The Shudder Lingers Page 11

  The silence was broken when a ranger called them over to the table that had been set up inside the boma. Eating under the open skies in the African bushveld is something one needs to experience and is often hard to explain in words. Stacey casually glanced at each of the faces around the table; everyone seemed relaxed and at peace. She looked at Cheung, he had been silent for most of the evening, and seemed to be enjoying the experience, however with every animal sound, he would glance nervously at the fence a few metres away. The bush braai was simple but delicious, with kudu steaks, boerewors, salad, crispy potato wedges and a homemade pot bread, all of which had been cooked outside on open fires.

  Slade took a sip of red wine and stated, “Clearly I have missed out on life in Cape Town. I had no idea how amazing it is to have an outdoor braai in the Kruger Park.”

  After dinner they moved back to the warm glow of the log fire. Jambret passed around some chocolates, which were quickly munched, and washed down with a glass of red wine. Reluctantly, some of the group got up from the fire and retired to their bungalows for the evening. When only Jambret and Slade remained, Stacey leant forward and spoke to Jambret, “I think it is important to tell you a bit more about Cheung.” She gave him just the essentials about Cheung’s father Wang, what happened in the Karoo, the perlemoen smuggling and Cheung’s sudden interest in the rhino project.

  He stared back, “Useful to know, I will keep a watchful eye on him. It’s late, and we have an early start, I’m headed to bed.” They all got up, as Jambret doused the dying embers of the fire.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  The lurid sound of spur-fowl announced the start of a new day. Stacey stirred and peeked through the curtains, with the first light of day casting eerie shadows around the camp. She went and sat outside on the steps of the bungalow, taking in the fresh smell of the bushveld morning, the singing birds now increasing in number, and again reflected on her love for the bush. Slade staggered out a short while later with two cups of coffee and some rusks. They sat in silence, each engaging the dawn in their own way.

  “Look there, a honey badger!” she whispered in an excited tone, “My first in Kruger.” The honey badger had been scouting the camp for scraps of food, and when it realised that it was being watched, it scampered away behind the next bungalow.

  Slade said, “I guess we need to hit the showers, as we will be moving off soon. I’ll go first.” He headed inside leaving her sitting on the step. She then heard an excited chatter coming from the next door, it was Cheung, talking rather loudly in Mandarin. She wondered what the phone call was all about, before heading inside for her shower, while he continued his loud call.

  They all gathered at the two game vehicles before sunrise, where Jambret had been chatting to the rangers, before greeting them with a broad grin, “Looks like it is going to be a fantastic day. Are we ready?”

  Several of them nodded, until Lucy said, “Where is Cheung?”

  One of the rangers offered to go to his bungalow and fetch him. He did not have to go far before Cheung was coming towards them, seemingly at a half run. Stacey turned to look, and immediately felt a shudder run down her back. Her focus was drawn to Cheung walking towards her, and she immediately recognised a pouch very similar to the one that his father had carried on that fateful day in the Karoo several months before. Images of the day Wilson and Wang had died, flashed before her. Jambret was standing next to her and whispered “I have spent my whole life in the bush and can sense fear in animals. I immediately sensed that in you. What is it?”

  Somewhat surprised she stared at him and replied in a hushed whisper, “It is the pouch, the last time I saw one like that it was being carried by his father, and it had a gun in it.” He nodded and turned to a ranger whispering something inaudible to him.

  Jambret divided the group into the two vehicles, making sure that Cheung was in a different vehicle to Stacey. He fired the Landcruiser engine and eased out of camp just as the gates opened. They were no more than a few minutes out of the camp, when Jambret excitedly signalled, “Lions. This is the same pride of lions that we heard from camp last night. It looks like a pride of four, one black-maned male and three lionesses. The second vehicle pulled up and they spent several minutes enjoying the sighting of the majestic cats. Jambret educated the visitors on the habits and behaviours of the lions. Cheung was talking excitedly about the lions, and the ranger had to hush him.

  The sun had risen quickly, and the temperature began climbing as they headed off on a dirt road. After fifteen minutes, Jambret turned onto a bumpy bush track, where they had sightings of several zebras, wildebeest, impala and a few steenboks. Stacey was testing her bird knowledge with the ranger. It was rusty, but she got many of them right. A short while later, they pulled up under a clump of trees alongside a dry river bed. One of the rangers jumped out and did a quick walk about the bush before returning to the vehicles, “All clear.”

  Jambret and his rangers set up a small portable table and laid out a simple but hearty breakfast. While they were eating, Jambret started sharing with the group the tragedy of rhino poaching and the complexities of the anti-poaching initiatives. Jambret became emotional as he shared how many rhinos had been killed for their horns in Kruger over the past few years. He said, “What really annoys me is how the Asian market does not seem to care that their insatiable demand for rhino horn could potentially obliterate one of the largest mammals in the world.” His gaze seemed to pause on Cheung, as if accusing him of the rhino poaching. Cheung shifted uncomfortably and avoided eye contact with everyone.

  After breakfast, Jambret briefed them on the morning walk, “We will set off on foot, and hopefully track some rhinos this morning. I want to give you a sense of what it is like for us rangers out in the bush and the stifling conditions we work under—”

  One of the rangers suddenly lunged at Cheung and knocked him off his feet, pinning one of his arms firmly to the ground. Cheung cursed loudly, but a large knife with an eight-inch blade was visible for everyone to see.

  Cheung was fuming, “It is just to protect myself from the wild animals.”

  Jambret had quickly moved in and took away the knife, “No need for this Cheung, we are armed with rifles.”

  Stacey once again felt a shudder, and whispered to Slade, “What on earth was he thinking? Do you think he was going to try and stab one of us?”

  Slade shrugged, looking concerned, “I hope not.”

  Cheung got up and dusted himself off, “I am going to lodge a complaint. Take me back now!”

  Jambret turned back and strode across with a slow but angry gait, “Be my guest Cheung, you can walk in that direction.” He pointed back down the dusty track. Cheung sheepishly stared down the track and then at his boots.

  After the commotion, they headed off in a single file alongside the dry river bed. Two rangers were in front and one at the back of the procession. Soon everyone was actively engaged in scouring the bush and trees for any sign of life. The walk produced warthog, more zebra and some kudu, before the leading ranger excitedly signalled a stop. They all crowded around and soon a group of three white rhinos appeared in an open grassland patch about one hundred metres ahead of them. The bull was in front and lifted his head in their direction, with his huge horn pointing skyward. Jambret said, “This is a group of white rhino, typically they will graze on grass, hence their large wide mouths.”

  Cheung then surprised by saying, “Awesome, I can’t believe how big they are!”

  To which Jambret replied flatly, “I can’t believe anyone would want to kill them.” Cheung took two steps back, rather intimated by the tone in the old man’s voice, and then moved towards the back of the group. Stacey noticed him slipping his mobile phone out of his pocket. He seemed frustrated and looked skywards. She laughed inwardly, knowing full well that there would be no signal out in the bush, but she felt a gentle shudder running down her back, and thought to herself, what would he want signal for?

  They stood quietly unt
il the rhinos had disappeared, before Jambret led them to a large fig tree near the dry river bank. They sat down to take some respite from the blazing sun. Jambret said, “As you saw from that encounter, rhinos are relatively simple to approach because of their poor eyesight. They really stand little chance when someone has a high-powered rifle and can take them down from a distance.”

  Slade asked, “Please share with us what you are doing, so that we can see how we can support the anti-poaching efforts with our project.”

  Jambret replied, “Our approach is about creating awareness for the rangers and our anti-poaching units. In years gone by, it was a hard slog, with rangers on foot, hoping to somehow find the poachers. As you can imagine with the Kruger Park being almost the size of Belgium, the challenge was almost insurmountable. Thankfully technology is now assisting us with surveillance systems and intrusion detection systems along the Kruger Park’s fences. Frustratingly we still lose hundreds of rhinos each year. The other challenge we have is corruption, given that the value of rhino horn, is often more than for precious metals.”

  One of the project team said, “It would be good to see the surveillance system so that we can assess how best our drones and apps can be used to fight the poaching scourge.”

  The old man rubbed his chin and said, “Anything that will protect my animals is welcome. We need every advantage we can get. Let’s head back.”

  They retraced their way back to the game vehicles, without any new animal sightings. However, back at the vehicles, they did find a large solitary baboon sniffing at the back of the vehicle, obviously smelling the leftover breakfast. It soon scuttled off at the sight of several humans approaching. They arrived back at Satara just before midday, and after cleaning up, headed for some hamburgers and a cold beer. The project team was rather excited and lunch was focused on the possibilities of making a real difference to the poaching. Stacey sat in silence, observing how fidgety Cheung appeared throughout lunch, trying to fathom out what he was thinking. The conversation at lunch was interrupted by Cheung’s mobile phone, which he grabbed, and hurriedly walked away from the deck onto the spacious lawns. She noticed how he was quieter, but his arms were waving in an animated way. The call did not last long, and as he walked back, he did his best to hide a faint smile.

  After a brief siesta, Stacey and Slade opted for a late afternoon game drive on their own. They headed north from the camp, and it was only when the intense heat started dissipating that the game viewing improved. With sun sinking to the horizon, they paused briefly to watch the fireball lighting up the African sky in dark orange colours. As the sun sank behind some streaky clouds. Slade remarked, “Wow, somehow the sunsets here are amazing.”

  She nodded in agreement, slowly drawing her gaze away from the sunset, “Leopard” she whispered in excitement. They both stared as a large male leopard was walking across the road, no more than twenty metres ahead. The leopard paused briefly, staring at them with intense yellow eyes, before disappearing into the long grass. The fleeting encounter with the elusive cat was over almost before it began. Satisfied with the sighting, they headed back to camp.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Stacey was up early and went outside to sit on the bungalow steps, as first light was delayed by heavily overcast skies. As a light drizzle descended on the central part of the Kruger Park, it brought a fresh revival which was welcomed by the bushveld creatures. She used the serenity and silence for quiet prayer time and was grateful for the soul food that this place offered. While her eyes were closed, she sensed something behind her and instantly froze. Slowly she turned her head, and her heart leapt in her throat, as she saw a small vervet monkey staring at her from only a few feet away. It soon ran off, joining a bigger group in a small tree, leaving her breathing a sigh of relief.

  After a scrumptious breakfast of eggs, bacon, fried bananas and toast, they all headed to a smallish conference room where the project team would spend the next week working on the rhino project and seeking solutions to assist in the anti-poaching efforts. Jambret joined them and listened intently, but it was clear to Stacey that he would rather be out on a game vehicle than sitting in an office debating technology issues.

  Slade and the project team outlined the same information that they had given Elon recently, sharing their thoughts on data analysis and the data visualisation. One of Jambret’s junior rangers was clearly excited by the concepts outlined and excitedly shared more about their surveillance systems. By early afternoon the possibilities for real tangible solutions were starting to emerge. Stacey leaned across and whispered to Jambret, “It’s really awesome that we can harness the passion of your rangers with the passion of these young data scientists. Maybe you will have a better chance of protecting your beloved rhinos.”

  He smiled broadly for the first time, “That sounds great. I hope we can save them. I wish for nothing more than my grandchildren to see them alive.”

  She left the room and went outside to sit on the covered veranda. The gentle drizzle was still soaking into the parched soil around the camp. Jambret was a few paces away, when a Parks Board official came walking up rather rapidly and went to whisper something in Jambret’s ear. He nodded, came across to Stacey and said, “It appears as if your man Cheung has been doing lots of enquiring about the location of rhinos in the park, and where the biggest concentration of rhinos may be found. I don’t like it.”

  This puzzled her, “I agree, it is rather strange. At least he will be leaving with us tomorrow.”

  Jambret frowned, “Good. I don’t trust him at all.”

  They continued with their project work until early evening, but it became clear that the junior team required either Slade or Stacey to stay with them for the full week. He said, “I know that we had both planned to leave tomorrow, but perhaps I should stay with them, and you head back to Cape Town?”

  She nodded slowly, “What about Cheung? He was due to travel home with us tomorrow. I certainly don’t want to travel alone with him.”

  He gazed into the dim light, and replied, “I guess he will have to stay. Jambret won’t be impressed, but at least he is close to me where I can see him.”

  She nodded in agreement, “As long as you promise me that you will be safe.”

  He replied, “I promise,” before giving her a kiss.

  They had a rather subdued dinner in the camp restaurant, everyone was clearly wrestling with their own thoughts about the project. For Stacey it was leaving Slade here with Cheung. Everyone turned in early.

  Stacey was awake early as Jambret had offered to drive her through the park to the airport. She kissed Slade goodbye, and held on in a tight embrace for several minutes.

  The early morning yielded a crisp freshness following the gentle rain from the previous day. Several tortoises were out drinking from the rain puddles in the road. Jambret was ardently sharing some of his many tracking and close-encounter stories from his years in the bush. He had spent most of his life in the Timbavati, next to the Kruger Park, before joining Kruger as a ranger. She was enthralled by his delightful stories and was caught off guard when he suddenly slammed on breaks. “What is it?” she asked.

  He pointed behind her. No more than a few metres off the road was a lioness with three tiny cubs. They were no more than a few weeks old and were romping around playing with each other without a care in the world. She was mesmerised, and in that brief moment, reinforced her belief that the rhino project and its conservation efforts were right for her and WKJD. They stayed at the sighting for at least fifteen minutes before continuing.

  After leaving the Kruger Park, they soon arrived at the airport. Jambret gave her a hearty handshake, “Thank you again. I will look after your team, and Slade.”

  She smiled, “Thank you Jambret. Although we have only just met, it feels as if we have known each other forever. Keep well.”

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Feeling re-energised after a few days in the bush, Stacey headed into the office in a very posi
tive frame of mind. Emily had placed a few documents in the centre of her desk, which required her urgent attention. She rapidly assessed the files and dealt with some of the most pressing emails.

  She had almost cleared the items when Emily walked in. Unusually she closed the door and came and sat down at an arm chair opposite Stacey. She looked up, “Thanks Emily. You don’t ever close the door, what’s going on?”

  With a nervous twitch of the shoulders she softly spoke, “Daniella showed some very strange behaviour while you were gone. She hardly ever comes into the office, but while you were in the Kruger Park, she was here every day, working in her office behind closed doors with Jackie and some strange men.”

  This got Stacey’s attention, “What do you mean ‘strange men’?” Emily shifted uncomfortably, “There were three of them, all in suits, but they all had creepy appearances. At my age, you start to have an instinct for characters, and my feeling was that these guys were bad, really bad. Two days ago, when I left, and walked out of the building, it was clear that there were several bodyguard’s downstairs. It made me really nervous. Something is amiss.”

  Stacey replied, “Thanks for sharing this with me. I agree it’s rather strange, I will look out for them.”

  Once Emily had left the office, she walked over to the window and stared out over the Atlantic Ocean. The wind was up, and the surface of the ocean was choppy. She instinctively knew that the lull after the perlemoen smuggling was temporary. She said a silent prayer and headed back to her desk. She went into the servers to review the security camera footage from the office front desk. She searched and was surprised to find significant gaps in the history, with much of the video footage from her few days in Kruger Park, missing from the records. She found herself saying softly, “OK, game on Daniella. It seems like you are starting to play a smarter game. I’m ready for you.” She stared at the screen with a steely resolve.