Part 2

But in the blink of an eye, everything changed!

Sarah’s fingers froze against Barnaby’s chest as the cold, hard reality sank in. 😮

The object wasn’t a piece of bark or a stone from the play yard.

It was smooth, heavy, and perfectly oval.

As the soapy lather washed down Barnaby’s stomach under the stream of warm water, a brilliant, neon green sparkle burst through the white suds.

It caught the sunlight like a prism, illuminating the wet green tiles beneath his feet.

Sarah gasped so loudly that her assistant jumped backward in surprise.

There, tucked firmly inside a clever makeshift pocket formed by Barnaby’s matted, sap covered chest fur, sat the four million dollar Royal Emerald of Malacca.

Barnaby didn’t panic.

He didn’t try to bite, squeal, or run away into the canopy.

He simply stood on his wet little feet, supported by Sarah’s trembling hands, and offered her that exact same serene, polite smile captured in the photo. 🥹

It was the look of a mastermind who knew he had been caught, but also knew he was far too cute to ever face criminal charges.

“Sarah?” the assistant whispered, her eyes wide with total shock. “Is that… is that the gem?”

“Don’t move,” Sarah breathed, her voice shaking as she carefully gently rinsed the remaining shampoo off the stone. “Don’t make any sudden movements.”

How on earth had a six month old orangutan managed to pull off a museum grade heist during a ten second power outage?

The mystery began to unspool in Sarah’s mind as she looked closely at the details of Barnaby’s innocent face.

Barnaby wasn’t just any ordinary baby ape raised in captivity.

Before arriving at the sanctuary, Barnaby had spent his early months living near a local market village on the edge of the jungle.

He had been rescued from a notorious local street performer who had trained young primates to snatch shiny trinkets, wallets, and wristwatches from distracted tourists.

The training had been ingrained deep within Barnaby’s muscle memory.

While humans saw a helpless baby ape, Barnaby saw a room full of slow moving giants and shiny treasures.

When the lights had cut out in the director’s office earlier that afternoon, Barnaby had been sitting silently on top of the air conditioning unit outside the high window.

The window had been cracked open just two inches to let in the jungle breeze.

To a tiny, flexible infant orangutan with long arms and unbelievable agility, two inches was more than enough room.

In the pitch dark ten seconds, Barnaby had slipped through the gap like a shadow, dropped silently onto the mahogany desk, snatched the sparkling green stone from its velvet box, and slid back out the window.

He had used the sticky tree sap from the garden trees outside to paste the massive emerald directly to his chest fur.

Then, he covered it with a layer of loose, matted fur to disguise the bulge.

He had planned to waddle off into the high canopy later that evening to admire his shiny new toy in peace.