By the time the Planeteers landed in Hwange National Park, the temperature had risen to thirty-five degrees. The climate inside the Geocruiser was kept at a constant level of heat and humidity, but opening the door to the outside world was like opening the door to a furnace.

Linka could feel the heat from the tarmac radiating up through her trainers as she descended the steps. The runway was a thin asphalt strip surrounded by scrubby yellow bush and thorny acacias, and a collection of tin-roofed buildings constituted the airport.

"Bozhe moy," she breathed. "It's hot."
"It's hot on Hope Island, babe," said Wheeler, descending to join her.

"Yes, but there's the sea, and the palms … here, there's nothing."

"Yeah, know what you mean."

They were being very careful and polite with one another. Linka almost wanted one of the American's flip comments or slightly dirty jokes to lighten the mood.

"There's Tendai!" said Gi. A tall figure had emerged from one of the buildings, and was waving. The Planeteers saw a flash of white teeth in a dark face as their contact walked towards them. Wheeler strode forward to meet him with an uncharacteristically serious expression. Ma-Ti and Suchi followed, but Linka held Gi's arm to keep her back.

"Gi!" she whispered. "What is the matter with Wheeler?"

"The matter?" Gi's brown eyes sparkled with amusement. "What do you mean?"

"He's acting so … strange."

"You mean responsible? Serious? Grown up?" Gi said the last words with a little malice.

"Well … yes."

"I thought you'd be glad. Isn't it what you're always saying to him?"

"You mean he has turned over a new tree?"

"New leaf. Yes." Gi smiled wickedly. "Or do you miss the old Wheeler?" She ran to catch up with the boys. Linka, after a minute, followed.

Wheeler was shaking hands with Tendai.

"Hi. I'm Wheeler. This is Ma-Ti, and the Furball …"

"Suchi," Ma-Ti intervened.

"…and these lovely ladies are Linka and Gi."

"Mangwanani, Planeteers," said the Zimbabwean, smiling. "Good morning. I am Tendai, a game ranger for the National Park Service."
"This is quite an office you got here, Tendai," said Wheeler, gesturing to the broad sweep of savannah and bush.

"You cannot beat the view," Tendai chuckled. "I am glad you have come. We need your help."

"So I hear. Tell us about it."

"I will – but over lunch. I trust you are hungry."

"Always, man," laughed Wheeler.

Tendai had an open-topped safari buggy parked behind the airport. The Planeteers piled in. The smell of hot leather and gasoline rose from the vehicle as they set off, jolting over the bumps in the dirt road.

Linka stole a glance at Wheeler's profile. He was wearing sunglasses, and his forehead was beaded with sweat. He had rolled his sleeves back to expose strong brown forearms. She reached for him and laid a hand gently on his arm, but he jerked it away.

"Oh, sorry babe," he said. "I just wasn't expecting …"

"No, no, that is fine." Linka's cheeks were burning.

"Hey, so what were you going to say?"

"Nothing. It doesn't matter." The Russian settled her sunglasses firmly on her nose.

"Look to your left," their guide shouted over the noise of the engine. "Twiza. Giraffe."

Three of the long-legged animals were walking about a hundred metres off the road, their necks swaying.

"Amazing," said Wheeler. "They look so colourful in a zoo, but you can hardly see them in the shadow of the trees."

Tendai was frowning. "I'm sure that group had a baby with them. Maybe I was wrong."

"Or maybe the poachers have struck again," suggested Ma-Ti. He reached out to the minds of the giraffes. "They are feeling … grief," he said, eyes closed.

"Well, that answers that question," said Wheeler. "Your ring's coming in handy today."

"I can feel the grief without any ring," said Tendai quietly. "It is in the air here at Hwange. This park is my home, my job and also where my heart lies. These last few days have been the worst of my life."

It was an unusually long speech for the softly-spoken Shona man. Wheeler reached out and laid a hand on his shoulder.

"We know. And we're going to do anything we can to help. That's our job."

"Da," Linka nodded. "Whatever is causing this, we will find out, and stop it."

"Masvita tatenda," said Tendai gratefully. "Thank you, Planeteers. You bring hope here."

"Tendai," said Gi, leaning forward in her seat, "the land seems very dry. Isn't the rainy season around the corner?"

"Yes, but we are in a state of drought. This just makes things all the more difficult. It is so hard for the animals to find water holes."

"Could you stop the car for a moment?" asked the Thai.

Mapfumo drew to a halt in a cloud of red dust. Gi aimed her ring towards the giraffe they had passed a moment ago. "Water!"

Water from beneath the red earth seeped up through the ground and formed a shallow pool not far from the animals. Their graceful heads turned, and they loped towards it.

"It won't solve the problem," said Gi, "but at least we will have done something useful before lunch!"

After another ten minutes of driving, the buggy drew up to a collection of round huts with thatched roofs, shaded by flat-topped trees.

"Welcome to the rondaavels," said Tendai, switching off the engine. "This is where you'll be staying."

"It's lovely," said Gi.

"The kitchen hut is that large one there," said Tendai, pointing. Wooden picnic tables surrounded it. "Get settled in, and I will see you very soon."

"Thanks, Tendai." Wheeler swung the Planeteers' bags out of the boot.

The rooms were attractive, with polished red-earth floors, white linen on the beds and mosquito nets hanging from the ceilings. The floor sloped down towards one wall, where a showerhead protruded. A plug in the floor directly beneath showed that this would be where the Planeteers washed.

Wheeler flicked a large bug off the nearest mosquito net.

"Well, two beds in each hut. I guess we're bunking together, little buddy. Kwame will have to take his chances."

The boys left Linka and Gi to their devices. Gi collapsed instantly on the bed, while Linka started to unpack.

"What do you think?" she held a shirt up to her chest.

"Think of what?" asked Gi, propping herself up on one elbow. "Aren't you going to wear your Planeteer shirt?"

"I thought I might wear something different," said Linka self-consciously.

"That's a little low-cut, isn't it? There's no need to impress the animals, Linka …"

"I'm not trying to impress anyone! Fine, forget it." The Russian's back was stiff as she turned away. Gi looked at her for a minute.

"Linka, have you and Wheeler talked since last night? You seemed to be getting on so much better lately …"

"I don't want to talk about it."

Gi sighed. She longed to tell Linka to open up, let her guard down and have a girl-to-girl chat, but she knew her friend too well. Linka would always be Linka – prickly, a little reserved, but with so much humour, warmth and loyalty beneath the surface that you could forgive her anything. Even when she refused to give Gi all the juicy details of her relationship with the young American.

Linka was remembering another trip to Africa not so long ago – to Kwame's native Kenya. There had been a moment there when … but no, she would not think about it right now.

She and Wheeler's past was a fiery two-steps-forward, one-step-back dance of indecision – they would share a moment, get a little closer, then inevitably the American would say or do something that brought her emotional 'forcefield' (as he had once called it) up. Whether that something was making an inappropriate joke, going too fast for her cautious nature or simply getting under her skin a little deeper than she liked, it always ended in a fight. And then the aftermath.

This time felt different, though. What was the last thing she had said to him? "Grow up, Yankee?" Linka pulled off her hairband and shook her blonde hair out onto her shoulders. Don't be silly, Linka, she told herself sternly. Focus on what we need to do here. She tied her hair up again and splashed a little water on her face.

"Come on, Gi. Let's go outside and wait for them."

Gi rolled her eyes, then followed the determined Russian. Linka was clearly in no mood for either chat or relaxation today.