Touched by Death Read online

  "Honey, I've told you before. That land borders the family land, but it's not ours."

  "It's land we've used since forever; it should be ours." She pouted and collapsed on the arm of his chair beside him, the tempest over for now. "We think of it as ours."

  John grinned and tugged her closer.

  "Except it isn't. I know you think it's wrong, however you might want to try to see their point of view for a moment. If that were your family thrown into a large pit in another country, wouldn't you want to bring them home? Have a place where you could visit them? Talk to them? Grieve for them?"

  She frowned. "I understand that. I'm not heartless. I feel sorry for the family… I do. What about all the other people buried there though? Some of them could be friends. Family. I don't know who's buried there. I do know it's bad luck to wake the dead. We need to honor their souls and let them rest."

  "Maybe we can do something for the other people, too. And no one is talking about waking the dead. We're hoping to give the dead – and the living – peace. We've gone over this. It's in progress and we can't stop it."

  "I still want to."

  Dane buried his smile in his thick ceramic mug. She sounded more like a truculent child now. He could see her point, but his brother was right – the process had already started. By this time next week, the grave would be open.

  She'd see then. Nothing bad would come of this.

  CHAPTER THREE

  The heat hit her first. She'd forgotten how strong and heavy the air smelled. Being March, the humidity shouldn't be bad until they were almost finished with the job here. Jade stepped out of the airport in Port-au-Prince and walked the tarmac toward the waiting vehicles. Now she almost wished her brother was beside her. But they'd both decided it would be better if he came in a month or so.

  She took a deep breath. Christ. She was really here.

  There were seven team members. A smallish enough group to get to know, but big enough they'd get the job done. Beside Bruce, the leader, there was Dr. Mike a forensic anthropologist, but with more degrees than she had herself, and Meg Stern. There were two other men who would double as computer nerds and work at the gravesite. There was a third female in the group, Susan, but Jade had forgotten the details. It wouldn't take long to get to know each other. She hoped. Meeting new people wasn't normally an issue for her, but this last year of hermit living hadn't been good in that sense. She was nervous. And that was stupid. She was good at what she did. She wanted to help on this project. She could do this.

  And she'd almost convinced herself.

  Taking several deep breaths, she allowed herself to really look at the area. The last time she'd flown in with the army. She'd been whisked in and whisked out and had worked most of the time behind tight security. This time they'd taken a commercial flight. When they landed there was no army, no police – no security of any kind.

  Intense blue skies smiled down on her. She almost believed everything was going to be alright.

  Almost.

  Her gaze wandered the surrounding areas as they made their way to the rental vehicles. Some things hadn't changed. Collapsed buildings still dotted the terrain; abandoned vehicles had been dragged off the main roads to clog fields and side roads. The biggest differences were the lack of bodies decorating the landscape and the roads were now passable.

  It took a good ten minutes – with her eyes darting from side to side searching for bodies and hoping not to find them – before she finally believed that death wasn't going to plague her every step. She breathed a sigh of relief feeling the almost unbearable tension draining from her system.

  Haiti was obviously in recovery mode.

  Thank God.

  They planned to stay outside of the city center for the night to wait for gear, supplies and mainly the paperwork. They would continue on to Jacmel in the morning.

  "Come on Jade, stop gawking. We'll get time to sightsee later." Meg, one of the forensic anthropologists on the team, grinned at her. Tall, slim and energetic, Meg's initial friendliness had enfolded Jade, easing the uncertainty of her decision.

  Meg waved toward the three SUVs leased for the duration of the job. The team climbed into the vehicles and within an hour were booked in at a small and homey hotel. It appeared to have survived the earthquake unscathed. Complete streets were ripped apart in other parts of the city. Some portions were buried under collapsed buildings while others were perfect. So much of the city had been leveled but there were pockets, like around the hotel, that appeared untouched.

  The tent cities were new. They'd been tin cities the last time Jade was here. The garbage lining the streets, the alleys, the sidewalks was still the same. It was as if many people were stuck in a time warp, unable to move forward and leave the disaster behind.

  Mother Nature had a hit-and-miss hate thing going on.

  After dinner, Meg and Jade stood outside the hotel and surveyed the streets for signs of progress. Stores were open, and doing brisk business. Port-au-Prince had been a thriving metropolis at one time. Jade didn't think recovery had restored that level of economic progress and stability. But poverty had always been a major part of life here. It looked to be the same. Not that she'd spent any time sightseeing on her last trip. There'd been nothing nice to see.

  "Wow. Looks like the area still needs time to recover economically. Although I guess it's better than it was a year ago." Meg sat on the stone fence, her long, jean-clad legs swinging loose. She ran a hand through her short dark blond hair. She glanced over at Jade. "Are you ready for this?"

  "Ready for what?" Jade asked absentmindedly, her focus on the surrounding scene so similar and yet so different than before. She leaned back against the stone fence and looked at her colleague.

  "The job we're here to do. It's not likely to be much fun." Meg pointed to the wreckage of cars heaped off to one side, surrounded by tall weeds. "I didn't expect to see this level of refuse strewn about. It's easy to be unaware of what's required in a country's recovery unless you're actually on location."

  "True enough. No, the job isn't likely to be much fun, but it'll be meaningful." Jade smiled, her heart lighter already. Her words had been instinctive, coming from her heart. The job had purpose, not as necessary for the masses as her previous one to Haiti, but still important. And there wasn't the same urgency or panic to this second visit. That helped her keep calm and focused.

  "Come on. We need to go to bed if we want to get an early start."

  They wandered into the hotel, saying good night to the other team members. At their rooms, Jade was pleasantly surprised to see she had a room to herself. There were three women and four men on the team. The others seemed normal and upbeat; Jade found herself relaxing and looking forward to her time here.

  She said goodnight to Meg and opened her door. A maid in the hallway glanced at her shyly and handed over several towels.

  She really was back in Haiti – where it all began.

  ***

  Morning dawned bright and sunny. Jade opened her eyes, staring at the same ceiling she'd stared at for over half the night. A heavy knock sounded on her door, followed by a bright, cheerful Meg calling out, "Rise and shine. It's a whole new day. We're pulling out in an hour. Get moving and you'll have time for a shower and food. Otherwise you'll have to choose."

  She could hear her new friend bouncing down the stairs. At least one of them was in a good mood. Still her excitement was infectious. Twenty minutes later, after a fast shower and repacking, Jade poured coffee for herself in the small dining room. The rest of the team were boisterous and chewing through their meals.

  "Good morning, Jade. Did you sleep well? Lovely rooms, aren't they?" Dr. Mike Chandler smiled at her as he served himself fluffy scrambled eggs. Thankfully he didn't appear to need an answer. He followed with, "Take a seat; take a seat."

  She grabbed the empty chai
r next to him. He looked to be in his sixties, with white hair and an aura of ageless wisdom, as if he'd seen a lot of life and yet still found something to smile about. He looked to be someone she'd enjoy getting to know.

  The waitress came around bearing food that was generously heaped on her plate. "French toast? I thought we'd be eating fried bananas, or is it plantains here, and orange juice-soaked French bread?"

  "You can have that another time if you want. I ordered this for everyone. You're not going to get much work done on a fried banana or two."

  "I've never tried them," she protested, reaching for her knife and fork.

  "And you won't today either. Better eat. We're rolling in ten." He finished his meal and stood to leave. Several other members followed.

  Alone with only Meg at the table, Jade said, "Wow, everyone is in such a good mood."

  Meg grinned at her. "Now if only we could cheer you up."

  Jade sat back and gave her a sheepish smile. "I'm feeling better; don't worry."

  "Feeling better yes, feeling good, no. We'll fix that." She motioned to Jade's empty plate. "If you're done, let's go."

  Caught in the general mood of everyone else, Jade found her doubts and worries from the night before drift away. She raced after Meg and the others.

  ***

  Dane and John watched the vehicles park outside the picket fence. Dust billowed behind them. Three SUVs – heavily loaded from the look of them.

  The doors opened and several smiling people hopped out and approached the brothers.

  An older man with a beard said, "Excuse me, we're looking for Peppe or Emile Jacinte."

  John pursed his lips, studying the newcomers. "They are my brother-in-law and father-in-law. Are you the mortuary team?"

  Several people gathered around the speaker. The older man winced. "Yes, that's one way of putting it. I'm Dr. Bruce McLeod and this is my group of specialists." He motioned to the rest of the group.

  "Right. Well, Peppe, is...well, he's not quite the right person to talk to and Emile is at work already."

  Dr. McLeod frowned. "We were hoping to get specific directions to the gravesite so as to evaluate the equipment we've brought with us."

  A tall, lean, cheerful brunette in the group spoke first. "Could you show us the way to the site perhaps? We understand it borders this property."

  Dane glanced over at John to see him glancing at the house. If Tasha found out John had helped them, well...

  "I'll take them, John." Dane turned to the strangers, ignoring the look of relief on John's face. "I'm Dane Carter and this is my brother John. His wife is Peppe's daughter. The gravesite borders the family property."

  The group broke into smiles and introductions as he approached them. Better to go now before Tasha saw them, though she'd have to deal with this sometime. It might be easier on her if the team had already settled in before she was forced to face them.

  "It's in this direction." As they turned in the right direction, he considered the problem of parking. "Let's walk from here, and you can assess a clearing down the road a bit for parking and unloading. There isn't a road, but the path is wide and well traveled."

  They fell into a group and walked beside him. "John's wife's family isn't used to this many foreigners at once. How many of you are there?"

  The same tall brunette spoke, "There are seven on the team."

  The oldest looking man of the group walked beside Dane. "Plus there will be one or two from the company who will probably go back and forth from the States to check on progress."

  "Progress. Right." His lips quirked. "You do realize that not everyone is happy about what you're doing?" He felt their surprise more than saw any signs of it.

  The brunette spoke again. "We hoped that people would understand."

  Dane nodded. "Some will, though many more may be against having the grave opened – or waking the dead as they'd call it."

  "Are you Haitian?"

  Dane spun around to gaze at the small blonde with a serious, almost haunted look on her face. He studied her for a moment then answered, "No. I'm from Seattle, Washington. I own a construction company there, thankfully now manned by a very capable foreman." He shrugged self-consciously. "So when I came to visit my brother and saw the destruction, I had to stay and help out."

  Several people made comments in response. Dane ignored most, his gaze locked on the tiny blonde with such a serious look who'd walked up beside him. Somehow he needed to see the reaction on her face. Her gaze stayed shuttered, but her lips quirked.

  She murmured, "It's hard to not do something."

  He was glad she understood. He wasn't sure of the undercurrents in her voice but felt like he'd said something right.

  It took close to twenty minutes to get to the clearing. He pointed out the vast area to the others. "This is the best place for parking and unloading."

  His gaze had landed on the blonde again. She stilled at his words. Or was it from his gaze? Everyone else continued to talk around him. There were only seven of them, and he'd heard their initial introductions, but it was hard to keep them all straight. He didn't bother trying to remember names. Except for one.

  Her name was Jade.

  Several team members wandered the space, talking amongst themselves about logistics. He listened with half an ear. Jade stood quietly at his side.

  He cast around looking for something to say. "What brings you here?"

  Her gaze, deep and dark, never shifted. She answered, "Why? Because sometimes, you can't run away and hide. No matter how hard you try."

  With that cryptic remark, she moved off to join the others, leaving him to stare after her. Intrigued.

  ***

  Jade struggled against the onslaught of emotions as she stood and watched the team. She was really here.

  Their guide had been a surprise. Tall and rangy, he reminded her of the lean cowboys she'd grown up with in Montana. Her family's move to Portland hadn't erased the memories of weathered men who loved the long hours they worked outdoors. Dane appeared to be – at least at first glance – of the same breed.

  She wandered the clearing, listening, waiting for the next step. That had little to do with her.

  "Anything to add, Jade?"

  She glanced over at Meg. "Nothing until we actually see the gravesite and understand what we're up against."

  Dr. Mike agreed. "You're right. We need to consider the whole picture." He turned to Dane. "Can you show us, please?"

  Moving off in that long-legged style, Dane led them to a well-worn path through the rocks and brush – one she hadn't noticed before. The group followed in single file. She fell into the last place.

  Tall spindly trees grew on either side. The path was almost wide enough to drive on and that was something to consider, although she was pretty sure the locals wouldn't appreciate that level of damage to their site. She didn't doubt they considered it their place.

  She rounded the last corner and almost walked into Meg and Dr. Mike. She stepped around them, their silence seeping into her thoughts.

  Oh, no.

  She stilled and stared.

  They'd been told that a cave-in had presented a natural depression and that the men had used the surrounding rocks and dirt to finish the job. The hilled area stretched for what appeared to be a hundred feet, crossing the path and ending at a large pile of rocks and stones at the base of a hillside. Strategically placed rock steps allowed friends and family easy access when they visited.

  No one had said anything about the large cross or the many wreaths on display, or the wildflowers strewn across the area. Some of the flowers appeared to have been deliberately planted and others appeared to be gifts from Mother Nature. Wild roses also grew rampant.

  This wasn't a deserted mass burial ground. This was a well-tended and loved gravesite.

  "This could be a pr
oblem."

  The other team members murmured agreement.

  Dane said, curiosity in his voice, "Why?"

  Jade answered. "There's a difference between a mass burial ground and a beloved gravesite. This place is loved."

  She felt his hard gaze, wondered at it, then dismissed it as not her problem. She had her own issues to deal with.

  "You didn't expect this?"

  "No," Dr. Mike answered. "Not really. We've all seen large gravesites. Not all of them are a place of worship. Obviously people…at least one person, comes here on a regular basis.

  "Possibly. I've never seen anyone though. Not that I've been looking."

  Several of the team members looked at each other and then at him. "Are there other ways in and out of here?"

  Dane shrugged. "Presumably. There's a lot of country here. I don't know all the access points."

  "Have you heard anyone say anything against us coming here? We've tried to be low-key about our work but..." Dr. Mike opened his hands expressively.

  "Not everyone understands. My sister-in-law is one of those, but then she's pregnant and everything appears to upset her lately."

  Meg nodded in commiseration. "And she probably knows some of the people buried here."

  "And if she's Haitian," Dr. Mike said, in his professor voice, "her beliefs could be very strong about disturbing the dead."

  Dane grimaced at both comments. "Both of those apply here. For myself, I understand. If my family were in here, I'd want to take them home too."

  Bruce waved his clipboard to gain everyone's attention. "Right. Okay, everyone. I think we have a good idea of logistics. What we need to do is plan a workspace and see if we can get that much established." He turned to Dane. "Any idea who buried these people here? It would be helpful if we had some idea of how far down or in we need to go."