Adverse Events, page 23
Kate waited until they were safely back on the highway before letting her mask of enthusiasm crumble. She closed her eyes and laid her head back on the seat. They’d just wasted an entire day with no sign of Emily Gibson. And without access to the campus, she had no idea what to do next.
Chapter 22
The next morning, Kate woke again with the sunrise. The sense of despair that had covered her like a wet blanket the night before had lifted. Hues of hope and possibility filtered in with the bright morning light. Determination drove her out of bed with a wakefulness that didn’t even need a boost of caffeine.
She had come all this way to find Emily Gibson. And she would not give up after one day’s setback. She was so absorbed in her silent pep-talk that the sound of a soft knock on her door made her jump.
“Is that my morning coffee delivery?” she quipped, as she swung open the door expectantly.
Carida’s soft laugh and smiling eyes greeted her. Mortification flushed her cheeks.
“I’m so sorry!” she gasped. “I thought you were Peter.”
Her host smiled. “He went for a run. I just wanted to see if you were ready for breakfast.”
“Oh, yes. I’ll be right there. I’m sorry if I kept you waiting.”
She thought she’d gotten up early, but everyone else still had a head start! She raked her brush through her hair and pulled it back with a clip before following Carida. By the time she got to the table, the older woman had placed a steaming mug at her seat.
“Buenos dias!” Elian crowed as he came through the door to the patio.
“Good morning,” she mumbled, suddenly self-conscious at finding herself alone with the couple.
“Peter will be back soon. He said he wanted to stretch his legs. Sit, sit,” Elian said, waving at her chair.
She perched on the edge of her seat and wrapped her hands around her coffee cup. The warmth spread from her fingers to her chest. She took a sip and the creamy richness washed over her tongue.
“It’s good?” Elian asked.
Kate nodded. “It’s very good. I don’t normally take my coffee with milk, but this is perfect.”
“Cuban coffee is the best coffee in the world,” he said proudly.
She smiled as Carida set a plate of sliced bread and fruit in the middle of the table. The couple bowed their heads in unison, and Elian said a simple prayer of thanks for the food. Kate bowed her head, too, but watched them through half-closed lids. She normally would have rolled her eyes in a moment like this. But something in their faces made derision impossible. They seemed so utterly content. She had never known peace like that.
“Peter doesn’t say much about his work,” Elian said after they started to eat. “But I would guess he’s pretty good at what he does. What do you think?”
“He is,” Kate said without hesitation. “He’s one of the best detectives in the department, if not the best. And he’s not like any police officer I’ve ever met. Detective, I mean. Sorry.”
“Why is that?” Elian’s warm eyes watched her intently.
“Well,” she hedged. She suddenly didn’t know how to put it in words. She tore off a piece of bread and dunked it in her coffee as she thought about how to explain it. “Most police officers have an edge. They’re hard. They assume the worst about everyone. And they’re full of their own authority. But Peter’s not like that. Somehow he assumes the best and still has hope in …”
She paused and glanced over at Elian. He was watching her expectantly. She pressed her lips together as she tried to pin down the elusive quality that made Peter so appealing.
“Something more, something greater?” Elian suggested.
Something more. Those words ricocheted around in her mind, ringing with the clarity of revelation. She felt like she’d just found one missing piece to the puzzle that was slowly taking shape in her mind.
“Yes, something more,” she said. That was exactly what Peter had.
“I’m glad to see he hasn’t lost it. He almost did, you know. Once.”
Kate’s pulse quickened. Peter had promised to tell her his story one day. She knew she shouldn’t try to weasel it out of Elian. But she found the words tumbling out of her mouth before she could stop them.
“I don’t, actually,” she said. “He’s never told me anything about his past.”
Elian’s eyebrows shot up. “Oh? Well, he will. In time. How long have you known each other?”
Kate considered. She’d interacted with him for more than a year. But she felt like she’d only just started to get to know him in the last few weeks.
“I guess not as long as I thought,” she said.
Before Elian could say anything else, the back door swung open and Peter strode in. His sweat-soaked shirt clung to his chest, and a flush of heat and exertion covered his face and neck. But he beamed when he caught her eye.
“Good morning,” he said between attempts to catch his breath. “I see you found your way to the coffee.”
Kate laughed. “Yes. Carida took care of me.”
“I knew she would. I’ll just jump in the shower. Be right back.”
Kate smiled at his retreating back. When she dragged her attention back to the table, she realized both Elian and Carida were watching her. She fumbled with her bread in embarrassment.
“Peter is a good boy,” Carida said quietly. “I’m glad to see him so happy.”
Kate’s stomach twisted. Happy? Because of her? No. Carida had made a connection that wasn’t there. Had Peter let his friends think they were dating? Her heart thudded uncomfortably. He wouldn’t mislead them intentionally. If they’d gotten the wrong idea, it wasn’t his fault.
But should she try to explain?
“So, yesterday you hit a dead end,” Elian said, spearing two slices of mango from the fruit plate. “What will you do today?”
Kate gratefully stuffed her uncomfortable questions about Peter into the mental drawer where she consigned all untidy emotions and refocused on the reason for their trip.
“Nina, the woman we met yesterday, said the students often go to a nearby shopping area, especially the ones who are learning Spanish. They’re encouraged to interact with people to practice their language skills. I thought if we hung around there for a little while, maybe we’d bump into some people we could talk to.”
Elian nodded slowly. “What if that doesn’t work? Have you thought about other schools? ELAM isn’t the only medical school in Cuba.”
“I know. But it’s the best, right? I can’t imagine Emily Gibson going anywhere but the best. She’s truly brilliant. If she came here to finish her education, she wouldn’t go to a second-rate school.”
“This is an important case for you, no?”
Kate considered before answering. “It is,” she finally said, taking another sip of her coffee.
“Peter said you can’t stand to see an innocent man tried for a murder that never happened.”
“That’s true,” Kate said, frowning as an image of Aaron Newhouse’s condescending face floated through her mind. “But it’s more than that. Emily Gibson has deceived everyone. I just want to know the truth.”
“Ah, yes. The truth is all that matters.”
Kate nodded emphatically.
“Is this a philosophical discussion or a practical one?” Peter asked as he slid into the chair opposite Kate. His wet, tousled hair softened his face. He looked more relaxed than Kate had ever seen him.
“Both!” Elian said with a laugh. “Kate was just telling us why she wants to find this Emily Gibson so much.”
Peter flashed her a grin as he reached for a piece of bread. “Don’t let her idealistic talk fool you. She’s just chasing a headline. If she can prove this woman faked her own death to escape scrutiny over the vaccine trial and get back at her lying boss, Kate will have the story of the year.”
She knew he was teasing, but his words still stung.
“You know it’s not just that. Even if it’s not the story of the year, I still want to know the truth.”
“What are you going to do if you find her?” Carida asked quietly.
Kate glanced at Peter. He hadn’t said whether Chief Lugar had given him any instructions about trying to talk her into coming back.
“I just want to talk to her,” Kate said. “If we find her, we know she’s not dead. But I want to know what happened and why she felt like she had to run.”
“And what about the police?” Elian asked, turning to Peter with a smile.
He shrugged. “The only thing we really care about is whether she’s dead. If the federal government wants to go after her for fraud related to the vaccine trial, that’s up to them.”
“So the CIA hasn’t hired you for an elaborate kidnapping and extraction plan?”
Peter laughed. “Hardly.”
Elian winked at Peter and drained the last of his coffee.
“Well, my friends, I have some church members to visit this morning. Good luck with your investigation.”
“Thanks,” Kate said, smiling up at him as he stood.
He hesitated, as though trying to decide whether to say what he was thinking. “Be careful. What you’re doing is still risky.”
“We will, don’t worry,” Peter said. “We can do some shopping for Carida if that would help. It would give us a good reason to be walking around stores.”
Carida looked doubtful. “I don’t know that you’ll find much. But I can give you a list of a few things, just in case.”
About an hour later, they climbed into the back seat of Marco’s Cadillac. He drove them back down the same highway they’d traveled the day before. But before they got as far as the medical school campus, he turned into a neighborhood sandwiched between the highway and the glittering blue ocean. He pulled up and parked on a street dotted with stores. Kate could see what looked like a cafe in the distance and a small supermarket across the street.
“Looks like we can wander around here for a while without attracting too much attention,” she whispered to Peter as he leaned forward to talk in low tones to Marco.
When he’d arranged for the driver to pick them up in about three hours, they climbed out of the car. As they ambled down the street, Peter caught her hand and laced his fingers through hers. She looked up in surprise. The warmth of his touch felt electric.
“I figure we need to keep up appearances,” he said, flashing her a grin.
She raised an eyebrow but didn’t pull away. She cringed to think what Delilah would say if she could see them. The teasing would never end.
They wandered in and out of stores for about an hour without spotting anyone who looked like a student, let alone an American student who might talk to them. At the end of the street, they stopped at a cafe and ordered two batidos de mamey. Kate wasn’t a huge fan of milkshakes and had never heard of the pinkish colored fruit. Peter assured her she would love it. She expected something like mango, so the slightly caramel flavor that coated her mouth with the first sip came as a surprise. Peter laughed when she immediately took another long draw on her straw.
“I fell in love with these when I came here with my parents,” he said. “I must have had one every other day.”
They wandered back the way they’d come, on the other side of the street. Kate tried to focus on her drink and not their lack of success at finding anyone connected to ELAM.
“It’s still early,” Peter said, as though he could read her mind. “We still have plenty of time.”
They were about halfway back to the grocery store when Kate heard the rumble of a bus. It pulled up in front of the market and emitted a hiss as the doors swung open. Kate caught her breath when a large group of young people swarmed out. They were laughing and talked as they filled the sidewalk. Several turned to wave at the driver as the bus doors swung shut and it pulled away from the curb.
Kate glanced at Peter. His hazel eyes focused on the group. It reminded her of a hunter sniffing out prey. As they drew closer, the murmur of their voices sharpened into distinguishable words. Kate’s heart started to thud. Amid all the rapid-fire Spanish, she could clearly make out some English phrases.
“Bingo,” Peter whispered, giving her hand a squeeze.
Excitement spread her answering smile as wide as she thought it could probably go. Peter tugged gently on her hand and they slowed to a saunter. By the time they got to the store, the group had disappeared inside.
Peter held the door open for her, and they stepped into the dim and slightly stuffy interior. Kate glanced around. The shelves that held the rum and cigars were full. The other shelves held noticeably fewer items. Peter pulled a folded piece of paper from his back pocket and glanced at the list Carida had given them.
“I’ll see if I can find any of these things,” he said. “You look for someone to talk to.”
Kate walked in the direction of the laughing voices, trying to look like she was just perusing the shelves. When she got to the end of her aisle, she rounded the corner and almost ran right into two men looking mournfully at a limited supply of hair care products. One had close-cropped, sandy blond hair. The other had long ebony dreadlocks pulled back and secured with a band.
“Champu,” the blond one said, reading the label of one of the bottles. “No translation needed. Why can’t all Spanish words be so easy to understand?”
His companion chuckled and slapped him on the back good-naturedly. “You’ll get it. Don’t worry,” he said in a lilting Jamaican accent.
“And if I don’t, I can kiss my dreams of becoming a doctor goodbye,” the blond man said with a sigh.
“Eh, you worry too much!” his friend said.
Kate plastered her brightest smile across her face and closed the gap between them in two strides.
“HI! Are you guys students at ELAM?”
The blond man eyed her suspiciously, but the easygoing Jamaican flashed her a saucy grin.
“That depends,” he said. “Are you looking for medical advice or someone to show you the island’s best nightlife?”
Kate laughed. “Neither. I’m planning to apply and I hope to get in by fall. My friend and I took a tour of the campus yesterday. It looks amazing!”
The blond man relaxed enough to smile.
“You’re American, huh? Where are you from?”
“Texas. How ’bout you?”
“Northern California. What brings you to Cuba?”
“My friend and I are just taking a little break from school,” Kate said with a giggle. “I’ve always wanted to see Cuba, so we thought, why not?”
“Well, if you don’t know any Spanish, you’d better work on that,” the blond man said. “ELAM gives you six months to pass their fluency test. If you don’t, you’ll be on the first plane home.”
“Yikes! That sounds pretty intense.”
“It’s kicking my butt,” he said with a groan. “I don’t know if I’m going to make it.”
“C’mon, man! You gotta stop worrying,” his Jamaican friend said. “It’s not that bad. If I can pass, you can pass.”
“Sounds like you’ve been here for a while,” Kate said with a smile.
“Just a year longer than this guy. It’s not easy, that’s true. But I know I didn’t whine as much as him.”
“Hey! Some friend you are.”
“Who’s helping you study then?”
“Yeah, yeah. Ok.” He turned his attention back to Kate. “But seriously. Any prep work you can do will help.”
“Good to know! Thanks for the tip.”
“You bet. There’s not many Americans here. It’d be nice to have a few more.”
“I was wondering about that,” Kate said. “I read that students come from all over the world. But I’m guessing they probably don’t have a lot from the U.S.”
“Seems like they might want more, but not a lot apply.”
“Yeah, that makes sense. So do new classes all start at the same time? Or do people sometimes come in mid-semester?”
The men both shook their heads. “I never seen anybody new come except at the beginning of the school year,” the Jamaican man said. “I don’t know how you could come in the middle of classes. You’d be lost.”
“Oh, for sure,” Kate said. “I just wasn’t sure if students transferred in from other places.”
“I don’t think so. I haven’t been here that long, but I’ve never met anyone who’s come from another school.”
Kate nodded, trying to hide her disappointment. “I’m sure they would stand out, too. I bet you all know each other pretty well after a few months.”
“Not all by name, but at least by sight.”
“Well,” the blond piped up. “I’m pretty sure you know all the pretty girls by name, at least.”
His friend laughed and shrugged good-naturedly. “What can I say?”
“It must be so cool to be in a place where everyone knows everyone else. I go to the University of Texas. I almost never randomly run into anyone I know on campus.”
“We’re like one big family,” the Jamaican man said.
As if on cue, another young man called to them from across the store. They waved and the Jamaican man called back something in Spanish that Kate couldn’t understand.
“Looks like your friends are leaving,” she said. “I should let you go. But thanks for the advice. Maybe I’ll see you around next year.”
“We’ll look forward to it,” the Jamaican man said, winking at her.
Kate forced herself to smile and wave as she wandered off, her eyes searching for Peter. A kernel of worry had just started to take root when he suddenly appeared next to her. He held a basket containing what looked like most of the things Carida had asked them to get.
“Let’s pay for this stuff and then head outside,” he said in a low voice. “Then you can tell me what you found out.”
“Not much,” Kate said, discouragement causing her voice to waver.
Peter slipped his hand over hers and gave it a squeeze. Despite her preoccupation with their so far fruitless search, Kate’s breath still caught at his touch. She was having a hard time figuring out where their cover story ended and reality began. She trailed behind him as he walked to the cash register and pulled some bills out of his pocket.
