Sands of Time

He placed a call to Ellen Scott.

The Cirque Japon was held in a huge tent in an outlying district of Logrono. Ten minutes before the circus was to begin, the tent was filled to capacity. Megan, Jaime, Amparo, and Felix made their way down the crowded aisle to their reserved seats. There were two empty seats next to Jaime.

He stared at them and said, "Something’s wrong. Ricardo and Sister Graciela were supposed to be here." He turned to Amparo. "Did you – ?"

"No. I swear it. I know nothing about it."

The lights dimmed and the show began. There was a roar from the crowd, and they turned to look at the arena. A bicycle rider was circling the ring, and as he pedaled an acrobat leaped onto his shoulder. Then, one by one, a swarm of other performers jumped on, clinging to the front and back and sides of the bicycle until it was invisible. The audience cheered.

A trained-bear act was next, and then a tightrope walker. The audience was enjoying the show tremendously, but Jaime and the others were too nervous to pay any attention. Time was running out.

"We’ll wait another fifteen minutes," Jaime decided. "If they’re not here by then – "

A voice said, "Excuse me – are these seats taken?"

Jaime looked up to see Ricardo and Graciela, and grinned. "No. Please sit down." And then, in a relieved whisper, "I’m damned glad to see you."

Ricardo nodded at Megan and Amparo and Felix. He looked around. "Where are the others?"

"Haven’t you seen the newspapers?"

"Newspapers? No. We’ve been in the mountains."

"I have bad news," Jaime said. "Rubio is in a prison hospital."

Ricardo stared at him. "How – ?"

"He was stabbed in a bar fight. The police picked him up."

"¡Mierda!" Ricardo was silent a moment, then sighed. "We’ll just have to get him out, won’t we?"

"That’s my plan," Jaime agreed.

"Where’s Sister Lucia?" Graciela asked. "And Sister Teresa?"

It was Megan who answered. "Sister Lucia has been arrested. She was – she was wanted for murder. Sister Teresa is dead."

Graciela crossed herself. "Oh, my Lord."

In the arena a clown was walking a tightrope, carrying a poodle under each arm and two Siamese cats in his capacious pockets. As the dogs tried to reach the cats, the wire swayed wildly and the clown pretended to be fighting to keep his balance. The audience was roaring. It was difficult to hear anything over the noise of the crowd. Megan and Graciela had so much to tell each other. Almost simultaneously, they began to talk in the sign language of the convent. The others looked on in astonishment.

Ricardo and I are going to marry…

That’s wonderful…

What has been happening to you?

Megan started to reply and realized there were no signs to convey the things she wanted to say. It would have to wait.

"Let’s move," Jaime said. "There’s a van outside waiting to take us to Mendavia. We’ll drop the sisters off there and be on our way."

They started up the aisle, Jaime holding Amparo’s arm.

When they were outside in the parking lot, Ricardo said, "Jaime, Graciela and I are getting married."

A grin lit up Jaime’s face. "That’s wonderful! Congratulations." He turned to Graciela. "You couldn’t have picked a better man."

Megan put her arms around Graciela. "I’m very happy for you both." And she thought: Was it easy for her to make the decision to leave the convent? Am I wondering about Graciela? Or am I wondering about myself?

Colonel Acoca was receiving an excited report from an aide.

"They were seen at the circus less than an hour ago. By the time we could bring up reinforcements, they had gone. They left in a blue and white van. You were right, Colonel. They are headed for Mendavia."

So it’s finally over, Acoca thought. The chase had been an exciting one, and he had to admit that Jaime Miro had been a worthy opponent. The OPUS MUNDO will have even bigger plans for me now.

Through a pair of high-powered Zeiss binoculars, Acoca watched the blue and white van appear over the crest of a hill and head for the convent below. Heavily armed troops were hidden among the trees along both sides of the road and around the convent itself. There was no way anyone could escape.

As the van approached the entrance to the convent and braked to a stop, Colonel Acoca barked into his walkie-talkie, "Close in! Now!"

The maneuver was executed perfectly. Two squads of soldiers armed with automatic weapons swung into position, blocking the road and surrounding the van. Acoca stood watching the scene for an instant, savoring his moment of glory. Then he slowly approached the van, gun in hand.

"You’re surrounded," he called out. "You haven’t got a chance. Come out with your hands up. One at a time. If you try to resist, you’ll all die."

There was a long moment of silence, and then the van door slowly opened and three men and three women emerged, trembling, their hands raised high above their heads.

They were strangers.

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

High on a hill above the convent, Jaime and the others observed Acoca and his men move in on the van. They saw the terrified passengers get out, hands raised, and watched the scene played out in pantomime.

Jaime could almost hear the dialogue:

Who are you?

We work at a hotel outside Logrono.

What are you doing here?

A man gave us five thousand pesetas to deliver this van to the convent.

What man?

I don’t know. I never saw him before.

Is this his picture?

Yes. That’s him.

"Let’s get out of here," Jaime said.

They were in a white station wagon, heading back to Logrono. Megan was looking at Jaime in wonder.