Read Online The Hamlet Warning by Leonard Sanders - Free Book Online

Apparently the timing was perfect. When the butler, a big Indian peasant, showed him into the high-ceilinged study, Loomis caught a glimpse through a distant doorway of the entire family seated at the table.
    The house was in traditional Spanish style, with heavy wooden furniture, exposed beams, and thick paneling throughout. The somber tone of the dark wood was relieved by the bright weavings and tapestries.
    The De la Torres were an enigma to Loomis. He knew many details of their private lives. And none fitted.
    María Elena de la Torre Ibañez and her fifteen-year-old brother, Raul de la Torre Ibañez, were Manuel’s children by his first wife, who died of a ruptured appendix on a yacht cruise to the South Pacific. A year later, Manuel married one of his graduate students, Juana Velez Gutiérrez. Juana was not much older than María Elena. 
    Juana believed in miracles and experienced visions. Some said she was a mystic. Others said she was a religious nut. Juana and María Elena rarely spoke to each other.
    But María Elena was the most intriguing mystery. Trained in music, drama, and ballet from an early age, she became a film star overnight with a remake of Joan of Arc . After a brief, intensive career, she quit Hollywood following six films. She became a political activist, first traveling, making speeches, then dropping from sight to pursue academic degrees. She completed work for her master’s and Ph.D. Her dissertation, a firsthand study of revolutionary politics, was scheduled for publication by a university press. And now she had just as mysteriously returned home to live. No one knew why. She had long refused to talk to the press.
    De la Torre kept Loomis waiting less than two minutes. He was a smaller man than El Jefe, almost a head shorter. But in the prominent nose and deep-set eyes Loomis could see a strong family resemblance. He entered the study with his puzzlement evident in a slight frown. “Señor Loomis,” he said. “The name is familiar. But forgive me, I cannot put it into place.”
    Loomis didn’t waste words. He shifted into flowing, formal Spanish. “With your permission, Señor De la Torre, I have the honor to be chief of security to El Jefe. He has sent me with a cordial invitation for you and your family to visit him in the capital for an indefinite stay.”
    “Of course. The norteamericano ,” De la Torre said. “Have you dined?”
    “Thank you, yes.”
    “Perhaps you will join me in a brandy …”
    Loomis knew that De la Torre’s typical Latin cordiality was also a stall for time, while he sought to compose a reply El Jefe might not find offensive, yet one that would leave no doubt he meant what he said. Loomis declined the drink. 
    De la Torre took his time pouring his own.
    “Please convey to my brother my regrets,” he said. “As I have explained to him many times, we simply cannot leave Santiago. The children are in school. And I have my classes at the university …”
    “I hope there will be no unpleasantness,” Loomis said. “But El Jefe has instructed me not to accept your regrets. I’ve been told to put this in the strongest terms. He has valid reason to believe your life — and that of your family — is in danger. El Jefe feels that since the danger exists because of his position, he is responsible for your safety.”
    “I don’t wish to be rude,” De la Torre said. “But I have no intention of going to Santo Domingo. Please consider our conversation on this subject ended.”
    “You’re making my job difficult,” Loomis said. “You know your brother. You can appreciate the position I’m in. Please ask your family to be ready to leave for the capital within two hours. They may take only essentials. Your property here will be well guarded until you return.”
    “I’ll take this up with my brother,” De la Torre said. He crossed the room and tugged at a bell cord. The big Indian entered. “Please escort Señor Loomis to the door,” he said.
    The