The Marriage at the Rue Morgue (A Rue and Lakeland Mystery) Read Online Free PDF Page A

Although it was similar to a rifle in appearance, its long barrel meant it was unlikely to be mistaken for a firearm. We kept the immobilizing agents in a locked cabinet, and I fumbled with my keys in my hurry. Cabinet open, I took out two darts and a dart-loading syringe, hoping that I was guessing the animal’s weight accurately. I prepared a dose large enough for a full-grown male chimp, but I couldn’t be sure it would work for the behemoth out front. I needed two shots if I was going to be sure.
    Then Lance joined me.
    “I was afraid you weren’t coming for a minute there,” I told him.
    “I had a couple of calls to make,” he said. “I got Olivia on the phone and now she knows to sit tight.”
    That coupled with the sound of the doors sliding shut brought me a measure of relief. We had contact numbers for our vendors and volunteers, but mostly we needed them for more mundane reasons. This was about as far from mundane as things got. Personal safety was the number-one concern when dealing with apes, and I knew that even if my hastily assembled darts reached their intended target, there was a possibility that I would not have prepared a strong-enough solution, and that I would only make the orangutan angry or woozy.
    “And,” he went on, “I couldn’t get anybody in Florida on the horn, but I got to Christian at the Ohio Zoo. He says we’re aiming for the shoulder or the outer thigh. Otherwise we’ll injure it without doing any good.” Typical, but good to be sure. These primates didn’t have many concentrated muscle masses to make for good darting targets, and those that existed were small. Making it all the better that Lance had reached Olivia first on the phone.
    “And try not to let the animal see the darts. It probably knows what they are.”
    I thought that last thing would be impossible. “Thank you,” I said and hugged him tight. Any minute now, I expected to wake up again and have to redo the whole morning because this had all been a dream.
    Lance returned the embrace. “We’re good together,” he told me. I wondered,
In general or with run amok apes in particular?
    I shouldered one of the rifle straps and Lance took the second from the wall, along with my second dart. “Let’s go.”
    Out in the barn, I realized we had another problem. With the big doors closed, I had lost my visual on the animal. I placed a quick call of my own to Olivia. “Is it still there?” I asked her. “Can you tell?”
    “Yes” she squeaked. “I see it in the rearview. Its butt is sticking out. My whole truck is rocking. Noel, can that thing get to me in the cab?”
    “You should be safe where you are.” I didn’t add,
As long as it doesn’t notice you.
Because if the orangutan decided it wanted in the front of the truck, window glass wouldn’t be much of a bar to its gaining entry. Olivia didn’t need to know that.
    I hung up and outlined a plan to Lance. “We’re going for the outer thigh,” I said. “Let’s go out the back door and try to come up from behind.”
    “Great!” Art said. I hadn’t even heard him join us.
    “Great what? You sit tight and don’t put your body in danger.”
    My annoyance with his attitude must have shown, because he adopted a more serious tone to say, “I’m going around the other way. I’ll distract it so you and Lance can get a clear shot before it sees you have darts.”
    “Art, no!” I snapped.
    “Noel,” he said. “I haven’t completely lost my mind. I was far too excited, and I put all of us in danger. If I had settled down and waited for the rest of you, it would have sat there tearing up its crate for another twenty minutes at least. We would be able to do this without further stress to the animal or danger to ourselves. This is my fault. Let me make it right.”
    I might have argued him down, but Lance said, “Fine, it’s not a bad plan. You carry out half that watermelon you were so busy hacking up and throw it away from the barn, then run