The

    Colombian

    Exchange

    A political thriller by 

   Peter Edington

"Cody interrupts her, "What is the Colombian Exchange?"    "You know," says Tanya, "the cultural interchanges of Post Colombian colonisation - the interaction between the Old World and the New."  Cody laughs. "You call that an exchange?" 

The Place:

Nicaragua, November 1974.

The Prisoner:

Desperate - a hostage incarcerated on the Moskito Coast of Nicaragua -  marine archaeologist Tanya Mitchell is carrying the child of the man she believes she killed.  She doesn't realise that her incarceration was triggered by her discovery of the missing treasure ship the Santa Margarita, or that the man she thinks of as her mentor is effectively her jailer.

The Priest:

Working in a Catholic mission in Managua while he awaits ordination, Bob Cody feels certain of his faith, but unsure of his Church's commitment to his work. When he's asked to go and see a prisoner in the remote village of San Blas, he finds he has to make a choice:  Tanya Mitchell or the Church.

The Colombian:

Dr. Paul Robertson-Nash, whose English veneer belies a childhood spent in Colombia. 

The Conspiracy: When Tanya Mitchell discovered the whereabouts of the Santa Margarita in the course of doing some research for him, Paul Robertson-Nash seized the opportunity.  Here was his chance to have the fabulous jade of the Mayans, as well as the unanimous acclaim of his peers in the world of marine archaeology, and the lovely Tanya for good measure.

And he knew how to get them.  His old friend Juan Lopez was desperately seeking cash to fuel the revolution against the American-imposed dictatorship of Anastasio Somoza in Nicaragua, and so they cut a deal:  In exchange for guaranteeing safe access to the ship, Lopez would get half the treasure.

But then things got in the way.  First Tanya fell in love with another man - the expedition diver, Jimmy Haynes.  Then Lopez insisted on taking charge of Tanya. Unable to let her go free till after his coup, he had her secured on the tropical Moskito Coast.  And this is where Bob Cody finds her eight months later. 

As he unravels the conspiracy about the Santa Margarita's treasure, Cody fears for Tanya's life. And now he is in danger, too, since they both know too much.  He manages to engineer their escape, but life on the run in the jungles of the Moskito Coast, with a heavily pregnant woman, is hardly less dangerous - especially once the ruthless Paul Robertson-Nash joins in the manhunt.

© 2004 Peter Edington

The Colombian Exchange is a work of fiction. No identification should be made between any of its characters and any real person, living or dead.