"Right."

Jaime called Amparo aside. "When Paco calls, tell him I'll be back shortly. Take a message."

She nodded. "Be careful."

"Don't worry." He turned to Megan. "Your last day.

Tomorrow you'll be at the convent. You must be eager to get there."

She looked at him a long moment. "Yes." Not eager, Megan thought. Anxious. I wish I weren't anxious. I'm going to shut myself away from this, but for the rest of my life I'm going to wonder what happened to Jaime and Felix and the others.

Megan stood there watching as Jaime and Felix left. She sensed a tension between the two men that she did not understand.

Amparo was studying her, and Megan remembered her words:

Jaime is much too much man for you.

Amparo said curtly, "Make up the beds. I'll prepare lunch."

"All right."

Megan went toward the bedrooms. Amparo stood there watching her, then walked into the kitchen.

For the next hour, Megan worked, busily concentrating on cleaning and dusting and polishing, trying not to think,

trying to keep her mind off what was bothering her.

I must put him out of my mind, she thought.

It was impossible. He was like a force of nature, taking over everything in his path.

She polished harder.

When Jaime and Felix returned, Amparo was waiting for them at the door. Felix looked pale.

"I'm not feeling too well. I think I'll lie down for a bit."

They watched him disappear into a bedroom.

"Paco called," Amparo said excitedly.

"What did he say?"

"He has some information for you, but he didn't want to discuss it on the phone. He's sending someone to meet you.

This person will be at the village square at noon."

Jaime frowned, thoughtful. "He didn't say who it is?"

"No. Just that it was urgent."

"Damn it. I—never mind. All right. I'll go meet him. I want you to keep an eye on Felix."

She looked at him, puzzled. "I don't un—?"

"I don't want him using the telephone."

A flash of understanding crossed her face. "You think that

Felix is—?"

"Please. Just do as I ask." He looked at his watch. "It's almost noon. I'll leave now. I should be back in an hour.

Take care, querida."

"Don't worry."

Megan heard their voices.

I don't want him using the telephone.

You think that Felix is—?

Please. Just do as I ask.

So Felix is the traitor, Megan thought. She had seen him go into his bedroom and close the door. She heard Jaime leave.

Megan walked into the living room.

Amparo turned. "Have you finished?"

"Not quite. I—" She wanted to ask where Jaime had gone,

what they were going to do with Felix, what was going to happen next, but she did not want to discuss that with this woman. I'll wait until Jaime returns.

"Finish up," Amparo said.

Megan turned and went back into the bedroom. She thought about Felix. He had seemed so friendly, so warm. He had asked her many questions, but now that seeming act of friendliness took on a different meaning. The bearded man was looking for information that he could pass on to Colonel Acoña. All their lives were in danger.

Amparo may need help, Megan thought. She started toward the living room, then stopped.

A voice was saying, "Jaime just left. He will be alone on a bench in the main plaza. He's disguised in a wig and mustache. Your men should have no trouble picking him up."

Megan stood there, frozen.

"He's walking, so it should take him about fifteen minutes to get there."

Megan listened with growing horror.

"Remember our deal, Colonel," Amparo said into the telephone. "You promised not to kill him."

Megan backed into the hallway. Her mind was in a turmoil.

So Amparo was the traitor. And she had sent Jaime into a trap.

Backing away quietly so Amparo would not hear her, Megan turned and ran out the back door. She had no idea how she was going to help Jaime. She knew only that she had to do something. She stepped outside the gate and started down the street, moving as fast as she could without attracting attention, heading toward the center of the city.

Please, God. Let me be on time, Megan prayed.

The walk to the village square was a pleasant one, with side streets shaded by towering trees, but Jaime was unaware of his surroundings. He was thinking about Felix. He had been like a brother to him, had given him his full trust. What had turned him into a traitor willing to put all their lives in jeopardy? Perhaps Paco's messenger would have the answer. Why couldn't Paco have discussed it on the telephone? Jaime wondered.

He was approaching the village square. In the middle of the plaza was a fountain and shade trees with benches scattered around. Children were playing tag. A couple of old men were playing boule. Half a dozen men were seated on the benches, enjoying the sunshine, reading, dozing, or feeding the pigeons. Jaime crossed the street, slowly moving along the path, and took a seat on one of the benches. He looked at his watch just as the tower clock began to chime noon. Paco's man should be coming.

Out of the corner of his eye, Jaime saw a police car pull up at the far end of the square. He looked in the other direction. A second police car arrived. Officers were getting out, moving toward the park. His heart began to beat faster.

It was a trap. But who had set it? Was it Paco, who sent the message, or Amparo, who delivered it? She had sent him to the park. But why? Why?

There was no time to worry about that now. He had to escape. But Jaime knew that the moment he tried to make a run for it, they would shoot him down. He could try to bluff it out, but they knew he was there.

Think of something. Fast!

A block away, Megan was hurrying toward the park. As it came into view, she took in the scene at a glance. She saw

Jaime seated on a bench, and the policemen closing in on the park from both sides.

Megan's mind was racing. There was no way for Jaime to escape.

She was walking past a grocer's shop. Ahead of her,

blocking her path, a woman was pushing a baby carriage. The woman stopped, set the carriage against the wall of the store, and went inside to make a purchase. Without a moment's hesitation, Megan grabbed the handle of the baby carriage and moved across the street into the park.

The police were walking along the benches now, questioning the men seated there. Megan elbowed her way past a policeman and went up to Jaime, pushing the baby carriage ahead of her.

She yelled, "Madre de Dios! There you are, Manuel! I've been looking everywhere for you. I've had enough! You promised to paint the house this morning, and here you are sitting in the park like some millionaire. Mother was right.

You're a good-for-nothing bum. I never should have married you in the first place!"

It took Jaime less than a fraction of a second. He got to his feet. "Your mother is an expert on bums. She married one.

If she—"

"Who are you to talk? If not for my mother, our baby would starve to death. You certainly don't bring any bread into the house…"

The policemen had stopped, taking in the argument.

"If that one was my wife," one of them muttered, "I'd send her back to her mother."

"I'm damned tired of your nagging, woman," Jaime roared.

"I've warned you before. When we get home, I'm going to teach you a lesson."

"Good for him," one of the policemen said.

Jaime and Megan noisily quarreled their way out of the park, pushing the baby carriage before them. The policemen turned their attention back to the men seated on the benches.

"Identification, please?"

"What's the problem, Officer?"

"Never mind. Just show me your papers."

All over the park, men were pulling out wallets and extracting bits of paper to prove who they were. In the midst of this, a baby began to cry. One of the policemen looked up.