The quiet also allowed him an opportunity to reflect on the murders. And, surprisingly, the more he considered his actions, the less he now regretted them. Despite a sense of guilt that he knew would never altogether leave him, he felt he could live with what he had done. Sometimes, he had decided, if the black was dark enough, and the white light enough, murder was justifiable.
His main concern now was for Edward who, once again – and as he had done throughout their lives – had walked into another fire to spare him. Shaking his head at the audacity of what his brother had done, he looked up – almost absently – and then drew to a halt. What he saw ahead of him he would recognise in his dreams. They had crested a small rise and had reached the banks of the Limpopo River, where the backs of South Africa and Bechuanaland fell against one another.
Derek’s heart lifted despite the circumstances.
As they stepped down into its familiar dry mouth, Derek turned to Noah. ‘Where’s your truck?’
Noah pointed to the far side of the embankment. ‘Up there.’
Turning in a slow circle, Derek tried to absorb his final moments in the river. Considering where he was headed, he wanted to take as much of it with him as his mind could carry.
Noah moved ahead of him and was halfway up the slope when he stopped and turned around. Frowning slightly, he looked back at Derek and simply stared at him.
‘What is it?’ Derek asked.
‘Nothing,’ Noah replied.
Not knowing what to make of the moment, Derek followed behind the detective as he crested the top of the riverbank. Immediately, he noticed two trucks parked together under the fractured shade of an old baobab.
Why two? he wondered. As his mind flicked through potential reasons, one of the doors swung open and a man stepped out. A man with an unmistakably pallid complexion.
Noah cupped his hands over his mouth. ‘So you got my message?’
‘Eventually,’ Morgan called back. ‘You could’ve delivered it sooner. I spent almost a week tearing up the town trying to find you!’
‘Sorry,’ he shouted back, ‘but that’s how it had to be.’
As Morgan approached them, he raised an arm to Derek.
Oblivious to what was happening, and with all the natural movement of a dead man, Derek attempted a wave back. Why was Morgan here?
‘Did you do what I asked?’
‘What do you think?’ Morgan replied, reaching behind his back and producing a rolled-up brown folder.
‘What’s going on?’ Derek asked.
Noah opened the folder and rifled through it. ‘Everything here?’
‘I made sure of it. Triple-checked.’
‘Please tell me what’s happening?’
Noah turned to Derek. ‘This is the exchange.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Inside this folder is everything that links you to the murders. Your confession, the court papers, the evidence we gathered … everything.’
‘I don’t understand. You want me to take this?’
‘Yes.’
‘As an exchange?’
‘That’s right.’
‘For what?’
Noah pointed over his shoulder. ‘For that.’
Derek turned and watched as Morgan chased back to his truck and opened the passenger door. He continued to stare, and then felt his breath shudder, as his brother stepped out into the sun.
‘It’s a simple exchange, Derek. You take the folder; I give you your brother.’
‘Y–You’re letting us go?’
‘Without any evidence there’s no case against you.’
‘Noah …’ he began. ‘But you–’
‘Just take it and disappear, Derek,’ he replied, pushing the folder into his chest.
‘Wait … wait! Hold on–’
‘Goodbye, Derek,’ Noah replied. He stared at him briefly, again saying nothing, before turning and walking away.
As the detective headed for his truck, Derek’s attention was drawn back to his brother. He watched as Morgan released him from his handcuffs. And then, several startling moments later, Edward was standing in front of him.
Derek stared at his brother, truly looked at him – marvelled at him – and then threw an arm around his neck. ‘I can’t believe what you did,’ he said, grabbing fistfuls of Edward’s shirt. ‘Another bayonet.’
Edward took a few quiet breaths before stepping back and planting his hands on Derek’s shoulders. ‘It didn’t hurt this time,’ he said, and then smiled. ‘You all right?’
‘I think so. You?’
‘I’m fine,’ Edward replied, and then pointed to the folder. ‘What’s that?’
Derek looked down and, for a moment, had no memory of what he was holding. ‘It’s all the evidence.’ He reached into it and withdrew its contents. Envelopes and typed documents were interspersed with handwritten notes, court documents and as many as fifty photographs. He was about to slip the empty folder under his arm when he realised there was something still lodged within it. He dipped his hand inside and fished it out.
As he saw what it was, he looked up at his brother. ‘Maybe it’s a mistake?’
Edward shook his head. ‘No. I don’t think so.’
Letting the folder fall to the sand, Derek ran for Noah’s truck. ‘Wait!’ he called out, pulling up midway between his brother and the detective.
Noah stepped away from the door and looked back.
Derek threw up his arms. ‘Why?’
He took his time before responding. ‘It’s just the right thing.’
‘You can’t do this.’
‘It’s done.’
‘Don’t put this on me, Noah. Please.’
‘It’s not on you,’ he replied, and turned back to the truck. ‘You have my word on that.’
‘Hold on!’ Derek urged, his voice desperate. ‘This can’t be it! You don’t just walk away from this. There has to be something I can do.’
Noah stepped up onto the side rail of his truck and looked up at the sky. ‘I need some time, but after that …’ he began, then trailed off.
‘What? What, Noah?’
He hesitated one final time and then pointed over Derek’s head, towards Bechuanaland. ‘Teach me about the elephants,’ he said, and then glanced at Morgan. ‘Teach us both.’
Derek nodded, emotion rising in his throat. ‘How will you find us?’
Noah wiped his face, smiled, and then slowly climbed into his truck. A few moments later both vehicles started up and disappeared into the bush.
‘We’ll be waiting,’ Derek whispered.
Then, steadying himself, he looked down at what he was holding. As he uncurled his fingers, Edward joined him at his side. Above them, raptors soared high into the ever-blue. Around them, small birds and insects sang their forever bush song. And four days behind them, in the Bechuanaland pans, two ancient Desert Elephants – a mother and her child – finally roamed safe and free. In Derek’s hand was everything that had made Noah the man he was. It had been his compass, his moral beacon. Once his entire life, now discarded.
In his hand was Noah’s police badge.
Author’s Note – Gareth Crocker
I’m often suspicious of novels carrying the names of two authors. I find myself wondering who actually put down the words. Did they draft alternate chapters? One maybe starting the novel and the other finishing it? Or had an accomplished writer merely hitched his or her name to the work of a rising star?
As it happened in the case of Journey from Darkness, I put down the words but the story came largely from my father’s remarkable imagination. Developing the narrative and ultimately bringing the characters to the page has been one of the great privileges of my life.
I only hope I’ve done justice to what I know is an extraordinary story.
Author’s Note – Llewellyn Crocker
A man saw a circus elephant tethered to a pole and he was saddened. A man saw people riding on the back of an elephant and he was angere
d. In the wilderness, a man was charged by an elephant and he was enthralled.
A Final Word from the Authors
While much of what you have just read is based on real places that can be visited and explored even today, certain of the buildings and historical landmarks exist only in our imagination.
We hope that you have enjoyed your journey with Derek and Edward.
And, of course, with Shawu.
For us, it has been the journey of a lifetime.
PENGUIN BOOKS
Published by Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd 2015
A Penguin Random House Company
Registered Offices: Block D, Rosebank Office Park, 181 Jan Smuts Avenue, Parktown North, Johannesburg, 2196, South Africa
www.penguinbooks.co.za
First published by Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd 2012
Copyright © Gareth Crocker and Llewellyn Crocker, 2012, 2015
All rights reserved
The moral rights of the authors have been asserted
ISBN: 9781415206607
Journey from Darkness Page 24
