Killing the Secret (20 page)

Kind of a scary-looking guy, but just exactly what I need
. Big Man looked like a wild animal that belonged in the jungle terrain. At least six inches taller than Tye’s height of six-foot-two, he felt like a teenager beside Big Man. Three hundred pounds of muscle was Tye’s best bet on Big Man’s weight.

“How many hours will it take us to get in and out?” Tye asked Big Man.”

“Diaz,” Big Man grunted.

Max retrieved the two backpacks from his plane that held the essentials for the adventure. Even though it cost Tye another hundred dollars, he was glad not to waste time looking for supplies.

Max threw the bags toward Tye. “I’ll be back at this spot in twenty-four hours to pick you up. If you don’t show up within a couple of hours, I’ll assume they caught you, or killed you. Either way, I’m heading home without you. You sure you want to be left here?”

Tye’s mouth said, “I’m sure,” but his head didn’t believe it. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

The roar of the plane sent birds flying that Tye had never seen the likes of before. He watched as the plane disappeared and wondered if he’d made a mistake. High tailing it back to civilization with Max would’ve been a sign of a high IQ.
Oh, well, too late now
. At the moment, being crunched in the plane seemed more forbidding than the jungle ahead.

He threw Big Man a backpack then followed his new partner across the clearing into the jungle. Their heads were constantly colliding with the leaves on the trees.

Big Man’s strides were long and every few steps he let out a grunt that seemed to indicate it was taking a little effort. Tye stayed behind him, not worrying about keeping up as long as he could hear the grunting sound in front of him. It felt good to walk. The canopy over the jungle was so thick that he frequently became encased in greens and browns. Occasionally, Tye heard the swish of Big Man’s machete as he cut down vines that blocked their way. The leaves on the canopy enclosed parts of the jungle so the sun was unable to reach the ground. Much of what Tye walked on was the earth’s woody floor. The insects, birds and frogs offered a backdrop of noise.

Tye crunched his face in disbelief, stopped, and stared as he watched what appeared to be a line, yards long, of leaves marching on the path in front of him. With close scrutiny, he saw that underneath each leaf was an ant. The leaves were a hundred times bigger than the transporters, which made it look like each one was carrying a sail.

They had walked over two hours when the familiar grunt noise in front of him lapsed. Tye continued walking forward hoping he hadn’t lagged so far behind that he’d missed a turn.

“Snake,” the word shushed in front of him.

Tye looked above his head to scan the treetops. A few yards away was Big Man pointing upward. The snake slivered down toward Big Man. With one swing of the machete, it became half the snake it once was.

Big Man continued his walk and grunt parade without comment.

Tye’s clothes stuck to him like plastic wrap. The humidity was probably ninety percent. Sweat dropped down to his eyelids and pooled in his eyelashes. He continually blinked to clear his vision.

Without any warning, the rain started pouring. Its intensity slowed Tye’s forward movement to less than half the speed. He was afraid to stop. Big Man didn’t seem the sort who would let a shower keep him from trudging onward. Tye couldn’t hear the familiar grunt due to the threshing of the rain.
Maybe the guy will come back and get me for the other two hundred dollars I owe him.

The rain stopped as quickly as it came. Tye did a slow run forward looking for the sight of Big Man’s red flowered shirt and listening for his potentially life-saving grunt. There he was in front of him, obviously holding back until his weaker companion caught up.

Big Man’s pace speeded up as soon as he caught sight of Tye.

The rain cooled Tye off for a few minutes, but within half an hour he felt like he was walking in a sauna. “Big Man,” he called. “I need to stop for a couple of minutes.” He continued going forward until he saw his guide standing stationary against a tree. Tye sank down to the ground and retrieved his water thermos from his bag. He drank without stopping, feeling like every ounce of water in his body was sucked out.

“Come on, Girl,” Big Man’s words shot out.

Tye felt his already red face grow ruddier. Any other man and he would’ve downed him, but even if he could flatten Big Man he sure as hell couldn’t find his way back without him. This once, he’d let his life take precedence over his pride

The steady grunt and occasional squish continued for another two hours. Tye didn’t make the mistake of asking Big Man to hold up again.

Finally, the path opened to a riverbank and Big Man paused to let Tye catch up.

“There,” Big Man pointed to the ground.

Tye didn’t see anything until he bent down and explored with his hands. There was a flat tombstone with the name “Michael Sean Haverty” carved into it.

He searched for the trowels inside his bag and tossed one near his guide’s feet.

The digging was going to be long and tortuous, and it wouldn’t be long until dark. Big Man stood and watched without moving.

“I’d appreciate some help,” Tye coaxed, trying to sound friendly.

“No say dig up grave.”

“How much will it cost me?”

“Two hundred American.”

“Okay,” Tye answered and continued his digging.

Big Man moved quickly to the other end of the grave and started digging like a mole trying to make a home.

The light of the day was waning as the two men pulled the casket out of its hole.

Tye slid his knife under the edge of the wooden lid, then forced a branch into the opening trying to leverage the lid up. His clothes were soaked with sweat. The heat and exhaustion left him light headed. He looked up to see Big Man backing away from the casket. “Why aren’t you helping?”

“No touch dead body—evil.”

Tye wanted to call
him
a girl, but decided it wouldn’t be a good choice given the circumstances.

Big Man was yards away when Tye finally opened the coffin.

A skeleton inhabited the box, which wasn’t expected, based on Sean’s story. Tye scraped a bone for a DNA sample then looked carefully at the remains. He didn’t know much about forensics, but he did know that the back branch of a man’s jawbone tended to be curved, while a female’s was straighter. And he knew that the pelvis of a female is formed for childbirth, unlike a male. He didn’t know who the person was who ended up buried in Michael’s grave, but he knew the skeleton was the remains of a woman. Tye wondered if this was the person Sean’s son was accused of killing.

Tye lowered the lid.

“Come on, Big Man. Let’s put her back to rest.”

Big Man moved cautiously toward the coffin.

Tye suppressed the urge to yell “Boo!” when Big Man came close, for fear the guy would freak out and Tye would end up in the hole underneath the casket.

By the time they finished, their lone lantern was the only light. Big Man started moving back toward the jungle. Tye didn’t think he could handle any more activity. Every muscle in his body hurt. Much to his relief, Big Man stopped at a small hut secluded among the trees. He sprawled on the ground and ate the food in the backpack that Max had packed. He consumed the filth on his hands with the sandwich.

Tye thought about rinsing his hands with some of the water from his thermos, but decided against it. Water was too valuable to waste on cleanliness. So he, like his partner, consumed part of the days’ residue with his supper.

It was a tight fit in the hut for the two big men. Tye wasn’t sure which of the two smelled the worst as he crunched on his side of the hut. Big Man’s snoring was almost overwhelmed by the chorus of insect, bird, and monkey calls outside the hut. The jungle wasn’t a peaceful place at night, but the racket that entered Tye’s head didn’t keep him from thinking about the woman he’d dug up earlier. He wondered how Lexie would respond to this new piece in the puzzle.

Chapter Forty-Five

Three hours of sleep didn’t exactly make Tye eager to take another trip through the jungle, but he knew the sooner they started the better.

Big Man was waiting outside the hut. As soon as he saw Tye, he headed back into the jungle.

Tye hollered behind him, “Wait up. This girl needs to go pee!”

What might have been a muffled laugh was heard in the distance.

Tye quickly did his business then returned to the trail. His partner was a few yards in front of him as they tromped back toward the clearing.

He didn’t actually see any monkeys, but he constantly heard their calls in the distance. It was a fascinating place, Tye thought, as he visually took in all the plants and animals that crossed his path. He felt like his mission was finished. He knew who wasn’t in the coffin and that was his purpose. Now he could appreciate all these sights so foreign to a country boy.

A couple of hours into their trek, he veered off the path to take care of bodily urges. Why Big Man didn’t have any personal elimination needs was beyond Tye. He crouched pondering his dilemma of which of the various vegetation leaves he should risk using to wipe his behind.

The sound of a loud angry voice sucked the air out of Tye’s lungs. He breathed in with all his might to put some oxygen back into his body. Standing quickly, he pulled up his jeans then slumped back down. He carefully went forward staying off the path. Soon he saw Big Man on his belly. His hands tied behind him. A small man stood over him yelling loudly in Spanish. A long leather whip was in the captor’s hand. He intermittently hit Big Man between loud Spanish ravings. Three other men watched with grins as the whip met its’ target.

Tye didn’t hear a word from Big Man. He was like a huge lump on the ground.
Is he
dead?
No, there’s foot movement. These must be some of the rebels Max warned me about.
Max’s words reverberated in Tye’s brain: “Men who’d kill you, or hold you prisoner, for the rest of your life.” The alternative didn’t seem that great to Tye either. He could easily get past them and make his way back to the clearing. It wasn’t like Big Man would risk his life if things were reversed. But it wasn’t Tye’s nature to be a coward and abandon someone in need.

The next time Tye looked, one of the men was putting a rope around Big Man’s neck and pulling him up. A huge dog on a leash was being led deeper into the jungle. The others pointed their guns at Big Man’s head.

Tye kept his distance as he followed them. After a few minutes they stopped and tied Big Man to a tree. Finally, they sat down on a patch of jungle floor that didn’t have much vegetation and ate lunch, constantly interrupting each other in Spanish.

Sneaking around to the back of the tree, Tye loosened the rope around Big Man’s neck. The knot on the loop was so tight that Tye had to cut the rope with his knife. Big Man quietly got up and followed Tye back through the underbrush where he took the lead to rush them away from the enemy.

The grunt was gone now. The constant thump of their feet against the dirt floor of the jungle, and the insects in the distance, were the only sounds. They must have run at least twenty minutes before Big Man slowed his pace.

Tye would like to have seen the rebels faces when they went to get Big Man. Hopefully, the prospect of ghosts in the jungle would keep them awake all night.

The rest of the journey was a rapid walk. Big Man made no comment about his life being saved by a “girl.” Tye thought a “thank you” or “gracias” was in order, but apparently jungle manners were a little different.

Max had already landed when the two arrived.

“Am I late?” Tye slowed to a stop in front of Max.

“You had a whole fifteen minutes before I left you here to rot.”

“The old timers used to say, ‘all’s well that ends well.’ I’m here with time to spare and I’m still alive, so I’ve had a good day.” Tye pulled four hundred dollars out of his wallet then headed toward Big Man. The two met halfway. Big Man reached two bills toward Tye, as Tye reached four bills toward him.

“No want,” Big Man said as he crushed his two bills in with the four that were still in Tye’s hand.

“You earned this money,” Tye insisted.

“No, for my Amigo.”

“Amigo, yes!” Tye slapped Big Man’s back as he pushed part of the money in his back pocket.

“No girl,” Big Man smiled, showing his three teeth.

“Damn right,” Tye laughed.

“Gracias, Amigo!” Big Man hollered as Tye lifted himself into the plane.

“What’s all that about?” Max questioned after the plane was in the air.

“Long story,” Tye yawned.

Within five minutes, exhaustion took over and he slept all the way to Panama.

Chapter Forty-Six

As Lexie sat at her kitchen table on Friday morning, she lamented on how slow Wednesday and Thursday had passed. She likened it to waiting for a monster to show up. Being on constant alert every second of every day was sapping her strength. Her apprehensive thoughts of the upcoming reunion resulted in headaches and nausea. Her only solace being that Tye was safely back in Diffee with valuable information and jungle stories to tell anyone willing to listen.

I should have quit when I started to, after Abbey’s death.
“No,” she said loudly. “I can do this. I
will
get Abbey’s killer.” Her self-reprimand maneuvered her brain from self-doubt into action. She stood abruptly and fastened her gun holster, then swiped her wrinkled uniform top with her hand. Nothing but an iron would improve her appearance. She didn’t have the time or the will to do such a mundane task.

Driving to her office to coordinate the plan to catch the killer, a saying kept going through her head. It was something like “fake it to make it.”

All of the men were there when she arrived. In front of her team, she pretended confidence. They discussed what was done and what still needed to be accomplished.

“The school gymnasium was checked for bombs,” Lexie reported. “Highway patrol also checked for anyone who might have hidden to reappear later with a gun. The dedication of the gym renovation will be tonight. Saturday afternoon there’ll be a picnic at the park.”