Marjorie Thelen - The Hieroglyphic Staircase

He shrugged his shoulders.

Dominic said, “Why don’t you stay at my house till this thing blows over. You’ll be safe there. I won’t tell anyone you’re with me.”

“Yes,” said Elena, “And a new inspector arrived. A very nice lady, and she’d like to talk to you. You will be helpful in bringing to justice the people that have done these horrible things.”

Miguel stuffed banana chips into his mouth and looked first to Dominic, then to Elena.

“The big wind is coming,” he said. “The birds are restless.”

Elena and Dominic looked at each other, not sure what that meant and what it had to do with the investigation.

“ Sí , the birds and the animals get very upset before the big wind comes. The birds have been jumping and screeching, even the macaws. Little animals have been running back and forth in the forest like they don’t know where they are going.”

Dominic thought he knew what Miguel meant. He had noticed the birds in the central plaza today as he drove by. A huge congregation of them in the trees, more than usual, creating an incredible din.

“You mean there’s a storm coming.”

Miguel nodded his head hard, as a child does to exaggerate, big-eyed with fright. “ Sí , there is a very big storm coming. Not just any storm. The one that brings big winds and buckets of water from the sky. It can blow a house down, the big wind can. Water runs wild in the rivers, and the banks cannot contain so much water.”

“A hurricane?” said Elena.

“ Sí ,” said the boy. “ Un huracán .”

“Just what we need,” said Elena. She looked at Dominic. “Has there been anything on the news?”

“I haven’t been listening. Maybe hurricane news will take the heat out of the media hype of the murder.”

“Do you remember Hurricane Mitch that came through Honduras?”

“Yes,” said Dominic. “That was awful. We’d better see what news we can get and where the hurricane is. If Miguel is right, this is really bad news.”

“Thanks for warning us, Miguel,” Elena said. “Now how about Dominic’s offer to put you up at his place, so that you’ll be safe?”

Miguel looked from one to the other. “Will you have plenty of food at your house? Sometimes the big wind knocks the power out, and people don’t get food, and the tourists don’t come, and I don’t have food. The tourists have gone away now, and it is hard for me.”

Elena’s eyes glistened. She took Miguel’s hand and squeezed. “C’mon, let’s go back to town. We’ll find you more to eat.”

Miguel got up from the seat. He crushed the empty bag of banana chips in one hand. “Okay, but can you hide me in the car so no one can see me?”

“It’s a deal,” said Dominic.

By the time they got back to town, it was dark and few people walked the streets. The birds were gone from the central plaza, and there were no media trucks in sight. At Dominic’s house, Elena helped serve the food Leyla had fixed, and the three of them sat at the kitchen table to eat. The boy bulldozed his way through beans, rice and fried pork that Elena heaped high on his plate. Dominic made a pot of coffee and poured each a cup.

Elena and Dominic made small talk during the meal. Miguel said little, concentrating on his food. Over coffee, she brought up the nagging question on her mind.

“Miguel,” she said, “what did you see the day that man was murdered?”

His eyes got big as he shoveled sugar into his coffee. “I don’t know. I don’t remember very good anymore.”

Elena placed her hand on his arm, trying to reassure him. “No one’s going to hurt you. You won’t get in trouble. I talked to the lady inspector this afternoon, and she’s very nice. She needs to know what you saw.”

“Did you lock the doors?” Miguel asked. He was pulling at an aberrant lock of hair, twisting it so tight his scalp puckered.

“I didn’t,” Dominic said, “but I will now.”

He went to the metal kitchen door with louvered windows, slid the bolt in place, and then went to the living room, where Elena could hear him bolt the door.

“All done,” said Dominic, coming back into the kitchen. He tossed a glance at Elena that said, this kid is really scared.

“How about the windows, can you lock the windows, too?” Miguel asked.

“If I close them it will get mighty warm in here. But there are bars on the ones that are open, see?” He gestured to the kitchen window that had exterior vertical bars, plainly visible.

“Okay,” said Miguel, looking at the window.

“Miguel,” said Elena, “you told me that there was more than one man that morning, and that a man is looking for you. Could you identify him?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. One was tall and skinny, I think. He was standing over the man on the ground. The other one I couldn’t see so good; he looked more hondureño , maybe, shorter.

“The tall one, is he the one who is after you?”

Miguel nodded, short, tiny nods. “ Sí. ”

“And the other?”

“I can’t be sure.”

“Will you talk to the inspector?”

He looked uneasily from one to the other. He said softly, “If I talk to the lady, will you still hide me? Will there be food if I am taken to prison? They say they do bad things to children in prison.”

Dear God help this child. He had so many fears, so little protection in his life. She wanted to adopt him and take him far away from here to keep him safe. It wasn’t right that a child should be so scared.

She looked across the table to Dominic who sat watching Miguel. From the expression on his face, he felt the same way. There had to be some way to find Miguel a home. The kid was too vulnerable, and his wants were so few. He wanted to be able to eat and not end up dead. Just like the rest of us.

“We’ll take care of you,” Dominic said, gently. “You’ll have food, and you won’t go to jail. I promise. But you have to promise to stay and not go running off. We can’t protect you if you are running wild. Is it a deal?”

Miguel looked down into his coffee cup. He started to cry, big tears streaking tracks through the dust on his cheeks. He nodded.

Elena scooted next to him and took him into her arms. “You’ll be all right. You’ve had a bad time of it, but things are going to be better.”

“I’m scared,” he said and started hiccoughing.

She rocked him in her arms until his hiccoughs quieted. “Hey, how about Dominic helping you clean up? Then I think you should lie down and get some sleep. I imagine being on the run was pretty tiring for you. Tomorrow will look a lot better after you’ve gotten some rest.”

Dominic rose and picked up the boy. “There’s an extra bed in my room. You can sleep there. Elena, can you see to making up the bed? Sheets are in the linen closet. I’ll take him to the bathroom and see what we can do.”

As she made the bed, Elena remembered they were to have dinner with her mother. And doña Carolita would be worried.

She dialed doña Carolita’s number on the phone in the kitchen.

“ Doctora , are you safe?” said doña Carolita, who had picked up on the first ring. “You mother is here, and we were about to call the police.”

“We’re fine. I’m with Dominic at his house. We have Miguel with us, and we’re taking care of him.”

“Elena?” Her mother had grabbed the phone. “Are you all right? Where are you? We were really starting to worry. Honestly, the lack of information here is nerve wracking, and nothing seems to be happening except what the news people dream up. The inspector came by here, asking questions.”

“Wait, one question at a time. I’m sorry I didn’t call. I was tied up all afternoon with the inspector, then Miguel showed up, and we’re trying to calm him down. I’m sorry about dinner. Why don’t you go back to the hotel? I’ll call you in the morning. Have you heard anything on the news about a hurricane?”