When the Singing Stops (41 page)

Madi was packed and she announced coolly to Matthew at breakfast, she was moving over to Connor's place.

‘Lester will be here in a little while. I'll let you explain the situation to Hyacinth.'

‘Gee thanks. Now listen, Madi, are you sure you're moving because you want to be with Connor and not because you're mad at me?' Matthew moved to her and put his arms around her. ‘I love you too, sis. And all I want is for you to be happy.'

Madi choked up and didn't speak for a minute. Her brother had always been there for her and she knew no matter what differences they had or what either did, they would be first to the other's side.

‘Thanks, Matty,' she said in a muffled voice,
using their pet childhood name. ‘I love you too, and I know you only want what's best. And frankly, I don't know how I feel about Connor—long term. He's gorgeous and fun and sexy and a responsible adult—unlike Geoffrey. In my previous life, this would have been an easy decision. What's really getting in the way is this passion I feel to be involved in something worthwhile.'

‘Can't you do this at home? Australia has similar problems.'

‘Maybe. Who knows? I do sense my life is taking on a new direction. But I have the opportunity to be involved here and such opportunities might not present themselves so easily at home.'

‘And what about Connor? Getting married, having babies? You always wanted that too. A career was only for the interim, you said. You can't turn your back on those things because you made one mistake. We all make mistakes.'

‘I've learned that and I'm going forward with my life and I feel stronger because of it. Anyway, I might ask the same of you, Matt. When are you going to “settle down”?'

‘Okay, I'm like Kevin and how Connor used to be . . . playing the field and moving on. It's a good life. I'll wait till someone really special comes along. Connor tells me when you know, you know.'

‘Well, I'm glad he's so sure. I'm just taking it day by day.' Lester's car tooted at the gate and they heard Singh drag it open and exchange
morning greetings as they loaded her bags into the cab. ‘I'm only fifteen minutes away. We'll see just as much of each other.' She kissed his cheek and hurried down the stairs. Matthew went out to the balcony and watched Madi walk through the garden and shake Singh's hand. Lester held the cab door open but before she stepped in she looked up and, seeing Matthew, blew him a kiss. Matthew looked at the slim girl, her blonde hair sparkling in the sunlight, and was overcome with a feeling that his sister was moving on to a new life, and while he would always be there, he knew she was more in control of it. In one way he was glad, in another he couldn't get rid of the worry that Madi was plunging into risky waters.

The first evening she and Connor shared together, Madi cooked dinner, lit candles and filled the house with flowers. ‘Hey, I like this domesticity,' he declared, producing a bottle of champagne.

‘Don't get used to it. I'm just trying to make a good impression,' she teased.

They talked at length and laughed and reminisced about their time in the interior. ‘You seem more relaxed about this idea. How did Matt take it?'

‘He just wants me to be happy.'

‘Me too. You make me happy, Madi, I pray I can do the same for you.' He reached over and squeezed her fingers, noting the ring was still on her right hand.

They finished the champagne and Connor insisted they leave the dishes. ‘So what are your plans for tomorrow? If you want to buy anything, change the house around, feel free.'

‘I'm meeting Sasha St Herve. I'm going to tell him I don't want anything to do with the Amazonia casino project and furthermore I'll tell him that I think it's totally inappropriate. I won't mention the story Kate heard that it's linked to El Dorado. Why invite trouble?'

Connor threw up his hands. ‘Okay, go for it, Madi. Just be careful what you say and to whom. I still worry there's a price on our heads for stumbling on that drug cache.'

‘Rubbish. That was an isolated thing. We were damned lucky, thanks to our Amerindian friends . . . we owe them, Connor Bain.'

‘All right, I read you loud and clear. I'll talk seriously to Pieter and Xavier about their plans and if they're sound, I'll put them to the IFO for backing.'

‘Good.' She leaned over and kissed him. ‘Let's go to bed.'

Lester waited while she met with Sasha St Herve. Madi emerged wearing dark glasses and looking subdued. ‘Want to go for a mate's coffee, Lester?'

‘Sure ting. So, what he say bout yo thoughts on de casino, eh?'

‘He wasn't too impressed. He thinks Amazonia is a fantastic concept and sees it as
part of his future direction. We kind of left it up in the air. He says I should meet some of the “senior management” behind the casino and see if I change my mind. But he said he'd rather not name them until I agree to meet them. I tried to talk to him about smaller, eco tourism-style developments but he is definite it has to be a casino . . . that's the appeal, he says.'

‘Just fo high rollers, eh?'

‘You got it. Makes me sick now I've seen places like Caraboo and Kaieteur Falls.'

‘Man, yo 'bout to see dis place called Georgetown like yo never see it. It be Carnivale time. Man, dat Carnivale be sometin' yo an't goin' believe.'

‘So I hear . . . Where's the best place to watch Carnivale?'

‘Anywhere yo can get a place along the route! The VIPs have a special grandstand set up on Main Street. It be de parade to end all parades man . . . de best bands and dancers come from all over de Caribbean.' Lester did a small calypso jiggle with his hips, clicking his fingers and ‘jivin', making Madi laugh.

‘Lady Annabel is giving a big bash at the haunted house, a few days before the parade.'

‘Yo watch out fo Uncle Eric.'

Matthew, Sharee, Kevin, Viti, Connor and Madi arrived together at Lady Annabel's pre-Carnivale party. Despite the lights, the cars, the
music, people about the grounds and on the verandah, the house still loomed melancholy and strange in Madi's mind. She took Connor's hand as they went upstairs to be welcomed by Lady Annabel, resplendent in a gold lame turban and a flowing caftan that was hand-painted with Amerindian symbols. Waiters weaved through the crush with trays of drinks and hors d'oeuvres, the steel band in the garden played non stop, guests had dressed as requested—‘with a carnival flair'—and Lady Annabel, waving a cigarette holder and glass of champagne, looked in her element.

‘You've gone overboard, haven't you, Lady A?' remarked Matthew.

‘I'm not footing the bill, just playing mistress of ceremonies. Or genie with the lamp. Did you have a particular wish?' She kissed Madi. ‘My dear girl. Did you enjoy your sojourn in the interior?'

‘I loved it. We both did.' She smiled at Connor.

Lady Annabel glanced at them both. ‘It seems to have put a sparkle in your eye. Madison, there are several people I'd like you to meet. Connor, may I steal her for a while?'

He waved a hand. ‘Of course. Have fun. I'll find Matthew.'

Lady Annabel linked her arm through Madi's. ‘So, my dear girl. What's really going on?'

‘What do you mean?'

‘With you and Connor, with your involvement in local affairs, your interest in Xavier Rodrigues and his plans . . .'

‘You seem to be keeping tabs.'

‘I hear things, Madison. And may I say to you—as I am very fond of you—don't make any rash decisions.'

‘About what, Lady Annabel? My love life or my “other interests”?' Madi spoke lightly but her eyes were brittle. She was trying to fathom what underlying message Annabel was trying to send.

‘About anything, Madison . . . projects and people aren't always what they seem in Guyana.'

Several guests descended on Lady Annabel. Madi turned, looking for someone she knew, and was immediately confronted by Antonio Destra.

‘The woman of the bush returns. You're looking very glamorous, Miss Wright.' He kissed her hand. ‘What have you been up to?'

‘Just playing tourist. More to the point, what have you been up to?'

He gave a shrug. ‘Hard to do anything but concentrate on the spill at the Columbus mine these past weeks. They sure needed a mighty lot of gear up there. Great for my business, but bad news for the country, don't you agree?'

Madi was really puzzled by Antonio Destra. He seemed to be everywhere that mattered when it mattered. He always said the right things, and was respected among the mining
fraternity. She knew too, that he had helped the Amerindians over the years. But there was something about him that made her feel a little uncomfortable. It was hard, she found, always to believe what he was saying. Insincerity, that was it, she concluded. He was definitely suss in the sincerity department.

‘You're right there, it sure is bad for the country,' Madi said. ‘The issue is, what will be done to ensure such things don't happen again? Maybe the goldmine accident will be a catalyst for changing the political and economic agenda in this country.'

Destra almost choked on his whisky and water. Well, he thought, the little mouse I met at the airport, when she arrived in Guyana, is turning into a roaring lion. She's starting to sound like Xavier when he's on his soapbox in the bush. God knows what she will get up to next. But before he could resume the conversation in depth, Madi sighted Sasha St Herve talking to Colonel Bede Olivera, and returned his wave with her glass. ‘Sorry, Antonio, but I must talk to Sasha. Business.'

‘Never one to stand in the way of a little business,' he quipped. ‘See you later in the evening perhaps.'

Sasha gave Madi a charming smile. The colonel was effusive in his greeting. ‘I hear you have been exploring the interior. Excellent, excellent. I hope you are suitably impressed with our country,' smiled Olivera.

‘How could I not be . . . the Rupunini, Kaieteur, the Essequibo River.'

Sasha St Herve stepped in quickly. ‘I've been trying to persuade Madison to work for us, to put together a proposal to market and promote the Amazonia casino.'

‘Ah, yes, that's right, you are a hotel marketing lady. Can't we persuade you? It would be a unique and high profile project to work on,' smiled Colonel Olivera.

A small alarm bell rang in Madi's head. ‘We? Are you involved in Amazonia?'

‘Indeed he is. I told you we have a most impressive group of individuals backing the casino. Come, you must meet the chairman of the Amazonia committee.' St Herve took her arm, and Madi mumbled parting words to the colonel.

‘Madison, please meet Mr Rashid Bacchus, a banker from Brazil and the head of our Amazonia project. This is Miss Wright, visiting us from Australia.'

Bacchus was an older man, his plumpness straining at the tightly buttoned Nehru jacket he wore buttoned all the way to his neck, the folds of dark skin dropping over the high collar. His face was damp with perspiration, but he gave Madison a jovial smile. As they reached out to shake hands, they made eye contact, and she saw his eyes were hard and cold.

‘How do you do,' she smiled hesitantly. And then, as she released his hand, her eyes flashed
down to what she'd felt—a ring. Shaped like a gold frog. Again she lifted her eyes to his face, and this time tried to read his bland expression.

Drink in hand, Sasha St Herve began gushing to Bacchus about Madi's marketing credentials. ‘However, since being in the interior, she has become a fan of eco tourism ideas,' he laughed lightly.

Bacchus was instantly dismissive. ‘I do not think that a viable concept at all. As a banker, I couldn't endorse such risky small-time operations. Something like a casino is guaranteed to succeed. Look at what casinos have done for your cities like Melbourne, Cairns, Perth and Sydney. So, did you enjoy your time in the wilds of our beautiful country?'

He looked at her over the lip of his glass as he sipped a mineral water. The gold frog blazed at Madi. More tellingly the frog tattoo was as clear inside Bacchus' wrist as when she'd first glimpsed it beneath her blindfold. His hand and the glass partially covered his expression, but his eyes were penetrating hers, hard and threatening.

‘I wasn't exactly in the wilds. I was staying with friends at their ranch in the Rupununi district,' she said hoping her voice didn't tremble too much.

The moment she had feared had happened, when she had least expected it, and when she was beginning to think the drug episode was just a bad dream. Here was the man who had ordered their deaths, standing right before her.

She simply couldn't tell if Bacchus recognised her, but he must have. She had to keep calm. As far as he knew, she'd never seen him because she and Connor had been blindfolded. And his voice was not exceptional in any other way.

Concealing her agitation as best she could, Madi listened to Sasha St Herve chattering on, and was relieved to see Lady Annabel bearing down on them. ‘Madison, my dear girl, there's someone I would like you to meet. Gentlemen, you can't monopolise the pretty girls for too long, excuse us.' Madi smiled and shrugged as she was scooped up by Lady Annabel.

‘Who am I meeting now?' asked Madi in a tight voice.

‘No one. You looked like you needed rescuing.' Lady Annabel gave her a shrewd look but said nothing else. ‘Go find your lovely man.'

Gratefully Madi fled to where Connor was standing with Matthew. Both of them saw immediately that she was upset.

‘What's up, sis?' asked Matthew in a low voice.

‘Don't look now. But he's here, Connor. The Indian man who ordered those drug men to kill us. He's here.'

‘Oh God. Are you sure, Madi?'

‘The ring, I saw his frog ring.'

‘Who, which one?' Matthew spoke urgently.

‘Don't draw attention to us. I don't think he knows that I recognised him,' Madi said. ‘It's
the fat Indian man, in the Nehru jacket. Don't turn around, Connor.'