a neighbouring state;
only the narrow Tete corridor of Mozambique separated them.
Nevertheless, it took him a dozen attempts and twenty frustrating minutes before he heard a ringing tone at the other end of the line and was through to the number in Harare. Good afternoon.
This is the embassy of the Republic of Taiwan. May I help you? I wish speech with the ambassador. I'm sorry. His Excellency is not available at present. May I take a message or put you through to another member of the staff, I am Chetti Singh. We are abundantly acquainted. Please hold on, sir. A minute later Cheng came on the line. You are not to telephone me at this number. We agreed. Chetti Singh told him firmly, This is urgent, absolutely it hi I cannot speak on this line. I will call you back within the hour. Give me your number there and wait for me. The private unlisted telephone on Chetti Singh's desk rang forty minutes later. This line is secure, Cheng told him as he picked it up.
But be discreet. Do you know a white chap named Armstrong? Doctor Armstrong? Yes. I know him. This is the one you met at Chiwewe, and who accosted you on the road regarding certain stains on your clothing, is it not? Yes.
Cheng's tone was non-committal. It's all right, don't worry. He knows nothing. Then why has he pitched up in Lilongwe?
Chetti Singh demanded. You still want me not to worry? There was a silence.
Lilongwe? Cheng said at last. Did he also see you that night on the Chirundu road? Yes. Chetti Singh tugged at his beard. He stopped and spoke to me. He asked if I had seen the Parks trucks. When was that?
After we had transferred the ivory to you--? Careful! Chetti Singh snapped. But yes, it was after we had parted our separate ways, never mind. My men and I were tying down the tarpaulins when this white chap in a truck pulled up-Cheng cut in, How long did you speak to him? A minute, no more than that. Then he went south towards Harare. I think he was following you, without a morsel of doubt. He caught up with Gomo and forced him off the road. Cheng's voice was sharp and agitated. He searched the Parks truck. Of course, he didn't find anything. He is suspicious, indubitably. Indubitably, Cheng agreed sarcastically. But if he spoke to you for only a minute, he cannot connect you. He doesn't even know who you are. My name and address are boldly imprinted upon my truck, Chetti-Singh said.
Cheng was silent again for a slow count of five. I did not notice.
That was imprudent, my friend. You should have covered it. It is no good closing the stable door after the bird has flown, Chetti Singh pointed out.
Where is the ? Cheng broke off. Where are the goods?
Have you shipped them? Not yet. They will go out tomorrow. Can't you get rid of them sooner? That is beyond the bounds of possibility.
You will have to deal with Armstrong then, if he becomes too curious.
Yes, said Chetti Singh. I will deal with him most firmly and resolutely. Your side? Is everything taken care of? Your Mercedes?
Yes. The two drivers? Yes. Have the authorities visited you? Yes, but, it was routine, Cheng assured him. There were no surprises. They have not mentioned your name to me. But you must not telephone me at the embassy again. Use this number only. My security people have cleared this line. He gave Chetti Singh the number and he wrote it down carefully. I will let you know about this chap. He is an absolute Nuisance, Chetti Singh went on. I hope not for too much longer. Cheng cradled the receiver and instinctively reached for one of the assembly of ivory netsuke that were arranged on his desk top.
It was an exquisite miniature carving of a young girl and an old man.
The beautiful child sat on the old man's lap staring with a daughter's adoration into his noble, lined and bearded face. Each tiny detail had been executed three hundred years ago by one of the great artists of the Tokugawa dynasty. The ivory had been polished by the touch of human fingers until it glowed like amber. Only when the group was inverted was it disclosed that beneath their flowing robes the couple were naked and that the old man's member was buried almost to the hilt between the girl's thighs.
The humour of it appealed to Cheng. It was one of his favourite pieces from all his vast collection, and he caressed it now between thumb and forefinger like a worry bead. As always, the silken feet of the ivory soothed him and encouraged him to think more clearly.
He had been expecting to hear more of Daniel Armstrong, but this had not lessened the shock of Chetti Singh's message.
The Sikh's questions aroused old doubts and for the thousandth time he went over all the precautions that he had taken.
After leaving the headquarters camp at Chiwewe he had not noticed the blood on his shoes and clothing until Daniel Armstrong had drawn his attention to it. This evidence of his guilt had preyed on his mind for the rest of that arduous journey out of the Zambezi valley. When at last they reached the main highway and found Chetti Sing waiting at the rendezvous, e had confided his worries to the Sikh and showed him the stains on his clothing.
You were not supposed to go near the scene of the killing.
That was foolish, never mind. I had to make sure the job was done, and it was just as well I did. The warden was still alive. You will have to burn that clothing. It was unlikely that there would be other traffic this late at night but they took no chances. They reversed the trucks well off the highway and transferred the ivory from the Parks trucks to Chetti Singh's pantechnicon behind a screen of trees. Even with Chetti Singh's gang of men to assist the two drivers, the removal took almost two hours. It was a huge quantity of ivory to move.
In the meantime Chetti Singh watched Cheng build a small fire. When it was burning hotly the ambassador stripped to his underwear. As he dressed again in fresh clothing from his luggage, Chetti Singh squatted beside the fire and burned all the soiled items. The rubber soles of the training shoes flared up fiercely when they caught. He used a stick to poke the charred scraps into the centre of the flames and make certain that they were reduced to fine ash. There will still be abundant traces of blood in the Mercedes, Chetti pointed out as he stood up from it. On the or, on the accelerator and brake pedals. He removed the floor mat and the rubber covers from the control pedals and burned these as well. The stink of the black smoke made his eyes run, but still he was not satisfied. We will have to get rid of that car.
He told Cheng what to do. I will arrange the rest of it. Cheng was the first to leave the rendezvous. Even before the transfer of the ivory to the Sikh's truck was complete he was on his way back to Harare.
He drove fast, as though trying to escape from his involvement with the raid. The reaction was setting in now. It was the same after one of his sexual pantomimes in the Myrtle Blossom Lady's house in Taipei.
Afterwards he felt shaky and nauseated.
He always promised himself it would never happen again.
The ambassador's residence was one of many large sprawling; colonial buildings in the avenues near the golf club. He reached it well after midnight. He went directly to his own bedroom suite. He had arranged for his wife and the children to fly back to Taiwan the previous week to stay with her family. He was alone in the residence.
