Elephant Dropping (9781301895199) (49 page)

The pump
attendant was talking to him. ‘Eh
muhindi
you ok?’ Patel
heard nothing. He glanced at the pump and then handed over the
money, started the car and without waiting for change drove slowly
out of the station. He couldn’t go back to the house in this state,
Azizza would read his fear, and the last thing he wanted was her in
a panic. He reached a decision as he drove, but first he needed to
check the parameters of the threat before he could map his escape.
He pulled off the road and rang Evans.

‘Hey Patel, how
are you?’ came the cheery response. ‘I haven’t seen you around for
a while, everything ok?’

‘Yes,’ squeaked
Patel. He covered the mouth piece and cleared his throat. ‘Yes, I
have been busy. How are you, are you enjoying your car at
last?’

‘Yea, it’s good
to have the car back, except that some fool crashed into it the
other night, but I’m getting it repaired.’

‘Oh, was there
much damage?’

‘No, just the
rear light and the boot.’

‘Let’s meet
later at the club, maybe a game of darts?’ Patel listened ears
straining for any change in the manager’s voice.

‘Yes that would
be good, talk to you later.’ Evans rang off. Patel sighed. Evans
was still free. Next he rang Fimbo.

‘Ahh
muhindi
, where are you?’

‘I’m around,
listen I have organised my driver to collect you for the trip to
Mombasa. I have booked and paid for your hotel, and arranged for
you to see the cars. What time do you want to go?’

‘Goody news.
Tell you driver to pick me at two at the police station, see you in
Mombasa,’ and rang off.

Patel felt
calmer now, his mind working furiously he started the car and drove
back to the house. He would have to convince Azizza to travel with
him to Mombasa, she could easily do the transfer by phone from
there tomorrow, and more to the point, he could make sure she
didn’t run off with his half of the money. Having made this
decision, he realised they would have to move fast.

*

As Brian parked
the Mercedes, Alphonse gave him the thumbs up. ‘Good car sir,’ he
said.

‘Yes,’ replied
Brian distractedly, walking to the apartment. The door was open and
he went upstairs. ‘Lucy?’

‘Yessy,’ came a
reply from one of the bedrooms, she had a huge red suitcase open on
the floor, and was busy going though Antonio’s wardrobe, selecting
items of clothing.

‘What on earth
are you doing?’ Brian asked.

‘I’m ready
Nairobi,’ she held up a red T-shirt, ‘thissy your size.’

‘You can’t do
that; those things don’t belong to us.’

Lucy gave him
an exasperated look. ‘We go Nairobi?’

‘Yes, but you
can’t just help yourself to those clothes, I thought you said you
were going shopping.’

She kicked the
giant suitcase in answer. ‘It’s good, big eh?’

‘Lucy you can’t
do this, it’s stealing.’

She looked
puzzled. ‘The man he not here he no need thisy clothes, in Nairobi
cold.’

‘Those are not
our clothes we won’t be coming back here.’

Lucy nodded in
agreement. ‘Yessy so there is no problem,’ she continued to go
through the wardrobe.

‘Listen, I can
always buy you clothes in Nairobi.’

‘Oh good,’ she
said undaunted, on with her selection.

Brian didn’t
know what to do; the last thing he wanted was an argument. ‘It’s
not right,’ he said weakly and went downstairs.

Doug was out by
the pool and Brian joined him.

‘I see you got
the car, no problems?’ asked Doug.

‘Yes it went
well, Evans is happy, however I have another problem,’ and
described the scene upstairs.

Doug couldn’t
resist a grin. ‘So Miss Malindi is a thief?’

‘No, I wouldn’t
use that word; I think she is a little confused. What should I do?
I offered to buy her clothes in Nairobi.’

He scratched
his head, more to stop a caustic comment than to appear as though
he was thinking. ‘Go and tell her it’s bad luck.’

‘To do what,
take the clothes?’

‘Don’t say it’s
bad luck for her, say it’s bad luck for you. Just go upstairs, give
her that message and then leave.’

Brian went
back. ‘Listen Lucy,’ she looked up. ‘Don’t pack any clothes for
me.’

‘You don’t want
clothees?’

‘No it’s bad
luck,’ he said flatly.

Her eyes
widened. ‘Bady luck?’

He left her
with a small frown on her face.

‘All done?’
Doug asked.

Brian shrugged
unconvinced. ‘It didn’t seem to bother her.’

‘Wait, you will
see. I spoke to my uncle. The car should be here around three
o’clock tomorrow afternoon. It’s being delivered to the airport and
we should get out of Malindi as soon as possible. He will be
sending a team down to arrest Evans, Azizza and Patel.’

‘So what do we
do about the Mercedes?’

‘Leave it here.
Take the keys with us, after all it’s part of the evidence against
Evans, he won’t be able to explain how he could afford a car like
that, will he?’ Doug smiled.

‘You’re right,’
agreed Brian, as he watched Lucy saunter over towards the pool. She
crooked her finger at him and he smiled.

‘Looks like she
is done with her packing.’

Brian didn’t
hear and started towards her.

‘Hey mate?’
Doug said loudly.

‘ Yes,’ Brian
turned and stopped, ‘what is it?’

‘Before you
pursue the light of your life, shall we go over the plan for
tomorrow?’

‘You’re getting
the car, and we are leaving.’

‘Yes I’m just
wondering if there is anything we have overlooked before I leave
you love birds in peace.’

Brian looked
abashed. ‘I don’t think there is anything else, later might take
another crack at the computer.’

‘Ok good luck
with that, see you tomorrow,’ Doug said as he left.

TWENTY-SIX

Patel stood
waiting for the milk to boil, carefully going over his next few
moves, he would have to be convincing or Azizza would smell a rat.
Putting the cups on a tray, he poured the boiling milk into the
teapot, adding a little
masala
to the tea leaves, just the
way she liked it. He carried the tray through and set it on the
table. ‘Here you are sweetheart.’

Azizza looked
up from the computer and scanned his face. He poured her tea, and
sat down with a wistful sigh. ‘This has been fun my dear, hasn’t
it?’

She watched him
over the rim of her teacup, as she sipped. ‘Mmm,
masala
,
good tea.’

‘My dear, I
have been thinking. I have never had a partner with whom I have
worked so well with. Now that this project is coming to an end, I’m
nervous.’

‘Nervous, about
what?’

‘I don’t know
quite how to say this,’ Patel looked at the floor, and then noisily
sipped his tea. ‘You see my dear,’ his eyes open wide and said
almost in a whisper, ‘I’m nervous about leaving here. I’m, going to
miss you.’

Azizza’s heart
skipped a beat. ‘Yes I will miss you too.’

Patel smiled
like a little boy. ‘We have worked well together haven’t we?’

‘Yes we have,’
she said, intrigued. What is he up to?

‘You know,
things have been hectic perhaps we are being a bit hasty, closing
down this operation so fast.’

Azizza puzzled.
‘You said it was getting dangerous?’

‘Yes, it seemed
that way with those police and other things, but in reality it’s
gone quite smoothly. It’s quite possible that we only need to take
a break for a while to get a bigger picture.’

‘A break, what
do you mean?’

‘As you know
I’m planning to go down to Mombasa. While I was filling the car, I
realised that once I had left, I would not see you again, and it
felt all wrong.’ He put his hand on her arm. ‘I have got so used to
working with you.’

Azizza moved
away, confused and excited. ‘You’re not making sense, what do you
mean by a break?’ She repeated.

‘I don’t know,’
his voice faltered. ‘Why don’t you come to Mombasa for a few days,
we can leave this,’ he waved his arms around. He stopped talking
and sighed blinking rapidly and then took a deep breath. ‘Listen,
I’m sorry, of course we can’t continue. I don’t know what came over
me.’

Azizza quickly
took up the slack. ‘You think if we went away for a few days, we
could see what happens and if all goes well we could just keep
submitting more loan application. Is that what you’re trying to
say?’

‘Yes,’ he
nodded eagerly, ‘I mean Nicholls is out of the way, and I have got
Fimbo in my pocket, why pack it in now, just when everything is
working so well?’

Azizza asked.
‘So where would we go?’

‘Anywhere we
like. We could go to Dar-es-Salaam, or even Madagascar and visit
your relatives,’ he enthused.

‘What about the
loan applications, and the daily interest?’

‘Oh don’t worry
about that. I can call Evans and explain the delay, so he can cover
the interest payments until we get back.’

‘You think he
would agree?’

‘If he doesn’t,
the scheme will come crashing down around him.’

‘That’s what
worries me. Can we trust him?’

‘Maybe not, but
we will be miles away if he screws up. Come on my dear, don’t you
think this is a great idea?’

‘Are you
serious about going to Madagascar?’ She inserted a roadblock. ‘I
thought you wanted to be with your wife and kids.’

He waved
himself through. ‘I’m working my dear and if I can make more money,
then I will be even more welcomed home. And yes, I have always
wanted to go to Madagascar.’

Azizza poured
herself another cup of tea, her hand trembling in excitement. ‘You
know you’re right as usual. We have nothing to fear, it does seem
silly to wind this up now. A break is a good idea, but what about
the cops who were looking for you?’

‘Ah those
clowns can’t tell one
muhindi
from another, besides, as I
say, I have Fimbo nicely sewn up.’

‘Ok, so if we
go, when do you want to leave?’

‘Now today, as
soon as possible.’

‘Today! I
haven’t packed anything.’

‘Ahh you don’t
need much, besides, you’re a rich woman you can buy new clothes.
Take my Landcruiser and get your things. I will tidy up here,’ he
jangled the car keys at her.

Azizza took
them, excited. ‘It’s a brilliant idea I won’t be long,’ and she
hurried out the door.

Patel sat down,
a smile of satisfaction as he heard the car leave. Looking around
the office, he went and emptied the floor safe. Judging the wad of
money with a practiced eye, it would certainly come in useful if
there were any last minute hitches. He wistfully fingered the last
of the un-submitted land titles before putting them in a
wastebasket.

He then pulled
down the charts on the wall, tearing at them ineptly, finally
scrunching them into a ball, and stuffing it on top of the
certificates. Next he undid the back of the computer and yanked out
the hard drive. He threw it on the floor and then jumped on the
soft metal case. Flicking open drawers, he removed any pieces of
paper that had details on them of the operation. He was aware that
he could not clear all the evidence in the amount of time left, but
at least he could make it harder for any investigators. He made a
call as he walked around, and booked two rooms at the Royal Hotel
in Mombasa. ‘Yes and I don’t want them adjoining. Do you have one
on the first floor and one on the fourth? Yes, that will be
perfect.’

When Azizza
returned she found him in the car park, tending a small fire. ‘What
are you burning?’ She asked frowning.

‘Just the most
obvious stuff,’ he said.

‘What obvious
stuff?’

‘The charts, we
can always make new ones. It’s just in case someone comes here
while we are away - you know if Evans screws up - no point in
giving away the whole scheme.’

‘Is there
something you’re not telling me?’ She challenged.

Patel looked
astonished. ‘No my dear of course not, I’m just being cautious. Are
you ready? I have booked the hotel. I think we should leave, I
don’t like being on that Mombasa road in the dark.’

She made to go
into the house. He stopped her. ‘It’s locked.’

‘The money in
the safe?’ Turning to him suspiciously.

‘In with my
bags, there on the step,’ he pointed and added a final stick to the
fire. He collected his bags and walked to the car.

Azizza got in
beside him. ‘What about the other one?’ She pointed at the
Tanzanian registered vehicle.

‘My driver will
collect it tomorrow and drive to Mombasa with Inspector Fimbo.’

‘Fimbo, what’s
going on with him?’

‘I told you, he
is in my pocket, besides he has my passport.’

‘Your
passport?’ She asked incredulous.

‘Yes, don’t
worry my dear it’s all under control.’

For one awful
moment she wondered if Fimbo’s arrival in Mombasa would coincide
with another mysterious disappearance - hers. She shivered and then
dismissed the thought. Besides, she still had control of the money,
that was her insurance and she allowed herself a little smile. ‘Are
you sure you haven’t overlooked anything?’

‘Come on I feel
like I need a holiday,’ he smiled at her, gunning the large four by
four down the drive, a last word with the gate keeper, and they
turned onto the main road, heading away without a backward
glance.

Azizza
surreptitiously studied him as he drove. After the misery she had
been feeling at their imminent separation, she could hardly believe
she was leaving Malindi with him and hardly dared to think about
the circumstances; lest she break the delicious spell.

As they crossed
a bridge half way through the journey, Patel asked ‘What’s going on
in that clever little mind of yours?’