Elephant Dropping (9781301895199) (36 page)

He pulled back
the curtains flooding the room with sunlight. And after a quick
glance at the deserted pool, he cleared away yesterdays mess,
humming to himself. Nicholls you’re on a roll, his hangover gone.
‘Your tea is ready,’ he shouted to Lucy,’ come on rise and
shine.’

Lucy walked
downstairs naked, stretching luxuriously and took her tea and
sipped it. ‘No sugars.’ She frowned.

‘Don’t you
think you should put something on?’

‘Why? You no
likes my body?’

‘It’s not
that,’ said Brian, ‘someone might see you.’

‘I need sugars,
tea without sugars no good.’

Brian opened
the fridge and found a jar of honey. ‘Will this do?’ He showed it
to her.

‘Ahhh yes,’ she
reached for the jar, ‘mmm good.’

He held the jar
away from her. ‘First put some clothes on.’

She pouted at
him. ‘Why? There’s no one here.’

‘I can’t think
with you walking around naked,’ he told her.

‘You loves Lucy
too much hey?’

‘Yes,’ he
nodded, ‘now go on.’

Lucy came back
downstairs dressed in one of Brian’s shirts and a pair of panties
looking if anything, more provocative.

‘Ok?’ She asked
him as he handed her the honey.

‘Yes.’ He
chuckled. ‘How long can we stay here?’

Lucy spooned
honey into her tea. ‘We gives Alphonse money.’

‘What - five
hundred a day?’

She nodded
licking the spoon.

‘And no one
lives here?’ He waved at the other apartments.

‘Sometimes,
peoples come, but not for long - one or two nights,’

‘Excellent,’ he
muttered.

‘You like?’ She
asked.

‘Yes I
like.’

‘Lucy, clever
girl hey?’

‘Very clever,
beautiful too, but can you cook?’

‘Ha! of
course,’ she gave him a withering look.

‘Good, so if I
gave you money, you could go shopping for food.’

‘Yes,’ she
nodded smiling, ‘what food you like?’

‘Some
breakfast. Bacon and eggs, toast, jam etc.’

‘Bacon, what’s
that?’

‘Hmm, never
mind, you just buy what you think will please me.’

‘Ok, I get
clothes.’ She disappeared upstairs. A few minutes later he could
hear the shower running.

With Lucy out
shopping, Brian nosed around the apartment. In the office he took
the dust cover off the computer, a standard desktop model, he
switched it on and noted with satisfaction that it had the latest
operating system.

He was elated
to find an internet connection. Now he could easily access his
e-mails. Hearing Lucy return he quickly shut down the computer,
replacing the dust cover. He spotted a printer connected to the
computer - things were indeed looking up. He smiled to himself.

Lucy was in the
kitchen, chopping up tomatoes with a bread knife. ‘You might do
better with the right knife?’ He suggested.

‘Out fools!’
Thisis woman’s work, not for stupid mens.’

‘Ok, ok,’ Brian
backed away in mock fright, and sat at the dining table. He watched
Lucy fascinated, as with much noise and activity she concocted
their breakfast.

At one point
the room was filled with smoke and the smell of burning. Brian got
up and opened the door. He was hungry and began to doubt that
whatever she was cooking was edible.

‘Ok it’s
ready,’ she announced, and with a tea cosy wrapped around the
handle of a smoking hot saucepan, she approached the table at a
run.

‘Wait!’ He
yelled out as she was about to put the pan straight onto the
veneered tabletop. He snatched a magazine from a rack, and got it
under the pan as it hit the table with a thump and a sizzle. ‘What
is it?’ he asked, peering at the food.

‘Homleti,’ she
said proudly, and put down two plates and a nasty looking bottle of
tomato sauce beside the pan.

‘Eat!’ She
commanded.

He held up his
hands looking helpless.

She tut-tutted
in annoyance and came back with a spoon. ‘Here,’ handing it to
Brian.

He reached for
her plate. ’No! You first, in Africa mens eat first, you haves no
manners,’ she informed him.

‘Ok.’ He served
himself from a mixture of tomatoes, egg and burnt onions, and took
a tentative bite.

Lucy tipped the
pan up and spooned the remainder onto her plate and covered it with
tomato sauce. She looked at him with a childish grin and ate with
her fingers. ‘Good breakfast hey?

‘Yes,’ he
nodded, looking at his spoon.

‘Now what you
want?’

He got up and
walked to the kitchen. ‘Salt, pepper, knife, fork, toast, side
plates, butter and napkins.’

She laughed.
‘You
mzungu
s too complicated.’ Lucy talked enthusiastically
with her mouth full. ‘I make good wifes for you - so this fat
manager, we get him hey - we gets money? You marrys me.’

‘Hmmm not so
simple,’ Brian replied cutting away burnt bits of food. ‘After
breakfast we will go shopping.’

‘Alphonse he
want money,’ she reminded him.

‘But I gave you
a thousand shillings.’

‘Yes,’ she
agreed, ‘all gone.’

‘You spent it
all, on a few eggs?’

‘Yes,’ she
nodded happily, ‘heggs hexpensive.’

Brian chuckled.
‘Lucy not so clever, you got cheated.’

She frowned at
him. He quickly held up his hands surrendering. ‘It’s ok, don’t
worry about it.’

‘Ok, you
teaches me to swim then we eat hice cream?’ Smiling and looking at
him eagerly.

‘Maybe later,
but I think you already know how to swim.’

‘Ok you buy me
bikin, for swimming?’

‘Where does
Evans live - the fat one as you call him?’

‘In the old
town Malindi, he has a wife, also fat.’

‘I’m going to
ask my friend Doug to come and join us.’

‘Why? We no
need him here,’ she frowned.

‘Oh yes we do,
he saved my life and his uncle is helping us also. I suppose it
will be ok with Alphonse if Doug stays?’

‘He will want
more money,’ she said confidently, ‘we don’t need your Dug friend.
Polices also look for him?’

Brian looked at
her, holding up his index finger. ‘Now Lucy I have a plan. You help
me - you get money. Ok?’

‘Yes, yes, how
much?’

‘First you need
to show me where Evans lives.’

After breakfast
they got dressed. Lucy reluctantly discarded her yellow dress and
agreed to wear a pair of Antonio’s jeans and T-shirt, though she
insisted on keeping her high heels. ‘Perfect, very good.’ Brian
said but thinking, you could dress Lucy in a sack and she would
still be sexy, she was that kind of woman. He squared things with
Alphonse explaining that a friend might join them later.

‘There is no
problem Amigo.’ He pocketed the money.

*

Evans emerged
from the bank unaware he was observed by Brian and Lucy sitting
opposite the bank in the shade. ‘There, the fat one,’ she said
excitedly.

‘Shush,’ Brian
said nervously tugging his cap lower on his face. They watched
Evans climb into a Landcruiser, back it out clumsily and pull out
of the car park into the main road.

Lucy leapt up.
‘That the Indian man’s car, we musti follow him,’ she hailed a
passing tuk-tuk in her usual style, shouting loudly for it to stop.
It squealed to a juddering halt. Lucy clambered in. ‘Hurry, follow
that car,’ she said in kiswahili. Brian only just made it to the
taxi as it started to move.

They soon
caught up with Evans. ‘Not so close,’ Brian said nervously. The
driver speeded up, convinced the object of the chase was to stop
the Landcruiser.

‘No!’ Yelled
Brian in a panic. ‘We need to follow him.’

Lucy laughed in
delight at Brian’s fear, and told the driver to back off. The
Landcruiser slowed and without indicating, turned off the main road
down a dirt track. ‘Drop us here,’ said Lucy. They walked back to
where Evans had turned off.The track went a little way and stopped
at a set of gates.

‘We had better
wait here,’ Brian said as Lucy made to follow the track. She looked
as though she might argue, then shrugged and without a word crossed
the road to take up a position under some trees. Brian followed
nervously, despite his cap he felt completely exposed. Half an hour
later the gates opened and a silver Mercedes drove out. As it
reached the main road they could see it was Evans - there was no
one else in the car. He turned onto the main road and headed back
the way he had come.

‘That hises
car. He no thinki you Malindi,’ she concluded.

‘I see,
actually he thinks I’m dead. What is behind those gates,’ Brian
asked angrily.

She stared at
him. ‘I go look. You wait,’ she announced and strode across the
road.

Brian opened
his mouth and then shrugged in resignation as he sat down to wait.
‘Be careful,’ he called out to her retreating figure.

Lucy reached
the gates and sliding a metal bracelet off her wrist, tapped it on
the gate. ‘Hodi, hodi.’ There was no immediate response, so she
tapped again.

After a few
minutes, a voice in Kiswahili said. ‘Uko nani?’ One side of the
gate opened cautiously and Patel’s old askari peered out. ‘Hey
sister, what can I do for you?’

Lucy said. ‘I
am a stranger to Malindi. I am looking for a house of a
mzungu
named Shell. Is this his house?’

The old man
replied. ‘No sorry this is not Shell’s house.’

Lucy moved
closer, putting her foot in the gap. ‘Oh, I am so hot, please give
me a glass of water.’

The old man
leaned back to get her face in focus. ‘Listen sister, I don’t know
what your game is, but there is no
mzungu
here, and I can’t
help you,’ he shut the gate in her face.

Lucy surprised
and angry kicked at the gate shouting. ‘You shit nasty old man, I’m
only asking for help.’ Furious, she turned back down the road and
motioned angrily for Brian to join her as she started to walk to
town.

He caught up
with her. ‘So, what happened?’

‘Ah, some
stupids old men, he no let me in.’

Brian grinned
and chuckling said. ‘What did you expect?’

Lucy strode on
saying witheringly over her shoulder to him. ‘You know nothings,
you another stupids old mens.’

Brian smiled.
‘Alright madam, so where do we go now?’

‘I am hot you
buy me bikin, and hice cream.’

EIGHTEEN

Firdus drove
into Voi in his old Landrover, dropping his foreman in town with a
shopping list. At the police station he asked the cop on the
reception desk if he could see the station chief. Firdus was
ushered into Katana’s office. A smile of pleasure lit up the
detective’s face as he recognised his former instructor from
Kiganjo. ‘Sir it’s been a long time,’ the detective beamed.

Firdus smiled
back. ‘Peter Katana, honour student?’

‘Yes sir, it’s
me. And what brings you to Voi?’ Katana asked as he walked around
his desk and pulled up a chair for him. ‘Please sit and tell me all
your news?’

An hour later
the two of them were still in deep conversation, both looking
serious. ‘Were you at Kiganjo at the same time as Rubia?’ Firdus
asked.

‘No, I never
knew him, he was there four years earlier than I was, but he left a
few stories behind.’

‘Yes,’ nodded
Firdus, ‘he was a nasty bastard even then. What do you suggest we
do about my nephew Doug? The shooting was clearly in
self-defence.’

‘I agree with
you, but Rubia is in a very powerful position.’

Firdus looked
determined. ‘Then we will have to go over his head to the minister
in charge of national security.’

Katana
grimaced. ‘I would never be allowed to see him. Protocol has it
that I would need to go through my district boss first, and he and
Rubia are good buddies.’

‘Don’t you
worry about that, I will organise it. Does Rubia know you found his
other man, Titus, in the river?’

‘I have had no
contact with him since he threatened me.’

‘He threatened
you?’

‘Yes, he was
annoyed I wouldn’t do as he asked, so he went over my head and got
what he wanted anyway.

‘Now what do
you think about Kamau’s disappearance?’ Firdus pointed at the
newspaper on the desk, referring to the missing immigration
officer.

‘Reports say it
looks like a car accident on the old rift valley road with a woman
- not his wife - in the car. A heart attack apparently.’

‘So he has been
found.’

‘Yes, but it’s
not official. His wife has not been told yet. I have my contacts in
the morgue in Nairobi. It’s under Rubia’s investigation.’

‘No surprises
there,’ Firdus said raising his eyebrows.

‘Mr. Nicholls
is where now?’

‘He is in a
safe place, the less you know the better. Can you prepare a full
report for me of your findings? I will try to get to see the
minister as soon as possible.’

‘Yes I can do
that sir - do you have anything to do in Voi? It will take me time
to get all the facts down on paper.’

‘Thank you, it
looks like you paid attention in class after all,’ teased the
former instructor.

‘I thank you
too sir,’ said Katana, smiling shyly.

An hour later,
Firdus with the report tucked under his arm said. ‘I have done some
thinking; I’m going to fly to Nairobi and arrange to see the
minister. Can you drive up and join me tomorrow?’

‘Yes,’ Katana’s
eyes glistened, ‘but why do you need me there?’

‘I’m going to
need an assistant and it will give you a chance to meet the
minister. I always stay at the Good-View Hotel in Westlands. Do you
know it?’

‘Yes sir, I
have Mr. Nicholls’s briefcase what shall I do with it?’

‘Good bring it
with you. Now, I don’t use mobiles, but give me your number and I
will call you if there are any changes. See you in Nairobi, let’s
fix this bastard once and for all detective.’