by P J Skinner
She hesitated.
‘But I don’t know what happened next. I’m not accusing anyone of anything,’ she said.
Bruno raised his head and examined her face. His eyes bored into hers searing her soul. A revelation. He knows something, but he isn’t sure if he can trust me. She held his gaze.
‘What do you know?’ she said.
‘Do you trust me?’
Did she have a choice? She nodded.
‘Give me the list,’ he croaked.
***
Joseph Kaba had his head in his hands, his elbows planted on the desk in front of him. He moaned in fury and frustration. What the fuck was he going to tell Cho? He had blown the advance and now he had nothing to show for it. It was that interfering woman who was to blame.
There was a knock at the door which swung open with an ominous creak. Kaba looked into the grim face of Mr Cho, whose glare was scorching in its intensity.
‘Some unpleasant rumours have reached me concerning our business arrangement. I need you to clarify the situation for me. Now.’
‘I had planned on visiting you today. The…’ stammered Kaba.
‘I’m here now. What happened?’ said Cho, red with fury.
‘Those Consaf bastards found the ivory, and they burned it.’
‘Just like that? Are you sure no-one told them where it was?’ said Cho, glaring at him.
‘One pygmy found the dead elephants and followed the tracks to the place where my men had hidden the tusks.’
‘This is a disaster. I’ll lose face if I don’t deliver the ivory to my clients.’ Fear had replaced anger in Cho’s tone.
‘Half of the herd is still out there. We can hunt them down and kill them too,’ said Kaba.
‘What about the rangers?’ said Cho.
‘There are not enough rangers to cover the terrain. I have an informant who can tell us where they are on certain days. We need a meticulous plan like we had last time. We can do it. I guarantee it,’ said Kaba.
‘You guaranteed it last time.’
‘Don’t you think I know that? My debt to you is a matter of fact.’
‘How soon?’ said Cho.
‘The town is on edge. It would be unwise to act straight away. Give it a couple of weeks to calm down and I’ll plan the attack. We won’t fail again.’
‘Don’t mess up.’
Chapter XXVII
The sun was splitting the stones when Bruno arrived in Goro. His cousin waited for him at the bus station. She stood with her back to the wall, hugging herself despite the heat, her face a mixture of emotions. Then she saw him and joy replaced them all, and she ran over to greet him.
‘You’ve lost weight, Sara,’ he said.
She glanced up at him, doubt in her expression.
‘Am I ugly now?’ she said.
‘No, you’re like a beautiful flower growing through a crack in the pavement.’
She smiled, a timid admission of pride.
‘Let’s go,’ she said. ‘I’ve made us a nice dinner, and we can have a quiet evening as no one is expecting you until tomorrow.’
She put a slim arm around his chubby waist and squeezed making him blush with pleasure.
Sara’s flat was near the bus station which bordered the slum area on the west of the city. She lived in one of the half-abandoned blocks of flats in an estate that had seen better days and was due for demolition. The building manager had removed the elevator from the shaft so they traipsed up seven flights of stairs. Bruno’s heart threatened to give out, such was the stress of climbing the steps in the heat of the narrow stairwell.
Delicious smells swirled around the small room making Bruno faint with hunger. He sat on the small bed trying to fill himself up with the aroma of fish stew by taking in great warm lungfuls. Finally, Sara turned from the double gas ring with two large bowls of stew which she placed on either side of the rickety table, followed by a big saucepan full of rice.
Silence reigned as they ate. Bruno tried to eat slower than usual so that he would not finish too far ahead of his cousin. She laughed at him.
‘Finish up and help yourself to more. I don’t have a fridge, it will only go off if you don’t,’ said Sara.
Bruno lumbered over to the stove and poured the rest of the stew into his bowl. He was flushed with heat and mild embarrassment and sweat poured down his face. The flimsy paper serviettes on the table were not adequate to stem the flow, so he grabbed a towel Sara had laid on the chair for his use.
‘How is work?’ he said at last.
Her face creased with misery, and to his horror, she wept, tears falling in the remains of her fish stew. He reached over and gave her a handful of the serviettes waiting while she recovered her poise.
‘That bad huh?’ he said.
‘I was so excited when I got this job. The salary meant I could move into my own room and have a private space just for me. I never expected to…’ Sara wrung her hands.
‘To what?’
‘Charlie Okito, he’s, he wants…’ Her voice broke again.
‘Has he raped you?’ Bruno stood up unable to contain himself.
‘Well, it wasn’t rape, but I didn’t want to. He says I will lose my job if I don’t do it.’
A red mist descended over Bruno’s vision as he imagined the scenario. He sat down on the bed and tried to calm down. His cousin came and sat beside him. She didn’t speak.
‘Would you like to get him back?’ said Bruno.
She turned to him, her eyes glistening.
‘What do you think?’ she said.
‘You’ll lose your job,’ said Bruno.
‘I don’t care. I can’t stay either.’
‘Is tonight too soon?’
***
The Ntezi project had recently upgraded their communications system, so they donated their redundant radios and the old receiver to Masaibu reserve. Dr Ntuli went to collect them and to do another couple of days safety training with their HSE team. He was becoming an asset with his own ideas and systems.
Sam left it to Jacques and Jean to train the pygmies in their use. As predicted, the rangers had not been receptive to the idea of working with the pygmies. Jacques pointed out it would reduce the number of hours they would spend meandering around the forest looking for poachers, inducing a tacit agreement to try out the scheme.
Sam arrived at the pygmy village just in time for the first trial run of the system. She listened as the radio operator explained how the messages got forwarded and the ranger’s positions coordinated. They used several landmarks to make location easier. The poachers were not that discrete so once the rangers had a ballpark region, they could soon track them down just by listening.
She was standing in the middle of the village when a small grey train ran into the back of her legs and knocked her to the ground. The villagers were delighted and whooped with glee as Sam picked herself off the floor. A soft grey trunk probed her hair and ears, and then her pockets for treats. It emitted a squeal of delight as it withdrew the trunk curled around a banana. Sam melted.
‘How’s my girl?’ she said and rubbed the elephant child on the head getting knocked to the ground again. She cuddled the small grey body and wrestled it to the ground. It was miraculous. Such a tiny elephant should not have survived.
‘How did they keep it alive?’ she said.
‘They sleep either side of her at night and keep her warm,’ said Jacques. ‘It’s remarkable. And they have the special milk formula.’
Despite some teething problems, the pilot went well, with the rangers finding the location indicated by the pygmies without issues. The success of the trial led to lots of smiles and mutual congratulation which augured well.
‘Let’s see how it works in the real world,’ said Jean.
‘We won’t have to wait long,’ said Jacques. ‘There are rumours a raid is imminent.’
***
Sara and Bruno approached
the office building at midnight. A power cut was in progress, darkening the streets and driving people into their homes. Light from Bruno’s torch picked out small bodies huddled together on sheets of cardboard, their wide eyes searching for dangers. Sara stumbled on a bottle which skittled up the pavement clinking over the dirt until it fell off into the gutter.
A dim light flickered in the lobby of the building which housed the Consaf office. A sleepy security guard smiled as he recognised Sara who approached his desk with an air of supplication.
‘Good evening Miss Sara. What can I do for you?’
‘I forgot to finish something for Mr Okito. You know how angry he gets.’
‘And this gentleman?’ said the guard.
‘He’s a neighbour who walked me over from my house to protect me. These power cuts encourage dangerous people out onto the streets.’
‘Okay, but he can’t go up with you.’
‘Please, I won’t be long. It’s pretty scary up there at night,’ said Sara, pleading with her eyes.
‘Fine, but it’s your responsibility. Be as quick as you can. The lifts don’t work on auxiliary power. You must use the stairs.’
Sara was already making for the door to the stairwell. Bruno stifled a groan. More stairs. The fourth-floor lights came on, brighter than expected, as the fluorescent tubes blinked into life powered by the small generator. Sara led the way to the filing cabinets in a side annex.
‘The cabinets you need are on the right. They file records by year. Take out the ones you need and we’ll copy anything important,’ said Sara.
A pile of folders teetered on the board room table. Bruno divided them in two and photocopied the list Sam had given him.
‘It’s simple. We’re looking for the deposits for the items listed by my boss. Even a few of them will be enough.’
The sound of paper rustling was the only noise to break the silence for the next twenty minutes apart from the buzz of the lights. Bruno grunted with approval twice before Sara spoke.
‘Okay, what have you got? I’ve found five.’
‘I’ve got seven. We need confirm them on the bank statements to be sure,’ said Bruno.
Sara retrieved the statements from another cabinet. It was child’s play to match them up with the orders. She gasped and stepped back from the table.
‘What?’ said Bruno.
‘The money. It came in to the company account and was transferred out a couple of days later in all cases.’
‘Where was it transferred to? The suppliers?’
‘No,’ she said, shaking her head. ‘To Charlie Okito’s personal account.’
‘Oh my God. Sam was right. We need to photocopy these and get out of here. Can I see one of his statements from the same time?’
‘I can’t show you that,’ said Sara, shaking her head.
‘Please, it’s so important.’
She fished out a statement and handed it to him. Bruno skimmed through the statement. He paused and reread the entry for the last day of the month. His legs turned to jelly, and he sat down.
‘It’s worse than I thought. He is taking a cut from the Ntezi Project as well. Look.’
‘I don’t want to know. I’ll copy everything and let’s get out of here,’ said Sara.
But the copier wasn’t working.
‘It’s the power cut. You must copy them tomorrow,’ said Bruno.
‘But what if Okito sees me?’
‘You’re not staying here after tomorrow. I’ll wait for you downstairs. It will be okay. Just put them back after you copy them. He’s sure to go out at some stage. Come on, we’ve got to get out of here,’ said Bruno, looking around in panic as a noise reverberated in the stairwell.
Sara stuffed the papers in the bottom drawer of her desk and they left, locking the door on their way out. The power came back on just as they exited through the lobby but there was no way of returning upstairs to the photocopier without arousing suspicion.
‘I’ll make the copies tomorrow. Let’s go home,’ said Sara.
***
The poachers left for the forest at dawn, armed to the teeth. Joseph Kaba sat up front in the lorry, puffing on a Cuban cigar he had stolen from a businessman he had murdered in Bukavu. The rich flavour of the smoke filled his lungs and soothed him. If you want something done, do it yourself.
He waited in the cabin of the lorry until his men had located the herd. It wasn’t hard to spot them as they were creatures of habit and liked to drink from the shallow pool near the edge of the forest in the early mornings. They set up another ambush on the trail leading away from the pool and waited for the animals to return.
The forest came to life as they crouched in the shadows. Butterflies wafted through the shafts of early morning sunlight as the sun rose higher in the sky. Lizards adorned the trees like strange brooches following the warmth as it crept around the trunks. Damp legs begged for release as the cold rose up their combat trousers and cramped their calves.
There was a rustling in the bushes and suddenly, the air filled with the whistle and crack of bullets.
‘What the hell is going on?’ roared Kaba, who had been urinating a little way off and ran towards his men. ‘Stop shooting immediately.’ He put his hands on his hips in fury before being pulled down into the mud by one of his men.
‘It’s the Rangers, sir.’
‘And how the fuck did they find us?’ said Kaba.
‘I don’t know. They must be psychic.’
‘Get me out of here, now,’ said Kaba.
Three men smuggled him back to the lorry while the others took part in a fierce gun battle with the Rangers. As they drove him away, Kaba could hear the shooting echoing through the forest. Humiliation seeped through his pores enraging him still further. He had never run from the field of battle before. Someone would pay for this.
***
Sara arrived at the Goro office the next morning leaving Bruno in a nearby café for some breakfast. To avoid arousing any suspicion, she let herself in at the usual time. On most mornings, Bembo strolled in two or three hours later than her so she had at least a couple of hours for replacing the papers unseen. Despite this she had a horrible gnawing in the pit of her stomach which wouldn’t go away.
She rounded the corner of her alcove. To her horror, he was sitting on the edge of her desk smirking as she came in. Oh God had he found the papers in the drawer? She tried to smile, pulling her lips back from her teeth.
‘Good morning, my jungle flower, have you got anything for Papa today?’
Before she could move away, he shoved his hand between her legs and pulled her towards him by cupping the back of her head in his meaty hand. His eyes searched her face looking for fear or revulsion.
Only her iron will enabled her to keep her expression neutral. She even raised her eyes to his and fluttered her eyelashes. Tilting her head, she said ‘what did you have in mind, boss?’
Bembo licked his lips, desire written all over his fat face.
‘Lunch. A long, long lunch,’ he said.
‘Oh no, I’m sorry. I can’t,’ said Sara.
His forehead furrowed like trenches in a field of black earth.
‘You don’t get to choose the day.’
‘I’ve a doctor’s appointment to check for diseases down there. I have itching.’ She pointed.
Bembo flinched and narrowed his eyes.
‘Oh, okay. Tomorrow then. I’m going to lunch, anyway.’
‘Tomorrow will still be fun.’
She used her little-girl voice. Bembo grunted and returned to his office. Sara shivered. A line of cold sweat was making its way down her back. She sat at her desk and transferred the papers to her drawer. Why had she ever let Bruno talk her into this? The risk was too great. Bembo would murder her if he ever discovered the truth. But he would leave for lunch. She steeled herself.
Chapter XXVIII
Sam found Jean Delacroix sitting in her offi
ce after the morning meeting. He turned to greet her as she came in. His taciturn face creased with a grin so wide the top of his head looked as if it was detachable. The twinkle in his eyes conveyed the good news he was bearing.
‘Good morning Jean,’ said Sam. ‘To what do we owe the pleasure?’
‘A great pleasure, I can assure you.’ He sat there like a skinny Buddha radiating smug happiness.
‘Spit it out,’ she said, irritated by his self-satisfied air.
‘There was a gun battle in the forest yesterday. Three poachers are dead, and five are injured and were arrested by the rangers.’
‘The pygmies came up trumps?’
‘They sure did. It’s amazing. I can’t believe it.’
‘Me neither.’
Sam shook her head. She wanted to jump and shout but Jean would have taken the chance to hug her so she stayed behind her desk, thumping it with both fists and screwing up her face in triumph.
‘Are the elephants okay?’
‘The rangers ambushed the poachers before they could fire a shot.’
‘Wow. I’m speechless.’
‘I’ve got to go. My boss wants to visit the pygmy village to see if we can offer them any help with their agriculture or other education programmes.’
‘Sure. Thanks for dropping in. Do the security boys know?’ said Sam.
‘They were off on some kind of inspection when I came in so I don’t think so.’
Their network of contacts would have told them by now.
‘I’ll tell them.’
‘Bye then.’
He stretched his hand over her desk. She shook it briefly.
‘You already made it clear how you feel,’ he said. ‘I won’t try again. There’s no need to be rude.’
Before she could apologise, he was gone.
***
Charlie Okito arrived back from lunch still feeling randy and thwarted, the risk of catching something shoved to the back of his mind. He wanted sex, now. But Sara was gone. He searched the whole office, his anxiety increasing. She looked shocked to see him in the morning but he had brushed it off. Now he wondered why.
The filing room was empty but someone had left the drawer of a cabinet open. That was unusual, she being so efficient. He wandered over to shut it and had a quick root around in the files. They were from two years previous, machinery orders from head office. What was she looking for? The woman was an enigma.