How to answer that? No, not really but maybe? “I arrived in South Africa to find my uncle deceased, and I think this has caused some alarm back home.” She tried to use her most professional, least crazy voice. She explained the situation without the mysterious bits.
She shook her head. Next her mom would be calling Interpol.
The embassy employee did not sound convinced. “Uh, huh. Well, I’m going to need to get you to come by here and fill out some paperwork, so we can send confirmation of your whereabouts back to the senator’s office. It’s a courtesy we do in cases like this.”
Are you kidding? Out loud she said, “I’m not sure when I’ll make it by, since I’m at Kruger right now.” How could her mother be 8,000 miles away and still interfering?
“This is really important. We need to see you in person.”
“I’ll do my best.” Not going to happen.
Tabitha dialed Rian Minnaar’s number at the police station. An acrid odor hung in the air, like smoke. As she waited for Rian to come on the line, the smell grew stronger. Tabitha looked around but didn’t see any fire. No one seemed panicky.
“Miss Cranz, how’re you doing today?”
“Fine, fine. Have you discovered anything more?” Tabitha dispensed with the preliminaries.
“Actually, I have.” He sounded pleased with himself. “I called in a few favors to find this information, though.” Tabitha wondered if this was a hint for a tip or a date or something. Did you tip police officers in South Africa?
“What’d you find out?”
“The park has its own internal investigations, which we knew, but I learned they are investigating a few employees for poaching, trying to keep it all hush hush, mind you. On the one hand, they don’t want the employees to get wind of it, and on the other I think they wouldn’t like the park to look like it’s harboring fugitives by employing poachers. That’s not their only investigation, either.”
Tabitha scrambled to get some paper and make notes. “Did you get any idea of who they’re looking at?” she asked.
“This really took some doing, but I did find out a couple of names that have earned some suspicion. Whether either person is actually involved in any illegality is another matter altogether that has not been proven.”
“Well?” Tabitha couldn’t stand it.
“A Philemon Mhlongo, park employee.”
Her heart picked up a faster pace. “What? You’re sure?”
“Why? Do you know him?” Minnaar asked.
“I’ve talked to him several times. He’s very aloof. I suppose if he’s poaching, that would explain why he didn’t want to talk to me about poaching.” She leaned her head against the phone, deep in thought. Could this mean he killed Phillip? She asked out loud, “How many different poachers are in operation in Kruger, do they know?”
“I don’t know. Several, one would think. It’s rare though, I take it, for there to be one amongst the staff. They haven’t been able to catch him in the act or to figure out where he’s marketing the goods.”
“If you could find out about the investigation through your sources, wouldn’t Mhlongo be able to discover it as well?”
“Well,” Rian held a lengthy pause.
“What are you not telling me, Constable Minnaar?”
“This was someone actually in the investigation, and they’ll be reprimanded severely if anyone finds out that people outside the inquiry know about it.”
A Jeep screeched to a halt nearby and tourists got out, calling loudly to one another. Tabitha covered her free ear with her hand.
Rian continued, “I need you to keep your peace about this. Someone could lose a job over it. Myself included—I’m not really supposed to be involved in a Kruger investigation.”
Tabitha caught another whiff of smoke. She looked around but didn’t see anything. “You know the man who has been helping me—Daniel? He had to run an errand for Mhlongo today. Do you suppose he’s in danger?”
“What sort of errand?”
“He had to deliver a package for Mhlongo to another camp.” Tabitha bit her lip.
“It’s probably just park business.”
Tabitha shook her head. “No, I let him borrow the bakkie because it was a personal favor. He’s done so much for me, I didn’t think twice about it. He agreed to run the errand, so Mhlongo would let me interview him about poaching.”
“You think he’s involved in Mhlongo’s poaching scheme?”
“No way, not intentionally. I’m concerned his helping me has him involved in it unknowingly. What if he’s in danger or the park authorities think he’s mixed up in it?” Tabitha began to spin the phone cord on her index finger. Echoes of her mother’s neurosis coming out, only this felt real.
“I doubt it. As long as he stays out of his delivery package, he’ll probably be fine.”
“My uncle wasn’t fine. Daniel is helping me because his mother saw a vision of me in danger. I feel strange now that you’ve told me about this investigation. And I thought I was followed earlier this week.”
“These spiritualists in our country can get excited over nothing. Isangomas. Maybe you just imagined someone followed you. You’re not involved in the investigation. Why would they chase after you? Besides, there’s the other investigation.”
In her anxiety for Daniel, Tabitha had fixated on Mhlongo. “What is the other one?” She closed her eyes to concentrate.
“Well, some conservationist group apparently has been more obnoxious than usual and the park authorities think one of their members might be doing things to make it look like there are more poachers than truly exist. I guess to make a point.”
“You mean the Schopenhauer Factor?”
“Yeah, that’s the name. A young American bloke. My source couldn’t remember the name. I figured that’d be easy enough to find out.”
“I think I know. His name is Christopher and he’s pretty earnest and extreme. What do they think he’s done?”
“Well, they haven’t caught him yet, or they’d have arrested him. Someone, maybe Mhlongo or the Schopenhauer fellow, is killing rare animals in the park, skinning them, taking any important bits that go well on the black market.”
“I can’t see Christopher doing that. He seems unstable, but very adamant about animals.”
“The park seems to think he wants it to look like the poaching is a bigger problem than it is, so more money will be put into security or some such thing.”
“But Daniel is out there on Mhlongo’s behalf. That scares me. A young fanatic doesn’t seem quite so scary. Creepy, maybe. I’m really worried.” Tabitha pressed a hand to her temple.
“Don’t worry. Look, if Daniel hasn’t turned up by 3:30 or so this afternoon, call me. I get off then, so I’ll drive out and we can look for him. If he turns up, you and I can just have dinner. Okay?”
Tabitha stood ramrod straight, staring into the phone. “I feel something isn’t right.” She hated feeling dependent. The idiot damsel in distress. She wondered how she could continue to ask favors of Rian and also avoid his romantic overtures. She wiped a glistening of sweat from her forehead.
“Let’s see if he reappears before we get excited. You’ve got to keep quiet. This was confidential information. I’ve got my job as well as others to protect here, but I’ll come out if he doesn’t come round.” Minnaar said.
Tabitha hung up the phone and hugged her arms around herself. She paced the patio beside the phones for a minute. If she had the car, she’d go look for Daniel on her own. She started across the camp village. A man hailed her from a puff of smoke coming from a barbecue grill.
“Miss, if you’ll hang about for a bit we’ll have some sausages—boerewors—ready, and you can experience a true South African braai.”
The smell of the roasting meat reminded Tabitha she’d missed breakfast, and lunch was definitely a necessity. “It does smell good. Earlier when I smelled smoke I thought something was wrong.”
“Ah, well, maybe they are doi
ng some controlled burning today. They often have to burn it before Mother Nature does it for them, especially with the late rains.”
The idea of the fires made her uncomfortable. Fire was dangerous. Fire was lethal. Life going up in smoke. Tabitha tried to calm her fears and relax on the guest patio, but she kept pacing the area and scanning the parking lots for the yellow bakkie. The grill attendant announced the meat was done and a small queue began to form. Tabitha bit into her boerewors. Good stuff. Grilled meat with a chili pepper and onion flavor to it. Braai, Tabitha had discovered, was the national pastime of barbecuing meat and picnicking with the results. If she weren’t so concerned about Daniel, she would have enjoyed it more.
Terrifying imaginings of Phillip and Daniel kept ripping into her consciousness. Calm down. Daniel is a grown man, more than able to handle himself. He’s only doing a favor for someone. That someone just might happen to be corrupt. Tabitha chastised herself for Daniel’s involvement. He wouldn’t be out doing this if not for her. Or would he? The interdependence of people here was a different level than Tabitha understood.
<><><>
Souli watched Tabitha pace the patio. She finally settled down with her laptop computer. This was certainly a waste of time. She had not made contact anymore with Mhlongo or the American kid, and he hadn’t seen Mhlongo following her since the campgrounds.
Souli knew that even though he was a small man, he was not unobtrusive in his park uniform so near the patio. He smelled smoke and could not remember the burning schedule. His concern grew as his determination to follow the American girl waned. He wandered further off and the smoke smelled strong. He turned up his radio to see what was going on. Had a controlled burn gotten out of hand? It shouldn’t be so close to a camp. As head of the rangers, he had much better things to do than chase tourists around. The radio crackled to life. A fire was out of control near the Skukuza Camp. Souli started to jog across the compound to his park vehicle. This was no controlled burn; something had happened.
Chapter 47
Pieter felt vulnerable leaving the campsite, but he had to go to the border to make arrangements. They would take the giraffes overland as far as Kenya where one of the giraffes was contracted with a hunting lodge. What the Kruger officials didn’t know wouldn’t hurt them. The nature crowd would go berserk if they knew the destiny of this giraffe. This brought a grin to Pieter’s face. They’d never know. He’d covered his tracks and doubled back again enough times to have it down to a science.
He studied the roster for the border guards, to see the most advantageous time to cross. Too bad he didn’t have access to the guards’ schedule on the Zimbabwe side. He’d have to play it legitimate in Beitbridge. The crowds, grafters, and pickpockets packed out the small border crossing. It would be a crowded stinking mess, but no way to avoid it. Anyway, in Pieter’s experience almost everyone had a price.
Lights from a transport bakkie flashed through the window of the border station. He heard the guard dogs barking. Sweat formed on his lip. He should hurry. He didn’t want to be caught studying the schedule.
He needed to leave in daylight, and his border crossing guard was on the night shift. Another challenge. He had a recommendation of someone who could be trusted for the day shift. He liked to find them and pay ahead of time so everything went smoothly on the day of the crossing. He’d delayed too long getting the diamonds. It was time to move. By Kenya, he’d have a load of legitimate ivory and a secret crate of skins and animal products for the underground market. The diamonds, though, would stay in his private stash until he got back to Europe.
Chapter 48
A few hours later, Daniel still had not returned. Tabitha racked her memory, trying to recall if he’d said what time he would return. She’d studied the map repeatedly. The best she could figure, it was 97 kilometers to Satara Camp. At 50 kph on the tar roads, four hours of driving time say, and maybe an hour or so there, even longer, he should have been back by one or two at the latest. Daniel’s early rising habits would have put him on the road near dawn.
Tabitha waited until 3:30 pm. She swallowed her pride and called Rian in Nelspruit to ask for help.
“He’s not back. Something’s wrong,” she said when she reached him.
“You realize Africans operate on a different concept of time than you Americans?”
“I do, but he acted like this would just be a quick errand, and he said we’d go on a safari drive. Even if he ate a lengthy lunch there, he would have been back by now.”
“Okay, I’ll arrive there by five o’clock and we can go look for him.”
Tabitha’s relief at Rian coming to help was tempered by the stress of fending off his advances. If she had the truck, she would already be out looking for Daniel. “Maybe I should alert park security…”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“Why not?” Tabitha raked her fingers through her hair.
“First, we don’t know he’s actually missing. He may just be late. He’s in your car and that could look bad for a park employee, and lastly, we’re not supposed to know about the investigation into Mhlongo.”
Tabitha bit her lip. “Oh, all right. Hurry then.”
To pass some of the time, she decided to call Aunt Rose. She had meant to get in touch with her about Phillip’s urn, but Mister M’s urgency had left her no time.
“How’s Africa?” her aunt asked.
“I’m not sure if it’s getting better or worse.”
“Why?”
“A friend of mine may have gotten mixed up in something dangerous.” Tabitha rubbed her eyes with her free hand.
“I’m sorry, dear. You’ve had a rough time of it. What have you done with Phillip, by the way?”
“I wanted to call and give you an update. I ended up having him cremated and I have the urn now. I haven’t found out if I have to fill out any paperwork or anything to take him on the plane this way. I haven’t had time.”
“I’m sure you could sneak him by the authorities if it comes to that, Tabs.”
The oddity of the comment nearly made Tabitha laugh, but a grunt substituted for a laugh.
“What will we do with him?” her aunt asked.
“What do you mean? Don’t you think his brother will want the urn?”
“Are you kidding? If we could get him to take time to meet us somewhere, he’d probably end up spilling poor Phillip on the rug or using him for an ashtray. No, we need to find something fitting to do with him.”
They were both quiet for a moment, but Tabitha couldn’t think beyond the trouble with Daniel.
“Too bad you couldn’t throw him out of the airplane over the ocean. He was always going someplace.”
Tabitha couldn’t help herself, and did chuckle. “I don’t think the airline will go for that. Cabin pressure and all.”
“You’re right, of course. Could you just sprinkle him on a lovely hill over there?”
“All right, I’ll see what I can arrange.” Later, Tabitha thought, not right now. She reminded her aunt not to tell her mom anything, especially not that a friend of hers was in trouble.
A man nearby was corralling guests toward the main lodge area, where Tabitha was using the phones. She got off the phone and moved to see what was happening.
“Sorry, folks,” he said loudly. “Please stay in this area for your own safety. Park authorities are doing all they can to get the fire out.”
A man in a green safari hat called out, “Can we go for safari drives?”
The man in the park uniform nodded. “Yes, but you’ll have to go south, as the fire is to the north. I’m sure this is nothing and it will be over soon. Just precautionary to have all the guests on the grounds in one local.”
She drifted back to the phones and pushed the numbers for the Jo’berg Star. John Bratten happened to be at his desk and did take her call. She explained she was a travel writer, but had run into some questions out at Kruger.
“I’m not your travel fellow here a
t the paper,” he said good-naturedly.
“Actually, the question is about human trafficking.”
“Ahh.” He sounded interested. “Now that is my department. What can you tell me?”
“I’m afraid I was wondering the same of you.” She explained about Phillip asking about trafficking, the strange slide of faces, and Phillip’s death. “Do you know of any trafficking issues in the park?”
She could tell he was taking notes. While she needed her own story, this was about answers for Phillip more than her making a buck. Broke or not.
“Well, the thing is that the rumors of using the park as a transit route into and out of the country have been flying. No one so far has figured out who is doing it. Nearly every drug dealer in the country is at least dabbling in trafficking, if not full out transferring their, ah, business interests, entirely to humans. Figuring out who has resources for intercontinental movements and investigating him is another issue. Mafias use us as a pass through, too. Moving through the park, though, it would be from Mozambique, Swaziland, and possibly some from Zimbabwe, and we know we have victims from all those countries.”
“I haven’t really found anyone who would speak of anything other than rumors.”
“Yes, that is usually the case. Even for me, I have to usually say ‘unnamed sources.’ One of my inside police sources believes there is some government corruption going on. Even when they set up a sting, somehow the operation falls through and no one is caught.”
“Payoffs at some high level?”
“’Fraid so. The country is rated a Tier 2 internationally as not doing the minimums to stop trafficking based on international protocol. I’m documenting all I can as I investigate or interview people. I’m waiting for pieces to come together. I’d be interested in those slides of your uncle’s.”
“I doubt you can use them; they are so indistinct. I’d be glad to get them to you. I’d be glad if they helped in some way. I know it was in the park, because Phillip wouldn’t have left the park except to go to a camera repair shop if his cameras had malfunctioned. I checked that and it didn’t seem they had. Of course, I can’t prove the shots were taken here, but he truly was only interested in nature.”
Killed in Kruger Page 19
