Island of Bones(89)

Louis eased up to the window. In the glow of the lantern, he saw the woman. She was old, gray-haired and small, wearing a black dress. She was sitting in a carved wooden chair in front of the cold stone fireplace, which framed her like a primitive throne. The man’s back was to Louis, so Louis could see only his long dark hair and the rifle slung over his shoulder.

“He’s been talking to Rafael,” the man said. “He’s telling him we’re living like animals, that we —-”

“Stop,” the woman said. “I won’t hear you talk like that.”

Landeta was tugging at Louis’s shirt and pointing back to the path. But Louis shook his head.

He heard a door open, and ducked back down. Another man’s voice.

“It’s time. Angel’s ready.”

Louis felt Landeta’s hand tighten on his shoulder.

“Tomas, go with Rafael,” the old woman said.

“I can do this alone,” Rafael said.

“No, let Tomas go with you.”

A moment later, Louis heard a screen door open and bang shut. Two men came out of the house, pausing in the yard while one of them turned up the lantern he was carrying. They walked across the dark compound and one of the men disappeared into a cabin. When he emerged he had his arm clamped around the shoulders of a dark-haired woman. She was hunched over and Louis could hear her whimpering.

“Where is he taking her?” Landeta asked.

“Down the path we just came up,” Louis said. “Come on. Stay behind me.”

The man with the rifle led the way, carrying the lantern. The other man followed, his grip firm around the woman’s shoulders. They didn’t speak. The woman’s soft sobbing was the only sound Louis could hear as he followed the soft glow of the lantern’s light down the dark path.

About halfway to the cemetery, the trio veered off to another path. Louis realized he had not even noticed the fork in the path when they came in. He motioned to Landeta that they were heading right. The path led to a cabin settled into some twisted trees. The cabin was smaller than the ones in the compound, more primitive looking, and it was dark.

The trio stopped. Louis touched Landeta’s arm and motioned for him to hide in the brush.

The man the old woman had called Rafael still had his arm tight around the woman’s shoulders. Her whimpers were growing louder, more like short cries now. Louis could see she was having trouble walking. She looked badly hurt, and Louis fought the urge to jump out and stop this now. But he knew it wasn’t time.

“You don’t have to come inside, Tomas,” Rafael said.

The other man mumbled something Louis couldn’t hear and handed Rafael the lantern. Rafael pulled open the screen door and took the woman inside. Louis could see the glow of the lantern in a window.

In the dim moonlight, Louis watched as Tomas pulled the rifle off his shoulder and set the butt on the ground. He rested the rifle against his body and pulled out a cigarette. As he cupped his hands to light it, Louis could see his face. He looked to be in his twenties and his dark hair flowed past the collar of his shirt. Louis recognized him as the man who had waited on them at the restaurant, the one with the piercing black eyes.

A woman’s scream split the silence. “Oh, God, no!”

Louis bowed his head. Another scream, followed by a low moan.

“We’ve got to get in there now,” Landeta whispered.

Louis wiped his hand on his shirt and slipped his gun from the holster on his hip. He could hear Landeta do the same. Tomas was still standing there, smoking the cigarette. With the rifle on the ground, they could take him.

Something snapped in the brush. More footsteps.

Tomas picked up the rifle, his eyes trained on the path.

A man came to a stop about ten feet from Tomas.

“Go home, Uncle Francisco,” Tomas said.

Francisco? He heard Landeta pull in a quick breath. He had heard it, too.

The man came closer toward the cabin, and Louis peered into the dark.

Jesus. It was Frank.

He was thinner, his hair was longer and ragged, and he had started to grow a new beard. But it was definitely Frank Woods.

Another scream came from the cabin and then faded off into ragged breathing. Frank looked at the cabin, then back at Tomas.

“Tomas, just listen to me,” Frank said.

“You’ve talked enough,” Tomas said.

“This doesn’t have to happen. We can stop it. Now, right here.”

“It’s the way it’s done,” Tomas said. “It’s the way we’ve always done it.”

“No,” Frank said. “Not anymore. I’m in charge now.”

“Bullshit!” Tomas said. “You come back after thirty-five years and you think you can bring the outside world with you. We don’t want it!”