Black Horn by A. J. Quinnell Page A

yourself at Vic Falls?"
    "Not
exactly. I'll move back and forth, between Vic Falls and Binga. I'll be in
radio contact with the stations at both places. If you come across anything,
just get in touch."
    "Will
do."
    Gilbert
hesitated and then said, "Do you think I could hitch a ride on this thing?
It would save me a boring four hour drive."
    Creasy
smiled wryly. "I'll ask Mrs Manners. But she's a bit of an old bitch, and
not in a very good mood this morning."
    Creasy
walked back up to the saloon, followed by Gilbert. Gloria was being served a
cup of coffee by the steward. She was still reading the newspaper.
    Creasy
said, "Mrs Manners, Inspector Gilbert is also traveling to Vic Falls
today. His first job is to check your security at the Azambezi Lodge. If we
take him with us, it will save him a four hour journey by car."
    Gloria
looked up and stared at the policeman for several seconds, and then said,
"Sure. Why not?" She turned to the steward. "Give the man a cup
of coffee."
    Creasy
moved further forward towards the cockpit, saying, "I'll tell the pilot to
get going."
    Again,
the policeman followed him, and at the cockpit door he tapped Creasy on the
shoulder. Creasy turned.
    "How
did you know?" Gilbert asked.
    "Know
what?"
    "That
at the top of my list of orders from Commander Ndlovu is to arrange total
security for Mrs Manners?"
    "It
wasn't hard to work out. The last thing Ndlovu needs is for another American to
get shot in his country." He pointed back down the aircraft.
"Especially one like that." He turned back to the cockpit door,
opened it and said, "Let's get this mother off the ground."
    The row
erupted about fifteen minutes later, as they flew over Matabeleland. Creasy and
Robin Gilbert were sitting to the rear of the aircraft. Creasy was picking the
policeman's brains about the local conditions and the policeman was briefing
him on the situation regarding local politics and economics and the poaching
problem. Maxie was up front in the saloon, drinking coffee with Gloria and
Ruby. Gloria had tried a piece of biltong and didn't like it. She had finished
reading the newspaper and was obviously bored. She showed no interest in the
scenery unfolding below.
    "When
are you and Creasy going into the bush?" she asked Maxie.
    "At
dawn tomorrow."
    "When
will you reach the site?"
    "It
depends."
    "On
what?"
    "On
how fast we move."
    "Goddamn
it! You don't know how fast you're going to move?"
    "No.
It could take two days or three days."
    "Why?"
    Maxie
sighed and tried to explain. "We'll be looking for spoor... tracks. A lot
depends on the condition of the ground. How dry it is, which way the wind was
blowing and is blowing."
    She
leaned forward and said tightly, "Don't bullshit me! I've read all the
police reports. They had trackers in that area for days and they found
nothing."
    "Mrs
Manners, we're not looking for tracks that will be weeks old. We're looking for
recent tracks."
    "Why?"
    "Because
other people may have been in the area when your daughter was killed and they
may have gone back into that area."
    Gloria
leaned even further forward, and in her tight voice said, "You'd better
understand something. I don't want you chasing after some goddamn poachers and
wasting my money. You work for me, not for the Zimbabwe Wildlife
Department!"
    She was
suddenly looking at a pair of very cold eyes. The voice was equally cold, but
Creasy heard it from the back of the plane. He stood up and starting walking to
the saloon.
    Maxie said, "Wind in your neck, lady. I am not working for you. I came down here
on expenses only. You paid my hotel bills and you paid my food. But if you have
your accountant examine the bills, you'll find out that you never paid for any
of my drinks at the hotels. I'll tell you why. Many years ago, I spent a couple
of years as a hunter, working for a safari company. We had many American
clients, most of whom were spoilt over-rich idiots. When the professional
hunters used to meet up with each other back in Bulawayo