Outside, Jono watched her room grow dark and he wondered how she was going to take the news. He sighed and decided to go the bar and drink the night away.
To Uis and Aba Huab
KATE WOKE EARLY THE FOLLOWING MORNING and slipped out for a walk. She stopped at the end of the road and aimed her camera back at the lodge, surprised to see a couple rushing through her shot. She focused her viewfinder and was startled to see Richard and Mia, carrying all their luggage and a number of other bags.
Kate was confused but she shrugged and walked along the jetty, her thoughts focused on André. She felt angry with herself but she could not figure out why.
A runner pushed towards her at a steady pace; it was Helen. “We missed you last night,” she yelled at Kate as she pounded by. “See you soon.”
The wind picked up and the sky turned gray, whipping with blustery clouds. Kate was cold and she walked back with brisk steps. She was close to the lodge when a man stepped out in front of her and she stiffened with fright but it was only Jono. Jono, battling a spectacular hangover and the weight of terrible news.
“Ah, Kate, back from her early morning walk,” he said, jovially but his face looked strained and he could not quite manage a smile. “I am waiting for my eggs, so I thought I would see what the weather is doing. Nearly everybody is at breakfast, come and join us.”
The group was gathered at the wooden tables to the side of the bar and it was deliciously warm inside.
Kate saw the wall-mounted springbok tequila dispenser and remembered her relief the night she had escaped from Dumi and she felt that same comfort now. She would sit next to Marika on the bus and they would share music and laugh and nothing would be complicated.
She helped herself to a bowl of cornflakes and reached for the milk, stopping abruptly.
“Mia, what in God’s name happened to you?”
Mia was badly bruised and beaten. She had a swollen blood-caked black eye and the right side of her face was a mess of deep cuts and scratches.
“What happened?” Kate asked again, the milk jug still poised.
“Hello Kate,” Mia said, nonchalantly shovelling cereal into her mouth, “good fing you arrived now, I was just about to tell everyone the boring bleedin’ story and God forbid, I’d have to repeat myself. I was pissed as a coot, three sheets to the wind and I fell flat on my face on the corner of a chair on my way to the lav. And no, before any of you start finking stupid rubbish, Richard didn’t do this to me, I’m not covering up for him. I can get a bit wild when I drink, isn’t that so, luv?”
Richard nodded and spooned sugar into his coffee.
Mia continued. “I’m bleedin’ lucky I didn’t take me eye out. I fell into a fire once and I never even realized I was getting burnt.”
She and Richard chuckled at this.
“And Richard, what happened to you?” Helen asked from the doorway where she’d been standing unnoticed.
Diagonally, across the right side of Richard’s face, were the clear track marks of fingernails; fingernails that had raked deeply and drawn blood.
Richard ran his fingers lightly over the deep grooves. “Like she said, my sweet lassie here can get a bit carried away when she’s in her cups. No real harm done, we had a riot.” He shrugged.
“Good morning everybody,” Jono interrupted, spreading his hands in a gesture of supplication. “Everybody, I have some very bad news. Please prepare yourselves.”
The small assembly immediately fell quiet and waited.
“Yesterday afternoon,” Jono’s bulging eyes pleaded with them for understanding, “I got a phone call from Treasure. She and Harrison were shopping in town when Harrison was stabbed in the back and in the ribs, just under his heart. Please, do not worry, he will be fine; he will live, but he is in the hospital and he is lucky to be alive.”
“Do they know who did it?” Richard asked into the shocked silence.
“Yes. They arrested a local boy. He dropped his knife, which led them to him.”
“Is Harrison going to be able to come on the rest of the trip?” Ellie asked, a piece of toast stopped halfway to her mouth.
“What kind of stupid idiot are you?” Stepfan barked. “The man was stabbed. He’s lucky he didn’t die! He’ll have to stay in hospital for weeks probably. He should sue you.” He shouted the last at Jono. To the group’s surprise, Stepfan burst into tears. He put his head in his hands and sobbed.
No one seemed to know what to do. No one moved to comfort him, not even Lena.
“How is Treasure?” Sofie asked. “It must have been a terrible shock for her. She and Harrison where getting really close.”
“Yes, well, that is the thing,” Jono was hesitant. “Treasure will not be coming with us for the rest of the way. She is going to stay here with Harrison, to help him get better. We have a new cook, Betty. She’s an excellent cook and she will be joining our tour.”
Kate, ice cold at the news about Harrison, turned to glare at Rydell. She watched him turn puce, and then immediately go equally as pale. He laid down his spoon, and as she watched, he picked up his bread knife and dug it forcefully into the palm of his hand.
“Can we visit him?” Eva asked.
“He is in critical condition but he can talk and I am very sorry to say that he does not want to see or hear from any of us. He said first he was nearly poisoned and no one wanted to talk about it in case it ruined their holiday and now he nearly died. He is very upset. And so is Treasure. It would be better if we leave them alone like they want.”
“No!” Enrique slammed his hand on the table. “I want to buy him a card and deliver it myself. I don’t care if he throws it away but I’m not leaving Swakopmund until I see him. He’s my friend.”
Like Stepfan, Enrique’s face was wet with tears and Eva went and sat down next to him and patted his shoulder. Stepfan was still crying noisily. One of the women brought in plates of fried eggs but no one noticed.
“We want to take things to him too,” some of the others echoed.
“Fine.” Jono said. “We will stop at Pick ’n Pay, you can buy whatever you like. They have cards and flowers and then we will drop them off.”
Enrique suddenly turned to Eva. “You know what we were talking about?” he asked and she nodded. “We should do it for real.”
Eva shot a guilty glance over at Kate and then she nodded her head in agreement.
“Do what?” Jasmine demanded.
“We’re going to hire our own car and leave the group,” Enrique said. “Eva and I first had the idea when we went skydiving and I figured it all out: hiring a car, the route, hostels, campgrounds and equipment we’ll need. Last night we thought all the nonsense was behind us but now, hearing this today, we were right to come up with alternative plan and we’re going to do this our way. There’s room for two more, and we can all split the costs.”
“You’ve got a point,” Marika said. “Isn’t it time we all admitted that this holiday is well and truly cursed? Death, poison, strange bedfellows,” she shot a glance as Rydell who went from ice white back to puce, “and no one in charge,” she glanced over at Jono. “And now stabbings too. I’m sorry but this is not what I signed up for. I want my money back and yes, Enrique, if you and Eva will have me, I’ll come along too. And if it doesn’t work out, I’ll find a ride to Windhoek and fly to Durban and meet my parents there. I’ve had enough too. Kate, I hope you’ll come with us.”
“Very quick to jump ship, aren’t you?” Helen sneered. “Not that you’re wrong. There are some serious head-cases on this bus.”
“Anyone in particular you’d care to name?” Richard asked, evenly.
“No,” she answered coldly, “I’d hate to lose a leg, or shall we say, a ligament. But one thing’s for sure, for a holiday, this sure hasn’t been much of one.” She sat down and methodically untied her running shoes.
Kate eyed her cereal as if it held the world’s greatest secret. She was amazed by how hurt she felt by Eva’s news and she could not believe that Eva hadn’t told her that she and Enrique were even considering leaving the group. And when Marika agreed to leave too, she felt doubly betrayed.
As if reading her thoughts, Marika spoke from across the table. “I’m so sorry, Kate,” she said. She looked guilty and unhappy. “But I’m really scared. Please come with us, please.”
Kate knew she was being childish but she refused to look at her.
“Jono,” Marika said, “I know you did your best, but this trip has become dangerous. Who’s next? You should cancel the rest of the journey.”
Eva agreed loudly. “And I’m going to say it right here, if anything happens to Kate, if she so much as gets a scratch, it’s this man here,” pointing directly at Rydell, “this psycho bastard, who did it.”
She turned purposely toward Jono and added, “You should kick him off the bus, Jono, I’m telling you now. And Rydell, you listen to me, don’t you touch Kate, you sick bastard.”
Rydell gave a cry and lunged across the table at her but she saw him coming and jumped out of the way. Rydell landed next to Stepfan who grabbed a fistful of Rydell’s hair in a harsh grip and then punched him hard.
“Ow!” Rydell yelped as blood poured from his nose, “what did you do that for? What have I ever done to you?”
“You destroyed my holiday,” Stepfan roared and he punched Rydell again. Rydell’s lip was cut and bleeding and his nose, flattened in the centre and misshapen, appeared to be broken.
“You snored every single night, like a train or a whale or some kind of terrible machine. Who comes on a group holiday with a bunch of strangers when you have a problem like that? You inconsiderate idiot. I have not slept one single night because of you, and then when I’m trying to watch the scenery and enjoy my holiday, I fall asleep on the bus, all because of you!” Stepfan seemed set to punch Rydell one more time but Jono grabbed him.
“Eish, enough.” he said. “I keep telling you, buy some earplugs. Now, Rydell, what Eva said is true. If anything, and I do mean anything happens to Kate, I will cut off your ears and I will take out your stomach while you watch. Do you understand me?”
“That’s disgusting,” Marika got up. “Forget breakfast, I’ve had enough of this. Kate, I’m really so very sorry and I wish you’d change your mind and come with us.”
She looked pleadingly at Kate who shook her head, still refusing to meet her eye. Eva walked out, followed by Enrique and Marika.
“Dear God in heaven,” Richard exclaimed. “I’ve simply no idea what to say, or where to start untangling this mess.” He stared down at his hands that were bruised and cut from whatever he and Mia had been up to the last few days.
“This is the way I see it,” Jono said loudly, from the head of the table. “Yebo, terrible things have happened but none of them have been my fault or the fault of the tour. I am very sorry about Harrison but he was stabbed by a local boy…”
“Who could easily have been paid to do it,” Helen stated. “I’ve seen it more than once. They’ll never find whoever paid him to do it.”
“…The police will find the perpetrator behind it,” Jono continued as if there had been no interruption. “I am going to start up the bus at 8:30 am and then I am going to go to Pick ’n Pay and after that I will stop at the hospital. Any of you wishing to drop off a card or gift to Harrison may do so.
“Rydell, you will get your nose and lip taken care of at the hospital and Mia, you should get looked at too. Then I am continuing with this tour and those of you who choose to continue will behave yourselves, from this moment onwards or I will drop you off in the desert and say oh, I am sorry, I did not realize what happened, when they find your dead bodies. Do I make myself clear? You will do your dishes according to the roster, put up your tents, and then take them down nicely. You will keep the bus nice and tidy, look out the window at wild animals and enjoy your holiday. You will welcome Betty the new cook, and you will eat her food without complaining, and we will not talk about any of this again.
“And,” he added, “you are free to tell my company your versions in as much detail as you would like. Also, any and all of you are welcome to leave right now, if you would like to do so. What do you say?”
“I need time to think about it,” Sofie said, sounding shell-shocked. “It is not easy to know what to do.”
“Like I said, the bus leaves at 8:30 am and you have until that time to think about it. Either you are on the bus or you are not,” Jono said, shortly. “At this point I really don’t care. Aikona wena, you people act like I should have done things differently, well, let me tell you I have never met a more strange bunch of crazies in my life and believe me, I have seen some things. You attacked each other right from the start. Did you think I did not notice what was going on? All of you, with the exception of a few, need your heads read. You come from so-called civilized countries and you behave like this? Come or do not come, I really do not care. Eish.” He walked out, throwing his hands up in frustration and disgust.
There was a long silence.
Mia let loose a high pitched giggle and they all turned to her. “I’m so sorry,” she said, clapping her hand to her mouth. “It’s a nervous reaction of mine, to laugh when I get upset.” She must have been very upset because she started giggling again and this time she couldn’t stop.
Richard sighed. “Come on then, come outside with me,” he said, “and we’ll figure it out.” Mia was close to hysteria, tears streaming down her cheeks, and her whole body shaking, as he led her outside.
Kate got up and made a cup of coffee. She returned to the table and sat down. “I’m going ahead with my holiday,” she said, “and this nonsense will stop.” She turned to Rydell, adding harshly. “And you leave me alone from now on! No more following me around, do you understand?”
“Yes,” Rydell got up, his face was broken. He could hardly talk through the mess of blood and mucus. “Don’t worry, I’ll leave you alone. I’m sick and tired of this abuse from all of you. I haven’t done anything wrong. And I might lay charges against you,” he said to Stepfan. “You hit me because I snore. You’re not allowed to hit a person because they snore.” He was indignant and agitated.
You’re not allowed to poison a person because you have a crush on their girlfriend, Kate thought but she did not say it, looking at her untouched coffee instead, and thinking about Harrison in hospital.
“I’m continuing on,” Lena said calmly. “You do whatever you want to,” she said to Stepfan.
“I’m continuing too,” Gisela said.
“And so am I,” Helen spoke up. “This is my vacation. I worked hard for it and I’m going to have a good time, dammit.”
“We’ll carry on too,” Jasmine and Ellie said after a quiet conference.
“What about you, Sofie?” Helen asked. “Come on. Please come.”
“I don’t know,” Sofie said, sounding fragile and unsure. “Well, okay then, okay.” She got up. “I am going to get my things.”
The rest of the group got up too. Bowls and plates with untouched breakfasts lay on the table, and some servings lay shattered on the floor, a scramble of broken china and fried eggs.
The only person left seated was Stepfan. He buried his face in his hands and realized he had no choice but to carry on.
“Haw! What happened here?” one of the cooks walked in and demanded to know. “All this good food gone to waste. And broken plates. Did you have a fight or what? Haw! You people, really, what a mess.” She shook her head and grumbled under her breath.
Stepfan ignored her and walked back to his room. He grabbed his bag off his bed and headed to the bus. He climbed onboard, sat down and stared out the window. He felt intensely sorry for himself and filled with misery. His trip of a lifetime had turned into the nightmare from he
ll and he had no idea how to fix it. And he still had to go the entire way to Nairobi.
He wondered if he might meet a new woman at one of the new campsites they would be stopping at and the thought cheered him up. He decided to have a nap on the bus while he waited for the others.
Kate was still reeling from hurt by Marika and Eva’s departure. She felt crushed as if by a blow. She got to her tidy bed and found a note on her pillow.
Dear Kate, I’m so sorry, I certainly didn’t plan this but it seems like the best and safest thing for me to do. You’ve been a very good friend and travelling companion to me. Please forgive me. And please email me when you’re not angry with me anymore and please don’t stay angry forever. I wish you wouldn’t carry on with the trip, there’s something very bad about that bus. With lots of love, your friend, Marika.
Kate picked up her bags and lugged them to the bus where Helen and Sofie were helping each other up the ladder.
“All this shopping.” Sofie was subdued. “I am so stupid. I should have posted stuff home. Mia and Richard where at the post office when I mailed a postcard to my sister and they where sending dozens of packages, wich was much more sensible.”
Rydell arrived. He had not changed his shirt or cleaned his face. “Will you take a photograph of me so I can press charges?” he asked Kate and he held out his camera.
“No,” she said, shortly. “Ask someone else.”
Jono climbed into the back of the bus. “Everybody here yet?” he asked. “They have got ten minutes more. How is everybody?”
“Fine, Jono,” Sofie, Helen and Kate answered, none of them sounding too cheerful.
“Good,” he said absently, “very good.”
He stepped aside to let Gisela and Lena climb up, followed by Mia and Richard.
“Oy, sorry you all,” Mia apologized and patted her fairy-floss hair, “about going pear-shaped in there. I lost it, gobsmacked by the shite going down.”
The Witchdoctor's Bones Page 27
