Treasure of the Dead

Chapter 15

Fabi sat at a computer in the office of the local health clinic. On the screen in front of her was a database, one she had designed herself, that contained patient data and which tracked visits by searchable criteria. She was in the middle of making modifications to the design when a knock came at the door to the office, even though it was open.

She saved her work and turned around to see a tall, well-dressed man standing in the doorway. His immaculately coiffed dark hair, straight white teeth, and fine features immediately set him apart. In this part of Haiti, a man dressed in a suit was an unusual sight, but knowing who he was, his atypical appearance didn’t surprise her. Ricardo Avila, a wealthy doctor who funded the clinic, was somewhere in his fifties but fit for his age. Well known for his public funding campaigns, the physician was not very hands on with this particular clinic. In fact, Fabi could recall only one other time she’d ever seen him here, and that was when she had first started work.

Avila walked over to the desk and extended a hand. Fabi rose from her chair, wondering what this was about.

“Miss Baptiste, please accept my sincere condolences on the death of your beloved cousin, David. His loss is a tragedy to the entire community. Such a good, pious man.”

Fabi hesitated longer than she usually would to give thanks, because in her mind she was wondering how Avila even knew she was related to David. “Thank you.”

“Were you two close?”

His eyes always looked as if they were almost closed, making it hard to judge the sincerity of his expressions, but as far as Fabi could tell, he seemed genuinely interested.

“We were, yes. I have many fond memories of growing up with David and playing as kids here in Haiti.”

Avila pointed to an empty chair next to the desk, one Fabi kept there for visitors who needed to sit with her while she helped them with something on the computer. “May I?”

“Of course.” Fabi pulled the chair out for him and he took a seat.

He cleared his throat before speaking, looking her directly in the eyes through his half-closed lids as he did. “Tell me Fabiola, when was the last time you saw your cousin? Alive, I mean.”

She recoiled a little, taken aback by the somewhat alarming question. “Why would you ask such a thing, Dr. Avila?”

He physically backed off a bit, pulling away from her in his chair. “I apologize for being so intrusive. I do not mean to pry on a personal level. It is just that I have a bad habit, I guess you could call it, of being overly familiar with people. In fact, I guess it’s fair to say I’m such a people person that I like them a little too much.”

“Well, as you know, my permanent residence is in Miami, so I hadn’t actually seen him in a few months, but I did talk to him by phone a few weeks before.”

Avila seemed to consider this for a moment, nodded and then continued. “The reason for my visit is because I’ve heard glowing reports about your work here at the clinic.” He indicated the computer. “The databases you’ve developed have been a tremendous boon to our organizational efficiency, and so I wanted to see if you might be interested in a more permanent, paid position, not only here at this clinic, but for my organization. I have other clinics throughout Haiti, some of which are larger and much better funded than this one. I have no doubt that you’d be able to make even more of a difference there.”

Fabi looked back to her computer screen, at the database application she’d worked on over the months. Her life was in Miami now. She loved her native Haiti, but she’d moved on and built a life in America. And then there was Bones. He lived in North Carolina, not so terribly far from Florida. To relocate now… She looked away from the screen and back to Avila.

“Thank you very much for the offer, Dr. Avila. Let me give it some thought.”

The doctor handed Fabi a business card and smiled. “You’ll be hearing from me.”