“I can understand that,” said Connie. “How many men were there?”
“Maybe three, when it happened.”
“What happened?”
“Someone shouted from the top of the Temple.”
Yes, thought Elena, the reason the man on the ground was caught in a death stare, looking up.
“When the man in the white shirt turned to look, the tall man, the skinny one, hit him from behind. It happened very fast.”
“Did you see what he hit him with?”
Miguel shook his head. “No.”
“What happened then?” asked Connie.
“The tall man bent over. It looked like he was searching the body.”
“What did you do?”
Miguel squirmed on his seat, and his short legs swung back and forth in over time.
Connie leaned forward and placed a hand on his knee. His feet stopped swinging.
“Miguel, what did you do then?” she said.
He looked sideways at Connie, out of the corner of his eyes. “I sneezed. You see, when I wake up in the morning I sneeze sometimes, like three or four times. It is the morning air that makes me sneeze.”
“Did the men hear you?” asked Connie.
“Sí. They shouted, ‘who’s there?’”
“And?”
“I ran. And they ran after me, but I hid in a cave along the river. After a while they gave up looking for me and disappeared along the old forest trail back to town.”
Connie leaned back and studied Miguel. She seemed to be digesting his story.
“But,” she said, “Elena saw you running away from the site when she arrived early that morning. So you went back?”
Miguel licked dry lips. “When the men didn’t return, I went to see if the man on the ground needed help.”
“So you went to where he lay.”
“Sí. I sneaked back very carefully because I was afraid the men would come back. I stood over the man, and his head was bloody. He didn’t move.”
“So you ran to the clinic?”
Miguel hesitated. “I didn’t go exactly then because something else happened.”
Connie watched the boy with the patience of a mother waiting for her child to take his first steps.
When no one else spoke, waiting for him, the little boy said, “Well, I saw the ghost. He was looking at the man on the ground. He was small like the old Mayans that are on the statues in the Park. He had an axe, and he shook it at me. I ran. I didn’t want him to hit me with that axe.”
Connie had been absentmindedly clicking a ballpoint pen in and out while she listened. The clicking stopped when she heard the word ghost. “A ghost? Was it light by that time? Are you sure you saw a ghost? Maybe it was just some mist or a cloud or something.”
“It was a ghost. I have seen him at the ruins before.”
“I see,” said Connie. “A resident ghost. I’ve heard stories that ghosts haunt the ruins.”
She glanced at Elena and Dominic who sat patiently in their role of moral support for the boy. Connie looked like she wasn’t sure what to believe.
“I saw the ghost, too,” said Elena, deciding it was now or never. “He appeared when I was at the site searching the grounds for clues.”
Connie nodded and kept nodding, maybe trying to assimilate a ghost into the murder investigation. “I must say I’ve never been up against a ghost before. Elena, you say you saw him, too?”
“Yes.” She explained how she had seen the exact same figure at the same place, but at dusk.
“The light wouldn’t be very good at either time he was spotted,” said Connie. “Maybe you just thought you saw something.” She looked back and forth between Miguel and Elena.
Miguel said, “See, la doctora saw the ghost, too.” A big grin creased his face from ear to ear.
Connie said, “Well, Miguel, I don’t think we can include him in the list of suspects, even though he was brandishing an axe. He would not hold up in a court of law. I think we’d better look for this tall, skinny man you saw. Do you have anything else to tell me?
“The man is looking for me.”
Connie sat up straighter. “You’ve seen him since?”
“Sí, the same skinny one. I spotted him in the forest, looking around like he lost something. He hasn’t seen me because I keep changing where I hide, but it has been hard and I am scared.”
“I guess so,” Connie said. She placed her hand on his arm. “Miguel, because you are our key witness in this crime, we may have to detain you for your own safety.”
“He’s welcome to stay with me.” Dominic spoke up for the first time.
Connie thought that one over. “Do you have a gun?”
Dominic shook his head no.
“I’ll issue you one and try to arrange for a plainclothes detail for Elena and Miguel as soon as I can find someone. We are short on manpower right now.”
She turned to Elena. “You must be very careful. Stay within the confines of the town and within sight of someone at all times.”
“I’ll be glad to look after her,” Dominic said, “if she will just listen to me.”
Elena laughed. “I’m worried myself, so I’ll do as you say. What about the director’s death?”
“We are ruling it a suicide until we find evidence to the contrary.”
Outside the station they stopped. The wind was picking up. The tops of the palms that towered above the central plaza bent in the wind, and the fronds danced around like crazy streamers. Ominous gray clouds crowded low on the horizon.
Dominic asked, “Have you heard any more on the storm?”
“It’s coming right for us,” Elena said. “They don’t expect it to veer.”
“Why don’t you come to the clinic with me? We always need an extra hand, especially with a storm coming. We have to make preparations.”
“I’ll be glad to help. But first I want to stop by the hotel and see my mother. I promised I would this morning. I’ll see you at the clinic.”
“Elena.” He turned her head so that he could look directly into her eyes. “Don’t forget what Connie said. Stay in town, in sight of people at all times.”
“I promise,” she said and meant it. Fear’s tendrils had taken root.
They parted company, and Elena walked in the direction of the hotel.
She heard the motorcycles before she saw them and ducked into a doorway behind a corner news stand with a crowd of people in front. Rolando and his buddies roared by, gunning motors to impress the crowd. She shrank down when one of the group looked over and for a moment she thought he had spotted her. But they kept going, and she watched until they were out of sight.
Could they be involved in the thefts or the murder? They never seemed to have gainful employment. Maybe they maintained their flashy lifestyle by antiquities smuggling. She had not mentioned them to Connie. She would the next time she saw her.
She waited in line at the newsstand to buy the daily paper. The talk was about the coming hurricane. She wondered what preparations they would make in Copan Ruinas and what she should do. She bought a newspaper and read the headlines. “Hurricane Bob Bears Down on Coast. Bay Islands Cut Off. San Pedro Sula Airport Closed”. That didn’t bode well for getting her mother out before the storm.
She hurried to the Hotel Marina Copan. Her mother was in the dining room, having a late breakfast with a man Elena didn’t recognize. Leave it to Susanna to find yet another hapless soul to do her bidding. She was a magnet when it came to men.
Susanna waved when she saw her. “Over here, darling.”
Elena walked to the table and kissed her. She looked like she should be having tea with the queen, dressed to kill as usual with her signature scarf in bright green silk today, draped casually across her shoulders.