It was rare to see a plane in this part of the world. The airstrip hadn’t been used in months. Locals still traveled by dugout canoe and fished with nets woven by hand.
The plane banked as if to make another pass but turned south instead. Had the pilot lost interest? Or had thunderheads, stalled to the east, forced him onward?
I’d been trying to buy time, hoping General Juan Rivera would show, but also thinking I don’t need a weapon. A bullet is not how Praxcedes Lourdes should die.
No, I didn’t need a weapon. I knew what it was like to have the man by the throat; to feel reflex contractions caused by fear, not flames. Bullies are driven by cowardice. It was the only normal human characteristic I could assign to Lourdes.
But Kal Wilson was an impatient man. This island was now poison to him.
“We need to get under way.” Wilson had been worried about the weather, now there was a plane to think about.
I said, “I really think you should cut me loose. He was here, I can pick up his trail. When the local police arrive, I can talk to them. Maybe they’ll know something.”
Wilson’s expression said Why are we having this discussion again? “That was six months ago.”
“But Lourdes grew up here. There’s a settlement of Miskito Indians not far, on the coast. They have a communications network better than any telegraph. They’ll know he’s out. They might know where he is. They’re terrified of him, so they keep track.”
Wilson wouldn’t budge. “We have to be in Panama by tomorrow. Why are you stalling? You’re expecting someone, aren’t you?”
I told him yes, that I’d e-mailed a man who might have the equipment I need.
“Who?”
Wilson had every reason to despise Juan Rivera, even though both men had been out of the political spotlight for years. But that’s not the reason I replied, “I’d rather not say, sir. He would expect me to keep his name confidential.”
“Did he tell you that?”
“No. But I would expect the same of him.”
“Sorry. You said you need at least a day to get set up? This will give you extra time.”
No, I had said I needed a week but didn’t correct him. The president was still shaken by what we’d found on the rim of the volcano and by what Tomlinson had told him.
What that was, exactly, I didn’t know. I’d gotten Tomlinson off alone, but he was emotionally drained. I didn’t chide him when he opened the silver cigarette case he carries while traveling and lit another joint.
“Bad?”
He inhaled, waited for a moment, attuned to his internal chemistry, before he exhaled. “Horrible.” Meaning, how Wray Wilson had died. “Praxcedes Lourdes was here. The evil one. He had three or four men with him.”
Although the case was plea-bargained, Tomlinson had been deposed as a witness against Lourdes because he is friends with my son. Tomlinson had actually faced Lourdes once, in a courthouse hallway.
Since that day, he has always referred to Lourdes as “The Evil One,” as if the term should be capitalized.
There are times when I wrestle with the possibility that Tomlinson really does have extrasensory powers. But then I remind myself it is a mistake to confuse empathy with telepathy. For Tomlinson, the pain of others is as palpable as vapor, as contagious as a virus. It seeps into his brain, then his soul. He doesn’t just empathize, he absorbs. Tomlinson says he loves people for their flaws because flaws are the conduits of humanity.
Like many who spend their lives outdoors, he also has a heightened awareness of sensory anomalies. The stink of charred adipose is uncommon at sea.
I asked, “What did you tell the president?”
“The truth. You can’t lie to a man like that. But I softened it as much as I could. There were details… details about those poor, poor people… what they went through before… before…”
Tomlinson stopped as if waiting for pain to fade. He looked at me with his wise, sad Buddha eyes. “For Wray Wilson, the worst part was the silence of the flames. Water, wind, earth, and fire-all elemental. But combustion isn’t a substance, it’s a chain reaction. To a woman unable to hear? Fire is deafening.”
I packed the camouflage netting as the president went through his preflight. We left the volcanoes of Lake Nicaragua behind, flying south.
Less than two hours later, we landed at a place I hadn’t seen for many years-the Azuero Peninsula, on the Pacific coast of Panama. Rock, opal sea, jungle. There was a tuna research facility nearby operated by my friend Vern Scholey.
As Wilson idled the plane toward what looked like a seaside cattle ranch, he told me, “A man’s supposed to meet us here at three. But we’re early and he’s one of those pompous asses who’s always late.”
I knew he wasn’t talking about Vern.
Four hours later, at sunset, the man arrived. Turned out the pompous ass was Kal Wilson’s adversary, General Juan Rivera.
Rivera hadn’t gotten my e-mail. And he wasn’t in Panama to see me.
19
General Rivera told President Wilson, “The American newsman Walt Danson is in Panama searching for you, old friend. I am saddened I must damage our reunion with this bad news. If he was not such a famous journalista ” – the general’s eyes sought mine in a knowing way-“I would have him kidnapped. But kidnapping famous people is time-consuming. They are demanding, and so nervous about how their food is cooked. As you comprehend, we have very little time.”
Wilson was looking at me. “How could Danson possibly know I’m in Panama?”
“It is not a thing I understand,” Rivera replied, moving imperceptibly to distance himself from me. “I can only tell you it is true. Something else that is more bad news: Only two hours ago, I was sitting at an outdoor cantina in the jungle watching the news on CNN, and the sexy gringa -Shana Waters?-she was interviewing fishermen who said you purchased gas from them for your craft. This was on a beach, and she was wearing a blouse that my new wife said was quite expensive. One of the campesinos, he titled you ‘The Chief.’ ”
Rivera was a showman, performing for an audience even when there was none. He was enjoying this chance to impress the president with his English. I interrupted. “Did she describe the plane?”
“Yes. Very accurately.”
“What about the location?” If Waters was on our trail, she might be selfish enough to keep the story exclusive.
“She said… Honduras. ‘Somewhere in Honduras,’ is the way she said it. Such a sexy gringa -in my humble opinion. The entire world is searching for you, Mr. President. The news is on every screen. But if Shana Waters succeeds, do you think it is possible that you could arrange an introduction?”
As an aside to me, Rivera added, “It is a thing I miss. Being interviewed by the journalistas of New York and California, particularly women. They are so… receptivo. It is one of the reasons I have decided to”-he stumbled for a moment-“decided to abandon my retirement from the revolution.” He smiled. “Do you not agree, Mr. President? It is the time for revolution once again.”
Wilson, who was not smiling, said, “Yes, General, I agree. It is time for a change. First, though, we have to deal with this security problem. How do Waters and Danson know I’m in Central America? And for Waters to broadcast from the exact spot where we refueled-that was an unscheduled stop, remember?” He was speaking to me, as my brain reviewed the linkage: Key West… Danson, Waters… Tim the Gnome… Tomlinson… Me… Wilson… Vue… Rivera.
I said, “Only you, me, and Tomlinson knew about that stop.”
“Is it possible one of the fishermen recognized me?”
“No, they didn’t get close enough. If someone had binoculars, maybe, but unlikely. No one was expecting us.”
Both men were now staring as I considered alternative explanations, both probably wondering who had tipped off the TV people, me or Tomlinson.