Life Blood---XXV---Page No 88

I began by feeling along the fake-stone walls to find where the crevices were, the doors that enclosed the medical instruments. Somewhere, I was sure, there was a cabinet that held a complete set of surgical equipment.

When I found the first crevice, I gave the wall on either side a
push and, sure enough, the panel was spring-loaded. Good. The
side on the right of the crevice popped open to reveal the
microscope Goddard had used. But nothing else was there.
        I moved on down the wall testing for cabinets, trying to
remember what Marcelina had done when Alex Goddard told her
to prep the Mayan woman. One after another the panels snapped
open till . . . yes, this was the one I wanted. Hallelujah.
        The third drawer held the scalpels. I took out the largest I
could find, heavy and steel, then wedged it into the metal sliding
mechanism and snapped off the tip. Perfect.

I felt like I was holding the key to my escape as I carefully
reclosed all the panels. Since there were no windows in the OR
room, I slipped back through the lab—it had now become a
haunted place of monstrous obscenity to me—and checked out the
office.

It was still deserted, but now the hazy light of early day was
mingling with the sounds of nature seeping through the slatted
window. As I walked over to it, the cool, moist morning air once
again felt like freedom. How long did I have before the clinic
started stirring?

I'd originally planned to try to unscrew some of the slats, but
that turned out to be unnecessary. The strips of wood were held in
with crude, rusty clamps, and one by one I began prying them out
with the blunted scalpel. I figured five slats should give me
enough space to squeeze through, and I'd already removed three
when I heard a frustrated voice in Spanish just down the hail. Uh-
oh.

"Tengo que mear que mis dientes flotan!" It was followed by the sound of boots headed toward the office.

I ducked down behind a desk, holding my breath, but then the
footsteps marched past, headed for the front door of the clinic.

That was when I finally processed what he'd said: "I've got to piss so bad my teeth are floating."

So where was he headed?

Moments later I knew. I heard the noise of someone kicking their way through the underbrush till they were right next to the window, followed by the sound of a zipper.

My God, I thought, he's right here. Will he spot the missing
slats?

I bit my lip as I listened to a member of the Guatemalan Armed Forces vigorously urinate upon the north wall of Alex Goddard's clinic. Well, I told myself, that's probably what they think of him. I'd like to do the same.

Then came a confirming re-zip, after which the sound of

slashing boots faded back into the distance. If he'd noticed the window I'd just burgled, it hadn't alerted his curiosity. Moments later I heard his heavy footsteps returning up the hall.

Jesus, two minutes more and I'd have been out there.

I was trembling, but I managed to finish prying out the last two
slats. I then pushed all five out onto the ground, hoping the clatter
would be lost in forest music, and climbed through after them,
trying to be as quiet as I could. I ended up going out headfirst and
collapsing onto the ground in an unceremonious crumple. Thirty
seconds later, though, the slats were wedged roughly back into
place, and I'd discarded the broken scalpel in the jungle
underbrush. Yes!

Now the cool air of freedom was all around me. My first small
step.

How long before Alex Goddard discovers I'm missing? Will I have time to find Sarah, bring her to her senses, and hide her from him? A lot would depend on what kind of physical and
mental shape she was in.

As I passed around the parking lot, gray clouds were thick-
ening overhead and I noticed that half a dozen new olive-green
Jeeps were parked there. The Army was arriving in force, getting
ready for God knows what. I took one look at them and felt my
breath start coming in bursts. Steve, we're going to need our own
kind of miracle. How are we going to get out of here?

I skirted the edges of the lot and reached the trail leading

down into the village. And I was trying to quell my pulse. What

was down there? With the dense rain forest arching over me, I felt as though I was entering a domain of Maya dreamtime where the past lived again, only with a sinister twist.