Charles looked down at the floor. He'd only twice seen Danny cry: once, when the Aliens had left, and once when her father died. Now she'd lost the only home she'd ever known.
Danielle cleared her throat. "How is Fortune today? Charm told me this morning that he was still asleep."
He waved his hands in frustration and pulled a comical face. "Ugh! He is grumpy and bossy and has criticized everything I have done."
"Good. He's recovered and is his usual self again."
"Yes, he is better," Charles said. "He was asking about you."
"I'll go see him as soon as I clean up a bit." Danny was still wrapped in the housecoat Charm had lent her, and she hadn't combed her hair or washed her face yet.
"He'll like that." Charles's voice dropped. "Danielle, the press are here. They want an interview. I said that the Agia estate would make a comment when we know more, and that you're waiting to hear from the authorities investigating the fire."
"Set up an appointment with them for later this afternoon over in the vineyard offices. I'll talk to them there."
"Yes, Danielle Agia."
"And Charles?"
"Yes?"
"Thank you for everything. You and your family have been wonderful. I couldn't have managed without you."
Charles smiled and walked out. Danny put down her cup and leaned back, closing her eyes. She wished that Laurie were there with her. She needed Laurie. She'd have to get in touch with her as soon as possible and send the helicopter to pick her up. She should never have left her behind.
She set her jaw and pushed herself to her feet. Thank God for Fortune and Charles Abute. They had been rocks of strength and common sense over the last twenty-four hours. But most of all, she needed Laurie. She squared her shoulders. It was time for her to act like the Boer she was and get on with the setbacks that God had put in her path to test her strength. Just like her ancestors, she would not give in. She would rebuild and be stronger.
After a shower, Danny slipped into the clothes that Charm had washed for her. She thanked Charm for her efforts and asked if she could visit with Fortune for a few minutes. Charm led her along the hall of the Allen's old house to the bedroom where she used to visit Laurie years ago. Fortune was sitting in bed, going over the estate accounts and looking very out of sorts. "Ah! Danielle, forgive an old man for not getting up. Yes, I know I'm old. A man knows he's old when his son orders him to bed."
Charm left without comment.
Danny walked forward and sat on the edge of Fortune's bed. She took his hand.
Fortune noticed the contrast between their hands. "You white girls. No colour to you."
Danny leaned over to give Fortune a kiss on his forehead. "So how is my estate manager doing?"
Fortune sighed. "I'm fine. How are you doing, Dandelion?"
"I'm upset," she admitted, "but you and Charles have handled things really well. Thank you. This is a blow, but it would have been worse if the harvest had been lost. This is nothing, with God's help, that we cannot overcome. As soon as we can, we'll rebuild the manor house. Some good will come of this. I'll be able to modernize the kitchens and have some decent closet space." She smiled, hoping she sounded more certain than she felt.
"Where is Laurie?"
Danny blushed, and before she could speak, Fortune continued. "No! You didn't leave her behind?"
"I wasn't thinking."
"You don't think. You should have been using your heart," Fortune said, pounding his chest with his fingers.
"What do you mean? I don't know..."
"Don't tell lies under my roof, Danielle Agia. Boss or no boss, I'll do what your daddy would have done and take you into my kitchen and wash your mouth out with soap. It's been plain as plain can be since you were a little girl who it was you loved."
Danny paced around the room. "Look, Fortune. This conversation is at an end. This is dangerous talk. What you're implying is unnatural, and if my father had thought that I... He'd have killed me."
"Your father was one strict man. Some of you Boers got more religion than you got sense. You find a God, Danny, who doesn't like bigots who judge others. Find one who thinks that when people love each other it is a good thing. Find one who knows that all people are equal."
Danny looked at Fortune as though seeing him for the first time. "You can't pick and chose what you like and don't like about a religion. That's not faith. It's simply using religion as a crutch when you like and if you like. According to the Christian faith lesb—It's a sin."
"Sin, you say? It's a sin to deprive yourself of happiness because some book written a long time ago said so?"
"A book inspired by God, Fortune."
"Some God." He spoke like a father to his child. "You listen to me, Danielle Agia. I'm your papa now because your real one is dead. You forget this burned down house of yours. It isn't coming back. You go after that childhood sweetheart of yours and make yourself and her happy."
"It's a sin!"
"Yes, to deprive yourself of love because of guilt is certainly a sin." A twinkle came into the old man's eyes. "Of course, I'm a true African, not a white imitation like you are. I have to tell you, I wouldn't be no barnyard chicken. No sir. If it had been a sin to marry my dear late Emma, I'd have married her anyway, because burning in hell would be a small price to pay for her love here on earth."
Danny smiled despite her raw emotions. "You're an old goat."
"Might be, but I've been a happy old goat, and that's more than I can say for you."
"It's different for me, Fortune. I would be ostracized."
"You mean like being black under an apartheid system? You mean like Laurie and her Dad were for standing up for what they believed?"
Danny turned and walked out, hearing Fortune's snort of disgust as she did.
* * *
Charles jumped up as Danielle slammed into his office in the distillery building. He waited for her to sit. Instead, she leaned over the desk and looked him squarely in the eye. "I'm going to tell you something, and it is confidential, got it?"
"Of course."
Danny licked her lips, swallowed, tried to speak, failed, then tried again. "I... I'm gay."
"Shit!" Charles kicked his chair. "Now I have to pay my Dad ten Rand."
Danny sank to the visitor's chair and looked at Charles. "You bet I was straight against your father? Why?"
"Because, damn it, I don't want you to be gay. It gives me the creeps. Besides, you've broken every heart in the neighbourhood, so I figured you were quite the mover." Charles sat down. "So why are you telling me this now?"
"Your old man got under my skin."
"He's good at that."
"Damn it, Charles, if I can't even count on you to understand. We grew up together. You know me. Hell, you gave me my first black eye. How can I possibly not live the lie?"
"Yup, born in the same month, and 1 did give you that black eye. I got my first licking from Fortune for doing it, too. I had no regrets, though. You had it coming. Look, Danielle, I don't understand why you would want to love one of your own kind, and I'm not comfortable with it, but if that's how you are, then I'll get used to it. You're my boss, and you and Laurie are my friends."
"I don't know if I can handle being treated like I'm a freak. It's bad enough being a woman running a large business. Oh, hell, I don't know what the hell I want. Yes, I do. I want Laurie as my partner, and I want to be accepted in my community."
"Hard for me to be sympathetic. I grew up black. We black South Africans know all about being judged for no good reason."
Danny let her gaze meet Charles's. An unspoken message passed between them. Charles smiled knowingly.
"Can I leave you to handle things? I need to go find Laurie."
"I'll have everything ready for your signatures by the time you get back."
They shook hands in the Zulu way. "Thanks, Charles. I'll leave right after the press interview. I think you made a woman out of me."
Charles pulled a face. "Yeah. But did it have to be a gay woman?"
Danny turned to leave.
"Danny?"
She waited for him to continue.
"I need to tell you something."
"What?"
"One of the field hands was just in here. He came to tell me he'd seen my brother Hector sneaking around here last night."
Danny stood perfectly still as the significance of that sank home. "Do you think he set the fire?"
"I'm suspicious. He's obsessed with his visions of Shaka. Thinks he is going to lead an uprising to drive the whites out of South Africa. He's crazy enough to have done this. You know how he hates me, and gives our father nothing but grief."
"Thank you for being honest with me, Charles. I know he's your brother, and it must be hard for you to tell me your suspicions. I'll look into it when Laurie and I get back."
Chapter 11
Rod Gillery arrived at Sirheni compound the afternoon after Danny left. Laurie opened the cabin door to his knock. "Rod, how did you know I was here?"
"Aren't I the best tracker in South Africa?" He stepped inside and removed his hat. "Actually, you'd said you'd be here around the fifteenth, so when I got here, I checked the park's reservations to see if you'd arrived yet. I was hoping that maybe you'd convinced Danielle not to try to stop you from going on a safari with me."
Gillery watched for a reaction from Laurie. "I understand her anger. I treated her badly when we were younger. I thought I loved her. We got engaged. I wasn't ready to take on the responsibility of marriage, and she had the good sense to leave me. I can't say I blame her for resenting me. By the way, is she around?"
"Come in and sit down. Can I make you a coffee? Danny had to fly back to Stellenbosch. There was a fire at the manor."
"Oh, no! That's awful. The manor house is one of the most beautiful examples of early Boer architecture in South Africa. I hope it didn't do much damage."
"I don't know. I haven't heard from Danny yet." There was no point in letting Gillery know how upset she was with Danny. "What do you take in your coffee?"
"Milk and sugar, please. Well, then, if you're waiting here for Danny to come back, maybe we could get a few days of park exploration in."
Laurie hesitated. "I don't know. Danny has some real concerns."
"Because I'm a poacher?"
"You admit it?"
Gillery shook his head and sat down in a wicker chair. He stretched out his long legs, and Laurie took the seat opposite. "I admit that Danny and I have a difference of opinion. She believes that park officials shouldn't interfere with the natural balance in the
park. I think that view is idealistic. I don't just sit on the park boards like Danny. I make my living as a guide, so I know firsthand what I'm talking about."
Gillery shifted in his chair. "A large reserve like this might look like a natural environment, but it's not. It's a park, and parks need to be cared for. This park and many others are being over-populated by some species that have few enemies, for example, lions, elephants, some of the bigger herd animals. They're overgrazing the vegetation and putting a great strain on the water supply in the ponds during the dry season."
Laurie listened as Gillery went on. "Danny would argue that nature will balance itself. The food and water will run out, animals will die, and the balance will readjust again. I disagree. I love these animals and this land. I see the land deteriorating to desert as the exposed land is eroded away without its normal ground cover. When I come across an animal dying of starvation, thirst, or disease, yes, I'll put it out of its misery. That makes me a horrible poacher in Danny's eyes. In mine, it makes me a humane person."
"But isn't the African elephant on the endangered list?" Laurie asked.
"Good God, no. Years ago, there was a concern, but not now. They're over-populating most of the parks in Africa." Gillery downed the last of his coffee. "People get emotional about animals. They get on the environmental bandwagon, trying to do good, but they don't often verify their information to see if it's still—or ever was—accurate. I'm not saying that conservation organizations haven't done a lot of good, because they have, but if they went around telling their contributors that all was well, they'd soon be out of business, wouldn't they?"
Laurie wasn't sure she bought into Gillery's argument, but it was certainly a point that was worth some research and consideration. Danny could be pretty hard-line in her views. Maybe Gillery did have a point. "More coffee?"
"No, I'm fine thanks. So, as luck would have it, I've just finished a photographic safari, and I don't pick up my next group for a week or so. You appear to be at a loose end, too. Why don't you join me and my men for a few days and see firsthand what I'm talking about?"
Laurie was at a loose end, having been virtually dumped in the park by Danny and left there alone. She also had an obligation to her newspaper, who had arranged for her to interview Gillery. Still,
she needed to be cautious. Danny had made it quite clear that, in her opinion, Gillery was bad news.
"Okay, when do you want to go?"
Gillery smiled his most charming smile. "How quickly can you get ready?"
Laurie pushed the last of her things into her knapsack and fastened the ties. She tried again to reach Danny on her cell phone, but the relays were too far away to make contact. Earlier that morning, she had asked the ranger to call the homestead on his ham radio but no one had responded. On impulse, she dropped the useless phone on her bed and wandered into Danny's room.
Everything was in immaculate order. Laurie ran her fingers over the handle of Danny's hair brush. Then, she went over to her knapsack, opened the side pouch, and pulled out the handgun Danny kept there. It had been years since Laurie had used a gun. She and Danny used to practice in the old orchard out on the back forty acres when they were teenagers. They mostly used their twenty-twos and shotguns, but sometimes they practiced with the pistols if there was an adult present to supervise. She made sure the safety was on and slipped the clip in place. She dropped the firearm into her shoulder bag. She had left a message with the ranger as to who she was with, and thanks to Danny's gun, she was now armed. That was about all the precautions she could take.
She lifted a sheet of stationery from the drawer and wrote a quick note.
"The ranger tells me you've left. I hope the house is okay. I tried to contact you, but no one was near the radio. Gillery is here. I'm going on safari with him for a few days, as my employer arranged for me to do. Laurie. P.S. I took your handgun. I hope you don't mind."
She placed the note under the hair brush, returned to her room, and picked up her knapsack. Locking the cabin door, she joined Gillery who was smoking a cigarette and leaning against his Land Rover.
"Ready? Let's go, then. We're going to pick up my men at one of the main camps, Punda Maria, and then strike out. We'll head north towards the Limpopo River."
"That's close to the Zimbabwe border," Laurie said. She wished the next thought hadn't come to her. What a good place for a poacher to make a base camp, should he need to make a quick escape.
"Yes. The river is the dividing line between the two countries."
Gillery drove well, showing both skill and caution on the park roads. They talked of mutual friends from long ago, and he stopped twice to let Laurie photograph. Their first sighting was a pack of Veret monkeys along the side of the road. The males of the pack had bright robin-blue scrotums, an obvious sign they were in heat. Later, they were stopped by a herd of Cape buffalo. The male stood alone in the centre of the road, defying them to come closer. He was a massive animal with an impressive set of horns.
"People have to worry about an encounter with one of the big five: lion, leopard, elephant, rhino, and buffalo, but I'm telling you, this guy is the biggest killer of the five. If a buffalo charges, the only way to stop it is shoot it dead. They're vicious."
"Really? So this is the animal that's the one associated with the most wild-animal kills?" Laurie asked, as she recorded the information that Gillery was giving her.
"Second. Surprisingly, number one is the hippo, and they're not on the big five list. They come out of the water at night and wander about. If your tent is in their path, they'll just go right through. Also, tourists have no sense. They'll paddle right out to them in rivers and then wonder why their canoe is capsized and one of their party killed. People forget that these aren't pets. They're unpredictable wild animals."
They pulled through the gates into a large compound. It was one of the ten or so major centres in the park for tourist facilities. The largest one, Laurie knew, was Skukuza, which boasted of its own medical centre, bank, and post office.
Three men surrounded by boxes of supplies waited under a shady baobab tree. One of the men was tall, lean, and mean looking. Another youngster, more boy than man, seemed filled with a restless energy. The last was a short, wiry man who looked seedy and corrupt. Laurie found something very familiar about the man.
Rod Gillery followed her gaze. "That's Hector Abute. Do you remember him?" Gillery turned off the Rover and got out to open its back door.
Laurie felt a mix of surprise and dread. On the one hand, it was nice to see someone from her childhood. On the other hand, she had never been fond of Hector, although she's always had a fondness for his big brother, Charles. Hector had been a mean, sullen kid, quick to lose his temper and full of revenge. He wasn't a bit like his father, Fortune Abute or his brother Charles, who were both intelligent, kind, and responsible men.
Laurie walked over to Hector and offered him her hand. He stood watching the other two lift the supplies into the truck. "Hector, hello. It's been years. Do you remember me, Laurie Allen?"
Hector smiled, revealing teeth decayed and stained by poor eating habits and smoking. He responded warmly and politely. "Laurie Allen, this is both a surprise and pleasure. It's wonderful to see you after all these years. How is your father?"
"Slowing down a bit, but still a going force, and the kindest man that ever lived," Laurie said.
"He stood with us against the evil of apartheid. He would always be welcomed in black South Africa." Hector responded. His words sent a chill through Laurie. It wasn't so much what Hector said, or how he had said it. It was his eyes. They were cold, yet they burned with hate. They were the eyes of a fanatic.
Laurie let go of Hector's hand and took a step back. "I'll tell him you said so. It will please him that you remember him kindly. I'd better go see if I can help." Laurie walked away.
She helped arrange the supplies in the Rover while Rod Gillery talked with Hector. Then the men leapt in the back and hunched down; Laurie slipped into the front seat again beside Gillery. She nervously felt the side of her shoulder bag. The hard weight of Danny's gun somehow reassured her that everything was all right. They set off.
Chapter 12
Danny used the ranger's jeep to drive straight back from Sibasa to Sirheni. She found it hard to believe only two days had passed since she left the reserve. She tried to phone Laurie before, but couldn't reach her.
She was feeling uneasy. Laurie was sure to be angry with her for rudely taking off without so much as a word. Somehow, she was going to have to win back Laurie's favour. She wasn't good at expressing her feelings. Nor was she sure how she stood with her own feelings. Okay, she'd done it. She'd admitted to Charles that she was gay. That was the big part of the battle, wasn't it?
She drew to a stop at the main gate at Punda Maria. She dutifully showed the ranger at the gate her park pass and then proceeded on, pushing the fifty kilometer speed limit within the park as far as she dared. No, admitting to yourself and a few trusted friends that you were gay was only the beginning. The hard part was giving up the prejudice taught by the church and society over a lifetime and learning to be comfortable within your own skin with who you really are. Could she do that? Could she be comfortable living openly with a woman?
She thought back to the meeting with the church Elders. She saw in her memory the charred ruins of her family home. Then she heard again Fortune's wise words and felt the pain of Charles's reaction. As she reflected, she realized she'd already made that decision. She was proud of her heritage, strong in her belief in God, but unlike so many of her peers and some of those in her church, she was ready to move on, accept a more tolerant and less narrow world. The past was to be learned from, not deified. She was gay, and she wasn't going to be ashamed of that anymore. She loved Laurie, and she definitely wasn't ashamed of that.
She braked to a stop and watched a graceful herd of steenbok cross the road. Moving off again, she leaned back more confidently. The next few weeks were going to be tough as she convinced Laurie
of her love and her decision to stop living a lie. In her heart and soul, she had crossed a high wall of bigotry and could now move on with the rest of her life.
Danny pulled up to the high chain link gate that surrounded the private camp of Sirheni. She got out and opened the gates, drove through and parked outside of the ranger's station. She went back to close the gate securely. She walked down to their cabin.
The door was locked. "Laurie," Danny called. She used her own key to unlock the door and step inside. Maybe she's down at the observing platform looking out over the Mphongolo River. She decided to freshen up and then go looking for Laurie. She frowned when she failed to see the usual mess cluttering Laurie's bedroom. Danny was to the end of the hall in three strides. Laurie's things were gone.
Panic seized her. Laurie must be really angry at her to have left. She went back down the hall. No message in the lounge or the kitchen. She hurried to her room and found the note under her hair brush. She read the words and felt knives of pain and worry stab into her heart. Still holding the note, she strode over to her knapsack and opened up the side pocket. Laurie had taken the gun, and that meant she was concerned about her situation. Damn!
* * *
"No," the ranger said firmly, "I cannot let you take the jeep again. My wife would kill me. We need it to get around. We can't take the big truck every time we wish to do a bit of shopping or take the kids to the doctor."
"I've got to have it. You've heard of Rod Gillery. You know as well as I do that he's a dangerous man," Danny said.
"You can have the big truck," the ranger said. He was caught between an angry board member and an angry wife.
"Let me talk to your wife, Henry," Danny said. "Please."
The ranger disappeared inside the station. "Daisy. Daisy, you come out please. Danielle Agia wishes to talk to you."
A small, dark woman came to the door. Danny gave it her all. "Daisy, 1 have no right to take your jeep. It was very good of you to lend it to me the first time, but this time, I'm here begging. You know Rod Gillery. You know that he and his men probably killed Luke Zakahka, the ranger over at Sabi Sabi last year. Now he has
my dearest friend. Please, I need to go after them before there's any more killing."
Daisy looked at Danny for a long time. "You take the jeep," she said and disappeared into the house. Henry reached into his pocket and handed the keys over to Danny.
"Thank you," Danny said, and threw her knapsack into the vehicle. "I need a rifle." Henry shrugged and went into the station, then returned with a rifle and a box of shells. Danny leapt into the jeep. Henry walked over to open the high gate for her. She drove out in a cloud of dust.
Out on the main road, Danny stopped to consider. Where would they have gone? As much as she hated to waste the time, the logical choice was to head back to the main gate at Punda Maria, about an hour's ride away. Gillery was likely to have bought supplies there, and he might have indicated to someone where he was headed. The route was north and then west. It was most likely that Gillery had headed north. There were fewer roads up there, and so more game, and it was easy for poachers to slip over into Zimbabwe or Mozambique if they were being pursued. Danny chafed at the time that would be wasted going west to the main gate, but more could be saved if she found someone there who knew where Gillery was headed.
It was two in the afternoon by the time she reached Punda Maria, and it was past four by the time her inquiries turned up someone who knew Gillery's plans. A clerk in the beer store had come from the Cape Town area and had recognized Hector Abute. Hector had bought a beer from him, and bragged to him that he was a better shot than Rod Gillery. He had told the clerk that he meant to kill a lion to use in a medicine, but the clerk hadn't taken him very seriously. "It was the beer talking. Hector Abute is no hunter."
"Did he indicate which way they were going?" Danny asked casually, so as not to put the man on his guard.
"To the north, near Luvuvhu, he told me," the clerk said.
So Hector was working for Gillery. Hector had been in Stellenbosch and might have set the fire. Danny had flown back, and Gillery had used the opportunity to get to Laurie. Damn!
Gillery was up to something, that was sure. But what? Danny stopped dead as the dread of understanding washed over her. Gillery knew that Danny would never leave Laurie alone with him. He knew Danny would come after them. She would follow them to an isolated part of the park where Gillery could set up an "unfortunate
accident." Danny was walking into a trap. Cillery wanted her out of the way because he was feeling the heat of the crackdown on poachers.
With luck, she should be able to get to the South African Police Station on the Mozambique boarder by nightfall. She'd spend the night there, and then go after Gillery at daybreak.
Chapter 13
Laurie watched out the window as they passed by the dry savannah dotted with scrub bushes. It was quiet and tense in the truck. Up ahead, she saw the telltale bed of dung that rhinos used to mark the edges of their territory. Often they used the edge of a road for such a purpose. The rhinos would return to the same spot day after day, until a large mound of dung covered one lane. Gillery swerved around it.
"Do you think there'll be any chance of photographing some rhinos?" Laurie asked. "I understand that Kruger has both white and black rhinos."
"There's been a change in plans."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean that this is no longer a photographic safari. We're using you as bait to draw Agia out where we want her."
"What?"
Gillery turned to give her a snide look. "It's a shame, but you and your friend are about to meet with an unfortunate accident. It happens sometimes, even to the best of trackers."
Laurie felt her insides crunch in fear. She had expected to learn that Gillery was a poacher; she even thought he might come on to her, but it had never occurred to her that he'd use her to kill Danny.
"Look, Rod, this is a really bad idea. You'll never get away with it. I work for a paper. They'll send people to investigate. Danny, as you well know, is a very powerful and influential woman. There'll be a huge inquiry."
"I certainly hope so. I plan on making a good deal of money on bringing groups out to investigate and being the last person to have seen the famous Danielle Agia alive."
Дата добавления: 2015-11-04; просмотров: 29 | Нарушение авторских прав
| <== предыдущая лекция | | | следующая лекция ==> |