CHAPTER SIXTEEN NCH BAKER DOWNTOWN HOSPITAL NAPLES, FLORIDA

NCH BAKER DOWNTOWN HOSPITAL

NAPLES, FLORIDA

January 9

Most people were grossed out by medical smells, but not Suki. There was a certain smell in hospitals that she found both familiar and comforting. Or maybe it was just nostalgic. When she was a little girl, she’d visit her mom where she worked as a nurse in Fremont. She had asked her mom about that smell, and was told it was antiseptic. And with that smell might come the tangy whiff of rubbing alcohol. These were smells that masked the otherwise nasty aromas common in a hospital—vomit, blood, and various degrees of people’s poop.

Being in a hospital was familiar ground to Suki. The distant beep of monitors, the code words the staff used on the speakers. Those weren’t fearful sounds. They were comforting ones.

And then the warning feeling came and blew the feeling of safety to bits.

Suki stiffened in her chair. Her mom was asleep on the hospital bed, a blue blanket covering her body. Jane Louise was curled up on another chair, picking at the broken remains of the armrest fabric. A tray with a half-eaten tuna sandwich, an empty juice box, and a cup of pudding sat on the floor by her. A nurse had generously donated her lunch to help ease their hunger.

An IV line was hanging from a chrome pole, dripping fluids into the tubing stuck into her mom’s arm. The doctor who’d been helping them was a nice man. Dr. Andrews, a short, stocky older Asian man with buzzed gray hair. He’d stopped by in the last hour to check on them and made sure everyone had enough to eat. They’d caught the low insulin in time, he’d said. There was no sign of DKA.

Suki felt the throb of warning again. She got off the chair and walked to the edge of the curtain. The door on the other side was closed, so she pulled on the latch and opened it a crack. Outside, in the bustle of the emergency main floor, she saw nurses and a variety of patients—some in wheelchairs, one on a gurney, but most standing. It was impossible to tell with her eyes who, if any of them, was the source of warning.

But that warning couldn’t be wrong. She’d learned to trust herself because the warnings she felt were tied to her magic. They were in trouble, or about to be. That meant it was time to get out of there.

Suki went back behind the curtain and saw Jane Louise watching her.

“Is Uncle Steve here?” the little girl asked.

That was the code name for Steve Lund, who was coming to help them. Suki looked at the clock on the wall. He was probably still flying down from DC. Her stomach twisted with anxiety, but she began to whisper the Mayan words to calm herself. She walked to the bed and shook her mom’s shoulder.

Her mom’s eyes fluttered open. “Sorry I fell asleep. Is everything okay?”

Suki shook her head. “We have to get out of here.”

Jane Louise startled.

Suki bit her lip, glancing at the little girl. She hated the fear in her eyes—hated even more that she’d put it there, but fear made sense. This was all wrong.

Her mom’s brow wrinkled. “Did something happen while I was asleep?”

Suki shook her head again. “No. The vibe changed. Like what happened when we went to Calakmul’s resort. I get these feelings sometimes. Warnings. We need to go. Now.”

Her mother didn’t hesitate. She didn’t second-guess or question. “Okay, mija. I trust you.” Sarina rubbed her eyes and then swung her legs off the edge of the bed. She looked at the drip line in her arm and, thankfully, knew exactly how to stop it. She undid the tape holding the needle to the crook of her arm and then pulled it out.

“Get me a Band-Aid and a cotton ball. Over there,” she ordered.

Suki did so, and her mom had her put the cotton ball on the injection site and then covered it with the Band-Aid. Jane Louise hopped off the chair. The feeling of fear was growing rapidly in Suki’s chest—turning into an urgent beat that matched the pounding of her heart.

“I’ll need more insulin,” her mom said. Then she looked at the table and searched around. They found some packages of syringes and a partial bottle of insulin in the trash can that the nurse had used earlier.

“We have to go,” Suki said, her voice rising in panic.

The look of fatigue on her mom’s face was telling. Ix Chel might have restored her age, but she hadn’t restored her health.

“They don’t have any extra vials here,” her mom said after a few moments of more searching.

“I’ll check the hallway again,” Suki said. Jane Louise took Sarina’s hand and squeezed it. Lund had the phone number for the hospital. He’d call as soon as he landed, but they would be gone. She had his phone number memorized, though. Maybe she should use the phone in the room to leave him a—?

The next throb of warning hit her hard.

No time. She’d have to find another way.

Suki went to the door, cracked it open again. There were even more people in the corridor now. Someone was crying. The rust-like smell of blood overwhelmed the scent of antiseptic.

There was an abandoned wheelchair just a few feet away. Suki hurried to it and then unlocked the wheels and pushed it back to the room just as her mom and Jane Louise emerged.

“Sit down,” Suki ordered. Her mom did so, and Suki began to push her away from the crowded end of the hall. Her neck hairs were tingling with anticipation.

They passed a few other rooms, hearing the murmuring of nurses and patients. At the end of the corridor was an emergency exit door. There would be an alarm attached to it. That would bring orderlies running, right? And her mom was in no condition to take off at a run. They also passed a supply closet, but how long could they stay hidden before a staff member found them?

Glancing over her shoulder, she didn’t see the source of her warning, but she still felt it throbbing inside her. Then, amid the crowd, she saw a police officer talking to Dr. Andrews, who had helped them.

There was no more time. Suki pushed the wheelchair to the exit door. Immediately, the Mayan word Silanik came to her mind, unbidden. To quiet or silence something.

Suki summoned the magic of her bracelet and ring. Both started to glow. She repeated the word in her mind and passed her hand in front of their group.

“Push the door, Jane Louise,” Suki instructed.

The little girl jogged ahead and pushed on the handle. The blue strobe light didn’t activate. She stared at the bulb. Nothing happened.

Suki pushed the wheelchair out the back door.

Darkness settled over the park. It wasn’t even 6:30 p.m., and it was already pretty dark. They’d ditched the wheelchair behind the hospital and then walked down the street about a mile before finding a community park that held a playground, a baseball diamond, and a ton of tennis courts. The sign said “Cambier Park.”

There were lots of trees and, interestingly, iguanas all over the place. They sat down at an empty park bench, and Suki told Jane Louise to play on the playground for a little while. There weren’t a lot of kids but enough that the Beasley girl didn’t totally stand out. Suki then asked a stranger—a mom—if she could borrow her cell phone. She left a message for “Uncle Steve,” telling him where they were and saying they’d need a ride home before it got dark.

As the twilight vanished, the tennis court lights stayed on. Maybe a third of them were in use with players whacking at the rubber balls over and over, which gave Suki a nasty flashback to the death games. She paced. She sat down by her mom. Then paced again, wondering how long it would take for Lund to arrive. What if he didn’t show up? Would they stay all night in the park? That wouldn’t be fun. And they’d become more noticeable with every passing hour as everyone else left the park.

“Suki,” her mother said, hands on her stomach. “I need protein. Or whole grains. No sugar.”

“I don’t want to leave you all alone,” Suki said.

“You aren’t. Jane Louise will be here. It’s okay.”

Suki bit her lip. There wasn’t a warning feeling. “I’ll be quick.” She went to the playground and told Jane Louise to keep an eye on her mom, saying she’d be right back with some food. She remembered seeing a restaurant next to a cigar shop across the street. It was called Captain Krewe, and it sat next to a vacant lot with the footings of a demolished building at the base. Suki jaywalked to cross the street and ordered food for takeout, including a cheeseburger for Jane Louise, a crab BLT for herself, some fish tacos for her mom, and three bottles of water. With some of the money that Jorge had given them, she paid in cash and then walked out and nearly jumped out of her skin when she saw a police car had pulled up.

The driver door opened, and a hefty officer came out. He saw her.

Crap. Crap. Crap.

“Hey,” the officer said to get her attention.

Suki swallowed and gave him a blank look. “Me?”

“Yeah. I need to talk to you.”

Could she outrun this guy? Carrying dinner? He looked out of shape, so maybe? But if she gave away their location, he could call in backup. She had to bluff her way through this.

“Okay,” Suki said, shrugging. She walked up to him and looked up, keeping her face as blank as a piece of ... blank as a ... her brain just wasn’t working.

“You from around here?” he asked her.

“Uh-huh,” she said. “My mom asked me to pick up dinner from Cap’n Krewe. Live over there,” she added, hefting the bag and pointing it vaguely down the street.

“Looking for a teenage girl, a woman, and a little blond girl. Seen anyone like that around?” The officer’s shoulder radio crackled, emitting some police chatter.

Suki thought about her drama teacher. Some of the lessons she’d learned about acting. Play the part. Get into the role. Sometimes, a scene went haywire, and you had to ad-lib something.

“What?” Suki asked as if she didn’t hear him.

“I’m looking for three people,” he repeated. “A woman, a teenage girl, and a little blond girl. Seen anyone like that?”

“Nope,” Suki said, shaking her head.

A car honked on the street. The police officer turned around to look at a minivan stopped in the road. Relief nearly made Suki weak. Uncle Steve was at the wheel.

“Officer!” Lund yelled. “That’s my daughter. What’s the problem?”

“Dad!” Suki yelled with relief. She hurried to the passenger door.

“You see anyone like that, you call the police, okay?” the officer said.

“Okay!” Suki agreed. She opened the door and got inside.

Sarina and Jane Louise were already in the back. The windows were tinted, so she hadn’t noticed them.

“Have a nice day, Officer!” Lund said with a kindly wave. As soon as the door was shut, the window up, and they were rolling away, he snorted under his breath. “Idiot.”

Suki started to gulp in air. “I’ve got dinner.”

“Yes, please,” Jane Louise said patiently.

“We can’t go back to the airport,” Lund said, checking his lane and turning immediately down a side street. “There’s news about the three of you going through Florida right now. Not your names, just your descriptions. We need to find another way back.”

Suki’s sigh of relief stopped midbreath.