by Mark McKay
‘Any animals I should worry about?’ asked Nick. Apart from a few butterflies and one large spider, he hadn’t seen or heard anything bar the odd bird.
‘There are pigs,’ replied Emilio. ‘If they are close by they will have heard us coming and moved away.’ He stopped to examine a fallen tree trunk. ‘Look, a jaguar was here.’
Nick examined the trunk, which bore scratch marks. ‘Here, when?’
‘Maybe a few hours. Don’t worry, they are shy. They can be just a few yards away, but you’ll never see them. They will see you, though.’
Nick took a cautious look around. Nothing but forest looked back at him. Emilio laughed and they carried on. Four hours later, the jungle seemed to be thinning out. The trail got wider and Nick could see sunshine ahead. They came into a huge clearing and suddenly they were looking at the retreat centre. The accommodation was right ahead of them and consisted of raised single-storey wooden houses with thatched roofs and verandahs out front. They looked comfortable and solid and new. Set in two rows of four, they faced each other across a paved area, most of which was occupied by a swimming pool. Beyond the houses was a longer building of the same construction. It had walkways leading to doors at both ends and seemed to have some kind of communal function. Behind that Nick could see a big sloping circular roof, also thatched. Whatever it covered though, was obscured by the communal house. It was getting towards evening time now and although it was still light and warm, there was nobody to be seen either sitting on their verandahs or in the pool. As they moved into the paved area, Nick took a look to his left.
‘Is that a landing strip?’
A space through the jungle had been cleared in a straight line for several hundred yards. It could hardly be anything else.
‘Yes,’ said Emilio. He read Nick’s mind. ‘You can only fly in if you have a booking. On a chosen day.’
‘I see. Where is everyone?’
Emilio looked at his watch. He gestured at the communal area. ‘They could be having food. Or they could be in the ceremonial lodge, preparing for tonight. There will be someone in the office, I think.’
They made their way towards the longer building. When they got inside, Nick could see that this was indeed a communal space. The area to his left was filled with tables and chairs and took up most of the building. The kitchen was at the far end. And at this end there was an administrative office, separated from the restaurant by a reception hall, in which they now stood. There was no one in the restaurant, so Emilio knocked on the office door and pushed it open.
Inside, a man sat behind a desk, reading a book. Around the walls there were posters in Spanish and English advertising the retreat. Some showed photos of jungle animals and others had more visionary psychedelic artwork. The wording promised a ‘Shamanic Transformational Journey’ at the beautiful ‘Ascension Institute’.
‘Emilio, I wasn’t expecting you,’ said the man, putting his book down. ‘Who’s this?’ he continued, indicating Nick.
‘Jason, this is Nick,’ said Emilio. ‘He wants to stay here for a while.’
The man stood up. ‘Jason Wilson,’ he said, extending his hand. The accent was English.
‘Nick Severance.’
They shook. Jason was tall and thin and tanned, with receding black hair and deep brown eyes. Late thirties or early forties in Nick’s estimation. He looked at Nick curiously.
‘You want to join a retreat? We usually book people in advance.’
‘I’m on holiday. Emilio has been showing me around and he mentioned this place. I persuaded him to bring me down here, on the off chance.’
‘Well, if you walked in from the river, you must be enthusiastic. You might be in luck. Sit down, I’ll check.’
They sat and waited while Jason consulted his computer screen. He looked up.
‘Your timing’s good. There’s a new group of ten, starting two days from now. One cancelled at the last minute, so there is a space if you want it.’
‘What’s the price?’
Jason smiled. ‘Slow down, Nick. What do you know about ayahuasca? Is that why you came to Iquitos?’
‘I came to experience the Amazon. I’m just curious, that’s all.’
‘OK. You need to know that this can be a profound experience for some people. They let go of a lot of emotional baggage. Sometimes ailments that have been bugging them for years, disappear. We advertise it as “transformational” because that’s what it is. I don’t want you going in unprepared.’
‘How does it work?’
‘Ten-day retreat, with five ayahuasca ceremonies. Supervised by our resident shaman, Don Gilberto. In between, you can take trips into the jungle and see the wildlife or you can hang out here by the pool if you’d rather do that. You can discuss your visionary experiences with us or Don Gilberto at any time. Cost, $2,500 all in.’
‘You take credit cards?’
The Ascension Institute was happy to take credit cards. Once Jason had processed his payment, he walked Nick and Emilio out of the office to one of the houses. It was the last one in its row and the closest to the trail they’d come in by. He showed them in and gave Nick a key.
‘This one’s free, so you can stay here till the next group arrives. When you’ve unpacked, come back to the restaurant. I should be able to rustle up something.’
‘Where is everyone?’ asked Nick.
‘In the ceremony house, preparing for this evening’s drinking. You’ll meet them all tomorrow.’
Emilio said something to Jason in Spanish. Nick heard the name ‘Julian’ mentioned. When Jason replied, Nick saw a flash of anger in his eyes.
‘What was that about?’ he asked, once Jason had left.
Emilio was annoyed. ‘I asked him if Julian was still here and he just said that he’d gone. Then I asked how the people for this retreat got here and he said they all flew in. I would normally bring in five or six people by boat. But they’ve stopped asking me to do that.’
Nick could see that Emilio was having second thoughts about bringing him here, too.
‘Don’t worry,’ he said. ‘I won’t say anything. You talk to Don Gilberto, quietly. If something happened while Julian was here, it would be useful to know about it. That’s all I’m interested in.’
‘I’ll talk to him in the morning.’
The two men unpacked. The little house had two roomy bedrooms and a spacious living area. To Nick, the luxury of this place was in stark contrast to the earthy, elemental rainforest they’d just spent half a day in. And now to mask his real motives for being here, he would be drinking mind-altering substances while trying to establish what, if anything, linked Julian’s time here to his subsequent murder. He’d never been a big fan of recreational drugs, so anything other than alcohol was going to be a new experience. Ayahuasca seemed to be a step up from your common recreational drug, though. It hadn’t done Ray Curtis any harm either, as far as he could see. When the time came to participate, he’d just have to be as prepared as he could be. And take it from there.
Chapter 6
Nick was introduced to the two Americans who ran the retreat with Jason, the following morning. The first was Josh Clark; a clean-cut, clean-shaven bear of a man in his thirties with intense, dark eyes. The other was Hank Jeffries, who was at least twenty years older. He was tall and slim and had long, greying hair tied in a ponytail. Hank had trained as a shaman under Don Gilberto and helped him manage the ayahuasca ceremonies. Josh was an apprentice shaman. Hank took Nick on a tour after breakfast.
‘Let me know if you want to discuss anything before we start the next retreat,’ he said. ‘Anything at all. We’ll be going over the schedule in detail when everyone else arrives and there’s a booklet in your room which tells you what to expect.’
‘Fine,’ replied Nick. ‘I’ll read it and get back to you with any questions.’
Hank showed him the ceremony house. It was a big circular building, the one Nick could only see the roo
f of when he’d arrived. It had chairs for the participants to use during the ceremony, and mattresses for those who preferred to lie down instead. There was a shower block and toilets.
‘It’s a purging experience,’ explained Hank. ‘At both ends, sometimes.’
Nick wondered what he was getting into. Outside there was a covered area with a fire pit and cauldrons, for preparing the drink. The other retreat members were out there filling two cauldrons with bark and leaves. They were being supervised by an elderly Peruvian man, who was introduced to Nick as Don Gilberto. He had a deeply-lined face the colour of cocoa, with a long, flat nose and large, shapely ears. His dark eyes seemed to sparkle when they lingered on Nick for the first time. They looked right into him. Don Gilberto shook hands and said something in Spanish and then went back to his preparations.
‘He looks forward to working with you,’ said Hank.
He briefly introduced Nick to everyone else. They were a mix of people in their twenties and thirties mostly, with an older couple in their sixties. Some Americans, some English, one German. Four men and six women in total. They smiled and said hello, but they seemed absorbed in the task at hand. Hank and Nick left them to it and looked at the rest of the property. There was another wooden house not far from the ceremony house, which was used by the owners and Don Gilberto. Behind that the ground sloped down towards a small lagoon and the whole perimeter of the retreat was fenced off. There was a gate that opened into what looked like a jungle trail about twenty yards away from the house, and another gate by the lagoon. They were both padlocked.
‘We keep it fenced to keep the animals out,’ said Hank. He pointed at the first gate. ‘That one goes into the jungle. We collect bark and leaves in there for the ayahuasca brew and take people on day trips.’
Nick looked at the gate by the lagoon. He could see that the track behind it was wide enough for vehicle access. He hadn’t seen a vehicle here, yet.
‘Where does that one go?’
‘Not used. There’s another house down there. It’s falling down now and it’s too dangerous to let people near the place.’
I don’t mind going near the place, thought Nick.
The tour was over. Nick went back to join Emilio, who was sitting by the pool. He had his jeans rolled up to the knees and his legs dangling in the water.
‘The gate by the lagoon, is that where the plants are growing?’
Emilio nodded. ‘Did he say anything to you?’
‘Said there was a house down there that was too dangerous to visit.’
‘There is a house. But it isn’t dangerous. It’s full of plants and powder.’
‘Anything else?’
Emilio shrugged. ‘What else are you looking for?’
Anything that might explain why a man who took some of that powder became a murder victim, thought Nick. He didn’t share that thought with Emilio.
‘I won’t know until I see it,’ he said. Then he thought of something else. ‘Can you stay for a while? I might want to leave early, the way we came in.’
‘If you don’t mind paying me extra, Nick. But no more than two days. Jason is a suspicious man. He will wonder why I’m still here.’
‘OK, thank you. Talk to Don Gilberto, soon as you can.’
They decided to do that straight away. The shaman was where Nick had left him. The two cauldrons were heating up now and Don Gilberto stood over one of them, stirring it with a branch and softly singing as he worked. Nick got chatting to a young English girl called Vanessa, who was quite frank about her reasons for coming here. She was purging herself of a history of sexual abuse. It had literally been vomited out. Tonight was the last ceremony and she felt as if she’d done quite a lot to heal herself. It hadn’t been an easy process, though. There was a lot of fear and anxiety involved. Worth it, for the release she had achieved, she said.
There was no sign of Hank, Josh or Jason, so Emilio spoke quietly to Don Gilberto. The old man shook his head a couple of times and looked over in Nick’s direction once or twice. Then they stopped talking and he went back to stirring the brew and singing to it. Emilio signed to Nick, and they began walking back.
‘Don Gilberto is annoyed about the plants, says he should never have told Jason and the others about el semental. He says they want to ship the powder, but they’re waiting for something. Some man from a big company is arriving. Today or tomorrow. Maybe that’s what they are waiting for.’
‘What did he say about Julian?’
‘When they found out Julian knew about plants, they wanted his advice. About how to keep the plants healthy if they were to be transported for a long time was one thing. Anyway, Julian was here for two weeks and then flew out with some retreat people, on their way home. It was only after he’d gone that they knew he had taken some powder with him.’
‘And that’s it? They didn’t fight about anything?’
Emilio spread his hands in front of him. ‘I don’t think so.’
So why get pissed off with Julian? wondered Nick. Could he have grown plants from the seeds he’d brought back and then cornered the market in natural aphrodisiacs? He didn’t have enough product to do that. He noticed Emilio looking at him warily.
‘What is it?’
‘You weren’t surprised when I said Julian had gone, Nick. But you want to know what happened when he was here. Why?’
Nick decided it was truth time. ‘When Julian got back to England he was murdered. That’s why.’
Emilio was open-mouthed with astonishment. ‘And you think these people are responsible?’
‘I don’t know, yet. But after tonight, maybe I will.’
Emilio was rattled, now. He looked at Nick with concern, shook his head and swore beneath his breath.
‘I cannot get involved in this,’ he pronounced.
‘You don’t have to. We never had this conversation.’
Emilio looked less than convinced, but nodded anyway. ‘Yes, Nick. We never had this conversation.’
Early that evening, a light aircraft arrived. Nick heard its approach before he saw it. He went out to look and watched as the plane taxied in. He was some distance away, but he could see that only one passenger had climbed out. Jason was there to meet him. It was a man wearing a suit and from where Nick stood it was impossible to make out his features in any more detail. The plane promptly turned around and took off again. Must be the big company man, Nick decided. He had a small suitcase with him, looked like he wasn’t planning on staying very long. Nick didn’t see anyone coming to one of the houses in his vicinity and assumed this new person must be staying in the owners’ residence.
He wasn’t going to let the new arrival disrupt his plans. At 5pm the members of the retreat group entered the ceremonial house for their final session. By 6pm they would have partaken of the ayahuasca and would be otherwise engaged for the next four hours. He knew that Hank, Josh and Jason would be involved, but the latter two wouldn’t partake. Their role tonight was to help anyone who needed it, so they’d stay straight. But they’d be out of the way.
At 8pm, he made his move. He told Emilio he was going for a walk and then he took a flashlight and went out into the night. The flashlight stayed off while he walked swiftly past the ceremonial house and down to the lagoon gate. There were lights on in the owners’ house, but their latest arrival was tucked away inside and not sitting on the verandah. Even if he were sitting there, he wouldn’t see Nick go by. He arrived at the gate. He could either pick the lock or go over the fence. He chose the fence. It was a mesh fence; difficult to get a foothold and hard on the hands, but not much of a deterrent to anyone who really wanted to get over it. He was on the other side in a few seconds.
Then he had to find his way in the dark for a minute before risking the flashlight. At least the track was wide and clear through here; he wouldn’t accidentally wander off it and step on something venomous. It turned slightly to the left after a bit, so he switched on the flashlight an
d hooded some of the beam with the palm of his hand. He walked for another five minutes and then he found the house. For a house that was falling down it looked remarkably upright, from what he could see with the light he had. The door was right ahead of him and it wasn’t locked. He stepped inside and shone the torch around.
It was just one huge, long room. On either side there were benches right the way down. As he walked past them he saw that they were covered with potted plants about four feet high, with big oval green leaves. They had a sweet smell and it was pungent in this enclosed space. As he got further into the room the plants gave way to cardboard boxes, obviously filled with something. They were labelled with the manufacturer’s name: - ‘Amazon Ascension Natural Products, in Association with Hackett Pharmaceuticals’. Probably the ‘big company’ Emilio had mentioned.
The boxes weren’t sealed, so Nick opened one. They contained plastic bags full of amber powder. And right at the end of the room there was some machinery, which had a huge funnel in the top. It looked as though you fed the plant in the top and powder came out the bottom. Simple, really. There was a sprinkler system above the benches, which he thought must be drawing water from the lagoon. Someone would need to come in here every day and turn it on. The place must have electricity, but he wasn’t going to try the lights in here just to find out.
He put the torch down on one of the boxes so it shone away from him, and picked up another box. Each box had four bags, weighing maybe two kilos each. He took all four bags out and looked at them. They looked like amber powder. There was certainly enough stock here. But why weren’t they moving it? The stuff might have a shelf life. He could look in all the boxes of course, but he was pretty certain that the contents would look just like this one. There was nothing unusual happening here. He replaced the bags in the box and took a long, last look around by torchlight.
There was a fridge in the corner, in fact there were two fridges. Must be thirsty work grinding powder, he thought. He went over and opened one. Sure enough, it was half-full with beer and soft drinks. The other one wasn’t. It was turned off and the shelves had been removed. It was full of more boxes; smaller ones. He took one out and opened it.
