The Witchdoctor's Bones

by Lisa de Nikolits

  “Do you know what to do?” Kate asked Thaalu quietly, “I mean when we get to the hospital?”

  “Yes, I have a lot of doctor friends there. Many of the doctors in our country have a great respect for the traditional healers and they ask for our advice.”

  “Are you a traditional healer?” Kate asked.

  Thaalu smiled. “Yes, I am a shaman or as you might call it, a sangoma. Like all things in this world, there are good sangomas and bad ones. I heal people.”

  “And you think she was poisoned?”

  “I’m sure of it. But what I’m not sure of, is why she died.”

  “What do you mean? I thought you said she was poisoned and that’s why she died?”

  “She was poisoned yes, there is no doubt, but there had to be something about her that made her different, weaker than other people because she should only have had a terrible stomach ache. For her to have died from the poison, there would have to have been a big amount in the water, so big that she would have easily tasted it.

  “And,” he wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead, “why did she need to drink so much water? Jono told me that she drank all of her water and all of this other man’s. A person in a healthy, normal state wouldn’t need to drink that much water. That is why I don’t understand it.”

  “How long will it take before we will know?” Kate’s shoulder was getting sore with Bree’s weight on it and there was a long way to go.

  “I radioed ahead, they are expecting us and they will have everything ready to do an autopsy. It is important that we find out the reason as soon as possible — what if this was not poison, but some contagious disease and you are all in danger? And, if she died by poison, that means there is a murderer in the group with you and the police will have to get involved and the tour will have to stop.”

  “Disease.” Kate had been so convinced Rydell had poisoned the water that she had not even thought of any other possibilities. She looked at Thaalu in shock.

  “Disease is very unlikely. Let us change the topic. How are you enjoying your holiday?”

  “I love Namibia,” Kate said with great enthusiasm. “We could do with a bit less fighting in the group, though.”

  Thaalu glanced at the rearview window and at the body behind. “I think she would agree.”

  Back at Sossuvlei, Jono waited for the group to return from their walk. When they did, they were full of tales that Charles had told them, Bushman legends and fables. As they climbed down from the bakkie, happy and chattering, it was as if they had completely forgotten what had happened.

  “I liked his stories about the tourists who suddenly think they are trackers.” Jasmine said. “They see a bit of spoor and off they go, in hot pursuit. And Charles has to run after them and rescue them and they keep trying to go back to track the animal.” She was flushed with happiness and covered in fine red dust.

  “This is the most brilliant place ever.” Richard wiped the sweat from his forehead with the bottom of his T-shirt. “I’m so glad the sun finally came out but I’m glad it was cloudy for as long as it was — we would have died in that heat.”

  The mention of death brought them back to reality.

  “Any word on Charisse?” Eva asked Jono in the sudden quiet.

  “I would imagine she’s still dead,” Richard tugged at the knotted bandanna around his neck, “unless Thaalu performed some kind of resurrection miracle.”

  “That’s not what I meant,” Eva said and her eyes filled with tears. “Honestly, Richard. I meant were they there yet and do they know why she died? Do we know anything new?”

  “I’m sorry,” Richard apologised. “That was a stupid thing for me to say, I wasn’t thinking straight.”

  “They will probably be arriving at the hospital soon,” Jono checked at his watch. “We will only know more late this afternoon. We must get on the road to Solitaire as quickly as possible and we will not be able to stop for lunch because we must get our camp set up before dark. We will eat on the bus if that is all right with everybody.”

  “That’s fine,” came the answer.

  “I want to also say something else,” Jono announced. “I have been thinking very hard and I do not think Thaalu was right about the poison. It would take a lot of poison to kill an adult and Charisse would have tasted that much poison and she did not.

  “What I ask,” he continued, “is that we stay calm and wait to hear what the doctors say. We will stop at the nearest shop and buy new fresh water supplies, new ice, new everything. Also, please do not worry, this has nothing to do with Treasure’s cooking, she was very worried you would think she had poisoned you.”

  “Of course she didn’t,” Harrison replied hotly. “I’ve been by her side for every meal so if she’s guilty, then I am too and I’m not guilty.”

  He marched over to Treasure’s side and glared at the gathering, with Treasure smiling at him.

  “Ease up, mate,” Richard said, “no one would be so stupid as to think that. Besides the poison was in yours or Charisse’s water and you’re unlikely to try to kill yourself, at least not in that way, I would presume.”

  “The poison was in my water?” Harrison was astounded. “I thought it was in Charisse’s water? What do you mean it could have been in my water? How do you know that? Who put it there?” His voice was filled with panic.

  Jono shot a look at Richard who shrugged another apology.

  “Harrison, please, calm down,” Jono said, in what he hoped was a reassuring manner. “We have no idea if the poison was in your water or Charisse’s or even if there was poison. Please calm down. Think about it, who here would like to kill you? We all like you.”

  “Of course we do, old chap.” Richard said, “that was a stupid thing for me to say. Charisse was the one with the enemies, not you.”

  At that, Jasmine started crying noisily. “Oh, so now it’s me who killed her? Don’t you think I feel bad enough that she’s dead, without being accused of murdering her? I feel terrible for how I treated her. I should never have interfered, her business is her business. I never would have killed her or anybody. That’s just stupid.”

  “Best I keep my mouth shut from now,” Richard muttered to Mia who gave him a look, nodded and went over to Jasmine.

  “Jazzer, luv, Sweet Jesus and Mary, no one here would dream of finking that you offed her. Come on now, stop crying, and as for how you treated her, don’t you worry, she was ’aving it off with someone else’s husband and that made you angry, it’s perfectly understandable.”

  The mention of Stepfan had all eyes turn to Lena.

  “Yes,” she said scornfully, “I killed her because she stole my husband.” She gave a short laugh. “Don’t be so ridiculous, all of you, look at him, do you really think he’s worth killing for?”

  The group turned towards Stepfan who was asleep on the bus, his head back, mouth agape.

  “She would have been welcome to him,” Lena said with finality.

  “Everybody, no more talk of murders.” Jono ended the discussion. “There is no proof of anything. Let us go.”

  Stepfan woke at the sound of their approach and watched his wife climb onto the bus. He suddenly felt a thousand years old. He told himself he would get his wife back, he knew he would. He was furious with Charisse for dying like that, the silly girl. He knew he needed to work on repairing relations with his wife but before anything, he desperately needed to sleep, he was exhausted.

  Rydell climbed on the bus, relieved that Kate had gone to Walvis Bay. She was the only one who could tie him to Harrison and the poison. She had seen him on the bus, under Harrison’s seat, and she was the only one who would know why he would want Harrison out the way. And although he had succeeded in distracting her by being as nasty as he could, he was sure she would not have forgotten he had been there.

  He was irritated by how complicated this was b
ecoming. It was not supposed to be like this. But he was not going to give up, Treasure would be his, she would. He was not going to lose what was rightfully his, not this time. He consoled himself by imagining Treasure as his bride, standing next to him with a lace veil framing her queenly face, her expression loving and tender and he strengthened his resolve.

  He knew he still needed to find a way to get rid of Harrison. Perhaps if Harrison betrayed or frightened Treasure in some way, she would tell him to leave her alone and then she would be happy to have a real man at her side. He wracked his brains and he recalled coming across the so-called Jack the Ripper murders in his research on Namibia. They had occurred in July of the same year, and he knew the police had charged a Windhoek doctor for killing four young prostitutes, decapitating and dismembering their bodies. Rydell figured that a copycat murder would not be too difficult to orchestrate. They had lots of time in Swakopmund and it was a big town; he would have all the resources he’d need. Yes, life as a copycat murderer was what Harrison’s future held for him. He smiled broadly and his pouty lower lip curled down. He was unaware that he was watched by Marika who wondered why he was smiling if, in fact it could be called smiling. She knew now that Kate had been correct about him and she wished she had listened to her.

  She turned to watch the scenery fly by, her expression worried, and she hoped Kate was okay out in the middle of nowhere.

  In the van, with Brianna asleep on her shoulder, Kate concluded that she was Rydell’s only weak link and that she would have to be careful. She wished Jono had listened to her and she also wished she had not encouraged Rydell to talk to her so much. She was only being polite. And yet, even while she knew how bizarre and even dangerous the situation was, her thoughts were distracted; Thaalu smelled wonderful. And his thigh, pressing up against hers, was unexpectedly arousing. She did not want to move — not that she could.

  Kate was disconcerted by her reactions to the man next to her; she was powerfully attracted to him. She tried to tell herself that it was just the reaction to being “rescued” by a handsome stranger who rode in to take charge; a stranger with skin the colour of polished sandalwood and eyes the colour of amber gemstones.

  But analyzing her feelings did not make them go away. She felt as if each cell in her body was on high alert, waiting to feel the subtlest movement from Thaalu; the shift of his leg, the in-out swell of his rib cage when he breathed.

  She stared ahead at the long straight white road, white sand on either side, the cloudless blue sky above, hoping he had no idea what she was thinking.

  “Thaalu,” she said, before she could stop herself. “Do you have a wife?”

  He smiled and glanced at her and she blushed under the gaze of his gold and brown eyes. “I have two,” he replied.

  “Oh.” Kate suddenly felt deflated, reminded of the real life that awaited her once the holiday was over. She would have to find a job and a place to stay and she would be alone.

  “Marriage is a good thing,” Thaalu said.

  “So good you had to do it twice,” Kate teased him.

  “Absolutely.” Thaalu smiled at her again and she blushed.

  The sun was blazing down on the small car and there was no air conditioning. The windows were wide open but that did nothing to help. Kate wiped the perspiration from her upper lip thinking that she was getting stuck to both Bree and Thaalu; they were melting into one person. Kate pushed the damp curls off Bree’s forehead and gently wiped her face. A small trickle of sweat ran down Brianna’s neck but she was breathing evenly, sound asleep.

  “What pills did you give her?” Thaalu motioned to Brianna. “She is sleeping like a drunk person.”

  “Tranquillizers,” Kate explained, “Which should last about four hours.”

  “Then she should be waking up just after we get there, so that is good,” Thaalu calculated. “She was very upset. I would like her to preferably be in the hospital when she wakes up again.”

  “Yes, she’s had a terrible shock, I wonder if she will ever recover.” Kate voiced her earlier thoughts.

  “She will, if she wants to,” Thaalu said. “We can choose, every day, to be happy or sad. Or nothing. Some people choose nothing because it’s easier for them.”

  “I like to be happy,” Kate told him, “even though it can be tiring at times. How foolish is that, to say that happiness can be tiring.”

  “Not foolish. It means you make the effort. Making an effort is always tiring, even if you badly want the reward of what you are making an effort for.”

  “You know Thaalu,” Kate burst out quietly, “I thought you would be short and wrinkled.”

  Thaalu snorted with amusement, then he looked over at Brianna and lowered his voice. “A common mistake,” he said. “But, do you imagine every human to look like your ninety-year-old grannie? Most people have only seen pictures of older Bushman and that’s why they think the way they do, that we are all ninety and shrunk. I always find it so funny.”

  “Sorry,” Kate said.

  “No need to apologize, as I said, it’s a common mistake.” He grinned at her and her heart quickened.

  Brianna showed signs of restlessness and Kate and Thaalu both froze.

  “We must be quiet,” he whispered.

  Kate nodded, “we must not wake her.” She stroked Brianna’s hair and she settled down. They were quiet after that. Brianna slept on, and behind them, Charisse lay wrapped in thick black plastic.

  When they arrived at the hospital, Brianna was still asleep. “Wait here with her, in the car,” Thaalu spoke quietly. “Try not to move or wake her up. I will get the doctors. It is better if she wakes up with them near to her and preferably with the dead girl’s body removed.”

  Kate waited in the car which remained stifling and airless, although Thaalu’s door and the windows were open. The parking lot was empty save for a handful of battered old Toyotas and Mazdas.

  The hospital was white, single-storied, and governmental in appearance, sprawled across a large barren area of cleared red earth. A few geraniums bloomed in a flower bed near the main entrance that was flanked by young palm trees. “Quality Care by People Who Care,” Kate read the slogan under the hospital logo. The entire complex seemed brand new.

  She was desperate to stretch her legs but she did not want to disturb Brianna. She was as stiff as a board, not having moved for close to five hours. She was beginng to think that she could not stand the heat any longer when Thaalu returned with two doctors, a security guard and a nurse.

  “You go with Brianna and this man,” Thaalu said to Kate, “and I will go with the body. I’ll come and find you. Don’t worry, I won’t leave without you. Also, we need to find you a hotel for the night. We will sort it all out.”

  Brianna’s doctor brought her a wheelchair and he and the nurse put her into it. She woke slightly but fell back into a doze. Kate collected their belongings and staggered slightly under the weight of the two backpacks and her camera bag.

  Thaalu rushed up to her. “Don’t be foolish,” he chided her, “I was going to bring those. Give them to me.”

  Kate handed them over and followed Brianna.

  They put Brianna to bed with a drip in her arm, and Kate began a long wait. She was concerned if she left Brianna’s room that Thaalu would not know where to find her. She was hungry and tired. By 5:00 p.m., she was beyond exhausted. Kate drew her chair close to Bree and rested her head on her arms on the side of the bed and fell into an uneasy sleep. It was close to midnight when the doctor who had first seen to Brianna returned with Thaalu.

  “We have checked their documentation,” the doctor apologized for waking Kate. “They are covered for all sorts of travel insurance and their passports and visas are in order and we’ve got someone coming from the American embassy to help the girls get back home.”

  Kate thanked the doctor and asked him why Brianna had not woken up.


  “We’ve given her a mild sedative and she’s in shock and dealing with it by sleeping. Rest is the best thing for her now,” the doctor told her. “Don’t worry, she’ll be fine, you know what they say about time healing all wounds.” He shook Kate’s hand and walked off.

  “I found you a bed-and-breakfast for the night,” Thaalu said, “and Jono will pick you up tomorrow morning.” He picked up her camera bag and made to leave.

  “Wait a moment, please,” Kate said. “I must leave Brianna a note.” She grabbed her journal and tore out a page telling Brianna how to get in touch with her if she wanted to.

  “You have a good heart,” Thaalu said, watching her.

  Kate thanked him. She felt as if she’d been at the hospital forever and by the time they arrived at the bed-and-breakfast that was housed in a white, ranch-style bungalow, Kate barely felt capable of thought. Thaalu helped her to the front desk and got her signed in. They stood in the hallway of the house, with the outside security light throwing shadows of ghostly light through the burglar-bars and Thaalu prepared to leave.

  “Wait, Thaalu,” Kate said, “I’m so tired I nearly forgot to ask you. How did Charisse die? Did they find out?”

  “Yes, they did. She had poison in her system from one of our local bushes but it was not enough to kill her. She had a very bad stomach ulcer and was dehydrated, which is why she drank all of her own and the other man’s water. Because of the bad state of her ulcer, she very quickly got septicaemia and so they ruled it an accidental death and that is the end of the matter.”

  “How sad, poor girl.” Kate was shocked.

  “Yes,” Thaalu agreed. He paused and looked around the living room. “But, you my dear,” he said as he stepped closer to her, “must remember one thing.” Her tired body was once more aware of his sensual beauty and she looked up at him, wondering if he had any idea what she was thinking. “Somebody did try to poison either this girl or somebody else. So you must take very good care of yourself and be careful like I said. I want to give you my cellphone number in case you need me.”