The Arcturus Man (43 page)

“You want to try something different?” asked Jared.
“Sure, what?”
“They have Sebor Absinthe.
It’s the drink that made—according to legend—

artists and writers mad, like Van Gogh and Hemmingway.
You may recall that Hemmingway committed suicide with a shot gun and Van Gogh cut off his own ear.
I doubt
that absinthe was the culprit, but it makes a good story.

“It could be, I suppose, if you spent most of your life drinking it. One evening is
not going to do any harm. The experience may be interesting.”
“Well, OK, I guess.”
Jared called several waiters to their table and had them execute an unusual request. They took two of the iron patio chairs and carried them down to the shoreline and
set them in the gulf in a shallow area. The seats were above water. It was almost 10:00 in
the evening but the water and air were still very warm. The water was undulating; there
were no real waves.
The waiters set a small cast iron table between the chairs. When
everything was ready, Jared and Jenny walked into the water and sat down. Underwater
lights set around the bar that was constructed on stilts above the water gave this tiny portion of the Caribbean an emerald glow.
“
It is enchanting
,” thought Jenny.
“Tell me about what we are drinking,” she said. “I want to understand every little
detail about the poison that I am putting into my body. Don’t leave anything out.”
This
time she was looking forward to Jared’s remarkable encyclopedic abilities.
“The secret ingredient is wormwood. Actually, it’s a compound called Thujone, a
neurotoxin. Wormwood is called
artermisia absinthium
. What is especially interesting is
that the Greek word
absinthion
means undrinkable. Wormwood is very bitter. Extremely
bitter. Absinthe lovers used to first pour it on a sugar cube in an absinthe spoon in order
to counter the very bitter taste.
The Czechs still make traditional absinthe but other distillers flavor it. Anise flavor and other herbs make it unnecessary to add sugar. It has a
delightful taste, but the bitter after-flavor is still there.”
“Are you sure we should be doing this?” she asked.
“Not to worry. Besides, the only risk is the water.
They have a vicious form of
amoebic infection in the water supply. I am sure you noticed the signs above the sink in
our room warning people to not drink from the tap. I made sure that our ice water was
from imported bottled water.”
“I was wondering why the sign was there.”
Jared half-filled two glasses with absinthe. He then picked up a pitcher of ice water and filled the glasses to the brim.
The green absinthe instantly louched to a radiant
milky white.
“Try it,” he said.
Jenny sipped. “It tastes like licorice.”
“Exactly.”
The sea water lapped gently against their legs.
They talked. Jared told her more
about absinthe. They talked about San Blas and the Kuna people that Jared had come to
know. They talked about their relationship and what they meant to one another. It was a
very romantic evening for Jenny. When the glasses were again half full, Jared filled each
glass with ice water.
“Now the absinthe is only a quarter as strong, and next time it will be an eighth,
and so on,” he said.
“I really like it Jared. I’m surprised, but I really like it,” she said.
Each time the glass was half empty, he filled it with more ice water and the
strength of the absinthe was again diluted by half. As Jenny’s head began to cloud, there
was less and less absinthe in their drinks.
The idea was that as the consumer began to
feel the effects of the absinthe, the drink got weaker—allowing the drinker a longer time
to enjoy the effects.
Jenny’s mind began to drift. It was difficult to know if the effect the wormwood
had on Jenny was the wormwood or her imagination.
They might have sat there for several more hours. Their conversation was becoming pillow talk and Jenny wanted it to last longer, but the tide was coming in and the
raucous music that just started at several of the beach clubs near the hotel was destroying
the tranquility of their romantic interlude in what now seemed to Jenny to be happening
in the middle of the Caribbean. She was adrift in the sea and she loved it.
The other hotel guests around the swimming pool rolled their eyes as they watched the rich Colombian with his American girlfriend. The night life on San Andres didn’t
start until about eleven in the evening, so couples around the pool slowly peeled off to go
clubbing.
Jared sensed danger.
Without showing any signs of concern, he periodically
scanned the guests in the area. Someone was watching them closely. It just wasn’t likely
that they had been found this soon, but he couldn’t rule that out entirely. He wasn’t ready
for the encounter.
He and Jenny were at risk, especially Jenny. He looked through the
crowd.
He didn’t see Rubio.
He probed deeper. It was only local criminals.
Jared was
relieved.
Jenny and Jared left their chairs just after midnight and walked back into the hotel. Jenny was upright, but not at all lucid.
“Just one minute. Wait here,” he told Jenny.
She leaned against a counter.
Her
balance was a little shaky.
Jared walked over to one of the armed security guards who were always in the
guest lobby.
“Do you see those two men standing near the swimming pool,” asked Jared in
perfect Spanish.
“Yes, Señor.”
Jared pushed three twenty-dollar bills into the guard’s hand, discretely. The guard
looked surprised.
“A waiter told me that he overheard their conversation from a distance. They are
going to break into our room tonight to rob us,” said Jared.
“Which waiter told you this thing, Señor?”
“That is not important.
If you ensure that they are unable to do what they
planned, I will give to the same amount in the morning.”
“Be assured that it will be taken care of. You have nothing to be concerned about.
We take care of our guests.”
“Thank you, Señor,” said Jared.
He slowly walked back to Jenny and they went
to the elevator. He looked back. Both security guards had cornered the men at the pool.
There was shouting.
Then it became physical.
The elevator door closed.
“
That should
take care of that problem
,” thought Jared.

Jenny was woken when the waiters wheeled in the breakfast cart. She hugged a
pillow and pulled the sheet up to her chin.
She glanced at the clock radio.
It was half
past eleven.
Jared pushed the cart on to the balcony.
Jenny kept her sheet around her and reformed it into a makeshift tunic. She walked out on the balcony and sat down.
It was a
breathtaking sight. Each of the hotel towers sat on a small peninsula completely surrounded by water. The bright green water sparkled as it reflected the late morning sun.
The sun was harvesting diamonds again, just as it had done on their pond on Eagle’s
Head Island. She looked down in the water and could see barracuda darting through the
water.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” he said.
“Yes, but I’m still mad. You got me drunk.”
“You may not remember, but last night you liked it very much.”
“Ok then. Pour some coffee,” said Jenny.
“The coffee is great. Obviously Colombian,” said Jared.
“We slept so late. We lost a day. Can we afford it?”
“We’ve been under a lot of stress for the past week. I think we deserve a break.”
“When are we going to leave for San Blas?” she asked.
“I thought we could do some shopping in town today. We need more clothes and

there are a few things I need.
We can leave San Andres this afternoon.
We can’t get to
El Porvenir tonight but if we start again in the morning, we should get there by early afternoon.”

“El Porvenir? Where’s that,” she asked.
“That is the seat of the Kuna territory.”
“OK”
They packed up the few belongings they brought and checked out of the hotel.

Jenny and Jared went into town and did some shopping.
Except for some clothing, everything would be delivered to the boat within the hour.
Jared bought a bottle of
Sebor Absinthe and two boxes of Cuban Romeo y Julieta cigars. Jared went to the office
of Inspector Ruis and paid him another expediting fee for watching the boat and gave him
a box of cigars. It is important to make sure that the relationship is healthy. Jared knew
that he would be returning to San Andres some day.
Inspector Ruis told Jared that he
would remember his name. That is the way things work in the Caribbean.

They cast off and headed south.
StarWind was fueled and all stores were restocked. It was now three in the afternoon. They could go almost a hundred miles before
they would anchor for the night.

Jared intended to go for about four more hours before anchoring for the night, but
after a little more than three hours he found a beautiful coral reef. The water was exceptionally clear and fairly shallow. He found a spot to drop anchor that didn’t endanger the
coral. The sun was low on the horizon and colors were changing around them as the sun
set. The gold shimmered as far as the eye could see.

“I’m going to snorkel for a while to see what we can find for dinner. Pompano
would be nice.
Trachinotus Carolinas
. Grab your gear and bring along the spear gun,” he
said.

“I can’t, or at least I shouldn’t. My period might be starting. “I’m a little late. I’m
just spotting right now, but I remember what you told me about the reef sharks.
Where
did you put the Tampax you bought in Newport?” asked Jenny.

“It’s in with the canned goods, just above the sink.”
“Canned goods? I’m sure that is where I would have looked first.”
“How long do your periods usually last?” he asked.
“It changes, you know.
They’re usually about four days but sometimes it’s a

Jared pulled the spear gun out of the diving chest, fixed his mask and snorkel, and
rolled over the side.
“No shark games this time! PROMISE?” she yelled out.
“Promise!”
The water was clearer than he had ever seen it before. Jared hyperventilated and
then dove. He used slow, leisurely thrusts with his flippers, keeping his arms close to his
sides.
At this pace he could easily stay down ten minutes without straining.
Jenny
glanced into the water. She could easily see Jared gliding toward the reef.
She wasn’t
going to worry.
She knew that Jared could hold his breathe longer than anyone she had
ever heard about. She might not see him surface for many minutes. She wasn’t going to
worry this time. Still, she decided to go into the galley and get dinner ready. She didn’t
want to watch. If there was pompano, Jared would bring back pompano. There was a silent and sensed comfort in the moment that was nameless but palpable to Jenny.
So it
had been for hundreds of thousands of years as men hunted and the clan waited and so it
was now.
She was beginning to understand what Jared was talking about when he discussed primordial memories in the hearts of all people. She was beginning to feel like she
had come home.
As Jared neared the reef, he could see a dozen white tip sharks patrolling, maybe
more. They were four to five feet in length. They were herding a school of blue jacks.
Nothing to worry about! He spotted a large grouper. Too much fish for dinner! An even
larger tarpon swam within shooting distance. He saw red snapper and snook.
Too much
preparation required for snapper. Finally, he spotted a pompano. He aimed the spear gun
and shot. It was a perfect hit. Jared pulled in the line as the pompano struggled to get free
from the barbed spear. “
Not this time
,” thought Jared. He reloaded the gun.
The reef sharks instantly sensed the fish’s blood in the water. They began to dart
toward Jared, and veer off at the last second. Jared spread out his arms and legs, making
him look as large as possible. They kept their distance, circling around Jared and the
pompano.
Jared shot a jack, quickly pulled it from the spear and let it flow free.
As he
backed off, one of the sharks flashed in and snatched the jack as it was slowly settling in
the water.
The other sharks followed the first one.
They were all gone in less than a
minute. Jared swam back to the boat.
He climbed on board and pulled out a cutting board.
He cleaned and filleted the
pompano. He went into the galley and pulled out a large cast iron frying pan. He melted
some butter, added some Tabasco, and fried the fillets with just a little salt and pepper.
Jenny had already made reds beans and rice.
She browned bread crumbs in butter and
poured the mixture over the beans and rice.
She remembered that Jared’s mother made
green beans that way, albeit these were red beans. Jared smiled when he saw her creative
cooking as he set the table for dinner. It was a nice dinner.
“Jenny, have you noticed that the lights are always on in the closet?” asked Jared.
“Yes, I couldn’t find a switch,” she said.
“Don’t ever turn them off, like unscrewing them.”
“Why in the world not?”
“That is a hot closet.
As we get deeper into the tropics, everything will begin to
mold.
Anything made of leather will turn green.
The 100 watt bulbs are just enough to
keep the heat high enough to ward off molding, at least some of it.”
“That is incredible. Sure, I’ll keep the lights on,” she said.
“Why don’t you call your mother? You promised.” The sudden change in topics
caught her off guard.
“Good idea.” She reached for the cell phone.
“There are no cell towers out here. Use the marine phone. We’re in range.”
“Are you sure it is OK?”
“Don’t worry about it,” he said.
“You’re drawing them here, aren’t you?”
Jared didn’t say anything. She hated that.
“One more thing.
I’ve been thinking for quite some time whether I should tell
you.”
“Tell me what?” she asked.
“You need to talk to Krissy. She’s pregnant.”
“That is not funny, Jared.”
“It isn’t meant to be funny. It is the truth.”
“Are you trying to tell me that my sister is expecting and that I’m not the first to
know?”
“Yes, exactly.
I picked it up when we were having dinner at Mary Chung’s.
At
that time she didn’t know.
Later, when I was helping her with her computer programming assignment, I sensed it again.
She was thinking about an abortion. I know how
strongly you feel about it being wrong.
She is ashamed to talk to you about it because
you will try to talk her out of it.”
Jenny was dumbstruck. She sat down and tried to understand it all. She couldn’t
grasp the enormity of it. Jared said nothing. He waited patiently for her.
“I need to talk to her,” said Jenny.
“Of course,” said Jared.
He handed her the marine phone. She took it up on deck so she could have some
privacy.
She talked for a long time.
She didn’t call her mother. She couldn’t.
She just
couldn’t.
She was being asked to carry more than she could bear.
She loved a man who
was often distant from her, who could be very mean at times, and who liked kinky sex.
She was thousands of miles away from her family. She missed Christmas with her family. She never missed Christmas with her family. And for all she knew, she was a fugitive
from the law.
People wanted to kill Jared and probably her as well.
And now she was
miles away when her sister needed her the most. She went back into the cabin, sat on the
bed, and quietly sobbed. It was more than she could bear.
Jared didn’t follow her even though he wanted to.
She needed time for herself.
Jared understood time.
Time wasn’t on Jared’s side. He knew that clearly.
They could
be here in hours. Time definitely wasn’t on his side.