Scorpion Hill

Chapter 2: Catching Up

Marrakesh, Morocco. Wednesday, January 7, 1976.

El sighed as she watched her husband fling on his clothes. After he came out of the shower, he'd barely taken the time to dry himself off. Ever since Neal's abduction into the past, Peter was obsessed with the safety of the young man they'd grown to regard as a member of their family.

Complicating the issue was Peter's lingering guilt over his younger brother's death in Vietnam. Tommy had been an artist. Peter felt he didn't have the right temperament to be a soldier and had argued against him volunteering. But Tommy, like Neal, had a mind of his own and wasn't easily swayed.

Peter was suspicious of Henry's motives, but El was more concerned about Raquel. In Lyon, the Interpol agent had been solicitous on their behalf. After Sara spotted a cult agent, Raquel immediately increased security. But up to Sara's chance encounter, Raquel had assured them the cult wasn't active in Lyon. Shouldn't she have known?

On the other hand, her office could have heard about cult activity in Marrakesh just as Sara's Interpol contact in London had. Raquel was on the cult task force. Dispatching her to the scene was a logical choice.

"For all we know, Henry could be working with the cult," Peter said. "Neal told him about our upcoming trip to Marrakesh. Henry could have alerted them. That's why we were followed."

"Then why did he warn us about Raquel?"

Peter shrugged. "It could have been a devious attempt to win us over. He's sacrificing a pawn to gain our confidence." He put on an ecru linen shirt. "I'm ready," he declared. "Let's go."

She gave him the once-over. "Do you want to button your shirt first?"

He frowned. "I'll finish on the way to the elevator."

When they reached the ground floor, they found Neal having a conversation with Raquel by the indoor pool. Henry was nowhere to be seen, and this was one time El was glad Sara wasn't present. Neal was giving a remarkably good performance of being charmed by her. El hadn't realized he was such a skilled actor or that European bikinis were so tiny.

He waved them over when he saw them enter the pool area. "Raquel and I were just discussing the local nightlife. She's offered to take us to dinner."

Was she the one who suggested all of them should go or had Neal managed to include them in the invitation? Whatever. Peter could relax. No matter what happened, they'd be in a group. El never did spot Henry during their conversation, but later Neal spoke briefly with him by the elevators. El was disappointed they couldn't take Henry to dinner but she vowed to make up for it the next day.

Throughout the evening, Raquel couldn't have been a better hostess. They rode in a horse-drawn carriage to the restaurant which prided itself on serving authentic Moroccan cuisine. Entertainment was provided by local singers instead of the belly dancers El was dreading. She'd learned they only made her want to hit the gym more often.

Raquel's explanation of why she was in town made sense. It was as El suspected. Interpol had dispatched her to check into the cult situation.

Their group had agreed in advance to only discuss the archaeological purpose of their visit with Raquel, but were they being overly cautious? They now had proof of cult involvement. Didn't Raquel need to be made aware? Her inquiry at the hotel desk was most likely completely innocent. Diana might have alerted Interpol about their arrival and simply forgot to mention it.

Only one incident marred the evening. An American tourist who'd had too much to drink jostled Neal's elbow just as he was about to take a sip of his cocktail. The klutz succeeded in spilling Neal's drink on both Neal and himself. He insisted on trying to clean Neal's jacket, but Neal laughed it off, saying the hotel would take care of it.