Storms Over Africa (36 page)

‘There was a war on,' Greg reminded him. He hoped Tshuma would soon depart or Richard could very well kill him with his bare hands. He needed the man alive for the moment. ‘We all killed people.'

‘My brother was talking to the villagers, not threatening anyone.'

‘Your brother was recruiting villagers,' Richard suddenly remembered the incident. ‘He was trying to drum up support. Of course I shot him, he was the enemy.'

‘My brother was going to be a very great man,' Tshuma's voice was ragged with emotion. ‘You took his life, you murdered him and you laughed about it afterwards, I heard you. You killed my brother and you killed the prophecy of his greatness.'

Richard had no idea what he was talking about but he had heard enough. ‘Your precious brother killed other people's brothers too, don't forget.'

‘My brother was destined to lead his people,' Tshuma screamed at him. ‘He was marked for greatness and you killed him. You . . . you
arrogant white piece of shit.' Spittle flew from Tshuma's mouth in his sudden rage.

Richard laughed in his face. ‘My only regret, you black bastard, is that I didn't kill you too.'

Penny was still kneeling on the ground and she looked up at Joseph. ‘You never loved me?'

‘Loved you?' Joseph uttered a short humourless bark of laughter. ‘I couldn't stand you. I already have a wife. Besides,' he added, twisting the knife, ‘in bed you are boring. Naked you look like a dead fish.'

‘You bastard,' she screamed at him. ‘You filthy bastard. Get out. Get away from here,' she broke down completely.

Richard made a rush at Tshuma, shoving Greg aside. Joseph Tshuma saw him coming and turned and ran and Richard, robbed of the punch his fist was itching to throw, took small satisfaction in a booted kick in the behind, of such force he felt the scrunch of bones meshing together in the man's lower back. He would have gone after him but Greg held him back, saying urgently, ‘Leave him, for God's sake, we don't want to kill him now.'

With a tremendous effort of will, Richard let the man go. As a final act of vengeance, however, he found the gold-rimmed glasses on the ground where they had landed and he mashed Joseph Tshuma's spectacles to powdered glass
and twisted metal under his heel. It was a wasted exercise. Joseph had hidden a backpack out in the veld as a precaution against the event he had engineered so well. It contained all he would need to make his way to UZIP headquarters, including a spare pair of glasses.

Penny seemed unable to stop crying. While Richard held her and shushed her and ached for her, Greg sent Philamon off in the truck to collect David and Samson. Then he went looking for Steve.

Steve had decided to put aside her doubts about Richard. After all, she reasoned, she only had another few days before she had to tell him about David. If there was a way to be found around the David problem, then she could tackle the poaching one, if not, it hardly mattered anyway.

She was making her way back to camp, suddenly aware of how far she had strayed, when she saw, on the river flat below, two fully grown hippopotamus males. Uttering low grunts and snorts they appeared to be squaring up to each other for a fight. The animals were a good two metres below her, with a steep sandy cliff between them, and so, feeling safe from harm, she squatted down and got her camera ready.

Up close, the hippopotamuses were huge. They stood facing each other, unaware of her presence. Their shining bodies, which displayed terrible scars from previous fights and should have warned her of their irascible nature, dripped with water. She watched and waited. Nothing happened. They just stood there, grunting and glaring. Then one of them turned and made for the river. Not wanting to miss the chance, Steve clicked off a shot. The reaction was instantaneous. Both bulls spun around with incredible speed and charged at the two metre bank. Steve took two more shots before she realised that the animals were actually making progress up the steep sides, their little piggy eyes boring into her with malevolent intent, their huge and terrible teeth displayed in open-mouthed anger. With a cry of horror she reared back. Then fear put wings into her feet and she scrambled up, leaving her camera on the ground. Not looking back, she ran to a large tree and climbed it rapidly, not stopping until she was five metres into its comforting bulky upper branches and badly startling a monkey who was perched there watching the fun. ‘Shove up,' she panted. The monkey fled with alarmed shrieks.

Looking back towards the river she saw one of the hippopotamuses was running back into the water while the other was trotting along
the bank, looking for a way up. Safe from harm herself, she fretted about her camera. The animal found a place where the bank had caved in and thundered up it, charging back in her direction. It ran right underneath where she sat and kept going. Her camera lay, deserted and endangered, on the river bank but the hippopotamus was looking for a human and did not see it. It charged nearly 100 metres beyond her tree before veering off suddenly and running down a well-used trail to the river and was soon immersed back in the water.

Shakily, she climbed down the tree and retrieved her camera. Then, keeping more of a wary eye than before, and telling herself to listen more carefully to Richard's advice in future, she walked quickly back towards camp. She met up with Greg when she was a few hundred metres from it and was about to tell him of her encounter when she saw the look on his face. ‘What's the matter?'

‘Trouble I'm afraid,' he said. He quickly told her what happened.

‘That's terrible. The bastard! He seemed so nice.'

‘Do you think you can help? My guess is Penny needs a woman's touch.'

‘I can try,' she said doubtfully. ‘I haven't had much to do with Penny, she might resent me interfering.'

‘Give it a go, Richard can't handle it.' Greg wanted Richard away from family problems and functioning like he used to during the war. There was no-one he would rather have covering his back. He felt sorry for him but Greg needed Richard's full attention.

They hurried back to the camp. Richard and Penny had not moved. As they approached, Richard threw Steve a despairing look. Penny was sobbing uncontrollably, deep gulps of air which racked her entire body. Praying she was right, Steve decided on a brisk approach. ‘Come with me, Penny.' She placed her hand on the girl's arm. To her surprise, Penny stirred and got shakily to her feet. She slipped her arm around the girl and helped her towards her tent.

‘Lie down,' she said, more sure of herself. Penny was obeying her. She realised that, in her deep shock, Penny was substituting Steve as a kind of mother figure. Still shaken by the hippopotamus attack, she spoke sharply. ‘You're a damned fool. How far gone are you?'

‘I'm five weeks overdue,' Penny stammered between sobs.

‘It's not too late to do something about it then.'

‘Oh, God, no' Penny moaned. ‘He wanted the baby so badly. I wanted the baby too. It's a baby, it's done nothing wrong.' Then her
tone changed, hardened, and chilled Steve with the depth of hatred. ‘It's his baby, his bastard. I don't want it. I hate it. How could I have believed him? I don't want this child.'

Steve steered her off. ‘What about the drugs? Can you kick them?'

She was in such a state she was easily diverted. ‘I honestly don't know,' she whispered.

‘You're going to have to try,' Steve said firmly. ‘Where are they kept?'

Penny had an arm over her eyes. ‘He kept it in his shaving kit over there.'

Steve located a shaving kit. There was no sign of cocaine, although she was not terribly sure what cocaine looked like. She had an idea it was white powdery stuff and she imagined it would be in a plastic bag of some kind. ‘There's nothing here.'

‘What!' Penny came off the bed like a mad thing. ‘It must be there.' She grabbed the shaving kit from Steve and shook the contents onto the other camp bed. An envelope fell out. It had Penny's name printed on it. She picked it up and opened it feverishly, extracting a single sheet of flimsy notepaper. She read it quickly, moaned despairingly, and sat heavily on her camp bed, putting her face in her hands.

Steve picked up the note:
Did you think I'd leave it for you, my dear? I took the precaution of removing it before your father and I had our little chat. You thought you had me around your little finger didn't you, my dear? How typically arrogant and stupid of you! I hope you enjoy the next few days, you should have some interesting moments without your little present to prop you up. When you get back to Harare try heroin. It'll make you feel more intelligent than cocaine—and you need all the help you can get. By the way, when that little bastard in your belly is old enough to understand, you can tell him from me he was no pleasure to create and I want nothing to do with him. Enjoy the rest of your life, won't you.

There was a postscript.

If the next few days get too tough, my little lush, you can always go back to the bottle.

There was no signature.

‘What a terrible man,' Steve was horrified.

Penny was crying again. ‘I didn't know,' she said. ‘I thought he loved me. I loved him so much.'

‘Are you sure?' Steve asked. ‘Are you sure it wasn't the shock value you loved?'

Penny shook her head, her face still in her hands. ‘I'm not sure of anything any more. I can't believe this is happening to me. Oh, Steve, what am I going to do?'

Steve sat next to her. ‘First, we'll deal with the baby. Then we'll deal with the drugs. It might be a good idea if you left Zimbabwe for a while. Let's take it a step at a time.' Then she squeezed Penny's shoulders and said kindly, ‘This is the worst it gets, Penny. From here, it can only get better, believe me.'

They heard the truck return and David's hurried steps. He burst through the flap in the tent. ‘Philamon said there'd been a fight. He said Dad punched Joe and Joe has left and you're upset. What's going on? I can't find Dad anywhere.'

‘Your sister has had a bad shock,' Steve told him. ‘It might be best if you leave her alone for a while.'

‘You stay out of it,' he said spitefully. ‘You've caused enough trouble as it is.'

‘David, Penny doesn't need—'

‘—doesn't need what?' David interrupted. ‘Doesn't need to know that you slept with me as well as Dad, is that what she doesn't need?' He disappeared out through the flap, but not before Steve caught sight of Richard's white face as he stood just behind his son. He had heard every word.

She went quickly to the tent flap and stepped outside. Richard was staring at her as though she were a stranger. ‘Richard . . .'

‘I don't want to hear,' he said curtly, turning and walking away.

She ran after him, ‘Richard, please listen to me.'

He stopped. ‘What can you possibly have to say that I would want to hear?' he asked quietly.

‘I was going to tell you after the hunt. I know you're hurt. I had no idea who David was until he returned from school. It was one of those things that happen. I met him the night before I met you. I'd give anything for it not to have happened.'

He turned and looked at her, his face closed. ‘But it did happen, Steve, and there's just no way around it. There's nothing more to say. You can go back to Pentland with the others. Just make sure you're not there when I get back.'

‘Richard, please,' she begged.

‘There's nothing more to say,' he repeated stonily. ‘You've hurt my son and deceived me. I want you out of my life.' He walked rapidly away from her, leaving her staring after him.

‘How do you like it?' she heard.

Turning, she saw David standing nearby. ‘Not very much,' she said with unwavering Australian honesty. ‘It hurts like hell if you must know. I guess you've had your revenge, David. I'm sorry you needed to, it's my fault, all of it.'

David was startled by the pain in her voice and the shattered look on her face. He had wanted to strike back at her, hurt her as she had hurt him. He had not thought beyond
that. He was suddenly struck by the full consequences of his actions and he felt instantly ashamed. ‘I didn't think—' he stammered.

‘Forget it, David.' She shook her head. ‘The situation was impossible. I should have told him immediately. It's not your fault.'

‘Steve!' he walked quickly over to her, his resentment melting.

‘Forget it,' she repeated. She turned and went back to Penny's tent.

Penny stared at her. ‘I heard what he said,' she said, referring to David's outburst. ‘Is it true?'

‘Unfortunately, yes.' Steve saw the look of disgust on Penny's face and added, ‘It was just one of those things that happen. I had no idea David was Richard's son.' She saw Penny didn't believe her. Suddenly, the events of the last half an hour caught up with her. The hippopotamus scare, the deceit of Joseph, Penny's problems, and now Richard's contempt. It was too much. ‘Oh for Christ's sake, forget it,' she snapped, suddenly angry. ‘I'm sorry it happened but I can't take it back. I'll be out of your hair, out of all your hair, as soon as we get back to Pentland.'

‘No!' Penny burst out, surprising her. ‘Dad loves you. Can't you work something out?'

‘A man like your father? I doubt it. He's very proud.'

‘Please try,' Penny begged. Then added, ‘I need you too, I need your help.'

‘I'll do what I can,' Steve promised. ‘I'll help for a while. But I can't be at Pentland when your father returns.'

‘Stay with me in Harare.'

‘We'll see.' She knew she would not stay. She had to get away, away from the Dunn family, away from Africa. She just did not fit in.

The tent flap was pulled back and Greg came inside. He looked sympathetically at the girls. ‘Richard has ordered the camp be struck,' he said. ‘He and I are going after Tshuma. We're taking Samson with us.' He saw the questioning in Penny's eyes and sat on the camp bed, taking one of her hands in his. ‘Penny,' he said gently, ‘it's no accident I came with you on this trip. We've been watching Tshuma for months. He's a dangerous man and he could be instrumental in turning this country into a war zone again. We're guessing he'll run to the hideout of his leaders, about seventy kilometres from here. He's one of their key people. We've known they have a base in the Matopos but we've never been able to find them. This is our chance.'