The Secret Path by Karen Swan (summer beach reads TXT) 📕

hovered at a point just above the station, before lowering into the trees.

Alex looked at Jed and patted his chest reassuringly. ‘Nearly there, buddy. Hang tight.’

In a matter of mere moments, two rangers appeared, dressed in the same clothes Alex and now Tara herself were wearing. They were Indigenous men, well-built – she knew her father had made a point of ensuring the ranger jobs were offered to the Indigenous people first; they knew the terrain better than anyone – and they came running down through the trees and onto the deck.

‘What’ve we got?’ they asked in Spanish.

‘Jed Alvarado.’

Tara saw the way the men’s eyes widened at the mention of his name and they looked at him more closely.

‘He’s been attacked—’

Tara saw a knowing look pass between the three men.

‘We need to get him off the mountain. There’ll be an ambulance at the Marzano cross-section, ready to get him to the helicopter to take him to San José.’

Both men nodded, glancing at the slumped figure leaning heavily on Alex.

‘We’ve got the stretcher,’ one of them said, unfolding a portable red heavy-duty plastic stretcher and two harnesses. The men shrugged the harnesses on as Alex and Tara helped Jed to lie down on the stretcher on the deck, but he was becoming increasingly confused and distressed now, sensing change.

‘Nnnno,’ he moaned.

‘Yes, Jed,’ Tara said, guiding him gently down, pressing on his good shoulder to get him to lie flat. ‘We must get you looked at properly.’

‘Nnno—’

She draped the blanket over Jed’s exposed body and fastened the straps to secure him in. ‘Alex, translate to these guys for me. They’ll need to pass it on to the paramedics.’ Her Spanish wasn’t good enough for medical jargon. ‘His arm is broken in two places along the radius,’ she said slowly, waiting for Alex to translate and pointing to Jed’s forearm to show the rangers what she meant. ‘His shoulder was dislocated and has been reset, but it will still be unstable and very painful . . . I’ve immobilized it but you must still be very careful . . . Tell the paramedics he’s scoring a nine on the GCS scale. They’ll know what that means,’ she added as the rangers looked back at her blankly, even after translation.

‘Have you got that?’ Alex asked sharply, seeing their vacant expressions too. ‘Tara is an ICU consultant at St Thomas’s Hospital in London. She knows what she’s talking about.’

Both men nodded and she felt a tightening in her chest that her word could only be trusted on Alex’s say-so. ‘Okay.’

‘Right, fast as you can then,’ Alex said, chivvying them to get on.

‘But steady,’ Tara added as both men squatted down and connected the stretcher to their harnesses, the man at the front needing Alex’s help to connect it to the back of his harness. They rose on a count of three.

Tara looked down at Jed; his head was lifting off the stretcher as he felt the sensation of being lifted and carried.

‘Sar—’

‘I’ll tell Sarita, don’t worry,’ she said as Jed flailed to reach her. She grasped his good hand with hers, keeping him calm. ‘And I’ll get her over to San José to see you, don’t worry about any of that.’

‘Nnno . . . Paco . . .’

Tara swallowed, looking back apprehensively at her old friend. ‘Let’s just deal with first things first.’

‘Pahhh . . . co.’ He was staring at her now and she could see the effort it was taking him to fix his gaze, to keep her in his sights. ‘Paco.’

‘Who’s Paco?’ Alex asked.

She glanced up. ‘His son. He’s very sick. We had come out here to get a remedy for him for the Awa.’

Alex’s eyes narrowed. ‘What remedy? Where, exactly?’

‘We were heading for Alto Uren,’ she muttered distractedly. What did it matter now? She looked back at Jed. ‘The moment we know you’re all right, we’ll head off again,’ she lied.

‘Nnnno!’ The word burst from him, his body becoming tense, resistant. He was strapped down but he was a big man and the rangers both struggled to balance as he began to fight.

‘Jed—’ She faltered, trying to calm him. ‘I promise, we’ll get Paco what he needs, but we must look after you first. We need you to get us there, remember? You and the Awa are the only ones who know what we’re looking for and where.’

But Jed wouldn’t listen. He began trying to sit up, to undo the straps tying him in place with his good hand, even though his co-ordination had gone, his movements flailing and useless.

‘I know where Alto Uren is,’ Alex said suddenly, calming him with a steady hand on his chest. ‘I can go there.’

Jed stopped fighting. His head fell back on the stretcher as he looked back at Alex, and Tara wondered how well they knew one another. Alex had called him ‘buddy’, and Jed’s father worked with Alex all the time. The thought that they might be friends felt like another loss, something else Alex had stolen from her.

‘Tell me what it is you’re looking for.’

Jed mumbled a word in Bribri that Tara couldn’t catch – but Alex’s eyes narrowed. Slowly he nodded. ‘I know that plant. I’ve seen it there. You’re sure that’s what you’re looking for?’

‘Pahhco,’ Jed repeated, the word almost a sigh.

‘Then leave it to me. I’ll get it for you. Don’t worry about a thing. We’ll protect your boy.’

Jed’s body softened as if tranquillized and at Alex’s nod the two rangers immediately set off. Tara and Alex watched as he was carried across the deck, down the steps and along the jungle path. Within moments they were gone, but she and Alex stood there, looking on after the red streak was out of sight.

She knew he was thinking the same as her, feeling the same sense of unease as they found themselves alone in the Costa Rican jungle, one question running through both their minds.

Now what?

She went back inside, remembering that in all the rush, she’d left her wet clothes in a heap on the floor. She picked them up and rolled them into balls, stuffing them back