A Dangerous Game Read Free Page B

already."
     
    The major laughed.
     
    "It's a nice assignment," he said.
     
    "More like a holiday."
     
    "When do you want my decision?"
     
    He shrugged, still smiling.
     
    "Go home and think about it.   Let me know by the end of the week."
     
    After Jacey had left.   Major Fairhaven picked up the phone and dialled
    an internal number.   He listened for a moment and then said
    pleasantly:
     
    "Oh, she'll go.   Yes, I'm sure of it."   He paused, listening again.
     
    "Oh no, nothing they do in Techtatuan could shock Dr.   Muldaire.   She's
    a very liberated lady.   And the perfect choice for this assignment.   Of
    course, she doesn't realise exactly how perfect she is."
     
    On the plane Jacey felt ashamed that she had been such a coward.   She
    had posted a letter to Anton, telling him that she hated tearful
    goodbyes.   By the time he read the letter she would be on the way to a
    new job in South America.   She reminded him that she had never been
    interested in marriage although she knew he was and that her decision
    to leave England would prevent them from reaching the inevitable
    painful break-up.   Hopefully he would remember her with affection and
    not bitterness.   She left out details of her new address.
     
    When she arrived at Techtatuan there was a modern car waiting for her
    at the tiny airport.   The driver looked as if he would have been too
    young to hold a licence in England.
     
    "Dr.   Muldaire?   I am called Paulo.   I have been instructed to take you
    to the hospital."   His smile was friendly and his darkly tanned face
    looked as if it had been carved from smoothly polished wood.   It was an
    unusual face, she thought, and rather beautiful.   His Spanish had a
    distinct accent that she realised must be typical of the indigenous
    population.
     
    "Don't worry," he added solemnly, as he helped her load her bags into
    the boot.
     
    "I am a very safe driver."
     
    She discovered that this was true, although there was very little
    competition on the roads.   Most of the other mechanised vehicles were
    old, rickety-looking trade vans.   She was surprised by how bright and
    clean the town looked.   The buildings were white walled, with vibrant
    splashes of colour coming from window boxes and gardens.   Paulo turned
    to her and started to make conversation.
     
    "This is a pleasant town.
     
    You'll be happy here."
     
    "Were you born here?"   Jacey asked.
     
    "No, I was born in the village of Mata.   My family has lived there for
    generations."   He paused.
     
    "Long before the Spanish came."
     
    "So why did you leave?"   she asked, guessing the answer.
     
    "There's no work in Mata," he said.
     
    "The villages are dying."
     
    "Doesn't the government help?"   she asked.
     
    "The government does not help Indians."   She noted the bitterness in
    his voice.
     
    "I came to Techtatuan to earn money for my family."
     
    "And you've been successful?"   she guessed.
     
    He shrugged.
     
    "I have adapted.   I lea mt to read and write, and to drive a car.   I
    don't mind speaking Spanish, or using a Spanish name."   She heard his
    voice change.
     
    "But I have not forgotten my heritage.   I will never do that."
     
    The car cruised down an avenue of trees and Jacey noticed large posters
    pinned to some of the trunks, all depicting the same crudely drawn
    portrait: a man with bulging, fanatic's eyes glaring from a gaunt,
    bearded face.   His tangled hair was topped by a military-style fatigue
    cap.   One word stood out in large print, a word she did not
    understand:
     
    LOHAQUIN.
     
    She tapped Paulo on the shoulder.
     
    "Who's the man on the posters?   And what does Lohaquin mean?"
     
    There was a brief pause before Paulo answered.
     
    "You want to make a lot of money?   Find that man and hand him over to
    the police."
     
    "He's a criminal?"   Jacey guessed.
     
    Paulo laughed shortly.
     
    "Many would say so.   Lohaquin lives in the rain forest.   It