a novel

The
The Tourist Trail

A Novel by John Yunker

Published by
Byte Level Books
www.bytelevelbooks.com
 Part I: Bycatch

When the land has nothing left for men who

ravage everything, they scour the sea.
— Tacitus
 The Tourist Trail

Angela

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and taxicabs disbursed their cargo during the day. Angela contin-
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horizon of the South Atlantic Ocean. A gust of wind nudged her
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1
 The Tourist Trail

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nothing but the stars.
He should be back by now.
The last she heard from him was a week ago. He was off the
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stomach tighten.
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 The Tourist Trail

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hugged the ocean.
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form a nest.
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anniversary.
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no reason to sing this year. Of this she was certain. It was sim-
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He should be back by now.

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 The Tourist Trail

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4
 The Tourist Trail

Robert

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screen from the armrest of his business-class seat. He was not
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1
 The Tourist Trail

something worse.
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his night light.
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seat next to him. If only she could have stayed awake a few hours
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She was a model from Dallas on her way to Argentina for breast
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were served. And the surgeons are world class.
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used. She ran a hand through his dark hair. He ordered more
drinks. He said her beforeEUHDVWVORRNHGSHUIHFWDVLV6KHJDYH
him her business card and invited him to Dallas to test drive the
after.
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 The Tourist Trail

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4
 The Tourist Trail

Angela

Angela watched her assistant extend the gonchoDORQJSLHFH

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gravel road to the research station. And it wasn’t much of a re-
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2
 The Tourist Trail

numbers were entered once and never again revisited. Tagging a

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thousands and thousands of nests.
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when they discovered a red-dot bird.
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tagged the year it was born and hadn’t been seen since. Young
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reached breeding age and returned to their colonies. Yet not all
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Angela and the other naturalists knew more about them than about
any other tagged bird—and they still wished they knew more. But
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always felt like a family reunion.
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 The Tourist Trail

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of feathers around its eyes.
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would be one less thing he needed to learn from her. One less
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her at all. Not that he’d ever needed her to begin with. The life
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she did not harbor any illusions about having children—the birds
were children enough—but she did have her illusions about Doug.
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select her assistant and set out for the day’s assignment. Doug was
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covered a red-dot bird.
She looked at Doug and nodded.
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4
 The Tourist Trail

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awkward creation was now between her two straining hands. She
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5
 The Tourist Trail

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Shelly had waited four weeks before letting Angela handle
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his life. The woman who taught him everything. The woman who
said yes.
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beak. Grab the neck.
Doug had been bitten so badly he had to be driven to Trelew
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as Doug tore what was left of his hand away. It was like a Chinese
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his left hand.
But Angela got what she wanted. He never forgot that day.
Now Doug used the gonchoWRSXOOWKHELUGRXWRIWKHKROH
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scale. Then Doug let go.
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in circles. Angela read the weight aloud; Doug entered it into the
notebook. Then Angela grabbed the bird and held him between
KHUOHJVWRPHDVXUHWKHIHHW

6
 The Tourist Trail

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calm.
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nest.
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beginning to bubble through the crevices and soak through the
fabric.
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Doug froze.
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science.
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Then she saw him.
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7
 The Tourist Trail

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belongings in all directions.
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of crunching shells in her ears as she neared him. He was face-
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beard. The waves washed over his legs. She grabbed his arms and
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leaned on her until they reached sand. She saw smears of blood
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She drew away from him. He had the look of a merchant
marine—a reddened face that rarely saw sunscreen and lines on

8
 The Tourist Trail

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She glanced down to discover the source of all that blood.
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what Angela would have done. She detested all nationalities of
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Yet this man was neither. He was wet and shivering and
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9
 To Read More...

Digital
Now available on the
Amazon Kindle

Coming soon for the Apple iPad.

Print
Coming soon.

7REHQRWLÀHGZKHQWKHSULQWYHUVLRQ
SXEOLVKHVSOHDVHMRLQWKHHPDLOQRWLÀFDWLRQOLVWDW
www.thetouristtrail.com.
 Acknowledgements

This novel is dedicated to the researchers and activists who have

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7ROHDUQPRUHDQGWROHQG\RXUVXSSRUWSOHDVHYLVLW

The Penguin Project

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The Sea Shepherd Society

ZZZVHDVKHSKHUGRUJ

International Fund for Animal Welfare

www.ifaw.org

Farm Animal Rights Movement (FARM)

www.farmusa.org

Mercy for Animals

www.mfa.org

International Bird Rescue Research Center

www.ibrrc.org
 The Tourist TrailZDVLQVSLUHGE\DWULSWRWKH3DWDJRQLDUH-
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DUFWLFDZKHUHSRUWLRQVRIThe Tourist Trail are set.
 The Tourist Trail
www.thetouristtrail.com

Published by
Byte Level Books
www.bytelevelbooks.com

© 2010 by John Yunker. All rights reserved.

ISBN-978-0-9796475-2-9

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