Dr. Ewing turned to look squarely at Talia. “Mrs. Bradley, you, on the other hand, I am almost positive I can do something about. Back to your room. I have a proper examination table and equipment set up. Mr. Bradley, you should come along too. No sense wasting time explaining twice. I can just tell you both what I believe the problem to be.”
“These were simply contractions produced by an excessive amount of one of those natural substances you are so fond of consuming,” Dr. Ewing said when she had finished her exam. “Serious, but fortunately no lasting damage was done. I thought we talked about this. Ancient foods are healthy in theory but must be consumed with caution.”
“But I’ve been very careful about anything that could cause problems,” Talia protested. “Ever since you told me I was pregnant, I’ve studied side effects and avoided anything that seemed risky.”
“Yeah, she told me about that fenugreek the other night when we had that big dinner for the local people,” Keith added.
“And I’m sure someone heard you, and decided that would be an excellent way to shut down the survey trip, if they did not have that knowledge before,” Dr. Ewing said. “It’s tricky to test for supplements, so no one found it. Now it would be too late to find it in your system. The point is that, although you do have serious bruising and a little tearing, the internal damage is minor and had nothing to do with the contractions and bleeding. I want to believe this was done innocently, but thank heavens they did not manage to produce a miscarriage.”
“So Eva put fenugreek in something I ate? But I would taste it or see it,” Talia said.
“Eva is an accomplished chef. Remember, she does all the meal planning, or did, at the campground, and had an extensive knowledge of how to enhance or mask tastes,” Dr. Ewing replied. “Who better to add something to whatever you consumed that morning and wait for nature to take its course? If that didn’t work, she also gave you lunch, correct? All that to say this: You are no doubt sore and need time to feel less so, but there is no need for complete bed rest, because there is no ongoing danger to you or the baby. Dr. Cornell blustered and insisted I was wrong, but I came prepared to prove my point, and have seen nothing that makes me change my mind. Reasonable caution will see you up and around in a few days.”
“Thank you.” Talia started to cry again. Dr. Ewing leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. Talia stared wide-eyed at Keith and he just shrugged and grinned.
“A frightening few days for you, I’m sure,” Dr. Ewing said, straightening up. “Anytime you are ready to fly back to the states, that should be no problem. Oh, and the wheelchair is not necessary. Please do try to walk as much as you can.” She left without another word.
Chapter Seventy-three –Cara and the Truth About Eva
Eva Sanchez still had not been found a few days after Dr. Ewing’s visit. Keith and Talia decided it was time to get back to school. Drew informed them that Cara Townsend had left his employ, giving stress and burnout as a reason.
“All my employees sign a non-disclosure agreement,” he explained, “And I screen them as close as humanly possible. I pray she doesn’t reveal anything she knows about you folks. I know you have a trip planned with the school students in the spring, and we’ll keep our ears to the ground to make sure no information leaks between now and then. In the meantime, I suggest you travel home separately, have patience, and lie low, all of you.”
Keith and Talia made a long, roundabout journey back to the States. Joshua Bradley picked them up at the airport, and they finally collapsed in the Bradley living room. No one even bothered to turn on the lights, though it was past midnight when they made it home from the airport.
“These precautions your security man advised may have been necessary, but they certainly have left me a nervous wreck,” Joshua Bradley said. He settled into the armchair across from them. “I know you’re beat, but I need to know what happened on the trip. I’ve been imagining the worst in this radio silence.”
Talia started, Keith took over, and they switched off until the whole story was told. Joshua shook his head.
“Eva Sanchez. That is heartbreaking. She seemed like such a testimony to God’s healing power. Well … you two get some rest. My mother has demanded that you come and see her tomorrow – or, rather, today – even if I have to drag you there. Good thing it’s Saturday. Are you sure you’re ready to start school Monday? Especially you, Talia? We don’t want to take any chances with my first grandchild, and my mother feels the same way about a great-grandchild.”
“I’ll be fine,” Talia said. “Still a little sore, but I can’t wait to see Grandma Bradley either. I wanted to tell everybody the news about the baby, instead of you having to hear it like this. I’m so sorry I didn’t.”
“Well, we keep reading in the Scriptures about tribulation,” Joshua said, “and the price people have to pay for speaking out and defending the Word. It shouldn’t surprise us when the battle comes to us. You two get to bed. Or Talia, maybe you want to spend some time in the hot tub? Your choice. Just so glad you are both home and safe for now.”
“Maybe we can try normal for one night?” Keith asked as they closed the bedroom door. “I’ll run the bubble tub for you.”
“I love the sound of that,” Talia said. “The first night I stayed here, I got in there and never wanted to get out again. And that was the first time I thought of Keith Bradley and husband in the same sentence.”
“You did? Way back then? I won’t tell you what I thought the first time I saw you,” Keith said. “But I thought it wouldn’t matter, and I’d never talk to you again.”
“I know what you thought of me. You said I needed root touch-up in my duffel bag.”
“Naw, that was a joke. You were so beautiful. You still are. I never thought we would be married. I’m still in awe.” He gathered her into his arms. “You and Cherub Bradley. How did this happen to me?”
Talia went into the bathroom. Keith started to follow her but heard a knock on the bedroom door.
“Keith?” his father called. “Believe me, I know how late it is, but a woman came to the door and said she needs to talk to you. She says her name is Cara Townsend, and it’s an emergency. I thought the name sounded familiar, from what you told me about your trip.”
“Yeah. I know who she is. I’ll be right out.” Keith threw his clothes back on and joined his father in the hallway. “What in the world is she doing here?”
“Ask her. I’m going to bed.” His father waved him toward the living room. Keith peeked into the darkened living room and confirmed that it was indeed the athletic, dark-haired woman from Drew’s security detail who paced the living room. He slipped back into the bedroom and stuck his head in the bathroom door.
“Hey, Talia, you know I hate to disturb you, but Cara Townsend is prowling the living room like an uncaged tiger.”
“Cara? Are you serious?” Talia tried to jump out of the tub and groaned. “Ohhh … I’ll be there a quick as I can.”
Keith nodded and hurried out to the living room. “Hey, Ms. Townsend. What can I do for you?”
“Mr. Bradley!” Close up, the woman looked haggard and exhausted, as if she hadn’t slept since Eva disappeared. “I have to tell you something about Eva Sanchez.”
“Do you know where she is?”
“No. I just thought you needed to know why she did what she did in Veracruz.”
“You mean why she tried to poison my wife?” Keith didn’t realize he had formed that thought until the words came out of his mouth. “And could have killed our baby? Do I need to know why?”
“Oh, God,” Cara whispered. “She told me she knew about herbs, and was sure Talia and the baby wouldn’t be hurt. She didn’t even think it had any effect. Please tell me Talia’s okay.”
“I’m okay,” Talia said, coming softly up behind Keith in a bathrobe and sliding under his arm. “Go ahead and tell us what you came to say. Sit down. Please. We’re all tired.”
Cara sat on the edge of a chair and Keit
h and Talia sat on the couch. “Eva came to me the night of that big dinner you had for the natives. She said she needed my help. I knew that sounded like trouble. I said no. Then she told me she had to contact her son.”
“Her son? Eva doesn’t have any children,” Talia interrupted.
“This is what she told me,” Cara said. “On the day her husband was murdered, she was eight months pregnant. She found him dead, and I guess the shock of everything made her go into labor. She gave birth to that baby alone in her house. She wrapped it in a blanket, put it in a basket, and left it at the big church around the corner from their house. Just set the basket inside the door, went back home, flushed the afterbirth down the toilet, and cut her wrists. There was so much blood no one realized what had really happened that day, and she never told anyone. But it seems someone saw her drop the baby off at the church. Someone who recognized her, but lost track of her until she started making connections with the Olmec research. She got an email that said it was from her son.”
“How could she be sure it was true?” Keith asked.
“There was a police investigation when Eva’s husband was killed. They took DNA samples, and apparently kept Eva’s and her husband’s records on file. This person who contacted her provided a DNA test report. The DNA matched the profile of them as parents. Eva was convinced it was her son, and desperate to see him. So, while you fed the locals, I snuck her out and she met the boy. He’s about sixteen, I guess. He said he had been taken from the church by some of the people who killed his father, and that he still lived with them.”
“So what does that have to do with the Olmec research or what she did to Talia?” Keith asked.
Cara took a shuddering breath. “Eva told me her son warned her that the expedition was in danger. People wanted you out of Veracruz. But he made her swear not to reveal how she got the warning. He had risked his life to meet her and tell her.
“He’d been raised in the cartel. They thought it was a funny joke, to turn the son of a missionary couple who was a big thorn in their side into one of them. They also seemed to have had an idea of using him as leverage against Eva if she ever got the idea to start up the work again.
“He said for a long time he didn’t know the truth – just knew those people weren’t his parents and had no choice about being conditioned and raised in the cartel. But he had money, and sometimes got treated like a prince, and didn’t know any other life. I don’t know all the details, but finally he found out the truth. He was able to search for Eva and found her through her Olmec contacts.
“He said he wanted to get out – to be with her. Whether it was true or not, she believed him. She heard about Talia’s baby, and about that herb that would cause contractions. She just thought it would give you all a scare and halt the expedition. She actually slipped some of it into Talia’s stew that night, and she thought eventually something would happen and you would have to pack up and leave. It sounds crazy, but she really meant to protect you, to keep you out of danger, without exposing her son.
“When those people showed up in the morning, she was afraid they might have something to do with the warning her son gave her. She tried to pretend to be hurt, hoping, since she was supposed to be part of the expedition, that it would make you put off going. When that didn’t work, she added more herb to what she gave Talia for breakfast, hoping that would give her some cramps and make you not go. Her last hope was that Drew would convince you not to go, or to turn back.
“God forgive both of us, but she swore me to secrecy, and I – we – we had no idea anything like that would really happen. Guys with guns, I would have fought off myself. I swear I would have. What happened – oh, I will never forgive myself for what happened.
“Anyway, let me finish before I just break down. I came back to camp, and Eva demanded to know what happened. I told her, and she said I had to believe her son had nothing to do with it – that he’d tried to warn us. I told her I was going to have to tell Drew, but then we were ordered to move camp. Everything got so crazy I just had time to make sure Eva was in the same jeep with me so I could keep a watch on her and turn her over to Drew as soon as we were safe at the new site.”
“But when the convoy stopped, she told you she had to go find a bush and …” Talia said.
“Yeah. Suckered me right in. Wow, can she hit hard. Anyway, I assume she went to find her son. I couldn’t tell Drew what I knew, because I’d promised her. A long time ago, I had an abortion, and it just ate at me, that she had a chance to be with her son … a chance I could never have.
“Maybe she even thought it through to the point that, if she left, you’d believe you were compromised, because of what she knew, and that you would finally have to leave. Seems like that worked.
“I believe she did what she did for the right reasons. But I betrayed all of you and Drew especially, so I quit Magnum. I waited until I knew you would be back in the States, and I came to tell you, so you wouldn’t think Eva did any of this to hurt you. She was a mother, desperate to protect her son, and she tried to help you the only way she could think of. I am so sorry about my part in all of it. So sorry.”
“Are you sure that nobody followed you? That you didn’t compromise us?” Keith demanded.
“Nobody knows I came here. I swear. That was my specialty at Magnum. Going dark. Preventing pursuit.” Cara rose. “I’m going to go now.”
“I’m not finished,” Keith said, his tone deliberately harsh. “Is there any way you can know if Eva has told what she knows about us to anyone? Couldn’t she have been caught, and forced to give up the information?”
“I’ve been doing nothing but watching and listening for signs of that very thing,” Cara replied. “I have been your ultra-focused, unpaid protection detail since I quit Magnum. Nothing about your activities has leaked. I think Eva’s in hiding somewhere, with her son. Probably still in Mexico.”
“She’ll need help,” Talia said. Keith and Cara both stared at her, open-mouthed. “What can we do to find her, to help her get herself and her son to safety?”
“Not our job,” Keith said. “We have to get you completely recovered. We have to teach school. We have to try to find the third daughter-in-law of Noah. She –” he pointed at Cara “– might believe all that stuff Eva told her, or she might be in it with Eva, still trying to wreck the work. Drew Summers had it right. We don’t know who we can trust.”
“Mr. Bradley is right,” Cara said. “Helping Eva isn’t your job. I only came here because I believed Eva, and I still believe she tried to do the right thing, and I just wanted you to know it. That’s how it goes when you start lying, and covering things up, even for good reasons. It snowballs out of control.
“But listen, I don’t think what she did had anything to do with the truth of the people who helped you with your mission down there. As far as I know, those people, and those finds you made, were legitimate. You should be able to safely pursue those leads.”
“What will happen if we tell Drew Summers you were here, and everything you’ve said?” Keith asked.
I already told Drew. I’d never have made it to your house if I hadn’t. He’s still watching out for you.” Cara stood up again. “I do need to go. I’m sorry I kept you up so long. I’m not a religious person, but I hope you find what you’re looking for. The stuff I’ve heard about since I’ve been on this detail scares me. It shouldn’t be happening, no matter what you believe.”
“You don’t have to be religious,” Talia said, grabbing Cara’s hand as she turned to go. “Have you thought about a way you might be able to see your baby again?”
“What?” Cara tried to pull loose, but Talia held on.
“We believe unborn babies are human beings with souls,” Talia continued. “Souls go somewhere when they die. Where do you think that is?”
“I supposed they’d go to heaven. Doesn’t make sense that God would send them to hell. I always figured He’s going to send me to hell because of what I did, though.”
“God doesn’t send people to hell. We send ourselves there. God sent Jesus Christ to die so we could live forever with Him. No matter what we did,” Talia replied. “God can take away shame and guilt and all those feelings for all the things we do.”
“I feel like every day I keep adding to that load,” Cara admitted. “Why did I help Eva when it went against all my training? Because of that hopelessness over what I did to my baby. So she wouldn’t feel that.”
“We can’t fix other people’s lives, though,” Talia said. “We can’t really make them better. We all stand before God alone, unless we let Jesus Christ be our advocate. His righteousness can make us righteous. Cara, please stay with us tonight. Think it over, and we can talk some more in the morning.”
Chapter Seventy-four –Threat Alert Yellow
“Are we going to see the Olmecs or not?”
“They said that Cindee lady almost got eaten by a jaguar! Why would you want to go there?”
“Was it a were-jaguar? Could you tell?”
“Naw, ‘cause she woulda turned into a jaguar by now. It’s been a couple of months. Did she?”
“What about the stone heads? You didn’t even go see them?”
Keith held up a finger. Silence fell. He walked around the classroom. “Where is all this coming from? Do I need to resort to tiptoe therapy? Look at Mrs. Bradley.” He pointed to Talia, who stood behind the desk with frustration evident on her face. “Do you see her face? Do you realize you are responsible for making her face look like that? By this time, Cherub Bradley can probably hear your nonsense. Do you want a brand-new-generation Bradley to start thinking you are a troublemaker even before birth?”
The kids shook their heads. Amy raised her hand.
“Yes, Amy?” Keith asked.
“Are you really going to name your baby Cherub? Even if it’s a boy?” she asked. The class spluttered behind their hands.
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