Murder in the Tea Leaves

Breakfast the next morning was a raucous affair because of a group of friendly monkeys that wanted to join Whitt, Finley, and the Campbells—the young Australian couple—for breakfast. As soon as the staff would shoo one monkey out, another two or three would run in to nab a muffin or piece of fruit from the sideboard. It looked like an episode featuring the Keystone Cops, and the monkeys had the upper hand.

Adesh, their driver, watched the scene play out from the veranda. He smiled at the monkeys’ antics and soon put an end to it by luring one of the larger ones outside with a small banana. He threw pieces of the fruit over the terrace, and far down the hill once he had attracted the attention of the barrel. Some of the monkeys scurried after the banana, while the others waited to see what else might be offered.

To appease the rest, Adesh threw a small apple past the pool and into the jungle. Soon, there was only one small monkey left. It sat patiently waiting for its treat to be thrown. Instead, Adesh placed another small banana on the ledge near the large banyan so the little fellow could get the treat and head into the trees. With breakfast distributed, Adesh loaded a lunch basket and the sisters’ backpacks into the car.

“Won’t feeding them encourage that scavenging behavior?” Whitt asked.

Adesh tilted his head to make eye contact in his rear mirror and smiled. “Maybe, but not feeding them hasn’t discouraged them, either.”