by Reina Torres
“Sir?”
“What?” He didn’t even bother to turn around.
“I’d like to talk to you.”
The action on the screen intensified and a goal was scored earning groans from two of the men.
Stepping up behind the couch, she tapped the man on his shoulder. “Sir-”
He sat up, pulling away from the back of the couch, and turned to glare at her. “What?”
“I need to speak to you.”
The man in the armchair at the far end of the sofa laughed at her. “You’re interrupting our game.”
“I’m here on business.” She nailed the man with a look that would have sent some men walking in the opposite direction.
He answered back with a leer. “You’d keep me busy enough.”
The man in charge had better sense.
His features set into some semblance of a professional air. “You’re the Ellery woman.”
She kept her eyes steady on his face. “Tamsin Ellery, yes. And you are?”
“Me?” He gave her a smile that told her they were far beyond the niceties of an introduction. “I’m in charge.”
She shook off her instinctive need to demand a real answer at that moment. She wasn’t used to being the ‘hot head’ in any situation. Tamsin was usually the one struggling to ease the tension in a room, but this was about Donal. She wanted answers more than she wanted to keep within the narrow lines of polite conversation and etiquette. “I need some answers.”
He shrugged. “You came a long way for nothing, you know. We can’t find your man.”
“I’m not exactly sure how hard you’ve looked.” She moved further into the room and looked over the shoulder of one of the men and saw him diligently working at some kind of a game on his phone. “Level Seventy-Two. Looks like you’ve been working on this a lot.”
He barely spared her a glance before turning back to his game.
Moving closer to the television, she tried to meet the eyes of the rest of the men. “I’m here to join in on the search. I’d like to know where you’ve looked.”
At a gesture from the man in charge, the tablet was set down on a coffee table and the man who had to put his game on hold crossed to the bar to pour a drink from a cut-crystal decanter.
While he was pouring, she got another unsatisfactory answer. “Everywhere.”
Getting to his feet, the man in charge took two of the glasses offered to him and held one out to her. “You should have a drink with me. I can be quite entertaining.”
Tamsin wasn’t going to be distracted. “I want any information you’ve uncovered in your search. Surely you have a map or a grid laid out.”
“Surely,” he mimicked her tone and the others chuckled along with him, “you don’t think such things exist in this little corner of the world.”
“I know that you’ve been paid for your services for quite some time, but I’ve seen no evidence of reports or proof of your efforts. I’ll need that going forward.”
“Forward?” He brought the glass to his lips and tipped it so the amber liquid poured into his mouth. With a deep swallow he tossed the glass to one of the other men. “What will that entail?”
Tamsin could see Magheli shake his head from the far side of the room. It was only too easy to understand his meaning. The men between them were by no means muscle-bound, but there were four of them and they all had an edge that said they were not averse to bloodying their knuckles. And the look in their eyes, at least the eyes that she had seen, told her that it didn’t matter to them that she was a woman. They’d hurt her if they had to if it meant protecting their rather cushy way of life.
Yeah, equality!
“Going forward,” she repeated as she struggled to order her thoughts. Her concern for Donal’s safety was playing havoc with her thoughts. “At the very least informing GEI that you’ve squandered away the fees that you’ve been paid for services that I’m sure you didn’t render. And that means, I’ll have to send a report to the Board of Directors. They’re the ones who approved your fees. After that,” she had the good sense to start walking toward the door leading out to the lobby area of the offices, “the Police Service might have to be informed as well.”
Instead of getting angry, her adversary wore a self-impressed smile. “Go ahead,” he shrugged, “make your report to the Board. I only answer to Graystoke. You don’t matter to me.”
“Graystoke?”
She saw the realization in his eyes that said he’d stumbled somehow.
“So, you’ve at least talked to Donal. Is that what you’re telling me?”
Tamsin saw the way the man’s features darkened and she saw the tension riding high on his shoulders, but before she could press him for an answer, she felt Magheli try to lift her off her feet.
“Come along, Miss Ellery. I do believe we’ve outstayed our welcome.”
It made her just a little bit happy that it took him no small amount of effort to get her outside, but once she felt the natural heat out of doors she regained some of her composure.
She failed to ignore Magheli’s laughter as he rounded the Jeep and climbed in behind the steering wheel.
“Really? You’re going to laugh at me?”
He busied himself with the road, but he turned to give a quick look. “I’m not laughing at you, Miss Ellery. I’m sad to say I was hoping you’d squirm free enough to give them a little hell. I regret ushering you outside when I did. I haven’t had this much fun in a long time.”
She rolled her eyes and sank back against the passenger seat. “I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself.”
“I’m not without my charm.”
She sighed and looked out at a row of apartment buildings along the street. “Well, maybe you can use your charm to figure out where we should go next.”
“You say that like you doubt that I’ll be able to figure something out.” A long moment passed before he continued. “But, I think I have just the thing to make you change your mind. I know a man.”
She felt her teeth grind together. “With more than fifty-million people in this country, I’d hope that you would ‘know a man.’”
“Testy.” His chuckle crawled over her skin. “I kind of like it.”
“Really?” She huffed.
“What can I say? I like a challenge.”
“Who is this man?” She had to change the direction of the conversation before she ran them both off the road. “The one you think can help.”
“Oh, he can help. I don’t doubt that. The issue,” Magheli stared straight ahead through the windshield, “is if he will. There isn’t a thing that happens in the southern half of the continent that he doesn’t know about, but he’s… picky about who he helps.”
Tamsin’s hands fisted in her lap. “I’ll find a way to get him to help. I just need you to tell me as much as you can about him.”
Magheli squinted into the sun. “It won’t do you any good. One look at you and he’ll have made up his mind.”
She heard the sour note in his voice and saw the way his hands flexed on the steering wheel. Curious, she had to ask, “He turned you down before, didn’t he?”
Magheli gave her a look that spoke volumes. “How did you know?”
“Just a feeling.” Smiling, she looked out the window and nodded her head to the music she heard on the radio. “I think I’m going to like this man.”
“Just my luck.” He sighed and bent forward to lean against the wheel.
Tamsin tried to focus on the possibilities of the moment rather than the challenge. “I’m hoping it’ll change mine.”
Chapter Three
The village was some distance outside of town, but the trip passed quickly. Tamsin’s anger was a distracting companion. She thought over and over again about all the times that Harold Graystoke had updated the Board of Directors on the progress, or rather the lack of progress, of the private investigators looking for Donal. His frustration. His anger. The fierce looks on his face.
&nb
sp; How many times had he protested her requests for a change? He always said that it was unfair, that Donal was likely lost to them.
He always said that they needed to find him one way or another to have things settled.
And yet, for the last year, no… for more than that, she had begun to believe that it was all a show.
How much of a show? She didn’t know.
Not really.
The next time she talked to him, she was going to start asking more questions. He’d allowed her to travel over the Atlantic Ocean to find her own answers, but so far, all she had were more questions.
She didn’t want to think about all those times when she felt something turn in her middle and wonder if it was only her concern for Donal that had created those feelings, or was there something else that she’d felt.
Something more sinister.
The jeep turned onto a dirt road and the sudden change in the way the wheels interacted with the ground under them turned her head. She sat up higher against the seat and turned a curious look out of the windshield.
“We’re getting close.”
She nodded at Magheli’s comment, taking in the scenery for herself.
The group of buildings up ahead where all single-story structures. She’d heard Harold scoff at the condition of things in Africa, making derogatory comments about the condition of the country and its people, but what she saw wasn’t much different from the area she lived in. Out of the way and quiet from what she could see.
There were people about, and a few heads turned to watch the jeep approach the main collection of buildings.
Tamsin’s main focus wasn’t on the details of their destination, it was on the feelings that stirred inside of her. After having time to mull over her own worries about the search for Donal, what stirred within as she looked at their destination was a feeling of relief, as if she knew the answer to at least some of her questions lay ahead of her.
The expressions she saw on the faces turned in their direction were curious, but they bore none of the cold distrust that she had already faced.
It was a welcome sight, and she hoped it wasn’t a false sense of security.
They parked before the smallest building at the center of the village and before Magheli could make it to her door, Tamsin stepped out and settled her clothes. Sitting in the jeep wasn’t the problem. She had been so tied up in knots on the inside that Tamsin had somehow twisted and wrinkled her outfit during the drive. She looked up at Magheli and saw the laughter in his eyes.
“You look fine.”
She shook her head. “I’m not worried about how I look. I need to focus my thoughts and settle my mood. You never did tell me who we’ve come to see.”
There was a pull at the corners of his mouth, and she drew in a worried breath.
“What?”
“I’d like to say that he’s an old friend of mine, but that would probably be stretching the truth.”
He put a hand on her lower back and nudged her toward the front door of the small home, and she felt the awkward stiffness in his hand.
“How much of a stretch?”
He took a moment to answer and by then they were at the door. “Let’s just hope he actually answers the door.”
“Oh great.” She took charge of the situation and knocked at the door. “I’m just going to cross my fingers and hope.”
They didn’t have to wait long for an answer. The door opened to the wizened face of an older man who looked out at them with a smile, until he lifted his gaze over her shoulder. Narrowing his eyes, he sighed. “Magheli.”
Tamsin heard a soft cough behind her. “Mzamo.”
When the older man looked at her again, his smile was back. “Tell me he has been a boar to you, and I will have him tied to the bumper of his car for you.”
The laugh that burst from her lips was genuine and a release of much of her tension. “Magheli has been nice, but I can see that you’ve known him awhile.”
She heard the awkward shuffle of boots behind her, and Mzamo winked at her.
“Too long.” He stepped back and gestured into the house. “Come. Come inside and sit. We shall see how we can make him even more uncomfortable.”
Tamsin looked over her shoulder as she stepped inside and watched Magheli rub his hand over his face in frustration, mumbling under his breath.
Mzamo drew a chair away from the table and tapped the back with his hand. “Sit, please.”
Tamsin sat in the chair as Mzamo sat down opposite her at the table. Magheli paused behind a chair along the side waiting for permission. And waited.
When Mzamo’s smile twitched at the corner of his mouth, he turned to speak. “Go ahead,” he nodded at the empty chair. “Sit.”
Magheli sat down quickly as if he was afraid if he dallied that their host would change his mind. “Ngiyabonga, Mzamo. Thank you. I know you weren’t expecting me to come.”
“I expected you eventually.” The older man’s tone said that they had a history, but he managed to make it seem like a mild, almost friendly, irritation to see her guide. “I just did not expect you to bring a woman. Have you finally given up on my daughter?”
Tamsin turned to look at Magheli, her head snapping toward him with a silent question in her eyes.
Magheli managed to keep his expression composed. “I think you know me better than that. This is Tamsin Ellery. She’s come to find her friend.”
Magheli’s words were true, but Tamsin felt her cheeks grow hot as if labeling Donal as a friend was a bald-faced lie.
And Mzamo’s eyes widened a little as he looked at her, but all he said in reply was, “A friend. Hmm.”
Reaching into her pocket, Tamsin withdrew a picture of Donal and handed it to the older gentleman. “Donal Graystoke.” Just saying his name twisted her up inside. “He came to Africa a few years ago to take care of his family’s interests and eventually we lost touch with him.”
Mzamo lifted the picture to get a closer look.
She knew what he saw. It was a picture she carried with her all the time. It was the last picture she had taken of Donal before his departure. Standing in the garden of his family home, he was leaning up against the garden wall with tangled vines just a foot away from his shoulder. He looked at ease.
Calm.
It was the way she tried to think of him.
Magheli was the one who broke the silence. “There have been people looking for him, but they don’t seem to be doing much.”
The gentleman nodded. “And so, you come to me.”
Magheli looked at Tamsin when he spoke. “If Donal is anywhere in or near Zulu land, Mzamo can find him. He knows everything that goes on.”
A significant look passed between the two men, and Tamsin tried not to let her imagination delve into the meaning.
“Besides,” Magheli sighed, “it’s not like Donal would blend into the scenery.”
Mzamo spoke up a moment later. “You say things,” he shook his head, “but I do not think you know what you talk about.”
Magheli leaned forward on the table. “I know… I know… I’m not good enough for your daughter.”
The older man set the photo down on the table and gestured at the younger man beside her. “I am grateful that you finally accept that, but again, you do not know.” He turned his gaze toward Tamsin, and she was relieved to see that his eyes were kind and carried something that gave her hope. “And you come looking for this man… as a friend?”
Oh, her stomach twisted into a knot, making her chest ache. Or was that her heart?
“He needs to be found or his uncle is going to try to have him declared dead.”
“If he has come here to disappear,” he shrugged, “then maybe the declaration is something he might welcome.”
“No, no.” Tamsin sat forward and leaned her forearms on the edge of the table. She took a quick look at the photograph as if it might give her strength and continued to speak. “If he doesn’t want to come back, that’s fine,”
she fought down the rise of panic in her chest, “but the company is his birthright, his passion. His uncle would change things.”
“If his uncle is so interested in having him dead, why did he not come to look for him?”
“It’s not… It’s not about that. At least not all of it. I just need to know what happened to him. I need to know.”
He tapped the photo with his fingers, his eyes staring down at the tabletop before he nudged the photo toward her. “If you need to know if he is alive, I can tell you that he is.”
Once he said the words, he sat back and folded his arms across his chest.
Tamsin looked at Magheli for some clue about the situation, but all he did was shrug.
“But I need to see him and tell him what’s going on.” She fought the urge to let her voice rise in tone and intensity. She needed to keep some measure of control. “He needs to know.”
“I wonder,” he looked back at her with a slight tilt of his head and gestured toward Magheli at the side of the table. “Did he tell you that I am not one to meddle in the affairs of others. If your friend does not wish to be found, is it not best to honor his wishes?”
The words felt like a physical hit.
Was that what it was?
Would Donal resent her for bringing GEI back into his life?
She shook her head, reaching down into her well of strength for support. “If he doesn’t want to go back, he doesn’t have to. I don’t even need to tell his uncle if I find him.”
Magheli leaned forward with his elbows braced on the table. “Miss Ellery, are you sure-“
“Rather than take the chance that Donal would want to know what has been happening while he’s been gone, I want to find him so he can make a decision for himself.”
“And if he decides that he would rather stay,” Mzamo’s voice had become little more than a whisper, “would you try to change his mind?”
Tamsin struggled with the answer to his question. She mulled over the question and finally offered him an answer.
“I want him to be happy. If being here makes him happy, then that is all I need to know. But I can’t go back without knowing what he wants.” She fell into silence for a moment before explaining. “Or if he’s alive. If he’s not, then I need to know that too, so I can mourn his loss.”
