“I’m sorry, Rio. They want that money and they’ll turn the forest inside out to get it. Whoever is offering the reward wants her badly.”

“She said they wanted her dead,” Rio admitted, “but nothing else. She didn’t say why and she obviously believes they’ll keep coming.”

“Anyone offering a million dollars is serious,” Drake concluded.

Kim shook his head. “Not dead, Rio. They are not to kill her. If she is harmed in any way, the reward will not be paid. I heard Tomas talking to his men. He repeated it several times. They are not to harm her.”

The wind blew steadily through the leaves, turning them from dark to silver as the rays of diffused sunlight burst through the canopy. Rio straightened from where he was leaning against the railing, paced restlessly the length of the verandah before returning to stand in front of Kim. “You’re certain of this?”

Kim nodded. “Tomas said she was not to be harmed or they wouldn’t get the money. He was adamant.”

“Rachael said they were trying to kill her. Could she be wrong? She said a cobra was put into her room right before they went upriver. And she left the States under false papers in order to disappear because someone wanted her dead.”

“Do you think she’s lying to you?” Drake asked.

Rio paced a second time, turning the idea over in his mind. Finally he shook his head. “I think she believes someone is trying to kill her. And she doesn’t panic easily, so it isn’t hysteria. If Rachael says someone wants her dead, I have to believe her. It’s possible we’re dealing with two separate factions. Someone is willing to pay a great deal of money to keep her alive. They’re making a big fuss openly, going to the government demanding they find her, and someone else. Someone much quieter who is working to keep her silent. That person is hiring assassins to make certain she doesn’t talk.”

“That’s a jump, Rio,” Drake said.

“I know it is, but it’s possible. I believe her when she says someone is trying to kill her. Why would a woman like Rachael try to disappear into the rain forest?”

“She’s close to the Han Vol Dan, Rio. You felt it just as strongly as I did. She’s very close. Maybe it draws our people back to the forest.”

“Maybe. I asked her if she heard those words before and she couldn’t remember. She said they weren’t unfamiliar, yet she had no real knowledge of them.”

“It complicates things,” Drake said. “It’s a dangerous time for everyone. I’m leaving here tonight. I don’t dare stay around when she’s so close.”

“Did you feel it, Kim? Tama?” Rio asked curiously. “You’ve been around our people many years. I practically grew up with you.”