Adverse Events, page 22
“Good morning,” he said, holding a steaming mug out to her.
She took it and smiled.
“I’m going to have a rude reality check when we get home and I have to get my own coffee again,” she said.
He laughed, and the resonance of it strummed her still sleepy consciousness. She could listen to that sound all day. She followed him into the living area. Carida had set the table with bowls of fruit and thick slices of bread. Small glasses of juice sat at each place.
“Buenos dias!” the older woman said warmly as she ushered them to the table.
Kate took her seat, gripping her mug like an anchor. Peter looked completely at ease, while she was the outsider looking in. And yet at the same time, she felt like an actor on stage, every nerve awake with the sense that someone was watching her every move. She’d never had to depend on the hospitality of strangers.
She bowed her head when Elian said grace, but she peeked from under half-closed lids at the people seated around her. Carida and Elian radiated a quiet joy. Peter had propped his elbows on the table, resting his forehead on his clasped hands. Was this part of his routine, or was he flexing spiritual muscles he hadn’t used in years?
While they ate, they discussed their plans for the day. Kate felt sure they would spot Emily on the medical school campus, or be able to get hints of a new American arrival if they played their parts right. She had rehearsed her story several times after she went to bed. It wouldn’t be the first time she’d pretended to be someone she wasn’t to get a story.
Elian had his doubts.
“You must be very careful, my friends,” he said. “Very careful. If they think you’re not sincere, they could decide you’re a threat. If they think you might be CIA spies, they will have you arrested for sure.”
“CIA spies?” Kate laughed, assuming he was joking. But the seriousness in Elian’s face stopped her mid chuckle.
He sighed. “The CIA is the ever-present boogeyman. The Cuban government blames the CIA for everything that goes wrong, even droughts and crop failures. Cubans are taught from birth that our greatest enemy is the CIA. You are Americans. If they think you’re lying about why you’re here, they’ll assume you are CIA spies.”
Kate glanced at Peter, sobered by the thought of spending any amount of time in a Cuban jail. He gave her a small smile.
“We’ll be fine,” he said. “Worse comes to worst, we’ll tell them the truth. It won’t take them long to find Kate’s stories about Emily Gibson online.”
“And it won’t take them long to figure out you’re a detective, Peter,” Elian said quietly. “You may convince them you’re not with the CIA, but the truth might not be much better for you.”
The thick slice of soft bread she’d just eaten suddenly sat like a rock in her stomach. She shifted uncomfortably in her chair, her eyes fixed on her plate. The last thing she wanted was to put Peter in danger just so she could get a great story. When she looked up, Peter’s deep hazel eyes held her gaze. He stared steadily into her face.
“It’s my job, too, you know,” he said, as if he could read her mind. “I’m here to clear an innocent man’s name.”
Kate snorted at the irony.
Peter grinned. “Well, innocent of murder, at least. He’s still guilty of being a class A jerk.”
Kate laughed, and the tension that had settled over the table dissipated.
“Do you want to take the car, Peter? It’s yours if you want it,” Elian said.
“No. That would make it too easy for them to trace us. I thought we’d walk a ways and find a taxi. What better way to look like tourists than rolling up in one of Cuba’s famous, classic cars?”
“Ah!” Elian said, jumping to his feet. “Let me call Marco. He has a beautiful 1957 Cadillac. He will take care of you. I won’t tell him exactly why you’re here, but I’ll tell him you don’t want anyone to know you’re not just normal visitors. If anyone asks, he can say he picked you up and nothing seemed suspicious.”
“Are you sure he won’t mind getting involved?” Kate asked, unable to quell a ripple of worry over the possibility of putting someone else in danger.
“Marco has a servant’s heart. He would do anything to help a brother, even an American.” Elian clapped Peter on the shoulder and his rich laugh rolled over them.
Kate excused herself to finish gathering her things together in the small backpack she’d brought with her. Before leaving her room, she smeared a thin layer of sunscreen over her face and neck. She met Peter again in the small hallway. He’d put on a hat, and it gave him an air of boyishness she’d never seen before.
“Is that your tourist garb?” she asked, smirking up at him.
“No, it’s my anti-sunburn garb.”
She expected him to turn around and walk into the living area, but he just stood there, staring down at her. A flutter of nerves stirred in her chest.
“What?” she said. Her voice sounded slightly breathless, and she cursed the sudden lack of control she seemed to have over her reactions.
“Nothing,” he said, the corners of his mouth curling up. “Are you ready?”
“Yep. Let’s go find Emily Gibson.”
As they walked through the patio on their way to the gate, they passed Carida sitting at the outdoor table. She had a large book open in front of her, a notebook sitting next to it. She reminded Kate of a college student sitting in a library. She wondered briefly if the older woman was taking classes somewhere. But then she realized the book was a Bible.
“I’ll be praying all day for your safe return,” she said with a gentle smile.
It seemed like an exaggeration, but as Kate looked into the woman’s warm eyes, she sensed it wasn’t. This woman she hadn’t even known for 24 hours would spend the day praying for her. Kate didn’t believe it would make any difference, but knowing she was willing made her feel like giving the woman a hug.
Peter gave Carida a quick kiss on the cheek and they stepped out into the bright morning sunshine. They walked more quickly than they had the night before. When they neared the Malecón, they slowed and commented on the things they passed. Peter stopped several times to take photos of the Hotel Nacional. They meandered through several shops before wandering over to the building where Marco had agreed to meet them. They spotted his bright red Cadillac right away. Marco was leaning against the door, reading a folded newspaper. Kate thought she saw recognition spark in his face when he looked up and saw them, but he continued to stare at the paper as though he wasn’t expecting any particular customer.
“Hola,” Peter said as they walked up. “Taxi?”
“Si, si!” Marco said, smiling widely. He wore a traditional guayabera Cuban shirt over faded khaki pants.
“My, uh,” Peter paused, glancing back at her. “My girlfriend and I would like to visit the Escuela Latinoamericana de Medicina. Do you know it?”
“Si, I take you there,” he said, opening the door and motioning for them to climb into the back seat.
“Un momento,” Peter said, pulling out his phone. Before Kate realized what he was doing, he’d put his arm around her shoulders, spun her around so that the car was behind them, and snapped a selfie. Too surprised to protest, she scrambled into the back. Peter climbed in after her and flashed her a cheeky grin. As Marco started up the engine and pulled away from the curb, Peter draped his arm over the back of the seat behind her.
She tried not to think about his arm against her neck and his leg pressed against hers. Despite the constant teasing from her coworkers, and occasional snide remarks from other police officers, she’d never thought of Peter as anything more than a friend. But she’d never had a friend risk his life to help her chase down a story and save her job.
Once they were away, Peter leaned forward and chatted with Marco. His Spanish was halting, but Marco seemed to understand with no problem. After a few minutes, he sat back and shot Kate a confident smile.
“He’s going to wait for us while we look around. We’ll need to pay him a little more, but that’s most likely what two visitors would do. He says there’s a guard gate we have to pass through. We should probably just tell them you’re a prospective student and want to look around.”
Kate nodded. “Maybe they’ll send someone who can give us a tour.”
“That’s what I’m hoping.”
They drove for another 30 minutes along a highway that ran parallel to the coast. As they got farther from the city center, the space between the buildings widened and the trees grew closer together. By the time Marco slowed and turned on his blinker, Kate felt like they were in the country.
The school campus sat on a peninsula that jutted out from the coastline. Blue and white bunker-like buildings dotted a sparse landscape. But cheerful pink flowers dotted bushes packed with dense green leaves. It was the only nod to the school’s tropical location.
The security guard who stepped out of the small gatehouse to meet them didn’t look especially suspicious. He gazed at them through half-closed eyes, like he’d just woken up from a nap. Kate flashed him her brightest smile. Marco launched into an explanation in rapid-fire Spanish, gesturing at them and then at the buildings in front of them. The guard scratched his head. He seemed perplexed but eventually nodded and sauntered back into the tiny building.
“They must not get many requests for tours,” Kate whispered.
“Un momento,” Marco said, turning around to smile at them. He held his thumb and pinky finger up to his head, mimicking a telephone.
After a few moments, the guard came back out, said a few words to Marco and ambled over to the white crossing arm blocking the road. He leaned on the weighted end and it swung up into the air, clearing the way for them to drive through.
“Ha! We’re in,” Peter whispered triumphantly.
Kate’s heart pounded as Marco put the car in gear and moved slowly ahead. But she smiled cheerily and waved at the guard as they rolled past, calling out, “Gracias!”
Marco said something to Peter, who nodded.
“Someone is coming to meet us. Sounds like they don’t want us wandering around. That’s good though. Maybe we can talk her into giving us a tour while we ask questions. ”
“Hopefully she speaks English,” Kate said.
Peter just shrugged.
When Marco pulled up to the curb outside the main building, Peter climbed out of the backseat and held out his hand to help her. She expected him to let go after she stepped out of the car, but he didn’t. Instead, he laced his fingers through hers.
“Gotta look the part,” he said with an impish grin.
Kate fought the urge to pull away. The warmth from his hand crept up her arm like invisible molasses. Could he feel her pulse pounding in her palm? The surprise of their sudden, physical connection made her feel like she’d taken one too many shots of Cuban rum. But before she could succumb to her lightheadedness, the front door of the main building swung open. A woman in a billowy red top and black pencil skirt plodded down the steps toward them. Her shiny black hair was pulled back in a no-nonsense bun but big hoop earrings dangled on either side of her narrow face. She glanced between them, her sharp black eyes sliding over their clasped hands, and smiled tightly.
“Hola. How may I help you?”
She seemed to speak perfect English. Kate sighed with relief.
“Hi!” she gushed before Peter could say anything. If she was the one hoping to enroll, she’d better be the one to ask the questions. “Thank you so much for meeting us. I’m Kate, and this is Peter. I’m thinking about applying to med school here and we thought we would come check out the campus.”
“You came all the way to Cuba to take a tour of the school?” The woman sounded dubious.
“Oh, no,” Kate said quickly. “We wanted to come here just to see the island. We’ve been planning this trip for ages, haven’t we, babe?”
She glanced at Peter, who nodded enthusiastically.
“It’s only been in the last few months that I realized I didn’t want to go to school in America. I’m not sure where I’ll end up, but since we were here, I wanted to check it out.”
The woman raised both her perfectly plucked eyebrows.
“We’ve enjoyed our stay here so much,” Kate said, grasping at anything to thaw the woman’s frosty reception. “It’s so refreshing to be in a place where people come first. We could definitely see ourselves being here long term.”
She squeezed Peter’s hand in a silent plea for help.
“Cuba is an extraordinary place,” he said, flashing the woman a lopsided smile. Kate always thought that made him look like he was 16. “It’s nothing like we’ve always heard.”
“We like it,” the woman said.
“Well, we’ve told this to just about everyone we’ve met,” Peter said. “But I would like to apologize for the American government’s policies. It’s not right that America has interfered with your way of life for so long.”
The woman’s face seemed to soften just slightly.
“If you ask me, I think American politicians are afraid if they end the embargo, Cuba will thrive and show everyone that this system is far superior to ours. They’re just afraid.”
“You don’t love your country?” The woman’s question was half challenge, half curious.
“We have so many problems!” Peter said. “And the politicians are just out for themselves. The rich keep getting richer, and the rest of us get left behind. I mean, just look at our healthcare system compared to yours.”
Kate nodded. “Right! That’s why I don’t want to go to medical school in America. All doctors there care about is making lots of money and living an easy life. While the people who really need help can’t pay for it. That’s not how I want to live my life.”
The woman smiled. “That’s why a lot of Americans come here to study. Our system works for everybody. No one gets left behind.”
Kate just smiled in response, willing the woman to drop the last of her reserve. After a few moments of silence, she extended her hand.
“My name is Nina. I work in the president’s office. We don’t normally give tours. But I can walk you around and answer a few questions.”
“Oh, thank you so much!” Kate said. Every ounce of the relief that flooded her voice was genuine. She wrenched her hand out of Peter’s grasp to shake the woman’s hand. “I really appreciate it. I’m sorry if this isn’t how you normally do things. I just got so excited after being here for a few days. We just fell in love with it.”
“Come this way,” Nina said, beckoning them to follow her. “I can show you one of our classroom buildings.”
Kate scurried to keep pace with her, leaving Peter to trail them along the narrow walkway.
“It’s a beautiful campus,” Kate said, as they passed a bright pink bougainvillea in full bloom.
Nina nodded. “The most beautiful on the island. We have several other medical schools, you know.”
“Yes, but this one is the best,” Kate said confidently.
“I see you’ve done your research.”
Kate beamed at her. “I love that you have so many students from all over the world who come here. It must be amazing to experience so many different cultures. Other people have so much to teach us.”
Nina led them up an outdoor staircase and down a long hallway flanked with classrooms. It reminded Kate of the beach pavilions in Galveston. Open so the breeze could come through, but perpetually coated in the briny grime of the ocean air. It didn’t look like a fit learning environment for grade school students, let alone medical students. She suppressed a smirk of satisfaction at the thought of Emily Gibson’s reaction to her new circumstances. Of course, if she had planned her escape as thoroughly as they thought, she no doubt knew what awaited her.
As they walked, Kate peppered Nina with light questions about the school and life in Cuba. She peered into every room they passed and held her breath as they walked around every corner. She felt so sure they could spot Emily at any moment. She swallowed a sigh of frustration when they left the last building and began walking back toward the front entrance. It felt like two hours wasted.
“How many Americans do you have here at the moment?” Peter asked.
“I don’t know,” Nina said. “We always have some students from America. But we only take students who want to serve. Our students do not become doctors to get rich. Most of our international students come from Africa and Central or South America. Or other countries in the Caribbean.”
“Given how things stand between our two governments, Americans must stand out,” Peter said.
Nina gave him a tight smile. “We welcome all who want to learn in the spirit of the revolution.”
“That sounds so perfect,” Kate said. “That’s just what I want. A purpose to live for and serve. Something bigger than myself.”
“Then you would fit right in,” Nina said.
“I’ll start working on my application as soon as we get home,” she said.
Nina smiled again, with a bit more warmth this time, as they stopped in front of Marco’s candy apple red Cadillac.
“Would it be possible for me to talk to some of the American students? To get advice on my application and what I need to do to prepare?”
Nina frowned. “That’s not the kind of thing we usually do. I’m sure you’ll figure it out. Everyone does.”
Kate smiled brightly to hide her disappointment.
“Oh, yes. Of course. Sorry. I’m just so excited and I want to make sure I do everything right, so I get accepted.”
Nina held out her hand. Kate shook it firmly.
“Good luck,” Nina said. “I hope to see you back here next year.”
“Thank you so much,” Kate said. “I really appreciate all your help.”
She kept her smile plastered in place as Peter put an arm around her shoulders and guided her back to the car. As she climbed into the back seat, she glanced back and caught Nina watching them. Her narrowed eyes suggested suspicion. Kate waved cheerily as Marco fired up the Cadillac and backed out of the parking spot.
