Two more days had passed and still no word from Craig. I was starting to fear the worst. He’d never been out of touch for so long. I didn’t know what to do but to continue with the investigation. Induna Munali had invited Nandi and me for a visit and we entered the shade of the open-walled meeting hall. As we approached the induna, crouching, bowing, and clapping one hand on top of the other, he clapped his greeting in return and then readjusted a blanket around his shoulders. He was looking stronger than he had the previous week, but was still not completely recovered.
The mood was much different from what it had been in our first meeting, since word had gotten out about what had happened in the induna’s field. There was a hush of respect on the part of Lubinda and Nawa that hadn’t been there before. Never having intended to kill an elephant in my life, I wasn’t sure that this was such a good thing. The ministry wasn’t sure it was such a good thing, either. Although they had gotten permission from the permanent secretary to shoot a problem elephant in the area, only a ministry employee was authorized to pull the trigger.
Fortunately, Natembo knew what he was doing when he fired that last shot. Jon could report that a member of the ministry had killed the elephant. Otherwise, the incident would have left them with some rather messy paperwork, despite the threat to Gidean’s and Lubinda’s lives. Knowing that Gidean was okay, save a few broken ribs, made it worth it, I had to admit. Jon had explained in his report that the elephant had been so badly wounded by shotgun rounds, the rangers would have had to have put it out of its misery anyway.
But I was sick over the idea of more dead elephants, regardless of how thrilled the villagers were to receive all of that meat. The sight of jubilant axes attacking a sea of bloody flesh did not sit well with me. An elephant didn’t seem to deserve the death sentence for a felony, but I knew it wasn’t that simple. A man had died trying to defend his field just a week ago. Regardless of my quandary, the farmers were very happy.
A supplicating bent-over man emerged from the shadows, bearing two carved wooden stools. He placed them down behind us, bending down to the ground, bowing and clapping hand over hand, first to us and then to the induna, before disappearing into the shadows again.
I sat down carefully on the lopsided stool, trying not to fall backward. The induna reached up from his own worn stool to shake my hand. “Musuhili,” he mumbled weakly.
“Musuhili, Induna Munali.” I shook the induna’s hand. “How are you feeling today?”
“I am better now that you are living in the Caprivi.” The induna smiled wearily.
I smiled, relieved that his tone had changed. “Thank you for agreeing to see me.”
The induna clapped one hand on top of the other. “I thank you for saving my wife. You are a very brave woman.”
I noted that his English was very good. He hadn’t needed Finnius to translate our last meeting. “I’m not so brave. Just lucky with my timing.”
“Luck is for the witch doctor. I can see you have much wisdom.”
He smiled and opened his snuffbox. He took a healthy pinch and inhaled as hard as his weak lungs could bear, and then he wiped his nose on his sleeve. He exhaled and looked me straight in the eye. “I know why you are here.”
I sat up, ready to give an explanation, but the induna jumped in. “I understand you have evidence against my son.”
I shook my head, not expecting the conversation to start like this. “Only if the tusks were his.”
He pointed a finger at me. “There are very bad influences in our communities, but the government cannot do anything. You are from the outside. Sometimes that is good. And your organization cares about elephants. We need your help. My people should not be blamed for ivory that is moving through this region from somewhere else.”
“How do you think I can help?”
“My son used to work in Mr. Lin’s shop. He heard things. Lin is connected to a powerful triad. The Sun Kwon Muk. They control the ivory supply to China.” He took a larger portion of snuff, inhaled deeply, and burst into a coughing fit.
“Are you okay?” I tried to stand to help him, but he waved me back.
A small boy brought a cup of water, and the induna drank it and inhaled. “Their presence in Africa is growing. They are pressuring Lin to force the doctor to increase his supply. They raised the volume to two tons.”
“Two tons?”
The induna nodded. “My son made the foolish decision to get involved. The borders make it easy for each country to blame another, so he thought he could get away with it.”
“What did he do?”
“He drove the witch doctor when he was in town. He was with him at Susuwe that day. He was given three tusks as payment.” He clucked his tongue. “After the murder, the police and the rangers were paying more attention. And so were the game guards.”
“So, he wasn’t set up?”
He shook his head. “I have lost control of my son. And what is happening in the region is too big for a small induna like myself. But I cannot involve the chief. He has many pressures. I have been watching you and decided to join forces with you and your organization.”
“What can I do?” I was impressed that the induna really seemed to want to do something to stop the smuggling, even though it might put his son in danger. It was clear we were on the same side, but I was nervous about whether I could live up to his expectations.
“You have to promise to keep whatever I tell you between you and me only.”
I nodded, eager to hear what he had to say.
“You must catch the doctor. It’s the only way to bring down the shop owner and the triad. But there is someone else since the witch doctor is dead.”
“We have some leads on who that is.”
“That is very good news.”
“How do you see me helping, exactly?”
“If you can protect my son, he will testify.”
“Have you spoken to him?”
He nodded.
“You must understand that I don’t work alone. I would have to tell my boss about this in order to secure his protection.”
“I understand that. But no one in the Caprivi must know of this plan. No one, do you understand?”
“Why not the ministry?”
The induna scoffed. “Too many leaks. It’s gone on too long. Which is why I am stepping in.”
“What do you have in mind?”
“Post Sianga’s bail and get him to Windhoek, then he will talk.”
“And how can you be sure that anyone would listen?”
“A witness has never lived long enough to tell of what is happening.”
I nodded, uncertain of how long this would take to organize. “I will do my best.”
He clapped his hands together again. “I thank you very much for helping me and my people.”
“You are very welcome.”
Nandi and I stood up.
“And thank you for watching over our elephants. They are our treasure that we need to protect.”
I smiled. “I couldn’t agree more.”