We sat in silence, pretending to mourn a man we didn’t know and didn’t like, until the food came. The death of Dr. Higgins affected us and our appetites differently. The men didn’t seem fazed at all and dug into the full breakfast. The women, except Charlotte, ate little.
“How can you eat at a time like this?” I asked her.
She shrugged. “Not the first dead body I’ve ever seen.”
“I’m sure it’s the first dead body with its throat torn out.”
“You would think.” She lathered boysenberry jelly on her croissant. It conjured up images of gnarled flesh and clotted blood. I pushed my croissant away. “Well, at my last rotation I did see a guy treated for a gunshot wound to the neck. It was pretty similar.”
“Yikes.” This was why I never asked Charlotte how school was going. She took a big bite out of the croissant and jelly squirted out, sliding down her hand. I cringed. If I were in medical school, I’d probably never eat again.
“No surprise, he didn’t make it either. Can you pass me the butter?”
“Charlotte!” I rebuked.
“What? I want butter for my pancakes.”
I passed her the butter and she smothered her pancakes with it. The table was quiet, save for the utensils scraping on the plates.
I got up for some juice. No caffeine for me today. A good night’s sleep had left me rested and the shock of finding a mangled body had inundated my system with adrenaline. I was fully awake.
I approached Hazel, who looked like I felt—shell-shocked. She stood at the beverage table frozen. I lightly tapped her on the shoulder. Deep in thought, she flinched at the touch. “Sorry. But something’s bothering me,” she said. Something was bothering all of us, you would think, after one of our group was found dead.
She looked over her shoulder toward the lodge’s entrance. “Why aren’t the police here yet?”
“Police?” I asked.
She poured herself a cup of tea and returned to the table. “Weren’t the police called?”
“Why would they be?” Jack asked. He signaled me and I brought over the carafe of juice.
“Don’t the police have to investigate every unexpected death?” Hazel replied. She looked over her shoulder again.
“In America, sure. But we’re not in America, are we?” Jack answered.
Hazel shrugged. “True, but I’d think the police or a park ranger would have been called.” She returned to staring at her cup of tea. “Shouldn’t they be alerted that there—”
“Just eat your breakfast, Hazel,” Colin interrupted. His look alone would have shut me up.
“Umm—” She hesitated. “Shouldn’t someone look into the wild animal on the loose?”
“We’re in a middle of a national wildlife park. I think they know,” Geri answered.
“It wasn’t one animal that did that,” Jack corrected Geri. “That was a pack of hyenas.”
“But shouldn’t the park rangers be alerted? Won’t these hyenas start seeking out humans and human blood? Now that they have a taste for it?” Zaden asked.
Sabrina sneered and put her glass of tomato juice down.
“I’m sure the lodge has contacted the local authorities,” Geri assured us. “But they don’t want to go publicizing the incident.” She looked over her shoulders to make sure there were no staff within earshot. “Bad for business.”
“It’s gonna be hard to keep this under wraps, don’t you think?” Hazel asked. “Did you Facebook or tweet it out yet?” she asked Zaden.
He shook his head and returned to his plate of scrambled eggs, smothered in ketchup. I looked away and prayed I wouldn’t vomit.
“Maybe that’s why lodges have such terrible internet,” Jack said. “So we can’t tweet or Facebook or Instagram or whatever the latest internet thing is…” He looked to Zaden, then Zonah for help. They didn’t look up from their plates. “See, it’s just us. We nine are the only ones who know,” Jack told her.
“But the staff. They’ll tell people,” Hazel pointed out. “This will be through the community fast.”
“And in a few months, it’s a cautionary tale for travelers about keeping your door locked and always requesting the escort at night,” Colin told us.
Hazel shrugged. “So the police won’t be coming? Won’t be interviewing all of us?”
Colin shot her another look.
“Doubt it,” Jack answered, between bites of eggs. A thin trail of ketchup dripped down his chin. It conjured images of what the hyenas may have looked like mid-meal. I covered my mouth, hoping not to vomit.
Hazel looked relieved and sipped her tea. Her plate, like mine, remained empty.
The noises of the morning returned to utensils clambering and mouths chewing. My stomach growled and I reached for the basket of pastries.
“What’ll happen to his body? What’ll happen to his luggage?” Sabrina asked.
The image of his body flashed in my mind again and I dropped the cheese and apricot Danish.
“We saw them take the body,” Geri reminded us. “Maybe they call the embassy? They’ll contact his next of kin or emergency contact.”
“And what about all his stuff?” Sabrina asked.
“Why? Do you want something?” Jack asked.
Sabrina recoiled in her seat as if Jack had pushed her. “Oh no. I…I didn’t mean…”
Jack had been teasing and continued without realizing she had answered. “I did like his hat. Is that up for grabs?”
“That hat would not suit you,” his wife told him.
“And it suited him?” Jack answered, his joking tone gone. “Are you saying he looked better in it than I would?” He slammed his knife down on his plate and glared at Geri.
Having all witnessed the fight last night, and not wanting to relive it, no one spoke. I didn’t even breathe. But we could all hear Jack’s labored breathing.
Eager to defuse the tension, Charlotte answered, “The lodge will take care of it. I’m sure a guy like that had travel insurance. The manager will contact the travel agency he booked through and get it sorted.”
Jack threw his napkin on his plate and slid his chair back. I tried not to cringe as the noise of the grinding legs squealed. He stomped out of the dining area.
Letting a few moments pass, until everyone returned to their breakfasts, I got up to leave. “I’m going back to the room. I’ll see you later,” I told Charlotte. Mouth full of pancake, she nodded and waved me off.
I passed the gift shop, the boutique, as they called it, on my way. Jack was standing in front of a mirror with a dark brown, wide-brimmed hat similar to the one worn by Dr. Higgins.
“Looks good on you,” I shouted in.
“Thanks.” He took another look at himself and nodded approval. “I do look better than a dead guy.”