Beyond Life (14 page)

‘So you were informed that a rogue lion had taken the three girls?’ both women nodded.

‘When Mary disappeared,’ said Marion. ‘I saw a white vehicle pass me as I was collecting water. It could only have been to the orphanage but when I spoke to Daniel about it he denied it and acted as if he were up to something. I couldn’t put my finger on what exactly but I don’t believe a lion took those girls, I think there’s something sinister going on there.’

Sylvia noticed the subtle changes in Val’s demeanour and her slight movement away from Marion. She had information she couldn’t share with the women and would have to play this very carefully.

‘But a lion was killed and caught and nobody else has gone missing since?’

‘Exactly,’ said Val sitting up and bursting with enthusiasm. ‘You may have heard of the help the orphanage has received from Gary Jamieson? Well, he arranged a hunting party and brought back the lion and also erected a fence to help protect the children.’

‘Admirable.’ said Sylvia and Marion saw the quick look that passed between Gail and Sylvia and wondered what they were hiding.

‘Gary’s employed locally, Val. Do you know him well?’

Val blushed at the question. ‘We’re getting to know each other, and hoping to meet up on my first break from Romania. Why do you ask?’

‘Because if there’s something illegal going on, we must ensure that there are no negative implications for People Against Poverty,’ she leaned forward. ‘Are you sure you can trust this man?’

‘Look, Sylvia. For the record Marion and I disagree on this but we can still work together without this coming between us.’ Sylvia looked at Marion who nodded.

‘Gary is a kind, thoughtful man who only wants to protect people and give something back to society. I’m all for an investigation and agree with Marion that Daniel’s not the right person to have at the orphanage. He’s egotistical, selfish and unhelpful. He doesn’t have the interests of the children at heart and if anything illegal is happening, it’s down to him and Gary doesn’t know anything about it.’

She’s got it bad thought Sylvia. ‘Well thanks, ladies. I’ll speak to the Director on his return next week and we’ll decide on the way ahead. Now, do you have any questions or concerns about Romania?’

They had a discussion about the next project and the meeting ended. Gail started to escort them to the lift and Val excused herself to use the ladies.

‘What’s going on?’ asked Marion when Val was out of earshot.

‘I don’t know what you mean?’

‘I’m not stupid, Gail,’ Marion whispered urgently. I know something’s going on that you haven’t told us about, and if you don’t tell me I’m going to call the Director.

‘I’m not exactly sure myself. Call me later and I’ll tell you what I can.’

They heard the climp clomp of Val’s heels and the conversation moved onto the weather and shopping while Gail booked the visitors out of the building.

Sylvia looked out of the window at the people down below, going about their business like little ants, but not in as much of a hurry as the weekday crowds. She turned when she heard Gail enter her office.

‘Well?’

‘Marion knows something’s up and she’s going to call me later. Why didn’t you tell them?’

‘The police called while you were meeting them. I’ve got to call them back but the gist of the conversation was that Gary Jamieson isn’t who he seems. They’re working with Interpol to investigate international sex slavery involving children,’ she pulled her fingers down her cheeks and shook her head. ‘They think he’s involved and so is the local police chief.’

‘You’re kidding!’

‘I wish I was. And it doesn’t take a genius to work out that it wasn’t a lion that took those girls from one of our orphanages.’

‘Shit.’

‘I couldn’t have put it better myself.’

‘But why didn’t you tell them?’

‘Because Gary Jamieson and our very own Daniel Mulenga have disappeared and the police may want to use Val to find Gary. As we speak they’re trying to obtain a warrant to track all her communications...’

‘But...’

‘But nothing, Gail. I’ve been told not to stop their deployment to Romania because the police can still track emails, calls and such and there’s no way these guys would just fly out of the country. It’s a complicated situation and bad enough that vulnerable children have disappeared while under the care of our charity. Damage limitation is that we cooperate with the authorities as much as we can.’

Sylvia looked to Gail as if she had aged considerably while they were speaking. ‘Marion’s not stupid and has threatened to speak to the Director. What do I tell her?’

It was obvious to both women that Marion and Val disagreed on all matters to do with Gary Jamieson.

‘I know Marion, she’s like a terrier and won’t let this go. She could cause more harm than good if she keeps digging. I’ll speak to the Director and he can speak to the police or make the decision. I don’t get paid enough to have that responsibility.’

Gail could see how Sylvia had reached the position she was in, at such a young age.

‘I’ll let you know as soon as I’ve talked to him. In the meantime, try not to worry too much.’

Easier said than done thought Gail deciding to delay the shopping that she’d planned earlier. This was too big for even retail therapy to conquer.

He wasn’t quite ready for the journey but had had to advance his plans. Daniel had visited his digs without invitation early that morning – a big no no as far as Gary was concerned until he’d heard the reason. He’d taken out his frustration on Daniel who was now sporting a black eye and a few bruised ribs. Daniel had told him that two white men in suits had escorted the Chief of Police into a big black car with tinted windows. Daniel had rushed home when he’d heard the news and told his wife to pack. He’d booked a flight out of the country for her and the children. He didn’t tell Gary that she’d initially refused to go and he’d had to explain that he might end up in prison. That and the fact that she loved her rich lifestyle had convinced her and as far as he now knew, his family were safely on their way to Europe. Gary had been finalising plans all day and would have to stop later on, on the road to make sure that everything was in order with the ship and that he could swap the bus for more fresh young girls before they arrived at the port. They would travel overland to Angola and pick up the freighter in Luanda. The human cargo could be easily hidden amongst the scrap metal ship and the captain was well respected. This made travelling in the Atlantic round Equatorial Guinea, Nigeria, Senegal and many other dodgy countries less dangerous than he’d initially anticipated. Gary wasn’t bothered about pirates. Along with the ship’s captain, he’d hired the biggest bunch of mean mercenary bastards going and if local pirates wanted a go at them, good luck to them. They’d stop off in one or two places to stock up on provisions and if the opportunity arose to buy more girls, he’d be a fool not to take it. They’d eventually dock in Algiers and hopefully, when his business was finished, Val would be just about halfway through her Romanian tour and he’d be able to convince her to meet him somewhere other than England. He’d have plenty of time to think of a reason for being elsewhere on business.

He felt like shit and didn’t want any of his staff to be aware of a potential illness. As far as Gary was concerned, if he couldn’t control his own body there was no way he could be in control of others. He fought whatever it was that was attacking his system but the effort left him tired and drained and the responsibility of every decision made weighed on him like a pneumatic drill, forcing him further and further into the ground. By 11 o’clock that night they were all ready to leave and Gary’s Land Rover was parked in front of the bus waiting for his human cargo to be loaded. He’d told Daniel to drive the Rover, hoping to catch up on some sleep and recharge his batteries during the journey, which would take at least 38 hours. He watched as the girls and their armed guards filed slowly onto the bus, and was surprised to see the smile on the face of young Mary when she noticed him in the passenger seat of his vehicle.

Mary saw her tormentor wipe the sweat from his brow with an old handkerchief. She hoped that this was the first sign that the disease was starting to take hold of him. Still not understanding why she was still alive and for the most part, unaffected by the dreadful virus that she was convinced she had, she assumed that it had something to do with her late father and the rest of her family and that at long last, karma was kicking-in. She’d locked eyes with the evil one and hoped that he hadn’t seen into her soul because he would have known for sure that his days were numbered.

A push from one of the heavy guards brought Mary back to the present and she looked at the vehicle in front of her. Mostly green with black around the wheels and bumpers, the single decker bus had a single luggage rack on the roof. Mary noticed a man with a gun looking around from the top of the bus before she climbed the three wobbly steps to go inside. Even by her limited experience of modes of transport, her instinct told her that this vehicle was well passed its prime and she hoped that their journey would be a short one. She walked along the length of the bus. The seats were green and felt hard when she sat down. The material wasn’t leather but Mary stuck to it within seconds of sitting. They weren’t cushioned and there were no arm rests so they were all in for an uncomfortable ride. The guards and driver left the bus and went to talk to the men in the Land Rover. While the girls waited for their return they had a good look around. There were luggage racks above them and at least they could store their meagre belongings up there out of the way. Mary took some of her clothing out of her small bag, folded the items and sat on them to make the seat slightly more comfortable. The others soon followed suit. Mary noticed that the long back seat appeared to have been customised into a sleeping area and she looked at Tamara to see if she had noticed. Her friend’s face showed that she was thinking the same thing.

‘I hope we don’t have to perform in front of each other,’ Mary shrugged her shoulders. She shared the same hope. The indignities they suffered were bad enough in private, but if they had to commit the disgusting acts in front of all their friends, it would be horrendous. It was all right for her because she was the boss’s favourite; in fact she was the only one he used. She was out of bounds to all the others and she knew they were all frightened of him and wouldn’t risk his wrath.

The girls settled as the guards and driver returned to the bus. The Land Rover pulled off ahead of them and they followed. Within 30 minutes of the journey starting the Land Rover could only just be seen by the driver and girls at the front of the bus. One of the guards put his weapon on his seat and stretched. He got up and grabbed the girl nearest to him. She squealed as he dragged her to the back of the bus. She started shouting and sobbing as he ripped off her clothes none to gently.

Not knowing what possessed her Mary got up from her seat and called for the other girls to follow her. They weren’t keen on this idea until she explained that they were at the whim of the guards and if they didn’t do something straight away, any one of them could be next in line. Reluctantly the girls followed her one by one. Mary was shaking but determined.

‘Leave her alone!’

Amazed. The guard lifted himself off the girl and pulled up his jeans. The other guard was making his way from the front to the back of the bus.

‘Who the hell do you think you are?’ he zipped up his jeans, threw back his hand and gave Mary a slap, which knocked her backwards. He moved toward her to hit her again. The others cowered and Mary was terrified but wasn’t going to give in.

‘If the boss asks me how I got that mark I’m going to tell him.’

The guard stopped in his tracks.

‘I’m sure we’ll be worth less money if we’re damaged.’

The first guard stepped over Mary carefully and grabbed hold of the other one, whispering urgently into his ear.

So I’m right thought Mary. They aren’t allowed to touch us. She knew she wasn’t completely out of danger yet though.

‘I won’t say anything if you leave us alone.’

Mary received such a look from the partly clothed guard that she knew she’d made an enemy and would have to be very careful around him. The other man gave her a curious look, which she couldn’t place and there seemed to be a twinkle in his eyes. He merely nodded his head and shoved his colleague back towards his seat. The girl in the back seat quickly dressed and on the way back to her seat put her arms around Mary and hugged her until Mary thought she’d be squeezed to death. The girls in the seats in front and behind her smiled and mouthed their thanks and Tamara kissed her on the cheek. She had gained their respect and although she was by no means the oldest or most experienced, had assumed the unwanted role of the leader of their group.

Daniel had started chatting as soon as they’d got into the Land Rover and Gary told him to
shut the fuck up
if he didn’t want another black eye and a broken nose to go with it this time. Gary closed his eyes and the next time he opened them the sun was high in the sky and the animals and insects were well awake and making enough noise to wake the dead. He looked at his watch, 9 o’clock. He’d slept for 10 hours straight and still felt like absolute shit.

‘Stop at the next village so we can have a break and some food.’

Daniel nodded. ‘You all right boss?’

He looked like death to Daniel but there was no way that he’d tell him that. Gary could usually handle any situation but Daniel wondered if having to practically do a midnight flit had stressed him out.

‘Fine. When we get to the village buy food and drink to eat there and some to take with us so we can stop where we want next time. When you negotiate, give them a good price on the understanding that they haven’t seen us if anyone asks about us.’

‘Yes, boss.’ He should already be aware that people will give information to the highest bidder thought Daniel, but there was no way that he was going to tell him that. He wasn’t sure he would on a good day, but in his current mood, no chance.