she had seen in town. A black patch, held in place by elastic, covered his left eye. Overall, he was quite menacing.
'You must speak a little slower,' Natalie said, lowering both the gun and the flashlight. 'My Portuguese is weak.'
'Actually, you are speaking very well. Are you from Lisbon?'
'Massachusetts in the States, but my family is Cape Verdean. Are you really a professional killer?'
'I do what I have to, and some of the time I am paid for doing it. My sister works as a nurse in Rio at Santa Teresa Hospital. Is that the Dora Cabral you seek?'
For a time, Natalie studied the man's narrow, deeply etched face. He might have been anywhere from thirty to fifty, though she suspected early thirties. He was clean-shaven, with sideburns that came down below his ears, and had probably been handsome before the hardness of his life took over. Now, he simply looked rough. Natalie sensed there was no reason to be anything other than direct with the man.
'I am afraid I have some bad news for you,' she said finally.
It was time, she decided, to share her story. Tomorrow, it would likely be with Father Francisco, possibly in the form of a confession. Tonight, it would be with this man, who, she strongly felt, was no threat to her. Luis listened intently as she recounted her two trips to his country, and the frantic events since she was approached by his sister at the crosswalk in downtown Rio. Outwardly, he seemed calm, almost detached, but even through the gloom, Natalie could see that his jaw was set, and his lips pressed tightly together.
'Believe it or not, there was a time when I was a teacher,' he said when she had finished. 'I taught music to schoolchildren. Then, one night, ten, maybe eleven years ago, I rose to the defense of the father of one of my students, who was being beaten by the police. During the struggle, one of the policemen fell and hit his head, and died. After a few years of running, and yes, killing, I ended up in this place. Even though the police run this village and the hospital, there are never any questions asked here.'
'I understand,' Natalie said.
'So now, after being a wanted man for so long, I am the head of security for the hospital. It is my job to bring people down from the village when there is an operation being done. I learned from some of the nurses how much they were being paid, and I talked my sister into signing up with Dr. Santoro. She only came here twice, and then suddenly decided not to come anymore. She never told me why.'
'Perhaps something was going on at the hospital that bothered her. When was the last time she was here?'
'Two months ago, maybe a little less. You are sure it was Vargas who killed her, and Vargas whom you killed?'
'I am sure. This is his gun.'
Luis took the weapon, inspected it, then hefted it expertly in his hand.
'It is Vargas's,' he said. 'He was a very hard man, with little respect for me or anyone else of stature below his own.'
'Your sister was extremely frightened of him.'
'It is not easy to resign from working at this hospital — maybe impossible. I owe you a great debt for avenging her.'
'I believe your sister was killed because she tried to help me. She knew what was done to me at this hospital. Now, I need to know if I was really here, and if so, what happened to me.'
Luis thought for a time.
'We are sworn to secrecy regarding the hospital and what is done there. The town depends on the hospital.'
'Father Francisco tells me the mine is quite productive and could support the village.'
'Perhaps,' Luis said. 'He would know better than I.'
'Tell me, Luis. You know what they do there, don't you?'
The killer stared down at the ground. Natalie knew what he was contemplating. These people demanded loyalty, and were not the sort who allowed second chances. If he turned against them now, if they learned he had shared any of their secrets, there would be no going back for him.
'They do transplants,' he said softly, 'transplants of body parts. Many times the donors of the organs transplanted do not survive. In those instances, we are told to bury the bags containing their bodies.'
'But…I was shot,' Natalie said. 'How could they transplant my lung when it had already been destroyed?'
'I do not know. I do not often see the patients — when they are alive, I mean.'
'Luis, I am sure you are risking much by telling me what you have. Please know how grateful I am. Do you have a family here?'
'A woman only, Rosa. She is the only person in Dom Angelo who is tougher than I am. She knows — knew — my sister, and will be very upset at the news she has been murdered. Rodrigo Vargas was not a man she liked or trusted. She will also be willing to help you in any way she can. You should know that something is scheduled to be happening at the hospital over the next few days. I have been instructed to assemble a squad of eight guards — two shifts of four — to keep watch on the hospital beginning in the morning.'
'In that case,' Natalie asked, 'is there any way I could get into the place tonight?'
Luis Fernandes thought for just a few seconds.
'As a matter of fact,' he said, 'there is.'
CHAPTER 30
The hour of departure has arrived, and we go our ways — to die, and you to live. Which is better God only knows.
You may bring your torch,' Luis said, 'but do not turn it on until I tell you it is safe to do so. Unless there is something happening I do not know, only Dr. Santoro and Oscar Barbosa, the policeman, are at the hospital right now. If this is a typical night, each of those men will have a woman with him.'
'I will do whatever you say.'
The night was moonless, and the forest as black as it was noisy. Initially, even though there was no discernible path and he was operating with one eye, Luis moved through the dense underbrush with the vision and stealth of a jaguar. At first, Natalie was able to keep pace. Soon, though, the altitude and her injuries weighed in, and she had to ask him to slow down. He did so without comment. He was armed with at least one handgun and a long, slender knife, sheathed just above his right ankle.
They moved south, then west, then south again, over rolling terrain that in the main continued downward. The air was cool and incredibly clean. How ironic to lose a lung in such a place, Natalie thought.
It was after midnight when they ascended the steepest grade of their journey. At the top of the rise, with Natalie breathing heavily, Luis raised a finger to his lips and pointed ahead. Below them, much closer than she had expected, was the hospital, bathed in the light from half a dozen lamps set on tall poles. It was a single-story structure of pristine, whitewashed clay, sprawling across a plateau, surrounded by a four-strand barbed-wire fence. There was a long wing extending away from them to the right.
'As you can see, the building is shaped like an L. The wire does not extend all the way around it,' Luis said. 'Now, I must ask you a serious question. How badly do you want to get inside?'
'That depends on how much time I will have once I am there.'
'Twenty minutes. No more. Maybe less. Try for eighteen.'
The hospital was hardly small. There were ten windows along the wall facing them.
'How many operating rooms are there, Luis? Remember to speak slowly, please.'
'Two. Right in the center. Those windows you see open on a long corridor that connects all the rooms. There
