Rhino Charge Read online

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Rose left the baby oryx in peace after it had drunk most of the contents of its bottle. She wanted to find a member of the Amref medical staff so they could provide her with an update on Mayur. She was also concerned about Jono, who had reacted badly to today’s accident.

  As she approached the medical tent, she heard a man shout. It sounded like Mayur, but surely he was in a Nairobi hospital. Stepping closer, she recognised Mayur’s voice as he shouted in Hindi and although she couldn’t understand the words, their meaning was clear. Lavanya ran out of the tent, her head bowed as she hastily covered it with a scarf to hide her tear-stained face.

  Rose was torn. Should she comfort the poor girl? Her inquisitiveness got the better of her. She wanted to know why Mayur was still here and why he’d bellowed at Lavanya.

  “Leave the poor girl alone,” another voice yelled. Jono’s voice.

  “You’d like that wouldn’t you? You had your chance, but you abandoned her. Now she’s mine.”

  “I didn’t have a choice, but as she is your wife, treat her with some respect.”

  “Why? You can’t make me,” Mayur taunted.

  Rose didn’t want to become entangled in this debate. It was clear that there was no love lost between Mayur and Jono, and Lavanya appeared to be at the bottom of it. She tiptoed away from the tent and followed Lavanya through the leleshwa bushes into the Bandit Bush Hog’s camp.

  Kumar Chauhan was seated silently at one end of the table in the events shelter. At the other end, Marina and Thabiti had their heads close together, speaking quietly to each other.

  “Ah, Rose, please come and join us,” called Kumar. “I’m afraid Lakshmi has not smiled favourably on us today.” He tapped the ends of his fingers together.

  “Please, accept my sympathy.” Rose joined him. “And how is Mayur?”

  “His injuries include a broken arm and whiplash, and he is very bruised and battered. Actually, he’s still here, in the medical tent. And it’s very clear the accident hasn’t shaken his spirit.” Kumar looked at Lavanya as she placed samosas on the table. His eyes softened. Rose noted bruising around Lavanya’s wrist.

  “Great,” cried Thabiti. “I’m starving, as I haven’t had a thing to eat all day.” He grabbed a samosa and dipped it in a bowl of tomato chutney.

  Lavanya sat next to Kumar, but pushed her chair back from the table. She bowed her head and twisted the ends of her scarf. Rose spotted another, older bruise on her neck, partially covered by the scarf.

  “Thabiti, please remember, we make a prayer of thanks before we eat.” Kumar’s stare was cold.

  Chastised, Thabiti put the half-eaten samosa on the table and waited.

  Kumar said, “You can say your own prayer. You are a grown man. And you have to account to the gods for your actions.”

  Thabiti blinked rapidly before he closed his eyes, mumbled something, and picked up the remains of the samosa.

  “So why is Mayur still here?” Rose asked. “I expected him to be in Nairobi.”

  “There was an issue with the Amref planes, and the one that should have flown here was called away to Impala Ranch, in Laikipia, to airlift a casualty. But the medics have patched him up and he seems comfortable enough. We will leave with him in the morning.”

  Kumar glanced towards the entrance and frowned as Sam strode towards them. “Here comes your partner in crime, Thabiti.” He turned to Lavanya and spoke quietly. “My dear, can you help me up?”

  Sam sat down opposite Rose and tossed his phone on the table.

  “Are you OK?” Rose inquired. “What have you been doing?”

  “Checking up on things.” Sam clasped his hands together. “I took another look at the winch strop.” He grabbed his phone. “See this.”

  Sam passed the phone across, and she peered at a photo of a yellow strip of webbing. “What am I looking for?” she asked.

  “The stitching.” Sam took his phone, enlarged the photo and swivelled it back to her. “Can you see those loose threads? They held the ends of the winch strop together to form a loop. And although some of them are frayed, from being torn apart, other threads have clean ends as if they’ve been cut.

  So I think someone deliberately tampered with the strop, by cutting a few strands. And then they concealed the damage by covering the join with the strop’s sleeve. As the pressure on the strop increased, the stitching ripped until it gave way.”

  “Are you saying this wasn’t an accident?” asked Rose. “That the strop was deliberately tampered with?”

  “Yes, I am.” Sam sat back and crossed his arms.

  “But not by me,” cried Thabiti. “I know everyone thinks it’s my fault. Just look at the way Mr Kumar spoke to me this evening.”

  “You know he doesn’t like anyone eating without saying a prayer,” chided Marina.

  “It wasn’t just that. There were other comments as well. Now I think he regrets allowing Sam and me to join the team.”

  “He’s bound to be upset,” comforted Rose. “He probably feels guilty he wasn’t the one driving. Remember, his son is badly injured and the car will cost a fortune to repair. Who knows if he will carry on with the Rhino Charge after this.”

  “Anyway, back to the car.” Sam drummed his fingers on the table. “Did Thabiti tell you someone already sabotaged it and tried to stop the team taking part?”

  “No!” cried Rose and Marina in unison.

  “You show them,” Sam told Thabiti.

  “Those are the electronic connectors for the starter plugs in the engine.” Thabiti enlarged an image on his phone. “When they’re disconnected like that, the engine won’t start. But they have their own covering, so I didn’t notice the problem when I first looked.”

  Rose asked, “But who would deliberately interfere with the Bandit Bush Hog’s car?”

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Rose woke early on Tuesday morning. Around her, the camp was quiet apart from the muted voices of camp staff preparing hot water for showers and early morning drinks. A car from one of the safari lodges had collected the baby oryx the previous evening, which had saved her and Wendy from having to get up in the night to feed it. Rose hoped the lonely young animal would survive.

  She decided to stretch her legs with a walk through the headquarters whilst it was still calm, and unconsciously she arrived at the medical tent. Should she check on Jono, and Mayur before he was airlifted to Nairobi?

  The zip was undone, so she tentatively pulled aside the white entrance flap and peered inside. Only one bed was occupied. That meant Jono must have left the previous evening. It was deathly still. She was about to leave, as she didn’t want to wake Mayur, but something caused her to turn back.

  The bed Jono had occupied was dishevelled and his pillow lay across rumpled sheets. Mayur’s top sheet was also untucked, and it did not fully cover him. As she tiptoed inside, she noted his left arm was supported by a cotton sling, but the bruised forearm was free and lay across his hip. She paused and sniffed the air.

  There was a stale stillness, and she shivered, feeling a spirit fill the air and disperse. Had that been Mayur’s soul? She knew from his lifeless, bloodshot eyes and the pale sheen of his skin that he was dead.

  She’d only just met Mayur, and thoroughly disapproved of his treatment of Lavanya, but yesterday he had been courageous and full of determination. Her Catholic faith was strong, but she still found it hard to accept the death of younger, healthy people.

  How long had Mayur been dead, and had he suffered? She glanced once more at his body and noted a bruise on the top of his exposed hip. Had he died from internal bleeding as a result of trauma from the car accident? Would Thabiti be blamed for Mayur’s death? The officials thought him responsible for the damaged winch strop, which had caused the car to roll and, by doing so, injure Mayur.

  Rose turned and stepped over a blanket, which had fallen to the floor. It covered a blue piece of plastic, and there were puddles of water, from an upturned gl
ass, beside the second bed. She left quietly. Mayur had not looked peaceful and Rose imagined him fighting his death.

  Rose returned to the medical tent with Nick West, the Rhino Charge organiser, and a paramedic from Amref. The headquarters was starting to come to life and she could smell coffee and bacon. Her stomach rumbled.

  “Rose, have you told anyone else about this?” Nick asked.

  “No, I thought it best to come straight to you.”

  The paramedic pulled the sheet back to Mayur’s waist: he still wore his blue team t-shirt. “I can confirm he is dead,” said the paramedic, straightening up. “But not when he died.” Nick remained at the end of the bed, averting his gaze from the body.

  Rose moved to the paramedic’s side. “Do you have any idea what caused it?”

  “My guess is internal haemorrhaging. Was he the one extracted from a car which rolled yesterday?”

  “Yes, he was, and I witnessed the accident. It was rather frightening as the car flipped over from a height of several metres.”

  “But it was fitted with a safety cage, and he was strapped into a harness and wore a helmet,” Nick said, but leaned away from the bed.

  “Even so, that type of accident would assert a lot of pressure on the body. My colleague, who examined him yesterday, may not have known about the internal damage.” The paramedic rolled Mayur’s body over and lifted his shirt. “Look, there is dark bruising along his spine where blood has settled.”

  “This is a catastrophe for the Rhino Charge.” Nick chewed the end of pen. “The authorities may use it as an excuse to cancel future events.”

  The paramedic lifted the bed sheet and laid it across Mayur, covering his body and face. “Then you need to have him examined by the Nairobi medical officer, but he is a busy man and spends most of his time in court. I would recommend contacting him before involving the police.”

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Outside the medical tent, Nick turned to Rose. “I need to inform Mayur’s next of kin. I know his father, Kumar, but I wonder if there is anyone else I should speak to.”

  “There’s his wife, a timid lady called Lavanya.” Rose gazed up at the clear blue sky. Too beautiful a day to be giving such painful news.

  “Do you know them?” Nick inquired.

  “A little, and I’ve spent some time in their camp this week as my young friend Thabiti is their team’s mechanic.” Rose noted Nick’s lip curl. “Would you like me to come with you?”

  Nick’s shoulders relaxed. “Yes, please.”

  The Bandit Bush Hog’s camp was a hive of activity as bed rolls and bags lay outside partially dismantled tents.

  Kumar sat alone in the events shelter. He spotted Nick and asked, “Is the plane here? We’re almost ready to leave. I’m sending the bags and equipment back to Nairobi by car.” He saw Rose and added curtly, “If you’re looking for Thabiti, he left with Sam.”

  Rose did not respond and looked at Nick as they sat down at the table.

  Lavanya appeared. “Would you like a drink?” she asked.

  “Not at the moment, dear,” answered Rose. “Would you mind sitting down?”

  Lavanya looked across at Kumar who nodded his consent.

  Kumar leant forward. “Something’s happened? What is it? Is it Mayur?” His voice rose with each question.

  Rose looked at Nick again who opened his mouth but no words emerged.

  She squeezed her hands into fists, exhaled and said, “I’m so very sorry. Mayur died during the night. I found him in the medical tent this morning.”

  Lavanya cried out. She covered her face with her hand and turned away.

  Kumar held Rose’s gaze and his facial muscles tightened, but his voice remained steady. “How? I know he had some serious injuries, including a broken arm, but he was lucid and conscious yesterday. He was certainly well enough to upset Lavanya when she took him some supper.”

  Kumar’s hands began to shake. Rose touched his arm. “We believe yesterday’s accident caused some internal damage and bleeding which nobody was aware of. But we can’t be certain without a formal examination, or autopsy.”

  “But how can you do that out here?” Kumar’s voice began to crack.

  Nick finally found his own voice. “I’d like to fly in the Nairobi medical officer, but I understand he’s a difficult man to pin down.”

  “I know him, so let me make a call. On the practical side, do you have anywhere cool to…” Kumar’s voice became hoarse and he swallowed, “store my son’s body?”

  Nick shook his head.

  Lavanya ran from the table. Kumar sat up straight. “Now please leave me. I will let you know about the medical officer when I have an answer.”

  At the camp entrance Rose met Thabiti and Marina. She looked back at Kumar. His quiet dignity had shattered as he sat hunched over the table, his whole body wracked with the sobs Rose could feel rather than hear.

  “Thank you for your help, Rose,” Nick said and walked away in the direction of the registration tent.

  Marina tugged at her t-shirt. “We’ve just heard a rumour that Mayur’s dead.”

  Rose closed her eyes and shook her head. “Now that’s quick even by Kenyan standards. We’ve only just told Kumar and Lavanya.”

  “So it’s true.” Thabiti’s voice was dull and he kicked a stone with his foot.

  “Marina,” a man’s voice called. “Baba’s looking for you.” One of the young men Rose had seen in Deepak Seth’s Rhino Charge team ran towards them. “He’s heard about Mayur’s death.”

  “I know. I’ve just heard. It’s terrible, but what does Baba want?”

  “You away from criminals,” shouted Marina’s father as he arrived at the camp entrance.

  “Baba, what criminals?”

  “Him.” The old man poked Thabiti in the chest with surprising strength. Thabiti staggered backwards, his eyes wide with surprise.

  “Baba, stop. Thabiti isn’t a criminal.”

  “I heard Mayur Chauhan is dead. And that he died of his injuries from yesterday’s crash. A crash caused by his ineptitude.” Marina’s father stared at Thabiti who flinched and stepped further back. “You’re coming with us.”

  Marina protested, “But Baba…”

  She was cut off by her father, who snapped, “Don’t argue. That team - your team - has a habit of killing people in car accidents, as you well know.”

  With her elderly father on one side and the young man on the other, Marina was frogmarched away. She turned her head and looked back at Thabiti, her eyes wide with despair.

  “They can’t do that,” exclaimed Thabiti.

  “They just did,” replied Rose. She gazed into the distance and was not aware she spoke out loud. “What did he mean by ‘your team has a habit of killing people in car accidents’?”

  “I’ve no idea.” Thabiti moaned. “But we need to see Sam.”

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Rose felt a static charge in the air as she and Thabiti walked through the headquarters. People eyed Thabiti surreptitiously and began whispering to their companions.

  Thabiti must have noticed as well, as he scuffed his feet along the ground and shoved his hands into his pockets. Sam approached them and glowered at anyone who glanced in Thabiti’s direction. “I’m sorry you have to put up with this, Thabiti. We need to find out what happened, and quickly, before all these people judge you as guilty.”

  Rose followed Sam into the parc fermé to the doorless blue Car 27. He was once again covered in dust. “I’ve checked every inch of this vehicle.”

  Sam ran his hand across the side of the car. “And I found a nail in one of the spare tyres, an empty diesel canister, and the remote control for the front winch doesn’t work. Now the crash may have damaged the remote control, but it didn’t put a nail in the spare wheel or empty the fuel canister.”

  Rose walked to the front of the car. “Are you saying this is more evidence to support your sabotage theory?”

  “I believe it’s more
than coincidence, but others might not. Most people already think Thabiti is incompetent, so not checking a spare tyre or forgetting to fill up the spare fuel canister is easy to believe.”

  Rose tapped the vehicle’s bonnet and mused, “But not the interference with the engine.”

  “I’m not sure it’s enough. It’s just one incident amongst many.” Sam’s arms hung by his sides.

  “But you said the stitching on the winch strop was cut?” Rose covered her eyes from the sun as she watched Sam.

  “I believe it was, but it’s very hard to prove. There are lots of little things that a nervous, inexperienced mechanic might have overlooked.”

  Rose and Sam focused on Thabiti, who raised his arms in the air. “So what do I do?”

  Rose walked back to them, thinking through the problem. “We need to find out who did interfere with the car. Do you remember? Mayur accused Deepak Seth of causing issues in Nairobi which prevented Mayur’s brother and teammate joining the Charge. Do you think Deepak would go as far as deliberately damaging your car?”

  Sam replied, “I doubt so personally, but there are plenty of younger men on his team.”

  Thabiti spoke. “When?”

  “When what?” queried Rose.

  “When could any of Deepak’s team sabotage this car? It was transported directly from Nanyuki and parked in the middle of our camp. Yesterday night, before the Charge, it was securely left in here.”

  Rose patted the car. “I’m sure there were times when the camp was empty.”

  “Once, and that was only for ten minutes,” explained Thabiti. “When we registered the team. During the briefings Lavanya remained behind.”

  Rose looked around parc fermé. The cars were parked haphazardly in various states of disrepair. One had a smashed windscreen, another was held up by a jack, its wheel missing, whilst a blue car next to them looked as if it had not even competed.

  Sam walked across to the plastic mesh fence. “I know this enclosure is named after the secure compound at Formula One races, but it’s easy enough to climb over this fence, and we all know night askaris are prone to sleeping on the job.”