Sleuth on Safari Read online

  “No, I think we would have seen them.”

  I tapped on my phone’s photo icon and pulled up the passport photos. I’d been in such a rush, I’d taken photos of each one, including mine and Charlotte’s. I scrolled past them.

  Geraldine Beatrice Wallace

  Jack Arnold Wallace

  Hazel Margaret Vankey

  Colin James Vankey

  The Vankeys were from Canada. Had they mentioned that? I couldn’t remember. Like orientation, I hadn’t paid attention during introductions.

  I stopped at the next passport image. The one I had wanted.

  Jonah Pettigrew Higgins.

  Without internet, his full name was of little use to me. I checked the Wi-Fi setting on my phone. Still no internet.

  I returned to the passport photos. Few passport photos are nice, except Charlotte’s. Hers looked like a glamour shot. Dr. Higgins’ photo was no exception. He stood scowling at the camera, his brown hair slicked back. I glanced at the expiration date of the US passport; the photos were about three years ago, putting him at fifty-eight when he died.

  I zoomed out of the photo. On the bottom of the paper, Leticia had scribbled, “No emergency contact information provided.”

  I scrolled back to the previous photos. Each traveler had an emergency contact name, phone number, and relationship information listed under the copy of their passport.

  Geri and Jack had a son, Jack Jr., listed. Colin and Hazel had a daughter, Anna, listed. Charlotte had put our mother down for us.

  I scrolled through the remaining three photos and zoomed in on the passports.

  Sabrina Coleky-Johnson.

  Zonah Coleky.

  Zaden Johnson.

  For these three, I inspected their birthdates. Sabrina was thirty-eight. Zonah was twenty. Zaden was fourteen. I now felt more comfortable assuming Sabrina was Zonah’s mother. When I zoomed out, I confirmed it.

  Sabrina had listed herself, “mother,” as the emergency contact for both of the boys. She’d listed C.K. Johnson, husband, as her emergency contact.

  Another mystery solved.

  Game Drive

  “Where have you been?” Charlotte asked when she met me later in the afternoon in reception.

  “Just wandering around.” I spent the rest of the afternoon looking for surveillance cameras. When a staffer would ask me what I was looking for, I would just say I was wandering around. No problem. They would smile and continue on their way.

  In all my exploration, I found only one camera in a guest area. Where I really needed one, there wasn’t one. There were none on the walkway to and from our suites.

  There was just the one surveillance camera in the whole lodge. I stood under it and imagined it gave a good image of the dining area, maybe part of the bar and the entrance to the walkway. The walkway was the only way to and from the suites. Its footage could be useful.

  If I could get a look at the camera’s footage, I might be able to see who came and went during the night.

  It looked like the model we had where I worked. I frowned. I hadn’t thought of my boring, infuriating job as a customer service representative at an upscale retailer since we’d left on vacation. I shoved thoughts of the job out of my head. I had bigger problems. How could I get access to the surveillance camera’s footage?

  I still hadn’t come up with an idea when Charlotte told me, “Well, go explore reception and drop our key off.” She handed me our room key.

  I took it and did as I was told. I dropped the key in the bowl, joining the other guests’ keys.

  Geri came up behind me and dropped her key in the bowl as well. We walked out of the area together and she said, “It’s like a key party.” She winked at me, which made me uncomfortable. “If only!” she added.

  “What do you mean key party?” I asked as we met Charlotte by the cruiser.

  Charlotte grabbed my arm and whispered, “You do not want her to explain that.”

  Geri smiled coyly and joined Jack. She kissed him on the cheek.

  “What’d I miss?” I asked Charlotte.

  “An entertaining, if not slightly irksome, post-dinner drinks session,” she explained. “When you were at the treehouse, we all hung out a bit. It appears the Wallaces are swingers.”

  “Ohh, a key party,” I said when I put it together. “Oh,” I said, grimacing. That was not an image I needed.

  “Whether they were always swingers or it’s her desperate attempt to spice things up, I don’t know and I am not asking.”

  It wasn’t relevant to my investigation so I wasn’t asking either. Or was it relevant?

  I caught Charlotte watching Zonah. “What are you doing?” I asked.

  “He is kind of cute,” she said, still looking in his direction.

  Each day, he looked more and more like a mountain man, with his growing beard. The trip, and his unruly facial hair, made him look older. Maybe it was traveling with family that made one look older. I hoped this trip with Charlotte wouldn’t age me so extremely.

  “Really?” I asked. I was surprised that she’d be attracted to him. Part of me wondered if his lack of interest over the past few days was the impetus. Or was it Jack’s work as Cupid?

  “He is the only single on the trip.”

  I laughed. It was a numbers game. I should have known Charlotte’s practical nature. She could have him if she wanted. I’d yet to see her not get what she wanted. But I didn’t need to see this play out.

  I left her to her own devices and got into the Land Cruiser. The rest boarded, Sonny and Ray gave their greetings, and we were off.

  For the first few minutes of the game drive, I was consumed with finding a way I could look at the camera’s footage. As we pulled out of the lodge’s property, the beauty of the land hit me again and all thoughts of finding a murderer left me.

  We drove around for a while. I watched the grasses for any sign of movement. I looked above the tall grasses, hoping to see a giraffe straining its neck to graze on leaves off trees.

  Suddenly, we stopped and Ray jumped off his seat. He crouched down and inspected something in the dirt. He walked a few steps down the road, looked around, and then returned. He pointed to the right after he hopped back on his seat. Sonny turned the Land Cruiser to the right, making his own way deeper into the bush. I held the bar in front of me for stability. Many of my fellow travelers did the same.

  Ray held his hand up and Sonny stopped the car. They both pointed in front of the vehicle. All I could see were the high green grasses and low bushes. But then I saw the grasses sway. A bit of color snuck out and I could see the spots of a leopard.

  Its long tail swung slowly, back and forth, as it slowly walked away from us. Just as slowly, Sonny kept pace with the leopard, never getting too close to it.

  We followed it down a steep path into a dry riverbed. In the soft sand, the leopard kept up its leisurely pace. Sonny parked the car and we watched the leopard get smaller as it walked away from us. Suddenly he stopped. He looked like he was listening to something and then turned around.

  He retraced his steps and was now walking toward us. “Should we move?” Charlotte asked. No one wanted a repeat of the rhino experience. “It looks like it’s coming back for us.”

  “Shh. Charlotte, just watch. We are no threat to him. He is not a threat to us.”

  She leaned back but didn’t appear relieved by his words. In silence, the group watched as the leopard continued his walk toward us. The tension in the fellow tourists was palpable. While my fellow travelers sat tensely, Sonny sat relaxed. His upper body draped over the steering wheel.

  With each step closer to us, you could see the detail of his beautiful spotted fur. The black rosettes on his tan-and-orange-tinged fur were stunning. As he was only feet away from us, we got an amazingly close view of the leopard. The rosettes changed into spots around his head.

  Now only a foot away from the front of the Land Cruiser, he walked past us, barely paying us any mind. I was glad I was the f
urthest away from him, as I sat in the back tier of seating. The leopard would get Charlotte first.

  Or maybe not, I thought, as we watched him leap into a tree.

  We watched for a few more minutes as he settled into a tree branch. It was the closest animal encounter we had experienced on the trip.

  With the leopard no longer close, Sonny told us, “Leopards can jump up to ten feet. They even jump with their prey, to keep their dinner away from lions and hyenas.”

  And we were back to the hyenas.

  We stopped for sundowners, some more eager for a drink than others. Geri scurried behind a bush to make room for a drink. I made a mental note to limit my beverages before game drives. Peeing outside had never sounded like a good idea. Even less so here. I didn’t know what could be hiding behind, or in, any bush.

  I strolled up to our bartender and tracker, Ray. “What’s up with the lodge’s Wi-Fi?”

  “You Americans and your internet.” He shook his head but his large smile gave away his teasing. “It’s temporary. We’re working on it. It’ll be up shortly.”

  The party line.

  “White wine?” he asked, already pouring it. Did this part of the world have a better memory for drinks than my part? I’d been visiting the same bar in my neighborhood every Friday with my coworkers and they still asked me my drink order every time. Or was it a way to garner better tips? I shrugged. It didn’t matter as long as I got my drink.

  He handed it to me and I saw the large gash on his arm again. “What happened to your arm, Ray?”

  “Nothing.”

  “It looks like more than nothing. You know my sister is studying to be a doctor. Want her to look at it?” I pointed in her direction. She saw me point and sneered at me. I pointed to the glass of wine and she nodded. If she knew the real purpose of the point, the sneer would have remained.

  “It’s nothing,” he repeated.

  He moved onto his next order as Jack approached. “Rookie, don’t be cornering my bartender here.”

  I left the makeshift bar and walked past the Vankeys, who were huddled together. Conspiring, I thought. I could have sworn I heard the word “dying.” I edged closer but they stopped talking when they saw me. I raised my drink in a mock toast. They glared at me.

  I resumed my walk to Charlotte, the cut on Ray’s arm still bothering me. “Where’s my drink?” Charlotte asked.

  “Oh, sorry, I forgot.” I glanced back at Ray, looking at the cut. “If a cut needs stitches, how long do you have to get it done by?

  “Depends on the size and depth of the cut. But a few hours.”

  “You think they have a medic here? Someone who could do that?”

  “Oh no, what did you do?” She looked me over for signs of trauma.

  I tried to remember if Ray had the injury before Dr. Higgins’ death. In all the commotion, all the stress, who could remember. I hadn’t been looking at my fellow tourists then as suspects. All I could see then was Dr. Higgins’ mauled body.

  Charlotte and I made the rounds with our fellow guests. We made meaningless chitchat with the others until Sonny called us all back to the cruiser.

  I lost track of Ray briefly. When he reappeared, his arm was re-bandaged. Maybe I wasn’t the only one who thought his cut—from a knife perhaps?—was suspicious.

  “You think they have work comp here?” I asked Charlotte.

  “You have the strangest questions, Naomi.”

  The Bar

  “Rookie!” Jack exclaimed as I sat next to him in the bar. “Look who’s back!” he said to Advice. “My drinking buddy! Get her a…bitter lemon with vodka.”

  Advice already had it poured. He slid it down the bar to me.

  It felt a bit like I was in my dad’s favorite television show, Cheers. I didn’t remember ever seeing them pay for their drinks either.

  I took a sip. Between early wake-up calls, hours riding for hours in the hot African sun, and searching for a murderer, I was exhausted. The cocktail was refreshing. “I assume you’ve already asked about Advice’s name.”

  “Seems too on point, right?” Jack asked. “A bartender named Advice because bartenders are known to listen to their patrons.”

  I nodded. That was what I was thinking too.

  “You can ask him if you want.” With his coy smile, it felt like a trap.

  “No, thanks. Some mysteries are fine to be left alone.”

  He smiled. “Thought I’d get you on that one. Maybe you’re not such a rookie.”

  “Did you ask him?”

  “No, but Colin did and Advice wasn’t happy about it.”

  “Sorry I missed it.”

  He laughed. “Don’t be. Advice did his best to be polite. He lives off our tips. But that question must get old. But when Colin asked again, Advice snapped. Very unusual.” He leaned in and whispered, “All the staff appear a little on edge.”

  “Really?” I asked. I hadn’t noticed. But of the two of us, Jack was far more experienced with safaris and their staff.

  “That’s a man with a lot of anger brewing underneath.”

  Did he mean Colin or Advice? I started to ask but Jack interrupted me.

  “Where’s the sis?” With eyebrows wagging, he added, “And the handsome Zonah? Is there a sock on your door? Is that why my favorite drinking buddy is back?”

  I paused, hoping I would not return to an awkward encounter. Charlotte told me she was going to bed, after reading for a bit, when I left. I couldn’t imagine her calling room two, hoping Zonah (and not his mother) would answer and inviting him over for a nightcap. I knew she wouldn’t leave the room to knock on his door.

  I sipped my cocktail and returned to the present and the carbonated lemon goodness.

  “Are you missing your real drinking buddy, Jack?” I asked. I wondered if they had bitter lemon at home. I knew I could find vodka at home but this soda, that was going to be the challenge. But I was going to search for it. This stuff was delicious.

  “They have bars back home for people like me.”

  On vacation, I made a habit of not asking people what they did for a living or where they lived. Mainly because I didn’t want the questions returned. Or more accurately, I didn’t want to answer that I had a job at a mall and lived in a studio apartment in a crappy city.

  “‘People like me’?” I asked.

  He nodded. “We’re on vacation, Rookie. Let’s not worry about that! No, seriously, where’s Charlotte?”

  “Reading some medical book, preparing for next term.” I’d left her sitting on the sofa, curled up with what she considered a good book, a textbook. We had very different views of what to read on vacation. My tablet was loaded with mysteries. Maybe that was why I had turned this vacation into a murder mystery. I should probably ask Sabrina if I could borrow one of her romances. She had a different one every day. Each cover more ludicrous than the last. Men with open blouses holding women with half-open blouses.

  “And you?” Jack asked. “You got any books with you to prepare for the next term?”

  I laughed. “Even if I did, I wouldn’t be reading them on vacation.”

  He held his drink up to toast. “Rookie, you are my kind of girl.”

  It was the best compliment I would get tonight. Probably for the whole vacation.

  “Yeah, Advice,” I yelled, calling over the bartender.

  “Yes, Naomi.” He looked at my half-full drink and knew that another drink wasn’t my reason for calling him over. “Would you like a snack?” He placed a bowl of freshly made potato chips in front of me.

  “No, dinner was filling.” Another scrumptious three-course meal. It started with a mozzarella and tomato salad, followed by a steak in mushroom sauce on smashed potatoes. It ended with bowl of fresh fruit. I didn’t know how I would return to my regular dinners of anything microwavable.

  “Do you have any doctors or nurses or medics or something on site?”

  “Is something wrong? Do you need a doctor?” he asked. He looked at me up and d
own. It was the second time tonight someone had checked me out for an injury.

  “No, no,” I tried to assure him. “I’m fine. I’m just curious.”

  “If something’s wrong, I can call Leticia. If it’s an emergency, we call the air ambulance. They fly the doctors in. It’s really expensive.”

  “Your travel insurance would cover that,” Jack added. “You do have travel insurance, don’t you, Rookie?”

  I nodded that I did. “How about something minor?” He waited for me to explain. “Like if you cut your finger cutting a lime for Jack’s next drink. What do you do?”

  “I treat it myself.”

  “Is that what everyone who works here would do?”

  “They don’t run to doctors for everything like we do in the US, Naomi,” Jack chimed in. “And while she’s talking about my next drink….” He tapped his empty glass. His drink of the night, a departure from his typical Castle beer, was gin and tonic, with a twist of lime.

  Advice nodded and prepared the refill. I sipped my drink and watched him.

  “You have workers’ compensation benefits here?” I asked.

  “What?” he asked, after handing Jack his latest beverage.

  “Like if you get hurt at work, will the lodge still pay you?”

  “The family is very good to us.”

  I took that as a no. He handed me a refill before going into the back. Probably fleeing from any more questions from the annoying guest, whose tips paid his wages.

  “Are you looking to get Charlotte a job?” Jack asked.

  “What do you mean?”

  “All the medical questions. She looking for a job? Or are you hoping they give her a job when she graduates?”

  “And she’d live thousands of miles away from me and there would be a several-hour time difference?” I asked. Now that was an idea.

  This time, I held my drink up to toast.

  Jack held his drink up and clinked mine. “To the woman who stayed in the treehouse alone.” He took a sip and added, “I can’t believe you stayed at the treehouse by yourself.” I shrugged. I couldn’t believe it either but no need showing fear. “Did you have a weapon with you?”