Windfall

'If he co-operates and makes no trouble,' said Chip. 'If he does anything foolish there are no guarantees any more.'

'I'll make no trouble,' said Corliss eagerly. 'All I want to do is to get out of this damn country.' He listened to the night noises and shivered, drawing the fatigue jacket closer to him although it was not cold. 'It scares me.'

'There's one more thing,' Stafford said. 'People don't usually get shot for no reason at all. Who'd want to kill you, Corliss? Not Gunnarsson; he wouldn't want to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs. Who, then?'

'I don't know,' said Corliss violently. 'No one would want to kill me. I don't know about Hendrix. You guys said it was open season on Hendrix.'

'That was a manner of speaking,' said Stafford.

Corliss shook his head as thought in wonderment at what was happening to him. He said, 'I had an auto accident in Cornwall, but I'm not that bad a driver. The brakes failed on a hill.'

Stafford shrugged. 'It doesn't have to be guns.'

'Cui bono?' said Chip, unexpectedly breaking into Latin. He grinned at Stafford's expression, his teeth gleaming in the firelight. 'This nigger bastard went to university. Who inherits from Hendrix?'

Stafford thought about it, then said slowly, 'The next of kin, I suppose. Corliss, here, says Hendrix had no family but, of course, he had, although he didn't know it. His next of kin would be his cousin, Dirk Hendriks, assuming that Henry Hendrix made no will.'

'I think we can accept that assumption,' said Chip dryly.

Stafford shook his head. 'It's impossible. Dirk went back to England with Farrar. How could he organize a kidnapping into Tanzania? That would take organization on the spot. Anyway, he's inherited three million himself. What's the motive?'

From the darkness on the other side of the fire Nair said, 'Six is better than three. Some people are greedy.'

'I don't see it,' said Stafford. 'Hendriks has no Kenyan connections; he's a South African, damn it. He'd never been in the country until he came with Farrar. How could a man, not knowing either country, organize a kidnapping in Kenya by Tanzanians? I'd say South Africans are a damn sight more unwelcome in Tanzania than they are in Kenya.'

'Yes,' said Chip. 'We're a tolerant people. We don't mind South Africans as long as they behave themselves. The Tanzanians aren't as tolerant.'

They batted it around a bit-more and got nowhere. At last Stafford said, 'Perhaps we're barking up the wrong tree. I know that no tourists have been killed in these Tanzanian raids but it was bound to happen sooner or later when people carry guns. Perhaps this attempt on Corliss was a statistical inevitability – a Tanzanian aberration.'

'No,' said Chip. 'I can understand a gun going off and killing someone. I can understand one man going round the bend and killing someone. But two men deliberately took Corliss and, as you said, it was the nearest thing to an execution I've witnessed. It was deliberate,'

'Jesus!' said Corliss.

'But why?' Stafford asked. No one could tell him.

The fire had to be kept going all night so one man stood" watch while the others slept and Stafford stood first watch. By unspoken agreement Corliss did not stand a watch; no one was going to sleep having him loose with two rifles and a submachine-gun. When his time was up Stafford stretched out on the ground not expecting to sleep, but the next thing he knew Nair was shaking him awake. 'Dawn,' he said.

When Stafford stood up he was stiff and his bones creaked. In his time in the army and in the Sahara he had slept on the ground in the open air many times, but it is a game for a young man and as he grew older he found that it ceased to be fun. He looked around, and asked, 'Where's Chip?'

'He left at first light – ten minutes ago. He said he'll be back in an hour, maybe two.' Nair nodded towards Corliss. 'We have to make arrangements about him. He can't be seen by anyone, including the police.'

Stafford stretched. 'I know that you pair display an amazing efficiency but I'd like to know how Chip is going to fix that. The KPU must still have a lot of pull.'

Nair raised his eyebrows. 'The Kenya People's Union no longer exists. How can it have influence?'

'All right, Nair; have it your own way.'

'Max,' he said, 'a word of warning. It would be most unwise of you to talk openly about the KPU. Loose talk of that nature could put you in prison. It is still a touchy subject in Kenya.'

Stafford held up his hands placatingly. 'Not another word shall pass my lips.' Nair nodded gravely.

It was two and a half hours before Chip came back and he brought with him two men whom he introduced as Daniel Wekesa and Osano Gichure. 'Good friends,' he said.

'Just good friends?' Stafford said sardonically. 'Not brothers-in-law?'

Chip ignored that. 'They'll look after Corliss and get him out of the Mara.'

'Where will they take him?'

'We'll come to that later. The tourists haven't come back yet, and the border is alive with police on the Kenyan side.' He stroked his chin. 'The tour group is probably still in Tanzania. Bare European feet make for slow going. Still, they should come in some time this morning if I know Adam.'

'Which you do.'

'Yes. I want to talk to him. I want to know exactly how the Tanzanians picked him up. I also want breakfast, so let's go.'

Chip talked to Corliss, told him he'd be looked after if he behaved himself, and then they went, again heading north. They left the rifles and the Uzi with Chip's good friends and he made Stafford empty his pockets of ammunition. 'If the police find so much as a single round you're in trouble," he said.

On the way he said he had seen the police. 'Just stick to the story we arranged and we'll be fine.'

Chip proved to be right. They walked for an hour and then saw a vehicle coming towards them, bumping through the bush. It contained a police lieutenant and a constable, both armed. They spun their yarn and the lieutenant shook his head. 'It was very unwise to follow those men; it could have been dangerous. I am glad that Mr Chipende had the sense to stop you crossing the border.'

Stafford scowled at Chip who was now a virtuous citizen. The lieutenant smiled. 'I hope this has not spoiled your holiday, Mr Stafford. I assure you that these incidents are rare. Certain wild elements in our neighbouring country get out of control.'

'Is there news of the tour group?' asked Nair.

The lieutenant looked bleak. 'Not yet. They will be given a warm welcome when they arrive. Jump in; I'll take you back to Keekorok in time for a late breakfast.'

So they rode back to the Lodge at Keekorok and got there inside half an hour; not long but long enough for Stafford to wonder if it was habitual for Kenyan police officers to administer a mild slap on the wrist for transgressions such as theirs. He had expected a real rocket and here was the lieutenant actually apologizing for a spoiled holiday. Perhaps it was his view that it was normal for a European tourist to be an idiot.

Their arrival was the occasion for a minor brouhaha. Although the manager met them and tried to ease them into their rooms quietly they were spotted and mobbed by a crowd eagerly asking questions in assorted accents. It was known they had been out all night and that there was another party still missing and, from the look on the manager's face as they briefly answered queries, it was definitely a case of bad public-relations.

And Curtis was there, his face set in a wide, relieved smile. He put his broad shoulders between Stafford and a particularly importunate American, and said, 'I hope the Colonel is all right.'

'Tired and a bit travel-worn, that's all Sergeant. Just point me towards breakfast and a bed.'

'The manager's arranged for you to have breakfast in your room, sir. He thought it would be better.'

'Better for whom?' Stafford said acidly. His guess was that the manager was wishing they would vanish instantly so as not to infect the other guests with the virus of bad news. And it would get worse when the others came back; having tourists kidnapped was not good for the image of Keekorok Lodge. It would get still worse when one tourist didn't come back at all, and even worse than that when the tourist was identified as an American millionaire. The manager wouldn't know what had hit him.