by Jack Ford
Rosedale looked at her. Held her gentle stare before realising he’d held it too long and pulled away. Unused to the sense of fluster, he looked down at the nameless silver pouch which Granger sourced directly from one of his colleagues, a research scientist at NASA. He looked up and pretended what had just happened hadn’t and as if judging a gourmet meal, he said, ‘I’m not sure…I’m thinking beef lasagne but I’m tasting parsley.’
Cooper’s thoughts were elsewhere, and he was aware his speech was slower than usual. ‘Do you think this Bemba guy is for real? Do you think he believed her grandson had been possessed?’
Rosedale said, ‘What do you think? The man’s a charlatan if there ever was one. Praying on traditional beliefs for gain. Remember it was only after you’d told Zola that you’d been sent by the spirits to help her that she really began to trust you. So if you can manipulate her beliefs, think what a guy like Bemba can do to the whole community.’
‘And just for greed?’
‘I reckon. That’s what makes the world go round.’
‘And maybe for power as well,’ suggested Maddie. ‘Money and power. That reliable cliché.’
Cooper sighed. ‘I can’t believe she gave him her land for the exchange when a trip to hospital might’ve saved him.’
‘Yeah but Tom, think about it. We’re miles from anywhere and your core belief is the spirit world. And now it looks like your grandson is possessed by Kindoki and you think Bemba will free him of it and make him well again. Wouldn’t you give him your land for that? I would. My land. My house. Anything to make it okay again.’
‘You weren’t this understanding last night.’
Maddie glanced at Rosedale who gave her a reassuring, encouraging smile. ‘I’m not saying it’s right. I’m saying that’s what she believes. And it’s complicated for me. In principal I respect and understand it but in actuality, I abhor it. Hate it. Especially how over the years it’s morphed into a base for abuse and turned into some lucrative business. It’s hard…’
Maddie trailed off as Cooper waved to greet Zola who’d been sleeping in the other hut.
‘Hey! Good morning. I don’t know if you’re hungry, but we’ve got some freeze-dried food if you want. Sorry, it’s not great but we didn’t want to light a fire and cook anything in case the smoke attracted attention.’
Cooper passed Zola one of the pouches which she didn’t even bother taking. Looked at it with as much disgust as Maddie had hers.
Not bothering to try to sell the idea of reconstituted food to Zola, Cooper told her their plans.
‘We’re going to leave you here for a while, and perhaps later you could show us where this land of yours is, would that be okay?’
She nodded without saying anything.
‘We’re not sure how long we’ll be. We’re going to go down to the water treatment plant which is about ten miles or so from here.’
Zola’s face blanched. Didn’t go unnoticed by any of them. A look of fear came into her eyes. And speaking quietly Cooper took hold of her hands which were shaking. ‘Are you alright? What’s going on, Zola?’
Zola glanced from Maddie, who didn’t meet her gaze, to Rosedale, before leaning in to Cooper. Then speaking in a hush as if someone else was listening, she said, ‘Emmanuel said it was a bad place.’
Cooper frowned. Saw how genuinely frightened she looked. ‘Why?’
‘They say the evil came from the sky. Black clouds of evil… And he saw them.’
‘Who? Who did Emmanuel see?’
‘He saw the undead.’
65
For most of the drive Cooper stayed silent. He was hoping that whatever it was he was missing would jump out at him. He could feel there was something else. Something far bigger which would help him make sense of it all. And he didn’t know how he was supposed to go about looking beyond, when he didn’t know what he was supposed to be seeing in the first place. It didn’t help that his thoughts were foggy. He seemed to be spending his days looking out into some kind of blur. And as such he sighed. Real long. Real hard. Checked neither Rosedale nor Maddie was looking and took out a couple more pills to try to straighten himself out.
‘A nickel for them.’ It was Rosedale.
Cooper made an effort to sound cheerful. The last thing he needed was for Rosedale to be on his case again. ‘Not even a dollar? Anyone tell you you’re cheap, Rosedale?’
Rosedale, turning off down the now-familiar track towards the Lemon water treatment plant, winked. ‘You’re lucky it was even a nickel. I don’t think your thoughts are worth more than that. Whatever goes on in that head of yours Thomas, it sure ain’t worth a buck.’
Cooper rubbed his eyes. Tired from being awake most of the night. ‘Let’s see, shall we?’
‘Go on, try me. I’ll raise you five.’
Cooper gave Rosedale his best effort. Grinned at Maddie. ‘Okay, what we’ve got is a plane registered to a guy, Emmanuel. A plane we know he couldn’t afford. Probably someone bankrolled his account so he could put it in his name. And now he seems to have disappeared off the face of the earth, although we do know he’s been part of a deliverance. We know somehow Papa Bemba’s involved. We also know Emmanuel has visited Lemon, twice, but both times under different names. But what we don’t know is who the other person was who went with him. Then there’s Zola, who lost her grandson, and although Bemba said he would heal him and couldn’t or didn’t, Bemba still did pretty damn well out of it. She seems to be terrified of Lemon which Emmanuel had warned her about, and then lastly there’s good ol’ Charles Templin-Wright, who says he only knows Bemba from the posters dotted around the area, yet he’s driving his car around. The same car we saw the night in the forest with the Commer truck… Go figure.’
Cooper turned to Rosedale as they pulled up outside the large electric gates of Lemon. ‘Now tell me those thoughts aren’t worth a dollar.’
Rosedale nodded his head. Turned off the engine. Looked at Cooper. ‘You’re right, they aren’t. Not even close, sugar… Come on, Maddison, let’s go, unless of course you want to wait for boy wonder here.’
66
‘Oh, okay, hold on.’
Charles Templin-Wright sounded surprised and a little ill at ease. The buzzer opened and the large electric gates opened gracefully. But this time, with the rain having ceased and wanting to get a different perspective on the place, Rosedale, Maddie and Cooper decided to walk down the long drive to the reception of the water treatment plant.
Two hundred yards or so from the large stone fountain, where a rainbow of colored flowers grew, a large Land Cruiser drove past at speed. And Cooper was able to get a quick glance.
The car was driven by a large, dark skinned black man, who appeared overheated, dressed in a full chauffeur’s uniform that was a size too small. In the back was a leaner looking guy.
White.
Tanned.
Gray haired and well-dressed, in a weather cool expensive crisp white shirt.
Cooper made a mental note and waved a greeting to Charles who was already outside waiting for them. He waved back. Grinned widely. But unlike the first time they’d come, Cooper sensed Charles wasn’t feeling quite as gregarious and quite as sociable as he was trying to make out.
‘Can’t stay away huh guys? Is my tour of the water plant so alluring you’re coming back for more?’
Rosedale answered frostily. ‘Yeah something like that.’
Charles attempted another wide smile but as it didn’t hit his eyes, Cooper thought the result seemed manic.
Failing to get the response he wanted, Charles swivelled to a friendlier looking face than Rosedale’s or Cooper’s.
‘Maddie, good to see you. You’re looking so much better after your ordeal. I would’ve thought you guys would’ve been well on your way by now, get on the road again as it were. Not exactly Route 66, but we do our best.’
Maddie said nothing and Charles’s laughter was a lone sound. Trickled off self-consciously. And Cooper wasn’t int
erested in chit-chat. Not one bit. Not from this guy.
‘Where’s the best place to talk?’
Clapping his hands, which sounded muted due to his excessively sweating palms, Charles turned back towards reception. ‘Okay, well… er, why don’t we step inside? You can’t beat a bit of air conditioning… and I must say I’m intrigued as to why you’re here.’
Inside, the temperature was as refreshing as Cooper had remembered it. Reminding him of Joey’s Ice Cream Parlour. A place he liked to visit with Cora if he was ever in Denver. It not only sold the best peanut butter ice cream, but when the scorching hot weather rose to one hundred degrees Fahrenheit, stepping inside the small establishment to be hit with a blast of cold relief was like meeting an old friend.
‘Let me get straight to the point, Charles, I’m looking to find out about Papa Bemba.’
‘Yes, you said.’
Cooper nodded. Rolled his tongue on his front teeth. His tone purposely condescending.
‘Yes, yes I did, Charles, and I also remember what you said.’
Charles’s small eyes narrowed even further. He glared at Cooper, taking exception as Cooper assumed he would to the tone he’d used.
‘And I remember what I said too. Maybe you’d like me to repeat it. I told you that being in the area and seeing the billboards around which advertised his church made me aware of him.’
‘That’s right, so at least we’re on agreement on something. What we’re not in agreement on though, Charles, is you saying you don’t know him.’
Charles’s voice was tight. ‘That’s right, I don’t.’
‘Okay,’ said Maddie. ‘You see the thing is, this is where we have a problem or rather you have a problem. Because my friends and I want to know how it comes about that someone who doesn’t know Bemba ends up driving his car?’
Charles’s discomfort turned his face crimson. He dabbed it with the silk handkerchief he pulled out of his pocket. Then began to stutter, reminding Cooper of the cartoon character, Porky Pig.
‘I… I… I don’t… don’t know. Let me think. The car I was driving, when?’
With exaggerated boredom, Cooper said, ‘When we saw you in the village with Maddie.’
Charles became animated. ‘Oh yes, sorry I forgot. That car was a…’
Cooper shook his head and interrupted. ‘Rental? Nope. Don’t say it. We both know you can’t hire a car like that around here, and besides, the plates on the car were exactly the same as the car Bemba was in back in Kinshasa… So what do ya say? Shall we start again Mr. Templin-Wright? How about I ask you the question again, do you know Papa Bemba, and then you start telling us the truth.’
Charles looked at the watch he wasn’t wearing. ‘Look, I’ve spent more time with you then I was supposed to. I’ve got an important meeting, so if you don’t mind.’
Cooper took a step nearer to Charles. ‘Not to be too much of a cliché, I do mind. I mind very much and I have a feeling that Maddie and Rosedale here, they mind too.’
Tipping his hat, Rosedale’s gaze was hard and steely. ‘You can bet your life I mind, Charles.’
‘Hey Charles, and FYI, so do I,’ added Maddie.
Bending to the pressure, Charles blustered. ‘It was a friend’s. Yes, I’ve just remembered, stupid me, maybe, perhaps, he borrowed it from this Bemba guy. I’ve no idea.’
Cooper scoffed. He’d been on edge but this felt like his perfect tonic. He poked Charles hard in the chest with two fingers. And hell, that was good. ‘Now I’d say that was pretty convenient for you to suddenly have a friend who’d borrowed the car from Bemba. I don’t suppose you could give me the name of this friend could you? Or has that slipped your memory?’
‘I couldn’t possibly just go around telling you the name of my friends.’
Cooper sneered. Bent down to his eye level. Winked. ‘One last question, Charles. Who’s Emmanuel Mutombo?’
‘I don’t know.’
Maddie said, ‘You don’t know or you won’t say? What do you think, Tom?’
‘I think that’s all… For now. Thanks for your time.’
He paused, pointing at half a dozen large brown vases sitting upside down on the floor near the desk. ‘Nice vases by the way.’
Charles’s smile was tight. ‘They’re not actually vases. Just ornaments really. We commission local artisans to make things. It’s better to support the community and buy things here rather than buy things in the States and get them shipped over. We’ve just had a bit of an overhaul. New décor, so why not have some new ornaments as well.’
Cooper stared at Charles coldly. ‘Why not indeed.’
67
From the second floor window, Charles Templin-Wright watched Cooper, Maddie and Rosedale walk away. And picking up the phone on his desk, he dialled a number.
He said, ‘It’s me. We’ve got a problem.’
68
‘What was that about the vases back there, Tom?’ Maddie shouted from the back seat over the noisy engine of the white Toyota, which she’d become oddly fond of, as it picked up speed on a surprisingly accessible part of the road.
Cooper gazed out of the window, watching but not really seeing the passing countryside. He sighed. Yawned. Sighed some more. ‘I don’t know yet, though I…’
‘Oh hell,’ said Rosedale. ‘Looks like we’ve got company… Look.’
Three cream Land Rovers were parked and spread across the entire width of the road. Cooper leant forward, staring intently at the men sitting in the vehicles. ‘Holy crap, I think they’re armed!’
Rosedale crunched the Toyota into reverse, spinning it round in a spray of mud as Cooper scrabbled over to the back passenger seat and Maddie rummaged in the bottom of one of the large canvas bags, pulling out two Colt M4 Carbines, one of which she passed to Cooper. The car weaved and snaked and threw them around and across the seat as it went at speed over the rough terrain.
Hammering the vehicle with his foot fully down on the gas, Rosedale yelled. ‘How close Maddie?’
‘Fifty foot and closing!’
A smell of burning tyres and engine fumes billowed into the open windows of the Toyota.
‘Hold on, guys!’ Rosedale span the wheel and a tight turn sent the car off the road, his expert driving crashing them through the thick vegetation. Careering and swaying and dipping and hurtling them along into the dense undergrowth.
Directly in front of them there was a line of trees and for a split second Cooper thought Rosedale was going to hit them straight on, but the brakes slammed, throwing Maddie to the floor.
She scrabbled back up as Rosedale wheelspun the Toyota and cranked it into a speeding reverse, sending mud flying everywhere. Covering the windows. Partially blocking the view.
Cooper shouted. ‘They’re shooting!’
Flicking the safety catch off the M4, Maddie ducked down as the back window exploded. Shattering and sending tiny fragments of glass ricocheting around the inside of the car. And the bullets continued to fly with Rosedale swerving along at speed. Faster and furious and driving through.
Leaning out of the window, hanging onto the grab handle, Maddie could see Rosedale was trying to head back to the road. She started to shoot. Felt the kickback from the gun pummelling her shoulder as Cooper fired shots out of the other window.
With no warning the Toyota violently jolted, nearly sending Cooper flying out of the window as the tyre struck something hard, making the SUV come to a stop.
With the tyre spinning round, Maddie and Cooper jumped out either side, shielding themselves with the doors.
Suddenly, Cooper shouted ‘My gun’s jammed…! Maddie!’
‘Get back in the car, I’ll cover you… Go!’
As Cooper raced for the car, Maddie continued to pump out bullets at the approaching cars, whilst Rosedale banged his foot on the gas, pushing the gears back and forth and willing the Toyota to move.
Covered and soaking wet from the shower of mud coming from the tyres, Maddie sprayed one of the oncoming
Land Rovers with a round of bullets. The front tyres blew, sending it out of control. It veered off course and hit a low, twisted tree, which flung it high in the air where it twisted round and came down in an explosion of flames.
‘Maddie! Get in…! Maddie!’
Rosedale leant out of the window, gesturing to her as the car became unstuck from the rocky hole.
And running backwards, Maddie fired at the other Land Rovers coming into view. She ran faster, shouting at Rosedale. ‘Go! Go! Go!’
Maddie scrabbled and stumbled before jumping onto the car’s running board and throwing herself in as Rosedale accelerated, driving through the twisted trunks of the banana trees to put them back onto the road.
Meanwhile Cooper had exchanged the jammed Colt for a Barrett 82A1 shoulder fired semi-automatic .50 calibre rifle, which he pointed out of the window, expecting any minute to see the Land Rovers coming into view. Holding tight. Holding tense. Scanning the bushes.
After a minute, he said, ‘I guess we’ve lost them! Way to go, Rosedale… Way to go, Maddie. Sorry, guys, my gun totally screwed up… You okay, Maddie?’
Maddie sat clutching the top of her shoulder. Calmly she said, ‘Yeah, I think I may have been hit.’
‘Is she okay? Is she okay? Have a look… Thomas! Have a look!’ Unusually, Rosedale sounded as if he’d lost his cool as he tried to drive and turn and look round.
‘Okay, Rosedale! Keep your eyes on the road. I’m looking!’
Cooper quickly tore at the top of Maddie’s shirt to get to the wound. Seeing that it was just a superficial one, he smiled. Surprised at how relived he felt. ‘Yeah, she’s okay. She’ll live. It’s not a bullet. It’s from the back window.’
Very gently but firmly, Cooper pulled out a large splintered piece of glass which was deeply imbedded into Maddie’s shoulder. She gritted her teeth and tried not to wince at the sharp pain and looked at him with a smile, wide eyed. Made him feel bad at the way he’d been treating her. He pushed that thought away.