Elephant Dropping (9781301895199)

by Trzebinski, Bruce

  She pointed it at him. ‘You bad mans, you have gun, heey?’

  ‘Give it to me,’ he tried again, ‘it’s dangerous.’

  Lucy pranced round the room firing at invisible assailants, fully aware of displaying her naked body for him. ‘Pow! pow!’

  Recalling he had removed the clip, Brian wrapped himself in the sheet and moved towards her. She stepped back. ‘Take off clothes or I makes you dedi!’

  He declined to play and sat down on the bed, nursing his head. ‘Come on stop fooling around, my head hurts.’

  Lucy disappointed, sat beside him and handed over the gun, looking closely at his face. ‘You have headache?’ she asked tenderly.

  He nodded, putting the gun in his bedside drawer.

  ‘Me Dr. Lucy, makes better.’ She reached under the sheet and got hold of him, a few squeezes and Brian was instantly aroused. ‘Oooh, better,’ she cooed.

  He tried to push her hand away, but she only smiled and pulling the sheet higher up, moved her head down towards his thighs, kissing his naked flesh and at the same time pushing him back on the bed. He sighed in sensuous surrender as she took him in her mouth. ‘You have nice cock,’ she announced licking him teasingly. Expertly squeezing and tugging she increased his arousal, he reached for her but she moved away and stood in front of him, caressing herself with her hands. She turned round and bent over giving him a full display of her tight buttocks and the cleft of her sex. ‘You like?’ she asked looking over her shoulder at him, grinning at his obvious desire.

  ‘You’re gorgeous,’ he agreed, his headache forgotten, ‘come.’

  ‘Yes, Somali womens very sexy.’ She said as straddled him and rubbed herself with his erection, teasing, not allowing penetration but moving away from his thrusting hips, her hand on his chest pinning him down and giggling at his frustration.

  Brian tried to sit up and she leapt away from him, laughing. ‘You have no headache?’ she asked, giving him another full display, gyrating sensuously.

  ‘Ohhhh,’ Brian moaned in desire, ‘Jesus,’ wanting her with every fibre of his body. ‘Lucy please,’ he called to her.

  ‘You want me,’ she asked innocently, ‘you loves Lucy hey?’

  ‘Yes yes,’ he agreed.

  She smiled and lay down full length next to him. ‘You kissis me first,’ she told him as he hungrily reached for her.

  An hour later, Brian suddenly remembered he was supposed to have called Doug. ‘Shit,’ he exclaimed leaping out of bed, and scrabbling around in his backpack for the new mobile.

  He switched it on and hit the dial button. ‘Hello Doug.’

  ‘Yes, are you ok?’ Doug replied, concern in his voice.

  ‘Yes sorry, I overslept.’

  ‘No worries. Did you get through to your sister?’

  ‘Yes I left a message on her answer machine.’

  ‘Good so what’s up? Are you coming back to Ganda?

  Brian thought frantically, looking at Lucy. ‘Ahh no, not today, I have a few leads I want to explore, and I want to try calling my sister again.’

  ‘Ok, as long as you’re safe. My uncle has gone to Voi to talk to the cops. When do you want to call again?’

  ‘Let’s talk this evening, can you manage that?’

  ‘Yep, no problem, take care of yourself.’ Doug rang off.

  Brian put the mobile back in his bag, wondering why he had not told him about Lucy. ‘Who you call?’She asked sleepily.

  ‘Doug, my friend,’ he said putting on jeans. ‘I’m going to see if I can find some coffee, do you want one?’

  Lucy yawned shaking her head. ‘Tea,’ she said, ‘with milk,’ as he went downstairs.

  He rummaged through a cupboard in the kitchen, found tea bags and a tin of condensed milk, but no coffee. He put the kettle on and continued his search, only finding a packet of coffee beans. ‘Bugger it,’ he muttered then to his joy found a coffee grinder. ‘God bless all Italians,’ he said aloud.

  He pulled back the curtains flooding the room with sunlight. And after a quick glance at the deserted pool, he cleared away yesterdays mess, humming to himself. Nicholls you’re on a roll, his hangover gone. ‘Your tea is ready,’ he shouted to Lucy,’ come on rise and shine.’

  Lucy walked downstairs naked, stretching luxuriously and took her tea and sipped it. ‘No sugars.’ She frowned.

  ‘Don’t you think you should put something on?’

  ‘Why? You no likes my body?’

  ‘It’s not that,’ said Brian, ‘someone might see you.’

  ‘I need sugars, tea without sugars no good.’

  Brian opened the fridge and found a jar of honey. ‘Will this do?’ He showed it to her.

  ‘Ahhh yes,’ she reached for the jar, ‘mmm good.’

  He held the jar away from her. ‘First put some clothes on.’

  She pouted at him. ‘Why? There’s no one here.’

  ‘I can’t think with you walking around naked,’ he told her.

  ‘You loves Lucy too much hey?’

  ‘Yes,’ he nodded, ‘now go on.’

  Lucy came back downstairs dressed in one of Brian’s shirts and a pair of panties looking if anything, more provocative.

  ‘Ok?’ She asked him as he handed her the honey.

  ‘Yes.’ He chuckled. ‘How long can we stay here?’

  Lucy spooned honey into her tea. ‘We gives Alphonse money.’

  ‘What - five hundred a day?’

  She nodded licking the spoon.

  ‘And no one lives here?’ He waved at the other apartments.

  ‘Sometimes, peoples come, but not for long - one or two nights,’

  ‘Excellent,’ he muttered.

  ‘You like?’ She asked.

  ‘Yes I like.’

  ‘Lucy, clever girl hey?’

  ‘Very clever, beautiful too, but can you cook?’

  ‘Ha! of course,’ she gave him a withering look.

  ‘Good, so if I gave you money, you could go shopping for food.’

  ‘Yes,’ she nodded smiling, ‘what food you like?’

  ‘Some breakfast. Bacon and eggs, toast, jam etc.’

  ‘Bacon, what’s that?’

  ‘Hmm, never mind, you just buy what you think will please me.’

  ‘Ok, I get clothes.’ She disappeared upstairs. A few minutes later he could hear the shower running.

  With Lucy out shopping, Brian nosed around the apartment. In the office he took the dust cover off the computer, a standard desktop model, he switched it on and noted with satisfaction that it had the latest operating system.

  He was elated to find an internet connection. Now he could easily access his e-mails. Hearing Lucy return he quickly shut down the computer, replacing the dust cover. He spotted a printer connected to the computer - things were indeed looking up. He smiled to himself.

  Lucy was in the kitchen, chopping up tomatoes with a bread knife. ‘You might do better with the right knife?’ He suggested.

  ‘Out fools!’ Thisis woman’s work, not for stupid mens.’

  ‘Ok, ok,’ Brian backed away in mock fright, and sat at the dining table. He watched Lucy fascinated, as with much noise and activity she concocted their breakfast.

  At one point the room was filled with smoke and the smell of burning. Brian got up and opened the door. He was hungry and began to doubt that whatever she was cooking was edible.

  ‘Ok it’s ready,’ she announced, and with a tea cosy wrapped around the handle of a smoking hot saucepan, she approached the table at a run.

  ‘Wait!’ He yelled out as she was about to put the pan straight onto the veneered tabletop. He snatched a magazine from a rack, and got it under the pan as it hit the table with a thump and a sizzle. ‘What is it?’ he asked, peering at the food.

  ‘Homleti,’ she said proudly, and put down two plates and a nasty looking bottle of tomato sauce beside the pan.

  ‘Eat!’ She commanded.

  He held up his hands looking helpless.

 
She tut-tutted in annoyance and came back with a spoon. ‘Here,’ handing it to Brian.

  He reached for her plate. ’No! You first, in Africa mens eat first, you haves no manners,’ she informed him.

  ‘Ok.’ He served himself from a mixture of tomatoes, egg and burnt onions, and took a tentative bite.

  Lucy tipped the pan up and spooned the remainder onto her plate and covered it with tomato sauce. She looked at him with a childish grin and ate with her fingers. ‘Good breakfast hey?

  ‘Yes,’ he nodded, looking at his spoon.

  ‘Now what you want?’

  He got up and walked to the kitchen. ‘Salt, pepper, knife, fork, toast, side plates, butter and napkins.’

  She laughed. ‘You mzungus too complicated.’ Lucy talked enthusiastically with her mouth full. ‘I make good wifes for you - so this fat manager, we get him hey - we gets money? You marrys me.’

  ‘Hmmm not so simple,’ Brian replied cutting away burnt bits of food. ‘After breakfast we will go shopping.’

  ‘Alphonse he want money,’ she reminded him.

  ‘But I gave you a thousand shillings.’

  ‘Yes,’ she agreed, ‘all gone.’

  ‘You spent it all, on a few eggs?’

  ‘Yes,’ she nodded happily, ‘heggs hexpensive.’

  Brian chuckled. ‘Lucy not so clever, you got cheated.’

  She frowned at him. He quickly held up his hands surrendering. ‘It’s ok, don’t worry about it.’

  ‘Ok, you teaches me to swim then we eat hice cream?’ Smiling and looking at him eagerly.

  ‘Maybe later, but I think you already know how to swim.’

  ‘Ok you buy me bikin, for swimming?’

  ‘Where does Evans live - the fat one as you call him?’

  ‘In the old town Malindi, he has a wife, also fat.’

  ‘I’m going to ask my friend Doug to come and join us.’

  ‘Why? We no need him here,’ she frowned.

  ‘Oh yes we do, he saved my life and his uncle is helping us also. I suppose it will be ok with Alphonse if Doug stays?’

  ‘He will want more money,’ she said confidently, ‘we don’t need your Dug friend. Polices also look for him?’

  Brian looked at her, holding up his index finger. ‘Now Lucy I have a plan. You help me - you get money. Ok?’

  ‘Yes, yes, how much?’

  ‘First you need to show me where Evans lives.’

  After breakfast they got dressed. Lucy reluctantly discarded her yellow dress and agreed to wear a pair of Antonio’s jeans and T-shirt, though she insisted on keeping her high heels. ‘Perfect, very good.’ Brian said but thinking, you could dress Lucy in a sack and she would still be sexy, she was that kind of woman. He squared things with Alphonse explaining that a friend might join them later.

  ‘There is no problem Amigo.’ He pocketed the money.

  *

  Evans emerged from the bank unaware he was observed by Brian and Lucy sitting opposite the bank in the shade. ‘There, the fat one,’ she said excitedly.

  ‘Shush,’ Brian said nervously tugging his cap lower on his face. They watched Evans climb into a Landcruiser, back it out clumsily and pull out of the car park into the main road.

  Lucy leapt up. ‘That the Indian man’s car, we musti follow him,’ she hailed a passing tuk-tuk in her usual style, shouting loudly for it to stop. It squealed to a juddering halt. Lucy clambered in. ‘Hurry, follow that car,’ she said in kiswahili. Brian only just made it to the taxi as it started to move.

  They soon caught up with Evans. ‘Not so close,’ Brian said nervously. The driver speeded up, convinced the object of the chase was to stop the Landcruiser.

  ‘No!’ Yelled Brian in a panic. ‘We need to follow him.’

  Lucy laughed in delight at Brian’s fear, and told the driver to back off. The Landcruiser slowed and without indicating, turned off the main road down a dirt track. ‘Drop us here,’ said Lucy. They walked back to where Evans had turned off.The track went a little way and stopped at a set of gates.

  ‘We had better wait here,’ Brian said as Lucy made to follow the track. She looked as though she might argue, then shrugged and without a word crossed the road to take up a position under some trees. Brian followed nervously, despite his cap he felt completely exposed. Half an hour later the gates opened and a silver Mercedes drove out. As it reached the main road they could see it was Evans - there was no one else in the car. He turned onto the main road and headed back the way he had come.

  ‘That hises car. He no thinki you Malindi,’ she concluded.

  ‘I see, actually he thinks I’m dead. What is behind those gates,’ Brian asked angrily.

  She stared at him. ‘I go look. You wait,’ she announced and strode across the road.

  Brian opened his mouth and then shrugged in resignation as he sat down to wait. ‘Be careful,’ he called out to her retreating figure.

  Lucy reached the gates and sliding a metal bracelet off her wrist, tapped it on the gate. ‘Hodi, hodi.’ There was no immediate response, so she tapped again.

  After a few minutes, a voice in Kiswahili said. ‘Uko nani?’ One side of the gate opened cautiously and Patel’s old askari peered out. ‘Hey sister, what can I do for you?’

  Lucy said. ‘I am a stranger to Malindi. I am looking for a house of a mzungu named Shell. Is this his house?’

  The old man replied. ‘No sorry this is not Shell’s house.’

  Lucy moved closer, putting her foot in the gap. ‘Oh, I am so hot, please give me a glass of water.’

  The old man leaned back to get her face in focus. ‘Listen sister, I don’t know what your game is, but there is no mzungu here, and I can’t help you,’ he shut the gate in her face.

  Lucy surprised and angry kicked at the gate shouting. ‘You shit nasty old man, I’m only asking for help.’ Furious, she turned back down the road and motioned angrily for Brian to join her as she started to walk to town.

  He caught up with her. ‘So, what happened?’

  ‘Ah, some stupids old men, he no let me in.’

  Brian grinned and chuckling said. ‘What did you expect?’

  Lucy strode on saying witheringly over her shoulder to him. ‘You know nothings, you another stupids old mens.’

  Brian smiled. ‘Alright madam, so where do we go now?’

  ‘I am hot you buy me bikin, and hice cream.’

  EIGHTEEN

  Firdus drove into Voi in his old Landrover, dropping his foreman in town with a shopping list. At the police station he asked the cop on the reception desk if he could see the station chief. Firdus was ushered into Katana’s office. A smile of pleasure lit up the detective’s face as he recognised his former instructor from Kiganjo. ‘Sir it’s been a long time,’ the detective beamed.

  Firdus smiled back. ‘Peter Katana, honour student?’

  ‘Yes sir, it’s me. And what brings you to Voi?’ Katana asked as he walked around his desk and pulled up a chair for him. ‘Please sit and tell me all your news?’

  An hour later the two of them were still in deep conversation, both looking serious. ‘Were you at Kiganjo at the same time as Rubia?’ Firdus asked.

  ‘No, I never knew him, he was there four years earlier than I was, but he left a few stories behind.’

  ‘Yes,’ nodded Firdus, ‘he was a nasty bastard even then. What do you suggest we do about my nephew Doug? The shooting was clearly in self-defence.’

  ‘I agree with you, but Rubia is in a very powerful position.’

  Firdus looked determined. ‘Then we will have to go over his head to the minister in charge of national security.’

  Katana grimaced. ‘I would never be allowed to see him. Protocol has it that I would need to go through my district boss first, and he and Rubia are good buddies.’

  ‘Don’t you worry about that, I will organise it. Does Rubia know you found his other man, Titus, in the river?’

  ‘I have had no contact with him since he threatened me.’


  ‘He threatened you?’

  ‘Yes, he was annoyed I wouldn’t do as he asked, so he went over my head and got what he wanted anyway.

  ‘Now what do you think about Kamau’s disappearance?’ Firdus pointed at the newspaper on the desk, referring to the missing immigration officer.

  ‘Reports say it looks like a car accident on the old rift valley road with a woman - not his wife - in the car. A heart attack apparently.’

  ‘So he has been found.’

  ‘Yes, but it’s not official. His wife has not been told yet. I have my contacts in the morgue in Nairobi. It’s under Rubia’s investigation.’

  ‘No surprises there,’ Firdus said raising his eyebrows.

  ‘Mr. Nicholls is where now?’

  ‘He is in a safe place, the less you know the better. Can you prepare a full report for me of your findings? I will try to get to see the minister as soon as possible.’

  ‘Yes I can do that sir - do you have anything to do in Voi? It will take me time to get all the facts down on paper.’

  ‘Thank you, it looks like you paid attention in class after all,’ teased the former instructor.

  ‘I thank you too sir,’ said Katana, smiling shyly.

  An hour later, Firdus with the report tucked under his arm said. ‘I have done some thinking; I’m going to fly to Nairobi and arrange to see the minister. Can you drive up and join me tomorrow?’

  ‘Yes,’ Katana’s eyes glistened, ‘but why do you need me there?’

  ‘I’m going to need an assistant and it will give you a chance to meet the minister. I always stay at the Good-View Hotel in Westlands. Do you know it?’

  ‘Yes sir, I have Mr. Nicholls’s briefcase what shall I do with it?’

  ‘Good bring it with you. Now, I don’t use mobiles, but give me your number and I will call you if there are any changes. See you in Nairobi, let’s fix this bastard once and for all detective.’

  Firdus got copies made in Voi and got back to the farm just before lunchtime, pleased to see Doug looking less stressed. He asked. ‘Did you contact Brian? Is everything ok?’

  ‘Yes, he called his sister. Said he had a few leads to follow up and I will speak to him again this evening.’