by Selena Kitt
She grabbed her laptop. Who knew how long they might need to wait? She might as well make good use of the time.
At the site, Meg went to check on the reefer truck while Jade walked over to the lab trailer, unlocked it and went in. Half expecting to see something wrong, she searched the trailer carefully, then shrugged. All appeared normal. Same as it had last night before she left.
Meg joined her a few minutes later.
“Dane just drove in.”
Jade blinked. A slow smile spread across her face. “Nice.”
Meg grinned. “Really?” She snickered as she started to leave. “Don’t be too long primping.”
Shaking her head, Jade walked outside. Dane was a perfect distraction for the long wait ahead of them. He walked toward her, his stride strong and effortless. But fatigue worried away at his face and instead of his normal confident smile, his mouth had a grim set that looked like it had taken root. John wasn’t the only one suffering. Jade’s heart went out to him.
“Hey. Don’t you look like shit?” Meg never did hold back.
He grimaced yet never slowed his step. “Tough times.”
Jade walked down the stairs and watched as his face warmed. Especially nice was the smile that chased away most of the worry lines. Opening his arms he waited for her to get within grabbing distance, then snagged her close and hugged her tightly.
“I need this,” he murmured against her ear.
She squeezed him back too. “So do I.”
He pulled back slightly. “No news on Dr. Mike?”
She shook her head, mortified to find tears threatening. She sniffled and turned to Meg to have the taller woman speak for her. “Meg?” she asked her voice thick.
“We found the SUV, locked, still full of all the equipment – at a bluff on the other side of this.” Meg wafted her hand in the direction of the hills behind them. “Three of our team have started to walk through from the point where the SUV was found. They’re hiking toward us right now.”
Dane’s frown came lightning quick. “Why would he walk this way if the SUV was there and fully functional?”
“Yeah. That’s one of those questions we don’t have answers for. He could have fallen and hurt himself. Broken bones, head wound…all are possible reasons he didn’t return to the vehicle. The guys didn’t want to sit and do nothing and we know head wounds are tricky. If he tried to start the car and couldn’t, he might have figured he was stranded and this was the fastest way home.” She shrugged. “We don’t know much but couldn’t leave this option unexplored. The police are checking with the leasing company to retrace the SUV’s route. Maybe that will shine a little light on the mystery.”
Dane nodded. “Let’s hope so.”
The three studied the hill. “Stephen seems to think it was perfectly normal for Dr. Mike to have done the hike to see how difficult it might be, in consideration of the rest of us.”
“Is he a hiker or something?”
“A GPS buff, outdoorsman, hiker, mountain climber. Yeah, he’s very active.”
Dane pursed his lips. “When did they leave and how long are they expecting to be?”
Checking her watch, Meg said, “They left over an hour ago and we’re hoping to see or hear from them in another hour or two.”
Jade walked around the two of them and studied the hillside. “No sign of them yet.”
“They’ll be lucky to make it in that time frame. John and I have both been over that rise – a couple times, in fact.”
Jade spun to look at him. “Really?”
He nodded. “There are several big caves where an injured person could hole up overnight.”
“Is it a tough hike?” Jade felt immeasurably lighter now that she knew there was shelter of a sort. “Maybe we should check those out ourselves. The guys don’t know about them.”
Walking around, Dane pointed to a small rise. “That path comes out just behind the gravesite – and Peppe’s cabin, for that matter. Long ago, it was a common path from town to town, and when there was heavy flooding people took the hill paths.”
Meg wondered. “What’s the chance that Peppe and Dr. Mike are in the same place? If Dr. Mike found an injured Peppe…”
“Why don’t we go see?” Jade studied the path in front of them. “We can go up to the top and still keep an eye open for the men. The caves need to be checked out and the men don’t know to look for them.”
The two waited as Jade locked up the lab before they walked up to the gravesite together. Dane took them along the tree line, pointing out Peppe’s cabin in the trees.
Jade shaded her eyes from the sun as she studied the area. “It’s nice to see the trees here. I hadn’t realized, but Haiti’s got a huge issue in that area.”
“When Peppe was growing up this was a flourishing farm. Full of fruit trees, and they even grew coffee for a while. They were one of the first in this area to have running water and electricity. Now, the property is past its prime.”
“Why are there so few trees in Haiti?” Meg asked.
“So many were cut down for firewood. It’s actually a huge issue. There are many groups involved in tree planting here.”
“Firewood for cooking. Right. That’s another issue here, along with the lack of electricity and running water in most areas.”
“Exactly. John says there hadn’t been any money to sink into the property for a long time – but they tried different things. Peppe’s wife worked and that kept them floating. They put in the electricity when the hospital went in. Once she was gone…well it really fell down.” Dane kept to the left of the rock pile and they suddenly arrived at a path that wound its way up the hill. “Here it is. If they find the path and come this way, they shouldn’t run into any trouble.” Dane took the lead. “I wonder if Peppe is up there. He’s at home in this terrain. He wouldn’t think twice before going over that hill.”
A horrible thought slipped into Jade’s mind. “Dane, I hate to ask this… But is Peppe dangerous? Like if he came upon Dr. Mike, would he hurt him?”
Meg’s soft gasp told Jade she’d just followed her train of thought. Dane on the other hand stared at her in confusion. “I don’t think so, but I don’t really know.”
Jade swallowed. “I know it’s probably just my crazy imagination again, but we also found out that Susan, the other female team member had an intruder in her hotel room last night. While we were out, I think.”
Dane’s brows pulled together. “Did she recognize him?”
“No,” Meg piped up. “She could barely make him out in the shadows. She did have the lock checked and there was no sign of a break-in.”
He pulled out his cell phone “I can’t say I’m surprised. This economy has been struggling to recover. Crime is up. That you haven’t had any other problems, before now is what’s surprising. I’ll tell John what we’re doing.”
Jade continued up the hill, Meg right behind her. Dane caught up before they’d gone any distance. “John says he’ll give us five hours to locate Dr. Mike and then we’re to call him back, otherwise he’ll call the same officers you spoke with.” He grinned at the two women. “At least I get a chance to take you sightseeing! Maybe another time we can do another outing for fun?”
Meg smiled. “Sounds great. We haven’t done anything like this since arriving.”
“We went shopping,” protested Jade.
“Sure we did – once. Since then you won’t go back. Not after Magrim scared you. You believe her now, don’t you? There’s been nothing except bad things happening since she spoke to us.”
“Too many.” Jade shivered. “Thanks for that reminder.”
“True. Maybe we should talk to her again. She might foresee a better future for you now.”
Jade made a face, saying, “It would be hard to make it any worse.”
They’d been walking the whole time they’d been talking and now started up the incline. Dry needles crunched under their boots. They moved at a steady pace. The dust rose with each step an
d the bushes on either side of the path gave off an odd aroma when disturbed.
It wasn’t a steep incline. Just enough that Jade needed to focus on her pace and breathing. She hadn’t done anything remotely exerting in the last year and she didn’t want to slow the others down or be left to drag up the rear. She took a sip of water and kept an ear to the conversation.
Meg and Dane were discussing Seattle, of all things.
“Any idea how long you’re going to be here?” he asked.
“I think about six more weeks.” Jade shrugged. “Maybe longer.”
Meg piped up. “What about you, Dane? How long are you staying here?”
“A week ago, I’d have said a couple more months, now with the mess of John’s family and situation, I don’t know.”
That sobered the conversation.
“Any news about Tasha?” Meg asked.
After slugging back a hefty drink of water, Dane shook his head. “John’s tormenting himself over this. He knows she’d been bothered by something for a while; he put it down to the reopening of the grave. She increased her production of those little dolls and the tourist stuff she makes and sells. He thought she was trying to keep her mind off what we were doing and make extra money before the baby arrived.” He wiped his brow before continuing, “John says he can’t remember when he last felt the baby move. Tasha hasn’t been sleeping well. So John moved to the couch. Before then he used to sleep with his hands wrapped around her belly and could feel the baby turning around like it was doing yoga.”
“Is he blaming himself?” Jade wouldn’t blame him if he did. She’d probably feel the same way if she were in his position.
“Oh yeah. He’s worried that he missed something. Something – that if he’d seen it in time – would have saved them both.”
“That’s normal. He’ll move past it eventually and when he does, he’ll start the healing process.” Meg’s tone was gentle yet professional.
The group continued to climb as they talked. Jade listened, mostly. It was easier to climb that way.
“That may take a bit. There’s no change in Tasha’s condition and Emile has slipped again. I don’t know that he’s going to survive. If Tasha does recover, they aren’t going to be able to tell her about the baby right away for fear she won’t be able to handle the news.” Dane strode forward confidently, unaffected by the strenuous climb. “Honestly, I don’t know how John is handling this. It’s got to be tough. I know it would be tough on me.”
Meg nodded, sadness and compassion blending in her features.
Jade didn’t know how Meg could deal with people’s problems, to this extent, all the time. Jade couldn’t do it. “She’ll get over losing the baby. I know that sounds harsh and it’s way worse in that she was so far along in the pregnancy, however in time, women do recover.” At least she had. And now seeing Tasha lose hers, she realized time had helped. It’s not like she’d ever forget, but the pain had receded, softened. She’d moved on. “They have to grieve though. If they don’t, it’s harder to recover.”
Meg suggested, “That’s often the problem. They don’t go through the grieving process. Life stops for them.”
Jade agreed. She knew all about that. “I wonder how much of Tasha’s condition is genetic, considering her father.”
“It’s too early to know. First the doctors have to get her physically healthy. Hopefully her mental and emotional states will start to stabilize and strengthen as she starts to heal.”
Dane turned and asked, “And if it doesn’t? What’s there for her?”
“If she remains in a catatonic state. They’ll try different treatments as they attempt to bring her around. If nothing works, she’ll have to be institutionalized.”
Nice. John would go from being a proud papa-to-be with a beautiful young wife, surrounded by family, to being the only one left alive and sane. Not good. Hadn’t Dane said something about John struggling after losing his wife years ago? Tough to go through that again.
Jade wiped her forehead on her t-shirt. It was another gorgeous day in paradise and that meant the sun was intense right now. She hoped it would ease as they crested the next hill. She wished there were more shaded spots to take a break from the direct sunlight.
Meg seemed oblivious to the scenery. “I’m sorry for John. There’s no easy answer. It’s a waiting game.”
“And with everyone gone, he doesn’t feel like it’s his home anymore. It was Tasha and Emile’s home. They grew up in that house. Without them there, John says he feels like an interloper.”
They came upon a series of rocks, obviously walked on over the ages to the point that they were almost stairs cut into the hillside. Dane led, Meg came next and Jade walked the last of the line. She turned to look back. “Hey. You can see the gravesite from here.”
Meg joined her and stared over the open expanse of valley. With the blue sky, sunshine and a gentle breeze, it was almost perfect. “It’s beautiful, you know. It’s not such a bad place to be buried.”
“From the sounds of it, most of the bodies will be going back in there too. Susan said that they had so few people coming to look for remains of lost loved ones, she didn’t know why they were running the clinics.” Jade didn’t know how she felt about that.
“I imagine most people know their loved ones are here and are happy to leave them.” Meg smiled. “It’s a beautiful resting spot.”
“Hmm.”
They carried on for another twenty minutes and stopped for another breather and to enjoy the view. Jade couldn’t get enough of the valley scene. It was truly beautiful. The air was cleaner, fresher the higher they climbed. She took several deep breaths, enjoying the easing of the tension on her shoulders as she did. “Shouldn’t we have found them by now?”
“Not yet. Another hour maybe?”
“Why don’t we call them? Maybe they’re right around the corner,” Jade suggested.
Meg pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and called Bruce. The three of them stopped and waited. “It’s ringing but he’s not answering.”
“Then send a text,” Jade suggested. “That often works if you can’t get through. Could be the hill interfering with the signal too.”
With a shake of her head, Meg quickly tapped out a message. They kept walking upwards. “Dane, where are the caves?”
“We should see the first one in ten or fifteen minutes. A couple of them are quite big.”
“I suppose travelers would have been glad to have them too.” Jade didn’t think much of the idea though. All she could think of was that predators hid out in scary dark places.
They rounded a corner and came to a stop. Dane pointed off to the right. “Look part way up that hill, do you see the cave?”
Meg nodded.
“Is this the first one?” Jade studied the black crevasse in the wall slightly off to the left. “It’s a little hard to see if you don’t already know it’s there.”
“Approaching from this side, it is. There are more just ahead.”
Meg and Jade looked at each other then over at the cave.
“I’m going to check this one out. Just in case.” True to his word, he climbed to the opening in a few easy steps. He stared into it for a moment before disappearing into the yawning mouth. He reappeared within minutes to half step and slide his way back down to them. “Nothing in there. It’s small and empty.”
“Good. Let’s check the next one.”
Five minutes later, they approached the gaping black mouth of the second cave.
Jade couldn’t say why they all fell quiet. But they did.
Dane studied the large opening in the side of the hill. John had shown him the caves because they wanted to see if they’d sustained damage in the quake. To rule out that anyone had sought shelter in them. There’d been nothing unusual in any of them.
The path appeared well traveled. There could be any number of locals coming through here. Just because Emile and Tasha considered this their backyard didn’t mean it was.
With a glance toward the two women, he started toward the second cave. They stayed behind. Maybe it was due to their nervousness, but he approached warily. Large boulders sat piled high off to one side of the dark entrance as if from a cave-in. The opening was smaller than it looked. Bending over slightly, he peered in until his eyes adjusted to the darkness then he navigated to a spot further in.
Inside, he straightened slightly and surveyed the small open space that narrowed almost to a point at the back. The cave appeared empty. Large boulders dotted the floor and the light was dim but there was enough that he could see as he walked all the way to the back to make sure it was empty. He understood that the girls were looking for Dr. Mike, but he hadn’t been able to forget that this was actually Peppe’s backyard. The old man could have taken up residence anywhere here or been injured and lying wounded or dead inside. Dr. Mike, he’d have assumed would be close to the entrance if he were here, in the event help came along.
Not so in the case of the missing Peppe. Dane had the utmost respect for the medical profession yet when it came to mental instability, they often didn’t have any answers. Look at Tasha.
He gave the inside one more cursory glance.
“Dane? Is there anything in there?”
He headed back to the sunlight. “No, it’s empty.”
“Nothing in the back?” Meg asked, frowning.
“Not that I saw. And yes I walked right to the back.”
Jade stepped forward carefully. “I think I’d like to check it out. I’ve never really been in a cave like this.”
Dane stepped aside as Jade bent down and walked past him. He followed.
She glanced around and walked to the far back. “It really goes deep, doesn’t it?” She peered into the darkness. “Did you say there was a third cave? We’ve checked two. Might as well take a look at the last one.”
“Sure, it’s only a minute or so away. Come on.”