ink the authorities will force her to stop letting narcotics traffickers use her land?”
Sam sighed. “I’m told by responsible people in Guatemala City that things will get better in time. The existence of the Mayan site near the fields is known now. And the fields themselves have been drawn to the attention of the national police. But improvements happen slowly, and Miss Allersby has some powerful friends who can make it even slower.”
“It was good of you to come all the way back here to report this to me,” said Father Gomez.
Sam held up both hands. “No, please. That wasn’t the only reason we’re here.”
Remi said, “We told you that we were rushing to verify, photograph, and register the Mayan sites in the codex. That’s the other reason why we’re here.”
“Here?” Father Gomez looked shocked. “Not in Santa Maria de los Montañas?”
“Not in the town,” said Sam. “We think it’s above the town, on a plateau. The map shows it as something that looks like a tower or a fort.”
“Very interesting,” said Father Gomez. He looked uneasy. “Would you please allow me to hire a guide for you? I’d hate to have you get lost up in these hills.”
“No thank you, Father. We have the precise location on GPS and also aerial photographs,” said Remi. “We’re getting good at finding these places. What would be helpful is if you could tell us where we can store our car safely.”
“Yes, of course,” he said. “There’s Pepe Rubio’s garage. He’s the town’s mechanic and keeps cars overnight quite often.”
“That sounds perfect,” said Sam. “He can give us an oil change at the same time.”
Remi stood and began clearing the plates from the dining table while Sam and Father Gomez chatted. As she entered the kitchen, she caught Señora Velasquez stepping back from the door as though she had been eavesdropping. Remi smiled and handed her the plates, but Señora Velasquez didn’t return the smile.
They set out from the priest’s house, and Remi told Sam about Señora Velasquez. “I’m sure she was listening,” said Remi.
“No harm done. We would have been happy to have her join in the conversation.”
“I know. But I’ll bet a lot of people around here wonder how their secrets get out.”
Soon they found Pepe’s garage. They could see they had the right place from the cars parked all over the block and in front of the house. They found Pepe putting on a set of tires. Sam hired him to service their car and keep it safe.
Pepe referred them to the nearby house of the Pérez family, who were willing to rent them a guest room for the night. In the evening, they ate at the small restaurant where they’d had breakfast with Father Gomez and Dr. Huerta on their first visit.
The following morning, as the sun grew bright, they set out on foot to find the structure they’d seen on the map in the Mayan codex. It was a beautiful day as they crossed the fields, cleared for planting corn and beans, and then entered the forest. After some searching, they found a path that led up the side of the plateau, above and beyond the town.
After climbing about a hundred feet on the path, Remi stopped. “Look at this.”
She stood at a place where the path turned upward and to the left. There was a steep incline to the next level, but they could see that it had been reinforced with slabs of rock laid horizontally like giant steps.
“I guess this means we’ve found the right trail,” Sam said. He joined her in climbing toward the turn ahead.
“That’s right,” she said. “But in all the other sites we’ve visited, the stone was all overgrown. This is exposed.”
They walked along the path, climbing steadily. Sam said, “This is closer to a place where people live than the other sites were. And it does make sense to use a perfectly good path when you find one instead of blazing a new trail.”
They climbed for a while, unimpeded by thick brush or centuries of fallen earth. Remi said, “The part I haven’t figured out yet is why.”
“I know,” Sam said. “Maybe there’s something else up there—good fields or something.”
“I’d hate to carry the harvest down this path,” Remi said.
“Then what do you think it could be?”
“I’m hoping it’s a shortcut to another village that has an air-conditioned spa and restaurant.”
“A good working theory,” he said. “I’ll accept it until we find something better. That’s the way we scientists operate.”
In ten more minutes, they reached the head of the path. They climbed up onto the level top of the plateau and looked around. There were several large mounds of earth that might be buildings, but they were not on the scale of the buildings in the cities they had found. They weren’t high or steep, and the plateau wasn’t large enough for monumental architecture. It was only about three hundred feet across.