The Killing Moon

by Michael Robinson

  "Mr Foster, do you know where you are?" she said with a caring tone.

  "Yes, love, I'm in hospital," was the weakened reply.

  "Do you know how you got here, sir?" she asked.

  "Ambulance I suppose," was Ricky's response.

  "You were brought in at four thirty this morning, unconscious with slight hypothermia. We think you've been assaulted, Mr Foster, so we've called the police and an officer is on the way to see you soon."

  Ricky just shrugged. "I don't need to talk to any coppers, love." Then Ricky tried to get out of bed.

  Dr Partridge moved closer to her patient placing her hand lightly on his shoulder. "Please, Mr Foster, you need to rest."

  Reluctantly, Ricky laid back into the bed.

  "We've done some blood tests and I'm afraid we've got some bad news."

  "I know, darling, it's cancer," said Ricky defiantly.

  The doctor looked up quizzically. "You've been told this already?"

  Ricky replied, "I've had it for a few months now, love, but you just get on with it don't ya."

  The doctor looked even more concerned. "But you've not been prescribed anything according to your medical records."

  "I turned it down, love," Ricky replied. "I want to live my life the way I want to live it not the way I'm told to live it."

  "Mr Foster, there are medicines available that can help manage your condition. Also, I fear your cancer is in the late stages therefore it's important to take some medication even if it's just to relieve the pain if nothing else."

  Then Dr Partridge continued, "Is there anyone we can contact on your behalf to let them know you're here, possibly your wife or children?"

  On hearing this, Ricky just felt disappointed and it showed. With a glazed look in his eyes he said, "My wife's dead, love, there's no one else. If it's all the same, I'll just rest here for a bit and then I'll make my way home."

  Dr Partridge took pity on her patient and was almost close to tears thinking about Ricky Foster's predicament. This man was probably going to die very soon, alone, with nobody in the world. At this point, she whispered to herself, "The government doesn't pay me enough to do this."

  "Okay, Mr Foster, I'd like to keep you here for a few more hours and then I'll discharge you however I have two conditions. Firstly, you have something to eat before you leave. Secondly, I'm going to prescribe you some pain killers, I want you to promise me that you'll take them."

  "Aye, Okay, love, I promise. Also, I'll be no bother."

  Ricky then closed his eyes and went to sleep, Dr Partridge returned to her work station.

  Chapter Forty

  Amelia and Jonathan started their adventure, pleased to be in each other's company. Amelia sat in between her father and the window on the KLM flight, constantly looking through the clouds in amazement and wonder. The last time Amelia had flown, she was still a young toddler and so it was a fantastic new experience. Jonathan, on the other hand, enjoyed all the attention his little girl was showing him and it wasn't long before the bond between the pair grew. At the same time, Jonathan was still checking out the female air hostesses as they saw to the passengers' needs. All the time, the little girl was oblivious to Jonathan's inappropriate innuendos with the air hostess who just smiled artificially.

  The plane landed at Schiphol International Amsterdam roughly an hour after they left the UK. At this point, the majority of the passengers disembarked and were quickly replaced by new passengers en route to Jomo Kenyatta International in Kenya. It was from here Jonathan had arranged for a concierge flight to Mandera Airport. Jonathan knew full well the price for his ticket to Mandera Airport was extremely cheap and as such he could not pass up the opportunity to save the few hundred pounds that he would have paid had he gone through a professional travel agent.

  The way Jonathan saw it, he lived in a capitalist world and he knew he was doing quite well so therefore if he could save money, he would build up his own coffers. Had Charlotte known, there would be no way the trip would be taking place and this seemed to amuse Jonathan even more.

  Both Amelia and Jonathan enjoyed small pockets of sleep on the eight-hour journey. When Amelia did awake, again with all the enthusiasm of a little girl, she looked through the window at the stars and was totally enchanted. Occasionally, she nudged her father to share her enthusiasm but all Jonathan could muster was, "That's lovely, sweetheart, now try and get some sleep."

  The plane taxied at Jomo Kenyatta which appeared to be a conventional airport similar to that anywhere in the UK. Both father and daughter were tired however both were excited, even if Jonathan was a little weary. Jonathan soon found the terminal where he would get his connecting flight to Mandera Airport and on seeing the small plane, Jonathan realised it could probably hold no more than six passengers plus the pilot. Again, this did not faze Jonathan and once he and Amelia were in the air towards their final destination, Jonathan was pleased that he and Amelia had the plane to themselves. Jonathan mused to himself by thinking, 'Soon we'll be on safari in Kenya, Amelia will have a fantastic time and Charlotte will see what a wonderful father I am'.

  Three and a half hours later, the plane taxied into Mandera Airport and as the small, light craft came into land, Jonathan saw how basic Mandera Airport was. There seemed to be little in the way of security. In fact, there was hardly a fence from the surrounding airport and there appeared to be various forms of wildlife grazing around the runway. In the distance, Jonathan could see some sort of military compound, not that he paid much attention.

  As he and Amelia walked into the terminal, in this most basic of airports, once through the arrivals lounge his next job was to get hold of some accommodation. Again, Jonathan wanted to spend as little money as possible and at the same time, get the best on his return. He held Amelia's hand as he looked for the sign he wanted. In the corner of the airport was a kiosk and above the kiosk, read 'Safari'. Behind the desk sat a middle-aged African in a white shirt that was seeped in sweat. At the same time, the worker smoked, constantly looking around to sell his wares to the latest westerner looking for adventure.

  Jonathan smiled to himself as he approached the kiosk. "Hello, do you speak English?" Jonathan said patronisingly.

  "Yes, sir, very much so, yes, sir!" came the keen reply. "Would you like to go on safari, sir?"

  Again, Jonathan knew how to barter. "That depends," came Jonathan's reply. "I'm looking for a good deal."

  "Go through me, very good deal. Yes, sir! Very good deal." he smiled and then added, "Best deal in all Kenya".

  Jonathan, at this point, thought he was on a winner. The man was obviously very poor which meant in turn, Jonathan felt he could pay what he wanted to pay and get the best deal on a cabin as well as excursions.

  The man behind the kiosk then looked down at the little girl who was still holding her favourite lion teddy. "You'd like to go see the lions?"

  Amelia just looked up and smiled, she had never seen a black man in person before. Jonathan and the agent bartered over several minutes on what one party thought they should pay and what the other party said they were going to pay. He man at the kiosk looked really disappointed in Jonathan and every now and again would say, "No deal, sir." At which point, Jonathan gave the impression that he would walk away. After a few more minutes, a deal was finally agreed and Jonathan removed his wallet from inside his coat pocket and removed a few notes. At the same time, the man on the kiosk looked at all the notes in Jonathan's pocket and pretended not to notice the huge bundle which remained in US dollars.

  Jonathan and Amelia were ushered outside the airport, to what looked like a local taxi, by the man on the counter. Jonathan felt like he was on a roll. He had paid the equivalent of fifty US dollars for two weeks with accommodation, and excursions to various places and Jonathan knew full well he'd paid way under the odds. All the time the agent pretended not to look offended at what he had just sold to this westerner. Jonathan and Amelia then climbed into the taxi as the agent spoke some words to the
taxi driver in a foreign tongue. He turned to Jonathan and said, "Enjoy your safari, sir, enjoy your safari."

  The taxi pulled away from Mandera Airport leaving the agent stood watching the vehicle leave. The agent then looked around over his shoulder as he removed a mobile phone from the inside of his trouser pocket. He dialled a number, the line rang several times before it was answered. "Mousa, it's Abass, I've got one. A white westerner is with her, girl about six or seven-years-old, yeah, with her father, got money too. They're both on the way to the farm. Okay, will ring you later." As Abass cut the line dead, he smiled to himself as he thought, 'Young white girls are a good prize in Somalia'.

  Chapter Forty-one

  Dr Beaumont was sitting at her desk, in her office, going through the usual reports for the Home Office when her phone rang, initially annoyed at the ringing tone on her desk which broke Charlotte's train of thought. She quickly shrugged this off and answered the receiver.

  "Hello, Dr Beaumont, Psychiatry."

  On the other end of the phone was Dr Partridge who, in turn, verified herself as the GP from the casualty department at Hull Royal Infirmary. "Dr Beamont, one of my patients here is in casualty and I believe he is the father of one of your clients."

  Dr Beaumont responded, "I'm afraid I cannot give you any details on the phone regarding any of my patients, Dr Partridge, as you will appreciate, occasionally members of the public and the press do call in order to gain information about a certain subject.

  "Yes, I understand that fully," replied Dr Partridge. "However, I am reliably informed that my patient, Mr Ricky Foster, is connected to your patient, Rob Foster."

  "OK, please continue and I'll see what I can do," replied Dr Beaumont.

  Over the next fifteen minutes, both doctors discussed Ricky Foster's predicament. The fact that he'd been subject to a brutal attack and also that he was riddled with terminal cancer. Dr Beaumont, giving nothing away, received this information and almost bit her lip as she realised she would have to tell Rob once she had confirmed the accuracy of the information she had been told.

  Dr Partridge highlighted that had it not been for the fact that Ricky had received a visit on the ward from a publican called Harry, she would not know how to contact any of Mr Foster's next of kin. Both doctors exchanged pleasantries before they ended the call and it was now up to Charlotte to inform Rob immediately.

  Rob and James were sitting in the quiet room debating the pros and cons and what the difference was between a great leader and a dictator. It was a discussion that lead to nothing other than both patients getting to know more about each other. James was pleasantly surprised at Rob's intellect and almost saw him in the same vein as when he was a student doctor studying one of his patients. A few seconds later, both patients saw Dr Beaumont walk past into the staff room only to return, five minutes later, in the middle of their debate. Charlotte then turned to James and politely asked him to leave the room. James obliged and shut the door behind him. Rob looked up at Charlotte and asked, "Do we have a session today? I didn't think we were meeting until next week."

  Charlotte sat down next to Rob and swallowed hard before she continued. "Rob, I'm afraid I have some bad news. It's about your father."

  Rob had hardly thought about Ricky since he had been moved to the psychiatric hospital. Rob looked straight at Charlotte and asked, "What's happened?"

  "He's in hospital, Rob, I'm afraid he was attacked last night and taken to Hull Royal Infirmary."

  "Who's attacked him, was it Callum Squire?" Rob questioned.

  "The police are still investigating, Rob, however although he's conscious, he's refusing to say anything. It was only because he had a visitor that the hospital managed to contact me."

  Rob knew straight away it was Harry who had visited his dad.

  Charlotte continued, "I'm afraid there's more, Rob."

  "Go on," Rob replied.

  "The hospital did some tests and they've found that your dad has terminal cancer." All the time, Charlotte studied her subject to see how he would react at the unwelcome news but Rob remained calm, almost defiant. She saw fire in Rob's eyes as they talked.

  "So, what happens now?" Rob asked. "Will I get to visit him in hospital?"

  Charlotte replied, "I've spoken to your case worker at the Home Office and they will only agree to a short visit, maximum of half an hour, with three escorts. Also, this will be a one off given the early stage of your arrival here in hospital. The other thing they ask for before I can let you go to visit your father, is that you're tested on ground leave within the hospital grounds."

  Rob sighed and looked to the right then Charlotte continued, "I'm sorry, Rob, there's no other way around it however I am putting you forward for ground leave immediately but this may take a few days to come through. Just be patient and I promise you I'll get you to see your father.

  It was at this point Charlotte talked to Rob some more about his father and Rob disclosed that his father had been violent in drink in the past. This was one of the main reasons Rob had joined the army, to get away from it all. Rob added that when his mother had died, his father began drinking almost every night however at this point, Rob was already serving in the infantry. Although Rob and his father weren't in contact, it wasn't that they had fallen out. Rob turned to Charlotte and said, "God I could murder a Guinness right now."

  "Guinness?" questioned Charlotte. "Is that what you drink?"

  "Is it ever?" replied Rob. "Dad and I would often get together to talk politics, religion and culture over a pint of the black stuff."

  Charlotte smiled and said jokingly, "If I could get it for you on prescription here, Rob, I would, trust me."

  Both doctor and patient chatted for another thirty minutes before Charlotte returned to her desk. She was confident that Rob had taken the news well or as well as could be expected and, at the same time, wished she could buy Rob that pint of Guinness.

  Rob was looking out of the window when James returned, hoping to re-engage their debate. Then James sat down and asked, "Is everything all right?"

  Rob explained his predicament about his father then James asked, "Who could have done this to your father? Do you have enemies?"

  "Not really," Rob replied. "With the exception of the family of the man I killed however there is another small-time drug dealer that I filled in a few months ago."

  "How so?" James asked. Rob went on to explain how his father, Ricky, had upset Callum Squire's parents and when he tried to sort it out, Callum, his crew and Rob had ended up fighting with Rob getting the better of all of them.

  James asked, "Did Callum say he would take any revenge on you?"

  "Not really," Rob replied. "In fact, the last time I saw him was the night I killed that poor bastard in the park. In fact, Callum and I had a drink together on the same night."

  At this point, James sat back in his chair with his fingers together and thought. He began to question Rob. "Didn't they say you were on spice when you were arrested?"

  "Yeah why?" replied Rob.

  James ignored the question and continued, "When you and Callum were having a drink together, did you leave your drink unattended with Callum?"

  Rob thought for a moment and replied, "Yeah, I suppose I did, I had to go for a slash."

  James then continued, "This Callum seems a very devious character indeed, you said yourself you did not know how the spice got into your system."

  The wheels in Rob's mind began to turn as James spoke then James concluded, "When you went to relieve yourself, I suspect Callum has put the cocktail in your drink. This, in turn, has caused you to suffer from deep psychosis. It seems plausible that Callum has spiked your drink and is ultimately responsible for your being here."

  Rob sighed under his breath and then whispered, "Fucking hell, I think you're right." Then added, "Fuck me you've got to be right, the bastard."

  James remained seated, deep in thought. "It would be interesting to meet this Callum," James remarked.

  Two mi
nutes later, the door to the quiet room opened and ward manager Sally Cooper came in. "James, Rob, it's time for your medications," she said with disdain.

  James immediately protested. "Sally, I'm not due any more medication today!"

  "Yes, you are, it's been written up."

  "Nobody informed me," James replied.

  "I'm telling you now," was Sally's curt answer.

  At this point, Rob left the room and headed for the nursing station to be given his medication but could hear the argument which ensued between James and Nurse Cooper. Ultimately, Nurse Cooper was not going to be told how to do her job by someone she viewed as a simpleton. The last words Rob heard was Nurse Cooper informing James that if he did not take the medication immediately, he would be written up in the doctor's notes, sent to isolation and would have all of his privileges removed. Rob thought to himself, 'just do as you're fucking told mate.' At the same time, he looked at the small paper cup he had been handed with the large pink tablet at the bottom. He threw it down his neck as if he was having a low flyer with Ricky in the Admiral.

  Chapter Forty-two

  Amelia and Jonathan had enjoyed a fantastic few days on Safari even if their accommodation was fairly basic for Jonathan's standards. Amelia had enjoyed seeing the various delights that Africa had to offer. She particularly enjoyed seeing the tower of giraffes, especially when Jonathan said the reason giraffes have long necks was because they have smelly feet. This made the little girl chuckle. There were very few tourists on the same safari other than an elderly German couple and one or two Chinese tourists. All of whom kept to themselves by the end of each day. The one thing that Jonathan had failed to grasp, was how much danger they were in as the whole group was being watched. Also, the guides were in on what was about to happen.