CHAPTER 243
Dr. Levine and her cohorts had just finished packing everything when Dodgson's shadow fell over them.
"Yikes. Did somebody barbecue a rotten skunk?" Dodgson casually approached Dr. Levine.
She got to her feet and gave him a brief disapproving sweep with her eyes.
Dodgson grinned a devious though charming and toothy grin. "Guess I'm a little late for the show."
"So get the hell lost." Levine turned away and opened a map in front of Kelly. As they began to discus where they were going next Dodgson circled beside them and peered at the map.
Without looking up Levine said, "Marty, who is this creep?"
"He's Lew." Marty had just made his way over. "And he's got the answer to all your problems."
Levine glanced up from the map.
Dodgson was grinning and puffing on his cigarette. He made a suave hand gesture toward himself and said, "that's me."
"Listen, Lew, I'm in a real bad mood. Unless you can conjure me a living breathing dinosaur you're gonna have to leave, or I'm going to kick you in the nuts." Dr. Levine dropped her eyes back on the map.
Dodgson smiled even wider and chuckled to himself. He pulled a thin file from within his suit jacket and tossed it on the map.
Kelly and Dr. Levine both looked up at him with death stares, but Dodgson remained cool and nodded at the folder.
Dr. Levine's thumb slipped under the cover and flipped it open. Inside was a single photograph of an animal in a cage. Levine leaned closer. There was a snarling beast raking its claws against the bars of a heavily fortified enclosure. It had sharp teeth, scales on its face, and short feathers on its body. It appeared very much like the specimen she had just examined on the beach.
A puff of Dodgson's cigarette smoke wafted across the photo as he said, "I'm on a tight schedule, and I'd like to have a paleontologist on my team." Dodgson backed away and started walking toward the Huey. "My offer extends as long as it takes for that chopper to lift off. Think about it. Opportunity of a lifetime and all that shit."
Dodgson looked down at his feet. "Christ, my socks are ruined." He yelled at the chopper, "can somebody get me some god damned boots!"
Dr. Levine looked at the photograph again. It had to be a fake, she thought. It couldn't be real. What did this joker know about what she'd been doing for the last six months anyway? Who was he, really? What were his intentions, and why did he seek her out?
Then again, she didn't have any other leads. The photo was convincing enough to have her curiosity sparked. If this Lew character knew something she didn't, and he was offering her an inside scoop, then why the hell not? She had to salvage the disaster of the morning's events one way or another.
Levine looked up from the photograph. "Why me?"
Dodgson turned around. "Because you're obsessed like me, and that's what I need."