The Infinity Tattoo (7 page)

She pointed at a deer. “Look.”

The animal was hovering on the edge of the property in a thicket of bushes. She had enormous ears and huge brown eyes. Jack could see her nose wiggle as it sniffed the air. Then another deer joined her. They stood for a moment longer, then took a leisurely stroll along the border of the thicket and disappeared when they reached the edge of the creek.

With each passing day, Jack felt more relaxed. He worked hard. The cloudless skies worked on his psyche. The bright sun bronzed his face and chest. And each time he thought about telling her about Alex and Honduras, he never seemed to find the words.

Until the day they had a visitor at their work site.

They had just started a new job, a large contract at a high-end residence. Julio and Manny were already at the site, as usual. It was an opulent property on an elevated lot, a luxury home with jaw-dropping views backing to National Forest in one of the elite gated neighborhoods of Sedona.

The landscaping was equally impressive. The contractors had hired a landscape architect for the overall design and then subcontracted the work out to a couple of local landscapers, including Meg’s company. They were to put the finishing touches to the place, planting the last of the bushes and setting up the drip irrigation system to nurture the plants and encourage a deep rooting system.

As Jack and Julio were laying new pipe, a car drove up to the worksite and a man got out. Julio looked up and swore under his breath.

“Who is that?” Jack said, noticing Julio’s discomfort.

“A no good
hijo de puta,”
Julio practically spat out.

Jack watched as the man approached them.

“Julio, my man, how are you?” the man said with a white-toothed smile beaming from a tawny face. He wore gray slacks and a white Ralph Lauren polo-shirt. A gold cross on a chain peeked out at the neckline.

“Carlos,” said Julio without returning the smile. “What are you doing here?”

Carlos’ smile dimmed. “Can’t I come visit my favorite aunt and uncle if I want?”

Julio snorted. “Since when?”

Now Carlos’ smile disappeared altogether and his black eyes narrowed. Glancing at Jack, then back at Julio, he switched to Spanish. “Let’s not fight, Julio. I’ve just come for a little visit. My wife, you know. She’s always saying how we never see you. So when she had some time off from work, I agreed to drive her up here. We’ll stay the night, and then be on our way.”

Grudgingly, Julio nodded and offered Carlos a hand.

“That’s better,” said Carlos, the broad smile returning to his face. Then he surveyed the worksite. “So, I see you are still hard at it, working the land,” he said, switching back to English, unaware that Jack had understood every word he had just spoken.

“
Sí
. As always. It pays the bills,” Julio said tersely.

Carlos laughed and slapped Julio on the back. Then his eyes lit on Jack. “Who’s this? A new employee?”

“This is Jack,” Julio said, offering no further explanation. “Jack, this is Carlos, the husband of my wife’s niece.”

Jack offered his hand. “Nice to meet you.”

Carlos took his hand and gazed at Jack’s face. Both his handshake and his gaze lingered for a few seconds too long.

“Where do you come from, Jack?”

“I’m originally from Illinois. But I haven’t lived there in a very long time.”

“I see,” said Carlos, still scrutinizing him.

“Carlos,” Julio said, drawing Carlos’ attention away from Jack. “Your wife, she’s at the house?”

“Yes,” Carlos said with a chuckle. “You know how women are when they get together. Non-stop talking.”

“That’s for sure.” Julio nodded sagely. “Well listen, we’ll be done in a couple hours. Why don’t you go on back to the house and have a beer, catch up on some of the gossip. I’ll finish up here and join you.”

“Sure, man. Sure. I wouldn’t want to keep you from your work.”

Julio rested his shovel on the wheelbarrow and patted Carlos on the back, steering him back to the car.

Jack watched Carlos drive away and Julio return.

“I take it he’s not one of your favorite relatives,” Jack said.

Julio just picked up his shovel and got back to work.

* * *

After more than a week, they were finished with the project. They gathered their tools and unused supplies. There wasn’t enough room in the bed of the truck for everything, so they loaded the rest in Julio’s pickup. The four of them returned to Meg’s house. Meg parked the truck in the shed, while Julio stopped in the driveway.

As they were unloading, a large black Lexus pulled over. A man who looked to be in his fifties got out on the passenger’s side and approached Meg.

“Can I help you?” she said. He wore khakis and a polo shirt, and his feet were shod in patent leather loafers. Not your typical tourist, thought Meg.

“I hope so. See, we’re a bit lost. We’re trying to find Red Rock State Park." The man had a silky smooth voice and seemed to be looking everywhere at once.

“Oh, that’s easy. Just follow this road another five miles. You can’t miss it.”

“Okay. Thanks a lot for your help.”

“No problem,” Meg said and stood watching the car disappear down the road.

“Meg, come on into the shed,” said Julio. “Manny can finish up out there.”

“But there are only a couple more things and then—”

“Meg,” Julio said sharply, “for once in your life will you just do as you’re told.”

Meg turned and walked into the shed. “Julio?” she said. “What’s the matter?”

“That man. I know him,” Julio said, frowning.

“Well, who is he?” Meg asked.

“He is a bad dude. His name is Freddy and he’s a member of a drug cartel.”

“How do you know that?” Jack asked.

Julio looked at the ground a moment, scuffed his boot in the dirt. “Through a relative of a relative.”

“What’s he doing here?”

“Who knows? It seems he’s a long way from home,” Julio said.

“Well, let’s finish unloading,” Meg said. “I’ll feel better once I’m inside with the doors closed.”

When the last of the equipment was cleaned and stored, Julio and Manny got into the pickup. “You be careful, Meg,” Julio said as he backed out of the driveway.

“I will.”

When Julio and Manny drove away, and the garage door was closed, Meg let out sigh of relief.

“I need a drink,” she said to Jack. “How about you?”

“Yeah, I think a drink is in order. Why don’t I go ahead and take a shower while you have yourself a glass of wine.”

Meg did as suggested, retreating into the house. Later, as she sat on the deck and sipped her drink, an uneasy feeling crept over her. What were foot soldiers for a major drug cartel doing in Sedona? Was it a coincidence that they’d stopped at her house?

And how could they not find the state park? It was right up the road. Maybe they were just using it as an excuse to get other information. By the time Jack joined her, her reporter instincts were on full alert.

“Jack, do you get the feeling those guys came here for a reason?”

“Why would that be?”

“I don’t know. Could they have been looking for you?”

“Drug traffickers? Looking for me? I’ve never had anything to do with that kind of thing. I can’t imagine why you would think that.”

“Well, someone was after you before. How do you know they weren’t the same people?”

“I don’t know. It just doesn’t make a lot of sense.”

“You’re right,” she said. “I’m probably overreacting. I guess Julio’s making me jumpy.”

But the uneasy feeling wouldn’t go away.

* * *

Meg slept badly that night. Every sound coming from outside her bedroom window made her wake up. She heard a coyote howl, then the neighbor’s dog, then the distinctive snuffling of a family of javalinas. She’d finally settled into a deeper sleep when something startled her awake. She lay unmoving in bed and listened.

There was a soft scratching on the front door. She waiting, straining to hear more, but all she heard was silence. Still, something wasn’t right.

Silently, she sat up and donned jeans and a shirt. She grabbed a pair of slip-on sandals and tiptoed into the living room. The half-moon showed through the large picture window, casting a faint light into the room. She could see the outline of the couch, the armchairs, the desk in the corner.

Suddenly a gloved hand covered her mouth and she was dragged back against a hard body. Another arm snaked around her chest in a vise-like grip. Meg grabbed at the arm holding her and thrashed around in an effort to get free.

Just as quickly as she had been grabbed, she was released. She turned in time to see her assailant stumble back. Then a black shadow dashed in front of her. A second later, it plowed into a second shadowy form. Her assailant’s partner?

Meg backed away, reaching for the wall where she knew there was a light switch. But before she found it, she heard scuffling, then a shout: “Let’s get out of here.”

The front door opened and she saw the dark shapes of two men slipping outside and running away. Jack lay on the floor several feet away, dazed.

Meg ran over to him. “Jack, are you all right?”

“I will be,” he said, shaking his head. “Just give me a second.”

By now her eyes had adjusted to the dim light and she could see his face as he struggled to a sitting position. Without thinking, she touched it tenderly.

Then she said, “I think those guys were the same ones who stopped by this afternoon. We need to get you out of here. Go grab your stuff. I’ll get the car keys.” She jumped up and ran to her bedroom where she started gathering items and throwing them into her backpack.

Jack stood and made a rapid assessment of his condition. A few bruises, nothing more. He returned to his room and quickly gathered up his meager possessions, stuffing them into his backpack. By the time he was finished, Meg was ready.

“Come on,” she said and led the way out the back door into the shed. She slid into the driver’s side and threw a small pack in the back. “Get in.”

Jack opened the passenger door and stooped to look in at her. “Where are we going?”

“I don’t know. We’ll figure that out when we get there.”

“I don’t want to get you into my mess, Meg.”

“It’s a little too late for that,” she said. “Now would you just get in the car?”

Jack repeated his question as they went down the winding road from her house. “Where are we going?”

“I don’t know. Do you think anyone’s following us?”

“Well, it wouldn’t be hard,” he said. The clock on the dashboard showed two a.m. There wasn’t another car on the road. They were heading towards West Sedona, but this far from the main area of town, it was dark and quiet.

Before long, a large vehicle approached them from behind, its headlights on high. “Jack, can you tell what kind of car it is?”

“Not with its headlights glaring at us.”

Soon they reached the junction for the highway leading into the heart of Sedona. “Okay, listen, Jack. I’m going to take a side road in a couple of minutes. When I say ‘now’ you hold on.”

They reached the edge of the town. They passed several shops and hotels which were all closed, and the street was all but deserted.

Meg shouted, “Now!” and turned abruptly onto a side street. Then she made a quick left onto a smaller street, pulled over and killed the engine. They watched behind them until a large black SUV drove slowly by. It passed the small side street where they were tucked away and continued down the larger road.

After a few minutes, Meg started the Land Cruiser again. They returned the way they came, then crossed over the highway to the residential area on the other side.

Meg knew all the roads of Sedona. Having grown up here, and then taken on various landscaping jobs, she knew every nook and cranny of the town. She drove north for a while and then turned onto another road heading southeast. The road took a lot of twists and turns until it finally led back to the highway.

Meg turned left and headed through Uptown, the main tourist drag with all the trendy shops and boutiques. As she exited town a large vehicle pulled out from a side road and slipped in behind her.

“Is that them again?” she asked Jack.

“Who else would it be?” Jack responded.

Meg kept going and was soon entering Oak Creek Canyon. It was very dark and the road was serpentine, meant to be taken at forty miles an hour, less at sharp curves.

Meg pressed her foot on the gas pedal but as she did so, the behemoth gained on her, its headlights blinding her. Then it rammed the back end of the Land Cruiser.

“Christ,” said Jack, “go faster.”

Meg hit the gas. Now they were flying practically blind. The sharp curves lighted by her headlights came at them with barely enough time to react. But she had the advantage over their pursuers, as she had driven this road countless times. When they reached a tight curve, she shouted at Jack to hang on.

Tires squealed, but held the road as she took the Land Cruiser expertly around the hairpin turn. Behind them, they heard a loud screech, then a crashing sound.

Jack grabbed the door handle to anchor himself and turned to look behind him. “I think we ditched them. Literally. You might want to slow down, now.”

Meg worked the breaks gently until the car slowed to a mere thirty mph. When she found a turnoff that she was familiar with, she pulled off the highway. She nudged the vehicle onto the shoulder of the road behind a copse of trees that hid them from passing traffic on the highway and turned the engine off.