by Kim Hornsby
And now she was driving him up a volcano to find his godson. He had to play nice with this person until he knew she couldn’t help him anymore, then he’d probably spew all the painful thoughts he’d pent up for decades and leave her in the dust. Not that she’d care, but he wanted to tell her the mess she’d left in her wake; he wanted to hurt her as much as she hurt all of them.
The truck turned at a fork and continued up another route that was framed in overhanging trees. At the top of the hill, Annie pulled the truck onto a flat dirt patch and killed the engine, pointing to a footpath ahead. “It’s about a quarter mile down there. The only house up here.” She sat back, lost in thought. “Jean isn’t expected until tomorrow, but I suppose Mary Rose could be there. Even as a toddler, she was a strange little thing. Shy, but demanding.”
Jamey wanted to tell her to shut up. She sounded so concerned about other people’s children. He hopped out of the car and softly closed the door. Just because there wasn’t another car in the pullout, didn’t mean Kevin, Rose, and Wyatt weren’t there. A brave taxi driver could have brought them up the hill. Or they might have hitched a ride with someone else. It happened all day long on the mountain, Diego had told him. Someone was driving up, and people jumped into the truck bed for a ride if they stopped. “You wait here,” he said to Annie. “I don’t want to be worrying about you if this turns bad.”
Annie looked like she was going to speak, then closed her mouth. Just as well. He wasn’t ready to face this woman and her misplaced concern now. “Keep the keys in the ignition, stay behind the wheel. If I run out with Wyatt, we need to take off quickly, you hear?
She nodded again, this time looking fearful.
He took off down the trail at a run. If they had Wyatt at this house, his plan was to distract them somehow, rush in to grab Wyatt, and take off to safety. He’d case out the joint first, see what the exits were. Kevin might have a gun. If he’d been able to sneak into several countries with a hidden child, he might have been stupid enough to pack heat. Jamey would have to be ready for anything.
The green stucco house came into view and Jamey got off the trail to come through the brush undercover. It wasn’t dry enough here to have snapping twigs on the groundcover. Not much would give him away with the humidity of this country. Ahead, there was no movement, no sign of anyone, no noise. He crouched in the jungle growth watching for ten minutes. When he didn’t see anything, or hear anything, he planned a route to the house. He’d use cover right up until the last little sprint where he’d be out in the open until he got under a window. He took off, ducking behind a thick bush, then an outbuilding, until he was up against the house, listening under a window.
Nothing.
The window was shut. You’d think in this heat, they’d use the screens. Were they asleep? He listened for another few minutes then inched up to sneak a peek. It was a crude house with an old rusty fridge and stove. There was a wooden table in the center with handmade benches. Very unlike Diego’s and Annie’s. Scooting along the side of the house, he ducked under the next window and listened. Nothing. On second thought, he should have just let Annie walk up the trail saying, asking if anyone was home. She offered but he didn’t want to put anyone at risk. Even her.
Inside the one bedroom, was a queen-sized bed covered in a red sleeping bag. And on that red cover was a toy. It looked like the Star Wars character, Chewbacca. Verification set in. Wyatt had been here. His heart jumped. Noiselessly slipping along to the next window, he peeked in to the main room. No one. They could be hiding in the bathroom or outbuilding, or could be gone for the day. He tried the door. Locked. The kitchen screen came off easily and he slipped inside. The bathroom was empty. No one under the bed either, and after going through the place, he concluded that the place had been occupied by Kevin, Rose, and Wyatt. The fridge held milk, beer, water, and various snacks. Taking one last look at the house’s configuration, Jamey went back out through the window, replacing the screen. The outbuilding was unlocked. Inside he found tools, chairs, a hammock leaning against the wall, gas cans. No people. No little boy wondering what the heck he was doing in this far off country without his family.
They’d be back. Of that Jamey was sure. And he’d be waiting when they got here.
First he had to tell Annie to go home. He didn’t need her waiting on the road to give him away. When Kevin and Rose arrived, Jamey would be waiting to grab Wyatt, any way he had to. He’d deal with the abductors later, when he was sure the little guy was safe and unharmed. And if the boy had so much as a bruise, Jamey wanted to make sure Kevin and Rose were dealt with.
An eye for an eye and all that.
***
Tina tried calling Jamey, but his phone kept going to message. He had either turned his phone off or it died. She hoped the former. It had been an hour since she’d heard from Pops. Her thoughts included valid concern, imagining every terrible thing that could have happened to Jamey. Were he and Annie still talking? Was he yelling at her? Or was he figuring out why his mother was mixed up in the abduction of Wyatt? With all the pent up anger Jamey had about his mother’s desertion, Tina imagined how heated the conversation might be. Maybe he’d stormed out and was on his way back now. She and Kai sat on the balcony of their hotel room, watching the horses down below. He’d just finished dinner of creamed carrots and rice cereal. Kai’s chubby arms waved around as he watched the activity in the park. Her phone rang.
“Tina, it’s Annie.”
A jolt like electricity shot through Tina’s nerves. Why wouldn’t she call Jamey? “Hello.”
“I’m delivering a message from Jamey. He turned off his phone, but wanted me to tell you what’s going on.” Annie sounded out of breath. Just because she was Jamey’s birthmother, didn’t clear her from the suspicion. “Turns out that your Rose person is someone I know. Her mother has a house on Mombacho. Jamey is checking out the house now and waiting in case they come back.”
“How do you know Rose?” Tina didn’t want to let down her guard just yet.
“I know her mother. That might be why they’ve brought the little boy here. Mary Rose has been here before.”
“But why would they rent the house on the island?” Tina’s mind was playing through all the possibilities, including Annie lying.
“I don’t know. The mom is arriving tomorrow. Do they have a vehicle to make it up Mombacho?”
“They had a truck, but I don’t know if they still have it. They were using a taxi the other night.”
“Anyways, James asked that you stay put, stay safe, he said. He’s waiting for them to return. He’ll be in touch as soon as he gets Wyatt.”
Annie called him James. A slip from her old days as Jamey’s mother. It wasn’t until he married Carrie that everyone started calling him Jamey. So, he was waiting for the threesome. Jamey was a soldier, trained for this sort of thing. “When you see him again, tell him that I love him and we need him to stay safe too.” If Annie was a criminal and planning anything against Jamey, Tina needed her to know that he was loved, she was watching, and it wasn’t like Jamey was on his own in this country. He answered to someone. She and Jamey were a team and with or without Kai, she was prepared to rescue Jamey if he needed her. “Tell him that.”
There was a pause and Annie cleared her throat. “I will. How is that baby’s ear? Any better?”
“Maybe a bit.”
“What will you two be doing while you wait?”
She didn’t want to give up any information in case Annie wasn’t a friend. What should she say? “We’ll go for a walk, I guess.”
“I can have Diego come get you after his appointments, if you like.”
If Tina trusted this woman, the invitation might’ve made sense. But she didn’t. This whole situation was just weird. Something was off. “Thanks anyhow, but I think we’ll stay in Granada. Have Jamey call me.” That was twice now that Annie tried to get Tina to her house today. What was going on? If Tina had to rescue Jamey on Mombacho, the hotel had a babysi
tting service that was said to be very good. She couldn’t imagine giving Kai to a stranger in this country. She’d sooner drive over to that restaurant, El Camello, and hand Kai to the owner’s wife, Ana, who seemed very trustworthy.
Hanging up, she thought about the worst-case scenario, something Jamey had taught her to do. If Annie and Diego were somehow tied into this abduction, then she had to steer clear of them, hope that Jamey was safe. A bad mother like Annie might abandon her children, but she wouldn’t kill one, would she?
Tina gathered the diaper bag, loaded Kai into the stroller, and headed out to the park. From there she could watch the hotel front door, just in case Diego went in looking for her. She didn’t want to be a sitting duck in the hotel room if that happened. That lesson had been learned in Afghanistan when she waited for the military to come to her room and was taken by insurgents. Having learned a thing or two, she’d now rather play it safe. Wandering around the park for a few hours, maybe getting food from a cart in the square, while she avoided her hotel room, seemed like a prudent plan, at least until she suspected Diego was out of town.
Shortly after four p.m., Diego bounded up the steps to the hotel. Tina was sitting on a hidden park bench across the street, under the cover of a tree. She’d been right. He came looking for her. Was he upstairs knocking on her door hoping to convince her to get in his car? And what if she’d been there and said no? Would he try to force her to join her husband who was being held captive at Annie’s house? Her imagination had had plenty of time to concoct stories and what ifs while she watched the hotel and she hoped she was wrong about all her theories.
When Diego came out of the hotel, he stopped to glance up and down the street before slipping into the car. Would Diego need Annie to come get him at the base of the mountain or could he make it up the mountain in the car? After circling the park twice, Diego drove down a side street near his office and disappeared. Just to be safe, Tina stayed hiding by the tree for another half hour, then wheeled Kai’s stroller to a nearby restaurant. She wasn’t sure what she’d do if she didn’t hear from Jamey in the next few hours, but she had to eat something before she fainted from hunger. After ordering black beans, rice, tortillas, and fried plantain, Tina tried amusing Kai. His mood had improved from this morning. He’d get a good night’s sleep tonight and be in better shape to go traipsing around the streets tomorrow looking for Wyatt. If Jamey found everyone tonight, they could leave town and avoid the madness tomorrow. Or could they?
What would be done with Kevin and Rose?
She hadn’t thought that far in advance, only thinking about Wyatt’s rescue and Chris’s flight to Nicaragua. Yesterday, she’d spoken to Carrie briefly, before Jamey took the call. Carrie was understandably upset that her son hadn’t been found yet, and Tina tried to calm her and say that they’d seen him at a parade on Sunday and that was their fallback plan. “We’ve both seen him standing with Kevin near a restaurant here in town, when a certain group of horses go by.” Tina left out the part about Wyatt being killed by a horse, hoping that accident would never happen.
Tina was paying the restaurant bill when her phone rang. Seeing Jamey’s number, she picked it up. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. How about you and Kai?” Their conversations started this way these days.
“His ear is better, I think. I’ve been worried about you.”
“I’m watching a house that I’m pretty sure Kevin, Rose, and Wyatt are coming back to tonight. Rose’s mother has this place up here and they have stuff in the fridge.”
“Oh, thank God!” Annie’s story was true. “I was worried that Annie and Diego had you tied up somewhere.
He chuckled. “No, but there’s a long story about Annie, I’ll have to tell you later. Didn’t she call you to tell you where I was?”
“She did.” Tina wouldn’t reveal that she knew who Annie was. “So you’re on a stakeout?”
“Yup, it’s getting dark so I figured if they came up the road I’d either see the car lights, or a flashlight, or hear them. That’s why I’m whispering. I gotta go, save the phone battery, but I’m planning on staying here as long as it takes. I’ll call you when I have Wyatt tonight.”
“Good luck. I love you.”
“Me too. Kiss my son for me and tell him I’m bringing his cousin home tonight.”
Tina hung up and realized she’d had her fingers crossed since the start of the call. She pushed the stroller out the restaurant door, feeling more confident that they’d soon have Wyatt in their hotel room. She’d contact the hotel’s front desk and order an extra bed for tonight, or she’d sleep on the extra bed and let the little guy sleep with Jamey if he wanted. Walking with a spring in her step, Tina entered their hotel room and grabbed a chocolate bar from the mini fridge to celebrate. Then she’d order the extra bed, get Kai down for the night, and wait for Jamey’s call to say that he had Wyatt in his arms.
When the call still hadn’t come at midnight, Tina drifted off to sleep, waking shortly after to see someone standing at the foot of her bed. She gasped, then realized it must be Jamey. “Did you find him?” she asked sleepily.
“Not yet,” her father’s voice said. “But you will.”
Chapter 16
The howler monkeys woke Jamey at dawn with their cacophony of rumbling vocals booming through the jungle canopy above. He’d fallen asleep, something he never usually did on a stakeout. He hadn’t heard anything all night. Where the hell were Kevin and Rose? Looking around, he didn’t see anything unusual. Didn’t hear anything except the monkeys. Standing, Jamey realized that he’d probably slept two hours if it was almost six. The last time he’d checked his watch it was just after four and no one had turned up to sleep in the house.
Looking in the bedroom window he noticed the toy in the exact same position as yesterday. The threesome hadn’t returned. Had they seen him in town and decided to not come back up Mombacho? Today was Hipica day and he’d failed Wyatt by not finding him before the accident. Now, everything had been left it to the last minute and Jamey would have to be at the dream site today to prevent Wyatt’s death. If it even went down like the dream. Shit.
He walked out to the road and headed down the hill, listening to two different groups of Howler monkeys call out their dawn greetings. Crazy things. Placing a call to Tina he reported that he had no news and would be back at the hotel soon for a shower. Sounded like she’d had a terrible sleep too. Kai had slept through the night, which said a lot for the antibiotics he was taking, but Tina had been awake worrying all night. No dreaming, she said. “Just a quick normal about shooting heroin that was disturbing.”
“It’ll all be over today, Darlin’” he said. “And we can all have a good night’s sleep tonight.” How it would all play out, he wasn’t sure. But he’d throw himself under that horse if he had to to save Wyatt today. He just hoped it didn’t come to that.
The monkey’s howling tapered off as he approached Diego and Annie’s house. Should he wake them and say he’d take the truck down the mountain, wait for Diego to drive him, or start walking? The walk down would take him a good forty-five minutes to just get as far as the taxi stand at the highway. Then he heard something bang inside the house and both dogs ran outside barking at him.
“Hey doggies,” he forgot their names. “It’s me. Just me.” Both dogs had wagging tails but continued to bark. The monkeys started howling again, joining the commotion.
Diego came around the side of the house looking like he’d slept in the bushes last night, himself. “Hey Jamey. Annie said you were up the road. Any luck?”
“Nope. Nothing. They didn’t come back here.”
Annie rounded the corner of the house, wearing a long robe, her hair loose, and carrying a cup of coffee. “Here, you must be exhausted and cold.” She held out the coffee, her eyes not making contact.
As he took the mug from her, a flashback of his mother giving him hot cocoa when he was a child came and went. He’d fallen in the river out behind their house,
it was cold outside, maybe autumn, and she’d reprimanded him for playing near the water, dragged him back to the house, took off his wet clothes, and after bundling him in two blankets, sat him down at the kitchen table for a cup of cocoa. “I have to get to town,” Jamey said to Diego.
“I’ll take you in a minute. Let me get dressed and finish my coffee.” They walked back to the house, the dogs leading the way. Annie was silent but Jamey felt sadness and remorse from her. Had she been up all night thinking? Talking to Diego? Had her husband known about the other husband and family that was always waiting for her to show up some day in Carnation? He’d think about all that another day.
Today was the parade. Jamey had to get to the accident site and stand there all day if that’s what it took. Right now he had to ignore that his long lost, deadbeat mother had made him coffee in Nicaragua and was busy frying eggs and bacon at the kitchen stove for his breakfast. Diego got himself another cup of coffee and motioned for Jamey to follow him outside to the patio. They sat in two chairs by the pool and sipped their coffee. The morning air was chilly enough to warrant gratefulness for the hot drink.
“Annie and I were up all night talking.” Diego’s voice sounded as bad as he looked. “I didn’t know that my wife had a family in Washington State.”
Jamey didn’t know what to say to this. Your wife is a deserter and a liar would be a start, but he was sitting in their chair, at their house, in a foreign country, relying on Diego’s help.
“The fact that you are sitting here is God-damned amazing. I’m in shock, you can probably imagine.” Diego’s voice shook a little.
Jamey had to say something. “Me, too.” He looked back at where Annie was plating breakfast. “I remember when she was my mother,” he added, then thought better about opening up that wound.
“It must hurt. And here you are now. I’d say coincidence, but if you believe in six degrees of separation, the common denominator here is her friend, Jean. Mary Rose ended up here to find her mother, I suppose, and that’s how you found us.”
