Poacher (26 page)

' You sure you can't tell us anything about
his present whereabouts?'

' How on earth would I know where the man has
ducked to? I'm afraid I can't help you there.'

' Then how do you explain this, Mr Jenkins?'
Strydom passed a piece of folded paper across the desk. Sam could
not believe his eyes. It was a copy of his message to Joao.

' Where the hell did you get this?'

' Never mind where we got it, Mr Jenkins. The
fact is, it is a message you had passed on to a man who is a
suspect in a well organised arms smuggling network, luring him into
the country. He is also wanted on several charges of murder. We'll
get back to him in a minute. First, we would like to know where you
got the information about their rendezvous.'

' Oh, if you keep your ear to the ground, you
pick up bits here and you pick up bits there, you know how it is
with these things.'

Strydom regarded him sceptically.' Come now,
Mr Jenkins, you can do better than that. Try again.'

' Well, all right. Did you know Courie’s
partner?’

' We were on the verge of pulling both of
them in for questioning when things started happening. We found it
unlikely that she could be so close to him without being
involved.'

' I can assure you that she wasn't involved
in anything. In fact, she only found out about his ivory smuggling
and possible mob connections fairly recently. She never said
anything about him smuggling arms, which, if I interpret the papers
correctly, is also one of his enterprises. She would definitely
have told me if she had any suspicions.'

'If she had told you everything, why didn't
you come to us or the police with information? We could have nailed
the bastard and cleared her at the same time.'

'I intended doing that, but I only received
the information after she had been killed. And just after that
Courie had disappeared. The information was contained in a letter I
received from her lawyer.' He was hoping that they would miss the
time discrepancy between Finkelstein’s visit and Courie’s
disappearance. Otherwise, he would claim confusion, with so many
things happening at the same time.

'Can we see that letter, please?'

Sam was hoping they didn't have a search
warrant. 'Unfortunately not. I destroyed it'.

'Convenient. Unfortunately, we have no choice
but to accept that at face value. For the time being. We have made
our own deductions about what might have happened to Courie, based
on the information gleaned from your note to Joao. We had no way of
proving that you did or did not, in fact, get your information from
Miss Crawford, and decided to get at Joao on your own. Be that as
it may, let's get back to Joao. He will be coming through the day
after tomorrow. Where are you meeting him?'

'As the note says, at a certain big tree in
the veld, which both he and Courie knew.'

'How is it that you also know about the
whereabouts of this tree?'

'The probable proximity was mentioned in Miss
Crawford's letter, and we went searching till we found signs of
human pollution'.

'Human pollution?'

'Cigarette ends, tracks and so on.'

‘I see. Very handy, this letter that is no
more. Pity we couldn't get our hands on it. Sounds like we could
have wiped out the entire network with all the information. Now,
when Joao comes through, we want to be there. We want this man
badly.'

'No way. This man's bushcraft is too good.
You won't stand a chance. He will spot you miles away, and I can
guarantee you you'll never see him again. If and when he comes
through, only I will be there. I won't even take my bush wise
rangers along, for fear of being spotted too early. This man can
disappear into the bush like a ground mist before the sun.'

Strydom chewed on this for a while.' You may
have a point there. That is the main reason why we discarded the
idea of simply tailing you till you made contact. If the meeting
was to have taken place in civilisation it would have been a lot
easier.'

Sam decided not to comment on this statement
and antagonise the arrogant bastards. As far as he was concerned,
his environment was a hell of a lot more civilised than any
city.

'I'll tell you what,' Strydom said.' You can
go in alone provided you take some of our equipment along. We will
wait some distance away.'

'As far as equipment is concerned, I have got
everything I am going to need, thanks.'

'We have got a trunk full of stuff. Stun
grenades, bullet-proof jackets, the works.'

'You can keep that trunk closed. I am not
going to war, I am going to catch one man.'

'The one thing we insist on, is a radio
transmitter. We want to know what is happening at all times.'

'No way,' Sam countered again.' This man is
good. I don't need any handicaps.'

'It is a button transmitter, you won't even
know about it.'

'In that case, I'll take it. That settles it
then. Anything else?'

'No, that will be all. Thanks for your time.
I only wish you could have helped us with Courie. Oh, and by the
way, Gizela sends you her best wishes.'

‘Gizela?’

'One of our better agents in Swaziland. She
thinks the world of you.'

Sam was stunned.' Shit, you sure pick them,
don't you. So that was where you got the note.'

'Exactly.'

'Well, gentlemen, what are you going to do
till Wednesday?'

'I reckon we will stay in Satara, if
accommodation is available, and do some game viewing while we’re
here. Doesn't seem to be much else going on.'

'With the school holidays, there won't be
room for a mouse in Satara rest camp. Look, I have a spare bedroom.
Why don't you move in there for the time being. But by tomorrow
night I want you well away from here. Nwanetzi must look as normal
as possible.'

'As a matter of fact, I was hoping for
something like that. Thanks a lot, and sorry for the grilling, but
it had to be done. Off the record, I would like you to tell me more
about Courie one day.'

'I have told you everything I can,' he
replied, his face deadpan.

Joao crossed the border early that same
Monday, with enough provisions to last him three days, if he cut it
fine. The fact that Courie had exposed himself to the woman in
Swaziland, but had been too careful, or scared, to expose himself
to Joao, was something that bothered him. The longer he thought
about it, the more suspicious he became. She had claimed that he
had given her the letter personally, but had failed to divulge
where she was supposed to have seen Courie. If only he could have
gotten his hands on her again…

He had decided to go in three days early, and
check things out properly, to make sure he was not walking into a
trap. If this was a trap, the base of operations could be nowhere
else but at Jenkins's house.

Joao headed straight for the low ridge, about
a kilometre from the house. It was the same ridge they had used on
that fateful day of the confrontation. He took his time and made
sure that he wasn't leaving any tracks for someone to come across
in the next couple of days. Just before he reached the summit he
put down his kit, and crawled forward on his stomach. He kept his
hands cupped around the front lenses of the binoculars as he
scanned the yard and the compound. Everything appeared normal, and
the Toyota was missing. He crawled back, and stashed his things
behind a rock, halfway down the hill. This was going to be his
rudimentary camp for the next three days. The prospect of cold food
and hardship did not bother him in the least. He only be deplored
the fact that there was absolutely nothing growing on the barren
summit of the rocky ridge. The sun was going to cook him alive
during the next couple of days, but this he also accepted as part
of life, as he resumed his vigil.

The arrival of the two suited men in the
Nissan added to his unease and, when they emerged later and started
carrying suitcases into the house, he was fairly certain that there
was something fishy going on. Only the possibility of Courie's
message being genuine prevented him from getting out there and
then. And, of course, there was also the matter of the money. And
Jenkins. He decided to keep an eye on things till Wednesday, and
then decide whether he will go to the tree or not.

Later in the afternoon Sam received a radio
message from Satara that a tourist had reported an elephant with a
wire noose around its trunk on the Nwanetzi road. He took Estelle
and Aaron in the truck, and went looking, but they found nothing.
On their way back they did some game viewing with the spotlight,
and Estelle was delighted when they came across a lioness with some
very young cubs. Sam had quite a time convincing her that the
cuddly little things did not make very good pets.

The next morning also failed to produce any
sign of the elephant, and they returned home by mid-morning. Sam
had a table and chairs brought out, and he got a fire going.'
Today, lady and gentlemen, I intend introducing you to the culinary
delights of a hippopotamus fillet over the coals.' The two agents
seemed to be enjoying themselves, and were working on a case of
beer they had purchased in Satara that morning. They had been lucky
enough to secure a hut in Satara for the evening, and were planning
on leaving directly after lunch.

'So what are you planning for tomorrow, Sam?'
Strydom was dressed casually in shorts and sandals, his shirt a
flashy yellow.

'I will have Aaron drop me off on the tourist
road just before first light, and then he must return home with a
truck. I will simply go to within a hundred yards of the tree,
conceal myself, and wait for our man. You may think I am cruel, but
I intend shooting him in the leg without warning. That should slow
him down enough for me to get him alive.'

‘Shit!’ Strydom spilled some beer on his
yellow shirt. 'You can't just shoot the man!'

'Steve, it is a matter of being realistic. I
know this man. He is good and he is determined. Chances of getting
closer to him than 50 yards without being seen are nil, even though
there is ample cover in the area. To stand up at 50 yards and point
a gun at him, shouting' hands up!' won't work. He will merely dive
for cover, which, I can assure you, there will be plenty of. He
will then start a fire fight, which could last the rest of the day.
If he can survive till nightfall, he is as good as gone.'

'But if you shoot him in the leg, surely he
could still fight back, if he is as tough as you suggest.'

'Depends on what you shoot him in the leg
with. A .300 Magnum knocks the fight out of any man, no matter
where you hit him. He will most probably still have some tricks up
his sleeve, but he won't be going anywhere. So no matter what you
hear over the transmitter, under no circumstances approach the area
unless I call you.'

By this time Joao was fairly convinced that
this could be a trap. The presence of those two men lounging around
just didn't feel right. Pity he had missed Jenkins with the rocket
that night. If there was anything wrong, this man was sure to be
the fly in the ointment.

Joao was lying flat on his stomach, resting
on both elbows, keeping his hands cupped around the lenses of the
binoculars. He was very careful not to let any sunlight reflect off
the lenses. What he failed to notice, however, was that his long
sleeves were creeping up his wrists with all the shifting about on
his elbows, exposing the glass of his new Seiko watch to the direct
rays of the Lowveld sun.

Sam was listening to Botha, the quiet agent,
telling a story about a fishing trip to the Okavango, when it
caught his eye. For just a fraction of a second the sun glanced off
Joao’s watch, straight at Sam. He immediately looked away, and got
up. He sat down on his haunches and busied himself with the fire,
his back to the ridge.' Shut up. Everybody shut up and listen to
me. I am busy telling you a long story, and you are listening
intently.' While he was talking, he returned to his chair and sat
down again. Everybody was puzzled by his behaviour, and one of the
agents made as if to interrupt him. The raw edge to his voice
stopped the man's words in his throat.' I said to shut the hell up
and listen. For God’s sake please keep on acting natural, and don't
start peeking about, but we are being watched with binoculars. We
don't know how strong the binoculars are, so even facial expression
is important. Stay cool and don't succumb to an urge to look
around. In a moment, I am going to look at my watch, and get up. I
am then going to kiss Estelle goodbye, give you guys a casual wave,
and leave on the motorcycle. The tourist road to Lower Sabi passes
close to where our friend is, so I should be able to get fairly
close without him being aware that he has been spotted. In the
meantime you carry on talking and doing your thing. Has everybody
got it?'

Estelle was as white as a sheet.' Sam, don't
go alone, please!'

'Please keep your cool, my love. I am pretty
sure it can only be Joao, so I have no choice. We have
underestimated the man, and by now he must be very edgy, with our
two friends here. I would have liked to hug you properly, but that
would look suspicious. ‘Well,' he said, looking at his watch
pointedly,' this is it at last.'

'The transmitter,' Strydom said, as Sam
kissed Estelle lightly.

'Bugger the transmitter, there is no time.'
Sam waved at the men and entered the house.

When he went out the back door a few moments
later, he had his Ruger on his hip, and the .300 on his back. He
had taken out the two birdshot bullets, which were his insurance
against snakes, and substituted them for solids in the .44 Magnum.
He started the bike and rode off at a sedate pace, hoping that Joao
did not pay too much attention to the fact that he was taking a
rifle with him on his motorcycle. The road passed within 200 yards
of the ridge, and when he was at the closest point, he opened the
throttle and tore through the bush, straight at the ridge. He had
expected Joao to start shooting, but nothing happened. He jumped
off the bike behind a boulder, and scanned the ridge. Nothing
moved. He had the disadvantage of not knowing where Joao was, while
Joao knew exactly where he was. The only way to equal the odds was
to draw fire. He started to climb the ridge, carefully flitting
from cover to cover. The tension and exertion was making him sweat
profusely. Still no shots. This made him slow down even more. Joao
was not going to give away his position without being certain of a
hit. He had been well trained, of that Sam was more certain than
ever. His slow progress eventually took him right to the top, where
a water bottle and binoculars were lying abandoned. Sam was getting
worried. It was unlike Joao to give up the advantage of the high
ground without firing a shot, unless there was a greater advantage
to be gained.