him, Scotty was assailed by the tiny body of a soapy, soaking wet Teddy. The diminutive dog shook himself, suds flying in all directions, accompanied by laughter and scrambling. The groomer entered the room, profusely apologizing with a towel in his hand. But Teddy, determined to elude him, flew off Scotty’s lap to dash first to Chloe, then Mrs. Elbarad’s lap, soaking them all. Grabbing the towel from the groomer, Scotty managed to scoop up Teddy, his eager face alive with mischief, his Lilliputian pink tongue flicking furiously, alert for any chance to grab more attention. Handing the canine monkey back to the groomer, Scotty and Chloe made a hasty exit.
Walking with Chloe to the gate, Scotty asked her if she knew Kane.
“Yeah, he’s been around the neighborhood for quite a while. We all kind of know one another.”
“I’m heading over to see him now. See you tomorrow.” Turning, he gave Chloe a wave, hopped into his Jeep and sped down the road to confront Kane. Why in the world Abby’s forcing this on me sure beats all. He wondered about the
revelation that Kane had been deserted by his mother. Sounded like a story there. Abby probably knew the scoop. Funny, he realized almost everyone in his life came from a broken family. They all knew pain and rejection well, especially Jose.
Thinking about Chloe, he wondered what her father did for a living. Must be a pretty rich dude to afford a house like that. He knew it must be hard on Chloe, losing her mother to some freak illness and her father never being around. Well, she could join the club. Hopefully, she wouldn’t mind lowering her standards to give him a tumble. He wondered how well Kane knew her. Maybe he could be a little more patient with him, now that he understood where the chip on his shoulder came from.
*
Arriving home, he ran down to the dock. The deserted yacht rocked gently in its mooring with Captain Cobby nowhere to be seen. Shouting from the dock, he asked for permission to board, just to be sure. He felt ridiculous, but his sister insisted. According to her, to do otherwise would be rude, even though, technically, they owned the vessel. While the captain maintained a presence onboard, the traditional nicety sufficed, extended out of courtesy.
Sprinting back to the house, he rifled through the kitchen drawers looking for paper and pencil. Taking his time, he composed a friendly invitation to the sanctuary for Kane, closing with a comment about how Chloe was coming too and they could all have fun together. He knew it sounded lame but it should do the job.
Ambling back down to the dock, with his posse now tagging along—except for Echo, missing in action again—he left the note where Kane would be sure to see it.
Returning to the house from the dock, he felt the oppressive weight of the sun. His shirt lay plastered to his back, his tail limp and strangled, wrapped unnaturally around his waist. He really needed a soothing dip in the pool. Looking down at the hot panting faces of Penny, Mimi, and Barney—how come he isn’t with Echo?—he decided they could use a dip too. Their panting was driving him crazy. Whipping off his sunglasses, he ran to the pool.