by Rebecca York
"I think a doctor ought to check us over. And... and I think the
people around here ought to be warned to stay away from the area."
'Yeah.
As the Rover sped along, Abby slumped in her seat, sick and shaky, and
wishing she could filter out her nervous reaction so she could judge
the real state of her health.
They'd been exposed to something, but only briefly.
They didn't know when Oliver had picked up his cargo, so he might have
been in contact with the stuff for weeks or months.
The same was true for the jungle around the temple.
How long would it have taken for the monkeys to die and the vegetation
to turn brown?
What was a safe level of exposure?
A safe distance away for humans?
Would she and Steve start coming down with symptoms in a little
while?
Or had they escaped infection?
Steve reached over and stroked his hand against her cheek.
She turned her face and pressed her lips against his knuckles.
"I wish I'd left you at the hotel."
"I'm glad you didn't. But I'll feel better when we find out what's in
the temple," she murmured.
"Can we assume it's whatever weapons Oliver shipped for the I]LA?"
Steve shook his head.
"I wish to hell we could. But if he was stupid enough to, get in the
arms business, it could be something for another customer."
"We've got to find out what it is and how to handle it." I wonder if I
can get a decontamination suit in Delhi," he mused.
"What do you know about decontamination suits?"
"Not much. Just that they exist."
"Steve, you're not going in there until we make sure it's safe."
"Somebody has to-" Abby swung toward him, her fingers clamping down on
his shoulder.
The vehicle swerved, and he eased up On the accelerator.
"Steve, Oliver is dead. The jungle around that temple is dead. It was
one thing for us to innocently start up that road. But now we know
exposure to that place is toxic. If you're thinking about risking your
life, remember that it's not going to help Shannon."
He sighed.
"You're right."
Abby slowly let out the knife-sharp breath she'd been holding.
"Maybe the first thing we ought to think about is an autopsy of
Oliver's body, to see if there are any poisons or bacterial agents in
his system."
"Yeah."
Steve's eyes narrowed as he squinted into the sunset.
"Now what are you thinking?"
He sighed again.
"That we have a very sticky problem here. It looks like we've got a
public health hazard in the jungle. But if the ILNs stuff is stored in
the temple, we can't take a chance on having the authorities clear out
the place. If they confiscate the contents they'll probably destroy
them. That would be putting Shannon's life in jeopardy."
"So what do we do?"
Abby's question came out high and reedy.
"There's a doctor in town about twenty-five kilometers from here.
Dr. Raj Sunduram. He treated Oliver for a gunshot wound once without
reporting it to the authorities."
"Why?"
"Money, for one thing. A lot of the people around here are very poor,
and he takes care of their medical needs for free. Which means he's
chronically short of cash. But I think he's also got a sense of
adventure. He used to ask us to stop by and spend the evening so he
could hear about our more colorful exploits."
Abby was intrigued by Steve's description of the man, but she knit her
fingers together in her lap as she considered asking for Dr. Sunduram's
help.
She hadn't bargained on putting anyone else's life in danger.
And that wasn't the only stumbling block.
"How well do you know him? I mean, what will he do for money? Will he
betray us for a price?"
Steve looked thoughtful.
"You're right. Trusting him is taking a risk. But from what I know
about him, I think he'll be more likely to help if we tell him
everything."
"You mean about Shannon?"
"Yeah."
"Oh, Steve. The note said-" "I know."
He cut her off.
"Unfortunately, this is something we can't handle alone. We've got to
trust someone."
Abby nodded.
But as the last rays of the sun glinted off the windshield, she sat
rigidly in her seat- trying to picture Raj Sunduram, trying to figure
out how he'd react to Steve Claiborne and his wife appearing out of
nowhere with a desperate problem.
ABBY SMOD several feet behind Steve, arms clenched at her sides, as he
knocked on the doctor's door.
During the forty-minute drive, she'd grabbed for a familiar image and
imagined the physician would look a little like Omar Sharif.
As he stood in the open doorway she saw that only his eyes resembled
the actor's.
In reality, he was a short, balding man with a round face and dark,
liquid eyes fringed by dark lashes.
Steve had told her he'd gotten his medical training in Scotland.
As he ushered them into the white stucco house, Abby found that his
British-Indian accent was tinged with the faintest hint of a brogue.
If they'd been in the living room of their Baltimore home, the
combination would have amused her.
He shook hands with her warmly, yet his gaze was appraising.
Then he turned back to Steve.
"I'd like to think you flew here from America to surprise an old
friend. But I have the feeling you've come to me with a problem," he
said.
"Yes," Abby answered.
"Well, then, come in. Sit down and be comfortable.
Luckily, I'm not seeing patients this evening," he said as he ushered
them into a cluttered roomful of carved chests, brass tables, and
overstuffed sofas and chairs.
The chests and tables would have fetched a fortune in a Howard Street
antique shop.
The upholstered pieces looked like flea market castoffs.
Abby sank onto one of the sofas.
The ancient cushions were lumpy, but not uncomfortable.
"So what can I do for you?"
Dr. Sunduram inquired as he took a seat opposite.
Steve gave Abby a quick look, and she nodded.
In a clipped voice, he began a concise explanation of what had happened
over the past week, and she realized he must have been silently
preparing what he was going to say while he was driving.
When he'd finished, the physician's expression was unreadable.
"What do you want from me?"
Abby tried to swallow and found her throat was too dry.
Steve got up, paced to the window, and turned around.
"For starters, it would help if you could tell us about the state of
Oliver's health when he took his life.
When was the last time you saw him?
"I'm sorry. It's been at least three months. I was starting to wonder
if he'd gone out of town. I take it you think he may have been exposed
to whatever is in the temple?"
"Yes " We may have been, also," Abby broke in." And it could be
contagious- If you want us to leave, just say so.
But.
but I'd appreciate your not telling the authorities about Shannon.
"I'm not planning to send you away-or put your daughter's life in
jeopardy," he answered mildly.
"I was just thinking about the best way to have the body brought here
so I can give you some answers."
" I'm sorry, " Abby murmured.
" I'm - " "Worried about your daughter, " he finished for her.
"And your own health' Abby nodded.
He gave her a sympathetic look, and she was suddenly conscious of how
she must appear.
Pale.
Drawn.
Disheveled.
He rose from his chair.
"Come along to the surgery.
I'd better give both of you a physical examination, although I won't be
able to tell you much until I do some lab work.
" -.I.: " I understand," Abby said as she followed him down the ball to
another wing of the house. They assed through a waiting area and half
a dozen examination cubicles.
Abby winced as he began to listen to her heart.
"Do your breasts hurt?"
"Yes."
"It would be easier for you if you let your milk supply dry up.
"I know, but I'm going to nurse Shannon again.
When we get her back," she said fiercely.
"You have shown a lot of courage, making the trip out here."
"I couldn't sit at home-not knowing. And ... and needed to be with
Steve."
The physician nodded as he began to examine Abby's eyes and ears.
Then he tested her reflexes.
"Well, everything checks out normally so far," he reported a few
minutes later.
Some of the tension went out of Abby's shoulders.
After taking a blood sample, Dr. Sunduram opened the door.
"Steve, we're ready for you now."
There was no answer.
"Steve?"
Abby called.
After several tense seconds of silence, she slid down from the table,
pushed past the doctor, and ran toward the room where they'd been
sitting.
It was empty.
"Steve? Where are you?" she called again.
With a frisson of panic, she looked out the window toward the spot
where they had parked.
The Range Rover was missing, too.
Irrationally, Abby threw open the door and rushed outside into the
twilight.
But the vehicle was definitely gone.
There wasn't even a cloud of dust lingering in the rutted access
road.
"STEVE left US A NOTE."
Raj Sunduram held out a lined sheet obviously torn from a small
notebook.
Snatching the paper from the physician's hand, she moved back into the
light and scanned the hastily scrawled words.
"He's gone back to Oliver's house to do a more thorough search," she
repeated ' aloud, and then crumpled the sheet in her balled fist.
"Come and sit down, Mrs. Claiborne. Steve will be back as soon as he
finishes."
"Do you have a car? Can you drive me there?"
"Steve didn't wish you to go with him."
"But-" "Please. Be logical. Your husband left you here because he
wants to keep you safe."
Abby stood for several more moments, staring out the door and down the
road.
She'd asked Steve not to do anything foolish.
He'd gone off to do just that-as soon as he'd found a good place to
leave her.
Anger welled up inside her.
Anger mixed with equal parts fear.
Yet she knew the doctor was right.
Steve had put himself in jeopardy, which meant she couldn't.
Her shoulders slumped as she turned.
"Let me see what the cook left for dinner."
"I can't eat."
"Your body is expending large amounts of energy producing milk. If you
don't want to make yourself sick, you must eat."
The words brought a tight feeling to Abby's breasts.
She knew the doctor was right, but she didn't know how she was going to
choke anything down.
He led her along a hallway.
toward a kitchen that looked like a set -for a 1940's movie and pulled
out a chair at a Formica-topped table.
"Do you drink lassi?"
Abby nodded.
A glass of the sweetened yogurt drink appeared in front of her.
She sipped it slowly, hardly tasting the tart flavor.
It was the same with the vegetarian dishes Sunduram brought to the
table.
They could have been made of straw for all Abby cared.
But she did manage to swallow some of the food.
"It might help you to talk about the things that are troubling you,"
the doctor observed after Abby had declined a cup of cardamom-flavored
tea.
She gave him a half smile.
"That's usually my line."
"Oh?") " I'm a psychologist.
I try to get my patients to talk about what's bothering them.
He smiled back.
"Because you know the benefits."
She closed her eyes for a moment, thinking of what she might say to
this stranger who had put her at ease so quickly.
Then the truth came tumbling out.
The truth she hadn't quite dared articulate-even to herself.
"It's not just Shannon. It's everything. God, I was feeling so smug
about my life, so safe and secure. I'd gotten everything I always
wanted. Marriage to the man I loved.
A baby on the way.
My career.
" She gulped." Only it's all blown up in my face.
And I-I can't handle it.
"Who could?"
"I'm not just frightened for my daughter," she whispered.
"That would be bad enough. But I'm frightened for me and Steve, too.
We met right after his sister died, when he came back to Baltimore to
find out what had happened to her. I fell in love with him then.
But taking the chance of loving someone was a big risk for him.
"Yes. I remember what he was like. -He's changed a lot. And you're
obviously responsible."
"I knew being married to him wouldn't be easy. But, God, I never
thought our relationship would be under this much stress! This is the
kind of crisis that tears husbands and wives apart."
"Or it reinforces the bond between them."
"The stress didn't start with the kidnapping. Shannon was born eight
weeks early. I was so worried about my baby that I spent almost every
waking moment at the hospital. And while I was wrapped up with
Shannon, I wasn't thinking about much of anything else."
It was several seconds before she continued.
"The doctor told me we could bring Shannon home, and I knew I had
another chance to make things work out right for the three of us. Then
... then we got to the hospital, and Shannon wasn't in her little
bed."
"She was snatched away from you when you were already at your most
vulnerable."
Abby had been staring over the doctor's right shoulder.
She brought her eyes back to his.
"I hadn't thought about it like that."
"No, you don't have enough perspective to see how courageous you
are."
"I-I'm just trying to get my daughter back!
"Yes. So here you are halfway around the world. In a village
in the
back of beyond, and - " The sound of an engine outside made Abby jump
up before the doctor could finish his sentence.