Kavanaugh grinned. “Good point, doctor. Bai, is United Bamboo pressuring you into selling your assets?”
Bai Suzhen shrugged. “They are, but I’ve been expecting a move along those lines for quite some time. I owe them forty million dollars, after all.”
Belleau spread his hands in a conciliatory gesture. “Well, there we have it. A selling price at last.”
The corners of Bai’s mouth twitched in a humorless smile. “And is that precisely the amount you were prepared to pay, doctor?”
He nodded. “It is.”
“I imagine you have all the paperwork prepared as well. Another one of those extraordinary confluence of coincidences?”
Belleau’s face reddened. “Does it matter about coincidence, Madame? You are very deep in debt. My bank draft can lift you out of it.”
“What are you buying exactly?” Honoré demanded.
Bai gestured negligently to the room, to the ceiling and toward the bar. “This place, primarily.”
Honoré stared at Belleau incredulously. “You’re buying a brothel? That’s rather common even for you, isn’t it?”
Kavanaugh stared steadily at Bai Suzhen. “He’s buying more than that,” he said grimly. “He’d be buying me.”
The satphone at Belleau’s hip suddenly emitted electronically synthesized chimes that sounded like the opening notes of Beethoven’s
Ode to Joy
.
“I should’ve known better than to trust you, Aubrey.” Honoré fumbled with the cigarette and a book of matches, inserting the unfiltered end between her lips, then angrily pulling it away. “You always have ulterior motives.”
Belleau reached out for her, but she evaded his touch. “Honoré, you’re jumping to conclusions and I honestly don’t know why.”
They stood on a gently arched footbridge spanning the oily waters of a canal. Geckos chirruped in the broad fronds of an areca palm tree. The musical cacophony from the Phoenix of Beauty had resumed its atonal blaring right after Honoré stormed out of Bai Suzhen’s quarters. His short legs pumping, Belleau followed her, waving around his satphone and pleading for her to wait for him.
Honoré stopped trying to light the damp cigarette she had snatched from a table on her way out of the Phoenix. She flipped it into the canal and leaned against the carved wooden handrail. “I jumped to conclusions because you withheld the true purpose of your visit here…it’s financially motivated, all your blather about convergent evolution and a film about zoological miracles to the contrary.”
Belleau shook his head. “Not at all. Granted, I arranged for the financing of the film, but I fail to see why that would preclude me from furthering a business arrangement that has been in the process for nearly a year.”
“Why didn’t you tell me about it, then?”
“First of all, it’s not relevant to the reasons I enlisted you. Secondarily…”
His lips clamped tight, then he exhaled a weary, exasperated sigh through his nostrils.
“What?” she pressed impatiently.
“I confess I had to go through rather unsavory channels to reach this point in the negotiations.”
Honoré laughed scornfully. “You’re not ashamed to consort with the criminal element, Aubrey. From rumors I’ve heard, your man Oakshott is wanted for a variety of crimes in a variety of countries. What’s the real reason for your secretiveness? Why do you want to own half of Cryptozoica Enterprises?”
“I don’t,” he declared. “I want to own it all.”
“Why?”
Belleau dabbed at the perspiration beading at his hairline. “If I own it all, I can protect the natural resources hidden there on Big Tamtung.”
Honoré slitted her eyes in sudden suspicion. “The pool of Prima Materia you alluded to?”
“I did more than allude to it…I showed you a sample.”
“Which you could have dipped out of a puddle in front of your Mayfair home,” Honoré retorted. “I don’t know how to break this to you, Aubrey…but there’s no such thing as Prima Materia, the fountain of youth, the elixir vitae or the golden fleece. They’re all myths and fairy tales.”
Belleau chuckled, a sinister rattlesnake laugh that pimpled Honoré’s arms with gooseflesh. “You may be as patronizing and as sarcastic as you wish to be, darlin’. I’m the one who knows the truth, who knows the true composition of the Prima Materia. On the island of Big Tamtung, somewhere in the middle of the quaintly named Cryptozoica is a substance that will revolutionize the fields of molecular biology and biochemistry…not to mention the pharmaceutical industry.”
With thumb and forefinger, Honoré pinched the bridge of her nose. “Aubrey––”
“You’re aware that researchers at the University of California’s Exobiology Center successfully synthesized pantetheine, an ingredient considered essential for the development of life on the planet?”
“No,” she said flatly. “I am not. Nor am I particularly interested at the moment.”
“You should be. The researchers simulated environmental conditions as they are thought to have existed in prebiotic times…they’re studying the abiotic synthesis of biomolecules to determine which ones could have been present on Earth before life arose and, thus, may have been important to the creation of the first living organisms.”
Belleau paused, then in a voice pitched low as if he feared someone might be eavesdropping, said, “According to Darwin’s secret journal, the conditions on Big Tamtung are much as they were millions upon millions of years ago…they found the last well of the primordorial soup from which all life sprang. Percolating within it are the basic components of all modern genetic materials such as naked DNA plasmids and catalytic RNA. It is the basic substance from which non-living molecules turned into life forms and began to make copies of themselves.”
Not bothering to disguise the edge of suspicion in her voice, Honoré said, “It sounds like you’re talking about stem cells.”
Belleau clapped his hands in triumph. “Exactly! But I’m talking about the source of all regenerative cells…for example, stem cells and progenitor cells act as the repair system for the body, replenishing the specialized cells that may be damaged due to a compromised immune system. Stem cells can be readily grown and transformed into specialized cells for the treatment of various nervous system disorders and even gene therapies.”
Honoré nodded. “Except there is far too much opposition to their widespread use in medical therapies on moral and religious grounds, since the main source are human embryos, umbilical cords and bone marrow.”
“Yes, yes.” Belleau showed the edges of his teeth in a wolfish grin. “But what if there were a natural source for those cells? Not even the most fire-and-brimstone breathing fundamentalists would be able to find much to object to. ”Honoré uttered a scoffing sound. “You mean harvesting stem cells that are floating around in a pool somewhere, free for the taking? Like the spring at Lourdes? That’s very convenient, isn’t it?”
“For the sake of argument, humor me and assume I’m talking factually. Wouldn’t you prefer to have such a source for those substances with regenerative properties in the possession of scientists rather than gangsters, opportunistic showmen and alcoholic soldiers of fortune?”
“Assuming you’re speaking the truth, of course I would. However, since you’re not speaking the truth, whatever point you’re trying to make is stupendously moot.”
Belleau rolled his eyes skyward. “Ah, the ongoing torment of my life. Every woman in it casts doubts on my sincerity.”
“In this instance,” shot back Honoré, “it’s less your sincerity than your sanity.”
Patiently, patronizingly, Belleau asked, “Do you think that the dinosaurid survival on Big Tamtung can be attributed only to a closed ecosystem, that the Prima Materia on the island does not have anything to do with it?”
“I’m not convinced of the one, so there’s no reason why I should seriously entertain the likelihood of the other.”
“You saw the archaeopteryx.”
Doubt briefly clouded Honoré’s eyes. Choosing her words carefully, she replied, “It was an unusual avian specimen, yes…but without examining it, as far as I know it could be a species of tree-climber, like the South America hoatzin.”
“You’re reaching, Doctor,” Belleau said, frustration turning his voice raspy. “Even if all of this sounds like one of your movies from Hollywood, Big Tamtung could well belong to the same period as the prehistoric flora of Carboniferous age found in Palm Valley, out from Alice Springs. The cybads and zamia palms go back millions of years. It’s a land of living fossils.”
“Now who’s reaching, Doctor?” countered Honoré
Belleau’s scowl deepened. “At first I found your skepticism refreshing but it’s turned to pig-headed denial. I can prove every word of what I say…and of what Charles Darwin himself said.”
Folding her arms over her chest, Honoré regarded him gravely. “You’re very sure of yourself…Doctor.”
“I am. Although the secret of the Tamtungs was first discovered and then safeguarded by my great-great-grandfather, I see no reason to keep it a secret when so many in the world can benefit from it. However, revealing the truth and controlling its release are two different issues.”
“If you control the release of the truth, then you control the assets of the island?”
“Just so.”
“Is buying the shares of Cryptozoica Enterprises from Bai Suzhen part of your overall investment portfolio? Do you plan to corner the market on stem cell research?”
“Would that be so bad if I did? You do know that I work as a consultant for Maxiterm Pharmaceuticals?”
“Are they behind this endeavor? Are they financing you?”
“No, of course not. However, they’re extremely interested. You’re aware of the mania for rain forest drugs by the giant pharmaceutical companies… over 100 pharmaceutical firms and several branches of the US government are engaged in research projects for drugs and cures for viruses, infections, cancer, and even AIDS.
“The research grants alone have become a multibillion dollar industry, as scientists go hunting for the next miracle drug that can be synthesized from plants and herbs only found in rain forests. Quite possibly, the ultimate miracle drug can be processed from the pool of Prima Materia on Big Tamtung.” Honoré frowned. “You’re doing this for the money.”
“Not just for money,” said Belleau sharply. “I embarked on this course of action after years of planning and consideration. It’s a matter of conscience, of helping humanity learn of its lost origins so we may go forward on our next evolutionary step.”
Aubrey Belleau’s breath came faster. His eyes gleamed not just with anger but with a glint of fanaticism. “If the human race is to survive beyond this century, we must look to our collective past, to how life began on Earth. Charles Darwin and my great-great-grandfather understood this. Their ghosts made me the caretaker of the Prima Materia.”
“I thought it was this School of Night lodge of yours that acted as the caretaker. Or are the ghosts still members in good standing?”
In a low, grim tone, Belleau said, “Don’t make sport of me, Honoré. There is far more to this than you could possibly understand. Despite your inflated opinion of yourself, you really don't have all that much to justify your arrogance. Remember your broken marriage, the ugly divorce, with charges of alcoholism and adultery made by your ex-husband? If nothing else, extend my credentials a professional courtesy and don’t mock me.”
Honoré experienced a quiver of nausea and she made a move to step around Belleau. “All right, Aubrey. I’ll take you at your credentials for the moment but I will expect more proof other than a tube of sludge and some very bad photographs.”
“You shall have them, darlin’.” He caught her by the hand and drew her toward him. “And much more besides…there is far more to share with you.”
She stole a glance at the crotch of his white ducks and saw the evidence of his arousal straining at the fabric, although the bulge wasn’t much more pronounced than what an index finger could have poked.
Honoré’s nausea increased. She strained to pull away, surprised by the little man’s strength. “Let me go, Aubrey. It’s late and I’m very tired. It’s been a long, hot day.”
Belleau clenched his teeth in a fierce glower, then he forced an abashed grin. He relaxed his grip on her hand. “You’re absolutely right, darlin’. But be prepared to be convinced tomorrow. I intend to at least make a flyover of Big Tamtung. We’ll have a proper cameraman along, too.”
“In Captain Kavanaugh’s helicopter?” she asked.
“In my helicopter,” he corrected smoothly. “At least, it will be once the papers are signed.”
Honoré strode off the bridge. “I don’t recall Bai Suzhen agreeing to your terms, Aubrey. Your mysterious phone call interrupted everything.”
Belleau barked out a laugh. “Actually, that phone call put everything on track. So go on to bed…we’ll speak more in the morning. Sleep tight and don’t let the Deinonychosauria bite.”
Honoré did not respond to the man’s enigmatic remark. All she wanted to do at the moment was put as much distance between her and Belleau as she could. The concept of locking her hotel room door and taking a cold shower or bath seemed like the height of luxury. The night air was still oppressively humid and breathing was a labor. Only a few stars glittered through the cloud cover and a haze blurred the half-moon.
She strode swiftly toward the three-storied building with the Cryptozoica and Horizons Unlimited logos freshly painted on the façade. Curiosity warred with anger inside of her. She damned herself for allowing Aubrey to talk her into leaving her cold and dusty dig in Patagonia. The situation on hot and humid Little Tamtung had taken on a surreal, almost hallucinatory quality that blunted her normal reasoning faculties.
As she strode up the main lane she smelled salted fish and garlic wafting from the stilt houses down along the waterfront. Then she heard the scrape of footsteps behind her.