The Infinity Tattoo by Eliza McCullen Page A

said. “So it’s time we started talking to each other, don’t you think?”
    “Yes, I suppose it is.”
    “You go first,” Meg said.
    “Okay. I was stationed at Soto Cano for about three months,” Jack began. “After Jack disappeared, the opportunity came up and I thought it wouldn’t hurt to try going there. Maybe I could find out something. Of course when I got there I realized what an unrealistic expectation that was. I mean, where would I even start?”
    “Then one day when I was hanging out at the pool on the base with some buddies, one of them noticed my tattoo. He was Honduran. He asked me about it and I told him it was from my college days. I explained about the pact that the four of us had made. You know, Alex, Sean, Peter, and me.”
    Meg knew the names. Alex had spoken often of them.
    “Later on, another soldier came to my barracks and told me that he’d heard rumors of a foreign journalist with a tattoo who’d disappeared. He said this journalist was beaten to death and dumped on the side of the road.”
    “So I contacted the embassy to tell them what I’d found out, and they told me to tell it to the regional security office and so that’s what I did. I sent them a letter. I never heard back from them and there was no mention of finding Alex in the news. I thought I’d give them another week and then I would call again.”
    “Meanwhile, we were sent down to San Pedro Sula on a disaster preparedness mission. You know, so that if they have another hurricane like Mitch or an earthquake, they would be better prepared. My job was to look over some of buildings that might serve as shelters to see if they were structurally sound enough. You know what I mean?”
    Meg nodded.
    “Okay, so we were down in San Pedro. Me and Mike and these two Honduran soldiers. Well, the soldiers wanted to go out for a beer, but Mike said he was tired, so I said I would go with them. We went to one of those cafés on the beach. We selected a table that was outside on the veranda.
    “One of the guys went to the bar to order some beers and the other one said he had to use the john. So that left me alone at the table. All of a sudden, a motorcycle drove by with two guys on it. I saw the barrel of a gun and dove under the table just as it came by. I took a bullet in my leg. ”
    “My buddies came back and got me to a hospital to get the bullet removed and my leg stitched up. The whole time I was there, I kept thinking there was something funny about these guys, my so-called buddies. They seemed nervous. I mean anyone would feel nervous about a drive-by shooting, but these guys kept looking at each other, like there was something they didn’t want to talk about in front of me. I thought I’d ask them about it later, when we were back at base. But the very next day, they were both transferred.”
    “Didn’t you think that was a bit strange?”
    “Hell yes. So I started making noise about it to anybody and everybody, American, Honduran, you name it. Next thing I know, I’m on a plane to Luke Air Force Base. So I thought, okay, I’ve learned my lesson. If I’m going to try to find anything out, I need to do it more carefully. So I kept in touch with some of my buddies at Soto Cano and kept up with the news on Honduras, but I was beginning to give up. I figured I had done what I could for Alex. And then, you know what happened after that. So I left Phoenix and found my way to your place.”
    “How did you know where to go?”
    “I didn’t. I just took whatever ride I could find. And then, when I got close to Sedona, I remembered Alex telling me about you. I knew your last name and that you were from Sedona. I found the listing for Goodwin Landscaping online. I didn’t know if it was your business or someone in your family. It didn’t matter. It gave me a destination. I figured if you weren’t there, I’d think of something else.”
    Meg was quiet a minute. Then she said, “What else, Jack? What else aren’t you