Free Diamond Legacy by Monica McCabe

involved.”
    “Speak for yourself,” Mikal joked. “I’m a master chef, a culinary artist to many discriminating palettes.” He lifted a tray of wildebeest for display. “The real challenge is serving the clients without becoming part of the entree. Grab a tray, Jason. Time to feed the kitty cats.”
    With a rueful shake of his head, Jason grinned at Matthew and asked, “Want to trade jobs for a day?”
    “I’ll stick with mucking out stables,” Matthew replied. “I’ll live longer.”
    Jason and Mikal filed out and Matthew made to follow. He stopped at the door, though, and glanced straight at Miranda. “If it’s the wild side you’re looking for, you know where to find me.” With a disconcerting wink he disappeared through the door.
    Miranda stared in bewilderment at the now empty doorway.
    “My-oh-my,” Letta said as she fanned her face. “You’ve made quite an impression on Matthew Bennett.”
    “Hmph.” Miranda grabbed the disinfectant spray and began cleaning the table. “Not likely. We don’t know each other at all. We’ve hardly spoken.”
    “Really?” That one word was full of doubt. “Maybe he seeks to change that.”
    “More like he’s playing nice to the visiting Americans.” Miranda threw herself into scrubbing, reaching far across the oversized table.
    “Somehow I doubt this.” Letta grabbed a stack of dry towels and set them on the counter within close reach. “His eyes are hungry as they follow you.”
    “You think so?” Miranda paused, thought better of it, and went back to scrubbing. “I didn’t get that.”
    “Then you are blind, my friend.”
    “Sometimes that’s the better option.” Romance clearly wasn’t on the agenda, no matter how tempting the man. Besides, he posed a threat to a place that made a difference in animal welfare. That wasn’t something she could ignore.
    But to be fair, Matthew wasn’t the problem. It was Graham and Keyes and maybe others. It made no sense to risk everything this place had accomplished. Stopping them was paramount. And it had to be done without jeopardizing Katanga.
    “He’s most attractive,” Letta said slyly.
    “I don’t deny that,” Miranda replied. “But I’m only here a few weeks. It’s pointless to pursue something that holds no future.”
    Her friend shook her head. “Sometimes we have no choice. The heart does not heed boundaries.”
    “Well, thankfully, the heart’s not involved.” And she planned on keeping it that way. “Now, let’s talk about something more interesting. Tell me about the diamond industry. It’s big in Botswana, right?”
    Skepticism crossed Letta’s face, but she accepted the change of conversation. “Our entire economy centers around diamonds in one way or another.”
    “Are the mines the largest employers?”
    “One of them, but unfortunately pay is low, and it’s hard to sustain a family. Many work long hours away from home, isolated behind security fences.”
    Miranda grabbed a towel and began polishing the steel tabletop. “Don’t they have representation? An organized group to help improve working conditions?”
    “Botswana is progressive but a long way from fair.” Letta sat back down at the computer to finish her notes. “Government officials claim concern over the more appalling aspects of the industry, some take measures to monitor human rights violations. But the sad truth is mine owners have absolute control.”
    “Wouldn’t that kind of treatment be an open invitation for theft?”
    “Smuggling is a problem,” she replied as she typed. “Workers can earn more money in a single run than a year spent in the mines. Yet the risk is tremendous. If caught, the penalties are severe. Then there’s organized crime.”
    “Have you ever seen any of that?” Miranda asked, steering the conversation.
    “Diamonds are not an issue in my village. Cattle are.” She flipped to the next page in her notebook. “But I’ve been in Gaborone four years and never