When The Jaguar Sleeps: A jungle adventure (21 page)

‘Would you like something to drink?’ she asked after a brief moment of silence. ‘I don’t know about you, but I’m starving. Unfortunately, I cannot offer you anything to eat because my fridge is empty. We need to go out to get some food. But before we do so, we should freshen up a bit. What do you think? I definitely need a shower. You may also take a shower, if you wish. Then we will go to a restaurant. I know one that is not so bad just around the corner. In the meantime I’ll make you something to drink. I have coffee and tea in the kitchen, both black and herbal tea. So just tell me which one you want. Wait a minute I am going to boil some water.’

‘Coffee is fine with me. Black, no sugar and no milk.’

‘I won’t be a moment.’

Chantal went into the kitchen, and Didier sat down on a well-worn couch, sinking deeply into the cushions. A few minutes later Chantal returned, carrying a tray with two cups filled to the brim with a hot aromatic liquid.

Walking slowly she’d almost reached the middle of the room when the sudden shrill sound of her cell phone made her jump. A few drops of hot coffee splashed onto her fingers. She hissed, wincing at the burning pain.

‘Wait, I’ll hold the tray so that you can pick up the phone,’ Didier offered attentively and immediately jumped up from the couch anxious to come to her aid.

‘Watch out, the figurine!’ Unfortunately, her warning came a fraction of a second too late.

In standing Didier had staggered against the table holding the clay figure and it fell to the floor and smashed into pieces.

Didier caught a glint of something golden. From under the clay covering a metal object appeared. It looked strangely familiar. He kept staring at the shiny object as if mesmerised. Then he bent slowly down, picked it up gently and held it in front of his eyes. He could hardly believe what he saw. It was the same sort of figure he had seen in the cave in the Amazon rainforest, a strange creature resembling something between a man and a jaguar.

The jaguar, god of the underworld and the night.

The object was made of gold and intricately carved. A very fine piece of ancient Inca handicraft.

He turned the dazzling figure slightly in his hand and the light from one of Chantal’s floor lamps hit the creature’s emerald eyes. For a brief moment an enigmatic, ominous gleam appeared in them.

The vengeful curse Atahualpa pronounced upon the white man before he died would befall anybody who would ever dare to touch the legendary Inca gold destined to pay the ransom for his freedom.

Was this golden piece a part of the Atahualpa’s ransom?

Would it bring him bad luck the way the golden amulet had brought to Florent? The creature had travelled on the same plane he had; as if it had followed him. Yes, he was certain now that the magnificent figure came from the ancient ruins hidden in the depths of the Amazon rainforest that he and Florent had stumbled upon while trying to get out of the jungle. The cursed Inca gold. He should have never touched it.

So it appeared Brian’s criminal gang was part of a bigger, well-organized art trafficking ring operating internationally. Maybe Brian wasn’t the biggest player in it after all. He was dead but his death didn’t stop the others from carrying on the illicit activities. Neither did the police. Now someone else took charge of the whole illicit business. He could easily guess who: the older distinguished looking man he had seen in Cuenca kill the younger woman. Besides, he - or one of his men at his orders - undoubtedly killed Brian. He wondered if the police would ever charge him with both murders as well as with trafficking of the ancient artefacts. And what if the man discovered who had helped the police gather the incriminating evidence and who was ready to testify against him? It was quite likely to happen. He seemed to have plenty of people working for him everywhere and he definitely looked like the vengeful type. Was he going to pay some of them to track Didier down and kill him out of vengeance? The very thought of it sent a chill of dread down his spine.

Suddenly he didn’t feel so safe anymore.