Shaking Off the Dust Read online

  “We should finish our interview with the other child.” Bill never forgot the job.

  Ten minutes later, I was holding hairs in my hand.

  Bethann faced the boy standing next to her. He stared straight back at me. Red hair stuck out in every direction and most of his front teeth were missing. It didn’t seem like that was from an accident, but simply a seven-year-old losing teeth and them growing back at varying stages.

  “She can thee me?” he asked with a distinct lisp.

  “Yes, I can see you. You’re Nicholas, I bet. Brodie mentioned you.”

  “He’th mean to me.” Pale green eyes flashed as he glanced over at Brodie.

  “I don’t think he means to be unkind, but he is sad and angry and that is how he lets his anger out. He’s mad at the people who hurt him and you and Melissa, but they are not here. So he’s taking it out on you and all of us. He’ll behave better now, I promise.”

  “Make him promith,” Nicholas demanded.

  “Brodie?” I called and the imp moved next to me. “Promise Nicholas you won’t be mean to him again. Promise you won’t call him names.”

  “Do I have to?”

  “Yes, if you want to hang out with the FBI and the Spanish agents. Besides we’re going on a picnic tomorrow and if you want to see Spain and come along you must promise him you’ll behave.”

  “You’re worse than a teacher.” He turned to Nicholas. “I promise not to call you names or make fun of the way you talk or make you cry.”

  “Okay, Nicholas, is that good enough?” I was surprised I got that much out of Brodie.

  “How can you thee us?” Nicolas asked.

  “She had a brain surgery, that’s how she can see us, moron,” Brodie spoke to him like he was talking to a younger brother.

  Nicholas lifted his chin at the other boy, ready for battle before he glanced at me, and then Bethann. “Ith that true? And I’m not a moron, moron.”

  Bethann nodded. “She can see us sometimes and she did have brain surgery, but I don’t know if that is why she can see and hear us.”

  Brodie shook his head in disgust. “Of course that’s why.”

  Tom cut in. “It’s more complicated than that.”

  “Then explain it.” Brodie was getting mad.

  “Brodie, stop interrupting. You can hear about it later from Tom, when we’ve all gone to bed. Right now I need to hear and tell Nicholas’s story, so be quiet.”

  “What’s going on?” Enrique asked. “What do they want Tom to tell them?”

  “They are arguing over why I can see them. Brodie says it’s my brain surgery and Tom says it’s more complicated. You heard what I told them.”

  “Brodie is a smart young man,” Enrique asserted.

  “Where I come from, we’d call him a rascal. Smart mouthed and smart headed.” I looked at him and he puffed up like a peacock. I turned to Nicholas. “Now, Nick. Can I call you Nick?” He nodded. “Can you tell us what happened to you? We want to find those people who took you from your real parents. These people here are with the FBI and they need to know what happened so they can catch the people who hurt you.”

  Nick stuttered out a complicated story about his mother’s boyfriend who stole all their money. They couldn’t pay the rent and lived in a car for a while and then moved into a shelter in New Mexico. He was going to go to a water park with three of the other children living in the shelter. He loved to swim. They ended up at the compound and he never saw his mother again.

  His voice quavered as he spoke of the dogs, big black beasts. He was afraid of them, but they made him feed the dogs everyday. They were “dobernams” and they growled and chased him away. One day he fell as he was running and they attacked him. He hit his head and the next thing he knew he was walking through the dogs and then through walls. He wasn’t hungry and he found Melissa, who was like him, so they hung out together, even though she’s really too young for him to play with. When Brodie joined them, he was always picking on him, but told them stories about angels coming one day.

  Nicholas gave us the names of everyone he remembered and where they slept in the compound. I repeated it all. When he finished, I had unshed tears in my eyes. I was not the only one. Even Enrique and Jack looked stunned. These children had each suffered as no one deserves. I was devastated by their journey through life and death.

  “There is a picnic tomorrow. After that, I think the youngest ones and I will walk into the light. They have suffered enough in this world. Tell my Bill that I won’t wait any longer. Tomorrow we celebrate. The next morning we leave.”

  I repeated her words to Bill. He looked staggered, but nodded.

  Brodie walked over to Tom. “I’ll stay with Tom. I’ll go when he goes.”

  Ruffling the boy’s pale white hair, Tom shot me a look before he nodded agreement. He wanted me to think he was doing it as a favor to me, but I understood him better than that now. He did this for Brodie.

  “I am looking forward to a day of fun and relaxation. I hope the weather is nice.” I let the hairs fall from my hand onto the table and put on my best excited face. If tomorrow was their last day on earth, we were going to make it a special day for them.

  “I have Arturo and Mia’s hairs also.” Takeshi took the hairs I had set down, along with the other two and started to weave them into a braid to make it into a ring shape. “Tomorrow you can wear the ring and they will be with us for the day.”

  “In the meantime, Enrique, does your TV get cartoons? We can send them all to a TV set and let them enjoy themselves.” I waited for him to show me the way.

  Mateo stopped Takeshi from following us by saying, “We still have questions for Tom, Takeshi and the others. If we are taking off a day to play, I will use the rest of this one to continue our investigation.”

  Wandering the house while Mateo held my man hostage, I found my way to the TV room. Nestling into a pillow on the couch, I slid the ring of braided hair on my finger and listened to cartoons, shrieks of children’s laughter and soft words of comfort from Bethann. One by one the children joined me on the sofa. Ignoring the cold, I offered them warmth.

  Takeshi found me there late in the evening and bundled me off, scolding me for becoming so cold, then heating my body with his fevered lovemaking.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  I woke the next morning as the bed moved. The maid brought in a breakfast tray. I dove into the food and put three sugars in my tea and had downed half the cup before the maid left the room. Takeshi smiled at me and poured himself some. “You are hungry?”

  “Yes. Stress does that to me.”

  “Sure you don’t want to stay with me for a while?” Takeshi patted the bed.

  “You already had your way with me last night. It’s embarrassing how easily you seduce me. How do you do that?”

  “I convince your body, not your head. We are tuned to each other now. I would never hurt you, Hannah, your body and you know that. Think of it as a form of meditation, a way to release our stress.”

  I snorted loudly at that. “Whatever you choose to believe, Shimodo, oh Mystic of the East.”

  Enrique told us to wear warm clothes, sweaters and heavy jackets. The weather had turned unusually cold. I’d decided for layers and then Takeshi insisted I wear one of his sweaters under my jacket. I gave in with very little argument, because he was so cute when he was pouting.

  As we reached the car, Takeshi handed me the ring of hair he’d found on the bedside table and I put it on my finger. Brodie started out with us at breakfast then decided we were too boring, and had gone back to join the other children watching cartoons. I saw they were all now waiting in front of the SUVs.

  Enrique, Bill, Takeshi and I went in one, and the others went in the second vehicle. Tom, Brodie, Arturo and Mia sat on the hood. If Enrique were able to see them, his view would have been completely obscured. Bethann and the three children were in the vehicle behind us, their heads sticking out of the roof. It was a forty-minute drive to the small
town and we pulled into a grocery store. Takeshi and I started walking in and the children gathered around us.

  “Bethann, I need some personal items and I’d like some privacy. Can you take the children elsewhere ’til I get things bagged up,” I requested quietly.

  “Of course, Hannah.” She told the children to follow her. Luckily there was a toy section and they found things to occupy themselves. I begged Hector to go along with her so he could pick up different toys and explain what the Spanish writing said. He seemed a little embarrassed at first, but Sharon and Melissa held on to his legs until he gave in. He took items down one at a time to let them see. In the end, Rachel stayed with him and they were all laughing.

  Takeshi and I started for the personal products. He carried a basket over his arm. I searched for familiar packaging to go with Spanish words. I found tampons, and Takeshi tossed in condoms and every pregnancy-testing kit on the market.

  “Damn, Shimodo, you are pushing it on both those items.” I added the extra-large lubricated-condoms package I’d spotted.

  He did one of those almost smiles he was good at and looked me straight in the eyes, before bursting out laughing. “My wanton Hannah.”

  Tom appeared next to us and perused the contents of the basket. He saw the pregnancy kits and got right up into my face. “Hannah, what’s going on? I thought you two were using protection?”

  I got my feelings hurt. He was worried for Takeshi, afraid I would trap his friend. I couldn’t stop from tearing up.

  “What’s the matter, Hannah, what’s going on?” Takeshi demanded urgently. “Tell me, please?”

  “Tom’s worried I’m trying to tie you to me,” I replied.

  “I never said that. I didn’t even imply it. I’m worried about you, Hannah. Your brain won’t take labor. The strain could be fatal.”

  I blinked. “Nobody has ever mentioned that to me. If I can survive one lovemaking session with Shimodo, I can survive anything. Tell me the truth, Tom. You think I’m too old and bitter for him. And I agree a hundred times over. He put those pregnancy kits in there, not me.”

  “You’re wrong. I want him to be happy. But I worry about you. I think I worry about you more now. Carrying a baby would be difficult. Many of the medications you are taking would need to be stopped. Takeshi knows that. You can’t have the stress to your brain or your heart that trying to push out a baby requires.”

  “He keeps telling me I smell like blackberries and honey and that’s supposed to be proof positive.”

  “In fifteen years, he’s never been wrong. It was a game when we were in med school.”

  “Don’t start this crap with me. He’s wrong this time. I prefer strawberries.” I stomped down the aisle to the checkout. I grabbed a bunch of chocolate, which Takeshi put back on the shelf, whispering, “Caffeine,” so I threw in bags of peanuts and a power bar.

  I pulled out a wad of pesetas Enrique had given to me and put it down on the counter. Takeshi picked it up and gave it back it me, then handed the checkout girl his credit card. She gave us a curious glance and bagged the items. We left in silence to go hunting for the rest of our ever-increasing group and found them all still in the toy section.

  Hector and Rachel were racing cars while Mateo and Jack were cheering on their counterparts. The little girls were touching Rachel, urging her to go faster and her eyes were sparkling with laughter. After the girls won the race, they decided to buy several toys including the cars and trucks, and we all headed back to the cars.

  We took a gravel path off the main road and drove up to a lake and surrounding countryside. The cars were parked a short distance from where we set up our picnic. There were blankets and baskets filled with food and drink. Everyone sat back, eating and telling silly stories. The children even told jokes, though as translator I don’t know if my delivery did justice to their small voices. Then they began running off into the woods, yelling and laughing. It felt like a real family gathering. I tried to tell the others how much fun the children were having, and I wished they could have seen them too.

  I leaned against Takeshi’s chest and was thinking I might take a nap when Brodie came running back.

  “Hannah, you have to see this. There’s a whole family of small animals in the woods over there. Come on and look.” He was so excited I decided to let him share his enthusiasm.

  I told the others of the wonders to behold if they also followed Brodie. Hector, Rachel and Takeshi joined the excursion.

  It’s always strange when you enter a forested area, it seems ominous and closed in. The sun barely pierced the overhanging trees and the darkness increased. We walked for about ten minutes until I could hear water rushing as we came upon a waterfall that fed into a fast moving stream of rapids and down a ravine. The trees cleared as we got near the water and the sun shone on us again. Leading the way, Brodie walked straight across the water to the other side.

  “Brodie,” I yelled. “We can’t follow you. We can’t walk on water and it’s too cold to wade through.”

  Disappointed, he came back to us. I let my hand pass through his hair in my attempt to ruffle it and he grinned. “Being dead has its good points.” He looked longingly at the other side of the water.

  I turned around looking for Hector and Rachel. They’d been behind us. Takeshi tensed. He shaded his eyes with his hand as he scanned the rocks near the waterfall. From behind a tree, like shadows detaching, two men came out. One held Rachel around the neck, with a gun to her head.

  Takeshi stepped in front of me and blocked me from them.

  The second man came forward speaking in heavily accented English. “Where’s the other one? The man with this woman?”

  Takeshi shrugged. “Let her go. Let her stand with us.”

  “You have no say here,” the man spat back at him.

  There was a shout and someone yelled from upstream. Two men were fighting at the edge of the water. I could make out Hector holding off a man with a gun. They were near equal in size and for now Hector had the gun pointing away from him.

  “Brodie,” I whispered. “Find Tom, tell him what’s going on and bring Enrique and Bill. Tell them to be very careful.”

  “I’m staying with you. I made a promise to protect you.”

  “Then do as I say,” I said between my teeth.

  He blinked away. I moved beside Takeshi, so that I could see better, but he pushed me behind him. He was vibrating with tension.

  A shot rang out and one of the men on the rock plummeted into the water. It was Hector. He fell straight into the rapids. I screamed and ran towards the rushing water, with Takeshi trying to catch me.

  Hector appeared unconscious or, worse, dead. He bounced against the small rocks and then would rush forward again as the water swept over him. I started into the water, but Takeshi yanked me up and out. Then he jumped in and barely snagged Hector’s jacket as he swiftly passed by. Takeshi grabbed more clothes until he had Hector and pulled him towards the shore.

  There was blood on Hector’s head and shoulder. He was turning blue. We both dragged him to the shore and I went into nurse mode. I listened for breathing and heard none, so I tried to breathe for him. I screamed my frustration.

  “He has taken too much water into his lungs.” With chattering teeth, Takeshi heaved him over. He pushed on his back and abdomen until water pored out of his nose and mouth.

  We flipped Hector on his back again and I gave him rescue breaths. I ignored the pain it caused my jaw and lips. I searched for a pulse, but felt nothing so Takeshi and I started CPR. It took a full two minutes before he coughed and took in a shuddering breath. He didn’t wake up, but he was breathing and I could feel a slow pulse.

  I examined the wound on his shoulder. The bleeding was sluggish, so I stripped off my jacket and sweater, and I ripped off the sleeves on my long-sleeve shirt. I used one to apply pressure to his wound and the other to tie it in place. The gunshot had missed major arteries. Things were suddenly looking up.

  Two men w
alked up to us and a third came down from the rocks to join his compatriots. They were dragging Rachel along. She looked pissed.

  “I’m looking for an American woman named Hannah. Which of you is she?” The man waved the gun back and forth between us.

  “Me, I’m Hannah,” I yelled. But Rachel claimed she was too.

  I looked up at her. “Rachel, I need you to stay with Hector. Apply pressure and try to warm him until you can get him to a hospital. Just do that. I don’t think they want to hurt me. I’m too valuable.”

  The three men stared at us and at a command from the man who had spoken, the others threw Rachel on the ground. I helped her up and showed her how to hold pressure. I unbuttoned Takeshi’s shirt and stripped him down to bare chest. He shook with the cold, so I gave him the sweater he’d made me wear and put my jacket back on. It was the best I could do at the moment.

  One of the men came up and reached for me, but Takeshi slid in between us and flipped him to the ground. It looked as if he’d barely touched him. The man with the gun came forward pointing it at Takeshi.

  Takeshi raised his hand. “Do not touch her,” he said in a low growl. “We will follow, but do not touch her.”

  “We don’t need you, we only need her.” The leader helped his man stand.

  “But you will take me, because I go where she goes. She is mine. As long as you do not harm her we will get along fine.” He stood his ground.

  “Is this true? Is he your husband?” The leader appeared unimpressed.

  “He is mine. If you hurt him or make him leave, you might as well shoot me too. I’ll be of no use to you dead.” I think I believed it. Apparently they did too, because he pointed in the direction away from where we came and we followed.

  “Rachel, don’t stop the pressure on that wound until he’s at a hospital.”

  We walked over rough terrain for almost thirty minutes. I was cold from just my feet being wet, so I knew Takeshi was freezing. He held my hand the entire time and helped me over the rougher spots.