by Ann Charles
“What do you say, Parker?” she asked. “You feel like putting your pants back on?”
He nodded. “Let me shake out my boots.”
The moon was high in the sky as they walked silently through the weeds, coloring the world in shades of silver. The flashlight lit the path down to the latrines.
“Are you okay?” he asked after they were out of earshot of the tents.
“Not really.”
“What is it? Something to do with the hidden chamber?” The idea of those poor prisoners suffering such a cruel fate certainly gave him goose bumps.
“That locket Dad gave me isn’t mine.”
“But it has your picture in it.” When she looked over at him, he explained. “He showed it to me earlier when I checked up on Daisy at the ballcourt.”
“My locket is hanging on my dresser in Cancun.”
“What?”
“The one Daisy found was my mom’s. She bought us matching lockets for my thirteenth birthday.”
He caught her hand, squeezing it. “I’m sorry, sweetheart.”
“I didn’t even realize she’d brought her locket here with her on that trip. I figured it was back home in Tucson with the rest of her stuff we boxed up.”
No wonder Angélica had paled so much when Juan handed it to her.
They walked in silence for a few steps, his hand still holding hers. The weeds crunched underfoot, seeming louder than usual in the darkness.
Angélica cleared her throat. “Do you find it odd that Daisy just stumbled upon Mom’s locket? What are the chances of that?”
“Pretty low, although it is shiny. I’m surprised one of the monkeys around here didn’t …” Quint stopped, pulling her up short. “Listen,” he whispered.
Angélica frowned up at him. “What do you hear?”
“Nothing.” As in none of the usual jungle cacophony raging around them. The forest was oddly silent. “It’s too quiet.”
“Shit.” She unsheathed her machete. “There must be a big cat prowling nearby.”
Quint scanned the tree line with his flashlight.
“We should go back,” Angélica whispered.
“I thought you had to go to the bathroom.”
“I lied. I just wanted to tell you about the locket without my dad hearing.”
A deep, guttural growl came from the thick brush to their left. The cat couldn’t be more than twenty feet away from the sound of it.
He pushed Angélica behind him, backing slowly toward the tents.
“Quint,” she said, her voice edged with tension. “That doesn’t sound like a cat.”
“What else could it be?”
“I’m afraid to find out.”
A loud hiss made his breath catch. The roar that followed nearly burst his heart.
He spotlighted the trees, catching glimpses of spots as a jaguar raced through the bushes. It dove into the brush on the other side of the latrines and disappeared into the jungle.
Before he could register what he’d just seen, something else crashed through the brush after the cat. Something big … and fast. He pointed his flashlight in the direction of the hunter, catching sight of its haunches as it chased after the cat.
“What the fuck was that?” he asked as the sound of the two racing through the underbrush faded.
“I don’t know. Something really big with black fur on the back of its neck.” She grabbed his wrist and tugged on him. “Let’s get back to the others.”
They started up the path.
A loud roar echoed, followed by a piercing yowl.
The hair on the back of Quint’s neck stood up. He stopped, frowning toward the dark tree line. “Holy shit! Was that the jaguar?”
“I think so,” she whispered.
After a few seconds, the jungle racketed back to normal life around them.
“Come on.” She towed him along, jogging now with her machete at the ready. “We need to get to Teodoro’s tent.”
“Why Teodoro’s tent?” Quint wasn’t sure one of the shaman’s ceremonies could protect them from whatever took down that jaguar.
“Because that’s where we keep Pedro’s shotgun.”
Chapter Nineteen
Baak: (Also) The Maya glyph for “bone.”
The sun rose the next morning without giving light to any answers to the questions that had pestered Angélica throughout most of the long, dark night.
She climbed out of her cot shortly after the ball of fire popped up over the horizon, dressing quietly as her dad slept. She was ready to play detective now that she could see under the forest canopy.
She’d pondered the scene down by the latrines too many times to count since returning to her tent late last night, trying to figure out what she’d seen chasing that jaguar. It was all a blur. A hulking black blur that had been hunting a 150- to 200-pound, sharp-clawed cat. Besides humans, jaguars and the other large Mesoamerican cats were the top predators down here.
Maybe it had been just another cat, only bigger. The jaguar could’ve been a female, the predator a male. The moon was known to play tricks with shapes, too. But the creature’s fur had seemed longer than a regular cat’s, and its gait less graceful. The growling sound right before the jaguar had hissed was like nothing she’d heard outside of a movie theater. It reminded her of the pre-rumbles of an angry gorilla’s roar when it was about to engage in a fight, only raspier. However, unless someone had recently misplaced their gorilla, great apes didn’t frequent the Mexican jungle.
So what in the hell was it?
Maybe Teodoro would have some ideas after his trip into the jungle today. Paw or footprints might shed light on the beast.
She grabbed her canteen and headed for breakfast, her father stirring as she zipped the mesh flap closed.
Quint was already in the mess tent nursing a cup of coffee when she stepped inside, his eyes edged with fatigue.
She did her best to act normal around the other early birds as she stood in line to load up a plate of food, pretending she hadn’t been up most of the night listening for the sound of that creature returning to the dig site for a second helping.
Jane and Daisy weren’t there yet, but Bernard and Gertrude were already eating. Lorenzo and Esteban dished up in front of her, while Fernando filed in behind her.
After handing her empty canteen to María to refill while she ate, Angélica grabbed a plate full of eggs and black beans, fried plantains, and yellow corn tortillas. María had made a traditional Maya breakfast for them. In spite of her anxiety, the smell of the delicious food had Angélica’s stomach eager to eat. She dug into her steaming breakfast as soon as she sat down next to Quint and his empty plate.
“Tired much?” she asked him in between bites.
Even his smile looked worn out. “With enough coffee, I’ll make it to lunch, but then I’ll be needing a siesta.”
Quint had offered to keep guard with Pedro last night while the rest of the camp slept. Part of her tossing and turning throughout the night had been due to the two of them being out in the darkness with only one shotgun and two machetes to defend themselves.
“Did your dad notice I wasn’t there last night?”
She shook her head. “After we told him about the cat fight, he rolled over and went to sleep.”
They’d decided to keep what they really saw under wraps except for Pedro and Teodoro, claiming the commotion was two big cats fighting, nothing more. Until they could get a better handle of what exactly the hunter was, she didn’t want to worry her father. He might insist on helping keep guard and injure his leg further while out and about in the dark.
“He’s probably shaving now. You might want to think up some explanation for your beard stubble, since it appears you beat him up and out of the tent this morning.”
Quint nodded, frowning at his coffee. “I’ve thought a lot about what we saw last night.”
“Yeah?”
“I can’t figure it out. What could run down a jaguar that easily?” he
asked, spinning his mug around slowly. “You and I were sitting ducks out there. It could have taken one of us in a heartbeat.”
“Maybe it didn’t want us.”
“Why not?”
“I don’t know.” She scooped up some eggs with her tortilla. “Where’s Pedro?”
“Sleeping. He spelled me for an hour in the middle of the night when I couldn’t keep my eyes open anymore. As soon as it started getting light, I told him to crash for a few hours, that I’d cover for him.”
“What about Teodoro?”
“He woke Maverick at first light and they went into the forest to gather some water and herbs. They took Rover along on the leash.”
“Rover? Why?”
“He believes your javelina might sniff out trouble for them.”
Javelinas had bad eyesight, but they had good hearing and a keen sense of smell. Rover should be able to alert them well ahead of danger.
“Teodoro told me he’s going to head out in the direction we saw the jaguar run and see what the forest spirits tell him about what happened.”
She paused mid-chew, swallowing. “Did he tell you this in front of Maverick?”
“No.”
“Good.”
The shaman had been worried last night when she’d described what little bit she saw of the creature to him. He’d told her that he’d run into another older Maya man in the forest a couple days ago while collecting water and been warned that this site had a bad history. At the time, Teodoro had figured it had something to do with the deaths of Marianne and the pilot, but now he suspected there was an older evil living under the forest floor. Angélica’s find under the Chakmo’ol Temple yesterday afternoon had made him even more certain of this.
Thinking about that underground chamber had led her to remember something else in the middle of the night.
“How about you come with me to the Chakmo’ol Temple this morning?”
His gaze narrowed. “Please tell me you aren’t thinking of going down in that hole again.”
“Not the hole, only the upper chamber that has the wall carving of Yum Cimil and his snake throne. I want to go over those glyphs again.”
“Okay. What do you need me to do?”
“Catch up on your beauty sleep while I work. You can use my backpack as a pillow.”
His forehead wrinkled. “I thought we were going down into the mine this morning.”
“Not until you get some sleep. Plus, if you’re in the temple with me, Dad won’t catch you snoozing on the job because he’ll be busy supervising everyone at the other end of the site. I’ll tell him that Pedro and you are both helping me this morning.” Actually, that was true. Since midnight, both Quint and Pedro had been helping her keep an eye on the crew.
“How long do you think we can hide this from him?”
“Not long. Until we see if Teodoro returns with any new details, we need to—”
“He’s here,” Quint interrupted, smiling and waving at her father.
“Lay low,” she finished and returned to her breakfast, wolfing down the second tortilla while it was still warm.
For the next twenty minutes, Angélica pretended last night had been like the others before it. Quint hid a couple of yawns behind his coffee cup, telling Juan that he’d woken up early, been unable to fall back to sleep, and decided to head out to watch the sun rise. He’d given some excuse about being too lazy to shave. As far as she could tell, her dad bought Quint’s story.
Daisy joined them ten minutes later, asking Angélica if her father had given her the locket. Angélica’s smile felt brittle as she thanked her. She tried not to stare at the other woman, sneaking peeks under her eyelashes. How Daisy had just stumbled onto that locket had Angélica rattling with suspicion. She wanted to return to Cancun and perform a full-fledged background check on the woman. She wouldn’t be at all surprised to find out that Daisy had been to this site before and worked alongside Marianne.
When Angélica finished eating, Quint took her plate over to the wash bucket, where Gertrude joined him. She said something to him that made Quint stop and frown for a moment. Then he returned to the table with Angélica’s canteen in hand.
“You ready, boss lady?”
Her father lowered his fork, eyeing each in turn. “Where are you two off to so soon this morning?”
“I want his help clearing some of the platform stones around the Chakmo’ol Temple.” Okay, that was a lie, but a harmless one.
“She’s calling in the big muscles,” Daisy said, winking at Quint.
Juan’s narrowed gaze clearly relayed his concerns. “You’re not going to do any more exploring in that temple today, are you?”
“I’m going inside of the temple, but only to do some basic rubbing and charting.” She kissed him on the forehead. “Don’t worry, Papa,” she whispered, using her childhood name for him. “I’ll be safe.”
He squeezed her hand. “You better, gatita.” As she followed Quint out into the morning sunshine, her dad called after them, “And play nice with that boy, too.”
Quint chuckled, putting his arm around her shoulders as they walked toward their tent. “You hear that? I get to have some playtime with you today.”
“Yeah, but not until you take your nap.”
They stopped by their tent. While he changed into fresh clothes, she filled her backpack with her notebook, some rice paper and charcoal, and a few shirts to give it some cushion for Quint. Grabbing her tool pouch, her dad’s duffel bag of safety supplies, and the refilled canteen on the way out, she led the way across the plaza to the temple.
Insects circled their legs in the early morning heat. Quint followed her more slowly than usual, obviously feeling the effects of the long night. Inside the temple, he wasted no time sliding to the floor in the corner of the chamber, setting her sheathed machete on the floor next to him.
She pulled out her notebook and rubbing tools, taking her pack over to him.
“Move forward, please.”
He did as told and then leaned against her backpack after she’d settled it behind him. He caught her hand before she could return to her tools. “Thanks, sweetheart.”
“Don’t thank me yet. I might get bored and decide to mess with you while you sleep.”
He smiled, and kissed the back of her hand before letting it go. Then he leaned his head against the wall and closed his eyes. “If you decide to molest me while I’m out, please be gentle. I’m just an innocent prairie boy.”
She stared down at him for a few seconds, admiring his rugged features. That dark beard stubble added an extra layer of sexiness. Maybe he should keep it when they returned to civilization.
One of his eyes opened. “You had better be here with me when I wake up. Sleeping in a creepy chamber covered with carvings about a lord of death while a bunch of rattlesnakes slither around one floor below me is more Maverick’s taste in research than mine.”
“I’ll be right over here, scaredy-cat,” she teased, returning to her tools.
Time passed swiftly as she worked and he snoozed. She paused several times to watch him sleep. There was something right about him being there with her, more than just comforting. How did that happen already? The damned man had managed to break through every wall she’d built to stop him. It had to be that hard head of his along with his smooth charm greasing the way.
He awoke awhile later, sitting up and rubbing his head. “How long was I out?”
“A couple of hours.”
He took a long swig from his canteen and then splashed his face before standing and stretching as much as he could under the low ceiling. “Did you find what you were looking for?”
She nodded, pointing at several glyphs at the bottom left corner of the carving. “You see these?”
He joined her, squatting next to where she sat cross-legged. “Yeah?”
“They’re the glyphs I was talking about last night that mean ‘captive.’ “ She pointed at more in several other places in the carving and
the surrounding blocks of glyphs. “I wanted to take a second look at them in relation to the rest of the carving and other glyphs, because in the middle of the night I remembered the other meaning for the baak glyph.”
“Other meaning? Like a homonym?”
“Exactly. While these here most likely mean ‘captive,’ these three instances here,” she pointed at the glyphs that were part of the throne of snakes, “could very well refer to the other meaning.”
“What’s the other meaning?”
“Bone.”
“Bone as in the broken bones piled underneath us in Yum Cimil’s lair?”
She nodded.
“Christ.” He rubbed his hand over his stubble-covered jaw. “What was this place?”
She leaned back on her hands, staring up at the twisted story the carving showed. “I don’t know. At one end of the site we have artifacts from the Olmec civilization. Then there’s this temple and the mine and all of these bones and snakes. I’m relatively certain we are looking at multiple layers of civilizations. Which one is on top depends on where you’re standing.”
“What are you going to do?”
She looked over at him. “What do you mean?”
“Your job is to clean this place up for other dig teams, right?”
“In a nutshell, yes.”
“And then you’re supposed to move on to the next site with your broom and dustpan.”
“Right.”
“But wouldn’t you rather stay here and figure out more about these mysteries? Dig in like you did at the last site?”
His questions were the same ones that she had contemplated several times over the last few weeks. She liked to dive deep into a site’s history and end a dig season with a feeling of completion. This new role meant she was only allowed to skim along the surface, dipping in a finger or two before moving on to the next site.
“Yes, I would rather come back and keep digging for answers, but I had to make a choice between struggling for funding every year at the same place or jumping site to site while my crew receives a regular paycheck, which includes a bonus for my father’s time and expertise.”
“And Pedro as a contracted pilot and crew member.”