Sidney Sheldon - The sands of time

"Let's get to sleep. I want to get an early start in the morning."

Amparo said to Jaime, "Come, querido. I have our bedroom picked out."

"Bueno. Let's go."

Megan watched them go upstairs, hand in hand.

Felix turned to Megan. "Do you have your bedroom, Sister?"

"Yes, thank you."

"All right, then."

Megan and Felix walked up the stairs together.

"Good night," Megan said.

He handed Megan a sleeping bag."Good night, Sister."

Megan wanted to ask Felix about Jaime, but she hesitated.

Jaime might think she was prying, and for some reason, Megan wanted very much for him to have a good opinion of her.

That's really odd, Megan thought. He's a terrorist, a murderer, a bank robber, and heaven only knows what else, and

I'm worried about whether the man thinks well of me.

But even as Megan thought it, she knew that there was another side to it. He's a freedom fighter. He robs banks to finance his cause. He risks his life for what he believes in.

He's a brave man.

As Megan passed their bedroom, she heard Jaime and Amparo inside laughing. She walked into the small, bare room where she was to sleep and knelt on the cold stone floor. "Dear

God, forgive me for—" Forgive me for what? What have I done!

For the first time in her life, Megan was unable to pray.

Was God up there listening?

She crawled into the sleeping bag Felix had given her, but sleep was as remote as the cold stars she could see through the narrow window.

What am I doing here! Megan wondered. Her thoughts drifted back to the convent… the orphanage. And before the orphanage?

Why was I left there? I don't really believe that my father was a brave soldier or a great bullfighter. But wouldn't it be wonderful to know! It was almost dawn before Megan drifted off to sleep.

At the prison in Aranda de Duero, Lucia Carmine was a celebrity.

"You're a big fish in our little pond," the guard told her."The Italian government is sending someone to escort you home. I'd like to escort you to my house, puta bonita. What bad thing did you do?"

"I cut off a man's balls for calling me puta bonita. Tell me—how is my friend?"

"He's going to live."

Lucia said a silent prayer of gratitude. She looked around the stone walls of her grim, gray cell and thought: How the hell do I get out of here!

The report of the bank robbery was handled through regular police channels, and it was not until two hours after the robbery occurred that a police lieutenant notified Colonel

Acoña about it.

An hour later, Acoña was in Valladolid. He was furious at the delay.

"Why wasn't I informed immediately?"

"I'm sorry, Colonel, but it never occurred to us that—"

"You had him in your hands and you let him get away!"

"It wasn't our—"

"Send in the bank teller."

The teller was filled with a sense of self-importance. "It was my window he came to. I could tell he was a killer by the look in his eye. He—"

"There is no doubt in your mind that the man who held you up was Jaime Miró?"

"None. He even showed me a wanted poster of himself. It was—"

"Did he come into the bank alone?"

"Yes. He pointed to a woman in the line and he said she was a member of his gang, but after Miró left I recognized her. She's a secretary who's a regular customer and—"

Colonel Acoña said impatiently, "When Miró left, did you see in which direction he went?"

"Out the front door."

The interview with the traffic policeman was no more helpful.

"There were four of them in the car, Colonel. Jaime Miró and another man and two women in the back."

"In what direction were they headed?"

The policeman hesitated. "They could have gone in any direction, sir, once they got off the one-way street." His face brightened. "I can describe the car, though."

Colonel Acoña shook his head in disgust. "Don't bother."

She was dreaming, and in her dream there were the voices of a mob, and they were coming for her to burn her at the stake for robbing a bank. It wasn't for me. It was for the cause. The voices grew louder.

Megan opened her eyes and sat up, staring at the unfamiliar castle walls. The sound of voices was real. It was coming from outside.

Megan rose and hurried over to the narrow window. Directly below, in front of the castle, was an encampment of soldiers.

She was filled with a sudden panic. They've caught us. I have to find Jaime.

She hurried to the room where he and Amparo had slept and looked inside. It was empty. She ran down the steps to the reception hall on the main floor. Jaime and Amparo were standing near the bolted front door, whispering.

Felix ran up to them. "I checked the back. There's no other way out of here."

"What about the back windows?"

"Too small. The only way out is through the front door."

Where the soldiers are, Megan thought. We're trapped.

Jaime was saying, "It's just our damned bad luck that they picked this place to camp."

"What are we going to do?" Amparo whispered.

"There's nothing we can do. We'll have to stay here until they leave. If—"

And at that moment there was a loud knock at the front door. An authoritative voice called out, "Open up in there."

Jaime and Felix exchanged a quick look, and without a word drew their guns.

The voice called out again,"We know there's someone in there. Open up."

Jaime said to Amparo and Megan, "Get out of the way."

It's hopeless, Megan thought as Amparo moved behind Jaime and Felix. There must be two dozen armed soldiers out there.

We haven't got a chance.

Before the others could stop her, Megan moved swiftly to the front door and opened it.

"Thank the Lord you've come!" Megan exclaimed. "You must help me."

The army officer stared at Megan. "Who are you? What are you doing in there? I'm Captain Rodriguez, and we're looking for—"

"You're just in time, Captain." She grabbed his arm. "My two little sons have typhoid fever, and I have to get them to a doctor. You must come in and help me with them."

"Typhoid fever?"

"Yes." Megan was pulling on his arm. "It is terrible. They are burning up. They are covered with sores and are very sick. Bring your men in and help me carry them out to—" "señora! You must be mad. That is highly contagious."

"Never mind that. They need your help. They may be dying."

She was pulling on his arm.

"Let go of me."

"You can't leave me. What will I do?"

"Get back inside and stay there until we can notify the police to send an ambulance or a doctor."

"But—"

"That's an order, señora. Get inside."

He called out, "Sergeant, we're moving out of here."

Megan closed the front door and leaned against it, drained.

Jaime was staring at her in stunned amazement. "My God, that was brilliant. Where did you learn to lie like that?"

Megan turned to him and sighed. "When I was in the orphanage, we had to learn to defend ourselves. I hope God will forgive me."

"I wish I could have seen the look on that captain's face." Jaime burst into laughter. "Typhoid fever! Jesus Christ!" He saw the look on Megan's face. "I beg your pardon, Sister."

From outside they could hear the sounds of the soldiers packing their tents and moving out.

When the troops had departed, Jaime said, "The police will be here soon. Anyway, we have an appointment in Logroño."

Fifteen minutes after the soldiers had departed, Jaime said, "It should be safe to leave now." He turned to Felix.

"See what you can pick up in town. Preferably a sedan."

Felix grinned. "No problem."

Half an hour later they were in a beat-up gray sedan heading east.