The Crocodile's Last Embrace (33 page)

“It
is
a good spot,” agreed Avery. “But how do we get them there without anyone knowing? As my wife said, our movements may be watched.”

“We take a convoluted route,” said Sam. “I have an idea there, but this only postpones the final situation. Lilith may not have Mary or any of us now, but she is not going to stop until she has what she really wants, and that’s Jade, dead or alive!”

“So what do you propose, Sam?” asked Avery.

Sam stroked his beard, his gaze never leaving Jade’s face. “I have a thought on that as well. It came to me when I first learned of Lilith’s escape. Do you trust me?”

“Sam!” exclaimed Jade. “I always have. You know that has never been the issue.” She ducked her head. “It’s always been me that’s the problem.”

“No,” Sam said. “No. I realize that now. And you’ll have to trust me on that as well.”

 

THAT FINCH WAS NOT HAPPY about being rousted out of bed at two in the morning was an understatement. That he was surprised by the reason was another. And while he hated to disturb the citizens, he agreed that it was imperative to ascertain whether Mary had been abducted. He also felt they should see to the other girls in case this threat was yet another deception.

Many hours and several distraught parents and a grumpy head schoolmistress later, they learned that all the girls were where they should be and, as Mary’s mother had said, that meant she was spending the night with Helen at the school. The headmistress herself tiptoed into the dormitory and found an extra head beside Helen’s on her pillow.

A search of Steven Holly’s rooms in the Victoria ensued. They found no trace of any other communications that could connect him with a kidnapping plot. Jade and Avery insisted on going along with Finch while Sam stayed hidden behind to guard Beverly and Alice.

“If it weren’t for that ear,” said Finch, “I’d say that Holly made up the entire threat. I’ve known him for several years. He hasn’t got it in him to cut off a man’s ear. A shame he ran off.” He studied Jade’s face. “I’d have expected you to have shot him before you’d let that happen.”

Jade maintained her best poker face and said nothing about Holly’s presence in the darkroom. “Is there any way to tell if that was Mutahi’s ear?”

Finch shook his head. “Mutahi’s in the ground.”

Jade pointed to the drawing of a moon eclipsing the sun on the note. “That’s Lilith’s trademark. I saw it often enough in Morocco to recognize it. How would Holly know that?”

Finch frowned. “Perhaps he read it in one of Mrs. Thompson’s fictional accounts of your adventures. Wasn’t her latest book,
The Kahina’s Hand
, set in Morocco?” He pocketed the note without waiting for a reply. “So what do you plan to do?” Finch asked Jade and Avery.

“Now that I know Mary is unharmed,” said Jade, “I’m going to fly Lady Dunbury and the baby to safety in the north, and then come back and take Mrs. Thompson and her son out next. They should be safe at the hotel at Naivasha with all of the people around.”

“And you, Lord Dunbury?”

“I intend to drive with you to that house at Longonot and capture this woman. I can’t have her threatening anyone else.”

“Out of the question, Lord Dunbury,” said Finch. “If she is there, she won’t be alone. I cannot put a civilian in harm’s way.”

Jade scoffed, remembering when she’d been nearly killed while investigating for Finch.

Avery persisted. “I know more about this woman than you do, Inspector. And I’m not going to sit passively and wait for someone else to do the job of keeping my family safe. I’ll go with or without your permission.”

“Very well,” agreed Finch. “But Miss del Cameron, you must remain at Naivasha with the other women and children.”

“The hell I will,” said Jade. “If I’m Lilith Worthy’s target, then my proximity to them will only put them in danger again.”

“Then stay at the Thompsons’ coffee farm. By tomorrow this time, we should have this woman recaptured and all will be safe.”

 

AVERY HAD RISEN EARLY and sent word to a neighbor saying he had to leave for several days and to please see to his horses. Then he took Jade, Beverly, and Alice in his truck to Sam’s hangar before joining Finch in town. Sam had already left on Jade’s motorcycle, going first into town, then to the hangar, where he was waiting for them. He cautioned Avery to make certain that people saw him leave with Finch.

“There must be no doubt as to who is flying the plane,” Sam had said.

It was now time for Jade to go into action. Neville drove out to the hangar shortly after seven, bringing Maddy, Cyril, and Biscuit. Cyril wore a little cap tied under his chin, and both Maddy and Bev carried blankets to swaddle their children.

Sam had just finished the preflight inspection but he continued to test the wires and check the wings. His own Indian motorcycle stood by the hangar with several bundles tied onto the back. It had been repainted from the scratched army drab to a flat black just before Sam had left. It was a fortuitous decision, as motorcycles were common, but Mr. Fairley could hardly have been seen on Mr. Featherstone’s machine. Neville delayed long enough to kiss his wife and son good-bye, then loaded a reluctant Biscuit into the old box-bodied car along with Jade’s Winchester, Beverly’s and Madeline’s valises, and satchels of baby clothing, bottles, and diapers. He drove northwest towards their proposed landing strip. Madeline had held on to Cyril’s hand when he’d tried to run after his father.

Jade pointed to the bundles on Sam’s cycle. “What’s in there?”

“Supplies,” he said. “Madeline, do you and Cyril want to go first?”

Jade knew that her question was being evaded, but she stifled a retort, mentally scolding herself for questioning Sam. Instead, she retrieved the leather aviator’s caps and goggles from the rear cockpit and handed one set to Madeline.

Madeline pushed them away. “Let Beverly go first with the baby. I hate to see them wait out here in the sun very long.”

Jade helped Bev don the goggles as Sam gave the plane one final check.

“I’ll leave on my motorcycle as soon as you take off on your second run,” Sam said. “Remember, we
want
people to see you, just like we want people to see Avery. Fly west first and get close to Nairobi. Then act like you have to follow the railroad to find your way north. There’s a good spot to land near Kinangop just east of Naivasha. Neville will meet you there.” He took hold of her by the shoulders. “Can you do this?”

Jade nodded. “Yes.” She slipped a leather helmet over her black curls and tightened the strap below her chin.

“Then let’s move the children.”

Sam helped Beverly up onto the wing walk and into the front cockpit. When she was settled and had pulled down the goggles, he handed up Alice Merrywether, bundled in a blanket against the wind and the engine’s oil spray.

Jade stepped up onto the recessed stirrup and climbed into the rear cockpit. She pulled down her own goggles from atop her head, retarded the magneto switch, and primed the engine. Next she turned on the switch and cracked the throttle.

“Contact!” she shouted.

Sam swung the propeller, moving quickly aside as the engine caught and purred. As she opened up the throttle, the plane raced down the makeshift runway, gaining speed. At fourteen hundred rpms, Jade pulled back on the stick and let the Jenny have her head. She felt the seat press into her spine, making her one with the machine as the plane sped forward. Then the rough jostling gave way to a smooth glide and the slight sensation of floating that came when she first leveled off.

As she peered over the side at the neat rows of coffee trees and the Thika River, Jade couldn’t believe that so much danger lurked in the landscape. Only this time it wasn’t a crocodile or a hungry lion; it was a human.
If one can consider Lilith a human.

Jade had soloed only once before, and that time
another
human had interfered and nearly cost Jade her life and Sam his beloved plane. She pushed those memories to the recesses of her mind and focused on the task at hand. She turned west, the still-rising sun to her back, and flew in low over the Muthaiga and Parklands estates before heading northwest along the railroad.

Below her, many people stopped and looked up, pointing at the yellow Jenny.
I’ve been seen, Sam
. Sam! He was actually back. She still couldn’t believe it.
Wait until he’s shaved off that hideous beard and his hair has returned to normal.

The memory of the flight when he’d proposed marriage to her flooded her mind. Even though she now sat where he had, she could feel him behind her, watching her as she opened the ring box and read his proposal, waiting expectantly for her reply.

And what the hell did you do, you idiot? You put him off!
When he left, she’d made a vow to win him back. Now he was here, but with his return came a fresh danger, threatening everything she held dear: her future with Sam, her friends, her life.

Lilith had already spread bloodshed and evil in Kenya, Morocco, Abyssinia, and the Congo. The woman was a disease, a foul, festering pestilence tainting everything she touched. Jade’s fresh vow was made before the heavens with all of Africa as her witness.

Movement in the front cockpit caught Jade’s attention. Beverly pointed to the left and Jade broke out of her reverie to look. Ahead at eleven o’clock lay the lovely Lake Naivasha. Jade gave Bev a thumbs-up and turned the plane east to Kinangop. South of that little town was a fairly level patch of land. Jade buzzed by it once to make certain there were no hidden dangers such as a napping rhinoceros before she set down the Jenny.

Fifteen minutes after she landed, Neville’s old box-bodied car came bouncing along the ground towards them. He took the baby from Beverly and carried her to the car while Bev climbed over the side. Jade was glad to note that Neville had his rifle over his shoulder and a revolver stuck into his side pocket. Biscuit strained against his lead, but Neville had him tied securely to the steering column, keeping the big cat out of harm’s way.

“I’ll be waiting here for you,” said Neville. “Bring Maddy and my son back safely.” He swung the prop, and the Jenny’s motor roared into life.

“Jade, be careful,” shouted Beverly. She held Alice tightly in one arm against her chest and waved at Jade with the other.

Jade replied with a thumbs-up sign, taxied off, and rose into the sky. This time, she took a compass bearing and headed directly back to Thika. Once she was there, Sam helped Madeline into the front cockpit and handed up a wiggly toddler to her. The instant Jade was aloft, Sam mounted his motorcycle and roared off on a more direct route to Kinangop.

The second trip was much like the first but for the passengers. Madeline, who’d never flown before despite Sam’s offers, clutched Cyril tightly with both arms. The little boy, clearly excited by this new adventure, squealed with both frustration and delight as he squirmed for a better look. Jade knew that with her indirect route Sam would arrive shortly after she landed. All he’d told her was that he wanted her to go on to the mission with the others and that he’d fly the plane back. When pressed as to why, he’d replied with his enigmatic, “Trust me.”

Now, as Sam took the goggles, leather cap, and the leather jacket she’d worn, she felt a queer twinge in the pit of her stomach. She’d shut the engine down completely while Sam took a few bundles of his own from Neville’s truck and plopped them into the rear cockpit. The sight of them told her that Sam had plans she didn’t know about, and her throat tightened. She forced the feeling down as they gathered around the old car and Sam’s motorcycle for last-minute plans.

“Do you think Finch and Avery will capture Lilith?” asked Madeline. She held Cyril’s hand as he bounced around her, singing out, “I flew up, up, up,” his voice rising with each word.

Jade shook her head. “She’s too clever. That land is very exposed and it’s hard to sneak up on anyone. I doubt she’s even there, but if she is, she’ll see Finch coming, turn tail, and run. Finch should have listened to me and set up an Apache camp.”

“An Apache camp?” asked Beverly.

“Yes,” said Jade. “It’s what the Indian Geronimo used to do. He made a small encampment with a few lame or worn-out horses to draw in the cavalry. Then he attacked from the rear or made a raid elsewhere. I could have camped nearby and drawn Lilith out while Finch and Avery came around from behind.”

“It’s a decoy,” summarized Sam, “and a bit like what we’re doing here. We’re making it look as if you are all going to Naivasha to hide.”

“I see,” said Madeline. “So you expect Lilith to come for us there?”

“That’s our hope,” said Neville. “And we’ll be watching in turn to capture her. In the meantime, you will be safely tucked away elsewhere.”

“But she’ll still go after Jade,” said Beverly. “Or is Jade staying at the mission, too?”

“Jade won’t be an option for her anymore,” said Sam.

“What do you mean?” asked Jade. Suddenly, she had an idea just what he planned to do. “Sam, you’re not—”

He put a finger to her lips. “I told you to trust me. But once you are not there for her anymore, then there’s only one person I can think of that she wants as much as she wants you.”

“Pili,” murmured Jade.

“Yes, her late husband’s illegitimate son and heir,” said Sam. He brushed the curls from her forehead, revealed a tiny blue Berber tattoo, and kissed it. “And Mr. Fairley,” he added, pointing to himself, “will promise him to her if she makes him a partner.” He spoke quietly and kissed her again, this time on the lips. “Now get in the car. Neville, help me; then get them out of here. After you have them safely away, meet me at your farm.”

The plane was turned so that the mounting step was on the opposite side. Jade couldn’t see Sam, but in her heart, she knew what he was doing and what at least one of those carefully hidden bundles contained.