Touched by Death (34 page)

Ten minutes later, all she had was a headache.

She sat up again and rolled on to her hands and knees
then stood slowly, anticipating the rush of blood – and pain
– to her head. Once standing, she closed her eyes, and breathed
deeply for several long minutes before she stood steady. The same odd
noises popped in and out of her consciousness. As did cold and chills.
Her feet were almost numb as were her legs. She couldn't sort everything
out.

"I don't know what happened, but something's
sapped all my energy and strength…just standing is a major accomplishment,"
she murmured out loud.

Feeling comforted by the sound of her own voice, she
took one faltering step. Then another. She had to stop and breathe deeply
before trying a third. "Hello? Is anyone there?"

She stepped forward again and came up short. The same
odd sound had grown louder. Her leg couldn't move any further. She turned
around. The odd sound fell into place. So did the odd chill on her ankle.

Lifting her leg, she pulled up her jeans. She couldn't
think; her mind was blank with shock. Then understanding slapped her
up the side of her brain. Wrapped around her ankle was a manacle. A
chain extended from that to the concrete wall behind her.

A chain, so similar – too similar –
to the ones she'd seen on the dead women from the grave.

Like them, she'd become a prisoner.

While Bruce called the same officers that had helped
during Dr. Mike's disappearance, the team assembled in the office to
compare information. Dane sat back and closed his eyes. His throat closed.

Damn it.

Impatience and the need for action seized his gut.
His instincts said to find her before it was too late. What the hell
could have happened? The hotel was a public area but they'd had few
guests this last week. Still, any stranger could have walked in and
out without attracting too much attention. But not with Jade…unless
she knew him and went willingly…

"Could her disappearance be related to the gravesite?"

Everyone stopped and stared at him. "What do
you mean?" asked Stephen.

"Have you had anyone angry or complaining about
the grave being opened?"

Meg glanced at her team then back at Dane. "To
be honest, the lack of any reaction from the locals is what surprised
us. I know everyone is still reeling from the earthquake, the flooding,
the cholera, tetanus…but instead of concern about the work we're doing
at the mass grave, there's almost an air of apathy. Like they can't
deal with much more."

Dr. Mike spoke up. "Their lack of interest and
caring suggests we should only remove the remains if they meet our search
criteria and leave the others be. Not test the others at all. So few
family members have come forward at the clinic… And with the pressure
from Tony… And if all our efforts focused in the lab trailers we'd
be done that much faster."

"Have you turned anyone away? Anyone approach
you about disturbing the spirits? Anyone give you any kind of suspicious
or unsettling reaction. What about more break-ins?"

Dr. Mike glanced from one face to the next, then turned
to stare at Dane. "There's been one minor one at the clinic, but
nothing was taken. There's been no more here at the hotel that we know
of. And as much as I hate to say it, the only one particularly bothered
was Tasha, your sister-in-law."

"Great. Well she's not capable of kidnapping
Jade." He pulled out his phone. "As far as I know, she is
safe and sound at the hospital."

"Did you ever check with John to see if there
was anything new on Tasha?" Meg asked. "I'm thinking about
what Magrim said."

He grimaced. "Right. She said Tasha was dead."

"What?" Stephen leaned forward. "Did
she die?"

"I don't believe so." Dane let Meg tell
the others about Magrim's prophecy. He dialed John. "John? What's
the matter? You don't sound very good."

"I just called the hospital. Tasha passed away
during her nap this afternoon. Just after you and I left her. I've been
wandering around town in a daze ever since."

Dane closed his eyes and slumped against the wall.
His brother just couldn't catch a break. "Shit. I am sorry John.
I didn't see that one coming."

"Neither did I. Now I have no reason to stay,
do I? Except for Peppe, my entire Haitian family has been wiped out,"
he said bitterly. Dane walked away from the others. "I'm sorry
John. I know now much you were looking forward to the baby and having
Tasha back to normal."

John's unsteady voice was hard to decipher. "Instead
I have another funeral to arrange. I wonder if the baby can go in the
coffin with her. I think she'd like that."

Dane's heart broke. "I'm sure that can be arranged."

Silence filled the phone.

"What did you call about?"

Dane straightened. "We're looking for one of
the team members; Jade, the tiny blonde. I wondered if you'd seen her?"

"Seen her? No. Why would you think I had?"
John's voice was devoid of curiosity. Devoid of anything for that matter.

Dane winced. "Sorry for bothering you. When I
called, I knew it was a long shot but I'm desperate to find her. I left
her for a few minutes and when I came back she was gone."

"I don't know why you'd be calling me. It's not
like I know her."

Dane clenched the phone tighter at the petulant sound
in his brother's voice. "I'm calling everyone. Keep an eye out
for her will you, please? By the way, did you ever find Peppe?"

"No. No idea where he is. He might be dead too.
Lord knows everyone else is," John said, his voice gloomy and without
energy.

Damn. His brother had been through so much. "I'm
not. I've been here for you all along. I can't bring them back. I wish
I could, but that's just not possible."

"Yeah. I know. But I would like to know why your life
is so easy and clean…and why mine is just plain fucked up."

The phone went
click
.

Dane stared down at it and groaned softly. He didn't
know how to get John through this. It had been hard last time. This
could be much worse.

"Dane?"

He spun around to find the group staring at him. "Hey.
Sorry. Tasha passed away this afternoon after John and I visited her."

Meg gasped, her hand going to her throat. "So
Magrim was right? At least about Tasha. Although we don't know about
Peppe… Is he still missing?"

"Apparently." He stared down at the phone.
"John's in a bad way."

"Of course he is." Wilson stared at him.
"He's lost his wife and unborn child."

"That would be tough on anyone." Bruce winced,
exchanging glances with Dr. Mike.

"And worse when it happens twice." Dane
looked and sighed. "He lost his first wife in a car accident. John
didn't know she was pregnant until the doctor told him afterwards."

Shocked silence filled the room.

Dane frowned. He studied the uncomfortable look on
Dr. Mike's face. Bruce cleared his throat. "Twice. That's an awful
coincidence."

"What do you mean?"

"The chances of that happening twice in one man's
life are pretty slim."

Stephen and Wilson slid sideways glances to the other
two scientists. "Right, Dr. Mike?"

Dr. Mike and Bruce were having a silent conversation.
As if coming to an agreement, Dr. Mike nodded. "It's not impossible.
Some people seem to be plagued by bad luck. If there had been a police
investigation in the first incident, the second would definitely warrant
a closer look. Particularly if there had been anything else in his history.
However both deaths were unrelated and by came about by different methods,
so it
could
be very bad luck."

It took a moment for Dane to digest what he was really
saying. "No. Oh no." He shook his head violently. "Don't
even think that. There. Is. No Way."

Silence filled the room. "Besides maybe Tasha
caused her own death, accidentally or intentionally." Angry, he
stood with his hands on his hips, his phone still open in his hand.

Meg spoke up, "I don't see Tasha having done
something. She's been catatonic since she went into the hospital. Did
John say how she died?"

Dane stared at her, trying to sort out how everything
had suddenly twisted upside down. Finally, he said, "I didn't ask.
John didn't volunteer."

The others exchanged sober looks.

Dane could feel insidious doubt twisting in the back
of his mind. No. It wasn't possible. Not John. "Better you consider
the missing Peppe. I don't know when I last saw him, but in his mental
condition he could have killed Tasha, too.

"Not John. John wanted his family. He lived for
them. Besides, we're jumping to conclusions here. For all we know, Tasha
died from complications of the surgery." He pulled out his cell
phone. "We could call and find out for sure."

Bruce interjected. "They won't have definitive
results from an autopsy yet."

"Easy. We're not accusing John of anything. Honestly,
the prime issue is to find Jade."

Meg cleared her throat. The others turned to stare
at her. "I know this isn't going to be popular, but honestly, there
aren't too many people to consider. So we have to look at everyone,
including ourselves." She took a deep breath. "And John. Is
there any reason that John may have wanted to talk to Jade? Would he
have taken her for coffee? Anything?"

Anger twisted inside him. She was actually suggesting
his brother might have had something to do with Jade's disappearance.
Red filled his mind. "There is no way. Don't take the suspicion
from one bad scenario and make it fit another. John didn't kill either
of his wives. Nor did he 'take' Jade anywhere. He hasn't seen her. I
just asked him." He stood up, barely holding back the anger threatening
to explode. "I will start looking further afield."

"Didn't Magrim also say Peppe was dead?"

"I don't give a rat's ass what that old bitch
said." Bitter and angry, confused and – dare he admit it –
slightly afraid, he headed toward the parking lot.

"Dane."

He stopped short and turned back. "What?"

"Be careful."

He shot them a look of disbelief and walked away.

Jade had scrunched up to keep warm. Her mind raced
from idea to idea…and always slammed into the same blank wall. Her
ankle was truly locked in the manacle and the chain was truly bolted
to the wall. She wasn't going anywhere and she didn't know where she
was. Except that she figured it was some kind of basement. There were
no windows or doors and just the one set of stairs. The mustiness seemed
to be growing stronger…maybe there was something dead down here.

The reality of her situation added to the chill in
the place and sent shivers down her small frame. Cold and hungry, she
waited for her captor. Surely, he'd come back soon?

Her mind kept returning to the poor victims from the
grave. She had no doubt she was in their shoes right now. She just didn't
understand why.

Or how?

She had no recollection of being snatched or the journey
to this place. The only clue was the dried blood in her hair and that
damn booming headache. Her eyes focused further into the dim space…
There was something in the far corner, hidden by the dark and didn't
move. Some lumber leaned against the wall; something else was stacked
on the floor. Once again she regretted not having a cell phone.

Why her? Had someone looked for her specifically?
Or had it been a crime of opportunity? Was her imprisonment related
to the excavation of the gravesite? Her stomach heaved. She might never
get out. She might end up in a nameless grave like the other women.
Unmarked and unknown. Duncan would go mad. He'd blame himself for talking
her into coming to Haiti for the second time.

She buried her head in her arms.

She didn't want to die.

She'd just returned to the land of the living.

M
eg said, "I'm presuming that's not the way to
gain Dane's cooperation."

"Do we really think that John may have killed
Tasha?" Stephen shook his head. "That's crazy."

"Better ask Dr. Mike that question." Meg
turned to look at Dr. Mike.

"It's a possibility. A probability? Who can say?"
Dr. Mike cleared his throat. "We don't know the details on his
first wife and know almost nothing about Tasha's death yet."

Bruce joined in. "I will say that the only time
I've come across something like this, it was exactly that. Two pregnant
wives unexpectedly dying. I agree; it sounds suspicious but without
further details..."

"Even if John did do something to his wife,"
Stephen's voice rose slightly. "What does that have to do with
Jade? Isn't that an entirely different issue?"

Dr. Mike spoke again. "Maybe. Maybe not. Dane
appears reliable. Responsible. What's going on with John? I can't say
I like the little bit that I saw, but that's just my opinion."

Meg stepped in. "Yes. Jade said something about
him having had a bad time of it before these deaths. That he struggled
in his relationship with his wife…and that his business was failing."

Dr. Mike glanced over at Bruce. "That just reinforces
the profile: Failed business, failed marriage. Rather than look at himself,
it's easier to blame the wife. Blame leads to the solution: get rid
of the wife – get rid of the problem."

Stephen leaned back. "That's cold, man."

Dr. Mike's face twisted. "Murder usually is.
And I've seen way too much of it."

"Why would he get rid of the baby too? It's his
child. Are there no parental feelings?" Meg gave a delicate shudder.

Dr. Mike shook his head. "Again, not if the baby
has been pinpointed as the cause of a problem."

Wilson jumped in. "And what if he had nothing
to do with the baby's death but blamed Tasha for the death of his baby?"