by Leon Mare
‘I want you to make love to me. Now.’
He opened his mouth, but she laid a finger on his lips. ‘Don’t talk, please.’
He just stood motionless, holding her, till she took his hand and led him into the house.
In the bedroom she turned her back to him and started getting undressed.
He was standing in the middle of the room, his hands at his side. ‘Listen, Estelle, I think we . . .’
‘Don’t talk. Please.’
In the dim light shining in from the passage he had caught a glimpse of her lithe marble body, and he was instantly aroused out of all proportion. He got undressed, and slid under the covers next to her. As his huge erection touched her hip, she froze for a moment. She reached down a tiny tentative hand and encircled him, her breath coming in shallow gasps. ‘Oh God, please be gentle,’ she moaned, ‘I am not so good at this.’
Penetrating her was an obstacle that he surmounted with great care and patience, only to lose control completely once he was fully inside her. With a great roaring in his ears and whispered words of love he exploded deep inside her.
He was surprised to find that he remained rock hard inside her, and once he had himself under control once more, he started making love to her in slow, gentle strokes, manipulating her beautiful body as would a musician his favourite instrument. It lasted for a long, long time, and they climaxed together under his expert guidance, losing themselves totally in their love for each other.
At some stage Sam had thrown the covers off the bed, and their intertwined bodies were cooled by an ever so slight breeze, wafting through the open window along with the far off cry of a jackal.
‘Do you really love me?’ she murmured against his throat.
He held her even tighter. ‘With everything I have, and for always.’
‘More than Linda?’
He stiffened. Oh shit, he thought. Rolling over, he got a cigarette from the nightstand, and at the same time switched on the bedside lamp. She swiftly tried to cover herself, but he removed her hands and told her to relax. He leaned on his elbow, and looked in her eyes. ‘Let us talk about Linda. Let us talk about her for the first and last time. I refuse to let the memory cloud our marriage, so let us get the air cleared once and for all. She was beautiful, and I was infatuated with her. I never really loved her, not the way I love you. The closest it ever really got was once when I was becoming convinced that I had lost you forever. I needed someone to hang on to, someone to keep me from losing my sanity. I never stopped loving you. I think you know that.’
Estelle’s eyes were swimming in tears. ‘The thought of her still scares me. She was so polished, such a woman of the world. I have never made love with anyone, how could I compete with her?’
‘It is not a competition, my love. It never was. Please believe me when I tell you that nobody could ever take your place in my life, ever.’
She burrowed her wet face into his neck. ‘I needed you to say that. Thank you. I love you.’
She was at peace at last, and fell into a deep sleep, while Sam’s thoughts wandered off to a dark man with an axe to grind.
Chapter Fourteen
She brought him coffee and a good morning kiss during the Monday morning radio session, and he gestured her into the chair at his desk. She regarded her surroundings contentedly. The office was his domain, and she would leave it exactly like it was, after the wedding. All the horns, skins and other trophies adorning practically every wall in the house would have to be moved in here to join the rest. Looking at the already crowded walls of the office, she doubted if there was going to be enough room, but that was just too bad.
While Sam was engrossed in the reports coming in from all over the National Parks, she was renovating the house in her mind. All the karosses, or skin rugs, will have to go too. Every bedspread in the house was a kaross. She appreciated the fact that some of the skins were rare, and all were very meticulously prepared and painstakingly sewn together, but she was definitely not going to have the skin of some hairy, long dead animal covering her nuptial bed. There were some excellent paintings in the house, but most of them would also have to be replaced. She loved the veld and the animals, but some paintings of other subjects would lend a more homely atmosphere to the place. Basically the whole of Sam’s decor emanated a sense of bachelorhood. The net effect of this, combined with his job and environment, created an interior resembling that of a museum of natural history.
She regarded the man she loved so fondly. He was talking into the microphone animatedly about the infestation of peregrine flora along some waterways, while trying to light his pipe at the same time. She couldn't resist the urge to go and stand behind his chair and put her arms around his neck from behind. She hugged him, kissing him on the cheek lightly. He put down his pipe and pulled her head tight against the side of his face. She remained like that for the rest of the session.
He switched the radio to standby, and turned his swivel chair around, pulling her onto his lap. ‘Morning, beautiful. You’re up early.’
' Have to see to my duties, one of which is providing early morning coffee for my hard-working man.'
‘Ah, I can see matrimony has got some advantages after all.'
' Definitely.' She got up and took his hand.' Come and join me in the kitchen, and I will rustle us up a little something in the line of breakfast. I’m famished. So, what are we going to do today?'
Sam knew he was going to have a hard time going anywhere without her tagging along, but what the hell, he still had two days to go.
'I think we ought to make a grocery expedition to Satara. While you’re here, you’re going to have to pay your way by providing me with a decent cooked meal at least twice a day. Can you cook?'
She aimed a backhand at him, and he ducked, laughing.
When they returned in the early afternoon, there was a light blue Nissan Skyline parked in front of the gate. The two male occupants were leaning against the car, looking miffed, while Job was giving them a stony stare through the wire. It was very obvious that the parties concerned had reached a stalemate about the closed gate. Judging by the loosened ties and sweat stains on the shirts of the two gents, the argument in the sun had been going on for quite some time.
They approached the truck the moment Sam stopped. ' Good afternoon, Mr Jenkins. I am Steve Strydom and this is Hannes Botha. We would like to have a word with you in private, please’.
' Hell, but you guys sound serious. This is my fiancé, Estelle Fisher. We can talk in front of her.'
' Mr Jenkins, being a recce, I presume it wouldn't be necessary for us to explain the official secrets act to you. Shall we go in?'
' Can I see some identification?'
Strydom produced a card identifying him as an agent from the Department of State Security.
Shit, Sam thought, this can spell trouble.' Park your car inside, we can talk in my office. What will it be, tea, coffee or a cold beer? You gents look as if you could use something cool'.
'A beer, please, the colder the better.'
Estelle busied herself with sorting out the purchasers in the kitchen while the men retired to the office with a cold Castle each.
' Well, gentlemen,' Sam gestured with his beer,' let's talk.'
' Mr. Jenkins, what can you tell us about Duncan Courie?’
' He was very much in the news a while ago. Went missing without a trace. Lawyer, lucrative practice in Nelspruit. It is general knowledge that he had left-wing sympathies, and I suspect he was a bloody Communist, too. I had an affair with his erstwhile partner, who got killed in a landmine explosion at the gate out there'. He was silent for a while, thinking about the torn and burnt body that he had loved so well. 'I have only met him personally once, at his partner's house. We didn't take to each other well.'
' You sure you can't tell us anything about his present whereabouts?'
' How on earth would I know where the man has ducked to? I'm afraid I can't help you there.'
' Then how do you explai
n this, Mr Jenkins?' Strydom passed a piece of folded paper across the desk. Sam could not believe his eyes. It was a copy of his message to Joao.
' Where the hell did you get this?'
' Never mind where we got it, Mr Jenkins. The fact is, it is a message you had passed on to a man who is a suspect in a well organised arms smuggling network, luring him into the country. He is also wanted on several charges of murder. We'll get back to him in a minute. First, we would like to know where you got the information about their rendezvous.'
' Oh, if you keep your ear to the ground, you pick up bits here and you pick up bits there, you know how it is with these things.'
Strydom regarded him sceptically.' Come now, Mr Jenkins, you can do better than that. Try again.'
' Well, all right. Did you know Courie’s partner?’
' We were on the verge of pulling both of them in for questioning when things started happening. We found it unlikely that she could be so close to him without being involved.'
' I can assure you that she wasn't involved in anything. In fact, she only found out about his ivory smuggling and possible mob connections fairly recently. She never said anything about him smuggling arms, which, if I interpret the papers correctly, is also one of his enterprises. She would definitely have told me if she had any suspicions.'
'If she had told you everything, why didn't you come to us or the police with information? We could have nailed the bastard and cleared her at the same time.'
'I intended doing that, but I only received the information after she had been killed. And just after that Courie had disappeared. The information was contained in a letter I received from her lawyer.' He was hoping that they would miss the time discrepancy between Finkelstein’s visit and Courie’s disappearance. Otherwise, he would claim confusion, with so many things happening at the same time.
'Can we see that letter, please?'
Sam was hoping they didn't have a search warrant. 'Unfortunately not. I destroyed it'.
'Convenient. Unfortunately, we have no choice but to accept that at face value. For the time being. We have made our own deductions about what might have happened to Courie, based on the information gleaned from your note to Joao. We had no way of proving that you did or did not, in fact, get your information from Miss Crawford, and decided to get at Joao on your own. Be that as it may, let's get back to Joao. He will be coming through the day after tomorrow. Where are you meeting him?'
'As the note says, at a certain big tree in the veld, which both he and Courie knew.'
'How is it that you also know about the whereabouts of this tree?'
'The probable proximity was mentioned in Miss Crawford's letter, and we went searching till we found signs of human pollution'.
'Human pollution?'
'Cigarette ends, tracks and so on.'
‘I see. Very handy, this letter that is no more. Pity we couldn't get our hands on it. Sounds like we could have wiped out the entire network with all the information. Now, when Joao comes through, we want to be there. We want this man badly.'
'No way. This man's bushcraft is too good. You won't stand a chance. He will spot you miles away, and I can guarantee you you'll never see him again. If and when he comes through, only I will be there. I won't even take my bush wise rangers along, for fear of being spotted too early. This man can disappear into the bush like a ground mist before the sun.'
Strydom chewed on this for a while.' You may have a point there. That is the main reason why we discarded the idea of simply tailing you till you made contact. If the meeting was to have taken place in civilisation it would have been a lot easier.'
Sam decided not to comment on this statement and antagonise the arrogant bastards. As far as he was concerned, his environment was a hell of a lot more civilised than any city.
'I'll tell you what,' Strydom said.' You can go in alone provided you take some of our equipment along. We will wait some distance away.'
'As far as equipment is concerned, I have got everything I am going to need, thanks.'
'We have got a trunk full of stuff. Stun grenades, bullet-proof jackets, the works.'
'You can keep that trunk closed. I am not going to war, I am going to catch one man.'
'The one thing we insist on, is a radio transmitter. We want to know what is happening at all times.'
'No way,' Sam countered again.' This man is good. I don't need any handicaps.'
'It is a button transmitter, you won't even know about it.'
'In that case, I'll take it. That settles it then. Anything else?'
'No, that will be all. Thanks for your time. I only wish you could have helped us with Courie. Oh, and by the way, Gizela sends you her best wishes.'
‘Gizela?’
'One of our better agents in Swaziland. She thinks the world of you.'
Sam was stunned.' Shit, you sure pick them, don't you. So that was where you got the note.'
'Exactly.'
'Well, gentlemen, what are you going to do till Wednesday?'
'I reckon we will stay in Satara, if accommodation is available, and do some game viewing while we’re here. Doesn't seem to be much else going on.'
'With the school holidays, there won't be room for a mouse in Satara rest camp. Look, I have a spare bedroom. Why don't you move in there for the time being. But by tomorrow night I want you well away from here. Nwanetzi must look as normal as possible.'
'As a matter of fact, I was hoping for something like that. Thanks a lot, and sorry for the grilling, but it had to be done. Off the record, I would like you to tell me more about Courie one day.'
'I have told you everything I can,' he replied, his face deadpan.
Joao crossed the border early that same Monday, with enough provisions to last him three days, if he cut it fine. The fact that Courie had exposed himself to the woman in Swaziland, but had been too careful, or scared, to expose himself to Joao, was something that bothered him. The longer he thought about it, the more suspicious he became. She had claimed that he had given her the letter personally, but had failed to divulge where she was supposed to have seen Courie. If only he could have gotten his hands on her again…
He had decided to go in three days early, and check things out properly, to make sure he was not walking into a trap. If this was a trap, the base of operations could be nowhere else but at Jenkins's house.
Joao headed straight for the low ridge, about a kilometre from the house. It was the same ridge they had used on that fateful day of the confrontation. He took his time and made sure that he wasn't leaving any tracks for someone to come across in the next couple of days. Just before he reached the summit he put down his kit, and crawled forward on his stomach. He kept his hands cupped around the front lenses of the binoculars as he scanned the yard and the compound. Everything appeared normal, and the Toyota was missing. He crawled back, and stashed his things behind a rock, halfway down the hill. This was going to be his rudimentary camp for the next three days. The prospect of cold food and hardship did not bother him in the least. He only be deplored the fact that there was absolutely nothing growing on the barren summit of the rocky ridge. The sun was going to cook him alive during the next couple of days, but this he also accepted as part of life, as he resumed his vigil.
The arrival of the two suited men in the Nissan added to his unease and, when they emerged later and started carrying suitcases into the house, he was fairly certain that there was something fishy going on. Only the possibility of Courie's message being genuine prevented him from getting out there and then. And, of course, there was also the matter of the money. And Jenkins. He decided to keep an eye on things till Wednesday, and then decide whether he will go to the tree or not.
Later in the afternoon Sam received a radio message from Satara that a tourist had reported an elephant with a wire noose around its trunk on the Nwanetzi road. He took Estelle and Aaron in the truck, and went looking, but they found nothing. On their way back they did some game viewing with the sp
otlight, and Estelle was delighted when they came across a lioness with some very young cubs. Sam had quite a time convincing her that the cuddly little things did not make very good pets.
The next morning also failed to produce any sign of the elephant, and they returned home by mid-morning. Sam had a table and chairs brought out, and he got a fire going.' Today, lady and gentlemen, I intend introducing you to the culinary delights of a hippopotamus fillet over the coals.' The two agents seemed to be enjoying themselves, and were working on a case of beer they had purchased in Satara that morning. They had been lucky enough to secure a hut in Satara for the evening, and were planning on leaving directly after lunch.
'So what are you planning for tomorrow, Sam?' Strydom was dressed casually in shorts and sandals, his shirt a flashy yellow.
'I will have Aaron drop me off on the tourist road just before first light, and then he must return home with a truck. I will simply go to within a hundred yards of the tree, conceal myself, and wait for our man. You may think I am cruel, but I intend shooting him in the leg without warning. That should slow him down enough for me to get him alive.'
‘Shit!’ Strydom spilled some beer on his yellow shirt. 'You can't just shoot the man!'
'Steve, it is a matter of being realistic. I know this man. He is good and he is determined. Chances of getting closer to him than 50 yards without being seen are nil, even though there is ample cover in the area. To stand up at 50 yards and point a gun at him, shouting' hands up!' won't work. He will merely dive for cover, which, I can assure you, there will be plenty of. He will then start a fire fight, which could last the rest of the day. If he can survive till nightfall, he is as good as gone.'
'But if you shoot him in the leg, surely he could still fight back, if he is as tough as you suggest.'
'Depends on what you shoot him in the leg with. A .300 Magnum knocks the fight out of any man, no matter where you hit him. He will most probably still have some tricks up his sleeve, but he won't be going anywhere. So no matter what you hear over the transmitter, under no circumstances approach the area unless I call you.'