Elephant Dropping (9781301895199) Read Online Free

tentacles
ran deep and she knew better than to ask. Whilst she admired his
abilities, he scared her. He was not a man to cross swords
with.
    Patel went on.
‘This week, I want you to go through the paperwork and make sure we
have covered all our tracks. Check all the interest payments and
keep the land officer sweet. Give him a generous over payment -
like you have made a mistake - we can recover it later.’
    He scratched
his head. ‘Evans is our weakest link, panics too easily. In a tight
corner he would sell us out,’ he stabbed a poppadom irritably with his index finger, it cracked loudly. ‘We can't cover
every angle, but keep cash and your passport on you at all
times.’
    She frowned.
‘You’re saying we might have to run for it?’
    ‘No my dear, I
am just being cautious.’
    ‘I see, so
where would we cautiously go?’
    Patel looked at
her, a wry smile on his face. ‘I haven’t thought about it but our
best bet is to find a way get to Tanga in Tanzania.’
    ‘Why
Tanga?’
    ‘I don’t know,
I’m thinking on my feet it’s a sleepy little town, last place
anyone would look.’ He shrugged.
    ‘Ok so this
sleepy little town, we walk around until we bump into one
another?’
    Patel giggled,
teasing slices of cucumber round his plate with a fork as he spoke.
‘Find a hotel and check the message board at the Tanga Yacht Club
every day, where you will find an advertisement for a boat for
sale, the boat’s name will be,’ Patel searched for a word, ‘choose
one,’ he said playfully, trying to lighten her mood.
    ‘Cucumber,’ she
volunteered facetiously.
    ‘Ok, and the
phone number will be my contact.
    She nodded,
unconvinced. Azizza understood the double meaning and shivered
involuntarily - an escape plan that would ensure that Patel knew
exactly where to find her.
    ‘You think this
auditor could be a real threat?’ She asked.
    ‘No, I doubt
it, there is nothing for him to find,’ he reassured her, ‘however,
once this crisis is over we might have to cut our losses, or speed
up the process. Evans will not be able to carry this project
through to fruition,’ he decided in resignation, ‘so put that agile
mind of yours to work. This far down the line, we must get away
with enough money.’
    Azizza slapped
irritably at a fly.
    ‘Just be normal
with Evans,’ Patel went on, ‘his fear is making him oversensitive.
Another six months to go and we should be home and dry.’
    They finished
the meal in silence, caught up in their respective thoughts. She
studied Patel. A slim six foot two, in his early 40’s with a head
of salt and pepper hair. Nothing about his outward appearance
indicated the mercurial and ruthless mind this man possessed. His
face - apart from a large hooked nose - was plain, quite
forgettable in fact. He had a warm and easy smile, a pleasant
looking inoffensive man - and yet when pushing a point those brown
eyes glinted like steel - his mouth set. The only thing that belied
his inscrutable calm, was an odd girl-like giggle, like a response
to a silly joke; it’s immaturity in this tall man a little
repulsive. When Patel giggled, Azizza had learned, watch out!
    She had tried
to bed him a few times, and he had declined her invitation with as
much interest as an unsustainable project with no profit in it for
him. It was not that she found him in the least bit attractive, but
more a need to gain an emotional insurance.
    As though
reading her mind after the second attempt, he had said to her. ‘My
dear, it's not you. You are a most attractive woman. I have seen
the way other men look at you. It's me,’ throwing his hands in the
air, ‘sex just doesn't interest me.’ Accepting this they had
maintained their business relationship, the trust growing between
them, dictated by the rising stakes. She had not entirely given up
the idea of getting him into bed and if anything his lack of
response only intrigued her more.
    ‘I'm meeting
Evans this evening,’ Patel announced, remembering