The criss-crossed dirt paths of the village were lined with people by the time Rosedale and Cooper had walked down the track. Impassable by car and only just manageable by foot. Curious, suspicious stares devoid of animosity, tracked their approach.
Rosedale tipped his hat. Smiled. Nodded respectfully. But Cooper had no doubt Rosedale was acutely aware of the time it would take him to draw on the two high capacity single action FN Five-seven MK handguns hidden beneath his clothing.
A man, wizened by age and the relentless Congolese sun, shuffled towards them. His greeting humble, but friendly.
‘Can I help you?’
It was a straight, simple question, making it easy for Cooper to give a reply. He was wired; anything more, he would’ve struggled with. ‘I hope so, we’re looking for our friend. We were camped out in the forest last night, and we’ve lost her, we just hope nothing bad has happened.’
The man nodded as the onlookers moved in closer, forming a circle around them. ‘Is she a good person?’
Without hesitation, Cooper said. ‘She is. The best.’
‘Then no doubt the spirits will keep her from harm.’
The old man turned to walk away, but stopped as Cooper struggled to heed Rosedale’s words. ‘Is that it?’
Surprised, the man answered, ‘Yes.’
And that didn’t sit well with Thomas J. Cooper. Not one little bit. He stepped forward. Shook Rosedale’s hand off his arm. Raised his voice. ‘I’m talking to you. Hey, I said I’m talking to you. And just so you know, that’s not it. Not even close. You see usually when someone says a person’s missing then the whole village, the whole town, the whole goddamn city does something about it.’
Rosedale tried to pull him away, but hadn’t a hope. He had a dog in the fight.
And the distrust was beginning to appear on the faces of the men and women as the old man stared at Cooper intently before smiling.
‘If she’s meant to come back, she will. And if you say this friend of yours is a good person, then there’s no need to worry… However, from your reaction I can see you’re not a believer.’
Cooper started to grind his teeth in agitation. His jaw felt tight. Realized he was clenching it. ‘A believer in what?’
In contrast, the man was calm. Warm. A hint of pity in his voice. ‘In what you can’t see. The souls, the spirits of those that have passed and now walk amongst us in the blanket of invisibility surrounding us. They’re the ones who you need to ask, only they can find your friend.’
For some reason Cooper’s vision began to blur in his left eye. He pushed his palm against it. Hollered after the man as he walked away. ‘The hell you know what I believe in. The hell you do! You know nothing about me!’
The man threw his arms up in the air, not bothering turning back. ‘Then wait, do nothing, let the spirits guide her back.’ Then he stopped to swivel round, giving a large toothless grin to Cooper. ‘Or if you wish, ask the members of the community to help you if it makes you feel better. I’m sure they’ll be happy to.’
The cackle from the old man infuriated Cooper but he didn’t have a chance to act on it with Rosedale whipping him round, jabbing and prodding and poking and pushing him angrily in the chest.
‘What the hell’s the matter with you, boy? What did I tell you? Keep it cool. Separate emotion. Think about our objective. And what do you go and goddamn do, hey?’
Cooper slammed back at Rosedale. Thumped him hard in the chest. ‘Get the hell off me.’
‘Look at you, you’re a mess. You of all people, Thomas, should know better. Aren’t you the one who’s always telling us we need to look beyond the box? Yet here you are acting like a prize asshole with this guy. Sort yourself out or get off the job.’
‘The hell I will.’
‘I’ll drag you off the job myself if I have to.’
‘Just what is it you want from me?’
Rosedale raised his voice, not caring most of the villagers were standing around watching. ‘I want you to decide right now if you’re up to this, Lieutenant, because I don’t think you are. I think you’re a liability and as such you put the whole operation and us in danger.’
Cooper swiped his hand at the finger Rosedale was pointing at him. ‘Where do you get off Rosedale? This isn’t some military op we’re on, and who do you think you are telling me I’m a liability? I’ve got your back; you know I have. Question is, have you got mine?’
Rosedale’s cool was completely broken as he barked back angrily. ‘Like a fool I have, like a goddamn fool. But you, Thomas, you continue putting us all at risk. Look at you, you’re a junkie, a crazy-ass junkie. Whatever those pills are you take, they got you hooked and they’re not going to let you go. They’ve addled your mind. But it’s not them that’s killing you. What’s killing you is Ellie.’
Cooper struggled to speak. He felt like he couldn’t breathe. ‘Don’t you say her name… Don’t you say it.’
‘Jesus Christ, Thomas, look at the state of you. Look at what you’re doing. You’ve let it all fall through your hands.’
‘You don’t know anything.’
‘Oh yes I do, because Granger told me you were doing okay last year, or as okay as you could ever be. But now, you’re a mess. Back on the pills, or perhaps you were never off them. And the letters PTSD are written all over you like you’re part of the Sesame Street alphabet song. Why don’t you accept it and put everyone out of their misery, Thomas? Ellie isn’t coming back. She’s gone. Gone. Gone.’
The pain in Cooper’s chest almost forced him to his knees as his voice lifted louder with blind grief. ‘You don’t know that! You don’t know!’
‘I know the death certificate says it. Her own father even says it. Everyone says it.’
‘I don’t care what anyone says. There were three skiffs!’
‘Bullshit!’
Cooper whispered to himself and stared at Rosedale with coiled anger. ‘So help me God, I’ll kill you.’
‘Come on Thomas, you must see that no-one believes it.’
A voice behind them: ‘I believe it.’
Cooper and Rosedale span round to see Maddie standing behind them, seemingly unharmed. She gave a tiny smile to Cooper then turned a hard gaze on Rosedale. ‘If Tom says there were three skiffs, then there were three skiffs. Why is it so hard for you to understand and just accept that, Rosedale?’
And with that, Maddie turned and walked away, towards the car of Charles Templin-Wright.