Free Boss Takes All by Carl Hancock Page B

sung at the festival. Father was too ill to join us out here, but he listened through that window.’
    â€˜And I came inside the house. Bwana Nash was sitting in an armchair by the fire and I sang two songs. I remember them. ‘Annie Laurie’ and ‘The Lord is my shepherd’.
    â€˜After you had gone home, he said to us all. “Today, someone came down from heaven to sing to me. I’m ready to go anytime now.” Three days later he did go.’
    â€˜My heart is beating fast to hear such a thing. Perhaps, if you wish it, I could sing those songs again. Papa …’
    â€˜Stephen.’ Mollie hesitated again. This time she was afraid that her words would hurt Stephen. ‘Stephen, you know that there was something my father loved more than his music, almost as much as he loved his family.’
    â€˜I know this thing. We talked about it often. He asked me to leave Londiani. He wanted me to come down here to help with the cattle and the conservation work. One time he asked me to grab a big handful of the rich brown earth and let it run through my fingers. He said, “Stephen, I don’t think the good Lord gave us these waters and this soil to grow food and flowers for rich Europeans.” We parted friends. Miss Mollie, cattle, conservation, this is not work that I could understand. I told him that Bwana McCall is a good farmer and that he will never hurt the land. And the farm brings work to many, many people, feeds the children.’
    â€˜Stephen, there will never be such farms down at this end of South Lake Road. Perhaps flowers will never again be grown on Londiani. Perhaps this will be the beginning of a great change.’
    Stephen sighed deeply and put his arm across Rebecca’s shoulders. ‘Who can know the future? Not a coastie like me, that’s for sure. But I do know that many bad things have happened around our part of the lake.’
    â€˜Many of our young people have died. We nearly lost Thomas. We nearly lost Papa. We know where many of these bad things come from. We know this man, but we do not fear him.’

Chapter Thirteen
    o, Sally, don’t call Monica. We can leave the coffee and the other stuff ‘til later.’
    â€˜Abel, you don’t look so good. You are doing too much too soon. Give yourself some free time.’
    â€˜Yeah, later, later. I need to clear a few things up first.’
    â€˜Perhaps you could start by explaining why our guests left so fast. Us ladies were enjoying a real good time and then in come Daniel and Paul … What happened out there, Abel?’
    â€˜Yeah, Sally, yeah. It was pretty quick.’ Abel was taking longer than usual in organising his thoughts into a ‘case’. Abel was always very careful in his conversations, his exchanges, even with, especially with Sally. It was as if he believed that everything he said was being recorded in some mysterious way and might be played back to him at some inconvenient time in the future. He was an A-one expert in covering his back.
    â€˜Those two fellows wormed their way into this house. It wasn’t your fault …’
    â€˜But I’m an easy touch. Is that the way to put it?’ Sally was not prepared to take the blame on this. ‘I meet an old friend and I invite her to my home.’
    â€˜True, sweetheart, but … Look. Miller and Komar, smart in appearance but two very slippery customers in their line of business, and I don’t just mean in the courts.’
    â€˜So, they upset you in some way and I take the punishment.’
    â€˜Okay, let’s start again. Ten, twenty minutes ago I took a big risk with those two punks.’
    â€˜Why punks? Abel, they must have really upset you big time.’
    â€˜Not at all. I’ll show you. Bertie Briggs. Remember that name?’
    â€˜His toto was here with Angela, the McCall maid. He’s in the lock-up somewhere up-country.’
    â€˜He tried to kill your