White Bone (34 page)

K
nox and Grace shared an unceremonious farewell dinner in the British Embassy cafeteria, eating off of plastic trays and indestructible ceramic dishes carrying the stamp of the Monarchy. Grace had barely spoken for the past forty-eight hours, since the meeting with Dulwich. To his credit, Knox had not pushed.

He’d brought along a news story to share with her—nineteen people killed execution-style in six raids outside of Mogadishu. Al-Shabaab was claiming responsibility. In Dulwich’s handwriting, a note along the top: “M-I6 reporting all relatives of Assim Guuleed.” Knox felt it in his jacket pocket and crumpled it. What had he been thinking? She’d seen enough death.

“I have to know if we are going forward,” she said, “or if we are to stay here in this place—I do not mean physically; I mean mentally, emotionally.” Two days, and this was the first thing he’d heard her say. “Because if we are to remind one another of all that has
happened, then what is the point, John? Maybe this is impossible to escape. Maybe we are bound to live the past, just as the boy and his sister, who may never escape hers.”

At Knox’s urging, Inspector Kanika Alkinyi had made some calls for him. There was a rumor in the sister’s town that a known pimp had come into some money. The sister had not been seen in several days. That was where the information began and ended. It seemed as if Bishoppe had invested wisely.

Either that, Knox thought, or he’d gotten himself and his sister killed.

“He deserved better than I gave him,” Knox said.

“You said he is resourceful.”

“Very.”

“So it is.”

“You know what I imagined, Grace? I imagined us adopting him. Of giving . . . of him . . . of adopting him.” He couldn’t believe he’d just said that. A moment of weakness.

“Us,” she said wistfully.

“Yeah.”

“Maybe we start there.”

Knox studied her face, the cosmetics barely covering the sun damage, chapped skin and abrasions. He nodded. “Yeah, maybe so.”

“I poisoned two men for no reason.”

“They were Guuleed’s men. I have no doubt about that.”

“I did not have to kill them. That will never leave me. I . . . enjoyed it, John. I was not sorry then, I am not sorry now, but I must live with it all the same.”

“I faced one of Guuleed’s men at Ol Donyo.”

“Yes. You told me.”

“He’ll pick up where Guuleed left off, have no doubt of that.”

“We both changed the subject. You see, John. We must decide,
here, now, if this continues. If either of us, if both of us, are to work with David again, and if so, together or separate. If together, it will not be like it has been, John. I wrote you the letter. You wrote to me as well. We have said things man to woman, woman to man. Not worker to worker. You understand?”

He felt his eyes smile. “My brother complicates everything.”

“You love your brother. Love complicates nothing.”

“It complicates everything, are you kidding me? Look at us!”

“I am,” said Grace. “Looking. At you. That is all that matters to me. All that is important. It is present.”

Knox swallowed. “It is.”

“So we stay in the present,” she said.

She smiled, making no attempt to cover her mouth.

K
nox opened the door, found his brother watching television. He kneeled alongside the recliner, took Tommy in his arms and held him.

“I’m watching, Johno.”

“I’ve been gone for three weeks!”

“It’ll be over in seven minutes.”

“Seven. Okay.” Knox sat on the couch and watched his brother as his brother watched the television. The seven minutes felt like sixty. At last, Tommy shut off the television with the remote.

“How long are you back?”

“A long time, I hope. Longer, this time.”

“I’m glad.”

“Me, too. How’s it going?”

“I have a job, Johno. I have a job at the grocery store, and I’m good at it. I like it.”

“I’m so glad.”

“It’s not that I don’t like working with you, for the company. I do. But I like this better. I fill the bags. I talk to the customers. They like me.”

“I understand. It’s great.”

“Really? I thought you’d be mad.”

“I don’t get mad at you, Tommy. I love you, man. I mean it. Brothers, you know?”

Tommy looked at him curiously. Knox wasn’t sure Tommy would ever fully understand, and that hurt in a way he’d never be able to articulate.

“I have a surprise for you. I know you like surprises. You’re going to like this one. It’s different than any surprise ever. It won’t always be easy. It won’t always be perfect, but you’re going to like it.”

“A dog?”

Knox smiled. “Not hardly. But something like that.” He stood and walked over to the recliner. Put his foot onto the footrest and pushed it down, sitting Tommy up. It was a routine for them, something Tommy enjoyed.

“Do it again!” Tommy pleaded, sitting back.

“One more time,” Knox said, repeating the process. Then he offered Tommy his hand and helped him up.

He led him to the front
door.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

The fight—and it is a fight that includes sophisticated weaponry aimed at defenseless wild animals and rangers—continues. It does so only with contributions, big and small. I am pledging twenty percent of any royalties or film contracts to assist those “in the trenches” of Kenya, working to stop the poachers. I urge you to research those nonprofits and organizations dedicated to wildlife preservation. Sadly, not all efforts are equal. Some use funds to support more administration than boots on the ground. Others are doing stellar work in Kenyan communities, on reserves and in the rangeland, to protect and defend wildlife. Any amount of donation (no matter if you think it too small!) goes such a long way. “This is Africa.” Among those with which I had direct contact and can highly recommend:

African Wildlife Foundation
(finances responsible nonprofits across Africa to preserve wildlife)

1400 16th Street, NW

Suite 120

Washington, DC 20036

USA

www.awf.org

Big Life
(manages more than 250 armed private rangers in the bush)

Big Life Foundation USA

24010 NE Treehill Drive

Wood Village, OR 97060

USA

www.biglife.org

The Gorongosa Fund
(supports conservation of Gorongosa National Park in Mozambique)

www.gorongosa.org

Northern Rangeland Trust
(oversees rangers, community outreach)

Northern Rangeland Trust

Private Bag

Isiolo 60300

Kenya

www.nrt-kenya.org

Wildlife Direct
(works within the court systems, doing some of the most important work in this effort)

WildlifeDirect Inc.

306 5th Street, SE

Washington, DC 20003

USA

www.wildlifedirect.org

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