Page 65 of Fear No Evil
God have mercy, he was being stared at by a jaguar!
But, as suddenly as he’d seen it, the creature wheeled and fled, scarcely making a sound as it leaped away. Jake kept stock still, rocked by the beating of his heart. He took one cautious step backward, then another, while zipping up his pants.
Keeping his eyes peeled for the giant cat to flank him, Jake hurried out into the field and up the muddy furrow, casting wary glances behind him all the way to thecasita. What a surreal experience, coming face-to-face with an endangered jaguar!
With his blood still flowing, he ran into David and his squad, who were all awake by then and carrying wood into thecasitafor a fire. Glancing his way, they stopped and stared.
He explained his evident pallor.“¡Vi un jaguar!”
Their faces lit up, and they broke into grins.
“That’s good luck, señor,” David assured him.“No se asuste.”Don’t be afraid. “The jaguar protects men from evil spirits.”
Pretending not to understand the second part of David’s message, Jake followed them only to step back as Boris and Bellini emerged to do their business. “Don’t go that way.” He pointed downhill. “I just saw a jaguar.”
As the two men marched warily into the woods, avoiding the field, Jake wiped his boots on the mat and reentered thecasita. His alarm spiked to find Lena and Arias, the only two people still sleeping. Hurrying to her side, he placed his palm on her forehead and found it warm to the touch.
She awoke with a gasp, recognized him, and went to wipe a grain of sleep from one eye. “Hi.”
“Comment vas tu?”He searched her expression.
“Bien, et toi?”She glanced toward the rice bag, clearly asking if he’d retrieved the phone yet.
“Parfait.”At his optimistic tone, she gave a small smile of relief that the phone was working again.
Her attention went to Esme, who was standing over Arias. Switching to Spanish, Maggie asked her, “How’s the patient this morning?”
From where Jake stood, the Argentine’s coloring looked better already.
The Turkish woman nodded. “His fever is broken. That tea David made for him certainly helped. Perhaps he can make more. I’ll go ask.”
As Esme left thecasita, Jake watched Lena swing her feet out of the hammock and sit up stiffly. She’d lied yesterday about her hip being fine. Remorse for not checking her incision daily needled him, but it had looked good back atCecaot-Jicobo.
Lena waited for Esme to disappear before asking him in French, “Did you call yet?”
Charles and Arias were the only people present, making it safe for Jake to answer.
“Oui.I got through.” A glance toward Arias showed the man still sleeping.
“Bon.”Looking relieved, Lena started toward the door. “I need to use the facilities.”
Of course, therewereno facilities. With a wry smile, Jake followed in order to protect her. He decided not to mention the jaguar. Lena didn’t need yet another reason to be anxious. Pressing into the forest, they ran into Bellini and Boris on their way back. Once out of earshot, Jake inquired, “How long have you been keeping your secret?”
She didn’t even glance in his direction.“Quel secret?”
“You know which one. Show me the incision.”
With a firming of her lips and a quick look around, she lifted her jacket and showed him. Her slacks hung so low on her skinny hips that she didn’t need to pull them down anymore. They’d both lost weight on this mission.
As Jake stared at the angry red infection, premonition pulled his scalp tight. “Do your business and walk straight back to thecasita. I’m going to look for another cordoncillotree.”And hopefully not run into the jaguar.
“Jake, don’t bother. We’ll only be out here a couple of days. I’ll be fine until then.”
David’s voice calling for them kept Jake from going anywhere. He waited for Lena to tend to mother nature before they retraced their footsteps together. Maybe David would help him locate what he had calledmatico. Then again, no. David would want to know why Jake needed the medicinal leaves, and they’d roused his suspicions enough as it was.
Discovering why David was calling them, Maggie braced herself. Marquez and Gallo were back from their visit with Rojas. Nor were they alone. A squad of eight guerillas accompanied them, all of them hardened soldiers armed with brand new AK-74s, no doubt provided to them by the Venezuelans.
Leaving his men outside, Commander Marquez wiped his boots and squeezed into the littlecasitato speak privately with the UN team. Maggie watched him fold his arms across his chest in a stance of resistance that didn’t jibe with the words coming out of his mouth.