by Jack Ford
‘Look, when I come back, I can give you all the time in the world. I’ll sit down and I’ll hear what you have to say and I’ll tell you anything you wanna know, Maddie, and we can decide what to do from there. But right now, I gotta get out of here.’
She stepped in towards Cooper. Moved her head so she could look him right in the eye.
‘Come back from where?’
‘Jesus, Maddie. I dunno, come back from finding Rosedale.’
‘No, that’s not what you meant. Come back from where, Tom?’
Cooper closed his eyes. Opened them. She was still there staring. ‘Why you doing this Maddie? I just want to go, okay?’
‘I know you Tom, and I know when you’re trying to avoid telling me something. You’re doing that thing men do. Turn it round, make it look like we’re doing something wrong, when all it is, is a simple question. Where will you be coming back from?’
They were interrupted, to Cooper’s relief, by a little voice.
‘Hey, Daddy!’
‘Cora! Hey! Mommy didn’t tell me you were here.’
‘I didn’t have the chance.’
Cooper gave a side glance to Maddie as he picked up Cora and gave her a big hug. ‘I’ve missed you.’
‘I missed you too, Daddy.’
‘How’s Mr. Crawley?’
‘Dead.’
Cooper pulled a sad face. ‘I’m sorry.’
‘I woke up and he’d gone.’
‘Doesn’t mean he’s dead just because he’s gone missing.’
Cora’s face lit up. ‘You don’t think so?’
‘No, I don’t, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.’
Cooper put Cora down and watched her skip off happily along the hall.
‘For God’s sake, why did you go and say that? You know that caterpillar’s been dead for about two months now. I threw the thing away a couple of days ago.’
‘I just wanted to cheer her up.’
‘Well you can cheer me up by telling me what’s going on. What are you trying to keep from me?’
‘I’ve told you, I’m not hiding anything, what do you take me for?’
‘I don’t know what I take you for, Tom, because you can’t even answer a simple question. Where will you be coming back from?’
Cooper kicked the bottom of the cream kitchen cupboards. ‘From the DRC. Happy now?’
‘What do you mean?’
‘I’m going back there tomorrow.’
‘The hell you are!’
The roar of Granger’s voice behind them was so loud both Maddie and Cooper jumped.
His face exploded with color. He ground his teeth as he snarled. His words almost lost in his yelling anger.
‘What the hell game are you playing, Cooper? You’ve lost it this time. I told you. Didn’t I tell you? What did I say? I said to get your ass back here or I revoke your license.’
‘What’s your problem, Granger? I came back, didn’t I? We got the results, didn’t we? The bank can claim back on insurance now. So what is it with you? You’ve got everything you wanted, Granger. This is my free time now. I can do as I please, but you still have to go there with me.’
‘Got what I wanted? The hell I have, Cooper. The hell I have. What I wanted was a birthday card from my only child but I can’t, can I? Because you made sure you took her away from me.’
‘Is this it? Is this how it’s going to be all the time? Because I’ve put up with it and I’ve put up with it from you. But you gotta stop now. You gotta stop doing this. Every time you’re pissed, you bring up your daughter. But I’m trying, okay.’
Granger, although much smaller, leapt at Cooper. Grabbed onto his clothing. Slammed his fists into Cooper’s chest. ‘How dare you! You don’t know what trying is. You cause pain wherever you go. To Maddie. To your friends. To me. Anybody who goes near you, you hurt because you’re so lost. You’ve pushed everybody away. But you don’t get it do you?’
‘What don’t I get?’
‘You don’t get that you and she were everything to me. The son I never had… The day of the accident, I lost both of you that day, because you never came back to me either. I loved you, Cooper. I needed you to share the pain with me, and the grief, as well as try to heal together. I never blamed you then, but by God I do now.’
Cooper’s voice cracked. He pointed a finger to himself. ‘And I loved you, Granger, but I’m still here.’
‘Not to me you’re not.’
Granger rummaged in his brown jacket pocket. Pulled out his wallet and took out a photo from it. ‘See this. I carry this everywhere with me. It’s the last photo I had of her. It was taken the day before you went out to Lamu… Look at it, Cooper… I said look at it!’
Cooper turned away. ‘I can’t.’
‘Yes, you can. Look…! For God’s sake, you son of a bitch, look!’
‘Okay, okay.’ Cooper turned and stared at the photo.
‘You see that? You see the two of you looking so happy? So at peace? Well that’s what you took away. You took away both of you and now, Cooper, I can’t stand the sight of you.’
‘You want me to quit? Is that it? Is that what you want? Fine. I’ll quit this job then you won’t have to see me again.’
Cooper went to walk out the door but Granger grabbed him by his arm.
‘Oh no, no you don’t. No way do you get off that lightly. You don’t leave this job, Cooper. You’re never going to get the luxury of not being reminded of the pain you’ve caused. Every day of your rotten, stinking life, I’m going to be right up your ass reminding you of what you did.’
Cooper held Granger’s gaze, then turned and walked away.
110
‘Coop!’
Levi Walker waved, running after Cooper’s truck as he put it in gear. He slammed on the brakes, whirling gravel and dust into the air.
‘Hey, Levi… Hey, man. It’s good to see you. I could’ve done with seeing your face in there.’
Levi grinned. ‘My face was hiding out in the other room, bro. I love you, but not that much. Granger’s been like a lion looking for his prey. Man, I’ve never seen him so bad. I’m surprised he hasn’t just gone right ahead and burst into flames, but he always gets like this round his birthday. He even slammed the phone down on Dorothy. She was ready to come over and give him a piece of her mind.’
Cooper laughed, picturing Dorothy, Levi’s long-suffering wife, a short, stocky black woman who never wasted time on small-talk and didn’t take fools lightly. He held her in the highest regard and always enjoyed her wise and kind company. ‘How is Dorothy?’
‘Bitching my butt off, that’s how. She was born to moan. I said to her this morning, Woman, the only time you’ll stop moaning is when you’re cold in your grave, and even then I have my doubts… She was asking about you by the way.’
Grinning, Cooper shook his head. ‘Levi, you’d be lost without her, Dorothy keeps you in line. Tell her I’ll see her soon.’
‘Well make sure you do. Otherwise, I’ve no doubt she’ll call you up and give you a piece of her mind… Listen, is it true what I heard back there? You really going back?’
‘Yeah, I’ve just got to go and find Rosedale, try to persuade him to come. I’ll probably be flying out tomorrow.’
Levi whistled. ‘Coop, I don’t know what to say. I’m worried about you, man. Maddie told me what you were like over there. It don’t sound good. And you look terrible. Nothing about it sounds good. I’m not going to ask you not to go, because I’ll be wasting both our times. But I want you to think about the fact, this may be the last time I see you.’
Cooper turned away, looking across to the Granite Mountain in the distance. ‘Levi, that’s crazy talk. It sounds like something Mad…’
‘I’d say?’
Maddie stood by the 1954 Chevrolet, her hands on her hips, but a softness in her voice.
‘Yeah, I would say it, because after everything, we all still care, Tom. We love you. Levi, me, even Granger.’
&n
bsp; Levi pursed his lips. ‘Granger? Baby, I wouldn’t go that far.’
Maddie cut her eye at Levi and carried on. ‘He does, but he’s hurt, like you’re hurt. Tom, please, don’t go. We all need you to stay. Cora needs her daddy.’
‘Don’t do that, Maddie. Don’t bring her into it.’
‘Why not? Because she’s a part of it all, like we all are.’
‘Look, I know you’ve heard it before, but this will be the last time. Okay? I’ll rethink everything when I get back. I’ll get myself cleaned up. But I gotta go, and Maddie, all those things I said back at the house I meant. I really did.’
‘Then don’t go. Stay here with us.’
Cooper shook his head. ‘I can’t.’
‘But that’s where you’re wrong. You can. Of course you can. This is crazy.’
‘Maddie, I’m sorry. For everything. I always have been.’
‘Tom, you do realize you could be killed.’
Cooper reached out of the window to touch her hand. ‘Let’s just hope I’m not.’
‘Tom…’
Cooper put the truck in gear and skidded away, speeding off down the cactus-lined dust road, leaving Maddie and Levi watching on.
She held Levi’s hand. ‘You think we’ll see him again?’
‘I don’t know Maddie. I just don’t know. All we can do is hope.’
111
Cooper had been driving around all the motels in the Scottsdale area where Rosedale had told him he occasionally stayed. He’d tried six so far, and each one had drawn a blank. But he doubted Rosedale had gone back to his place in Wimberley, Texas. It was clear to him that Rosedale and he were quite similar – though he knew Rosedale would never admit it.
The only thing either of them hadn’t pushed away was their work, and without it they were both lost. Rosedale going back to Wimberley on his own accord was as likely as Cooper going back to the ranch.
His cell rang and vibrated on the dashboard. Reaching across, he switched it onto loud speaker. ‘Cooper.’
‘Hey, Coop, it’s Eddie. And no, I’m not whispering.’
‘Hey, Eddie, how’s it going?’
‘Good. Well, okay. Sorry I didn’t call you yesterday, Jennifer had to go to the doctor’s. This pregnancy has been a bit of a nightmare.’
‘Eddie, I’m sorry. Is the baby okay?’
‘Yeah, all fine, but she’s under orders to take it easy.’
‘Send her my love won’t you.’
‘Of course I will. So, listen, I’ve got the results of the blood. It was as you thought. The bacteria in Emmanuel’s blood is exactly the same as the bacteria in the flea you brought in, and in the flea which was on Dr. Foster’s clothes.’
112
‘Rosedale? You in there?’
Cooper banged on room 16.
‘Rosedale, if you didn’t want anyone to know you were in there, perhaps next time try not leaving your cowboy boots outside.’
‘If you have to come in, the door’s open.’
Cooper walked into the motel room. Expected a plain room with drab, ugly furniture, practical yet functional. What he got was bright and cheerful, clean white wood with blinds to match.
‘It’s nice in here.’
Rosedale sat in a purple recliner, opposite the TV. ‘Yep, it sure beats the floor of the jungle.’
Cooper perched on the end of the bed, looking at the movie Rosedale was watching.
‘Is this the bit where the Sioux give Lieutenant John Dunbar his name, Dances With Wolves?’
Rosedale didn’t say anything for a moment. He paused the DVD. Turned to Cooper, coldness in his eyes. ‘What is it you want, Thomas?’
‘I want to go back to the DRC, and I want you to come with me.’
‘You crazy boy… Now, if you’ve got nothing more to say to me, close the door on the way out.’
‘I’ll leave, but only once I’ve told you what it is Templin-Wright and Bemba are doing out there.’
Rosedale tilted his head, putting an unlit cigar in his mouth. ‘I’m listening.’
Cooper threw the books from the library on the bed, which Rosedale picked up with interest.
‘The Insect Army. The War of the Insects. What is this, Thomas?’
‘Well, I knew we had to look further. Emmanuel wasn’t the problem, but I couldn’t work out what was. But it only really started to come together for me when I saw the injection marks on that woman.’
‘Like how?’
‘Bemba, Charles and Donald Parker are the main players in this whole thing. And what they’ve done is use the people’s strong spiritual belief to manipulate and defraud.’
Rosedale frowned. ‘Go on.’
‘With consumers beginning to demand conflict-free products the pressure on the American electronics companies is really on, but a lot of companies have realized how difficult it is due to the militias’ presence and the constant violence, so they’ve either continued mining conflict minerals – although as we know there’s legislation trying to stop that – or, like a lot of companies, they’ve upped and left the DRC, because unlike Nadbury Electronics, most of the other firms didn’t own every link in the chain, and therefore didn’t have a huge amount of investment.’
‘You mean as in how Nadbury Electronics owns Condor Atlantic Mines.’
‘Right. So what we have is Nadbury having spent a hell of a lot of money investing in these mines, so there’s no way they want to pull out. Plus the fact they know there are millions and millions of dollars profit to be had in that area. They also see a huge opening in the market because of the demand for ethical mining, but only if they could prove to the world they were dealing with conflict-free minerals.’
Rosedale sighed. ‘Yeah but what are you getting at?’
‘Initially the militia were their main problem. That’s what stood between them and the big profits. As we know the militia brought violence, extortion, protection taxes, interception of the minerals in transit. The list goes on. But get rid of the militia your problem goes away. Or rather, Nadbury Electronics’s problem goes away. But the question is, how do they do it?’
‘You’re not making sense, Thomas. What has this got to do with the books?’
‘Beau actually gave me the idea and showed me what I couldn’t see. But once I read these books it all fell into place. Remember what Father O’Malley said to us about the militia not even wanting to go near what was seen as possessed land?’
‘Yeah.’
‘Well, this is where Bemba comes in. By using Bemba and getting him to work for them, Donald Parker and Charles were able to get Bemba to use the people’s cultural beliefs to scare the militia off the land. But they had to make it look authentic. Make it look like there was another force at play. So what they did was use infected fleas to bite people and cause them to become ill. Making them think that they and their land were possessed. That’s what the porcelain pots were about.’
Rosedale sat up in his chair.
Cooper continued. ‘I think they’ve been constructing porcelain clay bombs filled with infected fleas and dropping them over the area. There are some photos in the books of the clay bombs that this Japanese General, Shirō Ishii, used to drop fleas to infect people. They’re exactly the same as the pots we saw, or what I thought were pots, in the Lemon water plant… It’s very basic, but clearly very effective.’
‘You sure?’
‘As sure as I can be. It all makes sense. They’ve been packaging the fleas inside the bomb and creating entomological warfare. That’s why the plane was flying so low. According to the books, they could drop the bombs with a basic detonator on a five second timer from an aircraft at a height of 100-300 meters and they’d explode leaving almost no trace. In order to detonate TNT, it must be confined in a casing or shell, which makes the clay bomb perfect. I think Charles and Donald are in charge of, or are part of, the making of the bombs. They both have the tell-tale yellow staining on their skin from handling TNT.’
‘You th
ink someone like Donald Parker would get involved in the actual making of the things?’
‘Normally, I’d say, no. But this isn’t normal. No doubt they want as few as people knowing as possible. So if that means Parker has to do his share of things, then so be it. After all it was him I saw at Lemon only recently. And remember that rat we saw in the Perspex box on our first visit to Lemon water plant?’
‘Yeah?’
‘Well it was covered in fleas wasn’t it? That’s probably where they get the fleas from. They use the rats as a host.’
‘That’s a hell of a lot of rats they’d need to catch.’
‘Which is why I think they got the kids in the area to collect the rats for money. So they have a constant supply of hosts for the fleas to breed and feed off, because otherwise if the fleas don’t get enough blood it’s impossible for the fleas to survive. In the books it talks about fleas having sturdy bodies, and being pretty hardy. So the packaging of the fleas, as well as the drop from the plane, doesn’t have much of an effect on them. So once the porcelain bomb explodes, the fleas just jump out from the broken clay bombs without a problem. Obviously some will die, but they were probably the ones we saw in large clusters on the ground.’
‘Jesus, Thomas. How come nobody noticed?’
‘Like who? Who is it that cares? And the Lemon water plant is a perfect cover. They stay seemingly transparent, even doing educational tours. Plus, they’re also involved in the community. So the whole place is something of an example for positive and social community projects.’
Rosedale was very interested by now. ‘So maybe it was fleas Zola was talking about when she said people thought the witchcraft was coming from the skies. Perhaps there was a cloud of fleas.’
‘I’m with you on that one.’
‘But, wait a minute. If you think it was the militia they wanted off the land, why are the locals involved with it all?’
‘This is a guess, okay, but I think the plan with the fleas probably worked so well with the militia, they started to use it to manipulate the locals off their land. After all, the whole area for miles and miles is prime mining land, worth millions, maybe billions of dollars in mineral reserves… It all started to make sense to me when I went to see a friend of mine who works at Washington University. She helped me check the mining licenses.’