Down Among the Dead Men

82

“ You must have many questions,” Rafael said.

They were driving along the coast road, several miles out of the city. Beth lay in back with her head against the armrest, staring out at a black ocean lit only by the moon.

She had no idea where he was taking her, but she had managed to quell her panic for the moment. She just wished he’d had the decency to cover her with a blanket. The last thing she should be worried about was being naked in front of him, but she felt embarrassed and humiliated.

And the thought of his blood drying on her body made her sick to her stomach.

“Do not worry, my love. I meant what I said back there. I will not harm you.” He paused. “And if you promise to be good, I will remove the tape from your mouth. You would like that, si?”

Beth nodded but wasn’t sure if he saw her.

“Come closer,” he said.

Beth hesitated, then readjusted her body, doing as she was told, and he reached back, ripping the tape away. She let out a long breath, then immediately backed away from him, returning her head to the armrest.

“What about my wrists?”

She was lying on top of them and her hands were starting to go numb.

“Not yet,” he said. “But soon.”

“Can’t you at least cover me?”

“I wasn’t expecting you to be like this, so I am afraid I have no way of granting such a request. You can thank La Santisima for the heat.”

“Don’t you have a blanket in the trunk or something?”

“No,” he said. “But there is no reason to be ashamed of your body, Beth. As I’ve said many times, you are a beautiful woman.”

“You disgust me.”

“There is little I can do about that at the moment. But it will change. I promise.”

They drove in silence for a while, Beth quietly working on the rope around her wrists, trying desperately to loosen it. But he’d tied it too tight, and she wasn’t having much success.

“Where are you taking me?” she asked.

“Back home, of course. Where you belong.”

“What do you mean? I’ve been there before?”

“Ahhh, yes. We have many memories together.” He paused. Shrugged. “Well… I have many memories. What happened to you is unfortunate. But those who sin against La Santisima rarely go unpunished.”

“What do I have to do with La Santisima?”

“Much more than you know. You are a child of the Holy Mother.”

“Oh? And what about Jen? Is she a child of the Holy Mother, too?”

“We all are,” Rafael said.

“Where is she? What did you do to her?”

He paused again. “We’ll save that question for another time.”

He was silent for a moment, and Beth stared at his face in the rearview mirror. The entire right side was a mess of mottled, blistery flesh.

He caught her looking at him.

“You must be wondering how this happened. The last you remember of me is our encounter in Playa Azul.”

“How do you know that? How could you possibly know what I remember?”

He smiled. “There is someone in your life, Beth, who is not who he seems to be. He has been apprising us of your progress-although not quite as faithfully as I had hoped.”

“Who? Dr. Stanley?”

He laughed softly. “Your doctor knows nothing about us. No one at the hospital does.”

“Then who?”

Rafael said nothing, letting her turn the question in her mind.

Then it hit her. There was only other person she’d had contact with since the shooting, besides the police.

“Oh my God,” she said. “Peter?”

“He has been working with us for quite some time now. Long before you and I met. He has managed to facilitate many of our business transactions, while diverting attention away from us. At a price, of course. He is a valuable asset.”

“I don’t believe you,” Beth said. “Peter may be a lot of things, but he’d never get involved with people like you.”

“You think you know him, do you?”

“I was married to him for nearly four years.”

“Then you must know that he was sleeping with your sister.”