CHAPTER 4

 

Melinda spent the next couple of days helping April and Cody set up their lab, before she began interviewing villagers. With only one interpreter, it was slow going, but Pedro had a deep well of patience and a great sense of humor, so each interview turned into a conversation.

While Melinda talked to villagers, Buck escorted Cody into the surrounding jungle to catalog plant life, and April alternated between helping Melinda with interviews and more often drawing blood and collecting other samples, and working in the lab.

Nights became an ongoing torture. She’d spent months struggling with her demons and basically uninterested in sex. The jungle made her feel alive again. She’d left the Russians, and Amaranthine, and her life behind her and suddenly she craved Buck like she had when they first met—but they hadn’t yet come up with a way to be together. The need for him only grew by the day, preoccupying her. It made it hard to focus through the constant throb of her lady bits.

She’d still have to deal with her problems once she returned to San Diego. They hadn’t disappeared just because she’d run away to the Amazon. But the reprieve gave her space to think. And get some work done. And maybe repair her relationship. As much as she loved working in the field, she didn’t want to live in the Amazon, so she’d have to go back eventually and face her own personal music. Until then, she’d do her best to figure out why the people in this village didn’t ever suffer from dementia.

She’d finally arranged time with Kaba, who was a busy woman. She, April, and Pedro sat with Kaba in her home.

Through Pedro, Melinda explained her project.

“Thank you for your time, Kaba. If Pedro hasn’t explained it yet, I’m a doctor and my job is to search for ways to cure diseases. The disease I’m interested in is called Alzheimer’s. It mostly affects older people, and the primary symptoms are memory loss and confusion. Patients can’t remember who or where they are, they lose memories of their lives and can’t identify people they love. They often lose their ability to think clearly or understand, and become confused.”

Kaba listened to Pedro, her expression becoming more horrified as he translated. “What a cruel fate.”

Melinda remembered her father’s decline. “Indeed it is. I’m here because I’ve learned that your village has never experienced anything like Alzheimer’s, so I want to study your people and your way of life to see if I can discover why, and if there’s something you do or eat or drink that can be used to treat the disease.”

“You should talk to Matcha, our medicine woman,” Kaba said. “She and another of our elders is visiting another village. She will return soon.”

“I will do that. In the meantime, can I ask you some questions?”

After talking to all the villagers, Melinda had some ideas where to start her research.

“There are so many possibilities,” April said once they’d returned to the lab. “I mean, how many plants do they eat? Animals? Insects? And what about the water? It could contain all kinds of components, and we don’t even know what substances could be introduced upstream, or where. And all that’s before we even address genetics.”

Her words sounded like complaint, but one look at the twinkle in her eyes and anyone who knew her understood how much April looked forward to the challenge of solving the puzzle. She was inspired.

Melinda grinned. “Can’t wait to dig in?”

“You better believe it. Is Cody out collecting more samples?”

“Yep. He and Buck left this morning. While they’re out, I’m going to investigate water and other food sources. You get started on analyzing blood and DNA samples.”

While she talked, Melinda worked at putting on her hiking and climbing gear, and to wind her hair up into a pile on top of her head. It had been a while since she’d done any climbing and while this work didn’t strictly require it, she wanted to do it anyway. Getting back to the things that gave her strength seemed like a good idea.

She set off with her pack and supplies to explore the water source. The villagers used a well, but it was shallow and tapped into an underground river. She collected a sample from the well, but with the use of a bright flashlight, made note of the direction the water flowed from and headed out into the jungle in that direction. The river probably didn’t flow underground over its entire course, so she wanted to see if she could track it.

Melinda hiked through the jungle for over an hour, using a small machete to hack through the underbrush. She stopped every now and then to untie the bandanna from around her neck to swipe the sweat from her face, chest, and back of her neck, and to get down on her hands and knees and put her ear to the ground. The underground river flowed through a rocky chamber that echoed the rushing water. If it was close enough to the surface, she could hear it. She had to adjust her course a couple of times, but she managed to roughly follow its path.

Another half hour in and a dull roar caught her attention. She walked faster, hacking at thick vines, and the farther she walked, the louder the roar became until she cut through a screen of foliage to come out above a crashing waterfall and river.

“Bingo,” she said.

She bet if she explored the banks of the river she’d find an underwater opening that marked the beginning of the underground river.

A complete study of the river water, sediment, and geology could take time, not to mention exploring upriver. Who knew what went on up there?

She glanced at the waterfall. It wasn’t very tall—just high enough for a satisfying drop and roar of water. She wanted to make that climb. The challenge would be in the slippery rocks and wet environment. But the scientist in her focused on the work of collecting water and sediment samples. Her research was paramount. Her dad would want her to enjoy life and take the time to climb, but she owed it to him and everyone else who’d suffered from Alzheimer’s to focus on the job.

So she satisfied herself with wading into the crisp, cold water to collect what she needed. From the middle of the river she searched the banks for the entrance to the tunnel that turned into the underground river. She saw a couple of likely locations, but the water flowed too fast for her to make her way over and investigate. Knowing it was there somewhere was enough.

The hike back didn’t take as long since she didn’t have to cut her way through the forest. She just followed the path she’d made on the way out. Her clothes and hair dried as she walked, and she enjoyed the burn in her muscles, the fresh—if warm and humid—air in her lungs, and the sounds of the living forest. Birdsong, clicking and buzzing insects, and the screech and call of primates made her feel alive again. She’d forgotten how much nature refreshed her soul after months in the sterile, air-conditioned, white, quiet environment of the lab.

By the time she returned, the sun had begun to dip into dusk, and the village had come to life for the evening.

She went to the makeshift lab first to label and store her samples.

“There you are,” April said.

“What?”

“You’ve been gone for hours. Buck’s freaking out.”

“Okay. I’ll go find him. Thanks. You find anything interesting today?”

April shook her head and shrugged. “Just getting started on DNA. It’s going to take a while.”

Melinda went back to their living quarters, but Buck wasn’t there so she cleaned up some then wandered through the village. People seemed in a hurry, like they had important things to get done and someplace to be. She couldn’t imagine where or what, though.

The activity became more intense near the big community building in the center of the village, so she popped in to see what was going on. She found Pedro, Buck, and Cody helping with arranging benches and mats while people bustled around fires and prepared food.

“It smells amazing in here,” she said as she approached them.

“There you are,” Buck said, relief obvious in his voice. “You didn’t tell me where you were going.”

“You weren’t around. April told you, didn’t she?”

“Yeah. But, I worry.”

“I’ve done this sort of thing before. I know what I’m doing.”

“That doesn’t mean I won’t worry.”

The look in his eyes told her everything she needed to know about how he felt—that he understood her frayed nerves and was concerned about her not being herself, that she might want or need company to make sure she stayed safe. He wanted to protect her, coddle her, watch out for her like a fragile hothouse flower. A week ago back in San Diego, she might have agreed with him. Today, she didn’t feel as breakable.

But she did owe him respect for his worry.

“I know. I’m sorry.”

He harrumphed and she turned her attention to Cody.

“Did you find anything interesting today, Cody?” she asked.

Cody’s face lit up like a kid on Christmas morning. “This place is amazing. I’ve found several plants I’ve never seen before. By the time I’m done here, I’ll probably have something named after me.”

“Good for you,” she said.

“Miss,” Pedro said. “The chief has returned. And the medicine woman. The village is gathering to welcome them back and hear what they have to say.”

“Oh, good. I’m glad they’re here. Is there any chance I could talk to the medicine woman before the gathering?”

“Yes. Kaba wants you to meet her sister Pucu, the chief. I can arrange for Matcha the medicine woman to be there, too. I will take you to Pucu and Kaba, then find Matcha.”

Melinda and Buck followed Pedro, who led them to another house. Inside they found Kaba sitting with a woman who looked like an older and slightly heavier version of herself, and another woman, petite with long, thick gray hair and pixie-like features. All of them wore some degree of facial tattooing.

“Ah. Matcha is already here,” Pedro said.

He made introductions and Pucu asked Melinda and Buck to have a seat. Melinda settled on the floor across from Pucu, with Buck at her side.

“Thank you for welcoming us to your village and your home,” she said.

The conversation continued through Pedro’s translation.

Pucu smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. The way she sat—stiff, leaning back, looking down her nose at them—suggested anger or distrust. Melinda couldn’t imagine what they’d done to earn that reaction, and she certainly didn’t want to cause trouble.

“Tell me about your work,” Pucu said.

“Oh,” Melinda said. “Well, I’m a scientist, a doctor, and I’ve been working for many years to cure a disease called Alzheimer’s. It’s basically a disease of older people. It robs them of their memory, and their mind. And it robs family of their loved ones.”

Pucu cocked her head and considered Melinda. “You lost someone to this disease?”

“I did. My father. If I can save even one family from that pain, I will.”

“Do many people have it where you come from?”

“Unfortunately, yes.”

“We have no such thing here.”

“That’s what Kaba said. I was hoping to talk to your medicine woman to see if I could learn anything about your traditions or diet that might help me understand why.”

Pucu waved a dismissive gesture. “Yes, yes. Talk to Matcha. But I will have to ask you to leave soon.”

To Pedro, Melinda asked, “Did you translate that right? Did she ask us to leave?”

“Si. She did,” he said.

“Will you ask her why?”

He did, and Pucu responded by saying, “Outsiders have been cutting and burning the forest. They have been getting closer and closer. Matcha and I visited our neighbors and met with a man who wants to buy our land. I and the elders from the other village refused, but we have heard from other villages that they find ways to force people out.”

Well that explained Pucu’s distrustful posture, but Melinda didn’t see why that required her and her people to leave, unless Pucu was afraid that having outsiders in her own village would endanger them by association.

“Why would they do this?” Kaba asked.

“They destroy the forest to clear the land for farming,” Pedro said.

“Do they not know people live in the jungle?” Kaba asked.

“They do not care,” Pucu said.

Kaba scoffed, her indignation clear despite the language barrier. Melinda agreed, but also had no idea how to fix the problem. Greedy, thoughtless people had been burning and destroying the rain forest for years. The problem was so big, she couldn’t fathom how to solve it.

“How do they not care?” Kaba asked.

“It’s all about money,” Buck said.

Pedro turned to look at him, a sad look of understanding on his face. Pedro lived in the outside world, too. He knew.

“They only see the trees and the land as a way to make money,” Pedro said. “They think your village can just move to another location. They value different things than you do.”

“What will happen to us and our neighbors?” Kaba asked.

“We will fight them,” Pucu said.

“They can’t win that fight,” Buck muttered.

Melinda’s stomach sank at the prospect. She had too much work to do. All these people would lose their homes if loggers and farming consortiums and greedy money-hungry corporations continued their relentless destruction of the Amazon, and on top of that she might never find the cure for Alzheimer’s. Not to mention all the plant and animal species they’d destroy, and people they’d dislocate, and habitats and precious resources they’d ravage, and how much the planet’s atmosphere would suffer for lack of all the trees.

“Can it be stopped? Or redirected?” Melinda asked.

Pedro shrugged. “I do not know who the men are or where they are from. Pucu only says they came to the village and offered to buy the land. They were nice at first, then got angry when elders said no. Threatening and violent.” Pedro shook his head. “They will come. The jungle is doomed.”

The hell they would. “I’ll go talk to them,” Melinda said. “I mean, I’m trying to cure Alzheimer’s for heaven’s sake.”

Buck made a scoffing sound next to her. “No, you won’t. That’s a dangerous and reckless thing to do.”

Melinda turned to him and threw her hands up in frustration, “Is there anything we can do?”

“Like Pucu said, they don’t care,” Buck said. “It’s all about profit.”

“Aside from these people losing their home, this ecosystem is unique to the Amazon. Many of these plants and animals are only found here, and if they destroy it these living things will be extinct,” Melinda said. Anger burned in her gut. How could anyone put money above life?

Buck shrugged, a helpless gesture. “I’ll go talk to them, but it probably won’t make any difference. Even if I can get these guys to stop, they’re not the only ones. You can’t stop them all.”

Pedro translated and Pucu’s posture changed. She leaned forward and a spark of hope crossed her face. Melinda didn’t like it, mostly because she didn’t want her to be let down.

Pucu and Pedro went back and forth in a heated exchange, and finally Pedro said, “She wants you to talk to them. I told her it won’t do any good, but she insists.”

“I’ll do my best, but tell her to be prepared to pack up and move the village,” Buck said.

Pedro cocked his head and scrunched his brows. “You don’t understand. She won’t move. She’ll fight.”

Melinda closed her eyes and groaned. She understood the urge to fight for their homes and values and beliefs. She wanted to march into their presence and give them what for, but like Buck said, they’d lose any physical fight against them. It would be ugly and pointless, and they’d end up having to move anyway, but only after losing people and property. She didn’t want to see these wonderful people crushed like that.

A completely selfish thought wormed its way into her head—that she just wanted a normal, peaceful field mission full of interviews, collecting samples, climbing around in the jungle canopy, and lots of chemistry. But she had a bad feeling this expedition would turn into something uncomfortably similar to the trip to Siberia.

“That’s not a good idea,” Buck said.

Pedro raised his hands in a surrendering gesture that suggested he had no control over what she did, despite agreeing with Buck.

Buck grunted his frustration. “Okay, fine. I’ll see what I can do. I’ll go first thing in the morning.” He turned to Melinda, “You ready to go?”

She shook her head. “No, I need to talk to Matcha. I’ll catch up with you.”

He offered her a curt nod. He didn’t look happy at all, and she couldn’t blame him. He had to feel the weight of responsibility settle onto his shoulders. On the one hand, dealing with conflict was up his alley, though he usually dealt with it in body armor and carrying weapons and with the weight of the US government and military behind him. On the other hand, if anyone could intimidate a group of loggers to stop logging and leave these people alone, Melinda had confidence Buck could do it.

He guided her over to the door and pulled her into a hug, wrapping his strong arms around her and engulfing her in his warmth and scent. She couldn’t think of a more comforting place to be.

“Don’t worry,” he whispered into the top of her head. “We’ll figure this out. You keep working and I’ll go talk to the loggers. Okay?”

He pushed her back enough to look down into her eyes. The worry and concern she saw there squeezed her heart. He understood how this change could add to her anxiety, and although she hated that he saw her as fragile, she loved that he wanted to do everything to protect her. Usually she was tougher, a strong woman who didn’t like the idea of being a damsel in distress in need of saving, but everybody had moments of weakness. Nobody could be strong all the time. Besides, she’d saved his ass in Siberia when he’d been weak and helpless, so now it was his turn to take care of her.

She smiled at the thought.

“What?” he asked.

“I was just thinking how you’re looking out for me now. Payback for Siberia.”

She’d expected him to smile or chuckle, but his brows came together in a serious scowl. “Mindy, I’ll always look out for you. It’s not because I owe you or you owe me. It’s because I love you.”

Her throat tightened with emotion. What had she done to deserve such a wonderful man? She couldn’t manage words, so she just nodded.

“Go talk to the medicine woman. I’ll catch up with you later.”

He leaned down and kissed her forehead, then left the house, his back ramrod straight with purpose. He looked every bit the fierce, determined SEAL that he was.

Melinda swiped at the corners of her eyes, and cleared her throat, pulling herself together so she could focus on the work she still needed to do.

Kaba and Pucu had their heads together, probably planning what to do if Buck failed to dissuade the loggers. Matcha and Pedro sat chatting, but looked up at her as she approached them.

“Can we talk now?” Melinda asked.

Matcha smiled and gestured for Melinda to have a seat. Again, the conversation progressed through Pedro.

“I’ve talked to the people in the village, so I have an idea of what your people eat and drink. I’ve taken samples of food sources and water, and blood and DNA. What I’d like to ask you is, are there any medicines or elixirs or preparations you give everyone in the village? Since none of your people have ever suffered symptoms of dementia, the reason must be either genetics or a substance everyone ingests or is exposed to,” Melinda said.

Matcha nodded her understanding, and took a moment to consider. “I use many medicines. You are welcome to come back to my home and I can show you. There are two that I give everyone. One is to treat an illness everyone gets as a child. The other is to prevent disease from a biting bug. It is small,” she held her fingers about a half centimeter apart to demonstrate, “but it bites and makes people sick. Too many die. For many generations the healer for our people have handed down this remedy.”

Excitement beat in Melinda’s pulse. “What’s the remedy?”

“I make it from the…” Pedro paused in his translation. “She says secreción…it is secretion in English?”

“Yes,” Melinda said. “Secretion from what?”

“A salamandra. A little lizard that lives in water?”

“Salamander,” Melinda said.

“Ah. The word is almost the same in English,” Pedro said, smiling.

“It is. Where does she find the salamanders?” Melinda asked.

Pedro translated the question.

“They live high up in the trees where it’s húmedo…humid and wet…and come down once a year to mate,” Pedro said.

“Will you ask her when they come down?”

Matcha listened to Pedro, then shook her head and said, “Not for many months.”

Then Melinda would have to go climbing. She spent the next half hour clarifying specific types of trees and locations, and asking questions about the secretions and how Matcha synthesized them. The salamander seemed to be the most likely candidate of study. Matcha used the secretions to vaccinate against the bite of a specific insect, but the remedy had the added side effect of preventing dementia. At least, that was Melinda’s hope.

After her meeting with Matcha, Melinda and Pedro went back to the building in the center of the village. She found Buck, April, and Cody there. The evening came together in a warm community gathering full of food and laughter and chatter. Melinda didn’t understand most of it, and since Pedro left them to mingle with his family and friends, he didn’t sit with her to translate everything. It didn’t matter. She let it all wash over her and refill some of the emptiness that had been growing inside her, but having a new target for her research filled her with excitement more than anything.

Having Buck, April, and Cody at her side, laughing and enjoying themselves made it even better. She felt Buck’s tension, though. He looked like he was having a great time, and he may have been, but Melinda sensed his concern about having to deal with the loggers. She shared it. While she took pleasure in the celebration, a dark cloud hung over it.

That night as she snuggled up to Buck, a sense of urgency tugged at her. She could almost feel the loggers breathing down on them. Once again something stood in her way and threatened to hamper her research. Well, she wouldn’t let it happen this time. She was so close. She could feel it.

“Relax,” Buck said. “You’re wound pretty damn tight tonight.”

“I just don’t want to fail again.” The words came out more of a breath than even a whisper, but he heard her confession. Maybe not the best time to take Jayla’s advice to talk, but keeping it in felt like dancing around the enormous elephant in the room, or picking at unhealed wounds.

She held her breath waiting for what he’d said.

He listened and after a moment he said, “You’ll get there. I know you will.”

“I don’t know. I hope so. But I’m afraid to hope. What if I dedicate my entire career to this and never achieve it? What if Amaranthine is my only accomplishment? I’ll go down in some dusty military archive as a mad scientist who got brave soldiers killed.”

Tears slid down her cheek onto his chest. She hated that she felt like such a failure, but she also hated admitting it. It hurt her heart and her pride.

Buck reached down with his fingers and lifted her chin up so she was forced to look him in the face, even if it was hard to see in the dark.

“You’re a brilliant scientist, Mindy, and better yet you have a big heart. But you’ll never accomplish what you want to if you don’t keep trying.”

“What if I fail?”

“You try again. Everybody fails. But you’ll never succeed if you don’t keep trying.”

She sniffled and settled her cheek back onto his chest. “You’re too good to be real.”

“What?”

“You say the right things at the right time to make me feel better. You can’t be real.”

His quiet laugh jiggled his chest. “I’m not that good, but I’m real enough.”

They lay in silence for a while, failure still taunting Melinda’s thought. But Buck was right, she had to keep trying. And ultimately, no matter how many times she failed Melinda didn’t think she could stop trying. Even if her emotional health tanked, her intellectual drive wouldn’t let her quit.

“I’m sorry you got roped into talking to these people tomorrow,” she said, changing the subject.             

“I’m not really doing anything useful right now, anyway. These people need help saving their home, so it’s worth a try. I’d feel bad if I didn’t do anything.”

She draped an arm and leg over his body and leaned up to kiss him. “If anybody can hold back the destruction of the rain forest, it’s you.”

He snorted. “I’m glad you have such a high opinion of me, but don’t get your hopes up.”

“You’ll always be my hero,’ she said.

He made a self-satisfied sound that vibrated the space between them. “While I’m gone, you go climb the trees and find some salamanders. You’ve got people to save, too.”