In the Path of a Pandemic

PROLOGUE TICONAC, 05/05/2022: - It was a cold rainy spring night as the paramedics stood looking up at the man hanging from the high beam in the luxurious home office. There was a roaring fire in the fireplace that cast a reddish hue on the room and made for an uncomfortably hot room. There was a slight commotion at the door and the police walked in. They had been called in at the same time as the ambulance, but the paramedics got there first. The scene they met however made them stand around and wait for the police. It was obvious the subject was dead. He had been dead for a while. However, nothing could be ascertained until the police had investigated the area and brought down the subject. As of yet, no one knew who it was, but the police were questioning a group of servants by the door. The emergency call had been made by one who said he was the Major-domo of the Minister. Two police officers walked slowly around the subject and went back to the officer by the door and whispered something to him. He in turn went to the hallway and immediately put a call through to his boss. “Yes, Herr officer. It was confirmed. It is the minister, sir. Yes sir, it shall be followed to the letter.” He walked back into the office and indicated to the paramedics, they walked over to him. “Thank you for getting here so quickly. But the police will be handling it from here and the coroner will be here shortly to cut him down and take the corpse in for autopsy. They looked at him. “Then will you sign here, sir, indicating the scene and the fact that you have taken over from us.” “Sure,” he said and grabbed the papers from them to sign. As he walked to the large mahogany desk, he looked at one of the officers who then walked up to him. Under his breath he said, “loose ends have to be taken care of tonight.” The officer lowered his eyes, gave an invisible nod, and walked out of the room. The officer in charge signed the papers and handed them to the paramedics. They thanked him, collected their bags, and walked out of the room. As they drove out of the gates, the coroner’s van drove in, past them. Both paramedics looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders. The driver asked, “Klaus, do you really think that was the Minister?” “How can that be the Minister?” Klaus asked, “and how did he end up so high up there? Those beams are a good forty feet above the ground, he could not have climbed up on a chair. Someone must have gotten him up there. That could not have been the Minister.” “I think so too,” the driver Josef said. “Well, it’s in the hands of the police now. I cannot wait to get home to my wife and children. This weather is not my favorite. I’m simply happy this is our last call for the night”. They drove on in silence, the heavy pelting of rain drops on the van was the only sound heard for a while. Josef concentrated on driving in the heavy rain downhill. It could be a treacherous drive under such conditions, and he thought of his wife and children snug at home as he meandered along the winding lanes, deadly cliffs to one side that daredevils delighted to race around. He was happy he was not a daredevil, as he saw nothing thrilling about tempting fate. Coming around one such corner, he saw tail lights ahead and a scene that spoke “accident”. One of those daredevils might have decided to tempt fate in the pounding rain. He slowed the ambulance as they approached the scene and started looking for a place to park. A police officer walked up to the van, “it would appear that a car went over, and we are trying to see how we can pull it up. You can park over there,” he said, pointing to a spot. “We will appreciate your being around in case we need anyone transferred to the hospital immediately.” Josef parked the ambulance. They opened the doors and made to step out when two officers suddenly appeared on either side of the ambulance. “Stay back in,” one of them said, “we do not need too many people running around until we are sure of what is going on.” They both stepped back in and sat down, the engine running as mentally they psyched themselves up for the work ahead of them when the vehicle was pulled up. “I don’t feel good,” Josef said. “There’s something bothering me about all this, but I can’t really put my finger on it. I just want to go home to my wife and children”. “You worry about everything,” Klaus said. “Relax, we’ll soon be done, and you’ll be home with your family. Our vacation starts tomorrow. Two months of none of this, you will miss it so much. I will not even remember it as I will be spending my two months in the bosom of a blond triple D cup. Empty head, but easy on the eyes. And she can work magic with her tongue. Just thinking about her sets my loins afire. The perks of the single life”. They both laughed. “I definitely won’t miss it,” Josef said. “I’m taking the missus on a second honeymoon. Been saving up for two years. We never had one to speak of and I want to surprise her. The children are going to my mother’s. We leave in two days, and she does not know yet”. He smiled, deep in thought as he talked. Suddenly, they heard a crunching sound outside and felt the ambulance move. “What is happening?” Klaus yelled. His yell was the last thing they heard as the ambulance went over the ravine, hitting several boulders as it went down and burst into flames at the bottom. A police officer stood watching this from a way off, and as the ambulance burst into flames, he put a call through. “All loose ends tied up tonight,” he says. And hangs up.