Breeders (9 page)

Scavenges in the forests and plains, evermore the hunger pains

the child who just wanted to play in the sun at Nyanga is everywhere

the child who became a man treks through all of Africa

the child who became a giant travels through the whole world

Without a pass

PS: I love you, Jake.

“It’s beautiful,” Alexa said, looking up.
 

Jake shrugged. “I’m not into poetry like she was.”

“Tell us about her,” Neil said.

Jake shrugged again, throwing a leg across the armrest of the sofa, settling back. “Not much to say. She was beautiful.”

“Did she have any hobbies?”

“She was very . . . different from the other girls.”

“Different how?”

“I guess you could call her a flower power girl. She loved being in nature. She was a bit of a tomboy. She enjoyed hiking in the mountains and going diving for crayfish.” His mouth formed a zippered grin. “She was way tougher than me.”

Neil nodded. The water had been damn cold. “Did she ever mention to you that she wanted to commit suicide?”

Jake Petzer shook his head. “Everyone asks me that question. She wasn’t suicidal.”

“Tell us about her friends.”

“That’s easy. She didn’t have any.”

“Why did she choose you as her friend?”

The boy smiled shyly. “She said I reminded her of her dad.” He looked up. “He doesn’t like me much, you know?”

Neil glanced at Alexa. He could hazard a guess why. Reminded her of her dad?
 

Alexa cleared her throat. “Jake, you must understand, Alida’s father is going through a tough time.”

Jake waved his hand. “I know, I know. He’ll come around sometime. Alida’s mom liked me, though.”

Alexa tapped her lips. “Did Eben know that you were in a relationship with his daughter?”

The boy chuckled. “No way, he would have killed me.” He pursed his lips then slumped back in the chair. “Look, I don’t want to give you the impression that she was as clean as driven snow. She did some things that would have made her dad quite mad.”

Alexa frowned. “What kind of things?”

Jake kept quiet.
 

“Jake, answer the lady,” Marie Petzer said firmly.

Jake glanced at his mother then sighed. “You know, drugs.”

“Drugs? What kind?”

“Everything. Pot, crack, heroin. There was some in her satchel. I took it out before Inspector Moolman arrived.”

“Where’s it now?”

“I flushed it down the toilet.”

“Who gave it to her?”

Jake held up his hands. “Now that I don’t know. She never told me either, although I asked her a couple of times.”

“What else?”

“She slept around, a lot.”

“How do you know?”

Jake chuckled. “What, you haven’t asked around town?”

Neil frowned. “Asked who?”

Jake shrugged. “Well, you could probably start with the innkeeper, dirty Uncle Henry.”

“Henry Theron?” Alexa asked with a frown.

Jake shrugged. “Wouldn’t hurt to try.”

“You’ve told this to Inspector Moolman?” Neil asked.

Jake shook his head vehemently. “No way, he’s stuck so deep up Uncle Eben’s ass, the de Vos family can do no wrong, according to him.”

“Watch your language, young man,” Jake’s mother admonished.

He sighed. “It’s the truth, Mom. They have their own dark little secrets that no one knows about.”

“Like what?”

He said nothing.

“Like what, Jake?” his mom asked firmly.

“Mr. de Vos beat his wife,” Jake blurted out.
 

“How would you know?” Alexa asked.

“I heard it. I visited one night, and Alida hid me in the pantry when her dad and mom arrived. I heard him shout and curse; he was drunk. When he finally went to bed, Mrs. de Vos came into the kitchen crying like a baby. Her face was all smashed up. Alida and I tried to fix her up as best we could, but she refused to go to the doctor.”

Alexa studied the strange script on the second photocopied page. “What’s this?”

Jake shrugged. “I think it’s Thai.”

“You don’t understand what it says?”

“No, I don’t speak Thai.”

“Do you mind if I have it checked out?”

“Be my guest.”

Neil stood up. “OK, I think that’s all we need for now. Thanks for your time, Jake.”

Jake stood up and nodded. “That’s fine. I hope you get the bastard who did this to her.” He turned to his mom. “Is there something to eat? I’m starving.”

Alexa glanced at her screen as her phone rang. “Inspector?” she straightened as she answered. “Found what? OK, we’re on our way.”

She disconnected the call and turned to Neil. “They found a cave up at the dam. It looks like it’s been inhabited for some time.”

Neil strode to the door. “Let’s go.”

It was late, and the sun cast long shadows behind the shaded slope of the mountain. The road was deserted save for a couple of tumbleweeds that rolled into the road and whirled to the side as they sped past. Alexa saw Neil look into his rearview mirror and turn in his seat. “I think we’re being followed.”

They were. The white pickup had been on their tail since they left town. She glanced at the rearview. “How many?”

“Driver and a passenger. Probably some in the cargo bed.”

Alexa nodded. There was no use in waiting to find out if they wanted to talk. If someone wanted to talk, they phoned. Or sent you an email if it wasn’t that urgent. Tails meant one of three things: you had an interesting bumper sticker, they were headed where you were going, or they were targeting you. The chances were slim that someone they didn’t know was heading to their crime scene, so Alexa had to consider the third reason. They were being targeted. She accelerated, and the truck behind them lurched forward. She slowed down, waving the truck past. They slowed down as well.
 

She sighed and glanced at Neil. “OK, let’s find out what they want.” She floored the accelerator, scanning the road ahead for a suitable area.
 

Neil pointed. “Over there.”

She slowed down and skidded to a halt on the shoulder of the dusty road. They were on a bend on the route leading up to the mountain, and they had a clear view of oncoming traffic on either side. Below them, they saw a steep five-yard drop. A metal pipe ran beneath the road and down the drop. On the ground it followed a rough footpath down the side of the mountain: good for an escape route.
 

The pickup slowed to a crawl. A man in the passenger seat fumbled on the seat next to him then sat up with a pump-action shotgun clutched to his chest. The truck lurched forward and picked up speed, heading straight toward them. Alexa and Neil exchanged a quick glance as they unholstered their Glocks and pointed them at the speeding vehicle. “Don’t shoot unless they shoot first; perhaps they’ll drive past!” Alexa shouted.

She heard Neil chuckle. There was no way they were going to pass. The pickup was heading straight toward them. Alexa saw two men stand up in the bed of the truck, holding on to the rail on the roof. The truck picked up speed, and they dove out of the way as it smashed into their rental, sending the rear end of Alexa’s car bursting through the low wall at the edge of the road. She heard metal creak as the vehicle balanced precariously on the edge of the cliff.
 

Steam exploded from the truck’s radiator, and the two men at the back recovered first, jumping from the back, weapons held ready.
 

“Watch out, Alexa!” Neil shouted, slamming a clip into his Glock as he ducked behind their rental.

“Got you,” Alexa said, finding shelter at the front of the car.

An automatic weapon barked, and slugs slammed into the roof of the car. “Can I fire now?” Neil shouted, ducking his head lower.

Alexa snorted disdainfully before she stood up and fired a single shot. The shooter shrieked and fell to the ground with a hole between his eyes.

Alexa ducked back down. The other men were crouching at the back of the pickup; she could see their feet when she hunkered down. Alexa glanced at Neil and he nodded, then they dropped to the ground and fired in unison. A slug exploded into a shin; someone screamed.

Three pairs of feet disappeared, probably seeking shelter in the cargo bed of the truck. Neil raised his eyebrows questioningly, and Alexa nodded. He shrugged, stood up, and shuffled to the side of the pickup, spraying the bed with bullets as he went. The gunfire reverberated off the rock walls of the mountain and faded into a distant echo. Neil pointed his weapon at the ground and turned to Alexa. She approached cautiously, listening closely. Someone groaned. “Cover me,” Neil said, striding to the truck. Alexa nodded.

Neil peeked over the side, then he manhandled a bloodied man out of the back and dragged him along the ground toward Alexa. She sauntered forward, holstering her weapon. He wore black army fatigues with a red beret. “Peterson” was embroidered above his pocket. Neil made him kneel in front of Alexa.

“Why did you try to kill us?” Neil asked, nudging the man with his foot.

The man groaned, clutching his injured leg. He didn’t seem to have any other wounds.
 

Alexa unholstered her Glock and pressed it against the man’s head. “Tell me why you shot at us.”

The man squinted his eyes in pain and howled.

Alexa glanced at Neil. With a shrug he pushed the man to the ground and rolled him over, cuffing his hands behind his back. “We’ll deal with him later. We need to get the car back on the road,” he said, glancing over his shoulder.

Alexa crouched next to the wounded man. He was sobbing in pain and howling profanities at them. She pulled her cell phone from her pocket. “Don’t bother. I’ll get Bruce to pick us up.”

Yumi peered over the rocky outcrop. The men with guns had found her hiding place. She was afraid. She had nowhere else to go.

She saw the tall man’s car return; it had sped away a couple of minutes earlier. Three people climbed out. First was the tall man she had seen earlier. He walked around to the back and opened the door for a dark-haired lady. She walked to the front of the car and waited for another big man. Yumi could see his muscles rippling beneath a tight white shirt. The lady reminded her of a black puma, like the ones from the picture book that Ally had shown her. She looked like Ally, but she was much taller.

The three of them marched toward the nervous man in the uniform. Ally’s daddy stood with his forehead against the concrete wall, a big palm planted flat against the smooth surface. It looked like he was listening. Like the big wall was telling him a story. She felt sorry for him; he looked so sad.

Yumi followed them at a distance, making sure to stay out of sight. The man in the uniform showed them the opening in the rock, the place where her home had been for the past month. The strong man nodded and wriggled into the crevice. The pretty girl followed him inside.

Yumi plopped down into the dirt, suppressing a sob. Ally had told her she would be safe there. She looked up as she heard the lady’s voice. She was talking to the men as if she was ordering them around. She had never seen a woman do that. The men nodded and walked away.
 

Yumi didn’t want anything to do with any men. They only hurt you. But she thought the cat-lady might listen to her. Maybe she could help.

Yumi saw the pretty lady look back as someone called her name. It was the tall man with the leathery skin. He had short grey hair and eyes the color of the sky when there were no clouds. She had never seen someone so tall. He wasn’t scary looking like the other men. He called the lady “Captain.”
 

Yumi doubled back, using the shrubs for cover, and scampered into the cool forest. She followed them, watching them through the trees, and she made sure not to be seen, the way Ally had taught her. They stood around the altar and kneeled down to examine something. They were talking animatedly, waving their hands and shaking their heads.
 

Then the tall man looked up at the sky and strode to his car with long strides. The other people gathered around the altar, standing in groups, seemingly unsure of what to do. They probably felt like her. She didn’t know where she was going to find food. She hadn’t eaten anything for a day, and her fresh water was running out. She wished she could find someone she could trust, like Ally. But Ally was gone now, and she would never come back.

Yumi now knew she didn’t have a choice; she would have to go into town to scavenge for food until she could think of a plan. Ally had told her that she was a survivor, and she was going to get out of this situation too, the way she always did.
 

She stood up to leave, then felt a hand clamp over her mouth. She tried to scream, tried to stomp her feet down on his toes, but the man lifted her off her feet like a doll.

She sobbed, tears burning her eyes. Ally helping her escape had been for nothing. The cold, the scary darkness. All the other girls, dead. It had all been in vain. She felt the energy drain from her body, her limbs starting to tingle. Exhaustion and hunger had taken their toll. She blinked once, twice. Then the world went dark.