Chapter Twelve
Andrea’s luggage sat by the hotel’s main entrance at 6 a.m. the next morning. She’d arranged to store her car in a garage near the hotel and, since she didn’t know how long it would be before she had a house to move into, she also kept the hotel room in her name. A costly extravagance, but that suite served as the closest thing she had to a home for now.
Brian arrived on time. “Good morning. Ready for an adventure?” He packed Andrea’s luggage into his trunk alongside his own and ushered her into the passenger seat of his car. He exited the driveway and turned toward the west side of town where the airport was located. Andrea continued to peer out the window as the sun began to peek over the tall buildings along the way. “It’s funny but if this hadn’t happened to the Michners we may have never become friends.”
Brian shook his head in agreement. “Not that I would wish anything bad to happen to the Michners. But it’s kind of nice having a friend who is also a beautiful woman.”
“Stop that. You’re embarrassing me. I can’t remember having a friendship with a man before. No complications. I like that. Don’t you?” Andrea hoped Brian would refute the idea, but he just smiled. Comfortable silence filled the car for the rest of the short trip.
The airport bustled. People arriving and departing. Taxis unloading passengers and picking them up. Luggage strewn everywhere. Handlers hustled bags through revolving doors after harried commuters. Andrea and Brian fit in with the vacation crowd, according to plan.
After they checked their luggage in at the ticket counter, they walked toward their assigned gate. “The travel agent said there was another person going to Haiti. A Man. She seemed to think that was unusual. Haiti is not the usual place for vacationers, she said.”
“I wonder…” Brian decided to leave the question of the man’s identity alone for now. They passed several people sitting close by but never noticed two men leaning against a rail by the escalator with a camera focused on them, clicking away.
•
Trent trudged over the rocky ground as slowly as he could. His escort seemed not to be in any hurry this morning. The sky was a vivid blue with a few contrasting clouds, white wisps of fluff that were strung over the distant horizon. If the circumstances were different…Trent allowed himself to hope for a short second but the gun butt poking him in the rib cage brought him back to reality.
As had happened for almost a week, they entered a roughly constructed building just a tad larger than the one presently housing Diane and Jeffrey. His keepers watched every movement. Everything else was modern and up-to-date from the lab equipment to the chemicals they gave him to work with.
“This batch is the wrong color.” He lifted a tray of vials from the refrigerator. “I’ll have to start over.”
“The boss ain’t gonna like that.” A large muscular man with a smooth shaven head spoke from his seat by a table in the corner. “Things are taking too long. Remember, you don’t do as we tell you and your boy suffers.” He roared as if he’d told a particularly funny anecdote.
Trent choked back a retort. It didn’t do any good for him to protest. They had his wife and child to threaten him with.
“Butch…” Another man, smaller in stature but bald as well spoke from a cot where he was reading a book.
“No names.” The first man growled. He threw a stick of wood toward the offender but then relaxed into his own chair.
“I just wanted to know how long we was going to be holed up here.” The short man spoke in a whiny, defensive tone from his corner.
“As long as it takes. Now shut up and go get some more wood. You,” He pointed to the man who had escorted Trent into the room that morning. “Go get us a guinea pig. We’ll see if that stuff is spoilt.”
“It’s not ready. I’ll have some more by tomorrow morning. Just wait.” Trent spoke around the fear that had been a constant companion since they’d been taken. “You don’t need to waste it. It’s fixable.”
“Oh yeah.” The large one waved for the third man to sit down. “Then fix it.”
Trent bent over the flasks and beakers.
•
Andrea placed her carry-on luggage in the overhead rack. Brian was already settled in for the two hour flight. His seat belt was buckled. A magazine lay open on his lap. Andrea sat down in the window seat. She fastened her seat belt. “I picked up this mystery whenwe stopped at that book kiosk.” She removed the novel from her purse.
A flight attendant, dressed in colorful summer garb, offered them something to drink as soon as their flight leveled off. The airline personnel were able to walk the aisles but the seatbelt sign was still on.
Brian put his magazine down. “I’ll have a soda.”
“Oh yuck, so early in the morning.” Andrea made a face at him. “I’ll have some of that great coffee I smell.”
The flight attendant brought their drinks, continued down the wide aisle to serve the other passengers and then stopped by again to see if they wanted a pillow. “Might as well.” Andrea yawned. “It was an early start today.”
Before long, her eyes closed. Brian watched as her eyelids flickered. A short 20 minutes later, her eyes popped open. She looked at Brian seated next to her. A sigh of relief escaped from her open mouth.
“Are you okay?” Brian looked at her with concern. “You seemed restless even though you slept.”
“How long did I sleep?” Andrea brushed her hair out of her eyes.
“About twenty minutes. Not long.”
“Boy, this stuff is on my mind even when I’m sleeping. I dreamt…” She looked around. People were sitting too close for them to discuss their reasons for being on this flight. She lowered her voice to a whisper. “Trent was holding a smoking gun in his left hand after shooting Max. Diane was laughing at the look of complete surprise on my face, and then she pulled a gun of her own! Can you imagine?”
“Dreams can certainly be unnerving. I know. I’ve had a lot of them lately too.”
“You have? It must the circumstances we’re in.” Andrea chuckled. “I’d love to just enjoy this trip as a holiday but…”
“I know. We’ll still have lots of opportunity to explore, don’t you think?” Brian smiled, and then resumed his reading. Andrea looked out the plane’s window and marveled, as she’d always done whenever she flew anywhere, at the beauty of the clouds and the blue sky, bluer than could be seen on terra firma. God certainly loved color.
She looked over at Brian. His eyes were closed. She leaned her head against the seat cushion. When we get there, we’ll get to the hotel, check in, and then begin to look for something, anything that will lead to Trent and Diane. If they’re there. What if they’re not and this is a wild goose chase? We’re wasting time. Maybe we should visit the local police. No, Max said the police could be involved. Did he mean at home or in Haiti? Then she thought about her faith in Jesus Christ. Would Jesus sanction what we’redoing? Maybe we should have left this whole mess in the hands of the police.
Slowly she leaned forward. She reached under her seat and pulled her carry-on bag out. Her Bible went everywhere she did, so she opened it to see if she could find the answer to her dilemma.
Deuteronomy 33:29 said just what Andrea thought the Bible would say on the subject. “He is your shield and your helper and your glorious sword. Your enemies will cower before you….” She knew that they needed to seek the Father’s answers for finding Max’s murderer and their missing friends.
•
Brian stirred. He watched Andrea through shuttered eyelids. She was reading her Bible. God had spoken to him as well while he was resting his eyes. He knew they would have to figure out ways to protect themselves. They needed a plan of action. He watched Andrea close her eyes again. He guessed that she was praying. I know that we need the Lord’s protection.
Lord, Brian closed his eyes and prayed quietly in his mind. Help us to know how you want us to handle this situation. Point us to your answers and help us i
n our search for the one who murdered Max. And Lord, help us to locate the Michner family unharmed. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
•
“Sir, would you like something to snack on?” A pretty blond stood next to his seat. Brian opened his eyes.
“Uh, sure. I guess.” He looked through the assortment of packages on the flight attendant’s cart. He chose a bag of mixed nuts and a chocolate bar. The attendant smiled toward Andrea who also took some mixed nuts. Brian rubbed his hands together in anticipation “This will hit the spot. It may be a while before we are can find a restaurant to get some lunch after we land in Miami.”
•
The seatbelt sign came on. The flight attendants made sure that all trays were in their upright positions. They’d reached Miami for a two hour layover. Andrea looked out the window. As the plane descended through the cloud covered sky, she could see palm trees waving in the breeze. Just off shore were some islands, accessible by bridges but densely populated with large pink, beige or white houses. Pretty tropical looking.
“Brian, have you ever been to Miami before?”
“No, but I’ve always wanted to. I’d like to come back when I have more time to explore. Today, we won’t have any time to even leave the airport.”
“I guess I could have booked us an extra day but…”
“Oh. No, Andrea. This is perfect. This isn’t a vacation. We need to get to Haiti. I know that.” Brian unfastened his seatbelt and Andrea did the same. They gathered their carry-on luggage from the overhead rack and then waited their turn to disembark. The line moved slowly until at last they were inside the airport. Their connecting flight left from another gate so they moved in that general direction.
“Brian, let’s step outside for a few minutes anyway. Then we can get some lunch. I saw a restaurant on the other side of the building.”
The air smelled spicy with a definite odor of jalapenos or something close to it. Warm breezes wafted in from the ocean lending coolness to the tropical climate. Andrea took in a long breath of fresh air. Even though the skies were overcast, the day was already warm.
“I can’t wait to see you looking like a tropical babe.” Brian winked. “I may enjoy wearing some of those flowered shirts but you’ll look yummy in a muumuu.”
“Oh please…”
“Well…I think you’ll look delicious…all flowery like that.”
Andrea punched him on the arm and moved toward the entrance. “Let’s go eat.”
Brian wiped newly formed sweat off his brow as he followed her inside. “That humidity sure causes me to sweat in a hurry. I wonder if Haiti is humid.”
Her heels clacked on the tiled floor. “Probably. After all it is an island in the Caribbean.”
The inside of the restaurant looked as if it was outdoors among the palm trees. It had a large veranda stretching across the entryway. Brian and Andrea walked down the two steps separating the entrance from the seating area. Its air-conditioned elegance offered them a comfortable place to sit for the next hour.
A tall good-looking waiter brought them the menu, made his recommendations and then left to get their drinks. They’d explained they were in a hurry but the waiter seemed used to that. Real lemonade in frosty glasses were set before them. “I think I’ll order the catch of the day.” Andrea loved seafood.
“I just want a salad.” Brian settled back in his chair to watch the comings and goings as they waited for their food.
“The place is full of tourists.” Andrea grinned.
“Gee, ya think.” Waiters bustled about with food on trays decorated with palm fronds. It took only minutes before their meal arrived. “Boy that was quick. I guess it pays to eat at an airport when you’re in a hurry.”
Just a short thirty minutes later, they were on their way to their departure gate. Andrea skipped to keep up with Brian’s long stride. “I hope our luggage got put on the right plane. You know…all those stories about lost luggage you hear.” Brian just kept on walking. They were cleared through security again and then seated in the first class compartment. M-m-m empty…except for the Wilton Strait party. At least, that’s what the flight attendants called them.
“See?” Andrea nudged Brian with her elbow. “Wilton Strait – just like I said.”
Brian looked at her with his eyes crossed in the most unattractive way and then stuck out his tongue, a gesture meant to cause laughter, and he succeeded.
The plane took off over the water shortly after they were buckled in and it seemed only a short time before they were in sight of land again. The flight attendant gave them the standard pre-landing instructions.
“Oh Brian. Look at that water. Have you ever seen water so blue?”
“That island hardly looks bigger than a cruise ship.” As they descended to 10,000 feet, they could see some of the different towns scattered amongst lush foliage. Beaches framed the island. Palm trees and flowers were everywhere.
They approached the landing strip. “Andrea, there’s an island out there, just west of the harbor entrance.”
Andrea watched as they quickly passed a smaller, green covered island surrounded by blue, shimmering water. “It’s so beautiful.”
The city of Port Au Prince was soon framed in the windows of the airplane, a much larger city than either of them had expected. From this distance, the beauty of this tropical paradise was astounding. The thump of the landing gear, a smooth rolling arrival and then the fasten seatbelt sign went off. They had arrived in Haiti.
* * * * *