Bell continued, “When we were attacked at the Hotel Del, Talbot didn’t expect me or Senator Densmore’s niece to be in on the meeting. I believe the original plan was for Talbot to murder the Senator while the gunman shot up the dining room to make it look like a brutal terrorist assault that he miraculously survives. The gunmen vanish into the night, and Talbot returns to Panama to exact your vengeance on your friend’s killers.
“It didn’t work as intended, obviously, but I noted that after the attack much of the Panamanians’ initial fire had been aimed well above our heads. They weren’t aiming at us initially because they didn’t want to hit their boss, Talbot, who spent much of the battle in the clutches of the Senator’s terrified niece and could do little until he’d disentangled from her. It wasn’t until I nailed a couple of them that they started to defend themselves and fire at me. The interesting thing is, the only shot that came near the Senator was fired just as he tripped going out the window. Had he not, it would have killed him. Dead Eye Talbot had a pistol in his hand, and the niece and the waiter had turned away. I believe he took that shot, only he missed. After that, the Panamanians tried to complete the busted mission by gunning for me and the Senator.”
The look on Goethals’s face told Bell he remained skeptical.
Bell knew he had one last chance to convince the Colonel or he was going to be shut out entirely, and Marion’s life would be all but forfeited. “I know what I’ve presented to you seems convoluted and contrived, but my conclusions are based on known facts and solid observation.
“Viboras Rojas acts like no other insurgency in history, and the fact it has no named leader is unprecedented. Its stated goal of stopping the canal’s construction and nationalizing it once it’s completed are farcical. Neither thing could ever happen. Yet even though it has no source of income, it somehow supports a small guerrilla army in the field.
“These three things alone make their very existence suspicious. What makes more sense is, they are an army of mercenaries hired to do a specific job under the guise of a nativist uprising because that makes them look more legitimate. The fact that Court Talbot is so hard-pressed about going after them makes me think of Shakespeare’s lady who doth protest too much. He wants unfettered access to the Canal Zone for reasons other than those he professes. Otto Dreissen is involved, I’ve seen it with my own eyes, and he likely is the financier and ultimate beneficiary of their plot.”
“Or,” Goethals said slowly, “a decorated war hero is lending a hand to a project of vital national importance by stopping a gang of murderous though, yes, delusional thugs from preying on its company and workers.”
“Sir, I—”
“Save it. I know Talbot a bit. The man’s a patriot. Bill Densmore vouches for him. That’s good enough, in my book. I don’t know you, Bell, but I do know you’ve taken a pretty bad crack to the skull and I don’t think you’re squared away just yet. Check yourself back into the hospital. Rest for a few days. Jack Scully is going to come back with evidence of sabotage, and you’ll come to realize the real truth. You can’t tell the difference between one Panamanian brother and the other because, as you said, you’d met only one of them briefly. That’s what your story hinges on, the misidentification of a stranger . . . Sam, take Mr. Bell back to Ancon and see that he gets a quiet room.”
“Yes, Colonel.”
“And one more thing, Bell. On my way from Gatun to the cut, I stopped in Gamboa. Court Talbot was back for supplies. He told me he’d engaged the Viboras on an inlet on the lake’s western side and showed me the bodies of the two men they’d killed, along with a couple guns and ten pounds of dynamite. I let you spin your tale out of respect for what you did at the Hotel Del and here at Pedro Miguel, but that’s enough of that. You need help.”
Isaac Bell was not used to being ignored, patronized even. He wasn’t mad, at least not yet. He was shocked. He had laid out everything as simply and logically as he could and yet Goethals didn’t believe him. It was a strange experience, coming so closely after his amnesia, that Bell felt the first worms of doubt creep into his mind.
He remembered feeling certain that Court Talbot was trying to pass off Raul Morales as his driver Rinaldo. What if that wasn’t it? What if he was certain about something else, and his mind was playing tricks on him? What if the damage to his brain caused by his tumble inside the water truck’s tank was far worse than he’d imagined? The implications sent a bolt of cold terror through his heart.
Just then, someone knocked on Goethals’s door, and Isaac about jumped out of his seat, he’d been so wrapped in his own, desperate thoughts.
“Come.”
An aide opened the door and came in, something clutched in his right hand. “Sir, a courier just brought this from Culebra. It’s from Chief Engineer Scully.” He handed a scrap of paper to the Colonel and set a small round object on the desk.
Bell couldn’t tell what it was.
Goethals grunted as he finished reading the note. He set it aside and picked up the object. It was a round stone a little larger than a child’s marble. “Jack found this lodged inside the boiler’s pressure relief valve. He said that when the operator called for extra pressure to lift the boulder that was in the dipper’s bucket, the valve wouldn’t open. When he then backed off to get a better grip on the rock, the pressure skyrocketed and the boiler blew. Jack says there is no way
