The Witchdoctor's Bones

by Lisa de Nikolits

  “You have no idea,” Stepfan retorted. “You think you know, but you don’t.”

  “What? What now? Tell me, since we are finally having a real conversation.”

  But Stepfan did not reply, focusing instead on crossing another three blocks. He frowned, his jaw set, his arms outstretched, the muscles in his body tensed and his abs showing clearly through his black mesh T-shirt. He crossed another two blocks.

  “Tell me,” Lena screamed. “Tell me what it is you think I don’t know.”

  She advanced on Stepfan who was studying his next step. He sensed her approach and he looked up, startled. He seemed surprised at how dark it had become and he glanced to the west in alarm.

  “What are you doing?” he shouted, “I’m trying to concentrate here. You stupid bitch…”

  “Tell me!”

  “Your sister,” he yelled back. “Yes, even your sister! You didn’t know that, did you? Did you?”

  Lena gave a savage growl and she lunged at him in fury. Instinctively, he backed away from her but he had nowhere to go. He windmilled his arms desperately, but his body weight was leaning out too far and he fell backward from the tower ledge, screaming wildly.

  Lena gave a high-pitched cry and grabbed the edge of the tower wall, as if hoping she could pull him back up.

  The women turned to look at one another in horror. Lena let go of the wall and sank to her knees and buried her face in her hands. Gisela rushed over to her, her face white with shock.

  “Do you think he’s dead?” Jasmine asked. “Did he die?” She peered over the wall ledge. “I can’t see anything,” she said, and turned back to the others, pressing her hand against her mouth, her strange green eyes enormous and threatening tears. She started running towards the stairs, with Ellie close behind her when Helen blocked the doorway to the stairwell.

  “We need to think for a moment,” Helen said. “Maybe he just broke a few bones, but what if he is dead?”

  “It wasn’t Lena’s fault,” Gisela said, her voice shaking. She knelt down next to Lena and put her arms around her. “You all heard her. She told him not to go up there.”

  Lena looked up, obviously terrified and shaking uncontrollably.

  “Listen to me, all of you,” Helen said brusquely, “listen to me carefully.” And such was the force of her tone that they all turned to her, numb and silent.

  “He went up there all by himself,” Helen said. “Lena told him not to and we all heard her. Nod if you are keeping up with me,” she barked at them and the women nodded.

  “And then she got up to try to talk him down but he lost his balance and fell. It wasn’t anybody’s fault, least of all Lena’s. Are we all together on this?”

  Gisela had her arm around Lena who stood up unsteadily. Gisela nodded. “Of course we’re together,” she said.

  “Who else?” Helen glared around the group.

  “Don’t worry about us,” Jasmine reassured her, “Ellie and I are together with you.”

  Helen looked at Ellie. “Are you?” she asked. “Can you be relied on?”

  Ellie nodded. “I don’t really care,” she said, “whatever.”

  Helen slapped her face, hard. “You have to care. That’s exactly what I’m trying to tell you. You need to care because if we don’t care, if we don’t pay attention, then Lena will end up in big trouble and she doesn’t deserve that. He went up there alone while she told him not to. Ellie, you start caring now, do you hear me?”

  Ellie nodded, rubbing her cheek that had turned a bright red. “You didn’t have to hit me,” she complained.

  “Wrong,” Helen said, “I did. Time to go downstairs.” Her voice softened. “You all good, ladies?” she asked.

  “All good,” they chorused quietly.

  Jasmine swallowed hard. “I admit it. I’m afraid of what we’ll see. Don’t worry, Lena, you really didn’t do anything wrong.”

  They all nodded in agreement and then, as one, they turned and filed down the stairs in silence.

  By the time they reached the bottom of the tower, the women were sobbing and the security guards from the gate had gathered around Stepfan’s body.

  “Haw! But are you ladies okay?” a shocked security guard asked them. “We watched this crazy man, what was he thinking, eish? Stupid tourists, they come here and think they are Bushmen or Rambo and they do such stupid things.”

  “We told him not to do it,” Helen cried, “but he wouldn’t listen.”

  “He would not be stopped,” Gisela said, gulping. “We tried.”

  “Come now ladies, let us take you away from this terrible thing. Who is travelling with this man? Any of you? All of you?”

  “We are all traveling together,” Jasmine said.

  “I am his wife,” Lena managed to say, and Gisela held her tight.

  “Come this way,” one of the guards said. “Let us go into the main lodge while the other guards will take care of the body. Who is your tour guide?”

  “Jono Odili,” Helen said, wiping tears from her face.

  “Not that it matters,” Jasmine’s voice shook, “but our mats are up there. We were doing yoga in the sunset and our mats are there and it’s dark now.”

  “I will send somebody up to get them and I will get them delivered to your campsite,” the guard said, leading them through the lodge lounge and into a conference room of some kind. He closed the blinds. “I will have the cook make you some tea, you need a hot drink with sugar, wait here. I will go and find Jono.”

  He disappeared. Helen shot the others a warning look, no talking. The tea arrived but the women ignored it. After what seemed like an eternity, the guard returned with Jono.

  “I hear we have had an accident,” Jono said, dryly. “So let us hear how this one happened. Who wants to tell me?”

  “I will,” Helen said firmly, “It was Stepfan’s idea, to walk on the top of the wall, you know what he is like, he wouldn’t listen to us…”

  Jono nodded. He poured himself a cup of tea, added three sugars and stirred, listening to Helen without saying a word.

  The security guards had radioed the police and they had logged in the incident. The security guards who had witnessed Stepfan walking around the top of the tower confirmed that he lost his balance and fell; there was no suspicion of foul play.

  The security guards had taken Jono to Stepfan’s body and Jono stood looking down at the broken wreck of the man before covering him with a sheet.

  “He will have to wait here until the hearse arrives,” the security guard had said to Jono. “Don’t worry, we have already phoned for the undertaker to come, and he will drive him to Windhoek.”

  Jono nodded and then he went to meet the women in the lodge and he wondered how much of what Helen was saying was true. He felt numb with exhaustion, thinking that he was beyond caring about any of them, except for Kate and Betty.

  “It must have been very upsetting for you,” he said wearily, when Helen finally finished her tale.

  The Tenth Night

  BACK AT THE CAMP, Kate was looking for Betty, to see if she could help out with dinner. She found her in the kitchen, washing dishes.

  “It was wonderful down at the waterhole,” Kate said. “There were lots of noisy tourists but then they left and the sunset was just incredible. And elephants, giraffes and even a rhino showed up to drink. Now, can I help you with anything?”

  “Yes, I want to make a kind of Tiramisu for dessert, with finger biscuits and Kahlua. You can help me layer the ingredients. It’s good if the biscuits can soak for a bit and I even have ice cream for the top which we will put on later.”

  Rydell walked in. “Is it time for supper?” he said nasally, through his gruesome face. “I’m very hungry.”

  “Yes,” Betty said. “Yes, everything is nearly ready. I wonder when the others will get back from their yoga. It
was a very nice sunset for it.”

  Mia and Richard wandered up. “Not to rush you but is supper ready yet?” Richard asked. “I’m starving.”

  “Me too,” Mia was less pale than she had been earlier. “We had a good old sleep this afternoon. I was feeling like death warmed up but I’m all nice and refreshed, tada!” She leapt into a wobbly pirouette of sorts and staggered slightly. “We’re going to head off to the waterhole after supper, if anyone wants to join us.”

  “I came from there and I already planned to go again,” Rydell gave his lopsided, wet smile “You never know, a leopard might come out of the bush and sink his claws into a huge elephant and the lions might attack a rhino.”

  “And the moon will turn to green cheese,” Betty commented. “Speaking of cheese, Kate, would you grate some for me please? To go on the top of our vegetable lasagna.”

  The others gave groans of delight. “You’re spoiling us rotten, dear Betty and I love it,” Richard said. “I’ll carry things outside.”

  They found Sofie sitting outside on one of the camping chairs. Her face was pale and she looked miserable and lost. Bits of her braided hair had come undone and she had dark shadows under her eyes.

  “Oy, you okey-dokey, luv?” Mia went over to her. “You look like you’ve seen a bleedin’ ghost or something. Spot any witches did you, riding their hyenas with fire coming out their bums?” She snickered.

  “No, I just don’t feel too good,” Sofie said quietly. “I didn’t even stay for yoga. Are the others back yet?”

  “No, and we’ll start without them,” Betty said. “I wonder where Jono is though. He wouldn’t want to miss my famous lasagna!”

  They heaped the lasagna onto their plates, and sat down their camping chairs that they had arranged in a circle on the dusty ground, next to the bus. They had nearly finished eating when the others began to arrive: first Jasmine and Ellie, then Helen, then Gisela, and Lena and Jono.

  Betty took one look at them. “What happened?” she demanded. “Are you alright? What happened?”

  Helen sat down heavily on a campstool. Her eyes were red and swollen and her face was blotchy.

  Kate paused, her fork halfway to her mouth.The women looked as if they had been crying for hours. “What happened?” she echoed Betty.

  “We were up in the tower,” Helen said, crying quietly, “doing our yoga and Stepfan was there too and he started to get really irritating as you know he can. Could. Anyway, he kept telling us what to do and how to do it, but we weren’t paying him any attention so he told us he could walk around the top of the tower, the whole way around. We didn’t take him seriously, or think for a moment he would do it, so we ignored him and next thing, there he was, walking around the top. We carried on with our yoga thinking he’d lose interest and come down but he didn’t. The light was fading and we got worried and Lena tried to persuade him to come down and I don’t think he realized how dark it was getting and next thing he lost his balance and fell.”

  “He’s dead?” Kate gasped and lowered her plate to the ground, feeling instantly sick. “What do you mean? What happened?” She was horrified. A thousand thoughts crowded into her mind and she fought to sort them all out.

  “Of course he is dead,” Jono said, bluntly. “You cannot fall from that tower and live.”

  “Good God,” Richard exclaimed, “that’s … well, that’s just…” He seemed at a loss for words.

  “Incredible?” Jono said. “Yebo, I would have to agree. I have never heard of anybody, in all my years of coming here, who wanted to walk the perimeter of the top of the tower. But I suppose you could say that is the joy of my job, never knowing what to expect next. I tell you though, you lot certainly have taught me a few things.”

  Jasmine looked at Jono. Her face was so swollen her eyes had all but disappeared. “What exactly do you mean by that?” she asked.

  “Do not pretend you do not know,” Jono stated, his arms folded. The hot wind lashed dust across the darkness of the campsite. “But I am not going to discuss any of it with you, eish. Let us try to get through the rest of the trip without anybody else dying, okay? Betty, I am sorry, I cannot eat anything right now, I have no appetite.”

  “What are you going to do now?” Betty asked Lena who blew her nose loudly.

  Gisela answered for her. “The security guards helped us and let us use the lodge phone. Lena’s already contacted Stepfan’s brother and told him the bad news He is going to make arrangements for Stepfan to be flown back home and he will meet the body. Lena has decided to stay on though. She still wants to go to Nairobi and I’ve decided to take Stepfan’s place; I was only booked up to Livingstone.”

  “All neat and tidy,” Richard commented dryly.

  “How dare you?” Lena turned on him, startling them with venom of her anger. “What do you think? That I’m happy he’s dead? Of course, I’m not happy he’s dead, but I’ve lived under his thumb all my life and this is my holiday and I’m not going to lose it just like I lost everything else to him. Do you mind? Is that all right with you? Do I have your permission?” She began to choke with sobs and Gisela grabbed her and hugged her and glared at Richard.

  “Sorry, sorry,” Richard leaned back on his campstool, raised one hand in the air and picked at his teeth with the other. “Peace out, it’s none of my business anyway.”

  “Stepfan deserved to die,” Rydell announced. “And the way he died says it all. Macho showoff. He hurt me and now he’s dead, so I’m not sorry.” His shoulders shook with contained laughter.

  Jono rounded on him. “Eish! You people are crazy. No one deserves to die! I am going to my tent. I do not want to be around any of you. I cannot wait to drop you off at Windhoek! I wish I could leave you all here, right now.”

  He turned swiftly and marched off.

  “I thought you were taking some of us to Livingstone?” Ellie called after him.

  “Not any more,” he shouted over his shoulder. “I get off the bus at Windhoek. Those of you continuing will get a new driver.”

  “What’s his problem?” Rydell was genuinely bewildered. “I am going to the waterhole. I want to be there a nice long time in case there is a kill.”

  Later, Jono was inside his tent, his head in his hands, crying. He looked up at Betty as she climbed in. “Betty, did I do something wrong? Did I let it get out of control? Is this my fault? What happened?”

  “Aikona, Jono, of course it wasn’t your fault.” Despite his protestations that he could not eat, she had brought him his dinner, and laid the plate carefully down, then wrapped her arms around him. “It’s simple. Too many bad apples in one place. One bad apple goes unnoticed; it has no allies, but if they are all rotten, there is no hope, they all go bad.”

  “Kate is not like them,” Jono blew his nose. “But the others … well maybe Sofie is not so terrible either.”

  “You see,” Betty said, “that’s not so bad then.”

  “Betty,” he exclaimed, “we started off with twenty of us, now we are are eleven. And three of the ones left look like they have been in the ring with Muhammad Ali: broken noses, stitches, black eyes. I mean think about it, nearly half the people on this trip have left, by choice or death or misadventure.”

  “Don’t you think this was an accident?” Betty asked. “Stepfan dying?”

  Jono considered the question before he answered. “No,” he said shortly. “I do not. If he had been the only one to have come in harm’s way, or if he was a stupid, drunk youngster acting out a dare, then perhaps. But aikona, Betty, not even a stupid, drunk youngster would do that unless he was trying to kill himself. Stepfan said a lot of ignorant things to try to impress women and he was very proud of his body and his martial arts and things, but no, I do not think he would have done this stupid thing.”

  “But he did,” Betty said, “you heard Helen, they tried to stop him…”

 
“They LIE!” Jono shouted, frightening Betty with his vehemence. “They hated him, they wanted him dead, I know they did. Who is next? Rydell, because they do not like him either? Or me, because I suspect them?”

  “Jono, you need to calm down,” Betty got up. “I am going to get you some brandy from my tent. A little bit at bedtime always helps me sleep. You need something.” She slipped out.

  “I just need this terrible nightmare to end,” Jono muttered to himself as he lay back on his sleeping bag, exhausted.

  By the time Betty got back, Jono was fast asleep, snoring lightly, his hand over his face. She picked up his untouched plate, zipped his tent closed, and walked back to camp.

  Jasmine and Ellie were finishing their supper. They were the only two in a ring of empty camp chairs.

  “Where’s everybody?” Betty asked.

  “Most of them went to shower,” they replied with their mouths full. “Rydell’s at the waterhole with Mia and Richard. This was excellent lasagna, Betty.”

  “Good,” Betty muttered. She was disgusted by them and by the night’s events. She hurried by them and went to clean up the kitchen area.

  She could not wait to be back home in Swakopmund again. Only one night left to go, in Fort Namutoni, then on to Windhoek and straight back home. She hastily washed the dishes and packed them away into their plastic buckets. Then, she crossed the campsite and spotted Kate climbing out of her tent. Kate looked ill at ease. She quickly zipped up the tent flap and shoved something into the pocket of her baggy camouflage pants. “How’s Jono?”

  “Not good,” Betty sighed.

  “I’m sure he isn’t,” Kate said. “Does he think Stepfan was responsible for what happened?”

  “He doesn’t know what to think,” Betty answered carefully.

  “Neither to do I,” Kate said. “Good night, Betty, I’m going to my tent now, I don’t want to bump into any of the others, I don’t want to talk to them right now.” Kate smiled and walked over to a different tent.

  Was that her tent? Betty was flummoxed. So, whose tent did she climb out of?