The Monkey Howled at Midnight (4 page)

He stroked his chin. “Actually, it might be reasonable if the phone belonged to Luis, also. Both brothers are in the coffee business.”

“Maybe Mr. Estevez is mixed up in something shady,” Rae said.

“Excuse me.”

Rae and the twins jumped. It was Pino. He had crept up behind them so quietly they hadn't heard a thing.

“I couldn't help but overhear you talking about something going on. Nothing is going on here, I can assure you.” He smiled a smile that didn't make it to his eyes. “My father isn't the kind of man to get
mixed up in something shady
. There is no need to worry him about a plot on his life. I don't want my father scared.”

“We aren't going to do anything to scare your father,” Cody said.

Then Pino smiled a real smile. “Good,” he said. “I've heard that you three like mysteries. You've obviously gotten carried away. No harm done.”

But before they turned in for the night, Cody, Rae, and Otis gathered in the twins' room and shut the door. “I don't care what Pino says. There
is
something going on here,” Otis said in a hushed voice.

Outside the door, a floorboard creaked. There was the sound of footsteps hurrying away. Had someone been listening?

Moments later, they heard the voice of Mr. Estevez. He was talking to someone on the telephone, and he sounded very angry.

“Listen to me. I think you were responsible for what happened today. You aren't going to threaten me and you aren't going to scare me. I am not going to sell you that land in the rain forest.”

[
Chapter Six
]

T
he next morning they all met in the garden to have breakfast before the trip. Rae and the twins could hardly wait.

“I can hardly believe our good luck,” said Cody. “We're not just going to a park where the tourists go. We're going deep into the Amazon.”

“Well, you're not going
that
deep.” Luis chuckled. “That's where the tribes no one ever sees live. But you're going in deep enough. Can you please pass the fruit salad?”

Otis handed him the bowl. “I'm glad you're going with us,” he said.

“Actually, Luis isn't going,” Pino said.

Otis put down his fork. “What do you mean? How can we go if he's not going?” he cried.

Rae and Cody waited to hear the answer, forks suspended in midair. Did that mean they weren't going to the rain forest that day? Why were Luis and Pino grinning?

“Calm down,” said Pino. “My brother will go with you.”

Cody frowned. “I'm confused. What's going on?”

“I think it's time to tell them the truth,” his brother said. “The two of us have been playing a little trick on you. You probably know the game. All twins do. We've been pretending to be each other. I'm Pino.” He pointed to his brother. “And that is Luis.”

“Yeah, we know the game,” said Otis. “But we never caught on. How could we when we can't tell you apart?”

The real Pino shrugged. “We thought that as twins you might be able to see other twins the way most people can't. We wanted to see if you'd figure it out.”

“Maybe they would have if they stayed around you for a while,” said Rae. She put down her fork. “I can tell Otis and Cody apart, but most people can't. I've known them all my life.”

“Well, we were just trying to provide a little fun,” said the real Luis. “No more playing games.”

“No more playing games,” Pino agreed. “Let's finish up breakfast and get going. Aldo is coming along with us. We'll drive past the area of the tourist parks and fly upriver. Then we'll raft for a while and go inland.”

“We'd better start packing,” said Rae.

“Don't worry, we have everything you need,” said Pino. “Just be sure to wear hiking boots, and bring some long pants and a long-sleeved shirt. The mosquitoes get really, really bad sometimes.”

He turned to Mr. Carson. “Can they camp out for two nights?”

Mr. Carson nodded. “Yes. I've talked it over with Mr. Estevez. But be extra careful.”

“We will. Let's get going,” said Pino.

Even though Pino said that everything was taken care of, it didn't stop the twins from taking their own gear. They had always lived by the Boy Scout motto, “Be prepared.” Their cousin was the same way.

Each of the twins packed a lightweight hammock and poncho in a backpack with mosquito netting. Each of them had their own compass, army knife, bottle of iodine pills (to purify water), extra pairs of socks, and sunscreen. They also packed bandages, plenty of mosquito repellent, matches and a magnifying glass, and a flashlight.

“Got all your stuff?” they asked when they met Rae downstairs. She rattled off the same list of things that the twins had packed.

“I brought these, too,” she said, holding up a pair of binoculars.

“Awesome, Rae,” said Cody. Now they were ready to go.

“That's some trick they played on us,” said Otis as they headed downstairs. “We haven't played that game in years. They are definitely too old for that.”

Cody shrugged. “I guess they figured we'd enjoy it.”

Otis wrinkled his nose. “Go figure.”

They found Aldo sitting on the porch steps. When he saw them he didn't say a word; he just looked up and nodded. A few moments later, Pino appeared. He was carrying a camera with a telephoto lens strapped to his shoulder.

“You're a photographer? Cool,” Cody said.

Pino nodded.

“Shouldn't you turn the camera around?” Rae asked.

Pino looked at her blankly.

“If you carry it like that, the lens is more likely to hit something than if it's facing backward,” she explained.

Pino blinked. “Oh—of course. I don't know how I forgot,” he said, turning the camera around. “I guess I've got a lot on my mind.”

They drove for hours, past the lines of people waiting to get into the nature parks. They had gone from a highway to a smaller paved road and then turned onto a dirt road that ran beside the Amazon River. Aldo pulled the truck off the road and parked behind some trees. “Here we are. The second part of our journey is ahead.” He pointed to a plane that sat on an airstrip among the trees.

“You're not afraid to fly in a small plane, are you?” Pino asked the twins and Rae.

“Absolutely not,” Cody answered, adjusting the backpack on his shoulders.

“No way,” said Otis.

“Nope,” said Rae.

Pino looked at the three of them. “Then let's go,” he said.

[
Chapter Seven
]

T
hey were landing on an airstrip behind a village on the bank of the Amazon River. “People here have a foot in two worlds. Let me explain what I mean,” said Pino. “They still hunt and fish and grow their own food. They know old customs and old ways. But they know all about television and radios and computers and cars and stuff, too. They also dress in modern clothes.”

“When can we see the native tribes that are just the way they've been for centuries?” asked Rae.

Aldo started to laugh. It wasn't a funny laugh, either. He was laughing at Rae.

“Do you think those tribes are on the lookout to welcome us? They don't want to be found,” he said. “They moved away from civilization, far into the forest. If you were standing next to one and he didn't want you to see him, you wouldn't.”

“You'd have to go far into the jungle to see tribes that are untouched by civilization,” Pino said. He didn't laugh. “There are hardly any—at least, that we know about.”

“Why are we stopping here?” asked Rae. She was glaring at the back of Aldo's head. “Why is there an airstrip near this small village when you can reach it by water? You must have had to remove hundreds of trees to make an airstrip.” Her mouth puckered with disgust.

“Actually, we had to remove a thousand trees to make the airstrip,” said Aldo. “We had to remove the stumps, too, or they'd just grow back. It wasn't easy.”

The twins didn't like the smirk in his voice. But their minds were on another matter. Why had they taken so much trouble to build an airstrip behind this village? It was just a collection of houses on stilts and a vegetable garden. It didn't make much sense.

As the plane touched down, the villagers ran toward it. When they all got out, two men came through the crowd and began talking to Aldo and Pino in Portuguese. Pino said something to them and one of the men spoke to a third while gesturing toward the twins and Rae.

“We have to talk to these two men for a while,” said Pino. “Then I'm going to take some landscape photographs. You can go with Tomayo and have something to eat. He speaks English.”

“We aren't hungry,” said Rae. “We ate right before we left.”

“Then have something to drink,” said Aldo. Annoyance flickered across his face before he and Pino walked away.

“What do you have to talk about?” Rae asked.

Aldo stopped in his tracks and turned around. From the look on his face it seemed that he might smack Rae right then and there. “Mind your own business,” he snapped. They all wondered why he had gotten so nasty.

“Aldo, don't be like that,” said Pino. He smiled at Rae. “You wouldn't be interested in what Aldo is going to talk about. It's boring.” He turned to go.

“You forgot your tripod,” Otis yelled.

“I won't need it today,” Pino called over his shoulder.

Cody and Otis exchanged glances. They both shrugged.

Minutes later, sitting outside Tomayo's home and drinking guava juice, Cody asked for details. “Do Pino and his friend come here often?”

Tomayo laughed. “Those two aren't friends. They are business partners.”

“What kind of business are they in?”

“The photography business,” said a voice behind them. Aldo had returned.

“I almost forgot,” he said. “I'm thirsty.” He took a cup from Tomayo's hand and took a drink. “Don't bore these kids with talk about our business,” he said, staring hard at Tomayo.

He returned the cup. “Well, I have to go take some photographs with Pino,” he said. Then he was gone again.

“What do you mean they are business partners?” Cody asked Tomayo.

Tomayo fidgeted, looked down, and said, “They sell their photographs. The two people from the village help them find things to take pictures of.”

Cody and Otis looked at each other. Otis had a book called
How to Spot a Liar Every Time
. They didn't need that book to know Tomayo was lying. But why?

After about fifteen minutes, Aldo and Pino returned. Aldo looked pleased but Pino didn't.

“Take many pictures?” asked Otis.

“Oh yeah, yeah, I did,” he answered. “I was clicking away. I must have taken about thirty shots.”

“Time to fly,” said Aldo. “We've got more pictures to take.”

Soon they were in the air again, only to land at another village. One thousand more trees and stumps had been removed. This village was almost exactly the same as the last one. Except in this village, no one spoke any English. What was the need for another airstrip?