Curses!

'Let's hope so,” Gideon said. “Would you happen to know if there's been a general outbreak of turista among the guests?'

'No, senor, I don't think so. Only your party.'

'No problems with the hotel water supply?'

'Senor,' she said reproachfully, “this is the Mayaland. No doubt you ate somewhere else.'

[Back to Table of Contents]

Chapter 14

* * * *

'No,” Abe said slowly with a shake of his head, “everything I ate all week came from the hotel. You too, right? And Julie?'

'That's right,” Gideon said. “So if it was something in the food, it had to come out of the hotel kitchen.'

Abe nodded. He was propped up in bed, fragile and sallow-cheeked, and looking disreputable, as old men in pajamas do when they haven't shaved. But he was hopping with restlessness, crossing and recrossing his thin legs, and poking irritably at the pillows stacked behind him.

When Gideon had brought the tea to Julie, she had taken three swallows, sighed, given him a sweet smile, and slipped into a peaceful doze with her hand on his. Gideon had sat without moving until she had fallen into a deeper sleep, then carefully extricated his hand and gone to see how Abe was doing, stopping first at the bar to pick up a bowl of soup and some bread for him. When he'd seen him at about 10:00 a.m., Abe had been in no condition for food.

'So what kind of soup?” Abe said with a listless gesture at the covered bowl.

'So what kind should it be?'

But Abe wasn't in the mood for this. “From an anthropologist I don't expect ethnic humor,” he snapped.

'All right, it's chicken soup.'

Abe made a growling noise. “Also I don't expect rote adherence to outmoded stereotypes.'

'Wow, you're sure in a good mood. I'm really glad I came and cheered you up. Look, let's call it caldo de pollo, if that makes you feel better. And it's damn good therapy. It's bland, nutritious, easy to swallow; it can be tolerated even with digestive problems; it replaces fluids lost through dehydration; it—'

Abe covered his ears and made a face. “All right, I'll eat the damn soup, all right?'

Gideon took the cover off the bowl and set the tray on Abe's lap. “You're very welcome,” he said. “No need to thank me.'

Abe finally smiled tiredly and relaxed against the pillows. “Thank you very much, Gideon. I appreciate it. It was nice of you to think of it.” He brought a spoonful to his mouth and swallowed. “It's good,” he said. “I didn't realize I was hungry.” For a few seconds he ate in silence, visibly reviving.

'You're right,” he said, “I'm not in my usual good-natured frame of mind this morning.'

'Really? I haven't noticed anything unusual.'

Abe smiled again. “No, I've been kvetching, all right, and it's not just because I'm sick.” He moved the spoon back and forth in the bowl, scowling down at it. “It's because we're all sick. Gideon, someone is trying to make it look as if the curse is real.” He waved a listless arm. “Sit down, will you?'

Gideon brought one of the dark wooden chairs from the desk to the side of the bed, swung it around backward, and sat down, his forearms resting on the back. “Yes, Emma's just been explaining that to anyone who couldn't figure it out.'

'Unless, of course, the whole hotel got sick, which would throw a different light on things.'

'I already checked.'

'And it's just us?'

'Just us.'

'That's what I figured.” He tore a tiny piece from a soft slice of white bread and chewed it, slowly and thoroughly. “You got any ideas how it was done?'

'Well, it's obviously something we ate and nobody else did.'

'I agree. Isn't it wonderful to be scientists and come up with such terrific deductions?'

'But I don't think it was Escherichia coli, or salmonella, or any of the other turista bugs. We're not sick enough.'

'Speak for yourself.'

'You know what I mean. Everybody seems to be on the mend already—including you—and as far as I know there hasn't been any vomiting or fever. Just some acute diarrhea and a little weakness and cramping; nothing serious.'

'Easy for you to say,” Abe grumbled. “But you're right; I'll live. So what do you think, somebody just slipped a laxative in our food?'