The Cull

by Tony Park

  ‘You can show me your slides when you get back to Hippo Rock. Tell me, are you with James Paterson?’

  ‘He’s arriving at my location soon, flying in this afternoon from the Serengeti. Why?’

  ‘I checked out Shadrack’s movements before his death – the last place he worked was around Paterson’s house.’

  ‘Did you find tracks?’

  ‘Some, but I’ve got questions.’

  ‘Anything else?’ Hudson asked.

  ‘I checked with the crime scene investigation guys. An autopsy hasn’t been carried out, but preliminary testing showed Shadrack had no gunpowder residue on his hands from an AK-47 or any other weapon, yet he clearly hadn’t changed his clothes since he’d received the cut on his back when he was leaving the Sabi Sand Game Reserve.’

  ‘If he was in the reserve at all,’ Hudson said.

  ‘Yes. The wound that Tema Matsebula noticed could have been caused by something else; it could have just been a coincidence, but the AK-47 he was carrying in the car was no coincidence. I’ve got enough doubts now, however, so I’ve requested a full autopsy be done on Shadrack, toxicology, everything, before we release his body to Anna.’

  ‘That’s good that there’s no evidence he fired the AK.’

  ‘Yes, but we don’t know why he got into a vehicle with a known criminal.’

  ‘He was simple, Sannie, you know that.’

  ‘That simple?’

  ‘Who knows what line or substance the cousin fed him to get him to ride along with him? Tell me about the tracks you found at Paterson’s place.’

  ‘I found out from the staff here that Paterson had booked him for an outdoor clean on the morning of the day when the Leopards were ambushed. I checked the gate register and James was at his house at least part of the day when Shadrack was there. I went to his house and looked around. I found Shadrack’s distinctive boot prints down by the river, but not around the house where he would have been working, plus another set of prints that could be James’s. It’s been a while, but there had been rain, you remember, and a couple of areas still showed the tracks. It’s confusing. I want to talk to Paterson about it.’

  ‘Well, like I said, he’ll be here soon, but we’re kind of busy. We’ve got an operation going.’

  ‘You have?’

  He told her as much as he thought she needed to know. Peves was not a South African citizen so it was out of Sannie’s jurisdiction.

  ‘Do you think your target is a member of the Scorpions?’

  She was way ahead of him. ‘That’s what we’re trying to find out. Julianne is playing it cool.’

  ‘You should check your internet. Have a look at Escape magazine online; Rosie Appleton has a story running that she filed from Tanzania saying Julianne Clyde-Smith has declared war on the organised crime interests behind poaching.’

  ‘Hmm.’ Hudson thought about this news, and made a note to check the site when he’d finished speaking to Sannie. ‘That’s a big call.’

  ‘She’s either full of arrogance, supremely confident of winning this fight, or she’s sending a message to someone.’

  Hudson rubbed his chin. ‘Or all of the above. Julianne’s anti-poaching team has been racking up the body count here in East Africa.’

  ‘What’s your role in all this? And Sonja’s?’

  Hudson weighed up how much to tell Sannie. He knew from past experience with her – from the time she had investigated him during a murder case – that she was as straight as they came but was not, as they said in America, afraid to go off the reservation in pursuit of a case.

  He answered her question with another. ‘What if it turns out that Shadrack was in fact an innocent, just a simple guy who got duped into picking up an assault rifle and riding along with his criminal cousin?’

  Sannie paused on the other end of the call. ‘You know the answer to that. If that happens I have to open a murder docket, and your friend Sonja and the girl who worked for her will be the subjects of a new investigation. Shadrack was shot in the head and the chest by different weapons, a rifle and a pistol. They both hit him, Hudson.’

  ‘What do you want me to do about James Paterson? Do you want to talk to him by phone? I’m not sure when we’ll be back in South Africa.’

  ‘This is irregular.’ Again, she waited a few seconds. ‘I shouldn’t be getting you to help with a police investigation . . .’

  ‘But . . .’

  ‘But you’re on the ground in Tanzania and I’m here. Hudson, I don’t know if it means anything, but the prints near the river, on James Paterson’s plot in Hippo Rock, are a match for the boots that Shadrack was wearing, but there are other workman’s boot prints around the house. There have been no other labourers at the house since then – I checked. Can you ask Paterson if he was walking around his house in a set of workboots?’

  ‘Sure. I’ll try.’

  ‘Something doesn’t add up.’

  ‘I’m hearing you,’ he said. ‘Anything else?’

  ‘Is Julianne Clyde-Smith out of control with her anti-poaching team?’

  It was Hudson’s turn now to take a breath. Sannie was an intelligent woman. She’d looked at the string of gunfights involving Sonja and her people, and possibly the subsequent contacts when Mario had been in charge, and she had come up with the same theory as he and Sonja – or at least a similar one.

  ‘Hudson?’

  ‘I don’t know.’

  ‘Is that what you’re trying to find out?’

  ‘If she is, there would be a lot of people, even some of your colleagues in the police, who would say she’s doing a good job, doing what the law enforcement agencies and the military aren’t capable of.’

  ‘Yes. But that doesn’t make it right, does it?’

  ‘No.’ He waited on the line a little longer.

  ‘What else, Hudson?’

  ‘It might go further than just running a vigilante anti-poaching unit.’

  ‘How so?’ Sannie asked.

  ‘Sonja and I have looked at where the various gunfights with poachers happened and when.’

  ‘And, don’t tell me, they coincide with strategic expansions in Julianne Clyde-Smith’s portfolio of safari properties. I read online how she bought Lion Plains not long after the last attack. They said on the news site that the lodge was going bankrupt because of the number of poaching incidents they’d suffered, going right back to the death of Sonja’s partner, Sam Chapman.’

  ‘Yes,’ said Hudson, ‘and there have been similar links in Zimbabwe, where she’s acquiring a concession in Mana Pools National Park, and up here in Tanzania. They just had a shootout here near the Serengeti National Park. A gang of poachers was wiped out.’

  ‘All of them?’

  ‘Yes. They opened up on a helicopter, so Julianne’s team went in and winkled them out. No prisoners.’

  ‘Business interests?’

  ‘The gang had been responsible for a lot of elephant poaching in the area. Now they’re out of business and Julianne’s looking to set up a new lodge there. And there’s more: I spoke to a woman I know up here, Helen Mills, who leased a concession in the area where the poachers were killed. She was forced out of business by a run of poaching incidents, a robbery, and the downing of a helicopter on her land. She pretty much confirmed it was Julianne who paid her out and is about to take over the concession.’

  ‘Her people wiping out a poaching gang fits the tough line she took in Rosie Appleton’s story,’ Sannie said. ‘You should read the comments when you get a chance, on the Escape webpage and all over Facebook, Twitter . . . you name it. She’s a celebrity. But would she really risk her reputation by using anti-poaching operations to further her business interests?’

  Hudson thought about the question. ‘Trouble is, it would be very hard to prove. As a safari operator and landowner it’s in her i
nterests to fight poaching, on her own properties and on neighbouring properties. The word is she kept her teams out of Lion Plains until it was too late, until the poaching got so bad that people were scared to go there.’

  ‘Ja,’ Sannie said. ‘But that’s like what the Catholics call a sin of omission; it’s not what she did, it’s what she didn’t do, and she could just claim Lion Plains wasn’t pulling its weight in the anti-poaching effort.’

  ‘They weren’t,’ Hudson said. ‘And the records of the Sabi Sand Executive Council will show they were behind on their payments, and the news media will see that it was Julianne’s team that finally delivered a killer blow to the poachers running rampant on Lion Plains.’

  ‘After the Leopards were put out of business.’

  ‘Yes,’ Hudson said. ‘The Leopards were Lion Plains’s last roll of the dice.’

  ‘Bad timing for Lion Plains.’

  ‘Yep,’ Hudson said. Outside he heard a vehicle arriving, then doors closing. He got up from the bar and looked outside. ‘Our man Paterson’s just arrived. I’ll see what I can find out and get back to you.’

  ‘One thing,’ she said. ‘Be careful.’

  ‘Careful is my middle name.’

  Sannie laughed and ended the call.

  *

  Sonja saw the lodge’s transfer vehicle drive past the camping ground and caught a glimpse of James in the back seat.

  ‘Thanks, Godwin, you’re a star,’ she said to the mechanic, who climbed out from underneath the Land Rover.

  ‘Well, I’m sorry there’s not much I can do here, but I’ve checked everything. Your Panhard bushes and tie rod ends need replacing; that’s probably what’s giving you the steering wobble, but you’ll make it back to South Africa. You can go join your boyfriend in the bar now.’

  Sonja laughed. ‘I will. He thinks I’m worrying about nothing.’

  ‘Not nothing, but it pays to be safe.’

  Godwin dusted himself off.

  ‘I see your boss has got a lot of boats. Does he take many trips across to Mahale National Park?’

  Godwin nodded. ‘Yes, whenever there are tourists who want to see the chimps.’

  ‘Gee, if I lived across from such a wonderful place I’d be travelling over there myself all the time.’

  He started packing his toolbox. ‘Well, he does go by himself sometimes, or with friends.’

  ‘Friends? Pretty remote place out here, and he’s only just bought the lodge, hasn’t he?’

  ‘Well, I mean, Mr Peves has been visiting this area for a few years now. He used to stay at the other lodge, where I used to work.’ Godwin closed the toolbox and stood a little straighter. ‘He recruited me, offered me more money.’

  ‘Lucky you. Is he a good boss?’

  ‘Yes, very.’

  ‘Godwin, how long does Mr Peves stay in the park when he goes?’

  He looked around, as though checking if someone was listening. ‘One night.’

  ‘That seems quick to go looking for chimps. From what I read, people should go for one night, get up early, go trekking, spend the day, then a second night and come back.’

  Godwin shifted his weight from foot to foot, as if he was keen to get away. ‘I don’t know. I have never been.’

  He was unnerved. ‘Have you ever seen a chimpanzee?’

  Again the eyes darted. ‘Yes.’

  ‘But you said you’ve never been to Mahale National Park.’

  ‘No.’

  ‘Have you been to a zoo?’

  ‘I need to get back to the workshop,’ he said.

  Sonja smiled. ‘It’s all right, Godwin, I know Mr Peves sometimes brings chimps here, from Mahale.’

  ‘Oh.’

  ‘Yes. I’m sure it’s for a good reason.’

  Godwin nodded vigorously. ‘Yes, he says they are sick, that they need medicine, and he takes them to the animal doctors in Kigoma. The United Nations, where he once worked, takes care of orphan baby chimpanzees.’

  ‘I’m sure they do.’

  ‘Yes.’

  He touched the brim of his baseball cap. ‘I need to go. I am sure your vehicle will be fine.’

  ‘Yes, I’m sure it will be. One more question, sorry.’

  Godwin seemed reluctant, as if he had already said too much. ‘I must go.’

  ‘Sorry. I just wanted to know, does Mr Peves have any chimpanzees here at the moment?’

  ‘No, madam. I must go.’

  He strode away, and Sonja wondered if she had overstepped the mark. It didn’t matter, she told herself. If Godwin went to Nikola and told him what he had said, and Nikola was indeed a criminal, Godwin would be fired – or worse. But if Nikola was legit, then he had nothing to hide.

  As far as Sonja knew, there was nothing in the UN’s remit about looking after orphan baby chimps. In fact, she imagined it would be rare to find an orphan in the wild. She knew of chimpanzee rehabilitation places in Uganda, on an island, and in South Africa and Zambia, but they accommodated chimps that had once been pets, or were kept in zoos or sideshows. These chimps had either been bred in captivity or taken illegally. The word was that Nikola Pesev was in the business of sourcing chimps the latter way. There would be big money in this trade, perhaps enough to build a luxury lodge on the shores of Lake Tanganyika.

  Sonja walked from the campground to the lounge and bar area. When she entered, taking off her cap now that she was out of the sun, she saw Hudson and James standing at the bar.

  ‘Hi, honey,’ Hudson said, loud enough for the waiter setting a table for lunch to overhear, ‘meet John Price. He’s just flown in.’

  ‘Hello, I’m Ursula.’

  By the time Sonja had come over to them the waiter had disappeared and they were alone.

  ‘Hudson just told me about Mario,’ James said quietly. ‘What a cock-up.’

  Sonja bridled, internally. ‘Well, the fact is that Tema made the most of the situation and has ingratiated herself with Peves.’

  ‘Yes, so I hear,’ Paterson said. ‘At least she’s on the ball.’

  ‘Machado’s a liability,’ Hudson said.

  Paterson set down the welcome mocktail the waiter had given him. ‘He has his uses. You all do, which is why you’re all here.’

  ‘I managed to get a recording of Peves speaking in Russian. It’s on my phone,’ Sonja said.

  ‘Good work,’ James said. ‘I have a contact who is trustworthy; one of my sources in fact. He’s a professional hunter, a German who used to live in the east. He specialises in taking Russian clients on hunts, so he can translate it. Email me the file, please, and I’ll send it on to him.’

  ‘Will do,’ Sonja said. ‘I also just had an interesting chat to Peves’s head mechanic. Peves regularly brings baby chimps from Mahale to the mainland, supposedly to get them veterinary care.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘I know, amazing, right?’ she said to James.

  Hudson seemed incredulous. ‘He came right out and told you that?’

  ‘Yes. Either the mechanic is an idiot, which he didn’t seem to be, or Peves is doing something legitimate with chimps that he doesn’t bother to hide from his staff.’

  James rubbed his chin. ‘Do we just confront him with it?’

  ‘Not for now,’ Sonja said. ‘Let’s see what else Tema turns up. Peves wants to take her on a long boat ride. That will give us a chance to look around, to place some bugs, and she might turn up something herself.’

  ‘Will Tema be OK?’ Paterson asked.

  Sonja smiled. ‘When you see Mario you’ll have the answer to that question. She’s more scared by the prospect of another boat trip than of any man pawing her. I’ll get her to ask to go back to Mahale again, give him some line about how much she loves baby chimps and how she always wanted one as a pet.’

  ‘All right
,’ Paterson said. ‘I’ll set up my gear in my suite. Let’s convene later, around sundowner time. Sonja, as soon as you send me that recording I’ll get my guy onto it.’

  ‘Sure,’ she said.

  ‘What now?’ Hudson asked.

  ‘Let’s go back to the campground,’ Sonja said. ‘We’ve got an hour or two to kill.’

  *

  Sonja and Hudson walked back to the camping ground. Theirs was the only vehicle there. Hudson felt on edge, wired.

  ‘What do you want to do until drinks time?’ Hudson asked.

  ‘I need a shower. I’m filthy from crawling around under your Land Rover with the mechanic.’

  ‘Did he think it odd that I didn’t come see him?’

  Sonja shrugged. ‘Maybe, but I think it worked, getting him talking, more than it would have if you’d started asking him questions about orphan chimps. I told him my boyfriend is an ignoramus when it comes to vehicles.’

  ‘You’re not far wrong there.’

  Sonja took out her phone and selected her email program.

  ‘What are you doing?’ Hudson asked.

  ‘I’m emailing James the conversation I recorded of Peves talking in Russian.’

  ‘CC me, please,’ he said.

  ‘Sure.’ Sonja hit send. ‘Done.’

  ‘I need a shower as well,’ Hudson said.

  ‘Join me?’

  Hudson felt a jolt of excitement. They were on a mission, and if Peves was who they thought he was, the head of the Scorpions, it would be dangerous for them. The Scorpions were ruthless in their quest to dominate commercial poaching, and they weren’t afraid to kill, but right now all he could think about was Sonja’s body.

  ‘Bring your towel.’

  Hudson touched the brim of his cap. ‘Yes, ma’am.’

  Sonja led the way and Hudson admired the sway of her hips. He felt himself stir with anticipation. There was no one about, no attendant, no other visitors, but Sonja still checked the shower first, knocking, and the bathroom next door.

  She went in and Hudson followed her. Even before he had closed the door she was pulling off her T-shirt, her caution and modesty vanishing. She pressed herself against him, arms around his neck, and drew his face down to hers. They kissed and he breathed in the smell of her. It aroused him.