by Dale Mayer
Dane nodded. He didn't think there'd be any change but didn't want to mention that. Temper was better than depression. Some seriously hard questions would need to be addressed soon, though.
Together they strode over to Peppe's cabin. The door was closed. Like they'd left it.
John pushed open the door. Dane stayed well back until the interior had freshened slightly with the open door.
"Peppe? Are you in here?"
There was no answer.
John called out as he entered. "It's empty. Doesn't look like he's been here recently either."
Dane stood by the entrance. "Can you tell if anything is missing? Like could he have come home for supplies and then taken off again?"
"What supplies? The guy doesn't have much."
"Not having much usually means that the little bit you do have is important."
John shook his head and walked back out, pushing Dane outside ahead of him. He closed the door behind them and stood staring out across the land. "Dane, what the hell have I done so wrong in my life that this is happening to me?"
Dane's heart ached. "I don't think you did anything. Your wife has a delicate mind and recent events may have been too much."
John bowed his head. "I guess that's the easiest way to put it."
They wandered the acreage. Dane wanted John to talk. He didn't want to say the wrong thing. He knew John would button up again if he did.
John spoke before Dane had to push the issue.
"She's been so weird since her pregnancy and then that damn grave business started. You'd have to agree she'd been her normal sunny or ordinary self before that. Sure, she had bad days and was grouchy a couple of times but nothing like this. She didn't like the size she was getting but she adored the baby. She acted like I would have expected. But you've seen her yourself this last month. There was something really wrong there."
"I figured it was the pregnancy and the grave business?"
John sighed. "So did I. For a while I wondered if her superstitious beliefs were right – about opening of the grave being an omen of bad things to come. Only I'm not superstitious. She is. She asked her priestess for help several times. And it's when the team arrived and she knew that everything was going ahead that she started going downhill. Faster."
Dane shook his head at the word priestess. Instead of speaking, he stomped on his prejudice. John needed his support, not his questions.
John stood silent, thinking. "I'm afraid she might have done something that accidentally caused the death of the baby." He spun around to face his brother, obviously upset. "I don't want to think that. But I can't help but wonder."
"Whoa. Stop right there. You just said she loved the baby." He reached out and shook his brother's shoulders. "Right?"
Relief lit up John's face. "Yes. She was happy…was looking forward to the baby's arrival."
"Here's what I'm thinking. She knew that something was wrong inside. She couldn't handle it and probably started blaming everything on the mortuary team opening the grave."
John asked hopefully, "Do you think that could be it?"
Gently, Dane said, "Makes sense to me."
John blinked several times. "Thanks. I hope you're right."
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Jade and Meg didn't waste any time at the hotel. More worried than she wanted to be, Jade scrounged up stuff to take with her for a longer wait, then changed into jeans and the light work boots she used at the gravesite. She stuffed her pockets with snacks. Filling a couple of water bottles finished the job.
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 here. 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 his SUV. 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 others don't know about the caves and they need to be checked out."
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 with Emile, 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 less serious reasons?"
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 and 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 right now either. 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 ag
es 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 not a bad place to rest."
"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?"