Page 53 of Toy

“I see.”

Leonel smiled and said something else. Gabriel chuckled. “He said his drinks were like truth serum. They didn’t taste very strong, but they were potent. There was a good reason his bar was so well-known. It was a good place to either drown your sorrows or make someone talk.”

“We’ll be sure to ask him to make us some cocktails if we ever need to forget anything,” Beck said with a grin. She tilted her chin. “Anyway, what else did the man say to him?”

“He asked my grandfather a lot of questions about the region and all its towns and villages. He was also very interested in the volcano and wanted to know how often it was active. He seemed pleased by the answers. When my grandfather asked why, he told him that the men had recently acquired some land in the area.”

My heart began to thud. “Yeah?”

Gabriel nodded. “My grandfather thought this was a bit odd at first. Like I said, this region wasn’t really a tourist destination at the time. Also, the government is very invested in land protection, especially when it comes to the untouched parts of the mountain ranges. So it seemed strange that these men were able to purchase a sizable area of land within the Talamanca mountain range. But…” He held up a palm. “At the same time, he didn’t think it was that strange. There’s always at least one corrupt government official, and that’s all it takes. Also, in some of the other nearby towns, a few locals had started building eco-lodges aimed at tourists, and they were slowly starting to gain traction. So my grandfather thought these men were just clever businessmen. They saw that the area was probably going to explode in popularity soon, and they wanted to get in early.”

“Makes sense.” I nodded and clasped my hands together in a V-shape on the table.

“Anyway, the land they talked about was quite far inland. At first my grandfather found this odd too, because most of the budding tourism industry was based around our beaches, but the man explained the reasoning behind it. He told him they wanted to build an exclusive resort in the mountains with a view of the volcano. They planned on creating some sort of safe road toward it, right through the mountains, so when the tourists came, it would be much easier for them to visit the volcano and the hot springs. Much better than hiking for three or four days. All they had to do was stay at the resort.”

“Uh-huh.”

“So again, it seemed slightly odd at first, but then it made sense after all the explanations. My grandfather didn’t think much of it after that.” He shrugged one shoulder. “Not until I told him that you two were here asking questions about strange foreign men who might’ve bought a lot of isolated land in the area.”

“Right. Did he ever hear anything about the mountain resort again?”

Gabriel shook his head. “Not really. But the man at the bar admitted at one point that they weren’t just in town to try the cocktails. They were also shopping around for building contractors in the area, and they’d heard there was a decent guy in town who might be able to help.” He paused and asked Leonel something in Spanish. After listening to his response, he nodded slowly. “He also remembers that the man was hired by them in the end, and as far as he knows, the resort ended up being built over the next couple of years,” he went on. “But it’s never been advertised and tourists never go there, even though this region has gained so much popularity. It’s like it doesn’t exist.”

“This building contractor—is he still around? We’d like to talk to him or anyone else involved in the project.”

“He died in an accident around eighteen years ago. Right after the resort was completed. All his workers are in other provinces now, as far as I know, so you wouldn’t be able to talk to them either. Sorry.”

Beck arched an eyebrow and conveyed a silent message to me with her eyes. Accident? Sure.

No way was it an accident. The cult men had probably murdered the contractor after the project was completed to ensure he never gave away the exact location or spoke about it again. His workers probably figured this out and fled the region, fearing for the safety of themselves and their families.

My shoulders slumped. “So no one around here knows where it was built.”

Gabriel relayed this to his grandfather, who shook his head and spoke animatedly.

“He doesn’t know exactly where it is, but he has a decent idea of where they would’ve built it,” Gabriel finally said, looking back toward me.

My pulse picked up again. “Really?”

“Deep in the mountains, there is an enormous valley with a good view of the volcano. There’s also a lot of flat land there beyond all the forest. It would be the perfect place to build a small town if it wasn’t extremely hard to get to. Unfortunately, it is. It’s ringed by very steep mountains and it’s also very remote. There isn’t anything else around it for miles and miles, so no one has been there in years. Too hard, and no point.”

“But your grandfather’s been there.” I leaned forward, resting my arms on the table.

“Yes, as a young boy. His father liked exploring the remotest parts of the ranges, and he would always take his sons. The valley in question involved a week-long hike. Maybe longer depending on weather conditions.”

“A week?” I shook my head. “I’m not sure we have that kind of time. We’re not exactly experienced in this area, either.”

“There’s always the option of taking a private plane, which is what the men and the construction workers would’ve done when it was being built. There’s plenty of space to land in the flat fields of the valley.”

“We don’t want to be seen by the people who might be living at the so-called resort,” I said. “This may sound completely crazy to you, but we believe there are men there who are holding your girls hostage, along with one of ours. The same men who did this to my face.” I gestured toward the scars on my left cheek.

“I see.” Gabriel nodded gravely, then dipped his head toward his grandfather. The two men muttered to each other for a few minutes.

“He says there’s another smaller valley about a day’s hike from the big one,” Gabriel finally said, returning his attention to us. “If you could get dropped off there by a plane, you could hike the rest of the way. There’s a tiny pass through the mountains on the northeastern side.”

“That would work for us,” Beck said, nodding vehemently. “We’d just need directions so we don’t get totally lost.”

“He can give you a copy of a map that his father made when they did the trek,” Gabriel replied. “But he wants to know that if the girls are actually there, they will be brought home safely. Not just yours.”

“Of course,” Beck and I said in unison.

Gabriel stared at both of us in turn with a shrewd gaze, and then he gave me a brief nod. “Okay. Good.” He hesitated for a moment and rubbed the side of his neck. “He also says he is worried he might be wrong. All he wants is for the girls to stop vanishing and for our canton to be safe again. But if there’s nothing in that valley, which could very well be the case, then he wants you to know he is sorry for wasting your time.”

Every muscle in my body tightened with readiness and my chest felt light and jittery as adrenaline pumped through my system. Leonel might be unsure about this, but I wasn’t. Everything he’d told us made perfect sense in relation to what I knew of the cult, and I grew increasingly certain about the location he’d suggested with every swift, thrilling beat of my heart.

This had to be it. Right there in that deep, secluded mountain valley, the Path of the Covenant was keeping my girl.

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