CHAPTER 13
Author's notes:
1) This chapter contains some strong language.
2) A massive thank you to Mireille, who was so willing to help me figure out what someone who spoke Dutch would be able to understand when listening to spoken Afrikaans. Yes, recording of scenario enactments did happen :)
Tuesday 24th June, 2014
Otjindawa Nature Reserve, Namibia
The volunteer group is taken by Michael to visit a neighboring facility - a vulture rescue center - after lunch
Auggie begs off, desperately in need of a siesta.
He has just settled himself – deliciously horizontal on the heavenly bed when the room phone rings. He sighs. Deeply. Gets up. Finds it. Answers it.
It's Jaco.
"Owen. How would you feel about helping me to move that impala?"
Jaco collects him at the room. The clanking and rattling accompanying the usual sound of the vehicle indicates they are towing a trailer of some sort. Jaco confirms it. It's a covered game trailer – like a wide horse box but with tarpaulin top and sides and a ramp that lifts up to form a tailgate which seals the back off completely. They will dart the impala, reverse the trailer into the corridor, carry the animal in, administer an antidote to the tranquilizer and then drive across to the small reserve where they will release him onto the plain - the area his and Annie's room overlooks.
They bump over a cattle grid and stop. Get out. The afternoon is warm and still. Only the sound of cicadas fills the space. Jaco is standing at the hood of the vehicle.
"Can you come around, Owen?" he requests. "I need you for back-up here."
Auggie tracks his way around. "What do you need me to do?"
"For antelope we use a different drug to those we use in the cats." There's the ripping sound of packaging opening. "It's called M99, and it's lethal to us humans. We have to be very, very careful with it. Even a drop in the eye can cause fatality. It causes respiratory arrest – you just stop breathing. So without mouth-to-mouth you're dead within five minutes."
"Wow." Auggie is taken aback. No wonder the drug is so strictly controlled. "But the antelope are fine?"
"Yes. It's the drug of choice for elephants and rhinos too. Very quick, effective and safe knock down."
"Surely accidents happen, though?"
"They do. That's why before we work with it we always draw up antidote in a syringe, ready to administer in case of emergency." He pauses. "I was working with another vet doing a game capture about five years ago and the dart she was loading exploded. Within a minute she had collapsed and started going cyanotic. It was unbelievable. I'd heard about it but seeing it was…" Another pause. "We couldn't give her mouth-to-mouth because there was M99 all over her face. If we hadn't had that antidote ready…" He trails off.
"She survived?"
"Yes. It was very intense though. We're lucky it only sprayed onto her. If we'd had two people down we could have lost one of them. We only had one dose drawn up. Since then I keep a loaded syringe and extra antidote in the cubby-hole (I think you call it the glove compartment?) of my vehicle, as an extra precaution. And I make sure I stay away from anyone else when I'm loading the darts."
Auggie has realized why Jaco has called him around. "You want me to administer this antidote to you if something happens?" He's not sure how he feels about that. Amazed, probably. "Jaco, you do realize you're placing your life into the hands of a blind man?"
Jaco laughs. "Owen, if you'd seen some of the people I've had to trust on this…Believe me, an intelligent blind man is much less of a risk. Now. Here's the syringe…" He takes Auggie's hand and places it in his palm. "If something happens find my triceps, thigh or backside, uncap the needle, stick it in perpendicular to the skin, all the way, and push that plunger in. Through my clothes. Don't waste time trying to expose the area."
Auggie traces the syringe. Finds the capped needle. The plunger. Orients it in his hand. "Got it." He sincerely hopes he's not going to have to do anything with it.
"Good. I'm going to load the dart now. I'll stay here. Would you mind moving back around to the side of the vehicle?"
Auggie moves. Waits. It's not long before Jaco calls him. "I'm all done. You can come back around now. Let's go dart this boy."
A walk to within range with Jaco…the pop of the gun…Jaco telling him the impala is down…back to the vehicle…reversing the trailer into the corridor…returning to the impala – which is not lying on its side as he'd expected but rather head up, legs tucked underneath his body…sleek coat, slightly curved horns…Jaco giving instructions as to how to carry the antelope…awkward trip to the trailer – the guy's significantly heavier than the cats, not as relaxed and his bulky back end makes it harder to get a decent grip on him…up the ramp and into the trailer…settled onto the straw bedding.
"Here." Jaco is beside him. Picks up Auggie's right hand and again places a syringe into it. "Why don't you give him the antidote? It'll be good practice for if you ever do have to save my life."
Auggie grins. "Rather an impala than you." He holds out his left hand. "Wanna give me directions?"
Hind leg…feel for the large muscle at the top…uncap the needle…hold syringe perpendicular (hopefully)…plunge needle in…inject…pull needle out…replace needle cap…carefully…ouch…not carefully enough.
"I'll take that." Auggie hands over the syringe. Jaco takes it. He hasn't even said 'Good job'. He seems to have taken it for granted Auggie would have no trouble.
Auggie realizes suddenly that at some point during the day he has drifted back over the blurred line.
Way, way over.
He's working purely on instinct now.
Annie arrives to an empty room and four bombshells.
The first three are delivered via a phone call from Joan which she receives literally a minute after stepping through the door.
"Hi Annie…glad I caught you…I've been trying to reach Auggie but he's not answering his cell…Listen. I'm assuming you've seen that Jaco Bouwer received two hundred fifty thousand rands into his bank account three hours ago…" Bombshell One.
Auggie may have. Annie wouldn't know. She hasn't. "Do we know who from?"
"Some legal firm. We've got Joburg checking whether they're legit or not."
"You think it could be payment for services rendered?"
"Could well be. The timing's certainly…interesting."
Joan moves on. "While we're on the topic of Joburg: Auggie asked me last night to do some looking into the wife…"
He had? That's the first Annie's heard of it.
"...so I got Joburg to look into that too. That source of theirs has already gotten hold of the police file on the murder for us. She's a quick worker. There was something interesting there. They recently re-opened the case. About three months ago."
"Why?"
"The only significant findings at the crime scene were three fingerprints – probably from the same person. They couldn't find a match in any of their data-bases, though. Then three months ago a Mozambican national was killed in a shoot-out between poachers and rangers in the Kruger Park. The result of an anonymous tip-off. His prints matched those found in Jaco Bouwer's house."
"Wow."
"Wow, indeed. There's something else though. The poachers were interrupted in the middle of a poaching attempt. They hadn't taken the horn, but there was a rhino already down. Down but alive. It had been tranquilized with M99." Bombshell Two.
"Shit." It comes out involuntarily. Annie wonders if she should apologize.
The DCS solves the dilemma for her. "Yes. Exactly."
"You're thinking Jaco found out who he was somehow? Sent that tip-off? A revenge killing?"
"It's a possibility. There was a copy of the original police report in the data Auggie sent us off Bouwer's laptop."
"Joan," Annie's been hesitating over whether or not to mention her concern to Joan. She makes a split-second decision to do so. "Auggie's getting very close to him. Maybe too close."
"Emotionally, you mean?"
"Maybe. He really likes the guy. I think he's developed some kind of a deep empathy with him over the wife…"
"I guess that's understandable," Joan muses. "I hadn't thought of that." She stops. Annie waits. "Will you keep an eye on him for me, Annie? Keep me updated? I trust Auggie's instincts, but I'm worried that this, specifically, might make him a little vulnerable."
Annie doesn't need to have the reasons spelled out for her. To have your wife shot dead in right in front of your eyes; to discover she'd faked that death, knowingly let you suffer through all that grief; to have her return, have all those feelings resurrected, and then have to go through her being killed – really killed – all over again - that has to leave scars. Even seven months down the line. "I will, Joan."
"Oh. And Annie, one more thing. We went through Jaco Bouwer's Google search history. He's looked into both Laura Pritchard and Owen Garrett. We checked the sites he looked at. All of them were fine – Cover Ops had altered the photos and so on, so you should be all right. But just be careful, OK?" Bombshell Three.
Why would Jaco do that?
Shit, Auggie. Did you say something to him?
And where the hell are you?
She finds her anxiety levels rising again. Concentrates on her breathing. Focuses. As she's had to learn to do.
She puts the kettle on to make a cup of tea. While she waits for the water to boil she skims through the audio from the morning. She's not expecting to find anything.
But she finds the fourth bombshell.
It's a phone call made by Jaco Bouwer immediately after lunch. In Afrikaans. But her knowledge of Dutch allows her to grasp enough of it to get the gist of Jaco's side of the conversation.
"Ja. Ek het die geld oornag gekry. Ons kan maar voortgaan."
Yes. I got the money. We can continue.
"Reg. Ek reël dat julle die nodige items so gou moontlik kry"
I…you…get the…?...as soon as possible.
"Reg so."
Right.
"Ja, maar luister. Onthou ek het vir jou gesê daar's iemand wat in die pad staan. Ek gaan daardie situasie vroeër eerder as later moet hanteer.
Yes but remember I said there's someone…in the road(?)...the way(?)...I think we should handle this situation sooner rather than later.
"Ons het 'n goeie verhouding. Goed genoeg dat hy my vertrou. Hy vermoed niks nie."
We have a good relationship. Enough that he trusts me. He doesn't suspect…
"So gou al?"
That soon?
"Reg so. Ek dink ek sal miskien vandag 'n geleentheid kry. Sal sien wat ek kan doen."
…I think I might get…today…Will see what I can do…
Anxiety spirals upwards. Morphs into panic.
She doesn't breathe. She runs.
She has enough cognizance to slow when she reaches the main complex. Even so, when she finds Michael she is breathless.
"Hey Michael. Listen do you know where…" She catches herself just before she says Auggie. "…Owen is?"
"Yes. Sure. He went out with Jaco to help him move that impala for James." Michael looks at her, concerned. "Everything OK?"
"Yes. No. He has our room keys."
She's walking out as she says it. Gone before Michael even has a chance to offer to open the room for her using the master.
She sprints to the parking lot. Michael's quad bike is there, keys in the ignition. She's started the engine even before she's properly seated.
Go, go, go!
She frantically urges the bike along, hoping she's remembered the way to the corridor accurately. Landmarks are hard to come by in the Namibian bush.
Please be OK, Auggie. Please be OK. She says it over and over again. She can think nothing else.
It feels like a desperate prayer.