Catherine's Cross (46 page)

Suddenly, the sound of a gunshot rang out. Then a noise that was surreal filled the air. It sounded like the beating of the wings of thousands of birds. She was frozen in place as the sky went black ahead of her.

The wave of darkness descended upon her, and she realized the origin of the beating of wings.
Holy Lord Jesus, bats, thousands of them
.

She dropped to her knees and covered her head with her arms as the creatures engulfed the air around her. Just how much time passed as she crouched on the ground, she could not be sure. The fluttering noise of their beating wings dissipated, and she cautiously lifted her head up. The sky was still obscured by the multitudes of bats disturbed from their rest by the gunshot.

Taking a deep breath, she continued her trek down the trail. At a bend in the pathway, there was a man lying face down. Jenks ran as quickly as she could to the individual and turned him over. “Thomas, are you all right?”

He only made a slight moan and did not wake when she shook him. Thomas had a serious welt on his forehead, and Jenks attempted to revive him, but to no avail.
Seth, where are you?

Jenks felt like her heart might burst as she ran with all her might further into the jungle. It was obvious to her that the path had recently been used by others. Above her own frantic breathing, she heard the sounds of a struggle just ahead of her.

She entered what appeared to be a small clearing, and in front of her were Seth and Frank Hiller in hand-to-hand combat. Moving quickly, Jenks ran in their direction. On the ground in front of her was Seth's handgun. She picked it up and pointed the gun toward Frank Hiller.

Terrified that she might accidentally shoot Seth, she stood by as the two men battled one another furiously. In a split second, Frank hit Seth hard across the face, and he fell to the ground.

She raised the gun and pointed it at Hiller. He took only one step toward her—his expression unreadable.

For just a moment thoughts of Gigi flashed through her mind.
Don't hesitate—he killed Gigi—he'll kill you and Seth as well.

“Jenks—protect yourself! Shoot him!” Seth cried out as he raised himself from the ground. “Shoot!”

Without warning, the ground underneath Frank Hiller gave way, and he disappeared off the side of the plateau. Jenks looked around her and realized they were standing on a partially cleared terrace. They were on the site of a Maya ruin.

From the hollow into which he had descended, Hiller made a chilling cry of pain, guttural, almost inhuman. Jenks had never heard a sound so frightening in her life. Seth slowly got to his feet and carefully made his way near the edge of the terrace. He held his hand out, signaling for Jenks to stop. “Don't come any further.”

A deep frown crossed his face. “What are you doing here?”

“I had to see about you!” she cried.

At that moment, one of the FBI agents and Mr. Price emerged on the pathway. “Where's Hiller?” Agent Simpson asked.

Seth pointed over the side of the embankment. “My partner's helping Detective Campbell out of the jungle. Nasty blow to the head,” Simpson said.

Mr. Price inched closer toward the edge of the terrace, and Jenks watched as he took a deep breath and his eyes grew wide. He crossed himself as he had done when they saw the fer-de-lance on the logging trail.

Jenks noticed that none of the three men were making an effort to descend from the terrace for Hiller. She could hear struggled breathing and after several moments, he crawled back onto the terrace from the precipice into which he had fallen. Jenks covered her mouth in shock as she realized Hiller had several small snakes still on his body.

“Tommy goff,” Mr. Price murmured. “In this case, a mother and many small ones.”

Hiller's facial expression showed deep agony, and he yanked the remaining snakes from his body and flung them back into the jungle. Looking completely spent, he dropped to his knees and then forward onto his elbows. After a moment, he rolled onto his back and stared up at the sky.

“The closest medical clinic is at Blue Creek Village, but it is some distance away. We must try to get him there,” Mr. Price said.

Seth and Officer Simpson lifted Frank Hiller from the ground. They put one of his arms around Seth's shoulder and the other arm went around Simpson's. They struggled with his weight and began the trek out of the jungle. Hiller's feet were at times dragging the ground.

Even through both men were in exceptional physical condition, they had to stop twice to regain their breath and strength as they carried the full weight of the man. By the time they reached the edge of the jungle, the other FBI agent, Castillo, joined the two men in carrying Hiller.

When they reached the house, they placed him on a lawn chair that was on the rear patio. His face was contorted with pain, and he was having spasms throughout his body.

“Water,” he begged.

Castillo went inside the house and returned with a bottle of water, opened it, and handed it to him. Mr. Price was speaking to someone on the telephone. He turned and looked at the group. “I have called the medical clinic at Blue Creek Village. I spoke to the doctor's wife. He left yesterday afternoon with his nurse to handle an emergency delivery for a woman in Rosita. She says that he has not returned. We must take him to Orange Walk.”

“We'll use his Land Rover. We can probably get over the downed trees in it,” Seth commented.

“I'll see if I can find the keys to it,” Castillo volunteered as he went toward the house.

Hiller could hardly manage to drink from the water bottle and Jenks helped him take sips. She looked into Frank Hiller's eyes and realized he was staring at her. Their eyes locked.

He struggled to speak. “Gigi, I'm—” He didn't finish his sentence as a surge of pain gripped him.

“Frank, why?” Jenks implored him.

He started to speak again, but a wave of agony washed over him, and he shook with a seizure.

The sound of an approaching vehicle was audible as Castillo drove the Land Rover onto the lawn, stopping near the patio.

Frank started to speak again. “Gigi—” Again, he was consumed by pain.

“Let's get him into the truck,” Simpson said.

The men started to lift Hiller into the back of the Land Rover, but Mr. Price held his hand up in a fist, signaling for them to stop. Jenks looked down at her sister's killer, and his eyes were fixed and unmoving, staring straight at her.

Mr. Price felt for a pulse on his neck and then closed Hiller's eyes. He stood above Hiller and crossed himself again. “Too much venom,” he said dryly.

Jenks looked at Seth. He had red marks on his face that she knew would turn to bruises, and he was sweating heavily from the chase and then from carrying Hiller's full weight through the jungle. Tears started to well in her eyes and fell down her cheeks.

Frank Hiller lay dead a few feet away from her; during all the times she envisioned him brought to justice, she had expected Hiller to spend his life in prison. Justice had been dealt, but she felt only remorse. She wished that she still had her precious sister.

Seth put his arm around her and led her away. He winced as he took a step, limping on the leg that had been broken.

“Are you all right?” Jenks asked him.

“Just sore, let's go see about Thomas and Lopez.”

“He thought I was Gigi. He was trying to tell me something.” She wiped tears from her cheeks. “He didn't attempt to take the gun away from me.”

“I know.”

“Why do you think he didn't?”

“That—we will never know.”

The deafening cry of howler monkeys filled the air as they made their way toward the others.

CHAPTER 19
Blackstock's Mountain

“I
'm afraid to come in there.”

“You afraid—no way!” Seth called out to her, his voice echoing from within the cave. “Just hold on to the rope and crawl in. You have nothing to fear.”

Jenks shimmied across the ground. She felt claustrophobic as her head bumped the top of the tunnel. She took a deep breath and cautiously crept the remaining feet to the entrance of the cave. The lanterns that Seth had lit illuminated the grotto, and when she emerged, she gasped at the wonder of her surroundings.

The cave was at least twenty feet high and a small stream ran through the rear portion. The stream gurgled and the light of the lanterns cast shimmering reflections of the water on the walls of the cave.

“Wow, this is amazing.” Her voice echoed.

“Yes, ma'am, it is that.”

Seth took her by the hand and led her close to one wall. “Take a look at this drawing,” he said, holding a lantern close by.

“Oh, my goodness—it's a buck smoking a pipe. It actually looks like that deer is smiling.”

“Could be.” Seth chuckled.

“And to think, you and Steel could be the only ones to have found these drawings since they were created. Thank you for taking me here.”

“My pleasure.”

They spent another thirty minutes studying the rest of the artwork before exiting the cave. When they came out into the fresh air, the glare from the sun on a landscape of snow blinded them, and they put on their sunglasses.

It was early January, and Seth had brought Jenks to Asbury to show her where he had grown up. After they arrived, five inches of snow had fallen in the hills of north Georgia. They played in the falling snow Saturday afternoon into the evening and walked around the small community—Seth recounting stories of adventures he had shared with Steel growing up.

Despite the snowfall, they rose just after sunrise and left the bed and breakfast, Asbury House, to drive up into the hills near Blackstock's Mountain. The four-wheel drive on Jenks's Jeep worked effectively.

Putting their gear back into her vehicle, Seth told her, “I want to show you something.”

He took her hand and led her up a hill to a plateau. In front of her lay a cemetery; snow covered the graves and created drifts on top of the markers.

There was not a single noise except their breathing.

“It's so quiet,” Jenks whispered.

They stood in place and observed the serene surroundings. The hills and the mountain were covered with snow. Suddenly, the lone cry of a hawk sounded nearby, and the large bird flew above them, looking for prey.

“Come this way.”

He led her to a grave marker that was covered with snow, and a small American flag was displayed near the stone. He dusted it off with his gloved hand.

Steel Mason was the name on the marker.

Jenks huddled close to him as they stood together quietly.

She wasn't sure how much time passed by, but finally she broke the silence. “What a peaceful place to be at rest,” she said as she looked around her surroundings. “The flag looks brand new.”

Seth looked as if he were returning from somewhere far away and then turned to gaze at her. “I think it is,” he said as he examined it closely. “God, I miss him.”

“I understand.”

He looked down into her eyes and then hugged her.

Thick clouds were moving in and began obscuring the sun. Snow began to fall again, flurries at first, but quickly changed into large fluffy flakes.

“I love you, Miss Ellington.”

Jenks hugged Seth close to her and then stood on her tiptoes in her hiking boots to kiss him on the cheek. “I love you, too.”

He unbuttoned his coat and took his gold watch out of his wool vest.

Looking at the time, he commented, “We should still be able to get breakfast at Asbury House. Are you ready to go back?”

“Yes, sir.”

As they walked away from the cemetery back to Jenks's Jeep, she asked, “How's Thomas feeling?”

“Much better—he's stopped having headaches. The Lopez kid spent a week in a Belize City hospital, but I was just told he's doing better.”

Jenks dusted snowflakes out of her hair. “Seth, do you think any of the artifacts that Frank stole from Gigi will ever be recovered?”

“As we both know, Mr. Price is very capable, and he's doing research in Belize. Your lawyer, Mr. Delamere, in Charleston, is investigating as well. And of course, you have the Beaufort County Sheriff's Department and the FBI still investigating. I think you're doing as much as you can.”

“And that cross—I wish Gigi had never found it.”

“Yes, but she did.”

“I hope that a settlement can be reached over it without some type of court action.”

“Have patience.”

“I am—I'm cold. I want you to make me a hot chocolate when we get to the Asbury House.”

“Let me warm you.” Seth wrapped his arm tightly around Jenks and looked down into her eyes. “It will be my pleasure, Miss Ellington.”

The End