Treasure of the Jaguar Warrior - Mystery of the Mayan Calendar Page 16

“An imaginary friend?”

  Both Jacques and Jonathan, Jessie noticed, were delighted by this one. Jonathan looked like he might laugh, but took another sip, giving her the, I’m totally innocent, look. Jacques, however, gave in to the temptation.

  Jessie watched as her mother’s eyes grew large and round. “It’s not my hearing, is it?”

  “Nope,” Jessie said. “Nothing is wrong with your hearing, Mom. That’s Jacques.”

  “How do you do Mrs. Gloria Phelps?” Jacques said.

  “I—” Gloria stared, flabbergasted.

  Jessie thought for sure she was going to faint. Her mother took a few deep breaths and then managed a strangled sounding, “I’m fine.”

  “The photo taken at the Christmas tree lot today was Jacques,” Jessie explained.

  “Can I see that again?” Jonathan asked.

  “Yes,” her mother said, motioning to her purse.

  Jessie retrieved it for her from the chair across the room. Her mom pulled her phone from the folds of her purse and with some help from Jonathan found the image.

  Jessie watched as they both sat gazing at it. Taking out her own phone, she punched a few buttons.

  “Oh, what’s that?” Gloria asked when her phone vibrated.

  “It’s me, Mom,” Jessie said. “I just sent you another photo.”

  Jonathan pulled it up. “Whoa.”

  “What is it?” her mom asked.

  “It’s Tezcatlipoca’s sacred knife,” Jessie said.

  “You have this here?” Jonathan asked in wonder.

  “Yes.” Jessie nodded.

  “Where?”

  “It’s currently in the tank in the back of the toilet in my bathroom,” Jessie said.

  “That’s the first place they look for drugs,” Jonathan said, receiving a shocked look from her mother.

  “That is actually what was in the box you found, Mom.”

  “That’s Katie’s stash?” Gloria said, earning a shocked glance from Jonathan this time.

  “I’d go get it, but Jacques sticks to it like glue,” Jessie said and was surprised when they both looked puzzled but also disappointed. “We can go up there and see it though.”

  “Really?” Jonathan said excitedly.

  Jessie once again led a little field trip to the upstairs potty.

  “He really can make a mess,” her mom said as they crossed her room that was still torn apart.

  “True.” Jessie nodded.

  Jessie went through the process of taking the metal box out of the back of the toilet, letting it drain, and then set it in the sink.

  When she opened it, her mother gasped.

  “That is just the most frightening thing I’ve ever seen,” her mom said as she took a step back from it. Jonathan, in contrast, took a closer look.

  “I think it has both potential energies, both good and bad,” Jessie said. “Frightening or not, if it’s not in place by 12-21-12 . . . .”

  “The gates of hell open?” her mother finished, repeating her own words from the night before.

  “Exactly,” Jessie said.

  “Can I touch it?” Jonathan asked. Without waiting for an answer, he picked it up. Both the knife in his hand and Jacques began to glow. Jonathan’s eyes began to change to a golden color. Jacques knocked it from his hand and set it back in the box.

  “What just happened?” Jonathan asked in amazement.

  “I don’t know,” Jessie said wide-eyed as she watched Jacques struggle to stay in the room. He sagged weakly against the sink and sat back down on the toilet.

  “I am the stone,” Jacques breathed heavily. “And we are connected by blood.”

  “What did he say?” Jonathan asked when Gloria gasped in response.

  “He says he is the stone,” Jessie started. “Wait—” she paused, looking at Jacques. “You are the stone?”

  Jacques nodded weakly. “I remember now.”

  “You remembered?” Jessie said, “That’s great!”

  “Non,” Jacques said. “Not good.”

  “What is he saying?” Jonathan asked.

  “He says he remembers,” her mom spoke up. “He says that because he is the stone and you are connected by blood it was able to affect you.”

  Everyone turned to Gloria as she spoke. “Well he did,” she said.

  “That’s right.” Jessie smiled at her mother, surprised she hadn’t fled or called for a priest. Instead, she was standing there looking quite concerned for Jacques.

  “What does he remember?” Jonathan asked in frustration, completely out of the loop. He looked over at the toilet and did a double take. “My eyes.”

  “What’s wrong with your eyes?” Jessie asked with concern. They had returned to their normal blue color.

  “I can see him!” Jonathan said, rubbing his eyes. He blinked. “Yeah, he’s still there.” Jonathan reached out and ran a hand through Jacques

  Jacques chuckled at him.

  “He’s kinda young to be my great-great-great-great-grandpa though isn’t he?”

  Jacques laughed outright. “See what did I tell you?” he said to Jessie. “I don’t look a day over four and thirty.”

  Chapter 15

  “What did you remember, Jacques?” Jessie asked while she closed the box and put it back inside the tank. Jacques became stronger almost immediately.

  “The water helps him?” Jonathan asked as he stood next to her, watching the process.

  “It somehow creates a barrier between him and the knife, but wood is much better,” Jessie answered him then turned to Jacques once again. “You said you rememb—” she started, but was interrupted by the sound of Mavis calling. “Hello?”

  Everyone in the bathroom shuffled positions frantically as Mavis called out again, “Where is everybody?” she yelled.

  “My mother,” Jonathan whispered, “is not to know about this!”

  “I have no problem with that,” Gloria said, surprising Jessie once again.

  “Fine with me.” Jessie nodded.

  “Duke,” Mavis called out. “You come back here!”

  Just as they were filing out of the bathroom, the wiener dog ran into Jessie’s room. They could hear Mavis close behind him, scolding him. “You bad dog!”

  “We’re up here,” Gloria said, before turning back to the rest of them. “Well, won’t it look strange if we don’t say something?”

  “Strange?” Jessie asked. “Don’t you mean stranger?”

  The wiener dog went for Jacques who stood in the center of the room in the midst of Jessie’s bedcovers.

  “What are you doing in here?” Mavis asked when she poked her head around the corner of the door. She walked into the room amazed at the devastation.

  “There was a mouse!” Jessie said, pointing at where Duke was attacking a pig pillow and Jacques’s foot at the same time. Jacques swirled around the covers and dove under the bed with Duke in fast pursuit.

  “Oh, dear!” Mavis said, running for high ground. Gloria and Jessie followed suit just to keep out of the little dog’s way. Her mother stood on the bed with Mavis while Jessie opted for the chair.

  “It’s okay,” Jonathan said, the voice of reason amidst the chaos. He looked at the women standing on various pieces of furniture and tried hard not to laugh. “You ladies go downstairs and start trimming that tree we fought so hard to get in here. I’ll take care of this.”

  Jessie was the first down, followed by Mavis and Gloria whom Jonathan assisted.

  “This shouldn’t take long,” he said, playing the part of the gallant knight saving the damsels in distress.

  “Just don’t let it hurt little Dukie,” Mavis pleaded.

  He looked over at the little dog attacking the feather in Jacques’s cap as he waved it from atop the dresser. “I won’t.” He grinned.

  ~*~

  Three hours later, Jessie sat in Jonathan’s plane on the tarmac of the small airfield outside town.

  “I can’t believe we’re going to Peru,” her mother
said from the seat next to hers. “Isn’t it exciting?”

  “I can’t believe his little plane is a converted DC-3,” Jessie said as she watched Jonathan through the little window as he spoke with one of the ground crew.

  “His mother would croak if she knew,” her mom said.

  Jessie nodded in agreement. Thor was now dressed in green and brown camos and looking like G. I. Joe, as he stood going over a list. He looked up and waved at an approaching vehicle. She followed his gaze and was shocked to see that that someone was none other than the busy bee herself as she arrived in a limo.

  “What’s she doing here?” her mother asked.

  “Good question,” Jessie said. She watched Jonathan as he gave the sign of, just one moment before climbing up the ladder to the flight deck.

  “What is she doing here?” Jessie demanded when he ducked through the door.

  “That couldn’t be helped.” Jonathan sighed. “She found out about the flight plan I filed and was on it instantly. “I thought this would be a better way to control what she was saying . . . and,” he grinned, “she makes our little tour legit.”

  Jessie sighed, looking at him like he’d just ruined Christmas.

  “Ah—and if anyone asks, we are making a documentary on the Mayan calendar.”

  “A documentary?” Jessie repeated, dumbfounded.

  “Yes.” He nodded. “You are the assistant-slash-scientist,” he said, handing Jessie a book on Peru. “Can you handle that, Doc?”

  “What am I?” Gloria asked excitedly.

  “You are the head-assistant-slash-liaison between, not only Jacques and me, but also between the Peruvian people and our production staff.” He grinned. “You’ll have to share the book,” he said, indicating the one Jessie held.

  “Ah, how exciting!” Gloria breathed. “Do I get a code name?”

  “Yes,” Jonathan nodded seriously. “You are Mother Goose.”

  “Mother Goose.” Her mother nodded happily. “I like it.”

  “What about you?” Jessie asked angrily. “What are you doing?” She was still a little miffed that he’d invited the busy bee to the party without asking her.

  “I’m the camera man.”

  “Why can’t I be the camera person? Jessie asked. I think I’ll make a terrible assistant,” Jessie said, extremely annoyed to have been allocated the position of assistant without a word.

  Jonathan looked at her in a, women, can’t live with them can’t live without them, kind of way. “Do you want to lug a hundred pounds of camera equipment through the jungle?” he asked, raising an eyebrow in question.

  “Scientist is good.” Jessie looked at the book in her hand. “What kind of scientist?”

  “I don’t know,” Jonathan said as he headed out the door. “Be a zoologist, or archeologist or both.” He paused looking back at all three of them because while he was talking, Jacques had appeared. “And be good.” He smiled. “She’s only partially aware of the real reason we’re going and thinks this is the real deal.”

  He paused before the door looking back at her. He handed her a kit out of a cabinet. “And make sure you are current on all your shots.”

  Jessie turned to watch Patricia walking toward Jonathan as he slid down the ladder and greeted her. She was dressed in a black, tightfitting outfit and high-heeled boots that looked like something Cat Woman would wear. Jessie couldn’t help but wonder how this was going to go over.

  “She reminds me of Pamela Anderson or Barbarella.”

  “You’re right! Jessie said. Great, she was going to Peru to save the world with Barbie, G.I. Joe, Mother Goose, and the invisible man.

  Jonathan came up first, carrying several bags which he half dumped on the floor.

  “Be careful with the big one,” Patricia said as she entered the plane behind him. “It’s the most important one.” She opened the case just to make sure her things had survived the rough treatment. Jessie had never seen so much makeup in her life.

  “Here are your assistants,” Jonathan said. “Jessie and Gloria.”

  “Hello, hi–hello,” everyone said at once.

  “They are an incredible team,” Jonathan added. “I was very lucky to get them on such short notice.”

  “Do you do makeup?” Patricia looked at Jessie.

  “She’s the best in the business,” Jonathan was quick to answer.

  Jessie’s gaze flew to meet his. Jonathan was grinning the grin of someone who was getting even.

  “That’s fantastic,” Patricia said excitedly. “Sometimes the wrong makeup person can add years to your face.” She carefully lifted the many layers of makeup out of the incredible unfolding bag. “And it can take hours. But I am very patient because I realize you are an artist and this is a craft.”

  Oh! Jessie thought, watching him walk towards the cockpit. If I could just kick him under the table, I would!

  Jacques was near the door, grinning over the whole episode.

  “I don’t know why I didn’t see the similarity before,” Jessie whispered to him. “He’s a devil!”

  Jacques looked smug and full of gleeful pride.

  “You’re right! He is a devil.” Patricia joined her in watching Jonathan seat himself in the pilot’s seat. “That’s one hot man.”

  “Ah—” Jessie waved her hands. “I didn’t mean.”

  “Of course, you didn’t, honey.” Patricia winked then nodded in understanding. “I can’t blame anyone for lookin'.”

  Jacques was chuckling over that one as Jonathan’s voice came over the loud speaker. “Ah-this is your captain speaking. We shall be taking off momentarily, so please return your seats and tray tables to their upright positions and buckle-up,” he said. “You, too, Mother Goose,” he added. She heard her mother giggle behind her.

  “Always wanted to do that,” Jonathan said as he turned in his seat to look down the aisle at the three of them.

  The three ladies all sat down and buckled up. Patricia chose a seat that faced theirs. She sat looking at them while Jessie watched Jonathan in the pilot’s seat as he flipped switches and put on a headset. Jacques, she noticed was the co-pilot.

  “What have you got for me?” Patricia asked as the plane taxied down the runway.

  “Em—” Jessie said.

  “Where is the spread sheet?” the busy bee asked. “Do you have the script?”

  “Oh-um.” Jessie stalled for an answer.

  Her mother rescued her with one. “I know Jessie will have that to you in the morning. She works with short deadlines all the time.”

  Patricia sat back, looking at both of them like a cat might look at two mice. “Oh, don’t worry.” She laughed. “I know what’s really happening here.”

  “You do?” Jessie asked.

  “Here we go ladies,” Jonathan yelled over his shoulder as the airplane started down the run way.

  “Well, yes,” Patricia said. “It’s obvious to me. Of course I have an eye for it. I’m a reporter.” The plane jiggled and shook as it picked up speed.

  Jessie and her mother shared a quick glance as Patricia continued.

  “Jonathan is a bounty hunter chasing after Earl Hebert,” Patricia confided. “This is really about producing a pilot for a new reality show.” She sat back smug in the knowledge that she’d uncovered their subterfuge. “I helped him track down his aliases,” she added as the plane lifted off.

  “I see,” Jessie said.

  “There is no fooling you,” Gloria said.

  “I want you two to know that if I can help his rating and give the show a boost,” she sat up in her chair inadvertently thrusting her chest, “I will.”

  Subliminal message received, Jessie thought as she looked at the woman.

  “What a fabulous friend you are,” Gloria said, “but we are really doing a documentary.”

  Who was this secret agent? Jessie wondered as she looked at her.

  “Yes,” Gloria said. “Two birds with one stone kind of thing.”

  “You just
let me know what to do.” Patricia winked.

  “Well, we shall,” Gloria said as the plane continued to ascend.

  “And maybe I should tell you,” Patricia leaned forward and covered her mouth as if to keep the others from hearing, “Jonathan and I are very close. . . .” Jacques popped in at that moment and leaned over as if the secret were just for him. “We are a little more than friends,” Patricia whispered as she pinched her fingers together so that her long nails touched. Jacques reacted as if he’d just been pinched.

  Patricia, looked more than pleased with herself to put the competition in its place. She leaned back in her seat, licked her finger, and turned the page in the women’s magazine she’d placed on her lap to read.

  Oh, brother, Jessie thought, wanting roll her eyes. She didn’t want her man. She wanted his great-great-great-great grandpa. Apparently, she had father issues she didn’t know about.

  Jonathan turned on the speaker again. “We have reached our climbing altitude ladies and gentlemen. Please feel free to move about the cabin.”

  Jacques started acting like he was in weightless space. Jessie had a hard time not watching him.

  “I see,” Gloria said.

  Jessie was glad she had her mother there to answer as she was having a hard time paying attention, what with the first moon landing playing out behind her. Her mother, however, had the benefit of not seeing him, Jessie thought.

  “It’s obvious that you have his confidence,” Gloria said.

  Jessie couldn’t help but stare wide eyed at her mother. Who was this Mata Hari?

  “Tell you what,” Gloria said to the bee turned diva across from them, “why don’t you get some beauty sleep? We wouldn’t want our star arriving with bags under her eyes now would we?”

  Her mother winked at her as she stood. “I know there are some beds that fold out here along the back.”

  “There are?” Patricia asked. “Oh, how nice.” She unbuckled and followed her mother to the back. I knew it would be an overnight flight, but I thought we’d be stuck in these chairs.”

  Jessie still couldn’t believe how her mother had handled that one. She could have sworn before today that the woman had never lied and wouldn’t know how.

  “Alone at last,” Jacques said.

  Jessie smiled and then looked out the window, feeling like the weight of the world rested on her shoulders.