Expedition to the Unknown

Chapter 5

Owen stared out the transport window as the narrow road climbed into the mountain pass. Here and there, the tires sent streams of gravel into the dark ravines as they wound around the twisting route hemmed in by towering kapok and strangler figs. In the understory, ferns, and philodendrons fled into the dark gloom. Sometimes, when the canopy relented, the Andean range could be seen peering down at them with snow-covered faces. Owen tapped Manny on the shoulder.

“Time ta stretch our legs, mate.” He got up and faced the team. “There"s a turn-off up ahead. We"ll hang there for fifteen,” he said, then pointed toward a gap within the trees to their left. “There"s a loo down that path over there if ya need it. I"d advise using it. We"ve a shag ta go "fore we stop again. Believe me, you don"t wanna be tramping around in da forest. Lots of nasty critters out there, yeah.”

Thirty minutes later, they were back on the road heading toward the city of Tarapoto. In the mirror above Manny, Owen saw Molly inspecting mosquito bites on her legs. As he turned to get his bag and dig out some salve for her, he noticed Claire eyeing the steep drop outside her window. Her fingers were fiercely clutching the seat back in front of her. “Hey, no worries. Manny knows this road better than his own wife.”

Claire let go of the seat and shot him a smile, but he knew it was forced. “I"m not worried,” she said. “Just can"t get comfortable, is all.”

“Right,” Owen said, not believing her.

She turned back toward the window. “It"s breath-taking.”

“Yeah, it is,” he said, pulling a tube of aloe out of his med-kit. “Say, I"m thinking someone needs ta tell Miss Molly back there ta ease up digging a hole in her legs. She"s gonna be raw by da time we get ta Tarapoto.” He held the tube up, and went on, “Got some salve here. Might be better if ya gave it ta her, I think.”

Suddenly the tires slid on the narrow road, sending a pinging shower of gravel down the sheer slope beside them. Claire drew a sharp breath and her hands leapt for the seat in front of her. It had caught Owen off-guard, too, and sent him forward. He regained his balance and glanced over at Manny, whose attention was fixed firmly on the road. Taking a deep, controlled breath, Owen muttered, “Easy mate!” Then chuckled, and said, “He does that every once in a while ta give people a thrill. Thinks he"s a Kiwi, you know, bungee jumping an" all.”

Claire relaxed her grip from the back of the seat and rolled her eyes. As Owen looked at her, he felt something more than just a passing attraction stir inside him. He sat with that a minute, trying to decide whether he liked it or not, then said, “Say, mind if I ask ya a question?”

“No. What do you wanna know?”

Owen peeked down at her left hand. She had a charm bracelet, with of all things, a wolf pendant on it. Her ring finger was bare, save for a faint impression. “Ya travel a lot for ya job?”

“Some. Mostly lectures. In the beginning, it was a lot.”

“Yeah, I saw ya went ta Togo. Spent time in Guatemala an" Honduras, too. How"d ya like it down there?”

“It was good,” Claire said. “I don"t get out in the field much anymore. Too busy writing grants, papers, and teaching. What about you? You like what you do?”

Owen shrugged. “It"s okay. Pays da rent.”

Claire looked at him dubiously. “Bullshit. You have a degree in forestry. Running tours is not what you had in mind when you graduated. I"m sure of it.”

Owen rubbed his chin and nodded. “Guess ya found me out.”

“Is that why you contacted me?”

“Actually, ya contacted me,” Owen said. “Although I suppose I had something ta do with it.”

“How"s that?”

Owen shrugged. “When I heard from ya mate"s friend in da states about da tramp, I made it known ta him I was interested.”

“I thought so,” Claire said. “So, any children?”

Where did that come from? Suddenly, his son"s face flashed before his eyes, stealing his breath. He blinked and composed himself. “No, none I can speak ta anyway. You?”

Where did that come from?Claire shook her head. “Never seemed to have the time.”

“Right,” Owen said.

They sat in their own thoughts for awhile, watching the passing landscape. The road had leveled out and the dense forest had pulled back, leaving vast meadows of swaying grass and thick brambles. To the left, the Andes ran as far as they could see under a deep, blue sky. Puffy white clouds gathered at their peeks.

“You ever get lonely?” Claire said. “I mean, you get to meet a lot of people, but you never get close to anyone. At least that"s what a friend of mine who guides in Hawaii says.”

Owen took his time before answering. He didn"t want anyone probing too deeply in his life; her, least of all. “Ya get used ta it. No different than yourself, I"m sure.”

Now it was Claire"s turn to be quiet. She sat looking out the window a moment, then sighed. “Yeah, I guess.”

When she looked back at him, Owen saw the same haunted expression that stared back at him every morning. He resisted the urge to go into more detail, and said, “Hey, I read ya paper, da one about da trans-Atlantic trade connection.”

Claire brightened. “Did you?”

“Yeah, I thought it interesting, an" well written for da most part.”

Claire"s face broke into a crooked smile. “For the most part?”

“Yeah.” He shot her one of his classic bad-boy grins. “Just a few typos an" some minor factual errors. Nothing earth shattering.”

Claire furrowed her brow. “Is that so? And just what errors are you referring to?”

Time ta escape, "fore she skewers me alive. “Hold on,” he said, getting up. “I think Manny needs me. Be right back.”

Time ta escape, "fore she skewers me alive“You make sure you are. We"re not done here,” Claire snapped back with a smile.

Night had fallen over the city of Tarapoto when the team pulled in. Claire stretched and looked around the darkened transport. Thad and Jorge were quietly discussing some minor point regarding Polynesian culture while Molly listened to her IPOD in back. As Manny pulled the vehicle in front of an old stucco building, a broad wrap-around porch came into view. Lit by handsome wrought iron lanterns hanging on chains, the porch gave the inn a welcoming presence among the broken clapboard buildings of the surrounding neighborhood.

“All right folks, we"re here,” Owen said as the front door of the transport opened. “Just grab ya gear an" leave da rest on-board.”

One by one then, they lumbered off and stood in the humid night air. As they looked up at the spattered stars, Owen went in, and a few minutes later returned with their room keys. Handing them out, he said, “The kitchen"s open "til midnight if ya hungry. I recommend da polla a la brasa or the butifarras. Both are excellent.” To Manny, he said, “Have da lads see to da bags. I"ll be back in a bit.”

As Owen turned and headed down the street, Claire looked at her watch. Huh … where"s he going?

“Something the matter, senora?” Manny said, suddenly beside her.

She started. “Where"s he going?”

“To take care of travel business,” Manny said, but his smile wasn"t convincing.

“At ten-thirty?”

“Si. No time tomorrow,” Manny said. “We need to meet the boat very early.” He waved her toward the inn. “Come. The cozinha is going to close soon. You must be hungry, no?”

Reluctantly, Claire picked her duffle bag up. Whatever Owen was up to, travel business wasn"t it. However, she was tired, so she followed Thad, Molly, and Jorge into the lobby. But as she went, her glance strayed down the gloomy lamp-lit street.

Once inside, a tap on her arm interrupted her musing. “What"s up?” She turned and found Thad looking at her with a puzzled expression.

“Nothing, just thinking,” she said. As she pondered Owen"s sudden departure, a gold-painted glass mirror across the lobby caught her eye. “Wow, wonder what that"s doing in here?”

“What"d"ya mean?” Thad said.

“That isn"t just a piece of folk art. See that,” she said, heading toward the mirror. “The frame"s rendered with painted villages around its perimeter and they"re detailed right down to the individual houses. And look there, a barn. And there, a herd of cattle.” She stepped back. “The artisan was likely a local who traveled a bit. Likely twentieth century.”

“How can you tell?” Thad said.

“The architecture,” Claire answered. “There, see the detail of the stucco? It"s smooth. Early stucco was scored.”

Just then, Molly joined them. Setting her duffle bag on the floor, she bit into a cookie and said, “Sweet.”

Thad furrowed his brow. “Hey, where"d you get that?”

“Over there on the table, by the coffee urn,” Molly said. She popped the rest of the cookie into her mouth and wiped her hands.

Thad glanced over at the long, wooden table standing opposite the registration counter. On it was an empty silver tray. “They"re all gone.”

“I know,” Molly said, giving him a toothy grin.

Thad wrinkled his long face. “Cute. You"ve got crumbs in your teeth.”

The comment drew a stuck-out tongue from Molly.

“Ah, a painted mirror,” Jorge said, joining them.

“Claire thinks it"s twentieth century,” Thad said.

“It is,” Jorge said, matter-of-factly.

Thad rolled his eyes. “Oh really? And you know this how?”

“The style, it"s –”

Thad put his hand up. “God save me, I"m in the midst of art critics. Never mind, I get it. Well, you guys can stand here gawking at it. I"m going for chow,” he said, and strutted away.

Claire laughed as she watched him retreat across the subdued lobby furnished with lacquered teak tables and chairs. “I better get settled. Make sure he doesn"t wolf down everything in sight, would ya?”

“Don"t worry, if Poppy goes for thirds, I"ll stick a boot in his mouth,” Molly said, bending down and lifting her duffle bag over her shoulder. She donned one of her evil grins, then struck off down the hall.

Claire rolled her eyes and headed for her room on the second floor. Shunning the elevator, she climbed a sweeping staircase, turned right, and went down a narrow corridor to the last door. Opening it, she hit the light and dropped her gear to the floor. Although the furnishings were old and a bit tattered, they were passable. The linens were white; the red, green, and blue bedspread bright and cheery. She treaded over to the sliding glass door that offered a view of the darkened hills. Sliding it back, she stepped out onto the tiny wood-framed terrace. Bathed in the still night air, she drank in the sounds of Tarapoto"s nightlife.

As she was about to go back in, she heard a familiar voice below . She moved closer and listened to Manny"s furtive words spoken in Portuguese.

“Si, they are all in and getting settled. Although I think she saw you go into Migel"s. When will you be back?” He paused, and Claire realized Manny was talking on a cell phone. “Yes, I will have everything ready. How many are you getting? You think that is enough? Okay. I am going in to eat and then off to bed. You have your key to the bus? Okay, see you in the morning.”

Claire heard him flip his cell phone shut then saw a tiny yellow flame erupt beneath the terrace floor. A moment later, a strong pungent smoke wafted up over the railing and into the night air.