Touched by Death (25 page)

John called out as he entered. "It's empty. Doesn't
look like he's been here recently either."

Dane stood by the entrance. "Can you tell if
anything is missing? Like could he have come home for supplies and then
taken off again?"

"What supplies? The guy doesn't have much."

"Not having much usually means that the little
bit you do have is important."

John shook his head and walked back out, pushing Dane
outside ahead of him. He closed the door behind them and stood staring
out across the land. "Dane, what the hell have I done so wrong
in my life that this is happening to me?"

Dane's heart ached. "I don't think you did anything.
Your wife has a delicate mind and recent events may have been too much."

John bowed his head. "I guess that's the easiest
way to put it."

They wandered the acreage. Dane wanted John to talk.
He didn't want to say the wrong thing. He knew John would button up
again if he did.

John spoke before Dane had to push the issue.

"She's been so weird since her pregnancy and
then that damn grave business started. You'd have to agree she'd been
her normal sunny or ordinary self before that. Sure, she had bad days
and was grouchy a couple of times but nothing like this. She didn't
like the size she was getting but she adored the baby. She acted like
I would have expected. But you've seen her yourself this last month.
There was something really wrong there."

"I figured it was the pregnancy and the grave
business?"

John sighed. "So did I. For a while I wondered
if her superstitious beliefs were right – about opening of the grave
being an omen of bad things to come. Only I'm not superstitious. She
is. She asked her priestess for help several times. And it's when the
team arrived and she knew that everything was going ahead that she started
going downhill. Faster."

Dane shook his head at the word priestess. Instead
of speaking, he stomped on his prejudice. John needed his support, not
his questions.

John stood silent, thinking. "I'm afraid she
might have done something that accidentally caused the death of the
baby." He spun around to face his brother, obviously upset. "I
don't
want
to think that. But I can't help but wonder."

"Whoa. Stop right there. You just said she loved
the baby." He reached out and shook his brother's shoulders. "Right?"

Relief lit up John's face. "Yes. She was happy…was
looking forward to the baby's arrival."

"Here's what I'm thinking. She knew that something
was wrong inside. She couldn't handle it and probably started blaming
everything on the mortuary team opening the grave."

John asked hopefully, "Do you think that could
be it?"

Gently, Dane said, "Makes sense to me."

John blinked several times. "Thanks. I hope you're
right."

J
ade and Meg didn't waste any time at the hotel. More
worried than she wanted to be, Jade scrounged up stuff to take with
her for a longer wait, then changed into jeans and the light work boots
she used at the gravesite. She stuffed her pockets with snacks. Filling
a couple of water bottles finished the job.

She grabbed her laptop. Who knew how long they might
need to wait? She might as well make good use of the time.

At the site, Meg went to check on the reefer truck
while Jade walked over to the lab trailer, unlocked it and went in.
Half expecting to see something wrong, she searched the trailer carefully,
then shrugged. All appeared normal. Same as it had last night before
she left.

Meg joined her a few minutes later.

"Dane just drove in."

Jade blinked. A slow smile spread across her face.
"Nice."

Meg grinned. "Really?" She snickered as
she started to leave. "Don't be too long primping."

Shaking her head, Jade walked outside. Dane was a
perfect distraction for the long wait ahead of them. He walked toward
her, his stride strong and effortless. But fatigue worried away at his
face and instead of his normal confident smile, his mouth had a grim
set that looked like it had taken root. John wasn't the only one suffering
here. Jade's heart went out to him.

"Hey. Don't you look like shit?" Meg never
did hold back.

He grimaced yet never slowed his step. "Tough
times."

Jade walked down the stairs and watched as his face
warmed. Especially nice was the smile that chased away most of the worry
lines. Opening his arms he waited for her to get within grabbing distance,
then snagged her close and hugged her tightly.

"I need this," he murmured against her ear.

She squeezed him back too. "So do I."

He pulled back slightly. "No news on Dr. Mike?"

She shook her head, mortified to find tears threatening.
She sniffled and turned to Meg to have the taller woman speak for her.
"Meg?" she asked her voice thick.

"We found the SUV, locked, still full of all
the equipment – at a bluff on the other side of this." Meg wafted
her hand in the direction of the hills behind them. "Three of our
team have started to walk through from the point where the SUV was found.
They're hiking toward us right now."

Dane's frown came lightning quick. "Why would
he walk this way if the SUV was there and fully functional?"

"Yeah. That's one of those questions we don't
have answers for. He could have fallen and hurt himself. Broken bones,
head wound…all are possible reasons he didn't return to his SUV. The
guys didn't want to sit and do nothing and we know head wounds are tricky.
If he tried to start the car and couldn't, he might have figured he
was stranded and this was the fastest way home." She shrugged.
"We don't know much but couldn't leave this option unexplored.
The police are checking with the leasing company to retrace the SUV's
route. Maybe that will shine a little light on the mystery."

Dane nodded. "Let's hope so."

The three studied the hill. "Stephen seems to
think it was perfectly normal for Dr. Mike to have done the hike to
see how difficult it might be, in consideration of the rest of us."

"Is he a hiker or something?"

"A GPS buff, outdoorsman, hiker, mountain climber.
Yeah, he's very active."

Dane pursed his lips. "When did they leave and
how long are they expecting to be?"

Checking her watch, Meg said, "They left over
an hour ago and we're hoping to see or hear from them in another hour
or two."

Jade walked around the two of them and studied the
hillside. "No sign of them yet."

"They'll be lucky to make it in that time frame.
John and I have both been over that rise – a couple times, in fact."

Jade spun to look at him. "Really?"

He nodded. "There are several big caves where
an injured person could hole up overnight."

"Is it a tough hike?" Jade felt immeasurably
lighter now that she knew there was shelter of a sort. "Maybe we
should check those out ourselves. The guys don't know about them."

Walking around, Dane pointed to a small rise. "That
path comes out just behind the gravesite – and Peppe's cabin, for
that matter. Long ago, it was a common path from town to town, and when
there was heavy flooding people took the hill paths."

Meg wondered. "What's the chance that Peppe and
Dr. Mike are in the same place? If Dr. Mike found an injured Peppe..."

"Why don't we go see?" Jade studied the
path in front of them. "We can go up to the top and still keep
an eye open for the men. The others don't know about the caves and they
need to be checked out."

The two waited as Jade locked up the lab before they
walked up to the gravesite together. Dane took them along the tree line,
pointing out Peppe's cabin in the trees.

Jade shaded her eyes from the sun as she studied the
area. "It's nice to see the trees here. I hadn't realized, but
Haiti's got a huge issue in that area."

"When Peppe was growing up this was a flourishing
farm. Full of fruit trees, and they even grew coffee for a while. They
were one of the first in this area to have running water and electricity.
Now, the property is past its prime."

"Why are there so few trees in Haiti?" Meg
asked.

"So many were cut down for firewood. It's actually
a huge issue. There are many groups involved in tree planting here."

"Firewood for cooking. Right. That's another
issue here, along with the lack of electricity and running water in
most areas."

"Exactly. John says there hadn't been any money
to sink into the property for a long time – but they tried different
things. Peppe's wife worked and that kept them floating. They put in
the electricity when the hospital went in. Once she was gone...well
it really fell down." Dane kept to the left of the rock pile and
they suddenly arrived at a path that wound its way up the hill. "Here
it is. If they find the path and come this way, they shouldn't run into
any trouble." Dane took the lead. "I wonder if Peppe is up
there. He's at home in this terrain. He wouldn't think twice before
going over that hill."

A horrible thought slipped into Jade's mind. "Dane,
I hate to ask this… But is Peppe dangerous? Like if he came upon Dr.
Mike, would he hurt him?"

Meg's soft gasp told Jade she'd just followed her
train of thought. Dane on the other hand stared at her in confusion.
"I don't think so, but I don't really know."

Jade swallowed. "I know it's probably just my
crazy imagination again, but we also found out that Susan, the other
female team member had an intruder in her hotel room last night. While
we were out with Emile, I think."

Dane's brows pulled together. "Did she recognize
him?"

"No," Meg piped up. "She could barely make him out in the shadows. She did have the lock checked and there was no sign of a break-in."

He pulled out his cell phone "I can't say I'm
surprised. This economy has been struggling to recover. Crime is up.
That you haven't had any other problems before now is what's surprising. I'll tell
John what we're doing."

Jade continued up the hill, Meg right behind her.
Dane caught up before they'd gone any distance. "John says he'll
give us five hours to locate Dr. Mike and then we're to call him back,
otherwise he'll call the same officers you spoke with." He grinned
at the two women. "At least I get a chance to take you sightseeing!
Maybe another time we can do another outing for less serious reasons?"

Meg smiled. "Sounds great. We haven't done anything
like this since arriving."

"We went shopping," protested Jade.

"Sure we did – once. Since then you won't go
back. Not after Magrim scared you. You believe her now, don't you? There's
been nothing except bad things happening since she spoke to us."

"Too many." Jade shivered. "Thanks
for that reminder."

"True. Maybe we should talk to her again. She
might foresee a better future for you now."

Jade made a face, saying, "It would be hard to
make it any worse."

They'd been walking the whole time they'd been talking
and now started up the incline. Dry needles crunched under their boots.
They moved at a steady pace. The dust rose with each step and the bushes
on either side of the path gave off an odd aroma when disturbed.

It wasn't a steep incline. Just enough that Jade needed
to focus on her pace and breathing. She hadn't done anything remotely
exerting in the last year and she didn't want to slow the others down
or be left to drag up the rear. She took a sip of water and kept an
ear to the conversation.

Meg and Dane were discussing Seattle, of all things.

"Any idea how long you're going to be here?"
he asked.

"I think about six more weeks." Jade shrugged.
"Maybe longer."

Meg piped up. "What about you, Dane? How long
are you staying here?"

"A week ago, I'd have said a couple more months,
now with the mess of John's family and situation, I don't know."

That sobered the conversation.

"Any news about Tasha?" Meg asked.

After slugging back a hefty drink of water, Dane shook
his head. "John's tormenting himself over this. He knows she'd
been bothered by something for a while; he put it down to the reopening
of the grave. She increased her production of those little dolls and
the tourist stuff she makes and sells. He thought she was trying to
keep her mind off what we were doing and make extra money before the
baby arrived." He wiped his brow before continuing, "John
says he can't remember when he last felt the baby move. Tasha hasn't
been sleeping well. So John moved to the couch. Before then he used
to sleep with his hands wrapped around her belly and could feel the
baby turning around like it was doing yoga."

"Is he blaming himself?" Jade wouldn't blame
him if he did. She'd probably feel the same way if she were in his position.

"Oh yeah. He's worried that he missed something.
Something – that if he'd seen it in time – would have saved them
both."

"That's normal. He'll move past it eventually
and when he does, he'll start the healing process." Meg's tone
was gentle yet professional.

The group continued to climb as they talked. Jade
listened, mostly. It was easier to climb that way.

"That may take a bit. There's no change in Tasha's
condition and Emile has slipped again. I don't know that he's going
to survive. If Tasha does recover, they aren't going to be able to tell
her about the baby right away for fear she won't be able to handle the
news." Dane strode forward confidently, unaffected by the strenuous
climb. "Honestly, I don't know how John is handling this right
now either. It's got to be tough. I know it would be tough on me."

Meg nodded, sadness and compassion blending in her
features.

Jade didn't know how Meg could deal with people's
problems, to this extent, all the time. Jade couldn't do it. "She'll
get over losing the baby. I know that sounds harsh and it's way worse
in that she was so far along in the pregnancy, however in time, women
do recover." At least she had. And now seeing Tasha lose hers,
she realized time had helped. It's not like she'd ever forget, but the
pain had receded, softened. She'd moved on. "They have to grieve
though. If they don't, it's harder to recover."