glanced at Pepino, the monkey had buried its face in the back of Eduardo's neck.
'Vampire bats,' said Eduardo. 'Father Joe wanted to see vampire bats. Not fruit bats. Not pygmy or long- eared bats. Only the vampire. They were named after the vampire myths of Europe, not the reverse. There are of course no vampires here in Costa Rica, or anywhere else. That is superstition. But these bats live on the blood of animals and sometimes people. This is science.'
Hood watched the black onrush. He felt the air moved by their wings and one of them swooped low and grazed his face and Hood leaned away from it but into another that flapped past with a sharp chirp not six inches from his ear. Tiny eyes glimmered and flashed within the black, membranous flow.
Then the flow ended and a few stragglers bounced out into the air and Hood turned to watch the black bulk of them melt into the sky toward the farms and villages.
'They will feed tonight on the blood of living animals,' said Eduardo. 'Mostly cattle and horses. Their saliva contains an enzyme that makes their bite impossible to feel. This is how they fool the host. They scrape the flesh and lap the blood. They do not suck the blood. If I become a director, my first film will be a documentary on the vampire bat. It will deal with both superstition and science. These animals have faces that terrify people. They even frighten me. So, am I superstitious? I don't think so. They frighten Pepino. But how can a monkey be superstitious? Maybe it is scientific to be afraid of vampire bats. But then, how can a monkey be scientific?'
'Well, it's scientific to let the fer-de-lance cross the path without disturbing it.'
'Yes! Proof of science. Father Joe would have liked you. He said science and superstition are different answers to the same questions.'
'Have you been inside the cave?'
'Never. Father Joe told me about the Ebola virus and other fatal viruses. Probably ones that don't have a name yet. He said to never go inside the cave.'
'What did Father Joe do here?'
'He observed. He wrote in a small notebook. He took photographs. He captured some bats with a butterfly net and we inspected them. One evening on the way home we found Itixa on the road and it was obvious that she had followed us. She was perspiring and stuck with leaves and twigs and trying to stay ahead of us. I believe she told my father what we did. And the next day he told me not to go anywhere with Father Joe. He said that Father Joe was not trustworthy and not what he pretended to be. That night our meal had very much garlic. And all meals after that until Father Joe went away.'
Hood stepped to the opening and shined his penlight inside. The breath of the mouth was rank and cool and he could see the white mounds of guano on the floor and the malingering vampire bats still fastened upside down to the rock ceiling.
'Do you remember the Americans? Sean and Seliah Gravas?'
'She was beautiful like a goddess.'
'They liked Father Joe.'
'They ate and hiked and got drunk together.'
'Did you talk to Sean and Seliah?'
'Mr. Gravas liked Pepino very much. He offered me twenty dollars for him but of course I refused. Mrs. Gravas was amused by Pepino's expressions and she told her husband that he needed a monkey of his own. Those two people had love. You could tell. When Mr. Gravas was drunk he became very emotional about his work. He never said what he was. What was he, Detective Hood?'
'A businessman. He buys and sells guns.'
In the near darkness Hood could see Eduardo give him a long look. 'That makes sense. Because he seemed convinced that he was not doing good in the world. Yes. That does make sense.'
'Seliah told me that one morning at your resort, Sean woke up and felt good about his work. He had a new, positive attitude.'
'I didn't know that.'
'Seliah believes that Father Joe had somehow swayed Sean into this new way of thinking.'
'But that's something my father would say. Superstition.'
'Well, certainly a strong-willed person can influence another person.'
'Yes.'
'But then, a few weeks after they got home to California, Sean began feeling bad. His body hurt and his mind wouldn't slow down and he couldn't sleep. He began doing strange things. Then foolish things.'
'Such as what?'
'He had his dog baptized.'
'That is blasphemy, but it is funny, too.'
'Seliah told me that one night when Sean was sleeping, Father Joe sat at the foot of the bed and spoke to him in his sleep. And touched his bare toes.'
'Why would he do that?'
'I don't know. Were you around that night? Did you see anything like that?'
'No. I go to bed at nine o'clock during the summer.'
'Did he ever do anything like that to you?'
'No, never.'
'Father Joe told Seliah he was not touching Sean's toes at all. He said he was keeping away the biting flies. The same kind that bit you and infected your toe. Seliah found blood on Sean's toe that night after Father Joe had spoken to him and touched him-or didn't touch him-in his sleep.'
'Detective, it is scientific to keep away those flies. This is something that Father Joe would do. Mrs. Gravas must not have reasoned accurately. If she saw blood on his toe, isn't this evidence of the biting fly?'
Hood looked at Eduardo in the early dark. The boy's eyes were chips of light and so were the monkey's eyes but lower and closer together.
'What do you think happened down here between Sean and Seliah and Joe Leftwich?'
'I think they became friends.'
'Did Joe ever talk to you about the night that he shooed the fly from Mr. Gravas?'
'I knew nothing about it until now.'
'Did he ever talk to you about Sean and Seliah?'
Eduardo thought for a moment. 'He told me he thought they were people who might do important acts.'
'Acts.'
'That was the word he used.'
'What do you think?'
'I have no way of seeing such things.'
'And if you did, would it be science or superstition?'
Eduardo thought again. 'I think one can turn into the other. Father Joe said this.'
'What did Father Joe say about you?'
Eduardo laughed softly. 'He said I was the future of the world.'
'He's right.'
They stood in silence for a moment. 'I want to talk to Itixa.'
'She will talk to you. Believe me.' Eduardo told Hood the best time and place to find the woman.
'Thanks for bringing me up here,' said Hood. 'I've got a light to help us get home.'
'Keep it on the path in front of us. Some of the snakes are nocturnal and they like the streams. Snakes shine at night. Even more than wet branches. Watch for what shines.' Before dinner Hood sat on his observation deck and watched the volcano. The night had cleared and he could see it clearly in the distance. The lava moved down from the mouth in red fingers, and a cloud of steam wafted up. Arenal rumbled every few minutes and twice Hood saw large molten boulders rocket into the sky, then slam down to the earth where they showered sparks and rolled down the mountain in loudly cracking crisscross patterns until coming to rest in bursts of rising embers. The happy-hour crowd in the Volcano View bar sent up a cheer.
At dinner the bar and restaurant were raucous. The Germans saw two quetzal and documented them thoroughly. The French had had a terrific butterfly day and the California frog and toad hunters had done well with five species of tree frogs, two with deadly poison in their skin and glands.
Hood watched Itixa come down a torch-lit pathway toward the rear door of the kitchen. She came out a few
