Tom sat on a small hill. He had a good view of the beach and the ocean. He was thinking about the report he would write. Tom was on assignment from the State Department. He was working as an independent investigator under contract. In the past he had been to a war zone, an isolated village, a crowded Eastern city and other places but he had never been sent to a tropical island paradise in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. His job was to assess the safety of the region for American tourists.
Whenever the State Department became concerned about possible risks for travelers there would be an investigation and a bulletin would be issued. Any traveler could access the information before making plans for a business or vacation trip.
There have been reports of young women being molested while sleeping on the beach. Tom was assigned to look into it.
He had followed a routine established during his many previous jobs. He first read the dossier which was assembled by the government. It contained copies of all the information the department had collected. There were police reports and interviews of alleged victims. There were newspaper clippings and bits of information that had been forwarded from government employees stationed on the island.
The complaints were all similar. The young woman would fall asleep on the beach. When she woke her clothing had been removed. The clothes were cut off and left lying on the beach under her. She did not remember seeing or hearing anyone. There were no signs of trauma. None of her belongings had been stolen.
While reading the verbal accounts of the victims Tom sensed no fear or even concern. It seems that the women were not particularly bothered by what happened. Usually it was a boyfriend or husband or parent who brought the victim to the authorities.
The next step in the investigation was to find out as much as possible about the location. Tom discovered that this was a big island. It was renowned for its beaches. It was just starting to be developed as a vacation destination.
In the interior dormant volcanoes were covered with tropical forests. Polynesians had settled in the mountains many generations ago. The natives were generally friendly. They lived in small clans. Their religious beliefs had not been studied by scholars from the Western world but there was one myth that seemed to intrigue everyone who knew the island.
The natives worshiped a kind of giant insect. It was said that this bug required intercourse with a woman. The ancient legend described an agreement between these insects and the native ancestors. The insects would promote tranquility and harmony between humans in exchange for sex. The legend also predicted that if the humans left the island the insects would die.
This legend was so powerful that women of all ages, wives and daughters, were sent to sleep on the beach to service the insects. It was considered the duty of all men and women on the island to sustain their benefactors.
Tom had pondered this story. He tried to think how such a legend could arise. It was common for people crowded together to be jealous and fight. He could see how this myth could help maintain peace. If a girl had a boyfriend she could go out at night saying that she needed to do her part for the community. A wife could take a lover without suspicion. A young man with no wife or lover would have opportunities. Maybe this was one of those free-love native populations who explained their way of life through this story.
The last step in his investigation involved traveling to the locality and making a personal assessment. On some of his previous assignments there was quite a bit of danger. Tom thought he was going to enjoy this trip. He wondered why he was given this particular job. Maybe someone in the department owed him a favor. Or maybe he was picked because he was a professional and would take the job seriously.
Tom spent time in the local bars and tourist areas. He tried to get a sense if there were locals or foreigners who were trying to get the attention of young women. Maybe they would find a woman and get her drunk or give her drugs and then take her to a remote location to abuse her. They could threaten to blackmail her if she complained. They could tell her the story of the myth and make her use that for a cover story if a husband or family member questioned her. This scene would make the island dangerous. He could visualize a woman becoming anxious leading to her disappearance.