by Irene Brand
“Mrs. Cooper’s husband was killed in a boating accident off the coast of South America twenty years ago. He was sailing with a friend, Ryan Bledsoe. The wreckage of the sailboat washed ashore in the Antilles, but neither of the bodies was found. They were presumed dead. In my recently published article on the scientific expedition here on the continent, Mrs. Cooper saw a picture of a man she believes is the one who accompanied her husband on that boating trip.”
Simon Sebastian looked at Laurel appraisingly before his eyes shifted back to Micah.
“After I talked with the scientist who headed our expedition, he told me the name of the man, and that he lives in Venezuela. Although he has a home in Caracas, the housekeeper told me this morning that he’s in the jungle and won’t be back for a few months. We want to see him. Mrs. Cooper is most anxious to see if he is her husband’s friend, and if he knows what happened to her husband. His name is Kenneth Morrow, although that wasn’t the name Mrs. Cooper knew him by. Can you help us find him?”
Mr. Sebastian’s white teeth flashed in a large grin. “Yes, but I’m not sure I should. When he goes into the jungle, he doesn’t want to be disturbed.”
“You know him?” Micah said, startled by his statement.
“Why, yes, he’s chairman of the board of Allied Petroleum.”
Micah half rose from his chair. “It can’t be the same man. The man I photographed was the camp flunky.”
“Which probably was Señor Morrow. He says the only way he can keep sane in this rat race business world is to lose himself for a few months in the jungle, mostly in the village of Twanke.”
Concern mirrored on his face, Micah turned to Laurel. “If he’s off with another expedition like ours, we won’t be able to follow him, Laurel. For weeks at a time, we didn’t have contact with the outside world.”
Micah looked disappointed, and Laurel knew she was. “We can’t stay here for weeks,” she said.
“I know, but he may be in the village.” Micah turned to the other man. “Simon, I’m going to make a request, and if it violates company policy, don’t hesitate to say so. If you’re sending a supply plane to your Orinoco River drilling site soon, would there be room for Laurel and me to catch a ride that far? From there, we can probably hire some guides to take us by boat into the jungle. If we can’t find Morrow, we’ll return home, knowing that we’ve at least tried.”
With a knowing glance from Micah to Laurel, Simon smiled broadly, saying, “And finding out what Morrow knows is of utmost importance to you, no?”
“Of utmost importance,” Micah replied. “I want Laurel to marry me, but she won’t commit until she knows what really happened to her husband.”
“We have a helicopter leaving for the camp early tomorrow morning. And not only will I arrange passage for you, but when you get to the camp, I’ll order two of our native workers to take you and Mrs. Cooper in a motor launch to the village.”
“Will this make trouble for you?”
“Señor Morrow is a reasonable man. If he’s the one you’re looking for, I believe he would want to help you.”
Simon moved to his desk and made two telephone calls, speaking in Spanish, so Laurel didn’t understand what he said. When he terminated the last conversation, he said, “You’re to be at the company’s landing field west of the city by seven o’clock tomorrow morning. You know where it is, no?”
Micah nodded.
“I’ll send written orders for your transportation to Twanke. Take what you need for an overnight stay. I don’t know how long it will take to reach the village, and even if you see Mr. Morrow right away, you won’t get back to our camp in time to return to Caracas tomorrow night.”
“Do you have helicopters back and forth to the camp every day?”
“Not always, but the chopper that takes you will remain until you’re ready to return.”
Micah shook hands with Simon before they left, and Simon bowed to Laurel. She extended her hand, and he surprised her by lifting her hand to his lips and brushing it lightly with his lips. “I’ll expect an invitation to the wedding,” he said, smiling broadly.
Chapter Fourteen
Laurel wished they could have continued their journey immediately when it seemed there was a possibility of learning what really happened to Jason, but the day passed more quickly than she anticipated.
They took a cab to tree-shaded Plaza Bolivar, and Micah hired a guide to walk with them through the historic colonial district. Laurel learned a lot of Venezuelan history as they visited Simon Bolivar’s birthplace, the Capitol and the presidential palace. They appreciated the early efforts of Spanish missionaries after they visited the Basílica de Santa Teresa, with one facade dedicated to Saint Ann and the other to Saint Teresa. After lunch in a sunlit sidewalk café in the Sabana Grande district, Micah took her shopping.
Always mindful of her limited budget, Laurel did more looking than buying.
“I want to buy something for Debbie and the Howes,” she said. “What would be a typical Venezuelan gift?”
“I’m not an authority on souvenirs,” Micah said, “but we’ll look around.”
He took her into a shop offering gifts of all kinds—some imported items, but most of them made within the country. She passed by the jewelry, knowing she couldn’t afford that, and looked instead at the hardwood carvings, pottery and baskets. She liked them, but they would be too difficult to take home on the plane. She instead chose two woolen tapestries depicting Venezuelan native culture, which she could easily pack in her luggage.
While she shopped and finally made her purchases, Micah spent his time in the jewelry area. When she joined him, he was carefully inspecting a diamond ring in a white gold setting. The two-carat stone glistened like sun on fresh-fallen snow as Micah turned it in the light.
“The diamond was mined in this country. What do you think of it?”
Suppressing her natural instinct to exclaim over its beauty, she said quietly, “It’s very nice.”
His eyebrows arched provocatively. “Nice! Is that all you can say about it?”
“Yes.”
“Try it on,” he said, and she shook her head.
“You’re embarrassing me. I haven’t made any definite promises.”
“Not with your lips, perhaps, but your eyes have made many promises. And there’s no reason to be embarrassed. Most of these people don’t know what we’re saying.”
He took her left hand and slipped the ring on her third finger. “How does that feel?”
“Please don’t, Micah.”
“Just consider it a souvenir of our first trip together,” he said. “You’re not obligated any further than that.”
He handed the ring to the clerk, who’d been watching them closely, and said something in Spanish. The woman lifted Laurel’s hand and took the measure of her finger and made an observation. He took out his credit card and paid for the ring. Laurel turned her back, glad for once that she couldn’t understand Spanish. She didn’t want to know what it cost.
“It will be at least an hour before the ring is ready,” he said. “Anything else you want to buy?”
She shook her head. Micah took her package, saying, “Let’s find a cab and go to Mount Avila National Park. The mountain is over seven thousand feet above Caracas, and we can ride in a cable car to get a good view of the city.”
As they drove to the summit of the mountain, Micah knew that Laurel had exceeded his hopes as a good traveler. She hadn’t hesitated to do anything he’d suggested. He thought she might balk at riding in a chopper, but she hadn’t questioned it. She’d tried native foods and liked them, and even now, she perched on the edge of the seat and peered out the windows, unwilling to miss anything.
The cable-car ride was a short one, but it was wonderful to have a bird’s-eye view of Caracas. Laurel identified several of the places they’d visited earlier in the day.
The cab took them back to the jewelry store, and after she tried on the ring, Micah said, “I’ll ha
ve the clerk wrap the box, since you’ll have to wait a while to wear it. We’ll leave all of our jewelry, and most of our money, in the hotel’s safe tonight. You can wear your watch, but give me everything else of value, and I’ll put them in a leather container I have. They’ll be safer in the big safe in the office, rather than the small ones in our rooms.”
Laurel was glad he didn’t insist that she start wearing the ring immediately. Regardless of what they learned at the village, she couldn’t envision herself returning to Oaklawn with that huge diamond on her finger. For the first time, she wondered about Micah’s finances. She wouldn’t have thought that a freelance photographer journalist would make a whole lot of money, but Micah didn’t seem concerned about the cost of anything.
When they returned to their hotel rooms, Laurel realized that the day she’d been dreading had passed quickly. She took Micah’s hand. “You’re so good to me. I thought this would be a long day, but we’ve done so many interesting things I’ve seldom thought about what I might find out tomorrow. Thanks.”
“I’ve enjoyed the day as much as you have, so consider the experience as my desire to please you.”
“You have,” she said, as they continued to hold hands.
“Now tell me what I should wear tomorrow.”
He walked into the room with her.
“It will be hot and damp in the jungle, but you should wear long pants and a long-sleeved shirt or jacket. Pack an extra change of clothes and shoes in your small suitcase. We need to travel light. Take insect repellant, sunscreen and lotion, but forget about makeup.” He surveyed her soft complexion with a smile. “You don’t need it anyway. I’m not releasing the rooms, so leave anything you don’t want to take in your room.”
Laurel winced inwardly. She had seen the room rates on the doors. She was getting deeper and deeper in Micah’s debt.
“I’ll order a light breakfast delivered to our rooms at five. We have to be ready to leave the hotel at six. Since Simon’s doing us a favor, I don’t want to be late.”
Laurel moved close to Micah, and with a shy smile, put her hands on his shoulders and stood on tiptoes to kiss his cheek. “I’ve seen so little of the world that today has been an educational experience, but it’s been a fun day, too.”
Micah had been determined to keep their relationship light because he didn’t want Laurel to be concerned, but since she’d opened the door, his arms automatically went out and he pulled her into a strong embrace. She lifted her lips with a willingness that brought a yearning to Micah’s heart. He kissed the long lashes that shielded her eyes from his questioning gaze, then he trailed a row of kisses down her cheek. He stopped short of her lips, put her gently away from him and turned to the door.
“Is that the way you kiss your sisters?” she teased.
“No, but I might if they tempted me like you did.”
“I’ll be good from now on,” she said.
“Don’t bother. I like you the way you are.”
Because of the early hour and the lack of traffic, the cab ride to the airport wasn’t as harrying as the one the previous day. Laurel both anticipated and dreaded the journey ahead of her. For one thing, she’d noticed a bulge in Micah’s shirt, and he admitted that he was wearing a holstered gun. When she’d asked if he expected danger, he’d assured her that it was just a precaution against wild animals. She was convinced he wouldn’t take her into a place that was extremely dangerous, so she decided to take each new experience as it came. She was eager to ride in the helicopter and to see the rain forest, but she dreaded the outcome of the meeting with Kenneth Morrow.
One minute, she hoped he was Jason’s friend and could shed some light on the disappearance of her husband. Then immediately, she wondered if she should have left well enough alone.
When they arrived at the airport, little more than a landing strip with a few buildings and hangars, an American pilot, Sam, greeted them, took their luggage and handed it to a native worker. The helicopter was nearby, the chopper blades circling slowly, the engine sounding loud in the quiet of the morning. Red lights blinked on the top of the aircraft.
Laurel thought her face must mirror her trepidation because the pilot’s mouth twitched in a smothered smile, when he said, “Your first copter ride, ma’am?”
She nodded and darted a quick look at Micah, who also looked amused. Taking a deep breath, she managed a smile. “But I’m looking forward to it.”
Making no effort to conceal their amusement, Micah and the pilot laughed loudly. Refusing to take offense, Laurel laughed, too. “I am looking forward to it,” she insisted.
“Let’s go, then,” Sam said, and Micah and Laurel followed him. The wind generated by the big blades nearly swept Laurel off her feet, and she reached for Micah’s hand. He steadied her and assisted her up the steps into the helicopter. The co-pilot smiled at her when she sank breathlessly into a seat behind him. She and Micah were the only passengers, but the large aircraft was filled with boxes and cartons of provisions.
The noise of the engine increased as the copter lifted off the ground. In spite of the headsets they wore, Laurel soon realized that this flight wasn’t going to be as noiseless and smooth as their trip on the jet from Atlanta to Caracas. The copter flew close to the ground, and Laurel could see the terrain below them.
Micah leaned close to her and explained what they saw. They flew over tracts of virgin forests containing prime hardwood timber. Some forested areas had been denuded by slash-and-burn farmers from which nutrients were exhausted after only a few crops. Many acres had been cleared for cattle ranches, and Laurel saw white cattle grazing amid the skeletons of the old forest.
After more than an hour’s flight, Sam looked around at them and pointed downward, indicating they’d reached their destination. The clearing, full of drilling equipment and several buildings, was ringed by the forest. The drone of the chopper’s engine had caused Laurel’s ears to ring, and she was slightly dizzy when she walked down the steps. She gladly took hold of Sam’s hand as he reached out to steady her.
Sam directed them to the lounge of the administration building, and the business manager served them coffee and sent a co-worker to the kitchen in a separate building to fetch some sandwiches. Laurel looked around timidly for a restroom, but it must have been an all-male operation, because she didn’t see a separate restroom for ladies.
Laurel wondered if the manager had read her thoughts, because he said, “If you need to refresh yourselves, there’s a washroom at the end of this hall. Your boat is ready whenever you want to leave. Mr. Sebastian sent word to provide you with a boat, two guides, a hamper of food and sufficient water for several days. Is there anything else we can do for you?”
Micah assured the man that Mr. Sebastian had been very thorough in providing for their needs. Laurel was in a hurry to get on her way, but Micah knew the customs of the country, and he spent an hour eating and talking with the business manager.
The motor launch provided plenty of room for the four of them and their provisions. Micah put on a life jacket and helped Laurel into hers. He handed her a tube of insect repellent. “Put on a lot of it,” he said as he lavishly applied the cream to all his exposed body parts. They sat facing each other in the middle of the boat. One guide sat at the stern of the boat to operate it, while the other knelt in the front to spot any dangerous obstructions in the water.
Water churned behind them as the engine roared and the guide directed the boat into the water. Laurel held tightly to the side of the boat, but her eyes glowed with enjoyment.
The stream was narrow, and after a few miles, the jungle closed around them. The dense foliage made a canopy over their heads, shutting out the sunlight. Big tree ferns, some ten feet tall, stretched their long delicate fronds toward the sky. Many trees had thick roots spreading out from the base of the trunk. Large vines, climbing up the trees toward sunlight, helped to knit the canopy together. The trunks of some trees were so twisted that they seemed to be in agony, but a
long these branches grew ferns, orchids, mosses and dozens of other plant species. Some trees towered to a height of over two hundred feet, and the green foliage of their branches and treetops spread out like a huge umbrella to shade the forest floor. They traveled in semidarkness part of the time.
When Laurel’s eyes adapted to the strange light through the gaps in the foliage, she saw brightly plumed birds flying from tree to tree. Although at first the forest seemed quiet, Laurel’s ears soon became attuned to the drone of insects, the songs of smaller birds, and the incessant prattle of parrots. Long-tailed monkeys wrapped around tree trunks and watched the boat’s progress.
A brightly spotted jaguar lay on a branch over the river and scooped fish out of the water with its sharp claws. A lizard skimmed across the surface of the stream, rearing up on its hind legs and using its tail for balance. Turtles rested on semisubmerged tree trunks, and snakes slithered through the water, evading the boat.
Mile after mile, they saw nothing except the jungle, and Laurel’s eyes grew weary with all of the new sights. Micah watched her closely for signs of fear, and he saw none. He silently thanked God for her reaction to this new life. Adventure was in his blood, and he couldn’t be content to settle permanently within the narrow confines of Oaklawn. Laurel was obviously a suitable companion to share his adventurous life, and he prayed that what they learned today would give him the pleasure of introducing her to the wonders of the world he’d enjoyed.
Micah’s last doubt that Laurel would be a mate who’d share his adventures vanished. Pensively, he wished he’d found her years ago, and they could have had a lifetime together.
They traveled two hours before they came to the village of Twanke, located directly on the river. Laurel was amazed to see another motorboat similar to theirs. Micah thought belatedly that he should have prepared her for the village life they’d soon encounter.
The village consisted of huts built on strong stilts to protect them from the damp forest floor. Some of the buildings were enclosed with a framework of thin branches and a roof of thatched leaves. The larger buildings were communal huts where the preparation and consumption of food were held in common. Micah explained that the smaller, enclosed huts were dwellings, and that the village holdings probably extended several miles into the forest. Chickens and dogs wandered around the area.