Page 58 of Fear No Evil
Marquez, looking disgruntled over Ixtabel and Maife’s mysterious absence—who would cook and clean?—had ordered David and his squad to stoke the fire and cook the midday meal. Seeing the peacekeepers emerge from his quarters, he waved them all toward the firepit to partake in the teens’ preparations.
Julian filled a bowl of rice and beans for each one of them. Thanking Estéban who delivered it to her, Maggie sat on the other side of Jake, as far from Gallo as she could get. An uncomfortable silence fell over the camp as they ate, broken only by the popping of firewood and the occasional cluck of a chicken.
“Your drink, señora.” Estéban was back with a cup ofagua panelafor her.
Maggie thanked him and took a sip. If she never drank reconstituted sugar cane again, that would be fine with her. This particular mix left a funny aftertaste on her tongue. Lowering the cup to the ground, she concentrated on finishing her food while the teens joined the other boys over at the field with the bull’s-eyes.
A moment later, David came loping up to them. “Jacques, could you help us? A tree fell over onto ourfútbolfield, and we’re not strong enough to move it out of the way.”
Jake, who was finished with his meal, glanced at Maggie’s half-empty bowl. “I’ll be right back.”Stay here, his eyes said.
She was all too aware of Gallo watching them. “I’d rather go with you.”
But Jake strode purposefully away, calling over his shoulder, “Finish your food.”
The message that she needed every calorie she could get wasn’t lost on her. Maggie forced herself to keep eating. Keeping Gallo in her peripheral vision, she pondered his weird energy.
She was scraping the last grain of rice out of her bowl with her fingers when her stomach cramped. Lowering the bowl to her lap, she waited for the feeling to pass.
“¿Estás bien, chama?”Are you well, friend?
The question, uttered on a silky note by Gallo, made her blood run cold, even as another sharp pain gripped her intestines. She shot him a glare of disbelief. Had he poisoned her food? No, in herdrink—which explained the bitter aftertaste!
The urge to accuse him in front of Marquez and the others rode Maggie hard, but then they’d want to know what Gallo had against her. And clearly he had his suspicions, no doubt sown by David, who had led Jake away so Gallo could target her alone!
Desperate to signal her distress to Jake, Maggie craned her neck, peering across the camp in hopes of catching his eye. But Jake’s back was turned as he helped the teens heave-ho the fallen tree from the field into the forest. In the meantime, her stomach was starting to churn in a way that suggested what she’d eaten was about to make a violent return.
Unwilling to alarm the other UN team members, Maggie stood casually, left her bowl on the stump, and marched toward the bungalow, since Gallo couldn’t follow her there—not without raising eyebrows.
Once inside, she fled straight down the narrow hallway to their cubicle at the rear and right out the back flap, holdingthe urge to vomit in check. She pushed straight into the forest toward thecordoncillotree, the leaves of which had kept the infection on her hip at bay, though the site had yet to fully heal.
Another pang hit her as she slipped and slid downhill. She crashed into the tree she was looking for and promptly emptied the contents of her stomach behind it.
Following a violent bout of retching, she wiped her mouth on a leaf and straightened, hoping she’d imbibed so little of whatever Gallo had put into her drink that her poisoning was unsuccessful.
The significance of her circumstances made her reel.
Gallo was on to her.
The sound of someone heading toward her had her turning with relief. This had to be Jake, who’d seen her leave, after all, and was coming after her. But when she turned around, still deciding what to say to him, her relief turned to dread.
Gallo, with his eyes fastened on her, sauntered closer, pushing fronds out of his way to maintain eye contact.
Back in Morocco, Farid had walked up to her with the same confidence; his dark eyes had communicated the same intent to hurt her. The vivid memories flashing through Maggie’s brain kept her muscles locked. Fear banded her rib cage. She’d hoped she’d gotten over these flashbacks—apparently not.
The closer Gallo came, the harder it was to breathe. Maggie’s heart threatened to jump up her throat. If she shouted Jake’s name right now, her voice would crack. Instead, she demanded, “What do you want?” To her amazement, she sounded both defiant andunafraid, a circumstance that boosted her confidence.
He stopped within a yard of her.“¿Dónde está el mapa?”
Sure enough, David had told him about the other morning. Gallo had obviously searched the officer’s log and found the map missing. “What map?” She propped her hands on her hips,hoping to look less vulnerable, though the sloped earth gave Gallo a height advantage.
“The one you took from my notebook,chama. That map.” He stepped closer, his eyes glittering with hatred. “I know you took it. David saw you leaving my quarters.”
“I was looking for the medicine you took from us. Esme was running a fever.”
“You lie. You had something to do with the explosions last night, also. I know you are a spy. Tell me who you work for, and I won’t kill you.”
She managed to laugh at the empty threat. “If you would kill a member of the United Nations Department of Peace, you’re even stupider than you look.”