A Delicious Mistake (14 page)

She
found that she truly couldn’t wait for the moment when she could feel his hot
seed inside her. She spread her legs wider to grant him even more access, the
gesture letting him know the exact extent of her burning desire for him. The
intensity of her craving for him had become almost unbearable, but it was a
sweet kind of agony.

Sarah
saw the change in his eyes, the glint that told her that the games were over
and he would finally satisfy her insistent, overwhelming needs to the fullest.
He teased her once more and then plunged into her with one deep, shattering
thrust. He pounded into her, his hips bucking, taking her utterly and
completely until she came screaming his name.

Her
world turned a blissful, stark white—and a loud shout sounded outside the hut.
It echoed across the
boma
, the enclosure that held the main building,
then tents, and the other structures.

She
clung to Benjamin’s sweating shoulders, thinking it a miracle that she had even
become aware of anything else other than his solid weight and how he was deep
inside of her. But she heard the noise and froze. So did he.

* * *

               
Sarah looked up at Benjamin’s sweating face. Somehow the commotion outside
penetrated the hot haze of his inflamed senses enough that he must have
realized that whatever was going on was in fact of the utmost importance. He
grimaced in what looked like displeasure. He reluctantly and slowly slid out of
her.

               
She felt the loss at once. As if she had lost a part of herself. As they both
climbed from the bed and gathered their clothes, she asked, “What on Earth do
you think is going on?”

Benjamin
shrugged. “I have no idea.” He hesitated, his face darkening. “I just hope it’s
not more bad news.”

Sarah
cringed. A wave of shame hit her square in the chest. It was an entirely
different form of embarrassment than the one that had hit her earlier when she
had woken up and realized she had slept with him. She felt ashamed of the
accusations she had made. She had been wrong to blame him without proof. She
had been wrong to judge him as she had. “Benjamin, I—”

“Not
now, Sarah.” He didn’t sound angry, just preoccupied with whatever might be
going on outside.

There
was no point in delaying the inevitable. Dressed, she followed Benjamin out of
his hut and headed toward the common area. She kept hoping for news that, if it
could not be good, was at least not tragic. Not again. She was not prepared for
the crowd that had gathered.

It
looked as if the entire ranger squad and the staff of the Hutton Game Lodge had
gathered in the large square of dirt that sat amid the huts that formed the
boma
.
It didn’t seem an angry crowd to her—she wouldn’t call it a lynch mob. She
glanced around at the smiles, at the rangers who were slapping each other’s
backs. She frowned at the joyous shouting, and cheers, and laughter. She
glanced at Benjamin and he stared back, looking just as stunned as she felt.
She noticed Benjamin was being included in the grins and back slaps—he looked
flabbergasted. She wondered then how many others had looked at him with
suspicion over the past few weeks—just as she had done. “What is going on?”
Sarah demanded, raising her voice to be heard.

No
one seemed to hear her. Their joy was too great; their enthusiasm too loud for
whatever news had come.

It
took a long while for things to calm down enough that Sarah could finally make
out the reason for the crowd’s elation. She couldn’t remember ever seeing such
overwhelming exuberance, not even when England had won the World Cup. Finally,
one of the younger rangers seemed to notice her and Benjamin. The ranger made
his way over to them. He slapped Benjamin’s shoulder and then he turned to
Sarah.

With
a jolt along her spine, Sarah suddenly knew her life was about to change. She
didn’t know what this news would mean for her future, or for Benjamin’s—either
together or separate. But she sensed that whatever impact the news would have
on their life, it was going to be enormous.

Then
the young ranger said, “The police. We just heard. They have evidence at last.”

“What?”
Sarah asked. She resisted looking at Benjamin.

The
young ranger kept smiling. “The poachers who killed Luke—they’re going to catch
them!”

Chapter Nine: Innocence versus Doubt

               
Benjamin had not realized he had been figuratively holding his breath all
through the soul-shattering, energy-draining events that had occurred. He knew
it now when, for the first time in what felt like forever, he could finally,
truly exhale. The jubilation that spread around the Hutton Game Lodge that
morning was too intense and powerful to leave room for detailed explanations.
But Benjamin finally managed to piece together that a syndicate of animal
poachers had been apprehended while attempting to smuggle their haul across the
border into Mozambique. Amidst the horrifyingly vast array of animal elephant
tusks, rhino horns, and cheetah skins, the border patrol had seized an arsenal
of weapons. The poachers had possession of a mind-numbingly large amount of
axes, knives,
pangas
, rifles, and what seemed to be endless rounds of
ammunition.

Due
to the recent and still-unresolved case of homicide in Tanzania, protocol had dictated
that blood samples of any and all apprehended criminals had to be taken and
sent to Nkorula Lapa for mandatory testing. All traces of blood found on the
weapons were also sent for potential matching. The results had just come back
that the traces of blood matched that of Luke Hutton.

Benjamin
stood speechless as everyone around him spoke of this great news. Amidst all of
the excitement, the reality dawned on him that he had been exonerated. It also
dawned on him that one or more of those captured had to be the killer of his
best friend and brother. A pang of rage and sorrow hit him, creeping through
the overwhelming relief that also washed over him. From within the crowd, Chief
of Police Tobias Bankole walked up to him. He shook Benjamin's hand firmly,
glanced at Sarah, and then led Benjamin and Sarah to a quiet corner of the area
near Benjamin’s hut.

“The
case is far from closed,” Tobias admitted. He sounded disgruntled. “But we're
glad to have something to work on. We're cracking down fast on the
perpetuators. We’ll get a confession from one of them—they won’t all want to be
tried for murder. And then God help the bastard. Luke Hutton was well
loved—even some of our current inmates knew of him and admired him for what he
was doing for the Serengeti.” He winked at Sarah’s incredulous expression.
“Those men aren’t poachers and even criminals love their homeland.”

Benjamin
straightened. “You don't know how happy it makes me to hear that you’re close
to catching the one responsible. I know the Huttons will feel the same. Won’t
they, Sarah?”

Sarah
nodded, her head still spinning. She tried for words but found she didn’t know
what to say. She was still reeling from these latest developments, she cleared
her throat. “They will. My parents will be—well, happy is too much to ask for
but it may help ease their grief. I, for one, am very happy to hear it. Right
now justice is the most important thing to my parents and me. Convicting the
man who is to blame will bring us back some peace and allow us to begin to heal.”

Tobias
Bonkole nodded, his face set in grim lines. “At the very least, you can all
rest easy knowing that you never have to worry again where this one is
concerned.” He nudged an elbow into Benjamin’s arm. “We’re all glad of that.”

Sarah
nodded. She didn’t hold the man at fault. The police chief had only been doing
his job. The same, however, could not be said about her. Once again she flushed
hot with deep shame and regret.

“I
for one am so relieved I could cry.” Tobias let out a deep breath. He sounded
like he was only half joking. He met Benjamin’s stare. “From all indications,
it seemed likely that I would have to arrest you sooner or later.”

“Thank
goodness that will not be necessary,” Benjamin said. Sarah thought he sounded
almost like he could pass out from overwhelming relief. He put a hand to his
temples as if his head had yet to stop spinning. And then he looked over to
Sarah. “Do you think trust can be re-established between your parents and me?”

She
heard the question he did not ask—
What about between you and me?
Sarah
gave him a smile she hoped would convey all her remorse and everything else she
felt for him. She lifted her chin. “Undoubtedly,” she stated. But, she thought,
I am so very sorry.

Benjamin
seemed to hear her loud and clear. He nodded and flashed a brilliant smile that
shot a jolt down to her toes. She knew they would need to talk about this to
get their own closure on the scars not just of Luke’s death but of the words
she had thrown at him. This did not seem like the time or the place. She wanted
him to enjoy his status now as a man cleared of all guilt.

“I
hope you can find the time in the coming week to stop by the station,” Tobias
Bankole said. “We’ll need to sort out a last few details while we work to wrap
up the case.”

“As
usual, I'll be happy to help any way I can,” Benjamin said.

Tobias
nodded briskly, and shook hands again with Benjamin. “It’s not every day we get
such a fortuitous conclusion to a case. I’m just as relieved as you must be.”

“Frankly,
Tobias, I doubt it.” Benjamin’s lips curved up with the hint of a smirk.

Tobias
smiled and nodded. “Have a nice day, Benjamin. You too, Miss Hutton.”

Sarah
nodded and watched the man walk away. She heard yet another deep sigh release
from Benjamin. All around chatter and a good, joyous kind of chaos lifted. The
workers, rangers, and the people who had known Luke Hutton showed now just that
they were eager to see justice being served, but she thought they were showing
the relief showing being Benjamin Ndlovo that he was again one of them. This
was his time, she knew. He needed to bond with these people.

She
slipped quietly away. She spotted him once looking for her, but she kept
walking back to the main house. He didn’t come after her. She didn’t expect
that. She knew now that he was like Luke in that he was a man who needed time
alone to deal with the world in his own way.

At least for a little while
,
she thought, smiling as visions of more mind-blowing sexual encounters with him
filled her mind.

* * *

               
Alone in the privacy of her bedroom, Sarah found herself fighting an internal
battle. The news about the poachers had been unexpected, to say the least. That
the police had been able to expose their guilt was nothing short of a miracle.
Benjamin would not face charges—and she did not have a crime to solve. She was
relieved—but oddly left feeling empty. She had hung onto her need for justice
so that now she looked at it and saw it also as a need for revenge. If they put
her in a room with those poachers she wasn’t sure she could guarantee those men
would come out intact. She had focused on Benjamin as her target because she
needed to do something—she hadn’t been there to help Luke, either.

               
But where did she go from here?

               
Her life had changed drastically. Luke’s death, her return to Africa, and most
of all her night with Benjamin had made her into someone different from the
girl who had moved to England and settled into a dull life under gray English
skies. And she thought how she really could go find Benjamin right now so she
could have more spectacular sex with him. But she didn’t. A part of her
couldn’t be truly,
entirely
happy with the recent developments.
Something was still amiss. She was still dissatisfied.

What
did this mean for Luke? Would justice truly be carried forth? Would the
punishment, provided there was one, be substantial and fitting to the crime?
Sarah wasn't going to just settle for the arrest of the poachers involved in
the killing. Her hands curled into fists. Yes, if they let her into a room with
them she’d have no trouble seeing to it they were dealt an ending like the one
they had given Luke. She wasn’t going to allow for this to end with simple good
news and let everything else be swept aside.

Yet,
after the unexpected bliss she had found in Benjamin’s arms, how far was she
really willing to go? Was she ready to risk it all? Would she really take
revenge on others for Luke? When all was finally said and done, what would
become of her and Benjamin?

The
latter question was the one that troubled her the most.

Benjamin
hadn’t come after her when he noticed she had left the boisterous gathering.
And now her doubts rose up to eat at her. As much as she tried to berate
herself, as much as she tried to tell herself that she was being ridiculously
paranoid, she couldn’t help but entertain the nagging suspicion that Benjamin
might have seduced her just to keep her on his side. After all, what was she—a
virgin at twenty-four? Not a recommendation. A girl he’d once known and so he
could use that? Perhaps he really only wanted a member of Luke's immediate
family as an ally.