Love and Death Among the Cheetahs

by Rhys Bowen

  This produced another snort, from Pansy Ragg, I believe.

  “All the same, one has to follow the proper procedure,” Freddie said. “Bear with me. As Lady Idina mentioned I’m sure that breakfast will be ready soon. I suggest you have some more coffee while I call the doctor and then take a look at the body. It shouldn’t take too long.”

  As the guests began to disperse, Freddie touched Darcy’s arm. “Maybe you’ll come with me and give me all the details, old chap,” he said.

  “Georgie should come too,” Darcy said. “She’s very observant.”

  “Oh, but I wouldn’t want to put a woman through something as horrid as this,” Freddie said. “I mean—a partially eaten body. It’s not the sort of thing . . .”

  As they spoke I was debating whether I really did want to see that body again. But I was flattered that Darcy clearly wanted me to come along with them.

  “I’ve seen bodies before,” I said. “Don’t worry. I won’t faint or scream.”

  “Well, all right then, I suppose you know what you are doing.” Freddie shot Darcy a worried glance. “I’ll just call Singh and we’ll get going. The place where the road narrows? That’s where he should meet us?”

  “He won’t be able to go any farther because the motorcar is blocking the way,” Darcy said. He put an arm around my shoulder. “You do want to come, don’t you? I didn’t want to leave you behind, unless you’d rather?”

  I gave him my brightest smile. “Of course I want to come. Wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

  Chapter 21

  AUGUST 12

  ON THE ROAD IN THE WANJOHI VALLEY

  As I put my coat on I can’t stop thinking that I really do not want to see that body again, but pride won’t let me back out. Darcy wants me with him. That is a good feeling. Also I’m not too keen to be left with Idina and all of her odd guests. What a rum lot they are. I can’t believe that people act that way in England. Maybe it’s the rarified air out here that takes away their inhibitions. They have apparently been hopping in and out of bed with each other all night and this morning they are acting with the politeness and civility of almost strangers.

  * * *

  I WAS FEELING jolly hungry and the smell of bacon cooking wafted from the kitchen as we came out of the house. I hoped it might entice the men to linger but they were determined to be off immediately. All traces of mist had disappeared and a fierce sun shone down on those parts of the road that ran between cultivated fields. Darcy had volunteered to drive, which was a good idea as Diddy’s Riley was a much smoother ride than Freddie’s old jalopy. As we drove we told Freddie the details of what we had found. Darcy slowed the motor to a crawl as we approached the rocky part and stopped well before the road dipped between the boulders. Nobody spoke as we got out. I started to experience the sense of unease that had gripped me before: something I hadn’t felt with any of the other bodies I had stumbled across in my life. I found myself glancing around nervously as if something was watching and waiting to pounce on me.

  “Were there any animal prints beside the stream?” Freddie asked, walking ahead of us to where the rivulet crossed the road. The boulders, twice the height of a man, cast black shadows across the track.

  “There were none around the motorcar,” Darcy said. “We didn’t check the stream.”

  We looked now but it seemed that nothing larger than a bird had visited the banks recently. Certainly no large cat. Blue and yellow butterflies were flitting around the water and the scene was a charming one as the stream danced over rocks. It was hard to believe that something so awful lay nearby.

  “And no prints around the motorcar?” Freddie asked.

  “The only footprints belong to Lord Cheriton himself,” Darcy said. “Look. This is where he stood when he got out. And the other foot beside it.”

  “He got out and stood still.” Freddie bent to look at the two distinct footprints. “That’s odd, isn’t it?”

  “Unless he was desperate,” Darcy said. “He needed to relieve himself, couldn’t go on any longer, so he stood there, beside the car, and peed into the bushes.”

  “Possibly.” Freddie nodded. “But there is no sign of his being attacked by something.” He examined the ground, then peered into the motorcar. “And if he took care of things here, what would have made him go into the bushes?”

  “Beats me.” Darcy shook his head.

  “And where exactly is the body?” Freddie asked.

  “Through here.” Darcy indicated the spot. “Do you want to take a look at it before the doctor gets here?”

  “Not particularly,” Freddie replied. He was already looking a little pale around the gills. “I don’t think we should disturb it more than necessary.”

  It was rather comforting to realize that tough men like Freddie were equally squeamish when it came to dead bodies.

  “Well, take a look at this.” Darcy pointed to the scrap of fur caught on a thorn. “Does this look as if a lion passed this way?”

  Freddie examined it closely. “It certainly could be. But it doesn’t necessarily mean it was here last night. That fur could have caught on the thorn at any time. All the same, it is a little strange to find a lion here. This isn’t normally their kind of territory. They prefer the open country at the top of the valley where there is plenty of game. And they usually hunt as a pride. I suppose this could be a lone rogue male who has found that the domestic animals settlers keep can’t run away and are an easy meal. Have you heard of animals being taken?”

  “We haven’t been here long enough to hear much,” Darcy said. “And the subject of animals never came up last night.” He gave me a quick glance.

  “I’ve never been invited to one of Idina’s parties,” Freddie said. “Pretty wild, I gather?”

  “Let’s just say it would raise eyebrows in Belgravia,” Darcy said.

  Freddie grinned. “Quite an eye-opener for you, I’d imagine?” He turned back to me.

  I was tempted to pretend to be sophisticated and say that I was quite used to such things, but I’m not very good at lying. “I had no idea people behaved that way,” I replied.

  “Was it just alcohol or were drugs involved?” He was looking at Darcy again.

  “We didn’t actually go into the back room but I am pretty sure that cocaine was being offered there. They were all far gone by the time we went to bed.”

  “I’d love to know who supplies it,” Freddie said. “The customs chaps have been keeping their eyes open at the airstrips and at Mombasa where the ship comes in, but no luck so far. All I can tell you is that there seems to be a steady supply.” He turned to me. “I take it you didn’t join in the festivities?” And he chuckled.

  “If we did we wouldn’t tell you,” Darcy replied. “Georgie was game but I had to stop her.”

  “Darcy!” I glared at him as he burst out laughing. The sound of his laughter created rustlings in the bushes. Freddie stepped away warily.

  “Probably only the vultures still waiting,” Darcy said. “There were a lot of them when we first arrived and it was impossible to drive them away. We covered the body as well as we could. Let’s hope they haven’t been able to remove the rug.”

  He pushed a thorny branch aside and took a step into the bushes. “It’s all right,” he called back. “We did a good job weighting down that rug. They’ve only managed to uncover the legs.”

  I felt a shiver of nausea at the thought of vultures eating a leg, but quickly swallowed it back. All the same I wasn’t in a hurry to see the body again. Those vultures with their hunched shoulders and evil stares were the stuff of nightmares for me. The way they hopped only a few feet away and stood patiently waiting to return to their feast was one of the most unnerving things I had ever witnessed. I found myself wishing that Darcy and I had continued to stay on that houseboat on the Thames. At least there was nothing more alarming than a s
wan looking in the porthole there.

  “I hope Singh doesn’t find himself behind another damned oxcart,” Freddie said. “It is impossible to overtake them on most of the road.”

  “Is he a good doctor, do you know?” Darcy asked. “Indian, I presume.”

  “Yes. He’s a Sikh. Wears a turban, but a good chap. Trained at Barts in London.”

  They started to move away from the body, as if not wanting to stand too near it. Freddie leaned closer to Darcy. “You don’t think this can have anything to do with—” he muttered.

  “How can it?” Darcy replied, casting a wary glance in my direction in case I had overheard. “Who would know he was going to leave the party in the middle of the night? Unless one of them . . .” And he said no more, coming over to me, still standing beside Bwana’s car. He put an arm around my shoulders. “How are you holding up? Shouldn’t be long now.”

  * * *

  IT WAS PROBABLY another half hour before the doctor’s old car could be heard, long before we saw it. It sounded like a cross between a sewing machine and a lawn mower. When it came into sight it was an elderly Morris 10. The doctor was particularly tall and with his turban on could barely fit inside. He extricated himself and hurried up to us.

  “I received your message that it was most urgent, Mr. Blanchford. A dead body? An accident on the road? I keep telling the authorities that these roads are death traps. Only last week a car went over the edge while driving down to Gilgil. People drive too fast, of course. These big and powerful motorcars are too much for our little country lanes.”

  There was a pause while we were introduced and hands were shaken.

  “So you were the ones who found the body?” Singh asked us. “It must have been a terrible shock for you, especially for the young lady.”

  “The young lady is tougher than she looks,” Darcy said, giving me a wink.

  We now walked together until we reached Bwana’s motorcar.

  “We found this with the door open and the motor running,” Darcy said. “There was no sign of the driver. We called. Nobody answered. Then we heard a movement in the shrubbery there. I went to investigate. . . .”

  “That was foolhardly of you, if you don’t mind my saying so,” Dr. Singh said. “Anything could be lurking in those bushes. Even a simple antelope can do damage if it charges at you.” He wagged a finger, and his head, as he spoke. “But please continue. I should not be interrupting. I am told by my wife that I talk too much.” He gave a little grin.

  “There were vultures all around a body. I could see it had been partially eaten by a large animal. I couldn’t say immediately who it was but we recognized him by his longish hair and the way it curled at the back of his neck.”

  “Then who was it?”

  “Lord Cheriton. The one they call Bwana.”

  “Bwana Hartley? That is surprising to me. Of all the people around here I would say he was the one who knew the dangers of the country best. Was he set upon as he was driving slowly between these rocks?”

  “It doesn’t appear that way,” Darcy said. “There was no sign of anything being disturbed in the motorcar. See, his things are still folded on the rear seat.”

  “Very well.” Dr. Singh sighed. “It is not for me to play the detective. Show me the body please.”

  “Through here.” Darcy held aside a particularly thorny strand.

  Dr. Singh followed him. I hung back this time. Vultures flapped up into the air. Some retreated to the top of the boulder and peered down in a most spooky way. I decided to follow rather than be alone on the road with the vultures regarding me with interest.

  “Ah yes,” I heard Dr. Singh say. “Clearly he has been attacked by some large beast. It has taken large chunks out of him, poor man. At least that makes it easy to sign the death certificate with the cause of death as misadventure.”

  “But there is no sign of his having been dragged through the bushes,” Darcy said. “I can’t think why he would have gone so far off the trail in the middle of the night.”

  “Maybe he caught sight of a lion and knew it to be a marauder and decided to shoot it. He took a shot, thought he had killed it, but it was alive and attacked him instead.”

  “There are two things against that,” Darcy said. “First, I can see no sign of a gun, and second, there is no kind of blood trail to indicate he wounded something.”

  “I see you are knowledgeable in the ways of the hunter, sir. I understood you to be a visitor to our great colony.”

  “I have hunted stag at home. The principle is the same,” Darcy said.

  “It is, however, possible that he fell forward and the gun is beneath him.” Dr. Singh wagged a finger again, as if he had scored a point. “With your help we shall turn him over gently.”

  I looked away now. Frankly I didn’t want to see what his front looked like. I remembered Bwana talking about those ants and how they could devour an antelope. There was a chittering noise in the big eucalyptus tree behind the rocks and a group of black and white monkeys bounded through the branches. I watched them until I heard Darcy say, “Ha. Look at this. That was never made by an animal.”

  Freddie whistled. “Good God, O’Mara, you’re right. Your hunch was spot-on. It wasn’t an animal that killed him, it was a human.”

  I couldn’t resist taking a look for myself now. I peered through the bushes. Bwana was now lying on his back. His face had been horribly disfigured, and the front of his white shirt was covered in blood. But Darcy had opened his shirt and I could see what he was pointing to. A neat stab wound right around his heart.

  Chapter 22

  AUGUST 12

  AT VARIOUS SITES IN THE NOT-SO-HAPPY VALLEY

  Okay, I’m going to say it. Golly! Somebody in this valley killed Lord Cheriton. I’m not saying I blame them completely. A man who behaved like him must make enemies. There must be a lot of husbands in Kenya who are not too happy with his going after their wives. The trouble is, they were all at Idina’s house last night, weren’t they?

  And I thought this was going to be a wonderful, peaceful honeymoon in the middle of nature! Sigh.

  “This is no longer a job for me, Mr. Blanchford,” Dr. Singh said. “We need to summon the police immediately. The criminal investigation department from Nairobi. It is up to them to ascertain how this man died.”

  “Surely the stab wound killed him?” Freddie said. His voice was definitely shaky. Mine would be too if I was looking at a mutilated body on my territory.

  “It certainly seems that way,” Dr. Singh agreed. “Somebody killed him then left him here, hoping that animals would eat enough of the body that we would assume he had been attacked by a wild beast.”

  “Is it possible he was killed somewhere else and dumped here?” Freddie asked, looking up at Darcy.

  “I don’t think so.” Darcy also looked paler than usual. “Certainly not in that motorcar or there would be traces of blood. And the way the ground beneath him is blood soaked indicates to me that he fell and continued to bleed here.”

  “The killer was unlucky, wasn’t he?” I said. They looked up, as if they had forgotten I was with them. “Normally if you stab someone you’d expect them to fall backward,” I said. “And if that had happened the animals and vultures would have eaten away the evidence of the stab wound.”

  “By George, she is right!” Dr. Singh slapped a fist into his hand. “Spot-on, young lady. That’s exactly what the killer thought would happen. That indicates he did not stay around long enough to see his victim fall and die. And you say nothing was taken from the motorcar? Then not a holdup for a robbery?”

  “Nothing seems to have been touched in the motorcar,” Darcy said. “Of course, we haven’t been through his pockets to see if money was taken.”

  “That will be up to the police now,” Dr. Singh said. “We must not loiter here any longer. Do you know who might h
ave the closest telephone?”

  “We were told that Major and Mrs. Eggerton live not far from here,” I said.

  “Tusker? But surely they were at the party, weren’t they? They seem like partying types,” Freddie said.

  “They were, but they left early. Babe was in a huff, apparently,” I said. “Because Bwana was ignoring her and chose—” I couldn’t go on and say the words “chose to go to bed with Idina instead of her.” My upbringing forbade such utterances.

  “So they are home right now?” Dr. Singh said. “Then I suggest you drive to their estate immediately, alert them to what has happened and ask that they will kindly spare some of their boys to help keep a guard on the body until an inspector can get here.”

  “How far are we from Nairobi?” I asked.

  “At least two hours, if the road is okay.” Freddie looked at the doctor for confirmation. “And I think I will need to get back to Idina’s to make sure nobody leaves before the police have a chance to question them.”

  “I feel that I should stay with the body.” Dr. Singh did not look too happy about the prospect. “We cannot risk the evidence of the stab wound being destroyed by more animal bites.”

  Darcy was still staring down. “That was a pretty big knife,” he said. “Two inches at least, wouldn’t you say? Who might carry a knife like that?”

  “The natives all have pangas at least as wide as that,” Freddie said, “but I think it would be hard to stab someone with a panga. The way the blade is fashioned. You slash, you don’t do precise stabbing.”

  “No, this has been neatly done,” Darcy agreed. “Whoever did it knew how to go in between the ribs. Instantaneous death if you know what you’re doing—right into the heart.”

  “Don’t,” I said. This was suddenly becoming too much for me. But of course I wasn’t going to admit it. “We shouldn’t stand around talking any longer if you need to telephone for a policeman to come from Nairobi. Our speculating doesn’t help. The police will do their own detective work.”