Blood Forest (Suspense thriller) Read online

  Sam gave Alfred a long hug and wished him luck.

  The day after they left, Raoul took the big truck into town with promises to return with a fixed airplane, ready to fly. In that time, Brandon and Sam spent most of their day with Temba. Some of the BaMbuti took time to mourn Kuntolo’s death, and Brandon was surprised by the intensity of the emotional outpourings; but even before Raoul returned things began to get back to normal.

  At one point, Brandon asked Temba what would become of the BaMbuti in the forest. Temba replied that they would have to move on to another part of the forest because they would not be welcome in this village or by this river again. He then added that maybe one day they would be, but not today.

  It was a full week before Raoul returned, towing their Cessna behind. He invited them up onto the trailer bed to have a look. Brandon looked under the engine and noticed that the bullet holes had been welded over. It didn’t look quite as good as new, but Raoul promised it would serve them well on their trip across Africa.

  As anxious as they were to complete their journey, when the realization of their imminent departure seeped in, Sam grew reluctant to leave. She spent more and more time with Temba and Raoul. While Brandon had felt a bond forming between him and Raoul for their shared experience, Sam became more attached to Temba.

  And so it was, a month after they had so abruptly crash-landed in the middle of the Ituri Forest, Raoul and his pygmies rolled the layers of fallen maize off the dirt runway. Temba and Raoul waited to see the couple off.

  “I am going to miss this place a lot,” Sam told Temba honestly.

  “I would miss it too, if I was ever foolish enough to leave,” Temba replied with a grin. “Maybe you can come back again.”

  She embraced Temba warmly and when the two stepped apart, Brandon cut in with a firm handshake. “I’m glad I met you, Temba, you and Kuntolo. I just wish it was under better circumstances.”

  He shrugged. “Death is part of the forest. It is better not to dwell on the things you can’t change.”

  “True enough.”

  Sam gave Temba one last look. “You’re a great friend, Temba. I won’t ever forget you.”

  They climbed into the Cessna and started the engine whirring. The propeller blade spun to life as if it had never been damaged.

  “After what happened with your last landing, mind if I handle the take-off?”

  “Are you kidding?” Sam asked incredulous, donning her sunglasses.

  “C’mon, just for the first few miles.”

  “Uh-uh. I haven’t flown in weeks,” she replied. “Sit in the back and mind your own business.”

  “But—”

  “No buts. You fly like a girl.”

  Brandon kissed his wife on the cheek as she started down the runway. Then he sat back in his seat and watched green maize give way to clear blue sky.

  Epilogue

  General Zadu was awakened in his tent in the middle of the night by something as subtle as a change in the breeze. His eyes flashed around searching for the source of the disturbance, but finding nothing he rolled over and pulled his fur bedroll tighter over his body.

  A dark shadow passed over him, moving in total silence. Zadu’s eyes flashed open, and before he could shout a strong hand closed tight over his mouth. He smelled the sour scent of palm wine and instantly recognized his mysterious assassin.

  The Belgian spy!

  As Zadu gurgled and wheezed on his own blood, he thought the spy must have feasted on pygmy flesh. Only pygmy magic could accomplish such a feat of stealth.

  The spy slipped into the night. The body would not be found until the next day, when Jean came to see what was taking his general so long. There, beside Zadu’s head, he would find a shiny gift, left by the assassin.

  Lutalo’s knife, stained with Zadu’s blood.