Rhino Charge

by Victoria Tait

  Sam commented, “It looks like we’re not the only ones heading into the Mara this evening.”

  Rose spotted Chloe and Thabiti standing by a long wheelbase Land Cruiser safari vehicle. Three rows of rear seats were covered by a canvas roof to provide welcome shade, whilst the rolled-up sides enabled maximum game viewing.

  Rose observed, “This looks rather cumbersome to drive. I hope Marina can handle it.”

  “Don’t worry.” Marina arrived at the vehicle panting. “I’ve driven it before. All aboard.”

  “Sam, why don’t you sit in the front next to Marina? I bet you’re an excellent animal spotter.” Sam did as Rose suggested.

  “Thabiti and Chloe, you take the first row of seats. Jono and I’ll keep out of the way at the back.”

  Chloe whispered, “It’s not like you to organise the seating arrangements. What are you up to?”

  “Wait and see,” responded Rose.

  Chloe climbed up into the vehicle. Thabiti lifted her cool box through the open door and slid it along the floor.

  Marina grated the gears, “Sorry,” she called as they slowly manoeuvred out of headquarters into the Maasai Mara. “We’ll head northeast across the plains to the Olare Orok River.”

  The car turned right and climbed over a small hill. The valley beyond consisted of patches of short yellow grass interspersed with dusty brown areas. Rose observed Maasai herdsmen, wrapped in red shukas, leaning on their long sticks. They watched their herds of cream and brown cattle, which had large humps at the base of their necks, nibble at short blades of grass.

  “Rose,” Marina shouted so she could be heard at the back of the vehicle. “Mara North does get overrun with cattle, but they’ve tried to restrict it, by introducing a managed rotational grazing programme. Don’t worry everyone, we’ll be out of the current grazing area shortly.”

  The track cut between two hills and a vast expanse of long green grass opened up before them. A herd of zebra munched peacefully to their left beside three inquisitive giraffes. Sam turned to the rear passengers. “The zebra are smart. They know giraffes, with their long necks, can easily spot danger which they cannot. You will often see groups of zebra and giraffes together.”

  “Why are those funny antelope standing on top of small mounds?” Chloe pointed to large deer-like animals with glossy brick-coloured coats, long faces, and straight ridged horns which turned in at the top.

  “Those are topi. They love to stand sentry on termite mounds and survey the surrounding area.” They drove towards distant trees as clumps of bushes began to break up the grassland. “Keep quiet,” whispered Sam. “See these broken branches? There are elephants around.”

  Rose spotted the dark grey wrinkled hind quarters of an adolescent elephant. Marina stopped the car, but kept the engine running. Rose knew it was to enable a quick getaway, forwards or in reverse, should they need it.

  “Oh,” cooed Chloe, lifting up a long-lensed camera. A large elephant stepped out of the bushes and crossed the road in front of them, followed unhurriedly by other elephants of various sizes. There were a couple of baby elephants within the herd. Marina drove forward and they watched the retreating bottoms of the elephant stragglers.

  Chloe leaned out of the vehicle and called, “For large animals, they move really quickly.”

  The track wound its way between denser vegetation.

  “Stop,” called Thabiti. “Reverse.”

  Marina followed his instructions.

  “Stop. Yes, I was right. Look at that hyena.” Thabiti pointed to their left.

  Rose gasped and had to stop herself laughing. She had been on many game drives, but wild animals still surprised and delighted her. Less than two metres away, in the bushes, a hyena watched them from the safety of its den: a hole with built-up dirt sides. Two younger members of the family popped their heads up before all three disappeared. Rose shook her head, wondering if she had imagined the scene.

  “Well spotted,” Chloe cried as she turned her camera round so the viewing panel faced Thabiti. “Look, I’ve a great shot of it staring straight into the lens.”

  “That’s not something you see every day,” Sam chuckled.

  Chapter Forty-Seven

  Marina drove the heavy Land Cruiser along the banks of the Olare Orok River as they searched for an elusive leopard. In the end they were content to just sit and watch the antics of a family of baboons preparing for the night ahead. Marina took a different route back towards headquarters, and parked under an acacia tree as day gave way to dusk.

  She turned off the ignition and announced to her passengers, “This is a great place to watch the sunset.”

  Marina removed a small table from the back of the car and arranged a shuka blanket over it. Sam pulled Chloe’s cool box from the vehicle and placed it beside the table. Thabiti and Chloe scrambled out of the back.

  Beside Rose, Jono had been silent during the game drive, but he had begun to take an interest in the animals they spotted. He prepared to stand, but Rose placed a hand on his thigh. “There’s something I need to discuss with you before we join the others.”

  Jono flinched and his eyes were as wary as any animal they’d seen on their safari.

  She began, “I’ve been told about the car accident, the one that happened twenty years ago.”

  Jono closed his eyes and clenched his hand.

  “Marina outlined the events and her cousin Aatma filled in the details. Is the crash the reason you’ve been away from your home, and from Kenya, for so long?”

  Jono nodded.

  “Do you mind telling me what you remember about the accident?”

  Jono looked at her with wide, haunted eyes. “Mind, how can I mind?” He slowly shook his head. “I don’t remember anything. Nothing from the day before the crash until I woke up in hospital three days later. The doctors told me I was lucky to be alive, but I wanted to die. Vadhana was dead. And she was such a lively, vivacious girl.”

  She wished she could help alleviate his pain. She said in a soothing voice, “How did you find out about the crash?”

  Jono tugged at the collar of his polo shirt and replied, “From the police when they arrested me.”

  “What about Aatma, did he visit you in hospital?”

  Jono shook his head. “He was too angry to visit me. I heard he flew home with Vadhana’s body, and I didn’t see or speak to him again.” Jono wiped the back of his hand across his cheek.

  Marina returned to the car for a basket, but she didn’t look at them and hurried back to the table.

  Rose continued to probe. “And have you seen or spoken to him since you’ve been back in Kenya?”

  Jono looked up at her and responded, “No. I think I saw him in Nairobi once, but he disappeared before I could speak to him.”

  She placed her hands on her thighs and stated, “But you have spoken with Deepak Seth.”

  Jono shuffled in his seat and averted his gaze. “He cornered me at Wilson Airport, after I flew some tourists down from Nanyuki. I couldn’t just ignore him.”

  She decided it was time to get to the point. “Did he blackmail you to make sure Kumar Chauhan’s team didn’t beat his at this year’s Rhino Charge?”

  Jono stiffened. “Why would he want to do that?”

  “Because of his rivalry and resentment towards Kumar, and he’s fed up with being beaten by him. And before Kumar was injured, he would have been driving.”

  Jono crossed his arms. “Why do you think I did anything? Who tampered with the car’s engine? And who hid the safety equipment?”

  She wrinkled her nose. “I thought you had. Are you telling me you didn’t?”

  Jono opened his arms. “I swear, I had nothing to do with those incidents.”

  She repeated his response in her mind, rubbed her ear, and asserted, “But you did pretend to lose the sponsor’s cheque?”

  Jono drooped. “I thought that if the Bandit Bush Hogs couldn’t meet their entry pledge they wouldn’t be able to take part. It
was the simplest way to stop them beating the Rhino Force team.”

  Chloe’s laughter reached them.

  Rose said, “Losing a cheque is one thing, but interfering with winch equipment is quite another. Why did you do it?”

  Jono held up his hands. “Please believe me, I never meant to hurt Mayur. But I was desperate. And I didn’t know what else to do. When I used to attend Rhino Charges, years ago as a teenager, the drivers never attempted to descend such steep slopes. When Mayur explained the route he wanted to take, I tried to persuade him to find an easier alternative, but he was insistent. Perhaps he needed to show everyone he was as good a driver as his father.”

  “But you didn’t stop him. And you haven’t owned up about what you did.” Rose wanted to be sympathetic, but she knew her words sounded harsh.

  Jono didn’t appear to notice, but gently rocked to and fro. “He refused to listen and I was frantic. But the team backed him and I had to watch every inch of his descent, praying the winch strop would hold. Unlike last time, I can remember every detail, and it keeps playing round and round in my head.”

  Rose still didn’t feel very sympathetic. “And what did you do when you heard that Mayur had died?”

  Jono was shaking and his voice was unsteady as he said, “I went to Deepak, but he refused to accept any responsibility. He told me it was my all fault, as I decided to interfere with the winch equipment. I suppose he felt justified that this time I remembered the crash and could feel the pain of the damage I’d caused.”

  Jono looked out at the orange sky. “I’m a coward. I should have confessed straight away, but I just couldn’t. And then everyone started blaming Thabiti. And you and Sam, all of you, were so united searching for the truth. I resented such teamwork, as nobody supported me twenty years ago. My father sent me away to a sheep farm in the north of Scotland and barely spoke to me again.”

  Jono shuffled his feet. “But I had made up my mind this afternoon, and I was going to tell you everything. And then you announced Mayur had been suffocated. I was utterly confused.”

  Rose decided Jono needed a break from her interrogation, but she knew she’d have to finish what she’d started. “Let’s get out and stretch our legs. I’m sure Chloe brought some Tuskers.”

  Thabiti and Marina were eating crisps from a bowl on the small table, and Chloe was standing behind them taking photographs of the sunset.

  As Rose climbed down from the car, she spotted Sam reaching into the cool box and shouted to him, “Can you bring Jono a Tusker? And is there any white wine?” Sam held up a bottle. “Please can you pour me a small glass?”

  Rose and Jono stood apart from the others, standing side by side, watching the sunset.

  Rose said, “I cannot excuse you for what you did. Your actions caused a horrendous accident and you let an innocent boy take the blame. But I now know Deepak’s been planning a way to beat Kumar’s team for a while.”

  Jono ran a hand through his unruly hair. “I don’t understand. What has he been planning?”

  Rose turned to Jono and said, “Did Deepak tell you to ask Kumar if you could relocate the car to a garage in Nanyuki?”

  “Yes, he did. And Kumar agreed, as the team’s usual mechanic couldn’t make it back for the Charge from work this year. I told Kumar I’d find him a replacement mechanic.”

  “Because that was what Deepak told you to say?” Jono dragged his foot though the dusty ground, and as he didn’t answer, Rose continued. “Deepak has admitted he fixed it so that the usual mechanic would be working away, and that he instructed you to find someone who only had limited mechanical experience.”

  Sam strolled over and looked at each of them as he handed them their drinks. “OK?” he asked.

  Rose nodded.

  Sam returned to Marina and Thabiti, who were chatting loudly.

  Jono pulled back the ring pull on his Tusker and asked. “But why would Deepak care who the mechanic was?”

  Rose sipped her wine. “I guess someone with less experience would be unlikely to discover what you’d done to tamper with the car. Also, I think he wanted to watch you squirm, as you chose between admitting your guilt, and the risk that someone would find out about your criminal conviction, or keeping your secret hidden and letting an innocent boy take the blame.”

  Jono kicked the ground. “Deepak really is devious. I should never have agreed to his plan in the first place, but I knew he could ruin any chance I had of living back here in Kenya. Of being with my old friends. Of being happy.”

  The sun was only half visible and an orange glow spread across the horizon.

  Rose commented, “Somebody said Deepak is bitter and twisted, and they’re probably right. And he will always mourn the loss of his favourite child. But I’ve learnt many things today which all begin with that tragic car accident so long ago.” She paused. “And I suspect the motive behind Mayur’s death starts there, too.”

  Chapter Forty-Eight

  Marina drove slowly in the evening gloom, guided by the bright glow of headquarters in the distance. Thabiti sat next to her in the front with Rose and Jono in the first row of rear seats. Chloe was huddled in her padded jacket next to Sam, behind them.

  Marina shouted above the noise of the engine as the car crawled its way up a steep, rocky track. “Jono, were you at school with Mayur and my cousins?” Clearly the earlier conversations in her camp were still playing on her mind.

  Jono answered, “I think Mayur asked me to join the Bandit Bush Hogs because we were at school together, although we were never really friends. I was in the year above his wife Lavanya and poor Vadhana. He and your cousin Hinesh were older, and I always remember them as the senior boys. Mayur was large and strong and played in the front row of an unbeaten senior school rugby team. And you wouldn’t think to look at him now, but Hinesh was fast and played on the wing.”

  Jono sipped from his can of Tusker with a far-away look. “I’d forgotten how close your cousin Aatma and I were back then. I was an outcast, being a mzungu, and he was the archetypal brain box with glasses and a nervous manner. That is until he was on the running track. Do you know he broke the national schools’ four hundred metres record in the lower sixth? But he wasn’t always quick enough to get away from Mayur, who was a bully. Mayur ran a gang which picked on Aatma.”

  “Poor Aatma,” called Marina. “I like him and he’s always kind to me, but he is nervous and rarely joins in. He leads a solitary life.”

  Chloe leaned forward and addressed Jono. “Could your reappearance in Kenya have triggered those old, painful memories for Aatma? And could he have focused on Mayur who caused him so much pain and grief as a child?”

  Jono shrugged his shoulders.

  Chloe sat up and looked at them with bright eyes. “Mayur was injured and less able to defend himself, so Aatma might have seen it as the perfect opportunity for vengeance.”

  Rose replied, “I guess it is possible,” but somehow she doubted it.

  Sam announced, “I think what happened is down to business rivalry. Hinesh told us Mayur was running much of the business without Kumar’s knowledge. And he was engaging in unscrupulous practices, such as undermining the Seths’ prices in order to gain business. Hinesh told us he wouldn’t mourn Mayur’s death.”

  The entrance to headquarters loomed into sight. Rose had missed lunch and the smell of BBQ meat hung tantalisingly in the air.

  She added, “Mayur suspected the confusion over orders, which prevented his brother attending the Charge, had been instigated by the Seths, but I don’t see how.”

  No one answered.

  They drove into headquarters and Marina parked. Thabiti spoke for the first time. “I smell nyama choma.”

  Rose said, “I wonder if anyone has told Mayur’s brother about his death?”

  “I’ll check,” replied Jono. “I need to see how poor Lavanya is doing. She has to support Kumar, organise camp, and deal with her own grief.”

  “Or relief,” muttered Chloe.


  Chapter Forty-Nine

  Rose and her group were unloading the safari car when they heard shouts from parc fermé. Turning, Rose spotted a figure waving a stick.

  “That’s Kumar,” cried Thabiti. “Who’s he shouting at?”

  “I can’t see in the gloom, and whoever’s holding the light won’t keep it still,” replied Chloe.

  “I bet it’s Uncle Deepak,” moaned Marina.

  Marina was right as Rose heard Deepak shout, “Don’t you dare go near my car.”

  Kumar threw his head back and cackled, “We’re going to have ourselves a lovely bonfire. Lavanya, my dear, bring me that lamp.”

  “Oh no you don’t,” Deepak countered.

  The lamp wavered violently and Rose heard Lavanya cry out.

  Sam instructed Thabiti, “Quick, find a fire extinguisher.”

  Thabiti threw his arms in the air, “Where from?”

  “One of the cars,” Chloe answered and grabbed Thabiti’s arm. “I’ll help you.” And they vanished into the dark.

  “Marina, I might need your help.” Sam strode towards the shouts, followed by Rose and Marina.

  Lavanya cried, “Ow, you’re hurting me.”

  Jono ran past.

  Rose could now make out Deepak, who was being wrestled away from Lavanya by Jono. Kumar leant against the Rhino Force car and was struggling to support himself. Marina rushed across to him whilst Sam confronted Deepak.

  “Let her go, Mr Seth.” Sam’s voice was controlled but had a steely edge. “Give me the lamp, Lavanya, and tell me what’s going on.”

  Lavanya’s quiet voice murmured, “Kumar insisted I bring him here and carry a kerosene lamp. I thought it was just to light our way.”

  Hinesh emerged from the darkness. “Da, what’s going on?”

  Deepak struggled against Jono’s restraint and replied, “He’s mad. He’s trying to set fire to our car and who knows how many other vehicles.”