Elephant Dropping (9781301895199) (46 page)

Firdus sat
quietly at the table, he had not bargained on this happening. He
phoned Katana. ‘Can you come down to the conference room we have a
lot to organise.’ He then called the manager to the conference
room, and with Katana listening, Firdus explained that he had been
appointed to head a special task force and would appreciate it if
he could use the conference room as an office and the hotel as his
base.

The manager was
very pleased. ‘It would be an honour sir, but how will the hotel be
paid?’

‘You submit
your bill to me and I will forward it to the minister.’

The manager
looked hesitant. ‘Sir with respect, we have not had the best of
experiences with government ministries.’

Firdus smiled.
‘I understand, but I can assure you, you have my word that there
will be no problem with the payment.’

‘Very good
sir,’ he said, relieved.

Firdus
introduced Katana. ‘This is my right hand man and we will be
working together. If you have any questions and I’m not available
you can deal directly with him.’

After the he
had left, Katana asked. ‘What was that all about?’

‘Take a seat,’
said Firdus wearily, ‘I will explain it to you.’ He went through
the morning’s events.

Katana smiled,
eyes shining with admiration. ‘Congratulations are in order sir, I
can hardly believe it.’

He grimaced.
‘It’s not like I had any choice. The minister told me I could help
or join Rubia.’

Katana smiled.
‘Still, I’m honoured to be working with you.’

There was a tap
on the door interrupting them, it was the hotel manager, a little
breathless. ‘I have just had a call from the minister’s office. He
has assigned you a car and a driver - it’s outside - the driver’s
name is Phillip.’

‘Ok thank you,’
Firdus replied and waved him away.

‘Now Katana,
this is Rubia’s mobile phone. I’m putting you in charge of
deciphering its clues.’

The detective
eagerly took the phone and began to scroll through the phone book.
‘He made three calls this morning to Fimbo,’ he announced
excitedly.

‘Who is
Fimbo?’

‘He is the head
cop in Malindi, as crooked as they come.’

‘Blast,’
muttered Firdus, ‘my nephew is in Malindi.’

‘Should I call
him,’ asked the detective.

Firdus frowned.
‘Not yet. We have to interview Rubia as soon as possible. I’m going
up to my room to get some things. See if you can find our
driver.’

Firdus was
handed a large envelope by the driver when he climbed into the back
of the Mercedes. ‘Thanks. Take us to Pathway House please and use
the rear entrance.’ He opened the envelope and tipped the contents
on the seat beside him.

Katana turned
to watch. ‘I have never been to Pathway House, is that where they
are holding Rubia?’

Firdus held his
index finger to his lips. The detective glanced at the driver
embarrassed and then stared forward.

‘Your official
pass,’ Firdus handed a laminated card with the government coat of
arms in black embossed on it. ‘Don’t lose it.’

Katana looked
at the card with a little grin, put it in his pocket and sat up
straighter, elated. The car arrived at a set of imposing gates at
the rear of the building. An armed guard came over. Firdus showed
his pass, embossed in red. The guard stood to attention and
saluted, seemingly transfixed.

Firdus asked
him. ‘Are you going to open the gates?’

‘Yes Sah!’ He
yelled and adopting an elaborate ceremonial gait opened the barrier
for the car to pass through.

‘We will be at
least an hour,’ he told the Phillip. ‘Detective take his mobile
number,’ he gathered up the contents of his envelope.

Firdus waited
while Katana got the details. They walked up a short delivery ramp
into a cavernous loading bay. It was dark and gloomy inside, a few
overhead lights, once bright, now darkened by the corpses of dead
insects.

At a desk by
the service lift, a uniformed guard asked to see their ID’s and
signed them in, writing out their names painstakingly in the
ledger. In the lift, which smelt of old damp clothes, Firdus
pressed the button for the fourth floor.

‘Horrible
place,’ Firdus said to Katana, ‘run by horrible people.’ Katana
nodded, but could not hide his excitement.

On the fourth
floor, Firdus introduced them to the officer in charge. Taking out
a list from the envelope and scanning it. ‘You are Nathan? He
queried the officer.

‘Yes Sir,’ he
replied.

‘Where are you
holding the prisoner?’

‘He is in the
interview room.’ Nathan led them down a long windowless corridor.
They entered a door near the end. The room was lit at floor level;
plastic chairs and an overflowing ashtray were all it contained. A
ghostly light emanated from a one-way glass panel into the
interview room.

Rubia sat on
the other side of the glass, handcuffed uncomfortably in a chair,
his arms behind his back.

‘Has he
talked?’ asked Firdus.

The officer
grinned. ‘Only about getting a lawyer so far.’

‘Take the
handcuffs off him, then switch on the spotlight, I want to talk to
him.’

Nathan did as
instructed. Rubia rubbed his wrists. ‘Have you got my lawyer?’ He
demanded, putting up his hands to shield his eyes as the powerful
spotlight came on.

Firdus walked
in and stood behind the light. He took a tape recorder from his
pocket and switched it on. ‘Rubia, do you know why you are
here?’

‘Who is that?
I’m not saying anything until I see my lawyer,’ he crossed his arm
defiantly, one hand up to shield his eyes.

‘You signed a
document, waving your civilian rights when you took on the job,’
Firdus informed him.

‘I did no such
thing,’ Rubia retorted, ‘I know my rights.’

‘I think you
know why you are here,’ said Firdus conversationally, ‘and I urge
you to co-operate fully. If you don’t, things are only going to get
worse.’

‘I want my
lawyer.’

Firdus walked
back into the other room out of earshot and sat in one of the
chairs, looking through the glass. ‘Nathan, I want you to take
Rubia down to the basement. Show him where he will be spending his
time until he talks. Then bring him back here.’

Nathan smiled.
‘Very good sir.’

Firdus told
Katana. ‘You go with them, do not talk to the prisoner.’ They put
the handcuffs back on Rubia as he resisted angrily and manhandled
him out of the room. He continued to shout until one of the guards
shouted. ‘Shadap!’ He struck him on the back of the head with a
wooden truncheon. Rubia staggered under the blow and began to
whimper in pain.

After twenty
minutes or so, a much subdued and limping Rubia was led back into
the room, his collar stained by blood from the cut on his head. The
legs of his trousers were wet to the knees and split where he had
fallen on the stairs.

The detective
joined Firdus in the adjoining room. ‘How was it?’

Katana took a
deep breath, and then said in a rush. ‘It was unbelievable sir.
They have these air conditioners running full blast. It’s freezing;
the cell floor is two foot deep in filthy water. The prisoners are
stripped naked and shackled by one arm to the wall. They can’t
stand up and they can’t sit down. If they pass out they’re above
water level so they don’t drown and, and…they are left hanging by
one arm ...and then they’re just left in the dark…It is terrible,
terrible.’

Firdus looked
sadly at Katana. ‘It never used to be like this,’ and with a sigh
he got up to continue his interview.

This time
Firdus left the handcuffs on and motioned to Nathan to put on the
spotlight. Rubia slumped in his chair, eyes closed.

‘You have seen
what will happen if you don’t co-operate.’

‘I need a
doctor,’ a puddle of water forming by his feet.

‘Not yet you
don’t.’

‘What do you
people want with me? I have only done my job.’ He started to
sniffle in self-pity.

‘Yes yes, now
tell me about the Englishman, the one you tried to have killed. Who
hired you?’

Rubia started.
‘I have no idea what you are talking about.’

Firdus said.
‘Rubia you have been told to co-operate and I’m a busy man, I can
come back later, maybe tomorrow?’

His eyes
flicked open, and then shut against the light.

‘Would you like
time to think about your answer?’

Rubia spoke.
‘Kamau hired me.’

‘The Chief of
immigration?’

He nodded. ‘But
listen to me, I was authorised.’

‘Yes we will
get to that later,’ Firdus said smoothly.

Half an hour
later Firdus got up and beckoned Nathan to join him in the other
room. ‘Okay, ‘he said to Nathan, ‘my work is done here,’ Katana
looked at him in surprise, ‘however, the minister has a list of
questions he wanted Rubia to answer, so I’m going to hand them over
to you.’

Nathan took
them eagerly, ‘Yes, Sir.’

‘Once you have
completed the interview, e-mail the answers through to Omollo’s
office on his secure address, make one copy and have it delivered
to me at the Good View Hotel.’

‘Very good
Sir,’ said Nathan, ‘we shall do our best.’

‘Yes I am sure
you will.’ Motioning for Katana to join him, Firdus got into the
lift and they went downstairs.

‘Is that it?
Are we not going to get a statement out of him?’

‘No,’ said
Firdus, ‘he’s not going to be prosecuted.’

‘You can’t be
serious,’ the detective said, ‘he’s going to get away with
murder?’

Firdus was
silent, waiting for the lift doors to open.

‘But Sir -
those questions the minister wanted?’

Firdus turned
to him. ‘Not now,’ he said firmly as Phillip drove the Mercedes up
to collect them. Back at the hotel Firdus collected messages from
the reception. ‘Let’s have some lunch,’ he suggested to Katana,
forestalling the million questions the detective had written on his
face.

‘Sir,’ he
began.

‘Detective I’m
not going to discuss the case with you until we have some more
answers from Rubia,’ he said firmly.

Firdus ate
heartily, while Katana only picked at his food, his skin very dark
as he seethed away in a belligerent silence.

They took
coffee in the conference room. ‘You had some questions?’ Firdus
invited as he stirred his coffee.

Katana composed
himself. ‘Yes sir. I don’t understand what happened in Pathway
House. Surely with due process of the law, Rubia is to be
prosecuted and is entitled to a defence, isn’t he?’

Firdus shook
his head. ‘As head of the anti-terrorism unit, Rubia was dealing
with secretive aspects of the government. The government is duty
bound to ignore some of the methods he used for the sake of
national security. If a foreign power should have to ask some
embarrassing questions, in this case Great Britain and the
disappearance of Nicholls, the Kenya government has to be in a
diplomatic position whereby it can deny any official involvement.
It will not take the risk of putting Rubia in court to stand
trial.

‘Is that why he
claimed he was only following instructions?’

‘Technically
that’s true, because of his job description, but it’s not our job
to pursue that line of enquiry. We are not trying to prosecute
Rubia, we are only after the facts.’

‘But Sir, I’m a
policeman.’

‘Yes and a good
one,’ agreed Firdus kindly, ‘but in this case you’re helping the
Minister’s Office.’

Katana still
looked confused.

‘It will become
clearer to you,’ said Firdus.

Katana puzzled.
‘I had no idea this sort of thing went on. How am I supposed to do
my job? I have these two unsolved murders on my books?’

‘Detective, you
have been reassigned by the minister. It’s our job to uncover this
bank fraud and catch the Indian Patel and his accomplices. Those
are the minister’s instructions.’

There was a
knock on the door interrupting them. The receptionist put her head
round the door, and waved a brown envelope. ‘Sorry to interrupt, I
was told to give you this.’

Katana got up
and took the envelope from her. He handed it to Firdus, it
contained a sheaf of papers. He read through them quickly, frowning
and then slid them across to Katana.

‘Rubia’s
answers - this should give you something to go on. As you can see,
there is a list of all his personnel, now currently suspended. You
are to interview each one of them and write out your findings in a
full report. Your second job will be to put together a reliable
team to go after Patel and his accomplices. At this point we don’t
know what other high level contacts he has, for instance Fimbo in
Malindi, so be careful who you talk to. Is this all clear?’

‘I think so, I
just hope I’m up to the task, it’s complicated.’

‘Yes,’ agreed
Firdus, ‘but just approach it as an investigation into Rubia’s
activities, the rest will fall into place.’

‘What about the
immigration man Kamau? You think he was murdered, Rubia more or
less admitted it.’

‘Omollo is
under enormous pressure to have answers for the British foreign
office and I would like to keep it that way. We will let him decide
if he wants to pursue the immigration murder - at the moment I see
that as a separate case - so do the leg work and gather the facts.’
Firdus glanced at his watch. ‘I must go and call my nephew. Don’t
worry I will guide you and this will be very good for your career,’
he assured the worried looking detective.

The driver saw
Firdus walking out of the hotel and scrambled to get the car.
Firdus stood and waited for the Mercedes to pull up beside him.
‘It’s ok Phillip, I want to walk, it helps me think.’

‘Ok sir, no
problem I can follow you.’

‘No, I want you
to wait for me here at the hotel.’ The driver hesitated. ‘That’s an
order,’ Firdus said with finality, as he walked off. It was about
half a kilometre to the local shopping centre and Firdus fell into
an easy and relaxed stride, checking his watch - he had plenty of
time. He stopped at a roadside kiosk and bought a phone card and
then found a bank of telephone boxes, some without doors, others
with no phones in them.