“Yes, you know there’s still Margaret’s situation. But I’ll make any adjustments necessary.”
But he remembered he’d gotten a call while he was in the detention camp and it hadn’t been from Mandell. He took out his own phone and looked at the call history.
He stiffened.
Margaret.
Twice.
From Montego Bay.
It was the middle of the night. She wasn’t supposed to be there until later today.
But everything else was moving at warp speed. It shouldn’t have surprised him that Margaret, who had thrown Patrick’s rescue into high gear, would now find her situation escalating, too.
But he couldn’t call her until he got Patrick settled and safe. He could only hope that she’d be all right until he was able to get in touch with her.
Brukman’s malicious gaze was on his face. “Trouble? What a pity.”
“Everything else is fine,” Lassiter said. He hoped it wasn’t a lie. “Keep quiet, Brukman. You’re walking on very thin ice.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
San Gabriel’s Monastery was a weathered cream-stucco building with many arches, a gray tiled roof, and a large courtyard with a simple fountain.
When Lassiter drove into the courtyard thirty minutes later, the huge oak doors opened and a huge man in a gray robe stood looking warily at them. He was carrying a lantern and his expression was not welcoming. “I am Father Dominic. We have nothing of value here but the word of God.”
“We’re not here to rob you.” Lassiter jumped out of the van. “I know that showing up here in the middle of the night is suspect. But we need your help. I’ll reimburse you. My friend is very ill. If you have a bed and shelter, that’s all we’ll need. I’ve already arranged for a doctor.” He slid open the door of the van. “See for yourself, Father.”
Father Dominic came forward and gazed in at Patrick. He quickly crossed himself. “He’s from the devil’s camp. How did you get him free?”
“You knew about the camp?”
“There are stories about it in the villages.” He shook his head. “He’s dying. You’re too late.”
“He won’t die,” Lassiter said. “Not if you help us.”
Mandell was suddenly beside him. “Patrick may not have much time for either arguments or persuasion. Do you need me, Lassiter?”
Lassiter could sense both his tension and his readiness. “Easy, Mandell,” he said quietly.
Father Dominic’s gaze went from Mandell’s face to the rifle in his hands. “You’re a violent man. Do you threaten us?”
“I don’t want to do it. But we need help for our friend,” Mandell said. “We hope you will give it.”
“And if not, you will take it.” He turned to Lassiter. “But you don’t need this violent one this time. We will help you try to save this poor soul.” He motioned and two monks hurried forward from the shadows beside the door. “Perhaps God will be merciful.” He glanced at Mandell. “To your friend and to you, my son.”
He turned and disappeared back through the arched doorway of the monastery.
Montego Bay
5:05 A.M.
Her phone was vibrating.
Margaret could feel the movement through her pillowcase, which she’d slid the phone into last night after she’d failed to make contact with Lassiter.
She grabbed at the phone. “Lassiter?”
“What are you doing in Montego Bay?”
“Nicos. He decided I needed time to bond more with the dogs, so he brought me in early. He’s worried about this shipment.” She glanced at the clock. Five in the morning. Not much chance of the guard in the hall hearing her, but she wouldn’t take the chance. “Wait a minute. I’m going into the bathroom and turning on the shower. It won’t seem that unusual at this hour and it will drown the sound of voices.” She ran into the bath and turned on the shower. Then she sat down on the commode. “Anyway, you told me to call you as soon as I got into Montego. I’m here. I couldn’t reach you last night. You got Salva’s call directory?”
“More than that.” He paused. “I’ve got Patrick, Margaret.”
She closed her eyes as relief streamed through her. “Oh, thank God.” She couldn’t believe it. “When?”
“Last night. About the time you called me.”
“How is he?”
“Not good. High fever, shock, broken bones, God knows what kind of infections. I could see he was fading fast. I had to bring him to a monastery in the middle of this damn rain forest just to keep him alive. The abbot, Father Dominic, took him in and tried to do as much as he could for him. We’ve just managed to fly Dr. Armando here from Bogotá and he’s working on him now. I wanted to get Patrick the hell out of here, but the doctor doesn’t want him moved again.”
“But he’s going to live?”
“Not sure. He has a fair chance. If he doesn’t take a turn for the worse.”
“But will Nicos be able to find him there?”
“Not if we can get Patrick out of here fairly soon. Nicos hasn’t found out yet that he’s gone from the detention camp.”
“Why not? How could—”
“Margaret, listen. I’ll answer all your questions, but not now. There’s no time. There are too many things I have to know about you. Tell me about Nicos’s setup at customs at Montego Airport. It will take me about four hours to get from Bogotá to Montego Bay, and I have to know what to expect when I get there.”
Margaret drew a deep breath. She knew he was right, but she was bewildered and scared. Okay, focus on what was important. Patrick was no longer in Nicos’s hands and might have a good chance of staying alive. And Lassiter was alive and well and could be coming to help her.
“Margaret.”
“Give me a minute. You just blew me away.” She swallowed. “Here’s the way it usually goes down at the airports. There are always a lot of people at customs. Nicos generally picks a time of day when both the security and airline personnel are very busy. I usually have to stand behind the barriers until the man who checks the luggage through picks it up and takes it to security to have it examined. Raoul Garon will be doing it this time. He’s in his forties, thinning dark hair, a little on the heavy side. He’ll be dressed in a dark suit and will appear to be an ordinary businessman. Nicos will have a guard standing with me beyond the barrier to keep an eye on me.” She took a breath. “But this time he’ll have two more men, one outside the door and one standing beside Nicos’s car at the curb. Nicos isn’t going to let this shipment get away from him even if he has to use force. It’s too important to him. There will be two dogs at security and I’ll be expected to divert them or just make them ignore that particular piece of luggage.”
“Nicos will be in the car? What about Salva?”
“Salva will wait at the hotel until the luggage is delivered to him and then arrange for immediate distribution. As I said, it’s an important shipment.”
“Then we can use that.” Lassiter paused. “If we stage it right. But I don’t like those extra guards. We may have to go another way.…”