Softly Calls the Serengeti (36 page)

Charlotte's knees turned to rubber when she climbed out of the taxi. Mark came to her, offering his open arms for comfort. She hesitated, and then leant against his shoulder and let the tension drain from her body. She'd forgotten how reassuring a man's embrace could be. In Mark's arms, she took a deep breath and then released it, letting the anxiety of Kibera escape with the sigh.

He led her away from the excited taxi drivers to a quiet bench seat in the garden adjoining the restaurant and bar. He held her hand as she told him about their flight from Kibera with a mob in hot pursuit.

When she'd finished, she added, ‘Thank you for rescuing me.'

‘Did I do something right?'

‘You knew what I needed.' She gestured to the excited cluster of drivers. ‘I don't think I could have handled any more of that.'

He seemed unusually quiet.

‘Mark? Is there something wrong?'

He hesitated. ‘I'm wondering how much additional weight I should burden you with, but I guess it's best to be rid of all the bad news in one clean sweep.' He sighed. ‘It's been a tough day for both of us,' he said, and told her of Kazlana's death.

Charlotte was shocked by the brutality of it and, illogically, ashamed of her recent feelings of petty jealousy.

He related his last conversation with Kazlana, in which she'd seemed reconciled to the fact that she would never see justice done for her father's death. She sensed something in his voice that was more than mere sadness.

‘Did you love her?' she asked, before considering how intrusive the question was.

He took a deep breath. ‘No. I don't think anyone could. Kazlana was on a mission; a predator with a predator's obsessions. I don't believe she had room in her heart for anything but that driving urge to avenge her father's murder.'

Mark didn't dwell on the details and she didn't press him further. He was obviously deeply troubled by the accident. Instead, she asked him how Kazlana had become involved with the Circularian organisation, and he told her about her father's suspicions regarding the medical supplies he flew to Nakuru.

‘She was a strange lady,' he said in summary. ‘I thought at one point that maybe I was caught up in a Hollywood plot: Kazlana, the vengeful daughter, and Riley, the amateur detective.' He shook his head to dismiss the thought. ‘I should have stayed the hell out of it, but I had no idea what I was getting into. How can a guy like Koske run a business that so flagrantly ignores the law? And how can a bunch of religious nutters be allowed to spin their own version of happiness at the expense of the kids they claim to help?'

He pointed at Joshua and Mayasa, sitting on the steps, then to Simon and the taxi drivers, still engaged in animated conversation. ‘Do you see those guys down there? They're the ones who suffer from the Koskes. They all want change, but change has to come from above. Nobody can defeat corruption from the bottom up. It has to be imposed, top down. The parking-ticket inspector taking tea money to rip up a ticket has a boss who's on the city council and creaming bribes from the big developers, and his boss is the minister dealing with land releases that favour his benefactors, etcetera. The country needs a ruthless cleanskin at the top to root it all out. I don't know if Odinga could have done a better job than anyone else, but you have to wonder how long this country can survive while it's being bled dry. There is no way Kazlana could have trapped someone like Koske. She never had a hope. And I had no hope of finding Jafari. I guess there are dozens of corrupt, high-level officials out there who remain undetected. Scores more further
down the line. Thousands of others on the take. Nothing will change if it doesn't come from the president. The incoming one has a lot to do.'

‘Presuming he has the will to do so,' Charlotte said. ‘Time will tell. And speaking of time, what do you think we should do? We have to make some decisions…'

‘We do,' he said. ‘I need to get into my orphanage story. I'm more determined than ever to complete it now.'

‘Oh…' she said, flustered. He had misunderstood her question. ‘And I need to revive my plan to go to Kisumu. It doesn't appear I'll be able to go back to Kibera. What about your book?'

‘That'll have to wait. I'm running out of money. And time. There's been a lot of newspaper coverage of the UNICEF investigation into Kenya's compliance with the Convention on the Rights of the Child. It's an ideal time to expose Koske's whole rotten game.'

‘What are you going to do?' she asked.

‘Kazlana knew Koske was responsible for her father's murder, and that's as far as she wanted to pursue it. She believed it a waste of time to go to the police. She gave me her papers linking Koske with the Nakuru safe house, but if she knew what happened to the children, she wouldn't have told me.'

‘Why?'

‘I don't know. But I can't rest until I find out.'

She nodded. ‘I know it's important to you. So you should do what you must. I'm running out of time too. Maybe we both need to do our own thing for a while,' she said.

‘I suppose so.'

Regardless of their work, Charlotte thought it made sense to spend time apart following the emotional and physical stresses they'd been under. It would give them an opportunity to sort themselves out.

 

As they walked out of the hotel garden together in silence, Riley reflected upon the conversation they'd had. It was clear that Charlie had no plans for them to continue their friendship beyond Kenya. He'd been a useful partner in her research, but it was obvious that she was focused on the completion of her thesis and nothing else.

He looked at her; beautiful in spite of her ordeal. There was no way he could ask what she thought about the plan to go their separate ways.

For his part, he knew he would miss her company. He wondered if, when it was all over and they left Africa, she would want to meet again.

 

The waitress brought white coffee for the three Kenyans, who dosed them with packets of sugar, and a black tea for Charlotte. Mark ordered a double whisky soda and drank a good portion of it in a swallow.

Charlotte sipped at her tea and retreated to her thoughts. When Mark had agreed they should split up to pursue their individual assignments, she had tried to keep the disappointment out of her voice. She'd hoped they could continue to work together.

It had taken years to come within sight of her PhD thesis, but since arriving in Nairobi those few short weeks ago, she had found herself riding an emotional roller-coaster—firstly with the post-election violence, and then with Mark being so attentive and kind. And close. There had been occasions when she and Mark had connected, and once or twice had even stood on the threshold of intimacy. For one reason or another, each of them had taken a step forward, only to draw back.

On the Rift Valley escarpment, it was Mark who had begun to open up to her, but then retreated. Maybe he'd seen something in his past that he was not yet prepared to let go. And on the night
when they both stumbled around in the darkness of her bungalow, it was she who'd drawn away. Not because of her past, but because of the present and future. She wasn't sure of Mark's state of mind. The death of his wife was obviously still raw. And there had been Kazlana. The atmosphere had almost pulsated with magnetism whenever she came near him. Charlotte wasn't sure if Mark had been in love with her and didn't realise it. She would have to give him time to work things out.

She looked at the others—they were an odd assembly. Simon was clearly uncomfortable in his surroundings, holding his sweetened coffee within his entwined fingers as if to absorb reassurance from its warmth. The young couple, Joshua and Mayasa, were oblivious to all else, communicating with their eyes as only lovers can and holding hands like their lives depended upon it.

‘What are you two going to do now?' Mark asked Joshua, breaking the silence.

‘I don't know,' he said. ‘But we must leave Kibera.'

‘Mark,' Charlotte said, ‘I meant to tell you when we were talking in the garden. I think Joshua and Mayasa should leave Nairobi.'

All eyes were on her, waiting for her to continue, but she paused, realising she could have handled it better.

‘I'm sorry, Simon, I should have spoken to you first, but I haven't had a chance. And now time is so important.'

‘Please. Go on,' Simon said. ‘I agree they must leave, but how?'

‘Dr Gilanga, my supervisor, has given me a contact for Joshua in Kisumu. It's a long shot, but he said his son-in-law, who works in the Serengeti National Park, may be able to find him a job.'

‘In the park?'

‘Unlikely. But he has other contacts.'

Charlotte turned to Joshua and Mayasa. They were like two high-school students, their eyes wide. They exchanged glances.

Joshua was the first to speak. ‘You think we should go to Kisumu?'

‘Yes,' she answered. ‘Are you two up for it?'

They nodded in unison.

‘Of course. There is even a night train,' Joshua said enthusiastically.

‘I have another suggestion,' Charlotte said, throwing a glance at Mark. ‘Why don't I go to Kisumu with you?'

‘I can see what you're thinking,' Mark said. ‘But will you be okay on your own?'

‘Joshua kept me out of trouble in Kibera. How hard could it be in a hotel in the very heart of Luoland?'

He nodded thoughtfully. ‘It should be all right, I suppose…'

‘We will find somewhere to stay,' Joshua said to Mayasa. ‘Until I find work.'

‘I can help.' It was Simon who spoke. ‘I have family in Kisumu,' he said to Joshua. ‘No,
we
have family there.' He pulled a folded sheet of paper from his pocket. ‘I prepared this when I decided I must tell you of our family. Here are the names of all those I can remember. There are also the names of the estates and villages where they lived. From then you just ask. Everyone knows the Otieng family.'

Joshua took the list and glanced down at the names. ‘So many,' he whispered. He looked up at his father. ‘And you? What will you do? Koske will want to take revenge on someone. You won't be safe.'

‘I have thought about that also,' Simon said, and pulled another page from his coat pocket. ‘I will find somewhere to stay here in Kibera until I can follow you there. Here is a letter I want you to send to my uncle before you go to our village. I have asked that he arrange the cleansing ceremony for me.'

‘You will do that?'

Simon nodded. ‘I will wait until the arrangements are settled. Then I will join you in Kisumu.'

Joshua looked back at the list of family names and showed it to Mayasa who sat moulded into his side.

‘Look, Mayasa,' he said, shaking his head in disbelief. ‘So many. These people are my family.'

 

‘Wait,' Riley said as his passengers were about to alight at Nairobi station.

‘What is it?' Charlotte asked.

Joshua, seated with Mayasa in the back seat, turned when he saw Riley's eyes intently studying the car in his rear-view mirror.

‘It's Gideon Koske's car,' he murmured in a sinking voice.

‘I thought so. It's the same blue Peugeot that nearly ran me down at the bus station,' Riley said. ‘There are two men in it, and they've been following us since we left the hotel.'

‘What can we do?' Charlotte asked.

Riley was struggling for ideas. He'd already ruled out the police—too unreliable under the circumstances. Keeping Koske and his man under close attention until the train departed would be tricky. It seemed they'd have to find another way of getting Joshua and Mayasa out of Nairobi.

‘Koske's not in the car,' Joshua said after a closer look.

‘Doesn't want to dirty his hands,' Riley muttered.

The train whistled a warning. Departure was imminent.

‘Kikuyu village,' Mayasa said.

‘What?'

‘In Kikuyu village the train almost comes to a stop,' Mayasa said. ‘Near my aunt's house. There is a big bend and a hill. The Kisumu train goes slowly. The children run alongside it and climb on for a short ride.'

Riley checked his rear-view mirror again. The Peugeot had not moved.

‘It's not far,' Mayasa added for reassurance.

‘Okay,' Riley said. ‘Which way?'

As he followed Mayasa's directions, he kept an eye on the following car. It remained persistently in his rear-view mirror.
He would still have the problem of getting Charlie and the two young people on board without Koske's thugs joining them uninvited.

About thirty minutes later, as they approached the town, Riley was pleased to see the turn-off to Kikuyu was a narrow road with deep embankments. He told them his plans.

‘Mark, are you sure?' Charlotte asked.

‘Let's just say I'm short of other options,' he answered. A screech came from the distance. ‘Is that the train?'

‘It's coming,' Joshua said, pointing into the darkness. ‘It's not far.'

The road-crossing lights began to blink ahead of them. Riley slowed the Land Rover to a crawl, then, just as the boom gates came down, he gunned the motor and slipped under. The train was only a hundred metres away. The boom clunked on the rear of the cabin roof, but they were through.

‘Yahoo!' Joshua yelled, but Riley was studying the Peugeot in the mirror.

‘He's rammed through the gates!' he said. ‘Shit!'

‘There's another crossing,' Mayasa said. ‘Just around the next bend. It's where the train begins to speed up.'

‘Plan B,' Riley said, powering the diesel through the gears.

The blue Peugeot followed, a hundred metres behind.

‘You guys get ready. When I say go, you jump out and run like buggery to the train.'

The next set of booms loomed before them, blinking and clinking their warning.