Megan stood there, frozen.
“He’s walking, so it should take him about fifteen minutes to get there.”
Megan listened with growing horror.
“Remember our deal, Colonel,” Amparo said into the telephone. “You promised not to kill him.”
Megan backed into the hallway. Her mind was in a turmoil. So Amparo was the traitor. And she had sent Jaime into a trap.
Backing away quietly so Amparo would not hear her, Megan turned and ran out the back door. She had no idea how she was going to help Jaime. She knew only that she had to do something. She stepped outside the gate and started down the street, moving as fast as she could without attracting attention, heading toward the center of the city.
Please, God. Let me be on time, Megan prayed.
The walk to the village square was a pleasant one, with side streets shaded by towering trees, but Jaime was unaware of his surroundings. He was thinking about Felix. He had been like a brother to him, had given him his full trust. What had turned him into a traitor willing to put all their lives in jeopardy? Perhaps Paco’s messenger would have the answer. Why couldn’t Paco have discussed it on the telephone? Jaime wondered.
He was approaching the village square. In the middle of the plaza was a fountain and shade trees with benches scattered around. Children were playing tag. A couple of old men were playing boule. Half a dozen men were seated on the benches, enjoying the sunshine, reading, dozing, or feeding the pigeons. Jaime crossed the street, slowly moving along the path, and took a seat on one of the benches. He looked at his watch just as the tower clock began to chime noon. Paco’s man should be coming.
Out of the corner of his eye, Jaime saw a police car pull up at the far end of the square. He looked in the other direction. A second police car arrived. Officers were getting out, moving toward the park. His heart began to beat faster. It was a trap. But who had set it? Was it Paco, who sent the message, or Amparo, who delivered it? She had sent him to the park. But why? Why?
There was no time to worry about that now. He had to escape. But Jaime knew that the moment he tried to make a run for it, they would shoot him down. He could try to bluff it out, but they knew he was there.
Think of something. Fasti
A block away, Megan was hurrying toward the park. As it came into view, she took in the scene at a glance. She saw Jaime seated on a bench, and the policemen closing in on the park from both sides.
Megan’s mind was racing. There was no way for Jaime to escape.
She was walking past a grocer’s shop. Ahead of her, blocking her path, a woman was pushing a baby carriage. The woman stopped, set the carriage against the wall of the store, and went inside to make a purchase. Without a moment’s hesitation, Megan grabbed the handle of the baby carriage and moved across the street into the park.
The police were walking along the benches now, questioning the men seated there. Megan elbowed her way past a policeman and went up to Jaime, pushing the baby carriage ahead of her.
She yelled, “Madre de Dios! There you are, Manuel! I’ve been looking everywhere for you. I’ve had enough! You promised to paint the house this morning, and here you are sitting in the park like some millionaire. Mother was right. You’re a good-for-nothing bum. I never should have married you in the first place!”
It took Jaime less than a fraction of a second. He got to his feet. “Your mother is an expert on bums. She married one. If she—”
“Who are you to talk? If not for my mother, our baby would starve to death. You certainly don’t bring any bread into the house…”
The policemen had stopped, taking in the argument.
“If that one was my wife,” one of them muttered, “I’d send her back to her mother.”
“I’m damned tired of your nagging, woman,” Jaime roared. “I’ve warned you before. When we get home, I’m going to teach you a lesson.”