Beyond Life (4 page)

‘No thanks.’ Marion put down the water and asked the children to take it to the kitchen. ‘There’s something not right about him, Val. I wish you wouldn’t.’

‘Don’t worry about me. It’s only a bit of harmless fun. Why don’t you come with us you’re always saying you wish you could see some of the animals?’ Val was grateful her friend had looked after her when she’d been attacked. She was getting fed-up with Marion’s over-protectiveness though, which was stilting her independence, and if she wasn’t careful they were likely to fall out.

‘Shall we have a quick cup of tea?’ Marion tried a different tack explaining to Val that she wanted to talk to her about a dream she’d had the previous night. This was the first time they’d seen each other that morning and she was keen to have a chat.

Marion carefully poured the water into the mugs, ensuring there was no spill and used one tea bag between them. They’d got used to black tea on their first tour and didn’t blink an eye as they sipped at the thick, bitter liquid.

‘It seemed so real that I have to tell you. And it’s been ages since I’ve had such a vivid dream.’

‘Sounds intriguing,’ said Val.

‘First of all I dreamt that Tony and your Libby got married.’

‘They haven’t known each long enough yet!’ Val laughed.

‘Then I dreamt that your husband said that Gary’s a bad one and you should leave well alone.’ Marion took a deep breath knowing that Val wouldn’t like what she’d said. But she was her friend and she had to tell her, even though she knew Val wouldn’t be happy.

‘Below the belt, Marion.’ Val pushed back her chair and stood up. ‘I can’t spend all day chatting. I’ve got work to do.’

‘But Val..’

‘I don’t want to fall out with you, Marion but I like Gary and it’s only a bit of fun. You’re thinking of things before you go to sleep and your sub-conscious is trying to work it out while you’re sleeping. But just because you don’t like him it doesn’t mean to say that I don’t and acting as if Ron has sent a message is just plain cruel.’ Val stormed off without bothering to wait for a reply. Marion regretted falling out with her friend but hadn’t regretted telling her, such was the strength of her uneasiness when in Gary’s presence.

*****

Libby looked gorgeous in her tight fitting knee-length white dress patterned with red and yellow roses. She walked along the red carpet, arms linked with her brother and this image of his beautiful bride would be in Tony’s memory forever.

The wedding was taking place in
The Old Blacksmith’s Shop
a traditional place for ceremonies since the 18
^th
century when youngsters could be legally married in Scotland, but not in England and Wales. Such was the popularity of the place that people from all over the world married there. It was a beautiful village but obvious to the wedding party that wedding tourism was the major income generator. Libby felt a slight tinge of guilt that her mother wasn’t there. She vowed to herself that they would celebrate with a party when her mother returned from Zambia – she’d always said that she didn’t want a big ceremony and now hoped her mother had taken her seriously. The sight of her groom made any negative thoughts disappear and Libby was constantly amazed at how quickly she’d found her soul mate.

They exchanged vows and Libby cried tears of both joy and sadness when
What a Wonderful World
played as they signed the register to formalise their union. She looked heavenward.

‘Thanks, Dad. I know you’re there and that you’re okay now,’ Fiona handed Libby a cotton handkerchief. She wiped her eyes and smiled self-consciously at the small group of family and friends and the Registrar, before looking up again. ‘I miss you, Dad and I’ll always love you.’

There wasn’t a dry eye amongst the living at the ceremony, or the dead onlookers.

The twins knew that Claire was with them but had chosen not to mention it. They were not yet fully confident that Libby was ready to accept their dead sister into their daily lives. Her speech to her father had shown them all that she was now a believer but Tony still wondered how his wife would react if he had a conversation with his sister in her presence. He put the thought out of his mind. This was his wedding day and was about his beautiful bride, not his sadly departed and sometimes very irritating sister.

Libby’s emotions were all over the place. They’d had a lovely lunch following their wedding and the others had disappeared shortly after, giving them a chance to consummate their vows. The suite was absolutely beautiful. Libby had planned for them to share some champagne in the Jacuzzi so they could chat while taking in the views of the rolling Scottish countryside. As it happened they couldn’t keep their hands off each other. It wouldn’t have made a difference whether they’d been in their current bridal suite or a farmyard barn; they only had eyes for each other. Exhausted from their passionate lovemaking they slept for a while, and Libby’s pleasure centre had woken her when her husband’s kisses and hands told her it was time for more. Much later they showered and dressed and decided on a walk by the river.

‘I’m so happy,’ she said and he squeezed her hand and smiled in acknowledgement, not needing to comment until he sensed there was more.

‘There sounds like a but, Libby?’

‘I wish my mother had been at the wedding.’

Tony attempted a comment but Libby put a finger to his lips. ‘If I hadn’t known about my father everything would have been fine. He was there so my mother should have been.’

‘Come here.’ Tony embraced his wife and resisted the urge to say I told you. It was an understatement to say that his mother would be unhappy at missing their wedding and he’d tried to talk Libby out of doing it this way, but she’d been adamant so he’d reluctantly gone along with her. His father had a competition but said he would have gladly withdrawn from it but Tony knew that his mother would be even more upset if she’d discovered his father had attended but she had not. For his own part Tony was just happy they were together and the future would work itself out.

They walked on in silence for a while, seeing the occasional water vole scurry across the muddy riverside, alarmed by their presence in the otherwise peaceful surroundings.

‘Why don’t we do it all again when they return and not tell them about this one?’ said Tony and his wife laughed, startling a pair of ducks that quacked and pedalled along the water in preparation for flight.

He’d do anything to make her happy and Libby felt blessed. She had to take responsibility though and do the right thing.

‘How about we all go away somewhere for a long weekend when they get back, and have some sort of blessing or formal ceremony?’

Tony stopped to think for a moment.

‘Well? How does that sound?’

‘Providing our mothers are still speaking to us once they’ve found out what we’ve done, I think it’s a good idea, but I’m not sure how that would work with my father being there.’

Libby hadn’t thought that their mothers would be that annoyed and hoped that his parents could put their differences aside for their son’s sake, for just one day.

‘Look at that,’ Tony pointed to the beautiful blue of a kingfisher that had caught his eye and they watched the bird dive into the water, retrieve a fish and fly away.

They forgot about their parents as they took in the beauty and savagery of nature around them and enjoyed the rest of their stroll.

*****

As Marion and Val had enjoyed their tea but not each other’s company, Daniel had been summoned by Gary and he walked out into the bush with the Englishman. There was nobody else about to hear them.

‘I want the tall one with the oval face. What did her parents die of?’

Knowing that HIV and AIDS was prevalent in Zambia and one of the major reasons for the large number of orphans, Gary was always careful when choosing his next sex slave victims.

‘I’ll check her medical records,’ said Daniel, ‘but it may take a few days.’ His appointment meant that he had access to records of all the children, but would have to ask the clerk to take out the file. This could well cause suspicion when the girl went missing, even though the police investigation would be cursory.

‘Not good enough, my friend,’ the words sent a shiver up Daniel’s spine and he avoided looking into Gary’s eyes, frightened at what the man would make him do.

‘I’m taking Val out later on, and when her friend takes some of them to get water this evening, I want you to make sure the girl doesn’t go if she was due to go with them?’

Daniel nodded and Gary continued.

‘You will arrange for her to go out via the back door.’

Daniel started to protest but Gary silenced him with a look.

‘Then one of my men will grab her. You’ll be in the clear as long as you can think of a believable excuse for her to go outside. But before all that, go and check her medical documents. Comprende?’

He understood all right and he also realised that the Englishman was willing to take more and more risks. However, his lifestyle had improved since he’d been helping Gary and at least these girls were getting decent accommodation, not like those orphans living on the streets of the capital and having to prostitute themselves just to get food. Daniel’s warped reasoning helped him to justify his actions and he knew deep down that he’d do anything to be able to keep the luxuries to which his family had become accustomed. His wife treated him with respect these days and that alone was worth the risk.

Chapter 4

It was Val’s afternoon off and she hastily dragged a comb through her hair when she heard the Land Rover pull up outside the staff accommodation. She checked her appearance in the cracked piece of mirror leaning up against the old, uneven dressing table. She’d accumulated a few more wrinkles since working in Zambia and her roots could do with a touch up, but under the circumstances she was content with her looks. Losing Ron almost two years before had aged her but she was finally starting to get her mojo back and wanted to play a bit as well as work hard. She hadn’t been with another man since the dreadful time of Ron and Ken’s death and the memory of her guilt back then made her frown. She’d admitted to herself that she missed physical contact and was ready for a bit of fun, but certainly wasn’t ready for another long-term relationship. Val didn’t know if she’d ever be ready for that.  She wondered if Marion ever missed having a sex life. They’d talked about many things during their friendship but Marion’s sex life wasn’t one of them and Val wondered, cruelly, if Marion didn’t like Gary because he was interested in her and not Marion. Jealousy would explain why Marion had made such unkind comments that were so out of character. Val knew to trust her own instincts, especially after the attack the previous year and she didn’t get any bad vibes when she was with Gary. In fact, he’d acted like the perfect gentleman.

The beeping horn brought her back to the present and she put her hair in a ponytail and ran down the wooden stairs. She stopped and composed herself at the bottom not wishing to appear too keen.

They laughed and chatted on the journey. Val knew that the nature reserve was too far to travel there and back in an afternoon, but Gary had said that they might see some elephant and antelope. He added that if they were really lucky and very quiet, their patience might be rewarded with the sight of a leopard. Val was used to the bumpy roads and tracks around the orphanage area and to and from the market, but once off the beaten track things were even worse. Gary had explained that part of the ride would be slow going, but she hadn’t taken the discomfort into consideration. They’d been travelling at a snail’s pace for over an hour when Val asked for a break.

‘I think my back’s going to break in two, Gary. Any chance...’

A loud growling roar in the distance cut off her voice. The sound sent shivers up her spine and Gary stopped the vehicle and looked around. They saw the big cat halfway up a tree. It had laid down its small prey and turned its fierce eyes on the vehicle and its occupants. Val was both fascinated and terrified. Gary reversed very slowly and the animal appeared to relax a little, but not enough for Val’s liking.

‘Like any animal, they’re at their most dangerous when protecting their food or their young. I don’t like the look of this one so we’re going to go back in the direction we came and find another route. Okay?’

She nodded while keeping her eyes on the leopard. She knew that Gary had a gun with him and wondered if the leopard took a jump at them, would he choose to drive or to stop and use the gun. She needn’t have worried as the animal continued its feast when it could see that they were no longer a threat and Val was soon able to relax a little. When they arrived at a shaded area a while later Gary stopped the Land Rover and smiled.

‘Are you okay?’ he asked, eyes full of concern as he leaned over and patted her thigh.

His hand stayed there a second too long and Val felt herself blush as memories of being touched by a red-blooded male flooded her mind. It made her think of Ron but strangely enough she didn’t feel guilty. She looked upwards and smiled.

‘Val?’

‘Yes I’m fine thanks. That was a bit scary though.’

Gary laughed and Val got the impression that her idea of scary and his were entirely different.

‘Can you give me a hand?’ he got out of the vehicle and Val followed him around to the back where he untied the canopy that was covering the boot. Gary unstrapped the bungee cords that were holding a cool box in place and lifted the box. He handed her the blanket that was underneath and walked to the rear passenger seats where his rifle was stored. ‘Insurance,’ he said giving her a charming smile and set off carrying the box and rifle. Val followed and they stopped at a nearby tree, which was on a slight hill. Gary appeared to survey the area and once satisfied nodded his head for Val to lay the blanket. They sat down and looked around. It was a stunning vista of hills in the distance that seemed to end abruptly. Gary pointed and explained that the steep hillside plunged down into a deep ravine and that he’d take her there on their next outing. Val ignored his presumption that they’d have another outing and looked at their surroundings. In their immediate line of sight the open grassy plains were dotted with an occasional tree. They could see for miles and would be able to spot any potential danger long before it reached them.