Pearls (32 page)

She swallowed back the knot in her throat. “Don’t punish Manuel for my stupidity.”

Too upset to continue, she sat on the floor beside the bed and took his hand in hers. “I love you,” she whispered. Laying her head against the mattress, she concentrated on taking deep, even breaths until exhaustion overtook her.

The door slammed open, jarring Isabel from sleep. Men bearing guns rushed into the room in a chaotic frenzy. Two of them grabbed her arms and jerked her to her feet, while another aimed a gun at Manuel’s chest. Their ringleader strolled in behind them, taking a deep drag from his cigarette.

He leaned his muscular shoulder against the doorframe and blew a plume of smoke. “Good morning.”

Isabel tried to jerk her arms free from her captors, but they held firm. “What do you want?”

“I need a guide. I’ve chosen you.”

“I won’t help you until you release Manuel.”

The man’s eyes narrowed. “If you don’t cooperate, we’ll kill him.”

The cold way he stated the threat left no doubt in Isabel’s mind that he would follow through if she resisted. Her gaze swung to Manuel’s helpless form lying on the bed. Sweat beaded across his brow, and his eyes glazed with fever. He had weakened during the night, but he was alert at the moment. He managed the strength to shake his head and mouth the word no.

She knew what he wanted her to do, but her heart wouldn’t allow her to sacrifice him for her own good.

“I’ll help you if you give him another shot of antibiotics and a servant girl to care for him.”

The man shrugged, not promising anything. “You’re wasting my time. Take her to the truck.”

Isabel caught one final glance of Manuel before they dragged her from the shack. His face twisted into a grimace and one hand feebly reached for her. As the shack’s door closed between them, she felt her heart rip in two.

Isabel rode in the back seat of the SUV, smashed between two men who desperately needed to bathe. The stench of their body odor mingled with cheap tobacco made her stomach churn. They had traveled for hours, bumping along unpaved roads in sparsely populated regions of the country. Isabel wondered where they were taking her. They didn’t ask her for a location, and she didn’t offer one. Yet they seemed to have a destination in mind.

She had needed to use the restroom for more than an hour but refused to mention it to any of the four men in the vehicle. Surely, one of them would need to stop before long. As she crossed her legs, the truck rolled to a stop in the middle of a deserted dirt road.

She glanced ahead of the vehicle and saw that the road intersected with another just a hundred meters ahead. “Why did we stop?”

No one acknowledged the question. They sat staring out the windows, acting as if this sort of delay was routine.

A cellular phone between the two front seats rang. The ringleader answered it. “Yes?”

Pause.

“Very good. We’re in position.”

Pause.

“I’ll be waiting.”

He hung up the phone and turned to the driver. “When the phone rings again, move to intercept.” He waved toward the intersection, and the other man nodded.

Isabel didn’t understand. “What are we doing?”

The ringleader turned and leered at her. “We’re rendezvousing with your friend. Of course, he doesn’t know we’re coming.”

Isabel frowned.
Who is he talking about?

“One of my men caught up with Raúl in Caracas, and we have monitored his activity since. It would seem he’s in a hurry to get to Cumaná. The two of you can show us where it’s hidden.”

The phone chirped just then, and the driver slammed the SUV into drive. The tires spun, then the vehicle shot forward. The momentum threw Isabel backward and pressed her against the seat.

They approached the intersection at an alarming speed, and Isabel closed her eyes, unable to watch. As quickly as it had taken off, the truck came to a screeching halt, blocking the intersection. Three of the men spilled out of the vehicle, guns bared, while the other held his weapon to Isabel’s head.

“Stay put,” he hissed, his eyes focused on a point beyond her.

She turned and saw a car sweep around a bend in the road. Encountering their roadblock, the driver slammed on his brakes and spun in a half circle before coming to a halt just meters away. The door of the car flew open, and the driver jumped out. Though he couldn’t see her through the tinted windows of the SUV, Isabel could see Raúl. She watched the armed men take up positions surrounding him.

His head jerked from side to side, no doubt assessing the odds and finding himself outnumbered. Despite his underdog status, Raúl stood his ground, posture stiff and angry. “What are you doing here?”

The ringleader spoke in a placid voice. “We came to collect our payment.”

“I told you I’d bring you the money when I had it.”

“We’re changing the terms of our agreement.” The man flicked his cigarette to the ground and watched it smolder for a moment before crushing it beneath his heel.

Raúl smirked, obviously thinking he had the upper hand. “I don’t accept your proposal to change the deal.”

“You don’t have a choice.”

“Why not? Are you going to kill me if I don’t agree?”

“No. We’ll kill her.”

The man guarding Isabel jerked her from the truck and dragged her into Raúl’s line of sight.

She glared at him.

Raúl’s eyes widened with alarm. “What are you doing here?”

Isabel wanted to spit in his face. “Don’t act like you don’t know!”

“Isabel, I did not involve you. I never mentioned your name or any details of this project to them. I swear!” He turned back to their captor. “She has nothing to do with this. I’ll give you what you want, but first let her go.”

“She has everything to do with this.”

“I owe you money. I’ll take care of my debt.”

The ringleader laughed. “You’re such a fool. A useful one but a fool regardless. This was never about you, Raúl. We only approached you because we knew you could get to her.”

Raúl’s brow wrinkled with confusion. “What?”

“That’s right. She led us to you. We arranged for your financial hardships so you would cooperate when we approached you with the offer to ship our goods. We even stole our own shipment so you’d get desperate and careless.”

Raúl shook his head. “I don’t understand. Why?”

“One of her grandmother’s lawyers is on our payroll. He passed along the tip about the journal. We intended to arrange an accident for the old woman and obtain the book legally through an estate sale, but she refused to add it to the list of her assets. The old woman insisted on keeping it hidden until she bequeathed it to her granddaughter. She didn’t seem to trust her lawyers.”

He grinned and the men around him laughed. “We’ve wanted that treasure for some time now.” He turned to Isabel. “It was nice of you to arrange an expedition to search for the pearls. You’ve been very helpful.”

“You took the journal from our camp. You have what you want. Let us go,” Isabel pleaded.

“Releasing you is no longer an option.”

He stared at her with cold, hard eyes and Isabel knew he meant to kill her. “I won’t cooperate.”

“You have more guts than your boyfriend here. He’ll give us the information we need. He always has.” He turned to his men. “You two, go with Raúl in his vehicle. We’ll take the girl in ours. If he doesn’t cooperate, call me. I’ll see that she pays.”

They shoved her back into the SUV. With each bump in the road, the knot of dread in her gut grew. She could almost see the specter of death hovering nearby, waiting to claim her.

The road carried them through a small village. Several old men sat outside a ramshackle store, smoking pipes. Without being too obvious, Isabel tried to catch their attention as the truck passed by, but they didn’t notice her pleading look.

They drove on, traversing another barren stretch of road with only a few modest farms dotting the landscape at wide intervals. Finally, the vehicle slowed and turned into a dusty drive, overgrown with weeds. The two vehicles came to a stop before a dilapidated home. Although large and probably stately in its day, broken windows, a sunken roof, and the front door hanging on one hinge testified to its abandonment.

With some prompting, she climbed from the truck and walked toward the rotting steps of the front porch.

“Where is it?” the ringleader asked.

Raúl pointed to the field behind the house. “You have to find her grave. My guess is it’s back there in the family graveyard.”

The ringleader turned and pointed at one of his men. “You, get the tools out of the truck.” He glanced at the other. “You, take a look around. Make sure we don’t have company.”

“What do we do with them?” The remaining thug waved the muzzle of his gun toward Isabel and Raúl.

The ringleader paused. “Cuff them to that fence. I don’t want any unexpected interruptions.”

The man followed orders, pulling a pair of cuffs from his pocket and securing Isabel’s wrist. Dragging her to the wrought iron fence, he wrapped the cuff around a spindle and snapped the other half on Raúl’s hand. Looking satisfied with his work, he marched off and took a position under a distant tree that offered him a view of the road, his captives, and his partners’ activity behind the house.

Alone, Isabel asked Raúl the question burning in her mind. “The grave is at the mission ruins. Why did you lead them here?”

“I’m buying some time. Did you tell them where the treasure is hidden?”

“No. They never asked. They were fixated on finding you. I still don’t understand why you brought them to this old farmhouse.”

“These old estates always have a family graveyard. I figured I could mislead them. We have to keep them busy until we find a way to escape.”

Isabel shook her head. “I can’t run. They have Manuel, and they promised to kill him if I don’t cooperate.”

He grabbed her hand and squeezed until it hurt. “Isabel, they intend to kill us as soon as they have the treasure. If you and I escape, they’ll need Manuel alive to lead them to the grave.”

Pressure built in her chest, and she began to shake. “I can’t abandon him.”

“You’re not abandoning him. Once we’re free, we can go to the authorities. We’ll try to get help.”

“I don’t see how we’ll get these cuffs off.” She lifted her hand, and the metal cuff clinked against the iron bars holding her captive.

“Look around. Maybe we can find a sharp stick or a big rock. Something that might help us break them.”

Isabel glanced around but saw nothing useful. “Wait!” She fumbled in her pocket with her free hand. “I have Manuel’s Swiss Army knife. Maybe we can pick the lock.”

“They let you keep that?”

Isabel shrugged. “They never bothered to search me. I guess they didn’t realize I’d have something like this in my possession.”

She pulled out various attachments until she found one that fit into the keyhole. After several minutes of twisting and turning, the lock clicked and the cuff dropped loose. She stared in amazement. “I did it.”

“Good work.” Raúl smiled and squeezed her hand. “Now here’s the plan. We wait until the guard looks away or gets distracted, then we’ll make a run for the vehicles.”

“They left the keys in the SUV. I remember seeing them hanging in the ignition when they pulled me out.”

“Good! When I say ‘go,’ run for the SUV.”

Adrenaline shot through her veins, speeding her heart to a frantic pace.
This will work. It has to. Please, God.

They waited in silence, anticipation building until Isabel thought she might explode.

The guard turned his back.

“Go!” Raúl leaped to his feet and took off at a full sprint.

Isabel shot up behind him. Fear propelled her forward. She reached the truck and slid into the passenger seat, knocking her shin against the frame. Just as Raúl closed the door behind her, shouts carried from the direction of the guard. Raúl glanced over his shoulder. Through her window, Isabel watched the man run toward them waving his gun, his face twisted in anger. He stopped and pointed the gun directly at her.

“No!” Raúl threw himself in front of her door.

A shot echoed across the distance.

Raúl slammed into the window, his face a gruesome mask of shock and pain. A small circle of blood appeared on his chest and smeared across the glass. He stumbled away from the door, and Isabel seized the opportunity. She shoved the door open and wrapped her arms around his waist, pulling him into the vehicle in the midst of another volley of gunshots. He sagged in the passenger seat, drawing jagged breaths while she scooted into the driver’s seat and started the ignition. Gravel and dust shot out in a plume as they fled their pursuers. A few shots followed the vehicle but none inflicted significant damage.

Isabel drove hard and fast, putting distance between them and their dangerous enemy. “I’ll get you to a doctor, Raúl. There’s probably something around here, maybe not a fancy modern hospital but a clinic or doctor’s office.”