by Jack Ford
‘Leave her out of it.’
‘No, you’ve got to listen. We’re all here trying to help you.’
‘I never asked you to come, Maddie, in fact I never wanted you to.’
‘But I did, Tom, because I knew this was going to happen, like it used to when you were looking for her.’
The gun in Cooper’s hand began to shake. ‘I don’t need you to look after me, but there you are. Hanging on, hanging around. When will it sink in, Maddie, I don’t want you anywhere near me. Never have. Desperate isn’t a good look.’
Rosedale intervened. ‘Shut up, Thomas.’
‘Shut up? Correct me if I’m wrong, Rosedale, but isn’t it you who keeps on wanting me to speak to Maddie and tell her how it is? How I really feel about her. Well, that’s exactly what I’m doing.’
There was the sound of another hammer cocking. This time it was Rosedale. He pointed his gun straight at Cooper. ‘I said shut up, Thomas.’
As the Congolese rain thundered down, Cooper stood in the middle of the wide, red-mud road, pointing his weapon at Rosedale, as he pointed one at him, with Maddie standing between them. But he wasn’t backing down. Not one bit.
‘Maddie, I don’t love you. I never will, not even…’
Rosedale broke into his words. ‘Shut up! Not unless you want me to blow you away, right now. Which is it going to be? Shut up or I’ll do it for you, and you know I will, hell Thomas, you know it’s true. Back when we worked together. Did I ever hesitate? Did I ever back down from killing a man? No, and I haven’t changed.’
Cooper’s lips moved to speak but it was Rosedale who got in first. ‘Think about it real carefully before you say anything else, ‘cos if you die, what’s going to happen if she comes back?’
Cooper blinked. ‘What?’
‘What if Ellie is really alive and she comes looking for you? But it’ll be no good if you’re dead. What then? Haven’t you already lost enough because of her? Your friends. Your family. Your kid. The chance of happiness, the chance of anything. Hell, if anyone’s the living dead around here, it’s you. Nothing else mattered apart from that search of yours, did it? How many years did you look? Travelling around and getting into trouble in the hope you’d find her. And every time, Maddie would come and find you. You should be ashamed, Thomas. But then everyone thought you’d come to your senses. Put it behind you. You got married, had a kid. And from the outside it looked so good. You and Maddie together. But up here. In your head. You never stopped searching, did you? Never really let her go. But you know what I think? I think it was never about Ellie. It was about you. The search was never about finding her, it was about finding yourself. You’re lost Thomas, always have been, always will be. And the drugs have just finished you off. You’ve got nothing else, and this ghost of Ellie which haunts you is the only reason you’ve got to keep on living. Without it you’re dead, but what you don’t see Thomas, is with it, you’re dead as well.’
And the only sound was the drone of the rain as Cooper lowered his gun. He walked round Maddie and Rosedale without saying anything else. In the distance he heard Rosedale talk with loving warmth. ‘Maddison, listen to me, you know what…’
‘Don’t bother, Rosedale. I know what you’re going to say, but both of us know full well he meant it. He meant every single word.’
75
The villagers stood back as Cooper laid Zola’s body in front of them, watching on edge as he waved his gun. His top was covered in blood and he had no doubt his face was smeared red as well.
‘I want you to bury her properly, you hear? This woman was a good woman. She had no evil in her, no Kindoki, nothing. The only thing she had inside her was love.’
He backed away from the sea of intrigued faces.
A black motorcycle, leaning up against the wall of one of the brick huts, grabbed his attention.
‘Who owns this bike…? À qui appartient ce vélo?’
A young man, no older than twenty, stepped forward. ‘I do.’
‘Well I’m going to borrow it, but I’ll bring it back, okay?’
With his eyes firmly fixed on Cooper’s gun, the man nodded. Went into his pocket. Shakily handed him the keys. No doubt feeling it was a small price to pay.
76
Cooper had been waiting outside for the past eighty-six minutes. Not that he cared. He was happy to wait all day if he had to. Waiting was something he was good at. Something over the years he’d honed, especially when it meant seeing who he needed to see.
Thinking that he was going to be in for a long wait, but not particularly caring, he was happy to be proved wrong when the large gates suddenly glided open, letting out a nondescript car.
Taking advantage of the moment he’d been waiting for, Cooper slammed down hard on the kick-start. Sped the bike through the now open gates. Raced along the perfectly tarmacked road.
Jumping off the bike at the entrance, Cooper sent it spinning along the ground with the engine still revving. He ran into the main reception of the Lemon water treatment plant, calling out to the person he was wanting to see.
Wide eyed and wired and agitated, looking for someone to pay.
‘Charles…! Charles…! Charles!’
He bellowed hard to the sheer terror of the woman working behind the desk, who stayed frozen at the sight of Cooper covered in blood.
‘Where is he…? Where’s Charles?’
Fear rendered the woman almost speechless. ‘He’s… he’s…’
Cooper slammed on the desk. ‘He’s where? Upstairs? Is that where?’
The woman managed to nod. Managed to get out the words. ‘Second floor… end of the hall.’
Cooper dashed up the stairs, calling out again. ‘Charles…! Charles! Get the hell out here now, unless you want me to come and find you… Charles!’
A door opened at the end of the hall and there, standing nervously, was Charles Templin-Wright.
Before he had time to open his mouth, Cooper smashed his fist into Charles’s face.
The blow split open his lip instantly.
But he hadn’t finished. He slammed his forearm into Charles’s throat to pin him against the wall, their noses nearly touching. ‘She’s dead, shot through the head, and unless I find out otherwise, I’m holding you responsible.’
‘What… what are you talking about?’
‘I’m talking about Zola, but you wouldn’t have even bothered to know her name, would you?’
‘I don’t…’
‘Know what I’m talking about…? Sure you don’t.’
He kneed Charles in the stomach. Winded him. Caused his body to judder with pain as he kept him pinned against the wall.
‘I’m going to find out, you hear me, Charles? And when I do, you’ll wish your momma never gave birth to you. The thing is, I hate liars. I hate cowards. And you, Charles, are both… Don’t bother trying to shake your head, because we both know that’s true. Take the car I saw you in. Are you still going to tell me it was your friend not you who borrowed it off Bemba?’
He pushed harder on Charles’s trachea. ‘Well are you?’
With his face scarlet, Charles gave a tiny shake of his head and saliva spluttered out of his mouth as he scratched at Cooper’s arm and desperately tried to pull it away from the choke-hold.
Cooper gave it another minute before releasing Charles, who fell forward and dropped on all fours and coughed violently. Not letting him off so easily, he joined him on his knees. He grabbed Charles’s hair to lift his head up to look at him.
‘Where’s Bemba?’
‘I… I don’t know what you mean.’
The slap Cooper gave to the side of Charles’s ear sounded along the hall. ‘I think you know damn well what I mean. Don’t waste my time Charles. I’m not in the mood to have it wasted.’
Charles stared. Looked terrified. ‘Okay… okay, I know him… not well but…’
‘Save the BS, Charles, just tell me where he is.’
‘I don’t know. I don’t know
that. His church in Buziba, maybe?’
Pulling Charles to a standing position by his thin, listless hair, Cooper was as red faced as Charles. ‘Are you trying to play games with me, Charlie-boy? Because if you are, let me give you a word of advice: never take on a crazy man who’s got nothing left to lose. And I haven’t. I’ve got nothing left. So what’s it going to be?’
Charles’s face was a mixture of horror and panic and fear and dread. He shook violently as he spoke. ‘I just don’t know any more information than that. I swear.’
‘You don’t know where he lives?’
Charles shook his head as he gave his answer. ‘No.’
Digesting the reply, Cooper let go of Charles’s hair. ‘Okay, this is how it’s going to work. I’m leaving now, but I’m coming back for you. Understand? I’m coming the hell back.’
‘Yes… okay…okay.’
‘And when I do, you’ll have found out where Bemba lives and what he does and where he goes.’
‘But…’
Cooper put his finger on Charles’s mouth, jamming it hard against the split lip which still seeped with blood. A tiny squeal of pain came from him.
‘No buts, Charles, got that…? Because if you don’t have the information by then, guess what?’
‘I… I don’t know.’
‘Then I’m going to kill you… Real slow. Real painful… You got that, Charles?’
‘Yes… yes.’
‘Good… I’ll see you soon.’
Turning and marching down the hallway, Cooper took the stairs at speed. Trailed his hand along the reception desk. Passed the frightened woman. Kicked at the brown ornaments he’d spoken with Charles about which sat on the floor.
They smashed, sending hundreds of fragmented pieces everywhere. With sarcasm rich in his voice he said, ‘Oops, sorry about that.’
‘It’s… it’s… it’s fine. Really, don’t worry.’
Striding to the door, he suddenly stopped dead in his tracks. And to the quiet consternation of the receptionist, he turned back. Bent down and picked up a piece of the clay ornament and then popped it into his pocket and turned and walked out into the Congolese rain.
77
In the second floor hallway, Charles Templin-Wright was attempting to recover from what he would describe later to one of his colleagues as a terrible ordeal.
The door of his office opened.
‘You need to do better than that Charles. Much better.’
Papa Bemba spoke to Charles, the scars across his eye sockets looking red and raised, more sore than usual as the small razor cuts from his spiritual self-mutilation last week were beginning to become infected.
‘I didn’t tell him anything.’
The smile on Bemba’s face was twisted and manic. ‘He sees, Charles. He sees without words. The spirits for some reason are guiding, unlike the woman…’
‘Maddie.’
‘She is blind. Visionless. You should find her, Charles, and when you do, bring her here to me.’
78
Cooper wheel-slid the motorcycle in the thick mud, avoiding a head on collision with Rosedale, who sped directly towards him in the Toyota, sliding to a halt, blocking his way.
Rosedale opened the car door. Got out. Stood on the running board. ‘I’ve been looking for you Thomas.’
‘Well now you’ve found me, you can go right ahead and turn round.’
With the rain still hammering down, sounding like steel percussion on the bonnet of the SUV, Rosedale had to raise his voice over the noise. ‘Thomas, listen, I have to talk to you.’
‘Thing is, Rosedale, I’ve got nothing to say to you.’
‘Thomas, come on. You’re acting crazy.’
‘I don’t think I am. I know exactly what I’m doing.’
‘You don’t think dosing yourself up with all kinds of medication and carrying dead bodies around, pulling your gun on your team, is a little crazy? Not to mention this really wasn’t the brief Granger gave us.’
‘Rosedale, I know you. We go back a long way, and in that time, you must have pulled your gun on me at least a dozen times. And how come I didn’t say that was crazy?’
A hint of amusement came into Rosedale’s tone. ‘It wasn’t. I actually wanted to kill you.’
‘Did you believe what you said back there about Ellie coming back to me?’
‘No, Thomas, I didn’t, and deep down I don’t think you believe it either. Guilt has a way of doing strange things to folk.’
‘So why say it?’
‘To make you shut up, and stop me having to put a bullet in you.’
Needing to use his whole arm to wipe away the rain from his face, Cooper said,
‘Leave me alone Rosedale. Just go!’
‘I wish I could but I made a promise, and I take my promises real seriously. Don’t think for a moment it’s got anything to do with me liking you.’
‘Thought never crossed my mind…Where’s Maddie, anyway? Is she in the back?’
‘No, she’s safe though, but she doesn’t want to see you. She’s going home, Thomas. I’m going to put her on a plane. She doesn’t deserve what you did to her. She has her own stuff going on too, but you wouldn’t know about that because you’re too busy chasing your ass to care.’
‘Does she know I didn’t mean it? That I didn’t mean a word. Does she know I love her? Always have. But I just don’t know how to do it her way. How to be what I should be. To love the way other people do.’
‘No, she doesn’t, and I think it should stay like that. It hurts her now, but it’ll be best for her in the long run. She’ll finally be free.’
‘I didn’t just say it because you told me to, I wasn’t going to do that. Well, not the way I did it. I was angry. Took it out on her. And I’m sorry, will you tell her that for me, Rosedale?’
‘I will.’
‘But as for you, Rosedale, you need to stay the hell out of my way.’
Rosedale climbed down from the Toyota to walk towards Cooper. ‘I have something to tell you.’
And suddenly Cooper felt like a cornered animal. A deep agitation came into his manner. ‘Don’t come any closer, Rosedale, don’t try anything stupid.’
‘It’s about Jackson.’
Cooper began to back away. Dragging the bike with him as Rosedale came closer. He pointed angrily. Emotion consuming him. ‘Don’t you mess with me, Rosedale! Don’t you mess with my head. Not about Jackson. Not about him. You… you leave him alone.’
‘I’m not, I wouldn’t do that to you. There was a call. That fool, Levi, said Beau had been trying to contact you urgently. So I called Beau, and we spoke about Jackson.’
Cooper’s gaze darted across Rosedale’s face, seeing if there was any trace of lies. Of game playing. But all he could see was sincerity. Candid sincerity.
‘You’re being serious aren’t you?’
‘Yeah.’
Cooper almost couldn’t stand to ask. His single word was breathless. ‘Well?’
‘Jackson’s in hospital. He… there’s no easy way to say it…’
‘He took an overdose, didn’t he?’
‘Yes, he did.’
Despite anticipating the answer, it still stunned Cooper.
‘And you know with Jackson, it’s not even a cry for help. It’s a cry to end it all.’
‘I’m sorry.’
‘He must’ve been in a dark place. And with him it comes from nowhere. We can be having a good time, doing a cook up, you know; ribs, steak, corn, like they do in Jerry’s in Scottsdale, and everything seems to be fine. The next thing you know this dark cloud just descends. Weighs him down like nothing I’ve ever seen before. And that’s it. I can’t reach him. He’s gone until that cloud lifts.’
‘Sounds a bit like you, Thomas. There’s a lot of pain about. A lot of people hurting, and there’s a lot of healing still to do. A legacy from what happened.’
Bracing himself, Cooper asked, ‘How bad is he?’
‘Still unconscious. You
need to go back home. I think we all need to go back. Kindoki force or not, this place is making us all crazy. Me, you and even Maddie. All of us are saying things we wouldn’t normally say. This place has some kind of special… power.’
The stress Cooper felt was intense. ‘No, no way. I can’t leave here, not now, not with all this stuff going on. I’m not going to abandon it.’
Rosedale’s shoulders slumped. His concern genuine. ‘Listen to me, Thomas, I know you feel like you didn’t save Ellie, that you could’ve done more, and if you had, she’d still be here. But that don’t mean you have to make up for it by going around saving everyone else, even the ones who don’t want to be saved. Don’t make this a crusade, boy. You against the world. That’s not how it works. Let it go.’
Cooper shook his head violently. His eyes wide open and deeply painful from the effects of the Iboga root. ‘No… No… You see that, you see what you did, what you’ve just said. Well that’s what they told me to do about Ellie. Let her go, and I did. Well, I tried to, but I’m not letting this go. I can’t.’
‘Thomas, you’re worrying me. I gotta get you home. I heard what happened to you before. Maddie’s right. You need to get help.’
‘Why, because I want to find out the truth? The old woman, Zola, I’m not going to let her die for nothing… because of me.’
‘It wasn’t because of you.’
‘But it was, I should’ve been watching her but I got a chance… A chance to see Ellie. She helped me see Ellie, Rosedale.’
Rosedale rubbed his chin as he stood in his soaking clothes. Shivered. Looked directly up to the sky and let the rain force him to squeeze his eyes shut. He spoke quietly.
‘I get it now… Jesus, Thomas, is it that bad? Does it hurt so much you need to mess up your brain more than you do already with hallucinogenic crap? I’ve seen what that kind of thing can do to men’s minds, especially if they’re already out on that ledge. And you are, Thomas, you are… Look, you can’t stay here, you need to go and see Jackson.’