Flirting with Disaster Part 12

"Lisa? Time to wake up. We're almost there."

Dave watched as Lisa opened her eyes, blinking against the sharp sunlight of late afternoon that streaked through the winds.h.i.+eld of the Mustang.

"What time is it?"

"Five-fifteen."

"I slept five hours?" she said. "I told you to wake me up. It wasn't fair for you to have to drive the whole way."

"I told you I don't mind driving. But I can't say that I won't welcome a decent bed and about twelve hours of uninterrupted sleep."

Yeah, he was ready to be there, all right. He'd turned the radio on low, more to help him stay awake than because he had a fondness for Latino music, but still his eyes were growing heavy. He nodded ahead. "Monterrey coming up."

Lisa stretched a little and sat up, looking ahead at the city sprawled against the backdrop of the Sierra Madres.

"Should we worry about anyone following us?"

"I haven't seen any indication of it, but I'm keeping my eyes open until we can get lost inside the city."

Ten minutes later they hit the city limits. At first glance, Monterrey didn't seem much different from Dallas or Houston, with multilane highways, plenty of modern buildings intermingled with older ones, and familiar fast-food franchises.

Dave pulled into a grocery store parking lot and parked near a bank of pay phones. He grabbed a jacket out of his bag and put it on, then took the gun he'd appropriated from Ivan, stuck it in his jeans, and pulled the jacket over it. They got out of the car.

Dave stood next to Lisa as she contacted three aviation companies at the commuter airport. Unfortunately, because they'd hit the city so late, she discovered that the soonest they could get a rental plane would be tomorrow morning. She reserved it, then hung up.

"A plane will be available at ten-thirty tomorrow morning," she told Dave. "That's the best I can do."

"So we're stuck here overnight."

"Looks that way."

"Ever been to Monterrey?" he asked.

"Yeah."

"Know of a place we can stay?"

"There's a little mom-and-pop place on the east side. It's cheap." Lisa turned back to the phone. "I need to make another call."

"Where?"

"Adam's office in San Antonio. He's in practice with two other doctors. Hopefully somebody will still be there."

Lisa spoke offhandedly, but Dave knew the emotion hidden behind her words. She wanted to know for sure what had happened to Adam. If the people in his office still thought he'd gone down in the plane crash, that meant he hadn't surfaced, which meant there was little chance that he was still alive.

This had to be hard for her, not knowing Adam's fate and knowing that she'd escaped death herself by the slimmest of margins. She'd had a h.e.l.l of a time the past couple of days, and it wasn't over yet. Dave held his breath, hoping for good news.

A moment later, he saw Lisa snap to attention as if somebody had come on the line. Without identifying herself, she merely asked if a memorial service was being planned for Adam. Dave could tell from the look on her face that the news wasn't good.

She hung up the phone but held on to the receiver, her head bowed.

"Lisa?"

She took a deep breath, then raised her head again, her jaw tight. She turned and walked back to the car. He followed, and once they were inside, Dave turned to her.

"What did they tell you?"

She stared at the dashboard, but still he could see her eyes glistening. "His memorial service is scheduled for Thursday morning at ten o'clock."

She spoke matter-of-factly, but Dave heard the tremor in her voice.

"This doesn't mean he's dead," he told her. "We just don't know yet, okay?"

"You and I both know that's not true. If he were alive he'd have told somebody by now."

"We can't be sure about that. He may have found out what was going on. He may be trying to get out of Mexico without being spotted, just as you are. Had you considered that?"

She turned to him, a glimmer of hope on her face. "Do you really think so?"

"It's possible."

She stared at him a moment longer, then turned away again. He didn't want to give her false hope, but until they found out for sure what had happened to Adam there was still a chance he was alive, no matter how small. And even false hope was better than no hope when she was facing a situation like this.

Dave started the car. "Are you hungry?"

"Yeah. Starving."

"McDonald's okay?" he said, pointing up the street. "Not exactly gourmet food, but it's fast."

"Fast is good."

They grabbed Big Macs and fries and c.o.kes, and both of them were hungry enough to eat on the spot as they drove to the hotel.

"Take it easy," he told Lisa. "You haven't eaten much in the past few days."

"Don't worry," she said, popping a couple of fries into her mouth. "I've got an iron stomach."

Why did that not surprise him?

At Lisa's direction, Dave drove to the part of town where the hotel was, and slowly everything took a turn toward the historic. And the festive. The entire area was an explosion of color, with street vendors selling bread and fruit and flowers and various kinds of artwork, along with big, gory-looking skull masks.

"What's with all this stuff?" Dave asked.

"What day is today?"

"November first."

"Ah. El Dia de los Muertos."

"Huh?"

"The Day of the Dead. It's actually two days, November first and second. It's when Mexicans honor the dead, only it's not a downer. They decorate everything, and some of them even go out to the grave sites and eat and drink and dance."

"Okay. I've heard of that. It's like a great big party."

"Right." She took a sip of c.o.ke. "Not all Mexicans celebrate, though, particularly in the big cities like Monterrey. Some of them even go the Halloween route with pumpkins and witches and all that. But some people still like to uphold tradition."

"And some people just like to party."

"Yeah. It's kind of like Christmas. Some people celebrate with three ma.s.ses. Others just eat themselves sick and watch a couple of ball games."

Finally Dave pulled up to the hotel, a two-story structure with heavily stuccoed walls stained by decades of rainwater, tattered awnings, and a rusted wrought-iron gate leading to a courtyard, which the native flora had pretty much overtaken.

Lisa pointed to an alley that ran beside the hotel. "This car is conspicuous. There's a parking lot in the back. Wouldn't hurt to pull back there."

Dave swung the car around to park in the rear. He got out of the car, tossed their trash into a nearby trash can, then grabbed both of their bags from the trunk. A minute later they stepped inside the clay-tiled entry of the hotel, which soared two stories to a balcony above and was lit by a huge wrought-iron chandelier. The foliage explosion in the courtyard had made its way indoors, filling every corner with greenery and sending ivy crawling up the roughly textured walls. In a large gathering room beyond the entry, several people scurried around, carrying food and drinks as if they were preparing for some kind of celebration.

"Day of the Dead?" Dave asked.

Lisa nodded. "Looks like it."

In a parlorlike room to their right sat a large table dressed with a mustard-yellow cloth. Spread out on it were baskets of bread and fruit and sweets, along with vases of marigolds and a parade of framed photographs. A large crucifix hung on the wall behind it.

"What's that?" he asked Lisa.

"A family altar."

"Huh?"

"Has to do with Dia de los Muertos."

Before Dave could ask exactly what what it had to do with it, a slender middle-aged man looked out from the gathering room and hurried to the desk. He raised a dark bushy eyebrow when he saw Lisa's dirty clothes, messy hair, and bruised forehead, then introduced himself as Manuel Lozano. it had to do with it, a slender middle-aged man looked out from the gathering room and hurried to the desk. He raised a dark bushy eyebrow when he saw Lisa's dirty clothes, messy hair, and bruised forehead, then introduced himself as Manuel Lozano.

"Do you have any vacancies?" Dave asked. "We need to stay one night."

"I'm sorry," Manuel said. "The front door should be locked. For Dia de los Muertos, only family and friends are in the hotel."

Lisa slumped with dismay. Dave could see how tired she was, her shoulders drooping, her eyes heavy and bloodshot. In spite of the sleep she'd had last night, she was coming off a huge deficit and could use a whole lot more in an actual bed. And she definitely needed a shower. He wouldn't mind a little of those things himself.

Lisa gave the man a look of utter helplessness. "So you're telling me there's no room at the inn for a couple of weary travelers?"

"No room at the inn?" The man raised that same bushy eyebrow again, seemingly amused by the reference. "No, there is not. Unless, of course, one of those travelers is having a baby."

Dave blinked. "Baby?"

"Why, yes, I am," Lisa said, suddenly coming to life. "I'm going to have a baby. Maybe tonight, even." She leaned across the desk, smiling at Manuel. "Now, you wouldn't want to be an innkeeper who turns away a poor pregnant woman, would you?"

Manuel gave her a sly smile. "Hmm. How did you arrive at my inn?"

"By donkey, of course," Lisa said. "Not an easy way to travel, let me tell you."

Manuel nodded thoughtfully. "And for what purpose are you in Monterrey?"

"Why, to pay our taxes."

"And three wise men will come from the east?"

Lisa gave him a plaintive look. "Will that help us get a room?"

The man smiled. "Perhaps."

"Donkey, taxes, wise men, and a big old star. I swear."

"Christmas falls on El Dia de los Muertos?"

"Amazing, isn't it?"

The man gave her a pseudostern look. "As I said, only friends and family for these two days."

Lisa let her head fall against the desk.

"But you are now my friends. I have one room available. You may stay."

Lisa jerked her head back up. "Oh, thank you!" Then she gave him a wary look. "Now, you're not putting us out in the stable, are you?"

"Why, certainly not. But your donkey will be comfortable there."

Dave didn't like this. Staying in the same room with Lisa was undoubtedly going to make his mind go places where his body shouldn't. He had no business complicating this situation until they could get the h.e.l.l out of Mexico and everything was back to normal.

But right now, staying at this hotel was the path of least resistance, and he'd had more than enough resistance for one day. And in the end, he had to admit it would be safer. Even though there was no indication that anyone was on their trail, the one-gun-equals-one-room formula was probably a good one to follow.

"And of course you will join us this night for our Dia de los Muertos celebration," the man went on. "We have much food and drink."

"I'm afraid we can't," Dave said. "We're both ready to drop."

"When you hear the music, you will change your mind."

"Thanks, but all we're looking for is sleep right about now."

Manuel gave them the key to room 203 and wished them a pleasant stay. Dave and Lisa climbed the stairs and went into the room, where he was nearly blown over backward by the decor.

Color. Everywhere there was color. From pumpkin orange to pea-soup green to Kool-Aid purple-this room had it all. The bedspread. The oil paintings. The draperies. Everything was awash in a cataclysm of hues so bright that Dave could have stared straight into a solar eclipse and not done his eyes as much damage.

"I think I'll go back to the car for my sungla.s.ses," Dave said.

Lisa blinked with disbelief. "I don't care how tired we are. This room's going to keep us awake all night." She walked across the room and pulled the draperies open, revealing gla.s.s doors leading out to a secluded balcony. "Okay. Check this out. It'll give your eyes a rest."