Chapter 6
As always, thanks for your comments/reviews. This has been an interesting-more challenging-story. I've not tried to integrate "romantic scenes" into the middle of a suspense plot before, & giving the romance enough attention without diluting the suspense is sort of tricky for me & maybe not always successful. Anyway, thank you to the readers hanging in there & sharing your comments!
Dimitri left the fourth hotel in Playa Santa Lucia disappointed. He had shown a photograph of Anna to several employees at each hotel, but none admitted to seeing her recently. In fact, only two had ever spoken to her and they didn't know her name. They both called her belleza tranquila ("quiet beauty") because she seldom spoke, and she appeared and disappeared as if by magic. It wasn't that she was unfriendly. She never hesitated to greet them warmly, but they couldn't remember ever having a conversation with her. She kept to herself. Dimitri arrived at the fifth hotel with low expectations, but was pleasantly surprised. The desk manager, Ricardo, at the fifth hotel proved to be very helpful.
When Dimitri showed him the photograph, he smiled broadly, "Yes, she has offered massages to our patrons on several occasions." He gave Dimitri a quizzical look. "Are you a friend?"
Dimitri gave a short laugh, "Friend? Sometimes. I'm her brother."
Ricardo joined him in laughter. "I understand completely. I have three sisters."
"You have my sympathies," Dimitri said with a wink, but then he refocused the conversation. "So, have you seen my sister recently?"
"Ah, someone asked me that same question yesterday."
"Someone did? Who?"
"Someone who makes it his business to know what goes on in Cuba," Ricardo whispered.
"Someone like Lionel?"
"You know Lionel!" Ricardo exclaimed with surprise.
"I do indeed," Dimitri acknowledged with false modesty.
Ricardo immediately relaxed. If Dimitri knew Lionel, then in his eyes, Dimitri could be trusted.
"Well, when Lionel asked, I told him that I haven't seen you're her—your sister—in Playa Santa Lucia recently, but I told him I would check with some of my friends, and a friend of mine said he saw her in Santa Lucia one day ago, so she is probably working around Cayo Jutias and Viñales."
Dimitri seemed confused. "Isn't this Santa Lucia?"
Ricardo laughed. "Yes, this is one Santa Lucia, but in Cuba there are three Santa Lucias." He smiled, "There are many confusing things about Cuba."
"I'm beginning to see that. Three Santa Lucias?"
"Yes. This is Playa Santa Lucia—but many people refer to it simply as Santa Lucia because it is the largest of the three. Then there is a small town named Santa Lucia in the southern part of the island—it is not far from the infamous Bay of Pigs. And finally there is the town of Santa Lucia to the west of Havana near Cayo Jutias, one of the most beautiful beaches in all of Cuba, and Viñales, a town that is the gateway into Cuba's heartland. And that is the Santa Lucia where, I think, you will find your sister."
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Sam arrived at work early the next morning. He hadn't slept. To Sam, the fact that Callen had resigned, left, without a goodbye to anyone, including himself or even Hetty, meant that he was either working on something that was so dangerous he wanted to protect the team and organization at all costs or he was so feeling so depressed, feeling so isolated that leaving everything behind meant nothing. Neither option made Sam feel good. He was angry at Callen, but angriest at himself. He and Callen had been partners for more than ten years, but when things were going wrong for Callen or something was up in his life, Sam missed the signs too often. He thought Callen might have gone back to Cuba, but he didn't even know if he and Anna were still together. He spent almost every working day with Callen, and he didn't even know if his partner was in a relationship. What the hell kind of "special agent" was he? Whatever was going on with Callen, Sam knew he needed to make things right, if not for Callen's sake, then for his own.
As soon as Hetty walked in, he approached her. He saw that she hadn't slept well, either, but he made no comment. If he was stressed, he could only imagine how Hetty felt. Callen's resignation was taking a toll on both of them. After she had settled in and put her purse away and removed her laptop from her shoulder bag, she took her seat behind her desk and waited.
"Yes, Mr. Hanna?"
"Did you accept Callen's resignation, Hetty?"
She smiled her impish smile. "I wondered when you were going to ask me that question, Mr. Hanna. The answer is I did not. Of course, he doesn't know that since I didn't reply to his text." She pushed her chair back, walked over to a set of shelves, and selected a tea cup for herself. She asked, by her raised eyebrow, if Sam would like one. He shook his head. She set the tea cup on her desk and selected a tea from one of her desk drawers. This morning she chose pu-erh tea, a very strong blend, to help her face another day without Mr. Callen.
Sam followed Hetty as she walked over to complete her morning ritual. She put fresh water in the electric tea kettle and filled the tea infuser loosely with the chosen tea leaves and then placed it in the tea pot. It would be a few minutes before the water reached the correct temperature, so she turned her attention back to Sam.
"When Mr. Callen resigned, he had forty days of accumulated leave available. I have indicated that he is using those accumulated leave days now. If, at the end of those forty days, Mr. Callen has not returned to NCIS, I will be obligated to make his resignation official." She paused and looked Sam directly in the eye, "You have thirty-nine days, Mr. Hanna to see if you can find Mr. Callen and help him if he needs our help or let him know that we would very much like him to rejoin our family or perhaps both." And then she turned back to her tea.
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Callen and Anna arrived back at his hotel in the early evening. They would go back for her car tomorrow, but tonight, they would go out to dinner and relax and enjoy the sights and sounds of Old Havana like any couple on holiday. But before they did, Callen needed to make a phone call, and Anna needed to freshen up. She stepped into the bathroom while Callen made his call. When the man on the other end answered, it wasn't Lionel. It was the voice of a man Callen didn't recognize.
"Lionel?"
"No, this is Lionel's landlord."
"Where's Lionel?"
"Lionel is in hospital."
"Hospital?"
"Yes."
"What happened?"
"He was poisoned." And with that the man on other end abruptly hung up. Anna had returned to the room to hear Callen repeat the word, hospital.
Callen turned to Anna, "We have to make a slight detour."
"To the hospital?"
"Yes. I need to check on someone."
"Who do you know in Cuba besides me?" She looked at him suspiciously. "Joelle left Cuba as soon as I left the hospital," she mused.
"I wouldn't check on Jo."
"The only other person you know is," she concentrated and then she looked surprised. "Why is Lionel in the hospital?"
"He was poisoned."
She was genuinely shocked. "Poisoned? Who would want to poison Lionel? He's so sweet … and harmless."
"Someone doesn't think he is."
"I'm coming with you."
"Of course you are," he said and laid his hand on the small of her back as they left the room. The hospital was only a few blocks away. The early evening breeze moved through the streets in waves, cooling everyone in its wake, and then it weakened—worn out by the obstacles in its path—until it vanished, absorbed by the tourists and locals crowding the streets.
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Dimitri left Playa Santa Lucia angry that he had wasted an entire day. No matter. Now that he knew where Anna was, he would go to Santa Lucia and Viñales tomorrow. Ricardo had given him the names of the two hotels he thought would be the ones where Dimitri would most likely find "his sister." In a few more hours, he would be back in Havana, and wherever she was, Dimitri was sure that Anna would not see him coming.
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Callen and Anna stopped at the hospital's registration desk.
"Hello," Callen said. "We understand Lionel Fernandez was admitted late last night."
The attendant checked the admittance records before replying. "Yes, he was, but visiting hours are over for the day."
"We're friends from out of town and will be leaving soon. Could we just say goodbye and leave a note for him in his room?"
"Please?" Anna pleaded sweetly.
The attendant looked around and saw no supervisors, so he tilted his head to the right. "Room 145."
Callen and Anna walked down the corridor and stopped outside Lionel's room, They opened the door quietly and were met by a gun pointed directly at them. Holding the gun was a man Callen didn't recognize. The man stepped forward, lowered his gun, and smiled, "Anna."
She stepped forward and gave the man a quick hug, "Hello, Miguel." She brought Callen forward, "This is my friend, Callen."
Miguel offered his hand to Callen who took it."So, this is G," he said, clearly impressed.
After the handshake, Callen looked past Miguel to Lionel. He was asleep and had an intravenous tube attached to his arm, but he was breathing on his own. "How is he?" Callen asked.
"He's out of danger, the doctors say, but that is only from the poisoning."
"Any idea who?"
"Not yet, but if the person comes back, I will be waiting."
"Lionel mentioned that there was a new Russian in the city, someone he had suspicions about."
"The Russians—they always bring with them trouble," he said and then turned to Anna, "except you, of course, Anna."
"Wait until you meet her father," Callen said and Anna sighed, but her shrug told Miguel that Callen spoke the truth.
"Did they identify the poison?" Callen asked.
"The doctor said he thought it was methanol, that Lionel was suffering from methanol toxicity."
"He was at a café when he called me last night, probably drinking. That's where it might have happened."
Miguel smiled, "Very likely. Lionel is always at a café drinking. That is why he knows so much."
"Did he describe the Russian?" Anna asked.
"No. He regained consciousness for only a short time, but I'll ask him when he wakes up again."
"Give me a call," Callen said as he wrote his number down on a scrap of paper he tore from the patient log hanging at the foot of the bed. Miguel nodded. "You left Lionel's phone with his landlord."
"In case he needed to contact me. He does not have one, and I am here with Lionel."
Callen and Anna prepared to leave. "Please tell Lionel that we stopped by," Anna said. Miguel took Anna's hand and raised it to his lips.
"I will. He will be sorry he missed you," Miguel glanced quickly at Callen before returning his gaze to Anna, "both."
"Take care," Callen said as he put out his hand. Miguel shook it and then returned to the seat near Lionel's bed and resumed his watch.
Callen closed the door quietly, and as he and Anna walked down the corridor and out into the evening, he turned to her. "Exactly how well do you know Lionel and Miguel?"
She didn't answer and he put his arm around her waist. The night was beautiful and the streets busy, but Callen was not as relaxed as he had been earlier that evening. All of his senses were alert, focused instinctively on the sights and sounds around them. He knew that threats often appeared in ordinary places at ordinary times.
