Touched by Death

by Dale Mayer

  "If this is full, we may not have enough supplies." Bruce jotted down a few notes.

  "We can get more, if necessary. I'm concerned about getting mobile labs. It would be less disturbing if we could work here on site, otherwise we're going to have to look at moving the bodies closer to town." Dr. Mike wandered the area. He studied the size and scope of the grave.

  "We've got several sites in town scoped out, depending on our needs. And we may need to use all of them. Depends on the number of bodies. After all this time, the skeletons should be clean. But we won't know for sure until we open the grave."

  Jade said, "I don't know how feasible this would be, but one or two reefer trucks could work well. We don't want to disturb the locals any more than we have to. The temperature can be adjusted as needed and it's a lockable mobile storage solution. If the bones are clean – and we won't know until we start – then storage won't be a problem. The remains can be kept in boxes in the reefer."

  Bruce considered the options. "Tony has ordered body bags over boxes, considering the unknown state of the bodies. The clearing is tight but not impossible. At least one truck could be backed in there."

  Body bags were more expensive but as cost wasn't an issue, she'd be happy to have them. Honestly, she could work with either. "Our labs could be along the same lines. ATCO trailers come to mind."

  "That's what we used in Katrina," Meg said, her hands on her hips, considering the issue.

  Bruce glanced at the clipboard in his hands. "We do have the use of a lab trailer used by past medical teams."

  Knowing she had little to do with their setup's where and how, Jade clambered over the rock pile to read the inscription on the cross. Her French sucked. Meg hopped up beside her and translated it. "To those who have gone this road before," she read aloud. "Weird."

  "Different, certainly." Dane climbed across the rocks to stand on a large boulder and survey the rubble. "You're going to need some heavy equipment," he suggested.

  "That could be fun. The town is strapped as it is." Jade wandered past several wreaths to another cross with the same inscription. Dane stayed where he was, but she felt his gaze on her back as she wandered.

  "True, except there's equipment available, if you know where to look."

  She glanced at him. "Like from you? I believe you said you're in construction," she said politely.

  Bruce joined them. Jade turned around to see Stephen and Wilson, the lab techs who doubled as computer geeks and laborers, walking back toward the path. "I think the question was lost earlier, so I'm going to ask again. Do you know who buried these people?" Bruce asked.

  Dane fisted his hands on his hips. "Herman, a local, ran the loader that made the trips here from the clearing and my brother helped as well. Herman committed suicide a month later and my brother's had a hard time ever since and refuses to talk about that time of his life. I'd like to avoid bringing him in on this, if possible. As I mentioned his wife is very against this project."

  "Would you know how deep they buried them?"

  Dane shook his head. "No. If it were me, I'd probably start at the path and work in from the side. The original cave-in couldn't have been too deep or big."

  "That means there's probably no organization in the grave."

  Jade hunched her shoulders. The bodies would have been tossed and crisscrossed as they landed. They could be dealing with one, to ten at a time. "If we work in from one spot instead of trying to expose the top of the grave, we might have better control on how many are exposed at one time."

  "Except they'd just keep coming…and we'd have no way to know if we were gaining enough ground or if another year could be required. In fact, I think Tony, our boss back in Seattle anticipated some sort of organization to the burials. Men to one side, children with mothers...that sort of thing."

  "Not from the little bit of information I've managed to get out of my brother. It was tough. The bodies were collected throughout town by trucks – brought here, loaded in the tractor bucket and dumped."

  Jade nodded. "That's fairly typical. The town was lucky to have those two men take on the job. It's a hard thing for anyone to do."

  Bruce put away his clipboard. "Let's head back to town. I need to make some calls and see what we can do to get this moving forward. Jade, what about you? Any thoughts?"

  "I think, if possible, we need to leave the space as close to the same condition we found it. It's not going to be possible to replicate placement of the rocks and the flowers that are going to be destroyed. If I photograph the area before we start we can replace any items when we're done."

  "Once we get into this job, everything is going to look different. Pictures would be helpful," Meg piped up, studying the grave.

  "They are necessary actually. We always document everything before, during and after." Bruce motioned to the grave. "I'd appreciate it if you'd do the photography as it would save me a job. Try to be methodical and be sure to do several panoramic pictures. So we can lay the photos out and see everything displayed at once. We might use the digital ones for mapping a grid even."

  That made sense. Jade unpacked her Canon SLR and set about checking the light. She'd been into photography for years. Her hobby might help her get through the coming days.

  The two team leaders left in one SUV; the others stayed on site.

  Jade lost herself in her art. Click. Twisting and turning. Click. Turning slightly again. Click. She regulated her movements and took shot after shot as she systematically covered the burial site. The cross. The wreaths. Another smaller wreath off to one side – older and mostly destroyed by the weather.

  She went closer. Click. Walked close enough to lean over it and took a picture of the inscription, recognizing it as a repeat of what was on the other one.

  For all those who have gone before. Again. Now how weird was that? Maybe it was a common saying over here. It wasn't one she recognized, although it reminded her of an old Star Trek saying from TV. She grinned at her fanciful thought and continued to shoot the area.

  "Are you done?"

  Startled, she spun around and lost her footing. She ended on her backside, on a pile of small rocks. "Ouch."

  "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." Dane stood above her, a large capable hand outstretched to help her to her feet. "Are you okay?"

  "I'm fine." She scrambled up, ignoring his hand and gave him a reassuring smile as she stepped onto another rock, slightly further back. "Rough ground, that's all."

  "Plus you were focused on your pictures. Did you find anything interesting?"

  "Another cross, although it's older than that one." She pointed to the big one ahead. "Or made out of older wood?" she suggested.

  "True enough. Supplies being short as they were, I'm sure everything was commissioned into use."

  She watched Dane bend down and read the inscription. "Interesting saying. I can ask Tasha, my sister-in-law, if she knows it. It might have special meaning to the region."

  "Better ask someone else. She might get a tad upset considering it's on this grave."

  Dane winced. "Her brother works for me. I'll mention it to him."

  Jade finished taking the pictures. She'd snapped her way through several hundred without even thinking about it. Chances were she'd only keep a couple dozen or crop out portions of some others. Thank heavens for the digital age.

  Finished, she clambered down the rocks to where Dane and Meg were now talking. She swiped her cheeks and forehead on her sleeve. The heat would take some adjusting to. "I think that's got it."

  "Good. Let's get to the hotel and check in. The others left already."

  "Isn't it lunchtime soon?" Jade complained, her stomach rumbling on cue.

  "Yes, and we'll need hours to set up and consider how we want to establish a grid. We can check in, grab lunch and come back later if need be."

  "Good.
Hopefully, they'll be able to find a small loader. At least to take a layer off the top and to open one side. That's probably the best way to start, but––"

  "That's in an ideal circumstance – which this isn't. A secondary grave is another option. I'll mention it to Dr. Mike and Bruce."

  "It would be cheaper if the numbers get out of hand."

  Dane walked beside them to the SUV. "Tell Bruce, if he can't find a loader, I can rent him one of mine for a couple days – to get started."

  Meg smiled. "Thank you. That's very helpful." She hopped in and closed the driver's door. Jade walked around, giving Dane a wide berth, and opened the passenger door. As she jumped in, she realized she'd lost her lens cap. She looked back frantically as Meg started the SUV.

  Dane held it out. "Here. You dropped this."

  "Thanks." She closed her door, and reached her hand through the window.

  He dropped the cap into her palm. Their fingers brushed together ever so slightly. Energy sparked, like a static shock.

  Startled, she pulled her fingers back and stared at him in surprise.

  He grinned. "See you later."

  Meg reversed the SUV and turned it around then headed back into town.

  Jade refused to look over her shoulder at him as they drove away.

  But she wanted to.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  "Jade? Hey, are you okay?" Meg poked Jade's jean-clad leg as she drove the SUV away from Dane.

  "I'm fine." Jade gave her a wan smile, hating the tiredness sliding through her body. She needed her strength back fully to deal with the job ahead. And she knew stress from the thought of coming back was the root cause. Food would help. And a good night's sleep. "I got a shock from his hand when he gave me the cap."

  Meg, her gaze back on the road, gave a half snort. "Not surprised. He couldn't take his eyes off you."

  Jade snickered. "I doubt it. He was just being polite."

  "Uh, uh. No way. That man is seriously hooked on you. His reaction was bad ass."

  "Wow." Jade laughed, her spirits brightening. "I'd expect to hear something like that from a teenager. Sounds a little odd coming from you."

  Meg relaxed slightly, the smile on her face natural and cheerful. "That's my inner child. Actually I can probably blame my nephews for corrupting me. They're all of thirteen and fifteen, and are they a handful."

  Sinking deeper into the SUV cushions, Jade smirked. "Sounds about right. Kids are good for your soul."

  "True enough. I'm just not ready to stop gallivanting around the world long enough to have any of my own. What about you?"

  Jade's heart froze. A question she hadn't expected – but should have. Any one of the team might have asked this personal question and she should have prepared an answer.

  Coughing slightly to cover her pause, she tried to joke about it. "No father to donate."

  "I hear you. Who wants to be a single mother in today's world?" She tossed a wide grin at Jade. "I'm thinking Dane could be interested in that position."

  Shaking her head, Jade let Meg ramble into a tale about her sister's first marriage that ended in divorce.

  This area of Haiti was new to her but it resembled every other part she'd visited. The same broken buildings dotted the landscape, the same weeds crept between fallen chunks of cement and people navigated around as well as they could. The same poverty coated the country, even here. So accustomed to the devastation, most people no longer noticed the state of their lives.

  Sad, but also reassuring. Life did carry on – in spite of everything. "People are resilient, aren't they?"

  Meg glanced at her curiously. "That they are. Haiti is slowly recovering." She pointed to a group of laughing teens standing beside a broken wall. "Look at them. They're moving forward, finding a new normal in spite of what they've been through."

  "Hmmm. I found it hard enough to deal with life after being here last time. I came over on a mortuary team after the big quake. I thought long and hard before taking this job."

  Meg smiled in understanding. "It would have been harder to adapt to the abrupt change from one situation to another. Staying here day in and day out, this would have quickly become 'normal.' For you the contrast would have been unbearably hard to deal with."

  "You have so got that right. What are you, a shrink?"

  "Not really. However, understanding human psychology is paramount in my work." Silence filled the cab for several minutes as Meg pulled the SUV into the hotel parking lot. "Coming here was probably one of the smarter things you've done, you know."

  Gathering her purse and camera, Jade paused to look at her. "How so?"

  "Because you'll find closure this time." With that parting shot, she hopped out of the SUV and slammed the door.

  Jade followed slowly. Closure would be good – on many fronts.

  ***

  Dane struggled to like his sister-in-law. He could give her some leeway because she was pregnant. A little more leeway for being upset over the current set of events with the grave, but how much leeway did she get before she came under the heading of disgruntled witch?

  He was trying, honestly he was. He'd wanted to love her, to feel secure about John's future with her. Right now, every minute he spent with her, she grated on his nerves something awful. He should move into town, give them more space. Living in the cabin at the back of the property and having most meals with them was too close – for everyone.

  Knowing Tasha and John wouldn't notice, he grabbed his coffee and slipped out to the patio to enjoy the cooler evening air. The sounds of their argument followed him.

  "I don't care how logical it is. I don't want you to have anything to do with it. It's not safe. For you or for me."

  "Tasha, I've gone over this several times. There's nothing dangerous in what they're doing. It's perfectly safe."

  "Waking the dead is dangerous. This isn't just about you. You're putting me and the baby at risk – not to mention Peppe and Emile."

  John, weary but so patient that Dane had to give him kudos for super human effort, said, "I'm also not helping them. Dane is going to rent them a piece of equipment. That's all."

  "And that's too much," she complained.

  Dane turned and strolled down to his cabin. He'd heard enough. She could argue all she wanted but he had no plans to rescind his offer to Bruce. He understood the pain and the trauma on both sides. That wasn't going to stop the job from happening, so he might as well help so it could be completed faster. Then everyone would get what they wanted.

  The deal was done.

  Besides, he wanted to get to know Jade better.

  ***

  Four days of running around, trips back and forth, problems and tech trouble… Finally, it was the day.

  Jade stood off to one side and watched as Dane navigated his smallest loader through the small spindly trees to the gravesite. He'd wanted to be the one driving, in order to minimize the environmental damage. He had a good crew working for him, however he insisted this location required his delicate touch.

  It took two tries to navigate one corner to avoid having to cut down a tree. Trees were no longer an abundant resource in Haiti and every one was precious. He backed up and wiggled the large machine and as delicately as diapering a baby he maneuvered her to the right angle and swung right, onto the straight path.

  Nice.

  Jade watched him carefully take the machine to where the rocks met the path before shutting it down.

  "Are we ready?" he asked without getting out. "Has everything been logged, photographed and removed?"

  Bruce walked over and hopped onto the machine to speak to him. Heads bent together as they discussed the plan of attack. Jade knew it would take the bulk of the day to remove the top layer off this portion of the grave. At that point, Dane would open a ten-foot-wide working space from the path side, and they'd work left to
right until they ran out of bodies. At which point they'd move into the hill to look for the last of them.

  She knew all that but it didn't settle her nerves at this point. Four of the team were scheduled to have the day off and no one had taken it – they'd all showed for this symbolic beginning.

  Dr. Mike climbed on top of the grave, as high as he could stand against the hillside and started work on the project with a prayer. Everyone bowed their heads. Jade found herself repeating his words quietly in her head. Amen.

  Dane started the loader.

  It took almost an hour for him just to get a few buckets off the top. Meg wandered over to where Jade stood. "I'm going to head into town for lunch. How about joining Susan and me for a girls' afternoon of sightseeing and shopping? There's nothing we can do here. Not today and most likely not until late tomorrow – if then."

  It was a good idea. A little light relief before the real work started tomorrow. "Now that sounds great."

  With a wave of her hand to the men, Jade followed Meg and Susan. She could really use some lightweight work clothes. She'd forgotten how badly the heat affected her here. T-shirts and shorts were the uniform of choice; a half dozen of each would be perfect.

  The women headed to the Iron Market and the few shops open along the way. The elegant mansions and townhomes spoke of days gone by. Once glorious in their regal bearing and bright colors, these buildings had taken a major knock from Mother Nature. Still, even with the damage from the earthquake, Jacmel was a tourist destination like no other. At least here, there were obvious revitalization attempts happening to get the city back on its feet.

  The afternoon zipped by at a rapid pace – full of shopping, laughter and fun as the women ran from shop to shop and stall to stall buying a few items to make their job a little brighter and more comfortable. Jade was delighted to find several brightly colored t-shirts and cotton pants in a beige-khaki color. They would withstand a lot of wear and tear. At one brightly festooned stall, she found several hair clips big enough to hold her heavy blond hair off her neck.