It had taken Rydell a long time to fall asleep. He had been overwhelmingly relieved when he heard the results from the hospital but there had been a moment when he had been alarmed by Harrison’s insistence to learn the truth. But who was there to point the finger at him? Kate was not there, which was a good thing, but what if she had already told someone about how he felt about Treasure? It would not take a genius to put two and two together: that Harrison was the target and Rydell the one with motive. And while Rydell had been grateful to Richard for turning the situation around, in the next breath, he hated him, hated him for his easy charm, his striking good looks, and his tall athletic body.
Rydell knew that there were women who found him attractive but he also knew that he was nothing compared to Richard. And, by taking control of the situation in the way that he had, Richard had unleashed a flood of distressing memories for Rydell, memories of his plump rejected youth, his troubled young adult life and the lonely stretch of his isolated later years. Sitting in the circle, waiting for Richard and Helen to return, Rydell had been filled with venom and hatred, so much so that he could taste the offending acid in his mouth; it was thick enough to choke on. Stung by the failure of his plan to get rid of Harrison and fearful of discovery, Rydell’s anger and fear funneled into self-loathing.
“Four and twenty blackbirds sitting in a pie, four and twenty blackbirds pecking out my eyes,” he mumbled under his breath. “The dormouse is a tea tray and the world is full of spies.”
He felt as if the group had, with one united movement, banded together and forced him to the outside. Sure, when Richard and Helen returned, they had given him apple pie and ice cream, he could not argue that. They did all the right things outwardly, just as his mother had done but he knew that they despised him just as she had.
Later, he thrashed about in his sleeping bag, feeling boneless, fat and invisible, and hating himself for being such a nobody. He tossed and turned, feeling spiteful and restless. He wanted to hurt something, someone, but who, what? He shook off the sleeping bag, sat up in the darkness and listened to the thick silence, wondering what sounds of Africa Stepfan was always complaining about missing, because Rydell could not hear a thing; not a bird or a cricket or a frog.
Suddenly claustrophobic in his pajamas, he ripped them off and he felt a searing heat radiating off his tight, parched skin. He felt his anger building up even further and he scratched at himself in the darkness, viciously scoring his arms and thighs. He realized he might have to take a couple of pills to take the edge off his anger; he could not afford to lose control now.
He turned on his flashlight and dug in his bag, quickly chewing two tranquilizers but they did not work fast enough. The need for release overwhelmed him. He clawed at his scalp, willing the anguish to lessen but the fury consumed him. He reached into his toiletry bag and found his nail scissors and began to stab at his thigh, deep enough to draw blood. “Pop goes the weasel,” he said with each prick, and he slowly felt the pressure ease. “Pop, pop, pop.”
His numb fury receded and in its place came calm. He could feel the pills beginning to work. He cleaned his wounds with antiseptic, set his alarm for 7:00 a.m, and finally fell asleep.
“Man, can that guy ever snore.” Gisela lay in her sleeping bag, several tents away. “He’s like a dying elephant in pain. Not that I’ve ever met a dying elephant but I’m sure that’s what one would sound like.”
Eva laughed. “I agree.”
By silent mutual consent neither of them mentioned the events of the day.
“What’s the time?”
“4:30 a.m.” Gisela replied.
Eva groaned, “We’re going to be so tired later.”
“I’m going to try to get more sleep,” Gisela turned over. “You know, the least he could have done was give us ear plugs when we started the trip.”
“You’re right. Jono said Rydell paid extra to get a tent all by himself and now we know why. He’d be impossible to share with. I’m going to listen to my music and try to drown him out.”
In the next tent, Stepfan, in his sleeping bag, was watching Lena who was getting dressed despite the earliness of the hour.
“Lena, my love,” Stepfan said pleadingly, raised up on one elbow, “I know I did what I said I would not do. I said I’m sorry. Why will you not forgive me? I see that I’ve behaved badly, I do. It was wrong of me and I’m sorry for embarrassing you.”
“The only person you embarrassed was yourself,” Lena replied. “I’m going for a walk.”
She climbed out of the tent and strolled around the airfield, enjoying the birdcalls and the cool air. She stopped to pick some of the long grasses, inhaling their raw woody scent. As the sun came up, she headed back to camp, and saw a sleepy Treasure at the back of the bus, with Harrison talking to her as he put the kettle on the burner. She thought they were becoming quite the couple.
She walked to the washroom and passed Richard and Mia’s tent and she heard Mia shouting; “You should, just for fucking once, take me bleedin’ seriously. I’m going off my rocker. If we don’t get to do it soon, then fuck it, yeah, fuck it, Richard. I’m telling you, I can’t take much more of this.”
Lena heard the reassuring murmur of Richard’s voice as she walked away and she wondered what Mia was so upset about.
“Good morning, Jasmine,” Lena said, stepping up into the tiled washroom. Jasmine waved at her, her mouth full of toothpaste.
Ellie emerged from the shower. “Tonight, we go dancing,” she announced.
“Dancing?” Lena exclaimed in surprise. “Where?”
“In Swakopmund,” Ellie called out, toweling herself dry, quite unconcerned by her public nudity. “You must come.”
“We’ll see,” Lena replied cautiously. “I haven’t danced in years.”
“I bet you’re great at it,” Gisela said, walking in. “I’m going, you should come.”
“I’m too old,” Lena protested.
“Nonsense,” the others said. “You must come. It will be fun.”
“I’ll think about it.”
Mia arrived, her eyes red and her face blotchy and swollen. Ellie did not notice that she had been crying. “Mia,” she said eagerly, “I can’t wait for tonight.”
Mia managed a pale smile and closed the shower door.
The others looked at each other and shrugged. To cover up the awkward silence, they fell into a fast chatter.
Later, standing around the foldout table at the bus, Jono pointed to the Wheetabix, Kate’s favourite.
“The Wheetabix misses Kate,” he said, holding a steaming mug of coffee close to his face.
“I don’t know about the Wheetabix,” Marika told him, “but I certainly do. I’ll be glad when we have her back safe and sound.” But all at once she remembered that it might not be safe for Kate to be back on the bus. She glanced around cautiously. Rydell was sitting at a picnic table, listlessly spooning cereal into his mouth.
“Isn’t he a train-wreck this morning,” Eva followed her gaze. “If I didn’t know better, I would think he was totally stoned. He can hardly get his hand to his mouth.”
It was true that Rydell was struggling. He had forgotten the power of his meds, how they knocked him flat. He had been foolish to take two. It had taken all of his resolve to get up, get dressed, take down his tent and get to breakfast. He hoped he would make it onto the bus where he would be able to sleep off the rest of the effects. He was gripped in chains of fog and he could not shake himself free. He watched his hand move from his cereal bowl to his mouth, and he commanded it to move faster but it failed to obey. He stared at the disobedient appendage with dislocated anger when he felt someone sit down beside him. It was Ellie.
Big brown moth girl, he thought as he spilled milk on his chin and struggled to wipe it off with his shirtsleeve. No moths rhymes, they’re too ugly.
“Rydell,” Ellie said brightly and h
e tried to focus and sit up straighter.
“We’re going dancing tonight, will you come with us?”
A slow grimace spread across Rydell’s face. “Yes,” he enunciated carefully, delighted to have been invited. He felt a glimmer of hope that he was not the outcast he had imagined himself to be. He leaned heavily on the picnic table. “Thank you,” he said, thickly.
“Excellent.” Ellie bounded off. “Rydell’s coming too.” she called out.
“I might have to go, just to see Rydell dance,” Eva whispered. “Then again, that’s something I may wish I’d never seen. Enrique,” she asked, spreading strawberry jam onto her toast, “are you going dancing tonight?”
“No way,” he laughed, “I’m a terrible dancer.”
“Come on, Professor Flowerpot,” Mia said amiably, her good cheer apparently having returned. “You’re from South America, laddie. Dancing is in your genes.”
“An uncoordinated body is what is in my jeans,” Enrique joked. “But I’ll come anyway.”
“Treasure, will you come with us?” Mia called out.
Treasure looked up from the dishes that she was washing with Harrison. They were both squatting on the muddy ground with tap water running into the rinsing bucket and out onto the red sand, forming a small river.
“I don’t know,” she said, shrugging.
“You know, I was hoping to take you out for dinner tonight,” Harrison whispered to her, and his face blushed deep red and he spoke in a tangled rush. “I mean I was going to ask you, because you work so hard at cooking for all of us and I thought it might be a nice treat, to have a meal prepared for you instead. But I know we’re all supposed to go to dinner tonight, so tomorrow night perhaps?” He looked dismayed, as if he had thought about it so carefully, how to ask her, but then he had got it confused and blurted it out all wrong.
Treasure leaned closer to him and he smelled the sweet warmth of her skin. “Tomorrow night we have a date?” she asked.
Harrison’s face broke into a huge smile and Treasure saw the tension drain from his sloping shoulders and her throat filled with tears. “It’s a date,” he echoed. “Oh, yes.” He smiled at her, got up and strolled around the breakfast area, his big boots flapping.
“Cups? Any more coffee cups?” he called out. “This is your last chance for dishes to be washed. Plates please, it’s 7:35 a.m, we must be on the road by 7:45 if we are to pick up Kate on time and we must not be late.”
“Here’s my cup,” Sofie said, “and I am about to get on the bus, so would you like to sweep my feet?”
“I’m washing dishes, sweep your own feet.” Harrison retorted.
“No way,” Sofie said. “I’m not as freaked as you. I’m fine with a bit of sand on the bus.”
“A bit, a bit. What is a bit? With all of us getting on and off, we’re lucky we don’t have a sand Dune Number 45 on our bus. Fine, lift up your foot.”
“You can’t help laughing,” Sofie said to Helen as they climbed on the bus with sand-free shoes but Helen shrugged, her thoughts elsewhere.
Jono fired up the rumbling old bus and they picked up speed; the long, noisy journey to Walvis Bay began.
Rydell, seated up front, was slumped against the window, his clothing twisted, his mouth open, and he was drooling slightly. Every so often, he would jerk and mutter something unintelligible. Ellie, next to him, studied him and reconsidered her attraction to him. Rydell’s distress increased to the point where Ellie could no longer bear to be near him. She got up and moved next to Stepfan who greeted her with delight. She ignored him, put on her earphones and closed her eyes.
The bus hurtled on.
“Kate!” They cried in delight and poured from the bus to greet her. She was standing beside a white looped-chain fence, waiting for them. At first she was taken aback by their enthusiasm to see her, and then greatly pleased.
“We missed you so much.” Eva hugged her.
“Are you alright, liefie? It must have been terrible,” Marika asked, also hugging her.
“We were very worried about you,” Lena and Gisela said together and they joined the hug. “How are you?”
The unexpected affection brought tears to Kate’s eyes. “I’m fine,” she said. “I’m stupid for crying, but I’m so happy to see you.”
“As are we, to see you,” Helen gave her a big hug and Sofie did the same.
“I’m a man, I do not hug,” Harrison declared, “but I’m delighted to see you, Kate. You are somewhat alright?”
“Yes, Harrison, exactly. Somewhat alright,” Kate said. She was thinking how odd it felt, to be hugged by Helen, even when she meant well. “And how are all of you?” she asked.
“All the better for seeing you,” Richard said heartily and Mia agreed.
“Now we will continue on to Swakopmund,” Jono said. He had been quiet so far. “Kate, haw but we are very glad to see you. We missed you a lot.” He cleared his throat. “I hope that everybody has remembered that we are all going out to dinner tonight?”
There was a collective nod.
Jono had been hoping to cancel the dinner as he had wanted to ask Kate out by himself, but Treasure had persuaded him that it was essential to stick to the plan for the sake of normalcy and he had agreed, albeit reluctantly.
“Aikona, my friend,” Treasure had said when he had suggested cancelling, “it was on the itinerary, you can’t start changing things however you feel like. These people need routine more than ever.”
She was right but Jono was tired of the group and he wanted to be alone with Kate. Seeing her again after the short time apart had only increased his desire to be with her and he found it hard to concentrate on anything else.
“Then tomorrow is a free day for you,” he continued, “and you can do adventure sports, which you can book this afternoon on our way. Or you can shop, or visit the Internet cafés in town. I am sure many of you would like to update your families and tell them what a great time you are having.”
Great time? Kate was dumbfounded. A girl had died. No one had mentioned Charisse or Brianna; it was as if they’d never existed. She felt odd, despite the welcome she had received. Had they collectively decided to pretend none of it had happened? She looked for Rydell but he was nowhere to be seen.
When she climbed on the bus, she saw that he was slumped against the window, fast asleep. He was twitching and muttering and to her disgust, she noticed fine strands of saliva hanging from his chin. She looked questioningly at Eva who was behind her.
Eva shrugged. “He’s been like that all morning,” she whispered. “He could hardly eat his breakfast. None of us knows what’s wrong with him. It’s like he’s drugged.”
“Good,” Kate said firmly. “Let’s hope he stays that way.”
“Here, I saved you a seat next to me,” Marika said.
Kate sat down with a sigh of relief. “Marika,” she asked in an undertone, “why isn’t anybody talking about what happened? Do they know the results from the hospital? Tell me what happened after I left with Thaalu and I’ll tell you about my trip.”
“Hmmm,” Marika said, “let’s wait until it’s just you and me this afternoon and I’ll tell you. There’s a big market in the centre of town that I really want to visit, if you’re interested? We can chat properly then.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Kate said.
The bus pulled into the adventure sports centre at noon and the group tumbled off. They walked past three scornful camels lying in the sand and yawning widely with their noses in the air.
“Camels!” Kate slowed and reached for her camera.
“Come and check out the adventures with me first,” Eva said, propelling her forwards.
The adventure centre was a cool hive of noiseless activity. Large TV screens had quad bikers flying through the air, while speedboats hurtled through foamy blue waters, and tandem skydive
rs shrieked silently with grins of panic and pleasure air-blasting their faces. A confident, flashy girl, shapely in extraordinarily tight jeans and a blue Adventure Group T-shirt clicked a remote control and the immediate sound was deafening.
Kate decided she was not interested in any of the activities and she went outside to photograph the camels, leaving Eva and Marika to debate the many choices, trying to balance their budgets with their wish-lists.
Kate was lying in the sand on her stomach, as close to the camels as she could get when she heard the bus door open. She sat up and turned around to see Rydell climbing down; he was unsteady and groggy. He stopped and scanned around him. He looked confused. He saw Kate staring at him. She stood up and brushed the dirt from her trousers. For a while, neither of them moved. Then he walked towards her.
“How are you?” he asked with his high-pitched boyish voice and a sideways glance.
“Considering the circumstances, I suppose you could say I’m fine,” Kate said.
Rydell smiled and looked over at the camels. He seemed unsure what to say next. He scratched the back of his head and shifted from side to side, his mouth twisted in a small smile.
Kate waited.
“That whole poison thing,” he said, eventually, tugging at his shirt, “I’ve got no idea how that happened or who would have done such a thing. Do you have any ideas?”
“I always have ideas,” Kate replied, neutrally.
“You may be thinking that I did it, to harm Harrison because he hangs around Treasure all the time and you know I like her. Is that what you thought?”
“It certainly crossed my mind.” She stared at him, knowing he hated direct eye contact.
Rydell shifted uneasily from side to side. “I would never do that,” he stated. “Because I’m the better man for her and she’ll see that by herself. But did you tell anybody about how I feel?” he demanded, and he scuffed his shoe in the dirt, glancing up and meeting her eye for the briefest of moments, and Kate was disconcerted by crazed malevolence conveyed in the brief look.
“No,” Kate lied, concerned she would enrage him if she told him the truth. “I told you, I respect your confiding in me.”
The Witchdoctor's Bones Page 21
