Reading Entrails
Chapter 1
The bloody entrails of a chicken adorned the tiny, front porch of Jean-Claude’s modest home in Port-au-Prince. He knew the meaning as similar things had happened to his embassy coworkers over the past few weeks. It was a death hex, an evil curse and a clear warning that if he didn’t obey the message, he and his family would suffer the consequences. And those would mean agonizing pain or death to his loved ones. Of that outcome, he had no doubt. The gruesome calling card at his doorstep was unambiguous.
He was a devout Catholic and wasn’t a particularly superstitious person, but the message had more meaning beyond simple juju. It was an unveiled threat and one he took seriously, knowing what had already happened to those who didn’t heed the message. And the happenings likely resulted in a brutal death of the employee, his wife or a close relative. But it wouldn’t be so for Jean-Claude. He liked the Americans and valued his job with the embassy as a General Services clerk with over 20 years service. As a U.S. government employee, he’d be eligible for Social Security payments soon and didn’t want to lose the benefit.
However, he was torn between his loyalty to his employer and his pension as well as the safety of his family. So, he chose to obey the message and stayed home from work. He decided to call in sick and see if his boss would accept his excuse for absence. Well, perhaps so, because others had caught the insidious virus making the rounds of the embassy staff. It was becoming an epidemic with work piling up and fewer Foreign National employees to handle the load. The backbone of the embassy workforce was rapidly growing atrophied. And no one was able to stop the terror campaign wreaking havoc on the U.S. embassy in Haiti.