“So what did I miss?”
Clay glanced again at the monitors on Borger’s desk. “It looks like Wil may have found something.”
“Your voice doesn’t exactly sound exuberant.”
“I’ll try harder next time.”
“I bet. I’m going to guess there’s bad news coming.”
“Maybe. It seems someone got clearance and flew out of Georgetown just after the Bowditch was hit. On a Chinese turbo-prop to Venezuela, and from there a transport straight back to Beijing.”
“You’re kidding.”
“I wish we were.” Clay leaned in, peering closer at the screen. “Just one person. Carrying some kind of a case.”
Caesare sighed. “That’s not good.”
“Now who’s not exuberant?”
“I say we blame Borger.”
Wil Borger’s eyes opened wide with surprise, and then narrowed.
“We were actually getting ready to blame you.”
In spite of the jokes, they all knew how serious it was. If Borger was right, then it looked like something had been taken off that ship before it departed. Something important enough to fly directly to Beijing, the political epicenter of China. Clay already had a guess as to what the man was carrying.
“Any idea who the person was, Wil?”
“Not yet. But I’ll find out.”
From under the tree, Caesare nodded, absently watching an attractive woman cross the street. “Well, I’m afraid my news isn’t much better. There’s something I didn’t mention on the phone with Langford.”
Without moving his head, Clay exchanged a curious look with Borger. “What’s that?”
“I got a little more out of Blanco before he took his long ride into the sunset. He told me about Otero, and that he knows about the monkey. But it seems he knows more than that. Blanco managed to spit out what Otero was asking him about. He said Acarai. The name of the mountain.”
Clay sighed. “Crap.”
“Yeah. How much he knows, I’m not sure. But it’s a lot more than just the monkey.”
“If that’s true,” Borger said, “then he’s gonna be going back up there.”
“Exactly. And if he pokes around long enough, he may just stumble across something he’s not supposed to find.”
Without a word, Clay stepped forward and sat down in the chair next to Borger. “That means we need to get there before he does.” He stopped to think. “And we’re going to need help.”
“I was thinking the same thing.”
“How would you like to make a stopover during your flight back?”
From under the giant rosewood, Caesare couldn’t help but smile. “Are you kidding? I love Puerto Rico.”
Next to Clay, Borger raised an eyebrow and spoke loud enough for Caesare to hear. “You do understand we actually need DeeAnn on our side.”
“Piece of cake.”
Clay wasn’t so sure it would be that easy. “All right then. Borger and I will see what else we can find out on this end. When are you leaving?”
“I’m not sure,” Caesare replied. He wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead. With the phone still to his ear, he turned back to face the glimmering skyscrapers of São Paulo in the distance. “I need something first. I need to know where Miguel Blanco’s family is.”
From his chair, Borger stared at Clay’s phone with a puzzled look. “You want to know where Blanco’s family lives?”
“No,” he replied dryly. “I need to know where they are right now.”
3
The bright Puerto Rican sun shimmered over the top of the salt water tank, creating a curtain of glistening sunlight waving gently through the water.
On the other side of the thick glass stood Alison Shaw, watching as the two dolphins, Dirk and Sally, occupied the far end of the tank. A group of children stood packed together there. Both dolphins floated close, playfully bumping their noses against the glass at the spots where the children were pressing their hands. They screamed with excitement when Dirk impulsively turned sideways, placing one of his flippers against the glass.
Alison was happy. Really happy. She looked down and gently rubbed the bandage wrapped around her wrist. They had returned from their harrowing trip through the Caribbean, all in one piece, with only scrapes and bruises. Chris Ramirez and Lee Kenwood had taken the worst of it, but they were home and healing quickly.
Dirk and Sally had returned with them, even though they were free to come and go as they pleased. Dirk was especially eager to return to the lab in Puerto Rico, which surprised Alison. She was sure it had something to do with how much he was fed. Without having to spend any effort hunting for fish, she suspected her lab was becoming something akin to a vacation for Dirk.