The Crocodile's Last Embrace

by Arruda, Suzanne

  “That is correct,” said Finch. “Of course, we believe your Pellyn killed Waters for taking on another victim without him. Dymant did find that .455 in Waters’ rib. But Dymant is dead and his report is missing.”

  “But Pellyn killed Dymant, too, and he probably killed Mutahi.”

  Finch shrugged. “Most likely, but we have no evidence.” He shook his head. “I still am finding it hard to believe that this man was a criminal. I’ve known him as Dr. Mathews for so long. He’s performed numerous examinations on bodies for us.”

  “I wonder how many he reported as deaths by accidents or natural causes,” said Jade. “People whom he’d killed or had arranged to be killed. In his role, he had ample opportunity to hide evidence.”

  “Sadly we will never know that,” said Finch, “and the jury has known Mathews for so long that they’ll be hard to convince otherwise.”

  “You have the documents from that shed. Surely you can link him to the mining schemes,” argued Sam. “You cannot let that man run free.”

  “I hardly think that will happen, Mr. Featherstone,” said Finch. “With his leprosy, he’ll be confined to a leper colony, at least.” He looked at Jade. “Why are you staring at me, Miss del Cameron?”

  “I’m thinking of how I suspected you of being Mathers Pellyn, although in hindsight, I can hardly picture you with Lilith.”

  “You suspected Hascombe, too, didn’t you?” asked Sam.

  “For a while.” She smiled. “After rescuing Harry, Emily seems quite taken with him, and he with her. That should be fun.”

  The Dunburys and the Thompsons met Sam and Jade for lunch at the New Stanley after the visit with Finch. Emily joined them, looking more vibrant and alive after her adventure. Jade doubted that she’d have any trouble finding suitors with her revived beauty, but perhaps she’d be less inclined to settle down right away. I think she’s discovered the Heathington spirit of adventure.

  “I imagine, Bev, that the mothers are calling for your resignation as leader of the Girl Guides after their recent escapades,” said Jade. “Sorry.”

  Beverly laughed. “And Lady Northey and Mrs. Archibald would lead the pack against me, too, if it weren’t for Avery’s doings.”

  “Yes,” said Avery. “I decided the girls needed recognition for their bravery and service, so I sent a telegram to His Highness, the Prince of Wales. He was impressed enough to send them something suitably bright and shiny to pin on their uniforms.”

  “How is Jelani?” asked Beverly.

  “Well,” said Jade. “He insisted on going back to his village so the old mondo-mogo could care for him. He won’t abide the British hospital for natives.”

  A polite cough interrupted their conversation. Blaney Percival stood beside their table. “Begging your pardon, but I thought you and our friends here would like to know that the crocodile is dead.”

  “Dead!” they exclaimed.

  “Stone-cold dead this time,” said Percival. “His body floated belly-up this morning, that woman still clamped in his jaws.”

  “Indigestion?” suggested Sam.

  “Hardly,” said Percival. He placed a knife on their table. “Found that in the beast’s skull, piercing the brain.”

  “That’s my knife!” exclaimed Jade. “The last I saw it was in Lilith’s chest.”

  “She used it to try to kill the beast,” said Percival.

  “Crocs are hard to kill,” said Jade, and when she looked at Sam, she could see that he knew to whom she was referring. Lilith, like the croc, had not gone down easily.

  “I heard about the fight near the falls,” said Percival. “I’m thinking that, because Stockton was killed near there, this crocodile learned to associate gunshots with a victim and came to the site during your battle.”

  Jade shook her head. “The croc didn’t kill Lilith. Ask the Africans. They will all tell you that the souls of past victims enter a crocodile, seeking vengeance. Waters, Stockton, and possibly Mutahi killed Lilith.”

  “Hmm, that poses an interesting problem,” said Avery. “Lilith’s soul was tormented. It might look for another croc and try for our Jade again.”

  “I think I’ll stay clear of rivers for a while,” said Jade.

  Sam took Jade’s hands in his. “After we’re married, we can go anywhere you’d like, Jade: Abyssinia, the Congo. We’ll make motion pictures of tribes and places that few people have seen. I love you as you are, Jade, and I don’t ever want you to change.”

  Jade heard Beverly’s happy “Oh!” but her attention stayed fixed on Sam. “I love you, too, Sam, and I can safely promise you that I’ll never make a proper housewife. But we need to get a new plane. I’m marrying a pilot.”

  “Well, Beverly, my dear,” said Avery, “looks like you and Maddy have a wedding to plan.”

  AUTHOR’S NOTES

  Readers might take issue with the book’s crocodile staying alive after being shot in the head. The late big-game hunter Peter Hathaway Capstick backs me up in Death in the Long Grass, chapter six: “Crocodiles.” Crocs, it seems, do not go gently into that good night.

  As a disclaimer, Jade is a professional, so don’t try her stunts at home. Igniting black powder in a deep wound to cauterize it and stop the bleeding was actually recommended in some earlier books such as Modern Surgery: General and Operative by John Chalmers Da Costa, 1910. It was especially recommended after bleeding a wound after a victim was bitten by a rabid animal. One might assume that ripping up a shirt and making a tourniquet to stop bleeding would be less painful, but perhaps the sulfur in some of the powder actually acted as an antiseptic, too. The advice still appeared in the 1926 edition of Handbook for Boys, the official boy scout handbook, in chapter seven, written by Major Charles Lynch of the American National Red Cross, as a recommendation after rattlesnake bite. Modern gunpowder wouldn’t do the trick.

  Sam’s Colt .45 New Service double-action revolver was adopted by the U.S. Armed Forces as a Model 1917 U.S. Army and used to make up for the lack of M1911 Colt .45 pistols in World War I. Sam would have been issued one as a pilot and could have purchased it after the war. The intent was to defend oneself if caught in enemy territory. World War I pilot Lt. Frank Luke carried the M1911, and when he crashed behind enemy lines, he used it to open fire on the Germans rather than be taken prisoner. Lieutenant Luke was killed in the return fire. I chose to give Sam the New Service revolver rather than the M1911 pistol carried by Lieutenant Luke simply because I felt the revolver better epitomized Sam. It had more of an American Old West look to it. Call me a romantic.

  The Girl Guides formed in Nairobi in early 1921. Reports in the newspapers summarized badges in nursing and horsemanship among others. Often they met at Lady Northey’s residence on Government Hill. While the Girl Guides was intended for younger girls up to fourteen years, a Girl Guide Ranger program for young ladies fifteen years and older was proposed in January 1922. Descriptions of the uniforms and activities are taken from their original handbook.

  If anyone doubts Biscuit’s willingness to wade the Athi, cheetahs have been photographed swimming in Botswana as floodwaters forced them to cross bodies of water to reach their prey.

  The Irving Air Chute Company is not a typographical error. At least, not here. Leslie Irvin founded the company, but a clerical error resulted in a “g” being added to the name. It stayed until 1970, so I’ve used the variation that Sam would have known.

  Some readers may question the spelling of McMillan’s name. While some books give it as MacMillan, Isak Dinesen uses this spelling. McMillan’s farm, Juja, sprawled around much of Ol Donyo Sabuk, but his wife didn’t care for it, so he didn’t often live there. By 1921, McMillan was suffering from illnesses and lived abroad more than in Africa. His farm was largely unattended then.

  And as noted in previous books, the excerpts at the top of each chapter are not from a real magazine. The clips are part of Jade’s articles and I write her copy. Readers interested in more tidbits of historical interest are invited to
visit my weekly blog, “Through Jade’s Eyes,” at http://suzannearruda.blogspot.com/. A new post shows up each Monday, barring unforeseen circumstances.

  Suzanne Arruda, a zookeeper turned science teacher and freelance writer, is also the author of several biographies for young adults as well as science and nature articles for adults and children. An avid hiker, outdoorswoman, and a member of Women in the Outdoors, she lives in Kansas with her husband. You can reach her at www.suzannearruda.com.