Chapter Fifteen
Before Robie could answer Brian and Andrea’s query about Voodoo ceremonies, a low rumbling voice spoke from a location near the trio. “I couldn’t help but overhear.” Andrea had noticed the man earlier, sitting on a chair that leaned against the hut where they’d purchased their swimsuits. “You sound interested in voodoo ceremonies and I happen to be the local Houngan.”
“What’s a Hungan.” Andrea peered up at him with one eye closed against the glaring sun at his back.
“No, Houngan. I am the high priest of this temple.” He pointed to the hut. “In the back room, I counsel anyone who is part of the local congregation. I would be happy to explain voodoo to you.”
“No, monsieur,” Robie piped up. “We are ready to leave and ’ave to be in de city in a half hour. Maybe another time.” He rushed about, quickly gathering up all of the leftovers from their lunch. Brian and Andrea could only look on in surprise. They watched this happy go lucky individual all of a sudden become tense and fearful. He ushered them to the jeep looking over his shoulder often.
“What’s w-w-w-wrong,’ Andrea’s teeth chattered. All of a sudden, she was cold to the bone. “We wanted to talk to that man. Besides we thought that this was siesta time. We could both use a nap.”
“Dat man is evil.” Robie looked over his shoulder. The man was still standing on the grass by the pool of water. After they’d left the parking spot, Robie continued. “He is de one who holds those ceremonies where people go poof in de night and are never seen again. De locals say he is possessed, and dat Satan himself uses his body to live in some of de time.”
Andrea looked at Brian. “Well, I guess we don’t want to be seen with someone like that then. Robie, I thought you didn’t believe in voodoo? How can you be frightened of something you don’t believe has any power?”
“I may not believe dat dere is any worth in lighting de candles and dancing around de open fire, but I have respect for de fools who do believe. Me, I stay as far away from dem as I can.” He crossed himself as a catholic believer would. “I advise you bote, mam’selle et monsieur, to do exactly like me, non?”
The trip home, as they had begun to call their hotel, was faster than their trip out, but still as fascinating once Robie calmed down. He continued to inform them about the views and vistas they were passing. Brian and Andrea glanced behind them once to supposedly view a rambling plantation, but in reality to check on their pursuer. At the next turn in the road, they noticed that the same car was not far behind and now they knew that Jason was driving.
“I’ll bet Jason is happy to be sitting in air-conditioned comfort,” whispered Andrea, in order not to alert Robie to the existence of the car following them. Their cover as tourists had to be kept intact.
“It is going to be nice to have all this cloak and dagger figured out.” Brian settled deeper into the seat and laid his head back. He closed his eyes for a moment.
Andrea looked toward him. “I can’t for the life of me figure out how Jason could know the Michners or how the Michners could be mixed up with someone like Jason.” She shook her head and also leaned back into the cushions.
“We’ll figure it out, Andrea. Let’s just enjoy today and gather as much information about this place as we can. I think the voodoo disappearances need further investigation, don’t you?”
“Maybe.” Andrea opened an eye to peer out the window again. “Robie, where are we now?”
“We are passin’ another landmark dat tourist like to viseet.” Robie looked at the couple in the back seat and snickered. Dey whisper together like lovers, non. “We are now on de south side of de island, and we will be in Cap-Haitien in a few minutes. Cap-Haitien is de second largest city and de place where de sugar plantation owners send deir products to market, eh? It once was a wealthy place, but not so now. Government is lazy.” He said this as they entered a city with run-down buildings, sewage running down the center of the streets, and garbage piled beside the roadway.
“De city was burned to de ground three times and was destroyed another time when an earthquake killed almost half the people.” They traveled through the interior and into the outskirts, where lush sugar cane grew in field after field. The plantation homes they saw were better cared for than the homes in the downtown area of the city, but not by much. So far, Brian and Andrea’s sense of Haiti was intense poverty with little government involvement to change things.
By the time they arrived back in Port au Prince, it was three o’clock in the afternoon. Their first day had been pretty productive as far as learning a little about the culture, but so far they had not seen anything that could tie in with Trent and Diane’s disappearances or Max’s murder, except for their constant companion in his business suit and the voodoo disappearances.
•
Brian continued to rest all the way back to the hotel. It felt good to just reflect on what they did know. First, Trent and Diane had disappeared, and Max had been murdered, an act that Max had anticipated, it seemed. Also, someone had deliberately tried to run him down and had burned down Andrea’s house.
How someone as sweet as Andrea could be the target of foul play is beyond me. He rubbed his forehead to remove the sweat collecting and running down his face. Do I really think Andrea is sweet? Do I find her attractive? Maybe he was a womanizer after all. Oh, get off it, Brian. There’s nothing wrong with finding her attractive. After all, we have been spending a lot of time together lately, and we’ve also been through a lot together. Besides, she is a good looking woman. He concluded his thoughtful analysis of his relationship with the woman beside him then returned to thinking about their predicament. Jason was on the island and had followed them all day. That was no coincidence! He was somehow mixed up in all this, and Brian intended to find out how.
•
The jeep jerked to a stop in the familiar parking lot behind the hotel. Robie turned in his seat to look at the two who had shared their day with him. “Do you want me to pick you up tomorrow morning?”
“No, I think we’ll just spend some time exploring the city on our own.” Brian was quick to answer. “At least, if that’s alright with you, Andrea?”
“Sure, that sounds fine to me.” She handed Robie the money they had agreed to pay him. “We have your number if we need you for another trip.”
Robie reluctantly got out of the jeep and handed the keys to Brian. “Thank you for allowing me to guide you around my country.” He immediately walked away.
Brian and Andrea almost felt sorry for him but not enough to change their mind. “I take it you have a plan.” Andrea hopped out of the jeep. “Why not tell me about it as we walk inside. Or would you like to talk about it over dinner?”
“Over dinner sounds fine to me. My body seems to think it has jet lag or something. I am so-o tired all of a sudden. A nice nap sounds like just what this old boy needs.”
As they moved towards the front entrance of the Al-B-Oloffson, a large black man ran out and nearly collided with them. Shouts could be heard from inside the establishment and another large dark brown man dressed in a suit erupted from the door onto the veranda. “Ooh, Monsieur, et Mam’selle, I am so-o-o sorry. It has never ‘appened in this ‘otel before. I am so-o-o-o sorry.” The man appeared to be very distraught.
“What are you sorry about?” asked Brian as they rushed inside. “What’s going on here?”
“It seems that the man,” he pointed toward the doorway they had just come through, “whom you saw just as you came in, ‘as broken into your room and was looking for something when my wife, the maid, noticed him. I am Le concierge, Nicolas Benedict. We chased him away, but not before he made such a mess. We will clean it up as soon as you see what he ‘as taken. We are insured for these kinds of things, but they ‘aven’t ever ‘appened before as I ‘ave said.”
Brian and Andrea rushed up the stairs to their rooms to discover that both had been ransacked. Clothes were strewn everywhere and dresser drawers were torn from the
ir slides to lie upside down on the floor. The closet door was torn off its hinges. Attached to the mirror with some type of rope was a bunch of feathers tied together with another rope. The Concierge took one look at this strange decoration and screamed for his wife.
“Marie, what is this? ‘ave your friends been up to their old tricks again in this ‘otel?” Mr. Benedict was almost beside himself.
“That is not from us. But it is a message nonetheless. They say you must leave, monsieur, for this is your room, non?” Marie was dead serious as she told them the meaning of the feathers.
“Come, let us see what damage has ‘appened in your room, mam’selle.” She guided them down the hall. It was evident that the same destructive force had been in action there too. “It seems that they have meant de message for you too,” she exclaimed as she pointed to an identical clasp of feathers tied to the bedpost of Andrea’s bed.
“What is missing do you think?” asked Nicolas. Andrea took a cursory glance around the room but could not see anything that should have been there, but was not. Brian concurred when the trio returned to his room.
“I think there was nothing worth taking here, and anyway, this doesn’t frighten us.” Andrea was very quick to reply. “We don’t believe in voodoo or magic or whatever cult placed this in our rooms.”
“That’s right,” Brian chimed in. “Why not get this mess cleaned up, and then we can get dressed for dinner. I understand you have entertainment here this evening?” The concierge was quick to apologize once again. He directed his wife to get some help to clean up the two rooms.
“We ‘ave a local who comes in and sings some of the islands favorites. ‘e also brings in a band to accompany heem and dey play some of the instruments native to dis city.” Nicolas forced a smile. “We would be ‘onored to ‘ave you join us. Dere will be no charge.”
Andrea and Brian decided to go for a walk while their rooms were being cleaned up. “I think this is just the beginning.” Brian steered Andrea down the steps of the veranda as they left the hotel. They headed toward the main street and the shopping area. “We knew when we left for this trip there were people who didn’t want us to stick our noses into whatever this is. Now we’ve become conscious of the fact they aren’t afraid to let us know they are onto us.”
“I wonder if our encounter with the priest has anything to do with this?” Andrea was thinking about all the voodoo signs that had been left by the intruder.
“I don’t think so. Whatever they were looking for, they were unsuccessful. That means they could be back. We’ve decided not to use guns to defend ourselves. WWJD…what would Jesus do?”
“I think that he would place some form of warning device near the doors and windows and keep a club handy.” Andrea knew that planning a course of action without praying first was not a good idea. “Tomorrow, I would like to go back to meet with that priest, Houngan he called himself, and find out more about this voodoo stuff. It could be tied to the Michners’ disappearances, since it seems that voodoo practitioners seem to disappear too. What do you think?”
“I think maybe you’re right. By the way, where did you hide your money? Mine was in my back pocket all the time.” Brian grinned at the idea of carrying so much money with them all day.
“I did the same thing. I didn’t know what else to do.” Both Americans laughed at the idea of someone trying to rob them when they had all their valuables with them. Soon their laughter stopped, however, when they spotted a little girl crying and calling for her Mama et Papa.
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