“Cool,” Candace said.

They passed the first floor and climbed to the second. Entering the main corridor, they encountered their first animal-center employee. If the man thought that there was anything abnormal about Kevin and Candace’s presence in the middle of the night, he didn’t give any evidence. He passed by with merely a nod.

“That was easy,” Candace whispered.

“It’s the coveralls,” Melanie said.

They turned left through a set of double doors and entered a brightly lit, narrow hallway lined with a number of blank doors. Melanie cracked one of them and stuck her head inside. Quietly, she closed the door. “It’s one of my patients. She’s a low-land gorilla who’s almost ready for egg retrieval. They can get a little rambunctious with the hormone level we have to achieve, but she’s sleeping soundly.”

“Can I see?” Candace asked.

“I suppose,” Melanie said. “But be quiet and don’t make any sudden movements.”

Candace nodded. Melanie opened the door and slipped inside. Candace followed. Kevin stayed by the door, holding it open.

“Shouldn’t we be doing what we came here for?” Kevin whispered.

Melanie put her finger to her lips.

There were four large cages in the room, only one of which was occupied. A large gorilla was sleeping on a bed of straw. The illumination came from overhead recessed lighting that was dimmed down to a point of being almost off.

Gently touching the bars of the cage, Candace leaned forward to get a better look. She’d never been so close to a gorilla. If she’d been inclined, she could have touched the huge animal.

With speed that defied belief, the female gorilla awoke and then bounced off the front of the cage. In the next instant, she was pounding the floor with her fists like kettle drums and shrieking.

Candace let out a scream of her own as she leapt back out of harm’s way. Melanie grabbed her.

“It’s okay,” Melanie said.

The gorilla then made another lunge for the front of the cage. She also hurled a handful of fresh feces in the process, which splattered against the far wall.

Melanie directed Candace out the door and Kevin let it shut.

“I’m terribly sorry,” Melanie said to Candace. Candace’s Nordic complexion was even paler than usual. “Are you all right?”

“I guess,” Candace said. She checked the front of her coveralls.

“A little PMS, I’m afraid,” Melanie said. “She didn’t hit you with any of her poop, did she?”

“I don’t think so,” Candace said. She ran a hand through her hair and then examined it.

“Let’s get the keys,” Kevin said. “We’re pushing our luck.”

They walked the length of the fertility unit and pushed through a second pair of swinging doors to enter a large room divided into bays. Each bay had several cages, and most of the cages were occupied by youthful primates of different species.

“This is the pediatric unit,” Melanie whispered. “Just act natural.”

There were four people working in the unit. They were all dressed in surgical scrubs with stethoscopes draped around their necks. Everyone was friendly but busy and preoccupied, and the trio passed through, garnering nothing more than a couple of smiles and nods.