Paradise Gone: A Will Harper Florida Thriller by David Crosby

Author:David Crosby [Crosby, David]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-07-07T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eighteen

We moved on from the hippo pen past a pond and beach full of alligators, but nothing seemed to capture Serena’s imagination again until we got to the pink flamingos. They were on a small island surrounded by water, dozens of the colorful birds stepping high with their long legs, sometimes standing on one leg as they rested.

“Oh my God, did they dye those birds?”

I laughed. “Nope, there born gray and get the color from the algae and brine shrimp they eat.”

“Neon pink? No way! No more shrimp for me.”

“It’s the beauty of nature, and Florida’s got more than its share of tropical beauty.”

“Cool.”

“There used to be millions of these and other colorful birds in the Everglades, but plume hunters nearly wiped them out, killing them for their feathers to put on women’s hats.”

“You’re kidding. That sounds stupid.”

“I agree. It was a colossal waste. In 1886 alone, they killed over five million birds in the Everglades for their plumes. Flamingoes, roseate spoonbills, snowy egrets, all nearly went extinct.

“In the early 1900s, the Audubon Society helped to bring an end to the slaughter, and they convinced President Teddy Roosevelt to create a national wildlife refuge to protect them from hunters.”

Bonnie said, “I’m glad someone cared enough to save them before it was too late. Humans seem to hunt fish and wildlife until there’s none left unless governments stop them.”

Serena said, “I’m glad the birds are still here to look at. They sure are pretty.”

“They were here long before people were. They have as much right to exist as we do.”

We walked on through the rest of the wildlife displays, but Serena seemed more captivated by the birds than anything else. Suddenly, she looked at Bonnie and said, “Mom, what time is it?”

“It’s almost two p.m.. I guess we should go get some lunch.”

“But, what about Weeki Wachee?”

I said, “By the time we eat and drive over there, we’d only have an hour until they close. We may have to do that another day.”

“No! We have to go today.”

Bonnie looked at her. “Why today? What’s so important?”

“Uh, um, I was just really looking forward to seeing the mermaid show.”

“Honey, we’d get there too late to see it. We can do it another day, alright?”

A tear rolled down Serena’s cheek. “Can’t we go just until it closes? We could get fast food for lunch on the way.”

Bonnie crossed her arms. “Is there some other reason you need to be there today?”

Now her daughter looked miserable. “No, I just wanted to see the mermaids. Forget about it.”

The three of us walked in silence back to the entry, then waited for the boat to take us back to the visitor’s center. When we arrived, Serena said, “I have to pee. Where’s the bathroom?”

I pointed it out, and she trudged off towards it.

“Bonnie, what’s this all about?”

She said, “I think she may have arranged to meet Danny there. I can’t think of any other reason for her being so desperate to get there today.”

“Yeah, she sure didn’t seem that excited about the mermaids before.

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