One Grave Less

asked.
    “I don’t know. They looked like thugs, bandits. It was very frightening,” she said.
    He seemed to be considering what she said. He gazed at her through narrowed eyes. Suspicious, she thought—more so than the indigenous people here.
    “These people”—he gestured, taking in the villagers—“are a branch of the Yawanawa. They don’t see many outsiders.”
    “They were kind enough to guide us here,” said Maria.
    “They are very innocent,” he said.
    “We don’t wish to disturb them, or you,” said Maria. “We just want to head in the direction of Manaus.”
    “It will be dark soon,” he said. “You can stay the night and we can guide you to a road in the morning.” His smile didn’t quite reach his eyes.
    Maria smiled back. “We would like that. There are a few supplies in the back of the truck we can trade. I must tell you, when I got away, it was in my captors’ truck. The supplies are theirs.”
    This time the smile reached his eyes. “It looks like Wanau has already found something he likes.”
    Maria looked over and saw that they had a bottle of whiskey.
    “I’m Maria, and this is my daughter, Rosetta,” she said.
    “Hi, Rosetta,” he said. “My name is Ric Johnson.”
    “Hi, Mr. Johnson,” said Rosetta in her perfect English.
    “Follow me. We’ll be eating soon,” he said.
    Maria put Rosetta down, but held her hand. She retrieved their backpack from the truck before they followed their host. There was something about him that bothered her, but she couldn’t put her finger on it. Perhaps it was his basic less-than-friendly attitude. Then again, he was probably not used to talking with anyone other than the people here. And the outsiders he did speak with wanted to cut down the jungle.
    At the first hut they came to, they walked up the few rungs of the entry ladder and stepped inside. It had a wooden floor and hammocks along the sides. Baskets of fruits and tubers sat near the door.
    A child ran out, laughing, being chased by another child and into the arms of a woman. Just the brief glimpse told Maria the child belonged to Ric Johnson. He had gone native. She didn’t act as if she noticed, just followed him to the back end of the hut.
    He pointed to a hammock. “You and your daughter can stay here tonight,” he said.
    “We appreciate your hospitality,” said Maria.
    “As I said, I don’t get many visitors. It’s nice to have company. You’ll have to tell me about the sites you were visiting over dinner.”
    “I will. You wouldn’t happen to have a satellite phone, would you?”
    He hesitated a moment too long. “I did,” he said. “I broke it. Or rather, one of the children did. They are curious about everything and tend to play with anything. The next time I hike to civilization, I was going to see about getting it fixed or replaced.”
    He was lying, she thought. His explanation was longer than it had to be, especially since he was so taciturn on everything else. She held tight to Rosetta’s hand.
    “How long have you been studying these people?” asked Maria.
    “It seems like forever,” he said. “We will be eating just as the light starts to fade. You can rest here if you like. This is the time I write, so I’ll leave you here. Feel free to wander around. Other than being curious, they won’t harm you or your daughter.”
    He continued his way out the back of the hut and into the next. It was when he turned away from them, his head going from full face to three-quarters to profile, that she remembered seeing him. It was from photographs in the Chronicle of Higher Education . He was supposed to be dead.

Chapter 32
    Diane sat alone in her office. Notes of her conversation with Liam were scribbled on a piece of paper in front of her. She called Gregory’s cell phone.
    “Can you talk?” she asked.
    “Yes. I’m waiting for Simone’s brother to come down to the coffee shop to speak with me. Simone is still in a coma. I fear it doesn’t look good for her.”
    “I’m sorry to hear that. I keep hoping for the best. I have some more names to plug into your network,” she said. She briefly related Liam’s research and read the list of names to him.
    “I have no idea what these people have to do with me,” she said, “but I was thinking maybe they could be Ivan Santos’ people. Maybe currently, or maybe at one time they fought in his army.”
    “I’ll see if I can find out,” said Gregory.“I have—or rather, WAI has—a database